Chapter Six: The Interlude

Draco POV (I Bet You Weren't Expecting That):

Draco Lucius Malfoy was not happy. So far this summer had been the most confusing one yet. First of all, his father was being hush-hush about everything all of a sudden. One night over dinner, when Draco asked what his plans were whilst her was to be at school, his father told him to go to his room! Like a child, being told off for sneaking out! Malfoy's are not troublemakers. Draco didn't understand what was wrong. Later that night, Draco's mother came up to his room to reassure him that it wasn't his fault and that there isn't anything wrong, apparently, his father was just worried about some things at work. Draco did not believe us for one minute but then decided to let it slide.

The next time that something strange had happened was a warm day in August when he was going to the dining room for ice cream. As he passed through the halls, he came to a halt as he heard the indistinguishable squeaky voice of one of the Manor's dozen House Elves.

"Yes Master, Mistress. Do Master and Mistress need anything else of Sneaky?" Draco quietly walked towards the door. He opened the door slowly a little and peered inside the dimly lit room. His mother was standing to one side in front of Sneaky while his father was standing by the fire. He was wearing dark, billowing robes that swept along the floor as he paced. Draco's breath caught as he saw a silver mask glimmering in the fire's light and froze as his father turned. He had been caught.

And boy, was Lucius Malfoy not amused.

"DRACO. Come here." Draco walked into the room timidly. Narcissa watched Draco, preparing to intervene if necessary. Draco didn't think he needed anyone to help him. Him, the greatest swordplayer of the time, Founder of Hogwarts, Best Friends of Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw, and-

Draco halted mid-step. What had he just thought? Before he could think more about it, his father walked up to him and grabbed his arm. Draco fumed in his head. Who does this...reptile think he is? Grabbing ME like some common fool.

Draco pulled out of his father's grasp, ignoring his mother's soft gasp, and straightened.

"Father." He said calmly as if he hadn't been eavesdropping and been caught. Meanwhile, his mind was whirring. What were those robes? And that mask?

That was not the first, and certainly not the last time he had gotten in trouble this summer. His father called him out for the littlest of things. Messy hair, being too soft, just being unMalfoy-like in general. Draco hated it.

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Draco panted as sweat poured down his forehead. He sighed and got up from his bed, slowly to not alert anyone else of the disturbance and walked to the kitchen. It was the tenth time that week he had been awakened by strange dreams. As Draco poured himself a glass of water, he wondered if he should tell someone. His father- no that was out of the question. Maybe his mother, but he wasn't sure if she would tell his father. The same applied to the House Elves.

Mentally kicking himself for thinking of willing speaking to one of those creatures, Draco walked back to his room and laid in his bed. As he fell asleep, he wondered how much longer he would be able to keep anyone from knowing.

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Godric was incensed. How dare Slytherin do something as reckless as bringing a Basilisk into a school for children? Godric fumed as he stalked towards Salazar's chambers. He raised his hand to knock when suddenly the door swung open to reveal the 19-year-old in all his glory.

Godric's mouth fell open. The younger ("Only by a few moons, Godric!" He remembered.) Founder looked...well...terrible. His skin was a pale colour, even more so than usual, his hair looking ragged and uneven, his robes were wet and torn in some places. Godric gulped as he saw a nasty cut above Salazar's left brow. He raised a hand to touch it when a hand grasped his tightly.  Godric looked slightly lower into Salazar's eyes and blushed as Salazar looked at him with an amused-yet-tired look on his face.

"Good evening Godric, how may I assist you?" The Slytherin asked pleasantly as if he wasn't holding the other in place. Godric shook his head and asked, "May I come in?"

Salazar looked Godric over as if checking to see if he was worthy and nodded after a few moments. He turned and walked towards a bundle by the fire. Godric hesitantly walked inside and shut the door. He'd never been inside of Salazar's quarters, and it certainly was fit to the other's preference. It had a flaring-yet-soothing and mischievous feel to it. Much like the resident himself, Godric thought. Godric turned to Salazar. The Slytherin had an amused-yet-pleased look on his face. Godric realised what had happened and rechecked his mental shields. Salazar smirked.

"I would ask if you find my quarters adequate, however, it seems that it is unnecessary." Salazar's smirk widened.

"You may want to keep your shields up at all time. I heard Rowena was looking for someone to test her potion on mind control." Godric nodded, with an embarrassed look on his face. Why did his shields always drop when he was with the other male founder? Why did he always open himself up to him and not anyone else? Godric wasn't sure that he wanted to know.

Godric walked up to the bundle. "What is this?" He asked, though he had an idea what it was but was clinging onto the sliver of hope that it wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was not in luck. As soon as he thought that, a tiny head poked out from underneath the quilt that was wrapped around it. Godric's throat dropped into his stomach as he stared into the eyes of an infant-Basilisk. Godric turned to Salazar, remembering why he had angry in the first place.

"What is THIS?" Godric pointed emphatically towards the tiny serpent. Mere hours ago, he had been summoned by Helga, the castle's healer. Godric had been shocked after seeing the Slytherin in bed with numerous injuries as well as a Basilisk bite, injected with venom. Luckily, Helga had Phoenix Tears in stock as she scolded the other male with tears streaming down her face. Salazar had been moments from death. Now, he stood here as if he hadn't been on his death-bed -literally- a few hours ago.

"Why have you brought this THING here? Have you forgotten what Anguis did to you?"

Salazar had a determined look on his face. "I realise that. I also realise that Anguis' child should not be punished for her crimes. Anguis is dead- He emphasised this- and he had nowhere else to go. Instead of attempting to tame a fully-grown Basilisk, I am going to raise one instead."

Godric stared at the other male in shock. He hadn't known that the green-clad male actually had the capacity to care for another being other than himself. This made Godric feel warm for some unknown reason. He nodded. If Salazar wanted to raise a Basilisk, however, mad the idea seemed, he would do anything to help. I almost lost my friend today, he thought with a pang to his heart. Godric looked into Salazar's bright green eyes and his cheeks felt warm as his friend looked over at him with a glowing, genuine smile on his face. Yes, he thought. This idea certainly has some merit.

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Draco woke up abruptly. He dragged a hand down as the implications of what he saw just hit him. He remembered the dream. Except it wasn't a dream. More of a vision, a.....memory. Draco's eyes widened as flashed of images and sounds and smell raced in his mind. He wasn't just Draco Malfoy, Slytherin and Malfoy Heir, he realised with a sinking feeling. No. He was also Godric GRYFFINDOR, Founder of Hogwarts. Hell. Is this my payback for mocking all of the Gryffindors over the years? Draco's mind hurt as his head spun and he fell back into his pillow, immediately unconscious.

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Well. Wasn't that fun? I tried to stay in character, but it's obviously difficult as Draco is sort of having conflicting personalities and views at the moment. Next chapter we'll switch back to Harry's POV.

-Madsinator