Chapter Seven: The Four of Us Are Dying At The End

"I mean, they say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time."
― Banksy

"Miss Bones, come in." Professor Sprout greeted her the day after she skipped class. She knew she and the rest of her fellow founders would have to answer their heads of house as to why they weren't seen all day. They each decided to make up a story, just to cover their tracks and to make sure the others weren't found out. So she told Professor Sprout about how it has been difficult ever since the death of Cedric, which wasn't a total lie, has been taking a rather heavy toll on her. Still, as Professor Sprout told her, she would serve detention with her, weeding some of the plants from the greenhouse on Thursday in the afternoon.

On the other side of the castle, Padma Patil was telling Professor Flitwick about how she accidentally slept in. It happened before, with her only missing Charms class, so he warned her not to do it again. "You're a bright student miss Patil. Very much top of your class in my house, I can even say you even try to take down Miss Granger," He smiled at her.

Snape looked at Draco, behind him was Lucius and Narcissa. All three of them have a displeased look on their face directed at the fifteen-year-old. Still, Draco held onto the poker face that masked him as Lucius coldly told him to, "Stop this or there will be dire consequences when you return home for the Holidays."

His mother gave him a displeasing look but he could see in her eyes concern.

"Yes, father." It was he said before his parents left. He would have rather have gotten detention than this.

Harry, on the other hand, had no parents or relatives to be present with him. Instead, it was a stern looking McGonagall and a rather disappointed looking Remus Lupin. Umbridge, which was a relief to him, was nowhere here. She had a class to attend to, so she didn't get to relish in trying to threaten him with an expelling from Hogwarts.

"So, Mister Potter," Professor McGonagall began. "Care to tell me where you've been yesterday when you didn't attend your classes? It must have been something

"I was just tired professor. Went walking around the forest to clear my head, it's been troubling ever since the Triwizard tournament and Cedric..." He faltered. Professor McGonagall sighed, she understood, telling him that but there would have to be punishment for skipping class all day.

"I understand professor," His stomach swooped with adrenaline at the fact that she bought it. He would be serving detention with Snape, not only that but apparently, Hermione told McGonagall about his lack of sleep.

"Professor Dumbledore wants to help you block these visions, Harry," Remus said softly. He didn't like what was coming next. "He wants you to start private lessons with Professor Snape."

Harry wanted to laugh. Since when has Snape wanted to help him get better and why him? Has Dumbledore really lost it?

He had no say in this decision, so Harry nodded mutely and took his punishment with him out the door before Professor McGonagall stopped him at the door.

"Potter," She told him. "Please, try to keep your head down when it comes to Professor Umbridge. I know you detest the woman but she has a bounty on your head, I do not want you to be more of. target on her sights than you are now. The last thing we would want is for you to be expelled at whatever Umbridge has told her boss. Please, Potter, for your sake."

The visions were getting worse for them.

It was a surprise that Susan hasn't shouted at the top of her lungs with this information that has been rattling in her brain for the last two days. She could tell that she hasn't been the only one plagued by these visions, noticing how Draco was a bit more snappish than usual, Padma's dark circles under her eyes along with a half messy braid. Poor Harry, falling asleep twice, in Herbology and in DADA where Umbridge gave him another detention.

It also didn't help that the four of them were on thin ice with their heads of house. All of them got a strict dressing down for skipping class, Susan's and Padma's were more of a warning considering they've never done this (Padma had but Flitwick understood his Ravenclaws need to study at long hours but still fairly punished her with detention.)

Draco was harsher, Snap having contacted Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy to have a talk with their son about his behavior. Draco told her about it last night, meeting her at the kitchen's considering they found one another there around eleven at night. He told her all about Snape's grilling just as much as Harry told them McGonagall's grilling.

"Kept grilling me on who I was with, told her I just needed a break from academics," Harry told them. "That's it hasn't been easy every since the Triwizard Tournament."

It seemed that the professors each bought the lie even though they had consequences, Harry's seemingly much worse.

"You have private lessons with Professor Snape?" Draco asked incredulously. They were in the Chamber, seeing that it was a better and more convenient hiding spot that nobody could get to besides Harry. He nodded.

"For what, I'm not sure but I'll be finding out this Friday night." He was sure that Snape was going to finally poison him and hoped that Draco could give him an antidote. The blonde rolled his eyes at the dramatic act but obliged considering how much of a bad mood the Slytherin head of house has been all day. It seemed that he got the news for teaching Harry or it was Draco, who was acting strange lately, in his eyes at least.

Either way, he was in a foul mood and it would only get worse as the week progressed they both knew it.

Harry also told them about Hermione's plan to investigate why Harry has been acting weird lately. This was a wrench in their plan to not only foil Umbridge but keep their reincarnation identity a secret.

"If Granger finds out, who knows when she'll tell and you know she'll tell the headmaster first," Draco said.

"We can't let Hermione find out, you know Draco has point," Padma noted. "If Hermione does tell Dumbledore then it's game over and he'll want to know everything about this and why the founders seemingly returned."

Harry threw his hands up in frustration. "So what do I do? I can't obliviate my best friends."

Draco wanted to answer that he could but held back. It wouldn't be good to get a rise out of Harry, they all were in foul moods having had little sleep at all since the visions of their past life keep coming back more and more.

"Maybe it's time we tell them?" Susan said. She looked absolutely exhausted. She saw things that would make the rest of them grimace and look away. Helga Hufflepuff eas a woman that lived through it all, saw it all go down and yet helped her students find their footing in the world. "It's time, I think we tell someone. We need help before we go insane."

It was true, and they all knew it deep down.

But Draco shook his head vehemently at them. "No, we can't. What if your friends decided to ask Dumbledore for help? What then?" He said. "If they ask Dumbledore for help then the whole teacher faculty will be breathing down our necks especially the woman that we are trying to get rid off. And let's be honest Harry, Granger and Weasley don't know covertness if it hit them over the head. So, no, we can't tell them and if they are trying to figure things out then throw them off the scent. We can't let anyone know what we are doing or who we are."

"What if I just tell them a lie that is sort of the truth?" Harry asked.

Draco raised his eyebrow. "Like what, exactly?"

"Like if you guys were helping me free my godfather and get a certain rat behind bars? That could be justifying myself as to why I'm hanging out with you three, besides the tutoring stuff Padma." He said at the Ravenclaw.

"It's a good lie, Harry." She said. "But for how long? We need to get rid of that woman now before anything else gets out of hand."

Death came for each founder differently yet all the same way. All with Death, taking them away from the Earth.

For Salazar, he died in his sleep, same with Godric Gryffindor. Both from old age, unlike Rowena Ravenclaw, who died of a broken heart over the death of her only daughter Helena, few years after the fallout between the four of them, or so that's how the legend goes. As for Helga Hufflepuff, she outlived her fellow founders at the age of 119 years old before dying.

Helga saw it all from the beginning till the bittersweet end of her life. Just like Susan, seeing it all unfold once more only in a different time.

She wasn't a stranger to death either, having had almost all of her entire family murdered by Lord Voldemort before his fall. Her parents, Edward and Felicity Bones were among the dead, killed at the hands of Voldemort. Only her aunt Amelia survived, having had to raise Susan all on her own. She also knew that Harry had his fair share experience with Death, having seen Cedric die and his parents murdered at a young age like Susan.

So, like Helga, Susan went somewhere to vent. Which were the kitchens at the school, reminding her of the warmness of her home. She grabbed a blueberry muffin that one of the elves presented to her.

She saw death in her visions, of when Rowan died and the news that Salazar passed away. She saw Godric take his last breath on his death bed years after Rowan and Salazar died, at the ripe old age of 107 years old. Rowan died at the age of 45 years old, Salazar at 97 years old and then Godric.

Helga Hufflepuff was left alone in that big castle keep her students and those of her other founders, safe from harm. It broke Susan's heart but also made her see just how much this fighting took a toll on the last founder. She saw the beginning and the ending of Hogwarts right before her eyes, the feuding and the emptiness it left them.

Now Susan Bones saw the rise of the followers of Voldemort come out of the shadows. If Draco was right, then they were all in danger especially if the Death Eaters attempt to make a strike at Hogwarts. So, she tried to go one with the rest of her day, the rest of the week like a normal teenage girl and not with the memories of a dead founder fo their school.

She noticed Hermione and Ron stay close by Harry as if trying to figure out where he would go next. She knew that Harry would tell them about Snape's private sessions for the next month or forever how long it took to teach whatever Harry needed to be taught.

It was now Friday, the day of Harry's first lesson and they were tense to see how it would go. Draco told Harry to meet him outside the dungeon to talk about the lesson. Susan would be there since Slytherin and Hufflepuff's common room was not that far unlike the Ravenclaws and Gryffindor's. Padma would see them tomorrow to catch up on what went down.

"Draco?" She whispered. The blonde poked his head of out an archway that leads to the dungeons before pulling Susan towards him. They were close by the potions classroom but not enough to hear what was going on.

"Nothing yet. It's been almost a full hour, don't know what he's doing." Draco told her. All of a sudden the door was thrown open, they scrabbled to a hiding spot which was another hallway. They pressed themselves against the wall as the heard Snape tell Harry to practice and that he will be seeing him next Friday.

Harry walked away, hearing Snape close the door shut. Draco and Susan stepped out and greeted Harry. He looked awful, sweat covering his face and he seemed to like all the energy was sucked out of him.

"It's Occlumency. He's teaching me Occlumency, whatever that it." He said, rubbing his forehead. They walked to the Gryffindor common room since it was only nine, a few hours before curfew.

"He kept going into my mind and I couldn't stop him even though he yelled at me to stop him. I couldn't." He said in a frustrated tone. "I think he might have seen everything. I'm not sure but he could see almost everything. This is bad for us."

Draco shook his head. "If he's teaching you this way then he's not teaching you at all!"

Susan had to agree with Draco on this. Snape wasn't even trying to teach Harry how to protect his mind, it seemed like this was a way to belittle him.

"I can teach you Legilimens and Occlumency, my aunt taught me as a safety measure because of her job," Susan told him. If Snape didn't teach him at all, then she would. "We can start tomorrow after the meeting."

Harry nodded. It wouldn't hurt to have Susan teach him, anything better than Snape.

They walked in silence before Susan asked them something.

"Do you see yourself dying?"

It was a strange question to ask out loud, especially at such a young age. Draco and Harry looked at the Hufflepuff, confounded by such a question.

"I mean, do you see your past self dying? Because I do, I saw all three of you dying." The words were carried in the still wind. Draco shook his head, answering no.

"Helga saw them all die. She was the last one and maybe it's me but it feels like the end of something, like as if people that were once us are a bit gone. Like the four of us are dying."

"I don't think so, Susan," Harry responded. They were close to the stairs that lead them up to Gryffindor tower. "I think that it more about the death of the past, rather than us, all four of us dying."

"But it feels that way to me like I'm going mad with all of this. I just want peace and I think Hogwarts wants that as well. We all do." Susan said, her voice trembling but from the chilly air of her emotions, she wasn't sure. Draco pulled her into a hug, gently, as she let him. "I'm scared."

It was the truth, that she was terrified of what could happen to them. She didn't want any of this but somehow fate gave it to her and the others, they would have to continue down this wild path.

Too bad that it wouldn't be this simple as it was that night. Susan would have given anything for each day to be this quiet and peaceful, but that wasn't how the universe worked in the end.