4 A Changing World

The two older men were stunned, never had they seen magic as pure, as potent and as ancient as the one just displayed.

Dumbledore was a master of his craft –an expert in nearly all fields of magic, yet he could barely understand the magic that he was witnessing.

"This pendant…" Sebastian had an expression that was hard to decipher, "Belong to my grandfather, Salazar Slytherin. And he did say that it will help in my identification."

Snape and Dumbledore had their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets as they saw the pendant.

A snake, eating its tail and glowing with an essence of magic that both of them were unaware of yet knew exactly what it was.

"Ancient magic." Snape felt his heartbeat quickening, "Slytherin…"

Snape recalled the very tiny essence of ancient magic that was present in the school's library.

But that could not compare to the potency of the magical essence radiating from the pendant, it was an insult to even compare.

However, it served as a proof that the pendant was indeed an ancient artifact covered in magic of the old.

"If I may ask," Dumbledore was the first to recover, "What exactly is your age?"

This made Sebastian a little perplexed, "That… is a good question." He mused, "If you consider the time I stayed frozen, I am over a thousand years old." He looked at the gray haired wizard, "But if you are to look past that, I am… eleven."

Sebastian didn't think much while answering the auror about his age, but upon getting a little insight about the current year and the changes around him –it did form a dilemma in his mind.

Dumbledore and Snape once again looked at one another.

"Have you been taught magic professionally before?" Dumbledore inquired, curious about the boy's past.

"Grandfather did, but I believe you cannot call it professionally." Sebastian recalled the memories, "I was taught most of what he taught at school but it was not professionally. So, I don't think I can call it being taught professionally."

That was a lie, a lie that the two professors believed.

This made Dumbledore smile, realizing that he had gotten an incredible opportunity.

"I do have a question." Sebastian said, drawing their attention. "Is there anything left of my family?"

Dumbledore knew well enough that Sebastian was not talking about people, it was beyond that.

"Unfortunately, after the death of Salazar Slytherin, all that remains of the House of Slytherin is the name." Dumbledore sounded both disappointed and embarrassed, "The House of Gaunts took most of the treasures and land before losing it all."

"Gaunts, huh?" Sebastian mused, trying to remember a family by that name.

"They were related to the House of Slytherin but formed way after the passing of Salazar Slytherin."

Dumbledore's statement made Sebastian understand why he could not recall the name of Gaunt.

They didn't exist when he was awake.

"Where are these 'Gaunts' now?" Sebastian asked, a hint of frustration and possible anger hidden in his voice.

"Their house went extinct after the Wizarding War."

Once again, Sebastian was left confused.

"Wizarding War?" He raised an eyebrow, expecting answers.

"There is a lot that you don't know, heir of Salazar." Snape said, aware that the boy had to be briefed and taught a lot about the world and its history.

"The Wizarding War…" Dumbledore's face went dark, "It was led by a certain Dark Lord and resulted in a massive battle that caused the extinction of quite a lot of the Wizarding Houses."

"And the Dark Lord?" The heir of Salazar questioned, realizing how big of a deal this Dark Lord was.

'Not just any individual is able to lead such an all out war on the wizarding world.' Sebastian pondered, 'Then again… Grandfather and the other three founders of Hogwards were more than capable of leading a war like that.'

"Gone." Dumbledore said, yet not meeting Sebastian's eyes. "Gone for good."

The boy noticed the look of uneasiness and pain on the old man's face, yet he decided not to go deeper into a topic such as war.

Especially not without a basic understanding of his current situation.

"Since you said my family treasury and my land is gone…" He frowned, "Where am I supposed to live?"

"That is something I have already considered." The previous look of embarrassment turned to pride, "Hogwarts has a few dormitories that I previously considered. But after considering your former lifestyle, it is clear that a dormitory won't fancy you."

Truth be told, Sebastian couldn't care less whether it was a dormitory or a castle, as long as it was a place where he could live at –he was fine with it.

Why?

'I have far bigger issues at hand.' He tried not show it on his face, but he was devastated at the news of his House going extinct and his treasury being emptied.

"So, I decided that you will live in the place specifically designated for higher class guests and authoritative politicians." Dumbledore had a proud smile, "That is one of the best place to live in Hogwarts."

Sebastian looked at Dumbledore with a knowing smile, "So, you want me to live in Hogwarts?"

"I was hoping that you would."

There was a very specific reason that Dumbledore wanted Sebastian to live in Hogwarts.

It wasn't that he had no better place for the heir, if he wanted, he had enough money to prepare a mansion for Sebastian as well.

"And since you are eleven, once you feel like you want to explore the world of magic –you can join Hogwarts."

This was what he was trying to do.

As while Sebastian had direct links to Hogwarts, Dumbledore didn't want to leave loose ends and end up with Sebastian leaving for some other academy.

After all, every academy would want a child who can use ancient magic.

And the Ministry of Magic would be just as interested in taking Sebastian under them as any academy, which Dumbledore wanted to avoid.

However, these worries were unnecessary as Sebastian had no interest in affiliating himself with other academies.

"I believe we can continue this talk later," Snape added, "The boy must be tired from the interrogation session and would possibly want to rest for a bit."

It was true, Sebastian did need a bit of time to arrange his thoughts. As of now, his mind was a mess.

"I… think the same." Dumbledore nodded, "Let us show you around Hogwarts first. You will be amazed at how much it has changed."

True, Sebastian did want to check Hogwarts. He wanted to see how much they have improved or degraded the school since the passing of his grandfather.

But there was also another place that he wanted to visit.

"Is it alright if we keep this pendant for a little while?" Dumbledore asked, "It can help solve a lot of issues with the authorities regarding your identity."

"Of course, I don't mind." Sebastian couldn't care less about a pendant, at the moment his thoughts were consumed by something else.

'They lost my land and my money,' He felt annoyed, 'They are incapable of handling valuable things.'

He knew this and so did his grandfather.

'He was correct, keeping it hidden from the world of wizards and the authorities was the best choice.'

None of the wizards and the authorities knew that what they knew, found and lost was only a part of the complete truth.

There were many things that no one of the current time knew.

And that included the existence of a hidden treasury.

'It is time I visit 'that' place.'

Because a thousand years ago, things as everyone knew weren't the same.

Treasuries weren't the same.

Banks weren't the same.

Gringotts wasn't the same.

After all, the bank didn't exist a thousand years back –but something else did.

Something much more magical.

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