Chapter 4

The Alley

Harry looked in all directions, trying to figure out where on earth this portkey had taken him. He caught draft of a very familiar scent and turned to find the Hog's Head bar. Instantly, he realized where he was, but how did he get there? Why was it that the rest of the party apparently ended up in London when he had traveled all the way to Hogsmeade? He did not know the answers to any of these questions, but he only knew one place to go when he is in this place: Hogwarts. He headed towards the train station when he suddenly realized that he had been there thirty minutes and had heard no trains. He got to where the station was usually located and saw, in its place, a carriage company. That's strange, Harry thought. He walked up to the window.

"What can I help thee with, young lad?" The man behind the counter was giving Harry a very odd look. Harry ignored, as he was used to being stared at by this time.

"I would like to go to Hogwarts, please."

"I am very much sorry, sir. Where is it that ye would like to go?"

"Hogwarts. You know. That big castle over there?"

"Oh, ye mean Master Gryffindor's place. That will be 4 knuts." Harry surprised at the low price, pulled out some coins from his pocket. The man stared at the small handful of gold galleons Harry had in his hand.

"Can you make change for a sickle?" Harry asked.

"Yes, sir," the man replied, still slightly in awe of Harry. "Ye may board, master." Harry gave the man an odd look before getting on the carriage. "For one knut ye may purchase a copy of this day's herald." Harry agreed and handed the man a bronze piece. The man gave Harry a yellowed parchment with ink on one side only. Harry put the paper on his side as the carriage took off. He knew this ride would be a while as it was a ten minute train ride from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts, so he picked up the paper and almost screamed at what he saw.

"Salazar Slytherin recruited as third founder!" Harry blinked repeatedly, unable to believe what he was reading. He glanced towards the top of the page to find a date. "July 3, 1423" What the fuck? Harry thought. He kept reading the article. "Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw have agreed upon the third founder for England's newest school for Wizarding. They have chosen Salazar Slytherin who will help fund this great endeavor. Although they have not yet decided on the fourth and final founder, there is talk that Godric Gryffindor will be chosen. The site for the school also must be decided." Harry was jolted up from reading as the carriage pulled to a stop. Harry hadn't even realized that they were at Hogwarts until now. As he got out of the carriage a man in a very elegant scarlet dress robe greeted him and opened the giant doors Harry was so used to walking through.

"May I help you, sir?" Another scarlet-dressed man asked Harry as he entered.

"Yes, my name is Harry Potter, and I-"

"Yes, sir. The master has been expecting you. Follow me." The servant took off with Harry closely at his heels. Harry noticed that there were many differences about this castle. The layout seemed to be the same, but it lacked all of the magical attributes that made Hogwarts, Hogwarts. Harry has always read that Hogwarts was built from scratch in Hogwarts, a History, but he could not expect a book to be flawless. The servant stopped in front of a certain gargoyle statue that Harry was all to familiar with. The servant said, "sugar drops," and the gargoyle sprang to life. Instead of a staircase spiraling upward, however, there was a wall that opened in the wall behind the statue. "Inside, sir," the butler said to Harry, motioning for him to go inside.

Harry entered into the hole which immediately closed up behind him. He found himself in a very tall room that resembled the headmasters office. There was only one blank picture on the wall, and there were no strange contraptions on tables. Instead, there were many hunting devices hanging up. There were suits of armor standing against the walls, and there was a large desk in the center of the room. Behind the desk sat a man in a large scarlet velvet-upholstered chair. A man that Harry immediately recognized from the many pictures he had seen of him.

"Godric Gryffindor," Harry said.

"Yes, it is I," the man replied. "It is a great pleasure to meet you in person, Mr. Harry Potter."

"You know me?"

"Of course I know you. I keep in constant contact with Albus Dumbledore."

"How?"

"A spell that remarkable man created himself. It takes a strong wizard to be able to create entire spells, but obviously you possess the ability, too. Yes, he told me about the very strange spells you have conjured up in anger, shall we say? This, however, is not why I pulled you in here. I wanted to explain a few things to you. I know everything that has occurred in the recent years. I even know that you have defied the heir of my enemy Salazar Slytherin. This pleases me greatly," he added with a familiar glint in his eye. "I also know that I will be selected as the fourth founder of the school that will be known as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Yes, Harry, I even know that it will be built right here by adding onto my castle. I, however, am worried for your safety."

"Why?"

"Because you are a friend of Albus, and Albus is a friend of mine. He is afraid that he would not have enough time to get you completely ready for everything that may be in store for you, so he asked me to do this."

"Forgive me for interrupting, sir, but what, exactly, is this?"

"This is a spell I made up specifically for you, having the faith that you would be able to keep this a complete secret, and that it would not affect your mental status in any way. I, unfortunately, had to wait for you to grab onto a portkey, so I told Albus to set that up. Now, the way this works is that I have pulled you out of time. You can stay here for years upon years, but when you are returned to normal time it will be the exact moment you left that time, and you will finish that portkey destination. However, you will have aged however much you age here. Stay here until you are fifty, and your friends will have a fifty-year-old sixth year with them at school."

"Why are you doing all of this though?"

"So I can train you. I was told to not keep you for more than a year if need be. However, from what I am told of you, this should not take more than a month. I am to train you since there is no time back when you came from. You obviously need some sleep, but, first, there is someone I would like you to meet. Harry Potter, I would like to introduce you to Merlin." He pointed to the picture frame behind him which was then taken up immediately by the wizard Harry knew was the great Merlin.

"Hello, Harry."

"H-h-hello, sir," Harry replied and bow deeply.

"Oh, get up. Do not humble yourself for me. Godric here has told me a lot about you. I have been here for quite a few of his conversations with Albus Dumbledore."

"Oh, so I guess you've heard about the stuff I've done?" Harry asked, hanging his head a ilittle lower still.

"Yes, I have, and I am proud of you."

"Proud? I killed someone."

"Yes, but it required the development of one of the most powerful spells I have ever heard of. The fact that you feel remorse is better than if you had never created the spell in the first place."

"I guess you are right."

"Well, Harry," Godric said, "it's about time you got off to bed. Go outside, and the servant will take you to your chambers. I will see you in the morning. Good evening"

"Good night, sirs," Harry said, and started out.

"Oh, and Harry?" Merlin added.

"Yes, sir?"

"Call me us by our first names. We're all friends here."

"Okay...Merlin. Good night, Godric."

"Good night," they said in unison. With that Harry was gone.

"What did I tell you, Merlin? He's not that bad of a kid, is he?"

"No, he's not. I am proud to call the two of you family, Godric."

Okay, now, let's get some responses up. Chapter five coming soon.