Chapter 60: Chapter 41
Ever since their daring journey into the Forbidden Forest and witnessing Harry's impressive dueling skills firsthand, Fred and George Weasley had become relentless in their pursuit of joining Harry's morning training sessions. They had been pestering him every chance they got, their usual light-hearted pranks and antics now focused on convincing Harry to let them be part of what they considered a grand adventure.
"Come on, Harry," Fred would say, nudging him during breakfast. "You know we'd be excellent sparring partners."
"Yeah, and think of all the mischief we could get up to," George added with a mischievous grin. "You're wasting all that potential on just you and Neville!"
Harry smiled at their persistence, but he was unsure. His training with Neville was special—just the two of them working in secret, pushing each other to improve in their magical abilities. And then there was the matter of Godric's Vault. Letting Fred and George in on their training would mean revealing the hidden treasure and the Room of Requirement to them.
He decided to ask Neville what he thought.
"Hey, Neville," Harry began one morning after they finished their run, "What do you think about letting Fred and George join us for training?"
Neville looked thoughtful. "They are pretty good at spells, even if they're more focused on pranks. And... it might be fun to have them around. We've been getting stronger, and I think having more people would push us even harder."
Harry nodded, feeling a sense of relief that Neville was open to the idea. "Alright, we'll let them join us. But that means they'll find out about Godric's Vault too."
Neville paused but eventually shrugged. "If anyone's good at keeping secrets, it's the twins. Plus, they're already part of the Order of the Stars. It makes sense."
Later that day, Harry pulled the twins aside in the Gryffindor common room, where they had been huddled over what looked like another prank in the making.
"Fred, George," Harry said, his voice low, "Neville and I have talked about it, and we've decided you can join us for training."
The twins' faces lit up immediately. "Knew you'd come around!" Fred exclaimed, slapping George on the back.
"Smart move, Harry," George said with a grin. "We promise not to blow anything up—well, at least not accidentally."
Harry chuckled but then grew serious. "There's something you need to know before we start. The place where we train... it's not just any room. It's part of the history, The Godric's Vault. And we found something there. Something big."
Fred and George exchanged intrigued glances. "Go on..."
Harry led them to the seventh floor of Hogwarts, where they stopped in front of the blank wall where the Room of Requirement usually appeared. The twins, still grinning mischievously, seemed doubtful until, as Harry concentrated on needing a place to train, the door materialized before them.
Fred and George Weasley were in awe as they stood before the vast treasure trove within Godric's Vault, their usual playfulness replaced by wide-eyed amazement. To anyone else, the room might have appeared as nothing more than a storage of forgotten and discarded junk, but to Harry, Fred, and George, it was a goldmine of lost knowledge and magical artifacts. Fred and George, much like Harry, understood the immense value of what lay before them.
Harry had already sent several potion cabinets and ancient books to his own secret base for further study. As the three of them continued to explore, they began sorting through the countless trunks scattered throughout the room, each of them more intriguing than the last. Many of these trunks belonged to students from the distant past—witches and wizards who had either died while still at Hogwarts, run away, or simply never returned to claim their belongings.
"Check this one out," Fred said, lifting the lid of an old, battered trunk. Inside was a collection of spell books, their covers faded and worn, dated back to the 1700s.
George opened another, pulling out a set of robes that were stiff with age. "Who knew Hogwarts students back then had such terrible fashion sense?" he joked, but even he couldn't hide his excitement as he sifted through more ancient artifacts.
Harry, meanwhile, was flipping through an old journal he had found, belonging to a witch from the early 1800s. "These aren't just old belongings," he said, his voice filled with wonder. "This is history. There's so much forgotten knowledge here. Spells, techniques, even potion recipes we've never seen before."
The three of them worked diligently, organizing the trunks and their contents, careful to preserve anything of value. Books on obscure forms of magic, potions long forgotten by modern wizardkind, and even enchanted objects filled the vault. Some items were clearly dangerous, others mysterious, but they all contributed to the hidden legacy of Hogwarts.
As they dug deeper into the vault, Fred and George suddenly had an idea.
"Why don't we send some of this stuff to the Order of the Stars' clubroom?" Fred suggested, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Some of the furniture is still in pretty good shape."
"Yeah," George agreed. "Imagine the club meetings with a bunch of this old stuff around. It would give the place a proper feel of mystery, don't you think?"
Harry considered the suggestion, thinking about the enormous old chairs, desks, and shelves. "It's not a bad idea," he said slowly. "But... some of this furniture is ancient and possibly cursed. We'd have to be really careful. Who knows what kind of spells are still active on these things?"
"Ah, good point," Fred said, scratching his chin thoughtfully.
"And we'd have to figure out how to move it all without raising suspicion," George added. "People might notice if we suddenly show up with a bunch of antique furniture."
Harry nodded. "Let's be strategic about this. We'll only move what we need, and I can check the furniture for any dark magic before we bring it to the clubroom. We'll keep the really valuable and dangerous stuff here for now."
Fred and George agreed, and they began selecting a few pieces that would blend in at the clubroom without drawing too much attention. They marked several old armchairs, a couple of shelves, and a large table that seemed perfect for their secret meetings.
But as they examined the furniture more closely, they noticed something peculiar. Some of the pieces had strange runes carved into them, and others seemed to emit a faint magical glow. Fred, ever the curious one, reached out to touch one of the chairs.
"Wait," Harry said quickly, stopping him. "Let me take a closer look."
Using some of the knowledge he had gained from the old books, Harry began casting detection spells over the furniture. Sure enough, several pieces were still enchanted, their magic dormant but active.
"This one's cursed," Harry said, pointing at a particularly ornate chair. "If you sit in it, you'll never want to leave. The enchantment is designed to trap whoever uses it."
Fred and George exchanged nervous glances. "Good thing you caught that one," Fred muttered, taking a step back.
"We'll need to remove the curses before we move anything," Harry said, his tone serious. "And for the more dangerous stuff, we'll have to figure out how to neutralize the magic completely."
The twins nodded in agreement, their excitement now tempered with caution. As thrilling as their discovery was, they realized that handling these ancient treasures required both care and responsibility. Still, the prospect of outfitting the Order of the Stars' clubroom with such incredible items was too tempting to pass up.
The transportation issue, which had stumped Harry, Fred, and George, was unexpectedly solved by Neville, who had the bright idea of calling for Dolly, the ever-helpful house elf, for a "quick snack." It had been hours since they'd entered the room, and the trio was lost in their exploration when Dolly popped into the room, instantly recognizing where she was.
"Ah," Dolly said, her large eyes glowing with familiarity. "The Come-and-Go Room, Master Harry. House elves know this room well. We use it to store things no one wants or remembers. Old treasures, broken furniture, things left behind by professors long gone."
Fred, George, and Harry exchanged amazed looks as Dolly led them deeper into the room. Piles of old magical relics, strange and forgotten objects, and enchanted artifacts towered over them as they navigated through the clutter. Dolly was quick and nimble, expertly weaving through the mess as she explained the history of the room.
"There are things in here from professors who died or disappeared," Dolly continued, pointing to an area filled with dusty old robes and ancient desks. "The last twenty years have seen many Defense Against the Dark Arts professors come and go. This part of the room stores their belongings."
Fred and George's eyes lit up when Dolly brought them to a section filled with almost brand-new furniture—old beds, desks, armchairs, and even bookcases, all in pristine condition. "This is more like it," Fred said, rubbing his hands together as he examined the nearly untouched pieces.
"Dolly," Neville asked, stepping forward with his usual thoughtfulness, "do you think you could help us move some of this furniture to the Order of the Stars clubroom? We could use it, and it'd fit right in there."
Dolly's ears wiggled in excitement. "Oh yes, Master Neville! Dolly can move it easily, no trouble at all!" With a snap of her fingers, she made a couple of the chosen armchairs disappear instantly, transporting them directly to the clubroom.
Fred, George, and Harry all looked at Neville with admiration. "You've saved us a lot of trouble, mate," George said, clapping Neville on the back.
They spent the next hour selecting more furniture—a few sturdy desks, shelves, and chairs that would make the clubroom feel even more like a proper headquarters. Dolly efficiently transported each piece with ease, disappearing and reappearing as quickly as needed. It seemed as though the teleportation between the clubroom and the Godric's Vault was no problem at all for her.
By the end of it, Fred and George couldn't stop grinning. "This club's going to have the best furniture Hogwarts has ever seen," Fred said, giving a satisfied nod as Dolly sent the final bookshelf through.
Neville blushed slightly at the praise, but Harry couldn't help but agree. "Good thinking, Neville. This is exactly what we needed."
With their transportation issue sorted and their clubroom on the verge of becoming a truly impressive space, they couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. The Godric's Vault had not only provided them with old knowledge and treasures but also given their secret club a new layer of mystery and grandeur.
Over the next few days, Harry, Fred, George, and Neville spent countless hours exploring the treasures within the Godric's Vault, losing themselves in the endless trunks, bookshelves, and forgotten artifacts. Fred and George, always the opportunists, soon had their eyes on several pieces of furniture they thought would fit perfectly in their own home. The only problem was getting it out of Hogwarts.
"Some of this stuff is too good to leave here rotting," Fred commented, eyeing a particularly sturdy-looking table. "We could use a lot of this in our house, you know."
George nodded in agreement. "Mum's always saying how our furniture is falling apart. It wouldn't hurt to bring a few things back."
Neville was quick to agree, and Harry had no objections either. He called upon Norky, his loyal house-elf, and instructed him to transport the Weasley twins' chosen pieces to Highgarden, a location Harry had access to. "You can pick it up during the vacation and take it to your place from there," Harry explained. Fred and George were thrilled at the arrangement, thanking Harry for his generosity.
Norky wasted no time. In a blink, he had whisked away the old but still functional furniture to Highgarden, leaving the group free to continue their treasure hunt.
While Fred, George, and Neville were captivated by magical artifacts—old brooms, enchanted trinkets, and forgotten spellbooks—Harry found himself more interested in the non-magical relics that were scattered throughout the room. Many of the items were vintage, some even medieval, and had clearly been neglected for centuries. Among the most intriguing were Victorian era artifacts: intricately designed lamps, toys, books, and even antique equipment that looked priceless.
"These aren't just junk," Harry mused aloud, holding up a finely carved wooden toy. "Some of this stuff could fetch a fortune at a pawnshop, especially the older pieces."
Fred and George, always looking for a new way to make money, perked up at the suggestion. "Pocket money, eh?" George said with a grin. "We wouldn't mind a bit of extra Galleons ourselves."
With the twins' approval, Harry began collecting as many muggle artifacts as they could find, from old lamps to rare books and toys. Despite having no real need for more money, Harry couldn't shake the thought of turning these finds into an additional source of income—not just for himself, but for Fred and George too. The twins, with their entrepreneurial minds, saw the potential in Harry's idea and eagerly helped him gather up the non-magical items.