Chapter Eleven – The Grey Lady
The small group made their way slowly up to the headmistresses' office. Before they entered the school, Professor McGonagall announced that she had cancelled all lessons for the morning and would make a further announcement at lunchtime regarding the events of the morning. As they continued to walk they became aware that a large group of students were following them up the stairs. At the head of the group stood Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davies.
"Harry, wait please." Daphne called out. Harry stopped and turned to look the beautiful blonde in the face. Her normally ice cool demeanour was broken by bruises and tear tracks that had run down her face. She was walking with an obvious limp and her hair was rather dishevelled. Tracey was not much better and had her arm in a make shift sling.
"Daphne. How may I help you?" Harry asked politely.
"Harry, Tracey and I want to thank you three for saving our lives. If you hadn't have stopped them, we would of been raped and killed today by those bastards." Daphne replied with fresh tears falling down her cheeks.
Harry moved towards her and embraced her and then Tracey. "It was nothing. Those idiots needed stopping. Now go find Madam Pomfrey and get those bruises healed. Get her to look at your arm Tracey, it looks sore."
Both girls nodded at him gratefully, Harry turned and looked at the large group of curious onlookers behind the pair of Slytherins.
"Can everyone else please let us have some peace? I know you all have questions, I will answer some of them later, but for now I really need a sit down and a cuppa." At this a few people giggled and slowly the crowd dispersed. Professor McGonagall once more lead her small group up to the office and soon they all found themselves sat in front of the desk, with a large cup of tea in their hands.
"Now Mr Potter, perhaps an explanation is in order as to how you are still with us. No matter what you say I know what I saw, and you were dead, very dead!" Professor McGonagall stated.
Harry coughed uncomfortably. "What we can tell you is meant to be a secret, although how we are going to keep that now after the whole school saw is beyond me. A few days ago, we were both killed by a demon, and I mean really killed, as in dead. However we were not supposed to die then and some all powerful being had to bring us back. But when we came back we found that both Hermione and I are immortal. We cannot die by normal means." As he spoke, Fawkes flamed in and perched himself on Harry shoulders, looking very smug with himself.
"Don't worry little one, I have altered the memory of your recent resurrection from most of the school. Only those closest to you remember, Minerva, Poppy, Luna and a few others. You can trust them to be discrete. The rest think you used a cushioning spell but knocked yourself out when you landed." Fawkes told him, with a laugh in his voice.
"Sweet Merlin! Immortal?" Minerva whispered. "And Fawkes?"
"Well this bloody bird..."
"Language!"
"... decided to bond with us, and a right cheeky one he is too. No wonder Albus kept on eating sweets, it was to distract himself from the bird." Harry answered, much to Fawkes's and Hermione's amusement. "The good news is that he had altered the memories of most of the students, they didn't see me come back from the dead, but they thought I was just knocked out from a failed cushioning charm."
"That's as maybe Mr Potter, but immortal? Are you both sure?"
"Yes Ma'am. Both of us have 'died' a few times now, we both feel the pain due our life bond when once of us die, but so far we have always come back. We do know that if we are decapitated or hit by the killing curse we really will die." Harry answered her.
"Well I'm not sure what to say, immortality may sound appealing but you will not age as all your friends and family grow old and die around you, and your children... I'm not sure I envy you."
"Well that may be true, but we will have each other, for all of time. From what we understand we will have plenty of work to do over the centuries, that's assuming we can get rid of old Voldyshorts and then there's that little matter of 'Ron' to sort out." Hermione replied.
"Yes both are a problem. Now I'm very glad that you have managed to clean out the vermin in the school. We do have a problem with what to do with the punishment squad member, we cannot send them to the ministry as it's been run by the Deatheaters, but we cannot just let them go."
"Covert one of the dungeons. You can hold them there until we have a proper government back. Get the house elves to bind there magic and snap there wands." Harry replied.
"Possible, but it's not very pleasant down there."
"Well get the elves to decorate. These are rapists and potential killers we are talking about." Harry replied, getting a little annoyed.
"He's right Minerva, after seeing some of the injuries they caused I am struggling to feel any sympathy for their comfort." Poppy told her friend.
"Well yes you have a point. Pappy!" she called out. With a sharp 'pop' an ancient house elf appeared.
"Yes Headmistress?" he asked confirming that the school had accepted her as its new master.
"Could you prepare the dungeons to securely hold some junior Deatheaters? Please make the rooms comfortable but secure, we are not monsters after all, and please arrange to feed them and clothe them. Once there can you please bind there magic. I will snap there wands. Oh and you'd better make room for Mr Filch. He seemed to enjoy helping them a little too much."
"Yes Headmistress. Would there be anything else?"
"Yes, can you make sure all the students are in the Great hall for lunch? I need to make an announcement soon. Can you also ask all the staff members to meet me in my office as soon as possible?"
"Yes Headmistress." With a pop the elderly elf vanished.
"Now Harry, before I speak to the staff, what else can I help you with?"
"Headmistress, as we mentioned the other day, we need to speak to the Grey Lady. She may be the only one to help up with our task."
"Yes of course. Miss Lovegood? You know where to find her do you not?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well then I shall leave it up to you three then. Can I ask you to be in the Great Hall at lunch time? It may be helpful to answer any questions and to keep the peace." She asked.
Once they had agreed, Luna led the pair down towards the Ravenclaw Dormitories. Once they had all left, Fawkes hopped onto his old perch and looked at the portrait of the previous Headmaster.
"Albus, you there?" the Phoenix asked.
"Yes my old friend. Things are going well it seems."
"Yes, the pair are progressing well, and they have bonded. They have also bonded with the other."
"Good, all as planned. Now tell me, how annoying have you been to them?"
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
The Trio were making their way towards the Ravenclaw common room. As they walked Luna was calling out for the ghost.
"Helena! Are you here?" she called.
As they rounded a corner they came face to face with the sad expression of the Grey Lady.
"Luna darling, who are your friends?" the sad ghost asked.
"Oh there you are. These are my very good friends Harry and Hermione Potter; they need to ask you about your mothers lost Diadem."
The Grey Lady immediately became agitated and a little aggressive.
"What do you want with it? You cannot have it, not since the last time!" she almost shouted at them.
"Helena, stop. These two are friends and they are good people. We need to find your mothers Diadem because we believe that Voldemort has used it to create a very dark item, a thing that needs to be destroyed in order to allow Harry to kill him." Luna told the distraught ghost.
They watched as the ghost visibly calmed down. "I apologise, the last person to ask after my mother's Diadem was that evil Tom Riddle, and he stole it and hid it somewhere. Even I do not know for certain where it is now."
Harry's heart fell at this news, if Rowena's daughter could not find the item, then what chance did they have.
"First of all my Lady, Tom Riddle is the same 'man' as Voldemort, and it is essential that we find the Diadem. We believe that Voldemort turned it into a Horcrux, and if we do not destroy it then all is lost as Voldemort will become immortal." Harry told her.
"HE DID WHAT?" Helena screeched causing the air around her to turn icy cold.
"He turned it into a Horcrux...well we think he did anyway." Hermione replied in a small voice.
The ghost turned away and raged a bit, cursing and floating through the walls as she did. She eventually calmed down and returned to the trio.
"My apologies once more, just the thought of what that monster did to my mother's treasured possession. I can see why you need to find it. However, I really do not know where he hid it."
"Can you think of anything that he said that may help us?" Hermione asked the now calm ghost.
"Well I did follow him when her first found the Diadem. He was muttering about some chamber or something."
"The Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asked.
"No, not there. I think he was talking about Godric's chamber - The Griffin's Lair."
"Oh Merlin, I wasn't sure that it even existed." Hermione breathed. "It's talked about in Hogwarts, A History but no one has ever been able to find it."
"Yes it is real, my mother talked about it. Each of the four of them had their own chambers; Salazar had the Chamber of Secrets. My mother had the 'Eagles Nest'. Helga had the 'Badger Set' and Godric had his Lair."
Harry looked at Hermione before turning to Helena. "Do you know where the Lair is?" he asked, hope evident in his voice.
Helena looked at him with a sad expression. "No, its location was never revealed to me."
Harry growled in defeat and frustration. He kicked the wall in anger and cried out in pain, before his body swiftly healed itself.
"But!... I'm sure that the heirs of this school can ask the right questions to the right entity, my Lord" Helena told him with a ghost of a smile.
Harry stopped and looked at her before turning to Hermione. "We only have three of the heirs here though!"
Luna gasped at this but remained quite.
"Yes, you are Gryffindor's and Hufflepuff and I am Raven..." she stopped and looked at Helena. Even though she was a ghost her dark brown hair was evident and the similarity was clear for all to see.
"Grandma?..."
"Yes my dear, you are my ultimate grand-daughter, the result of a brief dalliance between myself and the Baron before I left him. My daughter was born in secret and you are the result."
Hermione was stunned for a moment before continuing her train of thought. "Well if I am the heir of Ravenclaw, that still leaves Slytherin."
The ghost looked at the pair and was about to speak when Luna, who up till now had remained quite spoke up.
"Harry, you have defeated Voldemort at least three times yes?"
Harry nodded.
"Well in that case, according to Wizard law, you also hold the title of Slytherin by conquest. Between the two of you, you can take control of the school as its rightful heirs." She gushed, pleased that her friends were so important.
"Do you mean to say that we own the school?" Harry asked.
"No of course not, no one can own Hogwarts, didn't you know that she is alive, and you don't own living creatures. No, you are more her 'parents'. She will respond to you and protect you, but Professor McGonagall is still the headmistress."
"Luna, how do you know these things?" Hermione asked.
"Because Hogwarts is my friend. She would help me when no on else would. That was before I met you two. We need to help her now; she is in a lot of pain. The stuff that Snape did to her wards is hurting her a lot and she will die if we do not help her soon."
Harry felt a momentary surge of anger as he remembered the bullying that Luna had endured, but this was squashed as Luna placed her hand on his cheek. "It's okay Harry, it's in the past." She told him gently.
Harry sighed and looked up at the three women stood with him. "Okay, let's go and help Hogwarts and see if she can help us to find Griffins Lair."
Helena smiled at the trio and floated away, before coming back and mirroring Luna's gesture gently placed a cold hand against Hermione's cheek. Hermione felt the coldness pass through her and looked into her ancestors eyes.
"Come and visit me when this is all over my Hermione. We need to talk." She said before floating away through a wall.
"We need to find McGonagall" Harry stated and the trio left to make their way back to the headmistress's office. Once they got there the gargoyle just stepped aside and allowed them all entry. Hermione looked curiously at Harry and then back at the Gargoyle.
"The door will always open for you Lady Ravenclaw or your mate." The gargoyle told her.
"Oh!" she replied, blushing at the thought, and then smiling happily. They soon found themselves outside the door to the office and Harry was about to knock on the door when he heard a shout from inside followed by a cry. The three stopped and looked at each other in alarm, before Harry waved his hand and the door in front of them vanished. They rushed into the office to find a scene of devastation. The teachers were all spread across the room taking what little cover they could find and there wands drawn. In the centre of the room stood...well stood Snape, but not Snape. The figure looked exactly like the hatred ex-Headmaster apart from the fact that it was see-through. Nevertheless it was still capable of casting spells and had turned to face the newcomers. With his trademark sneer he cast a fast Reducto at the trio. Harry immediately conjured a shield, causing the curse to bounce off and hit the roof.
"What is it Mione?" Harry asked her from behind the shield.
"Not sure, but if I had to guess it's a Shade. Snape must have left a trap here and someone activated it."
"How do we get rid of it?" Luna asked worriedly.
"Harry!" came the shout of Professor McGonagall. "You need to destroy it with fire but only a very intense fire can destroy a Shade." She shouted from what sounded like under her desk.
Harry steeled himself and flung away the shield that he had raised. Immediately the Shade started casting spell after spell at Harry, most hitting him. Harry grunted in pain as cuts and gashes appeared all over his body. Hermione paled in pain and it was only Luna who managed to move her away from Harry and to safety. As soon as they were clear, Harry recast the shield spell, but encompassed the Shade as well as himself. He then gritted his teeth and called up the fire elementals. These burst forth and soon the inside of the shield was an intense inferno. The shade screamed in agony as it burnt and vanished, and Harry quickly passed out from the burns. As he did, the shield and the fire popped out of existence, leaving a blackened ring on the floor. In the centre was a naked burnt body, its features unrecognisable and unmoving. Hermione was also unconscious as she had felt the intense pain her mate had felt as he died. However soon, Harry's skin began to pale and heal, his hair re-growing and soon his body was normal and clear off all signs of the burns. With a gasp, both he and Hermione sat up as his resurrection brought her around at the same time.
"Holy Shit!" Harry cried and Hermione immediately went to him, conjuring a robe for him as she crawled over to him. Soon he was in her arms as they cried together. The rest of the room occupants slowly crawled out off whatever hiding space they had secreted themselves into. They were all looking at Harry and Hermione with a mixture of awe and fear as they contemplated the immortal pair knelt in each other's arms. Soon Minerva took charge and walked over to the pair.
"Harry, Hermione are you both okay?"
The two teens took a little while before they appeared to hear the question but eventually they slowly stood up and looked at the elder woman. Hermione helped Harry put on the robe, conjuring him a pair of shoes as she did. Finally Harry nodded with a grimace.
"That really, really hurt. Do you mind if I sit down please?" Harry asked
"Off course my boy, come and sit here." And the Headmistress conjured three more chairs to accompany the ones that had been upturned when the other staff members fled. These were soon righted and all of the rooms occupants were now sat.
"Harry, thank you for getting rid of that Shade. Snape left a trap that activated as soon as all the teachers were in this room and I declared myself Headmistress. We were struggling to contain it and no one dared to use fire on it in such a confined area. I must say that your spell work was amazing, and all without a wand as well."
Everyone nodded and Harry felt himself blushing as Hermione took his hand and gave it a squeeze. He knew that his secret was out with the staff, but didn't seem to mind. "Thank you everyone. As you may have guessed from earlier, Hermione and I have changed a little. We are both essentially immortal. When you all saw me fall earlier today, it wasn't a failed cushioning charm that knocked me out, but I was killed by the fall. Fawkes altered the memory from you all but if I cannot trust the teachers here, then who can I trust. This information is top secret so please do not disclose it."
As soon as he said this, the diminutive Professor Flitwick raised his wand and gave an oath never to reveal the information. Quickly every teacher in the room followed suit. Harry was overwhelmed at the show of support.
"Now Harry we had just stated the meeting, but what can we do for you?" Professor McGonagall asked him.
After a moment's thought and a quick look at Hermione, who nodded her approval, Harry turned and looked the teacher in the eye.
"This is also sensitive information. It seems that I am the heir of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff by blood and Slytherin by conquest and that Hermione is the heir of Ravenclaw. Between the two of us we are the schools heirs and protectors. We need to go to the Ward room to correct the wards that Snape placed on the school. The current ones are killing Hogwarts and we need to help her. We also need her help in locating Griffins Lair." Harry told her.
To say that the teachers were surprised was a slight understatement. Once they had got over the shock however Professor McGonagall spoke up.
"Griffins Lair is a myth isn't it?" she asked.
"Not according to the Grey Lady, who incidentally is Hermione's great-great Grandmother with a whole load more greats added." Luna told them. This caused more surprise and Hermione to blush from the attention.
"Well in that case this meeting will have to wait. You three come with me to the ward room. Luna you will have to wait outside, only myself and presumably these two will be allowed to enter."
"That's okay Ma'am. Hogwarts has let me in on a number of occasions when the Nargles changed the password to my dormitory and I had nowhere to sleep." Luna told her, causing both Harry and Hermione to scowl and glare at Professor Flitwick for not stopping the bullying. The head of Ravenclaw looked nervous, especially as Hermione was the Heir. He vowed there and then to stop any future bullying with his 'Claws'.
"Well okay then Miss Lovegood. Come along then." And she stood and led the trio out of the room and back down the stairs. They followed her along and past the main hall to a small passage way in the heart of the castle. There was a stone spiral staircase leading down deep into the basement of the castle. Eventually they came to a small wooden door. There was no obvious means of opening the door and it was only when professor McGonagall rested her hand on the worn surface of the door, did it open. They all walked inside and gasped at what they saw. Inside the room was a woman suspended in mid air. She was writhing around in agony as streams of blackness swirled around her. Her mouth was opened in a silent scream, and the tears were streaming down her distraught face. She was bound with magical back ribbons of magic and seemed to be unaware of their presence. On the floor in front of her was a stone 'alter' with a large stone tablet engraved with runes. There was an atmosphere of pain and death in the room, and there was evidence of blood on the floor and the tablet on the 'alter' was covered in blood and worse. The smell was disguising and after a quick look around they were shocked to find the blackened and broken body of a small first year child. Hermione and Luna turned and vomited, quickly followed by the headmistress. Harry steeled himself and walked over to the small bundle on the floor. He bent down in front of the body, noting that it was a small girl. She would have been pretty in life, with the remains of blonde hair just visible. With a sigh he concentrated and raised his hand. There was a yellow glow over the body and once it cleared the body was clean and whole again, dressed in Hufflepuff robes. The girl was still dead but looked as if she was merely asleep. Harry straightened her hair and kissed her forehead gently, before waving his hand once more and body vanished.
"She has gone to the infirmary; at least this way the family can see her to say their goodbyes." He said to no one in particular. He stood and walked over to his mate and pulled her into an embrace. "He will pay for this and all of his crimes."
"How could he do that? To a child as well?" Hermione asked in a broken voice. "And why?"
"As to the how, I cannot say, but for the why, he needed a victim to bind the wards of Hogwarts. Only dark magic could do this and it explains why we teachers have been so powerless to stop him. He has not only bound the school but us as well." Professor McGonagall explained.
"Well let's sort that out then shall we?" Harry said as he and Hermione walked over to the altar. With a wave of their hands they removed the blood and flesh from the tablet and then both placed there palms on the stone. As soon as they did they both began to glow and the light in the room dimmed. The binds that held the woman broke and with a flash she was free. The evil atmosphere in the room faded and smell of death and decay was replaced by one of fresh flowers and grass. The room brightened and with a gasp both Harry and Hermione removed their hands. Whilst they were in contact with the stone they had also replaced the wards around the castle with anti-Death-Eater ones as well as preventing anyone who wished harm from entering the school. For any normal witch or wizard this feat would have left them exhausted but for Harry and Hermione they didn't even notice the drain on their magic. They both had smiles on their faces as they looked up at the woman stood in front of them. Her appearance was radically altered. Gone was the expression of pain and the tears. Now stood a beautiful; if ageless woman. She smiled at the pair.
"Daddy, Mummy!" she cried and ran to them and flung herself on them.
"Daddy? Mummy?" Professor McGonagall mouthed to the giggling Luna.
"Well figuratively speaking she's right. Hogwarts is the child of the founders and those two are magical equivalent of them."
Hogwarts looked up at Luna and smiled. "Luna, are you well?" she asked. Her voice was odd, like many people talking at the same time.
"I am well Lady Hogwarts. It is good to see you again, and looking well now."
"Yes, these two helped me so much. What that man did to me was so horrid and that poor girl. It nearly broke me to see that. I am so glad Harry could at least restore her body. I just hope her spirit was able to move on after such a brutal death." The women replied, still held in Harry and Hermione's embrace. She finally released the pair and looked at them properly.
"Oh Sweet Merlin. You are both descendants from Merlin as well as my creators...and you're immortal?"
They both nodded shyly
"Goodness. That is amazing. I will have parents forever now, you will look after me wont you?" she asked like a small child.
Both Harry and Hermione nodded once more at this odd woman.
"Goody. Headmistress, I am now free and you and your colleagues are no longer bound. I wish you well as headmistress. I will not appear to you as I am now anymore as I can only appear to these three. Harry and Hermione because I am there's, and Luna because I love her. Teach well and good luck in the upcoming battle. Harry and Hermione, I have placed the knowledge of the Founders in you both. This contains spell knowledge as well as potions, charms and fighting skills. You now also have the knowledge of all of my secret locations. I wish you well by beloved parents and thank you." With a smile she faded away leaving a sense of happiness and well being in the room.
"Harry! I know where the Lair is!" Hermione shouted.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
In a darkened room in the Malfoy Manor, Lord Voldemort was not a happy Dark Lord. He had just finished punishing Snape and the young Malfoy. The room stunk of blood, urine and excrement from the pair. They were both sprawled out unconscious on the floor, twitching from the extreme effects of the Cruciatus curse. He had held them under it for so long that they had both bitten their tongues off. He searched their minds and found that they still had them - it was close in the boys case but both minds would recover eventually. He magically restored Snape's tongue, after all he still needed a potion master that could talk, but left the boy's missing. He found it amusing that the heir to the Malfoy name was a one armed, voiceless coward.
"RAT! Get in here!" he yelled
Peter Pettigrew paled and started to shake as he crawled into his Lord's presence. "Yes my Lord?" he asked in a stuttering voice.
"Find word from Bella. I need to know if she has completed her task." He commanded. "Oh and find me a witch, I feel the need to torture some more, and it seems I am running out of loyal Deatheaters."
"Yes my Lord."
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
'Ron' was worried. He had been hanging around the outskirts of the school in order to learn more about Harry and Hermione's apparent survival. He had watched the battle on top of the Astronomy tower and Harry's subsequent fall. No one, not even Harry could survive that, but then he watched from his vantage point, Harry get up and walk away. Now that was just impossible, even for Harry. As he sat on the tree top looking down, he suddenly felt the castle wards change, and with a violent push, he was expelled from the castle grounds. He found himself violently flung away and landed in a painful heap many miles away. He heard and felt his leg snap, and even with his natural healing skills, he knew that this body's time was waning. He needed to act and soon, but first...food. 'Now which direction to Hogsmeade?' he thought to himself, as he painfully staggered to his feet, his broken bones scrapping against each other.