Preventing the Future
Chapter Nine – Founder's Door
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Full stop. End of story. Please don't sue.
Author's Note: I'm so sorry this took so long to finish. Enjoy!
Hermione looked at her watch to see what time it was and saw that it was already ten in the morning, her little foray with the elves in the Founder's Hall had taken longer than she thought. She decided that if she didn't show up for breakfast soon it would look suspicious so she headed down to the Great Hall to brave the teachers. Because it was still summer there was only one table in the hall and most of the professors were already seated and eating. All throughout the meal Hermione automatically answered any questions directed at her all the while thinking about the wonderful room that was right above them, it was amazing! And she was the first person in hundreds of years to even know about it... She ate quickly and excused herself with the excuse that she wanted to make sure she was caught up on her school work.
As soon as Hermione made it back to the Gryffindor common room she grabbed a notebook and quill and walked over to where she knew the Founder's Door was. As soon as she touched the small symbol of a lion on the wall, she saw The Door appear. It looked exactly the same as the one in the Founder's Hall only now, in the very middle of The Door, surrounded by all the other engravings, was the Hogwarts crest. Must lead back to the Hall. She thought, and when she opened it Hermione found that sure enough, she was standing in the Founder's Hall. As tempted as she was to explore the Hall further, Hermione decided that she wanted to figure out exactly where The Door went. Hermione opened her note book to the first page and wrote:
Founder's Door
Lion: Gryffindor common room
Then she stepped back and looked at all the other engravings on the wooden door, there must have been about twenty of them. Each carving flowed gracefully into the next, connected by twisting vines and curling lines. As you looked closer each carving seemed to be alive, the pile of books would sway precariously, the flowers would slowly open and close, steam rose in tiny spirals over food, the snake would flick it's tongue, the raven would ruffle a feather, the badger would twitch it's nose, the lion would shake it's mane, the gargoyles would smirk knowingly. When looked at all together nothing seemed to move but if you focused on just one you could see it moving.
With an excited sigh – if there is such a thing – Hermione pressed her hand against the engraving of the small serpent. She watched as the wood twisted and turned until the snake filled the entire door, just like the lion had done earlier, it's tongue was curling around the handle. Hermione noticed with a shudder that it was a basilisk, even after all she'd been through, that snake still scared her. It might have had something to do with the whole petrification thing, but who knows? Shoving that feeling to the back of her mind, she gently grasped the handle and pulled The Door open. Hermione did a mental fist pump as she found herself looking at a completely empty Slytherin common room - she recognised it from Harry and Ron's descriptions during their Polyjuice adventure. After making absolutely sure that there was no one there – thank you, Marauder's Map – she carefully stepped into the snakes' den. It was amazing: If this and the lion carving were any indication, she had access to any of the common rooms! Hermione quickly closed The Door behind her and pressed the snake symbol on the wall. Sure enough, The Door appeared again, complete with all the options. Hermione pressed the raven ruffling it's wings and found herself in the Ravenclaw common room and the same happened with the badger whose nose and tail twitched. Thousands of thoughts flew around her head, the first and foremost being, This would have been so very useful during the war.But now was not the time to reminisce about the future, to get those thoughts out of her head she opened her notebook and added;
Snake: Slytherin common room
Raven: Ravenclaw common room
Badger: Hufflepuff common room
Hermione stood in the Hufflepuff common room and studied The Door, which carving to pick next? There were so many choices! One of the ones near the centre was an interesting combination of a hat, sword, wand, book, set of scales, diary and quill; the hat's brim kept twitching, the sword glittered, the wand shot out sparks randomly, the book's pages were turning, the scales slowly rocked from side to side and the quill was carefully writing in the diary; there was so much going on in the carving that it should have been almost nauseating to watch it, but somehow they all fit together and looked good. Hermione couldn't figure out how that worked.
Magic. The sarcastic part of her mind commented.
Not shit, Sherlock! Another part replied.
Lovely, I'm talking to myself again. You know that's the first sign of insanity.
Yeah, The sarcastic part said, And the second sign is answering yourself. From what I can tell, you're doing both... Hermione sighed and shook her head, she had know for a while now that she was insane, she didn't need herself to tell her that. So, she just accepted that the voice in her head was right and went back to looking at the carving that fit but didn't at the same time. She touched it and it grew to fill The Door. Hermione nearly had a heart attack when she saw what was on the other side of The Door, as it was, it was only her years of training that kept her from crying out in shock. She was standing right behindDumbledore, he was sitting at his desk working on something and sucking a lemon drop. Hermione instantly stepped back and just about slammed The Door shut.
Holy mother of Merlin's non-existent goatee! I can spy on the headmaster! There's no way he can make plans with out me knowing now!
Hermione leaned back against The Door and didn't realise that she had touched a symbol until she felt a doorknob digging into her back. She whipped around and examined The Door; there was what looked to be a collection of couches and chairs arranged in a common room style but they didn't really fit together. There was a fire off to the side whose flames grew and flickered every now and then. It was a rather odd carving if Hermione did say so herself. Shrugging, she opened The Door and found herself staring into the Teachers' Lounge, complete with teachers. Damn, I can spy on the teachers and their meetings too! Hermione decided that she really liked this door. Making sure that she stayed as close to The Door as possible so as not to alert the teachers to her presence, she let the carvings move back into place. She pressed the Hogwarts Crest in the middle and went back into the Founder's Hall to write down her latest findings.
Pile of random stuff: Dumbledore's Office
Eclectic furniture: Teacher's Lounge
She spent the next few hours just pressing carvings and seeing where they went, she started with ones she thought she could guess, writing down where they each went. Each of the carvings was animated in some small way and Hermione was fascinated as to how that worked; yet another thing to look into.
Haphazard pile of books: Library
Grand staircase: Entrance Hall
Toppling pile of food: Kitchens
Pots and plants: Greenhouse (#3)
Weird question mark: Room of Requirement (across the hall)
Snitch, bludger and quaffel: Quidditch pitch (under stands)
Telescope: Astronomy tower (2nd entrance)
Trophy: Trophy room (across the hall)
Then came the ones Hermione had no idea what were. The first one she tried was a carving of a slightly chubby man sitting on what looked to be a keg; he appeared to be rocking back and forth singing, every few seconds he took a long drink from a tankard he was holding. She opened The Door and found herself in a massive, fully-stocked cellar, there were rows upon rows of kegs, barrels, jugs and bottles. She walked down one of the aisles of kegs, they were all Butterbeer, old Butterbeer; the oldest keg she found was at the very end of the row, on the very bottom shelf was labeled 'Hogdenes Buterebeor 967'. There were also many kegs of other beers and ales, everything in the cellar was dated between 940 and 1200AD, she guessed that this was the time during which the Founders were around and the Hall open. Man, the Founders were old when they kicked the bucket! An extremely old looking small keg had a wooden tag identifying it 'Freorig Ealu 952' Now, Hermione didn't exactly speak Old English but she could tell you that whatever it was, it was bound to be extremely alcoholic by now. Because these drinks were created and preserved with magic, they wouldn't have gone off or sour but short of putting it in some sort of time lock, nothing could keep the potency from increasing. However, the back shelf had the most potential by far; it was all fancy bottles and they looked to be hard liquor. They might be firewhisky or they might be some forgotten drink but they were sure to be interesting. Hermione was glad that wizards were far ahead of their Muggle counterparts when it came to alcohol, otherwise this would probably be a bunch of weak crap. In the Muggle world, the ninth and tenth centuries weren't known for their drinks or thier food. Hermione found two really cool shelves of bottles, one shelf held bright white spiral bottles called 'Lyft Flogoda 1101' and another bright red convoluted ones labeled 'Meduraedan Ligdraca Apyffan 941', Finally curious enough to figure out what these drinks were, Hermione cast a simple translation spell; the first one was easy enough, Butterbeer – a direct translation too, nice and easy; the second, 'Freorig Ealu' was basically 'frozen ale', sounded interesting and the third, 'Lyft Flogoda' was 'Sky Liquor'. But the last one was a bit more difficult, it could either translate to 'Vomit of a tooth affliction' or 'Strong drink of a fire dragon's breath', Hermione was inclined to believe it was the latter of the two but this being Hogwarts, you never knew. Either way, it was going to be extremely interesting to find out; because Hermione definitely planned on finding out. Anyway, it's not like she would be finishing anything and depriving the rest of the wizarding world of historic drinks, the minimum number of a particular set of bottles was eight, and that was of the 941 Meduraedan. She spent another half hour just wandering through the cellar thinking up inventive ways to consume – or trick others into consuming – the rediscovered alcohol. On her way out Hermione hit the jackpot, there was a book off to the side that detailed how to make these various drinks, obviously it was in Old English so she would have to find a more accurate and permanent translation spell but still, it was amazing. Oh the things I could do... Then another thought popped into her head, Why were most of the books in the Hall already in Modern English? And why are all the books in the library in either Latin, Greek or Modern English? As far as she could could remember, Old English was spoken up until the early 12th century, Modern English - in the form that people read and understood today - didn't appear until at least the 15th century. Hmm, come to think of it, one of the books I was reading last night was published in the 1600s, if the Hall was closed when the Founders left, how did the books get there and how were they translated?With this in mind, Hermione decided to go back to the desk in the Hall and see if there was some sort of note, before she left she recorded;
Fat man on keg: Cellar ;)
Hermione walked into the Founder's Hall and over to the desk. She sifted through the papers until she found two receipts and two small pieces of parchment. The receipts were both in Old English which Hermione translated but the other parchments looked much newer and didn't need to be translated...odd.
Yonwin's Rare Books and Manuscripts ~ Finding the un-findable since 107AD
Standing order: Any new item
Cost: 50,000G (one-time fee, nonrefundable)
Send to: Hogwarts, Founders' Library
Paid in full 18th of April, 982
Right underneath the receipt there was a small piece of parchment that read;
Hogwarts' Librarian,
I regret to inform you that upon my death there will no longer be anyone to run my shop, I will continue to send a copy whatever new things I may find between now and then. You can also buy books Brightmore's Books and Writing Supplies here in Hogsmeade or at the newly opened Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley.
Thank you,
Osric Yonwin III, June 18th, 1463
Then there was the second receipt;
Brightmore's Books and Writing Supplies ~ Catering to scholars since 504BC
(1) Complete Easy-Update Library subscription
Name: Anonymous
Bill to: Gringotts vault #9
Start date: 1st Janurary, 1182
End date: N/A
Price limit: N/A
Book limit: N/A
Restrictions: Omit anything in the Hogwarts General Library
Delivery: "Anonymous" transfer crate
Cost: N/A
And then a second note;
To Whom it May Concern,
Brightmore's Books and Writing Supplies will be closing December 31st, 1740.
Please note that your Complete Easy-Update Library subscription will end at that date. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you and thank you for your patronage.
We very grudgingly recommend Flourish and Blotts for any similar services you may require.
Sincearly,
Alrick Brightmore VIII
So, the Founders had set it up so that the bookshops would automatically send books to the library; that explained the presence of newer books. However, because both bookshops had gone out of business, it had stopped updating in 1640 when Flourish and Blotts closed out Brightmore's. Hmm, I'll have to see if I can get something like that started again. Maybe have Flourish and Blotts send a copy of every book that's not already in Hogwarts' regular library up here...that needs thinking about. It also didn't answer her question as to why all the books were in Modern English, but part of the answer was pretty obvious; magic.
With a shrug Hermione walked to the Founder's Door and returned to her previous activity of exploration. She picked the carving of two gargoyles clasping hands to try next, every few seconds they would grin, stomp their feet and then swing their arms in a rather threatening manner. When The Door opened, she found herself across the hall from the entrance to Dumbledore's office then she noticed there was a tiny plaque right next to The Door, it currently read 'Laffy Taffy', Hermione's eyes widened, That must be the password! She pulled out her improved and expanded version of the Marauder's Map and checked, sure enough, that was his current password. Amazing. Then she remembered one of the thousand random tidbits of information that she had running around in her head; the 70s was when the Laffy Taffy candies first became popular in the Muggle world. Geese, does Dumbledore ever change?She asked herself before pulling out her notebook.
Gargoyles clasping hands: Dumbledore's office entrance
Shaking her head, Hermione turned back to the wall and touched the symbol that would make The Door appear. The next carving she picked was manacles crossed with shackles and a ball and chain, the ball was rolling around on the floor and the manacles opened and closed slowly. Hermione had a pretty good guess where this went and her suspicions were confirmed when she found herself in the proper dungeons, not the creepy-underground-stone-corridor-where-Slytherins-hang-out dungeons, the we-are-keeping-you-here-and-possibly-torturing-you-until-you-talk dungeons. With a shudder Hermione quickly stepped back into the hall outside Dumbledore's office and tried to block the wall decorations from her mind; she really didn't want to know what all those contraptions did.
Shackles: Real dungeons
Scanning The Door Hermione looked for carvings she hadn't tried yet, she settled on an interesting looking tree whose branches were waving in a non-existent wind. When she opened it she found herself in the forbidden forest; she could just see Hagrid's Hut off in the distance and could barely make out the Shrieking Shack. She turned to see where The Door came out and saw that it was just an ordinary looking pine tree, the only distinguishing feature was a slightly more intricate pattern in it's bark and one rather flat side. Wow, this could be very useful...and very dangerous. I'll have to see if there's a way to hide some of the carvings on The Door from some people. See, Hermione was planning on showing others the Founder's Hall – especially the Marauders and Lily – but she wasn't sure if giving those particular boys access to a fully-stocked ancient cellar, the Forbidden Forest, and Dumbledore's office was a good idea; havoc would be wreaked that really didn't need to be. Ah well, I'll figure something out.
Tree: Forbidden Forest
She scanned The Door again; there, just off to the right, in the middle, was a picture of the lake, she could just make out small waves rolling around and every now and then a fish jumped. Hermione was a bit wary of touching that particular carving because there was a chance it would dump her in the Black Lake. Again, this was Hogwarts. But, she wanted to know and record everywhere The Door went, so she dutifully pressed the lake carving and stepped through; she was met with a set of stairs that was lit by an eerie green-blue glow, not one to back down, Hermione walked up the stairs. Not in her wildest dreams could she have imagined this, she was in a completely circular room under the lake, in some sort of glass bubble. She felt like she was in an aquarium or something; she was literally in the middle of the lake, water was all around her. The dome had a slightly sloping floor that came to a platform in the middle; in the very centre, at the highest point, were a circle of six reclining chairs. The chairs looked like they could tip all the way back so the occupant could look straight up. The rest of the room had small desks and little clusters of chairs, all around the edge there were chairs and couches with little side tables that looked out at the lake bottom. Hermione was floored, she collapsed into the nearest chair and just stared out at the marine life, magical and not. This was, hands down, the most unexpected thing she had ever seen, and she had seen a lot; it even beat the Founder's Hall, because that at least made sense. This was just...wow.
Lake: Underwater study room
When Hermione had finally gotten her act together – an hour later – she realised that it was almost lunch time. She hurried back down the stairs and instead of going back to the common room she decided to use her new knowledge of The Door, she pressed the staircase engraving and looked into the Entrance Hall, when she was sure that no one was around – again, thank you Marauder's Map – she stepped through and walked into the Great Hall just in time to see the food appear on the table. Perfect timing.She thought smugly.
After lunch, Hermione walked back up to the common so as to avoid suspicion and from there she searched The Door for any engravings she may have missed. Now that she had stepped back a bit she noticed a set of Roman numerals running down the right hand side of The Door, she touched number I and instead of filling the whole Door, the numeral just grew to about 10cm high and placed itself above the doorknob. Hermione stepped through and found herself at the end of the first floor corridor. Well, that's simple enough.Just to make sure she had it right, she turned and pressed number III; as expected she was standing at the end of the corridor where she had received her first taste of adventure; the third floor corridor.
Roman numerals: Corridors (by floor)
Hermione turned back to The Door and frowned; Keeper had said that she could get to the Founders' rooms through this door but she was sure that she had touched every carving. Then the ring on her finger glowed blue and changed until you could just see the Ravenclaw ring, then her attention was drawn to the lower right corner of the Hogwarts Crest. When she looked closer she saw the raven turn into a tiny yet intricate carving of a young girl sitting cross-legged, reading a book and what looked like a simple tiara on her head, she was slowing turning the pages of the book and a tendril of hair fluttered around her face. Hermione touched it and like all the other carvings it grew to fill The Door; now that the girl was life-size, Hermione noticed that the tiara was actually Ravenclaw's diadem, above the handle there was a small indentation that fit the size of the ring on her finger, Hermione took a deep breath and pressed the ring against The Door, it swung open and she found herself in a slightly cluttered study. Three of the walls were filled by bookcases and the fourth had maps, floor plans, blueprints, sketches and all manner of tapestries, including a family tree. The desk was covered in books, papers and journals; there were many side tables and cabinets as well as a few sitting chairs. All of it was perfectly organised but it still gave the impression of chaos because of the sheer amount of stuff in the room. Near the wall covered in papers and tapestries – one was of Hogwarts herself – was a beautiful drafting table with many set of drawers beneath it. Hermione realised that that must be where Ravenclaw worked on all the plans for Hogwarts; from the window Hermione guessed that this study must be on the ground floor in one of the older parts of the castle – unless it was an enchanted window in which case the room could be anywhere. Right next to the Founder's Door there was another which when Hermione opened it, revealed a tasteful sitting room, with two more doors around it. The first contained a modest bathroom and the second an elegant bedroom, there was a connecting door between the two. Hermione had found the workspace and living quarters of Rowena Ravenclaw.
Hermione hurried back to the Founder's Door and watched as the ring changed to Hufflepuff's, she touched the carving in the lower left of the Hogwarts crest and a carving of another young girl, this one with a wand tucked behind one ear, sitting on a stool wearing an apron covered in what may be flour, every few seconds she wiped her hands on her apron and little clouds of flour rose into the air. Hermione touched the ring to The Door and stepped into another study, this was similar to Ravenclaw's but there weren't as many books and there was a kind of second room that looked to be an elaborate kitchen of sorts. Her personal rooms were almost identical, the only difference being the colour scheme. The ring changed to Gryffindor's and Hermione quickly touched the corresponding carving.
This time The Door was filled with a young man standing proudly with a sword in one hand, and a wand in the other, he was wearing traditional dueling robes which waved majestically around him. His study was quite messy compared to Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's, and Hermione couldn't really figure out if it was organised or not. Maybe Gryffindor was one of those people who had a spastic memory and a random organisation system. Instead of a kitchen, Gryffindor had what looked like a massive training room, there was a formal dueling platform on one side, all sorts of weaponry hung on the walls and a huge open space in the middle. Again, his rooms were different only in their colours.
Hermione was both excited and nervous to see Slytherin's rooms, who knows what he might have hidden away in there? But, the ring changed and a carving of another young man filled The Door, this one was waving his wand over a cauldron with small spirals of steam floating off it. At first Hermione just looked in The Door, checking for any dangerous creatures or booby traps; all she saw was a meticulously organised study and a very large potions room, there were at least 20 different cauldrons, thousands of perfectly labeled ingredients in racks on the walls and many bookcases filled with journals and notebooks. She didn't see anything too suspicious – the many foreign potions ingredients were all currently sealed away – so she stepped in.
However, as she walked through The Door she felt a rush of wind and the sweep of ward spells go through her. Then, a voice filled the air.
"I see the Heir of Hogwarts has finally come around. Took you long enough." It said, sounding rather annoyed.
Shit.
Author's Note: Hee hee, cliff hanger! Don't worry, I'm almost done with the next chapter. Reviews will help me finish faster...hint hint.
