I am not the heir of Slytherin, I am Slytherin.

Chapter 2

Him being a very ambitious man. Him being one of the best, no, the best potions master in the world. The way he laid the foundation of Hogwarts with his three friends. The way he had hatched a basilisk. The way everyone feared and respected him.

He remembered the time he was known as Salazar Slytherin.

When Lockhart's spell hit him, he got all of his memories and due to the extremely powerful impact, his magic went haywire and the roof caved in. Ron and Lockhart on one side and Harry/Salazar on the other.

"Harry, are you alright?" Ron's voice came from the other side. 

"Yes, are you alright?"

"Yes, I am fine but this git is not though. Got hit by a rock and is unconscious."

"It will take ages to remove these rocks, and we cannot afford to waste time. I will go ahead and find Ginny, you try shifting some of these rocks by the time I get back." And with that said, Harry began walking past the giant snake skin down the familiar path from his previous life.

Soon the distant noise of Ron straining to shift the rocks was gone. The tunnel turned and turned again. As he crept around yet another bend, he saw a solid wall ahead on which two entwined serpents were carved, their eyes set with great, glinting emeralds. He cleared his throat, and the emerald eyes flickered.

 "Open," said Harry, in a low, faint hiss.

The serpents parted as the wall cracked open, the halves slid smoothly out of sight, and Harry walked inside.

He was standing at the end of a very long, dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place.

'What has become of this place? During my time, it used to be so beautiful and residential,' Harry thought in disgust. 'I will return here later. For now, I need to find Ginerva'.

He pulled out his wand and moved forward between the serpentine columns. Every careful footstep echoed loudly off the shadowy walls, not knowing what would be the actual condition of the place. He kept his eyes narrowed, ready to clamp them shut at the smallest sign of movement. 

Then, as he drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall. Harry had to crane his neck to look up into the giant face above: It was ancient and monkeyish, with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes, where two enormous gray feet stood on the smooth Chamber floor. And between the feet, face down, lay a small, black-robed figure with flaming-red hair. Ginny.

He stepped forward and cast the spell to bring her back to consciousness. It didn't work.

'Is she dead? No, I can see her breathing. Then why is she not waking up?'Harry thought to himself, looking around for the Heir.

"Wake up Ginny, wake up!"

"She won't wake," said a soft voice.

Harry spun around on his heels, pointing his wand towards the source of sound.

A tall, black-haired boy was leaning against the nearest pillar, watching. He was strangely blurred around the edges, as though Harry were looking at him through a misted window. But there was no mistaking him.

"Tom? Tom Riddle?"

Riddle nodded, not taking his eyes off Harry's face.

"What do you mean she won't wake?" Harry asked cautiously, "She isn't-"