Moon and Stone

Time passed very differently when you were a rock.

All the usual indications of the passage of time didn't really matter to a rock. Light and darkness made no difference, seasons passed with little note, and living creatures that passed by had lifetimes of an eyeblink compared to the rock. Still, the stones that had formed themselves into the castle of Hogwarts were more aware of living creatures than most, whether that was from the care Godric had paid to them over the years or the shouts and laughter of students that caused stone corridors to ring.

Godric emerged from the partial merge with the essence of the castle blinking his eyes slowly, feeling a little odd as he always did when returning his consciousness to such a soft, fragile body. But his mission for the moment had been accomplished, and he regarded the hat in front of him with pride. The castle was aware of it now, and the connection would grow over the next two days until it was unbreakable by time or magic.

But for now it was still fragile, and Godric wouldn't have the focus to devote to it with the full moon tonight, as it was his month to wait with Salazar. So he had used his wand as the focus of the spell, though he rarely bothered with it for stonework, and left it now connecting the hat and the stones. He could live without it for a few days, after all, and it was worth it to finish this project at last! He stood up slowly, leaving the hat on the floor, and frowned at the stiffness. He wasn't certain how long he'd sat there, and the moon would rise early.

He left the room, quickening his steps when he reached a window to see the angle of the sunlight. He'd hoped to have time to check the newly-settled werewolves in their village, but their enclosure had been designed so that they shouldn't need him there. He only hoped they knew what they were talking about, those who'd claimed that transforming in company would ease the madness; the sickening vision of finding the next morning that they'd torn one another to pieces kept coming back to mind.

But Salazar had calmed down remarkably when Sharessa started joining him in the Chamber, so perhaps they were right. Nothing to do about it now, though. Salazar would be heading down to the Chamber shortly, if he wasn't there already, and--

His thoughts pulled up short at a familiar figure passing quickly through a cross-corridor. Godric jogged slightly to catch up. "Sal! Wrong way."

Salazar gestured back the way he'd come; Godric shut his mouth sharply to avoid gaping at the sight of the two students hurrying to catch up. "They've been having trouble distinguishing gillyweed that is normally mottled and a useful ingredient from that which is suffering spotting from dry-rot. I'm going to show them some examples."

Godric stared at him.

"Is ssomething wrong?" Salazar asked with acid politeness.

Godric found his tongue and voice again. "I can show them for you a bit later on. I've been trying to get rid of that problem, but you know how it stores -- I need you for something just now, though." He nodded to the students. "Sorry to steal him away, but I'm sure you two can find something else to do; I'll come find you when there's time."

The students took one quick look between their two professors and bolted back the way they'd come. Salazar barely waited until they were out of site before snapping, "I can sshow them mysssssself. I believe potionss iss ssstill my sssubject?"

"Yes, but plants are mine, and I did tell them I needed you to do something else." Godric lowered his voice. "The moon rises early tonight. The village should be well, but --" Hopefully that would remind Salazar, however he'd managed to forget, without being too obvious if the students weren't out of earshot yet. Everyone knew about the other werewolves.

"You think I don't know when the moon risssssesss? Believe me, I'm far more familiar with it than you! You don't have to nurssssemaid me, Godric."

"The moon rises early enough that you don't have time to be showing anybody which gillyweed to use!"

"I think I know how to judge my own time." Salazar's voice was very low, though Godric couldn't tell if it was for anger or a similar safeguard against eavesdroppers. "And ssshouldn't you be down checking up on your other petsss?"

"I don't have time to get there and back now. They should be able to do without me -- and at any rate if something goes wrong there's no one else around." His hand closed on Salazar's arm before he quite realized what he was doing; the other man's face contorted in rage. "Not to mention, none of you are pets," Godric hissed, "and you are my friend."

Salazar jerked his arm out of Godric's grasp. "Then treat me like one and sssstop acting like my keeper. And what term would you prefer for your little collection of beassstss? Menagerie?"

"I believe I called them a village a moment ago. They're people, Salazar, and they needed a place --"

"They've been dangerouss before!" Salazar exploded, not bothering to keep his voice down any longer. "They'd have desstroyed the sschool if given the chance! It'ss all very well to preach toleranccce, but are even YOU ssstupid enough to risssk our ssstudentsss to your blasssted idealss?"

"I'm not stupid enough to blame them for something they didn't even want to do!"

"You can claim they're not dangerousss all you want, but that doesssn't change FACTSS! Go deal with them if you want to experiment. I refusssse to be a part of it any longer!"

"You've barely been a part of it from the first!" Godric roared. With an effort, he lowered his voice. "Right now I'm more worried about you."

"Worry. A fine way to sssay I ssshould be doing whatever YOU want me to!"

"You agreed it was a good idea before."

"YOU three agreed it wass a good idea and gave me no choiccce but to go along with it. I never wanted them in the ssschool!"

"Most if not all of them had nowhere else to go. What exactly would you have suggested?"

"Sssomewhere ELSSE!" Salazar exploded. "Ssomewhere they wouldn't be a danger to our sstudentss! We never ssshould have taken them in!"

"There was no one else who could, Salazar! They've no more desire to be a danger than you do." Which Godric could start to wonder about, as late as it was getting -- but he couldn't believe that of Salazar. Perhaps it had really been the moon, not the Dementors or their master? "We took precautions all the same. Salazar, come, let's go and --"

"Leave me ALONE!" Salazar snarled, whirling away with his face a mask of fury. "Sssstop trying to interfere in my life!"

"Would you rather be in the woods on your own?" Godric snapped back at him.

"If it getss me away from YOU! I sssshould have left long ago." He glared at Godric, eyes flashing, and pushed past him. "I'll correct that now."

If he'd gone toward the chamber, Godric would have just followed him. He didn't. Godric blocked his path, shaking his head. "You're headed the wrong way, then. Or do you mean to turn on the students now?"

Salazar was shaking with anger now. His words were nearly a hiss. "You're. In. My. Way."

"Yes, I know. Do you want to take this to the Chamber or outside? Because it's going to have to be one or the other."

"All you have to do iss sssstep asssside. I ssssuggessst you do it."

"Salazar, I'm warning you --"

In one swift motion, Salazar's wand was in his trembling hand and pointed at Godric. "Sssstep asssside!"

And Godric had left his own wand with the hat, because he could get along without it, and Salazar would never be mad enough not to cooperate and go to the Chamber, would he? "Whatever you think of me right now," Godric said as steadily as he could, "I do care about the students' safety -- even if you don't right now!"

Salazar's mouth opened, his lips drawing back to hiss a spell; Godric drew his sword and realized in horror as it came free that the friend who'd insisted he wear it wasn't going to be able to speak or hiss, only snarl. "Salazar, go before I have to force you!"

Salazar stared blankly at the bared blade as if he couldn't even understand what it was. Then he snarled again at his friend, no reason in his eyes. The rumbling in his throat shook the blade until a thin trickle of blood appeared. Godric's swordhand was steady, but his voice was far from it. "We're going, Salazar. Now."

He did have to force him. Salazar turned from the blade in the right direction, but Godric couldn't tell if that was anything more than chance. He found himself driving a man he loved more than anyone but Rowena through the corridors with stone and sword as though he were a beast. It was surely madness of his own that made him seize Salazar by the back of the neck when the transformation threw him off his legs; Godric hauled him along and only let go when the wolf twisted in his grasp -- he had to throw it down to keep its jaws from his side.

It would have been easier to close stone around him in a narrow place and leave him. It might have been wiser. Godric only thought of this after he'd backed the wolf at swordpoint into the outer chamber and Sharessa, hissing her distress, had coiled around her master and dragged him into the small one; Godric thought of stopping in the corridors only once he had shut them in and dropped to his knees to weep.

He HATED this! Salazar was like a brother to him and once a month he had to treat that brother like an animal. Once a month he had to sit out here, knowing Salazar was going through agony inside and there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it. Once a month, he had to open that stone again to see Salazar's battered body sprawled there.

...And apparently, once a month he was now going to have to fight Salazar to get him down there.

The rubies on the hilt of his sword glinted in the torchlight, shining drops of rock-hard blood. Godric threw the sword away from him in disgust. He'd used it on his FRIEND, his brother, after they'd spent the past month on a project that was supposed to be the embodiment of their friendship. How could he even look at it again?

And yet it was the only reason a werewolf wasn't rampaging their school until it was struck down by magic and those who loved Salazar as much as he did. His wand wouldn't have been as much use even if he'd had it. Most direct spells had to be given at least double their usual force before they'd work on a werewolf. As they'd demonstrated a month ago.... Helga might have been able to soothe him. She'd always been good at that. Maybe the Caduceus spell -- maybe next month they could ask Salazar to go down early again, when he was still enough himself to understand, and perhaps they could keep him calmer then. It would be more conspicuous than their more recent methods, but less so than this....

The planning should have given him hope. Godric knew it wouldn't change the sorrow, but it should have lifted the dread. It didn't.

Salazar hadn't even calmed down tonight when he'd joined Sharessa, Godric remembered grimly. Of course, that was probably because Godric himself had still been present, and presence of humans always made the wolf angrier. But Sharessa had surely calmed him by now. Godric struggled to hear howls from the Chamber, wishing he could risk thinning out the stone.

...He'd thought that first full moon Salazar spent in the Chamber was the longest of his life. This was at least twice as long.

Moonset was engraved on his soul. And, incidentally, charmed into one of the serpentine columns that decorated the anteChamber so it hissed at him when the moon had set. He'd always meant to ask Salazar for a translation. But now he just hurried to the Chamber and melted back stone as quickly as he could, eager to get Salazar up to Helga and apologize once sanity had returned.

Sharessa's greeting hiss seemed to hold a note of menace. Godric didn't quite look at her as he knelt by Salazar, who was lying as still as last time.

Or more still.

Godric put fingers carefully to his friend's throat and felt nothing. "Salazar."

No response.

"Wake up, Salazar."

No movement, not even a groan.

"Ennervate!" He wasn't in the best state for wandless magic, but he fired the waking spell into Salazar's chest regardless. "Ennervate! Wake UP, damnit! Salazar--" He broke off and just shook Salazar's shoulder fiercely. "Open your damned eyes!"

Sharessa hissed at him again, louder. Godric looked up incautiously and stared at her for a moment, wondering uneasily if she would attack him for being too rough. But she was right if she thought he shouldn't. It wouldn't help. He'd -- he would take Salazar up to see if Helga could do anything, but....

Somehow he doubted it.

He didn't have his wand, so he picked Salazar up and cradled the too-still form in his arms. "Let's go find your wife, brother." This time it was his voice steady and his arms trembling as he stepped carefully out of the Chamber. "She'll fix everything. She'll make everything all right again. She's a healer; she can do that. Just hold on."

Godric kept his eyes trained on the floor so he didn't have to look at Helga or Rowena as he carried Salazar into his room and gently laid him on the bed. Helga went to the bedside at once when Godric stepped back. She didn't work long, though. When she stopped and leaned over her husband, braced on the bed and weeping, Godric knew there would be no question of fighting Salazar back to the chamber again -- and wished there would.

But all he could do was open his arms for Rowena and hold her tightly. "He was so...irrational this time," he murmured, pressing his face against her hair. "Rowena..."

"He'd been easy to upset," Rowena said, her voice muffled against his shoulder. "Even before last time. I thought it was -- it was understandable. But I didn't expect this...."

"I did." The strain in Helga's voice hurt to hear. "But not --" It broke, and she sank next to the bed. "Not this soon."

Godric crossed the room quickly and wrapped his arms around her. "Helga...What DID happen?"

"His body just... gave out from the strain at last."

"He was still young," Godric whispered.

"He should have been."

"I'm so sorry, Helga."

She shook her head and tried to stand. Godric rose from the floor to help her up, though he suddenly felt unutterably tired. "You helped him. You kept him from hurting anybody...."

"I hurt him to do it. I drew a sword on him. I treated him like...a beast."

"When he had his own mind, he'd have preferred that rather than to harm anyone, or pass it on. You know."

"I know. But..." He closed his eyes. "Why did our last words on this earth have to be so angry?"

She couldn't answer him.

*****

The castle felt achingly empty.

Godric used to think that nothing could make these stones silent again after being exposed to the noise and general insanity of a school full of boisterous children. And really, the loss of just one person shouldn't make any difference. But it did, and Godric could feel it deep in his bones.

He was wandering the corridors aimlessly after leaving Rowena and Helga together taking comfort in young William. The students were gathered together quietly, classes cancelled for the moment so the school could grieve. He didn't know where he thought he was going, but he couldn't stay still.

He was a little surprised, but not very, when he found himself descending the path to the chamber. It was slippery; he remembered making this section steep and smooth when Salazar was trying to turn back along it and leap at him. He remembered the wolf's paws skidding. He didn't remember walking back up it, but he must have. He walked slowly through the anteChamber, putting his hand on serpentine columns and remembering long nights waiting and carving....

The statue had made Salazar laugh, Godric remembered with a faint smile. Though he did always say it looked like a monkey. Godric looked up at it. It did resemble a monkey. He closed his eyes, tempted beyond reason to melt the statue, the column, the entire room into smooth stone devoid of all memory.

But after a moment, he took a steady breath, opened his eyes, and walked on, leaving the stone as it was.

"Be careful."

The voice startled him considerably. He identified it easily enough as belonging to Sarah, and he supposed it made sense for her to visit Sharessa. He just hadn't been expecting anyone.

Not to mention that was an odd greeting. He halted as soon as he could see her crouching near the entrance to the inner Chamber. "Of what?"

"Sharessa is... very unhappy. Her temper isn't good."

"I can hardly blame her for being unhappy," Godric replied quietly. "It's good of you to remember her. Salazar..." His voice trailed off for a moment. "He'd want that."

"I've been trying to tell her he wouldn't want her to blame anyone else." Sarah stood up very slowly. "She hasn't attacked me, obviously. But I think she's sulking."

"...It must have been very hard...being with him." Godric remembered Sharessa's hissing at him when he went inside that last time. He wouldn't have been happy at anyone else coming in either. "Tell her...I'm sorry. We all are. And...hopefully William inherited his father's gifts, so he can come down and visit her soon."

Sarah hissed for a while; Godric assumed she was translating as requested. Sharessa's response was very short.

"Doesn't sound like she cares for the idea much." Godric sighed. "I hope you'll still come down and keep her company, Sarah. I -- I don't think I'll be down here very often..."

Sarah bit her lip. "That might not be a bad thing. I'm not sure she's very happy with you." She looked up at him. "I don't think she'll try to do anything, but she rarely leaves here -- do you think you could do something so that she can't just wander out on her own?"

Godric winced. "I...suppose that's for the best. The spell to attract vermin to her should provide her with plenty to eat." He took out his wand -- he was never without it now -- and spoke to the stone for a while. When he was finished, he looked at Sarah and said softly, "Say something to the statue in Parseltongue. That will be the password. You can change it later as you wish, but it will only open to you now." And one more part of Salazar's legacy was closed to him.

She swallowed hard and stared at the mouth of the statue for a while before hissing at it. "Speak to me, Slytherin," she repeated, at Godric's unconsciously questioning look. "But...William can change it if he wants."

A faint smile. "At least he can speak to you," he said very quietly, then patted her shoulder. "Thank you, Sarah."

"I keep expecting to see him," she whispered. "Not that he's alive.... Did you know it's much harder to hide that you're tired in Parseltongue? I'm not even sure if he realized it. But there -- there were ghosts, one or two of them, back home, and I keep thinking...."

"Salazar was never afraid of anything," Godric said softly, "least of all death. He wouldn't be staying here. He'll be off getting things ready for us..."

But that wasn't true. Salazar was afraid of one thing. Himself, what he could do. At least...he didn't need to be afraid of that anymore.

"I didn't think he wanted to leave, though." Sarah smiled weakly. Godric wished Salazar hadn't said he wanted to leave. "I'd better go. I don't think talking to Sharessa was helping much, and I haven't finished my weeding." She walked past him, then paused. "You... left your sword here." Her footsteps moved quickly after that.

"Sarah." His voice stopped her before she'd quite left. He gestured at the statue behind him. "It does look like a monkey, doesn't it?"

"...Sir?"

He smiled sadly. "Never mind. Go on to your weeding."

She ducked out quickly before he could stop her with any more strange questions, leaving Godric standing in the middle of an empty room with a sulking basilisk behind him in a room he couldn't open anymore and a sword in front of him he didn't want to touch.

He steeled himself to pick it up anyway and drew his wand to spell it clean, then hesitated and plucked a bloody strand of fur away from the edge first and kept it. The blade glinted balefully at him after the traces were gone... it didn't help to remember that Salazar had wanted him to wear it for just the purpose to which it had been put.

Nobody'd ever said being friends with a werewolf was supposed to be easy. Or with anyone, really.

He didn't need a sword very often. He wouldn't anymore, at least. And the hat still wasn't finished.

Though it was rare, Godric was still sometimes accused of thinking himself out of something, so he sheathed the blade quickly and walked out. No one had been in the workshop where they'd been working on the new Sorting Hat since Godric had quickly retrieved his wand shortly after the full moon. He hadn't wanted to linger then, and didn't want to now. He picked the hat up and held it gently for a moment. The battered old hat was one more part of Salazar's legacy, and this one wouldn't be closed to him. He left the workshop, vowing not to return again, and sought out Rowena and Helga.

They were together, Helga feeding William and Rowena frowning at something that looked like black lace but was, as she had explained last night, the curious result of a spell that had returned a piece of their expanded parchment to its original (rather tiny) size and somehow left the ink intact. Rowena left it hanging in the air and turned, her eyes going at once to the hat. "That's right. We need --" Her voice caught.

Helga's trembled, but didn't break. "We need to finish that."

"He said all that was left was to insert an object to finish the spell," Godric said steadily. "He hadn't decided what to use, but I have." He held the sword up in front of him, looking at the light glinting off the letters engraved just below the hilt. He blinked fiercely and looked away, turning to the two witches. "Are you ready?"

Helga shifted her son to lie cradled in one arm and took the hat from Godric with the other. "I am."

Rowena came to steady it. "So am I."

Godric nodded, grasping the sword with both hands. This...was supposed to be done by all four of them. He found his eyes wandering to the babe cradled in Helga's arm and reluctantly smiled. He freed one hand to touch the boy's cheek very gently. "Represent your father for us in this, William. He wanted to be here."

William stared back at him solemnly, then cooed quietly. Godric took that as assent and took hold of his sword again. He took a deep breath and nodded at the other two. "By Four begun, into one whole. United as Four forever."

And without another word, he plunged his sword into the hat.

The swordpoint reached the tip of the hat and, instead of piercing it, sank smoothly into nothingness. Godric followed it down until his hands on the hilt disappeared as well -- a strange sight -- and then let go and withdrew. The loose ends of the spell settled firmly into place.

"That's done," Helga said softly. "He would be glad it can speak for him... even if someone else has to guide his students now."

Godric was glad he wasn't the one holding the hat when a rip near the brim opened and a voice emerged. "If you wish to remove the sword now, the spell is set."

He stared at it. Somehow he hadn't been expecting an update, and he honestly hadn't thought of getting the sword back. "I don't want it," he said roughly, then swallowed and tried again. "I had to use it against one of my dearest friends. I'll use another if ever I must, but that one.... Keep it, and give it back one day to someone who needs it to do good."

Rowena freed a hand to touch his lightly. He grasped it and squeezed. She cleared her throat and asked the hat, "You're, ah, all ready, then?"

"Just bring me out when you're ready for me to Sort, and I'll tell you where each student is meant to go!" it responded, sounding oddly cheerful. "You've done your job, now I'll do mine."

"We'll let you know," Helga promised it. "Ahead of time, if you like."

"Oh, didn't...." There was a brief pause as the hat twisted a little in their hands. "Salazar tell you? He was thinking, now that they're starting to arrive in regular groups, perhaps I could sing to them first...."

Helga blinked back tears. "Sing. No, it seems to have slipped his mind since he put it in yours. Yes, I'll look forward to hearing that."

"Good. Well...I'll start composing my first song then. I have a feeling that 'ambition' is going to be a tough one to rhyme." The hat gave a few twitches as if settling in, then fell silent.

Even though the hat had been Godric's, they put it in Helga's study except when new students arrived. Then it did sing for them, not beautifully -- but the students still saw their teachers cry.

Godric never asked her if it said anything of Salazar.

*****