Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power
Usual Disclaimers apply, folks – but you know that don't you.
AN: Please review and thanks especially to those of you who have reviewed every chapter and added this story to your favorites list. Thanks for the suggestions for a new story. I am kind of leaning towards a "Dumbledore looses a young Harry" or a "Somehow Harry gets thrown back into his younger self so he gets to do over his life." What do you think? I don't think this story needs a sequel, but I might if people want one.
Chapter 18: Back to the Future
Harry and Severus had been working for months on a cure for Lycanthropy and felt they were finally close to a breakthrough and with less than nine weeks until the solstice they were working tirelessly. The major problem being they had no one to test their formula on since Wolfsbane was poisonous to anyone not a werewolf; so when the local sheriff approached Merlin with a problem, they were ecstatic. His men had managed to catch a werewolf in a snare trap on the last full moon. He had not been dangerous after the full moon last month but with the full moon close again they didn't know what to do with him now. So the Sheriff had come to Merlin to see what could be done. Apparently the man, Rufus, had been bitten himself only two months ago, and the man had a wife and children in the next village. He had been a kind man and they didn't want to just kill him if there was anything else they could do. Merlin thanked the man and told him they would keep him safely in the dungeons until the next full moon, only six days from now.
So the two brewers worked fiendishly to finish the cure in only six days. Severus gave the werewolf the first goblet of regular Wolfsbane the afternoon before the full moon and explained to Rufus that the potion would allow him to keep his mind even with the full moon, but they had a new potion that he could try, if he would be willing to take it just as the moon rose tomorrow. Rufus readily agreed and the three anxiously awaited the rising of the moon the next night, two looking through the bars of a cage set up in the dungeons, and the one in the cage, nervously holding a goblet and watching out the dungeon window. Severus said, "Now, Rufus, drink it down in one take, you must swallow it all, no matter how bad it tastes. You can do it, keep swallowing." He encouraged as the man gagged on the foul slop. Rufus managed to keep it down, but he gagged several times. He dropped the goblet, screamed and fell to the floor.
As he started to transform, a black shadow appeared surrounding his body, coalescing into the shape of the werewolf while his body remained human. The shadow of the werewolf continued to rise up under the light of the full moon, faced the two watchers and with an agonized howling, shattered into thousands of bits of shadow. Rufus remained unconscious on the floor, bathed in the light of the full moon, but not transforming. Severus and Harry were almost afraid to breathe, but after half an hour more, Rufus sat up and moaned about his aching head. He looked up through the window at the full moon still shining and started weeping loudly. Severus handed him a pillow and blanket and explained that he would have to sleep there all night just to make sure and then, leaving a house elf behind to watch Rufus as he slept, the two time travelers returned to their quarters for some well deserved rest.
The next morning Severus, Merlin, Salazar, and Harry went down to the dungeons to let Rufus out. Tipky the house elf reported that Rufus had slept calmly all night and there had been no side effects that he had seen. Severus asked, "How do you feel this morning? Any side effects that we should know about?"
"Had me a beastly head ache last night, me Lord, but I'se right as rain today! Thankee, Lord, you'se sav'd me life, you'se has. Iffin there's anythings Rufus c'n do fur ya, you'se just let me knows, Lord!" Rufus was profuse in his gratitude, bowing and trying to kiss Severus' hands as he spoke.
Severus pulled back his hands in alarm, "You just need to return next month, you won't need to take any potion, we just need to observe you one more full moon to make sure and then you will be free. Thank you for your help Rufus." Rufus agreed rapidly, still spouting thanks and Tipky took him to breakfast before showing him out of the castle.
Father and son hugged each other in triumph, they had done it! Lupin and all those like him would be free! Salazar was upset though, because some of the ingredients in the Wolfsbane potion would not be available until hundreds of years in the future. He would be unable to brew a cure once the supplies that Severus had had in his robe pockets were depleted, there would be no more.
Merlin called Severus and Harry to his chambers to meet with the four Founders the same afternoon that Rufus left. He waited until everyone was seated before beginning, "We have just over two months left to prepare everything for Severus and Harry to return to their own time so we must plan carefully to get everything done in time. Salazar, you need to review all of Harry's memories of the Chamber of Secrets so that you can duplicate the chamber below the dungeons. Placing a basilisk in it can wait for later, but everything must be done to make history repeat itself exactly. Rowena, have you developed the spell to return our friends to the future?" He had turned from Sal to look at Rowena who nodded and replied, "Yes, but I will need some help with the ritual to complete it. It will take the power of both you and Harry using your elemental strengths to complete it."
"Of course child, let me know when you have some free time." Merlin turned towards Harry who had been petting and talking to Carus, who was trilling in a peaceful song, still too tired from the late night followed by an early morning. Harry startled when Salazar reached over to pet Carus and knocked down his staff.
Salazar caught it before it could crash to the floor and stopped suddenly. All eyes turned to him as he started to glow with a beautiful silver light that was flecked with green. "What? I thought Harry said this would only work with someone of his bloodline? Am I his ancestor?" He looked confused at Merlin who asked him to pass the staff to him.
Salazar handed the staff to Godric to pass it on down the table. Godric began glowing gold with streaks of crimson after he clasped Harry's staff. "What, I can feel the power radiating off this staff, it's not supposed to do that, is it? How can I be an ancestor too? Salazar and I aren't related by blood in any way!"
Merlin actually looked confused. "Perhaps Sal and Severus can brew an origo paterna potion to use with a progenitor charm so we can clear this up somehow." The two agreed quickly as the meeting continued.
"We each need to decide what we will send with Harry and Severus back to their own time so that they can pack it into their wonderful trunks. Artemus, I need you to work out the Arithmancy calculations with Professor Keddle to determine exactly how much time has passed in the future for our friends, they will need that information to know if Harry should metamorph into his younger self or not. It would cause too much attention otherwise, as we know that Severus and Harry have decided that Harry should remain his normal 5th year student until they defeat Voldemort so that the evil one will misjudge them. Anything else today? No, then we will meet next week at this time. Oh, Sal, how long will it take to brew the origo paterna potion?"
"With Severus and Harry to help it should be ready by tonight, and then it must sit for forty eight hours to cure before we can use it." Answered Salazar.
"So, we should be ready two nights from now, perhaps after dinner in my chambers?" verified Merlin.
"Yes, that should be plenty of time. Rowena, I am sure you already know the charm we need to use with it?" He asked his sister-in-law. She acquiesced and the meeting broke up to begin their individual projects once again.
Harry thought back to two days ago, the potion had been complicated but fascinating. He enjoyed the precise and graceful way that his father brewed, and Salazar Slytherin was equally adept. He had learned so much from the two men that it was hard to believe he had ever had a hard time learning potions. He had to admit he was nervous, he knew very little about his parentage and nothing at all about any of his grandparents so this should prove enlightening. He was sure he had remembered the guardian of the lake telling him his staff could only be used by someone of his bloodline, but maybe he remembered wrong. Maybe it was just his descendants.
Everyone had rushed through dinner that night without the usual discussions and philosophical debates that usually heralded dinner in Merlin's chambers. Finally the moment of truth came.
Severus put his hands on Harry's shoulders in encouragement and whispered in his ear so that only he could hear, "No matter who you are related to, you are still you Harry! Nothing to be nervous about, we all love you no matter if this shows that you are Voldemort's long lost love child… or even mine. "
Harry snickered; leave it to his Dad to lighten up his mood. Merlin cleared the table by banishing everything back to the kitchens and Rowena laid out a very large parchment. She muttered a spell and the parchment laid flat, stuck to the table. A second charm made the paper smooth out the wrinkles, then she took a breath and with a complicated wand motion she intoned, "Progenitor Harry James Potter" over the center of the parchment. Salazar held a golden goblet under Harry's right hand while Severus flicked a ceremonial dagger and cut a small wound on his palm. They counted 5 drops precisely before Severus waved his finger and healed the cut without a scar. Salazar stirred the potion precisely ten clockwise turns with a glass stirrer and handed it to Harry.
Harry wrinkled up his nose and drank it all in one gulp, waited five minutes, and then placed both hands onto the parchment as close together as he could without them touching. Lines of elegant gold lettering spread from his hands upwards, flowing until they filled the entire parchment. The lines started out together at his name, split for his parents and continued splitting as the generations split, until up at the very top, where they joined together into one couple again.
"How…can that be…my mum was muggle born, that's what everyone tells me? How?" Severus led Harry over to a couch to sit down. The four Founders had not looked closely at the genealogy chart, not wanting to know anything about their futures, but Merlin had studied it carefully for at least ten minutes before coming to sit across from Harry. He took both of Harry's hands into his and his eyes twinkled enough to required sun glasses for the glare.
"Well, Harry, it seems both of your mother's parents were pureblooded squibs who apparently didn't tell each other of their magical heritage. Your father is a direct descendant of Galen and his wife; and your mother is a direct descendant of Deaglan and his wife. And no, Tom Riddle is not related to Salazar and Helga. If he is truly the 'Heir of Slytherin' it is from Salazar's bastard son, Seren, the one who kidnapped you and is trying to reign terror on the countryside."
"So that's why I can hear Hogwarts' speak? And why I could pull Godric's sword out of the sorting hat in my second year to kill the basilisk? And why I am a parselmouth?" Harry was stunned and full of questions.
"Yes, and we must make sure the events that occurred continue to occur so that the evil one regains a body for you to destroy. We have both your memories and those of your father and we will do as much as we can to maintain the correct flow of history. Luckily most of the very early history of Hogwarts is lost to memory. It is mostly speculation, but we will make sure there is a basilisk in the chamber for you to defeat, though I sincerely hope the anti muggle tripe that is attributed to Salazar here actually belongs to his bastard son, who has proclaimed his name to be Slytherin as well. And if it is believed that Godric fought and slew Slytherin, I would assume that at some time in the future, after he has children, that Godric will indeed slay that Slytherin and not ours. I did notice from your chart, that after three generations, the Gryffindors change their last name to Potter, I assume for safety reasons, so we will make sure to change to that name also. So Harry, you were the child of our hearts and now you are actually our child in fact. Hello, my name is Merlin and I am your so many times great-grandfather." He opened his arms and Harry hugged him tightly."
It had been a momentous evening for Harry and he was almost unable to sleep, but his father sat beside his bed and talked to him quietly until he nodded off finally; dreams of the founders, Merlin and the warmth and love of his true home filling his mind and heart.
By the next week, week seven before the solstice; Merlin had found the Lord that owned the 5,ooo acres that enclosed the 'Lake of the Innocents' who was luckily having problems with the king's tax man, and was more than willing to sell the whole parcel for the exorbitant sum of 3o galleons worth of gold. The papers had been drawn up and the rest of the travelers' gold had been placed into a Gringotts vault along with instructions for the goblins to manage the property. They would be taking the key with them in their trunks, which were steadily filling with items no longer available in their time. Severus' was almost full of rare potions ingredients, carefully packed seeds, the carefully packed phoenix eggshell, and old scrolls of potions recipes as well as many gallons of precious lake water, just in case. Harry's storage area had a full set of weapons from Godric, beautiful robes for both of them from Rowena and Helga, and dozens and dozens of books that were lost to their time, as well as Harry's genealogical chart and his formal adoption papers.
Salazar and Severus had made up as many doses of the werewolf cure, which they were calling 'Potter's potion' in a weird sense of humor, as they could with the ingredients that Severus had carried with him. He had been on his way to make Remus' potion that night so he had been carrying some critical ingredients from the storeroom to restock the lab when they had been kidnapped. There weren't many doses but Salazar wanted to help as many of those afflicted as he could.
Salazar had presented Severus with copies of all his private potions research and Severus had done the same for his 'brother'. Harry knew the two men would miss each other terribly and he knew he would miss everyone he had met, but he had friends waiting which his father really didn't. He hoped he could help his father get over the loss of the close friendships he had made in the past, but he knew it would be rough for both of them.
The next meeting was only six weeks from the summer solstice when Rowena and Merlin announced they had perfected the ritual to return the two to the future. It would take the magic of all eight of them to duplicate what Harry had done by himself in pure panic. At least now they knew why Harry was so powerful, with the two great lines of magic merging back into one child, he had Merlin's heritage doubled in him.
Things were coming to a close in the past, but in a way they had more time now than they had had in a while, since most of the loose ends had been solved and they were now just waiting for the solstice. Artemus was close on his calculations to help Harry morph to the correct age, but not quite yet. Severus and Harry were spending as much time with his new family as they could, trying to make as many memories as possible. Harry carefully sorted and filed them each night as the treasures that they were.
With only five weeks left, Artemus finished his calculations and determined that every day in the past was only one hour in the future, so one year would be only fifteen days and five hours that they had been gone. Harry would have to appear as he had in the meadow, minus the bruises and broken bones, but a skinny fifteen year old, not an athletic, confident sixteen as he was now. Harry just hoped they could defeat Tom soon so he wouldn't have to stay a runt for very long!
Using all the information that Severus remembered, Harry didn't remember much at all thankfully, they would be returning at 5 am on Christmas morning. Severus and Harry didn't want to give anyone a heart attack so they decided they would leave and return in the Great Hall as there would be no one in it at 5 in the morning on Christmas Day. Harry wasn't sure he could hold his morph shape and expend all the power that they would need to travel that far into the future, so he morphed himself to look like he had a year ago, and stayed that way until it would be time for them to leave.
Four weeks found everyone in the castle preparing for the end of year tests. There would be no O.W.L.'s as such but Harry and all the other apprentices as well as those qualified to be termed seventh years would be sitting their Master's Tests which took the place of modern N.E.W.T. tests. Of course, Harry kept telling himself he wasn't really nervous, after all he would be taking his O.W.L.'s at Hogwarts to keep up the disguise, so these tests really had no meaning. Except he really wanted to do well to please his father and his grandparents, bollocks, but that sounded weird!
The next week went by in a blur as Harry sat for test after test in everything he had ever studied. Hermione would be jealous as he sat tests in Magical Dueling, Swordsmanship and Jousting, Charms, Arithmancy, Ancient Languages, Divination, Herbology, Potions, Magical History, Wizarding Culture, Magical Healing, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, and even Care of Magical Creatures. He couldn't believe he was actually confident sitting for fourteen master's tests. He would be certified to teach and practice in every subject that he passed.
Then to his surprise, Merlin even threw in tests on his three elemental powers! For air mastery he had to raise himself and stay 'floating' in mid air for three minutes, raise an air shield to withhold Merlin throwing fire bolts at it, call and then dismiss a thunderstorm and even control a tornado. His fire tests were just as bad; he had to throw fire bolts, conjure and hold fire in his hand, light torches, call and direct lightning, and start and stop a brushfire. The tests for earth mastery he actually enjoyed; molding metals, making gems, raising stone monoliths and leveling a hill on the castle grounds where Helga wanted to place a greenhouse, he was really exhausted by the end, but he had passed all three elemental masters tests! If he passed everything, he would have an unprecedented seventeen masters to add to his name!
But he knew he would pass everything, the only thing really worrying him was when Godric decided he had to duel Merlin as his practical final for Defense class. And he had never won against Merlin before. He could now win a duel against Godric, Salazar, Severus, and Artemus all pitched together against him, but none of them controlled any elements. And he knew Merlin would use his in a duel. Harry had never seen everything Merlin could do in his arsenal; he had never had to use them in any of the duels that Harry had witnessed. Well, at least he knew his great-grandfather wouldn't hurt him too badly. At least he hoped not.
The duel was scheduled for the next Saturday afternoon, after everyone had finished all of their tests and before the parents would begin arriving the next week to take the students home for the summer holidays. All of the others had promised to help him train; he thought Godric really wanted him to win, because his grandfather had never lost a duel that he knew about.
With only two weeks remaining, Saturday morning dawned clear and crisp. Harry had been so nervous; his father had forced a dreamless sleep potion down his throat the night before, claiming he didn't want him to fall asleep in the middle of dueling. Harry didn't think he could eat anything so Severus suggested they transform and go flying as dragon and griffin to calm him down. He agreed eagerly and found that, just like flying on his broom calmed him, so did flying as a griffin.
Carus kept up with them and then just sat on his back and made rude comments at him as he flew. She informed him that another phoenix had nested where he had found her mother and that if they wanted the shell from that baby it was just sitting in the old nest from last summer. Harry sent the information over the bond to Severus and his father was so excited he forgot about the duel and wanted to go there right now and recover it. Harry laughed and told him it would have to wait for two reasons, one he had a duel to fight, and two; he wasn't exactly sure where he had camped with Merlin last summer.
Harry and Severus landed and transformed after a peaceful and relaxing flight. Harry had made sure not to get too tired, he still had to duel Merlin after lunch. He could rest a little; the competition wasn't scheduled to begin until 2:30 in the Great Hall.
Severus stepped into his son's room to wake him up at a quarter to two. He was surprised to find Harry had actually managed to fall asleep, but he supposed the relaxation and physical tension released during their flight had contributed. He presented Harry with a set of striking battle robes of deep purple, decorated with silver and black. Harry had morphed back into his real self so he tied his hair back with a purple silk strap after he got dressed in the new robes. He finished up with a pair of black dragon hide boots and gripped his holly staff in his right hand. Severus looked at him with pride, delighting in the strapping, powerful and confident young warrior that stood before him.
"You will do well, Harry, even if you do not win against Merlin. Remember, no one has since Merlin reached adulthood, so there is no fault if you do your very best. But I expect you to win, after all, no one expected you to keep winning against Tom and yet you do so every time. Don't discount your cunning and resourcefulness. And know, that I am prouder of who you have become than I can ever put into words. I am proud to have you call me Father, and I cannot express my gratitude that you let me call you son!" Severus had only love and pride showing in his dark eyes, and Harry reached up his arms around his father's neck and hugged him tightly.
"Thank you, Dad, it means so much to me, that you have faith in me. I never had anyone before and I thank you for everything you have done for me this year. Before we came here, I always wondered, deep down, if I would live long enough to graduate from school, I felt that I had no future. Now, I know we can defeat him together and that I can have dreams and a future just like everyone else. And know that you will always be in that future, no matter how we have to act around each other until Tom is gone. I love you, Severus Snape; I love you, Dad!"
Harry pulled away and chuckled, "Now enough of that mushy stuff, I have to go kick some ancient ancestor butt!" The two laughed and left their quarters to head to the Great Hall.
The Great Hall had been transformed once again into a dueling chamber, and Harry noticed the stands were full of all the students and staff, the house elves, the servants and most of the neighboring village. It seemed everyone wanted to watch Merlin duel a sixteen year old apprentice. Of course, no one but the Founders knew that Harry Potter was no ordinary apprentice and had actually dueled another in a much more deadly contest and managed to survive.
Lord Salazar called the crowd to order and announced the rules. There would be three rounds of ten minutes each. Each round would have a winner announced, and the one who won the most number of rounds would be declared the winner of the match. There would be a five minute break between each round and a round would end with a bell, or when a wizard was stunned, incapacitated and unable to continue to fight, or conceded. Being unarmed would not end a round. He introduced High Lord Merlin and his second Lord Godric Gryffindor, then turned and announced Lord Harry Potter-Snape and his second Master Severus Snape. They all bowed to each other, Godric and Severus left the platform and both mages cast strong air shields around the spectators, their seconds, and the judges, Salazar, Rowena, Helga, and the Mayor, the Sheriff, and the local Muggle Lord.
Salazar then turned back to Merlin and Harry, speaking clearly and distinctly so the crowd could hear everything he announced, "The first round is wandless magic only, the second round will be staff and wandless magic only, the third will be elemental magic, staffs and wandless combined. Gentlemen, you have three minutes to prepare before the first bell."
Merlin and Harry shook hands and returned to their areas to talk to their seconds. Harry was getting nervous again and Severus was trying to calm him down. "Harry, use your Occlumency and shut out all the distractions, focus, this is just like a Quidditch match and you know you focus completely on those. Take a few deep breaths, reach inside you to your magical core and go 'beat some ancient ancestor butt!'"
Harry smiled at his Dad and gave him a thumbs up. He left his staff with Severus and strode out confidently to meet Merlin just before the first bell rang. Harry cast a powerful bludgeoning spell at Merlin who easily blocked it, returning a stunning hex. Both men were tossing powerful spells with their hands and while Merlin mostly used shields to counter Harry's spells, Harry used a combination of shields and physical moves to dodge Merlin's spells. It quickly became a battle between cunning and resourcefulness of youth versus wisdom and experience of maturity, and it was clearly a very close battle.
After an unknown purple spell sizzled past Harry's cheek, surprising him, he felt power well up within him and a single minded focus that he only found while chasing the snitch, came over him. He sent four blasting curses at Merlin, alternating his right and left hand as he staggered them right, center, right, and then left. Merlin's shield stopped the first two with a loud clang of power, but the third one shattered it, and the fourth one hit Merlin on the left shoulder and blew him spinning backward ten feet, until he landed hard on his back. He recovered quickly and blasted back the same unknown purple spell that had just barely missed Harry last time. Harry ducked under it and hit the floor directly in front of his Master's feet with a reflexive charm from his left hand, then quickly shot a simple stunner from his right hand, with tremendous power behind it, at the floor directly in front of Merlin's feet. It hit the floor with a sharp reverberation, bounced up under the bottom of Merlin's shield and hit the mage stunning him senseless just as the first bell rang to end the round. Harry instantly dropped his hands and looked over at the stunned judges as Godric revived his grandfather. Salazar stepped to the center and announced, "First round to Apprentice Potter-Snape!" The crowd erupted in cheers and a thunderous applause.
When Harry stepped out to meet Merlin for the second round he saw something he had never seen before. Merlin was angry, very angry and very determined. Harry wasn't sure how to handle this. He felt insecure, 'What am I doing, this is Merlin! I can't beat him, what am I trying to do?' He gulped and met Merlin's first blow awkwardly and just barely deflected the backward swing of Merlin's staff coming at his head. Severus sent a single command to Harry, "FOCUS" that blasted into Harry's brain and made him startle and then, once again, his magical core took command and he struck high and then ducked to sweep under Merlin's feet. The old man gracefully jumped and looked delighted that Harry had once again become focused on the task at hand. The two exchanged blows and then spells until the spectator shields were glowing and ringing with power. Harry shielded a whirling attack from Merlin, but was a split second too late to counter a blasting hex and twirled twice before landing with a roll and rising instantly again to his feet. The floor under the two combatants was beginning to glow golden with power when the second bell rang, ending the round. Merlin and Harry instantly stepped apart and separated to their chairs to rest. Severus handed Harry a towel to wipe the sweat from his head and handed him a goblet of water to drink.
Harry knew that the round had been close, but he knew he had lost it because he had hit the floor and Merlin had not. So it was no surprise when Salazar stepped to the middle of the platform and announced, "Second round to High Lord Merlin. The match is tied; the third round will decide the winner."
Harry really wanted to win the third round but he had never dueled using the elements and he had never even seen one as a spectator before. Godric and Salazar had described seeing Merlin duel with another elemental apprentice but that had been fourteen years before and they weren't too sure how any of the things had been accomplished, just that they had been awed at the power the two commanded; which wasn't very helpful actually.
Severus told Harry that he obviously had never known what he was doing when he went up against Voldemort either so he should just wing it like he usually did. Harry just gave him a snarky and sarcastic 'Thanks, Dad!' and rolled his eyes, until he realized that it wasn't really bad advice! So he figured for the third round he would just turn the entire battle over to his instincts and if he won, so be it! If he lost, oh well, he had won a round against Merlin, and nobody else ever had, so he was still ahead.
Harry took several deep breaths, focused his mind; opening himself completely to his magical center and losing himself in the power. He stood in the center of the platform, completely at ease and waited for the final round to begin. Totally detached, he watched Merlin approach him and some part of him registered the ringing of the bell. Merlin started by throwing a massive fire ball that Harry simply shot high into the air over, flipping in mid air and casting lightning back at Merlin. Merlin ducked to the side and waved a swirl of air to deflect the bolt. Harry dove to the floor and tossed up a fireball of his own. Merlin countered with a wall of water which Harry quickly froze around the old man. It took a minute for Merlin to melt the ice of his own shield before sending a mini tornado at Harry.
Harry simply rode the wind like a skateboard and let it fling him back at Merlin, summoning his staff and blasting a curse at Merlin while simultaneously sending lightning again with his left hand. Merlin barely got his staff up to counter the blasting curse but the lightning struck the ground directly in front of his feet, throwing him off balance as the floor buckled with the strength of the blast. Harry took advantage of Merlin's stumble to cast ropes around the older mage. Merlin shucked off the ropes, ducked to the left as Harry landed directly in front of him and swung his staff at Harry. Harry simply ducked and pointed his staff at Merlin under his swing, shooting him with another simple and yet powerful stunner. It hit Merlin in the stomach and finished the round a full minute before the bell rang. Harry dropped his staff and sat on the floor, exhausted and yet triumphant.
The crowd was stunned for a moment, and then a thunderous sound of applause and shouting shook the walls of the castle.
Salazar rose and walked to the middle of the platform. It took three tries of shooting sparks from his wand to settle the crowd down. He looked stunned as he announced, "Third round to Apprentice Potter-Snape. Match to Apprentice Potter-Snape!" The crowd erupted again and this time there was no stopping them.
Godric had again revived Merlin who had stepped up to Harry, formally shook his hand and then pulled the stunned boy into a firm embrace. "Harry, I haven't had such fun in ages! We must do this again before you leave, though perhaps with a few less people watching, hmm?"
Severus handed Harry a pepper-up potion and then gently guided him out of the Great Hall so that people would not mob the stunned teen.
The participants and the judges all met in Merlin's chambers to talk and share refreshments while the rest of the crowd celebrated in the Great Hall. Harry sat beside Merlin on a comfortable couch in front of the fire and slowly came out of his dazed state.
Merlin was talking quietly to the muggle Lord and the men from the village, "So this upstart who calls himself Salazar has gone to ground since last summer. Do you know what he is planning or where he might be hiding?"
The Sheriff began, "The top leaders in the kidnapping of young Potter there were all hanged, the others got sentences of four to ten years and they are still all in goal, some here and some sent to London town. We haven't heard much of Seren Slytherin since the kidnapping, but only five or six of his men escaped your forces and I think you hurt him badly. We think he has traveled over about three counties, they report some similar troubles there now.
The people there are getting fired up against witches and wizards and there have been some on both sides killed. That young fellow Rafe that was arrested in the castle was a real trouble maker, he tried to lead an escape and wound up killing several other prisoners with just magic. He was screaming about wizards being the rightful masters and how we was all to bow down to them. One of the guards had to run him through with a pike to save himself or I don't know how many he would have killed."
The mayor agreed, "We will keep an eye out for Seren if he returns and call upon you for assistance if we may?" When Merlin quickly agreed he continued, "We have always had a peaceful coexistence with you here in the castle and we would like to continue that. Can we count on those here in the castle for defense if the anti-wizardry furor spreads to this area?"
"Of course and you are also welcome to come here for sanctuary at any time you or your citizens' feel threatened. We can also cast spells that make your village invisible to any others that don't know that it is there if you like." Merlin offered.
The Mayor of Hogsmeade replied, "I don't think it has come to that point yet, but it might come to that in the near future. We have had a fair number of parents of your students here move to the area to be closer to them and we want everyone to feel welcome, magic and non magic alike. Though if the magic folk that want to be close to their children here in the castle keep moving into the area, we may soon be a powerful magical community and able to defend ourselves."
Everyone laughed and the conversation flowed to more general topics as Harry dozed against his great grandfather's shoulder. He could hear a deep and comforting 'voice' telling him that it too would keep Hogsmeade safe through the years.
No one was surprised to find that Harry had passed his Masters' tests in every subject that he had studied. The Founders were sad to see him go as they would have liked for him to be a teacher at Hogwarts in the future, but they knew he had a destiny he needed to fulfill in his own time. Harry carefully rolled his seventeen Mastery Certificates and placed them in storage into his chest with pride, especially the one for Magical Defense!
With less than a week until the solstice, he was beginning to feel the sadness of saying goodbye to his family. He hated to give up the family he had found in the past to go to an uncertain future, and yet he knew he must. He would always be grateful for all they had taught him and for the chance to heal away from constant attacks and stress. He had appreciated having a chance to be a child, even though he always knew he would never be a 'normal' child.
The students had all left by the end of the week; his family was spending almost all of their time together, finishing up loose ends, adding forgotten things to Harry and Severus' trunks. They had all trekked up to the 'Lake of the Innocents' once again and then Severus, Merlin, Harry and Salazar had ridden on up to the crest of the mountain to bring back the phoenix egg shell. Carus had Harry tell them that the phoenixes considered the mountain to be sacred also, and so many female phoenixes came there to hatch their eggs; they should check every year for another shell, the birds did not mind their useless shells being used for healing medicines and in fact were delighted to help.
Severus and Harry had spent many hours over the past few weeks coming up with a plan for the two of them to be able to develop a 'new' relationship right under the noses of their friends, giving Severus a means to change his personality without arousing suspicions, but Harry and Severus would have to really throw themselves into it wholeheartedly to keep from arousing suspicions. And they would need the help of Harry's friends. They would charm Harry's journal of the past year to appear only to the house elf Dobby, and leave him a parchment inside; directing him to give it to the five teens in the common room of Gryffindor tower only when they were all alone.
They left further instructions for the journal to be read by all the teens and then what their jobs would be; to pull off the biggest 'prank' that Hogwarts had ever seen. They both felt sure that the five would understand their new relationship after reading Harry's journal and Harry knew they would all appreciate the unusual feeling of knowing what was going on when all the adults were clueless!
Severus and Merlin were both certain that Harry would pass out after the tremendous amount of power he would need to feed to the others, and Merlin was almost as certain that Severus too would lose consciousness. Merlin felt that they would both need several days to recover the tremendous amounts of magic they would expend and the castle had been asked not to replace their magic, but to let them heal naturally.
They should both be taken to the hospital wing as soon as they were found and the first thing Madame Pomfrey would do; would be to dress them in those blasted hospital pajamas, as she always did. And then their robes would be given to the house elves to clean and return to their quarters. So the journal with the instructions, including what to do with their shrunken trunks, was left in Severus' pocket. If he didn't pass out, he could just manage to call Dobby and hand him the journal then.
After all the picnics, the mock duels, the trading of stories, the hugs and awkward silences, the time for Severus and Harry to return quickly came. Harry had gone into a trance and talked to Hogwarts one last time two days ago, telling her they would be traveling home into the future and that even though they would probably appear there very tired and even magically drained, the castle was not to heal them as they did not want anyone to know the castle was protecting him. He told her he would be happy to talk to her again in his own time and he was proud of the job she would do to keep the children safe.
Harry and Severus had dressed in their old robes, Harry's old worn out trainers were lost somewhere in time so he was barefoot, and their shrunken trunks, and Harry's journal with the instructions for his friends were hidden inside sealed pockets within Severus' robe. Harry looked exactly as he had the night before they had disappeared and Harry and Severus had practiced being snarky to each other for the past two weeks, of course it didn't help that they kept grading each other and making comments across their mental bond. They really had to work on not breaking out into laughter when no one had said anything aloud. Severus was having a hard time returning to a snarling and smirking visage, he had gotten out of the habit, so they had promised to help each other to stay in character as much as possible.
Harry and Severus were standing in the middle of the Great Hall, hugging each other tightly, Carus gripping Harry's shoulder with her talons, and looking nervous. Harry had packed his staff into his trunk so he would need to focus his power and send it to the others in the outer circle instead of through his staff. They had practiced this the last two weeks and he had gotten very good at feeding power to each of the Founders without causing overload in them.
Rowena stood to the north, Helga to the south, her husband Salazar to the east and her brother Godric to the west. Merlin stood behind Rowena in the north and Artemus behind Helga in the south. The four Founders called up their magic and blended it around the two in the middle of them, Rowena deep blue, Helga golden sunshine yellow, Salazar deep emerald green and Godric shining crimson. Artemus blended his glistening silver magic with Merlin's golden shimmer over the top of the other four. They raised their hands sending blessings for a safe journey and then all chanted together:
Posterus ut preteritus
Reverto quis est lost
Preteritus revert out posterus
On the third recitation, a column of blinding white, pure magical energy engulfed the two travelers standing in the middle until they were completely shielded from view. The magic collapsed in upon itself and with a last flash, the room cleared to find just six people left standing.
AN: Don't beat me, another evil cliff hanger. I am typing as fast as my little fingers can go. I promise I will update soon. Do you still love me anyway? This update was on Saturday night, I didn't make you wait until Sunday afternoon like I said. I am already typing the middle of page seven of the next chapter so don't worry.
Posterus ut preteritus +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+Future to past
Reverto quis est lost+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+Return what was lost
Preteritus revert out posterus+-+-+-+-+-+-Past return to future
My daughter's two years of high school Latin must be good for something other than molecular biochemistry, right?