Thrice-Glorious Victory

Secret of the Four Founders

At the very centre of the Great Hall of Hogwarts stood a conceptual item, an ancient artifact known by many, both magical and mundane. An item of unknown power, with no known limitations of boundaries, sacred, divine even... and it was in the shape of a simple, unassuming wooden cup.

A simple object. A grail. Its manufacture was no different from others of its ilk. Carved wood, imperfect in many ways.

Just one more, indistinct object from the rest.

And yet, it was so different. So simple, yet complex. So mundane, yet the pinnacle of magic.

The simple, undecorated wooden cup was an artifact of unimaginable power, known by any who had ever heard of its legend simply as the 'Holy Grail', the cup said to have once held the divine blood of Jesus Christ, son of YHVH.

To a religious man, the existence of that cup would be the absolute proof of their faith, and of their truth.

To the men who surrounded it, however?

To them, religion never came into the equation. To them, the blood of Christ meant nothing, no...

The faith, hopes and dreams bestowed upon the cup, the passage of time, the enchantments bestowed upon it... it was those things that granted the cup its power. Roughly one thousand years after it had held the blood of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Holy Grail had accumulated such a potent magical effect that it was said to be the key to supreme knowledge and absolute power, for those who knew how to harness it.

None knew how to harness the power of the Holy Grail to its fullest extent, until exactly one thousand years after the cup became famous amongst men and women alike.

Salazar Slytherin acquired the cup through a series of underhanded and shady deals, as befitting his self given title of the 'Cunning Basilisk', having spent entire fortunes just to locate, and appropriate the cup, but he knew without a doubt that he had neither the knowledge, nor the power, to make use of the artifact he had obtained. Nonetheless, he knew someone who had the mind that he sought, the mind that would unlock the grail's secrets. With simple honeyed words and false promises, he seduced a young lady of a noble house, one Rowena Ravenclaw, and lured her away from the protective confines of her family's lands.

Rowena proved a most useful resource, taking to the research project like a fish to water, flourishing under the freedom provided to her research. Salazar stopped at nothing and provided everything she ever found a need for, ranging from simple objects such as tools and furniture to extravagant, rare gemstones and even magical artifacts that some would believe priceless, yet were worth nothing next to the possibility of attaining the power that the Grail would give its user, once its secrets were unlocked.

After no less than five years of research, of absolute dedication, Rowena had finally concluded that the two of them did not possess sufficient means to harness the power of the grail. Resourceful and knowledgeable though they were, there was simply a fatal weakness to them, and that was their lack of power. Neither was a very powerful magic user, and affecting the enchantments on the grail required the use of tremendous amounts of magical energy, perhaps even necessitating the utilization of the leylines that ran beneath the earth to provide a channel from which to drain the planet's own energy to counter the grail's stubbornness.

Salazar sought high and low for someone who could face his requirements, who could fill the role that Rowena had explained they needed filled, and no less than a year passed without further developments, until at last, they came upon the people they required.

No single person reunited the traits they required, but just as they had made do for their own insufficiencies, bypassing them through combined effort, they found two people who could come together to fill the role they needed.

Godric Gryffindor was the first Salazar found, and he was a wizard of stupendous might, an honorable knight who served his king loyally and blindly. Salazar secretly wept, for such an imbecile was gifted with incomparable power, while he, the cleverest of them all, had been barely capable of magic on his youth and been forced to develop into the shrewd, resourceful snake that he was today. Godric's body would be the only one that could properly utilize the spells that they would need to use, and tricking him into aiding their pursuits was distressingly simple.

The man was simple, and that was it. He took Salazar's words at face value, and never questioned whether the King would disapprove of their practices, believing without question when told their experiments were commissioned by the king.

They also, however, required someone else. A druid, specifically, was required to form a connection to the planet that would allow them to properly utilize the leylines without endangering both themselves and the grail. In this regard, Helga Hufflepuff had stepped forward, a druidess of renown and prowess unmatched, who knew the secrets of the earth, and though unwilling to share them, she was willing enough to aid their purposes.

Thus was their alliance forged, borne out of necessity, out of greed and malice, out of naivete, an alliance as fragile as its weakest links.

Together, they designed a ritual that was supposed to utilize the magical abilities of the Holy Grail to its fullest, a ritual that was infinitely complex, and yet deceivingly simple.

The Holy Grail would be enchanted further than it already was, in such a way that it could gather magical energy on its own, automatically and constantly, for the grail required immense amounts of power to be utilized, power in levels that no human could provide, but could safely be drained from the ambient, and buried beneath the earth, stored in as safe a place as could possibly be, within a cavern of space warped by its own power, set in the middle of what could be called a spiderweb of leylines, which would feed it power at a constant rate.

Realizing that the Grail was too tempting a target for any who may discover its location and uses, they built a castle on top of it, a fortified palace that was as beautiful as it was impregnable. It did not take long for a town to be created alongside it, as it was in a prime location. At Salazar's insistence, the town permitted only magicals and their descendants. An added measure, he had justified it, as they would be in a better position to understand and defend the purpose of their fortress.

The castle itself was gigantic, expanded even further by the mysteries of magic applied to it, turning the structure from a simple creation of stone and mortar into a labyrinth, impervious to all but the most powerful of magical assaults.

None of the four knew where the decision to turn it into a school had come from... and yet, they could not complain. It would provide the final step for the plan that would lead to the activation, and use, of the Holy Grail, as the children who wandered the castle would unwittingly be part of a sinister plot, weaved by none other than the four founders which so many admired.

Today, nine hundred and eighty eight years after the Founders came together and hatched this most terrible of plans, will the results be beheld once more, as the Holy Grail Tournament draws ever closer...

The Ministry of Magic had sent as a representative none other than Cornelius Fudge, the Minister himself, to address the boys and girls of Hogwarts, to drop an unsuspected, surprise of a bomb on Hogwarts' population.

"Today marks the fortieth anniversary of the start of 1954's Holy Grail Tournament. Today marks the day that the Holy Grail of legend has finished charging itself, has finished preparing to become active once more, and engage in a new Tournament! Today marks the day in which one of you shall be chosen to represent Hogwarts, and as such, our very nation in this most illustrious competition, against representatives from Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, the Vatican, the International Confederation of Wizards. This war, there shall be an unexpected change to the usual line up, as the Salem School for Witchcraft has petitioned for the opportunity to present an official representative of their own. Lastly, the seventh participant shall be the chosen of the Grail itself, who will choose from amongst all who volunteer their name the candidate it deems most worthy of the opportunity!"

Fudge, if nothing else, was good at capturing a crowd's attention and holding it. Few would have thought that the usually nervous and cowardly wizard would turn so different when faced with a crowd which he could easily manipulate with the spoken word, but even fewer would be those who would have understood that the man had been born to be a politician. Of those, Albus Dumbledore was one, and he lamented that a politician as talented as Fudge would be led astray by the silver tongue and golden pockets of Lucius Malfoy.

"Remember, all who would volunteer, you will represent not only yourself and your family, but your House, your very School, your nation, in this tournament, and as such, I ask that only those with the utmost determination to see this tournament through to its end apply."

Dumbledore faced the crowd, his face grave. "Allow me to repeat this, to further clarify it. Whoever volunteers for the duty of Hogwarts' Representative is not only putting their pride on the line, but their very life. Do not enter yourself unless you are one hundred percent certain that you wish to compete, and face the possibility of a gruesome death."

He didn't expect the children to follow his advice. Many would register themselves, just to look cool, or overestimating themselves and their bravery.

But it was okay.

Albus Dumbledore knew who would be Hogwarts' Representative, regardless, as there was only one who could outstrip Albus' choice in qualifications, and even then, just barely at that. It was lucky that the sole one more suited was one who Albus knew would not wish to find himself thrust upon this situation, and whom Albus himself would not dare thrust this situation into.

Still, he sighed preemptively, already dreading and grieving for the loss of life which he could do nothing about, for not even he with all his influence and power could overturn the Founders' traditions, as barbaric as they were.

It was finally the time for the last servant summoning, and Albus found himself impatient, looking at the nearly full moon with a frown of displeasure in his face. He knew who had been chosen to be a master from each organization. The representative from the Vatican had chosen to remain anonymous for the time being, and there wasn't much Albus could do, as even though he was the designated Moderator for the War, his influence extended solely to the very limits of Hogsmeade's boundaries, and as long as the representative from the Vatican never set foot in them, Albus could not strip them of their command seals and servant as a punishment for the subversion of the rules, which called the Masters to presenting themselves to him, along with their servants.

In order, the servants summoned had been Lancer, Rider, Archer, Berserker, Assassin and Caster. Saber had yet to be summoned.

That was rare. The Saber class was usually the first to be chosen, as all masters were likely to strive to attain a servant of the strongest class, whether through rituals geared to that result or through the use of catalysts. Regardless, Saber would be summoned today. Already he could feel within his domain the presence of six Heroic Spirits, of six warriors of unfathomable power and prowess.

This, by itself, was strange, as usually the Assassin class kept much better- No. That presence was not Assassin. Had Saber finally been summoned?

The shadows melted and parted, as a humanoid-shaped cloud of steam rose from the clean floor, almost seeming to condense into existence from a cloud of steam that had risen.

"I am Servant Ruler. I ask of you, are you the Moderator?" the figure that had risen asked.

"Yes. May I ask your identity?" Albus asked, completely at ease with the situation. He knew all servants but this one, and as such, his words about being the Ruler, the servant who would oversee the Grail Tournament to ensure it did not spill beyond the humans' ability to control. The servant that was technically bound to no master, but who would act as a partner to the Moderator.

"You may, but you will not receive a satisfactory answer. Where would the fun be in that, I ask?" the man said, chuckling warmly. Albus liked him already. He wore a body-concealing black robe and had the hood pulled up such that it hid the majority of his face from view, only allowing what was below his nose to be seen, revealing youthful features marred with a a pair of magical symbols that glowed with blue light. Albus guessed that this was a handsome young male. An odd choice for the Ruler class.

"Fair enough," Albus conceded.

"Personally, I'd prefer to be called Arbiter, that would be a little closer to my role in the tournament, though I suppose Ruler shall have to do. While I have been told I am quite stiff, straight has never been an attribute people have given me," Ruler said with a cheeky smile on his face. "I suppose you are no different yourself, are you?"

Dumbledore blushed for a second before he shook his head. "Your presence... does this mean what I believe it means?"

"Yes. As of the moment I arrived, the Holy Grail Tournament has officially commenced!"

"Saber and the Master of Saber still haven't been confirmed, and I can sense only six servants' presence, including your own and accounting for Assassin's invisible presence," Albus explained, his eyes twinkling slightly, as he fished for information.

"At this point, events are on a set course. The Grail has already predetermined who its chosen master shall be, and who the summoned who accompany that master shall be. I'd ask that you come with me, but I know that you will, as I don't think either of us would want to miss the events that are happening even as I speak."

Dumbledore merely nodded. "Lead the way, Ruler," he said.

"You really need to work on your puns," Ruler said, shaking his head, before he turned around and walked at a brisk pace, not even caring that he went straight through the Headmaster's door and gargoyle.

"You know, I hadn't thought I'd be killing kids here," a disembodied voice spoke, from everywhere and nowhere at once, the impossibility of something that wasn't there speaking wreaking havoc in Harry's mind.

He had to flee. Flee flee flee run run run fast fast-erk

Something had caught him. "It's almost pitiful, in a way, to use my techniques on something like you, that can't possibly defend itself from them. It brings shame to these fists of mine, which have taken the lives of masters, but if this is to be my lot in life, I will cope. You will not be the first child whose blood stains me, and if its any consolation, you at least took me a few seconds longer to catch than the usual. You're slippery prey, if nothing else. Still have no idea why my master ordered your death, mind you, and I don't think I will get anything out of you either."

Harry panicked, and could do nothing but swing his wand at where he felt the pull that kept him in place coming from, discharging all the magical power he could in a combination between a banisher and a stunner. He could feel the hand that held onto him slip for a second, and he wasted no time in breaking into a run again.

He almost made it to the end of the hall before he once more found himself stopped, this time pinned to the floor. "Okay, that? That proves that I was wrong. You have some fighting spirit to you. Good! Defend yourself! Show me your spirit burning brightest, just as I am about to snuff the flame of your soul!" the voice from before was now clearly carrying a hint of madness that further increased Harry's fear.

Harry shrieked in response, trying to do something, anything, flaring all of his power at once, but he felt a strong hand wrap around his throat, starting to squeeze and stopping any attempt at getting his voice out to secure aid.

His left hand burned with unimaginable pain, and he practically felt his skin burst open. Every part of his body except it felt as if it was on fire, and with his throat blocked, his screams died before he could get them out.

For a moment, he felt as if he were being torn apart at the seams, as if he were being split in three, then mashed together and returned to a form that was almost what had started, but not quite. The burning sensation increased, and despite the pain and loss of cognition caused by his asphyxiation, he wished for nothing more than for the pain in his left arm to end.

His wish was granted, for all of a sudden, the world shifted and rippled.

He heard a sound not unlike a clap of thunder, as well as a meaty thud, before everything went black.

Whew. Now that took a lot of time.

Just a heads up... If you've got a complain against the fic, then I'm begging you right here and now to make it known to me.

This is a very simple concept people. I cannot improve unless I'm told what I'm doing wrong (and if at all possible how to fix it). Subjective though it might be, your complaining helps me a lot more than any number of positive reviews. Do not fear my reaction, even if your review is nothing but a long string of flames headed in my direction.

I'll be thankful for any help that I can get. If I were a good writer, I'd be writing for a living, and while that's a very interesting prospect, it's simply not viable as I am now. I'd have to be damn stupid to reject criticism entirely. I may or may not implement changes and fixes that you propose depending on my own leanings and opinions, but don't let that discourage you from making them.

I read EVERY review, and pay attention to ALL of them, no matter the content.

Fortunately for me, I've already got a planned roster for servants and masters AND a general idea of where to go as well as an outline of how to get there.

This is a fusion fic between the Fate parts of the Nasuverse and the Harry Potter universe. As you can see, there's a pretty damn big change already, particularly when it comes to the Holy Grail, the war, Hogwarts and its Founders. As you might have guessed, this takes place during Goblet of Fire. Just imagine that instead of the Tri Wizard Tournament, they're going to fight a Holy Grail War.

For the record, ALL the servants are characters from one Fate source or another and, except for ONE, they're all in the classes they were summoned to in canon. The sole exception is Servant Ruler, who is NOT actually a servant in Fate canon, and obviously not Ruler (because the only Servant Ruler I'm aware of is Jeanne D'Arc, and given the summoned servant is male, it's clearly not her). For the record, I will try to remain as true to both sources as I possibly can, but you will have to allow me some wiggle room in certain things, because I need to alter them in order to allow the fic to work. Take comfort in that unless I get something seriously wrong inadvertently, most will be deliberate changes that will be explained within the story itself.

I don't think I will have to really touch the skills of the Nasuverse servants and their mechanics all that much. I think I can make it work while still keeping both sources recognizable, but again, you will have to allow me some wiggle room in order to make the fusion as seamless as possible.

And... that's that, I guess. If anyone has any questions, I will try my best to explain as best as possible. If it's a question that is asked frequently or a matter I feel should be absolutely clear, I will explain in an author's note. Of course, this doesn't apply to plot critical details, such as the identity of servants, though it should be clear enough for those who are knowledgeable about the most popular bits of the Fate franchise. Knowing some of the more obscure works should not be necessary. Any concepts I borrow from them should receive enough explanation in story so as to make the necessity of reading the source material moot.

I also reserve the right to refuse to answer certain questions that would spoil the plot, of course, though if possible, I will try to make my explanations as non-spoilery as possible. I suppose I will have to do with just being vague, going into specifics only when it wouldn't be a spoiler of anything.