Amulet of time 1: The Age of The Founders

Chapter 5: The Hogwarts Four

"Oh, come now Salazar. They just got here. Anyway, I have a feeling they're a long way from home and won't be able to get back anytime soon."

"Did I ask you, Helga? No, I don't believe I did. Anyway, how do we know they're not a threat? They could be spies or Dark wizards intent on destroying us."

Harry snorted at this comment. Salazar Slytherin, ancestor of Lord Voldemort, accusing the Boy-Who-Lived of being a Dark wizard. Could things get any weirder?

By this time the four founders had started to argue furiously. Ginny turned to Harry and they shared an amused look. Ron and Hermione joined them on their couch and they leaned in close to have a quiet discussion of their own.

"They're going to want to know who we are and where we came from," Hermione suggested, "I think we should tell them what happened with the amulet and what year we're from. We can't tell them much else, as they might somehow change the future. While we're here, we have to be extremely careful. We can change the future in any way; we have no way of knowing what the consequences might be. We could change time so much with one little decision, even preventing major events that will happen in the future. For all we know, things could be changed for the worse. We can't risk that happening."

"Alright, 'Mione, we get the idea," Ron groused, "Can we at least tell them about You-Know-Who? They might be able to teach us some spells and stuff that could help us when we get back."

"Ron, that's brilliant! There are sure to be ancient magics that could be of use that have been lost over the last thousand years," she said.

"Calm down, 'Mione. I don't think we should mention that Voldemort is Slytherin's heir. We don't want to get on his bad side by telling him we want to kill his heir," Harry pointed out, "I also don't think we should mention me being a parselmouth. It might bring up some awkward questions."

"Don't say the name!" Ginny shouted.

"Gin, fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself. He can't get to you here by saying his name. He can't even do that back home."

"Ok, Harry," she agreed, "I'll try and say it if you insist. But only if Ron and Hermione do too. And I agree, we shouldn't tell them his identity."

By this time, the founders had ended their discussion and were patiently waiting for the students to finish. Slytherin looked annoyed, but the other three were all smiling. Gryffindor broke the silence.

"Well, who would like to tell us where you're from?"

Ginny, Ron and Hermione all looked at Harry. He gave a long-suffering sigh and began to recount the story of the amulet. He gave a brief summary of what was going on in their time, detailing how he was expected to save the wizarding world from an evil Dark wizard. Gryffindor looked on in pride when he was told what house Harry was in. Ravenclaw looked thoughtful at the story of his ongoing fight. Hufflepuff looked amazed and worried in a very motherly fashion. As for Slytherin, he sat and stared at them with a sneer on his face. It was obvious he wasn't impressed by the tale. Finally, Harry ran out of things to say. The founders had the main details, without giving them enough that might affect time.

"Well, that was quite the story, Harry. Do you know how to get back to you own time?"

"I'm sorry Lord Gryffindor, but we'll need time to research it."

"Well that's quite alright, dears, you can stay here and carry on with your education while you work it out."

Harry was starting to like Lady Hufflepuff. She sort of reminded him of Mrs. Weasley, only without the temper. She was a motherly figure and he could see why her house was known as being kind and loyal. While he was musing, Ginny was the one to point out the obvious.