Disclaimer: I own only the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling.
Authors Note: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. And thank to my wonderful betas Tabitha and Lexi-formerly Katy999.
-Chapter Four-
"So, what was it that you and Minerva talked about during the feast?" Severus asked Harry as they made their way towards the Headmaster's office for a meeting with the Order.
"She was just pointing out that Thomas Molloy is a bit too charming for her peace of mind." Harry replied.
"Yes, I have noticed that as well," The Slytherin Head of House admitted. "Binns was boring us all to death just yesterday, with Thomas this and Thomas that."
Harry frowned. "Either that man is going to try to take the sword or he has a wish to be bored to death. I can't figure out which."
"I'm going to have a few trustworthy Slytherins keep an eye on him." Severus had no qualms about telling Harry that he had students from his house watch other students and teachers. The young man was the only one who could completely understand why he did it; last time he had brought it up with Minerva, Albus and the other teachers, the rest of them had nearly bit his head off with accusations.
"And perhaps a ghost or two as well?" Harry suggested. "Is Dobby still working here?"
"It's impossible to get rid of that little menace."
"Good, we might as well employ the House Elves as well. They're cleaning everything, right, so no one will blame them if certain information got into my or yours hands. A gust of wind could have blown the piece of paper out of the room, or someone walked in on them while they were cleaning." Harry sighed theatrically. "There's really so much that could happen."
Severus was eyeing him in amusement. "Indeed," the taller man muttered and smirked. Harry smirked right along, his eyes flashing with mischief. Once a Slytherin, always a Slytherin, and they both knew that the poor guy didn't have a chance in hell with the two of them plotting against him.
The gargoyle guarding the entrance to the Headmasters office jumped away when Harry said the password and then neatly jumped back in place after trying to trip Severus. The tall man was used to this however, and easily avoided the stuck-out leg. Every single one of Albus' possessions had attacked him at one point or other during his years as a Potion Master, and it hadn't taken long before Severus had fought fire with fire. Why did you think the Headmaster had warded his drawer full of socks so heavily?
"HARRY!!!!" Severus was forced to jump out of the way as several Weasleys and a Weasley-Granger attacked the young man, or they would have crashed right into him as well. As it was they crashed into the wall and managed not to fall down the stairs.
"Hey Ron. Herm. Fred. George. Um, could you let me breathe for a second?" Harry's voice was heard from somewhere in the pile of red and brown.
"Oh sorry!" Hermione was the first to let go and she dragged the Weasleys off. "Come now boys, let Harry breathe."
Draco rolled his eyes at the back-slapping Weasley males, but stepped up to the Boy Who Lived and grinned. "About time you showed up again," he said, which, in Slytherin terms, meant that he was happy to see him.
Harry just rolled his eyes, but shook the offered hand. "And you must be Mundungus Fletcher, correct?" Harry asked, turning to the plump man that looked like someone's favourite uncle.
"Right you are, Mr Potter, and let me tell you how happy I am to have your help with this little… eh, incident." Mundungus smiled. "And call me Gus."
"If you call me Harry."
"A fair trade." Gus grinned.
"If we could get on with the meeting now that all the mushy stuff is out of the way?" Severus growled. He hated it when people prolonged the introductions beyond stating their names.
"Of course." Draco said and all of them entered the office again and took a seat by the fire.
"Tea anyone?" Hermione offered, as she was the only female there. McGonagall was keeping an eye on the rest of the staff and was unable to attend. "Biscuits?" she asked after having poured a cup for Draco and herself; they refused.
"Anything new on the Albus-hunt?" Harry asked.
"We went to check out his brother's place," Fred Weasley said. "The house is like a bloody maze! Just when you think you know where you are, it turns out you're at the exact opposite place."
"Yeah," the other twin spoke up. "It would surprise me if Albus got lost in that place, we nearly didn't make it out alive!"
"So that means you didn't find anything?" Draco concluded.
"On the contrary, Draco, we found plenty but nothing that would be helpful to our case." Ron snickered at this and Gus coughed politely.
"Hermione, anything new?" Harry asked before it could escalate into a full out war.
Hermione shook her head. "Sorry, but I have nothing about Albus himself. Though I did hear that the new Headmaster from Durmstrang is gone, as well as Madame Maxime from Beauxbatons."
"Any other schools?" Severus asked.
"Yes, I think my contact mentioned a couple from America, Canada and some others around China, Asia and Europe."
"Most likely it's connected with Albus' disappearance." Harry turned to the Potion Master. "Are you sure that it isn't some sort of Headmaster meeting or something?" he asked.
"If it was, there would be news in the Daily Prophet about it," the man replied. "And the board of governors would have told the teachers."
They spent another hour trying to figure out where the hell Albus had disappeared off to. When Fred and George said that the man had been abducted by sex-craving aliens, Harry decided to call it quits and sent the group home. He sighed as he closed the door after the last of them left.
"Ok, now that was disturbing." He muttered.
"Two words Potter: Weasley twins." Severus replied. Both of them shuddered. Even Fawkes looked sick.
"Gods, where do they come up with that stuff?"
"I'm more concerned where those four ghostly Founders have run off to. There hasn't been a peep from them the whole day."
Harry quickly found the Marauders Map in one of his pockets and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good." The lines quickly ran all over the parchment and formed the Hogwarts layout. "Where's Rowena and Helga?" Harry asked tapping the parchment once again.
"There they are." Snape hung over his shoulder and pointed at the library. "But where's Gryffindor and Slytherin?"
Harry asked the parchment. "Hey, they are heading towards Myrtle's bathroom-"
"-with two ghosts that I have never seen." Severus finished. "Wait, one of them is Margaret Pole, the infamous Countess of Salisbury. And the other is Lady Jane Grey. What are two ghosts from the Tower of London doing here?"
"Perhaps they are friends with some ghosts here or something." Harry suggested.
"No, that can't be right. Albus has invited the ghosts from the Tower to Hogwarts numerous times, and they always refused. Said something about not wanting to associate with common ghosts or something like that."
"Weird, but you can hardly call Godric and Salazar common." Harry noted that the taller man hadn't moved from his position.
"You're probably right, but still…" the black eyes narrowed dangerously. "They're heading dangerously close to the sword, and you know that ghosts can sense magical things like that. You really want to take the chance of having the whole ghostly – and thereby the whole mortal – world know that the sword is here?"
Harry thought over it then had to admit defeat. Snape was right. "Alright, you win. Fawkes!" the phoenix flew over to them. "Find any ghost possible – the Bloody Baron, Nearly Headless Nick, Rowena, the Grey Lady – I don't care who, just get them to Myrtle's bathroom as soon as possible." The bird nodded and disappeared in a flash of flames.
"That wasn't so hard, now was it, Potter?"
"If those ghosts were visiting friends and we ruined it, you're taking the blame." Harry growled and shut the door in the other man's face.
Severus rolled his eyes and headed to the dungeons. Trust the Golden Boy to act completely innocent.
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It was official: Harry was bored to death. The students were in their classes and the teachers were teaching said classes, and Harry was walking around trying to find something to occupy his time with. Just what the hell did Headmasters do in their free time? Not all of it could be taken up by school-related business, now could it?
"I hate this." Harry muttered to himself.
"Hate what Headmaster?" inquired a voice from behind him.
Harry whirled around and stood face to face with Thomas Molloy. "Only the fact that I'm running out of Lemon Drops and, as you know, I am quite fond of those sweets. It really would be a shame if I- but lets not talk about an old man's sweet-tooth. Is there something I can help you with?"
"Yes, actually there is." The brown-haired man fell in step with Harry, careful not to tread on the colourful robes. "I was just wondering if it was true what they're saying. That the sword of Jeanne D'Arc is here at Hogwarts."
"Ah, yes, that's true. You weren't on that particular meeting." Harry said happily, though inside he was getting more and more suspicious. "And, yes it's true. The sword is here at Hogwarts."
"Thank you Headmaster." Molloy replied. "I am honoured that you would trust me with that kind of information."
"Think nothing of it, my boy." Harry replied, even more suspicious than before. "Now that the Dark Lord is gone," he continued choosing his words carefully to give the right image, "I feel that we must trust each other more than ever. It is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows and it won't be long before the rest of the Wizarding world follows."
"Yes sir; if you'll excuse me, I have a class in fifteen minutes." It was politely said, but Harry could feel the eagerness to get out of Albus' presence in the young man.
"Of course – oh, and before you go, could I offer you a Lemon Drop?" Molloy declined politely and went on his way. "What are you planning?" Harry asked no one in particular as he gazed after the DADA Teacher with narrowed eyes.
Harry turned and continued to walk down the corridor; lost in his thoughts as he was, he didn't see the manically grinning poltergeist until he was soaked from top to bottom in sticky honey.
"Peeves!" Harry yelled angrily and tried to wipe the stuff away. Peeves himself was laughing so hard that he had forgotten to flee. It wasn't often that he had the chance to prank on the Headmaster and have said prank succeed.
Suddenly Harry stopped cursing and yelling, and he turned to the floating ghost. "My dearest Peeves," he said in a sly voice. "How would you like to prank a certain professor and get away with it?"
"Say what?" Peeves was all ears.
"I want you to spy on Thomas Molloy for me," Harry explained, "totally in secret of course, and report to me or Professor Snape whatever you find out. And in return you'll be allowed to play as many pranks as you will on him without getting punished for it – but only on Molloy, though."
The poltergeist thought over it for a moment, then grinned evilly. "Headdy-Masty, ol' Peeves'll make you proud." Peeves extended a hand and Harry let his go straight through it.
"Then it's a deal." Now all he had to do was to find the other ghosts and explain the situation to them, he could even require the services of Moaning Myrtle. Harry grinned and tried to take a step. Something that proved difficult as the honey had somehow hardened and had glued him to the floor. He recognized it as the newest from the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes: Cement Honey, guarantied to stiffen up and stick together anything. The wizard-version of super glue, and three times as strong. "PEEVES!!!!!!!"
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A month went by quietly. Peeves reported every night to either Harry or Severus, and pulled as many pranks as possible on Molloy during the day. Rowena had managed to keep her fellow Founders invisible and quiet, and no one except a select few knew that the four ghosts were there at all. Neither had there been another sighting of Lady Jane Grey or the Countess of Salisbury.
Harry had finally managed to figure out most of Albus' office, but there were certain parts of it that not even Rowena and Severus combined could understand. Like the one painting which changed all the time: one second it could show a magical waterfall, and in the next there would be a picture of Mona Lisa – and never did it show the same thing twice!
Salazar was taking great delight in scaring unsuspecting Hufflepuffs by hissing in Parseltongue whenever they passed him. Godric had taken it upon himself to spread rumours around the school. His favourite was telling adventure-seeking students that there was a great treasure hidden away in the school, then putting out false leads and clues. Helga was still floating around flirting with every male ghost in the castle, and Rowena was trying to keep the other three from showing themselves to the public.
Harry was happily sitting in Dumbledore's office, munching on a Sherbet Lemon and reading his manuscript for The Phantom of the Opera, when Severus and Minerva stormed through the door, arguing heatedly and completely ignoring him.
Fawkes seemed to raise an eyebrow at the two Professors, then looked to Harry the look clearly stating: they're human and therefore your problem.
Harry rolled his green eyes and turned back to the Heads of Houses. "Ahem, is there something I can help you with?" he asked.
"Severus just sent Peeves on the Countess of Salisbury!" the Head of Gryffindor exclaimed almost hysterically. "Now we'll never get another ghost from the Tower to visit us again!"
"Will you shut up, woman, and let me explain!" Severus roared. "That bloody Countess is here for only one reason, and that's the Sword of Jeanne D'Arc!"
"You are more paranoid than Mad-Eye Moody!"
"And you're too naïve for your own good! If we couldn't get the ghosts here in the past, then there's certainly no way they are coming here on their own free will!"
"Headmaster, are you going to allow this?!" McGonagall shrieked.
Harry and Severus exchanged quick glances, silently agreeing to discuss this when the matter at hand was dealt with.
"My dear woman," Harry began carefully. "I'm afraid that in this matter I'm trusting Severus' instincts more than the desire to have some of the ghosts from the Tower of London on visit."
"Oh! You're both completely… impossible!" Minerva shook with fury before she stomped out and the door slammed shut after her.
After a few seconds Harry changed back into himself and looked curiously at the closed door, his green eyes shining brightly with the challenge of a new mystery to solve. Severus was also watching the door, his expression the same as Harry's. Fawkes looked from one to the other, seemed to shrug and then adapted the same expression as the two humans.
"That was… interesting." Harry said finally.
"Understatement of the year, Potter," the Potion Master replied. "Why did she call you 'Headmaster' when she knows what you are?"
"And that show of anger is something new as well. The McGonagall I know wouldn't have blown up just because you sent Peeves after a ghost from the Tower." Harry sighed. "We're going to need help with this one. We already have to watch out for the ghosts from the Tower, the Sword of Jeanne D'Arc and have to watch Molloy as well."
"Don't forget those bloody Founders." Severus reminded him. "And we have the Order searching for Albus fulltime. Who can we get to help us with this?" Harry grinned and raised his eyebrow in mock-imitation of the Potion Master himself. "Oh no. No. Never. Forget it right now, Potter. I am not working with those two canines again!"
"Come now Severus," Harry replied grinning. "It might even be interesting."
"My life is interesting enough thank you very much! Those two are going to prank the whole school at least twice before the week is out, and I have no intention of walking around with my hair pink or lime green."
"Not to worry; and last time they did that, your hair turned red with yellow polka dots. It was over after two weeks. Nothing too bad."
"Your notion of 'bad' is broader than mine Potter – either that, or you really have no brain in that thick skull of yours." Severus growled. "And just imagine the havoc they'd be able to create if they ever got together with Gryffindor and Slytherin."
"You know what Snape," Harry said suddenly. Inspiration had struck like a bolt out of the blue. "I think you're afraid of Remus and Sirius."
The Slytherin Head of House sputtered, speechless for once. "Afraid?! Of those… those… those mongrels?! Are you crazy?! I'm not afraid of them!"
"Shall I just send them an owl and ask them to come then?" the Boy Who Lived barely kept the triumphant smile off his face.
"Do that, in fact do it right now! I'll send the bloody bird off myself."
While Harry wrote a short note to both Sirius and Remus, Severus went around the room grumbling all the time – Harry often caught something that sounded like: 'Afraid? Bah, humbug!'.
The taller man snatched the letter from Harry's hands when the amused ex-Gryffindor turned around, and stormed off to the Owlery. Harry just shook his head and wondered how long it would take for the Potion Master to see past his anger and realise that he had been manipulated.
Severus was on his way back to his dungeons – the owl sent off – when he realised he had been tricked. The word 'Potter' echoed off the walls throughout the castle and scared students and teachers alike. It even reached Professor Trelawney, who at once assumed that Harry was back at the school and hurried out of her tower to catch the young man and tell him his fate.
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Godric and Salazar were bored. They were so bored that they had sought out the others company to keep from going mad. Sure, scaring and tricking unsuspecting students was fun, but after a while the students stopped believing them and ignored them; some, mostly Slytherins, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, even tried to hex them.
Children these days really had no respect for their elders.
"Whose move is it?" Salazar asked, opened one lazy eye and looked at the ghostly chessboard and pieces that were floating between the two of them.
"I dunno." Godric replied and yawned. "I'm bored."
"Right now I'm too lazy to argue with you."
"It never was like this when we were alive." Godric continued. "We always had something to do back then."
"What I can't understand is why Rowena and Helga don't want us to have any fun." The Slytherin Founder mumbled. "I mean, sure, the Countess of Salisbury isn't exactly young, but come on! They must've realised I was desperate if I wanted to walk around with a hag hanging off my arm."
"I don't know, Lady Jane Grey was kind of cute."
"Cute and definitely too young for you. I really don't understand what she saw in you."
"I can give you several examples. My bravery. My charm. My handsome features-"
Salazar rolled his eyes. "You are one big idiot, you know that right? Even worse than Lockhart." He told his fellow Founder.
"And you are a paranoid snake-loving moron." Godric replied without missing a beat. Then he sighed. "I hate this. No one even batters an eyelash anymore when we argue. They have grown bored with it and know how to handle it. We really need something to do."
Salazar jumped up grinning like a madman. "You have just given me a brilliant idea, and it would give the two of us something to do!"
"Well, what is it then?"
"It's ingenious!"
"No, the idea. What is it?"
"Magnificent, I tell you."
"I don't want to know what it is, but what it is. So what is it?"
"Will you make up your mind! First you want to know, then you don't and now you do again. I'm going nuts!"
"Just tell me what the idea is."
"I told you already. It's brilliant, magnificent… did I miss something out here?"
"Ingenious."
"Thank you. It's brilliant, magnificent and ingenious!"
"And he who had so good recommendations." Godric muttered while hitting his head on the wall repeatedly.
"Oi, I know this one! It's from Pocahontas, right?!"
"Will you just bloody well tell me what the idea is about before I kill you!?!" Gryffindor exclaimed waving his arms around like a windmill.
"Well, things certainly just got chillier here." Salazar grumbled.
"And that line's from Ice Age, now will you get on with it?!"
"Alright, alright, no need to fly off the handle here." He threw an arm around the other ghost's shoulder in a conspiring way. "Ok, this is the plan. We act nice to each other in public. It will sure as hell confuse them out of their wits."
Godric looked at him as if he had grown another head. "All this arguing for… that?"
"Yeah, I know, isn't it a wonderful idea?"
"Are you crazy?"
"Who isn't?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"It'll never work."
"Why not?"
"We're going up against Helga, Rowena, Minerva and Severus here. Not to mention Harry. All of them are very, very smart people."
"Since when did you become the voice of reason?"
"Since you lost yours," Godric replied. "And get your hand off my shoulders."
"I thought you were the one who jumped into things without looking." Salazar shot back.
"Yeah, well, I've been hanging around the three of you for way too long."
"So now you're going to leave us as well?!"
"You really are a paranoid git."
"Oh yeah? You're a-"
"POTTER!!!!" Salazar and Godric looked at each other then hurriedly stuck their heads through the door to see what was going on.
Severus Snape had cornered Harry – who was in his normal shape – and had the other man at wand point.
"Anything I can do for you, Severus?" Harry asked.
"Stop manipulating me around!"
"Oh, that, well, would you have agreed without me having to do it?" Snape shook his head, too angry to reply. "Then there is your answer. Good day." Harry smirked and walked off. The Potion Master stared after his retreating back for a while before stalking off to his own rooms.
Godric and Salazar looked at each other again, similar evil grins on both of their faces. Something that never bode good for anyone involved.
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There! Done! Please review and tell me what you think.
Also, my oral exams are up in a weeks time and I don't have much time to write. So please be patient.
Thanks to:
ShadowSnape, Fin-Phoenix, MJ, AtieJen, Crab Apple Fairy, SlytherinAtHeart, Angel of Death, Makota, chaser, aziandorkess, Demoness Yasha, Arizosa, Zaeria, Redtaillia, CatatonicReaction, Dragonhope, athenakitty, VB, Lyla Snape, Samantha, Miranda Flairgold, Jiltanith, Silver_Youkai and Liz.