Disclaimer: Me Owny Only An Over Active Imagination

"Salazar, you are being ridiculous"

"Don't give me that Rowena, you know as well as I do that they don't belong here!"

"How can you say that? They have magic and a right to magic, and by extension a magical education, just as much as any other children do!"

"You're prejudice is un-reasonable!" A wild-haired man shouted.

"Is that right?" Salazar sneered, sarcasm dripping off every word. "Because none of their families would storm the castle and send us to high heaven in a heartbeat at all."

"You know just as well as I do that they can't get in here, let alone take down a secure castle – "

Salazar looked with disgust at the three others in the Hall, his glare stopping the blond woman, mid-sentence. "We used this castle simply for the purpose of giving sanctuary for children with magic who had been abandoned for being 'unnatural' as they like to put it. To teach them enough about who they are so they can survive - "

"Exactly!" a bearded man exclaimed. "And now you want to send them back out!"

"- Then the substandard magical families decided to send their children here, and next thing you know, we're an educational institute."

"Well what's wrong with that?" cried Rowena, folding her arms in an uncommon informal movement.

"Nothing! Better education of the magical people would help strengthen the community! Not to mention having so many of the children here would give leverage over their parents-"

"Salazar!" the, until then silent, blonde woman exclaimed from her seat at the main table.

"Sorry Helga, but it has to be said. You can't always rely on the goodness of the parents to pay us for the favour we are doing them. There is nothing wrong with us becoming a school," he continued his previous point "But actively searching out those born from no magical heritage and inviting them to the castle is absurd! It invites the general population to notice magic, and begin to hunt us down more fiercely!"

"I don't-"

"Rowena!" Salazar turned to the dark-haired lady, ignoring Godric's interruption. "You are the wittiest and most logical of us all, do you fail to realise this sense standing right in front of you!"

Rowena stiffened, silently reminding them all of her status. "The only logical thing you have said so far, Salazar, is about the danger of inviting those of non-magical backgrounds to the school-"

"Not you too!" Godric roared at her. "It's bad enough he's turned traitor-"

"Sir Gryffindor, you will not raise your voice to me," her glare fought his as she slowly advanced on him. Stopping a couple of steps before him, she continued, addressing Salazar as she continued to threaten Godric: "There is logic in your basic argument, I concede. However a simple truth is being ignored. The moment we decided to make this castle a school, we made an oath to teach all children between the ages of ten and sixteen with magic who require assistance." Now she turned to face Salazar.

Godric moved around her to face Salazar also. "They are constantly in danger from their own families and villages. Christianity is growing," he said, shooting a quick glance at Rowena "and with it its thoughts on people like us. It's a moral duty to protect-"

"Don't give me that! Moral duty – the only reason you care is because of that common wench you so nicely entertain-"

"QUIET!"

Silence fell as the three arguing turned as one to face Helga.

"Just, stop it. This fighting is completely useless and you all know it, let's just stop it while we still have intact friendships." She wandered to the centre of the triangle the others had made in their fight, facing each in turn.

"Rowena, Merlin knows you're really smart and everything, but you're not noble in the magic world. We don't have such a class system, and bringing it up amongst friends is utterly rude." Rowena turned her head slightly away, letting loose bangs of dark hair hide her eyes from her friend.

"Godric, shouting is pointless as a form of direct communication unless you are on a battle field. We are just here, and don't think kindly on such behaviour." He nervously coughed as he shuffled his feet.

"Salazar, stop saying things you will soon regret. Those were horrible things to say about Morgan, she's nice, and you know it." Salazar only sneered at her. She looked once more at each of them, then backed into her usual spot, between the two men, facing her best friend.

"We are strongest when united, and this is only going to work if we remain so. Fighting in such a matter is not going to get us anywhere. I know this has been brewing for some time now, and thank goodness it's summer, or the students would be eavesdropping and starting some more rumours, but we need to be adults and reach a more stable conclusion now, or this is going to crumble around us."

They all faced each other.

"Typical that you would be the mother hen, Helga," Godric teased.

"Yes, you always did keep us together," Rowena smiled.

The new light hearted atmosphere was somewhat strained, however. Despite the words Helga had spoken, and their now relaxed stances, they all knew there was not going to be a conclusion that would fix it all. This was going to be the matter that finished what they had been working at for nearly two decades. They knew it would one day happen, had even magically prepared the school for it, but it didn't make the truth any less unbelievable.

It was all going to come down to one thing.

Do they track down children born to non-magical families, in order to teach them about their powers, or only let in those who were stumbled across, as they had in the past?

Salazar sighed.

Meeting the face of each of the others, he spoke in a resigned voice. "It is clear how this is going to end. I can see your argument, but cannot allow this breach of magic customs to be undertaken while I have a say. Letting, no, bringing these – spawn – of the people who hate us so much into this castle is going to doom the school. I want no part in it."

They all looked at him with different expressions: cold calculation, raw outrage, and dawning comprehension.

"No..."

"It's been fun, friends," Salazar continued, ignoring Helga's whisper. "But we all knew it was too good to last, and would one day finish. I hope the school lasts long enough for the outcome to be reached. Good day."

With a final nod, he turned on his heel and left the hall.

The rattle of the door closed behind him echoed long after he had left, the three left behind all staring at the space he had not so long ago occupied.

AN: This is going to be one random story, and fingers crossed I finish it. My updates will be somewhat random in timing, and I'm sorry in advance for chapter lengths, and don't panic, this is not going to have any time travel to really confuse it.

Hope you enjoyed it, not that there is much so far, but give me a break, I need to start somewhere, right?

Asteria

PS: If the updates have a really long length or I don't think I'm going to finish it, I will upload a summary chapter, just in case anyone is still interested in how it ends