Chapter Six:

'Here' or 'Away'-

'Here I Am'

Here I am - this is me
There's no where else on earth I'd rather be
Here I am - it's just me and you
Tonight we make our dreams come true.

It's a new world - it's a new start
It's alive with the beating of young hearts
It's a new day - it's a new plan
I've been waiting for you
Here I am

Here we are - we've just begun
And after all this time - our time has come
Ya here we are - still goin' strong
Right here in the place where we belong

It's a new world - it's a new start
It's alive with the beating of young hearts
It's a new day - it's a new plan
I've been waiting for you
Here I am

Here I am - this is me
There's no where else on earth I'd rather be
Here I am - it's just me and you
And tonight we make our dreams come true

It's a new world - it's a new start
It's alive with the beating of young hearts
It's a new day - it's a new plan
I've been waiting for you
Here I am


It's a new world - it's a new start
It's alive with the beating of young hearts
It's a new day - it's a new plan
I've been waiting for you
Here I am

Here I am - next to you
And suddenly the world is all brand new
Here I am - where I'm gonna stay
Now there's nothin standin in our way
Here I am - this is me

By Brian Adams

From 'Spirit Stallion of the Cimmeron'

"-ting. Where are we?" Hermione finished, as they all landed on the floor with a 'thump!'

"I dunno," Came Ginny's muffled answer.

"Wands at the ready, do you reckon?" Ron asked, at the same time Mark asked, "Wands at the ready, do you suppose?"

"God, if all Aurors are the same, please help us," Ginny said.

"Ginny, be serious, we could be in bad trouble," Ron said.

"Yeah, don't joke around," Mark said.

"Now, they're all sounding like Mad-Eyes!" Ginny cried, "What is this world coming to?"

"Speaking of Mad-Eye, have you seen him lately?" Hermione asked.

"Well, yes. He's always at Order meetings, and he comes to my apartment for supper a couple times a week. He's my best friend, and roommate's great-uncle. It sounds as if he only knows me as 'The girl who eavesdrops on Order meetings' not as Ginny, or even Weasley. It's quite annoying, really," Ginny said, exasperated.

"Well yeah. I remember I was 'The girl who likes to read'. At least I don't see him as often," Hermione said.

"Er-girls, I don't know if you remember that we have no clue where we are," Mark said uncertainly.

"Yeah, also the fact that we might be captured by Death Eaters," Ron said sarcastically.

"Death Eaters, I doubt it," A new voice came from the shadows.

"Harry!" Hermione and Ginny both screeched.

"Hey, all of you, how have you been?" Harry asked.

"Fine, but Harry, where are you?" Ron asked.

"Oh, sorry, here, let me hit the lights, Lumos Maxima!" Light filled the room. "Is that better?"

"Much," Mark said, as Hermione and Ginny both leapt towards, crushing him with hugs.

"Erm-I can't breathe," Harry gasped, and they let go of him.

That's when Ginny's anger found it's way up. "Harry James Potter!" She yelled, "Where have you been?"

"Well, I went searching for the rest of the horcruxes. I destroyed all of them except for Hufflepuff's Cup. The last one I found was in Sydney, Australia. Surprisingly, I found them all in a month, so I spent the rest of the time finishing school in Australia. That's where I met Mark. Anyway, the night before our graduation celebration, I fell asleep in bed, then, the next morning, I woke up here, with all my stuff and everything."

"Where exactly is 'here'?" Ron asked.

"Well-I'm not sure. I just know that they call it 'here' or 'away'."

"Who calls it that?" Hermione asked.

"Godric, Rowena, Helga, and Salazar."

"He's nutters!" Ginny said.

"He's lost it," Mark said.

"No, I'm serious. They're here. Well, their spirits are anyway. You see, there was another prophecy. Let's sit down." He conjured up five cushiony armchairs and they all sat down. "Okay, I'm not quite sure of the exact words, but it's something like 'The heirs of both Gryffendor and Slytherin will battle, when one is ΒΌ of the other, in a place that influenced them both at the same time. Kin of the four founders will join forces and join one of the heirs, to destroy the other.' So, I chose you as the kin, and I've got you to 'join forces' together, now you have to choose either to be on my side or Voldemort's. If you don't choose one, then we'll both die. So, I need your answer now, to reveal more information."

"I'm in," Ron said.

"Me too," Hermione said, "In first year, you said we could choose to go back anytime. We have decided that it isn't the time."

"I'll be there too," Ginny said, "I'm not letting my brother get the better of me."

"I'll be there too Harry. You were my closest friend ever for the two months you were there. I'll be there for you, no matter what. I feel as if we are connected," Mark said.

"Well, thanks guys that really means a lot to me. Since you've agreed to help me, you'll need your weapons. Let's go to the next room," Harry said, leading them to the room across the hall.

"Why do we get the weapons, Harry?" Ginny asked.

"Because you're kin of the founders," Harry said, as if it was an everyday experience, "You'll need your weapons from them first." He pulled down the old school sorting hat and held it brim up towards Hermione. "To the Kin of Ravenclaw." She reached in then pulled out a bow with sapphires on it and blue bag of arrows. "The Bow and Arrow of Ravenclaw. It has a 99 accuracy rate, the other 1 comes from your own aim."

"Wow, thanks Harry," Hermione sighed, "But, how do I know it was really Ravenclaw's?"

"Well, Rowena told me, she'll tell you, and her name's on it."

Harry chuckled at how large Hermione's eyes got when she read the name on the bow. Rowena Ravenclaw.

"Now, to the Kin of Gryffendor." He held the hat out to Mark, who pulled out a ruby-incrusted sword. "The Sword of Gryffendor. It has an unbreakable blade, and you can summon a shield as well. You'll need to work on sword patterns and summoning the shield on your own. It'll come if you absolutely need it, but you should practice getting it on your own accord."

"Well, thank-you Harry," Mark said, "This is really cool."

Harry held out the hat to Ginny. "For the Kin of Hufflepuff, a phoenix," He said, as she stuck her hand in and a phoenix flew out.

"Amazing. She's so beautiful. What's her name?" Ginny asked.

"You can name her. Now, your assignment is to train her to trust you. Helga's best quality was loyalty, and phoenixes are one of the most loyal creatures. Phoenixes are extremely strong, they can carry heavy loads far distances, and their tears have healing powers. You need to get her to trust you to help you."

"Okay Harry, what ever you say."

"Finally, to the Kin of Slytherin," He said and held out the hat to Ron. Ron's face fell as he stuck his hand into the hat. He pulled out a dagger. "The Dagger of Slytherin. Ron, place the tip of your wand to the tip of the dagger." Ron did and his wand dissolved into the dagger. "Okay, point the tip of the dagger to the door and say Accio Salazar!"

Ron did, and a man with short black hair flew into the room. "Harry Potter! What are you doing?" He exclaimed.

"Just showing Ron the combined powers of his wand and the dagger." Harry said, shrugging, "Do you want to?"

"Sure. You are the Weasley boy, right?" Salazar barked.

"Yes sir," Ron squeaked.

"Well, this dagger now has your wand. It has as much power as your wand, plus the power I put in the dagger. If I were you, I would buy a new wand, because people get scared if you point a dagger at them. Have fun with it, but take care of it, it's worth more than your life is," Salazar said, and left the room, smirking.

"Is he serious?" Ron asked, almost shaking.

"No, it's his cunning. He always does that. We are all used to it. Anyway, you need to get control of the new powers it gives you. So, now the family trees. You are all related to the four founders. Let's see, Hermione. Rowena married a muggle surnamed Granger. They had four children; three magic and one squib. The three magic lines eventually died out, but the squib line is still alive. You are the end of it, and the last remaining on the Ravenclaw line. That's why I chose you.

"Ron and Ginny, very few people know that before Salazar went dark, he and Helga had two children together; both magic. However, one of them married a muggle, and had a non-magic child. That's why he went dark, because of his squib grand-child. Anyway, he personally killed the squib, his mother and father, but the magic one is still living. The whole side of your father's family is part of the Slytherin and Hufflepuff lines. I chose you, because I knew you would be on my side.

"And finally, Mark. You are adopted, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, you're related to Gryffendor from your real father's family. And, Hermione, last night you said yes to Mark's marriage proposal, and when his face lit up, you started crying. Why?"

Hermione answered, "Well, because he looked just like-no, is he really?" Harry nodded and she hugged him. "This is so great! Exactly what you wanted! When did you figure it out?"

"As soon as I got to school there."

"Er-am I missing something?" Mark asked.

"Just as much as we are," Ron answered, "It's always like this. Hermione figures it out and talks about it, but never tells us."

"It's really annoying," Ginny added.

"Fine, Harry will tell you," Hermione said, motioning to a beaming Harry.

"Well, Mark is-is my twin brother," Harry said.

Mark's face lit up as well, as he asked, "How?"

"Well, when mom and dad found out that Voldemort was after me, they put you into an orphanage to keep you safe. But, when they went to get you back after the Fidealus Charm had been set up, you had been adopted and sent off to a couple in Australia. Your last name is Evans, because that is what mom's was. They put you under it so Voldemort couldn't find you."

"Wow, this is cool. I never would have guessed I had a twin brother," Mark said.

"Harry! Time for lunch!" A female voice came from the hall.

"Coming!" Harry called back, "Let's go!" He said to his friends, "You'll finally get to meet them!"

They all went down the hall and entered the farthest room. Harry introduced everyone. "Guys, these are the spirits of Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin, and Godric Gryffendor. And, this is Ginny Weasley, Kin of Hufflepuff; Hermione Granger, Kin of Ravenclaw; Ron Weasley, Kin of Slytherin; and Mark Evans; Kin of Gryffendor. Salazar, you and Ron should play a game of Wizard's Chess. You are both the best I've ever seen. You've both beat me millions of times too; although, that's not too hard."

"We'll do that after Harry. It's time to eat now," Slytherin said.

They all sat down and began to eat a delicious meal. "I see your eating habits haven't improved, Ron," Hermione said, laughing.

"Well, I want to have that chess game right away," Ron said, swallowing his last mouthful.

"You forgot that your opponent has to finish as well," Salazar barked, "And I like to eat in a civilized manner."

"Fine," Ron said grumpily, and piled more food onto his plate.

Once everyone had finished eating-Salazar finished last, just to annoy Ron-Rowena cleared the table and conjured a chessboard onto the table. Ron took the black side, while Salazar insisted he had white. They began play.

The game was long, and people started placing bets. Hermione and Ginny both bet on Ron, while Rowena and Godric did on Salazar. Helga said that it was things like this that caused segregation, and refused to bet; Mark hadn't seen either of them play, so he decided not to bet; while Harry had seen too much of both players to know that it would be a long and close game. Even he had no clue who would win.

They sat there for an hour and a half. Both Ron and Salazar had their Queen and their King left. Salazar found no possible way to get either of Ron's pieces, but he moved his Queen closer to them. As he left his King uncovered, Ron found a path to get Salazar's King with his Queen, and "Checkmate. I win," He said, smirking.

"What! How?" Salazar cried indignantly. Rowena, Helga, and Godric's jaws were all dropped, while Hermione and Ginny were smirking. Mark just looked at the board in amazement and said, "Well, I've never seen such a good game of chess in my life."

"Me neither," Harry agreed, "Even I wasn't too sure of the outcome. Both are brilliant chess players."

"Erm-I believe you owe us some money," Ginny said.

"Don't be rude, Ginny," Hermione scolded, "I believe that we won the bet. Could we please have our money, if it's not that big of a problem."

"Of course," Rowena said, and handed over the money she owed, "Come on Godric, they won, fair and square."

"Fine, Salazar, I'm going to kill you! You ruined our reputation!"

"But, it was Ron who got Gryffendor fifty points for beating Professor McGonagall's giant chessboard.

"Well, then, thanks kid. You've given me new pride. But, I'm still going to kill you Salazar," Godric said, and began to chase him.

"Will either of them get hurt?" Hermione asked.

"No, they do this all the time," Helga sighed.

"You guys have to go home now," Rowena said, "It's almost sun up. Good luck!" She and Helga both left the room to break up Godric and Salazar.

"Yes," Harry agreed, looking at his watch, "Now, I'm going to give you a port-key. It will take you to Grimmald Place. I want the four of you to stay there and work on what I've told you to do with your new weapons. Hermione, I want you to be Hannah, so we don't arouse suspicion. There'll already be enough with Ron and Ginny talking. It's not Order headquarters now, is it?"

"No, but Mom and Dad live there now," Ron said.

"What?" Hermione and Harry both cried.

"Voldemort attacked the Burrow last month. They're living there now," Ginny explained.

"That's terrible!" Hermione had cried.

"Yes. But, now's not the time. Mark, you are going to be transferring to England and have to stay with Ron for a while. Ron, you don't have enough room in your apartment, neither does Ginny, so you were wondering if you could stay there. Also, Ginny's there because Hannah is her pen-pal from Australia. Are there any questions?" Everyone shook there heads. "Okay then. These are also for you." He handed them a ring each. The rings had the initial of the founder they were related to, and the animal that represents that founder. "These will give you the tongues of the animal that founder could talk to. Reptiles for Ron, small mammals for Ginny, birds for Hermione, and cats for Mark. If I were you, I wouldn't show off that you can do this. Also, these are port-keys, which will take you to Godric's Hollow when I call you for the battle. I don't know where you'll be. Now, for the next week, I want you to go to work with Ron, Mark, and Ginny will entertain Hannah while they are at work. When they are not, I want you all to be at Grimmald Place training."

"Okay Harry, is that all?" Ron asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Yes, I'll say good-bye now, so you'll be ready to go whenever the port-key takes you. So, good-bye guys. I've missed you so much. It's been long, but it won't be much longer," Harry said. He hugged each of them, and before any of them could say anything, they were swept away by the port-key.

A/N: I don't have a song for the next chapter. If there is anyone who knows of a song that is based on lying or coming back to a new place, please contact me in either a review or an email Thanks.