The Fifth Founder

The way that you hold me

Whenever you hold me

There's some kind of magic inside you

That keeps me from running

But just keep it coming

How'd you learn to do the things you do?

 

(Nobody Does It Better - Carole Bayer Sager/Marvin Hamlisch)

 
Rowena looked out of the window onto the Forest. Smiling, she turned to the man who was standing behind her. ‘This is going to work Godric, I can tell. It’s going to be fantastic.’

‘I know. If only…’

‘Helga?’

‘Yes, Helga and Oliver do seem to be the problem.’ He looked distractedly out of the window. ‘But are we agreed?’

‘I don’t see how it could happen otherwise. If two of us are, well, together, then how are we ever going to have a democracy? It’ll be two-versus-two all the time.’

‘Them being a couple is going to really hold things up. We’ll never get decisions made. It can’t happen.’

‘We’ll have to tell them soon, before we start to set up properly.’

‘Tonight?’

‘Tonight.’

 

Godric walked out of the door, leaving Rowena to her thoughts. ‘Godric doesn’t realise that this is going to kill Helga. She doesn’t want to leave him, she loves him, how can I do this to her? This could tear us all apart’

‘What could?’ Rowena was unaware that she’d been speaking out loud; Helga had come in and caught the end of her thoughts. ‘Nothing. I’ve just been thinking about the school. What are we going to call it?’

‘Hmm, I guess it should be something that we can all agree on. Is that what’s going to tear us apart?’

‘Yeah.’ Rowena answered, not sounding sure at all.

‘Are you sure? Is there something wrong?’ Helga’s face was full of concern

‘No, nothing, look, I’ll see you later, I’ve got a lot to sort out.’

 

Rowena swept out of the room, her blue cloak fluttering out behind her, leaving Helga staring in amazement at the open doorway. ‘What was all that about? There’s something bothering her. I wonder what it is. I hope it’s nothing that I’ve done…’

Just then Oliver came in and went to the open window. He leant out, smelling the fresh air that blew around his home country, Scotland. ‘I just love this place, It’s ideal. A few muggle-repelling charms and it’s perfect.’

‘Shouldn’t be too many muggles to repel around here’ Helga giggled, ‘It’s too desolate.’

She joined him at the window and looked out. ‘ What’s that, Ollie?’ She pointed to the gate.

‘What, where?’ Oliver reached over and put his arm around her as she pointed out of the window. ‘That cloaked…thing…by the gate.’

‘Oh, it looks like our dear friend Salazar has come to pay us a visit for the meal tonight. I wonder if Godric knows…’

‘Rowena didn’t, but then she seemed too distracted to notice a lot.’

‘Oh?’

‘Yup, she was muttering something when I went in, and apparently something is going to tear the four of us apart. Don’t know what. When I asked her, she muttered something about the name of the school, but surely that can’t be it?’

‘I don’t know. I’d better go tell Godric that Slytherin is here’. With that he dropped a kiss onto her forehead and left the room. He briefly put his head back into the doorway saying, ‘By the way, you look great in yellow!’ Helga looked at him.

‘I like yellow too!’ she said, laughing.

 

Helga stayed by the window for a while. As she gazed out at nothing in particular, a movement in the forest caught her eye. She looked at it. She couldn’t quite make out what it was. She pulled out her wand and muttered ‘Magnifica’. Through the spell she could see Rowena and Salazar walking off into the forest, talking. ‘What’s going on there? A friendly chat? I think not, not where Salazar is concerned anyway. There’s something not quite right about him’

She turned away from the window. ‘I wonder what time it is, perhaps I should be getting ready for the meal tonight.’ Again, she took out her wand and muttered ‘Tempus’. Having found out that she now only had an hour to get ready for dinner, she disapparated straight to her room.

 

Meanwhile, Rowena and Salazar were walking in the forest. ‘Why are we out here Ro? Planning on seducing me before dinner? I’ll have you know I’m happily married.’

‘No you’re not Salazar, you’ve been single since that muggle dumped you!’ Rowena laughed.

‘Shush, no one is supposed to know about that, damn muggles…’

‘Anyway, getting back to business.’

‘Business, is it? What sort of business? Want me to clean the castle?’

‘No, I, that is, me and Godric, well, we want you to replace Oliver as the fourth founder. I mean, him and Helga, well, they’re… you know and it wouldn’t work.’

‘Rowena, I can’t believe you’re doing this. Asking me to replace Oliver because he happens to have fallen in love with his best friend. I’m sorry. Normally I’d do anything you asked, but not this time. I can’t believe you’re being this selfish. I won’t do it.’ And with that, he disappeared into the darkness, his dark green cape swooping after him and swallowing him.

‘Well, that went well,’ thought Rowena. ‘God knows what I’ll tell Godric.’ She continued to walk through the forest, heading away from the castle. ‘Lumos’ she muttered under her breath and immediately the whole forest was filled with light. The light seemed to spread out from her as though she was lighting up the entire forest, which in a way, she was! ‘I love that spell, I can’t wait to share it with the next generation of wizards and witches.’ She started to feel good about the future of the school again. Salazar’s abrupt departure had filled her with a sense of unease.

‘I’ll just have to tell Godric that we’ll have to put up with Helga and Oliver, they’re both fair people, I’m sure they won’t side with each other all of the time.’ She kept walking along the path, bending down every so often to pick a flower.