Sirius, Remus and Harry fought on a rough, circular stone dais in the centre of a room built from glossy black stone, each spewing curses from their wands into the crowded room full of Death Eaters. The werewolf, Remus, used his powerful muscles and reflexes to avoid curses, often using conjured stone to reflect curses toward the Death Eaters while wielding a vicious flaming whip which snaked out from his wand tip, while Sirius and Harry flexed and dodged their way around the beams of light and avoiding using shields predominantly to avoid fatigue. Dark curses barrelled towards them, yet they dodged them all and responded with volleys of powerful destructive curses and some borderline dark curses. With their wands in their left hands, the trio each bore a sword in their right hand, Remus Lupin wielding a heavy bastard sword while Sirius and Harry each bore a light longsword with a swept cross-hilt. Surrounding the stone dais were over forty Death Eaters surrounded the trio in the depths of the Ministry of Magic.
Lupin's conjured flaming bullwhip lashed from his wand-tip down to Rabastan Lestrange, tearing him in half with a smoky 'hiss' as it melted through his bones before he could dodge out of its path. A more venturesome Death Eater slipped out of the ranks and leapt onto the dais. Sirius moved under a purple flame thrown at him as Harry cast a 'Reducto' into the crowd. Extending into a graceful lunge, Sirius jabbed the point of his sword into the Death Eater's throat before kicking him off the dais. The trio moved gracefully, each engaged in a dance of death, natural and flowing as the they wrought death and destruction on Voldemort's minions. Sirius and Harry swept around with the grace of dancers, while Remus Lupin blurred around, his conjured firewhip, sword and repertoire of curses subdued Antonin Dolohov and Thorfinne Rowle. Lupin blurred past a Flamecutter Curse from Dolohov and beheaded him with a single blow of his bastard sword while pulling back his firewhip and cracking it down on Rowle.
Harry engaged Yaxley, a powerfully built and experienced Death Eater who spent many years as an Auror. They each began firing bone breaking hexes, cutting and blasting curses. Harry slipped a bonebreaker under Yaxley's shield and tore the bones in his right shin apart. As they fought, glowing runes spun around the walls of the circular room, unnoticed as the fight continued. Yaxley crumpled as he was forced to dodge to avoid the backlash of Remus' firewhip. Harry slashed his wand down, up and flicked it to the side, his cutting curse tore Yaxley diagonally across his ribcage.
The three fighters utilised their preferred elements, Sirius' natural affinity for the Dark Arts was inherited from his family, Harry inherited Chaos from the Marauding side of his family, with Remus' use of fire adding to the volatile mix. Bellatrix Lestrange and Rudolphus each went after Sirius, Bellatrix screamed "Sectumsempra" only for a translucent convex shield appear a yard in front of Sirius, its face perpendicular to his wand. The curse was reflected back at her, causing a deep, sword-like cut in her arm.
The runes on the glossy black walls of the room began to glow gold, spun faster and faster, wisps of golden energy snaked out of the dais floor, engulfing the trio. Armour formed of black dragonhide and chainmail formed on Remus, Sirius and Harry. Remus' shabby suit was gone, Sirius was no longer wearing a torn sports jacket and waistcoat, and Harry's jacket, t-shirt and jeans were gone. With their faces now hidden in the shadow of their hoods, the flow of curses continued. Harry lashed out left and right, sending blasting curses where he could; "Reducto! Bombarda! Confringo!Expulso! Bombarda Maxima" he enunciated in his mind, non-verbally sending waves of destructive curses around him
Remus yelled; "PROCELLA IGNIS!" conjuring a cloud of gas and setting it alight. The firestorm seemed to feed off the ambient magic of the room, as those on the dais fought longer, their curses became faster and more powerful, not weakening and fatiguing as they should. Remus struck with several smaller firestorms, propelling them with banishing charms at the Death Eaters. The Pyromancing Werewolf roared "INCENDIO DRACONIS". A gout of dragon's fire washed across the stone floor, which cracked loudly and began to glow red. The Death Eater Travers met with the blue-white fire and was instantly incinerated.
Sirius' twisted his sword around Bellatrix's conjured spear and lashed it down into her side. The sword pierced Bellatrix between two of her ribs and slid almost into her lung just as Travers was incinerated by Remus' Dragon's Fire. She ran at Sirius, firing dark curses as she ran, dodging a conjured flock of doxies. Her cousin blasted her curses away from him, impacting on the ceiling, walls and Death Eaters, a powerful blood boiling curse, coloured black and crimson, was deflected into her husband, Rudolphus, who screamed with agony and collapsed. Bellatrix screamed with rage and drew her wand arm back to curse Sirius, but could only watch, terrified, as his blade was swiftly driven into her chest and withdrawn, followed by a powerful slash across her throat as Sirius twisted around.
Harry's explosive curses were intercepted by a sheet of conjured stone. While it only absorbed the first curse, shards conjured stone hurtled at Harry. With an elegant flick of his wand, the shards turned into arrowheads, pointing away from Harry. A banishing charm later and the deadly projectiles thrummed into the Death Eater's ranks. Screams of rage and pain rang through the chamber as the projectiles struck home.
The runes on the wall ground to a halt, pure magical energy flowing from them into the centre of the room. The three armoured wizards were tipped forwards into a white nothingness of limbo. The stone dais began to rumble as the trio vanished, before exploding outward with a deafening roar as a huge fireball was unleashed from within it. The fireball consumed everything and everyone in the room, finally subsiding as the ceiling collapsed inward on the room, smothering the fire.
Sirius, Remus and Harry each felt as if needles were being jabbed against them, stinging pains accompanied by echoing buzzing in their heads. Though he did not know, the Horcrux and its connection to Voldemort was torn from Harry's scar and years of Dursley induced injuries and malnutrition healed, he grew to six feet tall, with powerful muscles. Intellectual and magical blocks applied by Dumbledore were removed and magic began to flow through him like the torrent of a waterfall.
The wolf perpetually present in the back of Remus' mind vanished, though he retained his werewolf senses and strength, which, in turn was enhanced by the healing of decades of wear from monthly transformations.
Sirius lost magical and intellectual blocks imposed by his family and had many compulsion charms and Imperius curses applied by his parents removed. Physical defects from the inbreeding of his family, his rough early life and decade long incarceration in Azkaban were healed. Each of them was now little over twenty years old, powerfully built, latent abilities unlocked. Animagus transformations became a matter of will, they no longer would need years of study and neither were they limited to a single animal and they each gained the abilities of the other, strength and enhanced senses from Remus, knowledge from Sirius and Remus and combat affinity from Harry.
Finally, the knowledge of their families entire bloodlines were injected into their minds. Each gained knowledge from the Lupins of Rome, the Potters of Wessex and the Blacks of France.
As the memory transfer was completed, they were flung from the limbo into a forest clearing, horribly disorientated having not had time to sort through thousands of years of knowledge. Nature was the only noise in the clear morning air. The thunder of battle and the noises of the muggle world were noticeably absent. Sirius began,
"What the hell-"
A shadowed figure sat at the foot of a large pine tree spoke.
"The year is 1065, Wintertide will soon be upon us, the last Anglo Saxon King will go on the next great adventure. Harold Godwinson has sworn on Holy Relics to hand the throne to the Frenchman, Williame, Duc de Normandie. Harold will drag this country into darkness, yet, if he fails to hold it long enough, a Phoenix shall be reborn from England's ashes."
Remus' wand was out instantly from its holster.
"And this isn't some form of trap devised for us? You expect to believe when time travel cannot go beyond ten hours with a dark artefact based on a time-turner that we have been thrown over nine centuries into the past?"
Since Sirius, Remus and Harry had began to tread a different path from the Order of the Phoenix, they had left a wake of blood and chaos. They secluded themselves from society, learning obscure war magic and mastering the mind arts. They had finally were trapped in an ancient cave below the Ministry of Magic, racing through tunnels from the Department of Mysteries, pursued by Death Eaters. Their path came to an abrupt end where they made what they believed to be their last stand.
"Master Lupin, I would call you an idiot to believe upon first sight. No. Use a 'Tempus Anno' charm.
They each began to look around for any differences between what they were used to and what little they could see in the immediate area. Both Harry and Sirius flicked their wands, each creating a misty '1066 Anno Domini'
"Each of you understands that, loss of family, lack of real family, infection, conflict, each of you has experienced that. You are tasked with the preservation of this country. You shall have to find time to use occlumency to review your new knowledge. Also you shall find that in the process that has brought you here, your magical cores have multiplied by each other."
The figure paused briefly as he stood and removed two small boxes from his robe, placing them on the ground and enlarging them with a small hand gesture.
"In these two trunks, you have the libraries of your families, the significant Potter, Peverell Lupin and Black vaults, which add up to Seventy Three Million Galleons in gold and a large number of heirlooms. This includes the Peverell Wand, Cloak and Ring. Galleons are worth five-score more than in your time, The Family Book of Shadows, the Grimoires of the four families and the family's libraries have been combined into one great tome, there is no repetition, only knowledge. There is also a large armoury. Sirius has ten new Firestreak brooms that he ordered for your little campaign. Now, I believe you require a family, as brothers in all but blood, you shall share a name, Remus, Harry and Sirius Nightshade. The Nightshades are a legendary family, you are the personification of the legend. You should decide who your Lord is, who is the leader of your pack."
Remus and Sirius glanced at each other and said in unison,
"Harry"
As they said it, a dark purple signet ring flecked with crimson spun into existence on the little finger of Harry's left hand, the crest being a purple phoenix half aflame on a crimson background. Smaller family rings appeared on the smallest finger of Remus and Sirius' left hand. Each one briefly jabbed into the fingers of their wearers before a flash of light encompassed the trio. After a few moments, their sight returned. They each now had some features of one another. Harry's hair lightened fractionally and lengthened while he gained the high, aristocratic cheekbones of the Black family. He gained some of Lupin's height and build, now over six feet tall with a muscular build. Remus meanwhile gained some of the Black family facial features and his hair lengthened and darkened while gaining some body to it, no longer being somewhat limp. Sirius also became more muscular, though his facial features and hair changed little. The figure continued,
"An excellent choice, those rings have performed an archaic ritual which truly makes you brothers in blood, you now share name, physical features, knowledge and magical power, as anyone who is adopted or bonded to you and the family will partake. In each of your pouches is an unbreakable vial of Aquae Vitae, if you have a companion who wishes to join you on your task, a single drop of blood from one of you and five drops of Aquae Vitae drunk and they shall be immortal and the ritual items of the family can bond and adopt to the family, there is enough for ten, do not abuse it, you shall only use it when you truly believe it is right. Also in the the second trunk with the Grimoire for the Nightshade family, there are the ritual items for the family to bond or adopt someone as a member of the family. As each person is added, your magical cores multiply."
"I take my leave, though I may visit again. Ten-score paces East of here and you will find Hogwarts, where you are most needed now. Finally, I grant your family the magic skills giving you the mage's sight, so you can read magic. You also have the ability to move unseen in the shadows and manipulate wards. On an instinctual level you may become less than corporeal to avoid curses and weapons, magics which are passed on through blood bonding or blood adoption."
"WAIT!" called Sirius, "Who are you?"
"Some know me as the Creator, Master Chronos, the Alpha and the Omega." came the answer.
He turned and strode into the shadows, vanishing completely. Remus tapped his wand against each trunk, shrinking them and placing them in the pouch on his belt. The trio turned toward the rising sun, following its light through the frosted trees.
They took the opportunity to look at each other, noting dragonhide lined mail coifs, knee-length chainmail hauberks partially covered by surcoats bearing the flaming phoenix on a crimson background. Burnished circular steel shields were strapped onto their backs and partially covered by black cloaks lined with dragonhide. Boots of the same matt black dragonhide completed the set.
As they cleared the tree line, a limestone building came into view. It was made of a single circular tower with a cloister to one side and a long open hall to the other. Sirius began,
"Is that Hogwarts?"
"Evidently... I for one cannot think of anywhere similar to this, with the lake attached to the lawns leading up to the castle with the forest lining the edge on the West side, though much has changed in near a millennium" Remus replied as they paused in the tree line.
"I recommend we use an animal form to approach the castle, I wouldn't want to be detected too early, finding the lie of the land before revealing ourselves would be wise. There must be a reason he said we were needed here." Harry commented.
They each morphed into Eurasian Lynxes, medium sized cats with beige fur flecked with black. Remus lead them through the shadows of the evergreen trees, their stalking producing little sound as they forged a way through the forest. Occasional rodents scattered before the trio of predators. Harry, having never experienced life from an animal's point of view, was shocked to find the world to be in much clearer colours and shadows filled with light. Dust motes spun in the early sunshine as the trio stalked through the bushes of the Forbidden Forest. The honey-coloured stones of Hogwarts rose from the rocky, thinly grassed lawns.
The three lynx vanished into the shadows of the small courtyard in front of the Great Hall. Quickly transforming, Sirius lead them to the doors. Concentrating his magic, Harry brought up his Mage Sight. A criss-cross lattice of wards appeared. Reaching out with his magic, Harry probed until he could temporarily distort the alarm and defence wards to allow them undetected access. Flicking a knife from his belt, Sirius placed it in the lock, twisting it a couple of times, opening the muggle lock and allowing them entrance. They each dropped their wands from the quick-release holsters on their left forearms and slipped in.
The Entrance Hall bore little resemblance to that of the Hogwarts they knew. The ceiling was high and wood-beamed with rough stone floors and walls. A staircase built from similar stone rose up a single floor and double doors stood open onto the Great Hall. Sticking to the shadows, the three Nightshades slipped into the Great Hall. At the far end, four witches and wizards sat, crests on the front of the high table they were sat at. Before them lay shields, one with a Lion rampant on red, another a Serpent on green, the two witches had respectively an Eagle and a Badger on blue and on yellow lozenges. Salazar Slytherin was a tall, thin man, swathed in Forest Green robes. A short goatee hung from his chin and his jet black hair was tied back. Next to him was an equally tall, yet heavily built man with auburn hair hanging over his shoulders and a chest length beard. The auburn-haired Godric Gryffindor was clothed in rough brown robes with an unadorned longsword hung from his left hip. Across from Gryffindor, clothed in robes of cream was a woman of medium height, with blonde hair plaited down her back. Sat beside Gryffindor was a willowy woman with waist length brown hair and a pale complexion, adorned in a loose dress of sapphire blue with a Celtic girdle, her hair surmounted by a circlet of silver.
Harry glanced at the two men flanking him, each nodded before all three simultaneously slipped out of the shadow of one of the doors leading to the Great Hall. Gryffindor rose from his seat as he looked up from his meal to see three men, each with identical crests on their surcoats.
Rowena, who had been idly chatting with Helga, looked up as three men moved out of the shadows of the Great Hall's entrance. They were each wearing armour made of a mixture of Dragonhide and Chainmail, with a surcoat, half covered by a flaming purple phoenix soaring upward onto a black background. The one in the centre's shoulder length black hair was revealed as he pushed his coif and hood back. His eyes glowed with suppressed power, more than she had ever sensed, even with the most powerful wizards. Stood over six feet tall, his powerful frame was held with confidence, but not arrogance. Rowena could not help but feel inexplicably drawn to him.
"Who enters the halls of our castle?" Godric thundered, having not been alerted to anyone entering by the castle's wards.
"The Lord Nightshade asks of the hospitality of Master Gryffindor." replied Lupin, sweeping his hood and mail coif back, gesturing the others to follow suit.
"And which of you claims Lordship, for you each bear the same heraldry?" Questioned Gryffindor.
Shedding his cloak and handing it to Sirius, Harry stepped forward so he was ahead of the others. Slytherin, looking disbelieving stood at this point,
"Really... Now you think that we would believe the legends of the Nightshade family?" he sneered
"Whether or not the legends are true, we exist, our name and coat of arms are real, sorry to shatter your delusions of grandeur."
"CHARLATAN! THE NIGHTSHADES ARE A LEGEND AND NO MORE!"
Rowena watched the escalating confrontation between Salazar and the young Lord Nightshade as magic began flowing off him like water before vanishing into the atmosphere. His eyes began to glow killing curse green and his surcoat ruffled as if in a strong breeze. Suddenly the air began to cool significantly as Harry stepped toward the sneering Slytherin.
Remembering Sirius' motto; "Dignum vis apud vis – Meet force with force." he proceeded to reply;
"Ah, Slytherin, ever considered the consequences before opening your mouth and spewing such quantities of muck? Most legends have a backing in history anyway."
Instantly, Slytherin threw a pair of blood-boiling curses at Harry, who instinctively batted one back at Slytherin with the barest flick of his wand. The second curse barrelled toward him, hit him, and continued through as he briefly turned incorporeal. The crimson coloured curse streaked through him as he briefly changed into a smoky grey colour, then splashed against the wall and dissipated. In the moments shocked stillness, Harry appeared behind Slytherin, having moved from one end of the hall to the other instantly.
"Now Master Slytherin, I don't expect you want to find out what ingesting an unhealthy amount of basilisk venom and belladonna would do for you?" asked Harry calmly as Salazar noted the venom coated dagger less than an inch from his stomach.
Rowena Ravenclaw stormed over and slapped Slytherin across the face,
"Salazar Slytherin! Can you resist being an arrogant twit just for once! Twice in one day you have to be reprimanded. First - when did you start to think that your basilisk was a perfect pet and should be taken for a walk in the middle of the night through the castle! Then you insult visitors, who are not only visitors but members of the nobility!" she turned to Harry; "Lord Nightshade my apologies for my insufferable associate." she said.
"Madam Ravenclaw, your apologies are unnecessary, most are somewhat headstrong at some point in life." said Harry before taking her hand briefly and kissing it.
Remus and Sirius glanced at each other and simultaneously intoned;
"Smooth."
Godric gestured to the empty seats at the table,
"Come gentlemen, we do not begin teaching our apprentices for an hour, join us at table."
Glaring at the pair, Remus and Sirius, Harry flicked his dagger into its sheathe in his boot before offering his hand to Rowena Ravenclaw and guiding her to the seat she had vacated before taking one of the empty seats himself. Briefly she explained how the four witches and wizards met and came to Hogsmeade village. Godric and Salazar had been War Mages under Tostig Godwinson until the rebellion of his Thegns. Rowena had been a travelling researcher while Helga was a farmer's daughter until she joined Rowena on her travels. She in turn questioned Harry on his own travels.
"While I can tell you little at this juncture, I can inform you that Harold Godwinson intends to take the English throne having taken a holy oath on the well-being of the country, the crown and its people to the Norman Duke William to give the crown to him. William has the ability to pull Britain from its fallen state into a new era."
By now everyone had started to listen in,
"If Harold succeeds in holding the throne for any meaningful length of time then Britain will be reduced to even less than it is now, further plunged into darkness. We are tasked with the well-being of Britain." Harry continued.
"Now tell me Sssssalazzaar, why the ssssnakeobssssesssion?" Harry hissed in parseltongue to Slytherin.
"Another ssspeaker?" hissed a shocked Slytherin. "The sssserpent is wissssdom and cunning, a brilliant creature."
"Indeed, yet a ssserpentisss often ssseen as untrussstworthy, therefore sssurelywisssdomdictatesss that it is not the perfect symbol" commented Remus with a very Slytherin-like smirk directed at Harry.
"Salazar and his overgrown worm on their own were bad enough, now we have the pair of you and Salazar. Anyone else want to own up to being a parselmouth?" moaned Gryffindor.
Sirius hesitantly raised his hand, looking slightly sheepish.
"I thought parselmouthes were supposed to be extraordinarily rare?" questioned Helga.
Leaning back in his chair, looking mildly amused, Harry replied,
"It is one of the bits of knowledge inherent in our family, hence all three of us can speak it."
Godric and Remus walked off under the pretence of visiting the library while enthusiastically discussing battlefield transfiguration while Sirius was exchanging barbs with Slytherin, each making pointed comments and attempting to rile the other up. Rowena looked on in faint amusement and Harry sat whetting a dagger while watching with a half raised eyebrow.
"Anyway if you lot decide to cease bickering at each other then an escort to ride with me into town would be nice." said Rowena as she vacated her seat, "Usually I would go alone but recently bandits have been attacking people on the road."
Harry nodded and stood, taking Rowena's hand. They walked out of the castle to the stables where over a dozen horses ranging from pack-horses to chargers were stabled. He helped her saddle a pair of bay hunters, before lifting her into the saddle. Climbing swiftly onto his own, they rode out of the stables and past the gates.
The southern drive was overhung with conifers, their branches filtering out the grey tinted sunlight of late autumn. The pair rode in companionable silence, though Harry's enhanced senses were alert. An hour on horseback brought them to Hogsmeade Village, much changed from when he remembered it. The village itself over the next nine centuries would move miles north, the buildings themselves were much less drab than they would be in nine hundred years.
Speedily dismounting his horse as he slowed to a halt, Harry quickly flicked the the reins of his horse around a post before offering his hand to Rowena and helping her out of the saddle. Tying up the horse, he walked alongside Rowena chatting about the village.
"Hogsmeade Village was founded by southerners who were split from Mercia territories by the Danelaw. As they were forced apart by the Danelaw, many moved North. Even in the centuries since, the wildernesses have remained habited, not many have returned south. Unfortunately we have our fair share of bandits and outlaws." commented Rowena.
"Interesting... and the general perception of magic in these areas?"
"There are splits there, there are those who treat it as an abomination, some are driven to hiding it by fear of the former, some regard it as a talent to be cultivated. Too often is a witch or wizard attacked, while we can deal with it, I truly fear for the young magicals who are either being suppressed, either by their fear of magic or by force." she replied.
Moving between shops and stalls, Rowena purchased a selection of plants and potion ingredients while Harry rifled through a booksellers stall. Having found little of interest, other than a few books on swordsmanship and healing, Harry wandered up the street a little distance, looking at the stalls selling their wares before returning to sit outside the tavern opposite the apothecary while awaiting Rowena to finish her perusing the apothecary.
While waiting, he delved into his mindscape as taught by Sirius. He began to assimilate his knowledge and was shocked to find the amount he had inherited from Sirius and Remus. Sorting through the combat spells, he stored them away and erected a series of new shields across his mind. Large medieval walls surmounted with castellations. A pair of Imperial Black Dragons sat within the Outer Bailey, ready to repel anyone so misguided as to attack his mind.
Coming out of his mindscape, Harry walked into the woods behind the village, contemplating the changes of that day. Just that evening he had been in the Department of Mysteries, yet he seemed to have skipped night as it was nearly midday. He couldn't think where his sword came from, or how the curses came so instinctively during the fight.
As he walked back towards the village Harry was shocked to overhear two men quietly discussing a force of Norsemen intent on attacking Hogwarts. Looking at them, he noted they carried each a short axe and a circular shield on their back. Fur lined boots were noticeable under strapped leather breeches. Chain tunics were covered by fur cloaks and surmounted by simple steel skullcaps. They appeared to have been hunting as, between the two of them, they carried a slain Scottish Red Deer, several pheasants and partridge and a pair of mountain hare. Their raucous laughter stopped suddenly as Harry hit them with silent stunners from a few yards away. With a quick bit of wand-work, he transfigured them into mice before stuffing them into a pouch and taking the fruits of their hunt and putting them in a bottomless bag.
Slipping into an alley, Harry whispered "Expecto Patronum"
"Go to Remus Lupin and tell him that Hogwarts is in danger. Riding back. Siege wards."
The Patronus, which to Harry's surprise was no longer a stag but a Phoenix, took off and vanished in a ball of white light. Checking that he had not been seen, Harry pulled his mail coif and the hood of his cloak up, he strode into the main street and entered the apothecary.
The cramped space was filled with shelves bearing ceramic jars of various substances. Spying Rowena at the end of one of the shelves, Harry made his way over to her.
"Madam Ravenclaw, we need to get back to the castle urgently! I will explain as we ride."
Harry flicked a Galleon from his pouch to the shop owner before striding out, quickly untying the horses and leading them to Rowena who had pocketed her purchases. He leapt into the saddle, and followed by Rowena, kicked the horse immediately into a trot until they cleared the village. As soon as the trees began to close in on them, he rapped his heels into the horse's flank and leaned forward. They thundered through the empty lane, occasionally avoiding tree branches and rocks.
"I overheard a couple of Nords in the woods, apparently a force is in the area and intend on taking the castle."
"You're joking me..."
"Sorry but no. I overheard that they had to feed two shiploads of men, likely they sailed north and have their craft beached them in one of the lochs feeding into the Black Lake. Either they want to stop the education of young wizards, possibly control the education of wizards or just hold the castle."
"Unfortunately in the five years since the founding of the school, both the locals and the Norse have tried controlling us. Some want to control wizards, some want to eradicate them, some just want Hogwarts. We came under siege once before, though none of the students died, we were imprisoned for weeks with no respite. Eventually Godric and Salazar went out there with Cissa, his Basilisk and brought the fight to them."
Harry glanced at Rowena who was a few yards behind him before digging his heels once more into the horse's flank and surging forward. Despite that they had been riding at a full gallop for twenty minutes by Harry's estimation. The pair galloped up the lane, Harry's black cloak billowing behind him as he leaned forward, Rowena's dress itself was flaring in the wind. Suddenly the woods opened up as they came towards the gates of Hogwarts. A lone figure stood by the open gates, waiting, and as they galloped through, the gates swung shut with an audible clang.
Harry and Rowena slowed as they rode across the lawns to the castle, Harry sliding out of the saddle before the horse stopped and quickly looping the reigns through the open mouth of a gargoyle. Rowena did the same as he strode up the steps to the open doors to the entrance hall. Briefly, he sank into his mindscape again, this time, releasing all the constraints on his magical core, allowing a powerful magical aura to flare around him. The doors to the Great Hall lay closed until Harry threw them open with a swipe of his hand. The force of his magic slammed them inwards against the walls of the Great Hall.
Remus Lupin had been demonstrating conjuration and transfiguration in creating shields with Godric Gryffindor when Harry's Patronus materialised, delivering the message. Godric immediately reacted by gesturing to Lupin and vanished through a door that appeared in the wall. A hidden passage through the walls with rough bathstone steps. Lupin followed Gryffindor down, as they passed, the torches in the sconces ahead lit to illuminate the passageway before dousing themselves after they passed. They paused at an intersection where another passageway.
"Remus, go down to the gates through this tunnel, it comes out in one of the gateposts, send me some kind of message when your Lord and Rowena return. See if you can tie any new wards into our own, Salazar will key you in so you can modify them the most."
"Will do."
Remus followed the passage as it sloped down, made several turns and descended multiple staircases before the passage evened out. The passageway abruptly ended with a short flight of stairs sloping upwards to a door. Ascending the staircase, he reached out for the door handle. As Remus placed his hand on the iron ring, the handle glowed briefly, encompassing his hand up to his wrist before twisting open with a click. A corner of his mind began to receive information from the castle's wards, and Remus was able to work out how to add new wards.
In the centre of the Great Hall, a black marble pedestal was glowing lightly, Rowena rushed past Harry to take her place where the other three founders stood, awaiting her. Taking a short dagger from Salazar, she and the other three cut diagonally across the palms of their left hands, placing them each on the pedestal as they began to chant;
"Per sanguis, praemoenio et custos mea domum, mea castrum – Through blood, protect and guard my home, my castle."
In the grounds, as he finished layering a selection of lethal defensive wards into the defences of the castle, Lupin watched as the iron fences surrounding the grounds, meeting at the gates morphed into high stone walls, over a yard thick with battlements surmounting them. The main castle changed, the many windows closed in, some vanishing into the stonework others becoming thin arrow slits. The main tower attached itself to the to the South Eastern corner of the castle, it's pointed roof folding into a crenellated position overlooking the rest of the castle. The gateposts, surmounted by winged boar grew into a large gatehouse, with a drawbridge tall enough to cross over the ravine that had opened up covering the front of the gateway, thick oak doors and a heavy portcullis, all magically reinforced were hidden behind the raised drawbridge and flanked by two large towers.
Gryffindor held his wand to his throat, amplifying his voice so that it was heard all across the castle;
"Apprentices and students remain within your rooms, there have been further threats against us, it is unlikely that there is any risk if you remain out of the way."
Remembering his prisoners, Harry rifled through one of his multiple pouches (each with undetectable expansion charms) until he finally was able to find the two mice. Quickly cancelling the transfiguration, the still unconscious Danes were promptly bound. Harry caught a bottle of veritaserum thrown to him by Sirius. Forcing open the mouths of the first of his prisoners, he placed three drops of the potion on his tongue.
As the prisoner's eyes glazed over, he was hit with an "Ennervate" courtesy of Sirius.
"Do you intend on attacking this castle?" was the first question.
"Yes."
"How many men are in your force?"
"Fifty Karls, ten Mages and two Jarls."
"Who are the Jarls?"
"Ragnar Thorfinne and Aelred Gaveston."
"Lord Nightshade, if this is true, then we have problems, Thorfinne is a minor noble, but Gaveston is a problem. Since King Edward granted the magicals of this country to form their own ruling council, the Gaveston family has been on the Magical Witenagemot under which the Wizards Council serves." commented Hufflepuff.
"When is the attack to take place." asked the newly arrived Remus.
"The castle will fall between dusk and Samhain dawn."
Sirius began spitting a selection of particularly descriptive adjectives in what sounded like the Goblin tongue; Gobbledegook. After calming down slightly, he turned to Remus;
"Can you do anything with wards, you were always the best laying them.
Lupin had a slightly wolf-like grin on his face;
"I already have added a few wards, purely defensive but utterly lethal, if anyone tries to bring down the wards, I have added a response ward which will fire Herculean Arrows, coated in the venom of the Lernaean Hydra. There are some Summa Perdere wards, and my personal favourite, psychological wards, Dementor wards and Terror wards, the former making the subject suffer their worst memories, and the latter either driving them insane, making them commit suicide, or just start killing their comrades."
Sirius shrugged;
"Why not join in the fun, must have been around a day since I had a good fight, even if we were outnumbered around 1:10."