Wisdom of the Founder

"I don't suppose you could have told me beforehand how hard it would be to find all the ingredients." Harry muttered in an annoyed voice.

It was currently halfway through October 31st, with the selection of the champions being set to occur in a few hours. The students were given several hours of time to prepare, as they were informed that there would be a few famous witches and wizards, as well as high up members of the ministry.

They were also informed that there would be a Recorder Glass present, which would be used to broadcast the events live. Harry was planning on asking Salazar how such a thing could be accomplished; it seemed very interesting indeed.

"Why should I care how hard it is to find the ingredients, you found them in the end, didn't you?"

"Well, yes, but I got them from the Potter Businesses, and all of the materials I took were very rare, they'll definitely have noticed that they're gone."

"So?" questioned Salazar, "You are the owner, are you not? It should not matter."

"Yes, but technically I'm not allowed to take them - I'm not emancipated."

"So you are not technically allowed to do it, but if you do it and get caught, you won't get in trouble?"

"That summarizes it pretty well, yeah." said Harry.

"Either way, it doesn't matter." said Salazar dully, "You can not have possibly believed the ingredients to create a phoenix would be common, could you? Now let me check them over, we must be sure they are real. Occamy feather?"

"Here." said Harry, pulling out a blue and purple feather.

"Thunderbird feather?" asked the portrait, nodding when Harry waved a white and gold feather in front of him.

"Veela feather?"

"Yeah, got it. From their avian form. I'm assuming it's a feather and not their hair because it's more closely related to birds, which a phoenix is?"

"Yes, all the components in this ritual that belong to magical beings are in some way related to birds." Salazar informed him, "The first two were because of power, or similar things. Veela feathers are the third component because of their allure, similar to the song sung by a phoenix, though they are not quite the same. Veela also hold a strong connection with fire, which is quite useful for a ritual such as this."

"Alright, and I also have the 'Eternal Flame', like you asked." said Harry, pulling out a small jar from behind him. Inside the jar was a glowing golden flame, wavering against the unbreakable glass.

"And how did you procure this one?" asked Salazar curiously.

"Got it from the shadiest part of Knockturn Alley, via Owl Order." Harry informed the portrait, "I'm not actually sure if it's real, so you'll have to check it. I paid a ridiculous amount for it, so I would hope it's real."

"It is indeed real," said Salazar, "Which is to be expected for such an item. Most sellers would not wish to hold onto this for long, to prevent the fire from spreading. As you might have guessed, the fire is not easy to put out."

"So, this is considered a Normal Ritual, right?"

"It is indeed. Although if your owl is judged worthy, she may attempt to create a true familiar bond with you - that would be a soul bond, and is obvious a Soul Ritual. But this is normal, yes."

"Alright, I'm going to get started, it'll take a few hours at the least, and the Champion Selection is today, I can't afford to be late."

Harry spent the next several hours preparing the ritual in the chamber, which was several times more complex than the two he had done previously. He had to create runes to enhance the power of each object, as well as runes to make sure the Eternal Flame didn't spread (he couldn't keep it in the jar as it would affect the ritual). Hedwig spent the time sleeping on one of the stone serpent heads, as she would be needing as much energy as she could spare for the ritual.

Harry had been rather intrigued to find out that Hedwig could seemingly understand what he told her about the ritual. She had been able to nod her head to indicate that she wanted to do it, and was following the instructions Harry had given her. She had been this way for as long as Harry remembered; he had always been able to understand what she was trying to say, just from her hoots and body language.

"What is it that makes owls like Hedwig so intelligent?" Harry asked as he finished up the final rune pattern. The rune work was incredibly large, roughly spanning twenty by twenty feet, with his handwriting (or wand-writing, technically) being incredibly small, not dissimilar to the size of Hermione's handwriting when she worked on her homework.

"I suspect the same thing that makes a witch or wizard more intelligent." answered Salazar.

"And that is?"

"A number of vastly different things; when alone, they do nothing, when combined they form something great. In this case, that is intelligence."

"A sphinx would be easier to understand." retorted Harry sarcastically.

"I am trying to say that it is a number of things," explained Salazar in a similar tone, "Experience, location, those around you, bodily development, and many others. On their own, they likely have little effect. Together, however, they create something incredible. The world works in a similar way, you know."

"How so?"

"More often than not, people are not particularly incredible, at least not on their own. They mean nothing, or very little. But when they combine together, they create something of an importance far greater than themselves. I suppose the Ministry is an example of this, although I personally don't believe your ministry is worth much more than those who created, what with all its stupidity. Either way, I digress."

"What about Riddle?" asked Harry, "Was he one of the few who was great on his own?"

"He was. So was Morgana. The same could be said about us four founders, although we chose to band together, and were not as powerful as the Riddle or Morgana. You will be, however - that I am sure of."

Harry chuckled quietly.

"What even makes you believe that?"

"You have the brilliance Tom Riddle once held. You have the gift Morgana held as well. You also have the raw power they both held, and it is growing by the day. The two of them definitely became more powerful than I did, as will you."

"But how do you know I won't go dark, like Riddle did? How can you be sure?" asked Harry, his voice breaking slightly.

.....

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