Chapter 4 - The Chamber of Unity
So that Christmas she spent back in London, attending her father's funeral and seeing to the family estate. Most of their things were gone by the time Gwen, Teddy and Alexander got there, magicked away by the Malfoys no doubt. The little that was left they sold or packed to take with them back to Hogwarts. Gwen felt herself moving as if in a dream, having to comfort Alexander and Teddy so much that she was able to suppress her own feelings.
When school resumed, Gwen was prepared to bury herself in her work once more. But her friends kept her from doing so. She got back to school two days early and got everything set back up. It was Vicky who reminded her that she was supposed to start taking classes with the fifth years; it was a good thing too because Gwen had forgotten in all the commotion.
The first class on the first day back was Transfiguration. Gwen walked in as nervous as she had been on her first day at Hogwarts. Although she knew the professors now, she hadn't really gotten to know her peers, although she'd heard about them. Ron, Hermione and especially Harry had gained an almost mystical reputation among the younger students.
She got there early and sat down in the first seat by the door. A few minutes later Vicky and Emmeris arrived and, although they normally sat in the back, joined her at the front of the room. It took a while for the rest of the class to trickle in. Lavander Brown and Parvati Patil arrived giggling and took seats in the middle. Hermione, Ron and Harry arrived, talking loudly. Hermione took the seat next to Vicky, and Ron and Harry moved to the back. Neville Longbottom was the last to arrive, dashing in breathless moments before Professor McGonagall herself entered.
"Welcome back students," she said crisply. "I trust you all had an enjoyable vacation, but it's school now, so let's get back to work. You only have a few months until you take your O.W.L.s." And she was off, lecturing swiftly about advanced Transfiguration. Gwen leaned forward. This was fascinating.
And so Gwen pulled herself out of her gloom with the help of schoolwork and her friends. The work was of course very challenging, requiring hours of work, but Vicky and Emmeris insisted that she have a little fun too. Emmeris took her to see Vicky and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team play. They went to Hogsmeade, and Vicky took them back to the house where her family lived during the summer to get a spare broom for Gwen to borrow. They taught her how to fly and to play Quidditch. But most importantly, they were there for her. Gwen had never before had real friends. The kids at school thought that she was weird, and her parents' wizarding friends' children scorned her because of her apparent lack of magic. But Emmeris and Vicky were true friends, willing to help her with anything.
Which is how they got into their quest during the second semester. They'd only been back a few days when Gwen showed them the passage in "Hogwarts, A History." Vicky owned the book, and she'd never seen it before.
"Weird," Emmeris commented. "I wonder why it's only in this edition?"
Vicky shrugged. "Who knows?" She quickly scanned the passage. "Hmmm. This sounds interesting. You know, Slytherin's wand sounds like yours Gwen."
Gwen leaned forward excited. She hadn't told them her suspicions, wanting them to form their own conclusions. "Really?"
"Sounds too similar to be a coincidence," Emmeris commented. "Didn't you say your mother was a Malfoy?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, the Malfoys are a very old wizarding family. They've been Slytherins since the beginning of time. They were probably very loyal to old Salazar too, so it makes sense that the wand was passed on through their family."
"But what about the other families?" Vicky asked. "I mean, I can't think of any specific families that might hold the other items."
"What about your family Vicky?" Gwen asked.
"Maybe," Vicky said after long deliberation. "My family does have a long history of Gryffindors. What about you Emmeris?"
He shrugged. "My family's had plenty in Gryffindor, but a lot in Ravenclaw, not to mention the people like my older brother who didn't even attend Hogwarts. Besides, I can think of plenty of other families with long Gryffindor traditions, like the Potters and the Weasleys."
"I guess it doesn't matter," Gwen said. "After all, the school is just fine now."
"You're probably right," Vicky said.
"Yeah, I guess so," Emmeris said. "Still," she added, "It might be fun to keep investigating it."
"I guess," Gwen said. "I mean, I won't have that much schoolwork now that I don't have to try to catch up with you guys as much."
Vicky and Emmeris stared at her. "You really are a mutant," Emmeris said.
*****
So it turned out that the second semester wasn't going to be all that normal for Gwen Haberdash. She and her friends spent their time in the library, pouring over books, trying to find any other mention of the Chamber of Unity.
"This is hopeless!" Gwen exclaimed one afternoon. "We've been at this for weeks, and we still haven't found anything. What we need is a map of the school or a diary of the founders or something!"
"Harry Potter has a map of the school," Emmeris said. "I overheard him and Ron talking about it."
"Oh, you mean the Marauders' Map?" Vicky asked. "I've heard about it. Fred and George showed it to me a couple of years ago when I went to visit Charlie over the summer." She paused for a moment and cocked her head, thinking.
"You look like a dog when you do that," Emmeris told her.
"Shut up," Vicky said, hitting him. "That might work. Do you think he'll give it to you?"
"Probably not," Emmeris admitted. "Harry and I aren't that close."
"We could steal it," Gwen suggested.
"You sound like a Slytherin," Emmeris told her, and Gwen blushed.
"I mean we could just borrow it. We'd give it back."
"I don't think that's necessary," Vicky said. "My dad has lots of maps and junk in his office. We could go there."
"Are you sure he won't mind?" Emmeris asked.
"He probably will. That's why we'll have to sneak in," Vicky said. "But I know how without getting caught. Every day, precisely at 4:00, he goes down to my mom's office and has tea with her. It'll be the perfect time."
"You know," Emmeris commented, "you girls are more corrupted than anyone would suspect."
"So are you in?" Gwen asked.
"Of course."
*****
So that was how, the next day at 4:02, they walked as casually as possible up to Professor Dumbledore's office. Emmeris said that if they snuck around and acted like they were up to something, people would suspect.
Once they were in, Gwen looked around in wonder as Vicky moved confidently around, rummaging through drawers. The room was full of all sorts of interesting things, old books, old pictures, a phoenix banging on his cage and staring at them ("Oh that's Fawkes, just ignore him," Vicky told them.), and boxes full of stuff.
They searched quickly for several minutes before finding the object of the query. It lay on a large podium, under glass, which had been covered with a variety of books, papers and pictures (including pictures of Vicky and her sisters as babies, which Vicky took, muttering about burning and blackmail). The map was very detailed, showing every room Gwen knew about, and even some that she didn't. It showed secret passages, trick steps, and hidden doorways. There was writing on the bottom, and Gwen twisted her head so she could read it.
Godric Gryffindor
Helga Hufflepuff
Rowena Ravenclaw
Salazar Slytherin
- Founders Extraordinare
Each name was written in a different color, corresponding with the houses' colors. The last two words were written with a dramatic flourish in silver.
Vicky meanwhile was carefully searching the map for any sign of the Chamber of Secrets. If that was marked, the Chamber of Unity would probably be marked too. She found the right bathroom that led to it, but there were no marks indicating a secret chamber. She pulled out her wand and began tapping it, muttering spells to reveal anything hidden. The only thing she managed to reveal was a secret passage between the offices for the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw heads of house. Vicky glanced up to see if her friends had found anything caught sight of Gwen's wand.
"Hey Gwen," she said. "Try tapping the map right about here." Vicky pointed to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Gwen tapped it asking, "Should I say a spell or somethng?"
As soon as her cystal wand touched the parchment there, ink bloomed, finally forming the tiny words "Chamber of Secrets, Parseltongue here." A little arrow pointed to the sink.
"Weird," Emmeris commented. He was about to move his wand over the parchment when they heard a voice behind them.
"Well, well, well, I see that you've found our map."
They three kids spun around and stared behind them, seeing four ghosts. From the way they were dressed and the way they'd talked, Vicky assumed that they were the founders.
"Who are you?" Emmeris asked.
"Why Emmeris, don't you know? We're the founders," one of the men said.
"Your Gryffindors get dumber every year," one of the women said quietly to him.
"Rowena . . ." the man, Gryffindor, said warningly. "Don't start any sort of competition here."
Ravenclaw flashed him a smile. "What did I do?"
"Now now Rowena dear," the other woman said, "we must stick to the matter at hand." She floated towards the students and stuck out her right hand. "Let me introduce myself, I'm Helga Hufflepuff, and these are my friends."
"I think they've figured that out Hufflepuff," the other man said, drawling.
"Oh Salazar! I'm just trying to be polite." To the children she added. "That's Salazar Slytherin, that's Rowena Ravenclaw, and that's Godric Gryffindor." She pointed at each one in turn. "We are the founders of Hogwarts."
"I already said that," Gryffindor said.
"I'm just trying to be thorough!" Hufflepuff insisted. "These three children look terribly frightened. *Someone* needs to be friendly."
"Are - are you ghosts?" Vicky asked.
"Sort of," Ravenclaw said, interrupting Hufflepuff. "You see, after we built the school we decided that it needed some very strong protections from the outside world. The best way to do that was to leave little bits of ourselves around to guard it. And we've remained throughout the years."
"So where did you put these bits of yourselves?" Vicky asked. "In the pictures?"
"Only very little bits, you know, to keep an eye on things. No, most of us, most of our essence, we put inside the Chamber of Unity. We know that you're looking for it."
"And you should keep looking for it. Stick to it," Hufflepuff interrupted. "I for one am glad that the time has come. It's been so long, and I fear that the spells are decaying without our weapons . . ."
"Time for what?" Gwen asked.
". . . Although I don't have one. I wonder why not? After all - " Hufflepuff mused, oblivious to Gwen's question.
"Helga, she asked you a question!" Godric said. To Gwen he said kindly, "You need to talk loudly if you want to get her attention when she's rambling like that."
"Um, thanks," Gwen muttered. "Time for what?" she asked again, louder this time.
"Hmmm. Oh, right. Time for you."
"Me?" Gwen asked.
"Well not you specifically. All of you," Slytherin said. "You are the chosen ones."
"The what?" the three of them chorused, looking at each other in confusion.
"The children of destiny," Slytherin continued. "The ones destined to save Hogwarts."
"How are we supposed to do that?" Gwen asked. "We're just students."
"Just students? Ha! Was Tom Riddle just a student when he began studying the Dark Arts? Was Harry Potter just a student when he managed to thwart Lord Voldemort? Hmmmm? Students can do anything, if not more, than what grown people can do." Gryffindor said.
"According to the prophesy," Ravenclaw said, "three students, all strong in magic, will arrive at Hogwarts unusually, will find our weapons and will return them to the Chamber of Unity, restoring Hogwarts' protective spells."
"But why us?" Vicky asked.
Slytherin gave them a you're-so-stupid look. "Because you are our heirs, of course!"
"You're heirs!" Emmeris asked. "What do you mean?"
Slytherin sighed, hating to explain things. "Each one of you three represents each one of our ideal students. Well, except Hufflepuff's ideal student. You are our figurative descendents."
To the other ghosts he said, "I see that *my* student is the only one who has already gotten the item."
"Who's your student?" Emmeris asked, but Gwen already knew the answer.
"Me," she said quietly.
"Exactly," Slytherin said. "You are Gryffindor's student, and Vicky is Ravenclaw's."
"So why were we all put in Gryffindor? Shouldn't we be in those houses?" Vicky asked.
"We debated over that long and hard," Ravenclaw told her. "We knew that you should all be in the same house, or else you would never learn to work together. We couldn't put you in Hufflepuff, because you just wouldn't fit. Only Gwen fits in Slytherin, but the other students, her cousin in particular, would have tried to stop her from fulfilling her destiny. And all three of you fit better into Gryffindor than Ravenclaw, although I still think you should have been put in there." Ravenclaw glared at Gryffindor. "But Godric insisted on it being his house."
"But the sorting hat put us in Gryffindor, not you," Gwen protested.
"My dear girl," Hufflepuff said, "how do you think the sorting hat know which house to put the students in? We tell it of course."
Vicky frowned, thinking hard. "But how can I be Ravenclaw's heir. My family, both sides, has a long tradition of being in Gryffindor."
"That doesn't matter," Ravenclaw explained. "The important thing is who you are, not who your family is. And you are a Ravenclaw, bright and dedicated."
"Why do we even need to find the items?" Gwen asked. "Hogwarts is fine."
"No it isn't," Slytherin said sharply. "It's divided, the students and the spells. If someone or something even averagely powerful were to attack Hogwarts, the school would crumble. Everything would break up even more than it is right now. And we are not going to have our lives' work be destroyed because the students could work well together."
"The spells follow the students' hearts," Hufflepuff explained. "When the school is unified, the spells become unified as well. But when the school is divided, the spells become divided. Finding the artifacts are returning them to the chamber can force the spells to become unified, making the students follow."
"So where are these items?" Emmeris asked. "And how do we find them?"
"Gwen already has mine," Slytherin said. "And Hufflepuff's scales never left the chamber. They're still waiting patiently for the rest, always loyal."
"My sword," Gryffindor said, "is hidden in the castle, just like Rowena's orb."
"We can't tell you where it is," Ravenclaw added, "because that is part of this test. We just wanted to clear some things up for you and to tell you to keep searching for the items."
The ghosts began to fade out.
"Remember . . ." Gryffindor said faintly.
". . . never . . ." Hufflepuff added.
". . . give . . ." Ravenclaw whispered.
". . . up . . ." Slytherin breathed, right before they all faded out.
*****
After seeing the founders and hearing what they had to say, Gwen, Emmeris and Vicky redoubled their efforts. Their schoolwork began to slip, no longer did Vicky do her homework early, or Gwen work ahead, or Emmeris get straight A's. They had something more important to worry about.
They'd taken the map out of Dumbledore's office right before he returned, and he hadn't noticed yet. Or if he had noticed, he hadn't said anything. Every night until late and every free second of every day they pored over it, running their wands across it, whispering spells and looking through Professor McGonagall's collection of crystals. And still there was nothing.
They were running out of time. In only a few months they would be taking their O.W.L.s.
"This is hopeless!" Emmeris exclaimed. "All we ever find is that stupid passageway connecting Gryffindor and Ravenclaw."
Vicky stared at the parchment. "I know! You'd think -- wait a sec! Maybe that's where they hid their items."
"I don't know. Are you sure?"
"Sort of. And anyway, it's the only lead we have."
*****
So the trio snuck into Professor McGonagall's office one morning during Spring Break, when everyone else was at breakfast. Their stomachs grumbled in complaint, but they ignored them.
Vicky and Emmeris went over every inch of that room before finally finding the entrance. A small golden lion was etched just to the right of the fireplace. Emmeris stared at it, and taped it with his wand.
"Open up," he said, in mock gravity.
So no one was more surprised than he was when the lion nodded. The tiny gold jaws opened wider and wider until the trio stood facing a large opening, large enough for them to crawl through.
"Cool," Emmeris whispered. Without hesitation he jumped head first in. Vicky and Gwen looked at each other.
"We should follow him," Vicky said.
"Yeah, we should."
"Ready?"
"Ready."
"On three," Vicky counted. "1 . . . 2 . . ." She jumped in feet first after him, yelling "3!"
Gwen took a deep breath and plunged in after them.
*****
Gwen found herself and the others in a large, barren chamber. Right above her stretched the tunnel back up to Professor McGonagall's office. The other two were standing, examining the barren chamber for clues.
"Found anything yet?" Gwen asked, standing up and dusting herself off.
"Not yet," Vicky replied. "This room is completely empty, with no ways in or out besides the one we fell through."
"But there has to be something," she insisted. "Try using your wands," she urged them. "You are the heirs of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw."
So Vicky and Emmeris went over every inch of the chamber, tapping it with their wands, while Gwen stood by impatiently. Finally, Emmeris scrawled "Gryffindor" in the packed dirt walls. Instantly a door formed out of the wall. When the trio opened it, they found a long passageway.
"I wonder why my wand didn't work when I did that," Vicky mused.
"Probably because this is the Gryffindor end of the chamber," Gwen said. "It didn't work for me either."
They cautiously made their way down the passage, keeping an eye out for possible traps and threats. With surprising ease, they were able to walk halfway down the hall, to where it opened up into a large round chamber. On one side was a red chest, on the other side there was a blue chest. Emmeris approached the red chest, and Vicky approached the blue.
Emmeris hestitantly reached out to touch it. Vicky, seeing him, followed suite. They stood like that, frozen in place, for several minutes. Gwen had no idea the mental turmoil they went through during that time.
*****
Emmeris found himself in a dark tunnel. All he had with him was his wand. Immediately he lit the tip of his wand with a spell, enabling him to see in the darkness. Unfortunately, the light did nothing to pierce the deepening gloom around him. All he could see was a set of rules pinned to the walls. It was a test of his courage. At the end of the passageway he would find the red chest, with Gryffindor's Sword of Light tucked inside. But to get it, Emmeris would have to cross the tunnel while beasts and monsters attacked him. "Better get this over with," he thought, running into the mist.
Vicky stood at the edge of a wide chasm. In the middle of the canyon stood a small platform. On it stood the blue chest. The air between the land and the platform was full of colored blocks. The blocks were constantly moving and flashing. Nearby there was a pole with rules printed on them. "It's a game," Vicky thought grimly. "A puzzle." Well that was fine. Vicky was good at puzzles.
Emmeris surged through, stopping only with his wand. Emmeris had extinguished the light spell, so he could use it for other spells, but this left him entirely in the dark. Unknown shapes flew, slithered and ran at him. Emmeris fought them, and cast spells to disable them, all while resisting all impulse to run away. If he took just one step backwards, he would never get the sword.
Vicky quickly memorized the rules. She could only stand on certain blocks, and for certain lengths of time. She used her wand to scratch marks in the ground to figure out how fast it would take her to walk and to jump across the blocks. This wasn't a time for drastic action; it was a time for careful planning. Then she levitated herself and watched the blocks move. Vicky knew that there was a pattern; there had to be. If she could discover the pattern, she could get that orb.
Emmeris plunged on, past the dangerous creatures - chimera, hydra, werewolves, and more. Finally he had reached the end. He could see the red chest, and the sight of it filled him with hope. But between him and the chest was his worst nightmare. A towering figure, constantly changing shape, dark and powerful, stood between Emmeris and his prize. Emmeris gripped his wand tighter. "You can do it," he told himself, "you're a Gryffindor, and Gryffindors are brave."
Vicky finally spotted the pattern. She knew where to step and when. She floated down to the beginning, a block in the far corner, from which she could trace a complete path to the chest. For several moments she stood frozen with fear and indecision. She'd only get one chance at this. But her confidence in her mind prevailed. When the next cycle began, Vicky stepped onto the block.
And then the villian was slain. Emmeris was victorious. He'd never stepped back, never run away. And now he could open the chest. He lifted the heavy lid with ease. With a dreamlike quality he pulled the glowing sword of the chest. It gleamed with power and potential, eager to cut through the dark arts. He blinked, and the vision was over. He'd done it.
And then Vicky made the last hop onto the platform. She'd done it. She'd figured out the pattern, never wavered from her analysis. And now she could open the chest. The lid lifted up with ease. A shining sphere, made of delicate, brilliant blue saphire lay in the chest. Vicky pulled it out and saw mists move within it, eager to form themselves into the answer to whatever question she posed. She blinked, and the vision was over. She'd done it.
*****
"What happened?" Gwen asked eagerly.
"There were monsters --" Emmeris began.
"I had to solve a puzzle --" Vicky started at the same time.
They looked at each other. "It was a challenge, to test us," they chorused.
"Wow," Gwen said. "But come on, we have to go."
Vicky and Emmeris gathered up their items, and the trio walked out of the chamber. When they got back to the room with the hole they'd fallen through, they found a silver rope hanging through the opening. When they climbed out though, no one was there.
Gwen wanted to immediately go to the Chamber of Unity and restore the spells, but Vicky and Emmeris convinced her to wait until the next day. They were tired, emotionally, and had tons of work to do. So they headed back to the Gryffindor common room.
"I don't know about you guys," Emmeris said, "but sure could use a nap."
Vicky yawned. "A nap sounds good to me too."
Gwen just smiled at them. "I'm not tired at all."
"Well you weren't fighting monsters," Emmeris said.
"Or solving puzzles," Vicky added, yawning again.
"I'd better study for my O.W.L.s then," Gwen said.
"Damn overachievers," Emmeris teased, "Making the rest of us look bad."
So Vicky and Emmeris left Gwen studying in the Common Room. If they'd known what would have happened in that one day, they probably would have gone ahead and restored the spells right away.
*****
Gwen studied for a while, but she felt to antsy to sit still and re-read her notes. She wanted to be doing something. They'd been gone for so long that everyone had already finished breakfast, but no one besides the three of them was in Gryffindor. So Gwen decided to get up and see where everyone else was.
It turned out that the entire rest of the school was at the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. The match was quite heated, especially because it would determine who would be playing Gryffindor in the final match. Gwen ran into Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"You can sit over here with us," Hermione offered. Gratefully, Gwen sat down. She wanted some company and excitement, and the Quidditch match provided both. It was something she'd missed that year, with all the studying and searching for the Chamber of Unity. Gwen regreted not getting to know her peers that year.
So she, Ron, Harry and Hermione cheered and yelled during the match. They were hoped that Ravenclaw would be playing Gryffindor.
Draco Malfoy wasn't on the team anymore, and he and his gang sauntered over during the match to bother Potter and his gang. But when he saw Gwen, his annoyed face twisted into a different, more passionate emotion. Pure rage.
"Squib!" he spat. "Bitch!"
"Nice to see you too Draco," Gwen said politely. Underneath her robe, her hand grabbed her wand, just in case. She would miss it next year, since she had to set it in the Chamber permanently.
He glared at her with such deep hatred that everyone around her scooted away, fearing Draco's rage. Even Ron, Harry and Hermione looked uncomfortable.
Even so, Harry said, "Back off Draco. We're trying to watch the game."
Gwen returned the glare force for force. That too frightened the students around them. The air seemed to crackle with anger and energy, and everyone knew that it was about to explode. Sure enough, it did.
Draco punched Gwen, hard in the face. She whipped out her wand, but Draco was expecting such an action.
"Expelliarmus!" he shouted with glee. Gwen flew back, and her wand, her -- Slytherin's -- precious crystal wand, flew out of her hand, and into Draco's. He pointed it menacingly at her.
"You -- all year you've disgraced the Malfoy name. Being in Gryffindor! Making friends with that trash!"
Gwen sat up, looking at him, but no longer challenging him. She'd seen him angry -- not this angry before, but almost -- and she knew better than to interrupt his tirade.
Draco held the wand above his head. Neither he nor Gwen noticed, but the Quidditch match had literally stopped. Green light crackled between her and the wand, crawling all over both. Her short auburn hair began to stand on end.
"This is for all that!" he shouted. And then he snapped the wand in half. Green fire poured out of the wand, burning Draco. He yelped and threw the wand to the ground. But Gwen didn't notice this. All of her power was tied in with that wand, and when it broke, so did her magic. She fainted dead away, and without the strength to sit up, she tumbled down the bleachers, her wand close behind.
*****
Gwen stood in a round chamber, the Chamber of Power, with only Salazar Slytherin. Only it wasn't Slytherin the ghost. He was real flesh and blood person, or at least that's how he looked.
"I let you down," Gwen whispered.
"How?" he asked cooly.
"I lost the wand. Draco broke it," she explained meekly.
Slytherin laughed. "Do you think I would have left my wand susceptible to physical harm? Of course not!"
"But I saw it break, at least I think I did."
"Oh, it broke. But as we speak it is healing itself up."
"What happened?" Gwen asked groggily, releaved that the founder wasn't going to yell at her.
"When the wand broke, your magic was released back into your keeping. You no longer need it."
"Oh," Gwen said, releaved. "She sat down on the ground. So is this a dream?"
"A vision," Slytherin said. "In a short time, you will regain consciousness."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"If you don't wake up first," Slytherin responded.
"Why are you so different from how I imagined you? You're so much nicer."
"Remember a few things Gwen. First, you are my heir, so I am concerned with your welfare. Second, the part of me here in this vision is the part in the Chamber of Unity, which also happens to be the part of me that cares very deeply for this school, my life's work. Third, after being dead for so long, some of my views have mellowed a bit. Death leaves so much time to review one's actions in life. Fourth -"
But Gwen never found out what fourth was, because at that moment, everything faded out, and when she opened her eyes, she was looking at the ceiling in the hospital wing. She felt different, more powerful, more magical.
"Hey, you're up," Emmeris said. "We were worried about you."
"What happened?" Vicky asked.
"I spoke with Slytherin. My wand's fine, isn't it?"
"Well, yes. It's the strangest thing. Everyone at the Quidditch game saw Draco break it, but now it's as if it repaired itself." Vicky said.
"Did Slytherin tell you that?" Emmeris asked. Gwen nodded. "What else did he tell you?"
"He said that my magic isn't tied to the wand anymore," Gwen said.
"Well that's good," Emmeris said.
"Hey, this summer we cam buy you a new one at Diagon Alley," Vicky suggested.
Gwen smiled. "That'd be nice. I'd like it. Thanks."
"No problem," Emmeris said. "What are friends for?"
*****
Apparently friends were also for sneaking each other out of the hospital wing, because that's what the trio did that night. They all had a strong feeling that they needed to reopen the Chamber of Unity soon.
It wasn't hard to find. At the back of the stage in the Great Hall there was the entrance. Vicky asked the sphere. She could ask it any question and it would answer instantly. Sometimes with pictures, but most often with words. The trio raised their wands and declared "United we stand," to open the door.
The Chamber was circular, with a golden circle floating in the air, cut at four points by four marble pedestals, each of which had a colored chest in which to rest the objects.
Once inside they saw Hufflepuff's Scales of Justice in the yellow chest. They were black, made of ebony. The two scales were more like fish scales than like weighing scales. When they held them, they got a vague sense of the truth. Obviously the feeling would be stronger for the Heir of Hufflepuff, whoever that would be.
The three moved to their respective pedestals. Carefully and respectfully, Emmeris placed his sword in the red chest, and Vicky placed her orb in the blue chest. Gwen sadly replaced her wand. She would miss it; it had gotten her through her entire first year at Hogwarts.
Then they sealed up the chests. The instant they did that, the circle began to glow, radiating warmth and security. The trio didn't know how, but they knew that the castle was safe once more.
*****
After that, the rest of the year passed quickly and uneventfully. Gwen found a new wand mysteriously waiting for her when she returned to her room, so she was able to take her O.W.L.s and do quite well on them.
*****
Right before they left, as they were the last to leave Gryffindor, the ghosts reappeared.
"Congratulations!" Hufflepuff exclaimed. "You did it!"
"I knew they would Helga," Slytherin said. "You should have too."
"Why doesn't Hufflepuff have an heir?" Gwen asked.
"Well, because I don't need one. My item never left the chamber. Also, the loyalty and fairness characteristic of my students is in each on of you. And --"
"All right Helga," Ravenclaw interrupted. "They get the point." She smiled. "Congratulations children. You did it."
"Well, I guess there's no more reason for you all to be in my house," Gryffindor said.
"What?!" the trio exclaimed.
"You were only all in Gryffindor because you needed a place to become friends. But now that you are friends, and you have restored the chamber, we'll put you in the houses you were meant for."
"So I get to stay in Gryffindor?" Emmeris asked.
"And I go to Ravenclaw?" Vicky asked nervous about her parents' impending surprise.
"And I go to Slytherin," Gwen groaned. She couldn't stand the thought of sharing a house with her ratlike cousin.
"Yes," Gryffindor said.
"It'll be all right guys," Emmeris said. "After all, we'll still have each other."
"Yeah, I guess it won't be so bad," Vicky said.
"I just hope Draco doesn't kill me," Gwen said.
"You'll be fine. We'll help you," Vicky assured her.
"We can do anything together," Emmeris said.
"Yup," Vicky said.
Gwen's mouth turned up at the corner in a small smile. "You're right."
The three of them turned and marched down the stairs, ready to face anything.
So that Christmas she spent back in London, attending her father's funeral and seeing to the family estate. Most of their things were gone by the time Gwen, Teddy and Alexander got there, magicked away by the Malfoys no doubt. The little that was left they sold or packed to take with them back to Hogwarts. Gwen felt herself moving as if in a dream, having to comfort Alexander and Teddy so much that she was able to suppress her own feelings.
When school resumed, Gwen was prepared to bury herself in her work once more. But her friends kept her from doing so. She got back to school two days early and got everything set back up. It was Vicky who reminded her that she was supposed to start taking classes with the fifth years; it was a good thing too because Gwen had forgotten in all the commotion.
The first class on the first day back was Transfiguration. Gwen walked in as nervous as she had been on her first day at Hogwarts. Although she knew the professors now, she hadn't really gotten to know her peers, although she'd heard about them. Ron, Hermione and especially Harry had gained an almost mystical reputation among the younger students.
She got there early and sat down in the first seat by the door. A few minutes later Vicky and Emmeris arrived and, although they normally sat in the back, joined her at the front of the room. It took a while for the rest of the class to trickle in. Lavander Brown and Parvati Patil arrived giggling and took seats in the middle. Hermione, Ron and Harry arrived, talking loudly. Hermione took the seat next to Vicky, and Ron and Harry moved to the back. Neville Longbottom was the last to arrive, dashing in breathless moments before Professor McGonagall herself entered.
"Welcome back students," she said crisply. "I trust you all had an enjoyable vacation, but it's school now, so let's get back to work. You only have a few months until you take your O.W.L.s." And she was off, lecturing swiftly about advanced Transfiguration. Gwen leaned forward. This was fascinating.
And so Gwen pulled herself out of her gloom with the help of schoolwork and her friends. The work was of course very challenging, requiring hours of work, but Vicky and Emmeris insisted that she have a little fun too. Emmeris took her to see Vicky and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team play. They went to Hogsmeade, and Vicky took them back to the house where her family lived during the summer to get a spare broom for Gwen to borrow. They taught her how to fly and to play Quidditch. But most importantly, they were there for her. Gwen had never before had real friends. The kids at school thought that she was weird, and her parents' wizarding friends' children scorned her because of her apparent lack of magic. But Emmeris and Vicky were true friends, willing to help her with anything.
Which is how they got into their quest during the second semester. They'd only been back a few days when Gwen showed them the passage in "Hogwarts, A History." Vicky owned the book, and she'd never seen it before.
"Weird," Emmeris commented. "I wonder why it's only in this edition?"
Vicky shrugged. "Who knows?" She quickly scanned the passage. "Hmmm. This sounds interesting. You know, Slytherin's wand sounds like yours Gwen."
Gwen leaned forward excited. She hadn't told them her suspicions, wanting them to form their own conclusions. "Really?"
"Sounds too similar to be a coincidence," Emmeris commented. "Didn't you say your mother was a Malfoy?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, the Malfoys are a very old wizarding family. They've been Slytherins since the beginning of time. They were probably very loyal to old Salazar too, so it makes sense that the wand was passed on through their family."
"But what about the other families?" Vicky asked. "I mean, I can't think of any specific families that might hold the other items."
"What about your family Vicky?" Gwen asked.
"Maybe," Vicky said after long deliberation. "My family does have a long history of Gryffindors. What about you Emmeris?"
He shrugged. "My family's had plenty in Gryffindor, but a lot in Ravenclaw, not to mention the people like my older brother who didn't even attend Hogwarts. Besides, I can think of plenty of other families with long Gryffindor traditions, like the Potters and the Weasleys."
"I guess it doesn't matter," Gwen said. "After all, the school is just fine now."
"You're probably right," Vicky said.
"Yeah, I guess so," Emmeris said. "Still," she added, "It might be fun to keep investigating it."
"I guess," Gwen said. "I mean, I won't have that much schoolwork now that I don't have to try to catch up with you guys as much."
Vicky and Emmeris stared at her. "You really are a mutant," Emmeris said.
*****
So it turned out that the second semester wasn't going to be all that normal for Gwen Haberdash. She and her friends spent their time in the library, pouring over books, trying to find any other mention of the Chamber of Unity.
"This is hopeless!" Gwen exclaimed one afternoon. "We've been at this for weeks, and we still haven't found anything. What we need is a map of the school or a diary of the founders or something!"
"Harry Potter has a map of the school," Emmeris said. "I overheard him and Ron talking about it."
"Oh, you mean the Marauders' Map?" Vicky asked. "I've heard about it. Fred and George showed it to me a couple of years ago when I went to visit Charlie over the summer." She paused for a moment and cocked her head, thinking.
"You look like a dog when you do that," Emmeris told her.
"Shut up," Vicky said, hitting him. "That might work. Do you think he'll give it to you?"
"Probably not," Emmeris admitted. "Harry and I aren't that close."
"We could steal it," Gwen suggested.
"You sound like a Slytherin," Emmeris told her, and Gwen blushed.
"I mean we could just borrow it. We'd give it back."
"I don't think that's necessary," Vicky said. "My dad has lots of maps and junk in his office. We could go there."
"Are you sure he won't mind?" Emmeris asked.
"He probably will. That's why we'll have to sneak in," Vicky said. "But I know how without getting caught. Every day, precisely at 4:00, he goes down to my mom's office and has tea with her. It'll be the perfect time."
"You know," Emmeris commented, "you girls are more corrupted than anyone would suspect."
"So are you in?" Gwen asked.
"Of course."
*****
So that was how, the next day at 4:02, they walked as casually as possible up to Professor Dumbledore's office. Emmeris said that if they snuck around and acted like they were up to something, people would suspect.
Once they were in, Gwen looked around in wonder as Vicky moved confidently around, rummaging through drawers. The room was full of all sorts of interesting things, old books, old pictures, a phoenix banging on his cage and staring at them ("Oh that's Fawkes, just ignore him," Vicky told them.), and boxes full of stuff.
They searched quickly for several minutes before finding the object of the query. It lay on a large podium, under glass, which had been covered with a variety of books, papers and pictures (including pictures of Vicky and her sisters as babies, which Vicky took, muttering about burning and blackmail). The map was very detailed, showing every room Gwen knew about, and even some that she didn't. It showed secret passages, trick steps, and hidden doorways. There was writing on the bottom, and Gwen twisted her head so she could read it.
Godric Gryffindor
Helga Hufflepuff
Rowena Ravenclaw
Salazar Slytherin
- Founders Extraordinare
Each name was written in a different color, corresponding with the houses' colors. The last two words were written with a dramatic flourish in silver.
Vicky meanwhile was carefully searching the map for any sign of the Chamber of Secrets. If that was marked, the Chamber of Unity would probably be marked too. She found the right bathroom that led to it, but there were no marks indicating a secret chamber. She pulled out her wand and began tapping it, muttering spells to reveal anything hidden. The only thing she managed to reveal was a secret passage between the offices for the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw heads of house. Vicky glanced up to see if her friends had found anything caught sight of Gwen's wand.
"Hey Gwen," she said. "Try tapping the map right about here." Vicky pointed to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Gwen tapped it asking, "Should I say a spell or somethng?"
As soon as her cystal wand touched the parchment there, ink bloomed, finally forming the tiny words "Chamber of Secrets, Parseltongue here." A little arrow pointed to the sink.
"Weird," Emmeris commented. He was about to move his wand over the parchment when they heard a voice behind them.
"Well, well, well, I see that you've found our map."
They three kids spun around and stared behind them, seeing four ghosts. From the way they were dressed and the way they'd talked, Vicky assumed that they were the founders.
"Who are you?" Emmeris asked.
"Why Emmeris, don't you know? We're the founders," one of the men said.
"Your Gryffindors get dumber every year," one of the women said quietly to him.
"Rowena . . ." the man, Gryffindor, said warningly. "Don't start any sort of competition here."
Ravenclaw flashed him a smile. "What did I do?"
"Now now Rowena dear," the other woman said, "we must stick to the matter at hand." She floated towards the students and stuck out her right hand. "Let me introduce myself, I'm Helga Hufflepuff, and these are my friends."
"I think they've figured that out Hufflepuff," the other man said, drawling.
"Oh Salazar! I'm just trying to be polite." To the children she added. "That's Salazar Slytherin, that's Rowena Ravenclaw, and that's Godric Gryffindor." She pointed at each one in turn. "We are the founders of Hogwarts."
"I already said that," Gryffindor said.
"I'm just trying to be thorough!" Hufflepuff insisted. "These three children look terribly frightened. *Someone* needs to be friendly."
"Are - are you ghosts?" Vicky asked.
"Sort of," Ravenclaw said, interrupting Hufflepuff. "You see, after we built the school we decided that it needed some very strong protections from the outside world. The best way to do that was to leave little bits of ourselves around to guard it. And we've remained throughout the years."
"So where did you put these bits of yourselves?" Vicky asked. "In the pictures?"
"Only very little bits, you know, to keep an eye on things. No, most of us, most of our essence, we put inside the Chamber of Unity. We know that you're looking for it."
"And you should keep looking for it. Stick to it," Hufflepuff interrupted. "I for one am glad that the time has come. It's been so long, and I fear that the spells are decaying without our weapons . . ."
"Time for what?" Gwen asked.
". . . Although I don't have one. I wonder why not? After all - " Hufflepuff mused, oblivious to Gwen's question.
"Helga, she asked you a question!" Godric said. To Gwen he said kindly, "You need to talk loudly if you want to get her attention when she's rambling like that."
"Um, thanks," Gwen muttered. "Time for what?" she asked again, louder this time.
"Hmmm. Oh, right. Time for you."
"Me?" Gwen asked.
"Well not you specifically. All of you," Slytherin said. "You are the chosen ones."
"The what?" the three of them chorused, looking at each other in confusion.
"The children of destiny," Slytherin continued. "The ones destined to save Hogwarts."
"How are we supposed to do that?" Gwen asked. "We're just students."
"Just students? Ha! Was Tom Riddle just a student when he began studying the Dark Arts? Was Harry Potter just a student when he managed to thwart Lord Voldemort? Hmmmm? Students can do anything, if not more, than what grown people can do." Gryffindor said.
"According to the prophesy," Ravenclaw said, "three students, all strong in magic, will arrive at Hogwarts unusually, will find our weapons and will return them to the Chamber of Unity, restoring Hogwarts' protective spells."
"But why us?" Vicky asked.
Slytherin gave them a you're-so-stupid look. "Because you are our heirs, of course!"
"You're heirs!" Emmeris asked. "What do you mean?"
Slytherin sighed, hating to explain things. "Each one of you three represents each one of our ideal students. Well, except Hufflepuff's ideal student. You are our figurative descendents."
To the other ghosts he said, "I see that *my* student is the only one who has already gotten the item."
"Who's your student?" Emmeris asked, but Gwen already knew the answer.
"Me," she said quietly.
"Exactly," Slytherin said. "You are Gryffindor's student, and Vicky is Ravenclaw's."
"So why were we all put in Gryffindor? Shouldn't we be in those houses?" Vicky asked.
"We debated over that long and hard," Ravenclaw told her. "We knew that you should all be in the same house, or else you would never learn to work together. We couldn't put you in Hufflepuff, because you just wouldn't fit. Only Gwen fits in Slytherin, but the other students, her cousin in particular, would have tried to stop her from fulfilling her destiny. And all three of you fit better into Gryffindor than Ravenclaw, although I still think you should have been put in there." Ravenclaw glared at Gryffindor. "But Godric insisted on it being his house."
"But the sorting hat put us in Gryffindor, not you," Gwen protested.
"My dear girl," Hufflepuff said, "how do you think the sorting hat know which house to put the students in? We tell it of course."
Vicky frowned, thinking hard. "But how can I be Ravenclaw's heir. My family, both sides, has a long tradition of being in Gryffindor."
"That doesn't matter," Ravenclaw explained. "The important thing is who you are, not who your family is. And you are a Ravenclaw, bright and dedicated."
"Why do we even need to find the items?" Gwen asked. "Hogwarts is fine."
"No it isn't," Slytherin said sharply. "It's divided, the students and the spells. If someone or something even averagely powerful were to attack Hogwarts, the school would crumble. Everything would break up even more than it is right now. And we are not going to have our lives' work be destroyed because the students could work well together."
"The spells follow the students' hearts," Hufflepuff explained. "When the school is unified, the spells become unified as well. But when the school is divided, the spells become divided. Finding the artifacts are returning them to the chamber can force the spells to become unified, making the students follow."
"So where are these items?" Emmeris asked. "And how do we find them?"
"Gwen already has mine," Slytherin said. "And Hufflepuff's scales never left the chamber. They're still waiting patiently for the rest, always loyal."
"My sword," Gryffindor said, "is hidden in the castle, just like Rowena's orb."
"We can't tell you where it is," Ravenclaw added, "because that is part of this test. We just wanted to clear some things up for you and to tell you to keep searching for the items."
The ghosts began to fade out.
"Remember . . ." Gryffindor said faintly.
". . . never . . ." Hufflepuff added.
". . . give . . ." Ravenclaw whispered.
". . . up . . ." Slytherin breathed, right before they all faded out.
*****
After seeing the founders and hearing what they had to say, Gwen, Emmeris and Vicky redoubled their efforts. Their schoolwork began to slip, no longer did Vicky do her homework early, or Gwen work ahead, or Emmeris get straight A's. They had something more important to worry about.
They'd taken the map out of Dumbledore's office right before he returned, and he hadn't noticed yet. Or if he had noticed, he hadn't said anything. Every night until late and every free second of every day they pored over it, running their wands across it, whispering spells and looking through Professor McGonagall's collection of crystals. And still there was nothing.
They were running out of time. In only a few months they would be taking their O.W.L.s.
"This is hopeless!" Emmeris exclaimed. "All we ever find is that stupid passageway connecting Gryffindor and Ravenclaw."
Vicky stared at the parchment. "I know! You'd think -- wait a sec! Maybe that's where they hid their items."
"I don't know. Are you sure?"
"Sort of. And anyway, it's the only lead we have."
*****
So the trio snuck into Professor McGonagall's office one morning during Spring Break, when everyone else was at breakfast. Their stomachs grumbled in complaint, but they ignored them.
Vicky and Emmeris went over every inch of that room before finally finding the entrance. A small golden lion was etched just to the right of the fireplace. Emmeris stared at it, and taped it with his wand.
"Open up," he said, in mock gravity.
So no one was more surprised than he was when the lion nodded. The tiny gold jaws opened wider and wider until the trio stood facing a large opening, large enough for them to crawl through.
"Cool," Emmeris whispered. Without hesitation he jumped head first in. Vicky and Gwen looked at each other.
"We should follow him," Vicky said.
"Yeah, we should."
"Ready?"
"Ready."
"On three," Vicky counted. "1 . . . 2 . . ." She jumped in feet first after him, yelling "3!"
Gwen took a deep breath and plunged in after them.
*****
Gwen found herself and the others in a large, barren chamber. Right above her stretched the tunnel back up to Professor McGonagall's office. The other two were standing, examining the barren chamber for clues.
"Found anything yet?" Gwen asked, standing up and dusting herself off.
"Not yet," Vicky replied. "This room is completely empty, with no ways in or out besides the one we fell through."
"But there has to be something," she insisted. "Try using your wands," she urged them. "You are the heirs of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw."
So Vicky and Emmeris went over every inch of the chamber, tapping it with their wands, while Gwen stood by impatiently. Finally, Emmeris scrawled "Gryffindor" in the packed dirt walls. Instantly a door formed out of the wall. When the trio opened it, they found a long passageway.
"I wonder why my wand didn't work when I did that," Vicky mused.
"Probably because this is the Gryffindor end of the chamber," Gwen said. "It didn't work for me either."
They cautiously made their way down the passage, keeping an eye out for possible traps and threats. With surprising ease, they were able to walk halfway down the hall, to where it opened up into a large round chamber. On one side was a red chest, on the other side there was a blue chest. Emmeris approached the red chest, and Vicky approached the blue.
Emmeris hestitantly reached out to touch it. Vicky, seeing him, followed suite. They stood like that, frozen in place, for several minutes. Gwen had no idea the mental turmoil they went through during that time.
*****
Emmeris found himself in a dark tunnel. All he had with him was his wand. Immediately he lit the tip of his wand with a spell, enabling him to see in the darkness. Unfortunately, the light did nothing to pierce the deepening gloom around him. All he could see was a set of rules pinned to the walls. It was a test of his courage. At the end of the passageway he would find the red chest, with Gryffindor's Sword of Light tucked inside. But to get it, Emmeris would have to cross the tunnel while beasts and monsters attacked him. "Better get this over with," he thought, running into the mist.
Vicky stood at the edge of a wide chasm. In the middle of the canyon stood a small platform. On it stood the blue chest. The air between the land and the platform was full of colored blocks. The blocks were constantly moving and flashing. Nearby there was a pole with rules printed on them. "It's a game," Vicky thought grimly. "A puzzle." Well that was fine. Vicky was good at puzzles.
Emmeris surged through, stopping only with his wand. Emmeris had extinguished the light spell, so he could use it for other spells, but this left him entirely in the dark. Unknown shapes flew, slithered and ran at him. Emmeris fought them, and cast spells to disable them, all while resisting all impulse to run away. If he took just one step backwards, he would never get the sword.
Vicky quickly memorized the rules. She could only stand on certain blocks, and for certain lengths of time. She used her wand to scratch marks in the ground to figure out how fast it would take her to walk and to jump across the blocks. This wasn't a time for drastic action; it was a time for careful planning. Then she levitated herself and watched the blocks move. Vicky knew that there was a pattern; there had to be. If she could discover the pattern, she could get that orb.
Emmeris plunged on, past the dangerous creatures - chimera, hydra, werewolves, and more. Finally he had reached the end. He could see the red chest, and the sight of it filled him with hope. But between him and the chest was his worst nightmare. A towering figure, constantly changing shape, dark and powerful, stood between Emmeris and his prize. Emmeris gripped his wand tighter. "You can do it," he told himself, "you're a Gryffindor, and Gryffindors are brave."
Vicky finally spotted the pattern. She knew where to step and when. She floated down to the beginning, a block in the far corner, from which she could trace a complete path to the chest. For several moments she stood frozen with fear and indecision. She'd only get one chance at this. But her confidence in her mind prevailed. When the next cycle began, Vicky stepped onto the block.
And then the villian was slain. Emmeris was victorious. He'd never stepped back, never run away. And now he could open the chest. He lifted the heavy lid with ease. With a dreamlike quality he pulled the glowing sword of the chest. It gleamed with power and potential, eager to cut through the dark arts. He blinked, and the vision was over. He'd done it.
And then Vicky made the last hop onto the platform. She'd done it. She'd figured out the pattern, never wavered from her analysis. And now she could open the chest. The lid lifted up with ease. A shining sphere, made of delicate, brilliant blue saphire lay in the chest. Vicky pulled it out and saw mists move within it, eager to form themselves into the answer to whatever question she posed. She blinked, and the vision was over. She'd done it.
*****
"What happened?" Gwen asked eagerly.
"There were monsters --" Emmeris began.
"I had to solve a puzzle --" Vicky started at the same time.
They looked at each other. "It was a challenge, to test us," they chorused.
"Wow," Gwen said. "But come on, we have to go."
Vicky and Emmeris gathered up their items, and the trio walked out of the chamber. When they got back to the room with the hole they'd fallen through, they found a silver rope hanging through the opening. When they climbed out though, no one was there.
Gwen wanted to immediately go to the Chamber of Unity and restore the spells, but Vicky and Emmeris convinced her to wait until the next day. They were tired, emotionally, and had tons of work to do. So they headed back to the Gryffindor common room.
"I don't know about you guys," Emmeris said, "but sure could use a nap."
Vicky yawned. "A nap sounds good to me too."
Gwen just smiled at them. "I'm not tired at all."
"Well you weren't fighting monsters," Emmeris said.
"Or solving puzzles," Vicky added, yawning again.
"I'd better study for my O.W.L.s then," Gwen said.
"Damn overachievers," Emmeris teased, "Making the rest of us look bad."
So Vicky and Emmeris left Gwen studying in the Common Room. If they'd known what would have happened in that one day, they probably would have gone ahead and restored the spells right away.
*****
Gwen studied for a while, but she felt to antsy to sit still and re-read her notes. She wanted to be doing something. They'd been gone for so long that everyone had already finished breakfast, but no one besides the three of them was in Gryffindor. So Gwen decided to get up and see where everyone else was.
It turned out that the entire rest of the school was at the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. The match was quite heated, especially because it would determine who would be playing Gryffindor in the final match. Gwen ran into Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"You can sit over here with us," Hermione offered. Gratefully, Gwen sat down. She wanted some company and excitement, and the Quidditch match provided both. It was something she'd missed that year, with all the studying and searching for the Chamber of Unity. Gwen regreted not getting to know her peers that year.
So she, Ron, Harry and Hermione cheered and yelled during the match. They were hoped that Ravenclaw would be playing Gryffindor.
Draco Malfoy wasn't on the team anymore, and he and his gang sauntered over during the match to bother Potter and his gang. But when he saw Gwen, his annoyed face twisted into a different, more passionate emotion. Pure rage.
"Squib!" he spat. "Bitch!"
"Nice to see you too Draco," Gwen said politely. Underneath her robe, her hand grabbed her wand, just in case. She would miss it next year, since she had to set it in the Chamber permanently.
He glared at her with such deep hatred that everyone around her scooted away, fearing Draco's rage. Even Ron, Harry and Hermione looked uncomfortable.
Even so, Harry said, "Back off Draco. We're trying to watch the game."
Gwen returned the glare force for force. That too frightened the students around them. The air seemed to crackle with anger and energy, and everyone knew that it was about to explode. Sure enough, it did.
Draco punched Gwen, hard in the face. She whipped out her wand, but Draco was expecting such an action.
"Expelliarmus!" he shouted with glee. Gwen flew back, and her wand, her -- Slytherin's -- precious crystal wand, flew out of her hand, and into Draco's. He pointed it menacingly at her.
"You -- all year you've disgraced the Malfoy name. Being in Gryffindor! Making friends with that trash!"
Gwen sat up, looking at him, but no longer challenging him. She'd seen him angry -- not this angry before, but almost -- and she knew better than to interrupt his tirade.
Draco held the wand above his head. Neither he nor Gwen noticed, but the Quidditch match had literally stopped. Green light crackled between her and the wand, crawling all over both. Her short auburn hair began to stand on end.
"This is for all that!" he shouted. And then he snapped the wand in half. Green fire poured out of the wand, burning Draco. He yelped and threw the wand to the ground. But Gwen didn't notice this. All of her power was tied in with that wand, and when it broke, so did her magic. She fainted dead away, and without the strength to sit up, she tumbled down the bleachers, her wand close behind.
*****
Gwen stood in a round chamber, the Chamber of Power, with only Salazar Slytherin. Only it wasn't Slytherin the ghost. He was real flesh and blood person, or at least that's how he looked.
"I let you down," Gwen whispered.
"How?" he asked cooly.
"I lost the wand. Draco broke it," she explained meekly.
Slytherin laughed. "Do you think I would have left my wand susceptible to physical harm? Of course not!"
"But I saw it break, at least I think I did."
"Oh, it broke. But as we speak it is healing itself up."
"What happened?" Gwen asked groggily, releaved that the founder wasn't going to yell at her.
"When the wand broke, your magic was released back into your keeping. You no longer need it."
"Oh," Gwen said, releaved. "She sat down on the ground. So is this a dream?"
"A vision," Slytherin said. "In a short time, you will regain consciousness."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"If you don't wake up first," Slytherin responded.
"Why are you so different from how I imagined you? You're so much nicer."
"Remember a few things Gwen. First, you are my heir, so I am concerned with your welfare. Second, the part of me here in this vision is the part in the Chamber of Unity, which also happens to be the part of me that cares very deeply for this school, my life's work. Third, after being dead for so long, some of my views have mellowed a bit. Death leaves so much time to review one's actions in life. Fourth -"
But Gwen never found out what fourth was, because at that moment, everything faded out, and when she opened her eyes, she was looking at the ceiling in the hospital wing. She felt different, more powerful, more magical.
"Hey, you're up," Emmeris said. "We were worried about you."
"What happened?" Vicky asked.
"I spoke with Slytherin. My wand's fine, isn't it?"
"Well, yes. It's the strangest thing. Everyone at the Quidditch game saw Draco break it, but now it's as if it repaired itself." Vicky said.
"Did Slytherin tell you that?" Emmeris asked. Gwen nodded. "What else did he tell you?"
"He said that my magic isn't tied to the wand anymore," Gwen said.
"Well that's good," Emmeris said.
"Hey, this summer we cam buy you a new one at Diagon Alley," Vicky suggested.
Gwen smiled. "That'd be nice. I'd like it. Thanks."
"No problem," Emmeris said. "What are friends for?"
*****
Apparently friends were also for sneaking each other out of the hospital wing, because that's what the trio did that night. They all had a strong feeling that they needed to reopen the Chamber of Unity soon.
It wasn't hard to find. At the back of the stage in the Great Hall there was the entrance. Vicky asked the sphere. She could ask it any question and it would answer instantly. Sometimes with pictures, but most often with words. The trio raised their wands and declared "United we stand," to open the door.
The Chamber was circular, with a golden circle floating in the air, cut at four points by four marble pedestals, each of which had a colored chest in which to rest the objects.
Once inside they saw Hufflepuff's Scales of Justice in the yellow chest. They were black, made of ebony. The two scales were more like fish scales than like weighing scales. When they held them, they got a vague sense of the truth. Obviously the feeling would be stronger for the Heir of Hufflepuff, whoever that would be.
The three moved to their respective pedestals. Carefully and respectfully, Emmeris placed his sword in the red chest, and Vicky placed her orb in the blue chest. Gwen sadly replaced her wand. She would miss it; it had gotten her through her entire first year at Hogwarts.
Then they sealed up the chests. The instant they did that, the circle began to glow, radiating warmth and security. The trio didn't know how, but they knew that the castle was safe once more.
*****
After that, the rest of the year passed quickly and uneventfully. Gwen found a new wand mysteriously waiting for her when she returned to her room, so she was able to take her O.W.L.s and do quite well on them.
*****
Right before they left, as they were the last to leave Gryffindor, the ghosts reappeared.
"Congratulations!" Hufflepuff exclaimed. "You did it!"
"I knew they would Helga," Slytherin said. "You should have too."
"Why doesn't Hufflepuff have an heir?" Gwen asked.
"Well, because I don't need one. My item never left the chamber. Also, the loyalty and fairness characteristic of my students is in each on of you. And --"
"All right Helga," Ravenclaw interrupted. "They get the point." She smiled. "Congratulations children. You did it."
"Well, I guess there's no more reason for you all to be in my house," Gryffindor said.
"What?!" the trio exclaimed.
"You were only all in Gryffindor because you needed a place to become friends. But now that you are friends, and you have restored the chamber, we'll put you in the houses you were meant for."
"So I get to stay in Gryffindor?" Emmeris asked.
"And I go to Ravenclaw?" Vicky asked nervous about her parents' impending surprise.
"And I go to Slytherin," Gwen groaned. She couldn't stand the thought of sharing a house with her ratlike cousin.
"Yes," Gryffindor said.
"It'll be all right guys," Emmeris said. "After all, we'll still have each other."
"Yeah, I guess it won't be so bad," Vicky said.
"I just hope Draco doesn't kill me," Gwen said.
"You'll be fine. We'll help you," Vicky assured her.
"We can do anything together," Emmeris said.
"Yup," Vicky said.
Gwen's mouth turned up at the corner in a small smile. "You're right."
The three of them turned and marched down the stairs, ready to face anything.