Whoops! I made a mistake. I accidently posted the wrong version of this chapter. This one is basically the same, except it has a little more at the end. To make up for my mistake, I'll post a few more chapters today. :)

9. Advice From the Founders

Harry's eyes widened. I can't believe it. The four founders! What an honor. Everything went silent. Godric Gryffindor had good posture and looked very impressive.

"Hello there young Harry Potter," he said calmly. Harry was utterly speechless.

"The four of us have come to give you council," he said. Salazar Slytherin spoke next. His pointed hat was pulled low over his face.

"You should not linger long. I may as well get to the point. Being in the company of these three," he tilted his head towards the other founders, "has showed me that my weakness is lack of love. As is the same for most students in my house. I assume that would also be the same for my heir. That is your power; love. It is something I never knew," he hissed.

Now Rowena Ravenclaw glided forward. She had a long beautiful dress, and dark elaborate hair.

"With the wits of Ravenclaw, kindness of Hufflepuff, and bravery of Gryffindor, you will be able to subside the Dark Lord." It seemed she thought the word 'Lord,' was an overstatement.

Helga Hufflepuff had a round, full face, a long flowing skirt, and a kind smile on her face.

"That is the same way we subsided Salazar. Living with us for nearly a thousand years has made him realize that his weakness was lack of love, and we were right all along. Not that he didn't have good ideas."

"And cunning advice," he added, in another hiss. "But now I shall give you something to remember," he hissed.

Harry could tell, by the amount of hisses emitted from his mouth, that he was speaking Parseltongue, so only Harry would be able to tell what he was saying.

"Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus. That is something you must remember." Harry knew that this was the Hogwarts motto, but wasn't entirely sure what it meant.

Three of the shadows glided away, leaving Gryffindor. Whispers from other shadows erupted in the silence. Gryffindor spoke again.

"You must show kindness, have enough bravery to do so, and choose your words carefully, for they can prove very powerful." Godric Gryffindor said, and he too, glided away.

"Well Harry," said Dumbledore, "that was certainly an honor." Harry couldn't believe what happened. The four founders of Hogwarts had just given him advice.

"Harry, we must discuss Horcruxes," said Dumbledore. "We believe there are seven of them. Slytherin's ring has been taken care of, the diary has been destroyed, but we still have four more, excluding Voldemort himself."

Harry had just noticed that Dumbledore's hand was no longer blackened and withered. It had taken that appearance when he destroyed the ring, or whatever he did to it. Also, Dumbledore was no longer wearing his half moon spectacles.

"We can also surmise a guess that Slytherin's locket, and Hufflepuff's cup are Horcruxes. That leaves two more, and that Harry, is for you to figure out. I do not know what they are, or how to find them. I can only guess that one of them is a Ravenclaw heirloom, and that the other could possibly be Voldemort's snake, Nagini. I've learned from Regulus, that he did not succeed in destroying the locket. And I don't know where that is either. Dark and difficult times lie ahead Harry. Even darker than before." Dumbledore sighed. Harry didn't know what to think.

"The-the locket wasn't destroyed? What happened to it?" he asked. Regulus glided forward.

"I left it in the possession of my dear cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange." At first Harry didn't think he heard correctly. It can't be.

"Bellatrix?"

"Yes. I didn't realize how foolish it was at the time. But I hardly think she knows what it is. She might not even still have it."

"How am I supposed to get it?" Harry asked Dumbledore.

"I don't know Harry, I don't know."

"What about Snape? What am I supposed to do with him?"

"Harry, what did I always tell you?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

"You always said you trusted him." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

"But Professor Dumbledore, you haven't yet told me how to destroy a Horcrux," Harry said, slightly confused.

"To be honest Harry, I haven't the slightest idea. Your best bet would be to bring it here. How can Voldemort return when he's in the land of the dead?"

Next, Lily spoke.

"Harry darling, you must not linger with the dead. Even if we were alive, you would have to move on. You are no longer my little boy, you are a man. Young men don't stay with their parents forever. They leave home, and settle down to start a family of their own. I love you Harry, but you cannot stay here forever."

Harry's eyes started to sting again; he didn't want to leave his parents. Some of the former Head Masters and Head Mistresses, who's portraits resided in Dumbledore's office, were looking at Harry sympathetically.

"Harry, I love you. Stay strong," said James. Lily was sobbing into her hands.

"I love you so much Harry darling," she said.

"I love you too," Harry said, holding himself high. Phineas Nigellus, a former Hogwarts Head Master, glided forward.

"Remember, don't wallow in self pity! But don't bask in glory either!" he called after Harry.

"Harry, don't let information about the Fortress fall into the wrong hands, it is supposed to be a secret only the dead know," said Dumbledore.

"It's time to go Sirius. Come on." The two of them walked over to the entrance of the Fortress, which was the archway with the curtain. Inscribed on the archway, were the words:

None But The Purest Exit The Realm Of Shadow.

I wonder what that means? Obviously, something about the Fortress destroys Horcruxes. At least, that's what Dumbledore said. Sirius seemed to be thinking along the same lines. They gave each other quizzical looks, and then shrugged.

They did the only thing they could think of. Each of them pulled back a side of the curtain from the center. Apparently one couldn't do this alone, because you would need someone to pull back the other side.

"Here goes," Sirius said. Instead of the icy spears Harry had felt upon entering, he felt a warmth creep through his toes, and all the way up his body.

It felt very good, but it was painful in some places. It felt as though someone was scrutinizing every part of his body, and it was painful if the warmth came in contact with something that didn't belong. Next thing, Harry found himself in the dark room in the Department of Mysteries.

"Um, Harry? How exactly do we get out of here without being noticed?" Sirius asked.

"What? Oh, your name was cleared ages ago," Harry replied, forgetting Sirius wasn't up to date on everything that was going on. Relief spread over his face, and he relaxed a little. They climbed up the steep steps, and walked into the circular room. The walls spun, but Harry knew what to do.

"Which way is the exit?" One of the doors sprung open, revealing the dark corridor. They walked down in silence, and then got on the lift.

A few witches and wizards stared disbelievingly, but didn't say anything, for fear of being mistaken. When they finally reached the main level, that's when people started to ask questions. Harry saw Mr. Weasley again, and his eyes widened.

"Sirius? Sirius Black?" he asked incredulously. A few people gasped. "Harry, what's going on?" he asked, still bemused. Harry didn't really know what to say, in order to explain. Before Harry could get away, he heard someone coming. It was Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister of Magic.

"What's going on?" he asked gruffly.

"Sirius, we've gotta get out of here," Harry muttered anxiously. "That's the Minister of Magic." Sirius nodded, and disapparated.

Scrimgeour was nudging his way through the crowd of people. Harry slipped behind a pillar, and was now at the back of the crowd, instead of the front. He found Mr. Weasley nearby.

"Mr. Weasley, can you help me get out of here?" Harry whispered. Mr. Weasley turned around, and looked surprised for a moment. He gave Harry a questioning look, but agreed.

"Come on, I'll Apparate you to the Burrow. That's where everyone else is. Ron and Hermione wouldn't say a word when we asked where you were. Was that actually Sirius?"

"Yeah, but he disapparated. I don't know where he went. Maybe Grimmauld Place," Harry said. He took hold of Mr. Weasley's arm, and in a second, they were standing in front of the Burrow.

"You go on inside Harry. I'll keep a lookout for Sirius. You just stay here," Mr. Weasley said, looking over his shoulder, as he usually did when he was outside.

With a pop, he was back at the Ministry. Harry walked towards the front door of the Burrow and knocked.

"Who-who is it?" asked a timid voice. It sounded like Mrs. Weasley.

"It's Harry," he replied. The door opened a crack, and then wide.

"Oh Harry! We've been worried sick about you. Where did you go off to?"

"Um, I er, went to er, find Sirius," he said. Mrs. Weasley's face changed from worried, to sympathetic.

"Harry dear, you know he's gone," she said. Harry stepped inside. He could smell delicious food being cooked. It was nice to step into the warm, cozy little house. It looked like it was about to snow outside.

"Harry!" shouted Hermione, running forward. "What happened?"

"What exactly were you doing Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked suspiciously.

"I uh, went through the curtain in the Department of Mysteries," he said, looking down at the floor as he spoke.

"Oh! Harry, how did you get out?" Mrs. Weasley asked, now looking worried again.

"Well, Sirius helped me out, didn't you Sirius?" Harry asked. Mrs. Weasley seemed oblivious to the fact that Sirius had just walked in. She whirled around.

"Sirius!" she nearly fainted.