Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

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"Do you truly believe this to be a wise course of action, Rowena?" Lady Hufflepuff asked her usually warm and friendly demeanor replaced by a serious expression as she looked intently at her dear friend. "Your plan is to utilize your own precious life force as a binding shackle to control this evil creature. Have you fully considered the dire consequences of such an act, Rowena?

The insidious, corrupting magic that dwells within this evil being will undoubtedly affect you in turn. While I harbor no doubts about your ability to resist its corrosive influence, one thing remains absolutely certain - it will greatly diminish your life!"

"We made the decision long ago to prevent that bleak, hopeless future from coming to pass, even if it meant sacrificing our lives in the process, did we not, Helga?" Rowena replied with a calm smile, despite the weight of the matter at hand. "We must place strict restrictions and limitations upon these vile creatures to prevent them from one day, after our inevitable passing, freely leaving the island and devouring the emotions of the living, and use that stolen essence to strengthen and multiply their own kind.

My idea is that since we currently lack the means to destroy them completely, they must be brought under the firm control of wizards until the final, fateful moment arrives. I will use my own life force as a medium to form an unbreakable contract with this Dementor, thus making this evil species controllable. As long as this binding contract exists, even as the ages pass and we are long gone, they will have no choice but to mostly obey the commands of wizards.

I can entrust this contract to the successive headmasters of Hogwarts who come after us.

Of course, I wish to avoid resorting to such drastic measures unless there is truly no other option available to us.

I fear that the wizards of later generations will not be satisfied with merely restricting the Dementors' instinctive drive to expand and propagate their kind. They are likely to seek to exploit and harness the power of these evil creatures for their own. And regardless of whether they use these evil beings for good or ill, the very act of wielding such power is inherently evil and corrupting..."

Bryan felt his eyes tremble slightly. It seemed that in the end, Rowena Ravenclaw had not passed this contract down to the successive Hogwarts headmasters as she had originally intended, but rather to the successors of the Royal Wizard Council - the Ministry of Magic. This was a critical detail that could be easily overlooked, yet it carried immense significance.

For many long years, the terrifying Dementors have served as the guardians of the wizard prison on behalf of the Ministry of Magic. Whenever discussions arise about that place, the first thought that springs to the minds of most is those chilling, soul-sucking Dementors.

Yet curiously, no one seems to ponder the obvious question - why would Dementors, creatures of pure evil willingly obey the orders and commands of the wizarding government?

So, it would seem that the contract still remains firmly in the possession of the Ministry of Magic to this day and Whoever obtains this powerful contract will have the right to command and control the Dementors?

For Bryan, restraining the behavior of Dementors was not an especially difficult task. And unless these evil creatures gathered together in great numbers, some elite wizards could also deal with them without too much trouble.

However, this fact did not mean that Dementors were not to be greatly feared and treated with the utmost caution. For the ordinary witches and wizards of the Wizarding world, these vile beings were the stuff of nightmares, haunting their darkest dreams. After all, very few could truly master the advanced, complex magic of the "Patronus Charm" and use it to defend against their chilling aura.

So, the question remained - was this contract currently in the hands of Cornelius Fudge, the clumsy and often foolish Minister of Magic?

The thought skimmed through Bryan's mind, but he immediately dismissed it, silently reproaching himself. Allowing any single individual to hold such a contract would be far too dangerous and risky.

No, it was much more likely that the contract was currently stored securely within the Department of Mysteries, guarded and kept under lock and key. Such an artifact would only be entrusted to the ruling body and organization of wizardkind as a whole, never to any one person, no matter how powerful or influential.

The Minister of Magic probably did not know about it, and the secret of the origin and effectiveness of this contract was in the hands of one of the Unspeakables of the Department of Mysteries, passed down as secret carefully through generations.

'Using one's own life force to form an unbreakable shackle, thereby constraining the normally uncontrollable and vicious Dementors, and forcing them to obey commands?'

Harry stared blankly ahead, his mind racing as he tried to process the enormity of what he had just learned about Rowena Ravenclaw, the witch renowned to all for her unparalleled wisdom and power.

Harry was not clear about the level of difficulty involved in this matter or the depth of magic required to accomplish it all. But one thing he knew for certain was that to achieve this, Lady Ravenclaw would have to pay a terrible price. It was hard not to be moved by this great self-sacrifice.

But even Lady Ravenclaw's solemn words and unwavering resolve were not enough to completely dispel Lady Hufflepuff's concerns and put her troubled mind fully at ease. If anything, her normally kind and gentle gaze only grew heavier and more somber as she listened.

"I do understand your reasoning, Rowena... but your child..." Helga said and her voice was tinged with sadness.

"I will not do this before she is born," Lady Ravenclaw said calmly.

"You know very well that's not what I meant," Hufflepuff said softly. She raised a trembling hand and sadly brushed Ravenclaw's temple, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "This child will already be forced to grow up without her father by her side. Do you truly wish for her to lose her mother as well?"

"Her father will accompany her as she grows and teach her the ways of magic. It is simply that they will not know the true nature of their bond," Ravenclaw replied, a faint smile gracing her lips, achingly beautiful in its tragedy. "Even for ones such as us, there will always come a day when we must pass beyond the veil, Helga. I firmly believe that my child has the strength and fortitude to bear the burdens that life will surely place upon her shoulders."

Harry felt his fists clench tightly at his sides. Bearing the burdens of one's own life, facing the hardships of the world alone. When his own parents had died bravely resisting Voldemort, had they too held this unwavering belief before their sacrifice?

'Exactly who or what were they trying to deal with?' Hermione pondered, a sense of deep confusion welling up within her. It was clear, based on their ominous conversation, that they were not referring to the Royal Wizard Association or Council that had been mentioned before.

Dementors. From the somber words that had passed between Lady Ravenclaw and Lady Hufflepuff, it was clear to see that they were doing everything within their power to destroy these creatures once and for all.

But were mere Dementors, as terrible as they undoubtedly were, truly worth Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the four great founders of Hogwarts herself, sacrificing her very life in such a heartbreaking manner?

"The future is a vast river with countless branching forks and tributaries, impossible to fully glimpse or predict with certainty. I hope that it will ultimately flow toward the brightest one I have foreseen..." Helga chanted, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears of pity and sorrow.

"That is what we are all striving for," Lady Ravenclaw affirmed with quiet conviction. Her eagle Patronus, shining with a silver radiance, came to rest upon her shoulder, swallowing the captured Dementor once again.

Bryan had initially thought that the memory would conclude at this point. However, after Lady Ravenclaw had waved her hand to dispel her Patronus, she turned to gaze intently at Lady Hufflepuff. "Have you made any significant discoveries regarding that door I brought back from the island, Helga?"

'Was it the "Door of Death" in the last starry chamber of the underground ruins of Azkaban?' Bryan immediately recalled it. It was a mysterious and evil magical object, enveloped by an ancient aura. It was hard to imagine what it had been created for.

Rather than answering Ravenclaw's question directly, Lady Hufflepuff smiled mysteriously and beckoned for her friend to follow. She led her over to the valley landscape painting that was on the far wall with a stunningly lifelike depiction of a lush sunny valley.

After fiddling with a delicately carved bundle of wheat on the golden frame, the previously docile and picturesque scene within the painting abruptly began to swirl and churn with dizzying speed. Without a moment's hesitation, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw stepped through the now-rippling surface one after another, vanishing from sight.

"Quickly now, follow me," Bryan urged, beckoning urgently to the trio. Not willing to risk losing sight of the two founders, he hurried after them without a second thought.

"Hold on, are we going back the way we came? Through there?" Ron asked, his voice thick with unease as he stared uneasily at the weird door like thing that had formed within the painted landscape.

If given the choice, he hoped that they could find a different route back to the castle. The scenes he had witnessed in that corridor had indeed given him an overwhelming mental shock.

"I don't believe it's time for us to return just yet," Bryan replied, his words concise and clipped. Without waiting for further comment or complaint, his body shimmered and disappeared, swallowed up by the swirling vortex of light and color.

The three young wizards exchanged uneasy glances, their faces mirroring the uneasiness they all felt. Beside them, the two little house-elves fidgeted nervously, clearly just as unsettled by the strange turn of events. For a long moment they hesitated, each wrestling with their own turbulent thoughts and emotions.

But in the end, they knew they had no real choice but to press forward, to see this incredible journey through to its conclusion. One by one, they stepped forward and allowed themselves to be pulled into the frame, and their bodies shimmered and distorted as they passed through the ethereal barrier before the mesmerizing swirl of magic finally began to subside.

"This is... where are we now?" Harry wondered aloud, his eyes wide with amazement as he took in their new surroundings.

Rather than returning to the oppressive chill of the secret corridor as they had half-feared, they were now standing in a spacious, well-furnished room.

The room was clean and tidy, possessing the same appealing warmth as Hufflepuff's private office they had visited just now. Soft sunlight streamed in through a floor-to-ceiling window that dominated one wall, presenting a breathtaking view of the dense Forbidden Forest stretching out to the horizon.

Unlike in their own era, Harry noted with some surprise that Hagrid's wooden hut was noticeably absent from its usual place at the boundary between the ancient forest and the castle grounds.

Despite its cozy homey atmosphere, it quickly became apparent that this chamber was not one of the castle's many hidden secrets, but rather a private room, a place for Helga Hufflepuff to slip away from the cares and responsibilities of the school and simply enjoy a few precious moments of peace and privacy.

The room fairly emanated a sense of tranquility and comfort, from the lovingly tended plants and colorful fruits on the shelves near the window - not the magical plants Professor Sprout carefully cultivated in the school greenhouses, but edible plants and fruits and the little stove tucked away in a corner, no doubt used by Hufflepuff for her whimsical culinary experiments and perfect new recipes.

But for all its warmth and coziness, the room was not entirely lacking of obvious magical accessories. To the left of the entrance, the wall was lined with a neat row of glittering crystal balls, their flawless surfaces were even throwing back the light in dazzling rainbow hues.

Yet unlike the fakes and cheap trinkets sold by unscrupulous charlatans, the cores of most of these orbs were filled with swirling, hazy mist, while one or two seemed to enclose entire miniature galaxies, their countless stars twinkling and winking in the depths like captured fireflies.

"Lady Hufflepuff is..." Hermione breathed, her eyes widening with sudden realization. She turned to the two boys and her voice was tinged with astonishment. "She's just like Professor Trelawney!"

"There are probably some rather significant differences between the two," Bryan said looking at the "Door of Death" located directly opposite them, surrounded by a complex web of ancient runic magic carved into the stone floor.

"I cannot say with certainty how much true skill or talent our Divination professor actually has, but Lady Hufflepuff was a witch with the rare ability to divine and capture real, meaningful glimpses of the future from amid the ever-shifting, elusive threads of fate."

"Has anything ever emerged from this door, Helga?" Lady Ravenclaw inquired, her eyes darting over the patterns etched into the ground. It took her only a moment to deduce their purpose - a powerful binding seal, placed by Helga to prevent any anomalies with the door.

"Fortunately, the worrisome situation has not appeared so far." Lady Hufflepuff gracefully came to the rough arch. Her fingertips brushed the curtains that swayed strangely in the air without wind. Then she turned her head and smiled at Lady Ravenclaw. "However, I have been inside..."

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