Knights of the Founders

by JayColin

SLASH AU Harry/MaleHarem Rewrite of 'Return of the Heirs'. It's Harry's 6th year and with the Ministry finally accepting that Voldemort is back, changes are coming for Harry and for Hogwarts... question is will they be enough? Especially when not everything is as it appears... Rated for future chapters.

26. The Masquerade Ball - Part Two

The Knights of the Founders
Written By: J.C. Vascardi

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Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I'm not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone's copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the books.

Established Pairings: Harry/OMC, Charlie/OMC

Established Past Pairings: Harry/Cedric

Eventual Pairings: Harry/CC/CC/OMC/OMC, plus others I choose not to reveal at this time.

Entire Series Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Original Characters, Language, Violence, Pseudo-Incest, Incest, Torture, Harem, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex, and Mpreg

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Chapter Nineteen

The Masquerade Ball,

Part Two

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As the Weird Sisters began playing their first song, there did seem to be some hesitance from all the students to be the first ones to go out onto the dance floor. This led Dumbledore to smile and suggest, "Perhaps the Head Boy and Girl, and their dates would care to lead off the dancing?"

Babbling nodded. "Yes, students, this is a ball, after all, so somebody should start dancing."

After a moment, four people, two boys and two girls, made their way to the front of the room and paired up to begin the dancing. Scrutinizing them for a moment, both Harry and Noah were able to pick out Head Girl Katie Bell, and her date for the evening, Lee Jordan. He'd graduated the previous June, but he and Katie had been dating for the last two years and there were rumors of an engagement, so it didn't surprise Harry, Noah, or any of the other Gryffindors who recognized them that Lee would return to Hogwarts to be Katie's date.

The other couple, meanwhile, were dressed in the fancy, tailored robes, which made Harry and Noah feel a little less self-conscious about their own attire, as there were clearly others wearing clothing that wasn't off the rack. Due to the headmaster's request, Harry and Noah could only assume that the pair was Head Boy Adrian Pucey and his girlfriend, Daphne Greengrass. Having looked over a list of the noble families after learning that he was Lord Potter-Black, Harry knew that the Greengrass family was also one of the so-called Great Houses with a seat in the Lordsmeet, so it made sense that Daphne would dress up and that Adrian would, as her date.

With the two couples now on the dance floor, other couples began filtering out onto the dance floor, so, taking a deep breath, Harry held out his hand to Noah and said, "Shall we?"

"I'd love to," Noah said with a grin, as he took Harry's hand and the two of them made their way out to the dance floor.

Harry was nervous about dancing, as he thought he was terrible at it, but as he began moving around the dance floor with Noah, he realized that maybe he wasn't quite as bad as he thought he was. Of course, Cedric had given him lessons over the summer between Harry's third and fourth year, and then in the Room of Requirement during fourth year. So, he'd apparently gotten better at it, although a part of him couldn't help but wish that it was Cedric he was dancing with. He really liked Noah and was pretty sure he was falling for him fast, but a part of his heart would always belong to Cedric Diggory.

Meanwhile, Ryan was dancing with Draco and looking around the room with a surprised look, which caught Draco's eye. "Is something wrong, Ryan?"

"No, I'm just surprised."

"By?" Draco prompted.

"This room and all the decor," Ryan said with a shake of his head. "I don't know where the staff got the idea to decorate it like this, but with the exception of the Hogwarts crest, house banners, and enchanted ceiling, this entire room, including the hallway with the armor in it, is a perfect replica of the Grand Ballroom at Cromwell Hall."

"You can thank me for that, Ryan," a voice said, causing Ryan to look to his left and see two guys dancing near enough that they'd obviously heard Ryan's conversation with Draco. They were dressed in red and gold robes, clearly off the rack, and had matching masks adorned with red and gold sequins around the edges.

Ryan recognized the voice, however, and grinned. "Hey Matt, Oliver. Draco, this is my cousin, Matthew Cromwell, and his fiancé, Oliver Wood."

Draco grinned. "I'm aware of that, Ryan or did you forget that I work with Matthew in the Potions department?"

"Yes, I did forget," Ryan answered. "Obviously I don't have either of you as a teacher and you're taking NEWT Potions with me, Draco, so I sometimes forget that you're one of the teaching assistants." Turning to Matthew, he asked, "So, how'd the headmaster get the idea of making the Great Hall look like Cromwell Hall?"

"He asked all the professors for suggestions," Matthew replied. "So, I gave him pictures of Cromwell Hall and I guess he obviously liked them since that's what was used. He didn't tell me, so it was just as much a surprise for me as it was for you."

On another part of the dance floor, Nick was dancing with Valen. Looking around the room, he said, "I feel like everyone in the room is staring at us."

"Probably because we're such a hot couple," Valen said with a grin, as his hand brushed briefly against Nick's ass.

Nick blushed and said, "You think anyone has figured out that I'm a student and you're a professor?"

"The masks do make identifying anyone more difficult," Valen answered. "So I suppose there's plenty of people who haven't figured it out yet, but I'm sure there are some who've guessed your identity at the very least." Even with the green and silver mask on his face, Valen could see Nick's quirked eyebrow, prompting him to add, "You're the only male student I can think of that has black hair with blond streaks."

"I did think about removing the streaks to make myself less identifiable," Nick said. "But in the end I decided not to."

"I'm glad you didn't," Valen said, as he leaned closer and whispered in Nick's ear, as he thrust his hips forward into Nick's, "because I think they're sexy."

Nick blushed. "You're trying to get me hot and bothered aren't you?"

Valen nodded. "Is it working?"

"Yes, you horny devil," Nick said. Since their first encounter together in the Forbidden Forest pond, Nick and Valen had met up and had sex several more times. This was their first official date as a couple, so Nick knew there were probably people who would think it very odd that they'd had sex multiple times now before their first date, but Nick wasn't concerned about that, because all he knew was that he was greatly enjoying himself.

As the first song ended, Dumbledore walked onto the stage and said, "Students, at this time, I'd like to make a little announcement." Once he had everyone's attention, Dumbledore pulled out his wand and waved it, causing a small tag with a number on it to appear on every masked person in the room. "You are now all wearing a tag with a unique number on it and the reason for this is because the staff and I decided that we'd have a competition this evening. Over the course of the evening, you're all charged with the challenge to identify your fellow attendees, be they professor or student. If you think you've figured out someone's identity, send a message on your PDA to either myself or the Heads of House. We won't reply back whether you were right or not, but at some point in the near future once we've had time to tally everything up, the two students, one male, one female, who got the most correct will win a prize. I will refrain from saying what, but trust me, you will like it."

Dumbledore paused and then said, "Prizes will also be awarded to those of you who manage to go through the entire night with nobody, other than your dates, figuring out who you are. You may use any means at your disposal to prevent people from figuring out who you are, including charms to change your voice."

-o-0-o-

Over the course of the next hour, during which the Weird Sisters played a few more songs, before taking a break, during which Lorcan d'Eath took the stage, it was not an uncommon sight to see students holding their PDAs as they sent messages to the Headmaster or the Heads of House about their guesses. Everybody was curious what the prizes were and many were hoping that it wasn't Dumbledore's bloody sherbet lemons. Knowing the Headmaster's enjoyment of the sweet, several people thought it would be in his character to give out a pound of them to students as a prize, but he was presumably a smart man who would hopefully realize that his teenage students, while enjoying candy, wouldn't consider it a very good prize and thus he'd likely have a mutiny on his hands if that was the prize.

Taking a break from the dancing, Harry and Noah had sat down at one of the tables, and despite the fact that they'd both attended the Halloween Feast, they each had a small snack in front of them, which they were munching on while talking and looking out over the crowds, trying to identify people. On the other side of the room, Charlie spotted who he believed to be Harry and Noah sitting at a table, as he'd been dancing close to the pair earlier and saw the Potter-Black crest on the medallion that served as a clasp for his cloak. Deciding that a break would be nice, Charlie hooked his arm with Alexi's and the two of them headed in Harry and Noah's direction.

As one couple in particular danced into view, Noah scrutinized them for a moment and then asked, "Hey Harry, is that Nick and his mystery date?"

Looking where Noah was pointing, Harry saw the couple and nodded. "I believe it is, yeah. Nick's hair is rather distinctive, after all."

"Yes, it is," Noah agreed. "Whose that he's dancing with though? It's clearly a guy but I can't really tell who it is." As he said this, Noah glanced at Harry and saw him grinning, prompting him to add, "You know don't you?"

Harry continued grinning and finally nodded, "Yes, I know who Nick's date is. I've known who his date was for a few weeks now."

"If you knew why didn't you say anything?"

"They made me promise not to," Harry answered. "At least before the Ball, however, I suppose now that's in progress, I've kept my promise." Noah nodded in agreement that, yes, if Harry promised not to tell anyone before the Ball, then once the Ball was in progress, he'd kept his word. Harry grinned. "Not saying anything has been really hard, especially because you owe me five galleons."

"Five galleons?" Noah asked, confused for a moment, before a look of realization came over his face and he said, "No, it can't be."

Harry nodded and said, "But it is, Noah," as Charlie and Alexi approached the table from behind Harry and Noah, "Nick's date this evening is none other than Professor Valen Lasinius."

Charlie and Alexi stopped dead in their tracks upon overhearing this bit of information, as they looked over to the nearby couple, with both of them being able to recognize Nick from his distinctive black and blond locks. It took a moment longer, but they also soon recognized Valen, leaving them both stunned that Valen would be so stupid as to attend the ball with a student.

As he remembered the article that the Prophet had run on him and Alexi, Charlie's blood pressure began to rise, especially when Valen lean forward and kissed Nick on the side of his neck, while lowering his hands from the boy's waist to his butt and pulling him a bit closer. Pulling Alexi with him, Charlie walked purposefully towards the couple, doing his best not to look like he was storming towards them as he didn't want to draw too much attention.

Tapping Valen on the shoulder, Charlie waited for Valen to stop dancing and turn to address him, he didn't however, as he instead said, in what was obviously a magically masked voice, "No, you may not cut in, now go away."

Leaning forward so that his mouth was right next to Valen's ear, Charlie hissed in a whisper, "A student, Valen? Are you insane?"

That got Valen's attention and he stopped dancing as he turned to face Charlie and Alexi, with the former being easily recognized this close up, since there was a trace of freckles visible under his mask, not to mention the Weasley red hair, which Charlie had done his best to hide with a tri-corner hat.

"Charlie, Alexi," Valen whispered. "You clearly have something to say, but perhaps we should go someplace a little more private."

"I quite agree," Alexi said in a strained whisper.

Harry and Noah watched as the four people left the dance floor and walked through one of the French doors to the terrace outside the room. While they were curious about the conversation they'd left to have, they knew it wasn't really any of their business and decided to stay out of it. Besides, they still had people to identify.

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Meanwhile, with both the Weird Sisters and Lorcan d'Eath on break, Celestina Warbeck was on stage, singing a ballad which was perfect for slow dancing, thus there were mostly couples out on the floor. Of course, not all of them were romantic couples, as proven by the fact that Ryan and Draco were currently dancing in each other's arms, as Draco allowed Ryan to lead him across the floor. It had been a bit of a switch for Draco to let someone else lead, as he usually didn't do it, but he got the hang of it.

Both Ryan and Draco, despite not being a couple, were enjoying the music and had thus closed their eyes as they danced, so they didn't see anyone approaching until it was too late and Ryan felt a persistent tapping on his shoulder. Opening his eyes and turning slightly, he could see Pansy Parkinson standing before him.

"What do you want?"

"I'm cutting in," Pansy said.

"Sorry, Pansy, but I have no desire to dance with you," Ryan said.

"Neither do I," Pansy said with a smirk. "Now release my date."

Ryan quirked an eyebrow, "Your date? Who? Where? I wasn't aware that you even had one. And even if you did, I fail to see why you're bothering me and my date."

Pansy looked coolly at Ryan and said, "Wrong, he's my date. Now release him."

Feeling Ryan tightening his grip on him a bit, Draco decided to defer to Ryan, since he was the Lord of two Great Houses and thus he trusted him to protect him from Pansy. It was something of a knock to his ego to think that he actually needed protection from a girl, but then Pansy had proven to be a neurotic thorn in his side that he wanted as little to do with as humanly possible. He would be perfectly happy never to see, talk, or look at her ever again.

"I will do no such thing," Ryan said. "Draco is my date for the evening, Pansy, and if you don't like it, well, I really couldn't care less."

"Draco is not your date!" Pansy exclaimed, loud enough that several nearby couples stopped dancing and looked to see what was going on. "He's mine! Not yours! He will never be yours because he already belongs to me. Everything is arranged and Draco and I will be married."

Quirking his brow again, Ryan asked, "Are you trying to imply that there's a betrothal contract between the House of Malfoy and the House of Parkinson?"

Before Pansy could say a word, Draco said, "There isn't. My mother insisted that when I got married it would be for love and so she refused to allow my father to have any contracts drawn up."

"Well, then, I suggest you go away, Pansy," Ryan asked. "Before I'm forced to take drastic measures."

"You can't do anything," Pansy said. "Draco is mine, now let go of him!" As she said this she pushed Ryan's left arm hard enough that he stumbled backwards, losing his grip on Draco in the process.

Before Pansy could move in to dance with Draco, however, Ryan recovered and had his wand out, as he said, "That's where you're wrong, Miss Parkinson. In case you forgot who you're dealing with, I am Lord Cromwell-Ravenclaw and I demand an apology."

"An apology for what?" Pansy demanded. "You stole my date! You're the one in the wrong, not me."

"You're delusional, Pansy," Draco said. "I was never your date because I wouldn't date you if you were the last person left on the planet."

"What is going on over here?" a feminine voice asked, as everybody turned to see Professors Vector and Delrossi standing there. Both professors had removed their masks so that there could be no doubt about who they were.

"Miss Parkinson seems to think that I've stolen her date," Ryan explained. "Despite the fact that I asked Draco and he said yes. It was even mentioned in the Daily Prophet that we were going together for pity sake."

"Yes, I recall reading it," Rafael Delrossi said. "Now is there a reason that you're holding Miss Parkinson at wand point?"

"She pushed me," Ryan said. "Hard enough to make me stumble and almost fall to the floor. I was just formally demanding an apology from Miss Parkinson."

"As is your right," Septima said. "Now, Miss Parkinson, it's time you apologized."

"Me?!" Pansy shrieked. "I haven't done anything wrong. Draco is mine. He'll always be mine. And anyone who says anything different is lying."

"I'M GAY, PANSY!" Draco yelled at the top of his lungs, which had every head in the ballroom turning to look at him. Even Celestina stopped singing and turned to see what was going on.

"STOP SAYING THAT!" Pansy shrieked so shrilly that several people in the room winced.

"It's true you bloody stupid bitch!" Draco practically growled, as he grabbed Ryan and kissed him hard on the lips. Ryan was completely caught off guard and thus didn't return the kiss, although in his shock, his wand slipped from his hand, although Rafael managed to grab it before it hit the floor.

"NO!" Pansy shrieked as she watched Draco kiss Ryan. "You're supposed to be with me!"

"Stupefy!" Dumbledore said, his wand pointed at Pansy when it looked like she was about to start ripping fistfuls of her own hair out, before he cast a spell to levitate her body before it could hit the floor. Looking around, Dumbledore said, "Professors Vector and Delrossi, please take Miss Parkinson to the Hospital Wing. As much as it pains me to say this about a student, I'm afraid she may need to undergo psychological testing."

Rafael handed Ryan's wand to Dumbledore, before taking out his own wand to levitate Pansy.

Several people in the room nodded, as Septima and Rafael left the room with Pansy and Draco finally stopped kissing Ryan. He looked sheepish, as he said, "I'm sorry about that, Ryan."

Ryan was silent for a moment, before he shook his head. "It's okay." Pausing to catch his breath, he said, "Um, wow, that was intense."

Draco nodded. "Yeah, I've never kissed anyone with such fervor before but I wanted to prove to Pansy once and for all that I'm gay."

"I thought you said Malfoys don't feel the need to prove anything," Ryan said.

"Even a Malfoy has their breaking point," Draco drawled. "And tonight I finally reached mine with Pansy."

"That's understandable," Ryan stated.

"Okay, everyone, show's over," Dumbledore stated, after he'd given Ryan his wand back. "Let's get back to the Ball. Ms. Warbeck, if you please?"

A moment later the crowd who'd gathered to watch the spectacle began to disperse as Celestina resumed singing, opting to start the song over instead of picking up where she left off and couples all over the room started dancing once again.

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Meanwhile, finding a secluded corner of the terrace, Valen pulled out his wand and cast a series of Silencing Charms and set a few alarms to warn him if anyone approached. With that done, Valen, who now dropped the charm concealing his voice, said, "Now, what did you want to say Charlie, Alexi?"

Charlie shook his head as he looked at Valen, unable to believe that the man he'd gotten to know over the last two months and had begun thinking of as a friend could be so brazen and stupid as to attend the Ball with a student. A student that he was making it pretty clear was way more to him that just a student.

"A student, Valen, really?" Charlie asked. "Have you forgotten the article the Prophet ran on Alexi and me after the Hogsmeade attack? That's something that could ruin our entire lives and careers. Thankfully the Prophet retracted the story and explained what really happened, but there's always going to be someone out there wondering if it's true. Didn't you learn anything from that?"

"And what exactly do you think I could possibly learn from that situation?" Valen asked. "They're nothing alike."

"Not alike?" Alexi asked. "Charlie and I were accused of getting turned on by two of our underage students, which is tantamount to calling us pedophiles. Now you're actually dating one of your students and you don't see the situations as being alike?"

"No, I don't," Valen said.

"Are you really that thick?" Charlie asked.

"No, Professor, he's not thick," Nick said. "The reason he doesn't see that situations as being the same is because Harry and Noah actually are underage, and thus if your situation hadn't been a total misunderstanding caused by an unfortunately timed photograph, one could have called you pedophiles. Obviously you aren't and it was a totally unfair assessment, but that situation has no bearing on me and Valen dating."

"And why not, Mr. Lavoisier-Delaney?" Alexi asked. "You're an underage student and he's your professor who is not underage."

"Except that I'm not underage," Nick said, as he reached behind his neck and undid the chain around his neck, before pulling it out, removing the combined Delaney-Slytherin lord's ring from it and slipped it onto his finger. "I'm Lord Delaney-Slytherin and despite being a sixth year, I'm seventeen and legally an adult due to my birthday being after 1 September - it's 10 September, by the way."

"And Nick's and my relationship didn't start until a couple weeks after his birthday," Valen said. "So, it's perfectly legal for us to be together."

"But you're a professor and he's a student," Charlie said. "Surely that's against the rules."

"I suggest you read the Hogwarts bylaws better, Charlie," Valen stated. "Specifically the section that bans student/teacher relationships. Because if you do, you'll notice that there's an exception, dating all the way back to the time of the Founders, that says that students who are age seventeen and older are allowed to have any relationship they wish with one of their professors, be it friendship, romantic, and sexual."

"Are you saying you two have had sex?" Alexi asked.

"With all due respect, Professor," Nick answered, "that's a pretty personal question and as a result I'm disinclined to answer it, because quite frankly it's none of your business what my boyfriend and I do behind closed doors."

"You're right, I'm sorry," Alexi apologized. "So, you're Lord Delaney-Slytherin?" Nick nodded. "Why are you just now revealing that? And why aren't you wearing the fancier robes like the other heirs?"

"Because I got him dress robes to match mine," Valen answered. "He is my date, after all."

"And just where did your robes come from anyway?" Charlie asked. "I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like them. They're not a style that I've ever seen anywhere in my life and I've done a fair amount of travelling all over the globe for the Reserve."

"I suspect you'll find out about where my robes originate at some point tonight," Valen said. "But beyond that, for the moment, my lips are sealed."

Before anyone could say anything else, however, there was a yell of "I'M GAY, PANSY!" followed by a shriek of "STOP SAYING THAT!" from inside the ballroom.

"What in Merlin's name is going on in there?" Alexi asked.

"That sounded like Draco Malfoy," Nick commented. "So I'm going to assume he's talking about Pansy Parkinson who's completely delusional about her and Draco being a couple. She refuses to accept that Draco is gay and not interested in her."

"Huh, well, let's head in and watch the fireworks then, shall we?" Valen said, as he wrapped an arm around Nick and walked back into the ballroom, with Charlie and Alexi following behind them.

-o-0-o-

About an hour or so later, Dumbledore abruptly stood up, which caught the attention of Professor Babbling, who asked, "Albus, is something wrong?"

"The wards," Dumbledore said, in a barely audible voice that the Ancient Runes professor had to strain to hear, "Somebody is breaching the wards!"

Getting out his wand, Dumbledore planned to do all he could do prevent the breach, but before he could cast a single spell, the doors to the Great Hall burst open as a cold wind blew through the room, which caused the house banners to fly almost parallel to the ceiling for a moment, before the flames in the fireplace and all the candles throughout the room went out and left the room pitch black. A couple of points of light appeared around the room, as a few of the students lit their wands, but before anyone could relight the room's candles, there was a loud rumble of thunder as a bolt of lightning hit the center of the floor right above the Hogwarts seal. Gasps and screams could be heard throughout the room at this, but it wasn't over yet because after another second an inferno of blue flames shot up from the center of the seal to reveal two figures standing there.

A male voice spoke in the darkness, "Well, well, this won't do at all," and with that, the candles throughout the room spontaneously relit, as did the fireplace, at which point everyone could see that the two figures were a man and a woman, dressed in extremely fancy, flowing robes that were like nothing anyone in Britain had ever seen, well with the exception that Valen Lasinius and Nick Lavoisier-Delaney were wearing robes that were very similar. The man's were ocean blue and adorned with what appeared to be actual diamonds and sapphires sewn right into the fabric, while the woman's were white with pearl and diamond accents. They were both tall and slim, with blond hair, green eyes, and most strikingly, sharply pointed ears.

Before anyone could say anything, Valen stepped forward and looking at the man, he said in an angry and exasperated voice, "Rhylian, na mey! These people are at war and your dramatics have probably just scared them all half to death!" Turning to the woman, his expression softened slightly as he said, "Asheera, mela'selera, can you not control nae meytan amada en a deler?"

Before Rhylian or Asheera could answer, Dumbledore strode forward and asked, "Professor Lasinius, do you know these people?"

Turning to the headmaster, Valen nodded and said, "Yes, Headmaster, this is my sister and my overly dramatic fool of a brother in law. I apologize if Rhylian's entrance scared anyone, but you have my word that he doesn't mean to harm anyone here."

"You must be Headmaster Albus Dumbledore," Rhylian said.

"I am and you are?"

"Oh where are my manners?" Rhylian asked with a grin. "I am Lord Rhylian Andenar Laitannen and this beautiful creature beside me is my wife, Lady Asheera Liara Lasinius Laitannen. Now, I'm sure you have many questions, which I would be more than happy to answer if we could go someplace a bit more private."

Dumbledore remained stoic for a moment, before he nodded and said, "My office perhaps?"

"That would be acceptable, Headmaster," Asheera said with a smile, as Dumbledore nodded and said, "Well, follow me then."

Asheera moved to follow the headmaster out of the room immediately, while Rhylian gave a look at Valen and mouthed, "You know what to do."

Valen nodded his understanding, before Rhylian moved to follow his wife and the headmaster out of the room.

-o-0-o-

To be continued.

And there's Part Two of Chapter Nineteen. I know, I know, you probably hate me for ending it there, but it had to end somewhere and this was the place I chose. Next up is Chapter Twenty, in which you'll learn more about Valen and Rhylian, including the whats and wheres you've probably all been wondering about. The last two heirs might be revealed, although that may also wait until Chapter Twenty-One. I'm not totally sure yet.

And for those wondering what exactly Valen said, here's a translation of the relevant section of text:

"Rhylian, you idiot! These people are at war and your dramatics have probably just scared them all half to death!" Turning to the woman, his expression softened slightly as he said, "Asheera, dear sister, can you not control your idiotic fool of a husband?"