FicFan.org

“True, but isn’t it more curious that we found the book here?” asked Harry, ignoring Hermione’s last comment. He turned to Tonks. “I mean, it’s not like the Blacks were in Slytherin’s line, right? Voldemort is supposed to be the last descendant.”

“We could check the family tapestry for some kind of link,” said Tonks thoughtfully, “But I’m sure if there were anything I would have heard about it from my mother, she was constantly telling us of the misdeeds of our ancestors and warning us not to turn out like they did. If there was ever a wizard who would’ve raised her ire, it was Salazar Slytherin.”

“Just because he wanted to keep Muggle-borns out of Hogwarts?” asked Harry. “I mean, that’s not good but I’m sure the Black family has done worse.”

“They have,” agreed Tonks, “and if you want, I could tell you hours worth of stories about the nefarious ways they amassed that colossal fortune you just inherited. But as bad as they may have been, Slytherin was much worse. He loved nothing more than causing the deaths of Muggles on gigantic scales. You may have heard about the Crusades when you went to Muggle school,” Tonks asked.

“I don’t remember much, but I have heard of them,” said Harry, nodding.

Tonks adopted a scholarly tone. “Well, you may recall that the First Crusade was sparked in essence by a sermon Pope Urban II in 1095 to an assembly of French nobility known as the Council of Clermont. In this sermon, Urban told of the plight of Emperor Alexius I Comnenus, leader of the Byzantine Empire, whose territory was being overrun by Arab conquerors. Borrowing St. Augustine of Hippo’s justification for a holy war, Urban implored the nobles to stop the petty feuds between them and combine their forces to fight the ‘infidels’ who had conquered Jerusalem and were encroaching on another Christian state.

“Under any normal circumstances, this speech would not have gone over well. The French were largely as adverse to full-scale war then as they are today, and had no particular economic interests in the continued existence of the Byzantines, who, frankly, were in nowhere near as much danger as Urban made them out to be. It is quite likely that, had there been no external interference, the idea of Crusades would have died that night.

“However Slytherin, who was nearing the end of his life and looking for one last way to strike the Muggles, got word that this conference was to take place from his wealthy English acquaintances, who were much more up-to-date with the Muggle world than their modern equivalents. For all his misconceptions about Muggles, Slytherin understood the way religious figures can make Muggles commit horrendous acts they would never consider otherwise. So, recognizing the potential this sermon had, Slytherin attended the Council disguised as a monk and began systematically Confunding key members of the audience. As Urban reached the part of his sermon where he began his call for war, the bewitched nobles began yelling ‘Deus lo volt!’ Latin for ‘It is God’s will!’ Their passion stirred the rest of the congregation, and soon the whole assembly was chanting the slogan. War was inevitable from that point onward, and Slytherin died happily just a few years later, having successfully sparked a series of wars that would continue for two centuries, one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history.”

“That’s incredible,” breathed Harry, who was grudgingly awed by the evil genius Slytherin displayed in this tale. “I thought Slytherin was killed in a duel with Gryffindor though,” he asked, looking quizzically at Hermione, whose face displayed a similar mix of disgust and amazement.

Seeming to snap out of it, Hermione shook her head. “That’s a common myth,” she said. “In reality, Slytherin and Gryffindor did have a duel over whose philosophy would carry in Hogwarts, which Gryffindor obviously won. But Slytherin left that duel very much alive.”

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2939305/6/Harry_Potter_and_the_Rise_of_the_Amphiptere