Chapter 16: Blood Contract
Sebastian at one point got curious why they were so adamant about the basilisk.
The basilisk, while being an XXXXX class magical beast, was at core still just another magical beast.
He did hear that it was forbidden for them to be bred but that didn't mean discovery of a basilisk would cause this big of a ruckus to be called to a court.
They could have simply done an investigation and upon the full analysis decided to either take the basilisk from his hand or to let him keep holding the basilisk.
However they brought the matter to court, something that baffled him.
So, when he finally heard the reasoning made by the men, he understood it all.
"No matter what time period, there are always people running after wealth and power."
Sebastian didn't speak those words in his mind, but he spoke them out loud and clear. He let everyone present hear them.
And it immediately made the people frown, "What do you mean, boy?"
Their voice had a venomous tone, one that didn't just sound displeased but angry and disgusted.
"Oh, you know what I mean." Sebastian said with a smirk, one that was not afraid of going against the authorities. "People that would try to find any and every reason to discredit or disapprove of someone so that they can acquire wealth and power for their own."
Sebastian was immediately met with a frown by Dumbledore as the old man didn't want the heir to get into trouble that he couldn't get out of.
But Sebastian wasn't afraid.
Why would he be? He wasn't committing any crime.
Freedom of speech was a right that every wizard had. And one thing that was hammered to him from his birth was not to bow in front of people who didn't earn his respect.
'Bow not in front of authority but in front of character.'
This was something his grandfather taught him.
'And if you are punished for it, know that they have lost and you have won.'
Salazar was a scary man, one who went even against the king and was ordered to be beheaded, but of course there was no man capable of doing that.
The only men that stood on his level or slightly above him were Godric Gryffindor and Merlin.
If it was someone other than them, Salazar was never going to lose.
And while it was not the same with Sebastian, he knew that he couldn't be punished for it. He knew enough politics to understand that any careless move made by those old folks would only come to bite them and as long as he was in the offensive without crossing the line, there was no danger.
"Beware child," The fat old man hissed, "Defaming the council can result in you ending up behind bars." His face contoured into a frown, "No matter if you are ten or twenty."
Sebastian sighed at the statement, "It does not look good on you to not even know the age of the person that you are trying to discredit, sir."
Sebastian while poking fun at the man, kept his respectful tone, something that he did more for amusement than for the respect.
"I am eleven, almost twelve." He said, "As for defaming you, I never said I was referring to you sir. I am simply talking about the people that are more concerned about the treasures that were found in my parent's grave rather than the reason I was summoned for, which should be the basilisk."
"Your honour!" The lacky of the fat man yelled, "That is a direct attack at Mr. Grayford!"
However, to the man's absolute shock, Fudge didn't side with the man.
"Is it?" Fudge asked, aware of their true intent. "He did say that it is only applicable for those that are more interested in the treasure than the basilisk though, did he not?"
The men were shocked, but Fudge was not. Fudge was lazy and even corrupt at times. But he knew when to back off and when to take whose side.
He especially knew the few men very well. He was aware that they were not on his side, they wanted to have him replaced the first chance they got. And as such, he did not really care about them either.
If anything, he wanted a way to bite back at them.
And maybe, the chance had just presented itself in the form of the surprised boy who was also astounded to see Fudge take his side.
"Although, I will have to ask you to be a little bit less aggressive, Mr. Slytherin." Fudge said, "While it is true that we are diverging from the main topic, it would do us no good in dragging a meaningless topic, now would it?"
Sebastian looked at Fudge, sort of liking his attitude.
"I believe so," He said with a calm smile, "It makes no sense in talking about a treasury that belongs to my family and one that others have no real use for."
"Of course it does!"
'It was a bait.' Dumbledore immediately understood Sebastian's strategy as he heard the fat man yell.
"He hasn't proven his identity and as such, he has no right over the Slytherin treasury!" His voice nearly broke from the loud yell, "As for the treasure, the wizarding world can benefit a lot from it! Funds are always necessary for a society's development and for the development of the magical Britain, any and all funds are important!"
This instantly made Sebastian chuckle, while the council looked surprised at his action.
As while they could see the fixation on the treasury, they could not also deny that funds were needed in improving the society of magic and they needed it badly after the recent wizarding wars.
However, Sebastian didn't see it like that.
"Pardon me for losing my composure," He apologized, yet keeping the smile. "But may I ask, what is it exactly that you use these funds for?"
These confused the crowd as the boy that was initially so adamant on saying that wealth was not something that they necessarily was now unsure of how it could be used.
The man chuckled, while Dumbledore and Fudge decided to let the scenario play, promising themselves in their mind to interfere if the situation got out of hand.
"Of course," The man scoffed, "No matter how much you try to act like an adult, you are still just a child."
Sebastian nodded, as while he was hammered with enough knowledge and was forced to mature faster than appreciated, he was still not mature enough –something that he knew he had to work on. Especially since the entirety of house Slytherin rested upon his shoulders.
"But let me tell you, with the funds we can work on researching enough about magic and the defensive arts so that we can protect the innocent in case another war breaks out. We can develop magical equipment and cures for diseases and issues that are a major issue." The man said proudly, "These are just small examples of what we can do with these funds. With enough money and researchers, we have improved and upgraded old magic and magical equipments that we are able to stand proudly today."
Sebastian's smile slowly faded, something that went unnoticed by many and ones that did notice expected to it be a result of being hammered with the truth and him realizing his mistake.
But in reality, Sebastian was hurt, he felt ashamed of even hearing those words.
"So… you are telling me that a millennia of time, you managed to reach this stage of magic?" He asked and the man stood proud.
"Of course!"
This only made Sebastian even more disappointment.
"A thousand years worth of time, sacrifices made by the great founders, my grandfather included. Sacrifice made my Merlin, all of his wealth, the wealth of my family and the other ancient families." Sebastian continued, "Revelation of ancient secrets and family history in the hopes of magical development." He looked at the man, "And this is the level that you have reached?"
The man stood proud, believing that he was being agreed with, "Yes!"
He believed that Sebastian was amazed by the level of magic they had reached.
Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the case. And only a few including Dumbledore could feel the disappointment in Sebastian's voice.
The heir scoffed, "Then you do not deserve a single knut from my family treasury."
This stunned the man and his followers.
He looked at Sebastian with a frown and a confused look, "What do you mean, boy…"
The man asked in a tone that demanded an answer.
An answer that Sebastian was more than willing to give.
"My grandfather gave more than half his fortune to the development of the magical world. He was a very prideful and greedy man but he was also a great advocate for the development of magic." Sebastian answered, "He left only a third of his wealth to his family while giving the rest away for the development of this magical society that you talk about."
He walked back a little, looked at Fudge and even at Dumbledore. "All this time, I have not asked any of you this question. Not even you, professor Dumbledore. But what exactly happened to the wealth of the four founders of Hogwarts and what about Merlin? My grandfather was greedy and only gave two thirds of his wealth, but Gryffindor and even Merlin gave away all of their treasures without leaving a single knut for their loved ones. They gave it all to the people of the wizarding world."
Sebastian was disappointed, he was confused. "So what happened to that wealth?"
He was unable to comprehend.
"Because I see no development. I only see disappointment." He said as loud as he could, making the audience gasp. "Trust, none of you from the current time can even fathom the level of magic the olden people possessed. The level of magic that they wielded, the feats that appeared to be something only capable of being committed by gods… That was the level they were at."
He laughed, "Trust me, you know nothing about the magic I had witnessed when I was merely five. As I grew, I only understood how amazing magic was thanks to my grandfather and the people around me." He looked at the man, "You talked about spells and equipment."
Sebastian's expression was not something that should have been made by an eleven year old, but there he stood with an almost aghast expression.
"They had spells that could nearly revive the dead, they had equipment that could kill a dragon with a touch or tame a phoenix with a whistle." He laughed, "And the basilisk that you are so afraid of? They were nothing more than house pets to wizards of Salazar Slytherin's level. So, that should answer why he decided to keep a basilisk as a guard to my parents' grave. Because it was merely a pet to him, like the average human has a dog."
Sebastian let out the anger he had for the current age while answering all the questions that the Ministry of Magic had regarding him.
"The parseltongue that quite a few are proud of." He looked around, "It is merely a weaker version of the ability possessed by my grandfather and Merlin. Even for me it is a skill that is difficult to master."
"I can tame a basilisk with it, I can control it." He explained while shocking the crowd, "I can prove it to you right now if you want. That should answer your questions regarding my bloodline and my ability."
'He… is not wrong.' Dumbledore spoke in his mind, 'For Salazar, a basilisk was not the limit of his parseltongue.'
"A basilisk was merely an introduction to his ability." Sebastian said, affirming Dumbledore. "Dragons, the biggest dragons that can burn an entire city down. My grandfather and Merlin, both of them were capable of talking those beasts into submission."
Sebastian was not at that level, but he knew that he had the ability to if he honed it enough.
"So tell me where is this development that you talk about?" He asked, genuinely curious. "What is the magic that you developed?"
The room went silent, understanding the stance Sebastian had. When they thought deeply, most of the things that they had –had existed from way before.
"We…" But the old man did not want to give up. "We developed magic that lets you recreate memories! We have portraits formed of memories! We have magic that can cure most diseases."
Sebastian sighed, no he scoffed a little. "After I said that we could nearly revive the dead in the past, you say that you can cure most illnesses?" Sebastian understood that there was no point in talking to the man. "As for your memory magic, wizards and witches a thousand years ago could form apparitions, holograms of people from their memories and those people created from memories could do everything that your portraits can do, maybe more. Magic that you call ancient magic, was much more advanced than anything that you have now."
The man tried to refute but he couldn't. He indeed had no idea what magic was like in the past. He tried his best to think of magic that was revolutionary, magic that was greater than in the past.
But he found none.
Until, until a certain person's face appeared in his memory.
"We… We found the three unforgivable curses. Curses… greater than anything that the past has to offer."
"What?" Sebastian immediately asked, unaware of what these curses were that the man was referring to.
"Grayford!" However, Sebastian received no answer as Fudge immediately decided to intervene. "Those are not advancements but a stain in the pure world of magic, do not bring them in."
Sebastian looked at Dumbledore, who in turn gave him a look that promised to explain everything later.
As for the man, he went quiet.
Clearing his throat Fudge spoke once again, "We have gone way out of topic. And considering the treasure issue is related to your identity of you being the heir of Slytherin, it will be resolved once you can prove your identity." He looked at Dumbledore, "As the minister of magic, I give you my word that as long as Sebastian Slytherin can give proof of his lineage, he will have full authority over the treasury."
"Fudge!"
Fudge immediately frowned hearing his name being yelled, "That is 'Your Honour' for you, Grayford."
"And… What about the basilisk?" Dumbledore asked at which Fudge sighed.
"That depends on the boy's capabilities, Albus." Fudge said, "If what he says holds true and he can truly control the Basilisk, the ministry has no issue letting the boy keep the basilisk. Of course under regulations and in a safe and preferably place with no humans."
This was like another insult to Grayford, yet if he actively went against Fudge, he would lose everything that he possessed.
"So, tell me Sebastian." Fudge finally asked, "How are you going to prove your identity?"
This was a difficult question to answer. As there was no blood relative that could vouch for him, neither was there any affirmation by Salazar other than the inscriptions made inside of Hogwarts –which was obviously not enough proof.
"Cornelius, I believe that is not something that can prove here immedi–"
Before Dumbledore could say anything, Sebastian answered.
"I can."
This revelation shocked everyone.
"How do you plan to do that, boy?" The man asked, still not believing Sebastian.
Sebastian took a deep breath and looked around, "Have any of you heard of a pensieve?"
The immediately surprised a few.
"The memory fountain?"
The Pensieve was a rare and powerful magical device that stores and reviews memories.
Sebastian nodded, "What I am referring to is the memory magic that is engraved onto it using runes."
Everyone listened intently to his words. "Those runes were used to allow people who didn't have the ability to use memory magic directly, to save and experience memories of the past. However, there are people… or were people who could use the magic without a pensieve." He looked at Fudge, "It is an ancient magic that I believe almost no one of the present time can use."
"And you are telling us that you can use it?" Grayford asked, not believing Sebastian.
"It is a difficult magic, but it is a magic that I had been taught. So, yes I can."
As he said that, another man immediately shouted, "Memory magic, even perceives can be corrupted to show false memories! Those do not have enough strength to prove your words!"
Sebastian nodded, "That I agree with. Memory magic can be faked to show false memories."
But as he said that, he showed a little smile.
"But that is why I am willing to go a bit above and beyond."
Fudge raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
At this question, Sebastian smiled. "Your Honour, may I ask if you have heard of… Blood Contracts?"
The moment he asked the question, everyone's eyes went wide.
"Sebastian, don't!" Dumbledore warned immediately, recalling a sour memory.
"For those that are unaware," Sebastain smiled, "Blood Contract is the ancient form of Blood Pact which is a type of agreement between two parties and if anyone breaks a blood pact, they either lose their magic or face serious consequences." Sebastian stared at Fudge, "As for a Blood Contract, it is even stricter and has no loopholes as compared to a blood pact. Because in the case of a blood contract, instead of possibly losing your magic by breaking your oath, you most certainly lose your life by breaking a Blood Contract."
The entire court gasped as they heard the severity of the spell.
"So, I propose a Blood Contract between the Minister of Magic and myself." Sebastain said, "Where he lets me keep my treasure and my basilisk in return for me showing a portion of my memory, one which will be truthful and will prove my lineage as the heir of Salazar Slytherin."
He expressed, "If I show the truthful memories and prove my words, I earn my title as the Slytherin Heir and move a step closer to restoring the most ancient and most noble house of Slytherin and if I fail, I lose my life."
His smile was a stark contrast to the dire consequences of death.
"So, is that good enough?"
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