A/N: As promised, a new chapter! I was so excited to get back into writing that I started right after I added that last a/n. I, unfortunately, had to continue packing otherwise it would never get done! I came back to it later and thought "What the hell, I'll just stay up late to start it and finish it as I take breaks." So I did...the next day!
I am grateful to my mom, who has agreed to be my beta. I wouldn't say she is a Grammar Nazi *cough*cough* but she is amazing at spotting errors. I might be able to go back and fix up previous chapters as well. It might take me a bit to get completely back on track with the story but I'll get there.
But enough of me, I know what you are here for ;) Here is the next chapter. I hope it's what you wished for.
Leo practically ran down the spiral staircase and through the halls to get to the front entrance. She was to meet the boys in the entrance hall and couldn't wait to tell them that they didn't have to split up this year. As she ran, she thought about Harry and Ginny. She wasn't going to be a part of their group anymore. They would never be as good of friends ever again. She slowed down as that thought crashed through her mind like waves.
"We will never sit by the fire talking and laughing again. I don't even know if they will accept this new me." she thought. It never really occurred to her that they might hate her now for being a Slytherin or dating Draco. "If they ever truly cared about me they will accept me as I am now. It might take some time for them to come around, but, they will. They never let me down when I was Hermione!"
Feeling better again she continued on her way. When she came to the entrance hall, rebuilt after the war, she saw the two most important men in her life. They were leaning against the main doors waiting for her. Blaise was dressed in a tight blue T-Shirt, showing off his summer tan, a pair of well-worn cargo shorts, and his favorite black Converse. Draco was sporting a green and black plaid button up shirt over his light gray T-shirt. It was paired with black pants and Converse as well. Both fell in love with that style of footwear when she took them shopping some weeks earlier in Muggle London.
"Hey, guys! Thanks for waiting for me." Leo said as she gave Draco a kiss and her brother a hug. "Ok, before you start badgering me on what happened I'll just get to the point," she said, giggling at the boys. She could see both were trying to hold their questions in, but their curiosity was getting the better of them.
"To answer the questions I know you have, yes I'm ok. All the head of houses knows who I was and what happened to me. Yes, again, they all want to kill Ron. And..." she paused to keep them in suspense a little bit longer. The looks on Blaise and Draco's faces almost made her laugh. They looked like they were going to fall over themselves to find out what house she was in. "I'm a Slytherin through and through!" she announced, a smile lighting up her face and a twinkle in her eyes.
The boys jumped up, letting out a whoop of joy as they did, and then engulfed her in a hug. "That's amazing Leo, we knew you would be. We won't have to separate now! We can finish out our seventh year together!" Blaise said in a rush. Leo knew he was worried about having to be separated again, especially with Ron still out and about. She just smiled at him and hugged her brother again.
"Now you will be the Slytherin Princess instead, huh Shorty?" Draco winked at her, using one of the nicknames he made up for her. He thought it was funny that when the glamour fell, she shrunk a little.
"You know Sev said the same thing. Why does everyone call me a princess? We're not descended from royalty, are we Blaise?" Leo questioned. She wanted to know where the whole Gryffindor/Slytherin Princess thing came from and why it was centered around her.
"No, not from royalty, but it is said that we are descended from one of the founders. Which one, I don't know. It would be pretty cool though. I know that Voldemort was descended from Slytherin, but there have to be more families out there that are too. Same with the other founders." he answered, a puzzled look on his face.
"I know that Harry is a descendant of Gryffindor's somehow. Never really thought much about who else was related to the founders. Let's go to the library. I want to take a look at the founders' family lines!" Leo begged excitedly, the promise of ice cream completely forgotten. Draco and Blaise knew she found another research project she would obsess over and followed her. They too were excited about the prospect of possibly being related to one of the founders of their beloved school.
After briefly talking to Madam Pince and promising to clean up after themselves they set out to find every book on the genealogy of the founders. Gathering at the back of the library with the books, each took a cushioned armchair around the small table there. It always surprised Leo how vast the information was in the huge library.
They had been researching for half an hour before Leo brought their attention to the book she was reading. "Guys, look at this!" she pointed to a chart. At the top, it stated Salazar Slytherin's name along with his wife Selena Slytherin.
"That Slytherin's family tree?" asked Draco. "Yeah, it is," Leo replied. "It starts with Slytherin and his wife and goes to the late 1800's, early 1900's. It looks as though the surname Slytherin died out in the late 1300's, the last male Slytherin only had two girls. I don't really see any familiar names until the 1700's. Look there is Prince! That means Severus can be related to Slytherin, and...Oh, Merlin!" Leo stopped, her eyes going wide.
The boys scrambled to look at the chart again and saw what she was shocked about. The Malfoy name was on the tree, entering through the marriage of Harriet Donovan, Slytherin's descendant, to Septimus Malfoy.
"Oh, Shit!" Draco exclaimed. "I'm distantly related to Slytherin! That's awesome!" The excitement in his eyes made it look like he was looking at a long lost jewel.
"Yes, but look at the other side of the tree, down towards the bottom," Leo said with a slight smirk, her eyes bright. The Zabini name was also in the tree, although quite a few generations after the Malfoy name appeared and on the opposite side. "Looks like Amelia Watson found interest in Adam Zabini. All three of us are distantly related to Slytherin."
"That amazing! Quick, let's check the other books to see if the other founders have any descendants we know!" Blaise said reaching for the book he abandoned. The others followed suit, all eager to find out more.
"Look here," Draco said sometime later. "I found Ravenclaw's Family tree. Guess what family name is on it too." wide-eyed, he passed the book over to the twins.
"Wow! The Zabinis are related to Ravenclaw too! Two Founders, how awesome is that?" Blaise said turning to his sister. "It seems improbable, but it's right here," Leo replied, shock and disbelief in her tone. "And look, the Bones family is on here too. We need to keep going, there is no telling who else could be related to the founders!"
"I just found Hufflepuff's right before Draco spoke up, didn't get a good look at it though," Blaise said, picking up his book. He set it in the middle so all three teens could read it. "Look, there is Prewett, Molly Weasley's maiden name! And Weasley is on here too, so they are like doubly distant related." Leo laughed. "That's awesome. I wonder how they would react when I tell them that." she thought. Then she saw the shocked look on Blaise's face. "What is it Blaise?" she asked, looking at the book. He said nothing, only pointing to a name.
"We are related to Hufflepuff, too," he said in a shaky voice. Draco and Leo's eyes snapped down and saw the name Jason Zabini half-way down the page. "This can't be possible, can it?" Leo asked. "To be related to one was enough, but three! What does this mean? What if...Gryffindor!" She looked to Draco and Blaise seeing that they had similar thoughts. She grabbed the book with Gryffindor's name at the top, flipping through it quickly to find his family tree. Once she found it she froze, scanning for one name in particular. When she found it she let out a gasp and dropped the book on the table for the others to see.
"All four," she whispered. "The Zabini family is related to all four Hogwarts Founders. What can this mean?"
"That you and your brother truly are The Prince and Princess of Hogwarts, my dear." came a soft voice behind her.
Leo whirled around, her wand at the ready and a spell on her lips when she recognized their Headmaster. He was dressed in bright purple robes with silver crescent moons stitched on it. He tilted his head in acknowledgment of her wand and she rushed to put it away.
"I believe that only the Zabini family has the privilege to belong to every founder's genial line. Although many others, like myself, can trace roots back to one founder or another. I have ties to the Gryffindor line like Harry does, and I believe Mr. Malfoy and Severus have ties to Slytherin." he continued to say.
"But Albus," Leo started, not bothering to address him as Professor, to the surprise of Blaise and Draco. "What does it mean for us? What do you mean by true Prince and Princess?"
"Alas, you have not been told the story. I feared as much, for not many people have heard it. What you may not know is that Helga Hufflepuff was also the greatest Seer of her time. She prophesied that twins will be born in a time of war and that they will not know of each other until the threat has passed. These twins belong to all houses of Hogwarts." He paused to let his words sink in. He could see the wheels turning in Leo's head as she compared the supposed prophecy children to herself and her brother.
"It is said that after she made her prophecy Helga went to each of her fellow founders and extracted a vow that when their combined son and daughter turn the age of 17 they will each receive the blessing of one specific power from each founder through the blood in their veins, no matter how minuscule the relation. Being the combined son and daughter of the Founders whom, in essence, if not words, were the Kings and Queens of Hogwarts makes you our Prince and Princess of prophecy." Albus' eyes were twinkling so bright it was almost blinding.
"So Blaise and I received the powers of the founders on our birthday? Are you sure?" asked Leo. "I don't feel any different, no special abilities!" As she was never fond of Divination, she was skeptical.
"But her prophecy, it sounds like us! How can a Seer see more than a thousand years into the future? Gifts through our bloodline? How can such a small amount of blood give powers to us? Even with all I know magic can do, it still seems a little far-fetched."
"Quite sure, my dear. It was written in Lady Hufflepuff's journal in her own hand. I may let you see it if you wish confirmation. I understand that it is hard to believe. As to the reason you don't feel any different is that it came with your natural increase of ability when you turned of age. You didn't even know you had special powers, so you have not tried to use them." the old Headmaster said with a smile.
"You have Helga Hufflepuff's journal?" Leo asked, eyes bright. "Why yes, I have all of the founders' journals. They are to be passed to each Headmaster of Hogwarts." Albus replied. He waved his wand and all of the books went flying back to their respective shelves. "Come," he said. "The journals are in my office."
The trio followed the Headmaster out of the library and to his office. Once there, they sat in the brightly colored chairs conjured by the old wizard. "Tea?" he offered. "I believe Severus should be here for this, as he is your Head of House and family friend." Albus walked over to the fireplace and threw a pinch of floo powder into the flames.
"Severus, Severus are you there? Ah, there you are. Would you mind stepping through for a moment, something has come up and you should be here for it. Thank you."
"He should be here in a moment," he said, backing away from the fire. It then flared green again, this time the tall dark form of the Potions Master stepped out. He looked surprised to see the trio in the room but said nothing but, "You wished to see me, Headmaster?"
"Yes Severus, it seems we have another prophecy to deal with. This time in the form of the Zabini twins." Albus replied. "Although not as dangerous as the first, I believe this could be just as important to the school."
Severus' eyebrows shot up, disappearing into his hairline. "Another prophecy? Haven't we had enough of those already? When was it made, who made it?" he questioned rapidly.
"Calm yourself, Severus, all will be told soon. Now, where was I... ah yes, the journals." the Headmaster said, getting up and wandering to his bookcase. He stopped at the far end and picked up five leather-bound books, each looking to be hundreds of years old. "Here we are. The Founders' journals. Each one had a personal journal for themselves of course, but this last one is the only combined journal. It is sealed shut by a Blood Seal, and if Ravenclaw's journal is to be believed only their combined children can open it." he announced, looking at Leo and Blaise.
"Combined children? Albus, are you speaking of the story 'Royalty of Hogwarts'? It can't be true, can it?" Severus asked, more confused now than when he arrived. "Yes, the very same. What few know is that the story originated from the Founders and it most certainly is not some made up tale. Lady Hufflepuff's prophecy is right here.
It states 'The power of the Hogwarts Four will rise again. Twins born in times of strife and war, they will not know of themselves until sufferings passed. Unique they are, for they belong to all Houses of Hogwarts. Power within, without on their seventeenth year of birth, one gender each to the next. The power of the Hogwarts Four will rise in two.' " He raised his head and set the book down in front of him.
"I can see how we may resemble the prophecy, but how can we be sure?" Blaise asked. "We are not the first set of twins in the Zabini line, it could have been one of the others before us."
"No, Blaise. Think carefully about the words. She said "Born in times of strife and war", we fit that. "Will not know of themselves until sufferings passed", we didn't know I was your twin until after the war was completely over. "One gender each to the next", there were two male and two female founders, which means we got a power from one of each. It also means that the twins had to be boy AND girl. We are the only twins of a different gender in our line. We fit the prophecy perfectly. My only question is what powers we apparently received." she looked to Dumbledore.
"Ah. That, my dear, can only be answered by this journal," he said, holding up the journal of all four Founders. "Let's see if you can open it, shall we?" and gave it to her.
"Wait!"Severus exclaimed. "Albus, are you sure it is safe. That journal has been sealed for a thousand years, there is no telling what effects it might have on them." he continued.
"It's alright Severus, I have thoroughly checked the book for any and all magic. It contains only a blood seal to each of the founders' lines. All you must do is tap it once each with your wands. It should open for you then." he replied, eyes twinkling. He motioned for them to continue and so Leo tapped the cover with her wand and Blaise followed suit.
The book glowed gold for a second before popping open on Leo's lap. "Holy shit!" she gasped. Then remembered who was in the room and murmured a sheepish apology to her two professors. "I may be friends with them, but I should still show respect when in the school." she thought. "So we are the right twins. That's amazing." she heard her brother say at her side.
"Go on, read it aloud so we can all hear!" Draco said on her other side. His eyes were wide, showing his excitement for his best friend and girlfriend.
"Ok! It says "Dear Children of Hogwarts..."
A/N: I know this is short but I wanted to let you all know that yes I'm still alive and that I really am coming back! I will still be dealing with Ron and Draco and Leo with progress with their relationship but I thought this idea was cool. Please review or PM me to let me know what you think. I'm writing whenever I have a few minutes so I don't know when the next chapter will be.