Disclaimer: All charcters and world concepts are property of J.K. Rowling

Disclaimer: This is not the work of CNG25 but that of Lilausty, originally published on harrypotterfanfiction-dot-com.

Chapter 28: Say Hello To...

"My friends, I am sure you all remember at our first DA meeting this year when I said I would be training you to fight as an army not as a group of school children." Harry began.

There was a general nodding of heads and Justin piped up, "And what an army we have become! We could kick any of the Death Eater's arse's right now!"

Harry smiled as titters circled around the room, "Indeed you are a force to be reckoned with, even if we are only a few. However, you have all learnt so much and so quickly that there is little more I can teach you. I know more knowledge, but have no understanding of how to pass it onto you without frightening you or discouraging you. Therefore, four unbelievably talented people will be taking over your training."

Ginny spoke up, "But before you can meet them, you must swear an unbreakable vow that you will not reveal their identities to anyone until they so choose. If Voldemort was to learn of them, especially who they are, we will be in much greater danger than before."

Harry nodded in agreement, "yes, this is extremely important. For those of you who do not wish to swear the vow, that is fine, but you cannot partake in the training where they will be present."

Jack Sloper butted in, "Harry, I think I speak for everyone here when we say we trust you implicitly, and if you say it is important then we believe you. We are not defying McGonagall simply for the thrill of it, but because we believe in you. Any friend of yours is a friend of ours and we will do anything to keep them secret."

Mutters of agreement rose around him and Harry smiled, "Very well, could each of you step forward one at a time and take the vow. Ginny will be our bonder, she is quite proficient at it."

Hermione was the first to step forward, taking the vow without any hesitation. One by one the others followed, some obviously unsure of how to take the vow, but none taking it reluctantly.

Luna was the last to take it, smiling dreamily at Harry, as if she was completely unaware of the seriousness of such a vow. When she had finished Harry smiled once again at the students, "Thank you all, it means a lot that you put so much trust in me. Now before I introduce them to you, there are just a couple of things you must know. Firstly, they are all trustworthy, no matter what you may or may not have heard about one of them. Secondly, it is really them, no matter how impossible it may seem at first. And thirdly, don't be afraid to call them by their names and act normally around them, they won't take offence."

Ginny giggled adding, "Oh, and don't mention pranks unless you want to be on the receiving end of one!"

The faces of the members were a mixture of complete confusion, worry, and shock. Harry shrugged, "Well, to put you out of your misery…OI, YOU LOT, YOU CAN COME IN NOW!"

Rowena led them in smiling brightly, "Oh that is a nice way to call us, and here was me thinking we would have a grand entrance!"

Helga giggled, "Indeed, I think old scowly here is a little insulted Harry." She nudged Salazar who rolled his eyes.

Harry grinned and turned back to the DA who were eyeing the founders with confusion, "May I introduce you to Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin. The founders of Hogwarts, in the flesh."

Silence rang through the air.

Thump!

Harry's head snapped over to the sound, his mouth quirking up in a smirk. Neville had fainted dead away, obviously completely overwhelmed by the situation. Luna squatted down next to him and enervated him, causing him to sit up abruptly. Realising what had happened he blushed a furious shade of red and stared at his feet.

Helga, taking pity on the poor boy walked over and kneeled next to him, "Are you ok dear? You didn't hit your head on the way down did you? I know it must come as quite a shock, though at least your reaction wasn't as bad as Harry's or Ginny's."

Neville nodded dumbly but accepted her hand to help him to his feet. Muttering a hurried thank you under his breath moved back to stand next to Seamus. Harry grinned, "She is right Nev, I was there when they first appeared."

"Actually he summoned us accidentally." Godric interrupted, rolling his eyes slightly.

"And then promptly attacked us, knocking me out and proceeding to launch a barrage of spells at the other three." Salazar continued.

"Harry you didn't!" Hermione cried, completely aghast.

He shrugged, "Sure I did, I wasn't exactly thinking straight when they all appeared around me. I mean how would you react if four strangers appeared out of nowhere through wards which are supposed to prevent apparating?"

Obviously unable to dispute his argument, Hermione settled for shaking her head in bemusement. Ron meanwhile was staring in unabashed suspicion of Salazar. Feeling the red head's gaze upon him, the snake founder turned and stared into his eyes unblinking.

Ginny saw and stepped in between them, glaring at her brother, "Don't you start Ron!"

Startled, his gaze snapped to hers, "And why not! After all, Slytherins are…"

"Enough Ron! You don't understand so don't go putting your foot in it." She snapped. "Salazar is not the man that history has painted him to be."

Incredulity was written over his face, "So the basilisk was just a fixture of our imagination?"

Harry slapped his head in annoyance but Salazar merely smirked, "Harry, you know that I did expect this, no matter what you told them before hand."

He shook his head, "I just hoped that in telling them that you were all trustworthy, that they would take me at my word. Obviously some things are so hardwired into our brains that even consciously acknowledging things isn't good enough."

Salazar shrugged, "Well, you were suspicious of me at first, you can hardly blame them for it."

Harry nodded, "I suppose you are right." He turned and faced Ron who was still stubbornly arguing with Ginny. Most of the DA were still staring in shock at the founders, though some were smirking in amusement at the sibling argument being displayed.

"Ron! Please, I know our friendship has been a little tense of late, but trust me. He is not an evil git, he is not going to betray us to Voldemort, and he is going to be teaching you!" Harry said forcefully, interposing himself between Ginny and Ron.

Ron looked like he wanted to argue for a bit longer, but at the serious stare his friend was giving him he sighed and dropped his head in acknowledgement, "Alright Harry, I will trust you, but know that I am not going to just accept that 100 years of history is wrong!"

Salazar spoke up, "And nor would I expect you to. I have every intention of proving to you all of my intentions."

Rowena stood up next to him, "We all do. We have been training Harry for some time now, and there is little more we can teach him. We have been watching your instruction over the past few months and have been impressed with your loyalty, dedication and willingness to place yourself between the innocents and the evil. Harry has done a good job, but we decided that you were trustworthy enough for us to step in and help."

Godric nodded continuing in his strong voice, "Understand that we may teach you things that you do not agree with. Harry has maintained that you must choose your own path in battle, and we agree with this. But war is ugly, and I doubt many of you have seen battles worse then that of the Hogsmede attack. You were stunned when Harry and Ginny killed some of Voldemort's followers. Those were clean and quick deaths, merciful compared to many in battle. When the war comes to you, you must be ready to face unspeakable horrors."

Helga smiled sadly, "We do not tell you this to frighten you or dissuade you from your course, but simply to warn you about the future. Your hearts, no matter what you believe, are still young, free and innocent. It grieves me to know that you will most probably loose that innocence before the war is over."

Salazar put a hand on her shoulder, and fixed the DA with a serious stare, "What is also certain is death. Take a good look around you, for it is a guarantee that there will be faces missing from this group when the war truly starts."

Some glanced uneasily around while others merely looked at their shoes in discomfort. Suddenly a strong voice spoke up, "Harry has already told us this, and we are still here! Death is preferable to living under Voldemort's rule, which is what will happen if we do not fight." Neville looked straight into the snake founder's eyes. "We, well, I at any rate, am willing to do whatever is necessary to stop that murderer from taking over. If my life is required for such an eventuality to occur, then I welcome it!"

Several heads nodded and Harry smiled at Neville gratefully. Salazar eyed him thoughtfully, "Then there is hope for us after all."

"With you with us of course there is hope!" Lavender piped up, blushing slightly when the four stared at her, "Well it's true! The Death Eaters aren't going to know what hits them. If Harry and Ginny's display at Hogsmede is anything to go by, we know that you will completely obliterate the enemies before us!"

Rowena gave a wry smile, "I think you put more faith in our abilities then is justified, but I thank you nonetheless."

Harry snorted, "Hardly, you do still woop my arse in a duel."

Salazar's eyebrows rose, "Only when two or more of us gang up on you. Individually you are a match for us, which is just as well considering that you are going to end up duelling Voldemort."

Gasps rang through the air and Harry scowled at the snake founder who was smirking triumphantly, "I wasn't going to mention that to them yet Salazar!"

"What does he mean Harry?" Neville asked, looking confused.

Luna spoke up, "Isn't it obvious? Someone is going to have to kill Voldemort, and since he seems to single out Harry, it makes sense that he will be the one to do it." She smiled gently at the black haired teen, "And I for one know who is going to come out on top!"

Grinning at her he replied, "Cheers Luna." He turned back to the other members, "She is right, Voldemort is after my blood, which is kinda obvious considering the effort he went to get to me in fourth year. However, if and when he learns who is loyal to me, he will hunt you down to make me pay."

Dean shrugged, "So what else is knew? Most of us are in danger anyway, I mean, half of us are muggleborns marked simply because we do not have magical parents. And the rest have been pretty vocal about where our loyalties lie. I don't think Voldemort's spies at Hogwarts have any trouble identifying those that will oppose their master's rule!"

Salazar scowled and turned away, causing Dean's face to become cautious, "Did I say something?" he asked Harry apprehensively.

Helga shook her head emphatically, "no, he is just a grumpy git whenever he hears about his descendant."

"And why shouldn't I be? He is a monster and I want to tear him limb from bloody limb!" the snake founder exclaimed, facing her. His face was taunt with anger and his eyes flashed red, "He is a plague on the world that needs to be eradicated as soon as possible, and it galls me to know that I am unable to do anything about it just yet!"

Godric put a calming hand on his shoulder, "peace my friend, yelling about it won't help the situation."

He glared, "maybe, but it makes me feel better. Don't you feel disgusted? Look around you, children are willing to go into battle and die. This is the world that he has created, and he is my bloody descendant! I am directly responsible for the creation of such a monster! I should never have had children!"

The DA members were staring in shock as the snake founder ranted to his friends. Ginny simply sighed and shook her head while Harry looked saddened. Rowena strode forward and said firmly, "That is a very silly thing to say Salazar. You are not at fault for Voldemort or any of his actions, and not having children would have had a far more dire consequence."

"Oh and what is that?" he spat.

She smiled, "Harry would never have been born."

Struck silent by her statement, Salazar's eyes flew to Harry's and stared at him for a moment.

"Hold up for a sec!" Ron's voice broke through, "Are you telling me that Harry, as in Gryffindor's Golden Boy, is actually a descendant of Slytherin?"

Helga giggled, "Oh that's right, none of you know other than Ginny. Harry is actually a …"

"Helga is it really necessary that they know?!" Harry burst out, looking slightly alarmed, "I don't want any more stares you know!"

"We won't tell anyone Harry, we are your friends. I thought you trusted us?" Hermione spoke up.

Harry frowned, but Ginny put a hand on his arm and he sighed in defeat, "Fine, but no loud exclamations of amazement, it isn't that big a deal."

"That's a matter of opinion." Ginny muttered, grinning at him.

He just rolled his eyes at her as Helga continued, "Well, Harry is actually a descendant of all four of us. We had members of our family marry and then marry into the Potter family and he is a result of that union."

Dean murmured under his breath, "Bloody hell."

"Hey! I said no exclamations!" Harry said, giving a slight grin.

Dean shot back, also grinning, "You said no loud exclamations, and as far as I know, that was quite soft!"

Rolling his eyes again Harry turned to the rest of the DA who had impressed looks on their faces, "Seriously though, it means absolutely nothing. We are not defined by our ancestors, though I am certainly proud of mine. The only reason why I was able to summon them is because we are related."

"Harry is right, it isn't that big a deal. What is a big deal however, is that we have been here for an hour already and haven't even started explained what it is that we will teach you!" Godric said, rubbing his hands together.

"Hang on, I haven't given the leaders their stuff yet." Harry exclaimed, elbowing Ginny out of the way.

"Oh, that's right, sorry Harry." Godric replied, grinning sheepishly.

"Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna, please come up here." Harry said, staring at the four of them. When they had joined him he turned and smiled at Ginny who brought forward the duelling robes. "These were found in my vault and I want you to have them. I do intend to make a set for each member of the DA, but for now, these are for you. They are Duelling Robes, and will protect you against minor curses and normal bumps and bruises. They should mould themselves to fit you and if you don't like the colour Ginny can show you how to change it."

Hermione was examining hers with a loving stare, "Thank you so much Harry!"

He grinned, "You are more than welcome, I hope they serve you well." He turned back to Godric and gestured forward, "Now you can tell them what you are planning on teaching them."

Ginny turned a pitying gaze upon the DA, "Oh you poor darlings, you are going to wish that you had never heard of the founders!"

"Oi! We aren't that bad, we just like to find your limits." Rowena exclaimed an amused glare plastered over her face.

"Yeah, and bring you over them." Harry muttered.

Godric shook his head and grinned, "Pay them no mind, they just want to scare you. In truth, we will push you but will not make you do something that is not within your ability level. Unlike with Harry and Ginny, whom we taught all types of magic, we will be focussing on your fighting skills."

Rowena nodded, "Yes, that includes both magical and physical skills. We also hope to be able to teach most of you to become animagi. Some will find this harder then others, but you will find having an alternate form most helpful in a battle."

Harry grinned at the dumbstruck faces, "You lot can pick your jaws off the floor. It may sound cool now, but believe me, you are going to be sore until your stamina can get a chance to catch up with the level of work that they will be putting you through."

Ron obviously still stunned by Rowena's statement that they would all learn to become animagi turned to him, "Are you one Harry?"

Ginny snorted, "'Course he is, and so am I. You saw us remember?"

Hermione gasped in understanding, "But you used your wands! McGonagall said…"

"McGonagall was being led along by the nose Herm. We deliberately waved our wands, but we didn't do anything with them. Those were our animagus forms you saw." Harry interrupted.

"Cool! So you are a bear then?" Seamus summarised, grinning in appreciation.

"Yes he is, and hopefully within a month, you will all know your own forms." Rowena nodded. She gazed at the expectant and excited members before smiling slightly, "It is obvious that you are all intent on getting right in and learn. However, we think it is best if you get divided into four different groups so that we can each teach at the same time."

The DA nodded in acceptance and very quickly split themselves up into four different groups of roughly the same size. Harry was pleased to see that there was a mixture of houses and ages in each. He and Ginny did not join any one particular group, but flitted between the different lessons that the founders took, helping where they could.

All too soon however, it was time to return to Hogwarts. Before Harry opened the portal and hustled them all back into the Room of Requirement he gave them one last warning, "Now, if you want to discuss the founders amongst yourselves, you must not use their real names. Call Salazar Snakey, Godric Roarer, Rowena Flighty and Helga Stripes. Each name is tied into their animagus forms." After receiving nods of agreement from the others they went through the same process as before, staggering their leaving so no one could get suspicious.

Once the members had left, the Room automatically changed into something more comfortable, with some sofas into which Harry and Ginny happily plopped. The founders imitated them with no more grace and Ron and Hermione made themselves comfortable on the enormous rug before the fire.

Harry smiled at them, "I must say, I am very grateful that you are not angry at me for keeping this secret from you for so long."

Hermione gave him a weary smile, "Harry, you always keep secrets from us, we are used to it by now. I won't say I'm not a little hurt, but I do understand it. I think that if I had been in your place, I probably would have done the same thing. I am just happy that you have revealed them to us."

He gave a sheepish glance, "Actually, that was their decision. I was quite happy to keep you all in the dark, but they decided that enough was enough."

Ron rolled his eyes, "Now why doesn't that surprise me? Harry, you really do need to get it through your head that not everything is up to you!"

Salazar laughed and Godric patted him on the head, "Ah young Ronald, I am afraid Harry has too much of me in him to not believe that."

Hermione looked thoughtful, "There is something I don't understand though. Where did you find the time to train Harry? I mean, you never miss class, your homework is always done and yet you have learnt so much! The same goes for Ginny, how did you do it?"

Harry glanced over at the founders, unsure of how to answer. Helga took the burden off of his shoulders, "That is something that we cannot tell you Hermione. Understand that there are some things which we have done since arriving here that Harry is not at liberty to disclose. It is not his secret to tell. However, I can tell you that it was not illegal in any way, so you have no need to fear him getting in trouble."

Hermione still looked curious but sighed in acceptance. Ron was staring at his sister and asked abruptly, "When did Ginny meet them? When did you let her in on your secret?"

She smiled, "Not right away if that is what you are hinting. In fact, it was only by accident that I found out, he didn't let me in on it at all! I followed him at Halloween and when the male founders poked their head out of the room I attacked them. The next thing I knew was that I was lying in Harry's arms and he was consoling me and telling me everything was alright and not to panic."

Ron turned harsh eyes onto the founders, "You attacked my sister?!"

"Easy Ron, I attacked them first. Knocking me out was the only way they could subdue me enough for Harry to get through to me." she assured him, patting him gently on the arm.

"Don't worry Ronald, she has gotten us back plenty of times during the last few months." Godric put in, grinning at the red haired girl.

"So what now? Do you know anymore about the Horcruxes?" Hermione asked.

Harry sighed, "Well, we believe that Nagini may be dead, though we have no proof. Other then that, we have not managed to destroy any of them. We know of a way to track them, but without some of Voldemort's blood we can't proceed."

Her eyebrows rose, "Voldemort's blood? Why don't you use your own? After all, your blood does flow through his veins."

Rowena spoke up, "True, but most of his horcruxes were made before he took Harry's blood. Therefore we need the 'Voldemort' part of his blood. Harry's won't work."

"You said that you thought Nagini was dead?" Ron asked, looking surprised.

A shadow passed over Harry's face, "Yeah, I saw through Voldemort's eyes again. Salazar sent him a fake dead Nagini body as a shake up, and the next thing I know Voldemort is screaming at me in rage accusing me of killing his beloved snake. The only way he could think that is if the real Nagini somehow disappeared. However, because she has a part of Voldemort in her, she wouldn't leave of her free will. So we guess someone got to her before we could."

Ron shook his head in amazement, "Anything else you think we should know?"

Ginny grinned and nodded, "Sure, turns out the greasy haired traitor isn't a traitor after all. Snape is actually on our side. Dumbledore asked him to kill him to cement his own position in Voldemort's ranks."

Ron's jaw dropped.

"Oh pick it up Ron, it isn't that much of a surprise! After all, Dumbledore did always swear that Snape was on our side." Hermione stated impatiently, swatting at his jaw.

"Yeah but….but….but he's a Slytherin!" he burst out.

Salazar snorted slightly and Ron realised what he had said. He turned bright red and opened his mouth but the snake founder cut him off, "No, don't say anything. Your view of my house is very much cemented in your consciousness. I hope that it can change, if only because there are Slytherins out there that are not evil."

Slightly ashamed, Ron nodded and stared at his hands. Harry grinned, "Ah mate, it is nice to know that no matter what happens in the world, your foot-in-mouth disease will always remain constant."

"Shut your face Harry!" he shot back smiling in spite of himself.

Hermione looked at her watch and her eyes widened with surprise, "Yikes! If we don't do some of that homework that McGonagall assigned us we are going to be up all night." She looked at the founders, "Not that I don't enjoy being here of course, after all, just sitting here is a history lesson, but we have to do our homework."

Harry and Ginny shared a look before glancing at the founders. Rowena grinned triumphantly, "Sorry guys, your free reign is now over. We aren't teaching you to the same level now, so you have to do your own."

"Dammit!" Harry muttered.

Helga slapped him over the back of the head, "language young man! You should be thankful that you had such an easy run up until this point."

He turned incredulous eyes onto her, "Not that I don't appreciate all of your effort, but I hardly consider the last few months easy!" he faced Hermione to see if she had understood what was being said.

She wasn't listening to the conversation, instead was trying to pull Ron off the floor and pushing Ginny towards the door at the same time. The red haired girl protested, "Hermione! I can walk you know, I don't need to be manhandled. Well, except by Harry anyway."

Harry gave a wicked grin and before Ginny could move he had picked her up and swung her over his shoulder, completely disregarding her shrieks of protest. Hermione finally got Ron up and pushed him out of the door. Harry gave a hasty wave to the laughing founders and followed her down the hall, Ginny still slung over his shoulder.