What are you not telling me?" asked Harry the minute he and his companion entered the Room of Requirement.
Well truthfully room wasn't the correct way to put it as it seemed to have really out done itself at the moment. The sheer length breadth and height of it was almost akin to that of the great hall though that was all that was similar between the two. Lush green fields of rich summer grass danced at their feet, fields that only seemed to end at the willow trees that seemed to form the walls of the room. The ceiling showed a beautiful typical tropical sky with the sun shining directly above them.
"Rowena's creation really seems to have outdone itself this time don't you think Harry?" replied his companion with a slight smirk on his face as he blatantly ignored the Boy-Who-Lived's question.
"Don't play with me Salazar" Harry responded, "I am in no mood for your games."
"And why is that?" the founder asked "Is it because that you have been in the same building as Miss Delacour for the past 19 hours and yet have had absolutely no contact with her throughout this whole time, save for when you first greeted her at the welcoming feast yesterday?"
"Sal…" Harry started to growl causing the founder to sigh and respond "Harry I we have a time table to keep and we will keep it. On the Winter Solstice we will began to take away some of the sources of his powers and then on the Summer Solstice we will end with Him. If you really want answers than I will give them to you on the Winter Solstice and only on that day though trust me when I say that there are things that you are better off not knowing."
Harry looked ready to argue but then thought better of it. Salazar was not like Dumbledore when it came to keeping secrets and especially from him. They had built up a relationship of trust respect and honor ever since he had revived the founder from his cryogenic slumber in the chamber and though Salazar had neglected to mention more than a few things he had never denied Harry any answer to any question he asked.
What Harry didn't realize was that their… companionship so to speak, was much deeper than he suspected. They were both orphaned at the tender age of 1 and both their parents had given their lives to save them, Harry grew up with the Dursleys and Salazar grew up with Herpo the Foul. Harry came to Hogwarts, made two life companions who stuck by his side (for completely different reasons) and tried to survive his ridiculously life threatening school years, where as Salazar met up with Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor and together the four of them proceeded to fight a war against the ruling dark lord and Salazar's adoptive father Herpo the Foul. They were comrades in arms, brothers in all but blood and after all the vows that they both had taken down in the chamber, they knew that they could trust each other with their lives, and perhaps even more.
"Very well Sal" said Harry, "I will abide by what you have said… for now.
"Good" replied the founder before he grinned and that grin then turned feral "than in that case I want to see how far you have come in your attack rituals!"
A ferral grin came upon Harry's features at the end of that sentence, a grin that was mimiked by Salazar Slytherin as they both got ready for what would certainly be a great duel. And then...
"Strip away the grounds with glistening bolts!" chanted Harry in response to his partner's challange as a gold magic circle (imagine one from Fairy Tail) appeared under him and the room began to turn darker.
"Something is going to happen tonight" Astoria stated from where she sat in the school library.
"How can you be so sure?" asked her sister Daphne in spite of thinking the same thing. Every single Halloween had brought something… unexpected so to speak She had hoped that the Goblet of Fire would satisfy that criteria but for some part of her doubted it, after all when had any of their school Halloween's gone according to plan, still she was curious why her sister thought so.
"Salazar and Harry were constantly eying the goblet at the feast yesterday" Astoria replied "not to mention that whenever they look at Professor Moody, well it's a glare more often than not and considering our history with the Halloween is there any doubt that something will happen tonight?"
"Indeed we are in for some entertainment tonight" Daphne agreed though she wasn't sure where her sisters comment about the DADA professor came into the equation, and on that note how did she even notice that their 'trainers' (so to speak) were glaring at the retired Auror when even she didn't notice that. That being said however she had a feeling that she would get the answer to that real soon.
"So, why are we here again?" asked Daphne.
"Voldermort may have been one of the more powerful wizards born in the last 200 years" said Salazar "But his true strength does not come from his magic, in any form. Neither does Dumbledore's."
"Dumbledore's real strength comes from the general opinion that the public of the wizarding world have about him… that he is the leader of the light and can literally do no wrong" Harry elaborated "Voldermort's true power comes from the fear that is generated whenever he or his followers are mentioned and from the gold that comes from the pure blood supremacists. Ultimately most of their power comes directly or indirectly from muggle-borns and yet the entire aristocracy of the British wizarding world wants to get rid of muggle-borns."
"I understand that" replied Daphne "But that still does not answer my question, what are we doing here?"
Daphne, Astoria, Blaize, Tracy and Luna (who was a last minute addition [literally last minute as Harry had found her on the edge of the forbidden forest and had invited her along]) were currently following Salazar and Harry, who had just been in the middle of a conversation with Luna, through the forbidden forest and none of them save the Founder and The-Boy-Who-Lived, had a clue why.
"How do you think Hogwarts has survived so long?" asked Salazar rhetorically "Magic? All wards have ways past them and despite all the extra protections the headmasters all through the ages have added, which in truth hindered the original wards instead of adding them, there are many ways to bypass them, even more so now then when we first set them up, thanks to advancements in the fields of magic and the so called improvements the Headmasters have added. So I will ask you all again, how did the school survive so long?"
"There is only one logical conclusion here" said Blaise Zabini "And that is something which I find highly improbable, but possible."
"What?" snapped Daphne, she was a bit irritable as she was currently being led through the forbidden forest instead of preparing for the feast like she desired to, and to top it off no one was giving her a straight answer to a question she had been asking over and over again.
There was a brief pause after that before Luna of all people answered, or rather questioned "Guardians?"
"Correct" said Harry with a smile "Salazar placed the Basilisk here as a sort of last defense if the school had been breached up to the point of no return. Godric Gryffindor stationed a garrision of Wizards here who were the fore founders for the village that is now known as Hogsmeade. Rowena brought the Mere People, amongst other more extensive protections which I am NOT going to tell you about so don't even think of asking. However what I am going to tell you is that it was Helga Hufflepuff who brought most of the creatures that inhabit the Western Wood which has now come to be known as Forbidden Forest as well as planted some of its more deathly plants and trees."
"So…" said Astoria carefully "Who are we going to meet with now?"
"Centaurs" said Salazar crisply.
That single word made all the Slytherins save the founder go pale and caused Daphne to exclaim "Are you people insane, no wait you are not insane, you are suicidal considering that the only people to ever visit the centaur heard are those that have a death wish."
"If you want to leave do so" said Salazar both crisply and coldly though his voice hadn't increased beyond its usual volume for even a second "There is absolutely nothing stopping you from doing so."
The entire group stopped moving as the founder and the member of the house o the snakes stopped moving. Blaise took this moment to intercept and say "What are you planning? Why help us? And what is your end game?"
"Hogwarts was an idea put fourth by one of my best friends and created by all four of our utmost efforts" Salazar replied "What you see before you is a pale imitation of what it could have been and what it should have been. A crumbling castle run by a warrior trying to relive his past glories and governed by one of the most corrupt bodies imaginable is not what we had in mind when Hogwarts was set up."
Blaise and Daphne stood there staring at Salazar while the rest of the group looked on in silence. Harry though was as amused as he was impressed. Those two had practically tactfully pushed the founder into a corner leaving him with no choice but to tell them or risk coming out looking like the bad guy. What amused him was that Salazar let himself be pushed into a corner. Harry had come to know the founder extremely well and he knew that they both knew what Blaise and Daphne were trying to accomplish the moment Daphne snapped and there were quite a few ways to end the conversation before it escalated and yet he had chosen to use none of them.
It was a moment later that Harry realized that Salazar was waiting for him (Harry) to tell him (Salazar) that it was ok. It seemed that Salazar had just remembered that they were equals in this little gamble of theirs and he was not going to take any more liberties than what he had already taken without his (Harry's) approval. Considering that Harry was planning on informing them anyway (after speaking with the Founder of course) he saw no reason to stop the founder and so he said "Tell them."
"Tell us what?" asked Daphne
"Before I answer that I need you to understand something" said Salazar "If someone possesses a high amount of magical ability he or she considered powerful. If a person has number of people to stand by his or her side they are considered powerful. Considering this can you tell me what happens when a group of people possesses both the high amount of magical power and have the advantage of numbers."
The Slytherins stood silent for a minute digesting that idea. Dumbledore and Voldemort were perfect examples of the former case while the Death Eaters were a perfect example of the latter. A good majority of the Death Eaters weren't that powerful but the way they stood united with each other and the fact that nobody knew exactly how many there were, had almost brought the British Wizarding World to its knees. The idea of a group filled with individuals as powerful as the Leader of the Light and the Dark Lord with the unity of the Death Eaters…the very idea that a group like that could exist was ludicrous, and yet…
"That is what your aiming for isn't it" gasped Astoria "You plan to turn us into a group like that…"
"I must admit that is the only logical conclusion" said Blaise as Astoria trailed off "And yet combining the wealth and the political power our families wield the results would be…"
"Amazing or terrifying depending on how you look at it" said Harry with a smirk "Think about it, a Druid, an Alchemist, a Transfiguration Master, a Charms Mistress, a Duelist, Elementalists, an Enchantress, a Healer, a Diviner, a Runemaster and a Founder. This is the group that Salazar and I aim to create and it is what we all will start to be when this year is done."
"I see" Blaise replied "Though I must note that you said eleven different er… professions, and yet there are only seven of us here. There may also be more considering that you said Elementalists implying that they be more than one. Furthermore you used the terms Druid and Transfiguration master implying that at least two of them will be male."
"Excellent observation Blaise" replied the time traveler "And I have to say that you are correct in your assumptions, there will be more people joining us and unless things drastically change, at least two of them will be male."
"Indeed" added Salazar "And while it pleases me to see how shrewd my little Slytherins are getting, the lords of the forest have arrived and so I think we should return to the reason that we are in the forest in the first place."
"And what reason would you humans have for intruding in our forest in the first place" said a voice which Harry immediately recognized and which filled him with a need to groan as the group of Hogwarts students turned and faced 3 centaurs, all of whom Harry recognized. Bane, Frenze and Magtheridan.
"Greeting honored sons of Chiron" said Salazar "We are honored that you have graced us with your presence."
"We unfortunately cannot say the same about yours" replied Bane harshly "Now please make your way out off our forest humans."
"Peace Bane" said Frenze "Let them speak"
"Indeed" said Magtheridan "I am curious as to what reason you humans have for roaming our forests."
"Nine hundred years ago Venus and Mars met under the starry sky and two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve asked for the aid of the clans of old" said Salazar "Now Venus and Mars, Love and War, shall come together again and I come to you to renew the oaths taken all those long years ago."
"I see…" said Magtheridan, his eyes lashing dangerously "Meet us seven moons from now and we shall see what happens from then."
"As you will honored sons of Chiron" responded Salazar "May the stars guide you through troubled times."
The centaurs didn't respond as Harry said "Dobby"
There was a crack and the little elf appeared while at the same time Salazar, Luna Harry and and the Slytherin grabbed each others hands as Dobby caught onto the founder and apparated them into the room of requirement. Half of the room had been turned into a dressing room which had been separated from the other half by a white blank wall which only had a single door. The other half looked like a mini-library with bean bags and sofa's to comfortably sit and read. The girls quickly rushed into the dressing room in which the Dobby and Winky had already placed their robes and cosmetics in advance while Blaise calmly asked the room for a door to the Slytherin portrait and the room happily obliged. Incidentally though they all new how to operate the room none of them knew where it was located. That privilege it seemed was reserved for Salazar Slytherin and Harry James Potter and none of the rest of the group were willing to risk expulsion from the group to find out, especially now that they that heard where their 'trainers' wanted them to be at the end of the year.
Harry and Salazar sat in the great hall beside the rest of the fourth year Gryffindor's in the great hall who, like the rest of the school, were eager to know who the champions of the 4 houses were. Unlike the rest of their housemates however Harry and Salazar were eager for a completely different reason, the Goblet of Fire was, truth be told, one of the more essential parts of their plan, or rather plans depending on how you looked at it. What was amusing the duo however was the other members of their little group kept shooting them looks as if they (the rest of the group) knew that something would happen and it would be their (Harry and Salazar) fault.
That being said they turned their attention back to the Goblet as its flames suddenly turned red, sparks began to fly from it and the next moment a tongue of fire shot into the air and a charred peace of paper fluttered out of it. Dumbledore caught the peace of paper and held it at arms length so he could read it in the by the light of the flames which had turned back to blue white and read out in a strong clear voice "The champion for Durmstrang will be Victor Krum."
A storm of applause and cheering swept across the hall as Harry watched the Bulgarian Seeker rise from the Slytherin table and walk up towards Dumbledore. He turned right, walked along the staff table and disappeared through the door into the next chamber.
Soon the clapping and the chanting died down and everyone focused their attention to the goblet again which seconds later turned red once more. A second peace of Partchment shot out of the goblet propelled by the flames.
"The Champion for Beauxbatons" said Dumbledore "is Fleur Delacour."
Harry watched with a sad smile as the second love of his last life gracefully got to her feet, shook back her sheet of silvery blonde hair and swept up between the Ravenclaw and the Hufflepuff tables and into the side chamber which Victor Krum had entered before her. When she had vanished into the side chamber silence fell again, but this time it was a silence so stiff that you could taste the excitement in the air. The Hogwarts Champion was next…
And the Goblet turned red once more, sparks shot out of it, a tongue of flame shot high into the air and the partchment that decended was quickly caught by the Headmaster of Hogwarts who paused for dramatic effort before calling out in a strong clear voice "The Hogwarts Champion is Cedric Diggory."
Every single Hufflepuff jumped to his or her feet at that announcement and uproar sounded from that table. The applause went on for so long that it was some time before Dumbledore could make himself heard again.
"Excellent" Dumbledore called out "We now have our three champions. I am sure – "
But Dumbledore stopped speaking and it was clear what had distracted him. The fire in the goblet had turned red once again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long tongue of flame flew out of it and borne out of it was another peace of parchment which Dumbledore immediately snatched. He held it out and stared at the slip in his hand and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then, the headmaster cleared his throat and said "The champion for the Blacks is Harry Potter."
There was no applause. A buzzing, that sounded remarkably akin to those made by angry bees started to fill the hall though inside Harry was smiling, Dumbledore had wasted too much time staring at the parchment and soon the fun was about to began. A second later the Goblet turned red once more and a fifth tongue of flame shot out of it, out of which came a peace of parchment which Dumbledore snatched once again and Harry could clearly the amusement in the mans eyes, not surprising as he had arranged this one purely for the entertainment value "The Champion for Igor Karkaroff is Poliakoff Schmitt"
What followed next was the clear sound of break glass courtesy of the goblet that was currently being squashed in the Dumbstrang headmasters hand followed by what could only be described as every single Dumbstrang student save for their headmasters new champion breaking down into laughter. At that moment two more tongues of flame shot into the air and the parchments were caught by Dumbledore who waited until the noise had died down before saying "The Champions for Alchemy and for Enchantancy is Nicolas and Perenelle Flammel respectively"
That announcement brought the whole hall to silence as the every single person recognized that the names of the Immortal Couple. They also realized that the chosen champions would have to face said couple who had hundreds of years of influence under them. It was also understood that there would be no doubt that those two would be representing Beauxbatons as it was with their support that the school had been built in the first place (Though Salazar could certainly give good reason why those two could also represent Hogwarts as well). The Flame in the Goblet turned red once again and an eight peace of parchment shot out. Dumbledore's eyes bulged out when he read it though he still said it in a smooth clear voice that carried over the entire hall "The champion for the Death Eaters is Igor Karkaroff"
There was silence for a moment before a whole bunch of the Hogwarts student body along with a third of the Dumbstrang representative's started yelling out in loud voices most of whom were crying out in outrage.
"Silence" yelled Dumbledore after magnifying his voice with a spell. But did not continue as the fire in the Goblet turned red once again, sparks were flying out of it. Suddenly a tongue of flame shot out of it and borne upon it was another peace of parchment. Automatically Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment, he looked at it for a moment before reading out in a long clear voice "The Champion for the Four Founders is Salazar Slytherin."
The uproar broke out once again. The Dumbstrangs were shouting and cursing in Bulgarian, which was not surprising when you think of the fact that while one school had the Boy-Who-Lived and one of its Founders as the champions while the other had the Immortal Couple, they only had a star seeker, a traitorous death eater and a less than average skilled seventh year. The Beauxbatons were up too, some shouting verbal abuse against Karkaroff while others were demanding to know if the name really referred to the founder or another who for some reason bore the same name. the Hogwarts students had broken into a riot, a riot which included many members of Ravenclaw as their house was the only house that didn't have someone representing them.
Amidst the Harry and Salazar calmly got up from their seats, and walked straight into the chamber into which the other three champions had walked into only mere moments ago.
Victor Krum, Cedric Diggory and Fleur Delacour were grouped around the fire. They all looked strangely impressive silhouetted against the flames. Krum, hunched up and brooding, was leaning against the mantelpiece, slightly apart from the other two. Cedric was standing with his hands behind his back staring into the fire. Fleur Delacour looked around when Harry and Salaar walked in, threw back her sheet of long, silvery blonde hair and said "What is it? Do zey want us back in ze hall?"
"Not exactly" replied Salazar "I suggest you 3 sit down, it's going to take a while for us to explain what happened mere moments ago and even longer for the Judges to come down here.
The 3 champions took the advice and sat into the chairs near the fireplace as Salazar and Harry both sat down as well. The former then began to explain what happened in the hall mere moments ago.
Well this chapter is done, and hopefully as good as the last 3 as I wrote it under stress. Anyway apologies for the previous chapter, that was the original draft of that chapter, I had another which was corrected, expanded and edited but for reasons that continue to elude me I published the original draft, and you have my apologies for that
P.S: don't bother reading it if you are expecting something different, its basically the same thing except it has most of my mistakes corrected.
Anyway I want to thank you people for bringing that to my attention and for reviews as well, please feel free to do the same for this chapter.
Also I am putting out a poll for another Harry Potter story, for this one however I wanted to do some completely unique paring and so I chose two separate characters, one that has around a hundred and seven stories written about her and the other has 33. Depending on which scenario is chosen I will either choose the first or the second or both...
Thats all for now people and have a great week,
Rafaelout out