The Foundation for the Future
by Healer Pomfrey

All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.

COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.
If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!


Together with Hermione and Ceridwen, Harry observed in awe how the students arrived on the grounds, taken to Hogwarts by their parents per Apparition or Portkey. After Godric greeted everyone on the grounds and invited the older students and the parents into the Great Hall, Rowena called the first years over.

"You're now going to be sorted into your house at Hogwarts," she explained to the new first years. "There are four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw, and your house will be your family while you're at Hogwarts. Now please follow me, so that Sopho, our Sorting Hat, can do his work."

Two students were sorted into Hufflepuff and Slytherin, before Rowena called, "Granger, Hermione."

Casting a seemingly nervous glance at Harry, Hermione rushed forwards to where Rowena was waiting for her with the Hat in her hands.

An instant later, the Hat shouted into the hall, "Ravenclaw."

Hearing Ceridwen let out a deep sigh, Harry inwardly groaned, and his discomfort only intensified when Ceridwen was sorted into Hufflepuff just a minute later. It seemed to take ages, during which Harry worried if Sopho would perhaps know that he was a freak and would refuse to sort him, before Rowena finally called his name, and Harry stumbled forward in relief. 'Thank Merlin the Hat is going to sort me,' he thought, casting Rowena an uncertain smile, before she placed the Hat onto his head.

'Oh no, what am I going to do with you?' he suddenly heard a faint voice. 'You'd fit into all houses.'

'Oh please, together with my friends,' Harry feverishly thought, unconsciously flinching upon realising that the Hat had heard his response.

'Very well, for once I shall do you the favour,' he replied, before he shouted into the hall, "Ravenclaw."

Harry received as much applause as everyone else, while he walked through the hall to the Ravenclaw table, where he happily slipped into the empty seat next to Hermione.

'Thank Merlin at least we're together,' he thought, absentmindedly following the rest of the sorting.

"Thank God you managed to get here, too," Hermione suddenly whispered. "At least we're going to have classes together with Ceridwen."

"Yes," Harry whispered back, feeling very grateful towards the Sorting Hat. With mixed feelings, he realised that the other first years began to introduce themselves, causing him to worry what to say when it became his turn. Finally, he just said, "I'm Harry, I grew up with my relatives, and I've only known that I'm a wizard for five weeks." From the corner of his eyes, he saw that Hermione nodded her head, comfortingly.

HP

After dinner, Rowena led the first years towards her house and informed them that the password to Ravenclaw was 'Welcome home'. Arriving in the common room, she quickly explained a few rules, before she told them that the first years were supposed to go to bed right away.

Harry bade Hermione good night and followed his classmates into the dormitory, which he shared with two other boys, Alvin and Melville. 'They both seem nice,' Harry thought, when he changed into his nightwear, feeling grateful towards the founders that they had equipped him with proper clothes of the time so that he wouldn't have to stand out from his classmates. He tiredly let himself sink into bed, realising with excitement that he could see the stars through the large window and could hear the Giant Squid play in the moonshine.

'I really love being at Hogwarts,' he thought, feeling happier than he had felt ever before in his life. 'I wonder how long Hermione and I are going to stay here, before they'll send us back to the future.' With that, he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of black Sorting Hats that were throwing plates with the crests of the four houses at students.

HP

If Harry had been just a little bit sad that their private classes ended in favour of the first Hogwarts class, he realised soon that their normal classes, even if not as difficult as their private lessons, were equally interesting. Their classmates were all very nice, and if anyone noticed that Hermione and Harry were acting strangely in comparison to everyone else, they did not voice their observations.

Harry and Hermione decided to spend the time between their last afternoon class and dinner in the Ravenclaw common room studying together with their classmates and the evenings in Helga's and Salazar's quarters to study together with Ceridwen or talk with her and the founders.

HP

At the beginning of the Christmas holidays, all students except for Harry, Hermione and Ceridwen travelled home, and Ceridwen informed her friends with excitement that her parents were going to spend Christmas at Hogwarts like the parents of the other founders.

"Oh I can't wait to meet your and the other teachers' parents," Hermione blurted out, smiling happily.

It was later the same evening, when everyone sat together for dinner, that Godric asked the two time travellers, "Do you regret that I fetched you here to our time?"

"Not at all," Hermione was the first to reply. "We love being here, don't we, Harry?"

"Absolutely," Harry agreed. "Everyone is so very nice here."

"That's true," Hermione concurred. "I never had any friends before coming here, and now I have two really good friends, plus our classmates are all very friendly, too, and classes are extremely interesting. I don't think they can be better in our own time."

"Oh well, you'll see whenever you decide to return," Godric replied, grinning.

"At least the field of study is much wider here," Hermione insisted, "and Harry and I have discussed it the other day and decided that we'd like to stay here in the past until after our OWLs, maybe even until the NEWTs." Ignoring the adults' collective gasp, she explained, "We'd just like to take the opportunity of learning so much things that are surely going to be different in the future, and since Salazar said he could de-age us back to eleven, it doesn't really matter, provided that you don't mind having us here."

"Of course not," Godric reassured her, "otherwise, we wouldn't have brought you here in the first place."

Harry smiled broadly. "Thank you so much for having us here. I've never been so happy before."

"You're so very welcome, dears," Helga said in a soft voice, making Harry think, 'She's the nicest of all.'

"Now are you feeling up to telling us how you celebrate Christmas in the future?" Helga's and Ceridwen's mother, Heather Hufflepuff, asked with apparent interest, looking at the time travellers in clear expectation.

'I better not tell them that I was locked into my cupboard over the whole holidays after cooking all the meals for the Dursleys,' Harry thought, feeling very grateful towards Hermione, when his friend told the adults everything about Christmas trees, Christmas presents and going to church to celebrate.

"Harry?" Hermione finally asked. "What did you do for Christmas?"

Lured by his friend's encouraging look, Harry finally admitted what he had wanted to keep to himself, causing his best friend to stare at him in clear disgust.

"Your relatives are horrible," she blurted out, gently laying her arm around his back. "Do you know what, Harry? When they send us back to the future, you're going to come with me. You'll never have to return to your relatives' home."

"I'm sorry that I didn't know about your home life," Rowena spoke up, sounding remorseful, "otherwise, we'd have fetched you much earlier."

"It's all right," Harry replied in a small voice, feeling very much consoled by Hermione's offer.

HP

The following day was Christmas Eve, and adults and children had much fun decorating a large Christmas tree, which the house-elves had brought into the Great Hall on Godric's instruction.

"Ceridwen, how are we going to get Christmas presents for everyone?" Hermione suddenly asked.

Harry looked at Helga's younger sister in expectation, knowing that the girl always had a suggestion for everything.

"Ask Rowena to help you charm something," Ceridwen finally said, causing Hermione to smile in relief.

"That's a great idea," she agreed and dashed away to ask Rowena.

"Now Harry, are you coming with Daddy Salazar?" Salazar, who had apparently witnessed the children's conversation, suddenly spoke up.

"I'd like that sir," Harry replied and hurried out of the Great Hall after the potions master, who, to his surprise, did not head to his potions lab but strode in the direction of the forest.

"We shall pick up some berries, and then you can brew fruit drops for everyone," Salazar explained, smirking upon seeing Harry's delighted expression.

HP

It was not difficult for Harry to admit that this Christmas was the best that he had ever experienced, considering that it was his first. During the remaining days of the holidays, the founders kept Hermione and him very busy, as they insisted on continuing their private lessons on a daily basis.

"I don't know what I like more, our lessons with the professors or the first-year classes together with our classmates," Hermione spoke up on the last day of the holidays, glancing at Harry.

"Both have their merits," Harry replied, smiling. "I'm happy that we have both opportunities."

"Yes, that's right," Hermione agreed, seemingly satisfied.

Ceridwen, who usually was the one of the trio who spoke most, contented herself to listen and smile wisely at her friends' conversation.

"Hey, what are you smiling at?" Harry asked in suspicion, causing the girl to grin.

"Just wait for the summer holidays to come," Ceridwen replied and predicted, "When we've finished our first Hogwarts year, the teachers aren't going to be so lenient anymore. They're going to make us study much harder. You'll probably be happy when everyone comes back after the holidays."

HP

Before the three first years realised how fast the time passed, the school year was over, and it did not take Harry and Hermione long to realise how accurate Ceridwen's prediction had been.

The founders made them practise hard, and they noticed soon that they had less free time than during the school year. Even if they did not have lessons in the evenings, usually, all three of them were so exhausted that they headed to bed shortly after dinner.

After two months of intense training with the teachers, Harry and Hermione admitted to Ceridwen that they were looking forward to the other students' return. Ceridwen grinned, knowingly.

HP

On the last day of the holidays, Helga informed the children that they would not have classes but should enjoy one day of freedom.

'I could sleep some more,' Harry thought, wondering what Ceridwen was going to plan for them to do, when Salazar spoke up. She always had the strangest ideas for activities, which, however, in the end, usually turned out much to Hermione's and his pleasure.

"Instead, I'm going to introduce you to my familiar. She's living in my Chamber of Secrets."

Harry observed in surprise how Hermione visibly paled at the announcement.

"Excuse me sir, but in my book 'Hogwarts: A History', it says that there's a monster living in the Chamber of Secrets and that it killed a student at Hogwarts fifty years before our time," she spoke up, wearing a horrified expression.

Salazar shook his head in obvious annoyance. "Amaterasu isn't a monster, she's a basilisk, the goddess of all basilisks. If someone looks into a basilisk's yellow eyes, the person will die instantly," he explained, only to continue, "however, every year, I cast a charm over the school that prevents people from being killed by looking at her. I suppose that no one renewed that charm, and that there was a Parselmouth who willingly opened one of the entrances to the chamber and let her out."

"Sir, will you please teach us the charm, so that we can cast it over the school on a yearly basis?" Harry spoke up, noticing that Hermione looked very thoughtful.

"I shall do that," Salazar promised, quirking an eyebrow in silent question.

"All right sir," Hermione replied, and the children followed Salazar to his private quarters.

By the time they returned to the castle's ground floor, all three of them were certain that Amaterasu was an absolute cutie, Salazar's secret potions lab had to top every other potions lab, even in the future, although they had never seen one yet, and that his personal library was the most intriguing.

The children immediately liked Amaterasu, and Harry, who was the only one except for Salazar able to communicate with the basilisk, promised to visit her and look after her once Hermione and he were back in the future.

The potions lab looked very futuristic, as it was kept within white stone walls instead of the usual darker Hogwarts walls, and it was equipped with a refreshment charm to keep all ingredients and potions fresh as well as a self-refilling charm for each of the ingredients shelves.

The library containing Salazar's own works was charmed to display all the books in Parselscript, in which Salazar had actually written them. However, it was equipped with a charm that made the books be displayed in any language if triggered by a certain charm.

On the way back to the Great Hall on time for dinner, Hermione begged the ancient potions master to teach them the charm, however, Salazar outright refused, stating that they had to pass at least their Potions OWL, preferably their NEWT, before he'd share that piece of information with them.

"Thank you for taking us down there, showing us the rooms and introducing us to Amaterasu," Harry spoke up in order to stop his best friend, who was clearly disappointed, from quarrelling with the founder about the library.

"Yes, it was very interesting," Ceridwen agreed, following by a thanks uttered by Hermione.

"I wonder if Godric will show us his secret place, too," Ceridwen added, pleasantly.

"He will, next year on the last day of the summer holidays," Salazar replied, smirking in obvious amusement.

'In a year's time,' Harry thought in annoyance, knowing from a glance in his best friend's face that Hermione was equally disappointed.

tbc...

Thank you very much for your kind comments!