Harry Potter and The Secret of The Heirs

Chapter Twenty

The Arithmancy of the Founders

The storm continued to rage all night, thunder and lightening hindering the search for the missing pair. There was no light in the sky except for the bolts of lightening. The moon and stars were covered by cloud.

The horse and the dog were searching. The horse in the air and the dog on land. Both were wary of the lightening in the sky. Both were wary of the danger it brought. But both needed to find the pair. The cat had remained inside, searching the castle high and low, but the horse and the dog ventured into the wilderness. So far they had found nothing. Morning would be soon approaching.

*~*

Daylight broke.

The sun streaming in the window seemed to revive Harry. Last night he had felt completely drained of energy, but now he felt refreshed and renewed. Armed with his mother's music and Hermione's love he was ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead of him. He looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful. Harry couldn't believe his fortune. He was resolved despite the difficult path ahead. He wanted more than anything else to be with her and he would do whatever it took. He waited a moment before he tried to wake her. Then he shook her gently,

'Hermione,' he whispered. 'It's time to get up; they're probably looking for us. Sirius will be worried sick.'

She rubbed her eyes as Harry shook her gently.

'How long do you think we've been missing?' she asked.

'We went for a walk yesterday morning after breakfast and we didn't return. I'm fairly sure it's morning again now. I can't tell, because it was mid afternoon when we got here, and it was dark, but I'm fairly sure it's morning now.'

Hermione leant over and kissed him.

'I'd prefer to stay longer, but I'm sure people are worried,' she said. 'Our clothes should be dry by now, I'll go and check.'

Hermione reappeared in the room a couple of minutes later, fully clothed.

'They're still a bit muddy,' she said, 'but they'll get us back up to the castle. I'll wait here while you get changed.'

Harry obeyed, walking out the door and pulling on his extremely muddy clothes. He called out to Hermione and then they headed back to the castle. A large black dog walked across their path. The dog looked wet and muddy, as though he had been out all night.

'Sirius,' Harry thought. 'How typical. I hope he hasn't been looking all night.'

They headed straight for the Great Hall where McGonagall, Dumbledore, Sirius, Chrys and Snape were waiting for them.

'Where have you been?' McGonagall said sternly. 'We have been worried sick and have been searching all night long.' Harry glanced up and saw that Snape was fuming. He was waiting for Snape to suggest that they should be expelled, but he didn't seem to say anything.

'We got caught in the storm,' Hermione explained. 'We ran to Hagrid's for cover because it was the closest shelter. We fell asleep.'

Snape was still glaring.

'We have been searching for you all night,' McGonagall began, 'however I shall not punish you, extenuating circumstances Severus. I am glad you are okay. Now go and shower and change before breakfast and Miss Granger bring your book Arithmancy and The Founders, we have a lot to discuss this morning.'

Harry and Hermione obeyed, making their way to their respective Prefect's Bathroom, Harry giving Hermione a peck on the forehead before she entered.

'Meet you in the common room,' he whispered.

Harry made his way up to the fifth floor, four doors down from the statue of Boris the Bewildered.

'Pine-fresh,' he whispered. Harry entered the bathroom, still as impressed with it now, as he had been the first time he entered it in fourth year to work out the clue that was held in the golden egg for the Triwizard Tournament. He turned on several of the bubble bath taps filling the bath with as much foam as possible before hopping in.

Harry lay in the pleasant mix of warm water and bubbles while he contemplated the events of the last forty-eight hours. Before Christmas day he had been Harry Potter, Head Boy of Hogwarts, a member of Dumbledore's secret group of operatives and Lavender Brown's boyfriend. He felt like so much had changed since then, he had been truly awoken for the first time in his life. Harry was now a completely different person. He had purpose, though he did not know what it was, he sensed that something had happened yesterday that would shape his destiny. The face in a sense had been right; he knew that he was destined to do something that would change the course of the future. How he knew this, he did not know. He was no longer afraid of what the future might hold; he knew he could face it with courage and with Hermione by his side. Although he didn't know how he was going to work things out with Lavender, he somehow sensed that it would work out fine.

Harry jumped out of the bath, noticing something on his hip that he had not seen before. It was almost like a tattoo, a golden lion on his left hip. Pondering this, he wrapped himself in one of the towel before heading back to Gryffindor Tower to locate some clothes. About fifteen minutes later he met Hermione in the common room. He noticed she was clutching the book that McGonagall had asked for.

'Why do you think they want that for?' Harry asked.

'I'm not sure' she replied. 'I think it might have something to do that lightening bolt that almost killed us yesterday.'

'Do you have a theory?' he asked, knowing her all to well.

'Not a substantial one,' she replied. 'There are a few things in this book I was telling Chrystal about and she seemed fairly interested. There's supposed to be a Prophecy that's associated with the founders and I think it involves Arithmancy and a Covenant.'

They made their way down to the Great Hall quickly so that they could discover what was going on.

There was an eerie feeling in the air during breakfast that morning. No one said anything; the Great Hall was in total silence. Harry ate quietly desperately wanting to break the silence but for some reason he wasn't quite game enough. Finally Dumbledore broke the silence.

'Harry, Sirius and Chrystal,' he began, 'you three come with me, Severus please continue your work on that potion. It is vital to restore Mrs Figg's health. Hermione you are to go with Minerva for now, you may join us in thirty minutes or so. You should as well Severus.'

His tone was serious. Everyone in the room seemed to sense that the world had changed. There was a very different feel to it than on Christmas Day.

Dumbledore led the three up towards Chrystal's office.

'I assume you've anti-bugged your office' he asked.

She nodded her head.

'As much as is magically possible,' she replied.

Dumbledore drew the curtains and motioned for everyone to sit down.

'Sirius and Chrystal are aware of parts of what happened last night,' he said. 'I sense somehow that you young Harry are aware that something happened yesterday. You are aware that that was not just any storm.'

'Something of great magnitude happened,' Harry replied. 'Something that will change the course of the future. I am involved somehow. Can you tell me?'

'Have you heard of The Prophecy of Saoghal Harry?' Dumbledore asked.

Harry shook his head. The Prophecy. He wondered if it was the same one Hermione had mentioned. Even if it was he didn't know anything about it.

'The Prophecy of Saoghal was re-revealed last night,' Dumbledore said. 'You are a component in two prophecies, which predict the fall of Voldemort. The first one, Trelawney's first prediction, predicted the fall of Voldemort by a baby lion.'

A lion, did Dumbledore know his Animagus?

'You realise that you are the lion, you are a Leo, you are also a Gryffindor and you defeated Voldemort as a baby. Trelawney's prophecy was fulfilled. There was a second prophecy given shortly before Trelawney's, predicting his return and a final conquest between the Heirs of the founders. The Prophecy of Saoghal. It also mentioned a lion, a lion that would defeat the Dark Lord once and return to face him again. You are that lion Harry, which also makes you Gryffindor's Heir. We have been checking this Harry and it is certain, the Potter's are descended from Godric Gryffindor. This makes you part of the prophecy given yesterday and therefore part of The Covenant of Light.'

Dumbledore glanced at him. Harry was trying to absorb the knowledge. The three sat in the room and allowed Harry to come to terms.

'Had Voldemort heard this prophecy?' Harry asked. 'Is that why he tried to kill me? Is that why he killed my father? He didn't want to kill my mum, he told her to step aside. It was me he was after.'

'We believe Voldemort had heard this prophecy.' Dumbledore replied. 'And it is why he went after you, why he continues to seek you out. However that is not of importance at the moment. Voldemort knows you are in this prophecy and he will know that it was revealed last night, as he is involved as well. You felt it as the lightening struck, didn't you?'

Harry nodded again. He, the Heir of Gryffindor. No wonder he had pulled Gryffindor's sword out of the Sorting hat. And as Voldemort was the Heir of Slytherin no wonder he was after Harry. Just as Gryffindor and Slytherin were drawn against each other, so would their Heirs be.

'What does The Prophecy say?' Harry asked.

'It talks about the Heir's of the Founder's joining forces to face the Heir of Slytherin. The Heir's will form a triangle equal to or double that of the 'founders we mourn'. That assumes the founders form a triangle of sorts. The prophecy is unclear, it differed each time I heard it. Hermione and Minerva are working on it at the moment. I must warn you Harry that The Prophecy does not talk about who will win, just that the Heir's will join forces. I suspect only part of The Prophecy has been given, that more has been foreseen and that on of the heir's will predict the fall. Do you understand the consequences of what I'm saying?'

Harry nodded. He was still in awe of being Gryffindor's heir. His new sense of purpose meant tat he was not afraid. He was willing to face whatever he had to destroy Voldemort, even if it meant sacrificing himself. Dumbledore had called him the lion. The lion. The tattoo.

'Professor,' Harry said. 'This morning I noticed a golden lion tattoo on my hip. It wasn't there before. Do you think it's a sign?'

'I don't know Harry,' he replied. 'Perhaps Miss Granger may have more information for us. I think I hear them coming now.'

Sure enough McGonagall and Hermione entered the room shortly afterward, as did Snape.

'Minerva,' Dumbledore said. 'Have you filled Miss Granger in?'

McGonagall nodded in reply.

'What have you discovered?' he asked.

'The four founders' characters don't form a triangle, they reduce to nine,' Hermione said. 'However Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff reduce to a three, which is the first triangle. And Slytherin reduces to a six; double that of the others and also a perfect number. The Heirs, to equal Slytherin's power, should reduce to a six. That is a triangle that is equal to Slytherin and also doubles that of the other founders. Also Voldemort's number is three.'

Harry wondered what Arithmancy had to do with it. It didn't help explain his tattoo. It just meant that his character and two other unknown people's characters had to reduce to six. He'd heard enough about Arithmancy before lessons had started and that had been enough to put him off.

Hermione placed a piece of parchment on the table. It read;

Rowena = 9+6+5+5+5+1 = 31 which reduces to 4

Helga = 8+5+3+7+1=24 which reduces to 6

Godric = 7+6+4+9+9+3 = 38 which reduces 11 then 2

4+6+2=12 which reduces to 3 (a triangle)

Salazar = 1+1+3+1+8+1+9= 24 which reduces to 6 (a perfect number and triangle)

Harry = 8+1+9+9+7= 34 which reduces to 7

If the Heirs must reduce to 6 then the totals can be 15, 24, (cannot be more because the largest total of three reduced numbers is 27)

7 + x + y = one of the above.

Taking 15

7 + x + y = 15

x + y = 8

Taking 24

7 + x + y = 24

x + y = 17

If 24 is the case x and y must equal 8 and 9.

'How does that help us?' Snape snarled from the corner.

'It tells us what the totals should be,' Dumbledore replied. 'Once we locate another one of the two, we shall be able to figure out what the third heir's total is, making it easier to locate the third. Do you know anything about a tattoo Hermione?'

'According to the prophecy in here,' Hermione said as she held up her copy of Arithmancy and the Founders, 'the true heirs will have their ancestor's symbol appear just above their left hip, when the time nears for them to face Slytherin. So Gryffindor's heir will have a lion, Hufflepuff's a badger and Ravenclaw's an eagle. And they should have appeared yesterday.'

'There's your answer Harry,' Dumbledore said. 'That's where the lion came from. Do you need anymore convincing?'

He shook his head. He didn't really think much of Divination, but this seemed to be an old prophecy and he had known the occasional one to come true. He glanced down at the open page of Hermione's book.

"Slytherin can only be defeated by the joint effort of the Heirs of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff and even then it will be a grim battle with no foreseeable outcome."

'Do you know who the other Heirs are?' he asked.

'I think I know who one is,' Dumbledore said slowly and deliberately. 'I am working on confirming this. I have no idea who the other Heir is. The only clue is that they're both female and I would think from very old wizarding families. I am working on tracing the family trees but that can take ages, they will both be older than you however Harry. I will continue my search, you have all been enlightened, and I shall inform the other operatives. You will know when the time comes Harry.'

Harry and Hermione stood up to leave but Sirius interrupted.

'Harry,' he said. 'I'd like to talk to you alone for a couple of minutes before you two take off.'

Harry saw the serious, un-Sirius look on his face. Sirius led him to a room off the corridor.

'I know it's none of my business Harry,' he said somewhat flustered. 'But what is going on between you and Hermione?'

'Is it that obvious?' Harry asked before he could even think about denying it.

'There's definitely something there that wasn't there on Christmas Day,' Sirius replied. 'Just don't get yourself caught in an awkward situation if you can avoid it. Have you broken up with Lavender?'

Harry shook his head.

'She's a Seer Harry,' Sirius said. 'You better hope she didn't see what went on last night in the Orb.'

Harry went bright red. He didn't know whether Sirius was second-guessing him or not. Could Sirius really know what happened?

'I didn't plan it,' Harry replied.

'A lot of things happen that we don't plan Harry,' Sirius said silently. 'If you want an example, just look at my life.'

Harry was silent. He knew that Sirius had been through the woodwork for protecting his family. Sirius had never planned on spending twelve years in Azkaban, nor did he intend in falling in love with an Auror. Hence he should understand the situation he was in.

'I love her,' he said simply. 'I didn't intend to fall in love with her. But being with Lavender just isn't the same. Lavender's a good friend, we have a lot of fun together and we care about each other. But I don't feel the way about her that I feel about Hermione. I didn't even realise it until Christmas Day.'

'I understand Harry,' Sirius replied. 'Just try not to hurt anyone because of it.'

Harry walked silently out the door. There was just over a week left before everyone came back. He had just over a week to deal with everything he had just heard. Yet he couldn't help but feel proud. He was descended from Godric Gryffindor, the greatest (in Harry's opinion) of the four founders.

He made his way back o the common room, where he was greeted with a long kiss from Hermione.

*~*

Snape approached Harry the next day. Harry was unable to hide his surprise.

'I'd just like a quick word,' he said. 'I'm probably telling you something that you already know. I am the one who told Dumbledore that Voldemort knew you were part of The Prophecy. I didn't do it for you; I did it for your mother. I am guessing you have figured this out.'

'Actually no Professor,' he said. 'You give me far too much credit.'

'Well, if I hadn't told you, Black would have,' Snape replied with a snarl in his voice. 'Just don't go and get yourself killed and make what I did worthless Potter.'

*~*

The holidays sped by after that. The only eventful happening was the temporary cancellation of the European Cup, which was announced in The Daily Prophet. It had been postponed until the summer holidays. Ron had written that very afternoon, to tell them that all Cannon games for the rest of the season were cancelled until further notice, because they weren't likely to make the finals. He hadn't even got to play a game yet. They both felt sorry for him, but they could understand where the League was coming from, given that Hogwarts was thought to be a target already and holding a Quidditch Cup there would certainly make it one. Hermione and Harry slipped back into the same routine again; the only difference being that Hermione would spend the night in Harry's room, instead of just coming and tucking him in.

Although Harry had not worked out what he was going to do about Lavender yet, both he and Hermione were resolved to talk to Ginny as soon as she got back.

'We don't want to put her in anymore danger than she already is,' Hermione had said.

They wrote to Ron immediately and he replied agreeing with them.

The holidays finally ended and Harry hoped that the three weeks he and Hermione had spent together wouldn't be as obvious to the entire student body as it had been to Sirius.

Harry and Hermione patiently awaited the arrival of the others in the common room. Both were silent. Hermione hadn't asked Harry what he was going to do about Lavender, nor had she commented on The Prophecy. Harry felt that this had created a slight uneasiness between the two of them today. He hoped that everything would go as smoothly as he felt it would, the day after the storm.

Around three o'clock Harry could hear a noise in the corridor and soon enough students were entering the common room. The chattering was a peculiar sound after having close to three weeks of silence. Neville immediately greeted Harry.

'Guess what Harry,' he said excited. 'You know Natalie, in fourth year. The girl with light-brown hair who's a Chaser. We're going out.'

Harry offered his congratulations to Neville, light-heartedly saying that he was surprised that Neville could remember, as he scanned the room for Lavender. She finally appeared after what seemed like ages. She looked sad and upset. She walked over to Harry.

'I know,' she whispered softly in his ear. Harry felt a crushing sensation in his chest. He was a terrible person. Harry grabbed her hand and led her out of the common room to a quiet little alcove.

'I'm sorry,' he said.

'It's okay,' Lavender said softly as she tried to stifle a tear. 'You didn't mean for it to happen, I hoped that it wouldn't but I could tell by the way you were searching me out.'

Harry looked confused. He didn't think that she really thought it was "okay."

'I foresaw it,' she said. 'About a week before the explosion. That's why I was so cruel to Hermione that day. I wanted to warn you, I hoped that you would resist and not give in to yourself. You love her don't you?'

Harry looked at this poor girl. He could only imagine how she was feeling. He had betrayed her, and she knew he was going to. She had spent her whole holidays tormenting herself, tearing herself apart, and hoping that what she had seen would not occur. But it was no good. It had. And now she was alone.

'I'm sorry Lavender,' he whispered. 'I can't live a lie and I can't lie to you and pretend. I don't want to live that way. I just wish you hadn't found out that way.'

'I'll always be your friend Harry,' she said. 'It doesn't matter what happened. I enjoyed the time we spent together, but I knew you didn't love me. If it weren't Hermione it would have been someone else. Please lets not speak of it again. I want us to be friends.'

Harry nodded and hugged her. Then she ran off back into Gryffindor Tower. Harry followed after her slowly. He felt awful, yet relieved. He hadn't had to actually break up with her or tell her about Hermione. It made it slightly less unpleasant, if at all possible. He re-entered the common room, spying Ron and Hermione sitting in the corner, waiting for him to return. He gave them a look.

'Where's Ginny?' he asked.

'Having a stroll with Malfoy,' Ron replied somewhat sarcastically.

They filled Ron in on what Harry had seen the night Malfoy was initiated.

'We've got to protect her,' Hermione said.

They agreed to confront Ginny after dinner. She would have to sit near them anyway, so they could corner her then. After that was sorted out, Hermione looked at Harry questioningly.

'Lavender and I broke up,' he told them both. There was a look of delight on Hermione's face, but Harry gave her a 'I want to talk to Ron alone' look.

Hermione seemed to get the hint, as she left them alone, telling them she'd meet them just before dinner. Before Harry could say anything Ron shocked him.

'It's because of Hermione isn't it?' Ron asked.

'What?' Harry asked.

'I could see it a mile off,' Ron said. 'Hermione's been staring longingly at you for months. Then there were moments when I thought you felt the same way, but you never acted on it. I wondered how long it would take for you to figure it out. It's okay you have my blessing.'

Harry couldn't believe it. How dim was he if Ron could work it out before he did?

'How did you finally figure it out then?' Ron asked.

Harry told Ron about his mother's music and listening to Hermione singing it. He told Ron how he had been seeing her differently for months, and then finally he told Ron about the storm and The Prophecy of Soaghal.

'Whoa,' Ron said. 'You had no idea?'

Harry shook his head.

'No one ever said anything,' he replied.

Harry then pulled his trousers down slightly so that the lion on his hip was more visible. The lion was more prominent now than it had been. Ron stared in amazement.

'It's pretty cool tattoo anyway,' he said.

Hermione interrupted them at this point and the Trio left for dinner.

They waited until Ginny had finished her meal before Harry and Ron grabbed either side of her and led her off towards the empty charms classroom. She protested the entire way; it was in fact making quite a scene.

'Okay Ginny,' Harry said, 'we know you're a responsible young lady, but you just can't go out with Malfoy anymore.'

'He's a Death Eater Gin,' Ron said. 'I don't want you hurt, but Harry saw him get the Dark Mark.'

Ginny did not appear surprised. In fact the look on her face worried Harry.

She looked Ron straight in the eye.

'No he's not,' she replied angrily. 'I told him you'd be like this. He's not a Death Eater, he's a spy.'