And here's the fifty sixth chapter of "A Year Too Soon"! Enjoy!
* Review Response:
Clavyus, Yaw6113, Urgazhi, SiriusOrionBitch, BMS, DarkRavie, Sparky She-Demon, griffin blackwood, Fuck Names, Blue Luver5000, themadmartian, Brockster550, bigdudemcgeeforu, Nexodas (guest), thank you for your reviews, folks!
Tertius711, well, they both get Harry - one just doesn't get to become a Potter.
Majerus, yeah, I really need to get back to that particular plotline. But, to be honest, I still don't have a good idea on how proceed with it or how to resolve it...
Naiden, it is going to keep popping up here and there, but the for the most part it will pushed to the background now that all the designs are approved and all the contracts are signed.
skotos07, since Harry will technically be married to only one of the twins - the one who will join the House of Potter - it will not cause him too many problems: some people will not like or be happy about the fact he also sleep with his wife's (twin) sister, but it will not actually jeopardize his Wizengamot seat or his Magic or whatever.
* AN: This chapter has not been beta-read.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" franchise. No profit is being made. Same goes for any books, video games, anime or manga I may or may not use for ideas.
"speaking"
"parseltongue"
'thinking'
written text
spells
A Year Too Soon
Chapter LVI: Relics
Harry arrived at Kings Cross shortly after ten in the morning, just as the Hogwarts Express pulled to the platform 9¾. He was most definitely the first of the Clique to show up and thus the first thing he did as he boarded the train was to find and stake out a nice and out-of-the-way compartment for him and his friends to sit in.
Which he did.
And while he waited for others to arrive, the green-eyed teen decided to do a bit of reading. Those textbooks he had taken from the old Potter manor sounded like an interesting read.
He didn't manage to get even all the way through the introduction chapter when Blaise Zabini arrived. The two boys barely finished exchanging greetings when Tracey Davis and the Greengrass sisters joined them in the compartment.
"So, Harry, how were your holidays?" Astoria asked him. "You said you were going to hire some builders to build your new home. Did it go well?"
"It did." Harry said with a nod. "We signed the contract, though actual work won't start until March."
"Congratulations."
"Thank you." There was a short pause, before he added: "And there are a few things we need to sort out before then."
"Such as?" Blaise asked, curious about the myriad of things construction of a family manor involved. He needn't to actually worry about going through this himself as his mother owned several large houses in Europe which he will inherit from her in the future, but he was still curious.
"Well… For one we are yet to decide whether we should buy materials from a Magical supplier of a mundane one." The young Potter replied.
"Why would you want to buy stuff like that from muggles?" The other boy asked then.
"Well,.. Outside of a few special cases like ward rooms, it doesn't matter whether you're using stuff made by a Magical manufacturer or one that isn't. So it all comes down to quality and price of materials. And in the non-Magical world those are pretty good at both. Plus, if you're building not far from their roads, they can deliver everything you'd need to build a house in one go. You can't do that with portkeys." Harry explained.
"I see…" Blaise said with a nod.
"More importantly." Tracey cut in, not wanting to hear the boys talk about the 'boring' stuff. "When will your new house be ready, Harry? We all would like to see it very much."
"Well… The building itself should be finished by the end of the summer, or early fall at the latest. But it will be just bare walls and all. I'll need to furnish and decorate it, and I honestly don't know how long that would take." The young Potter said with a small shrug. "Next summer maybe?"
Tracey didn't appear to like this timeline and would rather the Potter manor was ready much sooner, but before she could actually say anything about it, the compartment's door opened, revealing Flora and Hestia.
"Good morning, everyone!" The twins greeted.
"Good morning." Harry replied as he rose from his seat to give his girlfriends a helping hand with their luggage. A gesture they certainly appreciated. Once the trunks were safely secured on the luggage rack, the threesome took their seats with Harry in the middle and the girls on either side. There was a tiny bit of unconscious awkwardness, caused by the fact that there now was a 'legal' document pertaining to their relationship. It was very subtle however, and Daphne was the only one to notice anything at all. And the Greengrass heiress courteously didn't comment on it.
Meanwhile, the Clique's conversation turned towards their expectations for the upcoming semester as well as the rumors about changes to the school's staff. Apparently, Mr. Filch decided to resign. Or was forced to. In either case, it almost certainly was the result of what had happened at the beginning of the academic year, even if he was not an accessory to the crimes committed by Amycus and Alecto No-Name.
And since Hogwarts needed a caretaker, a new person was hired to handle those duties.
This was a very interesting topic and the teens soon found themselves discussing Mr. Filch's supposed resignation and making wild guesses about the identity of the new caretaker. At one point, Tracey even put forward a ridiculous idea of Hogwarts hiring a talking dragon for the job.
After a while though, the conversation drifted off to other topics, not all of them related to Hogwarts, before dying down completely shortly before the trolley lady came by with her usual assortment of Magical sweets.
~/ *** \~
As they entered the Great Hall, Harry immediately noticed a new face at the Professors' table: a spindly gray-haired witch with an almost-stereotypical 'stern old lady' looks, thin-rimmed glasses and simple black robes included, was seated next to Professor Hagrid far on the left side of the table. And since all of the teachers from the previous semester were still there while Mr. Filch was nowhere to be seen, it looked like she indeed was the new caretaker.
Once all of the students were seated at their House's tables, Headmaster Dumbledore stood up and called for everyone's attention.
"Before we begin our feast tonight, there are two announcements I need to make." The old wizard said. "After the events of the previous semester, Mr. Argus Filch decided that he's getting too old for his job and chose to resign. He's enjoying his well-earned retirement now. Taking over his duties as Hogwarts' caretaker is Mrs. Amanda Mason." This announcement was met with loud applause, though the majority of students was actually celebrating the retirement of Mr. Filch rather than welcoming his successor: the grumpy squib wasn't exactly well-liked by the young wizards and witches and they were happy to never have to deal with him and his cat again.
Mrs. Mason appeared to not be aware of that. Or maybe she was but simply chose to pay that no mind. Either way, once the applause started dying down, she stood up and addressed the Great Hall:
"Thank you all for your warm welcome." The witch began. "It's been many years since I've walked these halls as a student, and it feels great to be back, now as someone working to ensure that Hogwarts continues to be the best Magical school there is." There was a brief pause before she continued: "At this time I'm still going over the notes left for me by Mr. Filch, and I'm not ready to announce the amendments, if any, I'll be making to the rules he has made." Having said all that she wanted to say, the witch retook her seat.
"Thank you, Mrs. Mason. We all will be waiting for your announcements in the near future." Dumbledore said then. "Now, before we finally begin the feast, there is one other announcement I would like to make." He made a dramatic pause before continuing: "After a lot of hard work over the past couple of years, several of the Founders' relics have been located and now they are returning to their proper home. With great pleasure I announce that the Locket of Salazar Slytherin, the Goblet of Helga Hufflepuff and the Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw are returning to Hogwarts! You will be able to see these artifacts in their display case by the Grand Staircase after the official ceremony is held next Thursday."
"What about Gryffindor?" Someone from the red-and-gold table asked, their question followed by murmurs of agreement as the students of Gryffindor didn't want to be the only House without their Founder's artifact on display.
"Unfortunately, no artifacts belonging to sir Godric Gryffindor have been recovered yet." Dumbledore replied. "There is some evidence that his famous sword is actually hidden somewhere in the castle, but the same evidence also suggests to us that it will only appear to help someone selflessly fighting to protect the school against a great threat. If that is indeed so then, perhaps, we should rather hope that the day when Griffindor's sword appears never comes."
This seemed to placate the Gryffindors a bit, Harry noted, though they still were quite unhappy that none of Godric's relics would be joining the Slytherin's Locket, the Hufflepuff's Goblet and the Ravenclaw's Diadem. Meanwhile, the Headmaster continued:
"Now, without any further delays, let the feast begin!" He announced before tapping his fork lightly against the side of his golden goblet. An instant later, the previously empty plates on the table were filled with food and the students wasted little time digging in.
Of course, there was a lot of talking around the tables, even as everyone ate, with the Founders' relics being the main topic.
"You didn't know anything about this, did you, Harry?" Daphne asked him.
"No." The young Potter heir replied. "Why would I know anything about this?"
"Well… You're the one who can talk to Lord Slytherin's portrait. Perhaps he had given you a hint about this?" She suggested. Harry glanced at Flora and Hestia, who appeared to be thinking along the same lines as their friend. With a small sigh, he shook his head.
"No, he never mentioned anything about this to me." He said. "In fact, I'm not sure he is even aware that his locket has been returned to the castle."
"And speaking of returning these treasures to the castle." Flora spoke up. "I, for one, am actually very surprised that they managed to get three at once. And one of those is even Ravenclaw's diadem. Wasn't it lost all the way back when the Founders were still alive?"
"Yes, now that you mention it, it is indeed quite surprising that three of the Founders' artifacts were found essentially at the same time." Daphne agreed with her. So did Harry. Though, in his case, he had an idea why these relics have all resurfaced now. He wasn't going to share his thoughts with the girls though, as horcruxes weren't something he wanted to talk about.
"Perhaps, they weren't actually found all at once - the Headmaster did say that the people were searching for them for a couple of years." Tracey spoke up. "Though, I can't fathom a reason why the Founders' relics wouldn't be returned to Hogwarts as soon as they were found."
"Hm…" The Greengrass heiress hummed thoughtfully.
"One of the relics returned is Ravenclaw's diadem, right." Astoria said, joining the conversation. "According to the stories, it's supposed to make the one wearing it smarter and wiser. I wonder how it can do that? Even Magic can't create knowledge."
"That's actually a good question." Her sister agreed. "And I have no idea. Perhaps, someone should ask Professor Dumbledore? Or, perhaps, Lord Slytherin himself? They would probably know something about it." Unfortunately, the feast was now underway, leaving the students without a good opportunity to ask the Headmaster. And approaching the man after the feast's end would probably not be easy either.
"I'll ask Lord Slytherin later." Harry promised to his friends.
The big conversations died down at this point as the Clique broke apart into several smaller groups with Tracey and the Greengrass sisters discussing something among themselves while Blaise joined a conversation with Theodore Nott and a boy from a year below them whose name Harry couldn't recall. Harry himself and Flora and Hestia, meanwhile, just enjoyed their meal mostly in silence.
Once the feast was over, the Slytherin students returned to their common room in the dungeons. But before they could relax and do whatever they wanted for the rest of the evening, they had to sit through an address from their Head of the House.
In this speech Professor Snape told them that he expected everyone to treat Hogwarts's new caretaker, Mrs. Mason, with the respect she deserved as an essential member of the faculty. Or else there will be consequences. This seemed to be aimed specifically at the few troublemakers who enjoyed creating problems for Mr. Filch - not that the crotchety squib did anything to endear himself to the students or otherwise make himself a less desirable 'target' for pranks and such.
After their Head of the House was done with his speech and retreated to his office, Harry went on to fulfill his promise regarding asking Salazar Slytherin - well, his Magical portrait - about Lady Ravenclaw's diadem:
"Good evening, my Lord." He greeted the man.
"Good evening, Heir Potter." The Founder greeted him back. "It's good to see you in good health."
"Have you heard the news about the artifacts that once belonged to you and Lady Ravenclaw and Lady Hufflepuff being recovered and returned to Hogwarts?" The green-eyed teen asked then. The portrait was silent for a few seconds, before finally replying:
"I suspected that something big was happening in the castle, but I didn't know the details." He said. There was a short pause, before he continued: "There were a few enchanted items that my colleagues and I were known for. Which of those are you talking about?"
"Your locket, Lady Ravenclaw's diadem and Lady Hufflepuff's goblet." Harry said, greatly surprising Lord Slytherin.
"Rowena's diadem has finally been found?" The man asked. "It was lost - or, likely, stolen by Helena - back when I was still alive and, to my best knowledge, hasn't been seen since." He clarified.
"Apparently." Was all that the young parselmouth could say in response.
"And you want to learn more about these artifacts?" Lord Slytherin said after a rather long pause.
"Yes." Harry confirmed. "Though, we mostly had questions about the diadem that we hoped you could answer for us. You see, as we're told about it, Lady Ravenclaw's diadem supposedly makes whoever is wearing it incredibly wise and knowledgeable. Even though you can't use Magic to create knowledge. What does it really do?"
"That is true, knowledge is one of the few things that Magic can't create." Salazar's portrait said. "And as Rowena never explained the enchantments on her diadem to any of us, I don't really know what they truly do. Still, I believe I can make a good guess about them." Harry nodded, prompting Lord Slytherin to continue his explanation: "What I think the diadem actually does is give one a clarity of mind and an ability to think inhumanely fast. If someone is already very knowledgeable and intelligent, like Rowena was, it can make it seem like they gain knowledge out of nowhere when in reality it's just some fast and accurate thinking."
"I see…" Harry breathed out. Whether this was true or not, Lord Slytherin's idea did sound quite plausible. And it wasn't breaking any known laws of Magic. After a few seconds, the teen decided that he should ask Salazar about his locket as well. And not just to stroke the Founder's ego by asking him about his relic: very little was actually known about the locket and Magics imbued into it. "And what about your locket? Does it have some interesting enchantments as well?"
"It does, though they are nowhere near as impressive as purifying powers of Helga's goblet or mind-augmenting of Rowena's diadem. Or even the Goblin Silver of Godric's sword." Salazar's portrait said. "The locket is a family heirloom of my family. It can be opened only by someone speaking the language of serpents. It also has several enchantments on it that assist with both Occlumency and Legilimency. Those Magics won't give you the skills you don't naturally possess, but they do empower what you have noticeably." The man explained. "These enchantments serve as the inspiration for the Magics the Sorting Hat uses when it students."
"That's… wow." Was all that Harry could say in response. "Thank you for sharing this with me, Sir." The teen said after composing himself. The portrait nodded in response.
"So, what did Lord Slytherin say?" Flora asked him then. And so the young Potter relayed to his friends everything he had just learned during his conversation with the Founder.
~/ *** \~
For the next couple of days the school was in a state of eager anticipation as the students waited impatiently for the moment they could finally see the Founders' relics with their own eyes. And since the ceremony was scheduled for Thursday afternoon, morning classes that day dragged on and on at a torturously-slow pace.
The Professors certainly noticed that the students weren't very interested in whatever topics they were supposed to discuss during the class. Some chose to talk about the Founders instead, or simply let this lack of attention slide as they carried on their lectures. Others, meanwhile… Professor Snape, in particular, ended up taking over a hundred points that day as he tried to make his students focus on the potions they were crewing.
Once the classes were finally over, everyone was told to drop their bags in the dormitories, clean their uniforms if necessary, and gather in the Entrance Hall for the ceremony.
By the time Harry and his fellow Slytherins finally arrived there, Professor McGonagall with the help of several other Professors was already arranging Hufflepuff students into several neat rows and making sure everyone was looking their best. Professor Sprout herself was nowhere to be seen, though. And neither were Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick for that matter. Most likely, this was because those three esteemed Professors would be carrying in the Founders' relics during the ceremony and were probably retrieving the said artifacts from their storage right now.
Seeing the Slytherins arrive, Professor Sinistra who had been standing aside up until then walked up to them and began lining them up:
"Please arrange yourselves into three lines." She said, addressing them. "First and second years to the front; sixth and seventh - to the back." It took the students a couple of minutes, but eventually they drew up into three lines in a rough approximation of what the Astronomy Professor wanted of them. Harry ended up somewhere on the right flank with Flora and Hestia on his either side. Unfortunately for him, Professor Sinistra decided that she didn't like this arrangement and ordered him to move closer to the center where he ended up with Theodore Nott and Cassius Warrington as his neighbors. Several other permutations have also been made, but the green-eyed teen was indifferent to them.
Meanwhile, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors finally showed up and were now being lined up in order as well. It took them five or so minutes to arrange themselves to the Professors' liking and a few more minutes were spent ensuring that everyone was looking the best. And that the Weasley twins weren't planning to unleash any of their pranks during the event.
Once everything was in order, Professor McGonagall sent a house elf to, presumably, inform the Headmaster that they were ready. And, indeed, a minute later the man entered the hall from one of the side rooms, followed by a reporter and a photographer from the 'Daily Prophet' as well as Professors Sprout, Flitwick and Snape, each of them carrying a box covered by a flag of their House.
The Headmaster and the 'Daily Prophet' team went to stand by the large (and currently empty) display case while the Heads of the House moved to stand in front of their students.
Then came the mandatory speech in which Professor Dumbledore talked about the founding of Hogwarts, the Founders and the legacy they left behind. It was a long and rather informative speech during which several facts mostly unknown to the general public were spoken of.
Then, finally, he got to actually talking about the relics that were being put on display today:
"...Lady Rowena Ravenclaw is known far and wide as one of the most brilliant witches to ever grace this world and she certainly left a big mark on this world that goes beyond her role as one of the Hogwarts' Founders. Her unparalleled knowledge of Mystical Arts, keen intellect and great wisdom, are often said to be the result of the special Magics of her diadem. Not completely without a reason as history tells us. Still, even without her diadem, which was lost not long after the founding of Hogwarts, she proved time and again to be one of the most brilliant minds to ever grace these lands. Recently, her diadem was found and now, with great pride, I announce its return to Hogwarts!"
Just as those words left the Headmaster's mouth, Professor Flitwick did a few steps forward before removing the flag that was covering a box in his hands. Inside this transparent box there was a beautifully-crafted silvery diadem. Dumbledore opened the box and raised the diadem into the air, allowing everyone to see the relic while the 'Daily Prophet' team shot a few photos of it. He then placed it inside the display case. Once it was done, Professor Flitwick went back to standing in front of his students.
"Lady Helga Hufflepuff, while not as known for her feats of Magic as her colleagues, nevertheless was the Heart of the group. Without her kind hard-working nature Hogwarts might have never come to exist. Any student of the school should be proud to wear her colors." The Headmaster continued. "The enchanted cup capable of purifying any liquids is her most well-known treasure, and it was passed down from generation to generation of her family until it was lost to the mists of time. A short time ago it was found again and, as unfortunately the House of Hufflepuff is no more, this artifact too will find its new home here, at Hogwarts!"
Professor Sprout took a step forward and removed the cloth bearing the Hufflepuff coat of arms from the box in her hands. The said box contained an average-sized golden goblet with two finely-wrought handles and an engraved badger on its side. And just like he had done it with Ravenclaw's diadem, Dumbledore took the cup out of the box and showed it to everyone. After the photographer was done taking pictures of it, the Headmaster placed it inside the display case, next to the diadem.
Once Professor Sprout returned to her spot in front of her students, the Headmaster continued. He briefly talked some more about Sir Godric Gryffindor, noting that sadly none of the artifacts belonging to the man have been recovered. Then he finally got to introducing the final relic:
"... And, finally, Lord Salazar Slytherin. Despite his later fall out with the other Founders, he is still one of the fathers of Hogwarts without whom the school might have never come to be. And like many of the great wizards, he passed a number of precious Magical artifacts down. One such artifact, his locket, was thought to be lost when the House of Gaunt - Lord Slytherin's last direct descendants - fell but it was found last year and today I proudly announce its return to Hogwarts!" As the Headmaster said that, Professor Snape stepped forward and removed the flag from the box he was carrying.
Inside that box there was a heavy golden locket with an encrustation of emeralds shaped like a thin, stylized 'S' on its face. Just like he has done with the other two relics, Dumbledore took the locket out of the box and raised it into the air to let everyone see it. After a little while, once the 'Daily Prophet' had gotten their photographs of it, he placed the locket into the display case. Next, the Headmaster closed the case and sealed it completely by running his wand along the edge of the lid, activating whatever arcane runic arrays were there to ensure the relics' security.
And as Professor Snape went back to standing in front of his students, Dumbledore gave another speech about the importance of preserving history and how happy he was that the Founders' relics once again resided under the Hogwarts's roof. This was followed by a long round of applause and more photographs being taken.
Then, the Headmaster led the 'Daily Prophet' crew away and the Heads of the Houses followed them. Once they were gone, the remaining Professors told the students that they were now free to come closer and look at the relics - or to return to their common rooms if they didn't want to. Naturally, within just a few seconds a huge crowd formed around the display case as almost everyone wanted to take a closer look at the priceless artifacts.
"It doesn't seem like we will be able to get a good look at the artifacts right now." Harry said with a sigh as he walked up to his girlfriends who were trying to decide whether they wanted to join the crowd around the display case or not. "Perhaps, we should try later, when there aren't as many people?" He then suggested. After thinking about it for a bit, Flora and Hestia agreed to that.
"Alright." The twins said.
And with that the three of them turned around and headed for the Slytherin dungeons.
That's all, folks!
Read and review.