Chapter 22

The Black Lake's Surprise

Tyler said he had to get back to the caves, but Caroline was able to eat dinner with us that night. It was Saturday after all. She was amazed by all the magic that was taking place around her, and kept squealing at everything. Fred and George kept making her laugh, and she was shocked by Tonks, but they became quick friends. I don't think she's had this much fun in a long time!

"So how did you become a vampire Caroline?" Sirius asked, as we sat down in my common room.

"Oh my gosh, it's such a stupid story really." She replied with a laugh. "Damon is the one that turned me, though it wasn't his fault really. I didn't even know vampires existed, until the night I was turned. It was about 2 years ago when it happened. Lynn and I were at her house, and we were just hanging out doing girl stuff. We had just finished eating lunch and were doing the dishes when a plate slipped out my hand and broke. Well, I bent down to pick up the pieces, but I hit my head on the counter top, and it started to bleed really badly. Lynn quickly tried to help me patch it up, but Damon walked in, and I guess the smell of blood everywhere caught him off guard because he hissed and bared his fangs. I screamed, jumped back, slipped on a broken piece of plate, and hit my head on the floor." She said laughing loudly. "When I came to a few hours later, I screamed again when Damon asked how I was doing, and tried to run out the house, but he stopped me, and compelled me to forget. Everything went back to normal, and I left later that night. Well, as I was walking home a car ran off the road and hit me. I was killed with the vampire blood in my system. The guy had driven off, but I woke up several hours later in the ditch. I remembered everything that had happened, because when a person dies and becomes a vampire, they remember the things that they were compelled to forget. I headed back to Lynn's and told them what happened."

"Needless to say she was freaking out." I said with a laugh.

Caroline laughed and nodded. "Majorly freaking out, but Damon and Stefan helped me through it all, and taught me how to manage it. I hid it from my Mom, but when all hell broke loose in Mystic Falls, she found out I was a vampire and tried to kill me. It was awful."

"I can't imagine going through all that." Draco said. "Lynn told us everything that went on in Mystic Falls. No wonder you all dislike werewolves so much. All of that happened because a wolf forgot to take his wolfsbane potion."

"Well most werewolves aren't very bright to begin with." I said with a laugh. "There are a few exceptions though. That's why we took to Remus so well, and Tyler is a good guy too. Of course in Tyler's case it was a bit easier, because I have known him since I was a kid."

"What's Tyler's story, and how did you two end up together?" Ginny asked. "I hope I don't sound too nosey, I'm just curious."

Caroline smiled at her. "Oh I don't mind. I was actually aware of werewolves before I knew about vampires. Tyler was turned into a wolf at 14, I was the first one he told, because we had been together since 7th grade, not to mention, we were friends long before that. His Mom knew what he was and helped him. His Dad however, didn't know."

"We knew he had become a werewolf the first time he came over after being turned, and needless to say we were shocked." Damon said. "But we helped him as much as we could."

"He did tell me that." Caroline said with a laugh. "I'm still a little mad at y'all, because I was the only one who didn't know you guys were vamps."

"Well the more people that know, the more dangerous it is." Elijah said.

"Tell me about it." Caroline said rolling her eyes.

"So what happened when his Dad found out?" Goyle asked.

"Well, his Dad didn't find out until the big upheaval in Mystic Falls, and then he tried to kill him. Tyler's Mom defended him, and finally convinced his Dad that he wasn't a danger. When the townspeople found out, they killed both his parents."

"They weren't going to take any chances in letting anyone escape." Stefan said. "That's why we all left."

"But y'all had magic to protect you. We didn't." Caroline said with a sigh. "If we had known, we would have went to Klaus's house."

"I'm sorry we couldn't tell you, but according to Wizarding Law, we aren't allowed to tell muggles about ourselves." Elijah said. "It's one of the reasons witches and wizards are still alive today."

"But I know now, is it ok for me to know?" She asked, looking worried.

"Yes it's ok." Salazar said with a chuckle. "You're a non-wizard vampire, so it's ok."

She smiled brightly at him. "Ok good, because for a minute there, I thought y'all were going to have to put me in jail or something."

"No Caroline, we wouldn't put you in jail." Klaus said with a laugh.

"We would just feed you to the Giant Squid." Damon said with a smirk, and we all laughed.

"So what do y'all plan to do about Greyback?" Caroline asked after she stopped laughing.

"Well there are ways to lock down the castle, as I said before." Salazar said. "Even if they manage to get through the gates, they won't get far into the grounds."

"I don't know why Greyback is even contemplating attacking Hogwarts." I said. "If he is too afraid to try and take me because of Salazar, why does he think he can get away with attacking the school?"

Salazar laughed. "Lynn, one really has nothing to do with the other. Greyback thinks he has the numbers to attack, but he knows your too well protected."

"And Hogwarts isn't?" I asked shocked. "Between you and Professor Dumbledore, this place is the safest place on earth."

"You have to understand my child, Greyback doesn't see it that way. He thinks he can win." He answered.

"Because he has an Army." I remarked with a sigh, and banging my head on the table. "Stupid, stupid werewolves."

Harry cast a cushioning charm on the spot where I was banging my head. "What do we do when he attacks?" He asked, as I smirked at him.

"You kids need to leave those details to us." Sirius said. "You need to worry about your O.W.L.S, and your school work."

"You are going to let us fight, aren't you?" Draco asked, looking at his father.

Mr. Malfoy laughed. "I don't think we would be able to keep you away if we tried, but let's see what happens first. It's still a few months away, and lots of things can change between now and then."

We nodded our heads in agreement. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

With April looming ahead of us, nobody wanted time to pass quickly, but as I have mentioned before, time has a funny way of speeding up when you don't want it too. The rest of January and all of February and March sailed by in a blur. The only thing exciting that really happened was I finally turned 17. My birthday was held on a Saturday in the middle of February, and it had been an awesome day. Pinky and Dobby made me a beautiful birthday cake, and everyone had been able to make it to the castle that day. I was truly thankful that I was able to celebrate the day with my family and friends. Salazar and Remus were now officially part of my family, and I made sure they knew that. They were 'my boys' now, and I let them know that if anyone messed with them, they would be dealing with me. That made them laugh loudly. I'm glad that my boys let me think I'm in charge sometimes.

Tyler had accepted Klaus's offer to became a hybrid, and Caroline was beside herself with excitement, because now they both would live forever. He was handling the change very well, much better than I thought, considering that he didn't have a regular supply of blood. He was still feeding us information, but it wasn't looking good. There were 400 werewolves in the caves now, and that's enough to make anyone fearful. All the Hogsmeade residents were on the lookout for anything that seemed out of the ordinary, and there were nightly patrols set up around the castle and the village. More Aurors had been brought in, and with the looming threat, we began to have emergency drills inside the castle. At the drop of a hat, elves would appear out of nowhere, start snatching students out of the classrooms, and dropping them off in their common rooms. Nobody, except those in my group of friends, knew what these drills were for though. Salazar was busy looking into ancient spells, so he could refresh himself on magic that no one had any clue about. Dumbledore was in contact with his brother Aberforth, and they were planning on ways to get the residents of Hogsmeade into the castle to fight if need be. With all of this going on, it was hard for us to remain focused on our O.W.L.S., but somehow we managed it.

The school had gotten over the shock at seeing me alive a long time ago. Only those in my group of friends knew the truth, but everyone else thought I was a vampire, which was perfectly fine with me. This rumor took off because of Draco's comment about me drinking his blood. Pansy told them what was said, and of course, that's why the school thought that way. Pansy herself had been a lot more tolerable though. Her and her friends stayed away from me. It was about time too!

It was now Sunday April 7th, and yesterday had been another birthday celebration. The twins had turned 17 on April 1st. Yesterday had been one hellava day, and we were still dealing with the fireworks they had set off inside the school, and the portable swamp the twins had placed just outside the front doors. Dumbledore said that he didn't care about the fireworks, but told the twins they had to be gone by Monday, which they agreed with. They told us all that they had a store in Diagon Alley, and were planning to open for business as soon as the school year ended. This new information did NOT go over well with Mrs. Weasley though. She wanted to know where they got the money from. Harry finally told everyone that he had given them his Triwizard earnings from the year before. This new information had settled her nerves, and she finally warmed up to the idea. Fred and George reassured her that they would finish school before officially opening the shop. It was so funny the things they had invented!

"Are you barking mad?!" Ron cried, looking at me as we headed down toward the Black Lake.

The boys, the guys, Hermione, Lavender, Caroline, and Sirius were with us. It was finally warm enough outside to go swimming, even though the Lake was still a little chilly.

"Oh hush Ron, it'll be fun!" I cried, sliding out of my shorts and tank top, reveling my green and silver striped bikini. At Klaus's non-stop pleading, I had finally turned my hair back to black!

"Are you coming?" Ginny asked, looking at Hermione and Caroline, as she slowly made her way into the lake. She was wearing shorts and a tank top.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I had my fill of the lake last year!" She laughed.

"I'm not going in, that thing scares the daylights out of me." Caroline said, pointing to the Giant Squid that was watching us from the middle of the lake.

I grinned. "We have already told you, it's harmless."

"He's very friendly and polite." Salazar said with a laugh. "He'd come visit me every day when I lived under the lake. He would glide by and wave one of his tentacles at me every morning, and during the winter, he would hang around even more because of the warm water that I surrounded my house with."

"Just be careful and watch out for the grindylows." Remus called out, as Ginny and I dived under the water.

We grinned at each other and quickly cast The bubble-head charm so we could breathe properly. It was peaceful under the water, and we swam almost to the bottom. We stayed together as we explored, because we knew of the dangers if we split up. We stayed under for about 30 minutes before resurfacing. When we came up, we realized we had swam completely over to the other side.

"Did we just really swim to the other side?" Ginny asked with a laugh.

"I guess we did!" I cried laughing. "We should head back. It looks like they are having way too much fun without us."

We both burst out laughing, because Sirius had transformed into Padfoot, and went chasing after a ball that Harry and Draco were throwing into the water. Klaus and Damon had taken off their shoes, socks, and shirts and were having swimming races. Caroline was kicking water at Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise. Elijah and Hermione were lounging in the grass, he was probably helping her study, and Lavender and Ron were chasing each other around. Remus and Salazar had conjured chairs and were sitting there keeping an eye on everyone. Yep they were having way to much fun!

"Let's go." Ginny grinned, so we began making the half mile journey back toward them.

We decided to swim above the water this time, but when we got to the middle of the lake, Ginny suddenly screamed and disappeared under the water.

"GINNY! GINNY!" I screamed, and I watched in horror as her wand floated to the surface.

I quickly cast a bubble-head charm, snatched up her wand, and dove under the water. I stared in shock at all the grindylows that had gathered underneath us. Ginny was struggling to fight about 10 feet below me, as they dragged her down even further. I pointed my wand at her and quickly cast a bubble-head charm. At least she won't drown now! But there were hundreds of grindylows swirling around her. I began to shoot boiling hot water at them, but this only angered them, and they began to come after me. They pulled me down as well, and we were both fighting to get free. I was too far away to give her wand to her, but I kept a tight hold on both wands as I tried get free. There are too many of them!

Suddenly there was a mass of confusion as large tentacles came from every direction and began swatting the grindylows away. One of the tentacles grabbed me, curled around my waist, and held me close to the body of the Giant Squid. I couldn't see Ginny anywhere as it swam away, but I knew we were headed to shore, because I was able to see the bottom of the lake now. I looked around in panic trying to spot her, but the Giant Squid was…well…giant, and I still couldn't see her. We got closer to shore, and that's when I realized I was no longer being held around the waist by tentacles. Instead, I was being held by large muscular arms. I looked up in shock, but I couldn't see the face of the man who had me, because the water was making his long, thick, red hair swirl around his face. I looked over and relief washed over me, as I saw Ginny staring up at the man also. I caught her eye and she looked at me with the same shocked expression that I knew I had. We broke the surface of the water and the man gently laid us down in the grass.

"Are you ladies ok?" He asked with a gentle British accent, as he pushed his long bushy hair out of his face. He looked like a wild man from the jungle or something. He had a long thick red beard and mustache, a broad forehead, and pale skin. His eyes were green, but there was kindness and concern in them.

"Y-yes s-sir. Thank you for rescuing us." I said with a shaky breath, and Ginny could only stare at him and nod.

I heard yelling coming from my right, and I saw everyone running toward us. We were on the shore further from the castle, and the boys and Caroline looked like blurs, and I knew that they were using their vampire speed to make their way to us.

"Just rest a moment and catch your breath." The man said, as he took a seat next to us. "It's ok now."

"W-who are y-you s-sir?" I asked still not taking my eyes off of him.

Ginny sucked in a deep breath that she had been holding. "You're Godric Gryffindor!" She exclaimed. "I recognize you from your portrait!"

He looked down at her and smiled. "Yes Miss Weasley, you are correct."

I stared at him in shock. "It's not possible." I said shaking my head. "Salazar said you died."

"He thought I did." Godric said with a chuckle.

"Princess! Ginny! Are you ok?" Damon asked, skidding to a halt next to us. He stared at the man, taking in his appearance.

"Lynn! Ginny!" Salazar exclaimed, as he too skidded to a halt next to us. "What happened? Are you…" He asked, but stopped when he saw who was with us.

Godric looked up at him and smiled. "Grindylows. There were hundreds of them." He chuckled, as he looked at Salazar's shocked face.

"Godric?" Salazar asked shocked.

"Hello Salazar my old friend. I've been quite lonely since you moved out of your house and back into the castle." He laughed.

Salazar stumbled backward and nearly fell over Ron, because the others had finally reached us.

"Godric!" Elijah and Klaus exclaimed in surprise, as they caught Salazar before he hit the ground.

Godric laughed. "After Salazar's reappearance, I figured no one would blink twice at mine."

"I think we are more shocked at the fact that you are the Giant Squid." Salazar said, after regaining his footing. "But how?"

"Well, I decided to take you up on your offer. When you told me about you becoming a vampire, I thought about it some more. I took the vile of your blood you had placed on my bedside table, and decided to drink it."

"But why did you never tell me?" Salazar asked.

"Guilt. I didn't want anyone to know what I had become. I thought they would be disappointed in me. Even you. I wanted to stay at the castle, and I knew that I could live in the forest as an animal, so I spent a while trying to become an animagus. Needless to say, I was shocked that it was a giant squid, so I decided to stay in my animagus form during the day, and at night, I would go out to feed on animals."

"Godric, I would have never been disappointed in you." Salazar chuckled. "But I should have known something was up when suddenly a giant squid popped up in the lake a year after you died."

"This is unbelievable." Klaus said staring at him. "I wish the BOTH of you had told us that you were vampires."

Godric laughed. "Niklaus, you wouldn't have liked that, because I would have stopped you from breaking the hybrid curse."

Klaus grinned at him. "I would have expected nothing less."

"So does this mean we can never say that Mr. Gryffindor is rolling over in his grave over the fact that Remus is Head of House?" I snorted.

"Lynn, please call me Godric." He laughed. "And as for Remus being Head of House, I think it's rather funny myself."

"Why didn't you tell us after Salazar came forward?" Elijah asked.

"I was actually going to come forward at the last minute, so that it would be a surprise to Greyback. As you know, the Black Lake extends into the mountains, and I can get rather close to his camp without anyone thinking twice about why I'm there. Your young friend Tyler hasn't been able to tell you yet, but Greyback is going to attack the day before the full moon. I was going to wait until after the Easter Holiday, then come forward, but today is just as good. You two would have drowned if I hadn't intervened."

"I wasn't worried about me sir. Ginny, was the one to be concerned about." I said, looking at her. "Are you sure you're ok?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'm ok. Just still shocked at everything." Then she started laughing. "No wonder the Giant Squid is friendly."

"We heard Ginny scream and Lynn yell, but we didn't know what was going on." Draco said. "Then all of a sudden, the middle of the lake started rolling and bubbling up, and we saw the Giant Squid swimming away."

"I thought it ate you two." Caroline said. "Where is it anyway? I don't see it anywhere."

Godric laughed. "It's right here Miss." He said pointing to himself. "I'm the Giant Squid."

"He an animagus like me." Sirius said.

Caroline's eyes went wide with surprise. "Wow! I don't think I'm ever going to get use to this magic stuff!" she cried, and we all laughed.

"Godric, didn't you mention that Greyback is going to attack on the day before the full moon?" Elijah asked.

Yes Elijah, I did." He said with a nod. "The full moon is on the 26th this month, so we still have a few weeks left."

Remus nodded. "The day before makes sense."

"I guess Greyback doesn't want a repeat of last time." Sirius said.

Godric nodded and stood up. "You're right Sirius. He saw how easy it was for you all to defeat him the first time. After they changed into wolves they were virtually powerless, because they couldn't do magic. This time, they will be able to use it."

"I think we should let Albus know." Damon said.

"I agree." Salazar and Godric said together, and we followed the both of them toward the castle.

Needless to say Dumbledore and Snape were surprised at our newest castle resident, but they took the news well. Snape joked that maybe Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had also become vampires, and they transfigured themselves into a desk and a tea tray. This, I think, was the first joke anyone ever heard Snape make.

"Check out this headline." Hermione grinned. It was Monday morning, the first day of Easter break, and she had The Daily Prophet spread out in front of her like always.

Godric Gryffindor Returns To Hogwarts! Says Greyback Better Think Twice!

Six months after the return of Salazar Slytherin, another founder has come forward. Godric Gryffindor, who is a 1,100 year old vampire AND the famous Giant Squid of the Black Lake, says Greyback better think twice about attacking Hogwarts. The Daily Prophet has learned that preparations have been in place for many months now, regarding the werewolf threat.

"Greyback is planning an attack on Hogwarts. Dumbledore, Salazar, and I think enough is enough. The staff, some students, and some parents at Hogwarts will do everything in our power to stop the werewolves. We highly advise Greyback to think twice about attacking Hogwarts." Gryffindor told us.

Albus Dumbledore had this to say, "The students are safe. There is no reason for parents to be alarmed. We will lock down the castle and no werewolf will dare enter into the grounds. If they do, they will be killed on sight."

"Magic, ancient magic, protects this school. It's not just vampires and hybrids that are protecting it. I placed protective spells over the school long ago, and I will not hesitate to activate them." Slytherin remarked.

8 vampires, 3 werewolf/vampire hybrids, 20 Aurors, and several students and parents stand between Greyback's massive 400 member pack, and their goal of taking the school hostage.

"That's what he wants to do. He wants to take Hogwarts hostage. He thinks he can use it as leverage to get the Ministry to bow down. He wants to take over the Wizarding World." Klaus Mikaelson said.

"We fought him once before, and we will win again." Damon Salvatore added.

Harry Potter had this to say. "For centuries Slytherin and Gryffindor have fought against each other, but today we stand united. Between Gryffindor's bravery and Slytherin's cunning minds, the werewolves don't stand a chance."

"If Rowena and Helga were alive, they would be standing right here beside us. Hogwarts will not bow down to this threat." Gryffindor said.

Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy also commented. "We have full confidence in the spells that protect the school. We have no intention of pulling Draco out."

"Molly and I agree with the Hogwarts staff. They have our full support, and we know our children will be safe." Arthur Weasley said.

The Ministry of Magic says they are behind Hogwarts 100%.

"Dumbledore, Gryffindor, and Slytherin know the school better than I do." The Minister stated. "They know what needs to be done, and the Ministry has given them the green light to defend the school in any way necessary."

This reporter, I'm proud to say, was sorted into Gryffindor house back in 1970, and between Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, and Albus Dumbledore protecting the school, how could anyone have doubts about its safety.

I grinned at Hermione when she finished reading the paper. "Psychological warfare! I love it! I can't wait to find out Greyback's reaction."

"Neither can I!" Draco said, laughing loudly.

"Maybe he will just give up and go home." Ron said, shoving toast into his mouth. "I don't want to have to worry about him and our O.W.L.S."

"I doubt that Ron." Hermione said. "And will you please stop chewing with your mouth open!" She cried, smacking him on the arm with her book.

"Ouch Woman!" He cried, splattering toast everywhere.

"So gross!" Lavender cried. "Can you please eat like a human?"

Ron stared at us with his mouth open. "What? I'm just eating!"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "It'll never sink in you guys. You just have to get use to it and stay out of his way."

"Are you kids going to eat all day, or are you going to take advantage of the quiet week and get some studying done?" Remus asked with a grin, coming over to the Gryffindor table where we were sitting.

"Ron is planning to eat all day." Blaise said with a laugh. "But the rest of us are going to be studying in the common room."

"Yeah and I think we better head over there." Draco laughed.

So do I, before Ron decides to eat us too!

*A/N* I need you to tell me what you think about this chapter! What do you think is going to happen next? If anyone has any suggestions, or something you would like to see, let me know! I will consider all of them! Thank you to those who have followed, fav'ed and reviewed! I try to respond to all reviews, so please tell me what you think. Thank you for reading!**