Like all other occupants of the Headmaster's office after the arrival of the letter from Ministry of Magic, Severus Snape was intrigued about the test of Salazar Slytherin. However, he never expected to have the opportunity to watch a sword fighting match between the two.
As the group arrived in the gallery and saw the two founders enter the room with battle armour, Severus could hardly hold back his smirk, and he would definitely enjoy the Slytherin founder defeat the obnoxious Gryffindor. Oh! How he would love to see the faces of the Marauders when that happened! However when the terms were laid, Severus was shocked to know that no magic will be involved. The Salazar Slytherin, who was famous for his views on non-magical people; fight like a Muggle? He Severus Snape was sure that Salazar would refuse this obnoxious terms and attack the big headed Gryffindor with a hex or two. However that thought was thrown out of the window when Salazar agreed.
As the match progressed Severus was truly astonished at the display in front of him. After watching the amazing match, one thing was clear in his mind, there was a lot more to the character of Salazar Slytherin then what was mentioned in the history. Salazar Slytherin was not the man he always imagined him to be. And thus, he was fascinated by the real Salazar Slytherin!
Filius Flitwick and Pomona Sprout were just marvelling at the opportunity to watch the match between the two male founders. They were enjoying the contest with a competitive spirit without any bias. They were both amazed to know earlier that Salazar was not a bad person. The fact that the he saved Sirius' life by playing with his own life was proof enough for them to start liking Salazar for who he was and not what history portrayed him to be.
They reasoned that whilst Salazar might choose the path of evil later on in his life, the fact still remained that he had volunteered to teach magical children in a time when magic was generally frowned upon. He had also, along with the other founders, taken on the responsibility of protecting those said children and as far as they knew (from the history books), he had never personally harmed any child, regardless of his biased views against the Muggle born children. Furthermore, this was a younger Slytherin, who had not yet committed any crimes that he was notorious for and it would not be fair to treat him any differently for something he has not (yet) done.
They were now impressed with Salazar's ability to hold a sword and be able to draw the match against one of the most famous sword fighters in the entirety of magical history. This just told them that Salazar was not entirely against the Muggles – he had after all taken the time to learn and master the Muggle art of Swordsmanship!
So what had happened that caused history to overlook all this and why was Salazar known as a dark wizard? Were the history books right?
Whilst Professor McGonagall was miffed about the slyness by which Salazar drew the match, she had to admit that it was not against the rules.
She was not sure on what to make of the notorious founder. She was rather humbled by the way he had saved Sirius, one of her cubs, but she could not bring herself to confess, even to herself, that history might have been wrong about the Slytherin founder. That was not possible! Slytherin was always an enemy of Muggleborns and hated them. Yes that was right, even if he knew how to wield a sword (a Muggle art) and saved Sirius from the Death Eaters; it did not mean that he was not biased against the Muggleborns right?
Unknown to everyone, the Marauders and Lily, were having similar thoughts going on in their heads.
Very grudgingly Sirius had to admit that he was impressed by Salazar Slytherin and he could not find any fault against the founder. He had always hated the Slytherin founder but now as he was seeing him in person, all he could think of was, why? Why did history portray him the way it did? The man described in all those history books would never risk his own life to save a stranger who was suffering from a dark curse. In fact he would relish the bloodshed. Then why did he save Sirius? It was very frustratingly confusing for Sirius as he couldn't help but like the person in front of him and he felt disgusted about the fact as well, as this went against everything he believed in for his entire life.
James had always read and heard that Salazar Slytherin was a dark wizard who amused himself by causing pain to others. That was one thing that made him not want to belong to his house at any cost. He may not seem so, but James would never intentionally hurt anyone. In fact, he would be the first person to do anything he could (even risk his own life) to help the needy. This was the quality that Dumbledore saw in him when he decided to make James the Head Boy. However, now, after seeing the man that Salazar Slytherin really was, James could not help but question history. As he heard Salazar's tale earlier in the day, James had come to the conclusion that he did not hate the person but only some members in that house who were evil. This opinion had put a question mark on a lot of things but he knew one thing for sure, even if all the students in Slytherin House were evil and even if Salazar himself chose the path of evil later in his life; this man was not evil.
Remus, who was a werewolf himself, knew how fear can cause everyone to portray that person as only pure evil, as if there is nothing good about that person. That was something he experienced every day. As soon as they came to know about him being a werewolf, a majority of the magical population would shun him and close their eyes and block their ears towards any and all the good deeds that he had ever done. There were very few people out there who would overlook his illness and see him for who he really was. Now as he saw the actions of Salazar (when he saved Sirius) heard the selfless explanation of the events earlier in the day (without boasting) and now as he saw the display of a Muggle art by the famous propagator of the pure blood agenda, he couldn't help but think if the same thing had happened to Salazar. But what had Salazar done to warrant such fear? And why only him, and not the other founders as well? This meant that it was not the foundation of the school that gained him such hatred. If not that, then what?
Lily was a Muggle born and as such had not grown up with a grudge against Slytherin. In fact she was introduced to this prejudice after she entered Hogwarts and then the fact that people like Mulciber and Rosier were in Slytherin did not help her to be unbiased for long. However, she was a fair person deep down and had decided earlier to give Salazar the benefit of doubt. Now, Salazar's actions, and his talents in swordsmanship had made her rethink everything bad she had learned about the founder from the history. She, like Remus, realised that he must have done something that instilled fear in everyone and made them portray him as pure evil. But what she could not understand was what had this selfless man done that made everyone portray him in such light?
Albus Dumbledore sat and watched the two male founders. To anyone watching him he would appear calm and enjoying the fight, however that was far from the truth. He, of course, knew about the reality of these people and knew that they had already lived an entire lifetime as the founders and have thus come back. It has only been two days since their arrival and he has started to question the source of the notoriety of the Slytherin founder. However, at that moment as he looked around at his other colleagues, he was happy to note that almost everyone was thinking along the same lines.
Mr Weasley may seem to be Muggle obsessed man but he was much more than that. He always preferred to think and analyse a situation before doing anything. Whilst he was still recuperating from his injuries he was eternally thankful for Salazar Slytherin in his efforts at healing him. He admired Salazar even more after the way he saved Sirius. However he had heard stories about Salazar's notoriety from childhood and thus when he entered the headmaster's office to hear about the events of the previous day from the dark founder he had expected to hear him boast a little. But was surprised when all he heard was bare facts in an emotionless voice. He started wondering why this man was portrayed in a bad light by the historians. He felt as if he was missing something here and try as he might he could not remember ever reading about any act of Salazar that made him evil except that he was prejudiced against Muggleborns and was dark. But what had he done to Muggleborns? He did not know. And now, he doubted if the man before him would even be biased against anyone.
When it came down to it, Mrs Weasley was a mother first and foremost. Thus she was scared for the safety of her children when she first heard that the dreaded Salazar Slytherin was here. But the events following the Death Eater attack made her rethink and she decided to give Salazar a chance as long as he does not harm anyone. This feeling was strengthened when she heard him speak in the headmaster's office. But she got a feeling that something was missing here and the weirdest thing was that she felt almost protective of him and wanted to stay by his bed and make sure he recovered well after the way he saved Sirius. But, try as she might, she could not explain the feeling.
Thus such thoughts were going on in everyone's minds and almost everyone had decided to look for more clues to find out what Salazar might have done to incur the wrath of the general Wizarding population.
On the other side, Salazar briefed Godric about the minister's letter and the presence of others in the gallery.
"I wonder who the minister is here, but I swear if it is that brainless twit Fudge, then I am not dealing with him at all!"
Salazar smirked somewhat evilly. "Don't worry Ric," he said, with a wink to his friend. "If it is him then we will see how he copes with Salazar Slytherin." Godric grinned and rubbed his hands together
"Oh! I can't wait to see his face if that is the case"
They went to the changing rooms and changed into their robes before entering the gallery together.
As soon as they entered, they were hounded by two beautiful ladies, who threw their arms around them in short-lived but nonetheless powerful hugs.
"That was amazing! Oh it has been a long time since I was able to witness that and now I realise how much I missed watching you two!"
Rowena trailed off when she saw that the other three founders had raised their eyebrows and were grinning at her.
Blushing, she sputtered. "Well you know what I mean!"
This just made other founders laugh. However Salazar came to her rescue
"You were telling me about a letter, Row?"
At Salazar's question, the other occupants of the room, who till now were watching the four interact with each other with amused smiles, now turned serious and Dumbledore passed the letter to Salazar.
Salazar read the letter out loud for the benefit of the other occupants in the room. Once he was done, he smiled bemusedly.
"The Minister of Magic is a woman." he intoned to himself. "Interesting, very interesting"
Minerva could not hold her tongue any longer at this statement and that arrogant smirk on Slytherin's face. This was it, the real evil Salazar Slytherin was showing up. She very well knew that a thousand years ago, whilst in muggle world, the women enjoyed equal rights as men, in the Wizarding World that did not happen until after the Founders time. She assumed that it was probably because of Lord Gryffindor that Rowena Ravenclaw (his wife) and Helga Hufflepuff (his sister) were allowed to teach in his school.
"And why can't a woman hold a position of power?" she asked tartly. "She has as much right to become a minister as any other person"
"Excuse me, Professor" Rowena Ravenclaw's cold voice interrupted McGonagall.
"I do not know your name, as we are yet to be formally introduced, but I would like you to take your statements back and apologise to Salazar immediately. I don't know what history has told you about him but I think that you should be thankful to him. If it was not for him, then forget holding a position of power. A female, like yourself, would not even be allowed to hold a wand or learn magic … even from a private tutor."
"She is right," Helga said in an equally cold voice. She was no less angry at this woman's assumptions. It was her husband that was being insulted, after all. "it was Salazar who at a very young age of eleven, fought against everyone in the Wizarding Britain, even his own father, who at that time was the king, to ensure that Rowena and I get magical training as he came to know that we wanted to learn magic and not do the household work that witches at the time were expected to do. Then when he couldn't find any teacher who was willing to teach us, he took it upon himself to teach us what we know; then after ascending the throne, it was him that created a law that allowed girls to learn not only learn magic but even teach."
As Helga paused in her tirade Godric picked up the speech and continued with the same coldness that was shown in the ladies' eyes.
"It was also Salazar's idea to form a group of high ranking officials who would look after the Magical kingdom, and report to one person in charge of them. This person was known as the Prime Minister of Magical Britain. That person would then deal with everything, unless it was very big, at which time, Salazar would step in as King. And you know why Salazar gave up most of his power, his money, and his status, when he ruled the entire Wizarding Britain? I will tell you, why. He gave it all up so that he could help young witches and wizards learn magic and create a better society. Not only that, he also gave up his castle. The castle which was his ancestral home, the most secure place in entire Wizarding World, he gave it up to give us a place where we can start the first Wizarding school. This castle, in fact!"
"If not for Salazar," Rowena said in a calmer tone. "Then forget being one of the founders of this prestigious school, I would probably not even be allowed to marry anyone and would be forced to work as a maid. After losing my family, I was all alone in the world; with no one to turn to if I had a problem. It was Salazar that made me his sister in all but blood, and taught me magic when he saw that I loved to learn. He also taught me how to read, and encouraged me to research and invent new spells. He was the person who would spend hours in the library, just because the king would not allow me anywhere near the library if I was alone."
Rowena could not continue anymore as she was overcome by emotion, at that time she felt a hand on her shoulders. When she turned back it was Salazar who was looking at her with an emotionless face.
"You are my sister"
Rowena smiled and hugged him tightly.
Meanwhile, Godric had taken up from where Rowena had left off. "Let me tell you, by doing this he made himself very unpopular, no one who had power wanted to let girls learn how to defend themselves, as they feared that it would diminish the importance of males in society and it was seen as an act against humanity and culture. Some even went so far as to brand him as a dark wizard but he took it all and even more from those who had to send their daughters to the school, against their wishes, as it was a law. So, forgive me if I understand why Salazar is so happy to learn that the Minister of Magic – a post that he created to be the highest in the Wizarding Britain is held by a woman. He always fought tooth and nail for this and I can imagine him continuing to do so till his last breath."
To say that everyone was shocked would be an understatement. Everyone always thought that Salazar Slytherin wanted power and was evil. But this was beyond imagination. For some like, Remus, James, Lily, Sirius, Albus and Mr Weasley, everything fell in to place as they can imagine that this might make others wary of Salazar and even portray him as evil and a dark wizard out to harm the community.
The founders could see that the others were left speechless, and calmed down. At the same time Salazar was touched by the protectiveness of his friends and gave them all a smile to show his appreciation.
After giving everyone a few moments to collect their thoughts, Salazar cleared his throat and broke the silence gaining everyone's attention.
"Headmaster, we would be happy to meet the Minister tomorrow at tea time. However, we would really appreciate it if you could give us more details about the current political climate, so we can what to expect from the Minister."
"Of course Lord Slytherin, that is very much acceptable. Minerva, would you be kind enough to owl the Minister confirming the appointment whilst I give the founder more explanation about the situation."
"Of course Headmaster, but I would need someone to take me out of here."
"Of course, my apologies, I will escort everyone out, if everyone can hold each other's hands and then one or two of you can hold on to me. Headmaster, where would you like to hold this conversation?"
"My office should be good as it will enable the other professors to contact me should the need arise Lady Hufflepuff."
"Alright then, I shall see you there in few moments." After nodding at the Headmaster and the other founders, Helga made sure that everyone was holding on to each other before saying "to Professor McGonagall's office please" and disappearing moments before the others moved to the Headmaster's office.