Harry Potter and the Return of the Heirs - Chapter Twelve
Harry Potter and the Return of the Heirs
By J.C. Vascardi
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Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. No money is being made on this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places and characters that are not featured in the books.
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Chapter Twelve
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The next morning Ryan awoke in a huge bedroom and for a moment he thought he was back at Cromwell Hall; that was until he realized that the décor of this room was different than his room there, not to mention the fact that this room was probably twice the size. Blinking a few times and shaking his head to clear the cobwebs of sleep, he soon remembered that he was still at Hogwarts and sitting in the same bed that his ancestor, Rowena Ravenclaw, had slept in over a millennium ago.
"So it wasn't a dream," Ryan said softly. "I really am Ravenclaw's heir."
"Yes, you are," said a voice next to him, and Ryan jumped slightly when he felt a pair of arms wrapping around him.
Ryan relaxed when he realized it was Justin. "Oh, sorry, Justin, but I'm not used to waking up next to someone. You startled me."
"It's okay. I'm sorry I scared you," Justin said as he moved in for a kiss, but Ryan just scrunched up his nose and moved away.
"Justin, no offense, but you really need a breath freshening charm."
"Are you saying I have morning breath?"
"Yes," Ryan said as he reached over to the nightstand, grabbed his wand, pointed it at Justin's mouth and muttered something under his breath. "Ah, much better, now where were we?"
Justin smiled as the two of them leaned in and kissed each other passionately. The kiss continued for several minutes and when it finally broke, Ryan said, "You know, I could really get used to this."
"What?"
"Waking up next to you," Ryan answered with a smile as he kissed the tip of Justin's nose, causing Justin to giggle.
"Yes, so could I," Justin said. "You think we can just move in here?"
"Well, I don't think that'll work," Ryan replied. "I mean, I think it would generate way too many questions if we both suddenly move out of our dormitories. I don't think that's something that we'd be able to hide for very long."
"Yeah, you have a point," Justin conceded. "I suppose it's possible that our absence may have already been noticed by our dorm mates."
"Yeah, it's, um," Ryan paused and said, "Tempus! 7:30 a.m."
A popping noise startled both Justin and Ryan as they looked over and noticed Dobby standing at the foot of the bed.
"Excuse me, Masters Ryan and Justin, breakfast is served in the dining room."
"Dining room?"
"Yes, Master Ryan, Mistress Ravenclaw's private dining room," Dobby said. "It is through curtained arch off common room."
"Ah, okay, Dobby, we'll be there shortly," Ryan commented.
"Oh, um, Dobby, could you please find out if our absence from our houses has been noticed?"
"Of course, Master Justin," Dobby answered as he bowed and popped out.
Ryan pulled Justin into another kiss for a minute or so, before they got out of bed and dressed. Ryan was glad when he found they were both still wearing their underwear, so they obviously hadn't done anything stupid. Considering he couldn't remember doing anything, he would have been very upset if he'd found out that he had in fact slept with Justin last night and couldn't remember his first time with him or anyone for that matter.
As if Justin could read what was on his mind, he smiled gently and said, "No, Ryan, we just shared the bed last night."
"Oh good," Ryan said relaxing a little. "I'd hate to think that my boyfriend was so bad in bed that I forget about it by the next morning," he joked.
"I resent that remark," Justin said indignantly.
"I'm sorry, Justin," Ryan apologized seriously. "I'm sure you're great, of course, I don't know that. I just want to get to know you a bit better though, before we, well, you know."
"Yes, I know," Justin said as he smiled at Ryan and wrapped an arm around his waist. "I agree with you. We've only been a couple for three weeks. We should get to know each other better before we go any further than snogging."
"Well, if your sexual prowess is even half as good as your skill with your tongue, then I know I will love every second when we do take our relationship to the next level."
Justin blushed and Ryan grinned as he leaned over and nibbled Justin's ear, "I love it when you blush."
Justin smiled at Ryan, before they left the room, hand in hand. Arriving in the dining room, Justin and Ryan saw that Hermione, Draco, Harry, and Susan were already seated at the table eating. The chair, or more accurately, the throne at the head of the table was vacant, along with one seat to the left of it. Sitting down at the head of the table, Ryan filled his plate and then asked, "So did everyone sleep well?"
"Yes, very well," Harry answered, as Draco and Susan nodded in agreement.
"I can't believe that I actually slept in Rowena Ravenclaw's quarters."
"Well, Hermione, think how I feel," Ryan said. "I actually slept in Rowena's bed, or at least the bed that I assume she slept in."
"You did indeed, Ryan," Rowena said as she appeared in the blank portrait over the fireplace. "So, did you and Justin find my bed comfortable?"
"Justin?" Susan asked as she looked at her housemate.
Justin looked a bit like a startled deer for a moment, but he quickly recovered enough to say, "Well, Susan, you know I'm gay. What you didn't know was that I've been dating Ryan for the last three weeks."
"Oh, well, you make a very cute couple," Susan said. "I'm happy for you, but, Ryan, you should know that if you ever hurt Justin in any way, the other sixth-year Hufflepuffs and I will be forced to kill you."
Justin smiled at the look on Ryan's face and explained, "My housemates have all been extremely protective of me since I was petrified by a basilisk in second year."
"Petrified? Basilisk?" Rowena asked, clearly shocked and confused. "Where in Merlin's name did a twelve-year-old wizard come across a basilisk?"
"In one of the hallways here at Hogwarts," Justin answered. "I was lucky enough to see it through Nearly Headless Nick though, so I didn't die."
Seeing Rowena's look of confusion, Harry explained. "Nearly Headless Nick is the Gryffindor house ghost. As for why a basilisk was loose in the school, Lucius Malfoy had slipped my friend Ron's sister, Ginny Weasley, a diary that Voldemort kept when he was sixteen, and the magically stored memory of him tricked her into opening the Chamber of Secrets. At which point he released the basilisk and three students and the caretaker's cat were all petrified."
"Why in Merlin's name would Salazar keep a basilisk in the school?" Rowena asked, as her brow furrowed in confusion.
"To purge the school of all who, in his view, were unworthy of studying magic," Hermione said. "In other words, Muggle-borns like Justin and me."
"That doesn't make any sense," Rowena said immediately.
"Why?" Harry said. "It's the truth."
"I have no doubt that you all believe it to be true," Rowena said, "but don't forget that I knew Salazar. While it's true that I didn't know he'd bred a basilisk, I do know that he didn't do it to purge the school of Muggle-born students. As I told Harry and Ryan last night, there is no difference whatsoever between a pureblood wizard and a Muggle-born wizard. Muggle-borns just have to work harder and practice more to reach their full potential, but they are just as magically qualified as a pureblood. Salazar routinely brewed the potion, which he invented I might add, which was used to help Muggle-borns reach their full power potential faster. Where on Earth did you all get the impression that Salazar hated Muggle-borns?"
"From the Sorting Hat," Harry answered. "It's mentioned several times in its songs, that Salazar thought Hogwarts should only accept purebloods, and that when the other founders refused to see things his way, he got mad and left the school."
"Well, that explains it then," Rowena answered, as a look of realization washed over her face. "Salazar remained at this school until the day he died. I know this because I was the second to last founder to die, outlived only by Godric. Salazar died three years, and Helga about six months before I did. I assume you all know that the Sorting Hat originally belonged to Godric?"
Everyone but Ryan nodded, since this was his first year at Hogwarts, he honestly didn't know that the Sorting Hat had been Godric Gryffindor's.
"What you probably don't know, is that when we were younger, Godric and Salazar were married, and they had a son named Alaric. Unfortunately, shortly after the boy turned nine, Salazar began to give him potions lessons, and one day there was a terrible accident in his lab, and Alaric died. Godric blamed Salazar for their son's death and ultimately it broke their relationship, leaving them bitter rivals from that day on. I can only assume that Godric's hatred of Salazar hadn't abated by the time he was the only one of us remaining, and he amended the Sorting Hat's memories to make it say that Salazar was a Muggle-hating monster, which I guarantee, he wasn't. I'm certain of that because when Salazar later re-married and had more children, one of his daughters married a Muggle-born, and he accepted the boy into the family with open arms."
"Godric and Salazar were married and had a child?"
"Yes, Justin," Rowena said as she nodded.
"How is that possible? They were both men."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Susan asked as she looked at her housemate with a look of total confusion on her face.
"Muggles don't accept same-sex relationships," Draco answered before Justin could say anything. "I remember Charles said that his late Muggle wife would have killed Matthew if she knew he was gay or dating Oliver."
"So, you mean to say it's different in the wizarding world?" Harry asked, very curious.
"Yes, Harry, it's different," Hermione answered. "Honestly don't you ever read? The wizarding world has absolutely no problem with same-sex relationships, and same-sex marriages are one hundred percent legal."
"Well, okay, but that doesn't explain how Godric and Salazar could have had a child together."
"Justin, that is the reason wizards don't have a problem with it," Draco revealed. "There's a spell which allows two wizards or two witches to have biological children together. In the case of wizards, a surrogate mother has to be used since men can't carry children, but the end result is the same: a happy, healthy child, the only difference being that it has two biological fathers and no biological mother."
As soon as he heard that, fireworks began to shoot off in Harry's brain, and he had the sudden urge to jump up and do a happy dance. One of the reasons that Harry had tried fighting the fact that he was gay was because as an orphan, he'd always dreamed of having a large family. He thought that being gay was some sort of cosmic punishment to make his life even worse then it already was, by making it impossible for him to have the family he always wanted. Eventually he had accepted being gay, but a part of him had always felt heartsick that he'd never have children. To hear that he could enter into a legal marriage to a man and have children with him made Harry one extremely happy teenager.
"So, you mean that Ryan and I could someday get married?"
"Yes, Justin, you could," Draco answered, before grinning and adding, "I suggest you not hyphenate though, and just take Ryan's surname. No offense, but Justin Finch-Fletchley-Cromwell would be way too long."
Everyone laughed at Draco's comment, and the six students settled into a companionable conversation as they continued to eat breakfast. Rowena spent quite a bit of time watching them from her frame, happy that she had at last been found and was no longer having to spend her time alone. She was also looking forward to the day when the other quarters were found, as she then would be able to visit and talk with her old friends and fellow founders.
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Meanwhile, in the staff wing of Hogwarts, Valen Lasinius was standing in front of the mirror that hung on his wall. The only thing odd about this mirror was that it wasn't Valen's reflection in the mirror, as this mirror allowed two people to talk over great distances.
"He's found out about being Ravenclaw's heir," Valen said to the person he saw reflected in the mirror.
"You're sure?"
"Yes, as you requested, I've been keeping a very close eye on him. He's been in the restricted section of the school library for weeks now, with a Gryffindor girl named Hermione Granger, looking for information on the Hogwarts founders. They obviously must have found something because last night he found the private quarters of Rowena Ravenclaw, and he later told a group of friends that he was Ravenclaw's heir."
The man in the mirror nodded, but stayed silent.
"It's only a matter of time, you know."
"It's only a matter of time before what, Valen?"
"Before he finds out about you and his real name," Valen elaborated. "I'm sure you realize that it's only a matter of time before he finds the original copy of `The Tome of the Founders' and learns not only who the other heirs are, but also the fact that his grandparents changed his name."
"Yes, Valen, I know, I know. The time is fast approaching when I shall have to come to Hogwarts, and then he will finally know the truth."
"You should also know that he's been dating."
"Really?"
"Yes, a Hufflepuff boy named Justin Finch-Fletchley. He's Muggle-born, but he is a good student, and a prefect. They've been sneaking off to snog for the last three weeks. They're lucky that I'm his step-uncle, or I would have had to take points from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff by now. Any other professor would have if they caught two students snogging after curfew, of course, they don't know that I've caught them."
"See that you keep it that way, Valen."
"I will, Master, I will," Valen said. "Well, I should be going. I have a class to teach in about twenty minutes. You would be proud of him though, he does very, very well in my class."
"I'm glad. Well, keep me informed, Valen," the man in the mirror said as his image disappeared.
Putting one of his usual ocean blue robes on over his tunic, Valen picked up his belt and fastened it around his waist, before fastening his scabbard to it. Taking his sword from its rack above his desk, Valen looked at the sapphire-studded hilt and the engraving in the blade that said, `Lord Valen Jorian Lasinius'.
"It won't do for my students to see that," Valen mumbled as he waved his hand over the blade and the engraving disappeared into the silver-like sword. Satisfied that the engraving was hidden, Valen carefully placed his sword in his scabbard and grabbed his wand from the desk. He really disliked having to use the thing, but for the moment, he had no choice but to keep up appearances, and not let anyone know that there was more to him then met the eye. Tucking the wand into an inner pocket of his robe, Valen quickly scanned the room to make sure he had everything he needed before finally leaving the room.
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Draco's Journal – September 25, 1996
I'm still in a state of shock, to be perfectly honest. I knew that each of the four Hogwarts founders had an heir in the school, but I never expected to be related to one of them. I knew that I wasn't an heir because if the Malfoy family had been related to any of the founders, Lucius would have made a point of mentioning it at some time, well, at least if we were related to Slytherin, or maybe Ravenclaw. If we had been related to Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, Lucius would have hid the fact, and probably killed anyone who found out.
Rowena Ravenclaw's portrait has provided some very interesting information. I know for a fact there are many wizards who would say that she was a raving lunatic, who didn't know what she talking about for saying that there is no difference between Muggle-borns and purebloods. Of course, seeing as how I've never really believed in all of the pureblood crap that my sire has preached to me all my life, I choose to believe that what Rowena said was true.
I also look forward to the other heirs being found, because I think it will be quite interesting indeed, if what Rowena said proves to be the real reason behind the Gryffindor/Slytherin feud. I can only imagine how everyone will react if it turns out that the Sorting Hat has been lying all these years, and that Salazar Slytherin was not the evil person that it has made him out to be. I, for one though, will be happy if it turns out to be true, because a part of me has always been a little upset about being in a house founded by such an evil and prejudiced man.
In other news, dear journal, I think I might stand a chance with Harry after all. I haven't heard it from his own lips that he's gay, but he did seem very happy when he found out that same-sex relationships were not only accepted in the wizarding world, but that same-sex couples could legally marry and have children. If he is indeed gay, then I suppose I can understand why he would be happy about that, since I'm sure that as an orphan he wants children. I just pray with every fiber of my being, that if Harry does have children, that I will be the other father.
I've never given much thought really, to the idea of being a father. I always assumed that one day I would be one, and I swore a long time ago that I'd strive to treat my children better than my sire treated me, growing up. Of course, as Rule #221 in the Malfoy Family Code of Conduct states, Malfoys must not have an excess of children. Rule #222 goes on to explain that an excess is more than two. Total rubbish if you ask me. I wouldn't mind having three or four myself, but if it meant spending my life with Harry, I'd gladly help sire two or three dozen. Of course, I might change my mind about that once I actually feel the pain of childbirth, seeing as how part of the spell that allows two wizards to have children together transfers the labor pain from the surrogate to one of the fathers, leaving the surrogate with only some minor discomfort.
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"May I have your attention, please?" Dumbledore asked as the clock on the classroom wall chimed half-past seven, signaling the beginning of this week's Defense Arts activity group. Once he had everyone's attention, the headmaster said, "As you know, we have been practicing the Disarming Charm and the Patronus Charm over the last few weeks. I am now satisfied that you all have mastered those charms, and I believe we are ready to move on to something new. Now, this charm is very advanced magic, in fact it is not even normally taught at Hogwarts. The charm I shall be teaching you now is usually taught during the course of Auror training, but I think it is a useful charm. Tonight we shall begin studying the Time Suspension charm."
`Time Suspension charm?' Harry thought, having never heard of such a charm. He had never even guessed that such a spell would exist.
"Now, the Time Suspension charm can be used during dueling and depending on the power the caster chooses to put into casting it, the charm freezes time for thirty seconds to a minute, allowing them time to cast other spells without interruption."
A murmur of excitement went through the students; they all were excited about learning a spell powerful enough to actually freeze time.
"Now, there is a variant of the charm which will keep it active longer than a minute, however, it achieves that by constantly drawing power off the caster's magical core. Can anyone tell me the inherent danger in doing so?"
Many hands went up. Dumbledore scanned over those who had their hands raised, and after a moment, he asked, "Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Drawing too much power from one's magical core can result in death, so only the most powerful of wizards would even consider using a charm that constantly draws power from their cores."
"Correct, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said with a smile, and nodded. "Five points to Slytherin. Since you are all students, I will not be teaching the variant of the charm that draws power from your cores, since I believe that would be far too dangerous for wizards and witches of your skill level. Now, the incantation for the Time Suspension charm is really rather simple and it is similar to the Time of Day charm. The incantation is Tempus Subsisto."
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To be continued...
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