It started with Professor Sinistra.
She was charting constellation drift from the Astronomy Tower when her telescope lens went dark.
Not black.Blank.
As if the stars themselves had… vanished.
She whispered a summoning spell — light flickered.
But her reflection in the brass scope smiled back at her.
And whispered:
"You buried us in name.But the earth remembers."
The Staff Meets
By morning, Hogwarts staff gathered in the Headmaster's study.
Dumbledore stood at the map of the castle — the enchanted one only visible to the Headmaster and four keyholders.
The map pulsed red.
"Every foundational ward," he said, "is… bending."
Professor Vector asked, "To whom?"
Dumbledore's hand trembled.
"Not to Potter.""Not to Zabini."
"To something beneath them both."
What the Founders Hid
Deep in the Archives, McGonagall and Flitwick pulled one of the forbidden foundation books — written by Helga Hufflepuff herself.
The pages were sealed by oath, but the second Blaise's name was mentioned…
They opened.
A diagram of the original build.Five towers, not four.A central void.
And one line, in Salazar's handwriting:
"We did not build to teach.We built to bury."
Harry Sees the Vein
Back in the Slytherin dorms, Harry awoke from a dream — or maybe a memory.
He had seen a vein of black crystal running beneath the castle.
Breathing.
Living.
He touched the stone near his bed.
It was warm.
And pulsing.
Kaelen's voice echoed faintly:
"The Guardians open doors.""But I… I woke what they protected you from."
Final Scene – The Sigil of Before
In the Chamber of Secrets — long sealed — a new symbol burned itself into the wall:
Not the serpent.
Not the ring.
But a circle made of teeth and bone.
The basilisk skull cracked.The pipes shuddered.And the walls whispered one name — over and over:
"Netharien.""Netharien.""Netharien."