EDIT: I noticed that there was an error and you couldn't see the symbols I chose for scene changes! Instead, I added an extra space. Sorry for the inconvience!
Author's Notes:
My first actual HP fandom! I am as shocked as you, my readers. In all the fandom I've read (and I've read quite a few), I've noticed there are no before Harry Potter fics. I mean, before it all happened, before any of it. When Hogwarts was a new school... So, using various resources and random original characters, I've decided to write one.
I, Flame Heart, do not own any of J.K. Rowling's characters.
I, Flame Heart, do own the following original characters mentioned in this chapter; Professor Masters Talon, Minister Merlin Gregory Audléyn, Professor Corliss Moudlin, and Milda Velouette. The names were acquired from my imagination or the web-page 20000-names.
Oh, another thing. In J.K.'s stories, she says Hogwarts was founded a thousand years ago... I don't quite like that. -laughs to herself- So, I'm going to change it. This takes place around the 1300's; seven-hundred years ago rather than a thousand. I'm not lazy! I explained it, didn't I?
Without further aidieu, the story.
Flame Heart
Hogwarts; a History
Prologue - Godric Gryffindor
Godric Gryffindor was quite an attractive man, despite what those (rare) chocolate-frog cards depicted. But of course, chocolate-frogs do not exist. Red hair curled around his stubborn chin, several locks behind his ear. His dark brown ("No, they're gold!" Helga would argue) eyes were thoughtful, and seemed to be filled with smiles, and matched his delicate and broad eyebrows. His nose was firm, chiseled, and fitted his face in a perfect manner. His body was masculine and lithe, though one could not tell from his many decorative robes. He wore loose red cloth pants and a gold belt, with a red tunic with a decorative gold shirt - all underneath a thick red cloak. The only things that didn't seem to fit with Godric were his black gauntlets, black books and black hat (the hat liked to make smart-ass remarks oh-so-often, also).
The Hat opened its mouth to consol Godric, but quickly closed it at the utterance of an incinerating spell.
It was the first year Hogwarts was an official school - the Minister of Magic finally thought in necessary 'that a school as large as Hogwarts should be able to officially call itself a School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'. To say the least, Godric was nervous about the school's first year as a - well - school.
Helga Hufflepuff touched his arm lightly; the curvaceously large woman looked at him with twinkling eyes. "We've not even got children yet and you're already tense, Godric." Her curly blonde hair was tied up very prettily on her head. "You should be happy; next year, this day, it'll be our year anniversary!" Rowena looked up from her book to stare at Helga. "Oh - of the school, you misinterpreting git,"
Rowena Ravenclaw snorted then went back to her book, pulling her black hair behind her ear. "I didn't misinterpret, you're the one who said it funnily."
"Hush, you," Helga scowled. Silence passed over them and she smoothed out a non-existent wrinkle in her blue dress. "You'll do fine, Gryffindor. You do know what your name represents, right?" She pointed to the lion insignia hanging on one of the walls in the room - the Gryffindor Family Insignia. "Bravery; Keeping a cool head... You'll be fine, Godric. You're one of the best wizards this age - if you're not fit for this job," she lowered her voice "then Salazar will take over, and you know how he runs things." Helga and Rowena burst out in fits of girlish giggles, and Godric relaxed slightly. Helga was right.
"It is the Eleventh hour after dawn on the third day of August." The hat atop Godric's head stated monotonously. "And all's well,"
"Must he do that every hour?" Rowena asked tiredly, looking over her black-rimmed glasses to peer at the Hat.
Godric tried to look at the hat on his head, and it echoed one loud word in Godric' mind 'Yes.' "Yes." The red-head repeated. 'And let go of your wand, dear boy, you're going to crack it in half!' Sure enough the hat was right. The Lion-hearted man released his death-grip on the wand. He didn't realize he had a habit of doing that- fiddling with the wand when he was nervous. "And at eleven and-a-half o'clock if the faculty meeting, discussing the curriculums this year and dangerous creatures Professor Masters Talon is not supposed to bring anywhere near the vicinity of the school."
The Hat, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff alike shuddered knowingly - last year, Professor Talon thought it be wise to bring in a baby Kraken away from its mother - they eventually calmed it down, but a torching of the school was not something any wizard or witch in the school wished to relive.
"My fellow sorcerers and sorceresses welcome," Godric said as soon as he was sure every faculty member in the hall was comfortable. "As you are all aware of, Minister of Magic Merlin Gregory Audléyn has approved of Hogwarts as an official School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," The faulty broke out in applause, and Merlin Audléyn stood, bowing, and beaming. "Thank you, Minister Audléyn. Another thing you are aware of is some of you on the faculty have gotten new positions in the school. I will list those of you whose positions have changed. Professor Corliss Moudlin, your position from Herbology teacher has been changed to Mediwitch. Congratulations on completing your Mediwizard training. Mistress Moudlin will also be taking over as the school's Mediwitch trainer." The school once again broke out in applause. "Taking place of Mistress Moudlin is Mistress Helga Hufflepuff, for she's been pestering me about it forever," The adults chuckled at his joke. "Since you all know our beloved Dark Arts professor has passed away from old age, our replacement shall be Sir Salazar Slytherin." The school broke out in applause again, louder than it was before. 'Salazar is a revered wizard in Dark arts,' the Hat told him. 'They're much more satisfied with a competent teacher rather than a no-good old man,' "Please, can we hold our applause to then end for now? I've much to go through, and with everyone's joys it will be quite hard...
"Thank you, lords and ladies. We've managed to acquire a Divination teacher, a feat we are truly proud of. I understand that Divination is the trend now, and crystal ball prices will be raised after we start school, so it would truly be easier to start this year instead of next. Presenting Professor Milda Velouette," He gestured for the woman to stand. "The best Fortune-Witch since Minister Audléyn's mother," A chuckle escaped the crowd and a whole-hearted laugh from Merlin. "She is young, yes, but Fate has a strong hand on her and Professor Milda has a power none have seen before. Thank you, for choosing us, Professor Milda. We've one last thing to add before we all dine. Professor Masters Talon,"
Talon stood quickly, bowing quickly, and spoke quickly. "Yessir Gryffindor?"
"There... will be no more stealing young from creatures, be it human or animal or mystic or majestic."
"Err... ye-yessir." Talon blushed furiously dark, remembering the Kraken-child clearly. His eyebrows - along with half his wardrobe and the school - had been singed severely from the creature. "It won't happen yet- again!" He said as the female faculty (minus Velouette) giggled.
"Now, we enter our tenth year and last year as an academy and our first year as a school," Godric said, taking off the hat from his head and setting it on the pedestal beside him. "We've passed the year when our first students left the academy out into the real world. They've all become fine wizards, and all of us our proud. The education we provide at Hogwarts is not standard, but exceeding expectations of all Witches and Wizards whom were trained by their families as sorcerers, summoners, and etcetera. We are the only school in Great Britain boasting to educate and produce the finest wizards anyone in Our world have seen. Let us continue to flourish and create great witches and wizards, and shall we flourish as a school and last a long, long while," Godric picked up his goblet. "To Hogwarts!"
"To Hogwarts!" The faculty echoed, lifting their own goblets and drinking.
"To Hogwarts," The Hat on the pedestal said disgruntled but quiet. "Let the troubles in the world, never reach inside our hoard; Joys come and pains go, but who will be the one to know; Incase the world must be aware, that trouble lurks in this lair; Avoid this if you must, I'll be here, though, on a shelf, collecting dust; Friendships are bonded, enemies forged, all inside this humble home; This isn't treason, isn't rough, but listen to the lives you touch."
Godric tossed the hat a puzzled look, for he was obviously the only one who heart the hat speak in song and rhyme. "What?" He whispered to the Hat.
"Oh, don't ask me to repeat that again, Gryffindor, I merely sort the place. Heed my warning, though. Be aware of your surroundings, because it won't always be peaceful in this school. Changes do not like to wait." The Hat responded, closing its brim to await the food brought out by House Elves.
The man hung his cloak on a hook in his wardrobe. He slept at the top of Gryffindor Tower - the place where the students in his house stayed. He placed the Hat on the pedestal beside his bed this time and stripped himself of his gauntlets and boots. "I think it went rather well, minus your pleasant little poetry recital."
The Hat stayed quiet for a moment and then spoke. "I know that I am merely a hat, Gryffindor, a new one at that, and one of your creations... But I have time to think about everything, since I can see into people's minds and their wished for emancipation." His brim closed for a moment and the Hat appeared to be scrunching his brows together. "I know the future, Godric, and troubled times lay ahead. Perhaps they won't be achieved this year, perhaps not next year, nor the year following, but hear me. Just know that."
Godric tied his hair back in a horse-tail and picked up a book called 'Magical Defenses and the Curses That Affect Them'. "Do you just sit around all day thinking up poetry?"
"It's what I do; when you're stuck on a shelf or a pedestal or a desk you get rather bored... I figure if I have the ability to speak I might as well be a poet whilst doing so." The Hat responded, grinning as broadly as leather could.
The object and human sat in silence as Godric read- or tried to.
"Hat, I don't understand." He snapped his book shut with a loud slam. "What did your warning mean? I don't understand!"
The Hat shook its cloth head. "I am not obligated to tell."
Brown eyes rolled. "Not obligated to tell? I made you!" He cried.
"It has been given to me by the Oracles of Future to give you warning. Take my warning, for if I tell you now, I'll lose my privilege of connecting with the Oracles in the Ministry of Magic."
Godric looked severely baffled. "You have a connection with Oracles?"
"Just because you gave me my smarts doesn't mean I haven't figured out how to use them!" The Hat snapped.
The red-headed man looked at his feet, to his bed, to the hat again, to his sword (which hung on a very nice belt on another hook in his wardrobe), back to his feet again, deep in thought. "Are you saying the school is in trouble?" He questioned.
"Boy, you're a fool! You're looking at a picture, yes, another big picture at that, but not the one I'm warning you about! Think on another train of thought, you stupid boy!" The Hat said impatiently. "Think! Use your brain; you're the best at Arithmancy!"
Godric looked back at his feet with a hurt and bamboozled expression - the Hat was right, he was the best at Arithmancy and Divination, next to Velouette. He should be able to spot this without trouble. He hopped to his feet and grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill with ever-lasting ink. Dropping to the floor and crossing his legs, he set the quill to the yellow parchment and closed his eyes, thinking of the Hat's warning. His hand began to move, writing the numbers that came to mind. The warning the hat gave burst in clear flame in his mind. 'Let the troubles in the world, never reach inside our hoard; Joys come and pains go, but who will be the one to know; Incase the world must be aware, that trouble lurks in this lair; Avoid this if you must, I'll be here, though, on a shelf, collecting dust; Friendships are bonded, enemies forged, all inside this humble home; This isn't treason, isn't rough, but listen to the lives you touch.'
He opened his eyes and scrawled down the poem neatly underneath the set of numbers before he forgot it. Godric then looked up at the numbers he has writ- "I can't read these numbers." The fair man stated. "Nothing comes to me, Hat, it just looks like a scrawl of failed mathematics."
The Hat didn't respond.
"Maybe this wasn't supposed to be known by me and interpreted. Maybe I just shouldn't figure it out," The man said, staring at the words and numbers on the parchment. "Maybe Oracles can't be interpreted by numbers or divinating. His brown eyes darted to the black hat. "I vaguely remember Rowena telling me that they couldn't and what happened. I don't believe it was pleasant; supposedly, the man who was trying to figure out what an oracle said about a mass murder in his family, and he went mad without knowing it or figuring it out and he ended up fulfilling the oracle."
"I may be a mere object, young man, but I need to sleep as well." The Hat said groggily. "You speak too much when you are troubled."
Godric looked at his hands, and immediately released his wand from the death-grip he held it in. Wiping his sweaty palms on his tunic, he looked out the fill-sized window into the evening sky. A sigh escaped his lips. "You said it wouldn't happen this year or the year after that?"
The Hat grunted. "I said it might not happen, human. Not even the Oracles know the date of this event. That, Gryffindor, is something you must figure out on your own. Is there anything else you wish to interrogate me about?"
The man shook his head no and looked at the Gryffindor insignia on the door of his room. "No. Sorry for bothering you," He continued staring at the emblem and his forehead fell and rested on his knee.
"Gryffindor, stop being such an idiot about this; when this even happens, take it bravely and courageously like your family. Gryffindor's are Lion-Hearted and they don't let anything prevent their success." He muttered to himself. "Just keep this Oracle in mind but don't go on trying to figure out what it's referring to. Take it as it comes, and listen carefully."
The Hat coughed loudly, and then seemed to clear its throat. "Oh, I'm so terribly sorry. There appears to be a nasty cough going around. Hope you don't catch it, they say in order to cure it you require a lot of sleep."
The man took his head from his knee and stripped the rest of his garments away, changing to his night-robes. "It's probably what I could use, too. Tomorrow I have to check the rosters of students coming to school this year."
"It's the first hour after dawn on the fourth day of August," The Hat said. "And all's well."
Godric waved his wand and the lights in the room puffed out, allowing only the moonlight that filtered into the room through the window to illuminate the troubled expression on Godric's face. He slid into his bed and stared at the ceiling, closing his eyes and trying to call sleep to him.
Author's Notes:
I rather enjoyed writing this chapter! In each chapter, I was planning on telling it through a different point of view of each of the founders. As you could tell, this was Godric's point of view.
Oh, and that 'great' bit of poetry you read, I pulled completely out of my- uh, eyes. Yes, I know, I'm a poet. Masters Talon, Merlin Gregory Audléyn, Corliss Moudlin, and Milda Velouette are all my characters. I'll give you their descriptions to save myself some time in future chapters;
Masters Talon: He's the Care of Magical Creatures (CMC) professor. He is a very fast-acting person; from his shifts in position to the way he breathes. He has thin brown hair and green eyes and he normally wears the Feather of a Griffin in his left ear-lobe. Talon is about thirty-eight years old and he loves to learn about all creatures, whether they would cull him or not. He is engaged to Corliss Moudlin.
Merlin Gregory Audléyn: "Merlin's Beard!" We've all heard that expression in the story. Merlin is the Minister of Magic, known for making Hogwarts a school rather than academy. Merlin has close-cropped gray hair and gray stubble on his chin, and is forty-four years of age.
Corliss Moudlin: Hogwarts' Mediwitch. She is a pretty witch with light brown hair that reaches her shoulders and light brown eyes. She has a crush on Gryffindor (merely for his bravery), but is engaged to Talon. She is very skilled in healing arts and studies muggle-healing as well. Besides being the school's medical witch, she is the teacher in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Corliss is thirty-years old.
Milda Velouette: The youngest teacher at Hogwarts yet, only twenty years old. She has long bleach-blonde hair and blue eyes. She is very quiet and keeps to herself, but when she is talking about the future, Divination and the likes, she lights up. Milda is good a Scrying, also (the art of looking upon the past, present or future through crystal, mirrors, silver or even water and fire), and teaches only those extremely skilled in Divination.
