Chronicles of Camelot

Seven swords and surprises

The swords of destiny shall be as one when the time of the Three shall be changed with the coming of the Fourth; where the Four shall meet to become the One, there shall the Snake be reborn; only through his heart and soul shall Number Four hold the strength to make the Snake into the warrior he once was; the time of the Three shall begin when Lucifer rides again.

"So how have you figured it out?" asked Neville, watching his leader as the Arch-Knight appeared to calm himself thanks to Luna's almost melodious voice; whether it was irony or something to do with her Sky abilities, Neville didn't know, but his girlfriend's voice had recently acquired a sort of birdsong-like edge to it that seemed to be able to calm even the most tense of people.

"I was talking with Fred and George," Harry explained, "And we were discussing what we'd do if we won the Tournament; however, when I made a remark about my run of bad luck lately, it hit me."

"How?" asked Lily, "Are you sure that you've got the right answers son?"

"I am Mum," Harry answered, looking to his team before he began his explanations, "We already know that the time of the Three referred to the Triwizard Tournament, but it was the coming of the Fourth that had me worried; Artemis said that where the Four shall meet to become the One, there shall the Snake be reborn; what she meant was the final task of the three: where four, as in four champions shall meet to become the One, as in the One True Triwizard Champion."

"But Harry," Luna pointed out, Harry not minding as his sister-in-arms cut him off, "A Triwizard Tournament will only have three champions, won't it?"

"Perhaps," Harry agreed, "That would be the normal thing for the tournament, but we already know that there are forces out there that will choose to stand against me and, in one such case, I'd bet every ounce of gold in Camelot's Treasury that those forces will try and find a way to name yours truly as the Fourth Triwizard Champion."

"It would make sense," Sirius agreed, looking to his godson as Harry continued with his explanations.

"Yes it would Sirius and, thanks to that notice a few days ago, we also know that the other schools will arrive on October 30th, the day before Halloween; the day that, according to most magical legends, shows a weak-point in the forces of light and darkness, life and death; translation…"

"When Lucifer rides again," Hermione finished, earning a nod and a small kiss on her cheek from her betrothed, "That will be the day that everything changes."

"In more ways than one," Harry told her, before he added, "And through my becoming the Fourth Champion, we also have the final part of the prophecy: only through his heart and soul shall Number Four hold the strength to make the Snake into the warrior he once was; that's referring to my blood being offered to a certain Dark Lord we know and loathe."

"Voldemort," Lily whispered, earning a flinch from Sirius and Remus, "He's coming back."

"He's…the Snake," Remus added, Harry now nodding in agreement.

"He is," commented the Arch-Knight, "And, as we know, it will be when we meet Tom that the Seventh Circle will be forged, thus completing the unity and formation of the Holy Knights, with me as their leader."

"But there's one little snag to your theory and the plan," Neville suggested, "We have no idea who the last of our gathering will be: if they're meant to reveal themselves, then why hasn't the Order, Excalibur, Aunt Lily or even you Harry found them?"

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Harry, a crafty smile crossing his face.

"It is," Luna commented, looking to Neville as she decided to fill in the blanks, "When you think about it Neville, Harry's right: it is pretty obvious."