The Founders' Tale

The next two pages were illegible. The paper must had been of worse quality--though it had still been pretty darn good to survive so long--for the amount of crumbling and the poor adherence of ink to the parchment made it look like an incredibly depressing prospect to copy.

"I apologize," Draco said in a calm and clear voice. "I do believe I've jinxed the business."

Ginny's eyes snapped to his face and it took her a moment to realize that he was making a joke. Of course, she hadn't really thought he was serious...it was just, well, she had never heard him try and make a joke before.

"I see I've shocked you for the second time this evening," Draco went on, seeing that she was dumbfounded at the moment. He did understand why she might find his attempt at humour out of place, but at least he was making an effort and treating her differently than how he had at school. She still seemed to see him as his teen-age self; he wondered if that would ever be forgotten.

"No, no," Ginny said quickly, coming back to her senses. She did not know exactly what to say, though, so she directed the conversation back to the problem at hand. "I, uh, was afraid this might happen...there is not much that can be done. We shall just have to continue and hope the rest will hold together."

She leaned forward and looked upon the new page which turned out to be as readable as the very first had been. She breathed a little sigh of relief and nodded to Draco, but he had already started copying even before her signal. There was something about the text that called to both of them, though neither could explain that mysterious pull.

(-)

Godric's face looked as if it might burst into flames at any moment. He gaped at Helga's father, not quite sure how to answer such a statement. Rowena looked just as shocked and a little fearful as well. Only Salazar seemed to have a grip on himself, though his hands were clenched into fists and his eyes held a dangerous glint.

"This is the first I have heard of such a thing, father," Helga told her father, her voice disturbingly unsteady. "I had hoped if you were going to make plans about my life, you would at least be considerate enough to inform me of said plans. And not to announce them in public! Mother, what have you to say about all this?" she asked, turning her eyes to that woman.

Helga's mother, the wispy-looking blonde, brought her eyes to meet those of her daughter. She was a quiet woman, firm, but one who was wise as well. In her eyes, Helga could see that this as indeed not a joke.

"Helga, I am very sorry. It was perhaps not kind of your father to tell you of this in the current setting," she admitted, glancing first at Helga's father and then at the other pairs of parents, "but it is done now and at least saves the trouble of rumours and of having you explain it again and again to your friends."

There was silence in which no one spoke. The seconds ticked away while Helga tried not to look at any one face. Rowena attempted to get her attention, to impart as much sympathy as she could through a glance, but could not catch her friend's eye. So, she turned her gaze to Godric and Salazar, pleading silently for something, anything.

"Your uncle will buy our home, of course, and give us a more than fair deal," Helga's father went on, his own face stony. "He will move in next week--"

"Next week?" Helga's calm had broken and she was scarlet with anger and disbelief. "Father you know that he was the one who encouraged the uprisings! Why do you think only you have suffered losses? He's wanted the house and the land for years and now he's going to turn us out!"

Helga's mother made a quick gesture to silence her daughter, but the damage was done. Helga's father stood up from his chair and walked over to his daughter, grabbing her arm and yanking her up from her chair to face him. Godric, hot tempered as ever, made it halfway out of his own seat before Salazar pulled him back down.

"You forget your place," her father hissed, spit hitting her face at the force of his words. She blinked once and tried to look back at him, but felt her will melting. "If you think to lecture me about our affairs, you have been brought up very ill indeed. Perhaps it will do you good not to have everything at your fingertips, have people waiting on you hand and foot. You've gotten a bit spoiled I think; we'll have to remedy that."

Helga's mother murmured wordlessly, her eyes darting to the others in the room. The men's faces were blank for the most part and the women's held more emotion, but it was suppressed as much as possible; there would be no help from anyone there.

Rowena, seeing that her mother and father were not going to do a damn thing, figured that if Helga was in trouble she might as well follow along and take what would come to her as well.

"Helga's the least spoiled of all of us," she said sharply. "Anyway, we don't care if she doesn't have any money; she's our friend! We can figure out costs another way, can't we?" she asked.

Rowena's father stirred in his chair and, though he did not reprimand her, his tone was firm and his eyes were not pleased. "Rowena, do you understand how intense this undertaking is? You want to build and run a school for witches and wizards and this does not come without great costs. All of us have agreed to help you, but money, like it or not, is an issue. We won't bankrupt ourselves for your dream."

"But cannot we ask others for help? Get funding from a few other families?" Rowena countered.

"Absolutely not!" It was Salazar's father that spoke this time. "Young lady, as concerned as you may be about the fate of your friend, we must keep the goals in mind. This school will not be a plaything for you, something to do to amuse yourselves. This will be a huge enterprise, one that will last long after you are gone. To ask for help financially now means that you will never have sole ownership and control over the school. To give out anything to someone else is to compromise your future and your place in history."

"Helga understands that, I am sure," that young woman's father said coldly, still looking at her and holding onto her arm much too tightly for comfort. "Without entering her amount of the sum to create the school, it would not be fair to have her involved in an administrative position. If we put nothing in, we don't get anything out," he said simply.

That statement rang in the air for a long moment while the others tried to think of something to counter it. Rowena, Godric and Salazar both knew that if it had been entirely their money and their choice that this conversation would never be taking place. However, parents, especially rich ones, had a way of keeping a child carefully under their thumbs for as long as possible.

"Then I am afraid that we must decide against the idea of a school," Salazar said, breaking the silence. His tone was light, as if he had simply commented on the weather. He said no more, his eyes surveying the room to see the reactions.

"Don't be ridiculous, my boy," his father remarked after a second of stunned silence. "This will make history! You'll be remembered forever. We'll get the rest of the funds from your cousins, the Malfoys. They've a good, strong line and will be a fine addition to the school. Lucian will make a fine fourth head."

"No," Salazar replied simply. "You two do agree with me, correct?" he asked, looking to his stunned friends.

Godric, who was beginning to follow his friend's line of thought, smiled slowly. "Yes, you're completely right. Wouldn't dream of doing it without Helga. Was practically her idea!"

Rowena nodded as well, though she did not seem to be catching onto his exact plan. However, her trust in her friends was explicit. "Of course we'd never do it without you, Helga. Silly of us to even think of that."

Salazar stood from his chair and took that moment to take Helga's other arm, pulling her gently away from her father who now was sufficiently distracted. He cast a glance around at the parents, all dressed to the hilt and each looking as if they had a lot to say, but were not going to do it with them in the room.

"Sorry for wasting your time," he said graciously and gave a nod to the room. He then exited, taking Helga with him. Godric and Rowena rose to follow, the former with a smile that seemed quite out of place compared to the outraged expressions of those in the room.

(-)

Only the sound of footsteps disturbed the silence of the hall in Ravenclaw Manor. Salazar had let go of Helga's arm, but it was clear he had not forgotten the incident with her father. Godric and Rowena came up behind them and Rowena nudged them into the direction of an older and more private part of the castle. They walked for several minutes until she spoke.

"No one ever goes here," she said as they came to a set of double doors. She pushed one open and led them into a large, spacious room that smelled of old age and dust. "This was part of the earliest mansion; it was the ballroom. Pretty nice, huh? A weird echo too. I always used to play around when I was little and now the servants think it's haunted in here," she added with a smile. It was a tentative smile; they were all aware of the tension that still hung in the air.

Helga, who had been trying not to look at any of them, finally raised her eyes up fearlessly. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm not a helpless girl even if I may look like one. You can't compromise everything we've dreamed of because of me. I won't let you," she said stubbornly.

"Helga, is that all you think of us?" Rowena asked, shaking her head a little and smiling tentatively. "Do you think that any of us in good conscience could go on without you? Don't me such a drama queen, darling," she added with a smile, though Helga's expression did not lighten.

"C'mon Helgie, we need you," Godric said with his wide, easy smile. Helga grimaced at the pet name; he knew she hated it. "Look, we had this all planned out, remember? You're part the brains, Rowena's the one who keeps us all friendly and in line, Salazar's the other part of the brains as well as the dark figure that stalks through the corridors at night and I'm the one who goofs off while the others are engaged in serious business. And if you think Lucian Malfoy can carry out your role, you're nuts; he's be more suited for the dungeon torture master than anything to do with rational thought. My deep apologies that he is related to you, Salazar," he added with a mock glance of sympathy.

Salazar's thin lips curved into a smile, but his eyes were as grave as ever. "Godric is, I hate to admit, absolutely right. Lucian Malfoy could never replace you," he told Helga. "No one could. Besides, we are not going to have to find a replacement. Everything is going to work out. In fact, I'd say they'll be on their way to see us to apologize any moment now," he added with a clearly satisfied smile.

Helga looked at a loss. She turned her eyes to him with disbelief, though there was a shimmer of hope visible. Her own lips were fixed in a smile, but it was a dry one. "I know you don't want to just dump me--if you did, you'd better bet I'd have something to say about it!--but you know I could never let you give it all up or, as my father would put it, put nothing in and get something out of it," she said, sounding exasperated. It was hard to want so much and yet to be torn, not able to find a middle ground.

"We could argue about this all day," Rowena said, coming over and putting a comforting hand on Helga's shoulder. "But we love you as much as you do us and it's three against one. Besides...I could see that you had a plan in that twisty mind of yours," she added, looking to Salazar.

Helga's eyes also turned to him; she looked both eager and a little miffed as well. It was not like her to be so unfocused and emotional about matters. She felt like she was letting herself down by not being able to find a way out.

"I do have a plan and I am sure that Helga would have thought of it as well if she had not been so shocked at the news," he said, trying to reassure her. "Our parents' motives are fairly transparent, are they not?"

"Bloody vultures, the lot of them," Godric put in with a wave of his hand. "Always looking for a chance to stick their noses into anything they can find. You think they're not going to give it up, then?"

Rowena was smiling, her eyes lighting up. "God, you're right, Godric! I ought to have seen it; I was too angry. I just about gave your father a piece of my mind, Helga," she added, looking grim. Godric looked ready to comment, but a look from Salazar stopped him. Helga's face did not change. "But, well, I see what Salazar means no. We're their investment in the future. Even if they're all haughty and stuck up, they won't deny that we've had one of the best ideas of the century--perhaps even in history. Magical schools! Think of it, oh think of it!"

"But the money--" Helga protested, feeing this was too good to be true. There had to be a glitch, something they had not foreseen.

"My dad's got enough hidden away to build half a school and pay the staff to boot," Godric said with a grin. "And when he's gone, it's all mine. That's the merit of being the only child, of course. Of course, here I am at nearly twenty and he's still saying 'you'll come into your inheritance in a year.' Bloody hell, he's been saying that since I was ten! He'd better pay up and he knows it. And Ravenclaw's got enough hidden away and I'll be damned if the Slytherins don't too."

"Father never tells me anything about financial matters," Rowena said, pulling a face. "He thinks it men's business and I suppose maybe it is. But at least I should be entitled to know what's going on in my family, right? But I shouldn't think the extra money means anything."

"No, they were just being tight-fisted bastards," Salazar said simply. "Seeing how we would react perhaps... I think that they may have planned it, at least some of them. They must know we'd never separate," he added, though he did not seem sure.

"I don't see how it could all have been an act," Helga said bitterly. "It's true about the money, of course; I could feel that right away. I never thought that money would matter so much! I've spent my life not caring and now, the only time I really need it, it deserts me and tramps on over to my uncle!"

Rowena pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment and then took a hold Helga's shoulder and shook it briskly. "Helga, it's over! I know you're upset and, well, I know you're taking this a thousand times better than I would. But we can work it out. If Salazar is right--and we have no reason to suspect that he is not--and if the school is a success, well, then you'll be rolling in galleons soon enough. Look, you can even pay us back someday if it means that much to you," she added with a smile.

Helga smiled reluctantly. "Perhaps I ought to accept Julian's offer before he learns I've got neither a castle nor a fortune to my name anymore," she said with a wry smile.

"That imbecile?" Godric countered incredulously. "Helgie, I thought you'd told him to go away at least twice already. Do you want me to pound him a few times?"

"He's not a complete imbecile," Helga said, though she didn't believe it. "He is polite, a gentlemen, he doesn't shout at the top of his lungs ("I don't shout," Godric shouted.) and he simply adores me. Oh, and he's rich to boot. What's not to love, eh?"

"Ug, Helga, please," Rowena said, giggling while trying not to be ill. "You know you'd never be able to stand him! Besides, you need not sacrifice your body for our cause. Let me do it, Helga; I'll give myself!" She motioned dramatically and Helga had to laugh.

"He doesn't want you, Ronnie, and no wonder," Godric told her and then leapt back as she tried to give him a good shove. "Whoa, there...see? He doesn't want someone who's going to push him into the, geez, really big, not to mention hard columns. Dammit, that hurt!"

"Good," Rowena told him and, with a childish gesture, stuck out her tongue.

Salazar had been watching the events with infinite calm, though his eyes were twinkling with amusement. One might too often mistake him for being serious all the time if one did now know him well.

"Well, glad to see everything is back to normal," he said. "Rowena's being violent, Godric's being annoying and Helga and I are watching with mild disapproval and secretly waiting for the right time to jump in. Jolly good, then."

Helga's glance told him that she was not amused, though the slight lightening of her eyes sent a different message.

There were three raps on the door and then it opened, their parents pouring in.

"They didn't even bother to send a servant," Rowena said under her breath, sidling up to Helga.

"They don't look especially happy," Helga whispered back. She looked at her father who looked harshly back. She looked away.

Ten minutes later, they were on the road to their dreams.

(-)

Draco's hand was starting to cramp up, though he was being like a typical man, refusing the admit weakness. Ginny finally snatched the pen from his hand, much to his surprise. It might have been the only time that anyone had dared to take something from him. Ginny was not paying a great deal of attention to him, though, and didn't notice the look on his face.

"Look, if we're going any further, I'm taking over," she said, reaching for more paper. "Your last few words are completely illegible. If I were simply reading this from your handwriting, I'd think they were on the "toad to heir reams" whatever the hell that means," she added finally setting out the paper and readying herself to write.

"Ah, as much as I would like to know what will happen next, I fear that it is getting quite late," Draco said after a moment.

Ginny looked up at him finally and then to the clock on her wall. "Oh, good God," she mumbled, running a hand through her hair, not wanting to think what a mess she looked like. And then she wondered why it mattered. It didn't, of course.

Draco stood up, a little reluctantly, or perhaps it was just stiffness from sitting for so long. "I will bid you goodnight, then," he said simply and nodded to her.

Ginny nodded back, not knowing what was appropriate in this strange relationship. Then she figured to hell with it and smiled at him with the utmost politeness and with real gratitude. He was going to make her famous once the manuscript was translated and she preserved the originals. There was reason to love him, to even forget what he used to be. No--one could not forget easily, but one could look past it. For now. Draco Malfoy was still a complete mystery and Ginny didn't know if she ever wanted to crack that shell and see who he really was. And, besides, there was no reason to even think on such things.

He stopped, having opened the door, the soft fall of rain and the dark skies making a brooding background, and turned to face her. "You asked me a question before. Forgive me for not answering it earlier. I...was not sure what the answer was or if there even was one," he said slowly. His face was in the shadows and Ginny found herself wishing she could see it. "Why I came to you...I don't know, honestly I don't. But I think that when one has been a bigoted bastard all one's life, there comes a time--even in so terrible and rotten a heart--that a little good has to be done. Besides...Ron told me that you'd want to do it."

Thus, leaving her mouth halfway open in shock, he pulled off an estimable vanishing act.