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Lost Identity by Cheshlin

The young man that was known as Robert Denial knew that it was not his real name. He had been longing for years to hear the name he bore as a young child, but that child was long gone. Robert had been named William at birth and lived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. William had spent many happy hours with the woman he called Auntie Helga and her daughter Dorrie. William had known no fear and if not lots of love, enough to keep him content. Most the love had come from Helga Hufflepuff and her family, but there were times then that even his father had shown a soft and kind side.

The soft and kind side of Salazar Slytherin had melted away quickly as his longing for his wife, Katherine, had grown. Katherine had died when William was born, and as more time passed, William paid for living when she died. Salazar had originally been glad that he had at least one member of his family alive. As time past, however, the longing for the woman that had completed him grew so great that finding her in some form had taken over his life.

Salazar had also taken the loss of his wife out on the Muggle woman who was unable to save his wife’s life. He had been intolerant of Muggles previous to his wife’s death. That intolerance turned to outright hatred afterwards. This became the breaking point between Salazar the Hogwarts’ other founders and it all came tumbling down when William was a month short of six years old.

As Salazar pulled William out of the only home he had known, William was trying to figure out what Salazar had done to Godric Gryffindor’s and Rowena Ravenclaw’s oldest son, Arthur. All he remembered was a yellow flash of light before being yanked out of the room to their quarters where his father gathered a few item before pulling him to a secret passage that ended up leading to the small village of Hogsmeade.

William had never seen the castle again, nor had he heard the name William again. Over the years, he had been called many names, but finally decided enough was enough and tried to use William again. Salazar, who had also used many aliases, put his foot down. William then settled on his maternal grandfather’s name of Robert to use permanently, or until he was able to use his real name.

They moved from town to town where they were often chased away after the residents received hints of some of the dark things happening around the man and son. Salazar pursued his path of communicating with his wife Katherine and hoped to find some way to bring her back to him. This led to reanimation of the dead, grave robbing, and lots of different magic to prolong life and cheat death. William tried to have nothing to do with his father’s obsession, but his father would only teach him dark magic, so it was learn the dark magic or learn no magic at all. Learning dark potions did teach him properties to plants and herbs that he could then use for better purposes. His father also taught him antidotes and deductive magic where he could sometimes create his own spells.



Robert Denial lived with a wife his father had arranged for him and had two children and had just found out there was one on the way. Robert had no love for his wife who had agreed with his father about Muggles being inferior to wizards and witches and took a thrill at the dark magic her father-in-law taught her. She was also inclined to violent tempers that Robert had to protect their children from. He felt trapped in his loveless marriage, but would never abandon his children who needed his love in addition to his protection. Robert would also never go against social propriety and leave his wife, even though he did not like her.

Robert was on his way to his father’s lab to tell him about his newest family member. Robert had tried to move away from his father and live his own life, but his father had performed a spell on him when he was a child to find him wherever he went and Robert could not counter it. That was one of his life goals, to break free and live the life he wanted with just his family and break the spell. Now he would have to wait until the newest arrived but since he was no closer to breaking free he wasn’t worried about it.

“Father, where are you?” Robert called as he entered the stone house his father called home.

No answer came, so Robert entered the kitchen to brew some tea. As he warmed the kettle he looked out of the window. Just as he was sitting down to wait, he heard his father shouting outside, and rushed out the door see what was happening.

“You claim I give wizards a bad name! HOW DARE YOU! You are a Muggle loving blood traitor that should have been born one of them. I am doing nothing that is your business, and I will not leave. I have done enough running in my life, and I refuse to do it again,” Sterling Denial, formally known as Salazar Slytherin, aimed his wand at a small blonde woman and a flash of yellow hit Pauline Ravenclaw.

Robert ran and caught her as she fell. “Father, what are you doing? There could be other people around. You can’t just hex people because you don’t agree with them! Just think what the counsel would do to us if they had seen you.”

“How did I end up with such a son?” Sterling picked up two adder snakes as he walked towards the house and added in Parselmouth, “Come my darlings, we must get back to the lab.”

The yellow flash had brought back one of Robert’s earliest memories from back when he was actually happy, and he had to learn the truth. “That was the spell you used on Arthur Gryffindor, isn’t it?” Robert asked softly.

Sterling stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around. “Be careful son of using that name. That is the family that has kept us in hiding all these years. That traitor there is married to his mother’s cousin. Yes… that is the spell. I made that spell to protect myself as a child from bullies intent on hurting me with their magic. That day I used it to shut up a brat.”

“And what precisely is that spell? It isn’t one you have taught me, and you have taught me much,” Robert looked with a thoughtful squint up at his father.

“This is no place to discuss spells of this nature. Come into my lab, and I’ll...,” Sterling was cut off by a yell.

“Pauline! What has that man done to you?” Connor Ravenclaw ran over to his wife after walking around the house and seeing her in Robert’s arms, and took her from Robert.

After getting no response, Connor softly laid Pauline down and pushed Robert towards his father as he pulled his wand out. “I don’t know what you have done to her, but you will never hurt her again! You and your family are a plague to this village, and you will leave now, or face the consequences.”

“As I told your wife, we are going nowhere. This is where my wife was from, and I will not leave a place she loved. I can’t go back to where we lived together, so this is the best I can do.” Sterling aimed his wand at Connor, and put himself in front of Robert.

“We will be rid of you one way or another. Avada Kedavra! Connor yelled.

Robert tried to pull his father out of the way but was thrown off. The spell hit the ground at his feet, missing his father by inches.

“I warned you to leave us alone. Now you will pay for your insolence. Obliviate! Sterling’s spell hit Connor in the chest, and a second yellow flash followed.

“Father, what are you doing? These two are leaders in the community. By harming them, everyone else will be on our door as soon as they realize what has happened,” Robert said in disbelief. “You might be ready to move to another town, but I have a family to think of. Helen is in no shape to be moving across the country!”

“That is what the Obliviate was for,” Sterling answered calmly. “Now we Obliviate Pauline also and return them to their home. I have to go get the potion that will wake them. I finished brewing a cauldron yesterday. I had an inkling that the villagers would be confronting us soon. I had hoped to avoid that particular spell, but if they can’t remember that they are magical, then they will never miss the magic that I have taken from them.”

Robert was motionless for a moment, just staring at his father until what his father had said hit him. “You took their magic from them? That is what that yellow spell does? How could you do such a thing?”

“I’ll explain after you take them home. Let me fetch you the potion to give them before you leave. Put them into bed as if they had been ill.” Sterling was moving quickly into the house.

Given no other choice, Robert took the potion when Sterling brought it back then moved to levitate Pauline and Connor back to their home. After pulling out his wand and levitating the motionless couple, he turned back to his father. “They might not remember what you did or that they were magical, but the rest of the village will. We have to leave. I have to go get Helen, Adrianna, and Aidan and we’ll have to figure out where to go. It can’t be far because of Helen’s condition, but has to be where the villagers will not find us.”

“Slow down… we aren’t going anywhere. I’ve been preparing for trouble. Just bring your family here. No one will be able to get in unless they are family. Helen will be a little troublesome since she doesn’t have any of my blood in her, but we’ll work it out somehow.” Sterling headed back to his house.

“Helen will be fine; she is carrying another child, so there is some of our blood there. That is what I meant by her condition, Father. It is nice to know you are listening to me as well as always,” Robert replied.

“Good, that will make everything easier. Good to know you are expanding the family bloodline again! I’ll explain the yellow spell once everyone is here.” Sterling didn’t even glance back as he replied.



Two hours later, Robert guided his family with their most treasured belongings into his father’s house. He settled them into two of the spare rooms and then joined his father in his lab.

“Everyone is here and as settled as I can get them at the moment. Now you have a lot of explaining to do.” Robert sat down on a stool and looked at his father expectantly.

“I have been working hard to get closer to your mother. I think I finally have the means to bring her back to me. It will take all of our magic and that of those I have cursed to manage it. That is what that yellow spell does, allows me to control their magic making them like Muggles unless I allow them to have control back. The potion that is left in that beaker is what is left of the one that will bring the Ravenclaws back to consciousness, but they shall never perform a spell again.” Sterling looked at his son with a smile. “I believe that Arthur has managed to brew potions, but that is all the magic he has been able to do since I cursed him.”

Robert gasped in disbelief. He had known his father was going mad in his obsession for his mother, but hadn’t realized he was this far gone. “You have been stealing people’s magic? How could you do such a thing? Mother has been gone since I was born, so I’m sure she is happy where she is at. You have to drop your obsession!”

“I will not rest until I have your mother back! I have used blood magic to surround this house with protections that will only allow our blood in. I need your blood to bring your mother back, since I don’t have any of hers and you do.” Sterling had a mad gleam in his eyes that Robert had never seen before.

“Salazar! You can’t do this! I know our real names, and if you have truly hurt your old friend’s son in such a way, you deserve all the unhappiness you have had. I won’t let you destroy me along with yourself. We will use this house to protect us, since you have left us no other choice at the moment, but as soon as I can find somewhere safe, my family will be leaving.” Robert turned slowly to leave.

As he walked towards the door, the mirror on the wall showed his father pulling his wand and aiming it at his back. Quicker then his elderly father could move, Robert turned and shouted, “ Stupefy!

His father fell to the floor, hitting a cauldron on his way down. A dark potion fell down on his father’s chest, causing his robes to smoke.

Robert rushed over to figure out what he could do to stop the potion from injuring his father. He tried to pull the robes off with magic, since he didn’t dare touch them with his hands. His father was groaning in pain now, and nothing Robert did seemed to be helping. Blood was streaming down his chest from where the potion had burned through the robes.

In a soft voice, Salazar Slytherin spoke his last words. “There is nothing you can do. That potion was meant for the dead, not the living. I have done you wrong, my son. Deliver more of that potion tomorrow and work on moving on. I shall be with your mother very soon now. Add one drop of blood from every member of your family to the cauldron on the fire and take the potion and pour it around the house. No one but those whose blood was added shall be able to enter the house.” Salazar wheezed loudly now. “I love you, son.”

“Father? I’m sorry! I wasn’t trying to harm you. I wanted you to drop your madness. I haven’t liked all that you have taught me, but you were a great teacher. I will pass your lessons on to my children, and they shall know who their grandfather truly was.” A few tears slide down Robert’s face as he held his father’s hand knowing the end was close.

Robert watched as his father’s gaze went dark. Even in death his father would not call him by his birth name. How was he to know who he was, if even his father didn’t? Robert was surprised at the sadness he felt for the man who had neglected him to chase the dead, but now he had to choose his own path which was something he never was given the chance to do before. It scared him a bit.

Robert looked around the room and gathered a few things he knew couldn’t be replaced easily. He spoke to his father’s two adders in Parselmouth, “Father is dead, so now I shall care for you if you will permit it.”

The adders nodded in agreement and slithered up either of his arms after he offered them.

Robert left the room and turned to face it. He cast a few spell to make it so nothing within could exit the room, and then he cast an eternal fire to burn along with his father’s dreams. Now he had to find his own way.


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