FIC: The Creators -- Chapter Two -- PG-13

[batsutousai]

Title: The Creators
Author: batsutousai
Beta: The amazing, the beautiful, tsuki_no_suzu!
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Susan/Neville, Ron/Krum, Hermione/Bill, Sarah/??, Harry/NO ONE, DAMMIT!
Warnings: Mentions of child-abuse, anti-Muggle sentiments, mentions of murder and rape, anti-Dumbledore
Summary: 'When their Creators return, their world shall be remade.' Four children hold the fate of the Wizarding World in their un-tried hands.

Disclaim Her: Just realized that Harry's going to be in Gryffindor when Colin Creevey comes to Hogwarts. There may be blood.


-0-0-
Socially Acceptable
-0-0-

The four Founders were woken by the castle as the sun peeked over the mountains to the east. They all got up without complaint and got dressed, then met outside the Room of Requirement. When they walked into the waiting room, they found a young woman made of living stone, smiling at them. "Hello," she said.

"Hello, Hogwarts," Ronald replied, smiling back.

The Founders conjured chairs and sat before their creation, all smiling and feeling content to sit in silence for a long moment.

Finally, Hogwarts asked, "What brings you back, my parents?"

The students traded looks. "We're not sure," Harry said. "We simply woke to this world eleven years ago, knowing who we were."

"The Hat said something about causing a stir," Hermione added, eyeing the Hat, which sat happily on Ronald's head. "Speaking of, when was the last time you had a bath, you ridiculous piece of headwear?"

"Knowing it?" Harry offered drily. "Never."

"I get hit with a Cleaning Charm once a year," the Hat informed them. "Although, considering where you fall in the alphabet, Salazar, I'm not surprised you refused to put me on." It smirked at him.

Harry sneered back. "Watch it, Hat. I know how to silence you."

"Sal!" Ronald cried, taking the Hat off to hug it protectively. "Don't listen to him, Hat. I won't let him and his little wand anywhere near you."

"Speaking of wands!" Hogwarts said, and four wands popped out of the stonework in front of her. When the four children gave her startled looks, she smiled smugly. "I kept them after the battle," she told them, sounding quite pleased with herself. "Hat and I thought you might come back."

Harry reached forward and gently grasped his first. He gasped at the rush of power and rightness the blackthorn and basilisk egg shell wand gave him. He fingered the vines curling up the shaft and swallowed. "Thank you, Hogwarts," he managed.

Hermione leaned forward to grab her own wand of ash and griffin feather, while Susan called her wand of hazel and a sliver of unicorn horn – willingly given – to her by the magic she'd imbued in it as Helga. Ronald set the Hat to one side and slipped out of his chair a bit to grab his own wand, oak and the heartstring of a Common Welsh Green. All three echoed Harry's pleasure at having their wands back.

"You're most welcome," Hogwarts told them happily. "It was the least I could do, after you gave your lives to protect me."

The Founders traded looks, remembering that last horrible battle for the right to teach magical children whatever they wished, where they wished it. Their enemies had been a group of Muggle villagers with pitchforks and fires. The four Founders had gone out to try and talk peace with them, but it had quickly turned into a minor war. They'd managed to hold off the mob long enough for the other members of staff and the few older students to bring up wards to keep the Muggles away before succumbing to death.

"Can we talk about something a little less... depressing?" Ronald pleaded, looking pale.

"Hogwarts?" Harry asked, leaning forward. "Is the Headmaster up yet?"

Hogwarts tilted his stone head to one side. "Yes. He should be heading to the Great Hall for breakfast shortly."

Harry nodded and turned to Susan. "You have the traitor with you?"

Susan blinked, then shook her head with a helpless smile. "Of course. Are we off, then?"

Harry stood, vanishing his chair with a jerk of his old wand. He spared a pleased smile for how quickly it responded, compared to his phoenix wand, then led the way from the room.

Susan sighed, vanishing her own chair. "We'll see you around, Hogwarts. And thank you. Again."

Hogwarts smiled. "Of course," she said, then faded into the floor as the other two stood and followed Harry from the room.

The four students found Dumbledore as he was leaving his office. He looked surprised, briefly, when he saw them, but smiled all the same. "What can I do for you, children?"

Harry crossed his arms over his chest and eyed Dumbledore coolly. "We found out of the train that Ron's rat is the supposedly dead Peter Pettigrew. Hagrid wouldn't listen when we told him, so we're bringing him to you. He betrayed my parents, not Sirius."

Dumbledore looked absolutely shocked for a moment before covering it. "Do you have him here?" he asked the students. When all four nodded, he waved them back up into his office, where he asked, "Where is he, then?"

Harry eyed him suspiciously, then nodded to Susan, who rolled her eyes at him and pulled out the bound rat. She handed him over to the Headmaster, who cast the spell to turn Pettigrew back into a human.

At the sight of the rat's human form, Dumbledore gave a terrible sigh and looked back at the children. "Thank you for bringing this to me, children."

"Will you call the aurors?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore eyed Harry curiously. "Of course. But aren't you four hungry?"

Harry glanced back at his friends and grinned when Ronald gave him a pleading look. "I think Ron is," he told the Headmaster, earning him a pained groan from his friend.

"Glutton," Hermione informed their friend. "Don't you ever get enough to eat?"

"No," Ronald almost whined. "Harry, mate, I don't care if you stay up here, but can the rest of us get some food?"

Harry shrugged. At Dumbledore's sharp look, he snapped, "I'm not going anywhere until I'm sure my godfather is free from that horrid place. I don't think I could stomach anything, knowing what he's facing. It was hard enough last night."

Susan's gentle hand rested on Harry's shoulder. "Ron, 'Mione, why don't you two head down? I'll stay with Harry."

"Sure thing, Susan," Hermione agreed, then let herself be dragged from the office by Ronald.

Harry covered Susan's hand with his own, a silent 'thank you' to his most loyal and steadfast friend. "Headmaster?"

Dumbledore sighed and walked over to his fireplace. While he was busy with the Floo, Harry took out his old wand and cast a silent Obliviate at the lying rat, erasing his knowledge of the four teens' past identities.

"I should have thought of that," Susan whispered, shaking her head.

Harry grinned. "Sneaky thinking is my job, Susan. You're the nice one."

Susan snorted and gently swatted his arm. "Slimy bastard."

"Oiy! My parents were married, thanks," Harry whispered back.

"Yeah. This time."

Before Harry could come up with a good retort to that, Dumbledore stepped back and three men stepped through the Floo. One wore a bright green bowler hat – "Minister Fudge," Susan hissed with disgust – while the other two wore uniform auror battle robes.

As soon as Fudge saw them, his eyes brightened and he bustled over. "Harry Potter! A pleasure! I'm the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge," he said, holding out his hand with a jovial smile.

Harry eyed the offered hand like it was covered in slime. "You'll have my godfather freed from Azkaban, correct?" he asked, looking up at the Minister through narrowed eyes.

Fudge looked a little taken aback and not a little nervous. "Well, my boy, it's a bit more difficult than th–"

Susan stepped forward, looking every inch the highbred pureblood she'd been raised as this time around. "Minister, save us your bureaucratic nonsense. My aunt told me that Sirius Black never got a trial; he shouldn't have been in Azkaban in the first place."

"The evidence against him was overwhelming," Fudge tried.

"What evidence?" Harry asked, killing curse green eyes narrowed.

"Harry," Dumbledore cautioned, coming over to the three while the aurors took Pettigrew back through the Floo.

Harry's eyes practically blazed, but he held his tongue.

Dumbledore smiled kindly. "Cornelius, surely we can have Sirius Black transported from Azkaban to auror headquarters until Pettigrew has been properly questioned? Even the fact of him being alive brings a number of the events of that week into question. At the very least, doesn't Sirius deserve a proper trial?"

"Well..." Fudge hedged.

Harry smiled winningly and said, "Wouldn't the wizarding public like a Minister who tries to clean up the messes of his predecessor? Especially something for the Boy-Who-Lived."

Dumbledore eyed Harry with a touch of suspicion again, but Fudge puffed his chest up and tried to look very important. "Yes, of course, Mr Potter. I'll see to it right away that Black is brought over and his case is reopened. We must get to the bottom of this error. Yes." He turned and walked over towards the fireplace. "Good afternoon, Dumbledore! Busy, busy!"

Harry smirked as the green flames swallowed the idiot up, then turned to look up at the Headmaster innocently. "Thank you for all your assistance, Headmaster," he said politely, then led Susan from the office.

"Salazar..." Susan muttered, not sure if she was swearing like the modern wizards and witches did, or telling him off.

Harry snickered and grinned at her. "Did you see that, Helga?" he said, eyes bright with excitement. "Sirius will soon be freed. I don't have to return to those disgusting Muggles!" He grabbed her hands and swung them around in a circle, laughing happily.

Susan smiled and drew the happy boy into a tight hug. "It's wonderful, Sal. But let's go get some food, yeah?"

Harry's eyes widened. "I have to tell Ric and Row!" he declared, then took off down the hall.

Susan laughed at her friend and followed him at a much more sedate pace.

-0-0-0-

The first week of classes proved to be rather entertaining, all things considered. The four Founders enjoyed their classes – other than History, perhaps, which made even Hermione want to cry – but were still looking forward to the weekend. It didn't help that they already knew all the spells they were learning so well, they could likely cast them in their sleep. Ronald and Harry got particularly desperate for the weekend after their first potions class on Thursday.

Harry's day had started out well; he'd finally gotten a letter, letting him know that Sirius had been officially cleared and was spending time in St Mungo's, recuperating. His friends had all been happy for him and they'd jokingly made plans to visit the man at the hospital that weekend during a bit of free time, though they weren't sure how they would manage to get off campus without being noticed.

Harry had practically skipped down to the dungeons with Ronald, who was shaking his head in amusement at his normally reserved friend's behaviour. If he'd known giving Harry a family who loved him and wasn't a Muggle would be the thing to lighten the darker wizard's mood, he would have suggested it to the girls in their past life.

When Snape had slammed the door open and ordered the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws in, they had mostly crept through the doorway – Hufflepuffs were often terrified of the man, and the Ravenclaws had heard enough stories from the upper years to be as quiet and attentive as possible. Ronald, on the other hand, had walked in calmly, having heard about the man from his siblings, who had all been Gryffindors, and curious how he acted towards the two supposedly neutral Houses. Harry was just too happy to know that Sirius was free and being in the dungeons to care about acting as cowed as his fellow Housemates, who all thought he was bonkers anyway.

As soon as they were all seated, Snape took roll. He paused before Harry's name and looked up at him, lips curling with a sneer which immediately set Harry on guard. "Harry Potter. Our new... celebrity."

Harry narrowed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, ignoring the scared looks from his Housemates and the hopeless look Ronald was sporting. Even when the Slytherin Head went back to calling roll, Harry eyed him like he was dissecting the man, trying to figure out what made him tick.

As it was, Harry wasn't the least surprised when Snape turned to him as soon as he'd finished roll and snapped out, "Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry smiled coolly. "Draught of Living Death."

Snape's eyes narrowed. "And where, Potter, would you find a bezoar?"

"I would assume there would be one in the storage closet, in case someone were to accidently get poisoned," Harry replied, amused with how red Snape's face was getting. He idly wondered if he could get the man's face to go as purple as Vernon's had gone on occasion. "But they are...harvested, as it were, from the stomach of a goat."

"Monkshood and wolfsbane–"

"Are also known as aconite," Harry finished, getting a little bored with the impromptu quiz. "And if we don't get started on today's potion soon, no one's going to complete it," he added tiredly.

"Ten points from Gryff–" Snape stopped, a horrible smile coming over his features, as if something had just occurred to him. The Hufflepuffs shuddered while Ronald and the Ravenclaws stared at the man in growing horror. Harry just eyed him curiously. "No, you're a Hufflepuff," Snape said, sounding so very pleased with that bit of knowledge.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Until next year," he agreed drily. "Then, I'm sure, you can feel free to punish Gryffindor for all my non-existent infractions." He sneered at the professor, which seemed to surprise the man. "I wonder, sir, who is the more immature of the two of us? You take your fury at my father – who I never knew, just for future reference – out on me. How very unprofessional."

Snape had turned a lovely shade of purple fury as Harry spoke, and the boy was quite pleased at himself for managing it. "Fifty points from Hufflepuff!" he practically roared.

Harry chuckled, making his House look at him like he'd lost his mind. Before he could said anything else, Ronald slapped his hand over his friend's mouth and hissed, "If you don't shut it right now, your House is going to lynch you."

Harry eyed him with irritation. All four Founders had made about one hundred points each for their Houses so far because of their knowledge of all the spells and the ease with which they did them.

Snape seemed to decide Harry was done for the moment, because he stalked back up to the board and magically wrote the instructions for a boil cure potion up there. "In pairs. Get to work."

"I'll get the ingredients," Ronald mumbled, then go up and hurried over to the stores. Harry turned to watch him go, then set about setting up their station. While Harry hadn't taught Potions himself – he was more inclined to instruct students about Dark Arts and their Defence – he had always enjoyed the subject. And he wasn't about to let some overgrown bat with a complex ruin things for him.

Potions, much like the 'beginner spells' they learned in first and second year, hadn't changed much over the centuries – there had been advancements, of course, but not in the simple potions, like this one – so even Ronald, who had always had difficulty understanding Potions, was able to complete the potion without difficulty. This was all very good, as Snape had decided to stalk their table, which Harry found humorous in the childishness of it.

The only real danger in Snape focusing on Harry and Ronald was that he hadn't been able to spot the Hufflepuff potion two tables behind them, which melted and made a slow crawl towards where Snape was eyeing Harry. Luckily enough for the professor, one of the Ravenclaws called his attention to the seeping danger before it could reach him. Snape turned from Ronald and Harry long enough to yell at the two Hufflepuffs, then send them both off to the hospital wing with minor boils. When he turned back to Harry's table, the two boys were bottling their potion – three bottles, two of which he was careful not to let Snape see, because Harry didn't trust this man not to 'accidently' destroy their sample.

Indeed, as soon as their workspace was properly cleaned up, Snape 'accidently' knocked Harry and Ronald's potion off his desk. When it burst on the floor, Snape smirked nastily and said, "I guess that's a zero for the day, Potter."

Harry smirked right back. "On the contrary, sir, I know exactly how clumsy people can be around the potions of people they dislike. Here's another bottle." He handed it over, feeling triumphant at the furious look on Snape's face. On his way back to his table with Ronald, he heard the second bottle hit the floor and grinned evilly when it didn't break. He'd cast an unbreakable charm on it to keep it intact, in case the professor should try and break it again.

"Ten points from Hufflepuff," Snape spat, picking up the bottle.

Harry just rolled his eyes at the man's immaturity.

-0-0-0-

By the weekend, the four Founders were quite ready to skip school entirely. Even Hermione, who had been having a dreadful time of it among the Muggle-haters of Slytherin, was ready to move on.

"I never knew being a child again would be so exhausting," Susan complained, magically fanning herself with an essay she'd just finished. "How can they stand it?"

"I assume it's because they don't know any better," Harry grumbled, staring up at the sky. "It's not like they've ever been adults before. We're the lucky ones."

"Lucky. Ha!" Ronald replied against the book of history Hermione was making him study. (She would have made Harry and Susan study it too, but Susan's parents had been strict about her learning spells and history as a child, and Harry had spent his month after getting his supplies soaking up everything he could, including a millennium worth of history, spells and potions.)

"Read that book, Godric," Hermione said warningly, briefly checking to make sure their privacy bubble was still intact.

Ronald gave her a disgusted look, but peeled his face off the page and returned to reading the print.

"I want to go see Sirius," Harry murmured. "I need to know he's okay."

Susan smiled at him and reached down a hand to run it through his hair. "I know. And I wish we could get you there–"

"Why not?" Ronald asked, sitting up and staring at the two. He deftly ducked the hand Hermione aimed at the back of his head and said, "We know the secrets of this castle better than the Headmaster, right? And Hogwarts would never deny you the right to see family."

"She'd probably hide your disappearance, too," Susan agreed, smiling. "Oh, Sal, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Harry frowned. "Yeah, but that still doesn't explain how an eleven year old got off the school grounds and to St Mungo's without a professor's approval."

"Oh..." Ronald laid back down, face in the text. "Bugger."

Hermione rolled her eyes. As far as she was concerned, as long as none of the professors or their fellow students could hear them, Ronald was old enough to use whatever language he wished, but she happily smacked him if a professor wasn't there to take points, otherwise. "Godric, read."

Ronald mumbled some choice words into the book in Gaelic, making Hermione and Susan blush and Harry snort in amusement.

"No suggestions, Row?" Harry asked, leaning up on his elbows to eye his friend.

Hermione sighed and tugged on a lock of curly hair, a sign she was thinking a problem through. "Well, I know how you are disinclined to follow rules–"

The other three snorted at that understatement.

"–and while I agree that, as the Founders, we shouldn't have to follow some of their silly rules–"

"Rowena Ravenclaw? Disinclined to follow rules?" Ronald gasped theatrically, earning him a snicker from Harry and an amused eye roll from Susan.

"–but as we are children in their minds, we have to follow their rules," Hermione finished, then smacked the back of Ronald's head. "And watch your mouth, you annoying cat."

"Oiy! I'm a lion, not a cat!" Ronald complained, turning to give Hermione a wounded look.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the other, then froze, eyes brightening with an idea. "Wait. Of course..."

"Well? Share with the rest of the class," Harry said, waving her on.

Hermione smiled at him. "You just want to see Sirius, right? You don't need to talk to him?"

Harry blinked, then grinned widely and stood. "Why yes, my dear Row, I'd love to go for a flight in your talons. Just don't try to eat me again, right?" He paused in his excitement to give Hermione a suspicious look.

Hermione winced, recalling the first and only time they'd gone out together in their Animagi forms; Rowena had taken Salazar's snake form out for a flight as an eagle and had almost eaten him in a moment of forgetfulness. Salazar had, of course, never let Rowena forget it. "I'm much better now," she said.

Harry considered her. "Well, you've had at least ten years more practise, so I should hope so. Hey, Hogwarts? Can you make sure no one sees us leave or return?"

'Yes, of course. Be safe,' Hogwarts' voice spoke in their minds.

"Read that book, Godric. I'll quiz you when we get back," Hermione ordered Ronald, then turned into her golden eagle form and picked up Harry's bright green adder form.

Ronald groaned as the two flew off, glaring at his book. "Why does history have to be so boring, anyway?"

Susan giggled faintly and slid off the bench she'd been sitting on to kneel next to him. "Should I try and make it fun, then?"

Ronald eyed her suspiciously for a moment, before seeming to remember that Susan was the one least likely to mean something other than what she said and nodded. "Please?"

"Of course. Now, what has Row got you learning..."

-0-0-0-

As soon as Hermione and Harry saw the building their people were using to hide St Mungo's in, they realized they had a problem. They landed and turned back into their human forms in an abandoned alley near the hospital, since they couldn't communicate with each other in their animal forms without eye contact – Salazar Slytherin and Rowena Ravenclaw had been two of the best Legilimens of their time, and were able to communicate with anyone by eye contact. Helga and Godric had also been Occlumens – they had to be, with their two best friends being such accomplished Legilimens – but they had never cared enough about the art to learn anything more than the basic Occlumency.

"So, you can't get to Sirius' window while the wards are up around the building," Harry said, eyeing Hermione with irritation.

"Yes, Sal. I don't have the Magic Sight like you and Helga do, okay? I can't see through wards, not wards this strong. And if I can't see through them, I can't land in his window."

Harry sighed and sat himself on top of a trash can. "To have come all this way..."

Hermione sighed and found a stack of cement blocks to sit on. "I'm so sorry, Sal. I know how much you wanted to see him."

Harry shook his head. "I don't suppose you'd agree to going in under magical disguise?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, because they wouldn't be watching for that."

"It was worth a try," Harry said, shrugging. "And since I doubt your metamorphing abilities followed you to this body..."

Hermione blinked at him, then blinked again. "But, they weren't useful before..."

Harry eyed her suspiciously. "Row, they let you change your apparent age. Useless as an adult, particularly one everyone recognized, but as an unknown Muggleborn..."

Hermione's eyes widened in understanding. Being a metamorph had always been something she'd considered useless, since her gift hadn't been strong enough to change her features, only her apparent age and height. But, for this, her useless ability wasn't so useless. "Merlin! Why didn't I think of that?"

Harry smirked. "Because, my dear Row, you think in a straight line. I think–"

"All over the place, yes, Salazar. I know." Hermione rolled her eyes while Harry chuckled. "Very well. Are you going to be my snake familiar, then?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. And, yes, I know, I can understand you, but you can't understand me. If I really need your attention, don't bite you, just lightly tap your chin with my head."

Hermione chuckled. Those had been the rules all three Founder had used back when Salazar was considered evil and he needed to go somewhere that was, for a Dark wizard such as him, socially unacceptable. They'd had to add the last rule after Salazar had bitten Godric once to get his attention. Though adder poison wasn't particularly harmful to humans, it still caused a fuss, and hurt like hell.

Hermione quickly changed her age, so she looked to be in her early twenties, then picked up Harry's adder form and draped him over her shoulders. "You know," she said conversationally as she walked from the alley, "you're much lighter as a child snake."

Harry let out a warning hiss, then some choice Parsel curses when Hermione just laughed.

They got into the hospital's waiting room without incident. At the desk, Hermione smiled winningly and asked after Mr Sirius Black. "I'm a friend of his godson's, you see," she told the wide-eyed nurse. "And Harry can't leave Hogwarts right now, so he asked me to come and see with my own eyes that he was okay. It's not that he doesn't trust the Ministry's assurances or anything..."

"Oh, no, I completely understand," the nurse said, smiling a bit wryly. "After everything the Ministry's put that man through, I would want to make sure he was okay, too. I'm glad he found someone to come in and check for him, though." She directed Hermione up to the first floor, where Sirius had a private room until he'd recovered enough for the hospital staff to feel safe in letting him back into the world.

Hermione hurried up to the stated room, a cheerful snake hissing away on her shoulder. As soon as she reached the door, she froze. Should she knock? Just walk right in?

Harry ended her concerns by magically hardening his tail and rapping firmly on the door.

"That was unnecessary," Hermione told him, rolling her eyes.

Harry let out a pleased hiss and curled his tail around her neck loosely.

"Come in!" called a ragged voice. When Hermione poked her head in, she found a black-haired man sitting up in the hospital bed, blinking at her owlishly. "It's not time for lunch, then?" he asked tiredly, then fell back against his pillows. "I'm not doing any interviews, so go away."

"I'm not here for interviews," Hermione said, quietly stepping into the room and letting the door close behind here. "Harry asked me to come. To make sure you're okay."

Sirius jerked up in the bed and he stared at her, blue eyes wide. "Harry?" he whispered.

Harry hissed happily and bumped his head against Hermione's chin.

Hermione took a quick look around the room, nodded, and set Harry on the floor. "Yes," she said as said boy turned back into himself, "Harry."

Bright green eyes sparkled at Sirius' gobsmacked look. "Hello, Sirius."

"But–" Sirius shook his head. "How'd you become an Animagus? I thought you were only eleven!"

Harry shrugged. "I was being chased by my cousin and had nowhere to run. Ended up changing into a snake as a bit of accidental magic. Been able to do it since," he said.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry's explanation. While it was true that Salazar had first found his form due to a need to hide and with the help of some accidental magic, it had taken him an additional two years to recreate the transformation under normal circumstances.

Sirius, of course, didn't know that, and happily took Harry's explanation at face value. "Wicked," he declared. "Not sure about you being a snake, though..." He eyed Harry a little oddly.

Harry shrugged and pulled up a chair. "I like snakes; they're sensible."

"Right up until they bite you," Hermione agreed cheerfully, drawing forward a chair of her own.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I did warn you it was there. You're the one who stepped on it."

Sirius snickered. "Alright, then. I suppose I'll forgive you being a snake. As long as you're not a slimy Slytherin."

Harry tensed slightly. He forced a smile and managed, "No, Hufflepuff, I'm afraid."

Sirius grinned. "Nothing wrong with Hufflepuffs. Plenty of Potters have been Hufflepuffs. Couple Ravenclaws, too. Mostly Gryffindors, though..."

"One of my best mates is a Gryffindor," Harry said, his smile a bit more genuine. "Real idiot, he is," he added, referring to Ronald, as he was the real Gryffindor of their group, not Susan.

Hermione snickered. "He rather is, isn't he?"

Sirius eyed Hermione curiously. "Sorry, by the way. Didn't catch your name."

"Oh, this is 'Mione," Harry said, kicking his feet happily. "She's one of my year mates."

Sirius cocked a disbelieving eyebrow at that.

"I'm a partial metamorph," Hermione explained. "I can change my height and age myself, but I can't change things like my hair and eyes."

Sirius blinked. "Unusual, that. My cousin, Nymphadora, is a metamorphmagus. Full thing."

"Lucky girl," Hermione muttered.

Harry tugged gently on Hermione's hair. "Hey, no feeling sorry for yourself, you hear? Only one in this room who's got the right to feel sorry for themselves is Sirius; he was stuck in Azkaban for ten years."

Hermione smiled at him. "Yeah, yeah."

Sirius snickered at them. "Aren't you a bit young to be dating?" he teased.

Hermione turned a bright red while Harry scowled. "I wouldn't date 'Mione if you paid me," he declared. "No offence, 'Mione."

Hermione huffed. "The feeling's mutual," she assured him. "I don't make a habit of dating my surrogate brother."

Sirius practically howled with laughter at the two of them. The children took a moment to glare at the laughing man before slowly smiling and laughing themselves. It was a rather ridiculous argument.

The three spoke a bit longer about Hogwarts, and Sirius offered stories of Harry's parents, which the boy ate up with bright eyes. Hermione had just sat there, enjoying watching her friend be happy, for once.

After about an hour, Hermione cut in, saying, "Harry, we should probably go soon. I don't know how long the others can cover our absence."

Sirius blinked. "You're not supposed to be here?"

Harry shrugged. "Didn't think I'd be allowed, so 'Mione and I worked out a way to get over here without getting caught. Ron and Susan stayed and covered for us."

Sirius grinned. "Excellent. It's good to know you're continuing with the family work."

Harry smiled. "Yeah. Got to keep those professors on their toes."

Sirius laughed again. "Well, best get back, then. Don't let McGonagall catch you."

"Sure thing," Harry agreed, clasping Sirius' hand. "I'll see you again, Sirius."

"Sure thing, kiddo. Stay safe."

"You too," Harry replied, then turned back into a snake and let Hermione pick him up.

"It was nice talking to you, Sirius," Hermione said with a smile.

"You too, 'Mione. Take care of yourself."

"Cheers," Hermione replied, then turned and left the room and the hospital.

-0-0-0-

"That took a lot longer than a 'peek'," Ronald complained once Harry and Hermione were human again.

Harry shrugged. "Row couldn't see through the wards, so we had to walk in. Talked to Sirius for a bit. He's good."

"That's good," Susan said. "Maybe you'll be able to stay with him from now on."

"Oh, I intend to," Harry assured his friends, all of whom smiled at him.

Hermione took a seat next to Ronald on the ground. "How has your studying gone, Godric?"

Ronald scowled at her a bit. "Must you use my full name, Row?"

"When you're not doing your work, yes," Hermione replied, tugging the book away from him. "I said I was going to quiz you, didn't I?"

Ronald sighed. "Yeah, alright. Do your worst."

Susan and Harry chuckled behind them and settled in for the show.

-0-0-0-

On Sunday, the four friends decided to explore the castle a bit, to see what had changed. Hermione held them up a bit to talk to her daughter – she'd already made peace with the Bloody Baron earlier in the week – and they'd spent almost an hour being lost in the dungeons, while Harry laughed at them. (The other three had finally hexed Harry into showing them the way out. They'd ended up losing ten points for Ravenclaw and Gryffindor and twenty for Hufflepuff when Snape caught them, but otherwise the whole trip had been a lot of fun.)

The only major change to the school had been the addition to the third floor. Dumbledore had warned them all against poking their noses into the additional rooms at the Welcoming Feast, but the Founders hadn't really thought anything of it at the time. Now, however, they were standing down the hallway from the out-of-bounds door, eyeing it suspiciously with privacy wards up around them.

"So, they added a trapdoor, threw in a bunch of rooms, filled them with traps a third year could manage, and hid a magical stone down there that's supposedly priceless," Harry deadpanned after Hogwarts had finished answering all their questions about the addition.

"Right. And that's not the least bit suspicious," Ronald agreed. Since Ronald wasn't a suspicious person by nature, that was quite the statement.

"Why hide it behind tests?" Susan asked for all of them. "Why not just give it to Hogwarts to protect?"

"Because Albus is planning something. Obviously," the Hat said, shaking its brim in disgust. "And I wouldn't be surprised if it had to do with you, Salazar."

"Why me?" Harry replied, looking disgusted.

"Uhm, let's see here. Because you're the Boy-Who-Lived?" Hermione suggested sarcastically.

"Row, you sounded scarily like Sal for a moment there," Ronald commented.

"Yeah, so? I did a ritual to keep my Heirs from killing me." Harry snorted in disgust. "Any Dark wizard with any sense would have done the same."

"Yes, Sal. We know, Sal," Hermione and Ronald intoned. Susan giggled.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I still don't understand why that makes me famous," he commented. "Surviving the Killing Curse due to a ritual was common back home."

'But this isn't home,' Hogwarts said. 'This is now. People don't perform those rituals anymore.'

"She has a point," Susan agreed. "Scrolls and books with the old arts are illegal to own. I'm sure there are some hidden in your Gringotts vaults, but no one else will have them."

"They were, supposedly, all burned in the Scroll Fires of the twelve hundreds," Hermione agreed, citing a bit of the history she'd assimilated. "I seriously doubt any were pulled from your vaults, so those are likely all that's left. I mean, there might be a few other written copies, from people who remembered the rituals and rewrote them after the Fires..."

"Sorry, Sal," Ronald said with a wide smile. "You're one of a kind."

Harry sneered. "Oh, wonderful. Thanks."

"But that still doesn't explain why he'd do something so stupid," Ronald commented. "If I know my House – and I do – a three-headed dog won't keep a curious upper year out of there. In fact, they'd probably consider it a challenge."

"And precious artefact goes bye-bye," Harry agreed brightly. When the others shot him odd looks, he smirked.

"It there any way you could just hide it somewhere else, Hogwarts?" Susan asked the school. "So even if someone gets through the protections, the artefact won't be found?"

'I wish I could, but I've been forbidden to move it,' Hogwarts replied.

"What?" Hermione asked, horrified. How could someone refuse Hogwarts the ability to change things in her own building?"

"Oh, I really don't like this Headmaster," Harry growled. "He sets up tests – tests – to guard a precious stone, then refuses to let Hogwarts place her own protections around it?"

"The hell," Ronald agreed. "I suppose we'll have to find a way to protect it ourselves, then." Brown eyes glittered brightly.

"No. No, no, no! We're not having any of your stunts, Godric Gryffindor!" Harry snapped.

"But how else are we going to protect it?" Ronald asked.

Harry turned to Hermione and Susan pleadingly. "Come on, help me out here."

"It had merit," Susan decided slowly.

Harry turned to Hermione, eyes wide. "Row, please. Talk some sense into those two?"

Hermione offered him a regretful look. "Well, Sal, if you're going to have to go get it later this year, anyway..."

'I can transport you to the room it's being held in,' Hogwarts said. 'I can't transport you out again, not with the Stone, but I can open the apparation wards so you can apparate out somewhere safe.'

"Great, even the castle's against me," Harry muttered, earning him three grins and a mental smile.

"Right," Ronald decided, taking charge. "Hogwarts, if you'd please transfer us?"

"Beam me up, Scotty," Hermione agreed happily.

Ronald and Susan looked horribly confused, but Harry muttered, "Too much muggle telly."

Before anyone could comment more on that, they were down in the room, staring at a small red stone, which was in the middle of the floor in a large room. Ronald picked it up with a grin. "Excellent."

"We should conjure a replacement," Susan said. "We don't want Dumbledore coming down here and discovering it's missing. He'd probably take it out on Hogwarts."

The other three grimaced, then shot disgusted looks up towards the Head Office.

Hermione snatched the stone from Ronald and studied it for a moment, then quickly conjured a replica in the spot it had been laying at.

"Brilliant," Ronald whispered, kneeling to eye the new stone. "It even feels like the real thing."

"Row's just an ace at conjuring," Susan said, sounding proud.

Ronald and Harry traded amused looks while Hermione blushed.

"So, where are we going to hide this thing?" Hermione inquired.

"Hogwarts' Chamber?" Harry suggested.

The others blinked. "It wouldn't hurt to have such a strong magical artefact next to her core?" Susan asked.

"It shouldn't," Hermione said, eyeing the stone curiously. "It might even strengthen her core a bit."

"That's good, then," Susan decided.

"Your snake won't mind?" Ronald asked Harry, referring to the basilisk he'd set to guarding Hogwarts' magical core – her soul, as it was.

Harry cocked his head thoughtfully. "Nah. She might be a little put off by us suddenly all appearing in there at once, but she should be fine with it."

"If she's even still alive," Hermione muttered.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Right. Are the apparation wards open, Hogwarts?"

'Yup!'

"Hmm... I'm beginning to think the elves are feeding her sugar again," the Hat commented jokingly.

The four Founders snorted in amusement, then apparated to the chamber where Hogwarts' core was kept. Ronald, Hermione and Susan all kept their eyes tightly closed, while Harry hissed soothingly to the basilisk they'd woken. After a long moment, Harry said, "It's safe to open your eyes."

There was a moment of silent awe before Susan whispered, "Wow. Sal, she got big."

Harry smiled like a happy father and gently scratched part of the ridge above the snake's eyes. "I know. Isn't she beautiful?"

"Only you, Sal," Ronald commented fondly.

Hermione huffed and turned to place the stone next to the glowing ball of rock that floated in the heart of the room. Almost immediately, a strand of energy formed between Hogwarts and the stone, and her core brightened.

'Oooh... I like that...' the school commented contentedly.

The four Founders laughed and smiled fondly at the floating ball.

"So has she just been sitting down here, eating rats for a thousand years?" Susan asked Harry once they'd all quieted.

Harry hissed the question to his snake, then rapidly paled as she answered.

"What?" Hermione demanded. "What did she do?"

Harry winced. Rowena had always been against him having a dangerous creature which only he could control in a school full of children. Even if they'd placed her there to protect the school's core and, in the case of an emergency, come up and ward off any attackers that might have otherwise gotten through the wards.

"Sal?" Susan whispered, placing a hand on his arm.

"My Heir," he said, throat tight. "He thought I'd placed her here to kill off the muggleborns. He set her free. She hadn't thought anything of it; wanted to see the castle again. It was so lonely down here."

"She killed someone, didn't she?" Ronald asked, brown eyes sad.

"Yes," Harry whispered. "A girl. She was in the bathroom they built over the entrance. Ashala didn't mean to!"

"I told you," Hermione whispered furiously. "I told you she was dangerous."

"But she didn't do it on purpose!" Harry cried, hugging the snake's great head. "Row, she's hurting because of it. She doesn't want to go up again. She doesn't want to hurt another student!"

"But she did it once," Hermione hissed. "She'll forget, Salazar. She'll forget that child and she'll go up again."

'How can she forget?' Hogwarts asked, voice so terribly old. 'That girl now haunts the bathroom. And it's really not her fault, Rowena. I told the builders not to build that bathroom there. Honest, I did. But they didn't listen. And you've never met the young Voldemort. He was such a charmer, so much like a young Salazar...'

"Row," Susan said, gently rubbing the snake's head, "you remember what Sal was like when we were younger? You couldn't say no to him half the time, once he'd turned on the charm. None of us could."

"It's not the snake's fault for being used," Ronald agreed, reaching over to squeeze Hermione's shoulder.

Hermione stared at them all for a long moment, then said, "Hogwarts, if you could send me to my dorm?" and disappeared.

The other three were left watching each other sadly, Harry hugging the basilisk helplessly.

-0-0-0-

On their way to dinner, Ronald, Harry and Susan met up with the other three Weasleys who were current students at their school. They'd managed to miss them for the early part of the week – mostly because Ronald wasn't sure he wanted to face their reactions to him supposedly being studious – but it seemed their luck had run out.

"Ronnikins!" one of the twins called, then hopped forward with his brother and both rubbed their fists into the top of Ronald's head.

"No– Stop– Geroff!" Ronald managed to duck away from the twins and promptly hid behind the much smaller Harry.

Harry glanced over his shoulder at the boy and commented, "This is eerily reminiscent of my giant whale of a cousin hiding behind my stick-thin aunt, you know."

Ronald glared at him, then yelped and ducked behind Susan, who laughed at him.

Harry desperately wanted to comment on how not very Gryffindor-ish Ronald was being, but Ronald had already told them he hadn't told his family who he was. (Admittedly, none of the Founders had told their families...)

"Oh, Ron, I'm so glad you managed Ravenclaw," the eldest Weasley brother in the hallway commented as Ron made a mad dash to hide from his other brothers behind him. "Imagine, one of my own brothers, bright enough to be a Ravenclaw."

Harry turned around to hide his laughter.

"And already making friends in other Houses!" the boy continued gushing, pulling Ronald into a hug.

Ronald had turned a bright red at that point and tried to get away from his brother. "No– Percy, lemme go!"

Susan helpfully pointed out, "He's only a Ravenclaw this year. We are being re-Sorted next year, you know."

"I know," Percy agreed, finally letting Ronald go. "But there's nothing saying he won't be Sorted right back into Ravenclaw again."

"No, no," Harry offered, "I'm pretty sure Ron's a Gryffindor at heart, like the rest of his family."

Percy sniffed. "If you insist. It's still wonderful he was Sorted into Ravenclaw, though. Have you told Mum yet?"

Ronald paled a bit. "No," he squeaked.

Percy blinked in surprise. "Why ever not? Well, then, I'll just have to add it to my letter home before I send it." He pulled a neatly tied scroll out of one pocket. "I'll go do that now, then," he decided, then turned and walked back the way he'd come.

"Mum's going to be an absolute nightmare," Ronald whispered, right before he was pounced on by his other two brothers.

Harry snickered and grabbed Susan's hand. "Let's go to dinner then. Ron'll catch up eventually."

Susan laughed and the two made their way to the Great Hall, Ronald crying "Traitors!" after them.

-0-0-0-0-0-

A/N: What's to say, what's to say? Mmm... I don't know how long the next chapter is going to be. Not a lot happens for the rest of the year, so chapter three's a bit of an overview. I might start their second year in that chapter. Might not. Depends on how exciting summer is. (Not much, I'm thinking. But you never know. *wink* )

~Bats ^.^x

Chapters:
Pro - Prophecy's Children / 1 - Home ||| 2 - Socially Acceptable ||| 3 - Touch the Sunrise
4 - Tomorrow Will Come ||| 5 - Fallen Star ||| 6 - A Dream Will Come True When It Will
7 - The Deepest River ||| 8 - Question of Honour ||| 9 - Hanging By a Thread
10 - Never As it Seems ||| 11 - Long Road
Incomplete

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