CHAPTER THIRTEEN: FOUNDERS, FRIENDS AND FOES

By the middle of their last week of solitude, Harry, Ron and Hermione had compiled an impressive summary of notes and information on everything they could get their hands on concerning Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw. Whatever hadn't been discarded as irrelevant or unimportant had been duplicated in the journal Lupin had given Harry. Everything was marked and color-coded. The last section of the journal had been reserved for Ron's list of potential R.A.B.s. He was working from school rosters and other reference books and it would be an ongoing search. He'd gotten as far as witches with last names starting with "Ben," first name beginning with "Ra."

Hermione took the rest of their original notes and set them in the center of the common room fireplace. With a flick from her wand, the pile of parchment went up in flames and vanished into nothingness.

"I'm going to keep working on this list for now," said Ron. "I want to get through as much of the rosters as possible before everyone arrives on Monday. What are you two going to do?"

"Harry and I were discussing that earlier," said Hermione. "We're going to go check out Professor Sprout's and Professor Flitwick's offices and quarters."

"Really," said Ron.

"Yeah, we've never really been in them for any extended periods of time. Most of their personal items are probably packed away, so we may get a good look at items that have been housed in the castle for long periods of time," explained Hermione.

"We're hoping they may have items in their offices that belonged to either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw," said Harry.

"And how do you plan on getting in them?" asked Ron. "I know McGonagall said we had access to the castle, but I can't imagine she meant private quarters and offices, too."

"There's only one way to find out," said Harry.

"So, let's say you can get in. You don't think they've got Horcruxes sitting on their shelves, do you?" asked Ron.

"Not exactly," said Hermione. "But they may have relics like Dumbledore did. It won't hurt to take a look."

"Honestly, I wish the other professors were arriving early so we could talk to them, but that won't be happening," added Harry. "I talked to McGonagall and she said they would be arriving around the same time as Ginny, which means early Monday morning."

"Well, they certainly will know more about Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw than we can possibly learn in so short a time frame. Something they know could provide better clues or point us in the right direction. We found out a lot, but it would help to get their opinions," reasoned Hermione.

"And you think they'll just pull up a couple of chairs and start chatting with you and Harry about dear old Helga and Rowena," said Ron.

"No, silly," answered Hermione. "I'll probably make up some story about wanting to do a special report on the founders and ask to interview them," said Hermione.

"And of course, just to make sure they don't get suspicious, you'll actually do the report, right?" he added.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" replied Hermione.

"No reason, just checking," answered Ron.

"Knock it off, you two," said Harry with a grin. "Come on Hermione, let's start with Professor Sprout's office."

The door to her office and adjoining quarters was closed, but not locked. Professor McGonagall was true to her word. Harry and Hermione entered it and looked around. It occurred to Harry that he'd never been in it. Since Herbology was taught in the greenhouses and they weren't in Hufflepuff house, he'd never had occasion or need to seek Professor Sprout out for anything outside of class.

The office was one of the smaller ones, but full of windows emitting lots of sunlight. There was one long bookcase filled to capacity with what Harry assumed to be every book on Herbology and plant life ever written. While he had never been inside here, he was certain Neville had. There was one row of four student desks that faced a much larger, worn teacher's desk. That desk had been cleared away for the summer, but Harry had no problem imagining it covered with odd bits of plants, potting soil, portable plant beds and the like.

Hermione moved behind Professor Sprout's desk to examine the items resting on a very old, but handsome bookshelf.

She picked up one book, leafed through it and said, "Harry, come take a look."

Harry read over Hermione's shoulder and was pleased to see they had indeed found something of Helga Hufflepuff's. It was a recipe book, and judging by the smeared and well- worn pages, it appeared to have actually been written by Helga Hufflepuff.

"Well, that fits with some of your research, right?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, it does," said Harry. "Hufflepuff was the heart of that foursome. Almost every planning meeting for starting Hogwarts took place in her home, and supposedly, around the dinner table."

"She was the nurturer of the group, then," said Hermione.

"Yes, but she was more than that. Sure, she loved to cook and entertain, but she was a brilliant witch, as well, and not just at Herbology."

"Do you remember the Sorting Hat song? Didn't it once say Hufflepuff basically let the others have their pick and happily took all the rest?" asked Hermione as she continued gently turning the pages of the recipe book.

"Yeah, I remember something like that," said Harry as he stepped closer to the shelf and stooped to get a better look at a lower shelf.

Something had caught his eye. It was a leather bond book. He opened it and again, saw the same penmanship that ran through the recipe book.

"Hermione, I think this is one of her journals," said Harry as he flipped towards the end. "Look at the date."

Hermione stepped beside him, looked at the open page and said, "Harry, isn't this near the time period when Slytherin broke from the others and left Hogwarts?"

"Yes, it is," answered Harry.

He started flipping the journal pages carefully, from back to front. He stopped when he'd gone through about twenty or so pages of the journal.

"Hermione, Slytherin is mentioned in here a lot. I mean, they all are, but he is mentioned more than the others."

"That's odd, isn't it?" she asked. "I mean, didn't the Sorting Hat also say Gryffindor and Slytherin had been best friends; and so had Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, at least in the beginning."

"Yes, but from what I've read, she appears to have been the mediator and the voice of reason for the foursome," explained Harry.

"So maybe Hufflepuff was the one who convinced Slytherin to stay as long as he did. I mean, he'd been spouting his pure blood mantra for a while by then, right?" she added.

"Yeah, he had. That's got to be it. It makes sense if she was the sounding board for all of them."

"You think so?" asked Hermione.

"Well, she was definitely more apt to try and understand him, far more than Ravenclaw would have been, right?" said Harry. "And we know his friendship with Gryffindor was eventually severed over his pure blood beliefs. In fact, it was following a huge fight with Gryffindor that Slytherin built his secret chamber and finally left Hogwarts."

"Okay, so all of that is true. Do you want to read the whole journal and see if there's anything else useful?" she asked.

"I do; but I don't want to take it from here. Do you mind going alone to Flitwick's quarters?" he asked.

"No problem, let's meet back in the common room."

"Okay," he said distractedly.

"Harry, what are you thinking?" she said as she turned to leave.

"I'm thinking that of the remaining three founders, Hufflepuff was probably the most affected by Slytherin's departure. I mean yeah, he and Gryffindor had been best mates, and Godric Gryffindor would have been furious; but after a fight like that, he seemed more the type to draw a line in the sand and not look back. I think Hufflepuff would have felt more disappointment in someone she'd considered a friend. I'm hoping that feeling of friendship was reciprocated," he said.

"Because…"started Hermione.

"Because if Hufflepuff was also important to Slytherin, then young Tom Riddle would have definitely uncovered that connection and…"

"And Voldemort would have likely hidden the cup somewhere that was important to both his ancestor and that ancestor's friend," finished Hermione.

"Exactly. And there can't be too many of those locations. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to identify some of them in this," he said, waving the journal at her.

"Brilliant," said Hermione. "I'll leave you to it. See you later."

Harry spent several hours reading every word of Hufflepuff's journal and had not been disappointed. Helga Hufflepuff had definitely cared for and worried a lot about Salazar Slytherin. Her writing eloquently expressed her concern for her friend's ever darkening mood and restlessness. She referenced happier times of old and wished they could go back to them.

When he'd finished reading, he grabbed a quill from the drawer of Professor Sprout's desk, pulled his wand and thought, "Accio Marauder's journal."

It appeared almost instantly and Harry quickly turned to the yellow tabbed section of the journal, tapped it with his wand and said, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," and watched all his earlier notes fill the pages. He flipped to an empty page and wrote:

Try:

Greenhouses 3 & 4 and surrounding grounds

Largest tree on east side of lake

Treasured hand carved gift??

Kitchens

Wales childhood home

Norfolk manor ruins

Harry looked at the list he'd made and hoped that he was on the right track. He tapped the book once more, said, "Mischief managed," and watched the journal pages go blank. He returned Hufflepuff's journal to its rightful place on the shelf, put the quill back in the desk drawer, took one more look around to make sure he and Hermione had left no signs of their visit, and finally satisfied, left quickly and quietly from the office.

Harry entered the common room and found Hermione pacing its center, while Ron sat at a desk, rubbing the tension from his neck.

"Well, how'd it go?" she asked.

"See for yourself," he said as he handed her the journal and she went to join Ron at the desk and revealed its pages once more.

They read quietly and Ron finally said, "You got all of that from a diary?"

"Pretty much," replied Harry. "The greenhouses weren't numbered back then, but based on the descriptions in her journal, I'm pretty sure they refer to three and four. The tree was definitely a spot for a number of their heart-to-heart talks."

"What's the treasured gift?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know," answered Harry. "She mentioned it three times, but never named it. I got the impression it was something he'd made and given to her years earlier."

"And the other possibilities?" inquired Ron.

"Well the kitchens, their design and the magic which allows meals to appear from below all came from Hufflepuff," began Harry.

"And Hufflepuff loved her childhood home in Wales. She visited it often, and Slytherin appears to have accompanied her at least once. She also mentioned walking among the grounds of his family's estate during the earlier entries of her journal. We know that line lost everything over the years, so whatever is left of it would most certainly be in ruins," explained Harry.

"Do you know exactly where they are located?" asked Ron.

"No, we're definitely going to need Professor Sprout's input, and probably Professor Slughorn's as well, provided he returns," said Harry.

"Okay, leave that to me," said Hermione.

"How'd you make out in Flitwick's office?" asked Harry.

"Not as well as you, I'm afraid," replied Hermione. "Well, it wasn't a waste of time or anything. It's just that there's a lot more to pick through. Like Dumbledore and Sprout, Flitwick's quarters definitely contain items that belonged to Ravenclaw."

"But there was no sign that said 'Follow this road to the Horcrux,'" joked Ron.

"I'm not surprised," said Harry.

"Rowena Ravenclaw was frighteningly brilliant," said Hermione.

"Like someone we know," said Ron as he and Harry both looked at her with raised eyebrows.

She blushed ever so slightly before saying, "Come on, be serious. Sure, I'm a bookworm and I love school and puzzles and what have you, but Ravenclaw was in a class all her own."

"We're still failing to see the distinction," continued Ron.

"She came up with the castle's ever-changing floor plans, for crying out loud," said Hermione. "There was absolutely nothing at which she didn't excel. Ravenclaw was an expert at Arithmancy and Ancient Runes by the time she was twelve years old. Trust me, she left her mark all over this school."

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing we've got the cleverest witch of our age researching the cleverest witch from the past," said Harry, sincerely. "I know it's a lot, but if anyone can make sense out of all of it, it's you."

"Thanks, I think," she said in jest.

"Come on, I'll help you weed through the items you noted and we can try putting them in order from most to least likely. Then you can work your magic on Flitwick after term starts and we'll go from there," suggested Harry.

"Yeah, Hermione," said Ron encouragingly. "I bet once you talk to Flitwick, you'll definitely be able to narrow down your list even more."

"Okay," she finally said and she and Harry sat on the sofa to begin, while Ron continued his efforts at the desk.

They'd been at it for nearly four weeks and although they'd made significant progress, they knew they still had a long way to go.

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Across the miles, Slytherin's sole heir was in a most foul mood. He had been increasingly so ever since they'd confirmed that Hogwarts would indeed reopen. Draco and Narcissa had born the brunt of his anger on that particularly unpleasant day, and were both still lying prone and recovering from their injuries. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing that had set off his latest tirade and fits of destruction.

Bellatrix, Snape, Pettigrew, Baldwin and about a half dozen neophytes were scattered around the room. Each had been hoping not to incur Voldemort's wrath. Alas, Baldwin was not to be so fortunate this time.

"What do you mean, there's no sign of them," raved Voldemort.

"My Lord, we've scouted out Ottery St. Catchpole, Surrey and a half dozen outlying counties, in addition to rolling surveillance teams throughout central London. Each team has come up empty handed. There is no sign of him or his Order guards," said Baldwin calmly.

"Potter has not simply vanished," hissed Voldemort. "I expected more from you, Baldwin."

"It grieves me to have disappointed you, Master," said Baldwin.

"Apparently not enough," he replied angrily.

The next thing anyone knew, Baldwin was knocked backwards across the room and slammed into the wall. The impact of his head against to the stone echoed throughout the parlor. He was dazed, but amazingly, still standing.

Voldemort looked at Baldwin with disdain and turned to Peter Pettigrew.

"Wormtail, I want you to get inside the Weasley home. Transform yourself and do what you do best. I do not care if it takes you days to gnaw your way through. DO IT!" he bellowed.

"Yes, Master, right away," said Pettigrew, with his greedy eyes glistening at the chance to be able to please the Dark Lord.

"My Lord," began Bellatrix from her perch against the fireplace, "shall we move forward with our other plan?" she asked.

"Yes, Bella," answered Voldemort. "Unfortunately, you will have to rely on the untested talents of our newer members. I am entrusting you to make sure they are ready. I want you with them, so plan your disguise carefully."

"Do not worry, Master. I promise you, my own mother would not recognize me," she said excitedly.

"Very well," he said irritably and turned once again to the still dazed Baldwin.

"You," he said menacingly, "may accompany Bella and the others. Perhaps you will learn something."

"As you wish, My Lord," said Baldwin, wiping at the blood dripping down the back of his neck.

"Now, get out of my sight, all of you," he barked. "Severus, not you. We have other things to discuss."

Bella and Pettigrew both lost their looks of temporary triumph when they realized Snape had bested them once again. They left, wondering like everyone else, what Snape and Voldemort could possibly be planning.