Harry, Hermione, and Ron cautiously peered through the open doorway.
"Am I correct in assuming you never noticed this place before, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Yup." Harry answered, scanning the room for potential dangers. Seeing nothing that looked dangerous, he tentatively stepped inside. When nothing happened to his exposed foot, he continued inside, gesturing for Ron and Hermione to follow.
The room they were in was much smaller than the main chamber, and its appearance was nothing like the dreary, disturbing architecture Harry had seen before. Instead, this looked like a mix between the common rooms of Slytherin and Gryffindor, both in style and size. The room was clad in green and silver, with walls and furnishings of stone, but the chairs had the same comfortable style as those in the Gryffindor Common room. An old fireplace could even be seen in the corner. Unlike the rest of the Chamber of Secrets, this room was not only well-preserved but also appeared to be quite clean.
In the corner of the room, near the fireplace, sat a desk covered in quills and notebooks that appeared to be written in Parseltongue. Intrigued, Harry walked over to it. Nearing the desk, Harry had just picked up what appeared to be a spellbook of original spells when he heard a voice.
"Well, it's about time!"
Harry almost jumped into the air in surprise. Ron and Hermione had also turned, faces white, at the sound of the unknown voice. It wasn't one any of them recognized, though, which thankfully ruled out Tom Marvolo Riddle.
"Who...who are you?"
"Ah. Yes. Sorry about that, forgot. I'm behind the desk, near the right-hand side. My picture slid down the wall and behind the desk at some point. That's what I get for not having a Permanent Sticking Charm placed. I could just see the door open and hear you when you came in."
Inspecting the area the voice had referenced, Harry came face to face with a golden-framed portrait of a middle-aged man with short, dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard. Harry picked up the portrait, dusted it off a little, and set it up on the desk.
"Who are you?"
Hermione gasped. "Harry, of course! Who else would it be? This is-"
"Salazar Slytherin at your service!" The portrait smiled brightly at the three students, who were wide-eyed and somewhat pale. "What? What's wrong?"
"You're...Slytherin?" Ron asked, aghast.
"Well...as I just declared myself Salazar Slytherin, then yes, you would think so, wouldn't you?" the portrait answered, confused about where this was going.
"You don't look evil," Ron blurted out before quickly covering his mouth in fright.
"Don't look evil...why would I...what?" The portrait seemed utterly confused at that.
Harry butted in, hastily trying to steer the conversation another way. "We're just...a bit surprised that you don't look like your statue in the main part of the chamber."
"Oh…that." Slytherin sighed as if he know understood what this was about and rolled his eyes, exasperated. "I've never been too proud of that statue, to be honest. I don't think they captured my likeness well at all. I was going for the 'Regal Lord' and 'Distinguished Founder' look, but somehow the statue ended up making me seem monkey-like. Just goes to show, I guess, if you want something done right you have to do it yourself. I never should have hired that job out."
"But...how can you know about that?" Hermione asked. "Obviously this portrait was made when you were younger."
"Well, I certainly didn't want to be in my old, wrinkled body for so important a portrait, now did I? I just used a younger representation of myself, still keeping old memories intact."
"I didn't know that was possible," Ron muttered.
"Well, clearly no one ever told me, not that that would have stopped me," Slytherin retorted.
Ron shrugged. "Why'd you even put the portrait here anyway?"
Slytherin smiled, as if they had finally gotten to the area of conversation he had been hoping for. "Well, you see, I wanted to get to you first!"
"Who else would be...um...getting to us?" Harry asked nervously.
"That would be...hold on one moment. I need to go find them and give them a heads up first." With that, Slytherin quickly moved out of his portrait, leaving the trio to stare at each other in disbelief.
"That just happened, right?" Harry asked.
"We met Salazar bloody Slytherin," Ron confirmed, in awe, "and the bloke actually seemed like a decent guy."
"Just checking," Harry sighed.
"You're going to need to translate those books for us, Harry," Hermione pointed out, gesturing to the desk. Glancing at Ron's skeptic expression, she amended, "Translate them for me, I mean."
"Oh...um...wow." Harry looked worriedly at the very large stack of books and journals on and inside the desk. Thankfully, before he could come up with what was sure to be a poor excuse, Slytherin returned.
"Right. My apologies, but it's been quite a while since this was needed. You simply need to tap your wand against the space above the fireplace and the main portrait should appear. We didn't want to risk anything happening to that one, so it's in its own vault right now. Oh, while you're at it you might want to light the fireplace. It gets a bit chilly in here at times, and this isn't the most well-lit of chambers."
Harry quickly walked over to the fireplace, waiting for Hermione to light it before he continued. It wouldn't do to get in the way just as she fired her spell. With the newly lit fire crackling, Harry reached up and tapped the wall.
As soon as Harry's wand left the stone, a large portion of the wall rotated, revealing a large portrait with four comfy-looking chairs on the sides. Harry saw that three of the chairs were occupied, and the figures seemed to be speaking with each other.
"I still think he's pulling our legs!"
"What would he have to gain? He's the one who put portrait up here and had it sealed in the vault, which was clearly a good idea since we've never come across danger."
"It could be like the time he told us that I had to wear Helga's dress to prevent a time paradox."
"Well, Godric, only you would be gullible enough to fall for that. A time paradox? Come on. As if a man wearing women's clothing could somehow prevent an anomaly in the time stream."
"He's really good at keeping a straight face! Helga believed him, didn't you?"
"As Rowena said, only you would fall for that. There's a difference between loyalty and just not thinking."
"And we all know that thinking has gotten us out of more than one problem, I might add."
"Wait! Something's different! Look!"
The red-haired lady had turned to look outside the portrait for the first time. Obviously she had noticed Ron, Harry, and Hermione standing with their mouths wide open in shock. The other figures, a powerfully-built, red-bearded man and a slim, raven-haired lady, eventually turned away from each other and looked as well.
Slytherin broke the stunned silence, chuckling loudly. "I told you! I warned you. 'Hey,' I said, 'I think we're finally getting visitors, so try and look impressive!' And of course, we get this! Brilliant! After all this time, oh, this was perfect!"
"Well," huffed the red-haired lady who was clearly Helga Hufflepuff, "I think it should be noted that you haven't been completely honest with us in the past."
"It was one joke!" Slytherin objected. "I was bored! I didn't think he'd actually buy it!"
"Anyway, dears," continued Hufflepuff, "it's wonderful to see you! I can't begin to tell you how long it's felt."
"I would hope that, assuming you are indeed students of this school, you know who we are," the slim raven-haired lady added, "but just in case there is any confusion, I am Rowena Ravenclaw, the other woman is Helga Hufflepuff, and this bearded brute is Godric Gryffindor. I'm sure you've already met Salazar," she added, gesturing to a smugly grinning Slytherin's portrait.
"It's been a while, so our names might be a bit out of style," Gryffindor added. "So you might want to shorten them up. That there is Sally, there's Hell, and that is Row," he gestured to Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw respectively. All three rolled their eyes, clearly having heard this multiple times.
Having saved himself for last, Gryffindor proudly straightened before announcing, "You can call me 'God!'"
"While I'm sure they'd love to," Ravenclaw replied dryly, "it might be easier if they just referred to us by our last names. They're more well known anyway, and the students will be used to saying them since I'm assuming our names have remained the names of the Houses."
"Now, you all seem like good, loyal friends," Hufflepuff pointed out. "You're all in my House, aren't you?"
"No, Helga, they had to be very clever to find the chamber. At least one of you is in Ravenclaw, yes?"
"Nonsense! The chamber's about the ugliest place you could imagine! Filled with all kinds of creepy crawlies and dirt and grime. Only a student of Gryffindor could muster up the courage to go in!"
"You're all forgetting one important detail," Slytherin smirked. "This Chamber was originally built by me, to be opened by the Heir of Slytherin! You have to be a Parselmouth to get in! So it's obviously my House that they're from! Or at least one of them, that is!"
"Actually," Harry tentatively mentioned, "we're all from Gryffindor."
"BOO YAA!" Gryffindor's loud voice boomed throughout the chamber. The other three founders were dumbstruck.
"Their loyalty, though…" Hufflepuff murmured.
"What about their intelligence?" Ravenclaw moaned.
"The Heir of Slytherin is in Godric's house?!" Slytherin cried, head in his hands.
"My grandmother Dorea was a Black, so maybe there's some sort of descendance there" Harry ventured. Slytherin sighed, complaining that it was still an affront to his legacy.
"Umm, Founders? Can I ask a question?" Hermione asked.
"Certainly!" Ravenclaw answered, visibly brightening. "Ask away. You know, wit beyond measure is-"
"Is really annoying when you remind us of it every other moment." Gryffindor finished. "Let's just hear the question before you give a lecture on magical quantum logistics or some other mumbo jumbo."
Hermione looked slightly disappointed about missing such a lecture, but she pressed on. "We came down here originally to find out if the Chamber would be safe for other students. You see, um, wait, do you know what the Ministry of Magic is?"
"No, but let me guess. A bunch of dull, petty politicians only in it for themselves?" Gryffindor asked.
Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw exchanged glances before Hufflepuff answered, "As much as it pains me to say it, I believe Godric summed it up quite well."
"Well, I guess some things never change," Ron sighed.
"Speaking of change," Slytherin remarked, "I'm curious. How long has it been since we were alive. It feels like it's been quite a while to us, but I imagine time feels somewhat different as portraits in a room like this." The others nodded, also curious.
"You guys are like, over a thousand years old," Ron answered.
All four Founders looked completely shocked. Then Gryffindor let out a low whistle. "Dang, Salazar. I had my doubts when you guys came up with this whole scheme, but you were right. A thousand years! Who would've thought it?"
"I can only imagine what new discoveries have been made," Ravenclaw mused happily.
"Please tell me these rags aren't the new fashion," Hufflepuff groaned, gesturing to the trio's attire. "It seems every generation has some stupid new fad. And after a thousand years, I'm sure there have been plenty of fads. You don't even have House badges!"
"These? These are just some old Muggle clothes. We didn't want to get our robes all dirty." Harry answered dismissively. He paused and looked up, though, when all four Founders were again staring at the trio in shock.
"Muggles? You're wearing Muggle clothes?" Ravenclaw exclaimed.
"How'd you get your hands on rags like them? What'd you do, steal them from the nearest village?" Gryffindor asked.
"The teachers allow this sort of rebellion? What do your parents think?" Hufflepuff cried.
"Wait, hold on!" Hermione nearly shouted. "We know from history records that Slytherin was a biased man who hated Muggle-borns at Hogwarts, but the rest of you? Really?"
"Hold on now! Biased? Are you kidding?" Slytherin exclaimed, offended. "I might have been considered a bit extreme in my level of precautions and protections, I'll admit, but I'm by no means the villain here if that's what's taught nowadays."
"But isn't that why you left the school?" Ron asked. "Because you didn't like how the others were letting Muggle-borns into Hogwarts?" Harry and Hermione nodded, showing their agreement.
"I left mostly for other, more personal reasons than that," Slytherin answered, "but yes, I was unhappy with the others for some time before I returned-"
"Returned?" interrupted Harry. "You came back?"
"Of course," Slytherin answered. "You don't think I'd abandon one of the largest and most important projects of my life, do you? Once tempers had settled a bit and my business elsewhere was done, I quietly returned. That was when this room was built within the Chamber of Secrets."
"But all the other Founders were said to have welcomed in Muggle-born students!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Technically, we allowed them entry if they were good enough," Ravenclaw answered. "And, let's face it, how many Muggles do you know who would stand a chance of making it into my House?"
"Or that would be able to put off their lazy and violent tendencies enough to show the loyalty and hard-working attitude my House requires?" Hufflepuff added.
"And you can cross Gryffindor off the potential list, too!" Gryffindor added. "None of us really wanted those people in our school, but we eventually decided that those who could pass as tolerable in our society should be allowed entry. Salazar was the only one who wouldn't agree. He told us that we were making a mistake. Either we were being too judgmental and Muggles would form coalitions against us due to dismissal, or we were being too easy on the Muggle-borns and letting too many dangers into the school. Either way, he told us we were dooming magical society and wanted no part of it."
Slytherin shrugged. "That's how it seemed at the time. Later, I realized that without my help things would just get worse and worse. If I had to compromise, so be it, but at least the school would be a bit safer. Of course, there was also the idea going around that if you could separate magical children from their Muggle parents, then without such influence they would be relatively-"
"What is wrong with all you people?" Hermione looked nearly ready to explode. "You're just like those horrible people we already have running things! To think that you were my role models, the most brilliant of your time! And now you're just as prejudiced as everyone else."
Gryffindor's eyes narrowed. "Prejudiced? Clearly you've never had Muggles try to burn you at the stake."
"Or dismiss all your words simply because you were different in their eyes," Ravenclaw added.
"Any chances of friendship or camaraderie were not spoiled because of the magical side's actions. I don't know why a witch like yourself would care one way or the other about them," Hufflepuff added. Hermione opened her mouth to continue.
"ENOUGH!" Harry shouted, tired of this seemingly endless debate. "Salazar, Godric, Rowena, and Helga, just stop and listen for a second! Clearly things were much different in your time then they are for us right now. Let me try to bring you up to speed a bit on the world as we know it. I am a half-blood. My father, James Potter, married an intelligent, fun-loving, mischievous Muggle-born witch. I was raised by my uncle and aunt, who are Muggles. While I'm sure they follow your understanding of Muggles almost perfectly, they by no means represent most. Right now, Muggles know nothing of our society. The only ones that know about us either will become witches and wizards or are the parents of these children. Hermione is one of these. As you can see, she's perfectly normal, even better than normal in my opinion, and she takes huge offense when people insult Muggles, as they are insulting her and her family. In our society right now, Muggles are actually far more advanced than the magical world in many social and scientific aspects, and the ones who attack or disregard Muggles are powerful, political families of old and Dark Wizards, some of whom persecute and torture Muggles for sport."
Harry hadn't expected to vent for so long, but what he said seemed to have done the trick. All four Founders looked quite embarrassed.
"You have our apologies, Miss," Gryffindor finally answered, "my fellow Founders and I speak of the world we knew. Clearly that world, as we should have guessed, hardly exists anymore except in history books. Please forgive our words."
Hermione nodded, a small tear glistening down her cheek. She hastily wiped it away when she realized its existence.
"What Hermione was trying to say before we got far off topic, regarding the chamber," Harry continued, hoping to move things away from the touchy subject, "is that we were wondering if it is safe for students to practice magic in. One of our teachers was forced upon us by the Ministry of Magic, which is meddling with Hogwarts business due to current political fears. We want to learn the defensive magic that they won't teach us, and to help teach and prepare our fellow students, but we need a place to safely do that where no one will interfere. Your Chamber of Secrets, Slytherin, is certainly large enough and discreet enough. However, due to the evil once in here we were unsure if students, especially Muggle-borns, would be safe."
"I had built his chamber to protect young witches and wizards from Muggles," Slytherin answered, "if ever a large scale attack or war occured or if Muggle-born students attempted to bring down our society from within. If what you have said about such students now is true, I am sure there is no need to worry."
Harry, Hermione, and Ron exchanged excited glances. They had finally found a place to train and teach! However, Slytherin's next words soon wiped the excited grins from their faces.
"The evil you speak of alarms me though. I would have thought Themistocles could easily remove any threats."
"Themisistoca...who?" Ron asked, quite befuzzled.
"Oh, that's just Salazar's pet snakey," Gryffindor answered. "Fun little guy, though he's probably not very little by now. Always used to pretend his second eyelids were up. Lots of great practical jokes there." He smiled, remembering times past.
"How is he faring, by the way?" Slytherin asked. "I would assume, as a Parselmouth, you had a decent chat with him. I worry about him getting bored in here."
Harry gulped. "Umm...are you talking about the giant basilisk that was killing students? The one that almost killed me, before I killed it with Gryffindor's sword?"
"What?" Slytherin cried. "What on earth would bring that up? I'll assume you and the other students weren't attempting to overthrow the school or kill each other, so I can't fathom what would lead Themistocles to do that! As much as it pains me to say it, it's probably a good thing that you stopped him." Slytherin looked visibly shaken, distraught due to the loss of his pet and unsure why his pet would behave in so horrible a manner.
"You say you used my sword to...end the problems? What sword was this?" Gryffindor asked.
"Yeah," Harry answered. "It's probably one of the best in existence. Goblin-made, with jewels on the hilt. I pulled it out of the Sorting Hat."
"So that's where I put it," Gryffindor mumbled. "I spent weeks searching for that."
"As interesting as all these conversations have been," Ravenclaw announced, standing up from her chair, "I fear it could take weeks for us to be brought up to speed. Likely even longer if we continue to interrupt and get off topic."
"That's for sure," Hufflepuff agreed.
"In order for us to know what needs to be done and how we can help, I think we need to see first hand what has happened for ourselves," Ravenclaw continued. "Or rather, as first hand as possible. If the three of you agree, I bid you step closer and each place a hand on this portrait. Salazar, if you want to learn also you would do well to return here."
"What are you planning to do?" Hermione asked as Slytherin entered the main portrait and sat down in the empty chair.
"We wish to temporarily connect with your minds, viewing your memories and learning as best we can of your circumstances. The news of Muggle torture and the turning of Themistocles causes us to worry."
"You'll have nothing to fear," Hufflepuff added. "The process is painless and requires only a moment of time. The only memories we will view are those that directly relate to what has happened since we lived and what has caused these worrisome events."
"There's no way you should be able to do that!" Ron exclaimed. "Portraits can't do that. And you guys seem way too self-aware and intelligent for mere portraits. What are you? Is this some magic that was lost in time?"
Slytherin's brow furrowed. "If you have not heard of it or its effects, I think it is indeed safe to assume the magic at place was lost with time. We are not mere representations of the Four Founders, if that is what you assumed. No, we are living memories stored within the painting. One of the reasons I returned was to use this magic, which I had recently discovered and refined. We can see, hear, and think as clearly as when we were alive. We are able to sometimes affect our surroundings, particularly other humans. We are, to shamelessly use the term I invented, horcruxes."
/:Note:/ DUN DUN DUNNNNN! I bet that surprised a lot of you. Sorry if this chapter was a bit boring, but I wanted to give plenty of time to the Founders. It's a lot of fun writing them, and I hope you guys enjoyed reading. I'll try and make the next chapter a little more action-filled if I can. Anyway, thanks for reading and let me know what you think! Later!