'Hm, interesting. Very interesting.' A voice spoke in her head, making Hermione gasp. An enchanted hat, to sort them where they belonged, that could even see their deepest secrets. 'Quick girl. Yes, I can see everything you hide away in that little head of yours. Including what happened to poor Betty Watson,' The name ignited a fire in her and Hermione snarled.

'She deserved it! And if you shame me for it I'll burn you to ash!' She thought at the hat, angered by the reminder.

'I don't shame you, girl. It was quite an impressive feat for an eight year old to accomplish. I applaud your solution. Now, where to put you. Hard-working, yes, and deathly loyal. Brave, yes, out-going– Eh, not so much. Witty and clever, as already proved, and quite resourceful. Cunning, too, and merciless. Yes! That's it, merciless is what you are. Difficult, very difficult. You need to be somewhere to draw you out of your comfort zone, but those two boys have done that for you very well. A troublemaker, hmm? Oh, and powerful. Yes, you'd do well in Gryffindor, but it's not the best option for you,'

'Well, if it can't be helped,' Hermione sighed, disappointed. 'I'd been looking forward to McGonagall,'

'Oh she'll be involved in the shenanigans you three get up to, without a doubt. Three, always three– Someone tries to join you and they're very nearly killed. Hmmm,'

Hermione noticed murmurings of 'hatstall' and wondered how long she sat there.

'Very strict with yourself, and not imaginative. No, you're a firm believer in proof and evidence. Something not often found in the magical world.'

'Wait, what do you mean—'

'Yes, you need someplace to get out of your comfort zone and nurture the intelligent parts of you that were squashed by your parents. And I'd suggest telling those partners of yours the truth about little Betty Watson. Better be–'

"RAVENCLAW!" The hat shouted, and Hermione pulled the hat from her head and set it on the stool, striding to the blue and grey table. Ron and Harry were both slightly disappointed, but nodded in determination.

Since the Ravenclaw table was one of the ones lining the side of the front aisle, Ron discreetly passed her Missy as more first years were called to be sorted. Hermione easily set the young Niffler in her lap, passing her a shiny gold ring Hermione had 'found'.

Her head snapped up when Harry was called and the Great Hall went silent. She noticed Draco Malfoy, at the Slytherin table, pale considerably upon noticing just who Harry Potter was.

'Harry Potter? Yes, I remember your parents and godparents. All Gryffindors– Though young Sirius would've been a perfect Slytherin in Salazar's eyes,' Harry listened intently to the hat, shocked when it started speaking in his head.

'I want to be with Hermione,' Harry thought firmly.

'Oh I know that, but is that where you need to be? Especially with the things you got up to locked in that cupboard of yours— Especially with what happened to that young Piers,' Harry tensed, fear coursing through him.

'You can't speak of that. You keep that to yourself or I'll rip you to pieces,' Harry snarled at the hat.

'Threatening? No surprise. Hmm, loyal to a fault, especially to those you care for. Brave and chivalrous, yes, outgoing– Mmm, yes, but not often. Hard-working, incredibly so, and very determined. Cunning yes and– Oh. That wasn't expected, how cold you are. Interesting. Resourceful and cunning, yes, but not quite ambitious. Witty, clever, intelligent– Yes, yes, yes. Imaginative, quite so, with all the spare time you had growing up. Open-minded as well, that's very important. I suppose you'll get your wish Mister Potter,'

"RAVENCLAW!" The hat shouted once more, shocking most of the staff. Harry smiled at Hermione, who grinned back at him. He looked at McGonagall as he set the hat down. She was visibly disappointed, but sent him a proud smile anyway, making Harry beam before confidently striding toward his friend.

Stangely identical, the two turned and grinned at Ron's brothers in Gryffindor, who gave confused looks in return. Harry and Hermione amused themselves playing with Missy until Ron's name was called.

'Ah, a True Seer. I usually get one each generation, and some predict their own sorting. Have you?'

'Who knows?' Ron thought. 'I've seen the three of us doing amazing things, and other people's actions toward us. But that could remain the same regardless of our house.'

'Hm, you have a point, young Mister Weasley. Now, let's have a look at you. Brave and chivalrous yes, and extremely out-going— Anything to be out of your brothers' shadows. Hard-working– Mm, less so but still good. Loyal, yes, loyal to a fault. Ambitious, yes, extremely ambitious. You've got plans, haven't you?'

'That would be telling, though, wouldn't it?' thought Ron wryly to the voice in his head, grinning slightly. The hat chuckled, eerie sounding to the rest of the Great Hall.

'I suppose that marks you off as witty,' The hat told him. 'Resourceful, yes, quite so. You'd have to be to do what you do, you and those twins. Cunning– well, that's an obvious one, isn't it? Yes, I'd say cunning embodies you for the most part. Hm, very difficult,'

'Than you know I did it because it was an excellent move,' Ron thought, expression grim. 'When I finish this game, I'll be the victor, just like every other game,'

'Pray tell, young Mister Weasley. What game is it of which you speak?' The hat asked, intrigued.

'Life.'

'Clever, quick, witty, and wise. I know just where to put you, and you knew all along I'd put you there,' The hat noted.

'I'd rather earn my place there on my own than because I was pretentious and knew I'd be there. Besides, if I went around telling everyone everything I ever saw, the world would fall into hell, wouldn't it?' Ron smirked.

'You make Lucretia proud, young Mister Weasley. You and your two companions will be quite the interesting legacy to witness. Yes, I'd be a fool to put you anywhere else, then,'

"RAVENCLAW!"

A grinning Ron strode confidently toward his friends, settling on Hermione's right, with Harry on her other side. Missy grinned and wiggled her tail happily, crawling into Ron's lap. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a shocked Percy (who he knew was secretly jealous), and two grinning twins watching him with curious eyes.

When Dumbledore rose to the podium, the trios features cooled, all watching Dumbledore with hate filled eyes. The old man felt their gaze, faltering once he saw which eyes the hate belonged to.

And for the first time in a very long time, his confidence in himself, and his position, wavered.

"You had the longest conversation, Ron. What did the hat say to you?" Hermione asked later, as dinner went on.

Ron simply gave her a sly grin and said "Nothing I didn't already know."

"Gryffindor is in the east tower, and Ravenclaw is in the west one," Hermione whispered to the two boys as they followed the other Ravenclaws up the stairs. "Slytherin's in the southern part of the castle, and Hufflepuff's in the northern part,"

"Reckon they did that on purpose?" Ron raised an eyebrow.

"I've got a feeling that the quartet that was smart enough to enchant a sentient hat, and strong enough to build this castle, never did anything on accident," Harry said dryly. "Like, say, forget to mention that Nifflers aren't on the school pet list,"

"Oh sod off, Harry," Ron grumbled, Missy concealed in his robes. "Have we figured out how we're going to do rooms?"

"We're basing it off whoever's already assigned a roommate. That or we lie and say we're betrothed," Hermione shrugged.

"Lying could work– I've been told I've got a silver tongue," Harry grinned. "But I agree. Let's wait and see about everyone else, and we can go from there,"

"Right, this is the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower," The male prefect said, walking up to the knocker.

The stationary brass knocker suddenly came to life, looking at the prefect with blank eyes. "I see the ocean but no water. Where am I?"

The two prefects froze, and looked at each other. Both shrugged and turned to the first years.

"I honestly haven't got an idea. Matthew?" The female asked her fellow prefect, who shook his head.

"Me either. D'you think you guys can figure it out?" The male prefect, Matthew, asked the group of first years.

"But there's no answer. To see the ocean you'd have to be on the shoreline, or close to it," Hermione frowned.

"Not if you weren't physically looking at the ocean," Another first year, Sue Li, explained. "I can look at a portrait of a man but still only be looking at a portrait, not a man,"

"But you can't get a portrait of the entire ocean, it's too large," Terry Boot said.

"In front of a world map," Harry said to the knocker. The eagle's head smirked slightly before it's eyes closed and it became stationary once more, the door upon which it rested swinging open.

"That was awesome Harry!" Padma Patil exclaimed.

"How'd you figure it out? How'd I not get it?" Hermione frowned. "Thinking now, it was really obvious,"

"The hat told me I was open-minded, and that that would be important," Harry shrugged as the group followed the two prefects into the common room.

It was decorated in shades of blue and tinged in grey, with any metal being a brass color. To the left was an open doorway that led to what looked like a never ending library. There was a large, plush, royal blue couch in front of a fireplace with two plush loveseats in the same shade of blue, and a constellations carpet on the floor. Desks, tables, chairs, books, and scrolls littered the common room, making it messy but lived in.

"The hat was right, Harry Potter," The female prefect grinned. "Open-mindedness is an important Ravenclaw trait, as we must be open to all the answers to our questions. Even if they're answers we don't want to hear,"

"I'm Matthew Li, fifth year male prefect. My younger sister Sue is in with you lot this year," Matthew grinned. "That's Penelope Clearwater, fifth year female prefect. Usually we'll be hanging around the common room, so if you have any questions ask us or the other fifth years,"

"The sixth and seventh years come and go as they please. If you see one passed out in the common room, get a fifth year and we'll get their roommate, because yes, Ravenclaws often don't sleep," Penelope smiled when the first years all laughed.

"We also have a two class period rule for homework," Matthew said, "We Ravenclaws pride ourselves on being intelligent, but when there's so much out there to learn and experience, when do we have the time for homework? The two class period rule means you have to have your homework done at least two class periods before it's due,"

"Trust me, it's a helpful rule once you get into habit," Penelope smiled. "Another thing, everyone in this house is now your family. Siblings, friends, family. We look out for each other. Even if it's someone you've never talked to before, we help each other out. And academic elitism is not tolerated," Penelope's features hardened. "You need to be confident in your abilities, but you don't need to prove to everyone that you're smart. Never take a learning opportunity away from someone just because you need the whole world to think you're the brightest. The only person you have anything to prove to is yourself. Everyone learns and does things at different paces, so comparing yourself is pointless,"

"Bullying, as well, is not tolerated," Matthew crossed his arms. "Never give in to peer pressure, and if a Ravenclaw is harming a fellow Ravenclaw in any way, you get us, or any other Ravenclaw prefect. We will correspond with Professor Flitwick,"

"Speaking of our Head of House," Penelope smiled once more, "He's very involved with his house. Usually the first week or two back in school, he'll schedule one-on-one meetings with every student in his house to make sure they're okay, and that they were safe over break,"

"Now, to the fun part; Roommates," Matthew grinned. "How many of you have betrothal contracts already with someone in your year, or the year above or below?"

Every Ravenclaw besides the trio raised their hands. Penelope nodded. "Right, Professor Flitwick will correspond to the other Heads of House, and you'll all be situated within the next few hours,"

"Since we're not in a contract but we're best friends, can the three of us room together?" Ron asked, looking at the two prefects.

Matthew and Penelope exchanged looks and then shrugged. "I don't see why not, considering it wouldn't be fair to have Miss Granger here room alone," Matthew smiled. "You three get first pick, then, since the others have to wait for their roommates. Once you pick your room, your luggage and other things will appear immediately,"

"One more thing before we separate," Penelope added, "The never ending bookshelf over there? It's filled with past Ravenclaw's favorite books, books written by past Ravenclaws, or books that past Ravenclaws found helpful with their classes. This library is always open for everyone, and you don't need to ask permission for access, you can come and go as you please. The further in you go, the older the books get. There are also comfy chairs and desks littered throughout the library. That's everything, right Matthew?"

"I believe so, Pen," Matthew grinned. "Fly away little eagles!"

"That joke is bad every year, good Merlin," Penelope rolled her eyes, dragging the boy off as Sue groaned in embarrassment.

"Which room should we pick?" Ron asked, the trio walking up the stairs and down the hallway, inspecting each of the doors before them. "The room will expand magically to fit all of us,"

"This one," Harry said, squinting. The room appeared normal, with three four poster beds with sheer royal blue curtains, three desks, and an bathroom suitable for three. Hermione and Ron entered the room with their friend. After all three of them were inside, the door slammed shut and a cold wind filled the room.

A shimmering grey image appeared before them before forming into a young woman.

"It's the Grey Lady, Helena Ravenclaw!" Hermione whispered, shocked.

"No one has chosen this room in three hundred years," Helena's voice echoed through the room. "You three are special. I will unlock this room to you, if you keep away from evil,"

"Evil is relative. How can we promise that to you?" Hermione answered immediately, and the Grey Lady smiled.

"A wise answer," As her disembodied voice faded, so did her figure. And the room began to change.

The three beds and desks stayed in the room, but another door was added, inside which was a circular room with multiple passages, and a map of the school directly across from the entrance.

"Salazar's Chamber? Helga's Room? Godric's Armoury? Rowena's Library?" Harry read off. "Hermione, were any of these passages and rooms in that Hogwarts book you read?"

"None," Hermione blinked. "Well, Salazar's Chamber could refer to the fabled Chamber of Secrets. It was a chamber Salazar Slytherin made as a last resort in case of attack. Supposedly he's got a creature in there dedicated to protecting Hogwarts should the need arise, though some say his personal chambers and study were there. But it could only be opened by a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself, or so I've read,"

"Then each of the four founders made a hidden place in the castle for themself," Harry said. "These passages connect to all the passages in Hogwarts, which will be good for getting places quickly," Harry pointed to the four to the left of the map. "And these four lead to the hidden rooms,"

"This will probably be helpful," Ron raised an eyebrow. "Harry, did Remus mention if these rooms were on the Map?"

"Of course you know about it?" Harry muttered as Hermione asked, "What map?"

Harry continued. "The Chamber of Secrets, no, because they couldn't find it's entrance. They also couldn't find this tunnel way, but they do have the other three rooms. Helga's is the Room of Requirement, Rowena's is the Hidden Library, and Godric's is the Hogwarts Battle Stations. Guess there was a reason this place was known as the safest place on Earth,"

"The next seven years are going to be hell for anyone we don't like," Hermione grinned, clapping her hands together excitedly. "I can't wait! Not to mention we've got access to Ravenclaw Library, the Hogwarts Restricted Section, Salazar's Study, the Hidden Library, and more than likely Godric and Helga's personal studies as well,"

"This should be fun," Ron grinned, before the three began unpacking.

o - o - o

"They're different, aren't they?" The tall female asked, staring at the three curiously.

"They're not like the last boy, if that's what you mean. They've formed a Life Bond," The golden haired male said. "How they did it so young, I can only wonder,"

"I'd rather not," The shorter female sighed, "The pain they've gone through,"

"But the power they hold," The brown haired male shook his head. "They're like us. But their affinities are stronger,"

"Threes, threes, threes. Always in threes," The tall female murmured. "I worry, I worry– What if something goes wrong?"

"Trust in them, love," The golden haired man crooned as he and the two others comfortingly surrounded her. "They will not fail,"

"They can bring back what we left behind," The other woman sighed, "But yes– Always in threes. The Earth, the Sea, and the Sky,"

"The Mind, the Body, and the Soul,"

"The Three Fates,"

"The Elder Wand, The Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility," The four watched as the children went to sleep.

"Is it wrong that I hope these ones survive?" The brown haired male murmured before they all faded.

o - o - o

In his office, Dumbledore stared at the letter with a slight frown. He'd never suspected Sirius would get out, or that Remus would be able to carry cubs after being in a dire situation for so long. Now, Lord and Consort Black were the guardians of one Harry Potter, the magical guardian of one Hermione Granger, and quite possibly about to take one Ron Weasley away from his family.

"Threes, threes, threes," Dumbledore murmured to himself. "Me, Tom, and now this," The headmaster set the letter on his desk and sat back in his chair, hands folded. "I wonder what they'll accomplish," He mused.

As it were, good and evil is relative. Is Dumbledore good? Is Voldemort evil? Are they both not fighting to make their world a better place?

If Dumbledore is good, and Voldemort is evil, then what is neutral?