The Founders. What do we know about those mysterious figures of the past? The people who made Hogwarts? It's my job as a historian to tell you what happened that night so very long ago. To weave a tale of friendship and woe, despair and hope. To tell you about the traitor, friend, dreamer, and the leader. So listen to me well as I tell you The Founders Tale.

"Maturity begins to grow when you can sense your concern for others outweighing your concern for yourself."

--JohnMacNaughton

Rowena Ravenclaw sneered as she leaned back against her horse. That noble was beating his slave because she put the wrong grape in his mouth. The wrong grape in his mouth! Please tell me nobles aren't that stupid! Rowena thought as she stopped her horse. Then she shook her head, slightly, and her glorious mass of brown curls nearly tumbled off her head. Of course she was a noble, in the general sense of the word. Her parents were outcasts because of their beliefs that all people should be treated the same, no matter what their color, race, or if they were pureblood or Muggle. Rowena glowered as she lightly jumped down from her horse, remembering the way these samenobles has treated her parents, who were now both dead. Trying to shake off these thoughts Rowena walked up to the noble and tapped him on the shoulder.

The man spun around, ready to yell at whatever person who dared to interrupt his rant and stopped short. There, in front of him, was a beautiful woman with long dark brown hair, and liquid like eyes to match it. She wore a beautiful, expensive dress made of some dark blue material, and fit her beautifully. Her form was that of a warrior woman; strong cheekbones, and a tall figure with toned muscles. Her lips were full and her nose was evenly placed and was shaped to something closely related to a button. Her normally gentle eyes however, were fixed upon the noble with some sort of disgust written in them.

The noble, whose name was Reagne, gulped as he stuttered. "My-my lady."

Rowena threw her head up proudly, "My name is Rowena Ravenclaw and I am cousins with the King of England, and France. Now let that girl GO!" the last word she roared out, and Rowena was pleased to see the man flinch.

The noble immediately handed the slave over, muttering about how dangerous women were becoming, and pulling out his slender wand. Rowena was immediately aware and cautious; few had a good education in the ways of magic.

"Put that away you warlock! Now is not the time for your petty games!" she said in a ringing tone.

Reagne scowled slightly and reluctantly put his wand back into his jacket.

"I suggest all of you people in this crowd leave soon," said a loud, calm voice from beside Rowena.

It was a tall man with serious green eyes, and long raggedly cut brown hair. His build was thin and lean, as if he hadn't had much to eat in the last few weeks, and his clothes were that of a traveling swordsman; a loose peasant shirt, worn brown breeches, and a long green cloak. Gauntlets were strung onto his arms, and a bow with a quiver of arrows was placed on his back. Long leather boots were on his feet, and a thong with a silver pendant hung around his neck. He looked like the type that was prepared for anything. The crowd, although disappointed, did as the man asked, moving away to do their own business. The man turned to Rowena and bowed.

"Hullo my lady," he said cheerfully, "Godric Gryffindor at your service."

Rowena opened her mouth in a surprised O. Godric Gryffindor She screeched in her mind, THE Godric Gryffindor!To Rowena's immense surprise and embarrassment, she accidentally said these words aloud. Gryffindor laughed.

"Yes, yes that Godric Gryffindor," he said, his voice pleasanter to her than it had been to the crowd, "But who is this girl that you saved?"

Still amazed that she was talking to one of the greatest travelers in England, and that he was actually acting like he was a peasant of no kind of noble birth whatsoever, Rowena turned to her new serving lady. She was a thin thing, with some of her bones sticking out, and had long golden hair and great big blue eyes. Her form was petite, with medium lips and a cute button nose. She sent a crooked smile Rowena's way, showing white teeth.

"Thank you mam," she said quietly, "My name is Helga Hufflepuff and I am at your service."

Rowena peered closely at the girl "You're educated!" she said, amazed, "I didn't think a buffoon like that would educate a servant!"

Helga's smile disappeared "He needed me to write and read letters for him" she said "But I will do that no longer. I am in your debt madam," she bowed her head.

"Well think nothing of it" said Rowena briskly; throwing her head "Roger?" a pale man appeared at her shoulder, "Can you get a horse for Helga please? Do you need one Lord Gryffindor?" she turned towards the ranger.

Godric laughed, "Call me Godric, Lady Ravenclaw. And no I don't need a horse," he whistled, and through the crowd a dark bay horse galloped, stopping at his masters shoulder and staring at the strangers with wide liquid brown eyes.

"This is Barak," he said, smiling at his horse.

"Okay Godric, Helga, let's go. I've been traveling to see my cousin Lord Salazar Slytherin, and I don't want to be late. This is your horse Helga," Rowena motioned to a pretty white mare with dappled grey spots that had just trotted up with her man-servant, "Her name is Lynette."

Helga petted the Lynette's nose and smiled as the horse nudged her.

"Slytherin is your cousin?" Godric asked curiously, jumping onto his horse.

Rowena admired his ease with riding, "Yes he is. Old family connection," she leaped up onto her own horse, and urged it into a gallop.

Riding hard was one of her favorite pastimes. Rowena never went for the slow and easy trot. To her intense surprise, Godric managed to stay with her the entire time, even though Galahad must have been one of the fastest horses in England. Helga fell behind as soon as they started, and was content to fall back and talk with the man-servant Roger. The foursome continued until they stopped in front of a sinister looking castle, half a mile from the town.

"Here we are" Rowena said apprehensively "My Cousin Salazar's house."

She started to ride up to the drawbridge and yelled "Ho cousin! It's me! Rowena Ravenclaw! Now lower this drawbridge or I'll have your head for supper!" Rowena heard a roar of laughter from Godric, and a quiet chuckle from Helga and smiled.

The bridge gave a creak, then wham! It fell down onto the water, leaving a figure in a dark cloak waving his hand towards Rowena's company. Nodding to Godric and Helga, she started forward. They had reached the home of the Slytherin's.

A/N: Okay so this is the first chapter...and it's way way shorter than I liked, but I wanted to end it there so...What'll you do? This is the second time I've edited it, and I'm fairly pleased with the results. Now; the characters (especially Slytherin) will probably be way different than what we've heard from the books. That's because the characters go through some major changes, so please don't complain about the OOCness. The second chapter will probably be up sooner or later, but since I have some sort of a life you'll just have to patient:D. Please Reveiw!

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