"Welcome new students to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" Albus Dumbledore declared in the Great Hall. "And to you returning students, welcome also! I'm sure you're all hungry after the train-ride, so…" he clapped his hands and each table magically filled with food.
"Where is Ron?" Harry asked in annoyance. "I haven't seen him since Diagon Alley."
"He's not at the Feast either…" Hermione looked around the table, not seeing any redheads other than Ginny. "What's wrong?"
"Something's happened," Harry stated. "Once we get to our dorms, I'll grab the Marauder's Map okay?"
"Harry, are you sure? Shouldn't we go to a teacher about this?"
He shook his head. "No. It's too out of the ordinary that Ron would disappear like this. I saw him in Diagon Alley and saw him enter the train so something must have happened during the train ride."
"I still think we should tell a teacher," Hermione said worriedly.
"They probably would've noticed, so we shouldn't disturb them. Worse-case scenario, he's not in the castle at all," Harry replied quietly.
--
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," Harry announced, tapping the blank parchment with his wand.
Within an instant the map of Hogwarts appeared, winking with names.
Among the mass of names, Ron Weasley was nowhere to be found.
He deactivated the map and went into the Gryffindor Common Room where Hermione was waiting. "Well?" she asked in fear.
Harry shook his head.
Hermione deflated. "What will we do now?"
"…We wait."
"But we have to do something! Ron could be out there, dead for all we know, or captured and tortured by…"
"That's the point!" Harry interrupted. "We have no idea right now what happened to Ron, heck he could have even transferred to a different school at the last minute as unlikely as it is. As much as I hate to say it, we wait and train until an opportunity presents itself."
"I…you're…you're right. I'm sorry Harry, I overreacted, it…"
"It's okay," Harry interrupted. "I understand why you're so worried, but there's nothing we can do. We can only leave it to the teachers now. They can do better than we can."
"You could have been a Ravenclaw, Harry," Hermione mused softly.
"The Sorting Hat said so, but I guess I've been slacking off a bit these years." Harry grinned before he turned serious. "But what we're doing is far more important than schoolwork."
--
"Albus how is the search going for Ronald Weasley?" Minerva asked softly in the Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "Alas, there is no trace of him after entering the train. I have questioned some students and they have reported seeing him but other than that, nothing to suggest what happened."
"Do you think it could be…Death Eaters?"
"At this point it could be anything," Dumbledore replied. "I do not wish to make assumptions, but it seems very likely to be so. But why would they take this much trouble to kidnap one boy even if he is Harry's friend? How did they sneak onboard? Many puzzling questions are present, some of which I even cannot begin to answer."
"So we assume he is kidnapped and do nothing about it?" McGonagall demanded. "I will not jeopardize the safety of any of my students!"
"I will contact Alastor Moody immediately then," Dumbledore sighed, popping a lemon drop into his mouth. "Let us pray for the best."
--
Harry walked through the corridors in the middle of the night, invisibility cloak over himself.
"Lumos Atra," he whispered softly as his wand-tip, stuck slightly out of his cloak emitted a strong light, casting over many sleeping portraits. The Invisible Light spell was used by thieves several hundred years ago – the user could see their own light but others could not. It had been banned almost immediately upon discovery.
He came to the Girls' toilet opening it softly and stepping in, walking up to the small carved snake.
"Open", he hissed. "Reveal the stairway."
And with that Harry Potter entered the Chamber of Secrets.
It had been exactly like he left it in his Second Year – the basilisk laid there, its rotting corpse now no use to anyone.
Harry picked up the fang, pocketing it in a pouch he had brought along – the venom might be useful.
He consulted the diary of Salazar Slytherin – the stupid bookseller in Knockturn Alley had no idea of its immeasurable worth. Too bad it was written in Parseltongue.
The young wizard traced his wand tip along the map of the Chamber of Secrets, glancing up at the statue of Slytherin.
"Speak to me Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four. Awaken and reveal your secrets!"
Slytherin's eyes glowed red before a deep rumbling sounded. The statue slid over slowly, opening up a secret passageway.
Taking a deep breath, Harry went in.
Instead of finding himself inside a cave like he expected, this was an immense library, furnished lavishly in fine cloths. Several portraits hung on the mantelpiece over an enchanted, ever-burning fire.
Harry recognised them immediately – the Four Founders.
Why would Salazar bring them here?
Harry decided he would visit to activate them later before walking to look at each of the bookcases.
To his delight he found that not all the books were written in Parseltongue, meaning Hermione could also study these with him. Rather, while many books were and written by Slytherin himself many were collections on a variety of topics, written by a variety of authors. Harry could have sworn he saw one written by Merlin himself.
Harry grabbed several large tomes, shrinking them and depositing them in another bag he was carrying which would prove useful. He also grabbed some more for Hermione before leaving.
--
Harry sat by Hermione during their first lesson of the days – Potions.
"Many of you have made your way to this class through skill," Snape began with a sneer. "Some…" he looked directly at one Potter. "By luck. However, I will not having any fooling around in this class. Anyone who does will be out. NEWTs are not something to be taken lightly."
Harry was more or less paying attention, beneath his desk he was scribbling several notes.
Snape waved his wand at the blackboard and a recipe for a potion appeared. "Take one partner and begin."
Thankfully with Hermione, Harry had not blown up or screwed up his potion. With a cold glare Snape gave Harry full marks, taking ten points off though for not tucking his shirt in.
"Did you slip them?" Hermione asked as they left the Dungeons.
Harry grinned. "Charmed them so they'll only appear when they're completely alone, then appear in front of the person in a burst of flames. One of Salazar's favourite ways of secret communication."
"Oh Harry this is incredible. To study books written by the Four Founders themselves…I'm already through one of Ravenclaw's books and I felt like I had learnt more than I had in a year!"
"She IS the intelligent one," Harry replied as they went to Transfiguration. "I'm about to start one of Gryffindor's – one on sword combat."
"I read a book that said Gryffindor was one of the greatest swordsmen of his time – and with that sword able to kill a basilisk…"
"It's also mine by right," Harry interrupted.
Hermione looked at him, puzzled.
"Only an heir of Gryffindor could have drawn the sword out of that hat. It's mine by right. Once I figure out how to get into Dumbledore's office without him knowing, I'll take it. It's mine by right," he repeated again.
There was an uncomfortable silence between them.
"I'm trying to track down Slytherin's staff as well. He was a lot more elegant in fighting, his staff was enchanted so it could change into a sword and a shield… his diary said it could charge your magic and amplify your spells." Harry said quietly. "I'll start tomorrow night after activating the portraits and asking them." He leaned in even closer. "The armour is ready, I was sent it just today privately. You should see them, Hermione…they're beautiful. They'll strike fear even more than Voldy did."
--
Daphne Greengrass, the proclaimed 'Ice Queen' of Slytherin walked to the Forbidden Forest.
She glanced once more at the strange note, which had suddenly appeared to her in a burst of flames – Meet tonight at nine in the Forbidden Forest. Come alone. Bring your wand.
And below the words was a strange mark – a powerful legendary creature, a chimera, with its beautiful wings unfurled. Beside it in smaller size were a snake and a phoenix with words at the bottom – Pondera Potestas Est. Balance is Power.
She whipped around with her wand out at several rustles behind her and lowered it in surprise to see her fellow Slytherins. "Blaise? Pansy? Theo?"
"Adflicto!"
The students scattered, the spell however found its mark in a Slytherin teenager Daphne didn't know and there was a sickening crack as his leg twisted into an excruciatingly painful angle.
"One down out of eleven," a harsh and cold voice said.
The Ice Queen wouldn't admit it later, but at the moment when a dark, imposing figure melted out of the shadows she felt her insides seize up.
His armour was smooth and pure black – so black it could easily blend into the shadows. A billowing cape flowed behind him, buckled to the shoulders. His hood was up, but they could all easily see his face.
It wasn't a face technically – his face was hidden behind a mask, a gray, faceless mask painted in red marks that looked suspiciously like human blood. If anything, it made him even more fearful.
"Crucio!" Pansy shrieked, the curse blazing towards him.
Harry lazily stepped out of the way. "An Unforgivable, Miss Parkinson? You must be very strong…or very foolish."
"Who are you?" Blaise shouted, sending a stunner at him, which he blocked with a shield. "What do you want?"
"There are ten of you standing before me," Harry answered in a menacing voice. "Only four will remain. Sectumsempra! Eradico!"
Another student screamed as blood starting spurting from a terrible slash on his arm, dropping his wand in pain and yet another was caught by the large explosion from the Eradico spell, thrown backwards as she hit her head on a rock and was knocked out.
Eight.
Daphne charged forward as a green light glowed at the tip of her wand. "Avada…"
"Accio ground!"
She didn't complete the Killing Curse as the entire ground beneath her flew upwards, causing her to lose her balance and trip, the green light dimming.
"Not bad," Harry mused. "But not too subtle either, running forwards at me with your wand pointed…INCENDIO!"
Daphne rolled across the ground, barely avoiding the powerful flames as they shot across the forest, quickly followed by several consecutive stunners, knocking out some unfortunate students trying to get away from the massive jet of flames.
Seven.
"Expelliarmus!" Blaise yelled as the figure lazily blocked again with another shield charm.
"That wasn't a bad disarming time – except next time make sure it's STRONG enough to break through my shield." The figure mocked.
Blaise turned to Daphne, Theodore and Pansy as he raised his wand and mouthed something. The group of them nodded as they all chanted simultaneously, "Stupefy!"
Harry was surprised at the power of their stunners as he decided to test one of his newly acquired spells – "Protego Serpens!"
A dark purple shield generated itself, and as the stunners hit they rebounded in the form of snake-like spells.
The snakes hit the remaining three students, leaving Pansy, Blaise, Theo and Daphne there.
Harry started clapping. "Oh very well done! I expected you four to pull through. Quite frankly, I'm impressed. But first…" he turned around to the scattered bodies. "Obliviate! Obliviate! Obliviate! Obliviate! Obliviate! Obliviate!"
"So what are we doing here?" Daphne demanded. "What did you want by attacking us?"
"The strongest of Slytherin, of course," Harry responded. "If you noticed, I picked all the Slytherins who are considered the best of their House. With the exception of Mr. Malfoy of course, I have something special planned for him…" he raised his wand. "Orior Paladin Vestigium!" a golden flash flew through the air, exploding above them in a shower of sparks to create something truly brilliant to behold.
It was the same mark on their notes – there the Chimera was in all its glory, the phoenix and snake though were animated, dancing in battle in an endless fight.
"The phoenix and snake symbolizes the endless battle between Light and Dark, their leaders represented and who I believe you know," Harry explained. "And there we will rise above them – we the Paladin Lords of Magic!"
As one of them attempted to speak, Harry raised his hand to silence him. "Why should you join me? Simple." He took off his mask.
The four reeled back in shock. POTTER was the one behind all this?
"You see there was a prophecy made between me and Voldemort," Harry explained. "It is simple – kill or be killed. Albus Dumbledore does not factor into the battle, yet he fights as if HE is the one destined to defeat the Dark Lord! If either of them win…we ALL lose!"
"You're wrong!" Pansy yelled. "The Dark Lord will raise a new Empire! It will…"
"But do you truly believe him? He was in Slytherin of course. Why should he care? He will create an Empire and take what he wants. I have seen how he works. Why should you sacrifice your own life in this war for him?"
He continued. "You will be involved in this war, whether you like it or not and you WILL be forced to pick a side. I offer you another option. I offer you training. I will defeat Voldemort and you all will have positions of great power with me! I don't want to rule as a king merely for myself – to change this world! To rule it with everyone as their equals!"
"Then we will not! We will not share with mudbloods and blood…"
"Silencio! Again with that half-blood filth! Did no one tell you that Voldemort himself was a half-blood? Consider the bitter irony. He is the very thing he is trying to destroy."
They all had no answer to that.
"And if the Light wins – we all go back to the way things were before. A weak Ministry in place, the wizarding countries pathetic and separated. Why? Why settle for normality and weakness when you can have greatness and power?"
"So what does this have to do with us?" Theo demanded.
Harry raised four fingers. "Four representatives of each House, meaning there will be Twelve. This petty House rivalry has gone on long enough."
"Work with the Gryffindors?" Blaise asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Or any of the other Houses. We're Slytherins, they hate us."
"I'll make them work with you." At this Harry's wand sparked slightly. "I can be very…persuasive after all."
"So what's in this for us?" Daphne asked, running the options through her head.
Harry shrugged. "Oh, you know, fame, glory, power, preserved forever in the Wizarding world. Think about it! We will be known for all time, even more famous than Dumbledore! Maybe one day even as famous as Merlin himself!"
Theo was the first one to step up, raising his hand. "You've convinced me, Potter. If you think we are truly strong enough…"
"Of course," Harry interrupted. "We can combine all our talents, that's why I decided four representatives from each House. Intelligence, bravery, loyalty, cunning…"
Soon the remaining three decided as well.
"Good." Harry raised his wand again. "Nox Paladin Vestigium!"
The blazing symbol vanished. Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out several golden pieces. "Put these where you can reach them. Right now they're blank, but when we call a meeting the time and date will appear on the edge, as well as meeting place. There we'll begin our…training."
--
"This is very impressive," Hermione commented as the two lounged comfortably in Slytherin's personal library in the Chamber of Secrets.
She was looking at a list of the twelve first members of the Paladins.
GRYFFINDOR:
Harry Potter
Hermione Granger
Ginny Weasley
Neville Longbottom
RAVENCLAW:
Luna Lovegood
Cho Chang
Terry Boot
Michael Corner
SLYTHERIN:
Daphne Greengrass
Pansy Parkinson
Theodore Nott
Blaise Zabini
HUFFLEPUFF:
Susan Bones
Hannah Abbott
Ernie Macmillan
Zacharias Smith
"All of them, aside from the ones from Slytherin have been in the D.A.," Harry explained. "That way I don't have to start teaching them stuff like the disarming charm again, and for the Slytherins…well several of them used the Unforgivables quite efficiently. They dueled incredibly well also." He added as an afterthought.
"But even so…how could you convince the others to do something…borderline dark?"
"The boy did what I asked him to," Salazar spoke from his portrait. "He found their weaknesses and exploited them."
Harry smiled quietly. "Exactly that."
They had activated the four portraits the night before their second meeting with the Gryffindors, though they knew which two would come out on top. Godric, Helga and Rowena agreed with his reasoning on the weaknesses, Rowena even pointing out a theory she had on the actual nature and concept of magic being a powerful form of energy.
Salazar however had merely huffed at him, scowling for his killing of his beloved basilisk and for coming in here. The four founders were friends before their deaths, that was why Salazar brought their portraits to this Chamber of Secrets so only the one he believed to be worthy – his Heir – could activate them.
Naturally of course he was not so after Harry explained about Voldemort and gave advice on how to convince them.
"The Gryffindors," Harry explained. "Neville wanted revenge for the torture of his parents, and though I told him I wasn't planning to give it to him I told him it was Voldemort he should be going after and Dumbledore wouldn't let him. Ginny wanted her family to be safe and not just to be seen as 'someone's little sister'."
He pointed to the Ravenclaws. "They may be intelligent but they still want to know. At first I started with all the secret knowledge I had, blah, blah, blah then went on their individual weaknesses. Luna knew me and believed I was doing the right thing, Cho wanted to avenge Cedric's death and reform the Ministry for not believing me, and such."
He came to the Slytherins. "They were the easiest, they know a good deal when they see one." Then to Hufflepuff. "They all knew what I could do and were loyal to me still after the end of the D.A. and fighting in the Department of Mysteries. Plus they wanted to fight in the upcoming war."
"You should have been a Slytherin, my boy," Salazar hissed in approval.
"Nonsense!" Godric growled. "Only one with great courage could carry out this plan! To fight against overwhelming odds and overcome them!"
"Or a Ravenclaw," Rowena added with a smile. "This plan was exceptionally well-thought out."
"Hufflepuff even," Helga said. "You are loyal to your friends and allies and when the time comes you want them to be on your side."
Harry turned to all the portraits in gratitude before turning to the smug-looking Salazar. "Now where is your staff?" he demanded.
"If you think I am giving up my most prized possession that easily you are sorely mistaken," he informed the teenager. "I told you the day before and I will tell you again – only a great act of power will convince me to give up my staff."
"I convinced them?" he said hopefully.
Salazar was firm. "No. Any competent Slytherin could do what you did."
"For crying out loud Salazar give him your staff!" Helga cried. "It's not like you'll be needing it!"
"She's right you know," Rowena added. "He'll be needing it now more than ever against both sides."
"…Fine. Very well. Staff of my power, hear my voice and come to me," Salazar hissed in Parseltongue.
There was a burst of fiery light as the glowing staff appeared before the portrait. It was long and sleek, carved from a silver material with many snakes and inscriptions running down its surface, the top of the staff carved into a beautiful snake with glowing ruby eyes.
"Boy, bow before me," he hissed.
Harry Potter kneeled before the staff and the portrait.
"I cannot announce you as my Heir, only the current Heir can do so as I gave him that right. But I grant you, Harry James Potter, the staff of Salazar Slytherin! Wield it as you see fit."
Harry gripped the staff, and with a burst of magic the passing was done.