Man of Constant Sorrow left a review saying that he stopped reading after he learned that I was sticking with cannon pairings. I am sticking with cannon pairings however I should be writing them differently. I will NEVER have Hermione give up her dreams and aspirations in life just to please Ron. Ginny will NOT be a crazed, love sick little girl. This story is indeed a Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione story but hopefully I will not fall into the same trap as the cannon.
Chapter 10
Friday dawned with a clear blue sky. The sun was shining off of the golden leaves on the trees around Hogwarts. It was a day of peace that had most students relaxed throughout the day. All except one, poor Hermione was on pins and needles as she went through her classes that day. She was dreading the meeting that she knew would take part in that evening. Ron and Harry tried to get her to relax by telling her that everything would turn out just fine. But she just couldn't get herself to believe it. At forty-five minutes before the scheduled start of the meeting she left the Gryffindor common room. She knew her way to the Ravenclaw common room thanks to Harry's map so she made good time. When she arrived she noticed that there was no portrait to guard the entrance. Instead there was a simple door knocker. She stared at it for some time before she knocked. A face that greatly resembled Rowena Ravenclaw morphed out of the knocker. Hermione was so taken aback by this that she didn't hear what the knocker had said.
"Um… Could you please repeat that?"
The knocker gave a sigh "It is the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginning of the end, and the end of every space. What is it?"
Hermione stared at the door but not seeing it. She was playing the riddle over and over again in her mind till she suddenly realized the answer.
"The letter E."
"That is correct." And with that the door swung open. Hermione stepped inside and Luna was immediately at her side.
"Hermione what are you doing here?"
Hermione looked down at the petite thing in front of her. She could see the mischievousness in her eyes and knew that Luna was playing with her housemates.
"Oh I am sure that you know quite well why I am here Luna." She said with a smirk. Luna giggled and skipped off to join her housemates who were all giving Hermione the evil eye.
Just then professor Flitwick walked in. "Settle down everyone. I have called this meeting to announce to you the Lady Ravenclaw."
He ushered Hermione over to him "I am sure that all of you know Hermione Granger. What none of you know is that her family is a direct descendent to Rowena Ravenclaw. I am sure that you all will have some questions for Lady Ravenclaw and so we figured this would be a good a time as any for them to be answered."
It was well past midnight when Hermione was finally allowed to leave the Ravenclaw common room. She had been surprised when professor Flitwick had opened the floor for questions. She had been nearly balled over by the fifty odd questions coming her way. She had answered them as well as she could and made a hasty retreat.
When she arrived back at the Gryffindor common room she found Ron, Harry, Neville and Ginny waiting for her. Ginny was the first one to speak.
"Well how did it go?"
"I was bum rushed by a million questions all at once. When I had exhausted every answer I could think of I got the hell out of there."
The boys were all laughing, when Ron choked out. "You swore Hermione! It must have been really hard on you for you to swear."
Hermione huffed and turned to get Ginny to back her up but she only saw Ginny laughing with the boys. She stomped her foot.
"Well if you are all going to gang up on me then I am going to bed." She made it all the way to the stairs and then she turned around. She grabbed her wand and sent a few spells at the four of them. She then made her way to her bed and fell asleep.
Downstairs the others were just noticing the spells that had been cast on them. Ron was now sporting a lion head hat on his head. When Ron tried to pull it off he noticed that it was stuck. Not to mention that it roared, LOUDLY, when he tried to pull it off.
Harry's hair now made him look like the son of Medusa. The snakes hissed at Harry and he started laughing again.
*What is the red scaled one doing with a lion head*
*Did he kill it or did it eat him*
Harry had to stop himself from falling off the chair he was sitting in as he turned to Ginny. Ginny was staring at her hair as it was no longer a bright red, it was streaked yellow and black. She turned towards Neville to find him in shock.
Neville was staring at his reflection in one of the common room mirrors. His hair now resembled Albus Dumbledore's. He even had been given the long white beard to go with his now waist length white hair. He was snapped out of his daze when Ginny walked up behind him and started braiding his hair. When she was done with his hair she turned him around and started to do a complicated nine way braid with his new beard.(for those that have no clue what a nine way braid is; you separate the hair in three section each section is again divided three ways. Then each section is braided to create nine small braids. Then you take three braids and braid them so that you have three larger braids. Then you braid those three together to create the final braid.)
Neville was going to stop Ginny but noticed that she was having a blast, so he let her to do as she pleased.
After three hours of Harry arguing with his hair, Ron trying to still pull the roaring lion head off and Ginny braiding Neville's long hair and beard; the spell wore off. Ginny looked disappointed at Neville as she was sad to see all her hard work just vanish. Then she let out a yawn.
"Well I think I am going to bed now. Goodnight boys!"
Ginny walked up the stairs to the girls dorms still yawning, leaving the three boys to stare after her. Harry just shrugged his shoulders grabbed Ron and Neville by their elbows.
"Come on you two. Ginny made a good choice. At least I can go to sleep without hearing a roaring lion or talkative snakes now."
Neville and Ron laughed as they let Harry lead them up to their dorms and their beds.
The next morning Hermione seemed to be in a more relaxed mood. She saw her four friends come down to the common room and smirked.
"Did you all like my additions?"
Ron glared at her while the other three all smiled at her. Neville was the first and only one to speak.
"It wasn't bad except for the fact that Ginny seemed to think that she needed to spend the entire three hours braiding my hair and beard."
Hermione turned to look at the blushing Ginny and smiled at her.
"Well at least Ginny had fun. Maybe Harry should grow his hair out so that she has someone else's hair to braid."
Harry looked mortified at the very thought until he caught the mischievous grin on Hermione's face and just shook his head.
"Hermione it is too early in the morning for me to even think about the mysteries of the way woman think. Why are you not more nervous? If I recall correctly Professor Flitwick is having an interesting conversation with the rest of the staff about you."
Hermione went chalk white as they heard a sneering voice from behind them.
"Why on Earth would the professors have anything interesting to say about the Mudblood?"
Ron was the first one to speak. "Well Malfoy I guess you will just have to wait and find out now won't you."
With that they walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. They had no idea that at that very moment professor Flitwick was telling the rest of the staff just who the Seven Heirs of Hogwarts were.
+++++++++++++++STAFF ROOM+++++++++++++++++
Albus Dumbledore called the staff meeting to order and then smiled at Filius.
"Well Filius were you able to find out just who the heirs were?"
Filius Flitwick smiled a toothy grin "It was actually quite simple if you knew what to look for."
He handed the puzzles back to their respected owners.
"I would now like each of you to look at clue number four." When each staff member had done so he continued.
"Now I would like you all to think about one student that that one clue could refer too."
He paused to let his co-workers think. When after ten minutes nobody said anything he sighed.
"You people really are hopeless." He turned to Pomera Sprout "Your heir is not in Hufflepuff house but instead in Gryffindor. Does that help you at all?"
She thought for a few minutes more till she looked at him "The only student that comes to mind is Ginerva Weasley. But…"
Before she could finish Filius was dancing on his chair and clapping. "You've got it!" He then turned to Minerva "Now if we go with Gryffindor I am pleased to say that your heir is in fact in your house."
She frowned at the parchment in her hands. "The only student that fits all five clues is Ronald Weasley. But how is Gryffindor and Hufflepuff related?"
Filius shook his head "I have yet to figure that one out. Now Albus I am going to you next as I enjoy watching our youngest staff member sweat it out a little longer." He threw a smile at Severus and received a glare in return. "You were given the clues for Merlin and Morgana. Let us start with Merlin first. 'Cursed to Know Love but never feel its embrace. Can you tell me the name of a Gryffindor that could fit that description?"
The Headmaster sat there with his eyes closed for a brief second. When he opened them again his eyes were twinkling like never before. "Neville Longbottom!"
Filius nodded his head "Now from what we know of Merlin and Morgana's history which Hufflepuff witch do you think fits into that role also taking in what the clues say."
Again Albus closed his eyes and looked at each female Hufflepuff he could think of. Luckily for him he also knew that Merlin had once been in love with Morgana so it was only thirty five seconds later when his eyes snapped open again. "Hannah Abbott."
Filius was now openly grinning from ear to ear. "Trelawney was right about her heir being Luna Lovegood and the Ravenclaw heir is Hermione Granger." He turned to Severus "Now given who the other heirs are and the clues given to you Severus I am sure that you can figure out who the heir of Slytherin is."
Severus stared down at his little problem on paper and read through each clue slowly. He had just finished reading it through a second time when his eyes snapped to number four, 'Marked by the wrath of Nature'. His dark eyes snapped to the Charms professor.
"It's not possible Filius! This cannot be happening to me. If the house finds this out there will be a mutiny and I am not sure if I can handle that."
The rest of the staff was staring between the Charms and Potions professors wondering who would crack first. It wasn't until Minerva lost her patience and asked the one question on everyone's mind; did the two men finally remember they were not alone.
"Well, Severus who is the heir of Slytherin?"
Severus jumped as high as a startled deer and his cold eyes caught Minerva's neutral gaze. He took a steading breath and spoke in a hushed voice that still carried in the silent staff room.
"Harry Potter!"
That name alone caused the staff to lose their sanity. The fact that Harry was now connected as the heir of Slytherin made their usual conversations about the boy even more radical. Severus was staring at Filius with a hopeful look in his eyes "Please tell me I'm wrong Filius."
Filius smirked "I am sorry to say Severus that if my hunches are correct then yes Harry Potter is the heir of Slytherin."
Severus began to pound his head on the table in front of him. He had spent the last five years tormenting a boy for the sins of his father and now it seems that he was going to have to eat a healthy dosage of black crow pie. That was not something he was used to doing and definitely NOT something he would have ever thought he would do with a Potter.
+++++++++++GREAT HALL+++++++++++
Hermione was the last to enter the great hall behind her friends. However she was not expecting the reaction she got. As soon as she set foot inside the great hall sharp eyes noticed that the entire Ravenclaw house was on their feet beside their places. Malfoy who was right behind her was about to shove her aside so that he could get past her. That was until the seventh year prefects from Ravenclaw house walked up to them. In a voice that carried throughout the entire great hall the male prefect spoke.
"My Lady Ravenclaw, It would be a great honor if you would grace us with your presence at our house table for breakfast."
He had bowed to her while the female prefect had dropped into a neat curtsy. Hermione smiled at them as she returned their bow's with a curtsy of her own.
"I would be delighted to eat with the house of my fore fathers."
Hermione followed the prefects over to the Ravenclaw table and a blue velvet throne like chair appeared at the head of the table. Hermione made herself comfortable, as a house elf popped in and took her order.
Draco Malfoy and his goons were still standing in the entrance way staring after Hermione with their jaws on the floor. Malfoy palmed his forehead as he realized that he had insulted the heiress of a founder. He knew that he was in for it now. He had no idea that his world was going to get completely tossed on its head as soon as the staff arrived.
Harry and the other Gryffindor's watched as Hermione was lead to the Ravenclaw table and began to eat with them. Harry then turned to the large doors leading into the great hall and had to stifle his laughter as he caught sight of Malfoy standing there. When Malfoy finally walked over to the Slytherin table he sat down quietly trying to blend into the masonry of the wall behind him. Harry was just about to take a bite of his kippers when the staff walked in. Harry saw professor Flitwick's eyes dart to his Eagles, a grin spread across his face as he made his way to the staff table. Harry suddenly felt a presence behind him and he whirled around in his seat. Standing there was Professor's McGonagall, Snape, Sprout and Dumbledore. Dumbledore was the first to speak.
"Mr. Longbottom I need to speak with you and Ms. Abbott of Hufflepuff house right away. Would you be so kind as to fetch her and meet me outside my office?"
Neville nodded his head as he stood he gave his friends a confused look before walking over to the Hufflepuff house and spoke with Hannah. She too looked confused but followed Neville out of the hall.
McGonagall was smiling "Mr. Weasley I am very proud that you are here to represent Gryffindor house. I would like it if you would please have lunch with me this afternoon so that we may discuss how I can assist the Heir of Gryffindor." She then turned and walked up to the staff table leaving a bright red Ron Weasley who was instantly the center of attention from his house mates.
Sprout gave a curtsy "Lady Hufflepuff or Ms. Weasley whichever you prefer. I would also like to extend an invitation to lunch in my office. I am sure that we will have plenty to talk about." She gave another curtsy and followed McGonagall to the staff table. Susan Bones walked over and tapped Ginny on the shoulder.
"Is it true? Are you really the heir of Hufflepuff that we have been trying to find since the start of term?"
Ginny smiled at Susan "Yep that's me. However I am sure that the main question will be how I am the heir of Hufflepuff and Ron there is the heir of Gryffindor. I will answer that first to professor Sprout and I am sure that she will tell you."
Susan nodded "Would you like to eat breakfast with the rest of us Puff's?" Ginny smiled "That would be great. It will get me away from my brothers disgusting table manners." The others laughed as Ron threw a piece of toast at his sister.
Harry on the other hand had not taken his eyes off of his now Defense teacher. He was unsure if Snape had figured it out and if he had just what kind of response was he going to get from the Slytherin head of house.
Snape stared at Harry as the hall quieted down once more. Snape then gave a bow to Harry shocking anyone in the vicinity.
"My Lord Slytherin if it pleases you, I would like to request a meeting at your earliest convenience."
Harry stared at the still bowed Snape and for some reason wanted to bust up laughing. This was partly because of Snape but also because he could see Malfoys reaction over the professor's shoulder.
"I will call upon you this evening after dinner professor. If that is agreeable with you. Also I would like to be present at your next house meeting."
Snape stood up "That is most agreeable with me. In fact why not kill two birds with one stone as the muggles say. There is a house meeting tonight and after we can have a private chat."
Harry nodded "Very well professor." Harry then stood up "Lady Daphne Greengrass, as the professors have finally realized who the heirs are you are released of your vow of silence."
Every student in Slytherin house turned towards Daphne, including her head of house. She stared back at them "What I figured out that Potter was Slytherins heir ages ago. I then asked to meet all of the heirs in exchange for my silence. It was agreed upon and so I gave my vow. I also couldn't knowingly aid the professors in discovering who the heirs were."
She returned to her meal but after ten minutes of her house still staring at her and not moving she was frustrated. "Lord Slytherin how do you get them to stop staring at you?"
Harry laughed as he stood to stand next to Snape. "You can't my Lady. You just get used to it or at least get used to ignoring them. It works quite well I assure you." Daphne huffed but went back to her breakfast.
+++++++++++++++++++Dumbledore's Office+++++++++++++++++++
Neville and Hannah followed Dumbledore up to his office. They sat down nervously as the Headmaster walked over and stroked the head feathers of his beloved Phoenix.
"Now I am sure that the nervous act does not need to be continued. As the heirs of Merlin and Lady Morgana I am sure that you are more than comfortable in the current situation."
Dumbledore moved over to his desk and sat down "Lemon Drop" he asked.
Neville and Hannah just simply stared at the headmaster with their jaws unhinged. He laughed at them and sat back.
"Relax you two. You are not in trouble, nor am I upset about any of this. I simply wish to speak with you about your new found identities. Not to mention the interesting clues that you two gave me. Now let's start with you Ms. Abbott."
He picked up the logic problem and read out each clue.
"Now Ms. Abbott, Heiress to the Lady Morgana D' Ley Fey I ask you why do you feel so overshadowed. Every clue I read sounds as though you have very low self-esteem."
Neville reached out and grabbed Hannah's hand and gave it a squeeze to reassure her.
"Professor Dumbledore living in Hufflepuff house you rely only in your own work. I have never been the greatest of students nor from a powerful family. I have been laughed at for my weight and shyness. If it hadn't been for Neville I would probably have never believed myself to be beautiful in someone else's eyes."
Neville kissed the top of her hand. "You have always been beautiful to me My Lady."
Hannah blushed and ducked her head. Dumbledore laughed "Young Love as powerful as yours truly transcends the heavens. Now that I can see that though Ms. Abbott still has some issues with self-esteem, she is good hands with you Mr. Longbottom. Mr. Longbottom, Heir of Merlin what does it mean a Kings fool to lead a King"
"Well sir that is quite simple really. Harry Potter is, what most would say, a true leader. However just as Merlin did with Arthur Pendragan leading and aiding him in his battle against the dark. So shall I, the heir of Merlin, aid and guide our current leader Harry Potter, in his fight against the dark that holds our world in its deadly grasp. Many in our world have looked upon me a squib and a fool. I was always clumsy, forgetful and not nearly as strong as I should have been magically. However I was informed through a prophesy that I had been 'blocked in magic and in mind'. It has taken me a great deal of the summer to unblock those things. I spent weeks after unlocking my memories waking at all hours of the night screaming. As one of the memories was that of the night my parents were attacked."
Albus Dumbledore sat there stunned; he had not expected Neville's response to his question. "Well Mr. Longbottom that is truly a remarkable outlook. I have much to think about and it is time for you to get to class."
Neville stood and offered his hand to Hannah. They nodded their heads and turned around and let the headmaster's office.