Chapter Text
Harry shouldn’t have been surprised that after the summer he had and the joy that the last month or so of his summer had been at Grimmauld Place, that his entrance to Hogwarts was made by an ‘accidental’ shove in the back that left him sprawling on the floor of the Entrance Hall. He’d already been lagging behind his friends and was soon left behind by the group of upper classman Slytherins who were, “so very sorry for that, didn’t see you there, you know,” as they entered the Great Hall. As the Entrance was now clear of students he simply sat down where he’d fallen and contemplated the bloody scrapes on his palms while wondering whether Madam Pomfrey would already be at dinner or if he’d have to find her after to get them healed.
“Honestly, Mr. Potter, why aren’t you seated at the table? It’s almost time for the sorting.”
He hadn’t heard Professor McGonagall enter, but she’d obviously gone to collect the Sorting Hat in preparation for processing the First Years.
“Sorry, Professor. I had a bit of an accident and was wondering where Madam Pomfrey would be about now.” He held up his hands, palms up, only then noticing that one of the scrapes on his left palm was bleeding enough that it had dripped onto the stone floor. He moved to wipe it up as McGonagall gestured at him to give her his hands, a look of almost amused resignation in her eyes.
“Here, hold this,” she said, plopping the Sorting Hat on his head where it immediately settled down over his eyes. She reached out to take his left hand while he reached up with his right to push the hat back enough to see what was going on.
He heard a bit of noise from the hat when he touched it, but as it hadn’t immediately tried to convince him that he was sorted into the wrong house, he didn’t think much of it as the Professor quickly cast a healing charm and a cleaning charm on his left hand, before gesturing at him to hold out the right one.
Soon enough both were healed and clean and she checked the time. “I’m running late. Could you deliver the hat to the Great Hall while I collect the first years? I’m sure they’re already quite nervous and I don’t wish to leave them alone much longer. You never know what they’ll get themselves into.” She smiled slightly at him and he grinned back.
“Of course. Thanks for your help, Professor.” He carefully climbed to his feet, brushing off his robes as she smiled briefly at him again before quickly striding down the hall to the room the first years were waiting in.
“Mr. Potter…”
“Oh no, you’re not going to try to convince me that I should be in Slytherin again, are you?”
“No, I am not as I believe you’re already aware of my feelings on that matter, but I do have a favor to ask of you.”
“I need to get you inside, so ask quickly.”
“I’ve discovered something concerning about the wards of Hogwarts and they need to be tested. I will be calling for that test after the sorting, as all should be in the Great Hall at that time. Several of the students will be needed to help with the testing and you will be one of the ones needed.” He made a noise as if to interrupt the question Harry had been about to ask then continued, “Hogwarts herself will direct you where you need to be. I fear the wards have been compromised and the extent of the damage must be discovered immediately before more harm is done. Will you help?”
“I don’t know what help I’d be, as I have no training with wards, but I’ll do what I can.”
“Right then, let’s get this sorting done so we can get to checking.”
Harry plucked the hat off his head, running a quick hand through his hair in a vain attempt to calm it down before walking over to the door and pushing it open. Luckily Professor McGonagall wasn’t there yet, so he walked as quickly as he could to the front and placed the hat on the stool, nodding briefly at the Headmaster and other professors while ignoring the whispers from his fellow students.
Turning to the Gryffindor table, he took a seat at the first opening near the other fifth year students, in this case by Neville and across from Seamus and Dean. He could hear Hermione hissing at him from further down the table but wasn’t about to get back up now and move, especially as it would just mean subjecting himself to another interrogation about what he was doing coming in late and with the Sorting Hat. He wasn’t really up for that.
Not that the others didn’t ask what was going on too, but they were willing to accept a quick, “I’ll explain later,” as they saw the door open and Professor McGonagall lead in a scraggly line of First Years to be sorted. He wasn’t sure really what to tell them, other than the obvious, he’d been delayed while the professor healed his hands so he’d brought the hat in for her, but other than that he wasn’t sure he understood enough to explain it to anyone else. Depending on how the next hour or so went, maybe he wouldn’t have to say anything.
The sorting was nothing out of the ordinary. The new students were fairly evenly divided among the four houses, which really did seem a bit suspicious when you stopped to think about it. How could the incoming class be that evenly divided when people were all so… different?
Professor McGonagall was just stowing the list of names and reaching for the hat as Dumbledore was getting to his feet for the start of term announcements when the normal pattern of events finally changed.
“An irregularity with the wards has been detected and a full scan must be done. All living beings in the castle are called to the Great Hall.” Harry had always thought the Sorting Hat had come across as a bit flighty, but this time it was very firm in tone and definitely no nonsense in presentation. No rhyming couplet song about difficulties in the school this time. He could see Dumbledore taking a breath to say something, knowing him it would be something to play it off or a, “Can we discuss this first?” but the hat didn’t give him time before continuing on.
“Hogwarts calls upon the support of the Heirs to secure the school.” They could hear the pops from the House Elves appearing in the back of the room near the doors as Harry felt something like a poke in his mind. It took a moment before he understood what was being asked of him before he got to his feet and followed instructions.
He wasn’t sure where the words came from, but his voice sounded very loud in the almost freakishly quiet Hall as he stated, “The Heir of Slytherin supports the school.” A glow surrounded him and shot up towards the ceiling as a crackling white glow oozed down from the ceiling to completely cover the walls.
While he was focused on that, he almost missed the voice coming from next to him, “The Heir of Gryffindor supports the school.” He glanced to the side to see Neville standing with a glow surrounding him as well with a beam of light shooting up into the ceiling. He thought Nev’s glow was a bit more red while his was tinged more towards green.
He looked back across the table to see a look of awe, mixed with a bit of concern, on Dean and Seamus’ faces before having his attention drawn away by hearing a female voice saying, “The Heir of Hufflepuff supports the school.” This time it was Susan Bones and he thought the light looked a bit golden.
He was looking around the Ravenclaw table to see if there would be an Heir there as well, when a very familiar voice called out from the Slytherin table, “The Heir of Ravenclaw supports the school.” Draco Malfoy was standing as the glowing blue tinged heir to Ravenclaw.
Once all four beams hit the ceiling, a pulse of color flowed down the walls, sparkling with each of the four founders’ colors and Harry could almost feel it spread out through the school. As connected as he and the others were, they could all feel when things were discovered that weren’t quite right and, while they didn’t know any specifics, the amount of pings they were getting was disturbing. He wasn’t sure what could be done to fix anything that was discovered, but he then felt a soothing presence and recognized it as that of Hogwarts. There was a plan in place and with the aid of the Heirs, all could be corrected.
It seemed to take forever for the entire school to be scanned, but finally they could feel the wave returning. When it reached the walls of the Great Hall again, this time it didn’t simply retreat back to the ceiling and back into the Heirs, but swept across all the occupants of the hall: House Elves, Students and Staff alike.
It was an odd sensation on top of the oddness he was already experiencing being a conduit for the school and through the glow surrounding him, he could see what appeared to be a scroll pop into view in front and slightly above his head. Many in the Hall appeared to have something similar as he glanced around. It was just high enough that he couldn’t see what was written on it; just tell that writing was appearing before it disappeared again with another pop.
Finally he could feel the scan was coming to a conclusion and the light gathered back up into the ceiling and began channeling back into the respective Heirs. Once they were released the protective field around the walls also dispersed and the House Elves immediately popped back to whatever they had been doing.
Just before Dumbledore was about to take control again, the Sorting Hat again started speaking. “Due to the results of the scan, it is required that all students and staff return to their quarters. Prefects will escort their houses back to their dorms where dinner is being laid out for you. You will stay in your dorms until breakfast tomorrow when the results will be explained to all.” As if he knew he was about to be interrupted, he continued speaking at a slightly louder volume. “Staff will return to their quarters immediately where dinner is being laid out for them as we speak. You will not need to be out this evening as none of the students will be leaving their dorms. You will gather here for breakfast to review the scan’s findings. The Heirs are required to remain here, but the rest of you will leave now.”
A number of people jumped slight at that as if they been poked hard somewhere Harry would rather not think about and reluctantly began getting up and making their way to the doors. Anyone that tried to delay or looked about to protest apparently got poked again until the room was cleared except for the four Heirs and the Hat.
“Mr. Potter, if you could give me a hand yet again, the four of you are needed in the Entry Hall. Your questions will be answered soon; just a bit more help is needed first.”
Harry glanced at Neville, who looked as confused as he felt, before shrugging and making his way over to the stool the Hat sat upon. He picked it up, briefly considered putting it on his head before deciding to simply carry it. He headed towards the entrance to the Great Hall, meeting up with the others who seemed fine with letting him and the Hat leave first.
They exited the Hall and were greeted with the sight of a hooded man standing by a door that Harry could’ve sworn hadn’t existed before leading out of the Entrance Hall.
The man stepped away from the open door, where a flickering light was seen, making him believe that there was a fire burning in a fire place within. He reached up and put down his hood and nodded gravely at the four of them.
“Welcome, Heirs. My name is Polare and I am an Unspeakable. One of our remits, one not known by many anymore, is the protection of Hogwarts and the students within it. When the scan was initiated today, we were summoned to handle what would be found. Two of us came to begin with, until we saw the scope of what we were dealing with. We now have 2 teams working throughout the castle and there will be some… major changes most likely come morning. As the Heirs, you have a say in what will happen, but before that can happen you must be cleansed of all outside influences.
“You may have seen the scrolls generated once the scan made it to the students and staff within the Great Hall?” Harry nodded and saw that the others did as well. “Good, those were noting active and passive influences acting upon you. Those must be removed before your opinions can be sought in what should be done to fix the school and its problems.”
He gestured them into the room beside them and they quietly entered. Harry placed the Hat on a coffee table in the center of the room and turned to look at the Unspeakable again.
“There are four areas partitioned out,” he pointed around the room where screens were arranged in each corner. “You will each pick a corner. Once behind the screen you will find a cabinet, a table with a narrow, shallow basin on it and a comfortable chair. There will also be a number of potion vials on the table. In the cabinet, you will remove everything you have in your pockets, jewelry, anything other than clothes, shoes and your wand, and place them in the bowl you’ll find inside. You will then remove everything you’re wearing and hang or fold them and place them inside the cabinet as well. Your shoes too. Once that’s done, close the cabinet door. It will not open until everything within has been cleansed. You will place your wand in the basin on the table and pour the blue potion over it. You cannot remove your wand until the potion is completely gone and the inside of the basin has turned white.”
Harry was glad to see that the others were as confused about all this as he was, but at least the instructions were easy enough, even if he didn’t relish getting naked in a room with Susan and Malfoy in it.
“Once you’ve done that, you will take the purple potion also located on the table. As I don’t know how you will react to the cleansing, you may wish to sit down first as it can be quite painful if it has a lot of work to do. The areas have been sound proofed so that unless you are specifically calling out for someone’s attention, no sound will carry outside the bounds of the screened area.
“When you’ve recovered from the potion, please rejoin me out here and we’ll resume our conversation over dinner. I’d offer you food now, but it’s better to take the potion on a relatively empty stomach. If your clothes are clean, you may put them on again, but if they’re not ready, a robe will be made available for your use. If your wand is clean, feel free to bring it with you, but if it isn’t you are still safe to return without it.”
“How do we know we can trust you? You’re asking us to take unknown potions, subject our wand and personal belongings to unknown magic as well and potentially put ourselves, unarmed, at the mercy of a man we have no idea of the actual identity and true intentions of. It’s quite the leap of faith you’re asking for and it’s been a rather odd evening.” Susan looked slightly apologetic, but very firm as she stared intently at Polare.
He looked at each of them calmly before pulling his wand out and holding it in front of him. “I vow on my life and my magic that the information given to you is accurate and that the actions I’ve asked you to take are only for your benefit and to cleanse you of influencing magic.” A brief but bright glow surrounded him before being absorbed into his skin. He then used his wand to gesture at the door they’d entered, causing it to slowly close.
Harry glanced at the other three, all of whom were probably more familiar with magic vows, and they all looked reluctantly convinced which led him to believe that to some extent they could trust this man to not be trying to kill them. He gave a deep sigh, ignoring when the others turned to look at him in question at the noise, and turned to find the closest partitioned off area.
“Might as well get this over with,” he grumbled, before pulling aside the curtained entrance and stepping inside.
The room they’d been in hadn’t been that noisy to begin with, but the sound disappeared completely when the curtain closed behind him. He felt the need to talk briefly to himself, reviewing the instructions given; just to be sure there could be sound in the space.
Nervously he placed his wand in the dish he’d been told would be there and poured the potion over it. Then he removed everything from his pockets, not that there was much – a few left over knuts from buying snacks on the train and an odd bit of paper from a note he’d made that morning – and put it in the dish in the cabinet. He could feel his cheeks burn as he slowly removed his robes and other clothing before adding it to the cabinet as well, feeling much more naked than usual knowing that there were people other than his usual dorm mates just a few feet away.
Finally all the other prep was done and he cautiously picked up the purple potion and sat down in the chair. The table was positioned right beside it and he glanced over at the dish his wand was in, slightly disturbed to see the dark, slightly oily looking fluid covering it. He didn’t remember it looking that way when he’d poured it in and wasn’t too happy to have it touching his wand, but it was supposed to disappear and wasn’t supposed to harm the wand, he hoped as that hadn’t actually been part of the vow.
He took a deep breath and tilted his head back, chugging down the potion as fast as possible, as they all tended to be rather nasty tasting. This was no exception and he grimaced as he carefully placed the empty vial back on the table. He could feel a warm sensation flowing through his body and could imagine lines of purple moving slowly through his arms and legs. Once they reached the end of his fingers and toes, the pain hit.
At some point later, Harry came back to himself feeling stiff and sore and convinced there must have been a lot of screaming going on to judge by the pain in his throat. He felt greasy, like he’d been sweating some sort of oily substance out of his pores, and was happy to notice that there was a large bowl of water now sitting on the table with what appeared to be a stack of towels beside it.
He groaned softly, his throat aching, as he slowly pushed himself to his feet so he could reach the bowl and towels. He wet one and used it to scrub himself down as much as possible, though he was looking forward to a nice hot bath when he could get out of here, whenever that would be. He dried off and noticed that the cabinet he’d placed his clothes in was unlocked and painfully pulled his clothes out and redressed, choosing to simply bundle up his school robe and carry it with him, instead of putting it back on as well. His wand was dry and the basin white, so he gratefully picked it up and placed it in his pocket and slowly made his way to the curtain.
He had no idea how long he’d been back there, as there had been no clock in the space, but the others had all beaten him out. They were all looking a bit rough too, though he certainly felt he’d had the rougher time.
Apparently Neville agreed, judging by the horrified look on his face as he rose to his feet to help him to a seat.
“Thanks, Nev.” Harry croaked, grimacing at the pain in his throat. Susan poured him a glass of water which he gratefully drank and a moment later a house elf popped in with a tray containing a potion vial and a very full plate of dinner.
“Take the potion first,” Polare said, almost gently, “it’ll relieve the pain in your throat and help with the other remaining aches. I apologize for not having provided one in the rooms, but I hadn’t realized how badly you’d all been affected. Once you can comfortably eat, you’ll need to eat as much as you can of what you’ve been brought. The potion took a lot out of you and you need to replenish your supplies. Don’t feel like you’re being singled out either, the others have gone through the exact same process themselves.”
Looking around at the coffee table they were all positioned around, Harry could see the remains of a very large meal, what would normally appear to feed a good dozen people instead of the five currently inhabiting the room, so he shrugged and swallowed down the potion.
Instantly there was a cooling sensation across his damaged throat and he was able to swallow easier. While he didn’t feel the coolness flowing through his body like he had the warmth from the earlier potion, he could feel the aches and pains start to ease and relaxed a bit as the pain diminished.
“Thanks, that feels a lot better.”
~*~*~
While Harry felt a bit awkward being the only one eating as the others were mainly done by the time he’d made his way out to join them, food hadn’t been plentiful during his time at the Dursleys’ and he hadn’t spent enough time with the Weasleys to have Mrs. Weasley make up for the lack so he decided he really wasn’t going to be shy about digging in.
At least the residual pain made it so he wasn’t tempted to imitate Ron’s usual dining habits.
The others were rather quiet while he ate, no one discussing anything of much importance. When Harry finally was able to focus on something other than how very hungry he was, he noticed that Malfoy was moving a bit stiffly, sometimes placing a light hand over his upper chest before grimacing and quickly moving it again. Neville was also moving a bit stiffly, like Susan, but his voice was also sounding a bit rough, though maybe not quite as bad as Harry’s had sounded after taking the potion.
Polare glanced at him in question when he finally pushed his plate away and gestured him towards the tea service that had appeared a bit earlier. Harry quickly made himself a mug of tea, generously sweetened with honey for his throat, before carefully settling himself back into the corner of the couch he was sitting on.
With a nod, Polare began to speak, “I apologize for the pain you each suffered from the potion. I had not understood the extent of the compulsions that had been placed upon each of you and how removing them would affect you. If I had, perhaps steps could’ve been taken to remove or lessen some of them beforehand so you would’ve had an easier time of it.
“Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, but you are also now completely free of any controlling influences, by spell, potion or magical object.”
Harry noticed Malfoy grimaced at that and once again seemed unable to resist placing a hand on his upper chest, causing the grimace to become less angry and more pain based.
Polare continued, “Any blocks to your magic or abilities have been removed, so you should be careful before you cast much magic until you have a chance to judge your levels and ability to handle them. Or even if your wand will now work for you. Yours especially, Mr. Potter, was covered in so many charms I’m unsure of how it was ever able to work for you.
“While the wand is said to choose the wizard, you were both so influenced by outside controls that I doubt it was a true choosing.”
“It was the brother wand to Voldemort’s wand.”
Polare nodded slowly, “I can see why he wanted you using it then, the symbolism alone is strong with the Phoenix feathers. Rebirth through fire.”
Rebirth through… “Fawkes!” Harry exclaimed in fear, suddenly remembering that he hadn’t heard the Phoenix’s song in the Great Hall.
“Do not worry, Mr. Potter, Hogwarts wouldn’t allow harm to come to her familiar.”
“Wait, I thought Fawkes was the Headmaster’s familiar?” Neville asked, remembering Harry telling him about the Phoenix, though he was a bit fuzzy on when the conversation had taken place.
“Yes, apparently many believe that and generally Hogwarts allows the illusion to stand as it supports the power and influence of the headmaster. I think you’ll find that will be changing as of tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“Fawkes wasn’t called to the Great Hall as he, while a living being, is also part of the school and was scanned along with everything else. When spells were found altering his ability to think freely, he was the first stop our teams made. To clear his influences, he was removed to a safe location and a burning day was induced to cleanse him. He is now re-growing and will be back by the end of the week.”
Harry relaxed upon hearing that Fawkes was okay, though angry to hear what had been done to him.
“Did the headmaster cast those spells on him?” Susan asked quietly.
“Yes,” Polare answered curtly. “And because of that and other crimes against residents of this school it means that as of tomorrow morning he will no longer be Headmaster of Hogwarts.”
Harry knew his eyes had gone wide at that and, glancing around, could see he wasn’t the only one.
“What else did he do?” Malfoy asked, almost resignedly.
“The alterations to the wards alone to remove many of the protections from dark objects and harmful spells and potions would’ve been cause to have him removed,” Polare almost sounded like he growled for a moment before he continued. “In addition to that though, he’s also been working to influence the classes offered at Hogwarts since he began working here, removing certain classes he didn’t feel were appropriate or that taught subjects that focused too much on the historical aspects of the magical world.
“He’s cast spells to urge conflict between the houses and allowed students to get away with illegal activities and hid them from the Aurors.
“He’s cast spells on students of this school as well as placed blocks on the magic of some of those students, whether from fear of their abilities or to keep them more under his control, I do not know.”
Previously, Harry could imagine that hearing things like that about the headmaster would’ve brought about almost homicidal protests about how Dumbledore wouldn’t do something like that and how he was a great wizard, like his support of him to the shade of Riddle during his second year. Now though, he was simply horrified at the thought of what he’d done and remembering all he’d gone through in his years at Hogwarts and the lack of reasonable explanations as to what had been going on and why those things had happened as they had.
“What happens now then?” Susan asked. “While this is all horrible to hear and I’m glad to know that you’re fixing things, I don’t understand how we’re involved or how we can help.” The others nodded in agreement.
“I understand why you have doubts, but believe me when I say that we will only be able to do as much as is needed because of the four of you.” He paused slightly, staring intently at each of them before nodding slightly and continuing. “The review was prompted by you, Mr. Potter, when potions were discovered in your blood. While we’d suspected for a while that there were problems, nothing was ever reported that would allow us to do a check.”
“What potion?”
“A love potion, Mr. Potter, mild and not being incredibly effective yet, but it looks like you’d been getting it in small doses for a while in the hopes that it would build gradually and not be as suspect as a sudden interest in someone would be. You seemed to be fighting it off as well.”
“I can fight off the Imperius curse, I’m glad to hear that I do okay against love potions as well.” Harry shivered, “Who… who was giving it to me?” The thought that anyone would try to control his emotions like that, make him feel something he didn’t really feel, made him almost sick to his stomach and the large dinner he’d just eaten was churning uncomfortably.
“We don’t know yet, but we are searching the school, so if anyone has any to use on you or anyone else, we’ll find them. But it would have to be in something you ate or drank, or possibly a lotion of some sort that you’ve been exposed to recently.”
Harry could almost feel the blood draining out of his face and he could tell from the expression of concern on Neville’s face that he looked as bad as he felt. The only people he’d had anything from or even been around all summer were his family and the people from the Order who he’d seen while at Grimmauld place. And other than cooking that he’d done while with the Dursleys, every meal he’d eaten had been with the Weasley’s.
~*~*~
<Explanation of findings with heirs and what they can do to fix the school>
~*~*~
“We may have the ability to magically take over the school, but we don’t have the knowledge or experience to use it. If we can’t prove we can do this quickly, the Ministry will use that as an excuse to step in and they’re likely to be just as bad, considering who runs it – officially and unofficially.”
“Then we need time to train you. Time to allow you to come into your abilities so you can take control of the school. Unfortunately we don’t have time to allow it to happen normally, but we do have other options. The goblins have what’s called a Time Chamber that allows those within it to pass large amounts of time while little to no time passes outside. You will age within the Chamber, but it will be at a lesser rate than the equivalent amount of time outside would be.”
“I thought Time Chambers were a myth? I’ve never heard of one existing outside of stories.”
“They’re kept hidden, but they do exist. Generally they’re under the control of the goblins as the banks are the only places with a large enough area that is secure enough and made up of the right material to create one. Though they’re traditionally called ‘Chambers’ and were supposedly just that when they were originally created, Time Chambers are now actually much more extensive. Mainly because the time and magical effort that goes into running one means that they make the most of it each time they’re used and take as many people as they can to take advantage of it.”
“So more than just us can go, can use it and train?”
“Yes, and it probably would be good to do so. Otherwise, you’ll potentially have limited contact over the time you’re in there and you’ll return older than your current peers. This way those that go with you can be caught up too, any gifts they have trained as well and you’ll have others to associate with while you’re gone.”
“So who goes with us? I think it’s already been proven that we can’t trust all of the people we once considered friends, though some of those problems weren’t actually their fault considering the spells and curses we know were removed.”
“First, we’re not going to tell them about the Time Chamber, just that they can join you for training and that it’ll take a while to complete. Then I think we should use something easily recognizable to the students and staff of Hogwarts, though we’ll actually use it correctly. The Goblet of Fire.”
~*~*~
<Findings given to the school>
~*~*~
“As you can now see from the reports on the Unspeakables’ findings, serious changes need to be made to get the school completely cleansed and updates are needed to get the curriculum back to the high standards it has always claimed to have. We would only be able to do so much to fix things if it were not for one major advantage. We have heirs for all four Founders which, per the charter and the way the school was created, means we have extensive magical resources to do what needs to be done.
“The Heirs will need to be trained though, before they can implement the magical fixes and that gives us additional opportunities that we’re bringing to those residents of the school. Some of you will be given the opportunity to be trained along with the heirs. What that training will encompass will depend on the people who are included and it won’t be a quick process. If you are chosen to join them, it will be hard work and may take years to complete. Once started you will have to complete the training, but once done you’ll be part of making a better Hogwarts.”
Polare looked around the Great Hall, looking at the students sitting at the house tables with various expressions of confusion and excitement and at the Professors scattered among them, mostly with blank expressions as if the revelations of the morning had sapped them of the ability to be fazed by anything else.
“We will not be choosing who’s to be included in this procedure; that will be left to a neutral third party. It will decide if you are a good match for this duty based on your application to be included. We will be using the Goblet of Fire.” He gestured at the doors to the Great Hall which opened, allowing Harry, Draco, Neville and Susan to enter with the Cup.
The goblet was placed in the center of the mostly empty Teachers’ table. “As was done during the Triwizard Tournament, an impartial judge will be making this decision for us. The heirs will initiate the Goblet and at the end of the entry period names will be selected.”
One by one, Harry and the others took a quill and carefully wrote their name and their heir status on the parchment then paused slightly to consider what they needed during this period. Harry knew there would be teachers to make sure they learned what was needed, so what he focused on was needing support. People who were there for him truly, who were his friends and wouldn’t betray him. He took a deep breath before picking up the dagger provided, pricking his finger and placing a drop of blood on the parchment.
He shared a quick glance at the others to confirm they were all done, then picked up his parchment and approached the goblet. With a deep breath he dropped his parchment into the bowl and felt his eyes widen in shock at the green flames that immediately flared up, concealing the depths of the goblet from view. He stepped back, eyes still a bit wide, to let the next one approach.
Susan stepped forward and dropped her slip in to a flare of gold colored flames, quickly followed by Draco’s blue and Neville’s red flames. After that the goblet was surrounded by colorful flames, flickering between the four colors of the founders. At a sign from Polare, the four stepped back and retreated to the right of the goblet, taking seats where they could see out into where the rest of the school were gathered.
Polare approached the front of the dais and stopped near the goblet. “Everyone who is interested in joining the heirs will write their name on a piece of parchment, the reason why they wish to be included and add a drop of blood. You will then place the parchment in the goblet for consideration. You must be at least 14 years old to be considered at all, so if you’re younger, don’t even bother trying to put your name in. There is a limited time frame for this offer, you will have until 1pm to make your decision and enter your name. If you wish to enter but don’t have parchment or quill, come to the front and it will be provided for you. We also can provide a dagger to get your drop of blood.” Polare looked around the room almost appearing to meet each person’s eyes directly, though Harry knew it would’ve been impossible. “Consider the matter quickly, but carefully and be honest in your reasoning. Names will be pulled later this afternoon and the chosen ones notified of the arrangements.
“There will be no secrets here about who is interested in participating and I have no idea how many or who might be chosen, that will be based completely on the needs of the heirs and the will of the Goblet. Only you can enter your own name, no one can enter for you, even if you wrote your slip yourself, you must be the one to drop it in. It also has to be your blood on your submission.”
When Polare finished speaking the room went deathly silent before suddenly sounds erupted as excited conversations started up around the room. Conversations dropped once again though as the first students approached the Teachers’ table.
“Are you sure you do not wish to consider things longer? This is a serious undertaking,” Polare stared at the two fifth year boys from Gryffindor as they, without hesitation, dropped their pieces of parchment into the goblet, the flames flickering through the spectrum again before quieting down.
Seamus glanced over to where the heirs were seated, nodding slightly to Harry and Neville before looking back at Dean. “It wasn’t a hard decision to make, really.” He paused as a pale slender arm reached past them and dropped another slip in.
“He’s right, sir, it’s really not a hard decision at all. A lot of us would do whatever it takes to support Harry and Neville.” Luna Lovegood was a Fourth year Ravenclaw and she was aware that not many knew she was in anyway associated with Harry, but they’d met the year before when Harry was spending a lot of time in the Library attempting to figure out what he might be facing during the Triwizard Tournament. While he himself wasn’t all that well liked by much of the school, he had still been successful at keeping some of the other students from bothering her and had helped her when possible with questions she’d had with her assignments. She’d been aware that he wasn’t thought to be the best student, getting barely average marks if rumors were correct, but she’d found him to be very knowledgeable, even if he chose not to show it for his classes.
Through their friendship she’d also met some of the other Gryffindor boys, who’d also rallied around their friend and had helped out as much as possible when Hermione and later Ron weren’t around. While Ron was rude and Hermione blatantly doubtful of her intelligence, the other Fifth year boys had been friendly and Neville especially kind; being loyal wasn’t limited to the Hufflepuffs of the school.
Slowly students made their way to the front, more than were expected in some ways, some that weren't expected and others that were. The twins had dropped their names off, uncustomarily serious as they did, followed by the rest of Harry's Quidditch team mates and Lee Jordan. They were followed by some of Draco's classmates, prompting a barely noticeable look of happiness and relief to cross his face before going back to his more usual aloof expression. Blaise gave him a nod and a bit of a smirk before they headed back to the Slytherin table.
Harry wasn't sure if he was more surprised at how long it took for Ron, Hermione and Ginny to drop their names in the Goblet, or that they actually had the nerve to at all. Granted, he hadn't really had a chance to speak to them since this all began, but surely they would have to know that he was now aware of what they'd been trying to do to him?
Most of the students hung around until the end of the entry period to be able to see who was submitting their names. Just before the deadline a couple of the remaining professors, including the Heads of Houses, came forward to add their names to the Goblet as well. When Polare looked at them questioningly, Professor McGonagall simply looked at him and stated, "We are all over the age of fourteen."
Polare snorted and waved them on towards the Goblet.
*~*~*
The Professors had barely resumed their seats when a final blast of flames rose from the Goblet before subsiding and being encased in a glowing dome.
Polare stepped forward to address those still in the Great Hall. “The time to submit has ended. The Goblet needs a period of time to consider the choices and results will be announced at breakfast tomorrow, along with the changes to how the school will be run. If you placed your name in for consideration, I suggest you pack your belongings now, just in case, so you will be ready to go as soon as you are notified.”
That seemed to be the signal to get everyone to leave and the Great Hall slowly emptied leaving the heirs and Polare alone with the Goblet.
Polare encased the Goblet in another shield before the five of them retired again to the room they’d been in the night before.
“When will we be leaving?” Susan asked, as they all found seats. “We really need to be already set by morning to keep the Ministry from trying to take over.”
“House elves are currently collecting any possessions you own in the school and can collect anything else you feel you’ll need as well, though the Chamber will be stocked with just about anything you’ll need as far as basic supplies and things needed for training. The Goblet is notifying the Goblins of the specifics required so all will be there by the time we arrive.”
“I didn’t think it had chosen yet?” Neville asked.
“Considering the criteria involved, it was able to make the choices as soon as the names were entered. Unlike the Triwizard tournament, we’re not limited to only 1 or 2 people, so they were judged immediately upon entry. Those that were picked will be especially determined to get packed, and the house elves will help as much as needed. I added a bit of a compulsion to get everyone involved so it wouldn’t look too obvious. Dinner will be served early tonight and everyone will find themselves very tired. Those going with us will be woken up to join us while the others will sleep soundly until time for them to wake up for breakfast. By then, we will be back and it’ll all be done.”
“Wow. So what do we need to do now? We still have a couple hours until dinner.”
Polare started to speak then stopped abruptly before giving a nod. “We limited the Goblet, obviously, to those people in the school. Are there people outside the school you’d like to potentially include?”
He held up a hand to stop any immediate responses. “They’d need to be cleansed and it’s not a guarantee that they’d be included, but the offer could be made.”
Harry looked at him, ‘I have two people I’d like to have join us. My Godfather and another friend of the family. Though there’s a bit of an issue with them as one’s considered an escaped convict and the other a known werewolf.”
“Escaped convict… Sirius Black, of course. That could be tricky as he’s a convicted murder.”
“No! He’s an accused murderer. He never had a trial and isn’t actually who betrayed my parents.”
“Really? Would he be willing to be questioned after he’s cleansed? If this is true, we could get him cleared through the Unspeakables.”
“If you promise him a fair trial, then yes, and Remus too, if you will help, even if the Goblet doesn’t choose him.”
“Okay. What will you need to get him here? We only have a couple hours and the cleansing will most likely take some time.”
“I can call him now if you can find me a secure floo connection.”
Polare contacted another team to come help deliver invites to anyone else the other heirs wanted to consider while he escorted Harry to the Headmaster’s office.
Harry quickly threw some floo powder in and called for Sirius at Grimmauld Place. It took a minute or two before a confused and concerned Sirius came into view followed by Remus Lupin.
“Pup? Are you okay? Why are you calling? Has something happened?”
“Sirius! Calm down! I’m fine. But I have something very important to tell you and time is short. Are the two of you alone there?”
“Yes, the Weasleys are home and there’s no meeting scheduled for today.”
“Great. There’s been some big things happening here over the past… has it really only been a day??” Harry trailed off in slight shock before coming back to himself at Sirius and Remus’ sounds of concern.
“Sorry! Sirius, I have a chance to prove your innocence and include the both of you in something major here at Hogwarts. Will you trust me enough to come through? You both need to be cleansed of outside magical influence then the Unspeakables will question you about my parents. Once they’re satisfied, we can tell you about everything else.”
Sirius and Remus exchanged glances. “We trust you, Harry. How long will we be gone? There’s a chance someone may stop by and notice we’re gone.”
“At least a couple hours, potentially until late morning tomorrow depending.”
“Okay, let me set the wards and we’ll come through. Are you in Dumbledore’s office?”
“The Headmaster’s office, yes,” Harry said, not wanting to go into the Dumbledore situation yet.
Polare had been setting up two areas for the cleansing identical to the one he’d used the night before while Harry had been speaking to the two and had called for some Veritaserum and healing potions to be delivered for afterwards.
Harry heard the floo flare up and got out of the way as Remus and then Sirius stepped through.
Polare was quickly introduced, the process explained, and the two sent into their curtained off areas to take their potions.
Harry explored the office while he waited, nervous energy needing expended somehow while he waited and hoped for good news. Though he’d been in the office various times over the past four years, he hadn’t really had time to explore. It wasn’t completely the same as the previous visits as it, too, had been cleansed and the Headmaster’s toys removed.
It was at least half an hour before a rough looking Remus Lupin emerged. He gratefully took the pain potion he was offered then settled into a chair with a cup of tea.
About 20 minutes later Sirius too emerged and Harry could tell that he’d had a similarly horrible experience like himself. He took his pain potion before collapsing into another chair.
“You both need to eat, but I’d prefer to do the questioning first as the explanation afterwards will take some time and we are, ironically, in short supply right now. Are you okay with that?” At their agreement he quickly rose to dose Sirius with Veritaserum and began the questioning.
The interview was transcribed by a legal dictoquill and the transcription along with a copy of Sirius’ memories of that night and the list of spells he’d been cleansed of were sent back to Polare’s office to be acted upon.
Once that was done, food was delivered and Harry and Polare took turns explaining what had been going on over the past day since the students had arrived at the school.
Finally they explained about the Time Chamber and the Goblet of Fire that was choosing who would accompany them into training.
Harry was embarrassingly happy that they both immediately wanted to join them. Both to support him and also to help fix what Dumbledore had done to their school and themselves.
Since the students were all being ‘encouraged’ to stay in their dorms, they were able to make their way down to the Great Hall and enter their names.
Polare considered the flames after they’d submitted their entries and gave a nod. “Okay, you both need to pack. You’ll really only need necessities or anything that you feel you need to bring specifically as all normal supplies will be provided. You can floo back the way you came, but you need to be back here within two hours. Any questions?”