“Wait, wait,” Ron said, interrupting Harry’s telling of his dream. “The woman you’ve been seeing is Hogwarts?”

Harry nodded. “She can apparently take form. Or, at least, the magic here can.”

“Bloody hell,” Ron said, obviously stunned.

“So, what happened?” Hermione asked.

“Something bad is happening to the school. She said her magic—the Founders’ magic—is failing…dying. Someone is draining and misusing it, has been for a long time, from what it seems,” Harry explained. “Her core is missing and has to be restored or else the magic goes away forever.”

“How awful,” Hermione said, shaking her head.

“Did she say who’s doing it?” Ron asked.

“No, she couldn’t,” Harry said. “She said whoever it is has her bound.”

“They’ve got complete control,” Hermione said, “and they must have known Hogwarts taking form was possible.”

“What’s this ‘core’ she mentioned?” Ron asked, taking a large bite of a buttered dinner roll.

“Swords,” Harry said. “The Four Swords of the Founders.”

“You mean like the one the Sorting Hat gave you in the Chamber of Secrets?” Hermione said.

Harry nodded. “That was one, but apparently, it’s gone, hidden somewhere like the others. We have to find them and bring them back to the core here in the castle.”

“’We’?” Ron repeated.

“Where is the core?” Hermione asked.

“Apparently there are three others that I have to find. ‘Four swords for four heroes’, she said,” Harry explained. “As for the core, I have absolutely no idea.”

Ron huffed. “For a sentient castle, she couldn’t give you much, could she?”

“Unfortunately, no, but at least we know what’s going on now, at least with the castle,” Harry said. “We have a better place to start. We can research the swords, try to find out who the other heroes are, and try to figure out where the core is.”

“We can also keep guessing at who’s behind it,” Ron said.

Harry frowned. “I thought we had agreed it was Voldemort?”

“Yes, but he doesn’t fill in all the blanks,” Hermione said. “Harry, what if we’re wrong? What if it’s not him?”

“Who else would it be?” Harry asked, slightly irritated even though a part of him had thought the exact same thing.

“I don’t know,” Hermione said, “but we should still try to find out. We have to stop them.”

Harry bit into a sausage, nodding his agreement. Who would want to control and hurt Hogwarts, and everyone inside? His gaze wandered over the students before flickering up to the head table. He was instantly drawn to Dumbledore and was startled to find the man staring at him. The blue eyes were hard and did not change or dart away when they met Harry’s green ones. He frowned at the look and the feeling that something had changed. It reinforced his feeling that he needed to start keeping an eye on the headmaster. He was beginning to wonder if Dumbledore were somehow involved.

“Shall we go to the library after classes today?” Hermione suggested. “I may be able to get us access to the Restricted Section.”

“We definitely need in there,” Harry said. “Tonight then.”

Harry hovered outside the Defense office, biting his lip as he considered whether this was a good idea or not. He had never gotten a response from the man after he went to him for help some time ago. He couldn’t be sure anything had changed, but he had to try. It felt like Snape was the only one he could trust based on the visions he’d had. Snape had a role in helping stop the Mind Magic, he knew it. He was also fairly certain Snape had a role in his life, a role they had both been made to forget. So, he took a deep breath, and quickly knocked on the door.

“Enter.”

Harry hesitated for a second before pushing the door open. He stood just inside and let it close behind him. He waited there for further acknowledgement from the professor behind the desk at the front of the room.

“Mr. Potter,” Snape greeted once he raised his head. “Take a seat.”

Harry crossed the room and sat across from the professor.

“How can I help you?”

“I know you never agreed to anything after I came to you last time, but things have changed and we need your help,” Harry said and Snape looked at him curiously. “The failing Mind Magic is getting more dangerous, we need to know the truth, and Hogwarts is dying.”

Snape’s expression turned sharp. “What did you say?”

“I know it sounds crazy, but I swear it’s true,” Harry said. “I had a dream last night and there was this woman. It was Hogwarts and she asked me—”

“To save her,” Snape interrupted, “as one of four heroes.”

Harry’s eyes widened. “You’re one of the other heroes.”

A pain suddenly tore through his head, making him gasp and clap his hands to his temples as though it would help. Based on the gasp he heard from Snape, he assumed the professor was feeling the same thing. The pain, though intense, was brief and, as it ebbed away, he was filled with a comforting warmth. Hogwarts was pleased two of her heroes had found each other.

“Well,” Snape said, raising his head again. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you are one of her chosen ones.”

Harry began to bristle, but then realized there was absolutely no spite in the tone. In fact, he thought he could detect just a touch of amusement.

“Well, you being a chosen one yourself means I don’t have to waste time explaining,” Harry said. “Ron, Hermione, and I have started researching, looking for any information about the swords. We could use help with that, but there’s something else we need your help with.”

“And what would that be?”

“The Mind Magic and…Dumbledore,” Harry said and watched Snape’s eyebrow leap up his forehead. “We need to break the Mind Magic on ourselves. We need and want our real memories, and the ability to know what’s really going on. As for Dumbledore, I’m not sure how much we can trust him. We don’t want him to know what’s going on. When it comes to the mind, you’re the first one I think of.”

“I agree that we have all become victims of very powerful Mind Magic and I also agree that it needs to be broken,” Snape said. “However, I am not sure you understand how dangerous it is to tamper with such magic.”

“No, I understand,” Harry said. “We are up to nine students in comas, with two of them slowly dying. I know they are like that because they pushed their minds too hard.”

“Precisely, Potter.”

“But, what if we do it slowly, discover where to go in our minds, and do it with you to help and protect us?”

“You’re talking about Legilimency,” Snape realized.

Harry nodded. “For finding the truth, yes. For hiding the truth, we need Occlumency. Which means, we need you.”

Snape gazed at him contemplatively, obviously considering the request as well as remembering their Occlumency lessons from the previous year. Harry had remembered as well, but he believed it could be different this time.

“We can’t let this continue. We can’t let students die and we can’t let Hogwarts die,” Harry said earnestly.

“I cannot do Occlumency and Legilimency with the whole of Hogwarts,” Snape said.

“No, but you can do it on enough of us so we can help each other, work together, and fight together,” Harry said.

Snape sighed eventually and nodded. “Very well. However, if you are correct and we cannot trust the headmaster, we need a place and people we can trust,” he said. “With everyone afflicted by Mind Magic, that could prove difficult.”

“We’ll figure all that out,” Harry said. “For now, see what you can find out about the swords.”

“Ordering me around, are you?” Snape said, raising an eyebrow again.

This time, Harry knew he heard amusement. “I don’t see you ripping me apart for it,” he returned with his own smirk.

There was so much between them that they couldn’t remember, he could feel it. He wished he knew even a fraction of it.

“You are an irritating brat, Potter.”

“Maybe, but you still love me,” a younger Harry said with a grin.

Harry winced at the headache he immediately gained, but stared at Snape through it.

“Maybe,” he said, repeating the vision, “but I keep you entertained.”

He saw Snape’s face twitch minutely and he wondered if the man had had the same vision and recognized the line Harry had said but changed.

“I suppose so,” Snape said. “On your way now, Mr. Potter. Return with a plan.”

“Yes, sir,” Harry said and he left the office.

Once in the hall, he let out a deep breath. He had discovered another hero and enlisted Snape’s help. Having Snape to help on all fronts would be a huge benefit to them. However, the man was right. They needed trustworthy people willing to fight with them and a place to prepare. They couldn’t constantly be seen with Snape or even members of other houses. They had to assume they were being watched at all times.

He had an idea, but he needed Ron and Hermione, so he hurried to meet them in the library as they had planned that morning. He nodded at Madam Pince who just glared at him and he found his friends at a table at the back of the library near the door to the Restricted Section. The table was covered in a little under a dozen texts, Hermione and Ron each in the middle of flipping through one.

“Find anything?” Harry asked.

They both shook their heads.

“Not yet,” Hermione said. “I did get access to the Restricted Section for the next week though.”

“Great,” Harry said, glad they could try find other sources of information on the swords. “So, I’ve got something to tell you.”

Ron and Hermione leaned in, giving him their full attention.

“Snape’s one of the other heroes,” Harry said quietly.

“What?” Ron said loudly, gaining a sharp shush from Hermione.

“I went to talk to him and we figured it out. He had the same dream with Hogwarts,” Harry said. “There’s something else. He’s agreed to help us, both with the swords and with the Mind Magic.”

“That’s wonderful,” Hermione said.

“He made a couple of good points though,” Harry said and they looked at him curiously. “He can’t help everyone with their memories, so we need to talk to the students, find who can help, who wants to fight, and who’s currently most at risk. Second, we don’t know who we can trust, so we need a safe place."

"What about the Room of Requirement again, like last year with the DA?” Ron suggested.

Harry thought about it and nodded. “We need to get a message to students, set up a meeting, but we can’t let anyone else know what we’re doing,” he said.

“What about in Hogsmeade?” Hermione offered. “There’s a visit coming up this weekend. We could ask everyone to meet somewhere there again. It worked with the DA.”

Harry nodded again. “You and Ron have a Head Boy and Girl meeting tomorrow, right?”

They both confirmed his guess.

“Give the Heads a message to pass to each house,” Harry said. “That way we won’t be seen interacting with other houses when we’re ‘not supposed to’.”

“It’s a good idea,” Hermione agreed.

Glad they had a plan, Harry smiled and grabbed a book. He didn’t bother using the table of contents or index if there was one. Information on the swords could be anywhere. So, he started slowly turning pages, skimming each for anything that could be helpful. He had only gotten a few pages in when they gained more company.

“Potter.”

Harry looked up in surprise at Malfoy. He hadn’t interacted with the Slytherin in a while so he was surprised when he didn’t immediately feel hatred as he usually did.

“I need to talk to you,” Malfoy said, seeming to be uncomfortable.

Harry stared at him for a minute before nodding. He got up from the table and followed Malfoy down a few rows of books. Harry put his hands in his pockets and waited for Malfoy to begin the conversation.

Malfoy blew out a breath, seeming to be annoyed with himself. “Look, Potter, you’re probably still crazy, but everyone in this bloody school seems to be, especially this year.”

Harry didn’t say anything, but he couldn’t disagree. Even without intense Mind Magic, Hogwarts had some strange characters.

“Last time we…talked,” Malfoy said awkwardly and Harry raised an eyebrow, “you, uh, you mentioned…asked if I’d seen a woman.”

Harry’s stare intensified and his interest instantly spiked.

“Bloody hell, I can’t believe I’m telling you this,” Malfoy muttered to himself. “Last night…last night, I…”

Harry took pity on the blonde and filled in the blanks. “You saw her last night, didn’t you, in a dream?”

Malfoy looked at him, shocked Harry knew what he was trying to say. Harry, on the other hand, couldn’t believe he’d found another of Hogwarts’ heroes only a day after the dream.

“You’re a hero,” Harry said and, like with Snape, he and Malfoy grabbed their heads in pain before being overcome by a sense of warmth.

“I’m not crazy?” Malfoy said and Harry was surprised at the vulnerability being shown.

“I’m not crazy?” a young Harry whispered to a young Malfoy.

“No, you’re not, promise,” Malfoy said, putting his arm around Harry’s shoulders.

Harry shook his head. “No, you’re not, promise.”

Malfoy blinked in recognition of the repeated line, confirming he, too, had seen the vision.

“Hogwarts’ magic is being drained sustaining powerful Mind Magic,” Harry explained shortly.

“Mind Magic,” Malfoy repeated quietly. “So, the visions, the comas, the…emotions…”

“The Mind Magic failing because Hogwarts is failing.”

Malfoy was clearly overwhelmed.

“Come on,” Harry said, making a quick decision. “You can help us.”

“With what?”

“We’re trying to find anything we can about the swords,” Harry said. “It’s pretty slow-going.”

Malfoy’s eyes flickered in Ron and Hermione’s direction. He knew what the blonde was thinking and even he was considering it. The Mind Magic seemed to have dipped slightly, decreasing the overwhelming anger in the castle, but it was still there.

“You’re a hero,” Harry said. “Hogwarts said we had to work together.”

“I suppose,” Malfoy said, regaining some of his haughtiness.

Harry gave a small smile, realizing he preferred the cocky and confident blonde to this sullen, vulnerable one. He tilted his head toward Ron and Hermione as a gesture for Malfoy to follow him as he started walking back to his friends.

Once there, as expected, Ron and Hermione cast suspicious glances at Malfoy while he mustered up his own traditional sneer.

Harry sat and handed Malfoy a book, just waiting when Malfoy hesitated to take it for a few seconds.

“It has proven to be a productive day,” Harry said lightly, gently but firmly shoving a text into Malfoy’s hands. “Malfoy, here, is also one of Hogwarts’ heroes. Would you sit down already?” he snapped at the Slytherin.

Ron was about to make a comment on Malfoy being a hero when he yelped and glared at Hermione who was shooting him a pointed look. Harry’s lips twitched, amused. Hermione had apparently kicked Ron under the table to shut him up.

Harry looked up at Malfoy who still hadn’t moved. “Well?” he said, gesturing at the empty chair.

Malfoy rolled his eyes and kept his sneer up, though Harry could tell it was very half-hearted, as he pulled the chair back and sat down.

There was a heavy tension at the table, but there was also a small sense of ease buried underneath as they quietly scanned for information on an essentially non-existent topic.