Tale of a Time Long Gone

A/N: Isn't it fun to update weekly? :) I rather like it, myself. Though I neglected mentioning it, which is rather bad on my side - we all owe my wonderful beta, Mina, a whole lot of thank you's for her hard work on this story! Without her I would not have been able to update...

Thanks, Mina!

In this chapter: Meeting old and new enemies, our four heroes must find a way to stop Ambrosius from doing something unspeakably evil. Where will this bring them? Well... This is the very beginning of the journey, my friends, so we shall see. We shall see...

Enjoy!

Chapter 7 - Stonehenge Council

"Among the cruelest methods of demoting a wizard during the tenth century was making him Servant of the Council. It was often done to get rid of an enemy of one of the members of the Council, and at the time of the Founders the Council had over a hundred Servants.

"In the process of becoming a Servant, the wizard in question was subjected to a series of spells similar in build and effect to the modern Imperius Curse.

"Each Council member cast the spell on the future Servant until all twenty four members had had their turn.

"When the process was completed, the Servant became bound to the Council, and had to do whatever the members wanted him to do. The obedience of the Servant depended on how strong his will was. Some were known to refuse a few orders given by a single member. Fewer had been known to throw off orders given by a small number of members. Mostly, however, none could prevail. In the end they were all crushed and became bitter, sullen men with no future but the endless compliance to the will of the Council.

"The Council's mistake had been, as mentioned in previous chapters, its decision to tie Lords Slytherin and Gryffindor as Servants.

"To become a Servant essentially meant that one could not join the Council as member for as long as one lived. Neither could children of a Servant while the Servant was still alive and bound to the Council. It was the best way in which Lord Ambrosius, Chief Warlock at the time, could deny Slytherin and Gryffindor their destined places in the First House of the Council.

"This did not sit well with the two, who opposed everything the Council had done in those years, and saw it as their duty to fix all ills of the community. Being bound, however, they were efficiently thwarted.

"To break the binding was deemed impossible..."

Hogwarts, A History; Author unknown

Godric did not like the tone in which the question was asked. Questions like "Who goes there?" were rarely of friendly quality. They normally preceded a clang of a dungeon's door being shut or a shower of arrows. Sometimes both.

Next to him, he felt Salazar stiffen. His friend had picked the tone as well. He hurriedly headed it off.

"Good day!" Salazar called loudly and clearly, as to be heard over the storm. "We are headed for the Council meeting. You will do well letting us in. Lord Ambrosius awaits our return anxiously. We bring important guests to the Chamber."

"Just about anyone could say that," the owner of the voice said scathingly. "I will not let anyone get through me. The Chief Warlock had left no orders to anticipate travelers. Bugger off."

Godric gritted his teeth. Politeness had never been the Guards of the Chamber's forte. They were the worst type of wizard that could be found: deranged, usually magically weak, bullies, brutes and thugs. Most wizards did not want to get mixed up with that kind of people. Godric, however, was not most wizards. He was powerful, strong of body, stubborn and refused to let anyone look down upon him. He never had much patience with niceties and protocol.

"Who are you?" he demanded sharply of the guard.

"What's that to you?" the guard said arrogantly. "I am a Guard of the Chamber. It is in my authority to clap you in irons and have you put to trial in front of the whole Council."

"Under what charges?" Godric mocked. "Asking a guard for his name so that I can lodge complaint with Ambrosius when I get to the Chamber?"

"Lumos!" the guard barked. A sudden light almost blinded Godric. He could see in the glare the outline of a large man who carried himself proudly. This was not an ordinary Guard of the Chamber. There was only one man in the Chamber Guard who thought so much of himself.

"Well, well, well... Look who we have got here, Salazar," he said with all the contempt he could possibly muster. "Sir Randolf of the Chamber Guard. What an honour this is."

"Who are you?" Sir Randolf demanded, failing to recognize him.

Godric did not blame him. Now that he had light, he could see what they looked like. Helga had not been mistaken. All four of them looked like the Monster from the Swamp. They were covered by mud from head to toe. Their clothes were torn and they were tired and travel-stained. If he had been in Sir Randolf's place, he would not have been able to recognize himself as Godric Gryffindor, either.

Nevertheless, he drew himself proudly and said, "I am surprised you do not recognize me, Sir Randolf. You have known me since the day I was born."

"Godric," he heard Salazar hiss from behind him. "This is no time for clashes of words! Get a move on or hex him out of our way!"

"I heard that!" Randolf said angrily. "I can take you into custody over this!"

"As you have said," Godric said, rather patiently, even if he had to say so himself. "Funny how low can people sink."

"What does that suppose to mean?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing," he waved it off and then smirked into the wand-light. "Just that someone who had started as a Knight in the most honourable institution of all could sink into the most demeaning position in existence. How can you live with yourself? What would Raven Lord think? Seeing one of his trusted knights licking the boots of the very man he had opposed to with every breath in his body?" He clucked his tongue sadly. "Shameful, really. Truly a sorry affair, I must say."

"Do not mention his name!" Randolf said angrily. Godric thought he had detected fear in the older man's voice. He felt the need to smirk again. Randolf had been somewhat ashamed of his chosen path of career after the disbanding of the Order.

Godric did not entirely mock the man. He did actually pity him. The Order of the Knights of the Phoenix had a few hundred knights at the time of its disbanding. Not all of them supported the decision to refuse the Council's will. Not all of them were strong enough to oppose Ambrosius. Those who did not oppose found themselves becoming Guards of the Chamber - or, in worse cases, Servants. Randolf had been one of the luckier ones.

He still taunted the poor man, though. His patience was wearing thin. "Afraid of Raven Lord still, Randolf? He has been exiled such a long time ago. Do you still believe that he will come back and take vengeance upon all of you who disobeyed his last orders? Well, let me tell you something," he lowered his voice so much that Randolf had to come closer in order to hear him. "Raven Lord is not coming back. But I am. And my vengeance is just as bad. Do not tempt me. I might just hex you into Hades."

"Who are you?!" Randolf demanded yet again, his voice growing panicky.

"I told you not to tempt me. I am Godric Gryffindor - and my vengeance is my father's vengeance. Wingardium Leviosa!" While keeping the man busy trying catching his words, Godric had removed his wand from the inside of his cloak. He had it pointed at the poor guard, and levitated him high up in the air.

"Go on, Salazar. Take the ladies inside. I still have a few bones to pick with my dear friend Randolf."

Salazar shrugged. "Have fun - but hurry up. It's getting late and the meeting will not last forever. Come on, ladies. Let us get you out of this weather."

Godric heard them walking - or rather, squelching - away. He then turned to look up at Randolf, who was dangling quite a few feet up in the air. "Having fun, friend?"

"Put me down this instant!"

"Are you sure?" he asked innocently.

"Yes!"

"Very well, then. Finite Incantatem."

"Nooo!"

But it was too late. Sir Randolf of the Chamber Guard plummeted straight down and hit the ground with great thud. Walking like a man in a park, Godric strolled over to the still form of the man. He bent down and, after lighting his wand, surveyed the damage.

"You are lucky that the ground is mostly mud, friend. You will be all right. You might have a bloody great headache when you wake up, though..."

After he had made sure the man would not die, Godric quickly followed his companions, catching up with them a few minutes later.

"Do I want to know what happened back there?" Salazar asked archly. "We heard the scream."

"Did you kill him?" Rowena asked straightforwardly.

"No! I will never kill a man just like that!" Godric said indignantly. He did not realize she thought that low of him. "I merely dropped him from a few feet up. He got a bump on the head and will not bother us for quite a few hours-"

"-and he might have a few holes in his memory," Salazar said, smirking.

"Well, that too. But he will mostly be fine. Why are you moving so slowly? Let's hurry up and get into the Chamber."

They reached the center of Stonehenge, where a huge stone was lying. Salazar took out his wand and tapped the stone three times. It slid silently aside, revealing a dark, narrow staircase.

"Ladies first," he said politely, and Godric rolled his eyes in response.

Rowena waited not a moment longer. She hurried down the steps, leaving a trail of mud on the white marble. Helga came after her, keeping as close as she could. Salazar motioned for Godric to go after her.

"I'll lock," he said.

Godric entered the gateway to the Council Chamber. He saw Rowena's small circle of wand-light just ahead of him and felt Salazar descend behind him. They caught up with the women.

"This is the way to the Council?" Rowena asked. Godric could almost hear her brow furrow. "Isn't it a bit... dark?"

"This is the Servant Entrance," Salazar explained. "Servants are not allowed to come through the main entrance. The main one is further down through a magic portal. This one leads to the Servants' Chamber. The only good thing about this arrangement is that we can get to the Council Chamber almost undetected. The less people know we are here - the better."

"What are the chances that there will be people in the Servants' Chamber?" she continued.

"At this time of night? A lot. Many sleep here during the night. Godric and I try to avoid it as often as we can. It is one miserable place. Ignore any men suggesting... things to you. Most Servants are very bitter and do not care much about what the rest of the world may think of them. They are crude, rude-"

"Like Lord Gryffindor, you mean?"

Godric wanted to retort to that insult, but Salazar clamped his hand over his mouth. "Please don't do that, Rowena. It is hard enough to control his temper as it is. Keep your comments to yourself.

"As I was saying, they are crude, rude, blunt and willful. Those who had been bound before marrying are usually not married and therefore lack the ability to control themselves around women. Ignore them. If they will try anything I want you two to stay out of it. Let Godric and I take care of it for you. Understood?"

She nodded reluctantly. Salazar removed his hand from Godric's mouth and hissed in his ear "Behave yourself, Godric! She is but a girl - and you are a grown man!"

After a few minutes walk, they reached a large oak door at the bottom of the staircase. It was not locked. It never was.

Salazar moved ahead of Rowena and entered the Servants' Chamber, motioning the others to join him.

The moment Godric crossed the threshold he heard the sound of loud singing. Men were shouting, laughing, drinking, and in short, drowning their sorrow in the pettiest of ways. He never did that. He was from a proud house, and not even a demeaning occurrence such as becoming a Servant could quench his pride. He preferred keeping his dignity and not lower himself even further than he already was.

"Look, boys!" a sudden voice called above the din. "Look who came crawling back! The lordlings are here - and they've got a pair of birds with them! I'm calling first go on that little one!"

How they recognized the four lumps of mud as Godric, Salazar and two foreign women, was beyond him.

"Oh, no you don't, Marius! I am!"

"You keep your bloody pecker away from her! She is mine!"

"We can both take her at the same time!"

"You can keep her - she's too little for me anyway. I'm taking the taller gal!"

Godric barely heard Salazar's voice repeating, "Ignore them, ignore them, ignore them..." to Rowena. He could see, however, that it had little effect on the young woman. She was close to burst. He could feel the bunching of her will.

The Servants surrounded them from every direction, closing in on them. Their destination - the great doors leading to the Council Chamber - seemed farther than ever.

"Godric!" Salazar called. "We have to do something!"

At the same time, one of the men - a man Godric recognized as Sebastian Miller - darted forward and tried to grab Helga and pull her away from them.

Godric lifted his wand, but before he had a chance to utter a word, Salazar screamed, "Rowena, no!"

Sebastian was thrown back with great force and crashed against a huddle of jeering men. In the center of the room, a wide berth around her, stood Rowena Ravenclaw, holding her wand tightly. She was covered with slime and muck, her hair all over the place, her dress torn. But that did not matter. She radiated power. An awful expression was on her face.

"Let us go," Salazar said after a moment of shocked silence. "We need to have word with Ambrosius, remember?"

"Come on, Rowena," Godric said gently and nudged the frozen woman in the direction of Salazar.

Salazar, who had a firm hold around Helga, shielding her from any more attempts, led them to the massive doors. He pushed them open with a flick of his wand and they passed through to the Council Chamber.

The Council Chamber was a great construction of black and white marble. If one was not a Servant, one had to go through a smaller entrance chamber and wait for one's turn to come in and speak with the Council. In the past few years almost none of those applicants were allowed inside.

The members of the Council sat in a semicircle made of three stairs. The lowest stair had ten members. That was the Lower House. Its members had little consequence in the decisions of the Council. The second stair was the Second House. It had eight members. On the highest stair sat the six members of the First House, amongst them the two lords who had taken the places of Searlas Slytherin and Gawain Gryffindor.

All twenty four members stared in indignant shock at the four intruders. Lord Llyr, a member of the Lower House and an old rival of Godric's father, who was in the process of saying something, stopped abruptly.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Ambrosius, who was sitting at the center of the First House stair. "Who are you? I demand that you leave at once."

"Is that all the gratitude we get for doing what you commanded us to do?" Godric asked sourly, not bothering to hide his contempt for the Chief Warlock.

Ambrosius was a large man. He was tall and had wide shoulders. His hair - though grey now with old age - was still full and flowing. He towered over Godric easily and was far more impressive than him. He had presence. His voice even had its own presence, lingering and echoing even in the open air.

"What?" Ambrosius roared.

Salazar gave Godric a pointed look which told him plainly to keep his mouth shut, and then said, "I apologize for Godric's behaviour, my lord. We had a long journey and the other Servants were very crude to our gentle companions."

Godric realized that the emphasis on the word was more for Rowena than for anyone else.

Salazar continued. "We have done as you have commanded, but would appreciate it if we could get cleaned up and dressed properly before we speak any further."

"My Servant Slytherin!" Ambrosius cried in sudden gleeful apprehension. "You have come back after all! We had all thought you and Servant Gryffindor were long dead!"

In his mind, Godric exchanged the word thought with hoped. Ambrosius was not a very discreet man. He stifled a sound of disgust.

"Of course you may go and clean yourselves. Make free use of my own apartments! Edwin! Lead these men and ladies to my apartments - make sure they have all they wish for!"

A wiry manservant they had not noticed before came and motioned them to follow him. It was strange, but Rowena's head swiveled to glance at Godric questioningly. It was so unlike her, that he was taken slightly aback, but nodded all the same. They had better do as Ambrosius commanded for the time being.

Edwin led them out of a small side-door and through a long corridor. At the end of the corridor was an elaborately carved door that he opened and then closed when they were all inside.

Godric did not have time to appreciate the grand sitting room into which they had entered, before he was non-too-gently pushed through another doorway together with Salazar. The women were pushed into an opposing one.

In the new room was a huge bath that was filling itself at that very moment with scented water. Towels appeared instantly, as well as clean clothes, neatly folded.

"Servants' clothes," he spat. "He made sure of that - the bastard."

Salazar sighed. "Nothing we can do. All our better clothes are with the horses a long way away. I really don't fancy wearing these filthy clothes any longer."

Silently, ignoring Salazar's calming words, Godric undressed and lowered himself into the bath. It seemed as though the water changed constantly, for it did not matter how much mud and sweat both men had removed from their bodies. The water remained clean.

Once the last fleck of dirt was removed from his body and hair, Godric got out, dried himself and reluctantly pulled on the simple, coarse, creamy white robe of a Servant of the Council. Salazar, who was already dressed, gave him a sympathetic glance and motioned for him to get out of the bathroom and into the sitting room.

They lounged on the low, velvet covered divans for a while, waiting for the women to come out. Godric was very tired. He could feel his muscles crying out for rest, but he knew that this languid state of body and mind will not last for long. Nevertheless, his eyelids drooped and sleep demanded entry.

He was right on the verge of falling asleep when the door opposite opened and Rowena and Helga entered with a soft rustle of skirts.

Rudely shaken out of his stupour, Godric stared at the two blearily. Ambrosius had made sure that their clothes were not of the best quality either. It was his way to tell them that they were his subordinates and that no matter who they were in their past lives, they were now his to command.

Arrogant bastard, he thought to himself, as his mind cleared.

"The Master commands that you shall join him in the Council Chamber," the man called Edwin said in his nasal voice.

"Ambrosius can command to his heart's content," one of them said forcibly. "We will not come until we are ready, and I still have to do Helga's hair."

Godric stared in wonder at Rowena, as she stood, glaring at the towering manservant. She saw his expression and to his amounting surprise - winked. To the manservant, however, she said with the same haughty voice as before, "You will leave us now and tell your master that he can shove his commands up his rear end. He will wait for our leisure. Go!"

With a terrified squeak, Edwin ran out of the room. Rowena turned to face the other three with a kind of a twisted smile on her face.

"You're evil," Helga said only half-jokingly.

"I know," she said with a shrug. "That was the only way I could make him go away and leave us to have a private word for a little while. He's really annoying me, this Ambrosius, and I haven't even been properly introduced to him! Is he always like this?"

"Roughly, yes," Salazar said grimly. "Most times it's much worse. He has no notion of other people's rights - only of what he needs when he needs it. You are not starting this very nicely, you know. You will have his enmity in no time like this."

She laughed. "Oh, I know that, Salazar. But honestly, I do not mind that. I have my pride, and I will keep it intact as long as I can. Bullying Ambrosius' man is the best I can do right now."

"So," Godric said, still feeling a little miffed about the Servant's clothes and Ambrosius' behaviour towards them (But then again, he thought, what's new?), "are we all ready to face the big bad wizard?"

Helga shook her head. "Not really. I'd rather have a good sleep before I do... but we need to do it now, I suppose. I don't want to anger this Ambrosius fellow even more."

"Oh, he is already madder than ever, I can assure you of that," Godric said with an evil smile. "Our darling Rowena had made sure of that." After he let that out, he could not tell which glare was worse - the one Rowena sent his way for calling her 'darling', or Helga's - sent in Rowena's direction.

"Well," Salazar said dryly. "Now that we are all happy with each other and with Ambrosius, I believe it is a waste of time to stay here a minute longer. Come on, then. Let us go and face our doom."

With that, the four young people made their way out of the sitting room and into the long corridor leading to the Council Chamber.

Godric, feeling willful, heaved the small door with all the strength he could muster. It hit the wall with a resounding crash, startling all Council members out of their discussion.

"We are here!" he announced in a booming voice, enjoying the slight wincing of some of the men sitting in the semicircle.

"Yes," Ambrosius said silkily. "You are here. Stand by that wall, Servants Slytherin and Gryffindor. I believe my business here is with Madam Ravenclaw - would you be so kind as to step out of that hulking buffoon's shadow, my darling Rosalind? I could not see the beauty of your face when you were covered with all that filth not long ago."

Rowena did not move from her spot behind Godric. Neither did Godric and Salazar move as he had commanded, but Godric felt the discomfort of not obeying the Chief Warlock most keenly. It felt like a thousand needles pricking his flesh - pinpricks of pain. Still he stood. Next to him he could sense Salazar moving in the same discomfort. Ambrosius knew very well that they will not yield to his command easily. At that moment, however, his attention was all on Rowena's shadowy figure.

"Come now, my dear!" he coaxed, his voice dripping with honey. "Come out into the light so that I may behold the gloriousness of your features once again!"

"You had better go," Salazar whispered from the corner of his mouth. "He will not wait much longer before he will resort to violent means."

Rowena nodded curtly, just once, and walked as slowly as she dared towards the well-lit center of the Chamber. She kept her face down until she was right in front of Ambrosius. Then she looked up.

"You are not Rosalind!" Ambrosius screeched. "Who are you? How dare you mock my orders, Slytherin! How dare you disobey me, Gryffindor! You will both pay dearly for this! But first I will take care of this woman - pretending to be my lovely Rosalind!"

Later on, Godric would say that it was that claim of Ambrosius' over her mother that made Rowena do what she had done.

Godric recognized the signs long before anyone else. Merlin knows, he had that expression directed at him enough times to know when it was time to clamp his palms over his ears and search for shelter. At that particular time, however, he decided he was going to enjoy it.

Rowena's eyes narrowed dangerously - it was obvious even from the shadowy corner next to the door where her three companions stood.

"Do not presume to own my mother, filth!" she grounded out with vehemence. "She belongs to none but herself. And if anyone had ever owned her - it is my father - not you! You have no idea who I am, do you? You do not know whose daughter am I? Do you not recognize me by my hair and by the way I carry myself? Do you not see that I am the embodiment of both your infatuation and your most bitter of enemies?"

Ambrosius, who had rarely found himself in a situation where he had to defend himself, stared at her in wonder mixed with apprehension. "Who... are you?" he asked faintly, though by the slight tremble in his voice, Godric realized that he had a rather good idea of that.

"Now you ask," Rowena spat. "I am Rowena Ravenclaw. Daughter of Rosalind and Ryan Raven Lord. And you are nothing but a lowlife scum that should have been eradicated off this earth a long time ago."

As she stood there, conveying defiance with every fiber of her body, Godric could not help it but feel great admiration for her.

"So," Ambrosius hissed. "That spawn of the devil has procreated. Tell me, child. Where is your father now? Has he broken his exile? He will die for that."

Rowena met his scorning, triumphant gaze with coldness to match. "I fear that the only way you can condemn my father to death is to come to the Valley of two years ago and save him before the Muggles caught him."

At that, an excited murmur broke the silence of the rest of the Council members. The main sentence passing between them was Raven Lord is dead!

Ambrosius smiled horribly at that, but Rowena was not quite finished. "For that, offspring of a whore that you are, you have my mother's eternal enmity. She bid me tell you that the next time your roads meet - you will die. She bid me tell you that your days are numbered - as are the days of this Council. You have sunken so far into the abyss that you may not turn back. The magic community will soon turn its back on you just as you have done to it. There is no going back - you have doomed your own lives."

Godric was quite certain that Rosalind said nothing of the sort. It sounded too much like Rowena to be anything of Rosalind's saying.

Ambrosius, however, seemed to take the young woman's words as said. He paled considerably and Godric got the feeling that even at that time, after years of anger and separation, the almighty Head of the Council still harboured some hope that Rosalind would come back to him. It all came crumbling down on him. Heavier and heavier down as Rowena progressed with her speech of scorn.

"You will die for this insolence," he whispered, barely heard by anyone. "Servant Gryffindor - take her life!"

Godric prepared himself for the surge of command, but it was not enough. Ambrosius' anger multiplied the force of his will. It came on him like a wave, drowning his own will. He felt himself taking the first step towards Rowena's proud form. His hand slid down to grasp the hilt of his sword.

"Godric, no!" came Helga's desperate cry. "You can't really do that! She is your friend!"

He tried to fight, truly he did, but more members of the Council joined their wills with that of Ambrosius. Quite a few of them despised Raven Lord while still alive. They wanted to wipe his lineage entirely by killing his only daughter.

Through the wooliness in which his mind had sunk, he could hear Helga shrieking, "Salazar - stop him! He will kill her!"

And then Ambrosius' voice laced with the command for a Servant, saying, "Restrain her, Slytherin!"

Godric tried to concentrate. He had to put a stop to it. Rowena would not run - he knew that. She stood there, calm and silent, looking straight at him with those huge hazel eyes of hers. Those eyes which bore right into his soul...

"Arrgh!" a cry of pain, mingled - oddly enough - with a bit of relief, came from behind him. There was the sound of running feet on a stone floor and someone slammed bodily into him. He recognized the small hands attempting to pull him back as Helga's. She was trying to stop him from getting to her friend.

The part of his mind still able to think rationally through the drilling command of the Council wondered if Salazar managed to break the Council's will and released the girl, but the memory of the cry of pain, made him rethink it. He managed to sneak a look in Helga's direction, even though it cost him with great pains - the command was to look at Rowena alone.

Around Helga's mouth was a shiny stain of blood. His rational part smiled. Good girl. Very resourceful. And at the same time he thought, What am I doing? If Helga can do it...

He redoubled his efforts, groaning with the pain, falling to his knees and yet, still trying to get to Rowena.

He drew his sword out of its sheath - he was almost there.

No! he silently cried. I will not!

You must.

I will not!

I have commanded you to do so. You will do as I say.

Never! She is my friend! You will not make me take her life!

He felt more than heard Ambrosius commanding all the members of the Council to concentrate on forcing him to kill Rowena. He had to stop them. He was so near - just a few more steps and she was doomed.

Run! Move, Rowena! You are my friend! I do not want to hurt you!

She was never your friend. I have commanded you to become her friend in order to bring her here to face me. Kill her.

No. And then added, remember the sword, Godric. Remember the sword. You swore never to take the life of an innocent - a Knight of the Phoenix's oath. It is much stronger than the oath forcibly taken from you. Hold on. Hold on...

With a cry of anger Godric regained his senses. He was not going to break the oath that had been so important to his own father. He was not going to take an innocent girl's life just because some selfish, arrogant bastard had commanded him. "You cannot make me!" he growled. "I will never do as you say again!"

There was silence in the Chamber. At first he did not realize why. Only when Salazar who seemed to be in some internal struggle woke up in a weird daze, did he realize what had just happened.

He had thrown off the will of all twenty four members of the Council. The Oath of the Servant had been broken. He was free.

A big thank you to all those who reviewed all chapters since I uploaded chapter 5!

Hedwigfan02: Glad you did ;)

Tresa Cho: Thank you so much for saying that, and I am very happy that you think it. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

Naycit: lol, I'm pretty sure that the Slytherins these days would be terribly disappointed at the House Founder had they known. That'll hit them a little under the belt :D Thank you very much for telling me that.

It was a sad fact of life for many people in the Dark Ages... being burnt at the stake was quite popular...

Might be a house trait for all we know :) Then again, maybe I'm just a sucker for love-hate relationships :P

And lastly - no! I will never again take a year's break from this story. I found a good, reliable beta, who had already gone through most of the story, so there will be one chapter every week - promise! Thanks for all your reviews!

R&G: Thank you so much!

AAAMBULAANCE: story updates every week :) Glad you enjoy it that much!

And that is it for this time! Thank you all and stay tuned!