CHAPTER 10
What once was lost, but now is found
The following morning found Harry, Ron and Ginny eating breakfast without the company of Hermione. Molly said she had appeared just long enough to grab a plate of food and some juice before excusing herself to go back upstairs and continue with her reading. They decided to find something to do so they would not disturb her.
Hermione was still entombed with her reading when the returned home. Arthur and Molly were just sitting down to eat. They joined the meal. Molly said she had only seen her once a few hours ago when she came down for some lunch to go.
The rest of the day passed without any further sightings. In the morning, they found themselves eating without her once again. They fiddled around the house for a while, helping Molly tidy up. Finally, they decided to go into Diagon Alley to visit George.
Just as they were preparing to leave, they heard a noise and turned to see a frazzled Hermione coming down the stairs. Her hair was a mess, as were her clothes. If she had slept at all in the past two days, it was not nearly enough.
"I just sent an owl to Luna," she said. "I have it all here. I have found everything I need to prove the existence of the fifth house."
"Wicked," said Ron, going to help her down the stairs.
"You look dreadful, Hermione," declared Ginny.
"Maybe you should freshen up a bit," suggested Harry. "It can wait until Luna gets here."
"Of course," she said in a tired voice that was running mostly on a dwindling supply of adrenaline. "I will feel better if I clean up."
Hermione disappeared into the lavatory. Ron, Harry and Ginny were all abuzz about what they were about to hear. What had started as a 'silly story' to quote Ron, was about to be turned into the expose of a lifetime. This could be the biggest story in the history of The Daily Prophet, if the Quibbler didn't get it, first. Seeing as Luna was part of the group, giving it to the Quibbler would probably be the right thing to do.
Hermione returned a little while later with clean clothes and a mask of freshness hiding the worn out person behind it. A moment later Luna appeared at the door. It was perfect timing.
"Hello, everyone," lilted Luna. "I got your owl, Hermione. I am very excited by the news it delivered."
"Now that we are all here," began Hermione. "Let me show you the fifth house of Hogwarts with the help of Dwarkan Mynoss and these books.
"Merlin, the greatest wizard in the history of the British Isle convened a meeting of several powerful wizards of the day. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the formation of a type of council to help regulate the growing magical community of the Isles. Similar such events were known to have already occurred in a few other areas of the world…
…The participants discussed the exact purpose of the proposed council. Would it be a government? What powers would it have? What other purposes might it serve?..
…After many days of discussion, a council was created to oversee wizarding on the Isles. It would act as a sort of government to protect, regulate and promote the wizarding community. This council grew over time into what is now called The Ministry of Magic."… – from Origins of the Ministry for Magic by Jon Quill.
"In its early days, The Ministry for Magic identified the need to educate young witches and wizards in the magical arts. The decision was made to create a school of witchcraft and wizardry where young witches and wizards would learn to control and grow their skills in ways that would benefit them and the entire magical community…
…The ancient wizard, Merlin, brought together four of the other most powerful witches and wizards of the day: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin to best determine how to create such an institution of learning…
…They decided to create a school with each of them being masters of a house within the school that would cater to the particular skills and aptitudes of students. Gryffindor House would be home to the adventurous, courageous, chivalrous students. Hufflepuff would select the hardworking, fair-minded, loyal students. Merlin would bring in the conservatives, natural leaders, individualists. Ravenclaw would house the cleverest, most creative and academically-minded students. Slytherin would pick out the most ambitious, determined and self-motivated students…" – from Hogwarts: From the Beginning – A History by Centimus Sandbrook.
"…As Hogwarts grew, Merlin, at least twice the age of the other four heads of houses combined grew increasingly tired. After some discussions with the others, he decided to step down and hand over control of his house to another witch or wizard…
…Despite some concerns over issues surrounding the earlier death of her son, alleged cannibalism, which was generally considered disproven, and marital problems, the decision was made to make Rhiannon of Dyfed the new head of the House of Merlin…
…Once in power, she declared the horse to be the symbol of the house, and the house colors to be gold and purple. Gryffindor followed by adopting a lion as the mascot and the colors of scarlet and gold. Hufflepuff chose a badger and the colors yellow and black. Ravenclaw selected an eagle, despite the raven on its crest, with the colors blue and bronze. Slytherin went with a serpent and the colors green and silver…" – from The Houses of Hogwarts by Lily Camus.
"…Sometimes it is best to hide things in plain sight. People will look past it without blinking an eye. They can't see the trees for the forest…
…Merlin was around least 500 years before the founding of Hogwarts. To this day, the magical community overlooks the fact. They blindly accept that he was a student in Slytherin House because that is what they have been told. That is what they believe. The muggles would catch this inconsistency in a minute. They know he was the court magician to King Arthur at Camelot. It is in their collected Arthurian Legends. We are fooling ourselves…" –from Popular Lies We All Believe by Vangelis Arkenson.
"…Following the removal of Rhiannon of Dyfed, the House of Merlin was dismantled and erased under the direction of Salazar Slytherin. The students were sorted into other houses with the hope they could be saved. Some students were ultimately expelled. The Merlin common room and dormitories were demolished. Some believe Slytherin ultimately used the location to create The Chamber of Secrets…" The Real Salazar Slytherin by Sherdial Taipan.
"…Under the leadership of Rhiannon of Dyfed, the House of Merlin changed into a house dedicated to promoting the use and control of the darker magic of the world. If became home to the militant, militaristic and athletic minds who would find themselves generals or top sergeants in a muggle army, or students who would serve honorably to the death under the leadership of their leaders. They were famous for their ownership of the Quidditch Cup during her years…
…Rhiannon did not teach or promote good and bad, right or wrong, evil or saintly. She only taught power, and using it to one's own advantage…
…Ultimately, she came under pressure to leave the school by three of the other four heads of house. Salazar Slytherin, whose desire to make Hogwarts a more selective school accepting only pure-blood students, had him at odds with the other four. Therefore, he did not support the ouster of Rhiannon…
…Her desire to teach students the Imperio, Cruciatus and Killing curses against the wishes of the others pushed the need to remove her to the boiling point…
…In the final battle to force her out, even Slytherin got involved, siding against her with the other three school founders. Numbers vary, but approximately a dozen students died in the final clash. Several more were injured to varying degrees…
…Rhiannon's rebellion was defeated and she was captured and removed from the school grounds…
…Since Azkaban was yet to be constructed, she was imprisoned in a house on the outskirts of a nearby village under a veil of incredibly powerful charms and hexes meant to hold there in perpetuity…
…Rhiannon did not go quietly into her oubliette. She swore she would gather a new army if it took a thousand years and return to wreak her anger and retribution upon the school and its founders… -from Rhiannon of Dyfed by Gibbous Waggman.
"…The House of Merlin was dissolved after the removal of its leader, Rhiannon of Dyfed. Its members were moved into other houses in the hopes they could be turned around into good members of the wizarding world. Sadly, several had to be expelled…
…Several members of the expelled students met sticky ends in the ensuing years…
…In 1717, the three curses that brought things to a head at Hogwarts were deemed Unforgivable. A case was made for adding the Obliviate curse to the other three, but it failed…
…In the mid-1700s an effort was started to expunge the existence of the Fifth House of Hogwarts from the memory of the magical world by the Ministry for Magic and Hogwarts. They went to great lengths to collect all evidence of its prior existence and to either destroy it or lock it away forever from the common knowledge… –from The Cleansing of History by Filbus Tremont.
…The best account of the death of Rhiannon of Dyfed, and ultimate death of the House of Merlin, seems to be in the book "Things Forgotten Things Lost by the folktale collector Fescue Modelock…
…In his retelling of the tale, he documents how Rhiannon has evolved into some kind of demon while imprisoned in the house on the outskirts of Bleakmoor...
…She is kidnapping the dead and their families to build an army for the goal of exacting her revenge on Hogwarts and its founders…
…today, people might misunderstand his simple ending of this tale as Dwarkan Mynoss vanquishes her and exorcizes Bleakmoor from her evil presence as he frees her captives…
…The existence the House of Merlin, Hogwarts fifth house, was common knowledge when he wrote his book. Now, what with the efforts to erase the existence of the house from history by the Ministry and Hogwarts, its very existence is virtually unknown… - from History Re-Written/Cleaning Your Image by Sensia Billet.
Hermione put down the parchment and looked at the faces of the others. They mostly looked to be in shock. Hermione had proven her theory of Hogwarts having originally been home to five houses. That fifth house was evil, as was its head.
"Blimey, Mione," exhaled Ron. "No wonder they don't want anyone to know about it."
"She was almost as bad as Voldemort. It is lucky the others defeated her," said Harry.
"Are you going to take this to the Ministry, or Hogwarts," asked Ginny.
"I think taking this to the Ministry or Hogwarts would be the worst thing we could do," said Hermione. "They will grab it and try to bury it, just like in the past. But what can we do with it?"
"Would they publish it in The Daily Prophet, or in the Quibbler?" asked Ron.
"I think the Quibbler would, but not the Prophet," remarked Harry. "The Prophet still tends to toe the Ministry line."
"I agree. The Quibbler probably would. It seems just the thing your father would love to publish," said Hermione as she looked at Luna. "But I am wondering if it should be published at all. What kind of damage would it do to Hogwarts and its history? How would a cover-up like this impact on the Ministry and Hogwarts? Would it serve the common good?"
We need to give this some serious thought before we do anything, then," said Ginny.