Four will rise from time of fear
Drawing all of fair light near
Across a sea they come to wait
Letting others judge their fate
The First has known his blood rights long
He teaches others right from wrong
The Second holds no love within
But gives it all up upon a whim
The Third will come of a sharper mind
Who shows the strength of another kind
The Fourth will rise from living dreams
Her knowledge shows what isn't seen
The winged serpent, an ancient snake
Will guide them till their minds awake
Through fire, snow, forest, sky, and sea
All known life the Four will free
Ω
To say that Hermione was surprised by the entourage following her down the corridors would be an understatement. She never knew how much people cared about her and all that happened to her. It warmed her heart and she knew that now was the time to reveal her secret plan that had been in the making since just after the Final Battle.
She moved down the hallway past the Hospital Wing to an area of the school visited by very few students. As she passed tall, ceiling height windows she stopped at a wall that held a large painting. The canvas and frame filled almost all of the space, almost seeming to glow with its own light.
The rich colors of the painting portrayed a clearing of a forest under a bright shining moon and hundreds of twinkling stars. In the center of the clearing rose a vast and autumnal oak tree. The tree was crowned shimmering red and golden leaves, its trunk a smooth silver bark mottled with green moss. The flowers blooming around its base waved in a soft unseen breeze, their striped yellow and black petals almost gave off a sweet, pale scent; fluttering around these beautiful plants were a flock of small bronze and blue songbirds that were tweeting a haunting melody that floated from the painting like a ghost wafting through the air.
Now, while this was a beautiful landscape it was not the nature that held the students attention, no it was the four people lounging on the grass or in the tree. "Why hello there! You must be the students who are moving into the old apartments, yes? Well I'm Helga Hufflepuff as you may have heard from your history class." the shorter brown haired woman tending the flowers. She smiled sweetly in a way that many students thought reminded them of Professor Weasley. "Now come on don't be shy. I want to meet you all because otherwise how will I be able to help with any problems you might have if I can't get to know you first."
The students shuffled about nervously until some of them were brave enough to introduce themselves, then they all gained courage and told the Founder some of their personal history. She listened intently to each one making sure to make them feel important and the center of attention. After she had held a conversation with each student Helga called to the other three Founders. They approached laughing at the deer like looks on the younger students' faces.
A tall, dark haired witch with sharp angular features and a knowing smirk bowed courteously and introduced herself as Rowena Ravenclaw. As she conversed with the students as Helga had the occasional bird would land upon her shoulder and she would pause in her discussion to listen to the bird intently then she would laugh lightly and nod her head at the bird.
The next to greet the pupils was Salazar Slytherin, who was actually much more handsome then history liked to say; he had slightly wavy brown hair that fell just below his ears. His hazel eyes had a ring of gold around the outside of the iris. His smile looked as if he was hiding a tempting and dirty secret about all of them but he spoke as the essence of politeness and manners and many of the girls nearly swooned when he winked at them. "Now now Salazar please don't flirt with our students they cannot be distracted when they need to be studying," Rowena interrupted laughing.
The last of the figures approached slowly and Hermione's and many other students' breath caught in their throats for at his side Godric Gryffindor held a familiar boy.
"Harry!" Hermione shrieked before fainting dead away
Ω
Ron paced around the hospital wing at the edge of Hermione's bed. 'How? How could this have happened? One minute Hermione's fine the next she loses consciousness followed soon after by Luna.' He peered down at the serene expressions on the two teens' faces. And where was Draco? He hadn't even showed up to check up on his girlfriend. Ron was still stinging at the way Draco had while under the influence of the arachnigeist, even though he tried to act as cordial as possible.
Groan. Ron spun around quickly almost giving himself whiplash. He saw Luna stirring on her soft white bed. "Draco why did you… leave … please come back I can't do this… without you." The pain in her voice pulled at Ron in a way that only happened when he comforted his sister.
"Luna. Hey, can you tell me where Draco went?" he asked softly trying to keep her awake only a little bit longer. "Uhh… he went with Harry." "What do you mean Luna? Harry's been gone for more than a month and Draco was here for all of that time. How can he have gone with Harry?" "He disappeared… just like Harry did. He faded away and blew away in the wind." Ron was shocked. Draco had gone the same way as Harry? Was this a sign of the Second of the Four or was it just a coincidence? HE had to find out.
"Thank you Luna that might actually be helpful. Why don't you lie back down we don't want Madame Pomfrey fretting over my overexciting you." With that Ron rushed from the Hospital Wing and towards the Headmaster's office.
Ω
