Hogwarts; A History

Chapter 3

Salazar opened his eyes and yawned, looking up at the soft white clouds that drifted gently across the morning sky.

Where's my roof? He thought groggily. It took him a little a while to recall why there was no roof, and even longer to figure out how he got there. Slowly, he sat up, stretching all of his stiff muscles and joints. He wasn't used to sleeping outside. He stood up, yawned again and looked out across the crystal pond.

That's a big pond, he thought, his mind still trying to wake up. As he turned towards the house, he saw a small figure running out of the door. He rubbed his eyes, telling them to get back into focus and looked again. It was Rowena. She skipped happily towards him, and Salazar wondered how she could be so awake when he felt like he could fall back asleep in an instant.

"G'morning," he yawned lazily.

"Same to you!" she replied energetically. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, I slept fine. And you?" he asked, starting to feel more awake.

"Just fine," she replied. There was a moment of silence, but it was soon broken by Rowena's exuberant cry. "Oh! Last night, I remembered! I couldn't believe it! Here, let me show you!"

"Um, sorry, but remembered what?" Salazar asked, trying to make sense of her joyous proclamation.

"The spell, silly! The one I figured out just before you came, but forgot soon after. I remembered it, last night!" she cleared her throat and brandished her wand. "Orchideous!" she shouted. A large bouquet of flowers instantly appeared at the end of her wand.

"See?" she said, beaming. "Not that it's a very useful spell, like some of the one's I've figured out, but..." she stopped, seeing Salazar's dispirited face. "What's wrong?" she asked, confused. Soon, though, a light of recognition shone in her eyes. "Oh, you're still upset because you lost your wand, right?" When Salazar nodded weakly, she continued. "Well, don't worry. I'm sure you can just get another one! In fact, if you go to Diagon Alley, there is a wonderful wand shop...Ollivanders, I think... It has a very nice selection of wands! I'm sure that..." she stopped, seeing Salazar looking at the ground unhappily. "Oh, you don't have any money, do you?" Salazar didn't reply. "What? Are you saying that you snuck out of your house but forgot to bring money? You're hopeless!" she sighed. "Honestly! How far can you expect to go without money? Oh well. We shall find some way to get you a wand." Salazar smiled weakly and hastily tried to change the subject.

"So...what time is it?" Rowena seemed quite surprised by the question.

"Time? Well, let me go check," she replied as she went to the other side of the house and out of Salazar's sight. She stayed there for a few minutes, and, just as Salazar began to think that she had gotten locked in the shed, she appeared again.

"It is around midday," she announced.

"Midday? Already?!" he asked, evidently much shocked.

"Yes already, half-brain! What did you expect, midnight?"

"No, but, did I really sleep that long?"

Rowena was slightly bewildered as to Salazar's preoccupation with his sleeping

habits, but decided not to ask.

"Obviously. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am hungry, so I need to go have lunch." It was then that Salazar realized how hungry he was.

"Hey! I am hungry too!" he whined as she turned to leave.

"Yes, but I can't very well have you eating with my family. They don't know you're here, remember?" Salazar gave her a distressed look, and Rowena sighed. "Salazar, don't you think I would have already thought of this? You really underestimate me! After I have lunch, I shall bring some food out to you, all right? Now, I have got to go. Goodbye!" and with that, she entered the house, shutting the door behind her.

Salazar wandered around the house restlessly. There wasn't very much to do out here, and he couldn't go inside. He obviously couldn't stay here much longer, but where would he go? As he looked at the pond, he thought bitterly of Chuckles and his wand, both lost forever beneath the now calm surface. It seemed like just yesterday that he had found Chuckles in the food box and now...he sighed and turned walked back towards the house. He wondered that no one came out of the house now, yelling at the boy trespassing on his or her property. He wouldn't have been surprise, considering his luck lately. He lost the snake his mom had just bought him, he let his Parseltongue slip, he landed in a pond and he lost Chuckles and his wand. Maybe he was jinxed.

Just then, Rowena came out of the house, holding a plate of food.

"I have got some food for you," she told him, as if he couldn't already see that. She handed him the food and headed back towards the house.

"Where are you going?" he shouted. She turned around, giving him a quizzical look.

"I have chores," she stated, confused. "And, why are you asking?"

"Well, what am I going to do all day?" he asked plaintively. Rowena sighed.

"You should have thought of that before you ran away. Goodbye." And with that, she closed the door behind her.

Salazar stared at his food for a while. What was he going to do all day? He ate his food very slowly, trying to pass the time, but when he had finished, it didn't seem any later then when he had started. He got up and walked in a circle a couple of times. Then he took a lap around the pond and the house. Hm, somehow, Salazar doubted he could spend the whole day doing this. He plopped down on the ground near the pond and sighed.

Salazar glanced around the yard. Well, it was a yard. There was nothing else to it. Hm... Salazar looked out across the field of grass. What was he supposed to do all day? He looked around again, yearning for something to hold back the flood of boredom that threatened sweep over him, but all that he could see around him for a good while was grass. Well, grass, the pond, the shed, some more grass, the house, more grass, a fence, grass... a fence! Salazar hurried over towards the fence. It was a couple minute walk from the pond and, when he reached it, he could have sworn that it hadn't been nearly as tall as it was now when he had seen it before. It loomed over him, tall and menacing. Its white paint was peeling, revealing a sickly green color, and Salazar couldn't tell whether it was paint or mold. The rickety beams were arranged in an abstract criss-cross pattern, rising into dulled points as they weaved themselves skyward. The ground around it was overgrown with weeds, although very few climbed up along the fence. In fact, they seemed to be cowering away from it as they sprawled on the ground, withering away.

Beyond the fence, though, it was quite different. Bushes and trees grew plentifully amidst the tall grass and flowers. In the distance, a rather small manor was spread out over a hillside. The main building was light grey in color.

Not half as tall as the Slytherin manor! Salazar thought smugly. Still, it had a warm and homey feeling to it. Looking through the fence, he had a sudden desire to get around it, to go to the house on the other side. The only question was, how? The fence was easily five times his height, maybe six, and it was most likely covered in splintered and jagged pieces of wood. He would have to be insane to climb over it...

I must be insane! Salazar thought bitterly as he reached his left hand up, painfully grasping a wooden beam that splintered off with his touch. He still wasn't quite sure what force had propelled him to climb over the fence. All he knew was that he must have been really bored to attempt such a dangerous and stupid feat. As he continued his daring ascent, a nervous feeling arose in the pit of his stomach...What if he fell? Rowena would never see him...He pushed the thought from his mind and continued climbing.

He reached his right hand up now but, just before he could clutch the beam, his foot slipped. Surprised, Salazar let go of the fence. Realizing his mistake a second too late, he fell, and his mind raced at warp speed. He wasn't too high up, and there was grass on the ground (well, sort of) but...

He braced for the impact, but the impact never came. He looked up, seeing the fence still towering over him. He looked down, and he caught sight of the ground, which seemed to be swaying a few feet below him. A tearing sound made him jerk his head up to look at the fence directly in front of him. His shirt stuck to a jagged wooden beam that protruded from the fence. A hole was already forming near the bottom of his shirt, which was threatening to break in half. Quickly gathering what wits he could find, he reached up with both of his hands to grab at a splintering beam, which pierced through the skin of his right hand. Wincing in pain, he quickly repositioned his injured hand, which was stained with fresh blood, and let his feet rest on another sickly green beam.

Salazar let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes. Rowena would have something to say when she heard about this...well, if she heard about this, and he doubted she would. He had been so stupid when he had recklessly decided to climb the fence, but it seemed a shame to give up now, what after all this work, so he stayed there, waiting for his remaining wits to return.

After a few minutes, Salazar began to climb up the fence again, trying as best he could to avoid grabbing any more splinters. Unfortunately, he wasn't wholly successful, although he had managed to avoid a few nasty ones. All in all, he was quite pleased with himself when he reached the top, and he carefully maneuvered over the dull points of the fence and positioned himself on the other side. It was considerably quicker coming down, he noted, and soon he reached the ground and looked up at the fence, which was just as tall on this side as it was on the other. It was then that a rather annoying realization came to him: He would have to climb back. He quickly tossed these irritating thoughts from his mind and walked towards the small manor that lay in front of him. The grass around it was greener than any he had seen before. Not that he went around looking at grass, but the grass here definitely stood out. In fact, it seemed shine. As the house grew nearer, Salazar began to wonder what the inhabitants of this manor would think of him just walking over their property. He wasn't quite sure what he would tell them if they asked the reason...he just felt like it. Ah well, they'd get over it. As he approached the house, he saw how small it really was, one quarter the size of the Slytherin manor or less. A flower garden was spread around all the outer walls, yielding flowers of all colors, shapes, and sizes, many of which Salazar had never seen before. Actually, most of them were new to him, as there were practically no plants outside his house, and none of them were flowers. Salazar got closer to the house and he saw a tall oak tree situated beside the house, casting splotchy shadows all over the grass. Soon, he reached the house and wandered over beside the tree. Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion hit him and, before he knew what he was doing, he had fallen asleep underneath the oak tree, oblivious to anything that might disturb him.

"Chicken? Again?!" Gralic grunted to his wife.

"Well, that is what we have got," she replied, her English accent nearly five times as thick as her husband's. "If you don't like it, then by all means, go out and hunt a deer! But if you won't, then..."

"Alright!" Gralic snorted and turned back to his plate. "I do, though, enjoy a change of meal from time to time." Jesmine rolled her eyes and sat down to eat with her husband. Just as she did so, though, she noticed something was wrong. "Gralic, where's Helga?"

"Well, obviously in her room, as you have not called her down yet. Here, I shall do it for you." He cleared his throat and bellowed "HELGA!"

"Coming!" a faint voice called from up the stairs. The voice belonged to a young girl who soon came bounding down the stairs towards the table. She wore her blond hair into braided pigtails that bounced all around as she ran. She curtsied to her father and sat down at the table. When her father started eating the chicken, Helga and her mother followed suit. Not to long into the meal, though, Helga stopped and frowned.

"What's the matter child?" Jesmine asked. Helga glanced up at her mother.

"We had chicken yesterday didn't we? And the day before, we had chicken then, too."

"Well, girl, that's what we have, so you'll just have to eat it." She looked at Gralic, who was smiling. "Helga, you really are your father's daughter."

"Darn right she is!" Gralic said smiling. "Don't worry, we won't have chicken all week, even if I have to go hunt a deer to stop it!"

They finished their lunch and Helga rose from the table.

"Father, may I go outside?" she asked politely. When he nodded, she smiled her appreciation and went out through the front door. As she walked along the side of the house, she heard a strange sound. She froze, listening. It sounded like a monster...either that or a hog. She hopped it would be the latter...she did not much relish the thought of a monster in their yard. She carefully peaked around the house. The sound was coming from behind the oak tree! She crept forward as quietly as she could, rounded the tree and shouted.

"AH!" Whatever it was behind the tree, she wanted to scare it before it scared her. Her plan succeeded. The boy who had been lying underneath the tree sprang up wildly, his eyes so wide that it seemed unnatural. Helga, though she was probably more surprised than the boy, was quicker to regain her composure.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" she demanded. The boy took many deep breaths and his eyes slowly returned to normal.

"I...I... I f-felt like it..." he stammered. Helga rolled her eyes.

"Who are you?" she looked at him suspiciously. He could very well be a thief or a burglar, both of which Helga did not want anywhere near her house.

"S-Salazar...Salazar S-Slytherin." Helga cocked her head. She had heard the name before, but couldn't quite place it. "Wh-who are you?"

"Hmm..." she breathed, wondering whether she should tell him. Well, he didn't look too harmful, and she scared him pretty badly. "I'm Helga, Helga Hufflepuff. Where did you come from?"

Salazar pointed off towards Rowena's house, which was barely visible from the where he stood. "Over there."

"Really? You live there? I thought you said your last name was Slytherin, and that's the Ravenclaws' house! Are you adopted?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I'm...visiting." He wasn't too comfortable telling complete strangers how he had run away. "Yes, that's it...visiting." Helga shook her head. He was acting awfully strange and secretive. "So, you live here?" Salazar asked.

"Well, yes," she replied. "But why did you come over here if you were visiting the Ravenclaws?"

"Um, well, I just felt like it, did I not already say that?" Helga shook her head and sighed. He was being confusing and evasive.

"Um, never mind. So, how did you get over here? There's quite a large fence separating our properties, and you'd have to be insane to climb over it!"

"Um, well, then, I guess I'm insane..."

"You climbed over it? That's amazing! It seems so dangerous! Wow, I didn't think it was possible!"

"Mm, yes, it was dangerous," he said. He held up his hands, which were covered in scratches and blood.

"Ew. Well, I don't think I shall attempt it then. Um, do you want to wash up? I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind. I can bring out a tub of water for you." Without waiting for an answer, Helga hurried inside. Salazar leaned against the oak tree, looking towards the door. He had been very lucky, he thought to himself, to have landed in Rowena's pond. True, had lost nearly everything he had brought with him, but he had made a new friend who just happened to live next door another nice girl. He thought of all of the other possible scenarios and shuddered. Imagine if he had landed with some evil old couple who immediately insisted on sending him back home the second he arrived or who didn't have a pond...crash landing on solid ground did not seem the least bit enjoyable. He watched Helga emerge from the house, carrying a large basin of water. She set it down on the ground behind Salazar who immediately began washing up, wincing as the ice-cold water came in contact with his wounds. When he had finished, Helga flung the dirty water out across the yard. After a while, Salazar decided it was time to go back to Rowena's house. He waved goodbye to Helga and headed off towards the fence. Maybe it would be easier going back. Somehow, he doubted it. Ah well, at least his idiotic antics had earned him a new friend.