It was a few days later, and Wormtail stood shaking before the man he called his master, relaying the news he had heard hiding in Severus' quarters.

"Wormtail..you have done well to deliver thiss newss to me...but your wait hass cossst uss ssseverly. By now, the brat and the traitor may have already found the otherssss, and that will not do. You ssshall be punisshed for your idiocssy. Crucio!"

As the curse hit the shaking man, Wormtail fell to the floor, writhing about under the effects, begging for relief.

"Now, you ssshall do better next time, won't you? Go, find the other portraitsss!"

With that, Wormtail shifted back into a rat, and scampered as far away as possible from Lord Voldemort.

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"Severus my boy, this is ingenious!" cried Dumbledore, as he looked into the cauldron. Inside, and iridescent liquid glimmered and swirled, inviting the man to look deeper and deeper into the mass of colours. "And you say a bit of this matched with the map can find anything I so desire?"

"Within reason. The item must be within Hogwart's boundaries, otherwise it will not appear on the map, but other than that, it should work flawlessly." replied Severus, looking over to where the headmaster stood.

Slowly pulling himself away from the cauldron, Dumbledore turned toSeverus, with a curious expression on his face.

"So, Severus, I assume I shall see you tonight then, with young Harry perhaps- say, 8 o'clock in my office?"

With a wink and a smile, Dumbledore crossed the room, reached into a box on the mantlepiece for the floo powder, and with a single step disappeared from the classroom, leaving a stunned potions master in his wake.

-------page break--------

At 8, the party assembled in the headmasters tower office, surrounding a large pachment laid elegantly n the table.

"Now, we all know by now why we are here, and what we must do tonight. Severus has managed to perfect the formula for Quod Perierat Invenitur, allowing us to reveal the location of the remaining three portraits quickly. Severus, if you would do the honours?" 

Beckoning to Snape, DUmbledore moved out of the way of the table to allow the potions master acces. Drawing a vial from one of the many pockets in his robe, Severus swiftly removed the stopper, dropping three shining drops of potion onto the parchment, followed by a series of intricate wand movements.

As he stepped away, the potion began to work instantaneously. The three droplets began to shake and swirl, drawing trails over the parchment until finally halting in three remote locations.

"I guess that is where we must begin our search then. If the Weasley twins and Minerva would like to begin the search near the upper levels of Gryffindor tower, Filius, Pomona and Mister Weasley take the trail leading near the kitchens, then myself, Miss Granger, Mister Potter and Severus take the astronomy tower, we should be able to retrieve the portraits quickly and safely."

Flitwick quicly charmed several pieves of parchment to replicate the trails of the potion, whilst the group prepared to leave.

"Good luck, and be safe. We'll meet back here in a few hours for breakfast"

With that, the headmaster slipped out the door, closely flanked by the rest of the room.

-------page break---

Fred, George and McGonagall were the first to locate the room the portrait was hidden in.

The room in question was a large, circular one, decorated in red and gold tapestries, all depecting moments of Godric Gryffindor's life. Scattered around the place were bits of broken and damaged furniture, along with belongings that were hidden years ago and slowly forgotten.

"On my life, I never thought I would live to see this room again" sighed McGonagall, as she wandered toward a chintz armchair that overtook a large section of the room.

"What do you mean professor?" questioned Fred.

"When I was a young girl, it was times of war and poverty. Grindewald was making his mark on the wizarding world, just as Hitler was making his on the muggle. Everything was in short supply, and I could no longer live in my hometown, for every night we were hunted by Grindewald's followers and hit by Hitler's bombs. In the end, the current headmaster- a good friend of my fathers- decided that Hogwarts was the safest place, and so he sent for families all over Britain that were in constant danger, and housed them here. it was during this time that I took to exploring the castle before I started as a student, and many of my days were spent conversing with various portraits in the room. Then, on the day after I was sorted into Gryffindor, I tried once again to find this room, but I never did again. I thought it was lost forever, but alas, it seems not."

Minerva leaned back into the confortable embrace of the armchair, reliving the happy memories spent here as a child. She had missed the feelings of saftey and security in her long years, and only here was she finally able to let herself free.

"Professor...I think we've found one-"

"He thinks we've found the portrait!" cried the twins,Fred finishing George's scenence for him.

Moving the piles of furniture out of the way, the trio worked for a good hour before finally being able to retrieve a frame wrapped in a deep blue silk. Pulling away the silk, the frame revealed the portrait of none other than Rowena Ravenclaw.