do you feel it's true that you're always the doomed
with this migraine, my gain will fade
Real soon we'll be alright
Real soon just hold on tight
Release you

August 31st 10PM

"Do you know the story of the four founders of Hogwarts?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Most of it," I replied, "I read about them in a book Hermione borrowed to me. Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor, correct?" Dumbledore nodded his head and poured himself another cup of tea.

"There was some kind of fight between them and Salazar ended up leaving because he didn't think they should teach muggle-born wizards and witches," I stated and he urged me to continue, "I don't know much more besides that, except that Tom Riddle was Slytherin's heir."

"You actually know as much or even more than most adult wizards and witches," declared Dumbledore, "Much of the information that existed on the founders has been lost through time or destroyed. It really is a shame," he added, shaking his head sadly.

"What do the founders have to do with my father?" I asked in confusion.

"I'm going to tell you a story and I'd like it if you would not interrupt until I am finished," he said with a smile, "Is that acceptable?"

"Okay," I replied, hoping beyond hope that the old man would be able to stay somewhat on topic. Severus chuckled next to me and then tried to cough to cover it up. He smirked at me and I wondered for a moment if he could read my mind.

Dumbledore looked back and forth between us before waving his hand over his desk absentmindedly. I jumped back in surprise as the desk disappeared and the chair he was sitting on turned into an overstuffed armchair. Severus grunted in protest and I glanced over to see him sitting in the same type of chair but it was a horrible lime green color. He tapped his wand on the side of the chair and it instantly became a dark green. I was glad to see that my chair was a subtle light brown. Dumbledore cleared his throat and began to tell his story.

"When the founders created Hogwarts they made the decision to have four houses, one for each founder," he explained, "This served two purposes. The first purpose was simply sorting the students into houses designed with their strengths and weaknesses in mind. It was thought that the children would get along better if they lived with children that shared the same personality traits."

"Haven't they ever heard that opposites attract?" I asked with a snort. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and ignored my comment.

"The second reason that the four houses were created was to balance the power of the four founders," he explained, "It could roughly be compared to the American muggle government system of checks and balances. The founders wanted to make sure that their ideals would be represented equally, well into the future."

"It's an idea that has worked out well for the most part," he said sadly.

"You still haven't told me what this has got to do with anything that's happening now," I said with a sigh of frustration.

"Jenny," Severus warned.

"Now Severus," Dumbledore said kindly, "Miss Riddle is correct, I am rambling slightly."

"Hogwarts is a sentient being," Dumbledore began, "which means that it can think for itself. The founders intended for it to be this way so that it would be able to better protect the students. Hogwarts is covered in wards and protections that, as the headmaster, I can adjust, but the castle can override my decisions if they might harm the students in some way."

"That is also why I am able to know everything that is going on in the castle," he explained. Severus began choking on his tea.

"Are you saying," growled Severus, "that you know everything that goes on in the castle because the castle tells you?"

"That is exactly what I am saying Severus," Dumbledore said calmly, "I can find any student, teacher or staff member at any given time of the day or night as long as they are on these grounds. I gained this ability when I became headmaster."

"So if you know where every student is," I thought out loud, "then why didn't you know what was going on when my father was here. The whole business with the Sorcerer's Stone and the Chamber of Secrets, why didn't you do anything?" Dumbledore sighed sadly and folded his hands in his lap.

"In the eyes of the castle I am not only the headmaster but I am its master as well," he explained, "Its second master would be the teachers, then the staff members and finally the students that it protects. But, as I said before, it will do what it must to protect the students first and foremost."

"The castle has other masters though," he said and my eyes widened in surprise at this, "Masters that hold much more control over the castle then I ever will. In all of my years as headmaster there was only one student whose actions the castle did not reveal to me until after the fact, can you guess who it was?"

"Let me guess," drawled Severus, "Harry Potter, the Heir of Gryffindor."

"Exactly," Dumbledore exclaimed as his eyes twinkled madly, "And when Professor Dippet was headmaster 70 years ago he revealed to me that there was a student that the castle was keeping hidden from him." We sat in silence as Dumbledore poured himself yet another cup of tea. Suddenly I had an idea of who Dumbledore was speaking of.

"Tom Riddle," I gasped.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied with a tight smile, "It seems that the founders added a little extra magic when the castle was created. You see, each of the founders wanted to be sure that the castle would protect their descendants above all others."

"They made a mistake," he added grimly, "A powerful bond was created between the blood of the founders and the castle which meant that the castle would only exist as long as at least one heir remained."

"Since the castle can think for itself," he continued, "It understands what will happen if there are no descendants left. Because of this, Hogwarts will do whatever is necessary to ensure that at least one heir remains alive."

"Including bringing them back from the dead?" I asked.

"Unfortunately yes," he replied simply.

"Excuse me headmaster," Severus interrupted, "I understand your explanation for the most part, but why would the castle bring Potter back if Riddle was still alive? Even if Potter died then Riddle would still remain."

"And what happened to the other heirs?" I added.

"The Ravenclaw line was wiped out by Voldemort very early on," Dumbledore replied, "and the Hufflepuff line ended in muggles, the last descendant passing away more than a hundred years ago."

"As for your question Severus, I'm not quite sure what the castle was thinking. I do have my own ideas," said Dumbledore, "It new of Tom from his time at school and it protected him from punishment when he opened the Chamber of Secrets but you have to remember that his actions ended up causing the death of another student. Hogwarts had already chosen me as headmaster and after that event it spoke to me for the first time and it asked me to watch over Tom, for his own safety of course."

"I get it," I said with a sly grin, "Hogwarts couldn't tell you directly what happened because it had to protect Riddle, but it could ask you to watch over him and keep him safe, which would also keep him out of trouble. Sneaky castle."

"Quite Slytherin," Severus added with a nod.

"The castle new it had to make a choice," Dumbledore continued, "It new of the prophecy and it new that only one would survive, so it chose the heir of Gryffindor over the heir of Slytherin. It was the obvious choice really considering that Salazar was the one who left the school."

"After the unfortunate events of Harry's fourth year the castle was quite angry with itself," he explained, "Things had gotten out of hand and Hogwarts was torn between protecting Harry and obeying him."

"Obeying him?" I questioned, "Did Harry know that he had control over the castle?"

"No," Dumbledore stated firmly, "He didn't need to know that he had control over the castle to exercise that control."

"Harry was a very quiet and private young man," he explained, "He didn't want anyone to know what was happening in his life so the castle respected his wishes and kept his actions secret. When he was taken from the castle in his fourth year and Voldemort was reborn, the castle was angry with itself for allowing it to happen. In Harry's fifth year the castle gave me more control in looking after Harry, not that I did much better," he added solemnly.

"You did your best," said Severus sternly, "the boy was a magnet for trouble."

"Hey," I exclaimed indignantly, "that's my dad you're talking about."

"It's true," Dumbledore said with a sigh, "Harry did have a knack for attracting trouble. That's why I made the decision for Harry not to return to Hogwarts after his fifth year. He needed training and he needed to be somewhere free of distractions. The castle was not very happy with my decision I'm afraid."

"Do you remember what happened at the Welcoming Feast the next year?" Dumbledore asked Severus.

"How can I forget," replied Severus, "It was weeks before the Great Hall dried out completely."

"What happened?" I asked in confusion.

"It rained in the Great Hall," Severus explained, "The first years were being led in and suddenly the ceiling emitted a rumbling noise and it rained."

"But the ceiling shows the night sky doesn't it?" I asked, "So wouldn't it rain once in awhile." Dumbledore nodded.

"Usually if it rains the water disappears before it comes close to the students," he explained, "During the Welcoming Feast that year the rain fell all the way to the floor. The Great Hall, along with everything and everyone in it was drenched within minutes."

"But why?"

"I've always wondered that myself," Severus added.

"Hogwarts was crying," Dumbledore stated with a frown, "I never mentioned that Harry would not be returning."

"I did bring him back to Hogwarts when he died the first time," he continued, "The castle told me to bring him back and place him in the Room of Requirement. I followed its direction and laid him on the floor. Then Hogwarts told me to leave him and return in two hours. Each time Harry died I did this, and each time when I retrieved him from the Room of Requirement after the two hours was up he was breathing once again and acted as if nothing had ever happened."

"Did he ever tell you what happened to him?" I asked in curiosity.

"No," he stated, "I asked but he always said I wouldn't want to know. I took him at his word."

"Is that why everything is going haywire here?" I asked, "Like the stairs stopping and the gargoyle no longer taking passwords. Is the castle rebelling against you or something?" Dumbledore shook his head and chuckled loudly.

"I'm afraid the problem is much more serious than Hogwarts having a bout of teenage angst," he said in amusement, "It started when Harry left and ran away to America."

"As I said before, the founders were blood bonded to the castle," he explained, "but Harry's bond to the castle is even more powerful then one created by blood. The castle brought him back from death so many times that I can only assume it imbued him with its own magic. It is as if Hogwarts and Harry share the same magic and each has an effect on the other."

"I'm sure," he added, "that Harry's power diminished over time after being so far away from Hogwarts for such a long time, just as Hogwarts' own magic has weakened. That is why the castle is dieing."

"I don't understand," I groaned, "You said before that my father isn't truly dead, so why would the castle be dieing."

"Because your father is dieing," he replied sadly, "Right now he is probably in some sort of coma, but I assure you that he has been dieing since he left England."

I didn't know what to say next. I still had so many questions to ask but I didn't know where to start. Suddenly I began to feel very tired and slightly ill. Severus seemed to notice and he gave me a concerned look.

"Headmaster, I think Jenny is tired and I have classes tomorrow," he stated politely, "Perhaps it would be wise to finish this conversation tomorrow night."

"I think you are correct Severus," Dumbledore replied as he stood. He waved his hand in the air and his desk returned. With another wave the chairs all returned to normal.

Severus and I headed toward the door but I stopped short and walked back toward the desk to grab my backpack. As I grabbed my bag I remembered the call from Draco and I had to ask another question that was on my mind.

"Excuse me headmaster," I said politely, "but I was wondering why my phone worked inside of Hogwarts. Everything I've read about Hogwarts says that electronic devices don't work, and you agreed with that, but my phone obviously works."

"Headmaster," Severus interrupted, "I'm assuming that…" Dumbledore held up a hand to stop him.

"You are correct Severus," he said calmly, "One of the wards has fallen."

Severus nodded curtly and stalked out of the office. I followed along behind him with my jaw hanging open.

"Did he just say what I think he said?" I asked as we walked down the stairs. Severus didn't reply and continued to walk away. I trailed along closely behind him as he led me through a maze of hallways.

We were just heading down a flight of stairs when my body began to feel strange. My legs and arms felt heavy and numb, almost as if they had fallen asleep. The blood drained from my face and I swayed back and forth as I walked.

"Severus," I mumbled, "I don't think I feel well." Severus glanced back at me in concern before walking towards me and slipping an arm around my waist.

"We're almost there," he said softly, "let me help you." I nodded gratefully and leaned on him for support.

As we neared the last step I stopped as a feeling of dizziness overcame me. "Severus," I mumbled. All of the thoughts in my mind began to swirl and swim as darkness surrounded me. The last thing my brain registered was the staircase shifting slightly underneath us.