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Chapter Forty One: The Truth About Dumbledore:

Lily stood in the hallway, her eyes widened as she stood in numb shock, looking down at Snape. Dumbledore and Snape did in fact have an Unbreakable Vow and by giving her the information he just did, Snape had just broken it at the cost of his life. In the end, Severus did the most selfless thing ever, even though Lily had lost hope that he would do the right thing years ago.

“Someone help!” yelled Lily and she heard footsteps down the hallway, as McGonagall rushed in at the commotion and she was taken aback by the sight of the motionless body of Snape.

“Merlin, what happened here?” asked McGonagall in an alarmed voice.

“Severus…broke vow…unbreakable…caused death,” stammered Lily who was shaken up but at the same time, needed to get to Dumbledore’s office quickly, because if Dumbledore was still in Hogwarts, he may soon find out that Snape had done something to break the Vow and thus Dumbledore would be on the defensive big time.

“Severus made an Unbreakable Vow and did something to break it,” repeated McGonagall as she surveyed Lily, and Lily nodded stiffly.

“Yes right after he told me something that he shouldn’t have, he collapsed and stopped breathing,” confirmed Lily quickly, not wanting to look at Snape, as she felt partially responsible for baiting Snape into ending his life. “Anyway, I need to go…there is something that might be of help to defeat Voldemort that Snape told me about.”

McGonagall opened her mouth to ask about this but Lily had already made her way down a passageway that she knew was a shortcut to Dumbledore’s office, both of the Horcruxes Snape indicated and her missing memories on her mind. In little time flat, Lily arrived at the gargoyle, which sprung open immediately as she arrived. Normally, Lily would have found this a bit peculiar but she was on a mission.

With her wand raised, she pushed the door open and entered Dumbledore’s office. On Dumbledore’s desk, she spotted a book under a stack of papers and old editions of the Daily Prophet. Upon closer inspection, Lily saw that the book matched the description of the diary that Riddle had used to possess Ginny into opening the Chamber of Secrets during the previous year. Carefully, Lily waved her wand, encasing the book in a stasis field, before she flicked her wrist, transporting it safely to her office.

The second Horcrux was a bit more difficult to find but after a few moments of intense searching, Lily had located a cabinet towards the back of the office. As she pulled the doors opened, the only object inside was a pensieve. Lily leaned forward, it had the crest of Rowena Ravenclaw inside and a chilling aura around it that indicated it was the very same pensieve that Voldemort had used as a Horcrux. Much like she did with the diary, Lily secured it with a stasis charm and the pensieve joined the diary in her office.

The memories were a more difficult thing to find, as Lily searched for the better part of ten minutes and for a moment wondered if Severus had been mistaken about the fact that her memories were in the office. Those thoughts quickly faded when Lily spotted, inside a worn truck, two crystal vials, filled with a silvery liquid. The pull that she felt towards them was not like anything else, those had to be her memories. With slightly lifted spirits, Lily took the vials and gently placed them inside her robe pocket, before she left Dumbledore’s office, with no need to search around any further as she found what she had came for.

In the Hospital Wing, it was in the latter part of the next morning, with Harry opening his eyes slowly, seeing Ginny sitting in a chair right beside him, her head in her hands, but her eyes flicked open in hope.

“Hi, Ginny,” said Harry weakly as he began award of his place in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing. “Er, why am I in the hospital wing?”

“Don’t you remember Harry?” asked Ginny and Harry shook his head.

“The last thing I remembered was that I was fighting Dolohov and then nothing but black,” responded Harry as he looked outside just to see the sun rising. “And that was yesterday, wasn’t it?”

“You were out for almost a day Harry,” said Ginny. “I thought for a moment you would…”

Ginny could not bring herself to finish her sentence. She had never seen Harry closer to death than she had. In fact, the only time Harry may have been closer was the attack by the Foot after his second year at Hogwarts, but Ginny only heard of that, not having seen what had happened.

“I’m fine Ginny and…” stated Harry before he looked over towards a bed and saw the form of Hailey stir slightly, as she looked rather battered. “What the hell happened to Hailey?”

“Bellatrix Lestrange battered her, but don’t worry, she’ll make it, she’ll live,” said Ginny in a confident voice. “As for others, I wish I could be so confident that they could live, but…Harry, I don’t know how to break this to you but…”

“What happened, who is it?” asked Harry as he found himself filling with an overwhelming feeling of dread, as he wondered exactly who Ginny was referring to.

“Daphne and Theodore…they…well Harry, they were murdered by the Death Eaters that Lestrange brought into Hogwarts,” sobbed Ginny, as the murders of two of her friends had finally hit her, as her mind had been preoccupied with Harry, it had really hit her.

“Dead,” said Harry stiffly, before he became spookily quiet and Ginny knew exactly what Harry was thinking.

“Harry, don’t you dare go blaming yourself for this, this is not your fault,” lectured Ginny.

“They only were killed because they were my friends,” retorted Harry in a stiff, emotionless tone. “No other reason, it could have been any one of you, but Daphne and Theodore…”

“They might have been killed anyway without you Harry,” countered Ginny. “They would never join Voldemort, and you know better than anyone else that Voldemort kills anyone who stands against him, it doesn’t matter who it is.”

Harry just nodded. Daphne and Theodore had been the first humans that he had ever trusted, along with Hermione. It was just inconceivable that Harry would never talk to them again; he had thought they would always be there, and it opened his eyes further to the horror before him. Before now, Harry had always been able to save those closest to him and with two of his friends dead, along with his sister severely injured, it had increased Harry’s hatred for Voldemort to a whole new level.

“There’s more,” prodded Harry, as he saw something in Ginny’s eyes that indicated that she was holding back from him. “Ginny, please tell me, I promise I’m not going to blame myself, I promise.”

“Bill was attacked during the fight by Greyback. It was horrible, the healers say that his skull was crushed in such a way that it would be too dangerous to repair by magic, but there is a small hope, microscopic, but Mum’s really clinging onto it,” said Ginny in a shaky voice as Harry gently gripped her hand in a comforting manner. “Still Harry, what you did gave that little chance, so thanks.”

“You’re welcome Ginny,” said Harry. “I really have no idea what I did, but you’re welcome.”

“You froze Greyback solid and then shattered his frozen form into bits,” said Ginny quietly, feeling that Harry really did need to know and Harry’s expression remained neutral, as he attempted to roll slightly, but he collapsed onto the bed. “Harry, another thing, Lily said you’d be weak for a few days, as the antidote needs to flush out the poison from the dagger Malfoy used completely.”

“Wait a minute, Malfoy was the reason that I’m here,” said Harry and Ginny nodded, causing Harry to sigh in irritation. “For Salazar’s sake, what’s wrong with me, I shouldn’t have let someone like Malfoy get the jump on me, and I’m supposed to be the one fighting Voldemort.”

“Harry, he took advantage of you when you had your attention on a more able wizard, he got lucky,” said Ginny in a reassuring voice. “I don’t quite know what happened to Malfoy, but there are far more dangerous people out there to worry about. It wouldn’t be a good idea for you to take a minor setback against someone like Malfoy personally.”

“I suppose so Ginny,” said Harry, as he began to think rationally, dwelling on Malfoy was not exactly the best thing to do. Harry would never let Malfoy catch him off guard again. He would learn from this defeat but at the same time, he wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. “It’s only beginning.”

“I know,” replied Ginny somberly. “But, we’ll get through this Harry.”

Harry nodded and the hospital wing door opened. Looking up, Harry spotted Gwendolyn Myers, one of the Hogwarts Board of Governors entering the Hospital Wing, with a smug expression on her face and Harry knew why.

“Congratulations Myers, Malfoy was up to something, unfortunately it was just something as simple as plotting my own murder to satisfy his need for petty revenge,” said Harry dryly.

“Potter, don’t make me laugh, Malfoy was responsible for bring a horde of Death Eaters into this school, killing some and injuring many, and you allowed this to happen with your blind trust for your fellow Slytherin,” responded Myers coldly.

“I can’t believe this, you don’t really care about the students at all, all you give a damn about is your vendetta against all Slytherins!” yelled Ginny, as she rose to her feet, but Harry grabbed her hand once again to calm her down.

“On the contrary, Miss Weasley, we care about the welfare of the students very much, in fact, we should have expelled the pair of you years ago, you have lead the rest of the school down a dangerous road, several have died or were injured because of the Slytherins that participated in today’s attack,” said Myers.

“Listen you stupid woman, the Death Eaters were behind this attack, not Slytherins!” snapped Ginny, her eyes blazing with anger.

“There is no difference to me,” responded Myers swiftly as she produced a document. “As for you Mr. Potter the official order for you to clear out of here, as per the terms of the bargain you made before this year to get your friend Draco Malfoy back into this school.”

Myers handed Harry the document and Harry looked at the murderous look etched upon Ginny’s face, but he shook his head, before giving Myers the courtesy of reading the document, before he looked at up at the Hogwarts Governor, calculating expression firmly etched in his eyes.

“Well Governor Myers, this looks like a perfectly magically binding document,” admitted Harry as he read it over again. “And it does look like I better pack my bags and leave, at least if I was a student that was.”

“What do you mean by that, Potter?” demanded Myers.

“Well, since I’m technically a Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching assistant, I would not be held to an agreement I made as a student,” said Harry in a cool voice and Myers seemed enraged.

“Another thing, Professor Lily Potter overstepped her bounds when she assigned you those positions, so you, along with Miss Weasley have been stripped of your assistant jobs,” said Myers. “Furthermore, Professor Potter’s job performance will be reassessed at the end of year, providing of course, she lasts the remaining few weeks of the year, considering the curse on the position.”

Harry just sighed he did not want to do this, but Myers had forced him to pull out his ultimate trump card. It had been quite fortunate that he was reading Slytherin’s Journal recently, as a pair of entries towards the end had reminded him of some of the privileges that the heirs had. Privileges that were not common knowledge that had been lost through the annals of time and even Voldemort may not have known had it existed. Harry wished he would have remembered this last year, as it would have saved the school a lot of problems involving Umbridge.

“Well, Governor Myers, there will be no need for the Hogwarts Governors anymore, consider yourselves disbanded,” said Harry in a final voice and even Ginny looked at Harry strangely, as Myers looked at Harry like he was joking.

“Potter, you must have hit your head, no one has the power to disband the Board of Governors,” argued Myers but a silvery blur whizzed down the hallway towards Myers before it stopped in front of her, turning into a shield with the Hogwarts crest and it shined a bright golden color, before it began to speak.

“The will of the school has been activated, no longer will bureaucrats be allowed to make decisions regarding the students that reside within my walls,” voiced the shield and Myers opened her mouth, but the shield was not finished. “The one that stands before you can very well eliminate you, it is his birthright and thus, by the will of his school, the Hogwarts Board of Governors will be no more.”

“Listen here, we will not be told to…” stated Myers but the shield glowed a bright orange before it engulfed the governor in light, causing her to be removed painfully particle by particle from Hogwarts, as she screamed in pain, before she vanished. The shield spun counterclockwise seven times, before it faded into mid air.

“Harry, what just happened here?” asked Ginny in an awed voice.

“I used my power as a heir to one of the Hogwarts founders to remove the power of the Board of Governors, which was originally placed into power to help govern this school just months before Slytherin left,” explained Harry. “I can remove just about everyone but unfortunately this power does have a few drawbacks. For example, I can’t remove another heir from the school or anyone that has permission from that heir to be here.”

“Which means you won’t be able to work that magic to drive off Voldemort or his Death Eaters,” concluded Ginny and Harry nodded grimly. “Well, it’s a cool power, just too bad it wouldn’t cast everyone out when you channeled it.”

Harry nodded, before he yawned, worn out from just a simple conversation.

“Wake me off if anyone else comes by and remind me to check in with the guys and Master Splinter once I rest up a bit, to catch them up on what had happened today” yawned Harry as he drifted off, but his sleep was not without turmoil regarding the after effects of the attack by the Bellatrix Lestrange led squadron of Death Eaters. At his weakest moment, Harry wondered if he should have just let the Death Eaters take Draco but he shook those thoughts off. That sounded like something he might do and Harry vowed that he would never become like that.

The next couple of weeks went by at a mind numbing pace. Ginny reluctantly left Harry’s side, only to take her O.W.Ls and Harry sternly told her that she should focus on her future, he’d be fine. Other friends and well wishers visited Harry at various times as he spent an extended period in the hospital wing, his strength slowly building up, as the poison was contained and slowly eliminated. Harry only left briefly and with great assistance, to attend the service dedicated to all of those who gave their life to Hogwarts. Harry said good bye to Daphne and Theodore, he wouldn’t forget them, but at the same time, dwelling on what happened would be counterproductive. No matter what Harry suspected that they would always be in the back of his mind.

A few days before the end of the year, just a short time after Harry had been released from the Hospital Wing, Harry and Ginny were both summoned to Lily’s office. By her words, it sounded rather urgent so in an instant, so as they sat down right in front of a very frantic looking Lily, who seemed rather disturbed by something that she had seen.

“Mum, what is it?” asked Harry in a concerned tone.

“I just saw something, you know I got the two Horcruxes from Dumbledore’s office and put them with the others back home, but he also did retrieve memories from my mind,” said Lily quietly. “And now by viewing them, I know why.”

“Wait a minute, you managed to get the rest of your memories back and you didn’t tell us,” said Harry in surprise.

“With Ginny’s O.W.Ls and your recovery, I didn’t want you to dwell on it, but considering the prophecy, Harry you have to know and Ginny, since I expect Harry will tell you anyway, it would save him the trouble,” said Lily quietly as she pulled out her own pensieve from a cabinet inside her desk and cracked the top open. It was empty until Lily took the vial and gently tipped the memory inside and Lily leaned inside, with Harry and Ginny copying her movement.

The scene shifted to a shadowed corridor where a younger version of Lily stood, her eyes narrowed and her foot tapping on the floor, as she held her wand out. A contact was supposed to meet her here, about more information on Salazar Slytherin. Lily was extremely interested in learning about most reclusive of the four Hogwarts founders, especially since she uncovered the fact that Voldemort was a descendant to Slytherin.

“I’ll make this short, I don’t know how much time I have,” whispered a cloaked figure in the shadows, who had an orb cradled in his arms. “Word has already reached the Dark Lord that I have possession of the orb that once belonged to his ancestor but I assure you, I did everything I could to ensure that the trail runs cold there but once you are in possession of the orb, be careful, while the Dark Lord wishes to possess this relic, others do not want the information within to be spread, it would disrupt the entire Wizarding World and inspire great anarchy if the truth was to be revealed.”

“What’s inside the orb anyway?” asked Lily curiously.

“No one knows, ever since Slytherin’s death, it has been sealed shut, we only found it months ago, after centuries of extensive tracking and we haven’t yet to found a way inside, but perhaps you may crack the secrets of this lost Slytherin relic,” said the cloaked figure. “It is suspected that it contains the deepest, darkest, secret of the Wizarding World and would reveal that Slytherin was much more complex than the dark wizard the world at large makes him out to be. Then again, that may only be speculation.”

The cloaked figure handed the orb to Lily and as she touched it the world around her changed.

Ginny and Harry both did a double take, as they realized the memory switched to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and to their shock, they found themselves staring at the four founders of Hogwarts, all of whom looked to be in various states of frustration.

“Godric, that was a foolhardy move,” said Salazar Slytherin, as he glared at Godric through a vivid pair of green eyes and was in fact the oldest of the four Hogwarts founders. “I would think that one of my fellow founders would have more sense than to release a terror such as that into this world.”

“It was a precaution, Slytherin, an attempt to defend myself against you, you are going down a dangerous road, with that foul beast you are breeding within our walls,” retorted Godric Gryffindor. “If you had gone rogue, I doubt the three of us would be able to put you down, so something was needed to even the odds but I never knew exactly what the ritual did, the text wasn’t too specific.”

“Well, then you should know that maybe it wasn’t exactly an ideal solution to use that spell, if you didn’t know what it did and now thanks to your impulsive nature, you may have doomed the world,” responded Slytherin as he gazed up, the ground rumbling as fire whipped across the sky. “You opened the gates between the Realm of Darkness and this world, all because of the basilisk that I was preparing as a security measure in case Muggles attack us because of your idea to carelessly open our gates to anyone who shows even the tiniest bit of magical potential.”

“So you are breeding a basilisk,” said Godric, as he took his wand out slightly to turn to face Slytherin.

“Why didn’t you tell us Salazar?” asked Helga Hufflepuff, the youngest of the four, in a slightly hurt voice.

“It was intended to be a last resort and I would inform you when you needed to know,” responded Salazar coolly and Godric looked ready to retort but Rowena Ravenclaw stepped in between us.

“You two can settle this later, but it’s not just one demon we’ll have to deal with, some of the demon lord’s followers escaped before the portal shut itself,” responded Rowena calmly.

“Yes, he just did, we have to attack him before he spreads his attack further,” ordered Godric which caused Salazar to roll his eyes.

“Attacking an extremely powerful demon without a plan is really more foolish than summoning one in the first place, Gryffindor,” retorted Salazar icily. “We need to a plan to contain them, before they overtake us and spread further. Before any Muggles notice that something is amiss. Rowena, Godric attempt to draw them inside the school, but attack only when possible, Helga, help me activate the perimeter defenses, that should keep them inside the grounds until we manage to coordinate a plan to send them back. ”

The founders nodded in agreement, Godric a little half heartedly, but they split up to do what was required.

Helga waved her wand, activating the runes on the stone pillars on the gate and a large dome of magical energy appeared, encasing the grounds of Hogwarts inside it. Salazar activated a rune on a second pillar, and walls of solid magical energy sprung up around the dome, giving a secondary protection to the outside world from the demons within.

“That should hold them,” muttered Helga, before she left to join the others and Salazar turned to join her, but he stopped short when he heard a voice.

“Your protections will fail, Draxxor can and will break through in moments,” said a quiet voice and Salazar slowly turned to see a girl, who looked to be no older than twenty, floating slightly above him. She had flaming red hair, that slightly obscured her shining face and she looked down at Salazar with a saddened look in her eyes as Salazar raised his wand cautiously. “Please, I don’t wish to hurt you, I am only here to tell you what you are up against.”

“Who are you?” asked Salazar as he surveyed the girl, taking in every one of her features calmly.

“They call me Chandalence, a strange name to a mortal but I assure you it is a very common name among young demon girls,” responded Chandalence and Salazar grew rigid. “I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not one of the one’s who are attacking this place, I just managed to sense someone summoning the deepest darkest powers of the Realm, that freed Draxxor”

“Draxxor, the demon lord who broke free when Godric decided to experiment with forces he didn’t know,” said Salazar and Chandalence nodded in a remorseful tone. “Can he be defeated?”

“No,” said Chandalence sadly. “They only managed to seal him inside the Realm of Darkness, after he was captured in a previous attempt to take over this mortal world centuries previous. It is a prison to most, but Draxxor managed to take control, turning the realm into his own personal paradise, where he has created an unstoppable army of the lost, the unredeemable, to serve his own personal will, as he awaited for some human to attempt to tap into the Realm for power.”

“Exactly do you know so much about Draxxor?” inquired Salazar.

“It is because I am his daughter,” replied Chandalence remorsefully. “There was a time where he was not the polluted, individual, you stand before him, but he had a taste of power and wanted more.”

Harry looked at Ginny, who seemed to be wide eyed, as she looked from Chandalence and Salazar and then to Harry, before she quickly turned back to the scene before her, transfixed, with her hands shaking.

“Ginny what’s the matter?” muttered Harry, as he watched the scene before him as well, a rather interesting similarity becoming rather apparent.

“Nothing Harry, everything’s just great,” replied Ginny in a falsely cheery voice, as both turned back to the centuries old memory unfolding before them.

“Salazar, are you coming?” asked Helga as she looked at. “Rowena and Godric are just barely holding those demons off from rampaging through the grounds, they said they could really use your help, well Rowena said she could use your help, Godric wouldn’t admit to asking for such a thing.”

“I need to go and help the others,” muttered Salazar to Chandalence.

“Exactly who are you talking too?” asked Helga in a confused voice.

“Don’t you see her floating right here, Chandalence, she’s just telling me everything she knows about the demon lord, Draxxor,” responded Salazar in an irritated voice. “She’s right there.”

“Right, well bring her and any other hallucinations you may be having, because we really do need your help against this Draxxor demon or whatever he’s called,” responded Helga and Salazar followed her, with Chandalence gliding along behind them.

“It might have been prudent to mention that thanks to the unorthodox methods I used to follow Draxxor here, you are the only one who can see or hear me,” responded Chandalence. “I should have mentioned it to you, but the look on your face when your friend thought you were talking to thin air was quite amusing.”

Salazar looked away, with a look of irritation.

“It may be a prudent idea to act your age,” muttered Salazar out of the corner of his mouth before he paused. “What ever that age may be…”

“Five hundred and sixty three years, for your information,” replied Chandalence quietly before she blushed, as she heard a thought that Salazar didn’t voice.

Salazar looked up and saw a horde of demons attacking Rowena and Godric, as the fog around them began to thicken around them. There were only eight demons attacking, but they looked to be vicious fighters with their blood red eyes, brown skin, sharp claws, and hunched, spiked backs. Rowena whipped her wand, causing a field of magical energy to wrap around two of the demons, but in an instant, their claws ripped the magic to shreds and they made their way back on the attack.

“Don’t try to put them under a stasis field, it just strengthens them!” yelled Rowena, as she managed to dodge two black fireballs as all four founders found themselves just barely holding their own against the legion of demons and that was just the beginning of their problems, as a large booming sound echoed from around the walls of Hogwarts.

“What is that?” demanded Godric as he attempted to contain the demons with shackles, but the demon quickly snapped them, before he floated up into the air, at the sound of another boom.

“They’re breaking through,” inputted Chandalence. “Your defenses are coming down around you.”

“The defenses are failing,” said Salazar in a horrified voice as he whipped his wand and a net wrapped around the demon he was facing. “Throw nets on these things as quickly as possible and bind them, we need to secure the defenses.”

Salazar dodged as a demon glided at him and he spun around, before a burst of ice erupted from his wand and caught the demon off guard, before Helga wrapped up the demon in a net, with the extra precaution of cords wrapped around the net to further secure their attacker. Whipping his wand, Salazar conjured a dozen snakes.

“Attack,” hissed Salazar in Parseltongue, as the snakes went after the demons, allowing the other three Founders to place them in nets, before they focused a magical shield around the demons, just barely managing to contain them, as Salazar rushed over, before he waved his wand at the tapestries hanging on the walls. Seconds later, a stone pillar came from out of the wall and Salazar tapped his wand on the rune etched in the pillar but frowned.

“They’ve taken control of the defenses,” said Chandalence coolly. “Just before you attempted to activate that rune…”

That was the least of their problems, as the three founders found themselves knocked backwards, as the demons broke through their defenses.

“The longer we fight, the more frustrated we get, the stronger they get!” yelled Godric in frustration.

“They feed off our hopelessness don’t they?” asked Salazar and Chandalence nodded sadly.

“What are you asking me for, you’re the expert on the dark arts!” snapped Godric as he stared at Salazar but the doors of the Great Hall burst open and as the demons backed off from the Founders, before they bowed down to the ground. .

A large imposing figure swooped in the Great Hall, a great deal more menacing than all of the other demons put together. Shoulder length silvery hair swung down, as he looked down at the four Founders with contempt through his eye cold blue eyes, that were upon a grey face that looked to be carved completely out of stone. It looked as if this demon could crush them with his bare hands without magic, but he was in fact beneath such things and he just radiated dark magic in its strongest, most concentrated form.

“Draxxor,” said Salazar with utter contempt, but the demon lord looked upon them, raising a hand, showing his blood red claws, before he waved his minions over.

“So, I’ve been lead to believe that these are the four most powerful mortals in this pathetic world,” remarked Draxxor coldly. “Your defenses were rather problematic for mere seconds, but they are being brought down by my legions. Even you four will not protect the outside world forever, this entire world will fall to me.”

Godric blasted a solid jet of gold light at Draxxor but Draxxor caught the magic in his hand, before he crushed it, causing sparks to fly everywhere and then calmly with just a mere flick of his finger sent Godric flying. A loud crash echoed throughout Hogwarts as Godric hit the floor.

“Who dares fight me next?” asked Draxxor and the other three founders took a few tentative steps forward. “You three may pose a challenge for a few seconds, but my power can be used elsewhere.”

Draxxor nodded and the walls around them began to vibrate, as Godric pulled himself to his feet.

“Stick to the center, stay away from the walls,” whispered Chandalence in an urgent tone.

“In the center, do not under any circumstances touch…” stated Salazar but through the walls, burst a large black tentacle, that wrapped around Rowena’s ankle. She was pulled to the grounds and only the combined efforts of the other three founders managed to cut her free. The tentacle slid to the ground before it began to glow at their feet.

“I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this,” remarked Helga, as the tentacle began to shoot miniature vines from out of it, ensnaring the four founders in its grip and began to strangle the life out of them. “Devil’s Snare, this should be easy, relax, use fire, we’ll be fine, all together.”

Several jets of fire erupted from the wands of the founders, but it appeared to have no effect at all.

“The devil’s snare has been enchanted, given strength beyond its normal parameters,” breathed Rowena. “Our most powerful flame charms, it only incensed…”

“Fiendfyre,” suggested Chandalence calmly and Salazar looked up at her, as the Devil’s Snare had wrapped around his entire body with the exception of his face.

Salazar waved his wand, pointing them at the other three Founders and a dozen bright orange flaming figures erupted from his wand. The vines quickly burst into flames but before the flames could consume the founders, Salazar promptly banished the flaming spirits conjured by Fiendfyre to a sub zero portion of the world, where they could not survive.

“Was attempting to scorch us really necessary?” asked Godric in an irritated voice.

“While that spell was questionable, it was the only way for us to escape, we would have perished for sure,” said Rowena logically.

“No one has survived my enhanced Devil’s Snare,” remarked Draxxor, as he turned to face the Founders, his eyes focused on Salazar Slytherin. “The spell you used was one that most humans wouldn’t have the imagination to try in such a situation. It is quite a shame that such power is misplaced, as your other three companions don’t have a fraction of your power. I offer you the chance to join me, I can open up your heart, your mind, and your soul to more possibilities, realms of magic that you couldn’t even dream of and the key to eternal life. All can be yours if you willingly submit yourself to my will and I may grant your companions only eternal imprisonment within the Realm, as opposed to execution. “

“Eternal imprisonment is worse than death,” said Chandalence as she looked at the scene from high above with wide eyes. “He only wishes to you use as another slave, you won’t be given any opportunities other than to serve him and his will.”

“A Slytherin doesn’t serve anyone, it’s the creed of my family and the creed of the students in my house,” responded Salazar calmly. “I’d rather be powerless than your puppet.”

“Yet you continue to work for the three before you,” taunted Draxxor.

“I work with them,” corrected Salazar. “I wouldn’t have bothered if I thought it to be anything less.”

“Then so be it,” said Draxxor in a cold voice as he waved his hand and the entire army of twenty five of his demon minions appeared right before him. “Wipe them from existence.”

The demons moved towards the Founders who were paralyzed by the realization that they had problems containing eight of them and now that there were twenty five. Not only that, but the fog thickened and they seemed to be plagued by feelings of hopelessness that affected their ability to move, much less defend themselves.

Salazar staggered, as he only managed to get off a net at half power, as the demon he attempted to contain shredded it. A blast of ice was expertly dodged, and the demon sent Salazar flying backwards.

“You came here to advise me and yet we are losing, are you certain there isn’t any way we can fight back, overcoming the helplessness?” muttered Salazar quickly out of the side of his mouth, as he placed a shield up to block an incoming attack.

“I’m sorry but…one way, there may be one way, but it’s far beyond the scope of most mortals,” said Chandalence, her eyes shining bright, as small cloud of hope began to be apparent. “Used to weaken them enough to place them in the Realm in the first place, the spell is called Expecto Patronum, but it can only be powered by the happiest of thoughts.”

“Godric, Rowena, Helga, yell Expecto Patronum, while thinking of something happy!” yelled Salazar, as he watched Godric clutch his side, as he was badly wounded by a demon attack. “Focus, we have to do this, EXPECTO PATRONUM!”

A snake made of solid green magic energy burst from Salazar’s wand and circled the demons, causing their attacks to weaken, as they did, but only one Patronus was enough for just the moment. Similar cries were heard and a red lion, a yellow badger, and blue eagle erupted from the wands of the founders, as they engaged the demons in battle.

“Keep focusing, your will power needs to power the Patronus,” said Chandalence, who looked curiously, as if mortals were to summon a patronus guardian, all studies indicated that it would be mere a silvery shadow, not multi colored, nearly solidified forms of magical energy.

“Do not stop, keep your focus, they are back tracking,” ordered Salazar as Godric’s lion trampled a pair of demons.

“I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up!” yelled Helga as her patronus faltered.

“Yes, this spell is most draining, especially as they fight us more,” added Rowena.

“Keep trying, we only need to hold them off until we can find a way to defeat them!” yelled Salazar as his snake wrapped around a quartet of demons, before they were tossed to the side.

“A plan, do you by any chance have any idea how?” asked Godric and Salazar looked to Chandalence, who shook her head.

“No way to defeat him, and sending him back to the Realm of Darkness requires much more power than bringing him here,” responded Chandalence.

“I’m working on it,” said Salazar in his calmest voice but the Patroni faded, and Draxxor turned to them, his minions steadily coming back to full strength, before Draxxor signaled for them to depart, leaving just the four Founders, Chandalence, and Draxxor.

“That spell is of demon origin, exactly how do you know of it?” demanded Draxxor.

“I read,” responded Salazar coolly.

“No human text records that spell, which means someone betrayed our secrets to a mere mortal, the highest treason,” said Draxxor calmly as he waved his hand and a large black harness snapped around Salazar, binding his arms behind his back and with another wave of Draxxor’s hand, the harness caused unbearable pain to fill Salazar’s body. “Now tell me who betrayed us or there will be consequences far beyond your own pain.”

“Salazar, I would reveal myself if it meant saving you, but it simply can’t be done,” said Chandalence in a desperate voice and Salazar turned to Draxxor, utter contempt in his eyes.

“Not going to fold…not to you,” said Salazar through gritted teeth, as every nerve in his body was being assaulted, it was a Cruciatus Curse times ten at the very least, assaulting every inch of his body.

The other three Founders made a movement to help but a large pure black dome erupted around Salazar, causing the Founders to drop to their knees, a sense of hopelessness washing over them.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!” yelled the three founders simultaneously, just managing to summon up enough strength to hold up their wands but their efforts were only managed to stop the dome from effecting them further.

“They shall perish, driven into insanity, unless you tell me,” said Draxxor, his ice blue eyes lacking even the slightest amount of sympathy but Salazar, seeing the state of the other three Founders, concentrated hard, in an attempt to use pure will power to block the effects that the harness was having on him.

Then, incredibly, the harness broke off and flew halfway across the room, with Salazar dropping to his hands and knees, weakened at the burst of raw magic that he needed to throw the harness off of himself. Draxxor calmly waved his hand and the harness disappeared, along with the dome.

“Impressive, Salazar Slytherin, no one has ever resisted my power for this long but you are wasted working for these three insects,” said Draxxor as the four Founders shakily rose to their feet.

“As long as we can fight, none of us will succumb to you, Draxxor,” responded Godric in a confident voice. “Even though Salazar and I don’t see eye to eye on many things, we do both wish you gone.”

“Yet, it was you that brought me here in the first place,” challenged Draxxor. “I can see in your eyes human, you are envious of the power that Salazar holds, he has both the knowledge and the power to destroy you when he chooses. You can’t stop him, that’s why you tried to enlist my help for a little bit of power.”

A loud thunderous crash echoed from outside.

“The defenses,” said Rowena sadly.

“We need to reactivate them, now, before they get into the village,” said Helga.

“My followers have already entered the village the second the defenses fell, feeding on those who they find, weakening your primitive mortal forms, before consuming their souls,” responded Draxxor coldly.

“My wife, my daughters, no,” whispered Salazar, showing fear for the first time.

“Indeed, they are in the village, the one’s you cherish the most, they will fall, along with many other innocents, and then after the village falls, we will be able to spread throughout the world, taking only what is necessary for food and using the rest for slave labor, the end for all humanity,” taunted Draxxor.

“If we take Draxxor out, we can handle his followers,” suggested Godric as he turned to Salazar.

“I don’t think we can, but perhaps we can find a way to contain him until we find a way to destroy him,” said Salazar, who was grasping at straws.

“The only way you could contain him is by weakening him long enough to use an influx magical field and the only way that can be done is by use of an extremely powerful mystical weapon,” suggested Chandalence. “Other than that, there is nothing…”

“Extremely powerful mystical weapon,” muttered Salazar, a small glimmer of hope appearing, as thankfully he had something that might be of use. “Try and hold Draxxor off for a few moments.”

Before anyone could speak to him, Salazar disappeared from the Great Hall, leaving the other three Founders along with Draxxor.

“Contain him?” demanded Godric as Draxxor looked down, with a twisted smile.

“Shield charms, use every bit of power you can, focus them on Draxxor,” suggested Rowena and three overlapping golden shields appeared around Draxxor, but only for a matter of seconds, as Draxxor casually ripped through the magic energy, causing it to fade and the Founders backwards.

“All efforts are in vain,” said Draxxor as Godric attempted to attack him with a spontaneous combustion curse but black spiked vines burst from the ground, wrapping around the arms and legs of the Gryffindor founder and pinned him backwards.

“Maybe if we both attack him at once, we might back him off,” suggested Helga vainly and Rowena nodded, before a large swarm of birds burst from her wand, diving at Draxxor with their razor sharp beaks, as Helga shot a thick net made of pure magical energy from her wand at the same time.

Draxxor spun his hand and a sickening shade of yellow eliminated the efforts of the Founders, before black slime erupted from the floor, quickly covering Rowena and Helga from the neck down, and then it solidified, to trap the founders.

“Can you reach your wand?” asked Helga desperately and Rowena sadly shook her head. “Me neither, it appears it ends here.”

“Astute mortal and once I finish the fourth Founder, the entire world will be mine, as you were truly the best this world had to offer,” responded Draxxor but Salazar Slytherin entered the room, the Blade of Slytherin in his hand. “On time, for your execution.”

Draxxor was illuminated with a blinding yellow light before he shot a bolt of energy from his arm, but Salazar expertly blocked it with his weapon, and reflected it back towards Draxxor, who just waved his hand, causing his attack to vanish.

“That should have sent you in a horrific journey, the likes of which humanity has never experienced before,” growled Draxxor as Salazar stepped forward, the blade in his hand. “To face me with only but a piece of tin is rather foolish, Salazar Slytherin.”

Salazar wasted little time spinning the sword, causing a large cyclone of wind to burst right towards Draxxor. Draxxor was impacted and the demon was sent backwards, but only a few steps, before his hands began to glow and he shot large balls of black fire right at Salazar.

In a blink of an eye, Salazar jabbed his wand and froze the fire into solid ice. The frozen fire crashed harmlessly to the ground and Salazar slashed his wand, causing the ground beneath Draxxor to rumble, before rocks burst from it, impacting Draxxor in the leg and sending him back. The rocks rose from the ground and isolated Draxxor from the founders.

“Now is your only chance,” encouraged Chandalence. “Free your friends; it will take everything you have just to contain him.”

Salazar quickly moved over, freeing the Founders from their predicaments, and the four Founders turned, as they saw Draxxor viciously break through the rock wall before he advanced on the four Founders, once again glowing yellow, as he summoned all of his power to finish them all off in one fell swoop.

“Create an influx magical field, aimed right at Draxxor!” ordered Salazar.

“That could rip the entire school in half!” argued Helga.

“We can build a new school, just do it!” snapped Salazar and they just shrugged, before four multi-colored walls shot from their wands, merging into one, as the Founders pushed right it right at Draxxor, who attempted to break through.

“He’s breaking through,” said Godric.

“Then focus harder, we need to use everything we have,” said Salazar and Draxxor began to back off, as he screamed, smoke rising from his body, as his powerful form disappeared, his spirit being encased in stone.

“He’s still there, he can still break free,” said Rowena.

“Yes, I can,” whispered the faint voice of Draxxor. “You four can’t hold the Influx Magical Field forever and once it isn’t tied to anything, I can break free, this world is only spared as long as you can hold me. Once I break free, you will pay, with your blood and the blood of your descendants.”

“We can’t be much longer,” said Godric in a hopeless voice.

“No, we have to find a way to transfer the field from us, to something else, an extremely powerful magical focus element,” responded Rowena, as the stone structure that Draxxor’s spirit was encased in began to shake as her concentration broke only slightly.

“Salazar, use one of the emeralds on your sword,” said Chandalence and Salazar carefully removed an emerald from the sword, without cracking it.

“Everyone, we are going to transfer the link to the field from us to this emerald,” said Salazar and the other three Founder joined Salazar, carefully transferring the influx field to the emerald, which wrapped around the stone structure. Mist appeared around the emerald but the four Founders collapsed to the ground, Draxxor contained by the emerald.

Rowena, Helga, and Godric went to their feet, to begin to check on the village.

“Give them the emerald, it will be able to contain his followers who are just trapped in a severely weakened, but still dangerous, form” muttered Chandalence.

“Take the emerald, just in case his followers haven’t been contained as well,” said Salazar and Rowena nodded before she snatched up the emerald.

“One day someone may be able to defeat him,” remarked Chandalence quietly as they watched the other three powers. “Certain circumstances that will give them just enough power, to banish him once and for all. Salazar, you did well out there, but only well enough to contain his spirit, if the emerald shatters…”

“Draxxor will be freed,” responded Salazar but his mind was elsewhere.

“Your wife and daughters will be fine, they managed to hide long enough to avoid the full wrath of Draxxor’s army, others might not have been as lucky, but they were among the few,” said Chandalence. “If only things would have been different…”

Chandalence faded off, wishing she hadn’t been spoke.

“If only what could be different?” inquired Salazar.

“Well, we are similar, but at the same time, we are tied to different worlds,” explained Chandalence quietly. “I would not have been able to speak to you had our souls not been completely compatible, I would have just floated as an aimless spirit for all of eternity and now with the portal sealed, it is unlikely that I will be able to return home.”

“What will happen?” asked Salazar curiously.

“Most likely I will fade from existence slowly, my spirit remaining in limbo, until the fates deem it necessary to reassign my spirit to another one, perhaps a mortal,” responded Chandalence. “Perhaps luck will pan out, perhaps there is a time where our spirits can properly intertwined, but only fate can decide.”

“Perhaps,” agreed Salazar, as he had became rather fond of the girl in the short time he had known her but out of respect of his wife, he did not allow those feelings to go further.

“Admirable and farewell, it is useless to dwell for too long,” said Chandalence with a smile.

“Farewell,” responded Salazar as Chandalence slowly faded out, leaving Salazar standing in the Great Hall alone.

The scene in the pensive faded from the school back into Lily’s meeting place.

Lily looked up from the orb, her brain slowly going over what she had seen, most of her research had never pointed to Salazar Slytherin having any involvement whatsoever when Draxxor had unleashed his army of demon followers on the world. Draxxor’s name had come up a couple of times, but all she learned before now was a powerful demon who had attempted to conquer the world at one point centuries ago.

Lily leapt backwards, as her contact had fell to the floor. Blood splattered everywhere and Lily heard footsteps, someone was here, someone had found out about the meeting involving the orb.

“She knows,” remarked a strangely familiar voice and Lily did the only thing that made sense, flinging the orb to the floor before hitting it with a high powered blasting charm, breaking it into millions of tiny glass pieces and Lily, managed to dodge a stunning spell, before she activated her emergency Portkey, to send herself back to a safe, untraceable location.

“Weeks later, I found out that I was pregnant, due in July and around the time, Dumbledore came to me and James with the Prophecy he concocted,” concluded Lily as the memory faded out. “It seemed rather strange at the time but…the next memory is one that would have incriminated who the world thought was Albus Dumbledore but…”

“It may be a good idea to show it, Mum,” prompted Harry and Lily removed the first memory, before she placed the second memory inside, allowing them to view it.

Lily slowly pulled herself to her feet from the wreckage of the house at Godric’s Hallow, weakened, but she had lived, something that she hadn’t expected to happen.

A loud crying echoed and Lily rushed over, seeing Harry in pain, his forehead nastily slashed, blood dripping from it.

“Mummy, Mummy!” screamed Harry, as he looked up at his mother with his emerald eyes, that had tears clinging to them, as he looked terrified.

“Shh, Harry, it’s okay baby, Mummy’s here,” said Lily as she scooped up her fifteen month old son in her arms to comfort.

“Where Daddy?” asked Harry in an innocent voice and Lily looked around, fearing for the worst.

“James!” called Lily in an uncertain voice but she came to James, who was laying on the ground at an awkward angle, his legs crossed, his eyes shut, with no breath coming out of him. “Oh my God!”

“Daddy night-night?” suggested Harry innocently, as he looked at his mother with wide eyes, as Lily conjured a wet washcloth to put on Harry’s forehead, cleaning up his forehead.

“We should have left, James why didn’t you listen to me?” muttered Lily in a horrified voice as she looked around, expecting to see Voldemort’s body as well, but there wasn’t a trace that the Dark Lord had ever been there on that evening.

“Lily?” asked an uncertain voice and Lily saw Dumbledore walk up to them, with a surprised look in his eyes. “My sensors had picked up an extremely powerful magical backlash and…”

“You came here,” finished Lily. “James is dead Albus, Harry’s injured, and I don’t even know where Voldemort went.”

“Voldemort has temporary lost his powers but he will return in time, when it is necessary,” responded Dumbledore cryptically. “It is quite interesting, considering the fact that you should have died as well too tonight Lily.”

“What do you mean I should have died?” asked Lily. “What do mean Voldemort will return when it’s necessary?”

“The plan has been in motion for years, but your discovery of the orb and the degeneration of this form forced me to accelerate my plans,” responded Dumbledore calmly. “When I learned of the prophecy that gave me the perfect chance to take over the world, I needed a perfect weapon to help me eliminate the one person who could hope to challenge me and that weapon is your son.”

“Voldemort,” said Lily softly and Dumbledore nodded. “But we trusted you with our lives, despite misgivings…”

“You never truly trusted me Lily. After all you haven’t been told of my greatness since your birth, like others have, you haven’t been conditioned to trust me above all else,” said Dumbledore calmly. “Voldemort may be the one to defeat me once and for all, like his ancestor did a nearly a thousand years ago.”

“You’re him,” whispered Lily in a horrified tone and Dumbledore nodded calmly.

“Albus Dumbledore came to the crypt that Slytherin had placed me,” explained Dumbledore. “He was part of a team of Unspeakables that perished once they reached the crypt but my magic didn’t destroy him because I sensed he was my ticket out of my prison. His desperation was quite amusing, his sister had fallen severely ill and Albus would do anything to cure her. I had tempted him with power that many mortals could not even dream of, and as a resort, my soul was drawn into his body and his soul was trapped within the crypt. While I still didn’t have access to my full power, I did have a means to the outside world.”

Lily remained frozen, not knowing what to do, as Dumbledore’s smile began sinister, not at all like the usual grandfatherly smile he possessed at times, but it was quite unsettling.

“It would have been best for you to flee, but I could not have had that, so I convinced James that it would be safer to remain here and because I was Albus Dumbledore, he agreed with it,” continued Dumbledore. “Sirius would have never revealed your location, he may have had some misgivings about me at times as well, but I managed to subtly influence him, to bring his fears to the forefront about failing you and have you switch to Peter Pettigrew. I always encouraged Peter to reach towards greater heights, always hinting that he had the potential for greatness and I had known he had joined Voldemort eighteen months ago.”

“Why all these games…Draxxor?” questioned Lily. “With the influence you have, you could be Minister of Magic…”

“Foolish child, I have grander schemes in mind, I need to position the perfect pawn to destroy the Eye of Darkness and if I lead your son to believe it is the means to defeating Voldemort, then I will be free,” said Dumbledore. “By the time I steer him towards that fact, the world will be severely weakened by the war and will be ripe for the taking.”

Lily stood there, as she gently placed Harry down, her hands clenched in fists.

“Now you are a smart girl Lily,” said Dumbledore. “You’d be even smarter if you just leave right now and go into exile, the world will think you heroically died protecting your son and Harry will be sent to your charming sister and her husband, so it can be done.”

“OVER MY DEAD BODY YOU BASTARD!” yelled Lily as she held her wand, to attack Dumbledore. “I WON’T LET YOU HAVE HARRY!”

“It’s a shame, Lily, really you forced my hand,” said Dumbledore as he waved his wand at Lily and it was obvious that Dumbledore only told her the truth because he had no intention for her to remember.

With then, the memory faded out abruptly and Harry and Ginny both wore additional looks of shock, but slightly different reasons.

“Dumbledore’s death was staged,” concluded Harry in a shaky voice. “He’s still out there, inside one of the most influential men of Hogwarts is perhaps one of most powerful and vile forces the world has ever know, one that the four Founders could barely contain.”

“You didn’t trust him, Harry and that may have saved a lot of lives, as he didn’t have a chance to manipulate you into destroying the Eye of Darkness,” said Ginny calmly, but her eyes still held a rather disturbed look.

“Or only delayed the inevitable,” responded Harry grimly. “The prophecy…it all makes sense, too much sense and the demon army are…”

“I know,” said Ginny, nodding her head. “Those things are vile enough in their weakened form, but imagine if they broke free and there were only twenty five then, with more so…”

Ginny left her thought hanging and Harry knew what she was thinking, the idea of fighting those many demons sounded like an impossible task.

“We can only take things one step at a time, as long as the Eye of Darkness remains in tact, then Draxxor will not return to full power,” said Lily in a slightly encouraging voice.

“But where is the Eye?” asked Harry.

“That’s a damn good question, one that I wished I had the answer too,” said Lily. “Also, I do wonder why Draxxor didn’t just kill me, instead of wiping my memory and leaving me for dead behind the TCRI building, but who knows how his warped mind works.”

Later that evening, deep under the Slytherin library, Harry walked inside.

“Slytherin’s journal is interesting, but I’m finding out exactly how vague he was in his writings,” remarked Harry as he sat down on the bed beside Ginny. “The influx magical field, I’ve never even heard about that until the battle.”

“Interesting,” replied Ginny stiffly. “Harry, I’m afraid that my entire life has been a lie, manipulated by outside forces…”

“Why do you think that?” asked Harry.

“Harry, please, you saw the similarities between me and her,” said Ginny. “And you and him, you saw how similar you looked to Salazar Slytherin; she basically said their spirits were destined to be intertwined one day…”

“So you’re thinking we’re them,” concluded Harry and Ginny nodded, a saddened look on her face. “So what?”

“Harry, the fact I may be the reincarnation of the daughter of a demon that attempted to take control of the earth many years ago really bothers me,” said Ginny in an agitated voice.

“And there is a chance that I may be the reincarnation of the resident pariah of Wizarding history, the man whose house at Hogwarts had for the longest time the reputation for turning out more dark witches and wizards then every house in Hogwarts history,” replied Harry.

“Harry, I don’t even know who the hell I am anymore!” cried Ginny.

“You’re Ginny,” responded Harry in a confident voice. “The girl I love with all my heart, my life. Nothing else matters, because I know you are the same person that I have always known and loved.”

Ginny opened her mouth to protest but Harry wasn’t finished.

“It isn’t about who we are destined to be, it’s about our lives and who we choose to be, who we are,” said Harry softly.

“The bond…” protested Ginny.

“We created the bond, the bond did not create us,” said Harry. “It formed, but do you think it would have completed unless we got to know each other. It may have drawn us together, but it was us that made it work, not some predestined piece of magic.”

Before Ginny could respond, Harry reached forward and wrapped his arms around Ginny, before pulling her forward their lips pressing together. Ginny eagerly returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around Harry, and she pulled herself up so her legs were wrapped around Harry, as their tongues met, as a wave of ecstasy exploded into both of them, before they reluctantly pulled apart.

“Wow,” breathed Ginny. “No matter how many times we do that, it still feels wonderful.”

“Yes, and that’s reserved for you Ginny, just you,” said Harry.

“Yes, and I’m wrong, I shouldn’t worry about what I saw, there may be similarities to them, but we are our own people,” admitted Ginny as she leaned her head on Harry’s shoulder, as he gently laid back. “Harry, I look at you and I see the same person I’ve always seen, past lives be damned.”

“Same here Ginny, I couldn’t do this without you,” said Harry as the two laid with their arms wrapped around each other.

“Less mush, more snogging,” said Ginny before she proceeded to kiss Harry, who eagerly returned the favor, and their fun continued to the wee hours of the morning, before they fell asleep in each other’s arms, completely content.

Fate is a funny thing, isn’t it? And now that the worst kept secret in this entire series has been revealed, we have four chapters to go.