Destinies Collide

The Slytherin Vault

A/N: Well, here we go, time for some answers, or is it more questions?

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As fast as his dad pulls him back to his side, Harry wiggles out of his grip and steps closer when he realizes it's just a painted person talking, "You can talk!"

"Why, yes, I'm even quite the decent singer if I do say so myself," the man in the painting says with a smirk. Harry knows he's sort of making fun of him for something that should be obvious but Mr Wright always tells him not to let people make him feel bad for not knowing all about magic yet, and a talking painting sort of counts as people so he refuses to be upset about it.

When Harry thinks about why there would be a talking person painting inside the Slytherin vault his eyes go wide without him meaning to, "Are you Salazar Slytherin?" he asks, because that's the only famous Slytherin he remembers the name of and this man is obviously not Sylvie, the only other Slytherin he knows from his bloodline test

It feels like a dumb question when he thinks about it, the man in the painting doesn't look old like the Chocolate Frog card or the drawings in the books about him. Sure, he's older than Mr Wright, though it could just be the long hair and short beard, but his hair's not grey and he's not wearing the dark green robes people draw him in, his clothes kind of look like armour if it was made of dark leather instead of metal. He does have a big snake wrapped around his shoulders like the lord of a house of snakes might have, but it looks like it's sleeping.

"Of course, in the- well, paint, I suppose. And who might you be, little one?" The man in the painting - actual Salazar Slytherin! - asks, narrowing his eyes at him, "It's been a while since my little brother has brought anyone else into this vault."

"Little brother? " Harry asks, confused, and looks back at Mr Wright, who's still standing a step away from them with a frown on his face, looking either upset or in pain. He knows his dad can understand them, but... maybe he hasn't said anything because the painting won't know English? Mr Slytherin is supposed to be really old after all, maybe he can just speak snake. Or Latin, that's also pretty old, but Harry can't really speak it just read it. "So this wasn't your vault?" He blinks when he realizes it came out normal instead of the snake language and looks back at Mr Slytherin to repeat the question in the language he knows he'll understand, but gets interrupted.

"What? Of course not, it's his," Mr Slytherin looks over Harry's shoulder, making him frown.

"You speak English?" Harry asks, narrowing his eyes at the painting. How does Mr Slytherin, who lived before the years had four numbers, know English?

"Hm?" Mr Wright grunts out and Harry turns back around to see him rubbing a hand on his forehead, "Well, yours or your brother's, they said Harry could claim it and he did," his dad explains, "though we really should leave, this place is giving me a migraine."

"You've claimed this vault?" Mr Slytherin asks looking back at him and sounding surprised, before glancing over his shoulder again and back at Harry, "Before you go, if I may ask, how are the two of you related?"

"He's my dad," it makes his chest all warm to say it for the first time to someone else - if a painting counts as someone -outside of a letter, and he knows he's smiling when he does it.

Mr Slytherin's eyes widen before he lets out a laugh loud enough to make the snake on his neck hiss in annoyance and slither out of it, vanishing from the painting. "Oh my," he says between breaths, looking like he's just heard the best joke in the world and making Harry cross his arms and step back so he's closer to his dad, "I'm sorry, little one, I'm not laughing at you," Mr Slytherin takes a deep breath to calm down but there's still a smirk pulling at his mouth, "This is just a very unexpected situation, you see..." he stares for a moment before shaking his head a little, "Well, it hardly matters, I'm only a painting after all. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, gentlemen. I'm Salazar Slytherin, at your service."