The Enlightened Salazar

A room decorated in a particularly classical style.

"Ancient Runes, hmm, it's Ancient Runes for you. You've mastered it quite well."

Salazar reviewed Lucien's answers while offering his comments.

Salazar was very satisfied with Lucien's performance, having already examined his knowledge in various fields such as spells, Transfiguration, and Herbology.

"It's clear you've worked very hard; you truly deserve your talent, especially with your Transfiguration..."

"Has the Transfiguration developed to this level in your time? Magical Creature Transfiguration... Helga did research this back then... However, I don't seem to see any related parts in Lockhart's memories. Is it a recent achievement that hasn't spread yet?"

Helga, the founder of Hufflepuff? She was the one who experimented with Transfiguration Magical Creatures back then.

Lucien replied:

"Slytherin Head of House, actually Magical Creature Transfiguration is..."

As Salazar listened to Lucien's narration, his gaze shifted from the answer sheet to Lucien's face, his pair of emerald green vertical pupils transitioning from calm and indifference to disbelief.

Suddenly, Salazar felt an impulse: should he use Legilimency forcibly examine the boy's memories?

Did it only take a year to recreate the pinnacle of the Transfiguration field?

Can this talent be understood using human concepts?

Could it be some old monster with strange magic, disguised as a young wizard, who infiltrated Hogwarts with malicious intent?

But that's also unlikely. On one hand, Salazar believed in the identification methods he and the other three Founders left in the castle. On the other hand, he knew from Lockhart's memories that the current Hogwarts Headmaster was very strong and not some incompetent fool.

Then it can only be attributed to natural talent.

The magical world, after all, is irrational.

Salazar was too disdainful to lay a hand on a junior, especially since Lucien was a highly talented and promising successor.

After a long silence, Salazar finally spoke slowly:

"You should become the Head of Slytherin; it would be quite suitable for you. Hmm, Headmaster would be even better; it would make things easier."

Suddenly entrusted with this important task, Lucien was taken aback. How did we get to this point? Did people in ancient times have such a broad perspective?

"Lucien, you must have had a tough time with the Sorting Hat when you were sorted into your houses, right?"

Although Salazar's question veered off in another direction, Lucien still answered:

"Yes."

Salazar snapped his fingers, changing the scene again to reveal a workbench containing potions and alchemical tools.

"So you ultimately chose Ravenclaw yourself?"

As the one who gave the Sorting Hat the ability to detect the traits of young wizards, Salazar understood best the essence of the Sorting Ceremony: it was simply about selecting the traits of young wizards that best suited a particular house.

Lucien: "Yes, I feel safe and focused on my studies in Ravenclaw."

Upon hearing this, Salazar.

"The atmosphere in Slytherin is indeed not good right now."

What?

Lucien wondered if he had misheard. The creator of Slytherin said the atmosphere in the house was bad?

"Alright, let's try potions and alchemy next."

Salazar hadn't originally planned to assess Alchemy, since according to Lockhart's memories, Hogwarts didn't offer Alchemy Class until the later years.

However, after carefully reviewing those memories, he "saw" that Lucien had already designed and created quite a few alchemical tools, so he added alchemy to the list.

Salazar was quite curious about how much Lucien could actually learn at his age.

Lucien processed the material for the conjured potion, and after a moment's hesitation, he finally voiced the question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time:

"Slytherin Head of House, it seems you didn't consider bloodline when choosing your successor?"

According to historical records, Salazar Slytherin broke with the other three Founders and ultimately left Hogwarts because he opposed admitting Muggle-born students and firmly believed that wizarding bloodlines should remain pure.

This concept of lineage, refined over a thousand years, is almost deeply ingrained in Slytherin House.

However, Salazar's earlier statement about his criteria for successor did not mention the "Pure-blood" requirement, which did surprise Lucien.

A complex emotion flickered in Salazar's vertical pupils, his weathered voice echoing.

"Back then, emphasizing bloodlines was a necessary measure. In our time, Muggle ' fear and hatred of wizards were deeply ingrained, and the flames of witch hunts were everywhere."

Even Muggle parents cannot accept the fact that their own child will become a wizard, seeing it as a devil's temptation. It would be too dangerous for the Muggle world to take notice of Hogwarts.

"Therefore, I maintain that Muggle and Half-blood wizards are unreliable."

When Salazar said this, his tone was calm, showing no sign that he had made a mistake in his decision back then.

Lucien neither confirmed nor denied this. Indeed, the Muggle world a thousand years ago had extremely low tolerance for wizards, and could be described as an adversarial relationship.

Salazar's views could actually be considered extremely "conservative".

For Hogwarts to survive, admitting only wizards from Pure-blood families is indeed a safe approach.

Suddenly, Salazar changed the subject.

"However, as times change, the wall between wizards and Muggle cannot remain forever high and solid. The number of Half-blood wizards and Muggle-born wizard will inevitably increase; this is an irreversible trend."

Therefore, the pursuit of pure bloodlines is only a temporary measure.

Upon hearing Salazar's argument, Lucien felt a strong sense of unease.

Salazar's own views on bloodlines were surprisingly...

enlightened?

This doesn't match the records that have been passed down to this day. Is this a discrepancy in history spanning a thousand years?

"Then," Lucien pressed, following this line of thought, "Your real purpose in leaving the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk wasn't to eliminate the so-called non- Pure-blood?"

"Of course not. The Chamber of Secrets is an insurance policy I left for Hogwarts. If one day the school faces a crisis, my successor will be able to use its power to preserve the school's legacy."

Lucien paused for a moment, then pointed out the contradictions in reality:

"But the Basilisk, driven by Tom Riddle, attacked the students..."

Salazar nodded slightly.

"I anticipated the possibility of the power being misused, therefore, I placed a certain degree of seal on the Basilisk's eyes. The Basilisk's gaze will not be an instant death curse for the teachers and students of Hogwarts."

"If the Basilisk truly intends to slaughter the teachers and students of Hogwarts, then the restriction I placed in Basilisk soul will be activated, and it will immediately perish."

Therefore, Tom's meticulously planned scheme to manipulate the Basilisk into wreaking havoc at Hogwarts was doomed to failure from the very beginning.

Lucien instantly understood, but then felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him.

Well, I've already chopped down the school's thousand-year-old "guardians"...

Salazar seemed to have seen through Lucien's thoughts, his face showing complete indifference:

"It's alright. The Basilisk is ultimately just a 'tool.' With your talent, it won't be difficult for you to leave Hogwarts with far more protective measures than the Basilisk once you grow up."

"Now that the Basilisk is dead, you can use its snake eyes."

Salazar pointed to Lucien's eyes.

"Your eyes are nice, but there's room for improvement..."