CHAPTER 7

The room was about the size of Dudley's second bedroom, and only had four portraits on the walls. The floor was white marble, and the walls were also white; Harry gaped at the people in the pictures.

"What's this?" A red-headed man with rather tan skin and about thirty years old said, "A boy?"

"No Gryffindor, I think it's a thestral." The dry comment came from a pale, sneering, black-haired man with a goatee, and dark green eyes.

The blonde, curly haired woman with a round, friendly face gave the two men an annoyed look, "Oh leave be Salazar, ya know what 'e meant." Salazar glared at her, but a second woman with tan skin and chestnut colored hair looked at Harry with deep blue eyes. "Well, shall you explain?" she asked.

Harry snapped back to reality, not wanting to seem stupid in front of the four founders of Hogwarts. "My name is Harry Potter, Miss Ravenclaw; I'm the heir of the Black family."

"Ah, 'e's polite!" the blonde exclaimed, "Must be a Hufflepuff!"

Godric rolled his eyes, "No way, if he's a Potter, he's my descendant-- so he's Gryffindor."

Slytherin sneered at the other portraits, "If he's the heir to the Black family, he must be a pureblood, and so he's--"

"Not necessarily a Slytherin," Rowena interrupted, "He seems sharp, just like all Ravenclaws should be." This led to a louder, angrier debate between the four. Man, they must be getting real tired of each other, Harry thought. "Hold on a minute!" He yelled, "Please!"

The portraits all stopped, looking at him. "Sure is brave--" Godric began, but was silenced by the look on Ravenclaw's face.

"Thank you," Harry said, voice returning to normal. "Now, like I said, my name's Harry, and yes, I'm a Gryffindor." Godric beamed. "But the Sorting Hat did think of putting me in Slytherin because of some--qualities-- I happened to inherit."

Salazar raised an eyebrow, "Like what?"

Harry thought about it, "Well, I have a er--more than slight tendency to get into trouble," Godric chuckled, "and, well-- I can speak Parsletongue." Harry finished in the hissing-tone of snake language.

"Not too bad," Salazar replied in the same way.

Harry nodded, "Thanks."

Rowena looked curiously at him," So Harry, tell us a bit about yourself."

"Wait!" Godric interrupted, "What'd you say? What'd Slytherin say?"

"None of your business," the green-eyed portrait replied haughtily.

"Now let 'Arry talk," Helga demanded, and looked kindly at the sixteen year-old.

"Thanks," he told her. So Harry began to tell them about his life, from the death of his parents, to his exploration of Black Manor. Ravenclaw complimented him on his quick thinking in the Triwizard Tournament, and Godric on Harry's making the house team at age eleven. Helga enjoyed the fact that Harry was friends with a muggle-born, and was so loyal to his friends. Slytherin was a bit miffed of Harry's slaying the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets with Godric's sword (Gryffindor was certainly happy about it), but was on Harry's side when he told them about why he'd run from the Order and Dumbledore, and the mischief Harry got into. "So, that's my life in a nutshell." Harry finished, earning a chuckle from Helga.

"So you will either have to kill Voldemort, or be killed yourself?" Salazar clarified after a few moments of silence.

Harry nodded, "Unfortunately."

Salazar's next question surprised all of them, "Does it bother you that Tome Riddle happens to be my heir?"

Harry dropped his head a little, "Yes," he answered quietly, "I don't want to kill anyone, but he kills more for fun. In second year, he petrified all those people, just to try to get me. He killed my parents, just to kill me. Because of him, I've lost all my family-- I'm sorry that Voldemort's your heir, but I can't let what happened to me, happen to others."

"Courageous," Godric said,

"Loyal," Helga added,

"Smart," Ravenclaw put in,

"And will do anything to make ends meet," Salazar finished a bit smugly, startling Harry further.

"Sir?" he asked, confused greatly.

Salazar crossed his arms, "From the way you speak of Voldemort, I can tell he is no heir of mine. Tom Riddle is long dead, Voldemort replaced him. He is no longer of my blood either. In your fourth year, he took your blood yes, but only a bit; the rest was the other man's, Wormtail, I believe you called him"

Harry thought about it, "I see."

Slytherin nodded, "Not only that, but those worthy of being in Slytherin house are now few in number. I must admit, your Professor Snape and Draco Malfoy do qualify in their attitude towards Gryffindors" Slytherin chuckled while Godric scowled at him.

Harry snorted, knowing he was right. "Hey, if you don't mind me asking, why, or how, did you get in here? And what does, 'Those who pass all barriers, pass this' mean?"

Three of them looked at Rowena, who smiled and began to explain. "Well, we're not quite sure how our portraits got from Hogwarts to here, but we have been here form, this is just an estimate, at least seven hundred years.

Harry's eyes widened, "That's a long time."

They laughed. "Quite so," Rowena agreed, "As for the phrase, why do you ask?"

"I found it written on the door above the knocker." Harry answered.

"Could you describe the knocker?" She asked, tapping her chin in thought. Harry did, picturing the creature in his mind. When he finished, Ravenclaw smiled. "I believe I know the answer." Slytherin rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath in Parsletongue. Ignoring him, she continued, "Think of the separate animals Harry, then think of what was behind the door." A lion, a snake, a bird, and a badger, Harry thought. The four mascots of Hogwarts-- all combined in one.

"Just tell us the answer already," the red-head grumbled to Ravenclaw.

"No, that would take all the fun out of it," Salazar replied sarcastically.

"I think I've got it," Harry said, stopping the argument before it began. "The creature was made of your four mascots-- the lion, the badger, the raven, and the serpent. Normally, those four animals wouldn't get along; but, the knocker was a combination of all of them, just like when you four joined to make Hogwarts. So, what the inscription meant, I guess, was that only the people who ignore the boundaries set by the four houses could enter this room."

Rowena considered it for a moment, "Close, but not quite." Godric let out a groan, making Helga smile. "You're confining yourself. All boundaries Harry."

Harry thought about it again, "Then it's talking about the people who ignore-- or don't follow-- the boundaries of the entire world. Like differences: whether it's race, blood, background, talent or house. Only those people can come in here."

A bright flash of white light burst in the room, blinding both the portraits and Harry for a minute. When their sight cleared, Harry noticed that the portraits were full-length, and a paper was lying on the ground. "A scroll?" Slytherin said.

"No, I think it's a rock," Godric said mockingly.

Salazar glared at him, looking much like Snape. "Ha-ha, very funny." he spat, Godric only laughed. Sneering, he turned to look at Harry, "Read it."

"Please," Helga reminded him.

Salazar rolled his eyes, "Please," he muttered.

Biting back a grin, Harry picked up the parchment and read it out loud. "' Congratulations to you who have solved the Riddle of the Chimera. The flash of light you experienced was the finishing of a spell left alone for a long time. 701 years to be exact, this paper keeps track. The spell allows more portraits to be put around the house--no doubt some have already appeared. You may use these to travel around the mansion, and other things as well. My apologies for the inconvenience of putting you four in the same room, but it was easiest. I encourage you to figure out the other part of the spell, and all I shall tell you is this: work together. Good luck' signed, G.B."


Coming Up:

Decoration and further Exploration of Black Manor

Then:

Lessons begin with the founders