Summary: The trio plus Ginny find themselves in the past only to realise that they are the founders of Hogwarts. Almost AU.
Spoilers: 1 through to 5 books
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter but if I did the fifth film would already be out by now! And I wouldn't kill off Sirius Black
Authors Note: Sirius did not die in this story.
Reviews: This is my first story so please be kind although all constructive criticism is welcome.
Read On!
Authors note continued: to clarify the Sirius Black situation, in the book he falls through the veil in this story he hits his head the side of the veil and rolls down the steps unconscious, Harry thinking he's dead goes after Bellatrix not knowing he's fine the rest is as they say history.
Truth And Names
Chapter 2
The next morning after a restless night in what they assume will be the library they decided to take a look around to see what they could find that could help them and to meet back in the library which they had affectionately called there base for lack of a better term. They split up into two Ron went with Ginny and Hermione went with Harry, Ron mumbling "Don't want you two getting pre-occupied" whilst dragging Ginny along with him and her berating him about his mumbling.
They reconvened in the future library late afternoon with only tid bits of information but nothing that could help them in the situation that they found themselves in. It was when they were eating that Ginny brought up a solution that could hep them.
"You know if this is Hogwarts near when it was founded then the founders must be alive and if we could find them maybe they could help us." She said between bites of food that Harry and Hermione had gone into Hogsmeade to get when they couldn't find anything.
The other three looked vaguely surprised that no one before had thought of that especially Hermione after a few minutes of silent contemplation and eating Hermione jumped up so fast that Ron dropped his food (he's very clumsy isn't he?), she enlarged her trunk and opened one of the compartments -they had all got multiple compartments like Moody's over the holidays- she pulled out a book and sat back down with the others.
"I found this book in an antique shop on a little side road in Diagon Alley it's a book about the founders I hadn't got round to reading it yet but maybe it could help us here" she ignored the snort coming from Ron at the mention of her not having read the book yet and just started reading it, the others noticed her creased forehead in confusion whilst she was reading but what scared the others the most was when about halfway through the book Hermione gasped and dropped the book onto the floor.
"Hermione what's wrong?" Ginny ventured whilst Harry picked up the book to see what was wrong and Ron went to sit next to the girl he 'secretly loved' well secret to him and Hermione anyway everyone else knew.
Harry made a chocking sound of disbelief and looked around at the other three,
"This is impossible!" he exclaimed
"What's impossible?" Ginny asked the only answer they received was Harry showing the page to them which had a picture of who they assumed were the founders except with little changes but still obvious it was in fact a picture of the four themselves.
Ginny the first to come out of shock gasped out
"How is that possible?"
"Its not…right?" Ron looked to Hermione for an answer she simply looked at him until finally coming to an answer she could think of,
"It obviously is, I mean look at it, its us granted we look a bit older in the pictures but it's definitely us, we're in the past sitting in what will be Hogwarts library I know its odd but it may be the case we may just be the founders of Hogwarts" she looked as perplexed at the idea as the others.
After ten minutes Harry decided that they needed proof other then the book so it was decided that they will once again go back down to the village and covertly ask around to see if there was anybody by the name of Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazaar Slytherin. As they were walking out Ginny stopped them,
"Wait I think we should change our appearances"
"Why?" asked Ron
"Hmmph isn't it obvious if by some chance we are them then won't it be weird if one day we introduce ourselves as them after asking whether they exist" she answered in the 'you should have known that dodo head' voice
It was then that four people who looked around twenty and didn't look remotely like what they did before strolled into Hogsmeade and once again they split up only this time they each went there separate ways after several hours of asking around they all came up with nothing so they went back to the castle and talked about what it meant.
"So lets just say for the sake of arguing that we are the founders what about Voldemort how am I supposed to stop him if we're stuck here" an exasperated Harry asked
"Erm I don't think we will be staying forever" Hermione answered the now pacing teen wizard who when she answered stopped short and looked at her,
"What do you mean?"
"Well in the books that I have read even this one by the way" she said holding up the book with the pictures that caused there little problem "that around 12 years after the school was founded and about 2 months after the argument between Slytherin and Gryffindor and then Slytherin's departure the other three left the castle in the capable hands of the other teachers to eventually be taken over by there children and disappeared and was never heard from again even though there legend lives on, if we are indeed the founders then this must mean that we either are sent back or figure out a way back ourselves or maybe move away I don't exactly know but my gut says we go back home."
"Wait a minute if we are the founders and judging by that picture that would make me Gryffindor, Harry is Slytherin , Gin is Hufflepuff and your Ravenclaw but wont that mean that me and Harry come to blows and for some reason Harry doesn't like muggles or muggleborns anyone else see where I'm going with this?" Ron announced whilst looking at the picture
"Maybe the fight is put on" Ginny suggested whilst coming to stand next to Harry who had frozen and gone wide eyed at what Ron had said
"What do you mean Gin?" Harry asked his girlfriend calming down a bit,
"Well we all know what's going to happen and the implications of what that has on our history so even if we are here and we're supposed to be here we will still have to preserve the timeline on certain events which would include the fight between you two" she explained
"Ginny's right" Hermione said "that fight is a crucial point in history and when the time is right you two will have to ACT it out it doesn't have to be real just look it and everyone believe it" she consoled the boys who relaxed at her and Ginny's words and were grinning at the prospect on acting out a fight and then they decided to pretend to sword fight with two sticks that were on the floor. The girls just rolled there eyes but were too happy at the concept of the fight being an act to stop them.
Later after they were finished there mock fight that was a draw the boys joined the girls in the planning of what they were going to do now.
"Well if we are going to do this then we need to buy this castle so that means having to go to the ministry and what are we supposed to use for money I mean we have a bit Harry got out a bunch before school and me and Ron worked in the twins shop in the summer and got some money off that and I don't know about Mione but I don't think that is going to be enough" Ginny ranted
"Well actually it will be, you see the value of money will go down in the centuries to come but at this present time the value of 1 galleon is like to us the value of maybe a million galleons so I think we have enough if we put our money together and maybe open an account at Gringotts I think its around in this time, the only problem we're gonna have is our names to buy the castle we will have to sign a magical contract and in said contract you cannot lie when signing so we're gonna have to come up with a way to get around it, any suggestions" explained Hermione
"How the hell do you know all that" exclaimed Ron
"History books where else" answered Mione with the look of obviousness on her face
"Its official you should have been in Ravenclaw"
"Well apparently I am Rowena Ravenclaw remember" Hermione grinned
"Good point"
"Anyway back to the name thing" interrupted Harry "I read about a ritual which can change a name magically but can still keep your birth name a distant echo so when we get back people will believe who we are if we show them using magic"
"Where did you learn that?" asked Ginny, Harry had the decency to look ashamed
"I looked in the restricted section last year to learn things that no one wanted us to I just had a feeling that I would need the knowledge sooner or later and I guess I was right although I have no idea how I would know that"
"I read somewhere that Slytherin possessed a limited power of Divination maybe that's how you knew" suggested Hermione
"I thought you didn't believe in Divination?" Ron queried of Hermione
"Well to be fair I didn't believe long distant time travelling was possible either but I've obviously been proven wrong so maybe I was wrong about that to" Hermione looked away from the group at that as she doesn't like to be wrong so Ginny came over to her and threw her arm around the older girls shoulder
"Hey there's nothing wrong with being wrong on occasion its how we learn and to be frank Divination is I believe and have read only a few people understand properly and someone who loves books and can't understand it they just may not believe it until its proven so don't feel bad Mione its just the way of the world so how bout we go back to our conversation hmm".
After that and a long conversation afterwards it was decided to use the information that Harry took from the restricted section as he had taken the book out before the end of fifth year and do the ritual to change there names and there identities and then find a way to Gringotts to open an account each to deposit all the money they have on them and let the interest build up from there as well but mainly so there not carrying the amount of money that people in this time could only dream of having after that they will go to the ministry or what they have in this time to buy the castle.
The next day Hermione and Harry took to setting up the name ritual while Ron and Ginny took to exploring the castle to pick out temporary rooms to use, around noon they met up back in the library to do the ritual.
"So how does this work?" asked Ron
"Well we have to this one at a time" started Hermione
"One of us has to chant a spell while the one who is having there name changed spills there blood onto the flame in the middle of the circle some more chanting and if it works a big flash of light a little bit of pain later and voila new name with original name in the background…so who wants to go first" Finished Harry with a sly grin on his face, Ron looked terrified of the prospect but he bucked up his Gryffindor courage and stepped forward to be the guinea pig of the session
"Ron are you sure?" questioned Hermione
"I'm sure, let's do this" Ron went up to the circle of stones and herbs and looked at them expectantly
"Ok Ron step inside the circle and light the candle on the pedestal with your wand" instructed Harry.
Ron stepped into the circle pointed his wand "incendio" (sp?)
Hermione the one better at Latin started the chanting there was a tonne of magic crackling in the air and when Harry nodded Ron took the knife from the pedestal and slit a straight line in the middle of his palm and let the drip of blood onto the flame, driven by the magic in the air he started chanting himself stopping with his new name "Godric Gryffindor" with a bang and flash of light later his name was magically changed.
After all of them had there name changed all chants ending in there own names Ginny for Helga Hufflepuff, Hermione for Rowena Ravenclaw and Harry for Salazar Slytherin, they had decided not to mention to anyone that Godric and Helga were siblings to avoid confusion on the name thing (I will be referring them to there founder names for the most of the story).
Once the ritual was out of the way they all decided to follow Godric and Helga to see the rooms they had picked out, for stability reasons they had chosen rooms on the ground floor a little ways from where the great hall is going to be by the time they had finished spelling the rooms clean and transfiguring a comfier bed and linen then transporting there things from the library into there temporary rooms it was evening time, after a meal made once more from food brought in from the village they all called it a night and went to bed all waiting to see what happens tomorrow when they venture for the first time into the world as the soon to be the founders of Hogwarts.