THE PHOENIX, THE SWORD, AND THE TUNNEL

The Phoenix, The Sword, and the Tunnel

By: bigo4190

Disclaimer: I do not own this. All the differing events and other changes are mine, but the original ideas belong to J.K. Rowling and C.S. Lewis

Speaking: "Blah"
Thinking: 'Blah'
Original Book Scene Quoted: Blah

Chapter 1

The two quickly spun around; staring in shock at the wall which had so suddenly reappeared behind them. After a few moments they realized two things: one, that the same slots were in the door on this side as the other, and two, that Fawkes had not followed them through.

"Why would Fawkes lead us into this room like that? What does he expect us to do?" Ginny was starting to get hysterical, so Harry quickly looked around the room for some clue.

"Maybe we are supposed to read that note? It's kind of in the middle of the room, and looks like it was left for however came into the room first." And indeed, lying on a table in the middle of the room, underneath the light (though no source for the light was visible) sat a note, made of old parchment that could have only survived as long as it seems to have by magic. When the two approached, the note glowed for a second, a brilliant red, flashing quickly to green, and then returned to normal. Harry, whose hands were still full, motioned for Ginny to pick up the note and read it. She hesitated for just a moment, and reached out and took the parchment:

To those of you who find this, whether you are One, Two, or perhaps Four; Welcome.

This Vault is a secret safe-vault, set up to preserve all of our, the Founders of Hogwarts, most precious belongings. To gain access, at least one of you must have called one of our swords to you. If it were any but my Sword, then I congratulate you on learning of your most distinguished heritage, if it were mine, that is, the Sword of Slytherin, then I congratulate you on being worthy of my true heritage, for my only blood heir was a bigot and maniac.

Perhaps I should clear up what I am sure you hold as a few misconceptions. I, Salazar Slytherin, was a noble man, who welcomed all students with the gift equally, should they choose to attend; I was the most wary of muggle-born students, not because I felt them unworthy, but because I feared what their ignorant parents may do to them or to our society. But once a student chose to attend Hogwarts, they were all treated equally. These cautions were well-known, and for the most part, disregarded, until someone came forward claiming to be my heir and led a crusade against the muggles and muggle-born. Unfortunately this was true, by blood he was my heir, and due to an unfortunate accident with a rather delicate potion in the years after his birth, he was to be my only son. But he was not an acknowledged child, I did not know of his birth until the day he came forward claiming my bloodline. One night of foolishness in a pub had led to him, and his mother raised him, always telling him who his father had been. When his mother was killed during a sacking of their village by muggles, he devoted himself to revenge. With his appearance and beliefs, suddenly all but the other Founders believed me to share his beliefs, and I fled from Hogwarts, or so most believed. No, I stayed in the castle, creating secret passageways that allowed me to travel around the school unseen. Unfortunately, Godric's students were too adventurous, and Rowena too clever by far to allow these passages to remain hidden forever, and I slowly was forced into less and less space, until this vault, unable to be open by any but the founders and their heirs was my only retreat, for the Chamber beyond is one I vowed never to return to, after sealing that great brute away. Yes, that is right, my so called 'Chamber of Secrets' was not the place that I kept my dangerous pet to someday kill all muggleborns, but instead a prison, to hold a beast I could not abide to kill, yet could not allow to wander free.

Now, onto the matter at hand, what you are here for, for none of us told our lines of this vault, and you have only found it now due to a great need for its contents. All the items have been charmed to best aid their master once claimed. In the case of armor, this means changing in size and style to fit the wearer. In the case of weapons, their size, and in some cases style, will adjust to you as well. Do not worry about the 'key' swords changing size; the slots for them are charmed to recognize them, no matter how they change. The greatest charms are that all the pieces, once they have recognized their current master, will always come to you when you need them, and in fact, you may have only entered this chamber by calling for your sword, even without knowing, before you had claimed it; also the weapons cannot cause permanent harm to their master, for the wounds will heal at an accelerated rate. For a master of the blood of its former master, the wounds will heal even as the cause is removed.

If more than one has entered, but only one sword has been claimed, then hopefully, the charms on this note identified your correct inheritance upon your approach. Now that you are here, claim all of your inheritance, and then, may whatever power that led you here lead you on to your next destination. Be wary though, for the passage that slopes downward from the main Hogwarts entrance is not of my doing, and I was unable to enter more than a few steps before being stopped by some strange power. Should you feel the need to pass that way, I hope that you are prepared for great danger.

Salazar Slytherin, Founder of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

"Well, that certainly caps it all, doesn't it? Riddle was full of it, and like everybody else, got the story wrong. Slytherin was just as good as the rest, and here we are, in the last place he ever lived, looking at the treasures of the Founders. And if I heard what you said right Ginny, and then according to that note, you would be the new Heir-by-magic to Slytherin. That sticks it to Riddle, he has the blood and a little parlour trick in Parsletounge, and you have Salazar Slytherins blessing and most treasured belongings." Harry knew, just by looking at Ginny, that she was not utterly thrilled by the news, but he could tell that the idea of sticking it to Riddle was pleasing.

"But what about you Harry that makes you the Heir of Gryffindor." Ginny was rather pleased, as if Harry needed anything else to be perfect in her opinion. "But what do we do now, I mean, should we actually take this stuff, people are probably worried about us."

"You're the one who read the note; we couldn't have come here if it wasn't for a reason, that's why Fawkes led us here. I think we should gather the things that have been left for us, and check out that tunnel."

"Are you sure Harry? I really think we should just go." Ginny may have felt unsure but she did go over to the corner of the room marked with green and brushed her hands over the equipment, watching it change form to fit her.

"Well, there is one way we can find out." Harry had gone over to the Gryffindor area and also watched as all the things that he was touching changed to fit him. "Just take the sword and open the door we came in through, if that's the way to go, I'm sure that Fawkes will be waiting for us."

Ginny took up Slytherin's Blade, and as it changed to work for her, she walked to the first entrance and placed the sword into the slot, and when the wall had gone, she looked out into an empty hallway. She turned to Harry, and he placed his sword into its slot in the other door, which vanished to show an up-sloping passage, with Fawkes fluttering just outside the door, waiting for them.

"I think that answers our question, Ginny. Come on, Fawkes is waiting." Ginny came over, the other door shutting behind her, but when as she was passing Slytherin's artifacts, Fawkes trilled, and motioned with his head to the armor, and then motioned from Harry to Gryffindor's armor. "I think—I think he wants us to put on the armor, Ginny." Harry takes a step towards the armor, then stops, as if remembering something. A look of concentration passes over his face, and then the armor is upon his body, tightened to perfection. He turns back to Fawkes, then says over his shoulder, "Well, are you coming Ginny?"

She stares at him for another second, then in a flash, the armor that had once belonged to Slytherin was upon her form, and she walked to Harry, and together they left The Vault of the Founders (as they would come to call it) and followed Fawkes a distance up the passage. After traveling a few hundred feet up the passage, a new tunnel opens up on their right, sloping steeply downward, so steeply they were afraid that at any moment it may drop off into a fall. Fawkes here turned and began his way down the tunnel. With a glance at each other, remembering the warning of Slytherin, the two follow. After going forward what could not have been more than 100 feet, they tunnel suddenly flattens out, and then goes up again. After a few feet, the children notice another light in the tunnel, this coming from further ahead. Just as they realize it is the opening of a cave, Fawkes disappears in a flash of fire.