Slytherin Forever! Book One: Blood Ties

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Chapter Four: Revelations.

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Closing your eyes to disappear

You pray your dreams will leave you here

But still you wake and know the truth

No one's there

- My Last Breath, Evanescence.

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"Das Glauben in die Serafim und die Nachtseite fand ich zurück in die Glaubens von viele Völker der Erde, und immer ist es eine Verehrung von Blut, Irrsin und Tod..."

"And now in English, please?"

The Slytherin first-years were in the library, researching Defense Against The Dark Arts material. Seeing as Lockhart did nothing more than talk about himself they were forced to find everything interesting out themselves. Natalya had found a German book on the shelf and was now, together with Dev, trying to translate it so that the others understood.

"I found the belief in the Seraphim and the Nightside back in the beliefs of many nations on Earth, and it is always a reverence of blood, insanity and death..."

"Does it really say that it is a reverence?" Thomas asked them. "That would mean that some people still believe that nonsense."

"It's not nonsense," Jayden said with a sigh. He was the Slytherin version of Hermione Granger, Ginny realized suddenly as he continued: "The belief described in that book is also a part of a denomination called the Vayaen. They have written the three Books of Insanity, which is supposed to be some kind of collection of their knowledge about the Seraphim."

"How do you know that?"

Although Nelson looked as dumbfounded as the rest of the group Ginny knew that he was in reality very interested in anything that had to do with Dark Arts, and would do whatever it took to find out about something he did not know about them.

"My father collects books about different denominations," Jayden said with a shrug. "The Vayaen are the most interesting one, though. Did you know that they actually killed the author and the translator of that book Dev is holding now?"

"Why?"

Ginny uttered the question softly, not wanting to draw any attention to their little group because Ron and his friends had just come in. Jayden looked around for a moment to make sure nobody was listening before he whispered:

"That author, Kazaj Heinz Vogel, was a member of the Vayaen under a false identity. He copied a couple of pages of the Books of Insanity but quit halfway through because 'even my trained mind could not bare anything more than the horrors described within'. Yet in that book Dev is holding there were more than enough things written about the Vayaen, things they did not want anyone to know. They killed Vogel because he knew too much and destroyed almost all of the copies."

"And what about the translator?"

"A German student called Edith Brendall found a copy of the original book in the restricted section of a library in 1907. She was fascinated by it and because she had a photographic memory she was able to write most of it down when she left the library. She translated it in German, as you can see here, and published it. She shouldn't have done that, because the Vayaen went after her. Three years later her body was found in the Rhine in Hamburg. She had been killed, and her body was mutilated. All of her teeth had been removed from her mouth and hammered into her skull to form a very strange pattern."

"What pattern?"

Ginny thought that this was certainly not the most important question that had to be asked right now, but Dev obviously thought otherwise. Jayden furrowed his brow, trying to remember what he had read, before exclaiming a distinct 'eureka'.

"The symbol of our House," he said to the quiet group. "Salazar Slytherin believed everything the Vayaen told him and became a part of the denomination. After Salazar's daughter refused to join them and left Hogwarts with her friends and brothers the Vayaen killed the rest of her family, including Salazar himself. His daughter has never been found, but her friends and brothers were killed as well a couple of years later."

"Do the Vayaen have anything to do with the Chamber of Secrets?"

Ginny smiled as she saw Marita trying to draw a conclusion from the information given. Jayden shrugged mutely because he didn't know either, something that had not occurred before.

"If they have something to do with the Chamber it will have to be in here."

Dev waved with the small book she had been holding for all this time while she said it, smiling broadly at everyone else.

"You won't find it in Von Denen Verdammten," Alisha whispered. "I think something as important as that will be in the Restricted Section."

"Or maybe in Dumbledore's office."

"Jayden, why don't you try to find out if there are other books written about Salazar and maybe also the Vayaen?" Ginny asked suddenly. "I think I can ask Draco, who has a permission slip for the Restricted Section, to find them in there."

"Good idea."

"Well, it seems like we have a mission," Alisha said with a grin. "Slytherins unite!"

Alisha's last words were certainly something that would have been appreciated by every member of Slytherin House, be it former student or student today, Ginny thought suddenly. And now she knew, for the first time since the Sorting, where she belonged.

Slytherin was her home.

***

Durmstrang School For Magic, somewhere in Bulgaria.

Natasha Iranova wasn't very happy as she finished reading the letter Colin Damara had sent both her and Shanna Malfoy this morning. Shanna seemed to take the news well, Natasha noticed, but still looked pale and uneasy.

She shook herself mentally. Shanna was always pale, and usually looked out of place in her Muggle clothing at Durmstrang (unless she wore her cloak to cover them). Natasha, however, had not been calmed down at all by the letter. If anything, she was even more anxious now.

The Zeppo is a group that was started by Salazar Slytherin's daughter Taigan when she was on the run for the Vayaen. The Zeppo commanded loyalty and respect from all of the members of Slytherin House, member of the group or not. It would be so that the members of The Zeppo would protect Slytherin in times of need.

Natasha snorted with laughter as she entered her office. They were a bunch of good protectors, she thought sarcastically. You-Know-Who still had been able to rise to full power, thanks to some Slytherins breaking the chain in order to follow his rules instead of the rules The Zeppo had set up. And yet The Zeppo existed and was very up-to-date about any actions made by former Death Eaters. Natasha realized that she lived in a very strange world sometimes as she read the letter again.

The Chamber of Secrets had been opened. Melanie Smith had moved from Salem to London to keep an eye on the latest news coming from the Ministry of Magic, while Severus Snape was keeping everyone updated from his position as a teacher at Hogwarts. Something was going to happen soon - Natasha felt it coming like everyone else who was remotely familiar with You-Know-Who's way of taking action - and The Zeppo did not trust it.

It was reason enough for all of them to be extra alert. Natasha and Shanna would have to work together at Durmstrang, while Gudrun Halonen and Fabian Listara would keep an eye on anything strange happening in Scandinavia. In Holland they had Willem Van Der Woord, and in Germany Heidi Grünberg. Other members were scattered across the world, and Natasha could not help but feel a bit of admiration for Colin Damaro who was the unofficial leader of The Zeppo.

But right now she had a pile of Charms essays to check, so she did not dwell on the Chamber issue anymore. Somebody else was thinking about it though, and found the truth in books that should have remained closed...

"The Heir of Slytherin was Taigan, his daughter and most important support," Shanna spoke into the silence the library offered. Some of her students frowned as they passed by, but Shanna did not pay them any attention as she continued: "Slytherin had two other children, twins to be precise, who went by the names Jored and Josselin."

Shanna's eyes widened as she read this, because this piece of information was unknown to her. It was not exactly public knowledge that Salazar'd had any children, let alone three. She continued reading out aloud, because she thought it would help her focus.

"Salazar Slytherin was a part of a denomination. Taigan never liked them, and when they asked her to join them she refused. Taigan and her brothers fled Hogwarts together but in the end Taigan was the only one to escape the fate of death. The people he once called his friends killed Salazar and the Slytherin bloodline was ruined.

Taigan had been pregnant when she fled and had given birth to a healthy daughter while staying in Romania. This daughter, known to everyone as Desde, married and got children as well. After that it was a fact that the Slytherin bloodline was thin but still present within every daughter the remaining Slytherins gave birth to.

This line was interrupted about sixty years ago when Gwendolyn Williams married a Muggle called Tom Riddle and gave birth to a healthy boy called Tom, named after his father who had thrown Gwendolyn out of his house after he found out that she was a witch. Gwendolyn died before she could give birth to any daughter, making the young Tom the new Heir of Slytherin.

What few people know is that Tom Marvolo Riddle is now called Lord Voldemort. The exact reason for his turning from good to evil is not known, but I believe that it has something to do with his girlfriend Laura Malfoy who died in his sixth year at Hogwarts at the hands of Aurors. Laura had been pregnant with Tom's child and this child supposedly died in Laura's womb. Some people, however, believe that Tom and Laura had found a way to keep their baby alive if Laura would die and used this way that fateful night."

Shanna stared at the pages of the book in disbelief and closed it with a snap. She did not want to read anything else because this was something she had to deal with first. Voldemort, in love with a Malfoy? And their child that might be alive after all this time?

She put her head in her hands and sighed. Just when she thought she knew everything about the Chamber of Secrets and Slytherin she found something new out that could change people's lives forever. For better... or for worse.

***

A Thousand Years Ago, Hogwarts.

"But what about father?"

The blonde girl looked at her brother questioningly when she asked him about their father. Her brother sighed and said:

"You know that father would betray us to the Vayaen, Teggie. He should not come with us."

"They will kill him, Joss," the girl whined. "I do not want to leave without father!"

"We may not have a choice in the matter."

If anyone looked upon the boy referred to as Joss and then at the other boy who had made that last comment those looking would wonder if they saw double. The two look exactly alike, even for twins this is uncommon, and talk in exactly the same way. I supposed that Teggie would know a way to keep them apart because the twins are her brothers but she did not talk much to anyone these days.

"What do you mean?"

I asked the other boy shakily, because I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that I recognized as pure fear. He smiled grimly and replied:

"The Vayaen have found out that Teggie is not in the building. At least, not in the corridors that are known to them. We will have to go now, if we don't want to be found. Or do you think that father will not tell them where we are?"

"Jored, father would never tell on me," Teggie said firmly. "But you're right. We cannot stay here."

"Father would not tell on you, no," Joss' whisper was cold, dangerous even. "But he would tell on Jored and me. We are his illegitimate children, remember?"

"What about me?"

Jored's grin was shark-like as he looked at me after I had finished the question, eyes twinkling with what father always described as the 'Slytherin Malice'. Teggie must have recognized the look on her brother's face, because she laid a hand on his arm before he started to speak.

"You are a Gryffindor, Jessica," he said slowly. "Where we are going there is no place for anyone of your House, let alone the daughter..."

"Jess is coming with us," Teggie interrupted. "I need her to be my mid-wife."

She put one hand over her slightly rounded belly in a protective manner and I suddenly remembered why I thought of her as my best friend. I trusted her more than anyone else in the world, with the possible exception of my father, and I knew that she needed me now more than ever.

"As you wish," Joss said with a smile. "I trust you, Jess. Don't let anything happen to my sister or my baby that she is carrying, or else."

I nodded quickly as I saw Ren Montague hurry towards us, sweating and panting. I smiled at Teggie - a little smile that she returned quickly - and walked towards the group of Slytherins the children of Salazar thought of as friends.

I could not help but wonder if anyone of them had thought about joining the Vayaen. Maybe there was a spy among us, and I knew that in time I would be the one to be accused of that crime, or maybe we would not get out of the Chamber at all. I caught a flash of red hair and I grinned as I realized that it was Ren's sister Jade, one of my friends as well as Teggie's.

As we trudged along in a slightly disordered line through the pipes I instinctively knew that I would never see my family again. We would be forced to run from the Vayaen for the rest of our lives. I would never be present at Hogwarts again; never taste the delicious food the House Elves made for us, and never know if Jenna Prewett would marry Harold Bones. Suddenly every small thing seemed important to me.

I blinked a couple of tears back as I thought of my family. Nobody knew that I was leaving now, in the middle of the night, together with some Slytherins. My father would ask Salazar if he knew where I was hiding, and he would tell him.

He would speak about the many nights I spent laughing and joking around with the twins, how many times I had played games with Teggie when she was not feeling well, and he would also tell him about the days I had tried to explain the exact art of Herbology to his wife.

My father would get very angry - he loses his temper easily - and my mother would simply refuse to believe that I hung out with these 'low-life good for nothing Slytherins'. My siblings don't care about me usually, but now I thought that they would.

And as I walked away from everything that was familiar I felt an arm close tightly around my waist. Jored Slytherin nodded silently at me and brushed the tears that were welling up in my eyes away. I smiled at him - it was a weak smile of the one who had nothing to lose - and he smiled back.

Teggie, who was walking behind us together with Joss and Ren, winked at me as I looked over my shoulder to see how she was doing. She pointed her long, thin index finger at Jored and then at me... and I grinned as I realized what it meant.

Jored had only refused to take me along because he cared about me. He didn't want me to lead a life full of pain and misery. I smiled inwardly because I had asked myself the question that was shaping in both of our minds a million times before.

In a time when nobody plays by the rules you will have to set up your own scoreboard. If you don't you will fall from the highest mountain people place you on when they meet you. Somehow falling didn't seem too bad... if you fell along with everybody else.

Is there still a place for love today? Or will we keep falling forever without any net catching us? I do not know the answers. But I know one thing, and that is the only thing that matters in anyone's life.

If nobody wants to be the net to catch you as you fall you will have to shape the net yourself. It will only hold when you have known love and hate before.

I have felt hatred, yes. I still hate the Vayaen with all my heart. And now I know what love is. Love is something unconditional that two people share with one another.

Do you love me?

Such a simple question, but a hard one at the same time. Some things are better left in the middle, without saying anything about them. This question was one of those things I would never answer, and he would never answer either.

We felt the answer in our hearts.

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