CHAPTER ELEVEN: CHANGES
~~~
Draco Malfoy couldn't sleep at all that night. He had far too much on his mind to even think about rest. Voldemort and Slytherin were planning something, and they needed him to pull it off. If it had been anyone else, Draco probably would have felt honored, but not when it was Voldemort. He was evil, pure and simple. Draco knew he wasn't what anyone would call a saint, but next to Voldemort, he was a saint ten times over. The death threat was what Draco found most disturbing. Would he be asked to do something he would have refused under normal circumstances, even with his history and reputation?
When morning came, he was a mess. His skin was paler than normal, and there were bags under his bloodshot grey eyes. His body was weak from exhaustion, and his hands trembled whenever he tried to do anything with them. He hoped that no one would notice, and if they did, they would keep their big mouths shut.
No such luck. Everyone that laid eyes on him wanted to know what was wrong. Even one of the Gryffindors sounded concerned when asking about his condition - Parvati Patil. Draco wondered if Gryffindor had told the students of his house that Slytherins weren't evil just because they were Slytherins. The Ravenclaws seemed to be acting a bit nicer toward him as well, but that might have been because of Padma Patil as well as Rowena Ravenclaw, which was probably also why Parvati wasn't being so vile toward him. Padma must have been really glad to get her ring back because she was paying attention to him and being nice, but not to the extent where it was annoying, which he appreciated. It was amazing what one little act of kindness could do.
The students weren't the only ones who were taking notice of him. The faculty, too, were aware of the change in his condition. In Transfiguration, his first class of the day, Minerva McGonagall asked him to stay after class, and she asked if he was all right. Draco told her that he hadn't slept at all the previous night, but would not explain why. He then told her that he needed to get going or he would be late to his next class, and left.
His next class was Potions with the Gryffindors. Draco was hoping Severus Snape would be too busy picking on the Gryffindors to take any notice of him, but once again, he was out of luck. There would be no slacking in Potions today, as he quickly found out.
Once everyone was seated, Snape informed the class that he had an announcement to make. "We are going to have a guest instructor today," he told them. "Please give her your undivided attention and respect. Anyone who refuses to cooperate or does not follow directions will lose fifty points from their house."
The guest instructor was Helga Hufflepuff.
"Thank you, Professor Snape," Helga said when the floor was turned over to her. She smiled at the class. "Well, as you all know, my name is Helga Hufflepuff, and today, I'll be teaching you how to make Levitation Potion. Before we begin, does anyone have any questions?"
Lavender Brown raised her hand, and Helga nodded at her. "Did you teach Potions when Hogwarts was first founded?" Lavender asked.
Helga nodded. "Yes. My husband was an alchemist, and... well, we had a lot in common."
Seamus Finnigan's hand shot up next, and Helga called on him. "What subjects did the other founders teach?"
"Salazar taught Transfiguration, Rowena taught Charms, and Godric taught a subject equivalent to what is now called Defense Against the Dark Arts," she answered. "After... the summer of 1264, I taught Charms for a time and my husband taught Potions, but as his research grew more time-consuming, he retired from teaching and I moved back to Potions."
Pansy Parkinson raised her hand, and when she was given permission, asked, "Who was your husband?"
"His name was Daniel Flamel," Helga answered. "I understand that our grandson Nicolas is quite famous." She looked around the room, and seeing that no more hands were in the air, said, "Well, if there are no more questions, let us begin. Please find a partner to share a cauldron with, and when you have done so, put in a cup of beetle juice and three drops of dragon blood over low heat."
Draco decided to join forces with Blaise Zabini, and the two of them began to prepare their potion.
"Wait," Helga said. "Perhaps I should be more specific. Please find a partner from the opposite house to work with."
Everyone looked surprised, even Snape. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Helga asked. "Get on with it."
"Want to work with me, Malfoy?" came a soft voice from behind.
Draco turned around and saw that it was Harry Potter who had addressed him. Harry was one of the last people Draco ever wanted to work with, but Lavender Brown, whom he detested the least of all the Gryffindors, had already paired up with Tracey Davis, so she was out of the question. "Fine," Draco said, "but don't even think about messing it up."
"I'll do my best," Harry replied.
When Helga saw that everyone was paired off with a student from the other house, she glanced at Snape for a moment, then issued the instructions again. "Like I said, begin with one cup of beetle juice and three drops of dragon blood."
"I'll get the beetle juice," Harry said, turning the burner below the cauldron to the lowest setting. "You can handle the dragon blood."
Draco made no reply, but got out the requested item and a dropper.
Hermione's hand shot into the air. "Lady Hufflepuff?" she said.
"Yes, Miss Granger?" Helga asked.
"Does it matter which ingredient we put in first?"
"Yes, it does, and thank you for asking. Five points to Gryffindor house," Helga said. "The beetle juice must put in first, and then the dragon blood. And be sure to measure out your ingredients exactly. If you don't, this potion can go very wrong."
Harry carefully measured out exactly one cup of beetle juice, then poured it into the cauldron. "Okay, Malfoy," he said. "Put in the dragon blood."
"Why are you doing this?" Draco asked, carefully letting one drop of dragon blood fall into the cauldron.
"Doing what?" Harry asked as Draco squeezed out another drop.
"Being nice to me," Draco answered. He let the final drop of dragon blood fall into the cauldron, then set the dropper down.
"I didn't know that asking you to work with me fell under being nice," Harry said.
"Nice try, Potter," Draco said. "I can see right through you. It was Gryffindor, wasn't it? What did he say?"
"I bet you didn't know Gryffindor and Slytherin are brothers."
Draco couldn't believe his ears, and he thanked himself for setting the dropper down; otherwise, he certainly would have dropped it on the floor. "What?"
Harry nodded.
"Who told you that?"
"Lady Ravenclaw, the night they were resurrected."
Gryffindor and Slytherin, brothers? Draco was shocked. That seemed impossible, but coming from Rowena Ravenclaw... he doubted she would lie about something like that. He wondered if Voldemort knew. He hoped not. There was no telling what he would do. He decided that he could keep that information to himself.
"Now that you've all put in the dragon blood," Helga said, "carefully add a pinch of chopped daisy root, and then one frozen ashwinder egg. Please come see Professor Snape for the ashwinder egg."
Harry offered to get the ashwinder egg, and while he did that, Draco added a pinch of chopped daisy root to their cauldron.
Just then, an explosion was heard across the room. Gregory Goyle was standing over his cauldron with black marks from the explosion all over his face and robes. Seamus, his partner, was getting an ashwinder egg from the very angry Snape. "Goyle!" Snape barked. "What did I say about following directions? Fifty points from Slytherin!"
All the students looked shocked. Never had any of them seen Snape take any points from Slytherin house. Goyle looked like he was about to faint. Helga, however, appeared perfectly calm. "Really, Professor Snape, that's not necessary," she said, walking over to Goyle's cauldron. "He just added a bit too much chopped daisy roots." She picked up several ingredients from Goyle's workstation and put them into the cauldron. "A little bit of powdered bicorn horn combined with an infusion of wormwood cancels out the effect produced by too much chopped daisy roots. There. Your potion is as good as new, Mr. Goyle and Mr. Finnigan. Just remember not to add the gillyweed when we reach that stage, or it will undo the effects of the bicorn horn and wormwood. Your potion won't be as potent, but it will work."
Goyle looked amazed. "Th-thank y-you, L-lady Hufflepuff."
Helga smiled at him. "Don't mention it, Mr. Goyle. It was a legitimate error that happens all the time. Professor Snape isn't going to take points off your house for that." She looked at Snape. "Are you, Professor?"
"No," Snape said. He was a little peeved about having his authority challenged, but he knew she was right. The punishment was rather harsh for such a simple mistake that even someone as skilled as him could have made.
"Of course not," Helga said, and made her way back to the front of the classroom. "Now then, once you've added the frozen ashwinder egg, take your mortar and pestal and grind four ounces of erumpent hooves into a fine powder..."
~~~
"Hey, Ron?" Harry asked as he and his best friend left Potions. "Does Malfoy seem a little different to you?"
Ron nodded. "Yeah. I've never seen him look so good." Then he laughed. Hermione, who was walking up behind them, laughed as well. Ron and Harry said hello to her, and then she and Ron held hands as they walked.
"Seriously, though," said Harry. "He looks... I don't know. I almost want to say scared."
"Probably because Professor Snape wasn't kidding when he said he'd take fifty points from the house if anyone was goofing off," Hermione said.
"Yeah," Ron agreed. "Goyle's lucky Lady Hufflepuff's so nice. Snape looked ready to kill him."
"But he looked like that when we came in," Harry said.
"Which one?" Hermione asked. "Snape or Malfoy?"
"Malfoy," Harry clarified. Then, unable to pass up an opportunity to make a Slytherin joke, he added, "And Snape, too, I guess." His two friends both chuckled.
"I liked having Lady Hufflepuff as our Potions instructor," Hermione commented. "She's smart and nice, and she can even keep Snape in check."
"I think Snape likes her," said Ron.
Harry and Hermione both shot him surprised looks.
"Not like that," Ron said quickly. "Likes, like friendly like. She's a very likeable person."
"Severus Snape and Helga Hufflepuff," Harry said thoughtfully. "Sounds like Beauty and the Beast."
"I think that's enough of that," said Hermione. "Anyway, she's married, or was, anyway."
"Her husband's dead, but now that I think about it, she's probably too old for him," said Harry. "How old was she when she died?"
"Seventy-five, I think, which isn't that old for a witch, but it doesn't matter because the resurrection spell placed them in their prime," Hermione said. "It really doesn't make sense to ask how old they are now, but if we had to say anything, I'd say Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are both in their early thirties, and Ravenclaw is probably the age at which she died, which would be twenty."
"How do you know all this?" Ron asked.
"Gryffindor and I talked for a while last night, when you two were at Quidditch practice," she answered. "Neville and Parvati were trying to teach him how to play Go Fish again, but he couldn't get the hang of it, and so the four of us had a chess tournament."
"Who won?" inquired Harry.
"I did, but Parvati's rather good herself," Hermione said. "It was between the two of us for the championship. Lord Gryffindor narrowly beat Neville for third place."
"Is there any point to having a chess tournament with only four players?" said Ron.
"Not really, but it was still fun."
~~~
"Interesting," Godric Gryffindor said with a nod of his head. "Most interesting."
Albus Dumbledore glanced up from his paperwork and looked at Gryffindor and Fawkes. "What did he say?"
"He was telling me about the Chamber of Secrets," Gryffindor answered. "Apparently, Salazar built it after my death as a way of punishing all the Muggle-born students for Kedelor's crimes."
Dumbledore nodded. "Ah, yes, the Chamber of Secrets. One student died when it was opened fifty-five years ago. It was opened again five years ago, and thankfully, the only fatality then was the basilisk."
Gryffindor sighed and began stroking the feathers on the phoenix's back. "Salazar meant well, I'm sure, but his methods are rather... extreme."
Fawkes chirped.
"What was that?" Dumbledore asked.
"'I agree'," Gryffindor translated.
"Were the two of you close? You and Slytherin, that is."
"Very." Gryffindor stepped away from Fawkes and began walking toward Dumbledore. "He was always there for me, and even though he was so much older than I was, he always treated me as an equal. I don't know if I ever would have so much as looked at Rowena like I did if Salazar hadn't ignored our age difference. And when she and I got married... well, I told you this before. Salazar supported our decision fully, and following our desires, he never breathed a word about the secret marriages. I love my brother, Albus, and I will do whatever it takes to save him."
Dumbledore was touched by Gryffindor's devotion to Slytherin. He had no doubt that Slytherin's feelings for his brother were the same, and he wondered what would happen when the two of them finally saw each other face to face. He wasn't sure if Slytherin knew Gryffindor and the others were alive, and he was guessing that he didn't. If Slytherin knew, he probably would have revealed himself to them already.
Gryffindor sat down in one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore's death and continued speaking. "I wish there was something I could have done for him before I died," he said. "Who knows how many lives could have been saved? Certainly the life of the girl who died when Tom Riddle first opened the Chamber of Secrets, and I cannot help but wonder if Salazar's attitude toward Muggle-borns had been different, your world would not be suffering under the scourge of Voldemort."
"Evil finds a way," Dumbledore said, "just as good does. I'm sure Fawkes has told you about..." He took a deep breath to steady himself, unable to mention this wizard's name without his blood seething. "About Grindelwald."
Gryffindor nodded. "Yes, he has. So, what you're saying is that had it not been the Heir of Slytherin, it would have been someone else?"
"I suppose it can be thought of that way. I'm afraid the world will never be rid of dark magic, but as long as the good can overpower the evil, there will always be hope."
Gryffindor chuckled. "I don't know if I ever asked you what house you were sorted in to, but I do not think there is any need."
Dumbledore felt a smile creep across his face. "Neither do I."
~~~
A/N: Well, I hope that was enjoyable. Okay, bit of advertising. Founders fans, I know you're out there... and because I know you're out there, I have created the following group:
That link has a tendency not to show up when I upload my stories, so if you can't see it, it's also in my profile. Check it out, e-mail me for info, join, whatever.
~~~
Draco Malfoy couldn't sleep at all that night. He had far too much on his mind to even think about rest. Voldemort and Slytherin were planning something, and they needed him to pull it off. If it had been anyone else, Draco probably would have felt honored, but not when it was Voldemort. He was evil, pure and simple. Draco knew he wasn't what anyone would call a saint, but next to Voldemort, he was a saint ten times over. The death threat was what Draco found most disturbing. Would he be asked to do something he would have refused under normal circumstances, even with his history and reputation?
When morning came, he was a mess. His skin was paler than normal, and there were bags under his bloodshot grey eyes. His body was weak from exhaustion, and his hands trembled whenever he tried to do anything with them. He hoped that no one would notice, and if they did, they would keep their big mouths shut.
No such luck. Everyone that laid eyes on him wanted to know what was wrong. Even one of the Gryffindors sounded concerned when asking about his condition - Parvati Patil. Draco wondered if Gryffindor had told the students of his house that Slytherins weren't evil just because they were Slytherins. The Ravenclaws seemed to be acting a bit nicer toward him as well, but that might have been because of Padma Patil as well as Rowena Ravenclaw, which was probably also why Parvati wasn't being so vile toward him. Padma must have been really glad to get her ring back because she was paying attention to him and being nice, but not to the extent where it was annoying, which he appreciated. It was amazing what one little act of kindness could do.
The students weren't the only ones who were taking notice of him. The faculty, too, were aware of the change in his condition. In Transfiguration, his first class of the day, Minerva McGonagall asked him to stay after class, and she asked if he was all right. Draco told her that he hadn't slept at all the previous night, but would not explain why. He then told her that he needed to get going or he would be late to his next class, and left.
His next class was Potions with the Gryffindors. Draco was hoping Severus Snape would be too busy picking on the Gryffindors to take any notice of him, but once again, he was out of luck. There would be no slacking in Potions today, as he quickly found out.
Once everyone was seated, Snape informed the class that he had an announcement to make. "We are going to have a guest instructor today," he told them. "Please give her your undivided attention and respect. Anyone who refuses to cooperate or does not follow directions will lose fifty points from their house."
The guest instructor was Helga Hufflepuff.
"Thank you, Professor Snape," Helga said when the floor was turned over to her. She smiled at the class. "Well, as you all know, my name is Helga Hufflepuff, and today, I'll be teaching you how to make Levitation Potion. Before we begin, does anyone have any questions?"
Lavender Brown raised her hand, and Helga nodded at her. "Did you teach Potions when Hogwarts was first founded?" Lavender asked.
Helga nodded. "Yes. My husband was an alchemist, and... well, we had a lot in common."
Seamus Finnigan's hand shot up next, and Helga called on him. "What subjects did the other founders teach?"
"Salazar taught Transfiguration, Rowena taught Charms, and Godric taught a subject equivalent to what is now called Defense Against the Dark Arts," she answered. "After... the summer of 1264, I taught Charms for a time and my husband taught Potions, but as his research grew more time-consuming, he retired from teaching and I moved back to Potions."
Pansy Parkinson raised her hand, and when she was given permission, asked, "Who was your husband?"
"His name was Daniel Flamel," Helga answered. "I understand that our grandson Nicolas is quite famous." She looked around the room, and seeing that no more hands were in the air, said, "Well, if there are no more questions, let us begin. Please find a partner to share a cauldron with, and when you have done so, put in a cup of beetle juice and three drops of dragon blood over low heat."
Draco decided to join forces with Blaise Zabini, and the two of them began to prepare their potion.
"Wait," Helga said. "Perhaps I should be more specific. Please find a partner from the opposite house to work with."
Everyone looked surprised, even Snape. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Helga asked. "Get on with it."
"Want to work with me, Malfoy?" came a soft voice from behind.
Draco turned around and saw that it was Harry Potter who had addressed him. Harry was one of the last people Draco ever wanted to work with, but Lavender Brown, whom he detested the least of all the Gryffindors, had already paired up with Tracey Davis, so she was out of the question. "Fine," Draco said, "but don't even think about messing it up."
"I'll do my best," Harry replied.
When Helga saw that everyone was paired off with a student from the other house, she glanced at Snape for a moment, then issued the instructions again. "Like I said, begin with one cup of beetle juice and three drops of dragon blood."
"I'll get the beetle juice," Harry said, turning the burner below the cauldron to the lowest setting. "You can handle the dragon blood."
Draco made no reply, but got out the requested item and a dropper.
Hermione's hand shot into the air. "Lady Hufflepuff?" she said.
"Yes, Miss Granger?" Helga asked.
"Does it matter which ingredient we put in first?"
"Yes, it does, and thank you for asking. Five points to Gryffindor house," Helga said. "The beetle juice must put in first, and then the dragon blood. And be sure to measure out your ingredients exactly. If you don't, this potion can go very wrong."
Harry carefully measured out exactly one cup of beetle juice, then poured it into the cauldron. "Okay, Malfoy," he said. "Put in the dragon blood."
"Why are you doing this?" Draco asked, carefully letting one drop of dragon blood fall into the cauldron.
"Doing what?" Harry asked as Draco squeezed out another drop.
"Being nice to me," Draco answered. He let the final drop of dragon blood fall into the cauldron, then set the dropper down.
"I didn't know that asking you to work with me fell under being nice," Harry said.
"Nice try, Potter," Draco said. "I can see right through you. It was Gryffindor, wasn't it? What did he say?"
"I bet you didn't know Gryffindor and Slytherin are brothers."
Draco couldn't believe his ears, and he thanked himself for setting the dropper down; otherwise, he certainly would have dropped it on the floor. "What?"
Harry nodded.
"Who told you that?"
"Lady Ravenclaw, the night they were resurrected."
Gryffindor and Slytherin, brothers? Draco was shocked. That seemed impossible, but coming from Rowena Ravenclaw... he doubted she would lie about something like that. He wondered if Voldemort knew. He hoped not. There was no telling what he would do. He decided that he could keep that information to himself.
"Now that you've all put in the dragon blood," Helga said, "carefully add a pinch of chopped daisy root, and then one frozen ashwinder egg. Please come see Professor Snape for the ashwinder egg."
Harry offered to get the ashwinder egg, and while he did that, Draco added a pinch of chopped daisy root to their cauldron.
Just then, an explosion was heard across the room. Gregory Goyle was standing over his cauldron with black marks from the explosion all over his face and robes. Seamus, his partner, was getting an ashwinder egg from the very angry Snape. "Goyle!" Snape barked. "What did I say about following directions? Fifty points from Slytherin!"
All the students looked shocked. Never had any of them seen Snape take any points from Slytherin house. Goyle looked like he was about to faint. Helga, however, appeared perfectly calm. "Really, Professor Snape, that's not necessary," she said, walking over to Goyle's cauldron. "He just added a bit too much chopped daisy roots." She picked up several ingredients from Goyle's workstation and put them into the cauldron. "A little bit of powdered bicorn horn combined with an infusion of wormwood cancels out the effect produced by too much chopped daisy roots. There. Your potion is as good as new, Mr. Goyle and Mr. Finnigan. Just remember not to add the gillyweed when we reach that stage, or it will undo the effects of the bicorn horn and wormwood. Your potion won't be as potent, but it will work."
Goyle looked amazed. "Th-thank y-you, L-lady Hufflepuff."
Helga smiled at him. "Don't mention it, Mr. Goyle. It was a legitimate error that happens all the time. Professor Snape isn't going to take points off your house for that." She looked at Snape. "Are you, Professor?"
"No," Snape said. He was a little peeved about having his authority challenged, but he knew she was right. The punishment was rather harsh for such a simple mistake that even someone as skilled as him could have made.
"Of course not," Helga said, and made her way back to the front of the classroom. "Now then, once you've added the frozen ashwinder egg, take your mortar and pestal and grind four ounces of erumpent hooves into a fine powder..."
~~~
"Hey, Ron?" Harry asked as he and his best friend left Potions. "Does Malfoy seem a little different to you?"
Ron nodded. "Yeah. I've never seen him look so good." Then he laughed. Hermione, who was walking up behind them, laughed as well. Ron and Harry said hello to her, and then she and Ron held hands as they walked.
"Seriously, though," said Harry. "He looks... I don't know. I almost want to say scared."
"Probably because Professor Snape wasn't kidding when he said he'd take fifty points from the house if anyone was goofing off," Hermione said.
"Yeah," Ron agreed. "Goyle's lucky Lady Hufflepuff's so nice. Snape looked ready to kill him."
"But he looked like that when we came in," Harry said.
"Which one?" Hermione asked. "Snape or Malfoy?"
"Malfoy," Harry clarified. Then, unable to pass up an opportunity to make a Slytherin joke, he added, "And Snape, too, I guess." His two friends both chuckled.
"I liked having Lady Hufflepuff as our Potions instructor," Hermione commented. "She's smart and nice, and she can even keep Snape in check."
"I think Snape likes her," said Ron.
Harry and Hermione both shot him surprised looks.
"Not like that," Ron said quickly. "Likes, like friendly like. She's a very likeable person."
"Severus Snape and Helga Hufflepuff," Harry said thoughtfully. "Sounds like Beauty and the Beast."
"I think that's enough of that," said Hermione. "Anyway, she's married, or was, anyway."
"Her husband's dead, but now that I think about it, she's probably too old for him," said Harry. "How old was she when she died?"
"Seventy-five, I think, which isn't that old for a witch, but it doesn't matter because the resurrection spell placed them in their prime," Hermione said. "It really doesn't make sense to ask how old they are now, but if we had to say anything, I'd say Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are both in their early thirties, and Ravenclaw is probably the age at which she died, which would be twenty."
"How do you know all this?" Ron asked.
"Gryffindor and I talked for a while last night, when you two were at Quidditch practice," she answered. "Neville and Parvati were trying to teach him how to play Go Fish again, but he couldn't get the hang of it, and so the four of us had a chess tournament."
"Who won?" inquired Harry.
"I did, but Parvati's rather good herself," Hermione said. "It was between the two of us for the championship. Lord Gryffindor narrowly beat Neville for third place."
"Is there any point to having a chess tournament with only four players?" said Ron.
"Not really, but it was still fun."
~~~
"Interesting," Godric Gryffindor said with a nod of his head. "Most interesting."
Albus Dumbledore glanced up from his paperwork and looked at Gryffindor and Fawkes. "What did he say?"
"He was telling me about the Chamber of Secrets," Gryffindor answered. "Apparently, Salazar built it after my death as a way of punishing all the Muggle-born students for Kedelor's crimes."
Dumbledore nodded. "Ah, yes, the Chamber of Secrets. One student died when it was opened fifty-five years ago. It was opened again five years ago, and thankfully, the only fatality then was the basilisk."
Gryffindor sighed and began stroking the feathers on the phoenix's back. "Salazar meant well, I'm sure, but his methods are rather... extreme."
Fawkes chirped.
"What was that?" Dumbledore asked.
"'I agree'," Gryffindor translated.
"Were the two of you close? You and Slytherin, that is."
"Very." Gryffindor stepped away from Fawkes and began walking toward Dumbledore. "He was always there for me, and even though he was so much older than I was, he always treated me as an equal. I don't know if I ever would have so much as looked at Rowena like I did if Salazar hadn't ignored our age difference. And when she and I got married... well, I told you this before. Salazar supported our decision fully, and following our desires, he never breathed a word about the secret marriages. I love my brother, Albus, and I will do whatever it takes to save him."
Dumbledore was touched by Gryffindor's devotion to Slytherin. He had no doubt that Slytherin's feelings for his brother were the same, and he wondered what would happen when the two of them finally saw each other face to face. He wasn't sure if Slytherin knew Gryffindor and the others were alive, and he was guessing that he didn't. If Slytherin knew, he probably would have revealed himself to them already.
Gryffindor sat down in one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore's death and continued speaking. "I wish there was something I could have done for him before I died," he said. "Who knows how many lives could have been saved? Certainly the life of the girl who died when Tom Riddle first opened the Chamber of Secrets, and I cannot help but wonder if Salazar's attitude toward Muggle-borns had been different, your world would not be suffering under the scourge of Voldemort."
"Evil finds a way," Dumbledore said, "just as good does. I'm sure Fawkes has told you about..." He took a deep breath to steady himself, unable to mention this wizard's name without his blood seething. "About Grindelwald."
Gryffindor nodded. "Yes, he has. So, what you're saying is that had it not been the Heir of Slytherin, it would have been someone else?"
"I suppose it can be thought of that way. I'm afraid the world will never be rid of dark magic, but as long as the good can overpower the evil, there will always be hope."
Gryffindor chuckled. "I don't know if I ever asked you what house you were sorted in to, but I do not think there is any need."
Dumbledore felt a smile creep across his face. "Neither do I."
~~~
A/N: Well, I hope that was enjoyable. Okay, bit of advertising. Founders fans, I know you're out there... and because I know you're out there, I have created the following group:
That link has a tendency not to show up when I upload my stories, so if you can't see it, it's also in my profile. Check it out, e-mail me for info, join, whatever.