Harry released the prophecy with a cry as the energy coursed through him and pulsed in the room. The pressure built until it was almost suffocating and pressed against the magical barrier in his mind painfully. Eventually the power reached its peak and dissipated, letting Harry draw in a gasping breath. His head was still twinging and he felt a warm stinging sensation wrapping around his right upper forearm near his elbow. He pulled back his sleeve and frowned at the thin black band that now wrapped around his arm.

“Welcome, Hero of Hogwarts,” the four portraits said together. “Find the swords to become one and reclaim Hogwarts.”

“Harry, are you alright?” Hermione asked as she and Ron hurried to his side.

“I’m fine,” Harry said. “Do you know who’s done this to the school?” he asked the portraits, looking at each Founder.

“We were all of us deceived,” Slytherin said.

“He was meant to embody all that Hogwarts is,” Hufflepuff said.

“He used Hogwarts to harm her children,” Gryffindor said.

“Our choice of leader was wrong,” Ravenclaw finished.

Harry’s heart beat painfully and he felt a pit form in his stomach, making him ill. “It is him. It’s Dumbledore,” he said in a near whisper as his world spun out of control around him.

Harry glanced into the Library as he passed, seeing Hermione, Luna, and Dean immersed in huge tomes as they searched for information on the swords, Hogwarts’ magic, Mind Magic, and horcruxes. He continued down the tunnel, taking a branching one to look in on Ginny and Dennis relaxing and doing homework. Ginny looked up at him and gave a small smile before returning to her work. He moved on, heading back to the Chamber, but took another branch before getting there. He followed this tunnel for some time until he came upon Neville and Seamus who were carefully moving the rocks blocking the tunnel.

“How is it going?” he asked.

“Slow, but we’re getting there,” Seamus said, breathing heavy.

“We think the cave-in goes for a couple of metres so it’ll take longer than expected,” Neville added.

Harry nodded. “That’s okay. We’ve got the other two for now. Keep at it. Just be careful.”

They both gave him a salute, making him chuckle, before they returned to work and Harry headed to the Chamber.

It had been two weeks since he and his friends found Hogwarts’ core and the prophecy. He had gone immediately to Snape to let him know what they found and that Riddle had, indeed, been telling the truth. He’d discovered that Snape had also received a thin black line on his arm, making him assume Malfoy and Riddle had one as well. It was clearly a symbol identifying them as the heroes.

The day after, they had rounded up those they’d met with in the Hog’s Head in the second-floor bathroom. They explained that the Chamber would be their meeting and training place. With everyone’s help, they began to clean up the Chamber and explore more. Harry showed the second entrance he’d found, and they learned it was behind the Map of Argyllshire on the second floor. They removed the Basilisk, clearing the main Chamber for training. While exploring, they managed to find a few rooms and the Founders’ Library, as well as another entrance in the dungeons through the Dark Hall. They cleaned the rooms and set them up for various tasks such as Legilimency and Occlumency sessions with Snape, completing homework, or just resting away from the oppressive Mind Magic. All the others had been told what was going on in order to have their help with research in the Founders’ Library, though they’d left out any mention of Riddle. They were also working on clearing cave-ins in order to discover what lay behind them.

The Chamber had quickly become a kind of sanctuary for them all. While the Mind Magic did not disappear in the Chamber due to its deep hold on all of them and the school, its effects were lessened, allowing them all to relax, think more clearly, and have control of themselves.

They had all made progress with the Legilimency and Occlumency as well. They all had to learn to hide their thoughts so Dumbledore could not find out what they were doing, so they were all learning Occlumency from Snape as well. The Legilimency had allowed all of them to regain at least a couple of lost memories. It was a slow process given how dangerous it was to pull memories through Mind Magic. They had to be sure to find memories and bring them out slowly so as to not activate their magic into thinking the mind had to be protected which would cause comas. Too many memories at once could also cause comas, as well as if the manufactured memories were not given time to be replaced by the real ones. Every time they all met, Snape was able to help retrieve a single memory in one person, sometimes in two.

Harry had been surprised at how well they were all working together. There had been some hesitation from the Gryffindors towards Snape and Malfoy, but once he explained that they were also Heroes, the Gryffindors were very accepting.

He crossed the Chamber, glancing at the head of Slytherin. He went down into the core on occasion to talk to the Founders and to feel the magic of Hogwarts. It was tainted and dim throughout the school, but not down there. In the core, he could still feel its purity and love and power…he could feel Hogwarts, the Founders.

He travelled down a tunnel to the room they had set up for Legilimency and Occlumency. There was a transfigured sofa, chairs, and small tables. On one table shaped like a podium, there was a stack of eleven fairly thick journals of different colours and a Self-Inking Quill. Each journal belonged to one of them and acted as a recording of sessions. They would record a retrieved memory and its tampered counterpart to allow comparison as a way to help the real memory replace the tampered one. They also recorded failed sessions or incomplete sessions, detailing what went wrong, what they had been looking for, how they felt, and any other important details.

He stepped into the room, shoving his hands in his pockets as he watched Malfoy write in his journal, talking quietly with Snape. As he watched and thought of the ease that came over all of them in the Chamber, he wondered if this was how it should have been all along. Perhaps there was supposed to be normal disagreement, dislike, and competition rather than the intense hatred they’d all felt and acted upon over the years. How many more friendships could have been made if they’d been allowed? What could Hogwarts have truly been like all these years?

“Potter?”

He blinked and brought himself back. Malfoy had finished his journal and Snape was readying things for Harry’s session.

“Anything today?” Harry asked.

Malfoy shook his head. “Almost, but it became too unstable.”

Harry nodded. “Want to do some training with Ginny?”

“Sure,” Malfoy said and left the room.

Harry turned to Snape. “Can you get all of our memories this way?” he asked, moving to sit in the chair in front of the professor.

“I am uncertain,” Snape said. “Some memories may be too deep, the false memories too engrained.”

“What other options do we have?” Harry asked.

“That is why we are still looking for information on Mind Magic,” Snape said. “Hopefully we can find another solution.”

“Right,” Harry said quietly. A part of him was terrified they’d all be trapped, at least in part, in the Mind Magic. Would they ever truly know who they were, who they were meant to be?

“Are you ready?” Snape asked.

Harry took a few deep breaths and nodded. He watched Snape’s hands come up, one holding his wand. The wand top touched one of his temples while the fingertips touched his other. He took another deep breath and stared directly into Snape’s eyes, indicating he was ready.

“Legilimens,” Snape said quietly and they were pulled into Harry’s mind.

The mind was a mess of blurred images flying around and incomprehensible mumbling. He found the golden thread that was Snape’s spell and followed it as it wound and zipped through his memories, searching for the boundaries of his consciousness. They were interrupted by a memory from his childhood with the Dursleys forcing its way into their path and beginning to play. He frowned. This had been happening often during his sessions though it was more common in Occlumency. He had a hard time pushing the memories aside now, though he wasn’t sure why. He theorized it was because of discovering that Dumbledore had caused it all, had purposely left him there to be abused. He and Snape had discussed the memories and Dursleys in small amounts—the first acknowledgement of the abuse since the day Snape saw his back—but he held back, unwilling to discuss his needless trauma.

He shook his head and forcefully pushed the memory aside just as a little, bruised six-year-old Harry crawled into his cupboard, sobbing.

“Potter,” he heard Snape say.

“No, it’s fine, that’s not why we’re here,” Harry said dismissively. “Let’s go.”

He could feel the professor’s disapproval, but he did, thankfully, let it go, at least for the moment. Snape resumed his search with the spell, Harry following closely. The further they went, the more sporadic the memories became. They also became hazier as they were the things he pushed down, forced himself to forget about. However, mixed in were the snippets he’d been receiving through visions. These visions were bits of memory leaking through the cracks in the wall.

He gazed up at the ‘wall’ that was the mental barrier created by the Mind Magic to conceal his real memories. It didn’t look like a wall, but rather a thick, black cloud with tiny spots of light peeking through. It was through these spots that the visions had happened. They had decided to start there with the weak points, thinking it would be safer than trying to break through fresh spots. It had still proven difficult, however. Harry assumed the Mind Magic had been stronger on him since he was Dumbledore’s special player. They’d only managed to retrieve one memory of his so far. All their other attempts had ended in the wall shaking violently and Harry in severe pain.

He looked at the dull, cloudy, slow-moving memories at the wall.

“Let’s just work with one of the visions today,” he said.

“Very well,” Snape said and the spell wrapped around an image, pulling it up for viewing.

They watched as Snape swept into the Hospital Wing to the twelve-year-old Harry laying in a bed. Snape sat on the bed as Harry carefully pushed himself up to sit. Snape examined his visible injuries, including the bandaged arm where he had been poisoned by the Basilisk.

“How could you have been so reckless?” Snape said to the younger Harry.

“I’m sorry, but we had to save Ginny and we couldn’t find anyone that would help,” Harry said.

“You almost died,” Snape said firmly though his tone was full of concern rather than anger.

“I know,” Harry said quietly, dropping his eyes.

Snape sighed and gently tugged Harry’s uninjured arm to pull the boy against his chest in a hug. Harry wrapped his arms around the man and laid his head against the warm chest.

“I won’t do it again, promise,” Harry mumbled.

Snape’s chest bounced lightly under Harry’s head with his quiet chuckle. “Yes, you will, child, but it is alright.”

“Ah, Harry, glad to see you awake and well,” Dumbledore said as he entered the Hospital Wing. Harry and Snape parted, turning to the headmaster. “Do you feel well enough to come up to my office, my boy?”

“Headmaster, I don’t—” Snape tried to argue.

“Severus, will you send this off to Azkaban for me?” Dumbledore interrupted, holding out an envelope. “I believe it is time Hagrid returned to Hogwarts.”

Snape glanced at Harry before standing and, inclining his head, took the letter. “Of course, Headmaster.” His expression tight in the face of Dumbledore’s smile, Snape left the Hospital Wing.

“Come along, my boy,” Dumbledore said to Harry. “We have some things to discuss.”

“Yes, sir,” Harry said and followed Dumbledore from the infirmary.

Harry winced at the stinging in his skull from the memory and in his heart at the care Snape had shown him. They clearly had a bond back then, but it was erased, likely when he went to Dumbledore’s office. He felt a pit of loss in his stomach.

“Bring up the false memory,” Snape instructed and Harry obeyed, dragging the memory to sit beside the real one. They were nothing alike. In the fake memory, he’d been alone in the Hospital Wing. No one had come to comfort him; he’d been left to deal with what he’d been through on his own.

“Begin to combine them,” Snape said when the fake memory ended with Harry receiving a letter from Dumbledore asking him to go to the headmaster’s office.

He overlaid the real memory onto the false one and made them start playing at the same time. Both memories shimmered as the real one tried to take over and Harry cringed at the growing pressure in his head. He paused the process for a moment when the memories shook violently and the shadowy wall pulsed and grew, slightly touching a leaked memory beside it, threatening to take it back.

“Potter,” Snape said warningly.

Harry took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm his mind and magic so they stopped panicking. The memories stopped shaking and he let them continue to play. The pressure in his head continued to increase, threatening to make him stop, but he pushed through, determined to have another memory. Out the corner of his eye, he saw a ripple run through the wall, indicating he was pushing the Mind Magic harder than he should.

“Potter, that’s enough,” Snape said firmly, obviously seeing the change in the wall as well. “Use the journal to finish.”

The memories were still playing and shimmering though the false memory was faded, partially consumed by the real memory. He knew Snape was right, so he nodded and let Snape gently pull them both out of his mind.

He blinked quickly once out and gasped at the painful pulsing in his head. He folded over, his elbows on his knees, and his head in his hands. He heard Snape get up and open the small drawer he knew held a small stash of potions like Pain Relievers and Anti-Nausea. The sessions took a toll on all of them and it became apparent very quickly that a supply of potions on hand was needed. He felt a touch to his arm and looked up to take the Pain Reliever being offered to him, downing it quickly. He stayed sitting for a few minutes as the potion took effect, releasing a deep breath when the bulk of the pain disappeared.

He sat up and found Snape writing in his journal, encouraging Harry to get up and do the same. He walked up to the podium and pulled his journal out of the stack. He wrote out the fake memory and then the real one, feeling the real one take a stronger hold as he did so. As he finished, he reread the entry, feeling some kind of emotion rise up inside him.

Snape walked up beside him, placing his own journal on top of the pile before gazing down at Harry’s entry. They were quiet, but comfortable.

“What were we to each other?” Harry asked quietly eventually.

“I do not know,” Snape said, “but we will find out.”

“Uh, Harry, Professor?” Dean said, suddenly appearing in the entrance and making them turn around. “We’ve found something about the swords.”

Harry’s stomach leapt at the news. He put his journal away and quickly followed Dean, Snape close behind. As they crossed the Chamber, they interrupted Malfoy and Ginny’s mock duel to have Malfoy join them. They all entered the Founders’ Library and Ron handed Harry a small, thin book, its contents clearly written by hand.

“It seems to be Gryffindor’s personal journal,” Ron told him.

Harry gave his friend a look of shock before looking at the entry Ron had it open to. He read the entry aloud: “'We’ve done it. The swords have a piece of us inside of them to provide Hogwarts with her magic. These will be the source of all magic at Hogwarts and ties the four of us together. However, we know the danger of creating such a core and doing such things to the swords. There will always be threats, people that seek to take Hogwarts’ power for their own or seek to control us. We’ve decided to attach powerful…challenges to our swords, tests anyone must pass in order to possess a sword. If one does not pass, they are unworthy and will be struck down by the sword’s—by our—power. Hogwarts must be protected’.”

Harry lowered the journal and looked around at the others, all of them reviewing what they’d heard.

“So, if we send the wrong person to the wrong sword, they die,” Malfoy said, crossing his arms.

“How do we know who gets which sword?” Harry said. “It can’t be based on house, we’re only Gryffindors and Slytherins.”

“I believe we need to meet with our fourth hero again,” Snape said and Harry nodded.

“We’ll write him,” Harry said before turning back to the others. “We have to leave soon, but let’s do some training.”

“I must return,” Snape said. “Occlude before you leave.”

Everyone promised to and watched the professor leave.

“Get the others and meet in front of Slytherin,” Harry said. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

He jogged from the Library and back to the Legilimency room, walking over to another small table with a journal laying open. A variety of handwriting filled the pages, carrying on written conversations. He grabbed the quill and quickly scrawled a message.

We’ve got something on the swords. Need to meet.

He stared at the page, waiting for a response to appear. After about a minute, words in a different hand scratched themselves across the page under his message.

Friday. Same place. Same time.

He put the quill down and returned to his friends in the main Chamber. They spent another half hour together, dueling and practicing new spells and techniques.

Harry slowly pushed open the trapdoor, peeking around from beneath his invisibility cloak. When he determined no one was around, he climbed out of the tunnel, closing the door quietly behind him. He crossed the small storeroom, ignoring the stacks of cases of various alcohols, and peeked through the crack he made in the door. Once again finding the way clear, he slipped silently out of the storeroom. He hurried around the bar and through the tables, pushing his way out of the Three Broomsticks. He blew out a small breath, relieved to have gotten to the village without issue. Snape was supposed to accompany him, but had been called to a meeting with Dumbledore, leaving Harry to meet with Riddle alone despite his better judgement. Even though they had the truth, they were still wary of Riddle, the Mind Magic still hard at work.

He walked down the road, passing the Hog’s Head and the Shrieking Shack. He briefly flashed back to third year, wondering if that night in the Shack had been different in any way. He pushed it from his mind as he entered the Bronze Dragon, removing his cloak. Once again, there were no other patrons aside him Riddle in the far corner, cloaked. He made his way over, sliding into the seat across from Riddle.

“You’re alone,” Riddle said in surprise.

“Snape was called to meet with Dumbledore,” Harry said.

“Does he know?” Riddle asked, concerned.

“We don’t know,” Harry said with a shrug. “If he does, he hasn’t shown it and he didn’t find out from Snape. We’re all doing our best to learn Occlumency, but we’re no masters.”

Riddle nodded, understanding and acknowledging the risks Snape and the students were taking. It was easy for Riddle to be plotting against Dumbledore since he was no longer under the headmaster’s watch at Hogwarts. It wasn’t so for the rest of them. They were actively working against the Mind Magic while still under the headmaster’s unflinching supervision.

“Now, I trust you don’t have much time,” Riddle said.

Harry shook his head. “Probably not, but I’ve got a way to be warned by my friends.” He pulled back his sleeve to reveal a small bracelet. It was a coin-looking pendant on a black string. The pendant was solid gold but had been charmed by Hermione to send and receive messages. She had repeated her coin system from the DA, but made it more efficient and put them on bracelets so they couldn’t be lost. They all now had a way to easily contact each other when needed.

“Good,” Riddle said. “What have you found?”

“There are spells on the swords, spells to test whoever tries to get each sword,” Harry said, diving right into the explanation. “But, if the wrong person tries to get the wrong sword, they’ll be killed.”

“So, we have to be sure about who is the wielder of each sword,” Riddle said and Harry nodded. “Have you found anything else that could tell us who each sword belongs to?”

Harry didn’t respond immediately, a large part of him still bound by the Mind Magic to distrust Riddle. Due to that, he hadn’t yet told Riddle about the prophecy found in the depths of the Chamber. He took a minute to consider if he should reveal it now. He eventually took a breath with his decision.

“We found the source of Hogwarts, the place where the swords are meant to lay,” Harry said, watching Riddle’s eyes grow wide. “There we found a prophecy telling of the Four Heroes of Hogwarts prevailing over the true Dark Lord. It mentions the swords.”

“What does it say?”

“One to defeat fear, one to discover truth, one to feel love, and one to accept life,” Harry recited, choosing to only repeat the beginning.

Riddle remained quiet, ruminating on the prophecy. “Do you believe the prophecy to be real?”

Harry nodded.

“Clearly each of us is connected to a sword through those things mentioned,” Riddle said. “Each of us has something to face, something to defeat within us that connects us with a sword.”

“How do we know which test is for who?” Harry said.

“I believe it will be related to what Dumbledore has done to each of us,” Riddle said and Harry looked at him curiously. “Through everything he has done and forced each of us to go through, he took something from us. I believe we must figure out what we lost and that will tell us which test we must each complete.”

“But how do we know which test belongs to each sword?”

“The characteristics of the Founders and their houses.”

Harry was about to speak when his bracelet grew warm and he looked at the pendant.

Trouble.

“I have to go,” Harry said and he raced from the Bronze Dragon before Riddle could say anything. He ran up to the castle, slipping through the front entrance. He didn’t have to go searching for the trouble as the Entrance Hall was filled with students all crowding around the Great Hall, trying to see inside. He pushed his way through the students and gaped as he saw what was happening. The banners that hung from the ceiling were burning brightly, but only the Gryffindor ones. As he watched the fire, Dumbledore rushed into the Hall to put them out.

His eyes narrowed, knowing it had to have been Dumbledore’s doing. He could feel the heavy anger around him and the chatter was getting louder. The students were beginning to fight, Gryffindors blaming the Slytherins for burning the banners. While it very well may have been true, Harry was certain the culprits had been driven to it by the Mind Magic. He could feel it around them, stronger than it had been in days. Dumbledore must be suspicious and had increased the magic to reignite the hate in the school.

“Students, please, calm yourselves!” Dumbledore called out once he had the fires extinguished. Everyone quieted down, but the heaviness was still there. “An unfortunate accident here tonight, but nothing more. Please, return to your common rooms.”

There was angry muttering, but the crowd did begin to head away from the Great Hall. Harry moved away from the door, stepping to the side slightly to watch Dumbledore come out of the Hall. He stared at the headmaster, but was distracted when all the torches flickered out for a moment, drenching the Entrance Hall in darkness. Upon the return of the light, the castle groaned loudly and shook. He jumped and there were gasps and screams as a deafening sound of shattering glass echoed out. Harry spun to see the hourglasses filled with coloured gems tracking the house points had broken. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were covered in thin cracks that threaded all over their surfaces. Gryffindor had the same cracks as well as a hole near the bottom, allowing some rubies to pour out. Slytherin was completely shattered, its entre left side open, leaving glass and emeralds strewn across the floor.

Harry’s heart pounded, knowing this was a product of Dumbledore draining more of Hogwarts’ magic to increase the Mind Magic. He turned back around and hardened his gaze as he met the cold, blue eyes of the headmaster.