Ouroboros || harry potter

Chapter Nine

(Harry)

"What did you do?" demanded one of the twins.

Salazar ignored them as he knelt over Neville. The boy was unconscious and trembling. Salazar reached out and pressed a hand to the boy's chest. He pressed his other hand to Neville's forehead and concentrated. The little Gryffindor's magic was fluctuating. His thoughts were racing and splintering.

What was happening?

A hand yanked him back by the collar. Salazar fell onto his butt and found his legs entangled in blankets. He glared up through his askew glasses and found a redhead glaring down at him, wand pointed at his forehead. The other twin stepped between him and Neville. Fire seemed to glow in their eyes. They reminded him so much of Godric in that moment.

"What. Did. You. Do. To. Him?" demanded the more vocal of the two twins, the one Salazar was almost certain was Fred. He was also the one with his wand in Salazar face, holding the founder by the collar.

Salazar clenched his jaw in frustration and forced himself to take a deep breath to calm his nerves. The children didn't know what they were doing.

"Nothing," Salazar answered, "Now move."

The twins clearly didn't believe him. Their hard expressions didn't change and drawn wands stayed pointed steadily at his face. Neither of them twitched from their protective position.

"I didn't do anything," he insisted as frustration slipped into his voice, "I sswear it."

"Now wha' yeh doin'?" demanded a new voice, an adult's voice. A very large man appeared behind the Weasley twins and checked over Neville.

"He did something to Neville, Hagrid!" insisted, possibly, George.

Hagrid scooped Neville up with a firm, "Come on, ter the Hospital win'. The Headmaster'll hear 'bout this."

Salazar was yanked up to his feet by Fred. Both twins grasped under his arm and half carried, half dragged him after the lumbering, giant of a man. A feeling of concern and questioning filtered across his bond with Hogwarts before an image of Mipsy flashed through his mind. The House elf would clean up their mess. Which, honestly, wasn't exactly a priority at the moment.

Salazar wondered if Hogwarts's response to him being assaulted would always be to clean up the mess left behind. At least she'd stay clean, he guessed...Maybe it would extend to any bodies he needed removed. Not that he was planning on murdering anyone but it's just not something usually planned.

A few students startled at their procession. Salazar watched two children bolt ahead through the courtyard. Most just stood there whispering. He could imagine their mutters— The Daily Prophet was right, Harry Potter is a dark lord in the making!

"I can walk." Salazar finally snapped. A shudder rocked through the two redheads and Salazar was dropped. He tugged his robe straight with a glare at the Weasley twins before he allowed them to stalk on either of his sides as they followed Hagrid.

The walk cooled the two redheads' anger and George sent him uncertain glances while Fred avoided looking at him, clenching at his wand in a white knuckled grip the entire time. Salazar was too irritated and concerned for Neville to care to dissect the interplay and guess at what was going on in the two's heads but embarrassment didn't quite fit.

Professor McGonagall met them just outside the Great Hall. She stared judgingly over her glasses at them. (She did it very well. Salazar wondered if he could learn to do that with his own. He probably needed non-circular glasses first.—And height.) Her gaze swept over to the giant man. "Hagrid?"