Memories of the Past

Silence. Dust covered floors. Echoing laughter. All of which torment the heart of those that still linger behind. For those that have not yet the pleasure of leaving the world behind and finding peace in the arms of those they have loved.

Terror. Loneliness. Cold desperation. The heart trembles as the memories return with a force of honesty and disbelief. Memories of when, together, they would run the school. Memories of when nothing could stand in their way. Protection was the key, but friendship was what held them together through the days of darkness that had fallen around them. Friendship was what had kept them sane, while those they knew perished from the brutal attacks of those who had feared what they were.

Fear. Hate. Anger. Three emotions that lead the heart to taking a life, emotions that cause destruction and pain, words the define those who do not take the time to learn the truth. Words that create evil, words that in and of themselves inspire their very meanings. No one can deny them, but they can defy them. Fear, hate and anger confine the soul and allow for no joy.

Joy. Peace. Happiness. These three emotions lead the heart to remember the past, to feel the future and exist in the present, three emotions that bounce around the dusty old items of times long past. Three words that allow the heart to break free of the confines of those that pull you down. Together these three words allow for unity between the more negative emotions.

Hope. Faith. Trust. Leading words that connect those that wish for a better future. Holding true to the heart, and knowing that, in the end, things can only get better from worse. Words that inspire the heart to make changes, making the brain consider the facts that are right before their eyes.

Simple words that allow for so much, or so little. Together, holding everything together is the only thing that allows for unity. Strength. Without strength to prevail, to live on - no matter what, the others fall away, leaving only an empty shell of despair.

Chocking pain, echoing joy, linger softly behind the minds eye. One soul lingers behind wandering through what had once been the home she had built with her best friends. A home that had been made for so many like her. A home that was created as a school, but grew into so much more: a shelter from the rain, a place to keep safe, a world all of its own. They had created it, and they had left it, save her. She remained for the children, for the future. She could remember their reasons as if the words were only spoken the previous day.

*

"He's leaving," came the soft voice of one Helga Hufflepuff, tears sliding down her sun-kissed cheeks.

"We knew this day would come Helga. Salazar made the choice for himself," Godric Gryffindor replied, gently taking the woman's hand in his own.

"What of Rowena? Where is she?"

"In her room I am afraid. They spoke last night. What came of it, is between the two of them. We will not interfere."

"Of course. If you believe that is what is right."

"That is what I believe," Godric said, emptiness to his words.

A wedge had been driven between their friendship, and, through the arguments, Salazar Slytherin made his choice. He would leave Hogwarts behind and not look back. He had not looked back. He had just walked away, as if the last ten years had been nothing more than a dream.

"I hate you!" she whispered as she watched him disappear into the evening sun.

Turning away from the window, Rowena Ravenclaw returned to her mahogany desk and put quill to parchment. He was gone and there was nothing she could do to change the fact. She had work to do, and she couldn't waste time thinking about their conversation the night before. He had left her, and there was nothing more to it. In the end, it was his choice, not hers.

Shaking her head, she tried to clear the thoughts that were lingering behind. In a few days time, Helga and Godric would be leaving. She would be left at Hogwarts to tend the school. It worried her greatly that those that had wanted a place to work in safety were now returning to the world that had deemed them evil. Her family had disowned her when she had told them she was a witch, and now the family she had grown to love were leaving her behind.

"You are the smartest and brightest of us all. You are the one we'll leave Hogwarts to," Helga had said, three weeks before Salazar's decision to leave the school.

They had wanted Rowena to be prepared for what was to come. That, in the months or days to come, Godric would pass away. It was a terrifying thought that had since plagued Rowena's mind. Salazar had been the love she lost, and Godric the brother that was leaving her behind for her own safety. Helga was only leaving to take care of Godric, having been the best Medi-witch of the age; but that didn't help to quiet the worries the young Ravenclaw felt.

"Here!" he had growled, tossing the snake pendant at her. "You are staying. You get to keep this burden!"

She had not seen it as a burden; she had seen it as a pleasure. Rowena had loved him with all her heart, but knew she could not force him to stay at the school he had grown to hate. Just as she knew she could not keep Godric at Hogwarts when he had become so ill so quickly, and with Helga following Godric to take care of him, it left her with the job of finding replacement Professors for their classes.

In front of her sat the three pendants that were now hers to keep safe. All made of the same pewter metal, all set with similar stones for the eyes of the creature. Salazar's a coiled snake with emerald green eyes. Godric's a lion sitting proudly on a rock, with ruby eyes staring out. Helga's a badger with orange topaz eyes. Her own pendant she wore proudly around her neck: a raven with sapphire eyes. She could remember the day when they had the four pendants created.

"You heard us correctly. Four pewter pendants, each in the form of an animal set with the stones we've specified." Salazar had grumbled on about the annoyance of people who did not take the time to listen.

They had only laughed and walked away only to return a few days later when the pendants were finished. When they were back at Hogwarts, the pendants in hand, they had cast the spells that would allow the pendants to return to the family when the time came.

"Binding blood.

Binding stone.

Together as one.

Return to your home."

They had chanted and watched the eyes of the animals glow bright. Now it was her job to protect them, keep them safe until an heir of some sort returned to Hogwarts to claim their biological right. The pendants were created as a form so showing heritage, as well as ownership. Those who carried the pendant were permitted access to the school.

However, there was a catch. Rowena reminded her self. If we disown our blood, for reasons we've set in the pendant, then the pendant remains. Sighing to herself, she picked up Salazar's pendant. Only a pureblood can call the pendant of Slytherin to them. What would you have thought of me if you knew I was not pure?

*

Hogwarts had grown cold with the others gone. Rowena took solace in her room more often than not, allowing the new teachers to go about their ways without much interference from her. She had been given the name of Headmistress, and loathed the term. Godric or Salazar, in her opinion, should have been the Headmaster of the school, but, as both had left her, she was the only one left to take the title.

She received weekly reports on Godric's condition. It bothered her to know that, as each day past, he lingered on longer, suffering. She wanted her family at peace, and, as long as Godric was ill, she knew she and Helga would not gain the peace they desired.

There were days where she had sat by the fire, a blanket draped over her legs, and wept. Wept for the loss of Salazar, who left with no regret or remorse. Wept for the fact she had heard no word from him. She wept for Godric, who, even as sick as he was, had remained brave and determined to get better so he could return to Hogwarts where he belonged. She wept for Helga, who through each day watched as Godric suffered. But she also wept for herself. Unable to visit the friends she had, unable to find a cure for the illness Godric had, unable to find the love she had lost.

The letters soon dwindled and came sparsely through the months. Until one letter informed Rowena that Helga was bringing Godric back to Hogwarts. She had hoped for the best. That he had recovered and would return to his position as the Transfiguration Professor.

Hope was shattered as the carriage, pulled by an unseen force, stopped before the doors of Hogwarts. Out stepped Helga, and shortly thereafter, a large black box. Tears streamed down her face as she embraced her long lost friend. Together they shared their grief, but they had not yet lost complete hope.

"Rowena, walk with me," Helga had requested of her old friend. "His last words were to have his body buried on Hogwarts ground. I obliged and have returned him to his home."

"I am sorry I could not have been there for you and he," Rowena replied sadly, trying to keep the sorrow out of her voice, but failing miserably.

"He has a son. Alexander Gryffindor, now eleven. He has no idea he is a wizard, or even that his father is deceased. I must go find him and my daughter Elizabeth. Together the two will join the school and learn under you."

"I had no idea you and Godric had children. You kept them out of your letters. Had I of known..."

"You would have brought them to Hogwarts and raised them as he and I would have. We discussed that option a number of times." Helga sighed, stopping to look up at her friend. "We left you with one burden that should have been shared, we could not add two more. Alexander and Elizabeth have been well taken care of."

"Helga..."

"I am leaving again, and will not return this time. I am old. I know I do not look it, but I have felt it in my skin for many months now. As Godric died, so did I."

"I...I understand."

"Have you heard any word from Salazar?"

Saying nothing, Rowena turned to look back at the school. The stables to the right of the lake, the forest to the left. A new building having been erected for the safekeeping of Godric's body.

"No. I have not. Stay at Hogwarts after you find the children. Allow me to take care of you. So you may join Godric when you pass. The catacomb will sink and rise with the correct spell." She knew that, this time, she could not just allow Helga to walk away from Hogwarts. That for once she had to have a backbone and take charge of the situation.

"The pendants, do you still have them?"

"Yes. Safely kept hidden in my office. They will be given to Alexander and Elizabeth by myself, if I must."

"Good. I must go and fetch them. There isn't much time left." With that Helga disappeared through the forest.

*

Helga had joined Godric in eternal slumber, and Rowena was left teaching the students. The pendants had, as the charm they placed on them dictated, returned to the rightful owners. Upon death, the pendant would return to the school until the next heir stepped into the school and found themselves wearing a piece of jewellery they had not owned before. It was the second charm that Rowena had placed upon the pendants that had allowed it to be possible.

She, herself, had children, but was unfortunate enough to not see them grow older. She too, had passed on and joined her friends in the Hogwarts Catacomb. The three, watching and waiting for the next time the pendants would call to them. A secret they had kept to their deaths.