Elementum Consensio by gryffins_door

Index

Chapter 1: Element the First: Water
Chapter 2: Element the Second: Fire
Chapter 3: Element the Third: Earth
Chapter 4: Element the Fourth: Air

Chapter 1: Element the First: Water

Author's Notes: This is the first of a four chapter fic that takes place during the summer after the final battle in DH, before the epilogue, and follows canon. Originally written for the Hogwarts Reconstruction Challenge in late 2007, this story became something a little more, since there were other things that needed a bit of mending after the war. This slightly expanded edit is from January 2011 to match the version on fanfiction dot net. In case you were wondering, I make no claims to anything in JKR’s Harry Potter universe. If you do borrow an idea from my little tale, a note of credit is greatly appreciated, as are your reviews.

Element the First: Water

o
o
o

“Harry! Harry, are you there?”

Turning away from the insistent voice coming from the parlor fireplace, Harry Potter murmured into the mass of flowing red hair burrowed against him, “If we pretend not to hear, do you think she’ll go away?”

The hair giggled. “Not likely. Might as well see what she wants.”

He groaned as he disentangled himself from the limbs and locks of Ginny Weasley, sat up on the loveseat and activated the magical floo connection on his end. “Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived, Savior of All Wizard-Kind, Order of Merlin First Class, Minister’s Special Advisor, and Too-Busy-To-Snog-His-Girlfriend, at your service,” he said with obvious resignation.

Hermione Granger’s now visible head laughed in the green flames. “Sorry about that, Harry. I know it’s your day off, but something’s come up and we could really use your expertise here. Could you floo over to McGonagall’s office?” Her excitement was palpable even through the magical fire. “Ginny is welcome to come as well.”

“Sure, Hermione, just give us a few minutes to freshen up. This better be good or you’ll never hear the end of it.”

It was an idle threat that he had started making a lot lately. A day off for Harry was a poor fiction anyway; he was in such demand at the Ministry of Magic the last few weeks — ever since that day after the Battle of Hogwarts when he had met with the new minister, the remaining heads of house at Hogwarts School, and his close friends (including all the Weasleys) in the Hogwarts Room of Requirement. Declaring he was tired of secrets, he told them about his activities of the last two years and everything he had learned, including Trelawney’s notorious prophecies, Dumbledore’s research into Voldemort’s history and the true nature of Severus Snape’s loyalty. It had been an emotionally wrenching occasion for everyone. Afterward, Minister Shacklebolt had asked for Harry's assistance in the rebuilding of their society, an opportunity he could hardly refuse.

Working with the ministry had been the most rewarding experience of his life, but also the most draining. He rarely had a chance to relax, which for him meant either spending quality time re-establishing his relationship with Ginny after a long year apart, or flying on his new LightningBolt broom, a custom racing model built especially for him as a gift from the Firebolt Racing Broom Company.

The new broom was one of the few perks of being famous that he actually enjoyed. Most of the attention he had received since defeating the darkest wizard in centuries had been more of a nuisance than anything. The awards, demands for public appearances, and constant attention from the wizarding media were all bad enough, but he had never thought the sight of an approaching owl would give him a sense of nervous trepidation.

That was before The Howler.

This particular missive was even more notorious than a typical howler (which was annoying enough) because it arrived just after Fred Weasley’s funeral service as the entire Weasley clan, mourning along with dozens of friends, Order of Phoenix members, Ministry officials and significant others, were lingering at the Burrow to share memories of the well-loved prankster. Harry was of course horrified at the appalling timing for such a diversion from the solemn occasion, but was driven beyond embarrassment when it burst open to emit a seductive alto voice that very loudly proclaimed the sender’s undying love for the Boy Who Lived. It was starting to describe just how that love would be expressed in very colorful detail before Harry could gather his wits enough to attempt to silence it. His first attempt was a Reducto blasting hex, but the inherent magic of the Howler brought the blasted bits back together so that it continued in a chorus of nasal soprano voices. A Muffliato finally cast a blessing of silence over the gathered company, but Harry, along with Ginny beside him, had to hear out the entire salacious proposal. Ginny didn’t seemed to mind too much, whispering in Harry’s ear that it gave her “ideas for later on” while the heat continued up his face.

But Harry’s heart dropped into his shoes as he saw Fred’s surviving twin brother George approaching. What could he possibly say to someone after creating such a scene at his brother’s memorial?

“Harry, thank you so much,” George said as he dabbed at the tear tracks on his cheeks. “If I didn’t know better, I would say Fred just pranked his own funeral and the Savior of Wizard-Kind at the same time.” He started to chuckle as he slapped Harry on the shoulder. “In fact, I know that’s exactly what he did. The look on your face is priceless.”

Harry could only stare in bewilderment as George burst out in hearty laughter for the first time since the battle that took his brother’s life. He spread his arms and yelled up toward the heavens, “That was brilliant, Fred! Show those Marauders how it’s really done!”

Some of those looking on were as shocked as Harry at George’s outburst, but those who knew him well were secretly smiling, hoping that The Howler had begun a healing for the single twin who had survived the Battle of Hogwarts. An investigation never uncovered who actually sent the infamous note, so George’s presumption was never disputed.

After The Howler, the arriving post owls brought an increasing flood of messages and gifts from adoring citizens, fan girls and those who just wanted to say a personal word of thanks for all he had done. Harry had his house-elf Kreature sorting it all for him just so he could manage to keep from drowning in it. He prayed for a quick end to the public’s fascination with him, but honestly doubted that would happen for a long time to come, if ever.

o o o

Several minutes after Hermione’s call, Harry stumbled out of the fireplace in the office of Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he noticed a large group of people already seated around a table, adorned in full wizard robes. Harry felt a little underdressed in his Muggle casuals.

“I’m sorry, professor,” Harry apologized as he cleaned the floo powder off himself and Ginny, who had just stepped out after him. “I didn’t realize this was a formal meeting.”

“Nonsense, Mr. Potter, we are just having a chat about the castle and its repair. Would you and Miss Weasley care for some tea?”

After the two new arrivals were settled into a couple of conjured armchairs next to Hermione and Harry’s best mate Ron Weasley, McGonagall began introductions around the room. “Everyone please welcome Harry Potter, who should be familiar to everyone here, and his friend Ginny, youngest of many Weasleys that have graced the halls of Hogwarts over the years. Mr. Potter and Miss Weasley, let me introduce the Hogwarts Reconstruction Committee. Here on my right is Mr. Perry Armstrong, newly appointed chair of the Hogwarts Board of Governors, who must approve any modifications to the castle.”

“So pleased to finally meet you, my boy,” intoned the chairman, “and personally thank you for your accomplishments over the years. I can’t say that I’m glad the final confrontation of the recent war happened on our grounds, but it does provide another chapter in our illustrious history, nonetheless, and we want to make the best of it.”

Harry shook the hand of the tall, imposing white-haired gentleman, unable to respond with anything but a polite “Thank you, sir.”

The next two guests appeared to be younger, but still at least twice Harry’s age.

“This is Caractacus Rubble, our Chief Wizard Engineer for rebuilding efforts, and his wife W. Olivia Wembley of W.O.W. Architecture in London. Together they have agreed to take on the challenges of restoring and enhancing our facilities here for the next generation of magical education.”

Harry flinched a little under the iron grip of Engineer Rubble, who just nodded his square-jawed head in friendly acknowledgement. Meanwhile, his better half was animatedly gushing over Harry and took his hand in both of hers; obviously she was the designated communicator in this odd coupling. “Harry Potter, I can’t believe I’m shaking hands with you — may I call you Harry? There is so much we have to discuss here and it is such a thrill to know you will be involved in the project as well.” Somehow the architect’s perfectly coifed hair and stylish dress robes didn’t quite fit with the gushing fan-girl demeanor, but Harry was getting used to people’s excitability when greeting a celebrity like him, much as he hated it.

“Of course, you already know Professor Flitwick, Hermione, Ron, and Bill.”

Professor Flitwick was the Charms teacher at Hogwarts and now had also taken on McGonagall’s former post of Deputy Headmaster. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley had been named (or bribed, if Harry’s cynical side could speak) Head Girl and Head Boy for the next year at Hogwarts and thus were acting as student representatives for the castle’s reconstruction. Harry reasoned that Bill Weasley, eldest brother of Ginny and Ron, must be on loan to help sort out some of the more difficult enchantments surrounding the centuries-old school. He had been a curse-breaker for Gringott’s Wizard Bank after all.

The Headmistress continued. “As you may have surmised, we have been discussing some additional facilities at Hogwarts as we undergo our rebuilding. Miss Granger has come up with a very intriguing proposal to further inter-house interaction and the well being of the students. Hermione?”

Hermione was already on the edge of her seat and eagerly commenced explaining her idea. “The concept was inspired by my Muggle upbringing, Harry. Near our home was a community-owned building that had an indoor swimming pool, areas for playing different kinds of Muggle sports such as basketball, squash, bowling — the kinds of activities that people like to do in groups and also help keep one’s body in good physical condition. If such a facility were available at Hogwarts and open to students from all houses…”

Harry interrupted, “That’s a great idea, Hermione! Everyone gets to have fun while getting to know other students outside their own house, and they get another reason to skive off studying!” He smirked at the anticipated glare from the headmistress. “So all you have to do is build this place, right? What do you need me for?”

“Harry, as we were thinking about that, it occurred to me that we already have a large unused space the perfect size, it just needs a little fixing up!”

Harry was confused. “Hermione, you’re talking about a huge area, and Hogwarts doesn’t have any large unused rooms, and nothing is bigger than the Great Hall… except...” His voice drifted off and his eyes went wide with comprehension. “Unless you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, and I’m thinking you’re absolutely mental!”

Ron snorted. “Couldn’t have said it any better myself, mate!”

He turned to McGonagall. “You aren’t serious, are you?”

“Very serious, Mr. Potter - that’s why your presence was requested.”

Harry shook his head. “This is so wrong in so many ways. As it is, the place is horrid. It’s practically inaccessible, and it needs more than a little fixing up!”

Harry’s eyes met those of Ginny, who merely raised her eyebrows at him, not offering an opinion yet. He stared into the faces looking at him around the room. “Don’t you remember what happened down there? It was a miracle that we came out alive.” The last remark was almost a whisper as he recalled one of the most terrifying episodes in his short life, which had seen more than its share of such personal horror.

Architect Olivia looked alarmed. “I didn’t realize that a danger existed.”

Hermione waved her off. “Oh, Harry took care of the danger years ago. The basilisk is dead. It’s perfectly safe now.”

Now the engineer’s eyes lit up. “There was a basilisk there?”

“Yeah, until I ran a sword through its skull while it drove a fang in my arm. One of my favorite memories. I would have been dead inside a minute if Dumbledore’s phoenix hadn’t dropped in to help me out.” Harry’s sarcasm belied his growing irritation with this absurdity.

“What else did you conveniently forget to tell them, Hermione? Did you mention that this was Slytherin’s Chamber of Secrets we’re talking about? His self-glorifying monument to arrogance, racism, and blood-purist rot? That the Last Heir of Slytherin left an enchanted diary that nearly sapped Ginny’s soul down there when she was merely a first year? If he had been successful, we would have had to put down two Voldemorts, not just one, you know.” As everyone tried to get their minds around that horrible thought, Harry leaned over to Ginny and whispered, “Not to mention I’d be left without you as a snogging partner.”

Ginny recovered quickly, thankful for his attempt at comic relief. “Damn right.” She gave him a wink and squeezed his hand under the table.

Hermione countered, “That’s another reason it makes perfect sense — how best to show how wrong Slytherin was by turning his creation against his misguided ideals. Fix it so that all houses, pure-bloods, Muggle-borns, and everyone in between can all enjoy it.”

“Erm, well, I guess that makes sense in some perverse way,” Harry said. He ran his hand through his perpetually messy hair as he considered Hermione’s logic. “Okay, assuming I agree to help with this little makeover, you still haven’t said what you need me for. It’s not like Kingley’s going to grant me time off to work on a school playground.”

McGonagall huffed a little. “Actually, Mr. Potter, he did exactly that this morning after we explained the importance of this project to his overall efforts in improving the Wizarding World and attitudes toward Muggle-borns. As to exactly why we need you, you bring a unique perspective to the project with your knowledge of Slytherin’s dark magic, especially that of his last heir. Not to mention the fact that no one else can access the Chamber, since there are no other known living Parselmouths.” The guests gave a start at that pronouncement.

“Yeah, there is that,” Harry muttered.

“That’s not all,” Bill added. “I’ve been checking the area for the types of enchantments used, and we can’t find anything. Not only is it unplottable, but there’s not even evidence of a magical signature such as a Fidelius Charm would produce. Nothing at all, like it doesn’t exist. There’s some very strong concealment magic in place.”

Harry looked in Bill’s eyes without a hint of a smile. “I guess that’s why it’s the Chamber of Secrets, yeah?”

Bill didn’t laugh. “Harry, I’ve been discussing this with Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, Engineer Rubble, and even Albus’ portrait agrees: We’re going to need all the magical power we can muster to overcome what’s down there. We need you to retrieve the Elder Wand.”

Harry shot to his feet. “Bill, you of all people should know that is not possible! You performed the re-sealing enchantments yourself! I am not going to desecrate Dumbledore’s tomb again, and it’s not a topic open for discussion.”

“Harry, no disturbance of the tomb will be necessary,” said a familiar voice, resonating with calm reassurance. Harry turned his head towards it and found himself staring at his former headmaster and mentor, reclining comfortably in the frame of his portrait.

“Erm, hello Professor.”

“Greetings, my boy. It is wonderful to see you well again, and I hear marvelous reports from your work with Kingsley at the Ministry. So much, in fact, that I wonder how all could be accomplished in such little time. I hope you have been taking appropriate time off for yourself, Harry. An unbalanced life can lead to a state of unstable health and mental lethargy. A little fun and relaxation can be extremely restorative to one’s energy and spirit, especially when assisted by those closest to us.” He winked at Ginny who blushed only slightly as she returned his smile.

“Sir, you really think I should retrieve the Elder Wand? You know its history better than I do.”

“Yes, Harry, and remember that a wand can only be powerful at its master’s bidding, and you are now the proper master and owner of the Elder Wand. In your hands it can be a powerful tool for good, as it was for me for many a year. There are great needs to be met, and the immeasurable potential that rests in the combination of your strength of character and the magical power of the Elder Wand is too great to ignore. You have my blessing to reclaim the wand and fully realize your true capabilities. I have complete faith in your ability to resist the temptations of power which ceaselessly plagued this old wizard.” His smiled widened. “You may wish to continue this conversation with Filius, who I believe has arrived at a proper solution to your other dilemma.”

“My other dilemma?”

“Yes, the physical retrieval of the wand.”

“Oh, of course. Erm, thank you, sir, again. For everything.”

“My pleasure as always, Harry. Speaking of which, don’t forget to have fun.”

Harry broke into a full grin for the first time since he entered the office. “I won’t sir.”

o o o

The meeting in McGonagall’s office adjourned for lunch in the Great Hall, where they met a number of the work wizards helping restore the ancient castle. Many of them were former students who had loved the school as a second home in their youth, and it would always be a special place for them. The others had caught the spirit of the place as well, coming together with a dedication they all shared for the project, and the unique experience would be a highlight of their careers, not to mention the source of many a tale to pass along to their descendants.

Most of the Reconstruction Committee remained in the Great Hall enjoying their respite before they were to join Harry in Moaning Myrtle’s favorite haunt. They had been flabbergasted to learn that the long-sought entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was hidden in a girl’s bathroom, but nothing about the Chamber or its creator fit any accepted traditions.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this craziness?” Harry glanced sideways at his girlfriend, carefully stepping around piles of broken rubble, scaffolding and stacks of new stone materials as they made their way from the castle steps towards the lake.

Ginny lifted her head towards the sparkles of sunlight reflecting off the dancing surface of the water. “I suppose so. It’s not like I remember much of the Chamber itself as I was under Tom’s spell when I was down there. The nightmares have all but gone away now. Besides, this will give us some good memories to replace the awful ones.”

Harry turned her face toward his. “I’m all for that, you know.” He bent down to give her a gentle kiss.

They continued their stroll down to the lake without haste, wanting to savor each other’s company and the serenity of their surroundings. A slight cooling breeze had a calming effect on the revelations that had come their way and they were able to survey the new additions to the grounds objectively.

The white tomb of Dumbledore was now the centerpiece of a new memorial garden beside the lake. There was a dark marble tomb for Severus Snape near a tall obelisk installed after the Battle of Hogwarts. It listed the names all those who had died or suffered injuries while defending the castle against the onslaught of Voldemort and his followers. Harry could not help but admire how the garden’s simple layout and appropriately placed flowers that were charmed to bloom all year long could bring about the feelings of calm introspection that washed over him.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Ginny spoke his thoughts for him. “It seems to be lacking something though.”

He turned to her. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure. I guess it’s just that all this is about death and remembering the past, not about life and moving forward.”

Harry looked around, his eyes drawn once again to the lively ripples out in the lake. Maybe she was right. Maybe what Dumbledore had said about balance worked in other ways as well. He would have to think about that.

Only Bill and Professor Flitwick had joined Harry and Ginny on their trek to Dumbledore’s tomb, and it was the diminutive Charms professor that was explaining his special summoning charm to Harry when they arrived.

“After discussing the tomb’s new protective enchantments with Bill, I believe that the charm will not be affected. Of course, this summoning charm only works with something that rightfully belongs to the summoner, so there is no danger that anything else can be removed from the tomb.”

Harry was grateful for that. It seemed ridiculously easy, but Flitwick had assured him that this was not a well-known charm, nor could many wizards accomplish the focus of energy required to summon an object through solid stone. He practiced the wand movements and incantation several times before addressing the tomb itself.

“Sorry about this, sir. I don’t mean any disrespect, and I hope you understand that what I am about to do was not my desire, but I was convinced that it was for the greater good, as you once put it. And, your portrait gave me its blessing.” He looked up at the others. “Well, here goes.”

He recited the incantation Flitwick taught him and brought an image to the front of his mind of the Elder Wand, the wand that he had just weeks ago placed back in the cold hands of Dumbledore’s body after retrieving it in that world renowned final confrontation with Voldemort. Harry waved his holly phoenix wand over the tomb. There was a bright flash of light as the Elder Wand arced through the air and Harry once again caught it with the reflexes that had served him well as Seeker.

This time, he didn’t have to worry about fatal retaliatory curses or appreciative crushing crowds; it was just the four of them in the quiet of the midday breeze.

Not sure what else to do, Harry merely offered, “To the Chamber then?” and they followed him back toward the castle.

o

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Chapter 2: Element the Second: Fire

Author's Notes: The return to the Chamber should be simple since the basilisk is dead, but nothing ever seems to be simple with Harry.
Some reviewers have kindly pointed out that JKR said that Harry would have lost his Parseltongue ability when Tom’s soul fragment inside him was destroyed, and I agree that would be logical based on her descriptions of the magic involved; however, I chose to let him keep that ability in this story for reasons that will become obvious in this chapter. Since this was not specified directly in the books, I can claim that it isn’t a real canon violation, but really, who are we to nitpick?
One of the challenge requirements was Harry’s retrieval of the Elder Wand for use in the construction process, otherwise I probably would have left it with Dumbledore. Harry also has to use double-wanded magic, and we will start to see some of that here.
The challenge was not specific on which part of the castle was to be rebuilt, but a makeover of the Chamber of Secrets was just too novel an idea to pass over. I have noticed that many fanfic writers tend to favor the film version of the Chamber, and while the “Snake King’s Lair� was certainly interesting, virtually no physical detail matched that described in the book. I can just picture the set designers’ meeting: “Forget the pillars – I want snakes! BIG ones! And places for Harry to be chased around! People aren’t buying tickets for a ten-second battle!!!� But I digress… For this story, JKR’s original version works just fine.
And is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that throughout the Harry Potter series JKR never used the term “ward� for an area enchantment?

Element the Second: Fire

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“Oh, my!”

Architect W. Olivia Wembley was studying the collapsed ceiling and walls in the tunnel leading to the legendary Chamber of Secrets. “Crack, luv, what do you think of this? Is this a structural failure? It doesn’t look very old.”

Harry had been listening to Hermione’s running commentary about the architect’s ever-fashionable wardrobe, which now consisted of form-fitted pinstriped coveralls and dragon-hide boots.

Engineer Caractacus Rubble picked up a few rock fragments before answering his wife.

“Nah, looks more like an explosion. I’d guess spell damage, judging from the blast pattern.”

Ron confirmed his theory. “Yeah, that git Professor Lockhart went all out with a wonky wand five years ago. We should have let him run off instead of forcing him to come down here with us.”

Professor McGonagall shook her head as she surveyed the amount of damage caused by the failed memory charm. Lockhart had not been one of Albus Dumbledore’s finer appointments.

Olivia turned to Ron. “Gilderoy Lockhart? Handsome bloke, wrote all those adventure books?”

“The very same!”

“I’ve always wondered about him; he was never one to stick his neck out in school. Quite the opposite, really.”

“You went to school with Gilderoy Lockhart?” Hermione asked with interest.

“Oh, yes, he was always swaggering about, bragging about some wonderful accomplishment of his, charming all the girls with that fabulous smile. Not that I was ever affected by it, you know.”

Caractacus snorted. “That’s not the way I remember it, Liv. In sixth year, you were like the unofficial head of the Lockhart fan club. You even had a jumper with his grinning mug stuck on it. Wore it every time he led you groupies into Hogsmeade, you did.” He chuckled as his wife’s brow furrowed.

“I was not a groupie!” she said with indignation. “I would never get carried away over someone so… so...”

“One-dimensional? And why did you get all those detentions for curfew violations that spring?”

“Curfew violations? What are you talking about?”

“Memory charms,” Harry growled quietly beside them. “Those were his specialty, he said. His books were all stories he nicked from other people. He would just remove their memories afterward to cover his lying arse. He was trying to Obliviate us when the spell backfired because he was using Ron’s broken wand. ‘Impaled on his own sword,’ Dumbledore said.”

“Hey, just like how you made old Voldy — right, Harry?” chuckled Ron as Harry rolled his eyes.

Olivia was looking dumbstruck at Harry. “Memory charms... oh, Merlin... Caractacus, what else did I do?” Her voice held a slight note of panic.

The engineer suddenly seemed very interested in getting through the hole leading to the rest of the tunnel. “Not sure you want to get into that right now, Liv. We need to press on here.” He winked at Harry before crawling through.

The rest of the walk to the Chamber entrance was relatively subdued except for the exclamations as the group worked its way around the huge snake skin just beyond the cave-in. They were carrying broomsticks to get back up the pipe, since Harry wasn’t sure if he could figure out the return command. Their adrenaline levels from the initial slide down were finally nearing normal by the time they rounded the final turn of the tunnel, which ended at a wall adorned with two carved entwined snakes. The Chamber had apparently resealed itself after Ron and Hermione’s visit during the final battle.

“Still can’t get any bearings down here.” Bill Weasley held his wand out; he had been muttering to himself most of the walk, trying to get some fix on how far below the castle they actually were.

Harry nodded. “I suppose you’ll want to find a better way to get to the place than the way we’ve come. We’re here, by the way.” He turned to face the lifelike serpent carvings and, as he had done to reveal the pipe entrance in the bathroom back up in the castle, he hissed a single command, “Open.”

The company stood in fascination as the two snakes seemed to come to life and slide apart, creating a crack in the wall that widened to reveal a dark, forbidding greenish gloom beyond.

Harry stepped aside. “Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets.”

As they passed through the opening, the air became cooler, dank and stale, and the echo of their cautious footsteps was noticeably more distant. For a moment they all gazed in silent wonder at the enormity of the hall.

“Amazing, simply amazing, to think this has been down here, hidden for a thousand years,” muttered Hogwarts Board of Governors Chairman Perry Armstrong, focusing his lit wand up the tremendous snake-entwined pillars, searching for the lofty ceiling somewhere high above them.

“This isn’t just a chamber, it’s a temple!” Olivia said with exhilaration.

Professor McGonagall leaned over and muttered to Professor Flitwick, “I hadn’t realized Salazar fancied himself quite this much, had you?”

The charms teacher broke into a fit of suppressed laughter and was unable to respond verbally.

Striding off, Bill Weasley headed purposefully toward the opposite end of the long hall.

The four teenagers had been here before and took their time walking after Bill. Ginny held herself more tightly than the slight chill probably required, and Harry placed his arm reassuringly around her shoulders. She had said hardly a word since leaving the bathroom above where the slide began, but she gave him a small but appreciative smile, putting on a brave face for Harry as they confronted the memories of five years before.

As they reached the twisted skeleton of the basilisk, Bill looked at them, the color drained from his face. “Ginny...”

Ginny stepped toward him and he met her with a smothering hug.

“Ginny, you told us all about, but I never dreamed it was like this...”

“It’s okay now, Bill,” Ginny breathed. She looked up resolutely at her eldest brother, in whom she had confided more than anyone else about the nightmare that Tom Riddle’s enchanted diary had put her through.

“Harry,” Bill said hesitantly over his sister’s head, “We never thanked you enough… Seeing this in person... I just can’t imagine how... ”

McGonagall broke in. “I was just remembering that dreadful day when we thought Ginny had been taken and we would have to close the school. How shocked I was to see young Harry step into my office, covered in filth and blood, and lay the sword of Godric Gryffindor on my desk as if he were returning a borrowed quill. He was only twelve years old, had fought this horrible thing, and won.” She looked at Harry with shining eyes. “I was never more proud of one of my students.”

Perry Armstrong added, “The tale certainly pales in comparison to the reality, Minerva. I believe the creature’s remains should be displayed for all to see, possibly at the Ministry’s Magical History Museum? They are adding a special wing dedicated to Mr. Potter and his incredible feats, you know.”

Harry groaned. More publicity — just what he needed.

Meanwhile, Bill had joined Caractacus, who had been muttering spells as he walked around the huge hall. After several minutes they both returned to the group with similar frowning expressions.

“It’s no good,” Bill announced. “The revealing spells aren’t doing a thing in here, even though they should. I’ve always gotten some kind of reaction. Even Muggle structures produce a background response showing that they don’t contain enchantments. There’s something here though — I can feel it, just like in the ancient Egyptian tombs. Of course, there you had to use a special ancient dialect that hardly anyone remembers...”

Suddenly Ron gave a shout, “Bill, you’re brilliant! It’s the language!”

“What are you on about, Ron?”

“Harry, it’s the language!”

Harry’s thoughts had been elsewhere; he had been paying little attention and it took him a minute to catch Ron’s meaning. “What kind of spell are you trying to use, Bill?”

“It’s just a simple revealing spell that’s supposed to indicate the hidden enchantments, but I can’t get any response.”

Harry looked back at Ron. “Couldn’t hurt to try it, yeah?”

Ron grinned back, giving him a nod. “Give it a shot.”

Harry held the Elder Wand at arm’s length and aimed up into the center of the Chamber. “Reveal your secrets!” he hissed as loud as he could.

As the others watched in wonder, a cone of pale purple light swirled from the end of his wand. It grew larger as it spread across the cavernous space, rising against the pillars until it found the ceiling and continued to the outer walls, down the surface and across the floor, until the entire chamber was enveloped in the eerie glow. Suddenly the purple glow morphed into a pulsing multi-layered rainbow of colored patterns that danced like a Muggle city at night, each wave and line indicating a different charm. They gaped at the amazing sight.

“It’s... it’s beautiful, Harry,” Ginny said as she felt Harry’s hand slip into hers.

Caractacus was muttering nearby. “Never seen anything like it — multiple concealments, shielding spells, anti-intrusion spells, integrity spells interwoven all over the place, an’ some I never seen before, just incredible...”

“Parseltongue, right?” asked Bill, eyes still roaming the ceiling.

“Yeah,” replied Harry. “At least Salazar was consistent.”

“OK, people, we don’t know how long the revealing charm’s gonna last, so we need to get cracking,” barked Caractacus. “Bill, looks to me like the anti-intruders need to come down first, along with the shields. We don’t want to touch the integrities, just so we don’t get half the lake rushing in here on top of us if something fails. Whaddya say?”

Bill was still studying the patterns of light around them. The engineer’s analysis was good, but he did not have the background in curse-breaking that Bill had. “Sounds good in theory, Caractacus, but there’s some of these that look like triggers for something else, and I think we better trace these down before we upset the balance here. Like you said, we don’t want the lake crashing in on us. Even being cautious, I’ve seen several of my colleagues get maimed and a couple even killed with booby-traps in old tombs.” He nodded over to the basilisk’s skeleton. “And I don’t think we want to underestimate the guy who put that down here. Besides, Harry can always re-cast the charm if it fades.”

Bill then described which of the lines he thought the trigger spells were, and each of them started to follow where they led. It was a complex network of magical energy that wound all through and around the other enchantments, binding it all together and apparently ready to set off some horrible consequence if disturbed. The more they studied it the more obvious the crux of the energy.

“It all leads back to here, somewhere near the top,” Bill said, standing at the foot of the giant statue of the Hogwarts founder that created the Chamber of Secrets, right under the noses of the other three founders, and they were none the wiser to his treachery.

Professor McGonagall looked up, shaking her head. “He was so talented, but his ideals caused him to lose focus on the larger picture, and he wasted the latter part of life away on pursuits that would serve no purpose, except to bring harm to those who disagreed with him while exalting himself. Just like this graven image, a display of such arrogance…”

Ron snorted as he and Hermione walked up behind her. “Sort of like someone who followed in his footsteps not so long ago, right, professor?”

McGonagall nodded. “Yes, I remember Tom Riddle at Hogwarts; very bright, polite, and an excellent student. He became Head Boy the year after I graduated.” She turned around at his gasp. “Yes, Mr. Weasley, I was once a student here myself, hard as it may be to imagine me as a teenager.”

Ron was at a loss for a respectful reply.

“Well, we will have less of that arrogance at Hogwarts in future,” said Armstrong. “Just yesterday the Board voted to phase out the House of Slytherin.”

“What?” said Harry, aghast. “That’s a bit rash, isn’t it?”

“The Governors didn’t seem to think so, with all the pure-blooded mania we’ve suffered in these last two wars at the hands of Slytherin’s heir. Since most of them are in Azkaban or hiding in disgrace someplace, it’s not like they could vote us down,” Armstrong chuckled. “Anyway, we felt it was a step that was necessary to put our magical education to rights. Oh, to be sure, the present Slytherins will be able to remain, but there will be no new Slytherins sorted this next term, or any term beyond. We will be making a formal announcement once the details are finalized.”

“Not that I’m fond of most Slytherins I’ve met,” Harry protested, “but that seems counter to what the new Ministry is trying to do, bringing everyone back together for mutual understanding. If the young Slytherins - and I believe there will always be some who fit that mold - can’t be sorted into their own house, what will happen to them?”

Armstrong replied, “Oh, they’ll be sorted into whichever of the remaining houses fits them best.”

“But it won’t be a good fit, Mr. Armstrong. They won’t be happy here. I predict that most of the former Slytherins will send their children to someplace like Durmstrang, where they won’t be exposed to any Muggle-tolerant thinking, and before we know it we’ll have greater division than we do now.” Harry’s eyes flashed dangerously as his temper rose. “Some talented wizard with a knack for dark magic will rise up on a new backlash of repressed pure-blood mania and we’ll be fighting this same race war all over again.”

Armstrong did not want to get on the bad side of the Boy Who Lived just now, so he refrained from making an inflammatory reply.

As they stared at each other, Hermione stood with a faraway look in her eyes that meant she was thinking about something. “Professor McGonagall, do you think Salazar Slytherin was as arrogant as Tom Riddle?”

Breaking away from the standoff with Armstrong, Harry answered for her. “I know he was. Just look at this place. And when Riddle called the statue, he addressed him as ‘Greatest of the Hogwarts Four.’”

Hermione turned to Harry. “He actually talked to the statue? Like a conversation?”

Harry frowned. “No, it was really just Tom telling it to set the basilisk free, which it did.”

“How did that work?” Hermione asked.

Harry noticed that Ginny was starting to pale slightly. “Hey, are you okay?”

Ginny nodded. “Yes, it’s just hard being down here again. But I need to see this through.” She lifted her eyes and gave him a determined look.

Harry gave her a hug for good measure. “Alright, yeah?”

Ginny simply nodded into his chest before breaking free again.

Once Harry was convinced Ginny was really okay, he turned back to Hermione. “The statue opens its mouth and the basilisk slides out. You know, it’s just like the Dark Mark the Death Eaters used.”

Hermione’s eyes were dancing. “Of course, that was probably his inspiration for the mark! Harry, do you think you could talk to the statue? I mean, if Riddle liked to mimic Slytherin’s methods, and he created the diary with a bit of his memory, maybe there’s a bit of Slytherin’s memory inside the statue, and you could tell him that he no longer has an heir and he needs to turn off his enchantments.”

“Hermione, take a breath!” Ron chortled. “You’re starting to sound a bit mental, you know?”

“It just might work,” Harry said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “It was pretty easy doing the other charm in here. It’s almost as if you’re allowed to do anything in this place if you speak Parseltongue...”

Ron stared at him. “You really think you can convince an old rock replica of one of Hogwarts’ founding blokes to simply turn this stuff off, just because you asked in snake-speak?”

Harry shrugged. “Sure, why not?” He swung onto his broom and kicked off, rising until he reached the head of the great statue, hovering at twenty feet away from its monkeyish face, while everyone else watched from the floor near its feet.

“Erm, I’m not sure how this is going to work out, so I wouldn’t stand there if I was you.”

Sensing the danger of their proximity to the statue, they all moved back toward the center of the Chamber.

“Be careful, Harry!” said Ginny, her voice carrying more than a little concern.

Harry took a deep breath and began to speak in Parseltongue once more. “Hear me, Salazar Slytherin, Greatest of the Hogwarts Four, listen to my words!” Harry was not sure, but sensed a greenish glow forming at the eyes.

“It has been a thousand years since you took your leave from the other three founders of this great school, a thousand years that you have been at odds with the majority of the magical world. You stuck to your ideals nobly, but a true nobleman must realize when defeat has overtaken him. Your last true Heir came to you over fifty years ago to carry on your work, but he himself could never truly believe that Muggle-borns were unworthy to be great wizards. He thought himself the greatest wizard of the age, while his own father was indeed a Muggle.”

The statue’s eyes were now definitely glowing brightly and a rumbling could be heard far below. The others did not understand Harry’s hissing words, but they could literally feel how they were being received. Harry was unfazed and bore on.

“In fact, your last true Heir made a mockery of your ideals. He claimed to represent pure-blood wizards when he wasn’t one himself. He only used them to gain power, his one true desire. When those same pure-bloods were no longer useful to him or displeased him, he tortured them and sometimes murdered them. His arrogance surpassed even yours, Salazar Slytherin. He even tried to make himself immortal, but was defeated at the hand of the one who addresses you now, and he is no more. You are without an heir.”

The eyes were now glowing red and the rumble had risen to a roar. Even if Harry wasn’t aware of the rising heat inside the Chamber, the others were and began hurrying back toward the tunnel.

“After a thousand years, defeat has overcome your precious House of Slytherin at Hogwarts as well. The Governors have taken steps to have you permanently removed from this school. Your legacy has ended forever, Salazar Slytherin, unless you do as I ask.”

The others waited helplessly outside the Chamber, watching as Harry continued to taunt the huge icon of the most notorious of the school’s four founders. They saw jets of vapor burst from the statue’s nostrils. Suddenly, flashes of blinding light immediately preceded a deafening series of explosions, almost knocking them off their feet. Horror-struck, they saw glowing fissures from top to bottom of the statue before more explosions threw gigantic chunks of it in all directions. Just before great billowing clouds of dust enveloped the scene, they could make out Salazar’s ancient head falling heavily to the floor, followed by the rest of his massive crumbling body. Many large pieces of debris, thrown with great force, were sailing toward them and would surely kill them if they made it through the opening.

Several of the nearest flying rocks suddenly exploded as flashes hit them from above. A blur shot through the opening uttering a loud hiss, and Harry Potter was off the world’s fastest broom before he even braked fully, whipping out a second wand and shouting a shield spell before targeting more of the rogue missiles with his first wand. The gap in the wall narrowed ever so slowly as more rocks hurtled toward them, but Harry held his shield until the gap disappeared. Several distinct thuds were heard as the remaining projectiles slammed into the back side of the wall.

Harry lowered his wands as he gave a deep breath. “Well, that was fun.”

Ginny grabbed him into a fierce but silent embrace, while everyone else peppered him with questions.

“Are you all right?”

“What happened? What did you say?”

“Wicked flying, mate!”

“Is the Chamber still intact?”

“Do we need to get Madam Pomfrey?”

Harry held up a hand for silence. “Thanks, I’m fine.” There was an audible sigh of relief and Ginny loosened her grip on him a little so she could see him talk.

“You will be pleased to know that control of the enchantments has been released, and we should be able to get back in to sort it once the dust settles. I don’t think there was any serious damage to the Chamber itself, but I couldn’t be totally sure because I was a little distracted at the moment.” He smiled and the others finally relaxed and they all laughed.

“So what was all that you said up there? And what caused all the explosions?”

“Well, I had a little chat with old Salazar, you see, and we came to a mutual understanding.”

“What? How do you mean?”

“I just told him how things were, and he agreed to abandon the Chamber. Under one condition, that is.”

Everyone stared, waiting as Harry turned to the Chairman of the Board of Governors.

“Mr. Armstrong, you will return to the Governors and convince them to reinstate the House of Slytherin at Hogwarts.”

“What? You dare to make bargains unilaterally with an old piece of enchanted stone and demand the rest of us to just follow along?”

Taking on the persona of the Hero of the Wizarding World once again, Harry retorted, “Yes, I dare. And if you don’t do this, I will not return to open this wall again, and neither will anyone else, because, well, there isn’t anyone else.”

Silence met Harry’s words as he motioned Ginny to join him on his broom.

“I expect your owl before morning, Mr. Armstrong. If it bears good news, then I will see you lot at breakfast in the Great Hall. Otherwise, I will be informing Kingsley that I am available at the Ministry. Now, if you don’t mind, I still have a few hours left of my day off to spend with my girlfriend. Good day!”

A sharp kick and they were off in a flash up the tunnel, leaving only swirling dust in their wake, along with a Headmistress who inwardly smiled as Harry Potter had just given her one more reason to be proud.

o

Back to index

Chapter 3: Element the Third: Earth

Author's Notes: Finally, some progress on the remodel project!
And a potential tissue alert later . . .

Element the Third: Earth

o
o
o

“Harry, are you paying attention?” whispered Ginny Weasley, nudging the Boy Who Lived in the ribs.

“Erm, yeah?”

Sitting in the center of the great room formerly known as the Chamber of Secrets, Harry and the rest of the reconstruction committee had been listening to Hogwarts architect W. Olivia Wembley for over half an hour. Her semi-transparent three-dimensional scale model of the Chamber was fascinating when she first conjured it in the air in front of their seats, but her lecture about the Roman Basilica building type — its historical use as a public meeting hall and frequent later re-use as worship space by the days of Hogwarts’ founding, and the likelihood it provided inspiration for the design of the Chamber — was a bit tiresome as it went on and on. For Harry, it was reminiscent of Professor Binns’ class on History of Magic, but he knew that Hermione was fervently taking copious notes and he could review if needed.

Harry’s eyes drifted around the group. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick were paying polite attention to Olivia, while the Hogwarts Board of Governors Chairman, Perry Armstrong, scratched away on a pad of parchment. He had avoided Harry all day, apparently uncomfortable that a teenager had usurped his authority the previous day, but at least he had followed through on Harry’s demand to keep all four houses of Hogwarts intact.

Bill Weasley was sitting off in quiet discussion with Engineer Caractacus Rubble, probably making sure that all the potentially dangerous charms had been removed from the Chamber, a task that had taken the group all morning. Ron Weasley certainly looked knackered; his slouched head wasn’t even pretending to be awake. Hermione and Ginny seemed the only ones really interested in the architect’s discussion.

Harry’s gaze drifted across to one of the snake-entwined pillars. He was thinking how lifelike the carving appeared when it suddenly winked at him. Whoa, Harry thought, I should not have eaten that third helping of treacle tart.

“...but once we magic away the snakes, there is really no ornament left to define a particular style here,” Olivia was saying. “That leaves us open to our imaginations. For instance, we could impose the familiar Norman Romanesque style, like so...” and she waved her wand over the floating visual model and the bare space was delineated with heavy stone arched colonnades supporting vaulted ceilings, much akin to the castle itself. “Or perhaps a later style, such as English Gothic...” and once again the model transformed sporting more graceful lines and details.

Still, Harry had little interest in the architect’s studies. He stared back at the snake on the pillar. Something sparked in his vision of it. It was no longer just a figure cut in relief on a column of rock. There was something else, as if it was a live creature, climbing with its long sleek body wrapped around one in a row of giant...

“Trees.”

Harry had not meant to say it aloud, but everyone was now staring as he rose and looked anew at the space around him. Engrossed in his vision, he made his way over to Olivia.

“Erm, sorry to interrupt, but do we have to reshape this as another building? I mean, students spend all their time indoors in poor weather. Why not create a feeling of the outdoors? We already do that to a degree with the ceiling in the Great Hall.”

Olivia considered him without expression. “What exactly do you mean?”

“What if these pillars were two rows of giant trees; instead of a ceiling we have branches overhead with leaves filtering sunlight into a sort of park down here, with real grass that you could lay on. A lot of Muggle sports are played outside on grass, like football.”

Ron had awoken. “You mean that crazy game that Dean Thomas was always on about, where they only use one ball?”

“Yes, that’s a great idea, Harry,” Hermione said, “but a football field is too wide to fit in here properly.”

Ginny snorted. “Hermione, are you a witch or not?”

Harry couldn’t help but grin at Hermione’s splutter, remembering another Weasley once saying those same words to his smart bushy-haired friend.

Olivia was catching on to Harry’s idea. “Yes, that would probably work; we could have wood floors conjured over the grass when they are needed for court games, vanishing when the game is over. Yes, flexibility will greatly enhance the efficiency and usefulness of the entire facility. The only thing that needs a semi-permanent home is the aquatic area, because we need to physically excavate the pool. Assuming we kept the outdoor park theme, the back wall could be fashioned as a great waterfall to serve as the focal point. We could even have cliff-diving off the top!” She was working her wand over the model, illustrating new amenities as quickly as she could think them up.

“Ms. Wembley,” McGonagall interrupted her stream of consciousness, “don’t you feel that cliff diving would be a dangerous activity in which our students to indulge?”

Ron tore his eyes away from the model. “Dangerous, Professor? What about Quidditch?”

McGonagall acquiesced with a sigh. “I suppose you have a point, Mr. Weasley. Well, this seems to have captured the imaginations of the young people. Would you care to comment, Perry?”

Armstrong was appraising the model as Olivia added a surf pool and beach area. “Looks like I won’t have to holiday on the Riviera next year; I can just come here.” He smiled for the first time that day. “Not bad, Potter.”

o o o

“What’s the pyramid thingy do?”

“Ron, honestly! It’s a regular tetrahedron; you can tell because of the four identical isosceles triangles that make up the sides.”

Ginny smirked at Harry, quietly muttering, “Yeah, honestly!”

Harry chuckled in return. The other adults had left for various reasons, leaving the teens with the engineer for the day.

Caractacus nodded to Hermione. “Arithmancy, right? Good stuff to know in construction.” He motioned his wand over the glowing glass-like object he had placed on the floor of the tunnel outside the Chamber entrance. He levitated and rotated it as it turned from yellow to red.

“Wonderful little bugger,” he continued. “Useful for all sorts of things. It’s called a tetralite, named partly for its shape as you said, and partly after the theodolite, a muggle surveyor’s instrument. When it’s yellow, that’s inquiry mode. It has been measuring the dimensions of this tunnel and the rock strata that surround it, along with any integrity magic that may affect its stability. When it’s red like now, that’s containment mode. There is another tetralite positioned above us beside the lake generating a magical perimeter that keeps living beings out — for safety reasons — and also provides a target area for us. As we excavate stone down here, we have to send it somewhere, and these two little guys combine to form a magical pipe, if you will. We just give it a shove with the appropriate spells and it vanishes here, reappearing topside in the containment area. We don’t want anyone in the area because it would be rather unpleasant to occupy the same spot where a great block of stone tries to materialize, don’t you think?”

The teens shifted uncomfortably at the thought.

He once again levitated the pyramid-shaped device, rotating it until it glowed dark green. “This is layout mode, which directs the exact location of the spells we’re going to use.”

The engineer muttered a spell and tapped the top of the tetralite with his wand. A bright green outline appeared opposite them on the side of the tunnel, a rectangle with the topmost side arched upward, almost reaching the top of the wall. He tapped again and several more lines were added inside the rectangle, creating a green grid.

“Now we’re going to cut the side passage off this tunnel for the additional portals, so kids won’t run into each other coming and going.”

There had been a long discussion on the best way to access the Chamber, and magical portals that would connect each house to the new recreation hall were a big favorite. After McGonagall reminded them of the time Sirius Black infiltrated the castle, it was agreed for security that the remote portals should not be inside the house common rooms, but in a convenient location near the entrance to each common room. This not only kept the students as safe as they had been, but created shortcuts for all to use when traveling to and from areas near the common rooms. Professor Flitwick had already installed one portal in the side of the tunnel and created a direct magical passage to its mate in the Entrance Hall. The Chamber of Secrets was now as accessible as the Great Hall.

“This grid will cut slabs of rock along the gridlines and slice it at whatever depth I want using a specialized stone-cutting charm. I’ve set the grid to one square meter, and I’m cutting a half meter into the wall. I figured we’d start small.” He tapped the tetralite again, and a deafening crack was heard as dust appeared along each of the green lines.

“Sorry, should’ve warned you about that,” he apologized to the startled teenagers. “Now comes the hard part. We have to banish these blocks to the surface. Normally it takes two experienced wizards to handle blocks this size because of the multiple charms involved. But you aren’t experienced, at least not yet. Plus, we don’t usually attempt this at this depth; it’s just too far to send that much mass. But I figure you kids must have some good raw stuff in you to pull off what you did with ol’ snakeface.”

Surprised at his compliment, they were feeling a little confidence boost. After all, cutting underground tunnels was not something covered in Charms class at Hogwarts. The engineer explained each of the separate incantations, which would levitate the desired block to relieve stress, set a new integrity spell on the immediate vicinity to keep the rest stable, and cause the block to vanish and reappear magically a few hundred meters away. Since Harry had the Elder Wand, he was given the task of casting the actual banishing charm because it required the most magical energy. When they were ready, he sent a patronus to Olivia, who was waiting on the surface to report on their success.

“We’ll know real soon if it came up short of the surface,” Caractacus quipped. “It’ll leave a pretty good crater.”

Whatever confidence they had attained sank like a rock tossed into the Black Lake.

However, the four teens proved quite capable of performing the task, and vanished the entire grid within several minutes. The engineer decided to experiment as he went deeper with the passage, creating larger and larger blocks. Eventually, they were able to vanish an entire slice of the passage at one go, mostly because of the power of the Elder Wand in the hands of Harry Potter.

Caractacus was ecstatic at their progress. “Let me know if you ever want a career in construction!”

o o o

After several days of cutting and banishing stone from the tunnel side passage and then the swimming pool, there was a tremendous pile of stone beside the lake. Hogwarts’ new “rock garden” was where Harry and Ginny found themselves relaxing after finishing the last of excavations from the floor of the former Chamber of Secrets. Harry marveled at the lines and patterns running through the stone, sometimes straight or wavy, sometimes swirling like some ancient hurricane frozen in time. Yes, there was an incomprehensible power locked immutably inside this essence of earth, and a surprising beauty as well. He had a nagging thought that something could be created with what was currently just excess material. Although some of it had been used to replace some of the more damaged parts of the castle, there was a lot of stone left over.

Harry always loved the peace he felt when he was near the water, and having a beautiful witch by his side made it that much more relaxing. He was enjoying nibbling a particularly sensitive spot on said witch’s lovely neck when the peck of an impatient barn owl interrupted him.

“Ow! Sorry fella, but I was a little busy and didn’t see you.” The owl just scowled imperiously at Harry as he untied the large envelope it carried.

“Who’s that from?” asked Ginny as the owl was airborne immediately, not waiting for a reply.

Harry’s face brightened as he opened the envelope. “I don’t believe it! They actually pulled it together.”

“What? Who is it?” Ginny demanded, catching Harry’s excitement.

“Oh, just some guy,” Harry teasingly paused for effect, “named Myron Wagtail.”

“From the Weird Sisters?” Ginny gasped. They were the best wizarding rock band. Ever.

“And... he sent me an early birthday present.” He opened the envelope and revealed six backstage concert passes.

Ginny squealed in delight, and then got a very serious expression on her face. “One of those better be mine, Potter.”

Harry laughed. “Oh, trust me, love, I wouldn’t deny you that! I’m sure I would regret it tremendously.”

“You got that right!” She rewarded him with a long kiss. “How’d you get these anyway?”

“It seems the Weird Sisters created a foundation for helping war victims. Myron has been working through the Minister’s office to set up a benefit concert and I’d agreed to help promote the cause if he got it off the ground. So it’s set for 31 July. I’ll have to say some stuff at some point in the concert, which is probably why the backstage passes. Hey, we can take Ron and Hermione too.”

“That’s wonderful, Harry, but it’s your birthday. I was hoping to get you alone that evening...”

“Well, we’ll have to make it up some other day. May have to take more than one, you know,” Harry added as he waggled his eyebrows.

“Prat.” She slapped his arm playfully. “So who gets the other two passes?”

“Oh, I have someone in mind. You’ll see.”

o o o

The Weird Sisters concert was a smashing success. The auditorium had sold out in record time and the entire audience was now reveling in a joyous, raucous celebration of freedom, one of several such organized events since the downfall of Lord Voldemort. The band seemed even hairier than usual in their odd stage personas, the music louder and more intense, and the young crowd was feeding on their energy and serving it back in spades. Everyone was intensely aware that this was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Not only was a live recording expected to benefit the charity, but it was no secret that this was Harry Potter’s eighteenth birthday and his fans were as legion as the rock band now stomping out a brand new number, “Don’t Go Moldy” that was chock-full of not-so-subtle references to the late Dark Lord.

The riotous song finally ended with a yell of “Expelliarmus!” and the crowd was in a frenzy for more. Lead singer Myron Wagtail knew what they wanted, and he didn’t disappoint.

“Hey, London!” More cheers.
“We seem to be missing someone up here!” Louder cheers.
“Anyone seen my barber?” Laughter.
“Cause I’m feeling very HARRY right now!” Wilder cheers and laughter.

“I know I don’t need to ask, but give it up for the one guy who really needs no introduction,” at this point even his sonorous yell was almost drowned by the crowd’s wild screams, “HARRY POTTER!”

And there he was, strolling casually across the stage in jeans and a black T-shirt emblazoned “Helping Hands”, apparently unaware that several thousand were echoing his name, because he only had eyes for a small five month old boy with turquoise hair who seemed fascinated with the multi-colored stage lights above them.

“Erm, hi, everyone.” Harry had to wait for the cheering to subside before he could continue.

“Thank you all for coming out tonight in support of Helping Hands. I wanted you to meet someone special to me.” He looked back down at the boy in his arms. “This is my godson, Teddy. He really is what you’d call a bundle of joy, but he’s been known to be a holy terror at times as well.”

Teddy’s attention shifted from the lights to the voice as Harry was talking. Suddenly his hair became jet black in color and stuck up wildly in the back; a zigzag line appeared on his forehead and he gave his godfather a wide open grin.

“See what I mean?”

Sounds of “aww’s” and laughter had replaced the cheers.

“As you might guess, his mum was a metamorphmagus. Both his mum and dad were very special people in my life. But, you see, we... Teddy and I... we share something else that’s not so special. We’re both orphans of war. His mum and dad were both killed fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts.” Harry paused as his voice caught. There was no cheering anymore, just rapt silence from the throng of attentive faces.

“Just like me, he will never get to know his parents. I have made it my mission in life to see that this little guy grows up knowing how special his parents were, and that they gave their lives to ensure a better future for him, and that he is loved. He has a wonderful grandmother that he lives with, but there are many war orphans who don’t have anyone anymore. Helping Hands wants to give these kids a new start, find them a good place to grow up and know that they are loved, too. But they can’t do this alone. I’m thinking most of you lost someone special or know someone special who did. Take a moment and let them know you care. Give them a hug. Offer a hand. It’s not hard. Just small things can make a big difference in someone’s life, especially in the life of a child. Together we can make tomorrow a bit brighter for them. Thanks.”

As Harry finished and started to walk away, the bandleader grabbed his shoulders.

“Hey, Harry, not so fast! You know I really appreciate what you said; it strikes right at the core of what Helping Hands is trying to do. HOWEVER,” and the crowd became animated once more, “we seem to be forgetting something again. Is anything special happening today?” He held his hand to his ear as the lead guitar player began plucking the birthday song. “It’s coming to me!” Then he struck off on the loudest chorus of the song Harry had ever heard. “And what do we have here?”

Harry was surprised to see Andromeda Tonks, Teddy’s grandmother, along with Ron and Hermione, following Ginny, his Ginny, who never looked better with her face all aglow in the light of eighteen candles atop a chocolate birthday cake. Harry gave her a big kiss over Teddy’s head, which now sported red hair. The cheers turned to wolf whistles and even some boos.

Myron laughed. “Ah, Ginny Weasley! I don’t think you are the most popular person with some of the crowd tonight!” More catcalls and wolf whistles followed as Harry blew out his candles. Myron introduced the others to wild cheering, before allowing them to walk back to their seats just beyond the side curtain.

The lights dimmed as Myron spoke again in a narrow spotlight. “We as a band have been greatly inspired by these young people and what they have done for us... for all of us. That’s one reason we decided to devote some of our energies to Helping Hands. We also came up with a little something else that we’d like to share, in honor of Harry Potter and everyone else who fought for the light. This, erm, may sound a little familiar in the beginning.”

An acoustic guitar picked out a simple rhythm as a single light found a cello that began playing a soft melody. Applause was heard as recognition dawned.

Ginny was almost jumping out of her seat, her hands gleefully peaked before her.

“You know this song?” Harry whispered.

“Of course, it’s your lullaby!”

“My what?!”

“Dad used to sing it to me every night when I was little! Now shush and listen!”

Myron began to sing.

The river runs wide,
The river runs deep.
The river runs quick by the castle keep.
The storm is loud
And the lightning bright;
The Boy Who Lived watches you tonight.

On a pony white,
Sword by his side,
Trouble quakes while by he rides.
So sleep my dear
And have no fright;
The Boy Who Lived watches you tonight.

Harry was still grasping at the thought of a lullaby about him when the music changed. The cello dropped out while another guitar began strumming. The solo started anew with a slightly darker tone.

Love’s gentle rain fell
Down upon my face,
But I turned away from Love’s embrace.
Love soaked the ground;
I had yet to see
How fully Love surrounded me.

Evil shadows rolled in
Said that Love was gone,
Might is right and hate is strong.
Set dividing lines
Drove us all apart,
Tried to drive Love from our hearts.

But where was Love?

The sun dries it up
And brings it back again,
Storms will bring Love’s cleansing rain.
It becomes a river,
To the sea it churns;
The more Love gives the more it returns.

The rain washed down
And a stream became,
Yet still I heard not Love’s name.
A river grown from streams
Threatened evil to flood,
Entrenched hate met water with blood.

Evil set up stones
A dam there to build,
But rivers and tides cannot be quelled.
The low places filled
And Love still rose,
Hate’s fire quenched as Love overflows.

Who follows Love?

Love sent a boy
Who sought not fame
But walked Love’s path just the same.
He went out to die
So we all could live,
The kind of gift only Love could give.

Yes Love is a river,
To the sea it churns;
The more Love gives the more it returns.
The sun dries it up
And brings it back again
Storms will bring Love’s cleansing rain.

Now share your Love!

As bagpipes now carried the tune, the rest of the band stood in a line for the chorus. The crowd needed little encouragement to stand and join in as glowing words to sing along appeared in the air above the stage.

Come gather now
Creatures great and small,
Breed or race matters not at all.
Reach out a hand
And share your heart,
In harmony we all sing our part.

Take up your light
Hold it high and bright,
Darkness no more overcomes the night.
Reach out a hand
And share your heart,
In harmony we all sing our part.

After several repetitions with the swaying audience, the band and instruments except for the one guitar dropped out, leaving the solo to finish as he started, singing the lullaby with the new words.

Take up your light
Hold it high and bright,
Darkness no more overcomes the night.
So children can dream
About a ponied knight;
The Boy Who Lived watches them tonight.
The Boy Who Lived watches them tonight.

Harry, overcome with emotion, made his way back onstage to envelope the band in a giant hug. As he saw beyond them to the cheering, crying faces, and arms linked along every row of the crowded hall, Harry knew with a certain clarity what he would do with the pile of rocks awaiting at Hogwarts.

o

Author’s Note: Some have asked for the tune of the song; I can only say that I used a variation of “The Water is Wide” — similar melody without the held notes at each line — which I understand is an American folk song based on an English melody. Credit is appreciated if you use the BWL Lullaby in a story. Thanks for reading (and reviewing!)

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Chapter 4: Element the Fourth: Air

Author's Notes: And we conclude our little tale...
Thank you for reading, and please leave a review if you are so moved.

Element the Fourth: Air

o
o
o

“You won’t catch us now!”

“Says you, mate! You are going down!”

Harry and Ginny turned their new “bumper pod” craft to head after Ron and Hermione, who had just sped by in another of the odd floating capsules that resembled oversized tree seed pods. It was controlled by holding a wand over a small pedestal in the center of the craft and simply pointing in the direction desired. As in their Muggle counterparts, speed was obtained slowly, and momentum was key to getting a good hit on your competitor’s craft. That, and being able to guess correctly which direction your opponent would travel. Ron had the strategic mind for chess, but could not match Harry’s intuition in the air. While the girls scouted the enemy and possible routes through the lower limbs of the giant “trees” that now graced the former Chamber of Secrets, the boys focused on dodging them to maintain acceleration.

Ginny spotted the other craft nearing the corner of the room and knew they would have to emerge from the cover of the trees or ...

“Hold your course, Potter, they’re going to try to dodge us on the return. Knowing Ron, he’ll feint to the inside then cut down and out toward the open.”

Harry smiled at her when he saw that she had guessed right. Ron and Hermione were coming straight at them. He could see the horror in Hermione’s eyes with the realization that they had yet to get enough speed to avoid a direct hit, feint or no feint. She let out a squealing “Hold on!” just before the magic envelopes surrounding the two craft collided. Harry and Ginny had won the war of momentum and were given a large but tolerable bump to one side. Hermione’s squeals were joined by Ron’s as their craft tumbled over and bounced off a tree trunk nearby that had recently been a stone pillar. Laughing could be heard as the craft slowed and righted itself.

“These things are brilliant!”

Harry knew that Ginny and Hermione had worked very hard to get the craft to work properly and his compliment was rewarded by a kiss from his girlfriend.

“If you think that’s something, watch this.”

Ginny held her wand over the pedestal and slowly directed the craft higher into the lifelike tree branches until they were completely surrounded by green foliage. She tapped the control in a special sequence and the craft locked into place while the transparent upper part of the pod darkened until there was only a slight glow penetrating the craft. She leaned back onto the padded seat facing Harry. “This is what Hermione and I call Boyfriend Mode. Like it?”

“Yeah, this sure beats a broom closet.”

Harry dutifully went into what he thought proper “Boyfriend Mode” should entail, wrapping his arms around her and initiating a wonderfully private snog session, a luxury that often eluded them.

After a while, they relaxed to allow their breathing to return to normal, and they reclined with Ginny laying her head against Harry’s chest. The leather-upholstered pods were definitely superior to broom closets.

“So how did your meeting with McGonagall go this morning?” Ginny asked.

“You mean before or after the ferret’s floo call?”

“Malfoy called during your meeting? I take it he doesn’t like doing his time under house arrest.”

“Actually, he was very polite. Thanked me several times. Seems to think that I single-handedly kept him and his mum out of Azkaban.”

“You did, Harry. No one else had any credible testimony on their behalf.”

“Yeah, well, he read Rita Skeeter’s piece on me re-opening the Chamber of Secrets to ‘become the next dark wizard’ and was curious to know the real story.”

“You know she was just getting you back for getting Quick Quote Quills designated as controlled magical objects.”

“And I thought it was for putting those anti-concealment portals around the Ministry. Can’t believe no one thought of them before. How can people run a government if half of them are under the Imperius Curse, using Polyjuice Potion, hiding a Dark Mark or even another being? We have enough problems with the honest bigots, much less the ones under someone else’s influence.”

“So Malfoy is considered one of the ‘honest bigots’ now?” Ginny chuckled.

“Yeah, but he seems to have grown up a little. Once he heard what we’re doing with the Chamber, he suggested we name it after Professor Burbage.”

“The retired Muggle Studies teacher? They found her?”

“Erm, no, she didn’t retire voluntarily. Draco was witness to her murder by Voldemort after she had written about rights for Muggle-borns. Quite an awakening for him it sounded like.”

“How horrible!” Ginny replied. “I don’t know what to think about a Malfoy acting almost human. But you still haven’t said what McGonagall thought about your project.”

Harry grinned. “She loved the idea and set up a meeting with Olivia to help me polish it. That witch is brilliant - even gave me these.” He showed her the lined parchments that showed dimensioned plans for his design. “Tomorrow Caractacus will help me get it started.”

“These drawings are beautiful, Harry. Do you suppose she went to a wizarding architecture school?”

“I asked her about that. She told me there wasn’t enough demand for a separate school. After Hogwarts, she went to a highly respected Muggle school in Paris since the basics of design aren’t rooted in magic. They have one wizard professor that held what they called ‘independent study’ classes for the magic bits.”

“Paris! That sounds exciting.” She stared admiringly at the drawings for a few minutes.

“Did you talk about anything else with McGonagall?” she asked, fishing for something in particular.

Harry knew what she was after and tilted his head to see Ginny’s face. “She convinced Flitwick that enough charms were involved in the project that he could count it as a NEWT practical, so I won’t have to take his class this year.”

“Take his... you mean... Harry!” Ginny squealed, then turned and smothered him. “When did you decide this?”

Harry laughed while trying to recover from being tackled. “Well, it was really McGonagall’s doing this morning. She convinced me that I hadn’t been able to appreciate much of my youth with all I’ve had to deal with, and that was one thing I would never be able to truly re-create once it’s gone. She basically said it was okay to live my life.”

Harry took a long breath.

“You know, I never really expected to make it this far. I can actually think about a real future.”

Ginny leaned closer to him. “And what kind of future do you see?”

“One with you in it,” Harry said, his eyes searching hers. “Gin, you know how much I hated pushing you away last year and I couldn’t bear to go through another year without you. McGonagall pretty much laid it on the line and told me that if I wasn’t a student, I was not free to come and go at Hogwarts if I didn’t have official business.”

“And a visit to one’s girlfriend isn’t considered official business?”

“Apparently not, and I couldn’t even use the ‘Savior of the Wizarding World’ card to get her to budge.”

“Smart woman, she is. You know, if you hadn’t decided soon to return to school, I was going to have to resort to serious measures. Something like this...” She sat on his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him an extremely thorough snog that left him almost stunned.

“Erm... wow... that would probably have worked.” He chuckled and held her close. “Did I tell you today how much I love you?”

Ginny could feel warm tingling all over. “Oh, Harry, I love you too. And it always thrills me to hear you say it.” She grinned, “I waited a long time, but I knew you would some day.”

“Since you thought of me as your prince on the white pony?” Harry teased, the lullaby fresh on his mind.

“Silly, that was just a childhood fantasy. Yes, I adored the thought of being your princess, but that image was blown away when I met you at King’s Cross. You looked so small and lost and needing to be loved. That’s when my real crush on you started. Then I heard those stories from Ron and the twins — you were the real hero I always dreamed about. I was a hopeless case after that.”

“I’m sorry, Ginny, but I had no clue.”

“Well, of course you didn’t. You were a boy after all.” Ginny laughed as Harry snorted. “But then you showed up with a real sword and risked your life for mine. My petty desires and foolishness had almost killed you down there fighting Tom and his beast. I realized I had a lot of growing up to do if I was ever going to be worthy of you.”

This revelation caught Harry off guard. “Worthy... of me?”

Ginny sighed. “Harry, you never seem to realize just how special you are. Maybe it’s part of that gift your mum left you when she gave her life protecting you. People are always looking for heroes; a champion they can stake their hopes on. They saw you as a blessed infant, but you grew up and become the real deal. Your modesty is part of what makes you special. And that messy hair of yours, and that sloppy grin, and your appreciation of simple pleasures, and your occasional moodiness and temper fits...”

“You know I never wanted that hero moniker,” Harry interrupted, but then looked back at her beseechingly. “How do you see me now?”

“Simple. I see you as all that, and none of that. You are who you are. I see you as Harry. My Harry. And I love you more every day.”

“That doesn’t sound simple, but I like it, being your Harry. How did I ever get so lucky to be loved by you? I never thought I would know what being in love was like, and now I’ve got one of the most incredible, beautiful and understanding witches ever, here in my arms. My Ginny.”

They embraced, clinging to each other. Ginny couldn’t help the smile that stretched across her face. This year was looking better all the time.

“So you’re really going to finish school. What will you tell Kingsley?”

“Already worked that out. I had hinted earlier that he should have one class of NEWT Defense Against the Dark Arts set up as pre-Auror training to get some new blood in the ranks quicker. The new DADA teacher is in fact a former Auror who had to quit due to injury in the first war against Voldemort, then went into the private security business. Very knowledgeable, I hear. Due to his injury, he’ll need help with the dueling training, so...” Harry left his statement hanging.

“Harry! Are you going to teach? For real this time? How wonderful! You really have been busy today.”

“Yeah, well, I felt like I had been set up, the way it all just seemed to fall into place so nicely. Not that I’m arguing, mind you.”

Ginny laughed. “Knowing them, I wouldn’t be surprised. What about the Ministry consultant position?”

“Kingsley still wants me to come to conference two or three times a week. We both knew that it wasn’t a permanent thing — I’m not happy at a desk all day. He really needs Aurors, and I still think that’s what I’d like to do. With my experience, he said I may need only a year of training after school.”

“One year instead of three — that’s incredible!”

“You know what’s incredible? We still have an hour before dinner.”

And they didn’t waste it with much more conversation.

o o o

Caractacus Rubble was true to his word and met Harry by the lake early the next morning. He showed him how to magically retain the water while banishing the mud and loose material at the bottom. From there it was a simple matter of cutting and placing stones according to the dimensions Olivia had written on the design parchments. Holding it all together was a special product the engineer had developed himself.

“Wiz-Krete works pretty much like Muggle cement, but magic makes it so much better. It’s stronger, will set instantly with the incantation, and it doesn’t shrink because the water is removed magically.” The wizard knew his stuff.

Harry made great progress over the next few days, but was dismayed when he suddenly realized that the stone removed from the Chamber was not going to be enough to finish his project. His dilemma was solved in a most unexpected way that same afternoon.

Harry was headed back to the lake after lunch and walked through the Entrance Hall. Caractacus was fuming in an argument with an elderly bearded wizard holding official-looking documents in his hand.

“What do you mean it can’t be occupied? It’s perfectly safe, been there for nearly as long as the castle itself!”

“Terribly sorry, but the1893 Wizengamot decree strictly forbids underage witches and wizards to congregate in any enclosed area without at least one non-magical route of egress.”

“I’ve been in building nearly thirty years. How come I never heard of it before?”

The elderly wizard, one Archibold Pratermouse, was Chief Field Safety Inspector, Magical Structures Division, Ministry Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. He looked down at his notes. “Well, you see, it’s... erm... never actually been invoked before. Never had the need, you know...”

“And just what piece of brilliant inspiration came over the court to create this decree?”

“Ah, that I remember well; I was just starting off then, you know? Well, there was this really bad business at Durmstrang where some students managed to create a magical loop that blocked their portal out of a remote classroom. Since it was feeding itself, no one could break through the loop from either side, and it took months to counteract the magic so they could... erm ... remove the bodies. Very bad business, lots of publicity, you know. Naturally, parents didn’t want something like that happening at Hogwarts, you see...”

“Yes... naturally,” the engineer murmured, shaken by the horrible image. He noticed Harry standing nearby, obviously confused at the possible implications of the conversation he had just overheard.

He rose to action. “Well, Potter, don’t just stand there! Come along! We’ve got to cut an exit stair down to the Chamber!”

o o o

“OK, our target is ready below. All you have to do is say the incantation and point.”

Harry and Caractacus had requisitioned a small unused classroom in the dungeons for the upper end of the staircase to the former Chamber of Secrets. The tetralite target was positioned far below them at the end of the side tunnel they had created for the magic portals normally used to access the Chamber. Harry pointed the Elder Wand down as the engineer indicated and spoke the words. A bright yellow arc materialized from the wand’s tip to the floor, where a small red triangle could be seen.

“Crikey! I was afraid of that. Too steep for a straight cut. We may have to call in the goblins after all.”

Harry noticed the angle of the yellow line seemed to be affected by any movement of his wand. “Didn’t you say that this line is a precise representation of the hole we’re going to cut?”

Caractacus nodded. “You got an idea?”

“If I’m locked onto the target, why can’t I just rotate my wand to see if the angle changes?” As the words came out, Harry started to do just that, producing a wide spiral that increased in diameter as he turned his wand. At one point, the yellow line flashed green.

“Aye, that’s got it!” Caractacus cheered. “Just enough curve to flatten it a bit.”

Harry wasn’t quite sure this was the best they could do. He removed his holly wand and instinctively began to pull at the line so that it made tighter spirals, making sure to keep it green. “If we keep the curves tighter, we could put a slide down the middle that would be a whole lot of fun.”

The engineer grinned. “And they said you were gettin’ all grown up and serious on us. Glad you still got some kid in you, Potter.”

But Harry was thinking more about all the extra stone that would come out of this stairwell; he would have more than enough to finish his special project.

o o o

For Harry Potter, it seemed that his summer had been filled with speeches, and now he was sitting beside the lake at the beautifully restored Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, along with the entire student body, hundreds of guests including Ministry officials, parents, former students, and the media, all here to witness the re-dedication of the castle that was the school’s home. It was taking place the afternoon after the welcoming feast specifically so that the students would be there. Not that they minded delaying the start of classes a day. In fact, Headmistress McGonagall had given them strict orders to explore the new additions this morning, and the reactions were overwhelmingly positive.

The Charity Burbage Gardens of Hogwarts, the official name of the remarkably transformed Chamber of Secrets, had something for everyone. The slide down from the castle dungeon was a good thrill, and the Portal Crossing outside the entrance now sported a Muggle style eatery (featuring such Muggle favorites as fizzy sodas and pizza) in the old approach tunnel, which was now sealed from the old entrance below Moaning Myrtle’s restroom. In addition to the grass fields, the Gardens itself had pavilions along each side aisle that featured all manner of Muggle recreation, from sport games to computer stations. Above the pavilions floated a jogging track, and above that were the tree sports. Rope courses could be found in areas not open to the infamous bumper pods, which had lines of students waiting to have a turn at crashing one another.

Although a notice of the availability of new swimming facilities had been mentioned in the school letters sent home over the summer, the students were unprepared for the amazing possibilities provided — a huge pool of Muggle Olympic specifications, diving, water slides, surfing, water sport areas, and a beach for sunbathing in the warm magical sunlight. Gladrags of Hogsmeade was allowed to set up a small display for catalog sales and was keeping a number of owls very busy with deliveries of new swimming attire. The aquatics area by itself was enough to make the Chamber reclamation project worthwhile.

The dedication speeches were winding down, and Harry brought his attention to Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt and his concluding remarks. “...to rededicate our efforts in the task of magical education of our children, in the spirit of cooperation started over one thousand years ago by the four founders whose names still grace the four houses of this remarkable school. May our efforts remain for another millennium as I, in my capacity of Minister for Magic, declare the doors to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to be open once again.”

A great round of applause greeted his remarks, and Headmistress Minerva McGonagall stepped up as the Minister returned to his seat. She thanked him properly, then continued, “We owe a great debt to many who have made great contributions to this school and to the magical community at large over the years. While he will almost certainly deny it, there can be no one who fits that description at this present time more than the individual who has created this beautiful edifice behind me. Indeed, it is quite unusual for a student to provide any kind of permanent addition to our school, certainly not with the kind of personal creativity evident here. However, you will no doubt agree that this opportunity is most deserved, and he has made the most of it. I know he would like to share his thoughts with you. Without further ado, Harry Potter.”

Harry had always hated the notoriety that went along with being the Boy Who Lived, but graciously accepted accolades he felt he truly earned, such as winning a hotly contested Quidditch match with a spectacular grab of the Snitch. He couldn’t help but feel some of that accomplishment as he stood to greet the gathered crowd that, while listening to the speakers, had been gazing curiously out beyond the shore of the lake. It was there that Harry had created a large rectangular stone dais, a smooth platform that arose out of the water in three large steps. A round water-filled basin was sunk into the center, occupying most of the platform. At each corner sat a wide shallow cauldron with dancing orange flames. The most visually arresting element was the tremendous colonnade along the far edge of the dais, behind the basin. Standing sentinel in the manner of an ancient temple ruin, six simply but elegantly fashioned columns thrust out of the horizontal base and reached skyward, crowned with a highly decorated arching panel atop a horizontal beam. This panel spanned the entire colonnade and had dozens of vertical indentations, and cut into the indentations were all manner of runes. Overall standing more than 30 meters high, this impressive structure was now the most dominant visual feature along the lake, aside from the castle itself.

Harry shifted his weight a couple of times waiting for the applause to die down. Finally raising his hands, he intoned, “If you don’t let me talk, we’ll be here all afternoon.” He tried to relax as the crowd laughed and gradually settled.

“That you for those kind words, Professor. Yes, we do owe a tremendous debt to many — there is no doubt about that. We are where we are today because we have stood on the backs on those who have lifted us up. The war that we just fought — and the Battle of Hogwarts in particular — was not won by any single individual, but with a combined effort of defenders of the light that included trained fighters alongside students, magical creatures of all kinds alongside wizards and witches. That cooperative spirit was something I wanted to capture for others to realize that we can work together in harmony when we need to.

“Many of you may remember the old Fountain of Magical Brethren that stood in the Ministry atrium before to its destruction in Voldemort’s duel with Dumbledore over two years ago. Although not as insidious as the atrocity that stood there last year, it still spoke volumes about the attitudes of the wizarding community toward other magical races. Dumbledore himself told me that it was a lie, that we were reaping the rewards of our mistreatment of others. We seem to have this delusion that we can’t be happy unless we have power — the power to control everything around us. After all, that was at the heart of this war: who was allowed to have power and who was not. We, as a united magical community, decided that power was not to be concentrated in one egomaniacal dark lord, nor an artificially select group of people based solely on their lineage. No, we fought for freedom and the rights of individuals. But if we learn one thing from the Battle of Hogwarts, it is that the magical races can and need to work together for the common good. We should look beyond our childish shortsighted notions of human superiority and realize we aren’t the best at everything. Just as in a musical symphony, all the players must do their parts to create the whole, no matter how insignificant it may seem; otherwise it is incomplete. In fact, this notion of music as a cooperative and unifying force was unmistakable at a musical event over the summer. You would never guess that the Weird Sisters band was behind the idea to do this.” He thumbed over his shoulder at the colonnaded dais as chuckles ran through the crowd, along with some whistling among the students.

Harry looked around to make sure everyone he needed was in place. “Before I explain that, there is some work yet to be completed here. As in the old fountain sculpture, I wanted to include figures that represented different magical races. I have asked several individuals to assist with this, since it is much easier for me to magically copy a form that already exists than to carve it from scratch. Over here at the side, I would like to introduce my ‘models’ if you will. In the center, you will of course recognize Grawp, without whose ferocious defense the castle would probably have been destroyed by the giants fighting for Voldemort.” Harry paused for the crowd’s appreciative applause.

“To his left, representing centaurs, Firenze has been a teacher here at Hogwarts, but I remember meeting him in the Forbidden Forest during my first year when he saved me from Voldemort’s presence.” There were murmurs among the applause. “Again to the left, Griphook was the goblin who helped me on my first visit to Gringotts. Goblins were officially neutral during the war, but it must be noted — and I can’t divulge any details you understand — that without his assistance prior to the Battle of Hogwarts, it would have been all for naught.” This surprise created a momentary delay in the applause, which was more intense when it did come.

“On the other end is Winky, a house elf here at Hogwarts who fought bravely in the battle, but is also a victim of the society that we have created. She and her family before her served in a wizard’s household with unquestioning loyalty and devotion, yet her master shamed her with dismissal to avoid getting caught in his own criminal treachery, and this was one of our Ministry’s most respected officials. Our exploitation of house elves is a prime example of how we have abused our position in the magical world.” Fiercely glaring at the crowd, some of whom would have great issue with his view, Harry dared them to speak up. No one did as polite scattered applause was heard.

“On her left you will recognize our new Head Boy, Ron Weasley, who has been my best mate since our first trip on the Hogwarts Express, and whose family took me in and became the family I never had.”

A voice rang out that could only belong to George Weasley. “And it looks like he’ll be joining the family for real in the near future!”

Harry blushed for the first time that day as laughter and wolf whistles sounded. He caught Ginny’s eye and noticed that behind her similar blush was a tremendous grin. Harry smiled back, but ran his hand through his tousled hair as he let the noise die down. “Thanks, George, I suppose I deserved that.” Okay, he thought, deep breaths.

“Now I didn’t bring Ron up here to be a model; he just isn’t good-looking enough.”

More laughter followed someone’s yell, “You shoulda used Ginny!”

“Yeah, you’re right about that. However, I had something else in mind. First years, you are no doubt wondering why you were requested to sit on the front row. Here’s why. I want all of you to bring out your wand and hold it in the palm of your hand. I want to borrow them for a few moments, and then they will be returned to you unharmed. Don’t worry; the headmistress has given her okay.”

The youngest students at Hogwarts nervously complied. Some of them, mostly Muggleborns, had yet to really use their new wands other than to make sure that it worked for them.

Harry held out his own wand and muttered a few words. The students’ wands all rose and formed a large circle suspended in midair. Slowly revolving, the circle floated to where Ron stood. Harry muttered a few more words and the wands began flashing in different colors. After a moment, four individual wands floated to the center of the circle, where Ron gently plucked them out of the air.

Harry turned back to the first years, but spoke to the crowd at large. “What I have just done is selected four of you to represent our composite of the wizard model. You are our future, our hope for the best that wizarding society can be, innocent and unscarred by the violence that occurred here just a few months ago. To ensure a cross-representation from you, I made sure that this selection process included two boys and two girls, one member of each house, and regretfully since it still matters to some, a cross section of magical heritage. There is one pure-blood, one Muggle-born, one of mixed heritage, and one more selected at random without prejudice. The model will be a mixture of these four, and they will not be known to me or to you. Just know that your class is represented up there.” Many heads nodded in admiration at Harry’s logic, understanding the significance and universal appeal of this grouping.

“Alright, now, there is one more model that isn’t up here. If you look down in the lake beside the dais, a representative from the merpeople will also take part. They are included because they gave permission for this structure to be placed within their realm, and also because of their unique contribution to the project, which I’ll explain in a minute.” As everyone shifted to get a view of the hand that waved from the water, Harry spoke to his models. “At my signal, I want everyone to lay their hands on the stone in front of them, except Ron, who will use only the four wands, and say the words, ‘We all have a part to play.’ Everyone ready?”

At their acknowledgement, Harry waved his wand, muttering more incantations, and the giant slabs of dark marble that he had specially brought for this purpose began to glow a soft blue. “Alright, now!”

The group intoned the words Harry had given, and the stones began to disappear as if being dissolved rapidly in an acidic potion. Gasps of astonishment came with the realization that the stone was re-forming in the colonnade, one model in each column except that the giant figure was growing between the two center columns, an arm about each one. They were stationed at different heights above the dais; only the giant stood on the platform itself. The others were each situated on a small pedestal that projected from the column’s fluted surface. Harry had instructed each figure to match the others at the level of the heart, so that no one would appear to dominate over another, and it provided a good visual balance. A dark reclining figure in the basin was evidence that the model of the merperson had appeared there as well.

Cheering and applause rang out at the apparently completed construction, while the first years’ wands were levitated back to their proper owners.

Harry, however, was not finished. “Now comes our first demonstration, for this is not a static piece of sculpture. It was suggested that our memorial garden needed some life, and I hope this will be a fitting contribution for that purpose. At the risk of sounding like a professor...” more laughs at his pun, since everyone knew he was the new Assistant Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, “I wanted to use the metaphor of musical harmony to reinforce the concept of racial harmony. The words ‘We all have a part to play’ are not some vague idea, but a mantra that we can use going forward as we relearn how to relate with one another.” Harry waved his arm toward the top of the colonnade, and the phrase chiseled itself into the large horizontal beam, a challenge forever to all who would pay heed.

“Here at Hogwarts we are sorted into four houses, not because we should be pitted against each other, but because we all have special strengths and aspirations that serve as common ground as we grow, allowing closer fellowship with those who share similar interests. This is important as we take those first few steps away from home, to keep a sense of close family nearby. But as we mature, we need to realize that we need those special strengths of others to continue growing. Just as in nature, where the four basic elements have similar symbiotic relationships. Fire does not exist without air; these stones were initially deposited as particles in water. This structure you see is a demonstration of the four elements working together, again a metaphor to represent the four houses. You can see the water in the basin, the burning flames, and the stones cut from the earth, but invisible air is only apparent by its actions. This action will manifest itself here as music, as this entire structure is in reality simply a giant musical wind instrument.”

A number of “oohs” were heard as the crowd rustled in anticipation of what they were about to witness.

“I have dubbed it ‘Elementum Consensio’ or ‘Elements in Harmony’ to reflect the cooperative nature of musical performance. I need to mention that this would not have been possible without a whole lot of assistance.”

Harry then thanked the engineer and architect team that had guided him through the physical creation, his friend Hermione Granger and Professor Flitwick for “invaluable assistance with research on charms, rune magic and many other aspects” and then surprisingly Myron Wagtail of the Weird Sisters, who was well rounded in other musical genres as well as rock and roll, and who collaborated with the merpeople to create the program that they were about to hear.

“I decided that if the Weird Sisters and the merpeople can work together on something like this, there are no limits to what we can accomplish,” added Harry. Cheers and laughter were prevalent in the ovation for the popular musician when he stood.

Finally, it was time.

“Shall we wind it up then?”

There was a resounding “Yes!” and more cheering.

“Well, let’s pray it works!”

The crowd loved Harry’s self-deprecating manner, but the truth was that the effects had only been tested individually, and Harry wasn’t entirely sure everything would work together as designed. He had to set up a demonstration for the merpeople to show what he was planning and they agreed that, although unusual, the sound was “not unpleasant.” Harry noticed that even now the merpeople were gathered nearby just under the surface of the lake, curious to hear what this land walker had made.

He need not have worried.

Harry faced the dais in the lake, pointed his wand at the center of the basin and bellowed, “Elementum Consensio!”

A jet of red light hit the water with a sizzling splash. As the merperson figure started to swim counterclockwise, the water followed in an ever-escalating whirl. The four cauldrons erupted in towering bursts of flame in the shape of dragons, which simultaneously blew streams of fire toward the center of the dais over the swirling water, creating a ball of flame that remained after the dragons dissipated. As the ball of flame grew, it pulled a churning vortex of water out of the basin. As they met in a colossal burst of steam, the colonnade was suddenly transfigured into vertical shafts of light that slowly moved forward toward the rim of the basin, pulled by the building core of magical energy of water and flame. The ball of flame rose higher, pushed by the ever-growing waterspout from the basin. As the columns formed an arc in the rear of the basin, the giant panel above bent with the arc, at the same time leaning forward as if to catch the rising flames, until it had created a perfect half dome with the ball of flame at its center. It had finally come to rest.

Transfixed, the crowd watched as the stone figures silently came to life and appeared to look around curiously from their positions now immediately behind the columns, as if wandering into a new environment. The animated stone giant looked appraisingly at what now were dozens of individual light beams that seemed to shine from the suspended dome into the whirling water of the basin. He reached out a hand, interrupting one of the beams.

The effect was immediate and astonishing. An interruption of the light, a disturbance in the basin, and a small variation in the vortex of water reached the ball of flame, which spat a terrific blast of steam at a certain spot on the dome, through a rune shaped hole that emitted a wonderfully loud rumble of low resonating tone that echoed off the hills surrounding the lake. The stone figures all turned to the appreciative cheers of the audience. Encouraged, each figure took a turn at piercing one of the shafts of light before them, all with similar results, but in different tonality and pitch. It began a slow experimentation of what interrupting different shafts would do, which note and what timbre, until there was such a cacophony of sound that no one’s playing could be heard above the others. Harry knew that this was a traditional Mermish composition representing chaos without order. It continued for a bit longer until the merperson figure inside the vortex started beating a simple repetitive rhythm that was eventually picked up by the others. The rhythm soon developed a simple melody, that grew in complexity with harmony, then counter melody, until all were working together in a sort of musical canon to fashion the various parts of the composition, all different, but all required for the piece to work.

It was an unusual sound that Harry’s wind organ created, sometimes breathy as a flute, sometimes full as brass, sometimes thin and edgy on the stone rune openings, sometimes rich and mellow, but always magnificent. Harry had borrowed on research from the best Muggle organ builders and used Myron’s talents and Hermione’s intellect to make a truly fabulous instrument, surprising himself as much as anyone. The effect was complemented by the visual calisthenics performed by the animated figures, which rhythmically danced as they used their hands and sometimes feet in the shafts of light, almost as if plucking the strings of a tremendous harp. The entire scene was bathed in sunlight flickering through the billowing clouds of escaping steam, which also radiated the glow from the multi-hued fireball that remained the visual focus of energy in the grand performance.

The eerie aura of the Mermish music was evident, but Myron’s orchestration gave it a sonic depth impossible to achieve with voice alone. Harry sat and listened to the wonderful music with his arm around Ginny, feeling inspired for a future that would be better than he could possibly imagine.

Eventually the music’s tempo slowed and built into an uplifting majestic coda — the triumph over chaos — and a climax of sound enveloped the audience and entranced them with the kind of magic that only powerful music can bring. It gradually slowed even more and calmed toward an intimate and blissfully peaceful conclusion, leaving the listeners in various states of awe, contentment, emotional ecstasy, but none without knowing they had received a special blessing that reached to their very soul.

A moment of silence followed the ending of the organ’s first ever performance, then thunderous applause as the stone figurines took a bow. Waterspouts rose above the listeners in the water; the merpeople were as impressed as the land walkers.

Ginny had to lean close to Harry’s ear to make herself heard. “That was so wonderful, Harry! That last bit with the phoenix song was special; when did you add that?”

Harry had heard it too. “I didn’t. It wasn’t part of the part of the program — I don’t think it came from the organ.”

He looked up to the dome and beyond, and Harry knew deep down that he had received a very special compliment from one who had heard the music from very far away.

And he was happy.

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