DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$ from this…
A/N: Last Chapter before Japan II. Love the reviews. But - you all do know many of you either (1) ask me to give away the plot or (2) predict where I am going in general. However, no one guessed this and wrote me about it… (Yes, I've been planning this chapter for some time - months and months really.)
(I hope it makes sense…)
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: PROJECTS
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19th, 1989 - POTTER HOUSE, LONDON, U.K.
When they returned from the Watanabe School they had been assigned projects. The School assigned them two projects for the break, aside from the strong suggestion to practice what they had learned and read and exercise their minds and bodies. Their Charms professors encouraged them to work on their patronus charms. They were taught the charm their final term, but no one in the class had mastered it by the time they left. Their Transfiguration professors had told them to work on their animagus form, specifically the Common Form. All three wanted to master these skills before they returned even though they knew it was not required that they did. Sensei had assigned them four projects, three of which the kids had completed by the end of September. Slytherin's locket, a horcrux, was now secure in a vault beneath Potter House and Neville and Luna were now close friend they saw almost every day. The fourth project, the research into the heirs of the Founders, was proving harder than they had expected and was at times quite frustrating. But two to three days a week the Harry, Hermione, Clarice, Neville and Luna were in the Hall of Records reading documents, taking notes and trying to find the answer. Neville and Luna had not been told exactly why they were there, but were a big help anyway. When they finished this summer at school, they and the other Weekend Warriors in the Class of '89 would be brought in on the secrets.
Harry finally achieved his Patronus in late November. It was a stag. Sirius was there when this happened and exclaimed with glee that Prongs rides again. Harry looked confused until he was told that Prongs was his father's nickname. His dad was an animagus and his common form was a stag. The girls asked him what thought he had used and he simply shrugged and told them he was thinking about the two of them and how his life had changed for the better since they had met. The two girls then got it. Clarice's patronus was a doe, oddly enough it was the same patronus as her mother. Hermione's was an otter. She said she always liked watching the otters at the Zoo.
Shortly after Christmas and once they had developed their abilities to summon their patronus with both of their wands, their staves and wandlessly as well, Sirius taught them a technique that few knew. It was Potter family magic and had been used by the Order of the Phoenix during the last war. The Patronus, in addition to being a guardian against darkness, could also be used to send messages. The messages had to be short, but the message could be sent to many people practically instantaneously and over great distances. The children saw this as and excellent way to send messages to their friends. But Sirius emphasized that the uses went far beyond such pedestrian pursuits. It was a way to call for help and a way to rally people to you in times of need. The kids began teaching the charm soon thereafter to the "Weekend Warriors."
Today was different. Today the three were going to try for their first animagus transformations. They had been at the preparation for a year in days count. They were being taught the wandless method and practicing that method. The Greco-Roman method was based upon wand charms and potions. It was faster, but dangerous. The wandless method was based upon meditation and rituals designed to help the magical find their form and then become their form. It was safer but took more time to achieve any result. Each had an idea of what they might be, but none of them were certain and they kept their ideas to themselves by mutual agreement.
The three agreed that Harry was probably the closest to being ready to transform, and late this evening they were gathered in Hermione and Clarice's room to see if he could do it. The girls spent several minutes encouraging their best friend and older brother as he was nervous. They had all read that in addition to being hard, the first several successful attempts were awkward. It took time for one to become used to being an animal, time to learn how to stand up and move about, much less tap into their animal's full physical potential. But this was not what had Harry so nervous.
"Come on, Harry," Hermione said, "it's not as if we haven't seen each other that way before."
"But those were accidents," Harry protested. "Well, most were. That time the two of you pranked me while I was in the shower…"
"Harry, we all know that this is what will happen early on."
"And we were told not to try transformation alone," Clarice added. "Just in case something goes wrong."
"If it makes you feel any better, we'll toss a blanket on you before you transform back," Hermione offered.
"Okay," Harry replied sheepishly.
Harry knelt down on the floor and closed his eyes. He knew the first try might take a while and that eventually he would be able to manage the transformation almost instantaneously. He also knew if he succeeded, he might be able to retain his form for a few minutes before he had to transform back. Both the speed and length of transformation were a function of practice and experience. As he had been doing for "years" now, he calmed his mind and first focused on his magic. He knew when he achieved this for he always felt warm and tingly when he was consciously in touch with his magical self. He then focused on his form - he was pretty sure it was some sort of bird which he thought was cool - and tried to will his magic into achieving his form.
For several moments, Harry had no idea how long, he felt nothing different. Then he felt something different. His body began to feel different. He focused on calming his mind and accepting the changing sensations as opposed to fighting them or rejoicing about them. He knew he was changing into something and was surprised when he knew he had completed the transformation. He heard his two best friends gasp and he opened his eyes.
His eyesight was very different, as was his sense of hearing and smell. All seemed at the very least enhanced, if not greatly so. He was both startled and frightened when he saw the girls. They were huge, scary huge! He knew he was much smaller than before and that they were not a threat, but he was overwhelmed by the desire to get away from these humans. He tried to stand up and run, but fell over. When he tried again he looked at what had been his arms and saw large wings covered with rich, brown feathers. He could seem to make them work right. After a struggle, he managed to achieve what he guessed was a sitting posture. The huge giants had not moved so he did the only thing he could thing of. He yelled at them to stay away. It was odd. He understood what he had said, but knew it was more a screech than words.
He could feel his body and magic demanding him to change back. He knew that for now there was no sense fighting the urge and he felt his body changing again, more rapidly this time. He closed his eyes and waited until he felt normal. It was not long before he felt himself again, and a chill. He opened his eyes and as he feared, he was naked. Intellectually, he knew it could take weeks before his clothes would transform with him. Still, sitting naked in front of two girls, even if one was his sister and the other his best friend and even if they had seen this before, embarrassed him. Hermione covered him with a blanket. It took him a few moments to collect himself.
"You did it Harry!" Hermione squealed with delight as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
"I did?" Harry asked.
"So cool!" Clarice added.
"What? What was I?"
"Eagle!" Hermione said.
"Hawk," Clarice added.
"Well, a bird of prey. That much is for sure."
"Wicked!" Harry said. Those were supposed to be very useful forms.
"What was it like?" Clarice asked.
"Weird. I could see, hear and smell loads better. One of you needs a bath," Harry smirked, "at least from my bird's point of view. You two looked so big it was scary, but I couldn't seem to control anything."
"They said that would probably happen at first," Hermione nodded.
"As would winding up naked," Clarice giggle.
"Do you have to remind me?" Harry asked with a blush.
"Come now," Hermione said. "You might as well get used to it. It may be weeks before you can transform your clothes and until you can manage your transformation completely, you know you should not do it alone."
"Besides, you're going to see us too," Clarice added.
"Great," Harry moaned.
"And no perving!"
"Like I would over a seven year old sister," Harry moaned. "That's just gross!" He then looked over at Hermione.
"Don't even think about it, buster," Hermione growled.
"So who's next?" Harry asked.
"I'll give it a go," Clarice said.
_____________________________________________________________
Neither Clarice or Hermione were able to transform that night, although they were not too disappointed as they were both now aware of what their common forms were. They kept this to themselves. The next night, Harry again went first and was able to actually manage to stand up for a bit in his raptor form. Hermione managed her first transformation turning into a large housecat. She was actually able to sit up in her feline form on her first try, but was unable to hold her new form much longer before she transformed back into her now naked self causing Harry to close his eyes and blush furiously and Clarice to laugh at her brother predicament. Harry was told he'd better get used to it. Clarice succeed in her first transformation the following night. She was also a bird, but in her case she was a raven. Like Harry, she too had problems coordinating her movements. The three realized it would be weeks before they would be comfortable in their new bodies.
WENDESDAY, JUNE 21st 1989 - POTTER HOUSE, LONDON, U.K.
A small group gathered in the parlor. Some knew why they were there, others did not. What they all knew was that Harry, Hermione and Clarice had been working for months on something in the Hall of Records and said they were finished. Neville and Luna had been helping, but really did not say much about what they had been up to all this time. Gathered in the room were: Robert and Rose Granger, Jasmine and Xenophilus Lovegood and their daughter Luna, Augusta Longbottom had her son Neville, Sirius Black and his fiancé Sophie, Remus Lupin and Minerva McGonagall. They were all surprised to see a housecat sitting on a chair and no sign of the three children.
Suddenly, two birds flew into the room. One was a small eagle and the other a raven. The birds landed on two other chairs. The Grangers had gotten used to odd things happening in this magical world and did not think much of the small menagerie gathered in the Parlor. The others, however knew this was unusual. As a group, the three animals transformed into the three missing children.
"Cool!" Neville said. "You going to teach that?"
"You'll start learning this summer," Hermione said.
"Wicked!"
"You're animagi?" Minerva asked.
"Yep!" Harry said. "We began lessons last term of the summer and spent the year doing the necessary exercises. We first transformed in April."
"And we haven't seen this until now?" Sirius asked.
"The method we used takes a while," Hermione said. "Even after we first transformed it took weeks before we could - er - be our animals. Had to learn to walk …"
"And fly," Harry said.
"Speak for yourself, but yeah."
"Why'd it take so long," Neville asked.
"It's very advanced magic," Minerva said. "Takes a while."
"Not that long," Sirius said. "Only took James and I about one term."
"You are?"
Sirius turned into a large black dog and back again. "It's how I remained sane in Azkaban. Dementors don't pick on mangy old mutts. The fleas, on the other hand, were not so particular."
"Actually," Harry said, "the reasons it took us so long was because we are young. Might have only taken a term if we were teens. Also, we used the wandless method: no spells or potions. Meditation and a few rituals was all it took. We've been told it's a lot safer than the other way."
"We did have a few incidents," Sirius admitted.
"We?" McGongall asked.
"James, Peter and I," Sirius said. "We learned that werewolves don't attack animals so we became animagi in order to be with our friend when he had his monthly issues."
"So we now have four unregistered animagi living here?"
"Registered?" Robert Granger asked.
"The Ministry of Magic requires all who learn that skill to register. I am." McGonagall added changing into a cat and back again. "They are concerned that the skill might be abused."
"What a load of rubbish," Sirius said. "What they are concerned about is the compulsive need to control everything and everyone. It's not like you can steal anything. It takes time just to learn how to transform with your clothes on, even longer for you to keep your wand or money pouch."
"Be that as it may, the children should…"
"No," Hermione said. "We don't have to!"
"I beg your pardon?"
"The law only requires registration if a person becomes an animagus after they turn eleven. I looked it up."
"Apparently," Clarice said, "the law is also about controlling what people can learn. Since most all British Animagi train with wand based techniques, and since they cannot use a wand until they start school, registration tells the Ministry who's not sticking with the approved course materials."
"I take it," Robert interrupted, "that we're not here just 'cause a few of our number can change into birds, cats and a dog."
"Thanks Daddy," Hermione said. "We had another project this year, one which Luna and Neville helped us with."
"We were trying to find out who the Founders' Heirs are," Neville said. "I swear learning magic is easier."
"That's why you were off to London so often?" Augusta asked.
Neville nodded.
"And did you find out?"
Neville nodded again.
"All four?"
Neville nodded.
"And I assume Voldemort is one."
"Actually," Hermione said, "we were looking mainly into magical heirs. Voldemort is not one."
"B-but he said…"
"He's the legal heir," Harry added. "Long story."
"Which I assumed you'll share with us?"
Harry nodded. "The closest living witch is the magical heir of a witch just as the closest living wizard is the magical heir of a wizard."
Augusta nodded.
"Legal heir is different. That is either the oldest child or someone named in a Will."
"We'll begin with Clarice," Hermione said. "She did the main work on the Huffelpuff line."
"But that line died out ages ago," Augusta Longbottom said. "There are no known descendants."
"Don't be so sure," Clarice said. "There were several senior lines that died out, but one line survives to the present and since the magical heir is the closest living witch descendant of the witch, so long as one line survived, there can be an heir.
"We believe Helga Huffelpuff was married or otherwise espoused to a Muggle named Eriks, the Earl of Westmarch. Can't tell you if he was a vassal of the Anglo-Saxon King or the Danish King as at that time the midlands were under the Danelaw. Helga had a daughter named Magda born around 928. For the next several generations, each daughter had a daughter from Magda through Circe, Pamona, Agnes, Sybil, Minerva and Edith.
"Edith was born in 1082 and married Edmund Longbottom in 1099. Yes, this is one of Neville's direct ancestors. They only had sons, so this started the First Dormancy of the Magical heir of Huffelpuff. The line traces from William Longbottom, son of Edith and Edmund, through Edward, Edmund and Richard. Richard and his wife had a daughter Martha born in 1211, who became the next magical heir.
"Again, from Martha we have another long line of witches. Martha's daughter was Samantha, born in 1229 and then there was Agatha, Constance, Charity, Edwina, Tamara, Joan, Enid and Amanda, who was born in 1431. Amanda married Adrian Potter, and yes again, this is one of Harry's direct ancestors. They had sons and no daughters, so the Potter line is the Second Dormancy and runs from their son Robert, through John, Daniel and David.
"David had a daughter Rebecca born in 1556. She would be the next heir and had a daughter as well, Elizabeth who was followed by Justine, Felicity and finally Penelope, born in 1658. She married Cato Lovegood and the Lovegood line would produce nothing but sons for generations until Luna was born in 1980."
"And who were the Lovegoods?"
"Let's see," Clarice said looking at her notes. "Most were only children. "Cato and Penelope's boy was Augustus. Then there was Justinian, Alcediades, Hector, Achilles, Fabian, Tiberius, Hadrian, Septimius, Adrian, Plato and Luna's dad."
"Why didn't we know this?" Mr. Lovegood asked.
"Several senior lines died out," Clarice said. "If they kept going for enough generations, the surviving junior lines might forget their heritage. Circe, born in 959, was Helga's granddaughter and the youngest of three sisters. Her sister Helga's line would last another fifteen generations before it completely died out and Enid's line twelve. Thus, to trace the magic heir, you had to follow Helga's line from her daughter Morgana, born in 972 all the way through Colleen, born in 1331, who was the last of that line. Then you had to follow Helga and Circe's sister's line from Ginevra, born in 980 through Albert Cassius, born in 1209, then back to Circe and her descendants. And there were other junior lines. Sybil born in 1032 had an older sister who had children and descendants. Charity, born in 1314 had two older sisters who each had descendants. Joan, born in 1378 had an older sister. Justine, born in 1610 had an older sister whose line did not die out until 1902. It was rather annoying."
"And Luna?"
"She is the only surviving descendant of Helga Huffelpuff. That much is certain."
"So why didn't you-know-who come after my family?" Xeno asked.
"We're pretty sure he had no clue that your daughter was a magical heir," Clarice said. "The magical heirs of Slytherin and Huffelpuff were the hardest of all to sort out and its debatable which was harder. Both had a fair few senior lines die out requiring us to backtrack loads of generations and start again. He did go after Ravenclaw and Gryffindor as those lines were well known back then."
"Indeed," Minerva agreed. "And he almost succeeded."
"Odd," Luna said. "Both sides of my family have been in Ravenclaw forever it seems."
"At least ten to fifteen generations," Clarice replied. But you have had ancestors in all the Hogwarts Houses."
"Even if I am Huffelpuff's Heir," Luna replied, "I kind of want to be in my parents' House."
"Which leads to Hermione's project," Harry said.
"I followed the Ravenclaw line," Hermione said. "Now if you've read Hogwarts: A History, you would think that the Founders were not married to one another. Not true. The records show that Rowen Ravenclaw was the wife, or at least a wife of Godric Gryffindor. That pairing produced four children: two were boys and two were girls. For Ravenclaw, we are only concerned about the girls. The oldest was Alice and she did have children, but her line died out within a couple centuries. The youngest daughter was Helena. She married Xerxes Slytherin, a son of Salazar by his second wife Mya. Xerxes is not a Slytherin heir. The line went dormant immediately as the next few generations only produced sons, or at least only the sons had children. There was Eric, Salazar, Fabian, Harold and Edward.
"Edward had a daughter born in 1082. She was the next Heir of Ravenclaw. She was followed by several heirs: Marie, Lavender, Rose, Frederica, Collette, Calpernia, Bertha, Leanne, Andromeda, and finally Sarah. Sarah was born in 1331. She married Raymond Bones who we believe is an ancestor of our friend Susan. They had no daughters and the line went dormant again. We pass down through Raymond and Sarah's son Albert, then Jason, Aaron and Thomas. There were other younger daughters during the Bones dormancy whose lines continued. Susan, it seems is one of those descendants. There may be others.
"Thomas had the next heir in his daughter Ariel Bones born in 1458. Ariel was followed by other heirs beginning with her daughter Simone and followed by Tabatha, Erica, Gabrielle, Hortence and Macia, born in 1607. Marcia married Edgar Potter who was yes another of Harry's great-great-something great grandfathers. After Edgar, the line when dormant again. It passed through James, Oliver, Horace and William Potter before the next Ravenclaw heir was born.
"She was Marta, born in 1732 and there's been a Ravenclaw Heiress ever since. After Marta there was Anne, Jessica, Suzanne, Constance, Roberta and then Minerva born in 1905."
"Not Minerva McGonagall," Xeno said.
Minerva nodded. "I was the oldest child in my family. Aside from my youngest brother and his family and my Great Granddaughter, Voldemort saw to it that my sister and all my other relatives and children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were killed."
"And who is your great-granddaughter?" Jasmine asked.
"That would be Hermione here," Minerva said.
"But … but the Grangers and not…"
"We adopted Hermione when she was a baby," Rose said.
Minerva nodded. "My daughter Miranda's youngest daughter Erin was Hermione's mother. She was sixteen when she gave birth, so Hermione was set for adoption."
"They're not magical," Jasmine said.
"I know," McGonagall replied. "I've known all along. I was the one who set up the adoption."
"Why?"
"I've known Rose for years and years. Ever since she was a little girl. She was a good friend of one of my grandnieces. I wanted Hermione in a good home with good people and magic was not a factor. In fact, I wanted her to grow up non-magical."
"Why?"
"She can live and blend into both worlds. Should the dark times return, that is a useful talent.
"Another reason why I chose Robert and Rose is because we could remain a part of Hermione's life. Alas, Death Eaters killed my bonnie Erin and her new husband Hermione's father Eric Puckle about the time of Hermione's second birthday. Had that not happened, Erin and David would still be a part of their daughter's life."
"And she's not the last?"
"No. For a long time I thought she was. But my younger brother brought his family out of England before the times were darkest. His descendants live in distant lands and I am leaving this week to spend the summer holidays visiting them."
"I thought you said you were going to be a Minder at school for a couple of terms again," Hermione said.
"I am. It's only a week of the summer. And I intend to visit with my great-grandnieces and nephews during that time - they're in Hermione's year at school," McGonagall said for the others, "but the rest of my summer Holiday will be visiting my other long lost relations."
"Two founders heirs," Jasmine mused. "Both about the same age and goof friends. If the other two are alive and the same age…"
"What?" Sirius asked.
"Hogwarts is owned by the magical heirs," Jasmine said. "All of them. If the four heirs should reunite within its walls in friendship and if they claim their birthright, Hogwarts will be turned over to them for so long as they and their heirs remain true to each other. The Board of Governors exists as the school's legal caretakers. But they cannot deny the rightful owners."
"It's not just Hogwarts," Minerva said. "Everything within a thirty mile radius of the Founder's Tower belongs to the heirs should they find it, or so the legend goes. That would include Hogsmeade, the Black Lake, all of it."
"Whoa," Harry said under his breath.
"Well, that's not going to happen," Augusta said. "Everyone knows Voldemort is the heir of Slytherin."
"And what proof is there?" Harry asked.
"Excuse me?"
"Aside from his work, what proof is there that he is Slytherin'e magical heir?"
"He's a parslemouth," Augusta said.
"So am I," Harry said. "So is my sister Clarice."
"You're what?" Sirius asked as others in the room paled.
"That's dark magic," Sophie added.
"Only 'cause here in Britain people think so," Hermione said. "In India, the Americas, Africa, Australia and South East Asia where they have loads of deadly snakes, snake speakers are revered. They rid the villages and fields of the danger. It is a rare gift, usually passed down through generations, but it is not dark. Most magic is grey at worst. What makes it dark is the magician, not the magic."
"How do you know this?" Remus asked.
"It's in books - books that are apparently banned here," Hermione said.
"No, how do you know they can talk to snakes?"
"Our first few weeks third year in Magical Zoology we were tested to see if we had innate animal skills," Harry said. "Clarice and I could talk to snakes."
"And do you have any such skills," Rose asked her daughter.
"Cats. I really seem to have a gift with cats," Hermione said. "All kinds, apparently."
"That explains Puss In Boots," Remus chuckled.
"What?"
"You're animagus has brown fur but its white from the elbows and knees down," Remus said. "I give you a choice, Young Marauder, your Marauder name can be either the brave Puss In Boots or Socks."
"Ergh! Can't I choose another name?"
"No," Sirius said. "Marauders names are chosen by the others, not the victim. Do you honestly think I liked Padfoot at first?"
"Well I'm not going to be Socks!"
"Puss In Boots it is then," Remus smiled. "Do I have a second, Padfoot?"
"Second!"
"Motion carries!"
"Do we get names?" Harry asked.
"Talon," Sirius said pointing to Harry, "Raven," he added indicating Clarice.
"Why Raven?" Clarice and Remus asked.
"Collector of Shiny Objects is too long," Sirius chuckled. "It's what Ravens do," he explained.
"Road Kill Eater isn't terribly flattering either," Robert added.
"So do I have a second?"
"Second!" Remus said.
"Motion carries. Welcome Puss In Boots, Talon and Raven!"
"What about the other heirs?" Jasmine asked.
"Right then," Harry said. "Let's now look at the pain in the neck line of Salazar Slytherin. First off, Slytherin is not and cannot be what Hogwarts: A History says he was."
"Why not?" Minerva asked.
"Cause he was a Muggleborn. First of his line. That book says he was a pureblood bigot which was why he left the school. Maybe he left because the others were, or maybe it was something else altogether, but he was a Muggleborn and we saw the records for his House. For several generation it was all Muggleborns and Halfbloods. So I doubt he was opposed to teaching magic to Muggleborns. That trend ended when one of the last Slytherin descendants became Headmaster around 1330. That guy was a Pureblood bigot.
"Anyway, Salazar had two sons. His youngest, Xerxes, married Helga Huffelpuff's daughter. His oldest was named after his best friend: Godric.
"Now, when Godric's grandson Edgar was at Hogwarts, he had a child with a witch at school. It was a boy named Constantine. But Edgar never married the mother, so the legal heir of Salazar Slytherin was his first son by marriage, Constantine's half brother Harrod. Voldemort is descended from Harrod, not Constantine. But magic follows first borns, even if they are born out of wedlock. The magical heir of Slytherin is descended from Constantine. Thus we go from Constantine, to his son Eric, to Leif an Rubeus. While Rubeus had a son, that son never had children. But he did have a daughter Helen, born 1111 who had a daughter.
"The line went dormant for generations. Daughter after daughter was born from Helen through Pamala, Lily, Horence, Ellen, Mary until Angela.
"Angela married Philo Peverell in 1272. With that marriage, the legal heir of Slytherin and magical heir were briefly reunited, for Philo was the legal heir of Slytherin. His grandfather Octavian married Aphrodite Slytherin, the last of that name. She was an only child and the direct heir of Harrod Slytherin, her six time great-grandfather. (Harrod, Alexander, Frederick, Charles, John, Edgar, Severus, Salazar then Aphrodite.) So, Darius Paverell son of Angela and Philo, born 1282 was the last legal and magical heir of Slytherin.
"Now it gets weird," Harry said. "Darius had three sons. His oldest, Antioch, was killed in a tavern having never had a child. Cadmus became the legal heir on his older brother's death. But Cadmus was either a Squib or had his magic stripped from him for some reason. While he remained the legal heir, magic follows magic. Squibs cannot be magical heirs. True, if the remaining son's line died out and if Cadmus descendants regained their magic - and they did - the Cadmus line would be the line of both heirs. Everyone thought Igonotus died off. He disappeared. But he did not die and his line survived. So the magical heir passed to the youngest: Ignotus.
"I hate Ignotus. He had eight kids: five sons, three daughter. They all had generations of magical children. The line from his oldest son Eldred went on for twenty generations dying out in 1523. His next oldest son's line - Icarus line - died out in 1612. His next oldest son's nine, the Percival Line died out in 1730. The Ricon line died out in 1496. The Albus line died out in 1775. His oldest daughter Martha's line died out - thankfully - in 1510. Up and down, up and down, up and down … it was bloody annoying!
"Ignotus Peverell's daughter Darcy was born in 1336. When the Albus Line died out in 1775, the magical heir of Slytherin shifted to one of her descendants. I know this for two reasons. First, because hers became the surviving line and second because in 1775, according to the Potter Family Journal, Michael Potter, my direct ancestor then age 17 suddenly discovered he could talk to snakes. The kid seems a bit creepy as he liked snakes and kept several for years before then, but had never been able to talk to them."
"What makes you sure that means anything?" Remus asked.
"Parselltongue is passed down by magic," Hermione answered. "Male magic, to be precise. While the daughter of a Parseltongue father can talk to snakes and while her son can, her daughters cannot nor can any of their children. Not unless a child becomes the magical heir of the ancestor snake speaker.
"I'll explain with examples," Harry said. "The legal heirs of Slytherin never went dormant long enough to lose that ability. The legal heirs of Slytherin ran from Salazar through eleven generations of sons, ending with a daughter Aphrodite born in 1204. She married Octavian Peverell. The Peverell line ran for another seven generations of sons - through Cadmus - until the birth of Elaine Peverell in 1407. She married Proctor Haskell. Their sons ran for another ten generations until the birth of Deborah in 1583. She married Edgar Weasley. The male Weasley line ran from their son for a total of four generations to Marcia Weasley born in 1712. She married Tamon Gaunt. The Gaunt male line - by this time destitute - ran seven generations through the birth of Merope Guant in 1908. She gave birth to Tom Riddle in 1925 - Lord Voldemort and the legal Heir of Salazar Slytherin. Each of those lines from Slytherin through Riddle were all parseltongues.
"Now, back to Ignotus Peverell. He became the magical heir because his older brother was not magical. By that time he had disappeared such that while ordinarily Cadmus would have been disowned by his father he was not. Hence the interesting break. With Darcy, the magical line went dormant. From Ignotus's daughter Darcy, the magical line then passed through Renee, Teresa, Jasmine, Eunice until Mary was born in 1457. She married Robert Potter, my direct ancestor. When the magical line passed back to my other direct ancestor in 1775, well … that makes me the magical heir of Slytherin."
"But it is well known that the Potters are the heirs of Gryffindor," Augusta said.
"Indeed we are and have been since the 14th Century," Harry said. "While the Gryffindor name survived for many centuries, by then the magical and legal heirs had different names. Godric's oldest son's line lost the name early. From Godric's son Alfred, the name survived through Edward, Edmund, Harold and another Godric. That Godric had no son's. His daughter Olga married Horace Longbottom. And yes, that Longbottom is related to Neville. He was the younger brother of Neville's direct ancestor. The Longbottom line became the Black line when Alice Longbottom married William Black and they had a son Stephen in 1127. The Black line became the Potter line upon the birth of Sebastian Potter, son of Damian Potter and Clarice Black in 1334. The Potter line runs unbroken from then until now and I am the direct descendent of Sebastian Potter. Hence, I am Gryffindor's magical and legal heir."
"Why isn't it known that you're also Slytherin's Heir?" Augusta asked.
"I can only guess," Harry said. "First off, we did not become the magical heir until the previous line died out in the 18th Century. Even then, the only reason to suspect such was because we became Parselmouths. I doubt anyone really looked into that as there is a prejudice regarding that ability and the Potters were always Light oriented. Having Dark abilities probably was not something they either wanted known or would have developed."
"There's one thing I don't get," Rose Granger said. "I can accept that you can prove you're magical heirs. What I don't get is how this Parsel thing passed down. You said that it is a male trait passed from a father to his children and that his daughter can pass it to his grandson, but not to his granddaughters, right?"
Harry nodded.
"Yet the magical Slytherin line went dormant twice! Generations of nothing but daughters. How would the trait pass down?"
"The daughters are not magical heirs of a wizard, Mum," Hermione said. "They are place holders, for lack of a better word, until the next magical heir is born. That heir reawakens the old family magic within the bloodline and assumes the inherent magic of his ancestors if that magic has faded. Thus, once the next magical heir was born, he would have the ancient family magical traits, including the long absent parseltounge."
"In addition to the Hall of Record," Harry added, "we also consulted the Potter library here in this house. Neat thing really. Any book in the possession of the family can be brought here just by asking. Apparently, Potter Manor has a huge library including the family chronicles. Each Lord Potter was a chronicler of his times and we have source material dating back to well before the founding of Hogwarts. That's why I suspect the stories most people today believe about Salazar Slytherin are a bunch of rubbish, because the Potter Chronicles written when he was alive paint a very different picture of the man.
"Anyway, the Chronicles of Michael Potter - the first Potter to speak to snakes - talk about discovering this new ability and his speculation and research into how he could achieve as a late teen a talent one was supposed to be born with. He wrote of the books he consulted in his research - all of which are in the Potter libraries - and we basically followed that research as well. We agree with my ancestor that what had happened was he had become a magical heir with the death of the previously dominant line. Since our research into the family corroborates this conclusion, I am confident that I am the magical heir of Slytherin."
"This is all well and good," Augusta said, "but so what? Of what importance is this information now?"
"The sooner you are aware of a threat, the better equipped you can be to deal with it," Harry replied.
"Excuse me?"
"The last War," Minerva said looking at Harry. Harry nodded. "During the last War Voldemort spent an inordinate amount of his time and resources tracking down and killing anyone who might be or might one day lead to a Founders' Heir," Minerva continued. "The Potter line, with the exception of Harry and Clarice, was wiped out."
"Not entirely true," Harry said, "but Sirius told us that Voldmort followed Pureblood custom. Relations more distant than Third Cousins were not considered family. That's the wizard law. Magic looks much further back. Still, Clarice and I had two Grand Aunts. They were the older sisters of Charles Potter, our Grandfather. They had children and grandchildren, all of whom were killed. Our next closest cousin is - well Neville."
"Neville?" Augusta asked.
"Richard Potter," Neville said. "He was the son of Michael Potter, the first Potter parselmouth. He married Amelia Longbottom, the older sister of Lord Angus Longbottom. Thus, she is my six times Great-Aunt and her husband is my six times Great-Uncle. Harry and I are distant cousins."
"And if Clarice and I were to fail to have children," Harry finished, "Neville would be the next magical heir of Gryffindor and Slytherin."
"Three of the four lines are in a precarious state," McGonagall said. "Huffelpuff and Slytherin have the advantage of not being common knowledge. But as Slytherin is tied to Gryffindor and has been for over two hundred years, it is vulnerable."
"Why does this matter?" Rose Granger asked.
"So long as the four lines survive, Hogwarts cannot be taken by force," Minerva replied. "It can be attacked, but it will not fall. So long as Hogwarts is not taken by force, the Dark can be defeated. It has been that way for a thousand years. Huffelpuff is down to one heir - Luna - and one place holder - Xeno. Gryffindor is down to one heir - Harry, a place holder in Clarice, and one distant line in Neville. All to easy for a future Dark Lord to take over magically. Only Ravenclaw is relatively safe, but we only learned that last year. My brother Ben's family moved abroad and while Hermione is the heir, the line would survive so long as one of my brother's descendants lives. Still, the magic that Hogwarts exerts over this land requires that the heirs are physically living within the British Isles."
"A war is coming," Luna said in a dreamy voice. "The dark forces thought to be defeated will rise again. A war is coming. It is years away, but it is coming and cannot be stopped."
"When?" Jasmine asked.
"Six to ten years," Luna replied.
"Is she a Seer?" Augusta asked.
"Not exactly," Jasmine replied. "That is a more wooly talent. Like all daughters in my family, we can see the trends of history yet to come in a general sense, not specific. And I have seen this War too. And it has the potential to make the last War seem like a minor dispute."
"And can you see the result?" Augusta asked.
"I have seen this coming war since the last one ended," Jasmine said. "As recently as last spring, I saw nothing but death and destruction in the end - the end of everything and everyone. Something changed. That end is no longer certain. It is still possible, but no longer certain."
"What changed?" Xeno asked.
"I don't know," Jasmine replied. "Something did."
"The Founders' Tower," Harry, Hermione, Clarice and McGonagall said in unison.
"You know of the Tower?" McGonagall asked.
"Sensei mentioned it," Clarice said.
"And it was in the Potter Chronicles more than once," Harry added. "Whenever times were darkest, the writer bemoaned the fact that the tower was lost since Huffelpuff was lost."
"The legend states," Hermione continued, "that should the magical heirs reunite in fellowship, re-enter the Valley of the Hogs and reclaim their birthright, they shall find the Tower. It shall be a beacon of light in the darkness, a symbol of hope when all appears lost and a bastion of strength when beset by enemies. From such tower, good shall gather and shall have the ability to defeat evil whenever and wherever it should arise."
"And what does that mean?" Rose asked.
"It means," Harry said, "that despite the fact that in three summers time when we are expected to get our first Hogwarts letters we - the five of us - will have learned more in Japan that we could ever learn at Hogwarts, we will have to go to reclaim what is ours and prepare for the coming war. We will be safe there and can help those in need of help there. The enemy cannot win so long as Hogwarts and the Tower stand and are untied under the Founders' Lines."
"So this war is won?" Rose asked.
"No," Harry said. "It just is not lost. It seems there is hope."
McGonagall huffed. "Dumbledore's a fool," she said.
"How so?" Sirius asked.
"He believes he is the reason Hogwarts is safe. The real reason is these three children - the heirs who by living keep it safe.