.

Jedi Order: The Origins
By: Tellemicus Sundance
Co-Authored by: Fiori75
#04 – Riddle of the Founders

Friday, November 4, 1994
4:40pm
Room of Mysteries

It was later that same evening. Harry once again found himself inside the hidden rooms he'd discovered, thankfully fully dressed this time. He and Hermione were in the entrance way after having just surfaced from swimming. Hermione had given him an odd look when he'd started to disrobe before rolling her eyes and muttering 'Honestly, it's like you forget you have magic sometimes' before transfiguring her outfit into a bathing suit. Three seconds later, Hermione finally relented and transfigured Harry's clothing as well.

Thus, in front of the door again, Harry watched with amusement as Hermione flinched in surprise when the magic words flashed to life of the door again. "What does it say?"

Harry just nodded with a confused grin on his face. "I think it's a greeting of some kind."

"You think or you know?" Hermione asked with a pointed look in her face.

"Well, it didn't zap me the first time I opened it," Harry admitted sheepishly.

"You opened the door without knowing if it was dangerous," Hermione said with a deadpan voice.

"Well, I knew that was a ward scheme," Harry said, trying to justify himself. "And I knew it wasn't any more complicated than one that would do this."

"Harry, this is Salazar's secret-secret chamber!" Hermione said. "You don't think it'd be more heavily defended?"

"No, of course not," Harry answered simply. "It was loads better defended."

"You broke the other wards?" Hermione asked, looking surprised.

"No, I killed the giant murder snake above us."

Hermione took a second to think about that. "You're right. That would probably be better than any actual ward."

Harry nodded simply before he stepped forward and opened the door without hesitation. "You're thinking about it too hard if you think there's anything past the giant murder snake."

Harry stepped first into the Common Room, waiting a second for Hermione, once more basking in the homey reflection of the Slytherin Common Room. He waited for Hermione to take in the same first view of the room, as he did earlier. He made sure to pay particular attention to her face every time she noticed one of the odd splashes of color that didn't normally below in a snake's den. She didn't actually make it past the rug though.

"Hang on," Hermione uttered in confusion.

"Yeah, was a bit of a shocker when I saw it too," Harry said. "You should see his bed!"

"I don't think I can…believe this," Hermione said. "You set this up here?"

"Nope," Harry chirped.

"B-But this is Salazar's…"

"I know," Harry agreed. Point to her immediate left, he said, "You are also missing that." Hermione stared at the forgotten blue cloak.

Grinning slightly, Harry added, "And if you pay attention to the left breast…"

There, in the same script that was on the book that had drawn them both down here, was Rowena's name. It was in fact embroidered on. "Harry…This – You – realize what this means?!"

"That the Founders were a lot closer than the legends make out?" Harry suggested calmly.

"Then…" Hermione breathed out in confusion. "How did history get this wrong?"

Harry just shrugged. "Answers probably down here somewhere."

"So, let's go!" Hermione said, already starting to turn and look for something important.

"Nah-ah-ah-ah!" Harry reached out and caught Hermione's arms before she could move too far away. "Not what we're here for right now."

"What?!" Hermione gasped out, turning on him with an affronted look.

"Anything written down here will be written in the same script as the book," Harry pointed out, causing Hermione's eyes to widen in realization. "We can maybe grab a few more books. But what we're really down here for is over there!" He was pointing towards the entrance to the crystal cave.

Same day, 5pm
Ministry of Magic, Fudge's Office

Minister Cornelius Fudge was mildly happy. It was five o'clock on a Friday and he'd finally managed to finish everything. He'd signed what needed to be signed. He'd shuffled what didn't need to be signed off onto his Undersecretary. He'd itemized his calendar. He'd accepted an invitation for brunch on Sunday with the French Minister, who was still in London for the Triwizard Tournament following the whole 'Fourth Champion' debacle with Harry Potter. Personally, Fudge didn't care had that Hogwarts had two Champions in the running. 'Better odds for England' had been his thought, if not for all the bloody additional paperwork it'd drummed up.

And finally, he'd checked to be sure that there weren't any more fires to be put out. Or at least none that required his own personal attention. The only one of that sort had been, oh, three or four hours ago? The Unspeakables had wanted to conduct a search of Hogwarts! Something about the leylines flaring in unusual ways. How power surges could lead to…something. He honestly stopped paying attention at that point. Because, regardless of what the Unspeakable could reason his argument towards, there was no way they were going to be getting into the castle. He had waited for the Head Unspeakable to make his case, politely told him 'no', and had moved on with his day.

Now that everything was finished, he could call it quits for the day. As he made his way towards the elevator to reach the Atrium, he started thinking about his plans for the rest of his day. Perhaps he'd take an early supper? It'd been a while since he'd had Italian food. Although, perhaps he should try something French instead. Just to be sure he could stomach it when he had brunch the French Minister. Didn't want to embarrass himself in front of his colleague.

As the doors were sliding open, a hand suddenly jutted forward and blocked his path out. Fudge flinched back in surprise, his eyes going wide in slight fright. But that settled quickly as he recognized the stocky figure of the Head Unspeakable. Though he couldn't see through the spells that protected the Unspeakable's identity, he recognized his body shape easily enough. Especially since he'd had the man in his office a few hours ago. "You again?"

"Minister!" There was a definite note of mania in the man's voice. "There's been another surge detected!"

"Another surge?" Fudge repeated in confusion.

"Like the…" the Unspeakable paused, already seeming to realize that Fudge didn't know what he was talking about. "Like the one from earlier! The leyline power surge under Hogwarts! It's happened again!"

Fudge sighed, already knowing where this was going. "And I take you want to resubmit a request to investigate?"

"Of course, Minister!" the man answered urgently. "With two readings, we already have a pattern forming! You simply have to let us go!"

Fudge sighed heavily before he turned his attention back to the magical researcher. "I already gave you my answer. I said 'no!'. But now, let's make it perfectly clear…HELL NO! And not just 'hell no!' but 'BLOODY HELL NO!' Do you realize just what you're asking?!"

"To investigate – "

"To investigate Hogwarts," Fudge interrupted sternly. "Hogwarts. A place that has had a charter of noninterference from the Ministry for a thousand years! Not only that, but it is currently in the middle of an international tournament which prohibits outside interference. It's not just because it's Hogwarts that you can't go. I don't want you to cause an international incident! We've already had enough of that with the whole Fourth Champion debacle as is! Now, get out of my way!"

"But, Minister – !"

"'But' nothing!" Fudge interrupted again. "Consider this matter over! We can reconsider this when summer rolls around and term is let out. Then you can petition Dumbledore to investigate your silly energy readings." With his piece finally said, he dismissively waltzed past the Unspeakable and out into the Atrium proper, fully intending to head home and not stopping for anyone else.

The Head Unspeakable watched as the fool Minister disappeared into the crowd. Though his face was safely hidden under the enchanted shadows of his hood, there was no mistaking the angry set of his shoulders. 'By summer, it might be too late!' He turned to head quickly back to the Department of Mysteries. They had to keep a close watch on this situation in case any new developments occurred.

Saturday, November 5, 1994
Outside Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom

Harry stood outside the lavatory that had changed his life in several ways, the Founders' tome hidden within his school bag safely, as he waited for his three schoolmates to arrive. Harry wasn't pleased to have to show up to this meeting metaphorically empty-handed. Really, all he could bring to this meeting was the book. But at least it did offer a way to read the damn thing. At least, he hoped so! Cho was probably the best bet in that regard. She was a Ravenclaw after all, and year ahead of him to boot.

The real wild card was Parkinson though. He didn't know how much of Old English she understood. And if it was him in her shoes, he would read ahead, memorize, and fake to minimal understanding. He'd also probably take copies directly from the book. So, it'd be wise to keep a close eye on any notes that she took for herself.

This would've been so much easier if he'd had Hermione following him under his Invisibility Cloak. But that would mean admitting to the study session in the first place. He'd already managed to dodge five shouting matches from Hermione. If he dropped the bomb that he was having a study session with Pansy Parkinson, there would be no way he was getting out of there without her yelling at him. And he frankly didn't want to run the risk of having his last remaining friend abandon him too!

"Hey, Harry!" a voice called from nearby, thankfully pulling him away from his dark thoughts.

"You bring the book?" Cho asked as he turned to face her and Cedric.

"Yeah, I…I…I got it, right here," Harry said, trailing off slightly, his eyes widening slightly as he saw Cho and Cedric walking together hand-in-hand. The implication of that instantly hit him hard.

"Um…A-Are you two…together?" he demanded awkwardly.

Cedric paused and thought about it for a moment. Looking down at Cho, a rueful smile crossed his face before he returned his gaze back to Harry. "You know, this does make it seem like a double date, doesn't it?"

"Geh?!" Harry couldn't help twitching violently at the implication. "I am not dating Parkinson!"

"Then what was that about her giving you a show?" Cho asked curiously.

"I, err…" was all Harry could utter as his face flushed red involuntarily.

As the two smiled at his blushing face, Cho started glancing around. "Where is Pansy anyway?"

"I don't know," Harry answered. "I just got here myself."

"You mean you two didn't spend any time together before we got here?" Cedric asked with a wink.

"No!" Harry cried.

"Have you seen if she's in the loo then?" Cho asked.

"I'm not going in there again if I don't have to!" Harry answered pointedly.

"Why is that?" Cedric asked.

"Myrtle's in a mood," Harry replied.

"Have you asked her what's wrong?" Cho asked.

"Been avoiding doing that," Harry admitted.

"Why?"

"I'm not good with girls," he shrugged with the deflection, not quite wanting to admit to the weird situation he was in with Myrtle at the moment. "Not even ghost girls."

"Well, we've got nothing else to do until Pansy arrives, why don't we check and find out?" Cedric suggested.

"She did help you find the Chamber after all," Cho added helpfully.

"Ugh, fine," Harry groaned as he pushed off the wall and moved towards the lavatory. Cho and Cedric followed him inside quietly, eyes open and eager to see the drama unfold.

Myrtle was huffing up a storm. She was floating almost pacingly over her toilet as she grumbled and growled to herself in a depressed and angry voice. But she drew to a halt as soon as she heard a familiar voice. "Hello, Myrtle."

Instantly ethereal eyes locked onto the Potter scion and her cheeks gained a slight silvery coloring to them as she gasped out, "Oh, Harrry! I didn't know you were coming! I'm sorry you caught me in such a right state."

"Was hoping to ask you about that," Harry stated calmly. "What's wrong?"

"Oohhh, you're ever so kind," Myrtle gushed slightly before her expression hardened. "Well, I was contemplating my afterlife after…everything. You avenging my death and everything. When this…rude, rude girl just strutted in here like she owned the place! Completely ignored me when I tried to get her attention. She just…strutted up at that one – " gesturing towards a very specific location within the lavatory " – and then she…hissed at it."

"Did it open?!" Harry asked frantically, an alarmed expression crossing his face as he flinched back in surprise.

"Oh yes!" Myrtle growled in anger.

"What House were they in?" Harry almost begged the ghost.

"She was in Slytherin colors," Myrtle stated, a certain level of hatred coloring her tone.

"Argh, this is gonna escalate quickly," Harry grumbled. Turning to Cedric and Cho, he said, "Well, let's go get her."

"Why do you think it's Pansy?" Cho asked.

"Process of elimination," Harry stated blandly. "Plus, she's the only Slytherin who knows where the entrance to the Chamber is."

"But how could she open it? She's not a Parselmouth."

"A question we can ask when we go and get her," Harry stated, already starting to move towards the spot he knew of. Glaring at the familiar hidden door, he hissed out, "Open!" while ignoring the flinches that he knew his two companions had given behind him. After the door had opened itself, he unhesitatingly jumped down into the dark hole. Cedric and Cho just stared after him for a long moment before looking at one another.

"Oh, you better hurry along," Myrtle chirped up from behind them. "The door's not going to be open for long."

"Right," Cedric said as he hesitantly moved forward. "Just going to descend into Salazar Slytherin's secret chamber. Nothing to be scared of."

"Right," Cho agreed hesitantly as she moved up beside him. "Harry's already killed the monster…right?"

"Together?" Cedric asked as he held out his hand to his girlfriend.

"Together," Cho agreed, taking his hand. "On three?"

"Sure," Cedric nodded. "Okay…"

"THREE!" Myrtle screamed out from directly behind them, having floated there while they were distracted. It didn't help that she'd also pushed her arms into their lower backs. The sudden noise, as well as the jolt of an icy presence passing through their bodies, caused the two students to flinched reflexively away, tipping and falling through the opening with cries of surprise and fear. As they disappeared into the darkness below, Myrtle burst out in helpless giggles at the prank she'd just pulled.

Fourth time into the Chamber, Harry's landing was technically smooth, all things considered. By this point, there was no crushing fear of certain death weighing him down, or a heavy depression causing him to seek out solitude, or a bossy friend dragging him by the ear. Plus, all of the animal carcasses had cleared out from the immediate landing area. Climbing to his feet, he drew his wand and ignited a ball of Lumos to illuminate the hall. Behind him, he could hear the rapidly approaching screams of Cho and Cedric as they drew nearer. Smartly, he moved out of the way just as the duo made their appearance. Their landing was not so smooth.

"Are you two alright?" Harry asked, wanting to but not being sure if he should offer them a helping hand to their feet. His emotions were kind of jumbled at the moment, from seeing Cho and Cedric apparently a couple. The image of them clinging to one another as they slid to a halt only helped reinforce the idea of them as such.

"Yeah, we're…we're fine," Cedric said as he awkwardly pushed himself to his feet.

"Is it always like that when you come down here?" Cho asked, her face still rather pale.

"Only when we're in a hurry," Harry said. "The stairs take time. Sliding's faster."

"There were stairs we could've taken?" Cho asked with a flinty look.

Heedlessly, Harry shrugged as he started heading deeper into the Chamber. After just a moment of smoldering in annoyed anger, the duo started following their young companion down the narrow tunnel. Quickly coming across the next door in their path, Harry glared at it with annoyed anger of his own when he saw that it was still swung open with the inner chamber fully exposed. Sighing heavily, he just marched through the open doorway. Harry quickly spotted the young girl that was on the opposite end of the chamber. She was clearly already in a wetsuit and had her feet literally in the water that would lead down into the hidden room.

"Parkinson!" Harry yelled, his voice echoing almost menacingly off the chamber interior.

Pansy glanced back over her shoulder as the trio entered and approached her. "Potter, took you long enough!"

"How did you get down here?!" Harry demanded.

"I knew the password now," Pansy answered with an almost cocky grin on her face.

"But it takes Parseltongue to get in here!" Harry pointed out angrily.

"True, I don't know quite what I'm saying," Pansy admitted. "But I don't need to know just what I'm saying. Only that I say it the exact same way that you said it." And then, she hissed, "Open!"

She was quite smug when she saw the look of comprehension on his face when he understood what she said. And then he glared at her. "I'm watching you! And if you figured out how to get this far, why did you stop here?"

"Obviously, I don't know the password to enter the hidden room."

"Password?" Harry repeated.

"Yes, Potter, I was still in the water when you uttered that password to enter," Pansy said blandly.

Harry took a moment to stare at the girl. "Is that why you were still out there when I was leaving?"

"Of course!" she answered quickly. "I'm not dumb enough to just open a secret door in Slytherin's hidden chamber!"

Harry actually smiled to himself, realizing he could get away with this one thing with this one person. He even realized how he could turn this current situation to his advantage. "And you know what? You never will learn that password!"

"Oh? You'll have to speak it today, you know. This is no place to hold this study session," Pansy smirked.

"I thought you'd say something like that," Harry said. "So, I have a condition."

"Oh? And what condition might that be?"

Harry smirked at her in turn. "Your head has to be underwater when I open that door."

The smirk instantly fell off Pansy's face. "You can't do that! I'll drown!"

"Oh, you're allowed to come up for air!" Harry conceded. "So are Cedric and Cho! But you all have to dive back under the water while I open the door. I'm not opening it if any one of you breaks the surface."

"You clever dick!" Pansy snarled. "And if we don't agree with this, we don't get to see the rest of the inner chambers?"

"That's right!" Harry's smirk was now unabashedly filling up the entirety of his face.

"Shouldn't have revealed my hand so early," Pansy grumbled angrily. "You win this round, Potter."

"Yeah, you really shouldn't have!" Harry chuckled in response.

"So, we get to see the inner chamber then?" Cho asked excitedly, having no qualms about obeying Harry's condition.

"Yup!" Harry chirped, still riding high on his triumph over Pansy. "Although, be warned: we're going for a swim!" He transfigured his clothes into a wetsuit and promptly dove into the water.

The three stared at the ripples as the Boy-Who-Lived disappeared into the depths. "He doesn't leave much time for questions, does he?"

"Or contradictions," Pansy muttered in agreement, before sliding into the water and following after the boy. Cho and Cedric just shared a quick glance with one another before following after the young pair, sparing only moments to transfigure their own clothes.

By the time Pansy had entered back into the entrance hall of the hidden chamber, Harry had already propped open the door and was re-transfiguring his clothes back into place. As Pansy approached, he shot her a cocky grin while holding the door open. "Prepare to be amazed."

"What could possibly be…" she trailed off as she entered the room and spotted the first of many inconsistencies. "Is that badger trying to cuddle with the snake?!"

"Looks like it," Harry chirped.

"Why is that even here?" Pansy uttered out in complete befuddlement.

"Probably for the same reason this comfy chair here is," Harry said as he took a seat in a lion-themed chair. This of course drew her attention to the said chair. And then she noticed the forgotten blue cloak that was hanging up nearby.

"B-But this is the Chamber of Secrets!" Pansy uttered. "I know the door had a message for Gryffindor, but this is…This is his inner sanctum! Why would he taint it with relics of his detractors?!"

"Maybe they were closer than the history books suggest?" Harry offered blandly as he reached into his bag and extracted the book. "Isn't that what we're here to figure out?"

Pansy was silent in contemplation as she eyed both Potter and the book. "Indeed. That and whatever else is down here. We're in this together, aren't we, Potter?"

"Yeah, the four of us," Harry said, looking over her shoulder towards where Cho and Cedric were standing silently behind her.

"Indeed, the four of us," Pansy said, nodding. "So, shall we get started?"

"Yes, let's!" Cho interjected quickly as she moved past the Slytherin. After just a quick survey of the Common Room, Cho waved her wand and summoned a large chair towards them. Cedric likewise was summoning a table from the corner. The two of them set the furniture down before the chair that Harry was seated in and each took a seat beside one another.

"Where am I sitting?" Pansy asked with a snarky voice.

"Well, your boyfriend's chair is big enough for two," Cedric pointed out, gesturing towards the Gryffindor while looking expectant towards Harry and Pansy.

"I think I'll get my own, thank you," Pansy snapped with a look of disgust on her face.

As Pansy was doing just that, Cho looked excitedly at Harry with almost glittering, "So, Harry, how far have you gotten into the book?"

"Ahhhh…" Harry trailed off, flushing in embarrassment as he started looking everywhere but at his companions. "About that…I, ah…"

"You can't read it, can you?" Pansy asked bluntly, a superior smirk on her face.

"It's not like anything we learn in Hogwarts is written in Old English!" Harry snarked back with glare.

"So, you have no idea what it's about?" Pansy asked.

"It's the secrets of the Founders, what more do I need to know?" Harry bit back.

"Alright, alright! That's enough, lovebirds," Cedric called out placatingly, instantly earning two venomous glares from the younger duo. "We're here to read the book. So, let's read it."

"Alright, you might as well read the first passage, Cho," Harry said, sliding the book across to her.

"Why does she get to read first?" Pansy asked. "And can she even read Old English?"

"She gets to read it because I trust her more than I do you," Harry said bluntly.

"Actually, I'm a decent hand in Old English," Cho said modestly. "A little rusty but it should be enough to get us through this."

Ten minutes later, Cedric and Harry had gotten up from where they were seated and were browsing around the Common Room, inspecting the various knickknacks that were present. Pansy was seated next to Cho, both of them reading over and discussing whatever was written upon the opening page of the book. In front of them was a large measure of parchment and an old quill with colorful rainbow ink that was constantly changing colors as it was used.

Harry would've hovered over them to keep a careful eye on Pansy's notes but with Cedric wandering around, he needed to make sure that the older student wouldn't attempt to open the doom vault. But, thankfully, Cedric also seemed to pick up on the danger of that doorway too. Though, he did seem to be drawn towards the doorway with the crystal cave. Harry wasn't sure if he was ready to share that secret yet. Bad enough he already had to share the secrets of the tome with Pansy!

"Alright, guys!" Cho called out, bringing both boys back to the table. "If we've translated this properly, this first page is a warning."

"Or it's a riddle of some sort," Pansy said.

"There's only one line that suggests that," Cho countered calmly.

"Yes, and it's at the very end of the introduction," Pansy said agreeably. "So, it has to be important."

"So, a warning?" Cedric said. "A warning about what?"

"If we're not strong of mind and body, possessing high wisdom and fortitude to wield magic responsibly, we aren't allowed to learn from this book," Cho stated simply.

"In other words, we've been threatened with a messy doom if we don't proceed carefully," Pansy clarified with an ominous grin.

"Define 'messy doom,'" Harry asked.

"Something about 'rotting of the mind' and 'corruption of the body', you know, the usual stuff," Pansy said blandly.

"But there are no curses on the book," Harry pointed out, confused.

"Noooo, no curses," Pansy said.

"So, the knowledge itself is dangerous?" Cedric asked in confusion.

"No," Cho countered. "It's more like…if we don't use what we learn properly, we could…kill ourselves?"

"This is different from Potions, how?" Harry asked with a slight grin on his face.

"Maybe they were being colorful?" Cedric suggested nervously.

"You think the four greatest witches and wizards of their age would write an introduction warning about death and doom and you think they were just being 'colorful'?" Pansy asked. "I thought Potter was supposed to be the Gryffindor but are you sure you weren't mis-Sorted?"

Cedric couldn't help blushing in embarrassment as Pansy gazed at him in disapproval. "Well, I mean, everyone's trying to make it out to be more dangerous than it really is. I mean, just look at how they describe Quidditch! Well, maybe not Quidditch! But – oh! The Third Floor corridor three years back! Dumbledore kept saying that anyone would die a messy death, but it was only guarded by a three-headed dog! That's not all that bad—"

"And Devil's Snare, and a troll, a murderous keys and chess sets, impassable fires, and a cursed mirror," Harry added simply.

Everyone stopped as they turned back to stare at Harry. "What? You didn't think they were guarding the Philosopher's Stone with just Fluffy, did you?"

"That thing was called 'Fluffy'?" Cho asked in disbelief.

Shrugging, Harry just said, "He belongs to Hagrid."

"Ooooh!" Cho said. "That makes sense!"

"Hang on!" Pansy interjected. "We're getting distracted! You two can be wowed at the events of Potter's life later. Right now, I wanna know what's on the next page!"

"Do you really think we should keep reading?" Cedric asked uncertainly.

"It'd be a crime to stop now!" Cho piped, frowning at Cedric.

"Okay, okay, we'll keep reading!"

"So, other than doom, anything else on that page?" Harry asked.

"The handwriting changed for the last sentence," Cho explained calmly as she shifted the book towards the boys to show them the changed writing style. "I'm thinking this means that the tone of what we're reading will change depending on who wrote it."

"As for the last line," Pansy said. "It basically just said that if we were too stupid to understand the riddle, we shouldn't read it."

"So, what is the riddle then?" Harry asked.

Sliding the book back towards her, Cho recited, "This tome is not going to be for the faint of heart, for you may lose your principles of right and wrong. The knowledge and secrets within may lead to doom for those that don't think responsibly. For without wisdom, the power within will decay your flesh. But to those who are cunning enough to persevere and understand, the secrets of Sorcery are yours, oh students of Hogwarts." Once she finished, Cho set the book back down on the table and looked at the boy.

"Well, that wasn't ominous," Cedric couldn't help quipping.

"I guess that rules out Potter and Diggory," Pansy said calmly, grinning at the boys. "It's obviously not for dunderheads like you. You should just give the book to me, Potter."

Harry ignored that statement as he had a contemplative look on his face. "Hold on…Faint of hearts…Cunning and wisdom…responsibility and perseverance…knowledge… Does this sound like the Sorting Hat's song to anyone else?"

His three all blinked in surprise.

"The Sorting Hat song?" Cho asked in confusion.

"Yeah, like this bit!" Harry said. "Not for the faint of heart and losing your morals. That almost like bravery and chivalry."

"Y-You're stretching, Potter," Pansy said, though sounding very uncertain.

"Am I?" Harry challenged calmly, pointing at another line. "Knowledge and wisdom. What does that sound like?"

"Ravenclaw," Cho answered.

"And here, perseverance that is obviously Hufflepuff," Harry said. "And then there's cunning, and, well… This might come as a shock to you, Pansy, but most Slytherins are supposed to use their brains to piece things together rather than making blind assumptions. And then there's this. It's not referring to someone from any single House, just Hogwarts. I think they want us to be representatives of all four Houses if we're going to read this."

"It can't be that," Pansy said with hesitant disbelief.

"Then why wasn't it written by just one Founder?" Cedric asked, looking at the girl.

For several long moments, all three watched as the Slytherin girl floundered, searching frantically for a counterargument but finding none of substantial weight. Finally, Cho decided to throw the girl a lifeline. She turned back to the boys as she said, "As fun as it is to theorize, we really should get back to translating the rest of this book. That's probably going to take a while."

"Well, no time like the present," Cedric said agreeably.

Hogwarts Library

"You missed lunch," Hermione stated as Harry took a seat across from her. "And you weren't in the kitchens either. I checked. Where were you?"

"Eh, I was exploring the…secret room again," Harry answered quietly, thankful that he was technically telling the truth.

"And did you find anything else down there?"

"Surprisingly, no," Harry said. "Besides, a few odds and ends like something that might've been Gryffindor's letter opener."

"Why would Gryfffindor's letter opener be down there?" Hermione challenged.

"How would I know?" Harry asked, confused. "I just said that it might've been his. All I know is that it was red."

"Harry…" Hermione growled slightly.

"Alright, and it might've had a 'G' on it too," Harry admitted sheepishly. But then he recollected himself as he pulled out a very familiar tome from his bag. "But that's not important right now. This is!" And he proceeded to drop his lightsaber tome on the table.

Hermione stared. First at him, then at the tome, then back at Harry. "You are in an international tournament that is known to kill its competitors. You have discovered secrets of the Founders lost to history. And yet the most important thing on your mind is figuring out how to build a lightsaber? …I should have known not to have expected any different."

"Oh, come on, Hermione!" Harry whined slightly. "What's more important? Rediscovering ancient history or leaving your own mark on it?"

Hermione shot him a very desert-dry look. "By rediscovering ancient history, you have already left your mark on it."

Harry couldn't help but pout. "But it's not MY mark! I'd just be in the post-script! This! This is all me!"

"…Why can't you put this much motivation in your studies?"

"But I am putting my motivation in my studies!" Harry said, grinning widely. "I'm studying for this!"

Sighing heavily in annoyance, Hermione closed her own book and pushed it aside. "Fiiine, Harry, we'll focus on the lightsaber for now. But only because the owl hasn't come in with the Old English to Modern English dictionary yet."

"I knew you'd see things my way!"

"Fine," Hermione groaned. "So, I assume we're still focusing on the power issue, right? Have you gotten ahold of the new batteries yet?"

Hermione was referring to car batteries in this case. They'd already used their somewhat limited supply of double-As. And while they could enhance the energy output of the batteries, the runtime was severely limited to less than ten minutes for six batteries at a time. Harry's current idea was to use the much stronger car batteries, enhance them, shrink them, and then attach them to his lightsaber's power supply.

"Actually," Harry said, looking somewhat hesitant. "I was thinking about trying something else."

Hermione took a few moments to stare at Harry, trying to piece together what he could possibly mean. It only took her a few moments though. "You can't be thinking of using…that for that!" Hermione said, referencing one of their more recent discoveries.

"And why not?" Harry asked. "It's solid magic, Hermione! If anything has the power to create plasma easily, it'll be the crystals."

"So, you think it'd be a good idea to plug an unknown magical artifact that you barely understand into a plasma generator?" Hermione asked bluntly.

"Errr… Yes?" Harry answered sheepishly as he realized just how…foolish the idea could be.

"Honestly, Harry," Hermione groaned in exasperation. "If I wasn't here, you'd probably have blown your own hands off by now."

"Eh, at least magic could fix that!" Harry chirped with a knowing grin on his face.

"And you know this how?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Which one of us has had their bones regrown?" Harry shot back quickly, holding up his right arm in demonstration, having already predicted this question.

"Fine," Hermione conceded. "But even if you could fix yourself, that is no reason to blow yourself up regardless. We have to be careful about this, Harry."

"So, what do you suggest?"

"Testing, obviously," Hermione stated

"Obviously," Harry agreed. "But what kind of tests?"

"Hm…" Hermione hummed as she pulled out her own violet crystal, gazing upon it with contemplation. "Well…it feels sort of like my wand."

"So, try casting a spell with it?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"Hm…something simple," Hermione said calmly. "Yes, that should work."

Hermione's first inclination was to cast the Levitation spell. But considering just how much more powerful this crystal felt compared to her wand, she wasn't sure if it was a smart idea to cast it in the library. At best, she'd get everyone's attention on them and herself when something wondrous inevitably happened. Very quickly, she realized that they'd have to conduct these tests elsewhere. Standing quickly, she gestured for Harry to follow as she slipped her crystal back into her pocket.

"Unused classroom?" Harry asked.

"Unused classroom," Hermione acknowledged.

The two walked in silence as they left the library and headed for the nearest doorway that they knew was unoccupied. The door was charmed shut, but a simple unlocking charm fixed that. Thankfully, it wasn't one of the walls pretending to a door. Once inside, Harry quickly relocked the door and turned expectantly towards Hermione. "Should you or I?"

"You would try to cast something that would get us all blinded," Hermione stated blandly. "I'll do it."

"Well, you are the responsible one," Harry acknowledged.

"Quite," Hermione agreed.

Digging out her crystal again, she held it snugly but gently in her right hand while already contemplating how she'd have to change her hand motions to take in account of her not using a wand this time. Figuring that a swish-and-flick wouldn't be all that different from between holding a stone and a wand, Hermione began to make the motions. In her mind, she was already reciting the incantation when she suddenly felt a surge of power from her crystal. Immediately, the desk in front of her rocketed towards the ceiling, along with the desks around it, and the chairs behind them, and the old teacher's desk behind them. With a resounding crash, the bundle of furniture smashed into the ceiling. They had moved with such speed and power that Hermione felt that she might've also seen a couple of stone tiles from the floor also join in their ascent.

"Harry?!" Hermione cried out in alarmed delight. "Did you see—?!" She turned around to see a distinct lack of Harry behind her.

"No, Hermione," Harry's voice groaned from above her. "I didn't see it…but I sure felt it."

Hermione could only look upwards to where she could see Harry's form spread-eagled upon the ceiling as he continued muttering, "Testing. Testing: definitely a good idea!" Looking down at the girl, Harry easily saw the considerable distance between the ceiling and floor and painfully asked, "By the way…could you conjure…a couple of cushions…? This is gonna hurt and I don't need Pomphrey to lecture me again."

(Author's Note) Hm... Not entirely where I wanted to end this chapter, but several factors were kinda gunning for it's early conclusion. Chiefly among them is that my good Fiori75 got into a car accident. Some jackass ran him right off the road and drove away without even trying to see if he was okay! Let's hope he gets better soon so we can continue with this story (and others) again in the near-future.

Now, I've got a question for you all. Which would you prefer we focus our attention on going forward in this story?
1. Harry working on his lightsaber?
2. Decoding the Founders' book?
3. Harry learning Sorcery (whether solo or together with the group)?
4. Or some combo of the aforementioned?