Chapter Three
Lily woke the next morning and got out of her cot, going over to Harry's at once. She took his hand and brushed the hair from his eyes. He sighed in his sleep and she smiled softly at him. "It's going to be alright Harry, I'll make sure that we'll be alright and that no one will ever harm you again." Lily said her eyes filling with tears as she looked down at her son. She wiped at her eyes and sat down next to him, content to watch him sleep for a little while.
It was quiet in the infirmary apart from Severus' snores and Harry's deep breathing. Madam Pomphrey had clearly retreated to her office, the diagnostic charms on the beds alerting her if anything went wrong. Lily smiled softly at her son, before taking out her quill and notebooks, continuing to write down what she had learned over the last thirteen years. She finished the second book by the time Madam Pomphrey appeared from her office and stared at Lily who smiled at her.
"Good morning." Lily said and Madam Pomphrey laughed.
"You look like you did as a student, with your hair mussed up and scribbling frantically in a journal." Madam Pomphrey said and Lily smiled in return.
"I've finished two books out of the five, I can't teach a course without course books after all." Lily said and Madam Pomphrey eyes widened.
"Which ones are these then?" She asked and Lily smiled.
"The first will be focused in learning etiquette, second in comportment, third in decorum, fourth in ancient ritual and finally the fifth will be independent guided study." Lily said and Madam Pomphrey looked shocked.
"You are going to assist students in researching chosen topics?"
"Indeed though only Miss Bradlegrace has managed to significantly impress me." Lily said. "Hopefully I'll be able to finish writing the course materials by the end of the day and then speak with Miss Bradlegrace about what she wishes to study."
"This girl already knew ancient rituals?"
"How they are currently taught within Pureblood societies, though I may do even more ancient rituals depending upon how much respect the students in that class actually have for what I'm teaching, this is the basics at least." Lily said and smiled. "Though I was much more intrigued by wizarding customs and rituals of the twelfth century, they need to get by within the modern society, not the society that once existed."
"Is it really that different?"
"Highly different from every manuscript I have read." Lily said and stood. "I'll get these bound and to the students." She added before leaving the hospital wing, she found the office supply cabinet and used a binding charm to work with the paper and leather she found in the cupboard. She made enough copies of both books to give to her students taking those classes; she then went to the Great Hall. "Good Morning everyone, I haven't finished writing yet, but here are the books for my classes on etiquette and comportment." Lily said and passed out the books to everyone taking those classes and gave two to Dumbledore as well.
"I have my lesson plans ready for when you wish to review them, I don't think I'll be able to teach today, I might finish writing the books by tomorrow, but I don't know for certain.
"Its fine Ms. Potter, these seem intriguing so far and less dry than most books I've come across on such subjects."
"Thank you Professor, I had a long time to consider how I wished to go about writing these books." Lily said and smiled. "Though this is merely current day and does not cover the historical culture of wizards."
"Could you teach a class in that?" Dumbledore asked and Lily shook her head.
"I know barely enough to create a book half that size, suffice it to say a lot of muggle sixteenth century mannerisms were picked up along the way." Lily said and Dumbledore laughed.
"I always rather thought we were rather medieval in our approach towards one another, but come to learn its renaissance muggle behavior we've been mimicking?"
"Not entirely there are some other cultural norms that are entirely unique to wizards, but if you were to pick up a book on cultural norms of sixteenth century England, you would find a lot of similarities. That is after all when we decided to shroud ourselves from the view of Muggle and therefore developed our own society. However those customs weren't the original customs at all. From the earliest book I've ever read to around the tenth century, magic was all about harmonizing with the elements and elemental forces, some claimed that it was the very elemental spirits themselves which we got our magic from and our wands are used to channel it. Other theories have come and gone, but I like to believe that the spirits saw something in me and they chose me to protect them and the land, through use of my magic." Lily said and smiled.
"I've always heard that magic was a birthright and as to where it came from, no one really states." Miss. Bradlegrace said and Lily shook her head.
"No magic is not something that is a birthright, though it can run in families. How your magical core works with the elements around you is different for each person. I am skilled with transformative magics and that includes potions, while others are skilled in defensive or offensive magics. We can learn to gain some ability in those areas, but we won't ever be as good as those that are naturally inclined towards such." Lily stated. "I believe and this is purely supposition on my part that the different abilities of wizards and witches occur for a reason, magic is powerful and creates as well as it destroys. However when that power is improperly channeled or spells are improperly used, it can cause chaos, madness and upset the balance. We use many more spells that are considered light then darker magics, both are part of the balance, too much of one or the other causes not only strife and fighting amongst us but in extreme cases can also cause floods, draughts, earthquakes and snowstorms as well as other more severe weather. For years magical creatures that are more attuned with the land then we are have been behaving unpredictably. I feel that we should go back to the old way personally, but failing that restore the balance at least."
"And what is the balance?" Miss. Bradlegrace asked and Lily smiled.
"It's everything, good and evil, darkness and light, strength and weakness, life and death to all these things and more besides there is a natural balance. A system of ebb and flow, a knowing of truth and falsehood that those that follow the principals of the balance see in all life. The balance is everything and nothing; it is the supreme force at the center of our universe. Or so the ancient wizards and shamans believed. Before wizards believed in a higher power they believed first in the balance. Then slowly things began to change, wizards started to follow muggle gods, false gods as these old books would tell it, for all state firmly that you yourself are a god and you need to remember your power. To be a positive force in this world and stop chaos and the upsetting of that very balance that we were charged with protecting."
"By who?"
"I am uncertain, perhaps a god, or a being from another planet, or perhaps it was a personal charge. You can believe whatever you like about where your duty comes from, be it from the gods, god, or your fellow wizards. The ancient tomes never discussed where exactly this charge came from, but they were all clear on this one point, one day the balance will be upset beyond repair and all magical beings will be snuffed out along with all other life on the planet."
"It sounds like superstitious nonsense to me." Hermione stated. "Just as much as the belief in God, the belief in fates and whatever else people believe. Personally I believe in facts, in proof."
Lily smiled at her and nodded. "You want proof, very well, this spell was used to measure the balance and the scale between what is now known as dark magic and light magic." Lily said and cast the spell; everyone stared at the silver light that filled the room. "Silver and shadow colored magic was considered to be a sign to cast light or dark spells for a week, to maintain the balance, there were also spells that one could cast on themselves, or each other." Lily said and cast a spell on herself; she began to glow with a warm grey light. "This is a healthy core according to the ancients, as for the proof you demanded Hermione, how about this? Before I learned how to cast this spell non verbally I could do about fifty spells nonverbally, afterwards I could do over a hundred and as I followed the principals of the ancient order of Merlin, I found that my ability to work with magic to increase ten fold." Lily said and cast a cheering charm on the entire school, all around her students and teachers burst into laughter, smiles on their faces, as Dumbledore and others stared at her in amazement.
"How did you..."Draco paused for breath, as he continued to laugh. "Do that?"
"They are just cheering charms, with enough practice and a strong magical core, you would be able to do it as well, as other things." Lily said and conjured a snake, she then sent a spell to give it a headache, it hissed in anger and Lily cast a body binds. She then banished it again and smiled at the school. "See how my core reacted to that magic, the difference is slight, but with using two curses its darkened a bit already."
"Can you show me mine?" Hermione asked and Lily nodded.
"Of course, would you prefer it if I did it now, or in private?"
"Now." Hermione said and Lily cast the spell on her, Hermione stared at her core, which was a dark silver in color.
"Your core is relatively healthy, if you wish to maintain more power you may want to consider becoming a grey witch, but the choice is ultimately yours to make." Lily said and then cast another spell over herself. "This was once a spell that was cast over everyone during Beltane, it was how couples found one another. While not a soul searching spells, it shows what qualities you possess clearly and accurately. Red for bravery, yellow for loyalty, silver for cunning, blue for intelligence, purple for humor, pink for kindness and green for ambition. Black signifies someone who has hatred in his or her hearts for another and white signifies love. Gold is optimism and those that have less orange were once considered to be less optimistic people. Brown is for those that have a great imagination and they are often cheery and happy people. Usually people don't have quite such a range of colors, I was nearly a hat stall in my first year." Lily said and smiled. "I don't think I would have been particularly welcome in Slytherin and I didn't want to go to Ravenclaw, it fought me over both in turn, before questioning if I should be in Hufflepuff, I didn't mind but we both agreed that it might not be the best fit for me and that left Gryffindor." Lily said and several students appeared shocked, while Hermione's hand jutted up. "This isn't a class Hermione, feel free to ask your question."
"So what your saying is, that the hat doesn't pick our house, we do?"
"To some extent you must have the potential to belong in that house for the hat to agree to it. If I as a muggleborn eleven year old girl had asked to be put into Slytherin, no doubt the hat would have intensely questioned my motivation." Lily said and Hermione laughed.
"Can you cast that spell on me, I wanna see it."
"Its intensely personal Hermione." Lily warned.
"I don't care." Hermione said and Lily shrugged before casting the spell on Hermione. She was surprised by how much ambition Hermione had, while her intelligence was nearly as strong and her compassion was only slightly smaller. She had a lot of optimism a lot of love in her heart as well as a lot of hatred. The smallest color of all was her courage and Hermione smiled shyly at Lily. "Am I brave?" She asked.
"Very brave to realize what you most needed to work on and decide to go with a house that you might not fit in at first." Lily said and grinned. "Don't worry, courage comes from within, if you feel something is worthwhile, don't hold yourself back by doubts and pursue it to the fullest." She said and Hermione nodded.
"Do me, I want to see my colors." A young girl from the Ravenclaw table asked and Lily nodded. "I want to show everyone my colors." She added and Lily cast the spell, the girl laughed delightedly as warm yellow, red, brown, pink, gold and blue colors surrounded her. "Kind of what I thought." She said and grinned, waving her hand and laughing at how her skin sparkled.
"You are intensely creative, kind and courageous, you are also very intelligent with a wisdom beyond your years." Lily said and smiled. "The book I found on finding one's core nature stated who had similar colors, Merlin had colors like yours. You would be wise to consider how to council and console others, you are a natural healer and protector of those weaker then you. You do not hate many people, but you do not love many either."
"I love my Father." The girl said and smiled. "Thank you.
"Of course, anyone else want to do this?" Lily asked.
"I'll have a go." Ron said and Lily nodded.
"In front of everyone or in private."
"In front of everyone." Ron said squaring his shoulders and Lily nodded casting the charm on him as well. A lot of red, as well as yellow, pink, purple and a larger amount of gold met her then Lily had seen so far. He also had a great deal of love and a great deal of hatred in his heart.
"You are kind, courageous, you have a great sense of humor and you are fairly optimistic. You also feel very strongly about others, to the point where you either love someone or hate them and should be careful in how you judge others. You are creative and work well with others. You like being around people and make friends fairly easily and keep lasting friendships. You and others like you make excellent Aurors and leaders. People once called people like you Paladins and so it does not surprise me that you wound up in Gryffindor. The original intention was to bring the apprentices of four masters together so that they might learn from one another. They would receive training on how to become paladins, sorcerers, and healers and spell makers. Over time we lost the need to create spells and now no one knows how to make them safely anymore, as for healers it was determined that you could learn healing besides basic potions after you finished your seventh year. Sorcerers and paladins merged together into what is now modern wizardry."
"You mean that I would be a healer, if I lived back then?" A student from Hufflepuff asked and Lily smiled.
"Ten points to Hufflepuff, precisely and Slytherin were once supposed to be sorcerers and sorcerers had a completely different approach to magic, than Paladins did, they wished to study it and to plan how to best go about using their discoveries, while paladins rushed headlong into any situation, prepared to defend the other three castes of wizards against any threat."
"Castes?" It was Malfoy who spoke up and Lily nodded.
"Before the houses and sorting, certain families did certain things. For example the Peverell who the Weasley and Potter lines descend from were famous Paladins. The Malfoy were sorcerers, as for the rest of you I'm uncertain, you might want to do some research. I assure you that I will treat you better then you have treated my son, as you are children and undeserving of my biases. However that does not mean I will tolerate you misbehaving in my classroom. When you are in my lessons, I expect you to pay attention and comport yourselves as the young wizards and witches you are. I would expect that all those that wish to take my classes will respect me as their teacher and their fellow students enough to be able to be somewhat civil for an hour out of your day. If you find yourself to be incapable of such, kindly do not waste my time and look elsewhere for your education." Lily said and smirked curling one lip up in a near snarl. "I do not tolerate any misbehavior in my classroom, do I make myself clear?"
"Yes Ms Potter." The students said and Lily smiled.
"Thank you, if you wish to see your core but wish to do so in private, come to me and I will show you your personal traits and how those can be turned towards affinities. If you like I could also show you your affinities." Lily said and smiled, casting another spell and grinning as the colors changed around her. She was left with a core of swirling red, blue and purple with veins of green. "These are mine, the green is healing magic, the blue is transforming magic, the purple is transmuting magic, or what is now referred to as Charms. The black is dark magic and the white is white magic. The green is healing magic, such as potions or spells used in the healing arts. As for the red, that is wild magic, which includes non-verbal spells. As a witch I can change my affinity through hard work and dedicated practice. I have had the least opportunity to work on potions over the years and so my affinity for healing magic is much weaker than my other affinities."
"You have a great affinity for dark magic." Dumbledore said and Lily raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed Professor? You try living as a cat, you wouldn't last a year before the hairballs and the humiliation of having to shit in a box got to you. I looked for every spell I could think of to transform myself back and yes some of those spells were of the darker persuasion. You are a hypocrite of the highest order at any rate." Lily said and cast the spell at Dumbledore, who had no defense against it. Sure enough his core was grey in color with the other colors being eclipsed by both white magic and dark magic. "The spell changes itself to see what we wish it to see, much as our society changes. He's not someone to trust children; you will pay for it if you do. People like him and He Who Must Not be named are devoted to gathering power and other witches and wizards to their cause, to use them to their own end. I was naive and didn't understand anything about magic when he came to me and made promises, none of which he kept. People like him were once considered arch mages and regardless of if it's a dark arch mage or a light arch mage, they will do anything to achieve their goals so be very careful in trusting one."
"Lily..." Dumbledore said and Lily glared at him.
"Its your fault James is dead, your fault that Neville grew up without his parents, not He Who Must Not Be Named, not his followers yours!"
"They made their own choice!"
"Did they Dumbledore, did they really? It's clear to me that you will stop at nothing to gain power. You caused the death of your sister, murdered the only man you ever loved and have either killed or been responsible for the deaths of countless other students."
"You can't say this to me, you're..."
"I Lily Potter Nee Evans of House Potter and of the blood of Gryffindor and Slytherin do so declare Albus Wolfrick Brian Dumbledore unfit to be headmaster of this school. I call upon the spirits of Hogwarts to judge him worthy or unworthy of serving as Headmaster!" Lily said and a wind moved throughout the hall tugging at Dumbledore's robes.
"You can't do this, I fire you."
"You can't fire me, as the descendent of the Founders of this school, I and those who have the same blood in their veins can proclaim anyone unfit to teach or be Headmaster of this school, as I have done with you. You will not be welcome in these halls or on these grounds again!" Lily said and the wind picked up sweeping Dumbledore out of the school and Lily smiled as everyone in the hall stared at her. "Now does anyone wish to duel me over what has just occurred."
"He was a dark wizard, how didn't I see it?" McGonagall asked and Lily shook her head.
"That's what's wrong with light and dark classification of spells, he used more light spells than dark. A lord of light can be just as bad as a dark lord." Lily stated and several people shivered around the hall. "I meant to plan this out better, but I never expected to actually be human again so I'm winging it." Lily said and grinned. "If being in Gryffindor teaches you anything it's to fly by the seat of your pants." Lily said and several people laughed. "Would you like a cheering charm, or a calming charm, I know some of you must be quite shocked by what has happened."
"I believe that will be unnecessary dear." McGonagall said and Lily smiled.
"Can I cast the spell on you, I need to know your magical affinity."
"I have nothing to hide dear, cast the spell." McGonagall said and Lily nodded, casting the spell she smiled.
"While powerful you temper that power and do not seek to acquire it by any means necessary. You are a suitable Headmistress. By my blood, by my ancestors I do submit this witch for judgment, is she worthy to run Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" The castle glowed white and Lily smiled. "It seems it accepts you."
"Its sentient?"
"Yes to some extent, Hogwarts was built over a lay line, spirits are drawn here and it is a place of great magic. With time every student that has come through its halls has left an imprint of some sort behind. It remembers and it knows what is good for it and for the students learning inside of it and what is bad for it and them. Every teacher used to have to face the school in a ritual before being accepted to teach here." Lily smiled and caressed the table, light moved under her fingers and she smiled. She traced a rune as an experiment and laughed delightedly as four people appeared in front of her.
"You met the conditions we set to awaken us." The man in armor spoke first and smiled at Lily. "Hello Grand Daughter." He said and Lily smiled curtsying in deference.
"Hello Grandfather, may the circle be unbroken."
"May all that enter it feel the light of the sun and moon." Gryffindor returned and to Lily's shock hugged her.
"You are corporeal?" Lily asked and Gryffindor nodded.
"We attempted a potion which would strengthen our abilities as we slept buried beneath the earth for such a time that we were needed." Gryffindor said.
"Though how someone could have my blood as well as Gryffindor sickens me." A man with a hooked nose and a slight sneer frowned at Lily. "You aren't what I anticipated."
"Disappointed Grandfather Salazar?"
"No, but I thought for certain that the way to preserve our culture was through insulating ourselves from muggle and refusing to allow the two cultures to merge. Unfortunately given the state of things from what I can read in your thoughts, it has not gone as I had hoped and apparently one of my decedents killed Bethany, who was really only supposed to defend my lab, personal library and resting place. At least the passageway caved in so no one can enter my tomb and mess up my things." He said and Lily laughed. "What is so funny girl?"
"You sound exactly like a friend of mine." Lily said and Salazar looked shocked.
"Indeed well this shall prove to be interesting indeed."
"I'm looking forward to being able to teach again, oh dear you are looking so pale dears." Helga Hufflepuff said to the Slytherin and turned to Lily.
"Who is your healer, something must be done about the state of these students."
"I think they are fine Mistress Hufflepuff, they simply live in the dungeons and doing that for generation upon generation has had a certain affect upon their skin." Lily stated and Helga frowned.
"Oh dear, we never intended for that to happen, you must get plenty of sunshine dears and possibly find other accommodations."
"We like the dungeons just fine." Draco said and smiled at Hufflepuff. "It is wonderful to meet you Mi Lady."
"And you, its funny how similar some of you are to students we once taught." Helga said and smiled. "You for example could be the brother of Anthony Malfoy, a shy muggleborn student who I had the pleasure of having in my house, when Slytherin refused to accept him." She smiled apparently lost in memory. "He was a very good student and very gifted in the healing arts, he became a wonderful healer and I was very proud to have been his instructor."
"You taught the founder of my line?" Draco demanded and Helga smiled.
"Indeed I did, though we learned nearly as much from our students as they did from us. I can see their faces in yours, even over a thousand years after our deaths, their legacy and ours lives on in you." Helga said and smiled at Draco.
"Hufflepuff do stop coddling them." Slytherin protested. "Such displays are sickening."
"Oh come here you old fuddy duddy." Helga said and wrapped her arms around him, he gave her a glare in return and Lily laughed again.
"What is it with Slytherin and public displays of affection?" Lily asked and Slytherin leveled that glare on her.
"It is entirely undignified." Slytherin said and Helga let go, he then crossed his arms. "Are you quite done?"
"Yes Salazar." Helga said and smiled. "Just ignore them dear, I think the hat might have had quite the wrong idea. We wished to sort you according to your talents, not by who was most like us."
"Indeed at least Ravenclaw are still intelligent, I may be able to impart some wisdom to those I believe to be deserving. Are you deserving Granddaughter?"
"I hope so, but I don't even know what you mean by that. There are many ways to be deserving of something."
"Indeed you are correct, we are not here to influence who you are or how this school is run, simply here to make you aware of what once was in the wizarding world and can be again. Our Granddaughter was right in how your culture has changed drastically from the world I once knew. I don't believe that to be a bad thing, however I feel you have the right to know who you once were as well as what you have become." Gryffindor said and smiled at the students.
"We lived in harmony with other magical beings once, it saddens me to know how isolated we have become." Helga stated.
"Even though I protested the inclusion of muggleborn students for security reasons, I never would have treated them like second class citizens. All that are gifted with magic are welcome here and I am angered by the fact that my supposed actions have lead you to justify hating all that aren't like you. This isn't the spirit in which we formed this school, we formed it so students might come together and learn from one another. Not this mockery of what we attempted to build, Gryffindor and I are friends, I left the school because my health was failing and I wished to spend my last years in comfort and contemplation, not because I was angry at the rest of the school. Not because I sought to harm other students and teachers that were in it. I was simply a tired old man who wished to spend his last days in leisure, rather than policing students." Slytherin said and crossed his arms. "You disappoint me all of you, you are not a credit to the House I attempted to build."
"Neither are you, we meant for you to learn from one another, not to pick fights and throw insults." Gryffindor stated. "I am disappointed in all of you. With the exception of my Granddaughter, who learned the true meaning of this school and set about trying to change the mockery of what was once our society that this world has become."
"Its different, but I wouldn't consider it to be a mockery, there are good points?"
"Truly Granddaughter, when our blood is treated so badly? When common niceties are denied for so many and instead outright magicism prevails?"
"No one calls it that, but it is true that some wizards believe themselves to be superior to others."
"What a complete and utter load of crock." Slytherin said and laughed. "You truly believe yourselves to be superior, half of you are descended from hedge witches who could barely cast anything resembling a spell. We had to drill the basics into their dim skulls and hope vainly in some cases that they had enough intelligence not to maim themselves or get themselves killed." Salazar stated and Lily stared at him.
"Salazar!" Helga protested.
"What Helga you know its true."
"But you need not be so blunt about it."
"You might as well tell the sun not to rise, as tell our dear Salazar to not be blunt and acerbic." Gryffindor said with a chuckle.
"Oh yes lets do pick on me, you are just as bad Gryffindor, have you stopped the hall from moving forward by offering the door to a young witch yet?" Salazar asked. "Or bestowed blossoms upon that said same young witch and told her that she was a beauty beyond compare and a fitting match for your son. You offered the boy to them half a dozen times and each time your child denied them and the poor dears were crushed weren't they. It came to the point where I had to create a bloody love finding potion for your brat."
"Severus!" Helga said. "That was uncalled for."
"Simply the truth, I pity my students, Godric was bad enough, I'd hate to be faced with an entire house that is attempting to model themselves after him." Slytherin stated and Gryffindor glared at him.
"Like you are so much better, with your dark incantations and foul smells." Gryffindor said and then both men laughed.
"At least I didn't wake you up with sword drills at five in the morning!" Slytherin fired back.
"Lads do I need to separate you?" Hufflepuff demanded and they looked guiltily at her.
"Sorry Helga." Gryffindor apologized. "We will be on our best behavior from now on."
"I doubt that very much, indeed I pity my house for having to put up with such ridiculousness." Helga stated and crossed her arms. "You wouldn't think to look at them that they are even friends."
"Friends?" Several people at different tables demanded and Helga smiled.
"Of course, we are a coven that meant that when we were alive we shared everything with each other, our magic, our love and our joys and sadness. Even our bodies when we wished to and we each had one another's children. Though why Stephano took such a fancy to Helena I'll never know. I am so very glad I wasn't there to see my child kill Rowena's daughter." Helga stated and everyone appeared to be shocked. "You know them as the Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron but they were our children."
"Did you have many children?" Lily asked.
"Between the four of us we had twelve children." Helga said and smiled. "Seven were mine and five were Rowena's, six were Gryffindor and eight were Slytherin. We raised them together and brought them up like siblings."
"Indeed those were the happiest years of our lives." Gryffindor said and bowed to Rowena. "Might I take your hand my lady?"
"Of course, you need never ask for my favor Gryffindor." Rowena said and held hands with Gryffindor who beamed at her.
"A very touching display I am sure, heaven forbid he grows fond of you, he's a very tactile person and he doesn't care much about personal space or boun..." Gryffindor launched himself at Slytherin and planted a kiss on the man's lips, Slytherin stiffened as he was kissed, but then relaxed into it, moaning and kissing Gryffindor back with equal passion. Rowena smiled at Helga who returned the smile with one of her own.
"Well we can hardly let them have all the fun." Helga said and kissed Rowena who combed her fingers through Helga's bushy hair.
"Apparently we misread slightly." Helga said disentangling herself from Rowena. "Although less rigid then when we were alive public displays of affection are still considered taboo to some degree."
"I doubt we'll be able to break them apart now though." Rowena said and smiled at the two men. "Though it is a pretty picture." Rowena said.
"Rowena, there are children present." Lily hissed and Rowena smiled.
"Yes dear, but there's no harm in giving them an education." Rowena said and Lily stared at her in shock. "We are a complete quatrad meaning that we share one core and everything else, including our bodies, minds and spirits. We were hand fasted at Beltane in the year 947 of the muggle calendar we are committed to one another in all ways one can commit to another and we love each other deeply, truly and lastingly."
Slytherin broke away bite marks on both their lips and crossed his arms. "I suppose you are quite pleased with yourself.
"Not as pleased as I would be if we continued that in a more private setting." Gryffindor returned. "You got the upper hand today my love, but it will not last long."
"They enjoy dominance and submission games, personally I always prefer to be submissive, and it allows the mind to think of things other than the momentary pleasure." Rowena said and Helga grinned.
"You know how it turns me on when you get all smart like that." Helga stated and smiled. "This reminds me of the day..."
"No Helga, you will not tell them that story!" Slytherin stated. "I'll loose what esteem I've garnered over the centuries."
"Godric befuddled Salazar into believing that he'd put on clothes, when really all he had on was the vision paint from the revelries that took place the night before. You should have heard the shout when he realized that Godric had pranked him."
"You walked into the Great Hall naked?" Lily asked.
"Skyclad and a staring third year stopped me before I could do so, his eyes as big as saucers. He stated that I apparently had not come down from the ritual the previous night and he much preferred me to instruct him with my robes on." Slytherin said dryly and Godric laughed.
"That was a good one, I got you good that time."
"Not as good as the time I made you confess your undying love to a house elf, startled the poor thing half to death."
"We had to put into place a rule that they couldn't meddle with one another's minds, if you can believe it. Such brilliance and yet such idiocy." Rowena shook her head.
"Wait you were pranksters?" The Weasley twins demanded and both men nodded.
"The women were off limits and so we amused ourselves by pranking one another, neither one of us likes to submit very much."
"You don't need to tell them everything Gryffindor." Slytherin stated and Gryffindor frowned.
"Ah yes I suppose that's true, but now is as good of time as any for them to learn about power dynamics in and out of the bedroom."
"I think they can quite figure that out by themselves." Lily stated.
"As you wish Headmistress."
"I'm not Headmistress, she is!"
"No you aren't you are the one who woke us from our sleep, the one that knows the old ways, either you lead the school or no one does." Slytherin stated firmly. "In addition to which, I Salazar Slytherin of House Slytherin do declare this witch to be the Head of my House."
"No fair, I wanted to make her the Head of my House!" Gryffindor pouted.
"Why can't we all do so, after all she does seem to be the most deserving of our decedents." Ravenclaw stated and smiled at Lily who stared at her shocked by the turn of events.
"Indeed I agree, I Godric Gryffindor of House Gryffindor do declare this witch to be the Head of My House. Lily Potter is now the Head of the Gryffindor family."
"I Rowena Ravenclaw do declare Lily Potter to be the Head of my House and to be worthy of inheriting all my worldly possessions." Rowena said and smiled at Lily who stared at her shocked.
"I can't be the head of three houses."
"I find that you can and you'll do wonderfully at it dear." Helga said and smiled. "Oh and I would be ever so grateful if you might be able to find a descendant worthy of being the head of my family line."
"I wouldn't know where to begin looking, all those that are known about died long ago."
"True but you have the ability to cast a lineage spell and you could easily cast one on those in the hall. I know you were thinking of that very thing dear."
"Do me first! Please Professor Potter do me first!" Hermione called from across the hall, Lily smiled and cast the spell. She stared at Hermione as the names appeared above her head. Hermione was related to Morgana Lefae through her Mother's side as well as the Dark Wizard Mordrid Lefae and Mordechi Lefae inventor of the Amortia potion. The rumor that Morgana was related to dark fey also proved to be true, as several of the names on the list were written in High Fae, a language that had not been spoken in nearly a thousand years. The High Fae decided to flee into another realm centuries before once the threat of humans and the cold iron they carried became too great. She was also related through her mother's side to a family of healers who had been famous in the fourteenth century for their work to eradicate the plague and had been well known healers for three centuries after that, until one of their sons became a squib. They had given up the baby to a monastery wishing to save him the heartache of being unable to truly live as a wizard. Their other son had grown up but a chance broom accident had killed him in his twenties and the family was thought to be lost forever. The last wish of the Father of that dying line was to start a hospital and name it Saint Mungos. He had started training young wizards and witches as he could not train his own sons and taught them all he knew. The hospital he started became the finest in the wizarding world and was one of the first of its kind, which would take in people regardless of station. Hermione was also related through her father's side to a famous family of spell makers and researchers, Lily had always been in awe of the Fountinus family and was glad that the bloodline had not in fact died out, but was very much still alive in Hermione.
"I'm related to the Mungos?" Hermione asked and Lily nodded.
"As well as a family of researchers and spell makers and two dark sorcerers. Your bloodline is a thing to be proud of, though I've always thought that one's personal accomplishments are worth more than whom you are related to by blood. It does explain your fondness for books to some degree and your caring nature. Magic remembers even though everyone and everything else forgets, magic remembers Hermione and it found you worthy." Lily smiled at Hermione who stared at the names in awe. "Its a lot to take in I know, to feel that you are deserving of your power, that you didn't steal it from anyone and to know it with certainty are two different things. I didn't know until I was able to see my lineage for myself and it's a lot to take in."
"Do you think I'll be a credit to them?" Hermione asked and Lily smiled.
"You can try to spend your life appeasing others, or hoping that you will make those that came before you proud, or you can do what you want and live your life on your own terms. I spent half my life appeasing others and it took being turned into a cat, for me to realize that the most important person to make happy was myself. That as long as I was making myself happy and doing the right thing, I would make others happy as well. Then of course by the time I realized this, I couldn't act on it, but I didn't give up hope, nor did I stop dreaming of the day when I would see my son again. When I would share with him all I had learned and could be with him once more." Lily said and smiled. "What do you dream about doing Hermione?"
"Ensuring that we live in harmony with magical beings and that all those that have magical ability are treated equally by this society." Hermione replied and Lily smiled.
"A very lofty goal indeed, I agree that we should treat magical creatures and beings better, however the House Elves rely upon wizards to remain healthy. They feed off of our magic when it builds to be to great and this exhausts even the more powerful wizards. After a feed the wizard that is being fed off can be tired for weeks or either months or it creates a bond between the master and the house elf. The house elf feeds off the wizard thereby weakening him, but they also serve the wizard they are bound to. Without the constant flow of power between a wizard and their elf, house elves can go mad, or get horribly sick and weak. They need to feed off magical energy in order to survive and once the High Fae left them behind in this world, they had no choice but to rely upon wizards for their survival. House Elves aren't just happy being servants, they need to serve it is a part of their biology quite literally. Enslavement in the Muggle world was different than what the House Elves go through, they aren't slaves but rather servants."
"A very fine line between the two, I've heard about how some wizards treat their elves." Hermione said and Lily nodded.
"I agree with you there, it has turned from what was a sacred bond between master and servant, to something where the House Elves are treated very poorly by their masters. A house elf will do what is desired of it, regardless of if that desire is voiced or not. They feel the desires of their masters and act accordingly. That is why you seldom have to order a house elf it knows what you desire before you ask."
"They can read minds?" Draco Malfoy demanded and Lily nodded.
"Though it goes deeper than even that, a house elf serves its master, body, mind and soul. Their masters become like gods to them and you would never go against a god now would you Master Malfoy?"
"No, but the thought that..."
"They are in your head scares you? The thought that they long to fulfill your every whim frightens you? I doubt you minded before you knew the true nature of the bond between a house elf and its master."
"What about the school elves then?"
"They are bound to the school as a whole, they take small amounts of power from each of you each day and know your desires in a much more limited capacity than a house elf that serves only one family or one person, knows the desires of that family or person. They therefore know exactly what is needed and where they need to focus their attention at all times. This draining of power doesn't hurt the wizard and allows for the school to run smoothly. It took some convincing to have the elves we have at Hogwarts given over to the service of the school, but slowly certain families agreed to part with an elf or two in exchange for free tuition. After a while we realized that it was unfair to expect the less well off families to pay to educate their children and so decided to make schooling free for everyone at Hogwarts." Helga stated.
"We could have only created this school and maintained it for the last centuries with the help of the house elves. Every time something is noticed to be broken at Hogwarts, it is repaired within a few weeks at most. This is in large part to our faithful and helpful house elves that ensure that this school runs smoothly. Any desire that a student had would in some way be fulfilled and that way we ensured that everyone was well taken care of. Though you will inherit our personal elves, there are also those that belong to the school as a whole." Slytherin said and Lily stared at him in surprise. "You need only to show yourself at Gringotts to get into our vaults and we will guide you when necessary. Unfortunately manifesting as we have is quite draining and we must sleep again for a time, but if you have need of us, you need only call."
"Thank you." Lily said uncertain of what else to say, the founders of Hogwarts nodded to her before disappearing once more. Lily stared at where they had been for a moment, before realizing that it was mid afternoon and she was somehow exhausted. "I'm going to go lie down, I believe that the spirits of the Founding Fathers were in fact shades." Lily said and several pureblood children winced as did several members of the staff. Shades were powerful ghosts that took energy from the living to maintain their corporeal form. They were often ancient and were more powerful in life than most wizards. Shades inhabited a plane between the living world and the afterlife and could be called from the afterlife into the living world for a short time, but only by powerful wizards and witches. In the living world, they again had all the powers they did in life, but could only exist as long as the host's will and magic remained strong. Lily's magic must have started to become strained and that was why the Founders left once more.
Lily stood slowly rising to her feet and walking back to the hospital wing. Madam Pomphrey stared at her before shoving her onto a car and demanding, "What is it you've done this time?"
"Over extended my magic just a little bit." Lily said and Madam Pomphrey sighed, handing her several potions to drink.
"You shouldn't have to sleep considering the level of magical exhaustion, but I wouldn't suggest doing more spells than absolutely necessary and possibly having a lie down."
"I'd rather write the textbooks for my classes, if I grow too tired, you have my word that I will rest." Lily said and smiled at Madam Pomphrey before returning to working on writing her textbooks. She was nearly finished writing her textbook when Harry groaned.
"I'll be there soon Aunt Petunia." He mumbled.
"Harry its alright, your in the hospital wing, you don't have to do anything other than get better." Lily said and Harry groaned again.
"Head hurts, you aren't Madam Pomphrey, who are you."
"I'm your Mum Harry, I was transformed back into a human remember we went to lunch together." Lily reminded Harry and he smiled.
"Thought it was a dream, you are really back Mum, we can be a family now?" Harry asked and Lily ran a hand through Harry's hair.
"Of course, we never stopped being a family, you have been my heart since the moment you were born." Lily said and smiled softly. "I'm so sorry I couldn't figure out how to free myself from the spell until now, but now I'm free, I am looking forward to doing all the things I imagined doing with you. Brewing together and teaching you the magic I've learned and the traditions I follow. Spending holidays and birthdays together and being able to care for one another. I missed so much and not a hour went by that I didn't think of you."
"Really?" Harry asked and Lily smiled.
"Truly." She said and rang a bell, Madam Pomphrey came out of her office and smiled at Harry and Lily.
"He's woken up then?"
"Yes, though I think he has a headache." Lily said and Madam Pomphrey nodded, handing Harry a potion, which he downed.
"You will need to rest for the rest of the day, but after today, you should be able to go to classes, if you rest mind and not try to get up to all sorts of mischief." Madam Pomphrey said and Lily laughed at the scowl on Harry's face.
"James couldn't ever be still either." Lily said and grinned at Harry. "He hated being laid up in the hospital wing, or sitting down for too long even."
"Tell me more about Dad." Harry asked and Lily nodded, telling Harry stories about James as she went back to writing her textbook. She was midway through the second story when Harry started to snore once more. Lily smiled fondly, before she straitened the covers on the hospital bed and kissed Harry on his forehead.
"Pleasant dreams son." She said watching him sleep for a moment, before going back to her writing. It was Severus that broke her concentration next, she cast a hasty muffling charm over Harry's bed as Severus started moaning in his sleep.
"No not Lily, take me instead, not Lily! Please." He begged before drifting back into incoherent muttering. Lily walked over to his beside and cast a body bind charm on him. "Lily no please, you can't be dead, and you can't be."
"Severus I'm not dead, you are having a nightmare." Lily said and shook his shoulder forcefully trying to get him to wake up, Severus was a sound sleeper and had always been hard to wake. Now that he was exhausted Lily found it to be impossible, instead she started to sing. "Don't want a four leaf clover
don't want an old horse shoe. Want your kiss 'cause I just can't miss with a good luck charm like you." She sang the first song that came into her head and smiled as Severus relaxed slightly back against the pillows and sighed softly. Lily gently ran her hands through his hair, it was caked in Slickeasy's to prevent it from being harmed while Severus worked on his potions. She scarified it and smiled as Severus' hair became the thick silky mass she remembered.
"Come on and be my little good luck charm. Uh-huh huh, you sweet delight. I want a good luck charm a-hanging on my arm to have, to have, to hold, to hold tonight." Lily smiled softly as Severus stopped moaning relaxing into a deeper sleep. Somehow Severus had always responded to her, even in sleep it was as though he heard her. Lily had felt the same connection with him, but sometimes connection and friendship weren't enough to make a lasting relationship. She wondered sometimes what would have happened if she had chosen Severus instead of James. Would they have been happy? Would her life have been any better than what it had turned out to be? Severus muttered in his sleep, his brows crinkling as he frowned and Lily returned to stroking back his hair and singing.
Don't want a silver dollar. Rabbit's foot on a string. The happiness in your warm caress, No rabbit's foot can bring." She smiled softly at Severus who relaxed again at the sound of her voice and continued to sing the song she remembered from her childhood. They had sung it to each other more times then she could count when they had been young. They had loved that the word charm was in the song, being young spell casters. Severus' mother hadn't been allowed to play wizard music and muggle music had very little by way of magic, other than songs of love and Severus had protested that those were too yucky, as a small boy..
"Come on and be my little good luck charm. Uh-huh huh, you sweet delight I want a good luck charm a-hanging on my arm to have, to have, to hold, to hold tonight." She smiled softly as Severus' frown eased slightly.
"Lily." He muttered.
"I'm right here Severus, I'll be here when you wake up." Lily said and smiled down at him, before continuing the song.
"If I found a lucky penny I'd toss it across the bay your love is worth all the gold on earth No wonder that I say," She smiled as Severus started to snore once more and gently moved her hand from his forehead.
Come on and be my little good luck charm, Uh-huh huh, you sweet delight, I want a good luck charm-hanging on my arm. To have, to have, to hold, to hold tonight." She finished singing and hesitated a moment, before casting a spell over both of them, she stared at the golden blaze in astonishment, while Harry glowed the silvery gold color that the children of those with strong magical bonds possessed. Long ago both she and Severus would have been members of the same coven and would have shared their power between themselves and the other members in the coven. She had learned how to draw magical power and how to send it back once she finished her working and she knew that her magic in part came from other members of the coven, including James. She could still feel his magical energy fueling her and knew that although he was gone, his power lived on in her and Harry. Harry and she could share magical power, but for the most part she would be giving him her power and not the other way round. Harry's power was the swirling mix of a wizard that hadn't learned how to keep and maintain their power and when to give and take it from others. Lily had been sending what she could to Harry through the bond they shared, but her reserves were taxed as it was. Still she hadn't thought that Severus was a magical match for her, until that moment. She could feel his power filling her now and she realized that was in part the reason why Severus was taking so long to recover. Unfortunately there was only the visible spell, which showed magical compatibility, no one had considered making one more elaborate than that. Lily knew that there was at least three further magic users with who she was magically compatible, but she had no idea where they were, or indeed who they were. That was a problem for another day, now she simply drew on their power and siphoned it from them into Severus, until she couldn't take anymore and allowed the connection to become as it had been once more. Severus' magic swirled with slightly different colors and Lily saw how color had returned to his cheeks. She smiled softly and then looked on the clock on the wall, realizing that it was close to lunchtime.