Things had been good in the Wizarding World ever since the day that Harry Potter defeated Lord Voldemort. There had been lots of parties, and celebration for months after. Hogwarts was filled to the brim with students once again, now that the danger of Death Eaters had disappeared, and parents were no longer afraid to send their children to the school. It was for this reason that Harry, Ron and Hermione all decided to return to Hogwarts to finish their schooling, since they had dropped out because of Voldemort before. Headmaster McGonagall had given them permission to return as seventh years, which they had left off at, so now the three of them were sitting in the main hall as the Sorting Hat finished placing all the first years in their new Houses, and the beginning of the year feast was ready to begin.

The students all looked expectantly to their plates, waiting for the food to appear (Ron was looking especially eager), but instead, Professor McGonagall stood up again and cleared her throat. "I know that you are all excited to begin the feast," she announced, "but I have a very important announcement to make before we start." All the students watched her quietly as she held up a strange looking amulet necklace. "Before school started this year, while the dungeons were being cleaned out, this amulet was discovered," she said. "After examining it, we found the mark of Salazar Slytherin on it, which means that it is a very important relic of this school's history, since it once belonged to one of the founders. For this reason I have decided to place it in the Hogwarts Hall of History with the other important things for our school's history. You are all welcome to come take a look at it after we have put it on display." She then handed the amulet necklace to another staff member who took it away to hang it up in the Hall of History.

Harry turned to his friends with a puzzled look on his face. "That's strange," he said to them. "I wonder why they didn't find it sooner than now."

"Who cares?" Ron said as the food finally appeared. He picked up a drumstick and said through a mouthful of food, "It's just some old necklace. It's not like it's important today."

Hermione stared at him in horror. "Of course it's important! Don't you have any idea what this could mean for Hogwarts history?"

Ron just blinked at her. "Er, not really," he confessed after a moment.

Hermione only sighed and shook her head before turning to her own dinner. "I think we should go take a look at it tomorrow before classes. There might be something important to learn from it."

Harry shrugged but Ron frowned at her. "I don't get the poi—ow!" he yelled as Hermione nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. "Okay, fine," he grumbled while rubbing at the sore spot. "Let's go look at the dusty old necklace tomorrow." Satisfied by his answer, Hermione smiled in a smug way and began eating her food with delight.

The next morning, after they had finished their breakfast, Harry Hermione and Ron all went to the Hogwarts Hall of History to go look at the amulet that McGonagall had talked about the night before. Because it was so early in the morning, no one else was there, so the three seventh years were all by themselves as they went up to the pedestal that the amulet necklace had been placed on. The necklace was on a long golden chain that seemed to glimmer like sunlight, and the stone was a bright silvery blue color, but with a rainbow opalescent gleam to it. It was set in a silver frame dotted with small emeralds, and there was an inscription in a strange language etched into the silver.

"Wow," Hermione said while looking at it. "It's really pretty. It's such a shame it was lost until now."

Ron only shrugged his shoulders with a little "hmmph" sound, but Harry moved closer and peered at it through his glasses. "That's... odd," he said after a moment. "What language is that?"

Hermione looked at the writing on the amulet for a little while before shrugging helplessly. "I don't know," she admitted. "I don't recognize it at all."

Harry continued to stare at it, though, and frowned as he did so. "I've never seen this kind of writing before," he said slowly as he continued looking at the inscription, "but even though this might sound a little crazy, I think I actually know what it says."

Ron and Hermione both looked at his suddenly, startled by this. "If you haven't seen it before, how can you know what it says?" Hermione asked.

"Never mind that," Ron interrupted, "Tell us what it says!"

Harry hesitated then began to read the inscription slowly. "Ashkah elyara suketh mijo newlikst muneh," he said in a voice that was scratchy and harsh, that sounded more like hissing than actual words.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron demanded. "That was just gibberish, Harry!"

"Ron, hush!" Hermione said urgently. "Look,you two!" She pointed at the amulet, which had begun to glow with a dim green light. "Whatever Harry was saying made something happen!" As they stared, the light grew brighter until they were all forced to shut their eyes. There was a loud bang sound, and one by one, Harry, Ron and Hermione all slowly opened their eyes. The light had faded away, however now, on the pedestal where the amulet had been only moments before, there was instead a young girl, who looked about sixteen years old, sitting on the pedestal. Long, silky straight ebony hair ran down her back, reaching all the way to her waist, and deep jungle green eyes gazed out at the trio. Her skin was porcelain white, as though she had never been in the sun, and she was garbed in a beautiful, perfectly-fit silver gown which seemed to sparkle like moonlight. Around her long, slender neck was the amulet that had been on the pedestal before.

The three seventh years stared at her in shock, and she stared back blankly, until Ron opened his mouth. "Who are you?" he asked in an awed voice.

The girl blinked a few times before she seemed to understand the question. In a quiet voice, she answered, "My name is Silvina Esmeralda Slytherin."