CHAPTER FOUR: THE HEIR OF RAVENCLAW
~~~
Parvati stood in front of the entrance to the secret passage while Neville went to find a lantern. It didn't take him long, and when he returned (with Dean Thomas's lantern - he made Parvati promise not to tell him and that it would be back before Dean knew it was gone), the two of them stole back into the dark tunnel. The light illuminated their path well enough for them to find the door again with little difficulty.
Upon reaching the door, the two of them noticed something carved into the wood. Neville held the lantern up while Parvati leaned in toward the door for a closer look. "It looks like a griffin," she said. "Body of a lion, head of an eagle."
"What does that mean?"
Parvati snorted. "You're asking the wrong person. Maybe if we could figure out how to open this door... but there's no handle, and magic doesn't seem to work in here."
"Maybe it slides, like the fireplace," Neville suggested.
She hadn't even thought of that. She placed her hands on the door and pushed to the side as hard as she could. The door swung open with almost no effort, and since there was no longer any resistance, Parvati's momentum caused her to fall forward onto the floor.
"Are you all right?" Neville asked, dropping to his knees beside her.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, and stood up, giving her robes a shake to straighten them out.
Neville stood, too, and held the lantern up high, casting its soft light all over the small room. Two ancient-looking chairs were in a corner, and on one wall was a bookcase. Parvati walked over to the bookcase and looked over its contents. "I've seen some of these titles before," she said, "in the History of Magic classroom. Binns never let anyone touch them because they were so old; over seven hundred years.
"Weird," said Neville, and joined her at the bookcase. Do you think this is some kind of storage room?"
"In a secret passage behind the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room? I don't think so."
Neville spotted a wooden box lying on one of the shelves, and decided to pick it up. He shook it. Something rattled inside. It sounded like paper.
"What's that?" Parvati asked.
He opened the box. A stack of papers was tied together with some string. He picked up the papers and looked at them closely. "They're letters," he realized. "Really old letters."
"Who wrote them, and who are they to?"
"Let's find out." He untied the string and removed the top letter from the pile. He then set the lantern on a shelf, and they began to read.
My dearest love,
It was so good to hear from you. I hope that all is going well at Hogwarts. There is nothing I desire more than to return and look upon you again, my dearest Rowena, and when Kedelor is no longer a threat, nothing will hold me back. Tell Helga and Daniel not to worry. It won't be much longer.
We lost four more today. Some have started to lose hope, but most remain strong. They told me that I have inspired them to believe that we will triumph over my enemy, but it is you from where their motivation truly comes, for it is the thought of being with you, my cherished wife, that keeps your faithful husband believing there is something in this world still worth saving. Believe, my beloved Rowena, and nothing can stop us; no villain, no force of man or nature, not even death.
I remain yours forever,
Godric
When Neville reached the end of the letter, he was so surprised that he almost dropped it. "Parvati," he choked, "this letter has to be from Godric Gryffindor. Who else could it be?"
"And this Rowena lady must have been his wife," Parvati assumed. Then, she gasped. "Neville, do you think it was Rowena Ravenclaw?"
He put the letters back in the box and stuffed the entire thing into his pocket. He then grabbed the lantern and said, "We have to show these to Dumbledore. The history of Hogwarts is never going to be the same."
~~~
It was late by the time Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts. On the way to his chambers, he passed by the Transfiguration classroom, and was surprised to see Minerva McGonagall sitting behind her desk, going over some papers. Minerva had always been something of a workaholic, but even she knew the importance of getting sleep. He poked his head into the room and said, "Good night, Minerva."
Minerva looked startled for a moment, but relaxed when she saw that it was him. "Hello, Albus," she said. "What did you and Flamel discover?"
"Twelve uses of dragon's blood," he replied with a grin, and stepped into the room. "You know that."
A smile flickered across her face as he walked up the center aisle. "Very funny."
Dumbledore chuckled. "Sorry, sorry. The opportunity was there and I had to take it."
"I understand. Come here, I want you to look at something."
She picked up what she had been reading and met him at the first row of desks. "Neville Longbottom and Parvati Patil discovered a secret passage behind the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, and it led them into another room, where they found these letters." She handed him one of the letters, and they both sat down. "They're from Godric Gryffindor to Rowena Ravenclaw. I was right, Albus. They were married, and it only makes sense for Christine and Julianne Flamel to be their children." She pointed to one line in the letter he was reading. "Look, in that line right there, he mentions a cottage near Edinburgh. Daniel Flamel found the girls in a cottage near Edinburgh. Ravenclaw died the day before he found them. She must have had a difficult birth with no one to help her, and died later. Did Flamel ever say where her body was found?"
"They found her in a river," Dumbledore answered. "The popular theory is that she drowned."
"The river could have carried her body so far from Edinburgh that a connection could never have been made," said Minerva. "I'm sure that I'm right about this. How could I not be?"
He believed her before, but in light of this new evidence, he didn't see how there was any way she could be wrong. "Then that settles it," he said. "Harry has to be a descendent of them because the sword feels so light to him. It will only do that for someone who has Gryffindor blood in them. And now that there is no doubt about Gryffindor and Ravenclaw's relationship, we can ask Harry to volunteer to resurrect one of them and track down a second descendent for the other." His blue eyes sparkled with excitement. "Minerva, you are brilliant and I am going to kiss you."
He placed his hands on her shoulders and planted a quick, friendly peck on her forehead. When he pulled away, she said, "There's something more, Albus. Do you remember when I was sorted into Gryffindor house way back in 1933?"
"Yes, I do," he answered. "That was my first year of teaching Transfiguration. And of course I remember the Sorting Hat putting you in Gryffindor. It took it ten minutes to decide! You still hold the record, I believe."
"Yes, I do," she confirmed, and smiled a little. "But anyway, why the hat took so long is because it didn't know whether to put me in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. It said something to me, something I never really understood and had all but forgotten until a few hours ago. It said, 'Should I put you in Gryffindor, or should I put you in Ravenclaw? You'd do well in either. Does Minerva McGonagall belong to the house of her father, or would she do better in her mother's house?'"
"That happens a lot, Minerva," Dumbledore said. "Children of alumni often go into the house their parents were in."
"But that's just it," she said. "The hat was split between putting me in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. It never mentioned another house. Both of my parents were in Hufflepuff."
"In... Hufflepuff?" he repeated. "But... could that mean... Minerva! You're descended from Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw, too! I am going to kiss you again."
He kissed her again, this time on the cheek. Minerva laughed and said, "Did you kiss Flamel, too?"
"Of course not," Dumbledore replied. "He's not the one that's been making all these amazing revelations. Besides, he's too old for me." He stood up and said, "Just to make sure, let's go down to the hospital wing and see what that sword does in your hands."
~~~
"Still awake, Potter?"
Harry Potter set down the book he was reading and saw Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall walking toward him. "I can't sleep," he said. "What was it you had to go to Nicolas Flamel for, Professor Dumbledore?"
"To tell him something I realized earlier today, Harry," Dumbledore answered. "Do you have Gryffindor's sword handy?"
It was lying on his bed next to him. "Right here," he said, and picked it up with one hand. "Light as a feather."
"The reason the sword is so light in your hands is because you are a descendent of Godric Gryffindor," said Dumbledore.
Harry's eyes grew wide with amazement. "Me?" he squeaked. "I'm a descendent of Godric Gryffindor?"
"There's more," said Minerva. "You are also a descendent of Rowena Ravenclaw. She and Gryffindor were married. Their blood runs in your veins."
"Can I be used to resurrect both of them?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore shook his head. "No, but that's all right, for I believe we may have located another descendent."
"Anyone I know?"
"Yes, Harry, someone you know quite well. In fact, she's standing right here."
Harry looked at Minerva. "Professor McGonagall?"
She nodded.
"There's only one way to find out," Harry realized, and held the sword out to her. "Take the sword, Professor."
Minerva took the sword from him. A tingling sensation ran through her body, and her heart rate began to accelerate with excitement. The sword weighed almost nothing in her hands. "How soon can we perform the spell, Albus?"
Dumbledore was ready to explode with happiness. "Then that settles it," he said. "Flamel will bring back Hufflepuff. Harry, we'll use you for Gryffindor, and Minerva, you'll be Ravenclaw. I'll go to Flamel in the morning and let him know that we're ready. This time tomorrow, the Hogwarts Four will all live again."
~~~
Parvati stood in front of the entrance to the secret passage while Neville went to find a lantern. It didn't take him long, and when he returned (with Dean Thomas's lantern - he made Parvati promise not to tell him and that it would be back before Dean knew it was gone), the two of them stole back into the dark tunnel. The light illuminated their path well enough for them to find the door again with little difficulty.
Upon reaching the door, the two of them noticed something carved into the wood. Neville held the lantern up while Parvati leaned in toward the door for a closer look. "It looks like a griffin," she said. "Body of a lion, head of an eagle."
"What does that mean?"
Parvati snorted. "You're asking the wrong person. Maybe if we could figure out how to open this door... but there's no handle, and magic doesn't seem to work in here."
"Maybe it slides, like the fireplace," Neville suggested.
She hadn't even thought of that. She placed her hands on the door and pushed to the side as hard as she could. The door swung open with almost no effort, and since there was no longer any resistance, Parvati's momentum caused her to fall forward onto the floor.
"Are you all right?" Neville asked, dropping to his knees beside her.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, and stood up, giving her robes a shake to straighten them out.
Neville stood, too, and held the lantern up high, casting its soft light all over the small room. Two ancient-looking chairs were in a corner, and on one wall was a bookcase. Parvati walked over to the bookcase and looked over its contents. "I've seen some of these titles before," she said, "in the History of Magic classroom. Binns never let anyone touch them because they were so old; over seven hundred years.
"Weird," said Neville, and joined her at the bookcase. Do you think this is some kind of storage room?"
"In a secret passage behind the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room? I don't think so."
Neville spotted a wooden box lying on one of the shelves, and decided to pick it up. He shook it. Something rattled inside. It sounded like paper.
"What's that?" Parvati asked.
He opened the box. A stack of papers was tied together with some string. He picked up the papers and looked at them closely. "They're letters," he realized. "Really old letters."
"Who wrote them, and who are they to?"
"Let's find out." He untied the string and removed the top letter from the pile. He then set the lantern on a shelf, and they began to read.
My dearest love,
It was so good to hear from you. I hope that all is going well at Hogwarts. There is nothing I desire more than to return and look upon you again, my dearest Rowena, and when Kedelor is no longer a threat, nothing will hold me back. Tell Helga and Daniel not to worry. It won't be much longer.
We lost four more today. Some have started to lose hope, but most remain strong. They told me that I have inspired them to believe that we will triumph over my enemy, but it is you from where their motivation truly comes, for it is the thought of being with you, my cherished wife, that keeps your faithful husband believing there is something in this world still worth saving. Believe, my beloved Rowena, and nothing can stop us; no villain, no force of man or nature, not even death.
I remain yours forever,
Godric
When Neville reached the end of the letter, he was so surprised that he almost dropped it. "Parvati," he choked, "this letter has to be from Godric Gryffindor. Who else could it be?"
"And this Rowena lady must have been his wife," Parvati assumed. Then, she gasped. "Neville, do you think it was Rowena Ravenclaw?"
He put the letters back in the box and stuffed the entire thing into his pocket. He then grabbed the lantern and said, "We have to show these to Dumbledore. The history of Hogwarts is never going to be the same."
~~~
It was late by the time Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts. On the way to his chambers, he passed by the Transfiguration classroom, and was surprised to see Minerva McGonagall sitting behind her desk, going over some papers. Minerva had always been something of a workaholic, but even she knew the importance of getting sleep. He poked his head into the room and said, "Good night, Minerva."
Minerva looked startled for a moment, but relaxed when she saw that it was him. "Hello, Albus," she said. "What did you and Flamel discover?"
"Twelve uses of dragon's blood," he replied with a grin, and stepped into the room. "You know that."
A smile flickered across her face as he walked up the center aisle. "Very funny."
Dumbledore chuckled. "Sorry, sorry. The opportunity was there and I had to take it."
"I understand. Come here, I want you to look at something."
She picked up what she had been reading and met him at the first row of desks. "Neville Longbottom and Parvati Patil discovered a secret passage behind the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, and it led them into another room, where they found these letters." She handed him one of the letters, and they both sat down. "They're from Godric Gryffindor to Rowena Ravenclaw. I was right, Albus. They were married, and it only makes sense for Christine and Julianne Flamel to be their children." She pointed to one line in the letter he was reading. "Look, in that line right there, he mentions a cottage near Edinburgh. Daniel Flamel found the girls in a cottage near Edinburgh. Ravenclaw died the day before he found them. She must have had a difficult birth with no one to help her, and died later. Did Flamel ever say where her body was found?"
"They found her in a river," Dumbledore answered. "The popular theory is that she drowned."
"The river could have carried her body so far from Edinburgh that a connection could never have been made," said Minerva. "I'm sure that I'm right about this. How could I not be?"
He believed her before, but in light of this new evidence, he didn't see how there was any way she could be wrong. "Then that settles it," he said. "Harry has to be a descendent of them because the sword feels so light to him. It will only do that for someone who has Gryffindor blood in them. And now that there is no doubt about Gryffindor and Ravenclaw's relationship, we can ask Harry to volunteer to resurrect one of them and track down a second descendent for the other." His blue eyes sparkled with excitement. "Minerva, you are brilliant and I am going to kiss you."
He placed his hands on her shoulders and planted a quick, friendly peck on her forehead. When he pulled away, she said, "There's something more, Albus. Do you remember when I was sorted into Gryffindor house way back in 1933?"
"Yes, I do," he answered. "That was my first year of teaching Transfiguration. And of course I remember the Sorting Hat putting you in Gryffindor. It took it ten minutes to decide! You still hold the record, I believe."
"Yes, I do," she confirmed, and smiled a little. "But anyway, why the hat took so long is because it didn't know whether to put me in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. It said something to me, something I never really understood and had all but forgotten until a few hours ago. It said, 'Should I put you in Gryffindor, or should I put you in Ravenclaw? You'd do well in either. Does Minerva McGonagall belong to the house of her father, or would she do better in her mother's house?'"
"That happens a lot, Minerva," Dumbledore said. "Children of alumni often go into the house their parents were in."
"But that's just it," she said. "The hat was split between putting me in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. It never mentioned another house. Both of my parents were in Hufflepuff."
"In... Hufflepuff?" he repeated. "But... could that mean... Minerva! You're descended from Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw, too! I am going to kiss you again."
He kissed her again, this time on the cheek. Minerva laughed and said, "Did you kiss Flamel, too?"
"Of course not," Dumbledore replied. "He's not the one that's been making all these amazing revelations. Besides, he's too old for me." He stood up and said, "Just to make sure, let's go down to the hospital wing and see what that sword does in your hands."
~~~
"Still awake, Potter?"
Harry Potter set down the book he was reading and saw Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall walking toward him. "I can't sleep," he said. "What was it you had to go to Nicolas Flamel for, Professor Dumbledore?"
"To tell him something I realized earlier today, Harry," Dumbledore answered. "Do you have Gryffindor's sword handy?"
It was lying on his bed next to him. "Right here," he said, and picked it up with one hand. "Light as a feather."
"The reason the sword is so light in your hands is because you are a descendent of Godric Gryffindor," said Dumbledore.
Harry's eyes grew wide with amazement. "Me?" he squeaked. "I'm a descendent of Godric Gryffindor?"
"There's more," said Minerva. "You are also a descendent of Rowena Ravenclaw. She and Gryffindor were married. Their blood runs in your veins."
"Can I be used to resurrect both of them?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore shook his head. "No, but that's all right, for I believe we may have located another descendent."
"Anyone I know?"
"Yes, Harry, someone you know quite well. In fact, she's standing right here."
Harry looked at Minerva. "Professor McGonagall?"
She nodded.
"There's only one way to find out," Harry realized, and held the sword out to her. "Take the sword, Professor."
Minerva took the sword from him. A tingling sensation ran through her body, and her heart rate began to accelerate with excitement. The sword weighed almost nothing in her hands. "How soon can we perform the spell, Albus?"
Dumbledore was ready to explode with happiness. "Then that settles it," he said. "Flamel will bring back Hufflepuff. Harry, we'll use you for Gryffindor, and Minerva, you'll be Ravenclaw. I'll go to Flamel in the morning and let him know that we're ready. This time tomorrow, the Hogwarts Four will all live again."