Harry Potter and the Founders' Vault

Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling.

Facebook: Fanfiction Millma Verse

Note: For those who don't play/know poker, this chapter may allude you slightly, but I hope you enjoy regardless. Also, we're back to one-a-month updates, last month was special circumstances as we wanted to give our readers something without our usual Arrowverse update.

WANDS UP: It is with great sadness we acknowledge the death of our beloved Professor Minerva McGonagall, the wonderful Dame Maggie Smith. She was a brilliant actress with so many brilliant roles under her robe, and will be solely miss. She will live on forever with us Potter fans as Professor McGonagall for us all. We only wish that Professor McGonagall had more of a presence in this chapter, but she had wonderful scenes in last chapter so, in retrospect, I dedicate that chapter to Dame Maggie Smith.

Dead Man's Hand

Harper woke up early the morning after Harry was chosen as the 4th champion. As much as she was worried for her brother, she needed to get the ball moving on her own challenge for this year. She needed to challenge and beat Neville today.

Harper looked at her deck of cards, putting on a pair of sunglasses. She smirked as she saw the spell she put on the cards and sunglasses had worked – she had magically marked the deck. She could read what cards Neville was holding and what cards would be picked as long as she was wearing these sunglasses.

Harper took them off and put them in her bag along with her deck of cards. She headed down for the Great Hall where Harry and Hermione were already waiting. She needed to get Neville alone and he wasn't even here yet.

As Harper smiled at the pair, she didn't even need to ask where Neville was as the boy came from the dungeon area along with Cedric. Harper paused as she looked at her boyfriend, who was supporting a very black eye.

"What happened?" Harper asked going over to him.

"That looks bad," Harry added.

"You should see the other guy," Cedric joked, and noticed neither Harper nor Hermione looked pleased with the answer. "I ended up in a fist fight this morning in the Common Room."

"And you really should see the other guy," Neville said. "Cedric definitely won."

"Why?" Harper asked.

"Defending Harry," Cedric said, and Harry raised an eyebrow. "All of Hufflepuff – besides me, Neville, some others in your year, plus Beatrice – believe you put your name in and are stealing Hufflepuff's glory. Even if you represent this other school they say if you win, Gryffindor will take a spiritual win anyway."

"It got bad this morning," Neville said.

"But why a fist fight?" Harper asked.

"Well, it was a word fight at first, but then when they insinuated that I only cared about Harry because I was dating you, and then called you and Harry some not-so-nice names I had to act," Cedric said.

"I was there. If Cedric hadn't, I might have," Neville said.

"I'm going to need to get Edward, Ginny, and Luna together," Harper said, wanting names and seeing while Cedric's eye was black, his knuckles also had the telltale signs of punching something hard. "But you have magic? Why use your fists?"

"More satisfying. I suggest we all go to the safety of the Gryffindor table," Cedric said.

"Might be a good idea," Hermione spoke up, still giving a disappointed look at Cedric's fight. "Ravenclaw seems split in half. I managed to convince a lot you wouldn't put your name in the Goblet, and others are logical enough to realize you don't have the knowledge to get pass the age line and trick the Goblet, but there are some who are upset and not thinking straight."

"Slytherin is so-so," Harper said. "Gryffindor it is."

The Fab Four, plus Cedric, went over to the Gryffindor table where they were all greeted warmly.

"Fred, George," Harper said after they got their plates together. "I'm planning on getting my pranking crew from last year together and taking some revenge on people treating Harry badly. Want to join us? Massive team up?"

"Hm… sure," Fred said.

"Sounds good," George replied.

"That is not as excited as I thought you two would be," Harper mused.

"It's just…" Fred started.

"We want to open our own joke shop," George stated, and that didn't surprise the group at all.

"But money is an issue," Fred continued, which also didn't surprise the group.

"We have done some calculations," George said.

"Seriously?" Hermione asked shocked.

"Yes," Fred said, ignoring how surprised Hermione seemed. "And even if we stay here for our 7th year and continue betting pools and selling our own brands to the students here, there is no way we can earn enough to get a store front, get a line of products together, and open."

"Now there is no way we are Champions, our dream is dead," George finished.

Harry and Harper looked at each other and instantly knew the same thought was running through their minds.

"I think all you need is an investor," Harry said.

"Someone willing to give money in exchange for part of the business," Harper finished.

"Yeah, who do we know with that type of money?" Fred looked glum as he said it.

"Who would be willing to invest in us," George finished.

"I don't know, maybe someone who is heir to not one…" Harper began.

"…but two of the most ancient and noble houses," Harry finished for his sister and could see the confused looks from Fred and George. "Like the ancient and most noble House of Black."

"And Potter," Harper supplied and could see the lightbulb went off for the twins.

"You two have the money?" Fred and George asked together.

"Definitely," Harry said. "Well, most of the Potter funds are locked away until I am of age, but the Black House is even richer than Potter, and Sirius is a big jokester himself. I am sure he would agree."

"As long as you don't mind some partners," Harper added. "I think 40 percent for the two of us is fair. You keep majority control."

"And you are willing to do this for us?" George asked.

"Well, we know you two are very good at pranking and making objects," Harper said.

"And I mean Garreth Weasley did make a lot of Zonko's current lineup," Harry added, and could see the shock on the twins faces. "You didn't know that?"

"No," Fred said.

"And he is our favorite uncle!" George protested.

"No wonder he lives comfortably and doesn't work. He must still get money in," Fred said, but turned back to the two. "So, what do we need to do for this investment?"

"Let me contact Ragnar at Gringotts and see what we can do," Harry said, and the twins seemed more excited as they chatted, agreeing to help them out with Harry's unfortunate situation. The twins were ready to defend Harry's name to anyone who spoke against him.

"So, your Uncle Garreth is still alive," Harper was the one to ask this when the topic of how to get their own back on some students died down.

"Yes," Fred said. "He was at the wedding. Older guy, white hair now."

"He's like only 6 or 7 years older than Dumbledore," George added; Harry and Harper looked at each other. Garreth Weasley had been in the same year as Jaiden Blu and Ominis Gaunt. They knew that from Jaiden's field guide maybe he would have some information on where to find this wayward uncle of Lord Voldemort.

"Think he would be upset if we sent him a letter?" Harry asked.

"Urm, no," Fred and George said together, but gave the two a weird look. Neither sibling explained further though and it wasn't long after that when breakfast started to break apart, with Fred and George hopping up, chatting excitedly to each other about their joke shop plan.

"I've got to send some letters," Harry said, planning on sending a letter to Ragnar, asking about investing in the Weasley Twins Joke Shop, and one to Garreth Weasley, asking about Ominis, "then I think I am going to go to the Room and do some spell practice. Neville, want to join?"

Harper tried not to look worried, but if Neville joined Harry, it would throw a wrench into her plan. "Maybe later, I want to go for a walk. The weather still nice enough… no snow yet. Not going to be many more days like this," Neville said.

"I'll go with you," Harper said, trying not to seem too eager.

"Mione?" Neville asked.

"I'm going to get some homework done and work on the… well you-know-what," Hermione said, since Cedric was still with them.

"I'll come for…." Cedric started but was interrupted by a familiar voice calling his name, turning around to see Professor McGonagall standing there. "Never mind…" Cedric mumbled, knowing he was going to have to face the consequences of his fist fight this morning.

"And maybe go to the hospital wing afterward for that eye," Harper said as Cedric got up to follow the Deputy Headmistress.

It wasn't long after Cedric had left that the Fab Four got up and went their separate ways; Harry going to head up to the owlery to write and send his letters, Hermione off to the library, while Neville and Harper went outside and started walking around the school grounds. The school was more crowded than usual, with Beauxbaton and Durmstrang here, too.

"Sunny today," Harper said, making her excuse to take out the sunglasses and put them on.

"We should be so excited," Neville said as they walked. "A tournament that has not been done in a hundred years right here at our school. But now it's like all the excitement has been sucked out of the air. Harry… I mean… I know you two are advance and ahead in your spell work, but it doesn't make up for 3 years of knowledge."

"Harry does have his sword too," Harper pointed out. "He'll be fine."

"I can't believe you aren't worried. I feel like I am jumping out of my skin and everyone turning again him like he didn't save the entire school two years ago by killing a Basilisk. I mean…." Neville started.

"Whoa Nev, calm down," Harper said, putting a hand on Neville's shoulder and forcing him to stop. "I think you need to take a deep breath. Harry is smart and talented and like you said, already killed a Basilisk," she didn't want to reveal Sasha's survival just now. "Compared to what we have been through the last three years, I don't know if there is anything they can put in these tasks he can't handle while trying to make the competition safe. As for the school, screw them – remember, they turned against me in second year, only to back me in the end when I was proven innocent. It will calm down and our true friends will always have our backs."

"You're right," Neville sighed. "I know you're right."

"I think you need to take your mind off of this,' Harper said, realizing she had the perfect opportunity to challenge Neville and make it look natural. "How about a little game?" Harper took out her deck of cards. "Poker? You said a while back you played a bit."

"Not for a while," Neville said. "But… ah why not. My uncle taught me a few things. But right here…?" He indicated the grounds they were in.

"Yeah, come on, people usually play exploding snaps in this spot, and this is a lot less messy," Harper said, sitting on the grass and Neville gave a laugh as he sat down, too. "We'll use Every Flavor Beans as our chips." Harper had the box ready and divided them up between her and Neville.

Harper shuffled the deck, looking over the cards. The enchantment on her sunglasses was still good – she knew what card it was even when it wasn't facing her. She put the deck down after a few shuffles and started dealing the hands.

What went on next was the easiest game of poker in Harper's life.

Knowing what card was about to be picked up and what Neville had in his hands let her know what cards to throw away and what cards to keep. She couldn't make it too obvious she was cheating, so she sometimes threw down a card Neville needed but in a way that would not hurt her.

"I see your bet and I am going to raise you," Harper said. "In fact, I'm all in. What you going to do?"

"No way you have that good of a hand. I call," Neville said, putting his beans in and then revealed his hand. Three of a kind. Not a bad hand but Harper had let him get it.

"Not bad, but not good enough," Harper said, showing her hand to reveal she had a straight flush. The Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten of Diamonds. "Straight Flush."

"Oh man," Neville said, but was laughing as Harper collected her prize. "You win. We didn't actually have any money on this did we?"

"Just beans," Harper said, with a laugh and noticing they had drawn a bit of a crowd, mainly of the foreign schools, but a few students from Hogwarts.

"Poker," it was Beatrice Heywood who said it. "Mind if I play a hand? I've been wanting to learn since Jae Kim opened a casino in Hogsmeade."

"There is a casino in Hogsmeade? I haven't seen it," Harper said.

"You wouldn't. All magical casinos are charmed so no one underage can see them," Beatrice said. "So, play a hand?"

"Sit," Harper said, a little sad she couldn't visit the Hogsmeade casino yet, but Beatrice sat down as Neville stood up to give her the spot. Harper didn't want to cheat on Beatrice, but luckily the counter to the marking charm was very easy to reverse. Like Harry's contacts, all she had to do was mumble the reversal word and it was off which she did. "Now, in a casino it will probably be more than one player against you, but for practice we can do just me and you. Unless Neville wants to rejoin?"

"Oh no, I'm good," Neville said, chuckling, and Harper gave a smile as she dealt out the cards for her and Beatrice to play a game.

-Harry Potter-

Harry had been practicing some spells when Hermione came into the Room of Requirement.

"Let's go get Neville and Harper," Hermione said before Harry could say anything. "They aren't answering their book. Neither are you, by the way." Hermione took Harry's hand and Harry didn't fight as Hermione led him out of the room.

It didn't take long to find Harper sitting on the grass outside the castle, with Beatrice and a crowd of students around them. Neville was standing close too, watching. Harry and Hermione navigated to get near Neville and saw Harper and Beatrice playing Poker.

"You're bluffing," Harper was saying.

"Then call," Beatrice said.

"I will," Harper said, tossing in some Berty Bott's Every Flavor Beans. "Now, let's see. I got a pair of aces..." Harper said, showing her hand. It wasn't the best hand ever, but Aces were good. If Beatrice only had a pair or nothing at all, Harper would have won.

"Sorry Harper, I think I win," Beatrice said, turning over her cards. It was the Ace of Spades, the Ace of Clubs, the two black Eights (Clubs and Spades), and the Queen of Hearts. Harper's eyes widened, seeing the cards and so did Harry's; Harper turning around to see Harry standing, there the two sharing a look. "It's a two-pair, right? That beats a pair."

"Um… yes it does. Good game," Harper said, going to collect the cards but Harry stopped her.

"Harp, you need to tell her," Harry said.

"Harry…" Harper said, not wanting to.

"Harper!" Harry said back, warning her now.

"It's just a story Harry," Harper stated.

"It's a legend," Harry responded.

"It's a myth," Harper countered.

"It's Dead Man's Hand! It's a death omen," Harry said back.

"There are Death Omens in poker?" Beatrice asked, making the two stop their back and forth. "Professor Trelawney would have field day if she knew…"

"I didn't think you believed in Death Omens," Hermione said back.

"I never said Death Omens weren't real," Harry said to that. "I just said Divination is a waste of a class because you can't be taught to see the future if you don't have 'The Gift'. Besides, not all prophecies will come true due to free will, but there are definitely signs in this world – and Dead Man's Hand has a bit of a kick to it that makes it even more trustworthy."

"If you believe conspiracy theories and superstition," Harper interrupted. "It's a very old story."

"Which we should tell," Harry said back, and Harper looked around seeing their crowd had only grown, and everyone was hanging onto their words, while Beatrice was giving them a look.

"Fine," Harper sighed. "This goes back to the Wild West – the westward expansion of the United States for those who don't know. It was a time of outlaws, gunslingers, and well... the wild."

"It goes to one of the most famous men from that time. James Hickok known as Wild Bill Hickok," Harry continued the story. "A sort of folk hero of the time."

"Stories about him are very overexaggerated – especially by himself when he was alive," Harper interrupted. "This particular story though, no one really knows where it came from. It is said that Wild Bill Hickok was non-magical, born to a magical family, currently known as a squib. Since he didn't have magic, he choose to join the muggle world and go west."

"Knowing how dangerous the Wild West was, especially for someone without magic, his family made him a powerful amulet for protection," Harry stated then. "And he went off into the West, the amulet keeping him safe."

"And somehow got romantically involved with a powerful witch who, of course, was more invested in the relationship than Hickok who broke her heart," Harper said the sentence very sarcastically, but Harry ignored her. "And she tried to take revenge, but the amulet protected him."

"But she wasn't an average witch," Harry supplied. "She performed a ritual to summon the Angel of Death to her and bind him to her will, ordering him to kill Wild Bill Hickok for his freedom – and once you are next on Death's List, nothing can protect you."

"So Wild Bill Hickok was shot in the back while playing poker," Harper said.

"But it's not an average death. He wasn't meant to die that day or that way. The witch reordered the natural balance, and magic like that leaves a mark on the world, especially, it is said, Death got a look at the hand Hickok had," Harry said.

"Ace of Spades," Harper said, pointing at the cards that were still in front of Beatrice. "Ace of Clubs, Eight of Clubs, and Eight of Spades." Harper pointed at each card as she said it. "With the hold card being the Queen of Hearts," Harper pointed at the last card, "known as Dead Man's Hand."

"Even muggles have stories of Dead Man's Hand being bad luck, but for a witch or wizards it's more serious. Because a witch is the one who's bound death, so now whenever a witch or wizard gets Dead Man's Hand while playing poker, it's a sign they are on Death's List," Harry explained, "and are not long for this world."

There was a moment of silence before Harper spoke again. "But you have just heard an Old Wife's Tale. There is no evidence anything in this story is legit. No magical family has ever confirmed James Hickok as a member back then, or now. Weird, considering they cared enough about him to give him a powerful amulet – which, I might add, has no proof of ever existing or any trace of this supposed witch who bound death," Harper said.

"But there is a lot of evidence of people dying not long after playing Dead Man's Hand," Harry said.

"Oh, come on, Harry. Someone plays the hand and a year later they get hit by a bus and suddenly it's 'they should have known because of playing the hand'," Harper said. "It's a loose connection put together to enhance a legend. Not proof."

"What about Anakin?" Harry asked.

"What does Darth Vader have to do with anything?" Hermione asked and that caused both Harper and Harry to giggle.

"Anakin was Uncle Mato's father," Harper clarified. "He treated me and Harry well. Like we were his grandkids."

"He's the one who taught us to play poker," Harry added. "One day he was playing a game with us, and he got Dead Man's Hand. He died in his sleep that night."

"And what Harry forgets to mention is he was a stubborn old man with a heart condition who refused all modern treatments – both magical and muggle. Instead, he would only rely on the old fashion treatments of his tribe, which weren't enough for what he had," Harper stated. "Him playing the hand was just random bad luck. Not an omen. Anyone could see that he wasn't long for this world. The only reason we didn't know was because of how young we were."

"Well, that was an interesting story," Beatrice spoke up. "But I don't buy into it. Sorry Harry, but years of Professor Trelawny predicting death to everyone and everything has definitely hardened me to omens."

"You actually take her class?" Harry frowned at that.

"Yeah. Well, when you're stuck in a portrait for most of your First Year, you want to find out why it happened…" Beatrice shrugged.

"Stuck in a portrait?" Hermione asked.

"The Cursed Vaults," Beatrice stated simply, to a realization from the Fab Four, given that had been MC's time at Hogwarts too.

Harper, though, gave Harry a smirk as she collected her cards.

"Well, just be careful," Harry said to Beatrice, who gave a nod as she got up. Harper took her deck of cards and started to shuffle them as she got off the floor and went over to where her three friends were.

"You had to go into that story," Harper said as they walked off and the crowds dissipated. "The school is already against you… talking Death Omens to the other champion is not a good look."

"She had the right to know," Harry said.

"Creepy story though," Neville pointed out.

"Oh Mione, when you grabbed me you seemed all excited," Harry said, determined to change topic.

"Oh yes," Hermione said, taking out the Vault Book. "I got it!"

"I – I thought that was going to take you longer," Harper said, knowing the Vault Book was leading Hermione astray this year on purpose.

"It would have," Hermione said. "But a couple of the girls from Beauxbatons were in the library and saw the books I had. Apparently, they have a very strong language department there including dead languages. They helped me with the translation. Gave me some weird looks, but I don't think they were suspicious."

Hermione had pulled the book from her bag and opened it, turning the page around to show her friends. "The next place to look is inside the snake's den. Turn the head and hiss its name to get the next clue. Beware the bite, it stings," Harry read off the words from the book.

"Rough translation but I think snake's den has to refers to Slytherin Common Room," Hermione said.

"Not much to go on," Neville mused. "Harper, any idea where in the Common Room this could mean?" But Harper shook her head.

"I'll have to look around when no one is in there. Could take me some time," Harper said.

"Yes, but one step closer," Hermione said, obviously happy and smiling. Harry and Neville giving her a pat on the back. Harper felt a little guilty now, knowing these clues were actually pointless.

"Nice job, Mione. I'll get the next clue as soon as I can," Harper said, giving which she hoped was a confident smile. "I'm going to find Cedric. Professor McGonagall's got to be done with him and there might be no Quidditch matches this weekend due to the schools arriving, but no reason we can't plan."

"Oh, just say you're going to snog," Hermione chuckled.

"What?" Harper and Harry asked together.

"Snog, you know… kiss a lot," Neville said.

"Make out?" Harper asked, and Hermione gave a nod. "Well maybe, but really I also need to plan pranks on the people who gave him a black eye."

Harper stepped away and went towards the castle, but Harry went after her.

"Harper, why do you have those sunglasses?" Harry asked.

"It's sunny," Harper stated, turning back, seeing Neville and Hermione hadn't followed him. "What?"

"Can I see them?" Harry asked, and Harper took them off, handing them to Harry who put them on and looked at the cards in Harper's hand. "Oh, you know… crazy idea I had is you marked the cards."

"Seriously, Harry?" Harper asked, glad she had taken the spell off it. "You'd think I would lose to Dead Man's Hand with the cards marked? Besides, I don't need to mark a deck to win poker. If you forget I am a very good player."

"Stupid idea…" Harry dismissed taking the sunglasses off and passing them back to their owner. "You were just acting weird."

"I just want to find Cedric and make sure he is okay," Harper said, and Harry gave a nod as Harper went off.

But, before going to find her boyfriend, Harper found a private room and took out the small book she had gotten from the Slytherin Key Chamber. She turned to the Hufflepuff page and wrote down 'Poker' and how she tricked Neville by marking the cards. It took a second of waiting for the words to turn green. It had been accepted.

"One down, two to go," she mumbled, putting the book away and going to find her boyfriend.

-Harry Potter-

That night, Harper was sword training with Hogwarts in her dreams.

"You are getting better at this – not as good as Harry but give it more time and you should be able to hold your own for a bit," Hogwarts said.

"That's what I need – plus, some magic. Hermione first though," Harper said, referencing her task for the Slytherin Key, knowing Hermione would be easier than Harry.

"I was impressed with your Neville win," Hogwarts said. "Not so impressed on how you acted when Hermione showed you the solved clue. You raised Harry's suspicions."

"I was taken off-guard. I thought I had longer," Harper said.

"I was too. I didn't consider getting help from foreign students when I made that clue. I was expecting to give you at least another month or two," Hogwarts said. "But don't worry, I have twists and turns and more clues to keep Hermione and the others busy until the end of the year. The current one depends on you. You can delay it as long as you need."

"If I had acted better, yes, but I think I need to calm the group. Bring them the next clue now," Harper said.

"If that's what you want, I can arrange something. The next thing will cause quite a sting," Hogwarts said.

"Yeah, snake bite," Harper said.

"The clue was designed for you. The 'hiss his name' is something only you can do," Hogwarts said, and Harper understood: Parselmouth. "And turn the head… well go to the Common Room. I am sure you will see what's different. Just don't move any of the parts when you get the clue if you don't want to be stung."

Before Harper could ask, she was suddenly jolted awake; Daisy screaming as Harper moved up, moving as quickly as she could without waking her roommates and heading into the Common Room. This late at night, the room was dead.

Harper scanned the place, looking for anything different. She knew the personality behind the magic of Hogwarts and that it could do a lot of things, and it seemed the ghosts and maybe even the House Elves could take orders from it. That was when her eyes went to a statue of Salazar Slytherin in the room.

In her first year, she had barely looked at it but in her second year she had studied it. The statue was the older man with the long beard – the one that had been in the Chamber before she had pulled her dagger, and it had all changed to a much younger and better-looking man. She somehow knew in her bones the statues with the older man and long beard was Salazar Slytherin's son and she had confirmed this statue had been put here long after Salazar Slytherin was dead.

Now the statue was of the real Slytherin – the younger good looking one.

"Well," Harper said, going over to the statue. She turned the head of the statue, and it moved easily enough. She heard a hiss in Parselmouth: Say my name…

"Salazar Slytherin," Harper hissed back, and a compartment in the statue suddenly opened. She put her hands in and took what was in it out, stepping back from the statue she wasn't surprised when the statue was magically replaced by the original once more.

Looking at who she knew had to be Salazar Junior, she vowed to herself one day she would make sure the real Salazar Slytherin was in this room. She would correct the history, and she knew she needed the Founders' Vault to do so. She was more determined at this moment to challenge Hermione and Harry than before.

She took a deep breath and looked down at what she had taken out: it was a long cylinder of some type, made out of bronze, it seemed. There were two snakes on the cylinder, and it looked like moving pieces all around it. Harper remembered she was warned not to move the pieces, so she quickly went back to her dormitory and took out her communication notebook asking Hermione, Harry, and Neville to meet her in the Room of Requirement the next morning.

-Harry Potter-

The next morning, Harry, Hermione, and Neville were in the Room of Requirement waiting for Harper. None of them had gone down to breakfast and Neville was starting to wonder if Harper had meant to meet after breakfast.

Before he could voice this though Harper came into the room.

"Sorry, I stopped by the kitchen on my way here since we have classes today, we might not be able to get to breakfast after this," Harper said, putting a basket she was holding down. "There is a drunk House Elf there…"

"How do you know how to get into the kitchens?" Hermione asked, ignoring the drunk House Elf comment.

"I asked Fred and George last year; figured it would come in handy," Harper said, knowing last time they had gotten food they had called Dobby to get it, but since the Slytherin Common Room wasn't too far from the kitchens she figured she would get it herself.

"Who's the drunk House Elf?" Neville asked, having caught this comment. "What do House Elves even drink to get drunk."

"Butterbeer," Harper stated, surprising her friend. "I know, it doesn't contain alcohol in it, but there must be some substance that makes House Elves drunk. I think her name was Winky though, I couldn't be too sure, we all kind of ignored her."

"Winky…" Neville frowned at that; the name familiar to him but he couldn't place it.

"Anyway, drunk House Elves aside, what's up, sis?" Harry asked, digging into the breakfast Harper had brought.

Harper went into her backpack and took out the cylinder she had found the night before. "The answer to the clue," Harper said, looking to Hermione as she said this. "I went into the Common Room very late last night and found its hiding place. I think it's some type of puzzle box."

"Wow, Harp," Harry said, shocked as Hermione took the clue from Harper. "I didn't think you would get that so soon."

"Well, I'm all in on this. Anything to open the Vault," Harper said, "it is my year after all – the Slytherin key and I don't want to fail you all," she could see the smiles on her friends faces. She had lessened any suspicion from yesterday's weirdness.

"I wonder…" Hermione now mused, moving one of the pieces, and after she did one of the snakes on the cylinder seemed to come to life and bite her. "Ow, that stings!" Hermione said dropping the cylinder and noticing the piece she moved went back into place.

"We were warned the snake bite stings," Neville said as Hermione carefully picked up the cylinder and put it on a table. She then took out the Vault Book.

"It's updated, but I can't make heads or tail of this clue right now," Hermione said turning around to show a drawing with a lot of arrows and other pictures on it. "Must be some way on how to move the pieces."

"You'll get it. And we'll help," Harry said, moving over and taking Hermione's hand that was bitten. It was a bit red and there were actually two holes like a snake bite. "Are you okay?' Harry looked down concerned at the hand.

"Yeah, just hurts a bit," Hermione said as Harry rubbed it.

At that moment, a bottle appeared before Hermione – brought to her by the room itself. She picked it up and smiled, quickly tipping it and dabbing it on her bitten hand.

"Murtlap Essence," Hermione explained to the others. "The room must have sensed I needed it after the bite. It soothes and heals cuts and abrasions."

"Clever room," Harry nodded, impressed.

Before anymore could be said, the door to the room opened and Cedric came in.

"You four are skipping breakfast?" Cedric asked. It seemed Madam Pomfrey had taken care of his black eye from the day before, so he looked back to normal – even his hand was back to normal from the punch. "You missed the news."

"What news?" Neville asked.

"Notice on the wall in the Great Hall. The American Government and Grand Canyon Academy have accepted Harry as their Champion," Cedric said, excitedly, and Harry and Harper smiled at each other as Harper held out a hand to her brother who returned it with a high five.

"We'll see Uncle Mato sooner than we expected," Harry stated, excitedly.

"I wonder who else they'll send?" Harper mused.

"Well, Grand Canyon Academy will be arriving this Friday," Cedric spoke up.

"Sweet! This year got even more interesting," Harry said, wondering what it would be like having friends and people they knew from America in their English school just as they were trying to open the Founders' Vault and compete in this ridiculous Tournament.

Post Chapter Note: Well, well, well… what do you think of the Dead Man's Hand and everything else? Harper is one step closer to her goal.

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Karry Master OUT!