Part Five: The Siege of the Marshes
After Salazar's departure, silence settled over Hogwarts.
No one had expected him to leave so abruptly.
Godric gathered Helga and Rowena in his office and explained everything that had transpired.
When he finished, Helga smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry."
"He'll cool off."
"He always does."
"He'll deal with whatever is happening at home and return before long."
Rowena nodded in agreement.
"Salazar may be stubborn beyond reason, but he is not one to abandon decades of friendship over a single argument."
"He simply needs time."
Godric wanted to believe them.
So he did.
One week passed.
Then another.
No owl arrived.
No letter.
No message.
Nothing.
The uneasy feeling in Godric's heart steadily grew.
Finally, he could no longer ignore it.
Without informing many people of his destination, he entrusted Hogwarts to Helga and Rowena before setting off for the eastern marshes.
Far away...
The Slytherin estate had become a fortress under siege.
Smoke drifted across the wetlands.
The sounds of battle echoed day and night.
Salazar staggered through the estate gates after returning from yet another skirmish.
His emerald robes had been torn in several places.
Fresh blood stained his sleeve.
His breathing was heavy.
An anxious young wizard hurried toward him.
"Elder!"
The young man reached out to support him.
Salazar brushed the offered hand aside.
"I'm fine."
He wasn't.
But there was no time to rest.
"They're more numerous than we estimated," he said between breaths.
"Every day more arrive."
"They've surrounded nearly every approach to the estate."
He spread a map across a nearby table.
Several positions had already been crossed out in red ink.
"They're using Muggle soldiers as the main force."
"The wizards stay behind them."
"They wait until our attention is elsewhere..."
"...then strike."
His eyes swept across the gathered defenders.
"Inform every defense team."
"Gather the children and anyone unable to fight."
"If the inner wards fall..."
"They are to leave immediately."
The young wizard clenched his fists.
"Elder..."
"Let me fight beside you."
Salazar looked at him for a long moment.
Then slowly shook his head.
"No."
"The young protect the future."
"The old protect the young."
"You'll have your battles one day."
"But not this one."
The young wizard lowered his head.
"...Yes, Elder."
Salazar picked up his wand once more.
Despite the exhaustion etched across his face...
He turned back toward the battlefield.
Couple days later...
Godric finally reached the eastern marshes.
Even before the estate came into view, something felt wrong.
The roads were filled with abandoned carts.
Burned homes lined the outskirts.
Smoke rose endlessly into the grey sky.
As he climbed the final ridge overlooking the wetlands...
Godric stopped.
His breath caught.
The Slytherin estate...
Was completely surrounded.
Thousands of Muggle soldiers had established camps across every approach to the marshes.
Rows upon rows of tents stretched toward the horizon.
Siege engines overlooked the wetlands.
Archers stood ready behind wooden barricades.
And scattered among the countless soldiers...
Godric sensed them.
Wizards.
Concealing themselves within the army.
Waiting.
Watching.
His grip slowly tightened around the reins.
"...Salazar."
Godric's first instinct was to charge straight into the battle.
His hand instinctively reached for the hilt of his sword.
Then reason prevailed.
He was no longer the reckless young traveller who had wandered Britain beside Salazar.
He was an old man.
Powerful. Experienced.
But old nonetheless.
Against an army of this size...
One man would accomplish little.
He reached into his robes, intending to send an urgent message back to Hogwarts.
Then...
The earth shook.
A deafening explosion erupted from within the besieged estate.
Another followed.
Then another.
Columns of fire burst through the encircling army, tearing great gaps in the siege lines.
The Slytherin family had made their choice.
Their final stand had begun.
There was no longer time.
Drawing both his sword and wand, he urged his horse down the hillside.
"If you're going to do something foolish..."
"...don't start without me."
A few minutes earlier...
Within the Slytherin estate...
The Hall had been transformed into a command center.
The smell of smoke seeped through the ancient stone walls.
Outside, the sounds of battle had scarcely ceased for days.
One elderly witch quietly approached Salazar.
"There is no food left."
Silence filled the room.
Everyone understood what those words meant.
Salazar closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again.
His expression remained calm.
"Then this is where we make our stand."
He looked toward the younger witches and wizards gathered nearby.
Some had barely reached adulthood.
Others were still children clutching their wands with trembling hands.
"You."
He pointed toward the youngest of the family elders.
"Take the children."
"Take everyone who cannot fight."
"Leave through the eastern tunnels."
The younger wizard immediately shook his head.
"Elder, we're not abandoning you."
"No."
Salazar's voice left no room for argument.
"You are preserving our family."
"We..."
He looked around at the exhausted faces of those who had stood beside him since the siege began.
"...will preserve your future."
An elderly witch smiled faintly.
"We've lived long enough."
Another old wizard rested a hand upon his shoulder.
"Not one of them will follow our children."
One after another...
The elders nodded.
No fear remained upon their faces.
Only resolve.
Salazar looked at each of them in silence.
Then he slowly inclined his head.
"So be it."
He raised his wand.
"The outer gates."
"Open them."
Ancient gears rumbled beneath the estate.
The massive gates slowly swung inward.
The besieging army stared in confusion.
Then...
With a thunderous roar...
The defenders charged.
Green and silver robes surged from the gates like a flood.
Spells illuminated the marshes.
Explosions ripped through the siege lines.
The stunned army scrambled to react as decades of carefully prepared defensive magic erupted around them.
At the very front...
Salazar Slytherin led the charge.
And from the rear...
A lone rider burst from the hillside, sword raised high as golden magic flashed around him.
Godric Gryffindor had entered the battlefield.