Hallo again my dear readers. Welcome to another chapter. A shorter one because adding the next one together into this one would make it incredibly long.

Anyway, enjoy.

Founder's Phoenix

Chapter 21: Julius Caesar and H.G. Wells

"Hermione."

"Hermione." JJ whispered in Hermione's ear as she studied at her desk, alone in the shared common room.

"H.G."

"Wells."

"Julius, stop reading my mind, it's a matter of privacy." He said, finally stopping and moving her monkey from her shoulder and to the desk in front of her.

"In my defence, you thought it very loudly. And its JJ." He said, gesticulating as he spoke. To anyone else it would have looked like Hermione was talking to a squeaking monkey who seemed to understand any word she said as only she and other animals could understand him.

"I named you after Julius Caesar, not some rapper." She replied, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms to show her disapproval.

"Julius Caesar was a rubbish emperor." He mumbled, picking at the fur on his chest.

"He created the Roman Empire." Hermione pointed out, clearly dismayed by his comment.

"Not the reason I was trying to get your attention. We have decided that you're the weakest." He commented, looking directly at her, hoping that his blue eyes could melt her like it used to do when he'd just hatched.

"Excuse me?" She coughed, slightly offended by his comment. This wasn't looking good for whatever he wanted to ask.

"Not like that, you can blow me out of the water, literally." He said, raising his hands in surrender. "No, you seem to be the easiest to convince. We'd like to leave the common room." He rushed, trying to get the request out of the way in the hope of receiving a confirmation quicker.

They hadn't been allowed to leave the common room since they were hatched which had been just under three weeks by now but as much as you'd think that four baby animals would be happy with familiar surroundings, having grown to full size within the first few days and speaking like any teenager by the first week, they were getting a bit cramped. Especially Prue as the biggest. The Four were working on a room attached to the common room that would have all their natural habitats but it would take a while to make as they had to create everything involved and couldn't just conjure it from a different location. They had the room set out and some trees that Norah had put in place but it wasn't that interesting yet and the animals were still bored.

"No."

She moved JJ from the desk to her shoulder again and picked up her pen to continue working on her transfiguration extra credit. JJ climbed down her body and back onto the table next to a working Hermione.

"We can't stay in here until you decide that it's safe. We are animals, used to roaming the wilderness on our own. I'm also bored of this room, it can get boring after so long." He said, nudging her hand so she would pay attention to him and his worries.

"Taking you out during the day is not an option. We want to tell the school ourselves not by walking through the corridors with strange animals." She argued, not looking at him so his sweet blue eyes wouldn't break her down. They couldn't cope with being revealed now. They were only first years and still in training.

"I deny the fact that we're strange but you're missing the obvious solution. Go for a walk at night." He said, holding her face in his little hands and glaring at her with a smile on his face…as much as a monkey could smile.

"You know, I underestimate you. Remind me to never make that mistake again." Hermione thought aloud. It could work. If they got the map from Dori and Charlie, they could navigate the school without being spotted and spend time together after a rather hectic few weeks. She didn't see any of them enough, spending most of her time here alone or with Ant in the Ravenclaw common room, meaning she was getting quite close with him and the Four but no one else. The Four only bonded because of their powers.

"Does that mean we get to leave this torturous prison?" JJ jumped, scrambling some of Hermione's notes.

"I'll have you know that this is the best room in the castle. You want to be careful what you say if you want me to convince the others." She said, moving around some of her notes to put them together and into her draws. She'd done enough for the evening and wanted to find Harry. It didn't look like JJ was going to leave her alone for the evening so working wasn't really an option anyway.

"There's a reason you and I get on you know." He smirked contagiously, making Hermione smile slightly. They all had weaknesses for these animals but she was the weakest mainly because of JJ's big blue, Ravenclaw, eyes.

"Because you get all your knowledge from me?" She chuckled.

"Maybe." He mumbled, latching onto her neck as she stood up.

"You know you're going to have to let go if you want me to go and find Harry to sort this out?" She said, trying to get him to release from around her neck as she made her way to the door.

"What did you need to find me for?" Harry asked as he entered the common room. Arlette came flying through his open bedroom door and placed herself on his shoulder with her head rubbing his, affectionately.

"Julius takes after me and thought of a way to get these guys out of the common room, it just means we'll lose a bit of sleep." Hermione explained, leading Harry over to their seats by the fire.

"What?" He asked confused. A lot had gone on in that sentence.

"I thought we could take them for a walk around the castle with your Dori and Charlie's map. As long as you don't mind asking them for it." She said, asking him subtly to retrieve the marauder's map so they wouldn't get caught.

"Nah, of course not. And if they don't give it to me I'll just take it anyway." He shrugged, making Hermione giggle lightly. "That's brilliant Hermione but I still think we need to find a long-term solution."

"I agree with that but this should be alright while we sort out that room for them." She said gesturing to the individual door that had once been a bathroom but was now a lot larger and empty. They had their own en-suites so didn't need these one and converted it for their familiars. Seemed like the logical thing to do.

After a few minutes of silently contemplating a solution, Harry shook himself and realised he'd gotten dragged into another magical problem when that wasn't the purpose of leaving the Gryffindor common room.

"Now, I did come here for a reason." Harry started, facing Hermione with his legs folded under him, leaning against the arm of his chair.

"And that would be?" She smiled, copying his position.

"I thought we could spend a bit of time together, not talking about school or training." He replied, tilting his head. He missed spending time with his family and Hermione could be considered the biggest part of that or him. They were stuck together at the hip as young children but that just wasn't possible now they were at Hogwarts.

"I like that idea." Hermione replied, expecting him to suggest an activity, previously thought of. After a few seconds, he asked the question.

"Do you remember what we used to do?" He said, frowning, as she shook her head slowly. Harry had a tendency to play with fire on his fingertips, passing the flame from on finger to the other dancing and doing loop-di-loops. "Things like this were common." He said, suddenly producing a miniature Julius' and Arlette's out of fire to jump and fly around Hermione's head.

"I could never do that." She said, in wonder shaking her head at the figures.

"That's so cool." JJ gasped, looking at the mini me of himself, making Hermione smile.

"Why not try? We're getting more control over our powers now." Harry suggested.

"Okay." She replied, imagining Prue and Tristan in water form and it didn't take long for her to perfect it as she hadn't tried before, happy to watch Harry amaze her with the fire animals.

"They're so small." She squeaked, as her water animals chased Harry's fire animals and drowned them, putting them out completely, to Harry's amusement.

"I'll make them a tree to sit in." Harry suggested.

They created a little forest out of fire and water where animals roamed and fought, the water animals almost always winning just because of what they were made out of. Harry and Hermione watched the animals move in front of them of their own free will, surprised that it didn't take their concentration to make it happen, however, they didn't question it.

Harry looked at Hermione and saw her curled up in her blue chair, her lugs curled under her as she smiled, making him smile in return.

"I miss this." He blurted out quietly, turning back to the scene as Hermione looked at him.

"Me too." She replied, instantly. It was peaceful and did no harm to anyone with no responsibilities from anyone. They used to disappear for hours, away from all the people at Mae Manor and they needed a similar thing here but it was hardly possible with their schedule at times.

"I don't suppose we're going to get the chance very often." Harry mumbled, making his fire animals curl up under a tree together at his drop in mood.

"We'll just have to make time then. I'm not losing this sense of normalcy in the middle of the extraordinary. We'll go mad." Hermione exclaimed, sitting up straight as the little water animals made the animals get up as well and stop moping.

"You've been my best friend our whole lives, Hermione. Whatever it takes, I'll be there for you." Harry replied, smiling widely at her. The one thing that would never change in either of their lives was that the other person would be there if they needed them or even if they really didn't. It wasn't going to end now even if it had been nearly twelve years.

"I feel the same way." Hermione replied, feeling a few butterflies in her stomach, like that promise would mean more at a different time.

They were in a happy silence when the door came bursting open.

"Tristan says JJ has thought of an idea to get them out and about." Jaspian stated, taking a seat in his chair and leaning forward to the both of them.

"We thought we could roam the corridors later when curfews past and no one's around." Hermione explained, sitting up straighter, out of her relaxed position.

"Not bad. What if we get caught?" Jack said, fleetingly. All business, no play was the thought that came to Harry's mind.

"I want to see the castle but he's still a bit tense to me." Arlette said to Harry, getting a small glare from Tristan but he didn't repeat it to Jack.

"We won't. My siblings have a map that shows the exact location of everyone in the school. We can avoid teachers and Filch using it." Harry explained, not seeing the point it sitting up like Hermione had. He was relaxed and didn't want to go anywhere any time soon.

"Great. Off you go then." Jack said, gesturing to the door.

"I don't know where they are." Harry said, bluntly.

"You can apparate to their location without having to know where they are." Jack replied, matter-of-factly.

"You know, I was really relaxed before you walked in." Harry huffed as he got out of his chair.

"Good for you but if we don't get it tonight, we'll have to wait until tomorrow and I'm sure Granger would appreciate the hounding of the familiars to stop." Jack said, clearly exasperated. Harry looked at Hermione. She hadn't mentioned any annoyance.

"Apparently, I'm the weakest." She shrugged, rubbing her arms at the look Harry was giving her and the tension in the room.

"That's not true, you're stronger than I am." Harry frowned.

"I think he meant I'm the easiest to convince. It's probably a good idea that you go and get the map. The sooner we have a plan that'll work for this evening." Hermione commented, stroking Julius' head lightly which he seemed to appreciate as he was melting her arms.

"Okay, I'll see you in five. You get Norah here and it shouldn't take too long." Harry said, trying not to grumble but the fact that they were all on the go again after relaxing for a measly half-an-hour was just a tad annoying for an eleven-year-old used to playing at home with his family without a care in the world.

He apparated to Charlie's location and found them both in the library with Cedric and Candace doing homework he assumed although Ced and Candance seemed to just be trying to distract them from it.

"Dori. You know, Peter in sixth year? Our house? Don't you think he's attractive?" Candace asked, poking Dori every sentence until she slammed her quill down to her best friend's shock.

"De, do your homework or leave. That goes for you too Cedric. I don't care what you do but I've got to finish this parchment for Flitwick before the days over so skedaddle will you." She shouted in a whisper so Madam Pince wouldn't tell them to leave.

"Fine. We will go and find Fred and George they'll be more fun anyway." Candace said jauntily. She didn't mean it in a harsh way, Harry knew the elder twins and this had happened many times before. These two were the epitome of book-smart if Hermione wasn't around. One of his younger sisters Quinn could be described in the same way. He smiled at the thought of his family and walked up to the table and sat down across from them.

"What can we do for you, Harry?" Charlie asked, not looking up from his parchment.

"I request to borrow a map?" Harry asked, making both of them look up at him so he could see the similarities in their faces as they narrowed their eyes.

"Why?" Dori asked, not dropping her quill.

"An unnamed reason, I'm hoping you'll let me get away with." He smiled, nervously. He didn't want to tell them about everything to do with being one of the Four. It would put them in more danger but as he thought about it, they would have to learn about Arlette and JJ at least as he and Hermione couldn't leave them at Hogwarts over Christmas.

"Does it have something to do with that prophecy?" Charlie whispered, looking around. Obviously, they knew that was about him but didn't tell anyone.

"Ever heard of Familiars?" Harry asked, going into an explanation about the four that they had and why they needed a map. After they were thoroughly shocked by the news of a panther roaming the school, Harry breached the question again. "Is there a map you could offer me?" They looked at each other and nodded.

"You can have a basic model. Shows the movements of people throughout the castle but also after a little upgrade how long you have until they find you." Dori explained, grabbing it out of the pocket of her robes. Harry knew that they kept all the maps on them at all times in case a house elf mistaken it for rubbish when cleaning.

"Thank you, guys, I think Jack may have attempted to kill me if I hadn't gotten this." He smiled standing up.

"Keep it, Harry. Seems like you've got enough to think about without adding this to the mix." Charlie smiled. Harry could see pity in it though so his smile dropped. That's not what he wanted to see from his brother or his sister, they were supposed to share happy times which is why he wanted to hide this from them as much as possible.

"If you need someone to talk to, we're always here. Mum and Dad are too if you'd reply to their letters." Dori said, less subtle about the parent situation that Harry still wasn't over.

"I'll see them at Christmas and I'll promise I'll try to sort out my issues by then. I just don't want to talk to them right now. I'll see you on the quidditch pitch on Thursday." Harry said, apparating before their eyes and back into the common room where the other three of the four were sitting and waiting. He wasn't in the best mood so he thrust the map at Jack and plonked himself down in his chair, formulating a plan in his head to avoid things like that in the future. He could do this himself with the training they were receiving and Arlette and Hermione by his side.

"Harry?" Hermione started after a minute of watching him think to himself as Jack and Norah looked at the map. Harry sat up straight and plastered a smile on his face that he knew Hermione would see straight through but attempted it anyway.

"I'm fine. It's getting late so let's get this sorted and be on our way." Harry said, diverting her to the issue at hand instead of him. "To open this map, you have to say, 'We promise and pray to make some mischief today.' And to close, 'roguery complete.'. All of them have the same message really and the originals the best but we're never going to get hold of that. This has more features anyway." Harry explained, taking the map back and opening it for them showing the entire school, just not where they were presently standing.

"How come you've never mentioned it before?" Norah asked, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. She already had questions for the two of them so she may have been a little paranoid.

"One, my brother and sister have and make these and two, it never came up." Harry said, touchily. He already wasn't in a brilliant mood so an interrogation wasn't in what he wanted to be dealing with right now.

After a few questions and making sure nothing could go wrong, they exited the common room into a random corridor clear of any signs of activity and wandered around the castle as they four familiars chatted between themselves and Hermione kept an eye on the map for them. It was peaceful walking through the empty castle. They trusted that a diversion would be created for them in their dorm rooms when they didn't show up and could just be for a while instead of thinking about anything really.

Something had been playing specifically on Norah's mind over the past couple of days that she couldn't shake. When the question of whether Harry was one of the four was breached to Susan in a first-year discussion in the Hufflepuff common room, it was obvious to Norah, but apparently, no one else that she was uncomfortable and was lying as she didn't partake in the rest of the conversation as she would have usually have done. She knew that Harry and most probably Hermione were part of the four and by the look she gave Norah it seemed that she also knew her and Jack's role in this as well. They weren't told that no one knew their secret but it was assumed they wouldn't tell after all they'd gone through to keep it a secret. She was missing a piece of the puzzle that she had to ask.

"Does Susan Bones know that we are…who we are?" Norah asked suddenly, looking over to Harry and Hermione who were on her right.

Harry nodded. "Did we not tell you that?"

"No. I thought it was a secret from everyone." Norah replied.

"Our family knows." Hermione continued for him, knowing the subject was a little touchy for him.

"How did you even find out you were heirs?" Jack asked, suddenly. He also saw how weird this situation was.

"I suppose we never really told you the whole story." Harry replied, looking at Hermione. She was always better at explaining things.

"It was in August and we were on one of our walks around the estate when we were drawn into the forest, similar to the feeling we get when the founders call us but we didn't know what was happening we just followed it. We eventually arrived in a room and they explained all of this to us. They mentioned that our parents were already aware of who we were connected to which neither of us were very happy with. They hadn't told us since just after Voldemort was defeated which is when they found out from the goblins that we would have this destiny. Harry took it harder than I did. They lied to us for most of our lives so we were determined to do this ourselves. I may have forgiven my parents but Harry still hasn't forgiven his. It was hard to know for the first time that our parents had lied to us and afterwards when we finally sat down with them to discuss it, they suggested that we tell the rest of the family as we were convinced that as soon as we stepped into the building that the whole world would know that we had a destiny set in stone for us. So, including our immediate families we told everyone. All twenty-seven kids, altogether. We didn't really want to but we felt like we had to after our parents said they would feel bad if they found out at the same time as everyone else. They know when all we wanted to do was keep it a secret and keep everyone safe." They made their way around the corridor listening to Hermione's story in silence eventually getting to the moving staircases that seemed to be moving more than usual. Usually they would move for them upon command but this time, not that any of them noticed because of the story, they were moving in a specific direction.

"We never knew you had so much trouble with this." Norah said, feeling slightly guilty that she felt they had had it hard when they had only had, by the sound of it, the space of a day to believe it and get on with it.

"We got over it very quickly. We had to. We had a job to do and that mattered. It's done and we have other stuff to think about." Harry said, refusing to let anyone else's pity get in the way. That seemed to be one of the only emotions he'd experienced from others today.

"Like the fact that Filch is incredibly close by and I forgot to check the map for a few minutes we have less than two minutes to find a hiding place." Hermione said, stopping in her tracks and looking at the others incredibly worried as JJ ran up her body.

"Look, a door!" Norah exclaimed, running up the stairs in the one direction they could and opened the door for them as they filed in quickly, closing the door behind them and leaning her head on it. She turned around and soon realised why she couldn't hear the others breathing because they were too scared to.

Stood in front of them was a huge three-headed dog, snarling at them with their teeth bared. Hermione quickly grabbed everyone, checking they were all connected and apparated them back to the common room in a pile on the floor where they started to breathe once again.

"Why didn't we just do that the first time around instead of going in the room." Harry commented, laying in the ground.

"Castle wanted us to see that room. The stairs weren't moving where we wanted them to go; we were a bit distracted to notice." Jack explained.

"No wonder the castle wanted us to see that. Who keep as Cerberus in a school…with children!" Hermione exclaimed.

"To protect something. It was sitting on a trapdoor." Norah commented, hugging Prue tightly, probably out of a little bit of shock.

"How did you notice that?" Jack asked but Norah just shrugged, she'd always been observant.

"We have to do something about that. We can't let a beast like that stay loose within our school." Harry said, sitting up to look at the group of them, Arlette agreeing at his side.

"It was tied up. Do you think we'd still be here if it wasn't?" Jack argued, although Tristan was at his side telling him the right thing to do was sort the mess out, for the sake of the students.

"That doesn't change the fact that there is something more valuable than a school full of the future witches and wizards of Britain hidden under it." Hermione said.

"We have to see what it is." Norah added, looking at Jack.

"It seems like I have been overruled." Jack sighed. They were always running head first into problems when others would be more suited for the task but he was never going to leave them to do it alone even if he wouldn't tell them that.

They planned to delve into the trapdoor the following night as it was now approaching midnight and they did have school the next day. In their traditional fashion, a limited amount of thinking was taken into account and no one thought there would be much danger to it until they once again came face to face with the mighty Cerberus.

I hope you enjoyed it, please, read, review, follow and favourite at your own convenience.

I also feel obliged to tell you that i'm going to go back and edit early chapters because I feel my writing style (and age) have changed drastically from late 2013. They also don't suit the later chapters I have uploaded. You obviously don't have to go back and read them and I doubt there will be any major changes made (I'll tell you if there are.) Anyway from an older more mature seventeen year old me, who's only trying to create a little magic of her own, I hope you'll continue reading as I like to think i'll improve as I keep writing.

Founder's Phoenix