Chapter 114: A Message from a Thousand Years Ago
Chapter 114: A Message from a Thousand Years Ago
As Liam scrolled through the message, Slytherin's words from the Chamber of Secrets appeared before his eyes. Unlike what Liam had imagined—a text filled with magical knowledge for future generations—Slytherin began by introducing his thoughts and the reasons for leaving Hogwarts.
From these self-revealing words, it was clear that Slytherin was not the Dark Wizard Liam had envisioned. At the outset, Slytherin declared that his principles were to do no harm to others and to act as he pleased. Given Slytherin's immense power, it was evident that he had no need to lie, so these principles must be genuine.
So, what caused future generations to believe Slytherin was a Dark Wizard? Liam, harboring this doubt, continued to read on.
Sure enough, the next section explained why Slytherin left Hogwarts. From the very beginning, he had irreconcilable differences with the other three founders regarding the school's educational approach.
When Hogwarts was founded, Europe was in the dark Middle Ages, dominated by wars and conflicts. The wizarding world was no exception, teeming with Dark Wizards. In an environment of survival of the fittest, Dark Magic, which could quickly boost one's power, was highly favored by wizards.
The four founders of Hogwarts had established the school to impart the magical knowledge they had gained from battling Dark Wizards to the next generation, gradually reversing the prevalence of Dark Wizards and restoring order. After all, if Dark Wizards were in the majority, prolonged wars would eventually destroy everything in the wizarding world.
In this context, Slytherin proposed the idea of admitting only Pureblood wizards. He believed that Muggle-born wizards might be influenced by their non-magical relatives, who lacked the self-protection abilities of wizards, and could potentially harm Hogwarts.
Moreover, the differences between Muggles and wizards in those days were vast. For example, many Muggle-born wizard apprentices of that era could not even read or write, and the study of magic required extensive knowledge. Additionally, Muggle-born wizards, lacking sufficient resources, were more likely to turn to the path of Dark Wizards, who preyed on others.
From a completely rational perspective, Slytherin argued that resources should be concentrated on young wizards from reliable wizarding families. This would maximize resource efficiency, allowing the limited resources to produce as many excellent wizards as possible. (In that era, due to underdeveloped productivity, obtaining resources was far more challenging than in modern times. For instance, many herbs that can now be cultivated had to be gathered from dangerous magical forests back then.)
However, the other three founders rejected this view. While they acknowledged that Slytherin's approach would maximize resource utilization, they believed it lacked a human touch.
This was the first major disagreement among the four founders, and Slytherin chose to yield. He did not interfere with the other three wizards' decisions but implemented his philosophy only within his own house.
Later, an event exacerbated the rift. Early Hogwarts lacked the extensive magical protections it has today. The school's concentration of resources attracted the attention of Dark Wizards.
Hogwarts was once attacked by Dark Wizards. Tragically, some of Slytherin's students were killed in the assault. In his rage, Slytherin himself slew these Dark Wizards.
The act of killing Dark Wizards did not draw opposition from the other three founders. Gryffindor, the just one, merely stated that they should be judged before being executed. After all, it was a dark era, and even the most benevolent of wizards had fought their way through battles against Dark Wizards, werewolves, and vampires.
However, from that point on, Slytherin began teaching Dark Magic to his students, believing that they needed to understand the methods of Dark Wizards to truly defeat them.
This is why later generations considered Slytherin a Dark Wizard: he taught Dark Magic at Hogwarts, and those who attended his classes consistently acknowledged his profound expertise in the subject. Over the centuries, the idea that Slytherin was a Dark Wizard became widely accepted.
Naturally, this approach drew opposition from the other three founders. When they established the school, they had sworn to create a unique magical institution that would teach the magic necessary to combat Dark Magic.
Now, Slytherin's methods worried them, as the students were young and lacked experience. In such a vulnerable state, they might easily be led astray under Slytherin's guidance.
But Slytherin believed that every student was a potential warrior against Dark Wizards and needed to understand their enemies from the start. This knowledge would equip them to change the world after graduation.
The disagreement over this issue led to prolonged arguments. Slytherin felt that staying at the school might lead to its division.
Out of love for the school, he chose to leave and spend the rest of his life hunting Dark Wizards, clearing the path for the school's future.
Contrary to legend, Slytherin had thorough discussions with the other three founders before his departure. They agreed to say he left due to an argument to ensure his safety and avoid alerting Dark Wizards.
As a result of his campaign against Dark Wizards, rumors spread in the Wizarding World that Slytherin was an even worse Dark Wizard. These rumors solidified his reputation as a Dark Wizard, which persists to this day.
The Chamber of Secrets was Slytherin's final contribution to the school before he left. He envisioned that over time, the Wizarding World would advance, and his descendants would realize his vision, benefiting the entire magical community.
The Basilisk was a temporary guardian Slytherin chose. In those days, Herpo had just bred the first Basilisks. Slytherin obtained the Hogwarts Basilisk as loot after slaying a Dark Wizard.
He intended the Basilisk to be one of the school's trump cards, helping Hogwarts through its early, vulnerable years. He never imagined it would survive for a thousand years.
After reading this information, Liam couldn't help but sigh. A thousand years had transformed a great wizard, who had dedicated his life to the school and his dreams, into an evil Dark Wizard in the eyes of the people. Even the students of the house named after him, and his descendants, revered Dark Magic and aspired to become Dark Wizards.
If Slytherin, whose life goal was to eliminate Dark Wizards, knew this, he would surely be so angry that he would come back from the afterlife to set things right.
(End of Chapter)
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