Disclaimer: All of this is based upon the lovely J.K. Rowling's work. I own nothing except Salazar's wife, son, and various other original characters. This story is an AU of sixth year, but it will contain a few spoilers from Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows. However, it will still seriously diverge from canon.
"blah": dialogue
'blah': thoughts
"blah" : Parseltongue
"blah": Legilimency/Telepathy
Italics: excerpt from a book /newspaper or any other written form
Bold: a word or phrase that is emphasized
Italics, Underlined, and Bold: location/date of a scene in the story
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Truth within the Lies
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, The Sorting Hat's Secret Room: September 13th, 1996
She awoke slowly, vision blurring and head pounding. The room danced in circles, and she was forced to squeeze her eyes shut lest the nausea overwhelm her. Allowing her stomach to settle, she opened her eyes again. This time everything was slightly less blurry. She could almost make out individual objects, which were now hazy blobs, instead of the sea of color she had originally seen.
She groaned, trying to sit up, only to discover that she was slumped down in what would normally be a comfortable, blue armchair. Raising a shaky hand to her temple, she blinked and tried to refocus. A blob of black approached her, kneeling in front of her seat. Grey eyes blinked rapidly, the blob turning into the faint outline of a person; the black now distinguished itself into robes and hair.
"Minerva," the blob-person asked with a hint of a Celtic accent, respectful of the way her head pounded. When he elicited no response, the male voice tried again, "Rowena?"
And something clicked in her mind. It was all there. She knew exactly who she was, who she had been, and who she was meant to be. Everything was as it should be. And for the first time in her current life, she felt as though she was home, like she was exactly where she was needed.
A soothing presence filled her mind, whispering words of comfort to her and working its magic. Minerva's head stopped pounding. Her stomach completely settled, and everything came into focus. Hogwarts sighed with happiness, her task complete, and settled into a corner of the woman's mind, watching quietly.
Minerva's vision focused. The first thing she noticed was a pair of impossibly bright and large green eyes gazing up at her from near her knees.
"Salazar?"
The lips, which went with the eyes, smiled. "Of course, who else did you expect? Tom Riddle?"
Like a shot, Minerva was out of her chair, nearly sending Harry crashing to the floor before she caught him. She pulled him into a fierce hug, squeezing most of the air out of his lungs. Belatedly, a pair of arms came around her and hugged back.
The tears came freely then. "I've missed you so much, my brother," she sniffled into his shoulder, belatedly noticing that he wasn't as tall as he once was but that he soon would be again. "You were dead," she stated between sobs. "You were dead. And Godric tried to tell us that you had left… run away. But I knew better. I knew that you'd never leave us, not willingly."
They fell silent then. No words were needed. They just stood with complete quiet, still embracing and reveling in their reunion. Minutes passed, but they remained still. With the clearing of a throat, Minerva jumped and whirled around. She had entirely forgotten about the others, though Harry had not. He simply stepped back and walked over to Luna and Dominic. He nodded to Fawkes, who was perched on the vampire's shoulder.
However, Minerva didn't even notice. She was too busy staring at Severus, who was now standing mere inches from her.
"Quinn?"
He gave a slight nod, apparently unable to do much more. The two inched closer, now barely touching. Slowly, his arms wrapped around her, and he embraced his wife. His forehead pressed to hers, his lips descended, and they were kissing as though their very lives depended upon it.
Harry looked away, wanting to give them a private moment. His eyes sparkled as he glanced around and noted that, while Severus was the only other one awake, the others were beginning to stir.
With a wink to his girlfriend, the teenager sauntered over to Molly and gently leaned her up in the chair they had moved her to after she had fainted. He tucked a stray strand of fiery hair behind her ear before moving a few feet away and checking over Arthur, who was snoring softly. Luna exchanged a chuckled with Dom, and the two separated. The blonde went over to Hermione and Draco, while the professor traveled to Ginny and Neville. Like the Weasleys, they also had been moved to chairs after the revelation of the Gate. Meanwhile, Fawkes took flight and winged over to Bill and Sybill. He cooed softly as the witch stirred, moaning in her sleep. The two other professors were completely oblivious to it all, still locked in their intimate moment.
Molly Weasley groaned and shifted in her seat, memories rushing back. She exhaled and opened her eyes, only to snap them shut because what she was seeing could not possibly be true. There could not possibly be two Harry Potters. Or was it Salazar Slytherins? She couldn't tell as the two looked so much alike, and they were standing directly in front of her. A moment passed, and she opened her eyes again. She blinked, the two dark-haired wizards merging into one.
The redhead smiled. "Hello, Harry. Or it is Salazar?"
Across the room, Hermione shook her head and attempted to overcome the shock of what she had just learned. She finally sat up, her eyes fluttering. She glanced at Luna, taking the offered hand and being pulled to her feet. The brunette swayed slightly, but the other witch steadied her.
"Er… thanks, Aunt Siobhan," the Prefect whispered quietly, not quite meeting the blonde's eyes. She twitched uncomfortably, obviously uneasy with the situation. Not that Luna could really blame her.
It was rather strange waking up with a lifetime's worth of memories. Realizing that people you thought you understood, you didn't really know at all. It wasn't everyday that you discovered that the Ravenclaw you didn't particularly care for was your adopted aunt in a past life. Nor that your hated Potions professor was really your father and that the deputy headmistress was your mother.
Luna nodded. "You're welcome, Rhayne… Hermione," she corrected quickly.
The other witch smiled very faintly, but her attention was diverted to the other person in their corner. Draco Malfoy. The Slytherin had stirred some time ago, but he was just now beginning to wake. Hermione knelt next to his chair, while Luna dreamily ambled over to a moaning Neville Longbottom. The female Prefect helped the Slytherin sit up, staring at him the entire time. Draco stared back.
Minutes passed without either saying a word.
Finally, Malfoy opened his mouth. "So how are things, Rhayne? Lovely time we had earlier, wasn't it? I just so love being knocked unconscious by a necklace of doom and its mysterious, bright light," he commented flippantly, drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair. He waited for her to respond, but when she didn't, he spoke again. "What's wrong, sis? Phoenix got your voice?"
Hermione stared at Draco with shock. "Um…er… you're my brother?" she asked hesitantly. "I remember him… er… you, but I wasn't sure that it was you. Aunt Sio… I mean Luna didn't mention that little fact," the witch murmured swiftly, speaking more to herself than to him. "She just said that Harry was really Salazar, Professors McGonagall and Snape were my… our parents. Oh, and that the Weasleys were really Aunt Helga and Uncle Edmund. Trelawney was our other aunt, and Ginny was Grandmother Amia. Bill was Elgin, which makes sense if you think about it…"
Her babbling continued in vain for several moments. The blond rolled his eyes and settled back in his chair once more. He was used to his twin's ramblings, after all.
"So you're my brother," Hermione picked up the original thread of the conversation several minutes later. Well, that makes sense, but that is just… that's just… well, that's very odd," she finished rather lamely.
The Slytherin sighed. "Yes, I got that the first time." He snickered, eyeing her. And then, he smiled. "You really haven't changed, have you? You still talk as fast as a dragon flies."
Hermione giggled, the sound quickly gaining a hysterical edge. Tears of mirth clung to her eyelashes, and she rested her head on the edge of the chair. She exhaled, wheezing slightly. She felt Draco shift. And soon, he was kneeling next to her.
"Hey… hey, it's alright," he whispered and stroked her hair. "Everything will be just fine now. We are together." A genuine smile tugged his lips. "Everything is as it should be."
To the side, another redhead sat up and groaned. He rubbed his head and the enormous knot that had magically appeared on it.
"Great," he mumbled, pulling his hand away to see that there was semi-dried blood on it. "We all get knocked out, but I'm the only one to hit my head on the way down. Blasted table. What was it doing there anyway?"
Grumbling to himself, he felt a weight settle on his shoulder and heard a lovely cooing in his hair. Belatedly, he noticed the feeling of moisture dripping onto the sore spot of his head and felt the pain ease away. His wound was now healed.
"Thanks, Fawkes," Bill commented with a grin, also noticing that all traces of grogginess were gone. "That is a wonderful pick-me-up. If we could package that and sell it as a hang-over cure, we'd make a fortune." He winked, a sparkle in his dark-blue eyes. "Works better than the potions we have now at any rate."
Fawkes trilled at him.
The redhead simply nodded and glanced around, noting the locations of the others. His eyes lit up.
"Hermione--"
A moan from nearby prevented the curse-breaker from completing his sentence as his attention was now directed to Sybill Trelawney, who was struggling to sit up. The phoenix flew over to her shoulder and without any apparent effort lifted her into position. The Divination professor's eyes focused, and she looked around, noticing that Bill was eyeing her with interest.
"Elgin, is that you?" she asked and rubbing her face. "My, you've changed." Her eyes flickered around. "Where's Rhayne?"
The redhead beamed. "Aunt Fiona," he greeted her. "Yes, I have changed, and Rhayne is over there with Rhade. They look to be having a moment, and I didn't want to interrupt.
The woman inclined her head and tried to rise but couldn't due to the phoenix. Suddenly, as if she hadn't noticed Fawkes on her shoulder, Sybill jumped.
She eyed the bird and scowled. "Bloody menace… gave me an awful fright; you shouldn't do that to people!" she muttered to herself.
The phoenix nipped her in the ear and danced away from her batting hand. Bill laughed.
Diagonal from them, yet another redhead, this one a slender female, turned heated eyes to Dominic.
"You!" Ginny Weasley snarled, glaring at the vampire in front of her. "You took my son away from us," she all but growled. "I saw it… the Gate showed it to us after it returned our memories."
Dom was filled with shame, but he looked her directly in the face. "I know, and I am sorry." He whispered more to himself than to her, "More than you will ever know."
She gazed up at him, defiance written on her lips. "And I'm sorry, but that's not good enough."
Nearby, hazel eyes blinked and stared at a portrait. The painted man stared back.
"I know you," the living wizard finally said. "I know you, but I don't know from where."
Images flashed through his mind. A boy with a splendid sword. Magic deadly and exhilarating. A wily enchantress with a wicked smile. A castle elegant in its simplicity and beautiful for what it represented.
The portrait beamed. "Yes, you do." But there was a sad gleam in his eyes, and he quietly nodded to Luna as she backed away from them. "You see the Gate could return some things to you but not all. You were not connected to it in the lifetime they want to return to you," he replied, speaking carefully. "It could prepare your mind for the knowledge and show you events that it was privy to. Such as Salazar's death. But it cannot return everything. No, it needs your help for that."
A look of confusion crossed a chubby face. "What do I have to do then, sir?"
The painting laughed jovially. "Sir, eh? People normally only say that to my face. I can only imagine the names they call me when I am not around. Using my name in vain is something of a habit for magical folk." He raised a whitened eyebrow in amusement, but his face suddenly took on a serious air. "I believe that you already know the answer to that question," he finished mysteriously, steepling his fingers together in a gesture very reminiscent of Albus Dumbledore.
His living companion tilted his head to the side, deep in thought. A minute passed and then two, the portrait studying him with a genuine smile and eyes shining with mirth. Hazel eyes glazed over. And suddenly, he knew what he had to do.
Without hesitation, the young sorcerer reached forward and touched the painting. And everything became clear. Dreams that had been plaguing him for a lifetime suddenly made sense. A lady and her lake, a boy and his sword, the pendragon and his kingdom, magic and its keeper. A lover that was both friend and friendly rival, who took his breath away and never gave it back. Cunning, clever like the raven.
Power that had just always been out of his grasp was now firmly his. He could feel it tingling just beneath his fingertips. It was his to do with as he pleased, to bring forth and protect, to summon and preserve.
Knowledge that he had always grappled with, that had always been at the edge of his mind, it belonged to him. It was him. No longer would he toil with understanding, fight just to comprehend. Now, he understood. He hadn't been wrong. He had just been different, fighting against methods that were suited to beginners, not masters like himself. He had failed not because it had been hard but because it was far too easy.
And confidence, belief in himself that he had never know he always had, that his grandmother and blood kin had all but stamped out of him… Well, it was most definitely his.
"I know who you are," Neville repeated with unfaltering confidence, eyes shimmering with wisdom and power. "I know you. I have known all along. I just never realized." He stood nobly, one hand on his face to hide his mischievous grin. "You are me."
They now sat in a circle, chairs turned inward. For the past hour, Harry, Luna, and Dom had been filling in all the details the Phoenix Gate had missed. Their plans for Voldemort and the magical world. Further, they were explaining a few other things, such the truth behind the Sorting Hat's song.
Or rather, they were trying to explain.
Hermione slowly raised her hand, Draco quickly snatching it and putting it back down. "But I thought that Salazar… that you," she corrected, "left the school in its third year."
"Well," Harry stated pleasantly, entering into teacher mode, "I did leave. Death is usually a pretty permanent way of leaving someplace."
The witch looked rather put out by that statement, not entirely sure how to respond. "Well, I suppose that's true," she murmured after a moment. She mumbled something inaudible to herself, and she was undoubtedly about to enter into another babbling phase, but Draco quickly distracted her.
"Yes, it is, but I'm back thanks to the Gate," Harry informed her.
"The Gate… You do know that both Albus and Voldemort are looking for it, don't you, Harry?" the Transfiguration professor interrupted.
"Yes," the reborn Salazar replied. "Yes, I do know. It was in one of the visions I told you about."
Minerva calmly asked, "Are you going to tell Albus about it then?"
"No," was his simple response. "No, not yet. I'm not sure if we can trust him with it."
The conversation stilled for a moment before Severus picked up the topic. "The Dark Lord will stop at nothing to get his hands on it, and there is a good chance that all his studies will lead him to you. Are you willing to take the risk that he will find you out before you tell the headmaster?"
Minerva continued before Harry could respond, "Voldemort craves the power that it offers. He could easily rule the world with such a thing, if he so desired. And Albus is committing a great deal of our resources to finding it before Tom. Resources we are short on, Harry." She studied him. "If you were to tell Albus, he could stop the search. Or even tone it down so that the Death Eaters will not be suspicious."
Harry exhaled in a rush. "I know, and I do plan to tell him, but now is not the time for that." He rubbed a tired hand across his face. "We have to be certain," he put in, lapsing into silence.
Nonetheless, it was short-lived.
"Phoenix Gate… oh, that reminds me," Luna commented, eliciting everyone's attention. She inclined her head to her boyfriend.
"Oh, right," he murmured, feeling the Gate heat up beneath his shirt.
Gently, both of them removed their halves from beneath their robes and scooted together. The others watched with interest as they fixed the pieces together, staring in wonder as the now whole phoenix engraving fluttered its wings and turned its head to pluck at them. It swiftly removed ten feathers and tossed its beak. To almost everyone's surprise, the metallic feathers did not remain within the amulet. But rather came flying out, landing with a soft thunk on the floor.
Without missing a beat, the blonde picked them up, the tiny feathers growing to twice the length of her thumbnail as soon as she touched them. With a nary a word, chains appeared, attached to each. Laughing, the Ravenclaw handed them out to each of the semi-stunned newcomers.
"What about Dominic?" Minerva asked as she received hers, the last to do so. "Doesn't he get one?"
The other professor smiled and pulled loose his very own phoenix pinion. "I already have mine," he informed her with a wink. "I have had mine since before I returned the Gate to Luna."
Hermione studied the metallic feather with interest. "So what do they do?"
Harry returned to his seat. "Well, they'll allow us to communicate over long distances. Just think of whom you need to speak to, and it will connect you mentally." He leaned back and steepled his fingers. "Also, since they're derivatives of the Gate, they connect you to it, but I'm not yet sure what all that entails. It will, however, let you tap into its powers if need be."
Neville studied the pendant, tracing his fingers along the edges and eyeing the intricate detail. He watched as the metal gleamed golden, shimmered to silver, and then faded to bronze. Absentmindedly, he tapped it with his fingernail. There was a bang and a poof of smoke. A baby chick was now sitting in the palm of his hand right where the feather had been.
"My apologies," he inserted with a calm voice at the others' expressions. Neville blinked, the clucking bird instantly returning to its true form.
Dominic glanced at the pinion and then Neville. "Does that happen often?"
Neville slipped the pendant around his neck. "Oh, all the time."
The others looked at him strangely before shrugging it off. They had all worked at Hogwarts, so they were used to bizarre magical accidents. Besides, it wasn't Neville's fault that he had so much magic now that it leaked out at times; the same had happened to them before. Though not quite on that scale.
Several minutes passed before the silence was finally broken by Bill. "There is something that has been bothering me," he put in, glancing at Harry and Luna. At their inquiring looks, he went on, "Why do you two look so similar to your past personas?" the curse-breaker asked with curiosity and shifted in his seat. "Is it because of the Gate?"
The blonde inclined her head. "Yes, we were tied to the Gate initially, so it helped preserve our looks. Though come to think of it, I am not entirely sure why." Luna seemed to be considering the problem.
Severus rubbed his chin between the thumb and forefinger of his left hand, deep in thought. "Perhaps so that the transition between lives would be easier. I suspect that you are the primary guardians." He indicated the couple. "Therefore, it would want you to be as comfortable as possible. A similar physical appearance would ensure that."
The others blinked, the pair nodding absentmindedly.
"Yes, well that does make sense," Luna replied, twirling her purple, broomstick earring with her finger and getting it caught in her hair.
"Yes, well, as interesting and incredibly important as this is," Arthur interrupted, gazing at his watch, "I have to go soon; my lunch hour is over. It'd be rather suspicious if I didn't return at all, even if I am quite late. The Aurors have been watching the other Ministry workers very closely as of late, looking for Death Eater activity."
Minerva wrung her hands. "I know that we still have a lot of details to discuss, but I promised Filius to fill in for his afternoon classes. He left on a mission for the Order at lunch." She glanced at Severus, receiving a quark of an eyebrow in return. "I can't skip without arousing suspicions, and we can't afford that yet."
Harry ran a tired hand over his eyes. He had truly wanted to cover everything today; they had purposely waited until a Friday to return the others' memories so that they would have time to go over everything. Regardless, they hadn't counted on the fact that they would be unavailable. And that just went to show that the best laid plans often went awry.
The reborn Salazar inserted, "We can't use the Gate to gives us more time; it's still recovering from bringing back your memories." He shook his head dejectedly. "Does anyone else have to go?"
Ginny raised a hand. "Athena and I are trying a few more of the twins' products. I told her that I'd meet her before dinner."
Neville added, rising from his deep thoughts, "And I have a special Herbology project that I'm working on with Professor Sprout. She is expecting me in twenty minutes."
He tapped the arm of his chair absentmindedly, lighting it on fire without even meaning to. However, with a nonchalant wave of his hand, the flames were gone, the chair looking none the worse for its recent burning.
"Well, we covered the most important things already. We could finish tomorrow." Dom, who was choosing to ignore the little pyrotechnic display, exhaled and grimaced in defeat. The vampire exchanged a look with his partners in crime, silvery eyes narrowing.
"We can't do it tomorrow. Remember, we have a DA meeting," Hermione interrupted. "It'll probably take up a good portion of the day. We're going to vote first and then go over spells."
Harry and Luna both made faces. In all the excitement, they had completely forgotten that they had scheduled the first DA meeting on Saturday. It was just the remaining original members plus those they had approached during the summer. But they were going to go over their progress so far, mentioning others that they could include. Further, Harry was going to introduce Dom as a willing ally and dueling instructor.
They had wanted to explain everything to the other Founders today. But with the fact that they would be missing a fourth of the participants, it wouldn't do them much good.
"What about Sunday? We can do it on Sunday," Harry said suddenly.
Minerva laughed. "No, to that one, too. Or have you forgotten? The Quidditch team is meeting to elect the Captain on Sunday and to decide when to hold tryouts."
Younger wizard sighed. He'd forgotten about that, as well. With his lifetime ban lifted, he was officially on the team again. He had to go to the meeting. Bugger!
Harry scowled, trying to think of something. Nevertheless, Minerva suddenly laughed.
"We can still do it afterwards. It won't take the entire day. You're just voting on the Captain. That's all, Sal!" She winked as he mock-glared at her.
The teenager heaved a sigh of relief. "So it's agreed then? Here at noon on Sunday." He glanced around, and seeing their acceptance, a smile graced his face. "Fabulous," he breathed as they rose, heading out the door and giving a small wave to La Muerte as he exited.
Hogwarts, The Room of Requirement: September 14th, 1996
"Well, it seems as though everything's in order with our new members," Harry said the next day, referring to the vote the DA had just finished. "Remember that they will all be in the second group. They won't be privy to what we're doing here until later, if at all. They'll only be learning Defense." Green eyes flickered to his girlfriend, a silent message passing between them.
The blonde smiled and gestured for him to continue.
"The last thing we have on our agenda is the twins' new projects, but before that, we have one final thing." He rose from his spot to more fully address the group. "With all the new members we're getting and with the skill of our probable opponents, we're going to need extra help teaching everyone. We need someone who understands magic and spells, someone who knows how Death Eaters fight, how they think." He paused to look at all those gathered. His eyes flitted from Cho Chang, whose friend Marietta was conspicuously absent, to Athena Avis to Colin Creevey.
"To this, we already have a person in mind – several people actually," he corrected. "The first I can personally vouch for. Further, he was an associate of Luna's mother. While many of you are familiar with him, you don't know him well, but he will be a great help to us." Harry smiled then, entire face lifting. "Besides, Professor Boyd has already agreed to with us. He'll be at our next meeting on Tuesday, and he's willing to duel with us outside of class."
The other DA members exchanged surprised looks, Hermione beaming at Harry. On the other hand, Ginny had a blank expression on her face. While the others were still somewhat doubtful about the Defense professor, the reborn Salazar's assurance was more than enough for all of them. Especially given his track record for ferreting out treacherous teachers.
"And the others?" Ernie Macmillian ventured after a moment.
"The only other we have for now is an Auror but a trusted one," Luna replied, blinking and looking up at the green and gold ceiling with interest. "She helped us at the Ministry last June."
Hermione nodded her head in agreement. "She might have problems getting into the castle though, but I believe that Professor Boyd will help with that." She ran a hand through her slightly less bushy hair. "The trouble is well worth it, however. Tonks is a knowledge and skilled Auror, even if she hasn't been one very long."
Ginny perked up. "Tonks is great fun, but she does know her stuff. And she went to school with my brother Charlie; he'll vouch for her, if you have any questions."
Susan Bones shifted in her seat, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I know her," she put in unexpectedly. "She was one of the Aurors who responded to the Death Eater attack on our home. She helped my aunt escape." The Hufflepuff looked at those gathered. "She saved my aunt's live. I'd trust her with my own."
Harry glanced around to see if anyone else wished to contribute. But as they were seemingly satisfied with Susan's statement, there were no objections.
"We might approach others later on to help teach us, but for now, we'll only have those two." He smiled pleasantly and turned to his left. "So onto our last item… Ginny, you're up."
"Right, then." The fifth-year rose, bringing forth a red hand-sized bag and quickly enlarging it with her to wand, and making it reminiscent of the sack the Muggle Santa Claus carried. "There are a number of things that Fred and George have been working on over the summer. And while some are not yet finished, most are." She dug into the sack and brought at a book-shaped box. "Without further ado," the redhead said and waved her hand, gesturing to the box, "I give you: Portable Swamp Deluxe. It's complete with poisonous swamp monster, alligators, and other assorted badies. Don't worry," she added, seeing Hannah Abbott's frightened expression, "there's a spell that keeps them from attacking you. I'll show it to you in a minute." She paused for a second, thinking over what she had just said. "Actually, when you're wearing the spell the creatures will defend instead of bother you."
Harry studied the box with interest and turned it around in his hands. "Wonderful, Ginny! What else is there?" He practically tingled with anticipation.
The Gryffindor smirked. "A whole lot." She dug into the bag once more. "There is also Portable Dark Forest, which is complete with ravenous wolves, man-eating bears, and some other stuff. And then, my personal favorite. Portable Death Desert. It has poisonous snakes, scorpions, and cacti. Oh, and quicksand. The same spell works as before; it also prevents the cactus and quicksand from reacting to you. You can walk right by and not have to worry; it does the same thing for the swamp." She brought out two more boxes, passing them around. "That's it for the moveable habitats, but there are a number of other things."
Over the next half-hour, Ginny showed them a variety of the twins' new gadgets, all of which were not available to the general public. Among them were marble-sized balls that when thrown ejected a sticky web-like goo on whatever they hit. The substance from the "Web-balls," as had Ginny called them for lack of a better name, was fire-proof and quite resistant to cutting. Further, the web spread over a person until they were almost completely covered. Which meant that if a Death Eater was hit in the chest with one, the substance would also coat their arms and legs in seconds.
Another interesting invention was a "Mimicking Necklace," as George had named it, which when worn could form copies of the person. The copies weren't solid, though they were corporal looking, so spells would go straight through. Also, they didn't possess any intelligence. However, they did mimick the movements of the necklace wearer and would actually cast fake spells that didn't do anything if they hit. A number of DA members were skeptical about their actual usefulness, so the fifth-year was forced to demonstrate. To do so, Ginny simply slipped on two necklaces, making two additional versions of herself. Then, she proceeded to successfully hex a very vexed Justin Finch-Fletchley, who couldn't tell the difference between the real her and the two fakes.
It was shortly thereafter that Ginny reached the bottom of her bag, and Harry called a halt to their meeting. The members slowly filed out, Harry and Luna the last remaining. The reborn Salazar beamed and took his girlfriend's hand. However, he couldn't help but shiver as he thought about the returned Founders, the new DA members, and the twins' inventions.
He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that they were going to need them all to succeed. They were going to need all the help they could get.
AN: This was an incredibly hard chapter to write. I wasn't sure how much detail to put into each character's awakening and remembrance, so I jumped around a lot, which means there are a number of blanks. However, I think you can pretty much fill them in. Oh, in case you were confused as to who everyone was, here it is again: Minerva is Rowena. Severus is Quinn. Hermione is Rhayne Ravenclaw, and Draco is Rhade Ravenclaw. Molly is Helga. Arthur is Edmund. Sybill is Fiona Ravenclaw. Bill is Elgin Hufflepuff, and Neville is Merlin.
In case you guys/girls were wondering about Neville… Well, the thing with him is not that he doesn't have magic, but rather, he has so much magic that it goes all wonky.
Things to think about: Halloween is quickly approaching, and what is Voldemort planning? What other inventions do the twins have up their sleeves? I am open to suggestions. Who will be joining the DA? Who is the mysterious La Muerte who keeps popping up?
To everyone who reviewed: Thanks.
Special thanks to Ciara Crawford for the name Rhade, which I borrowed. I like it much better than Rheis.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Once More around the Merry-go
Ever Hopeful,
Azar
Updated and Edited:
06/24/08
