Harry Potter

The Founders Four

By JadedofMara

Chapter One: Deep Magic

It was the first night of term, directly after the Welcoming Feast

Magic swept through the air as though in a sandstorm.

There was a rumble that shook Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to its hidden foundations, and then silence. All throughout the castle, teachers looked up from their pastimes and just-returning students from their conversation, confused. First years, not knowing better, though nothing of it.

The Headmaster alone began to run.

Hogwarts shuddered, and then sighed.

In the central courtyard, several figures had appeared with a crack! They were now standing warily together, each with their back to the others.

The most conspicuously noticeable person was a male, and stood well over six foot tall. His fire-red hair was long and half tied back, and a delicate red dusting of mustache and goatee graced his battle-hardened features. The wizard wore a griffin-skin cloak of deep crimson over scarlet robes and gold battle armor. A heavy swordbelt hung from his hip, its scabbard empty. A long golden sword, encrusted with magnificent rubies was held firmly in the wizard's left hand, on which a signet ring—of twin golden lions carrying rubies in their mouths—rested proudly. The wizard's right hand carried a long Redwood wand. At the wizard's side stood a fully grown griffin, its scarlet plumage and gold fur striking a contrast that matched perfectly with the wizard's robes. The griffin stared around the courtyard impressively, ready at any moment to attack.

To the right of the man's griffin stood a beautiful woman, her honey-colored hair swept up away from her neck to avoid the quiver of arrows secured there. Her bow was already in hand, and strung with an arrow. The witch was dressed in bronze armored robes and a deep blue Elven-weave cloak. On the fourth finger of the witch's left hand, two bronze rings intertwined with each other. The first, the one closest to the fingertip, showed a falcon, its eye a single sapphire. The falcon's wings were spread lovingly around the figure of the second ring, the head of a male lion with a ruby held tight in its mouth. Around her delicate waist was a belt of linked bronze, and on her right arm, a wandholster kept her filigreed Mahogany wand well within easy reach. Perched on the witch's shoulder was a large, white phase gyrfalcon, the bird's hard amber eyes squinting, its wings spread wide.

Standing directly behind the witch was another female, this with long auburn hair that fell to her waist. Her face was kindly, though her chestnut eyes glittered dangerously. This witch wore yellow battle robes with a black dragonhide cloak, and a black belt from which many potions and two empty sheaths hung. The contents of the sheaths—an ornately carved Ebony wand and a gold and onyx filigree dagger—were held lightly in her hands. On the witch's wedding finger was a set of two interweaving gold rings. The first, closest to the palm, was of a single coiled snake, with its tail wrapped firmly around an emerald. The second was the image of a badger which was encircled by the snake of the other ring. The badger held a black pearl in its paws. A living badger crouched at the witch's feet, teeth showing white in a snarl.

To the left of the witch, there was yet another wizard, this one shorter by far than the first. This wizard's hair was long as well, though it was black and not long enough to tie back, leaving it to fall into his hard, gleaming green eyes. His robes were a deep forest green, and covered by a goblin-wrought silver breastplate and a matching swordbelt. The sword—silver with a single large emerald set deep in the hilt—rested still in its scabbard. Over this, the wizard wore a naturally toned Basilisk-scale cloak, which shimmered between its true green and deep silver in the half moonlight of the courtyard. His signet ring—two silver snakes entwined with each other around a large, pure emerald—was easily seen on his left hand. The Basilisk-scale wandholster on the wizard's right arm was empty, its wand of pale Ash, carved all over with snakes, firmly clasped in his hand. Draped over the wizard's shoulders and all down his left arm, its body upright in the wizard's hand and fangs bared, was a long, thick snake, it's scales purest white from age, though the snake itself was still just as deadly as ever. It was poised and ready to strike.

Footsteps clattered down the hallway before the wizard dressed in red and his griffin, and the others came around to form a line with him—the two wizards and their companions in the center, and the witches with their familiars on the outside. A tall, purple-robed wizard with long white hair and blue eyes that shone from behind half-moon spectacles rounded the corner at a full run, and stopped dead at the sight of the newcomers.

The four humans exchanged looks of shock and incredulity at the appearance of this man. He was, after all, supposedly dead.

It was a while before the man found his voice.

"The Founders?" he asked disbelievingly. "No! This can't be possible!"

"I assure you," the green-swathed wizard said in a silky voice, drawing out all his 'S's far longer than necessary, as was his habit. "Whatever it is that 'can't be possible' is perfectly so, for this is Magic, my friend, and anything is possible to those with sufficient faith."