Hi all,

I decided to rewrite this story because there was a lot that I felt needed to be changed, and I wanted to get rid of the extra characters that I tried to add the first time (sorry to all my friends who they were based on). They made the story far too complicated and hard to write as well. Maybe I will add in a few throughout the story, but I just threw in too many at once I think. Hopefully I will find time to continue to update this time as well, as I had quite some difficulty with that last time.

Please review once you've finished so I can get some feedback on how I've done!

Thank you,

Feaja-153

Prologue:

It was a dark and stormy night at Hogwarts. All the students were in their dorms and the staff as well. From it's high perch in Dumbledore's office, the Sorting Hat launched into a reverie, unheard by anyone in the castle…

It was not always this way. On a night similar to this all those years ago, five great sorcerers founded what was to become one of the greatest magic schools in the world – Hogwarts. These founding sorcerers were Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor and Loretta Leoparda. That's right- contrary to popular belief; there were not four founders, but five. Leoparda, as I am sure you will not have heard of her, was considered the most beautiful witch to ever have walked the planet. She took only those she thought worthy of being in her house. As I am sure you can guess, she took none but the beautiful witches (and sometimes wizards too). However, her beauty became a hazard to the entire school. Gryffindor and Slytherin began to fight over who was more worthy of Loretta. Eventually, Gryffindor defeated Slytherin, and this is the true reason that Slytherin left the school. Slytherin was practically banished from the castle by Gryffindor after losing to him. This was not the end, however. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff decided that Leoparda had become a threat to the safety of the school, and she had already created a rift between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Therefore, they persuaded Slytherin to join their cause (for he still had authority in the school as a founder), giving them a majority over Gryffindor, and banished Leoparda from the school forever. Her House was erased and all memory of her connections with the school was destroyed. However, before she left the school, she left a Room, similar to Slytherin's, but told no one of its existence. She had originally designed the room simply as a getaway from her hectic duties at the school. However, when she was banished from the school, she left within it a way to restore her house to its rightful place at Hogwarts. Although the other founders did not know of the existence of this room, I, the Sorting Hat, brainchild of all five founders, know every nook and cranny of this school like the back of my… umm… anyway, because I have been such an instrumental part in the foundation of this school, I know every inch of it by memory, without of course exploring it myself which of course hats can't do. Anyway, basically I know of this room, however I do not know of it's exact location, for that is not the sort of information Loretta wanted anyone to know. Although Leoparda's memory has been lost through the ages, the day of her return draws near…

Meanwhile, Fred and George Weasley were in the Forbidden Forest with their nemesis, Filch. Trying to find evidence of an explosion he claims he heard in there. In other words, he was dragging them into the forest for nothing. Filch always had a strange sense of humour. Filch was a couple of paces ahead, his faithful Mrs. Norris at his side. He was in such a good mood tonight that he didn't even think to keep a close eye on the mischievous twins. To Fred and George, he seemed to be almost skipping in his ecstatic mood of triumph over the notorious Weasley twins. Deciding between them that Filch would not notice their escape if they were fast enough, they veered off the path and ran off alone into the depths of the forest.

When Filch finally turned around, it was to find his two prisoners (for that was what he referred to them as in his mind) had disappeared. He roared with frustration, so loudly that flocks of disgruntled birds flew startled from their perches in the trees. Faithful Mrs Norris ran off in one direction, already sensing what was required of her, while Filch ran in the other direction, searching for the two escapees.

Meanwhile, Fred and George ran for their lives, without taking notice of where they were headed or focusing on their surroundings. By the time they stopped running, they had reached the darkest depths of the forest, where none had been for many years. Surprisingly, they found that the forest around them was silent, as though even the dark creatures of the forest were afraid of the place. They collapsed against a large tree, panting heavily. Suddenly they heard a loud click, and the tree opened up to reveal a massive chamber within. Stunned, the twins stumbled into the chamber, staring in wonder at their discovery. For although they did not realise the importance of this chamber at the time, they had uncovered the secret hideout of Loretta Leoparda, left behind before her departure from the school in the hope that it would eventually be found and her house would once again be included with the four other Hogwarts houses in it's rightful place.

The room was entirely furnished with the colour purple. There were leopard skins on the floor, all charmed to be purple. And there, on the far wall, was the Hogwarts crest, and also those of the other houses. But there was one extra crest on the wall. It was like nothing they had seen before, however it was the same design as the other Hogwarts crests. Confused, Fred walked over to the tapestry and began to study it. When his fingers touched it, the twins heard another loud click. Fred quickly retracted his fingers but the damage had been done. Although Fred and George did not see the immediate effects of their actions, they stared at each other meaningfully, wondering what mess they had got themselves into this time.

At the exact moment Fred's fingers touched the tapestry, and the ominous click noise could be heard in Leoparda's secret chamber, a fifth banner appeared beside the other four in the Entrance Hall, and a fifth table appeared in the Great Hall. A fifth points counter appeared beside the others, soon to fill with purple gems signifying Leoparda house points.

The house of Leoparda had finally returned to Hogwarts, long after the banishment of Loretta Leoparda from Hogwarts, and after her memory had been erased from history.