Disclaimer: Everything that you recognize belongs to JK Rowling. I'm not taking it or making money off of this.
The Legend:
In the Beginning, there was silence, and from the silence there came four humans, two men and two women. The Silence was cast aside in favor of the new ways: the calling and control of fire, the making of shelters grander that those Nature provided. The four humans saw all this as good, and sought a way to make more. But alas! Power they had in reserve, but only so far would their power stretch. For now, they were content, and sought only to make a shelter and perfect their art.
But one dispute could not be settled—there was a woman more beautiful and kind than any before, and the two men loved her mightily. But she could belong to only one of them, and a great quarrel arouse that shook the earth for miles around. One man was thrown away, but he swore revenge on the three the night that he left. The woman who was the cause of all of this wept bitter tears that filled a lake.
The Fiction:
From Four Came Fourth by Albert Heighnreigh, written 1632 A.D.
It is said that of the Four Founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, each had the unique qualities the others lacked. They became famous as perhaps the most balanced four-power ruling system, for in their time the founders ruled a great part of Northern Britannia. How did that do this, one might wonder? How did they singularly start and hold together a school for magic? Henceforth follows a description of each founder in turn and the moods and temperaments each affected.
In alphabetical order
Godric GryffindorAncestor of the great king Richard the Lion-hearted, Godric Gryffindor was a formidable warrior and an exceptionally brave man, said to have chased a dragon (legend says it was a Hungarian Horntail of Impressive size and weight) from the grounds of Hogwarts. He was also known for his great love of women, having no less than three wives, though not all three at one time. He was an exceptional leader and a kind man, but later in life he developed a drinking problem. His third and final wife, Helga Hufflepuff, ended the problem by expelling all beer from the Hogwarts grounds, a spell that makes it difficult to bring wine or rum to Hogwarts even today, six hundred years later.
Helga Hufflepuff The third wife of Godric Gryffindor and an avid supporter of vegetarianism, Helga Hufflepuff is most famous for her kindness and the ability to persevere in all conditions. She was a hard worker and was a key factor in Hogwarts actually becoming a school for witchcraft, having the unique ability to sense the presence of magical ability in a person. Through her hard work and magical sight we have the Hogwarts we know today. She bore Godric Gryffindor seven sons and one daughter, passing away at the birth of her daughter (named Jenefere). Helga was forty-six. Rowena RavenclawSaid to be by far the most beautiful woman alive at that time, Rowena was possibly the most brilliant woman ever to exist. Her genius thought up most of the key spells we have today, including the Disarming Charm and the Priori Incantatum, among many others (see A Wizards Handy-Book, by R. Ravenclaw). She is responsible for the learning and the famous Great Hall Ceiling of Hogwarts, which she bewitched herself. It is said that Godric Gryffindor pledged his heart to her, but Rowena remained a virgin until her death at the age of twenty-eight.
Salazar SlytherinSalazar Slytherin's tale remain shrouded in mystery. One of the first students at Hogwarts, his legacy is the magnificent architecture of Hogwarts itself. Salazar was a bright and ambitious young man, but also very stubborn. An argument over Rowena (whom Salazar was very fond of) caused Salazar to leave the Hogwarts quartet and summon a great dark army (for more details of this, consult An Army of Stones, by A. S. Carpenter), which he used to try to overrun Hogwarts. He ultimately failed, and was banished to the Unplottable island of Azkaban surrounded by his own demons, the demented souls of creatures he had raised from the dead. Salazar Slytherin was last seen at the age of twenty-five, and was presumed dead a year later.
The Reality:
The tall, imposing walls of Hogwarts bore down on the mind of the young man crouched outside the walls. The walls keeping him out. And keeping that fool Godric inside, trying to seduce his Rowena.
His Rowena.
Shaking snow from his dark hair, he stood. He wasn't tall, but he was by no means short, just a comfortable in-between sort of height. His face was sharp, his nose was a little too big to make him truly handsome. Though snow blew around him, he wore only breeches and shirt and a cape. His bare feet blistered and cracked in the snow and freezing rain. But he didn't notice. His anger was more than enough to warm him.
He had lost the fight with Godric, and instead of Godric killing him, he'd been thrown outside. They thought he would come back inside, to the warmth, and apologize to Godric and sit by the fire in the Great Hall, thinking of spells and telling stories of times past to amuse the students. They thought he would come back to Rowena. And he wanted to.
But he wouldn't. He had survived on his wits for his early life—that's why he was alive now. And now, cast away from his home (or at least what had felt the most like home), he was back on his wits. Which meant he had to do what people didn't expect. Do the Unexpected, take them Unsuspecting.
So he stood. And he walked away. When he was about two-hundred paces away from the gates, he wheeled around.
"Someday I'll return, and I'll slay you all!" he screamed. "All of you, and I'll enjoy it! I'll laugh and spit on you as you drag yourselves away from me! And YOU, Godric, I'll wipe my boots on you best tunic before impaling you on your own sword!" The words were whisked away from the castle, into the sky. But someone heard.
A young woman, standing at the gates of Hogwarts, cried out. "No! Please, Salazar, please don't leave!" The legends were true—Rowena was beautiful. Creamy skin and blue eyes, golden hair that fell in loose rounds to her feet. "Salazar!" she cried. "Please come back!"
The whirling wind drove her words back into her face. Running back inside, she tripped and fell into the quarry that they'd dug their stones from, and she began to cry. By this point in her life, Rowena was so full of magic everything she did oozed magic—the odd hand movement, an angry growl. And as she cried, the quarry began to fill, floating her up to the surface. Luckily, when she scrambled out onto the bare ground, she'd the sense left to say a holding spell to stop it from over-flowing.
"Rowena!"
Godric ran towards her, helping her to her feet. Rowena's clothing was frozen solid, her lips blue with cold. He gathered her up and ran inside.
"Salazar!" she cried softly into Godric shoulder. "Salazar!"
The Authoress Speaks: I will continue, but my will to continue is fed only by your reviews. Feed the fire, review my fic.