A room decked out in super classic style—like stepping back a thousand years.
"Runes—ancient runes, as you call them. Yeah, you've got a solid grip on those."
Salazar flipped through Lucien's test answers, nodding as he went.
He'd already put Lucien through the wringer on stuff like charms, transfiguration, herbology—you name it. And honestly? Lucien crushed it. Salazar was impressed.
"You've clearly put in the work. Totally lives up to your talent—especially transfiguration..."
"Has transfiguration really come this far in your time? Magical creature transformations... Helga dabbled in that back in the day. But I didn't spot anything about it in Lockhart's memories. Is it brand-new research that hasn't spread yet?"
Helga—as in Helga Hufflepuff? So she experimented with creature transfiguration too.
Lucien answered:
"Dean Slytherin, actually, magical creature transfiguration is..."
As Lucien explained, Salazar's gaze shifted from the paper to Lucien's face. Those emerald slit pupils went from calm and chill to straight-up shocked.
For a split second, Salazar felt the urge to just Legilimency the kid and peek into his memories.
Revolutionizing transfiguration in just one year?
Was this talent even human?
What if he's some ancient monster in disguise, sneaking into Hogwarts with bad intentions?
Nah, doubtful. For one, Salazar trusted the detection spells he and the other founders baked into the castle. Plus, from Lockhart's memories, the current headmaster was no slouch—Dumbledore wasn't the type to let that slide.
So... pure genius it was.
The wizarding world? It doesn't play fair.
Salazar wasn't about to mess with a kid—especially not one this gifted, a perfect heir.
After a long pause, he finally spoke:
"You should be Slytherin's Head of House someday. You'd be a great fit. Headmaster would be even better—makes things easier."
Lucien blinked, totally caught off guard. Wait, what? We were just chatting, and now he's handing me the keys to the kingdom? Ancient folks jump topics like that?
"Lucien, when you got sorted... the Sorting Hat had a tough time, didn't it?"
Even though Salazar switched gears again, Lucien rolled with it:
"Yeah."
Salazar snapped his fingers, and the scene shifted—now there was a workbench loaded with potion ingredients and alchemy gear.
"So you picked Ravenclaw yourself in the end?"
As the guy who basically programmed the Hat to spot what house fits a kid best, Salazar knew the deal—it just highlights your strongest traits.
Lucien: "Yeah, I figured Ravenclaw would let me focus on studying in peace."
Salazar nodded.
"The vibe in Slytherin these days... it's not great."
What?
Lucien wasn't sure he heard that right. The founder of Slytherin just trashed his own house's current atmosphere?
"Anyway, let's see what you can do with potions and alchemy."
He hadn't planned on testing alchemy—Lockhart's memories showed it's only for upper years at Hogwarts.
But after digging through those memories, he'd "seen" all the alchemy gadgets Lucien had already designed and built. So yeah, he added it to the list.
Salazar was genuinely curious—how deep could a kid this age go?
Lucien started prepping the potion ingredients that had appeared, but after a moment's hesitation, he finally asked the question that had been bugging him forever:
"Dean Slytherin, when you picked your heir... you didn't seem to care about blood status?"
History books painted Salazar Slytherin as the guy who flipped out over admitting Muggle-borns, obsessed with keeping wizard blood "pure." That's why he split from the other founders and ditched Hogwarts.
That pureblood supremacy vibe? Baked into Slytherin for a thousand years.
But earlier, when Salazar laid out what he wanted in an heir, he never once mentioned "pureblood." It threw Lucien for a loop.
A complicated look flickered in Salazar's slit pupils. His voice echoed with age-old weight:
"Back then, stressing bloodlines was necessary. In our era, Muggles feared and hated wizards down to their bones. Witch hunts were everywhere—fires ready to burn us at any moment."
"Even Muggle parents couldn't accept their own kid being a wizard. They'd see it as the devil's work. If the Muggle world caught wind of Hogwarts? Way too dangerous."
"So I insisted Muggle-borns and half-bloods weren't reliable."
He said it flat-out, no regrets about his old stance.
Lucien got it—fair enough. A thousand years ago, Muggles and wizards were straight-up enemies. Zero tolerance.
Salazar's views were super conservative, sure.
Only taking pureblood kids? Safest way to keep the school hidden and alive.
But then Salazar switched it up:
"That said... as time marches on, the wall between wizards and Muggles can't stay tall and thick forever. Half-bloods and Muggle-borns? Their numbers are gonna keep growing. It's inevitable."
"So chasing pure blood? That's just temporary."
Lucien felt this weird twist in his gut hearing that.
Salazar himself was this... open-minded about blood status?
It didn't match the history books at all. A thousand years of telephone game messing up the story?
"So," Lucien pushed, following that thread, "the Chamber and the basilisk... you didn't leave them to purge non-purebloods?"
"Of course not. The Chamber's my insurance policy for Hogwarts. If the school ever faces real danger, my heir can use what's inside to keep the spark alive—save the future."
Lucien thought for a second, then pointed out the obvious issue:
"But Tom Riddle used the basilisk to attack students..."
Salazar nodded slightly.
"I figured someone might abuse it. That's why I sealed the basilisk's eyes a bit—for Hogwarts students and staff, its stare isn't instantly fatal."
"If it ever tried to massacre everyone here, the restriction I put in its soul would kick in. Poof—gone."
So Tom Riddle's whole elaborate plan to turn Hogwarts into a bloodbath with the basilisk? Doomed from the start?
It clicked for Lucien instantly... followed by a wave of awkwardness.
Uh... I'd already chopped up the school's thousand-year-old "guardian"...
Salazar seemed to read his mind, brushing it off like it was nothing:
"No big deal. The basilisk was just a tool. With your talent, once you're fully grown, leaving behind something way stronger to protect Hogwarts? Piece of cake for you."
"Since the basilisk is gone anyway, you might as well use its eyes."
He pointed at Lucien's eyes.
"Those eyes of yours are pretty good... but there's room for improvement..."