章 3: Founders chambers
Harry found himself gaping at the Hat, his dinner forgotten. Neville and Hermione were in no better state. "We're really that rich and powerful?" Hermione finally squeaked out.
The Hat tilted towards her. "You do not have the inheritance of a wealthy Pureblood family to complement your Ravenclaw inheritance, so you are slightly less wealthy than Harry and Neville, but that is like saying that you are in the top point two percent of the society, instead of the top point one percent. The difference between you and Harry is far less than the difference between you and the next person after you."
"But wouldn't that money and power go to her parents?" Neville asked. "Any my Gran? I thought you couldn't inherit until you were of age?"
"Ordinarily that would be true," Hogwarts acknowledged. "However, Lady Hermione's parents are non-magicals, so they could not claim the magical title of Ravenclaw, though they could claim the non-magical title, if they chose. Your Grandmother is a Longbottom by marriage, not birth, so she could not claim the Gryffindor title. Your father could, if he were not incapacitated. As for the rest of your question, in an ordinary Wizarding household, the heir cannot claim their parent's title until they come of age, but because of their status as Earldoms, the heirs of the founders may claim their title at any age.,"
"Right, there have been several child kings," Hermione confirmed. "England, Spain, France... Of course it rarely worked out well for them."
"And there have been dozens of child Earls in Britain's history," Hogwarts confirmed. "Of course, you are not toddlers in line for the throne of an entire country. You are old enough to understand the world, to pick good advisors, and to make your own choices. You also will have each other."
"And we only have to fight the Ministry, not the whole country," Hermione added.
"The Ministry is pretty scary, though," Neville said. "And we're only children."
"But you have Hogwarts behind you," she reminded them.
A scraping noise drew Harry's attention, and he looked around. Professor Mcgonagall was standing up at the Head Table, and he realized that dinner must be over.
"Students, please return to your Common Rooms now," she said. "Fifth-Year Prefects will lead the First-Years."
"Stay," Hogwarts instructed Harry and the others.
The other students began to get up and trail out of the hall, though most of them turned to watch the trio as they did. Harry saw Ron, standing beside one of his brothers, craning to spot him. Several of the Slytherins were also looking at him, though their expressions were far more hostile.
Harry was struck by the sudden realization that he didn't know where he was going to sleep that night, and again he had the horrible fear that he would be in Slytherin, all alone.
Professor Mcgonagall approached the trio's table and stood between Neville and the Hat. "May I now ask what happened to the Headmaster?" she said, a little frostily.
To Harry's surprise, it wasn't the Hat that answered, but one of the ghosts from earlier. They had drifted over as the other students left, and were now ringing the trio's table.
"He and the others are contained for the moment," a young female ghost answered. "Hogwarts does want him dealt with as soon as possible, but these three are exhausted, so we fear that full explanations will need to wait until tomorrow."
Sir Nicholas floated forward, taking the space between Neville and Harry. "You will need the head of the DMLE and a full complement of Aurors here tomorrow before breakfast. Then everything will be explained. Until then, Professor McGonagall, you are the Acting Headmistress."
The Professor's frown deepened, but she didn't argue with the ghosts. Instead, she said, "Where shall these three sleep?"
"In the founders' chambers," Sir Nicholas replied. "We shall lead them there."
"They will be led back here in the morning," the lady ghost added.
Their answers didn't seem to please Professor McGonagall, nor the other professors grouped behind her, but Harry thought there was little they could say against Hogwarts herself, who the ghosts were clearly speaking for.
"Very well," she said through pursed lips. "I trust you to lead them safely to their rooms." With that, she turned and walked back towards the other teachers.
"I am known as the Grey Lady," said the lady ghost who had spoken up, "though you may call me Helena, if you like."
"We'll lead you to the founders' chambers," Sir Nicholas explained. "They created a suite for each Founder, connected by a common receiving room, where they often held staff meetings. Over the years, as their families grew, the suites were expanded, but the extra rooms have been closed off for many years."
Harry and the others followed the ghosts, barely noticing the castle around them as the events of the day began to catch up with him. He was still having trouble believing that he was a wizard! From the excitement of the train ride, to the fear of not being sorted, to the surprise of becoming an Earl; it was all getting to be too much for Harry.
They reached a framed painting of a landscape in an otherwise bare hallway, and the ghosts drew to a halt. "Place your hand on the painting," the Grey Lady said.
Neville was the first to move, and he gently ran his fingers over the painting. Harry dimly felt the surprise as the painting slid to the side, revealing a doorway, but he felt as though his exhaustion was muffling his emotions and response.
A quick glance at the other two showed them with similar dulled expressions. "Just a few more steps, and you can go to sleep," the Grey Lady promised.
Through the short tunnel of wall, they arrived in a cozy common room. Four doors spread along the far walls, each with a crest carved into it in beautiful detail. Recognizing his new crest from his robe, Harry made his way to the Slytherin door.
"Simply place your hand on the knob," Sir Nick called after him. "And then head through to the bedroom."
Harry obeyed, and, barely even noticing the first room, made his way through an open door on the far side. There, he finally found what his exhausted brain was seeking, and Harry all but collapsed into the large bed.
Within seconds, he was asleep. He never noticed the House Elf and ghost who entered his room, nor noticed the wave of magic that swapped his robes for his pyjamas and slid him beneath the covers. He also never noticed the Elf and Ghost exchange a look and walk out, the door gently closing behind them.
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット