A/N: In honor of getting a 5 on my APUSH test, I'm updating allllll of my stories.
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Salazar popped back into existence in front of the gates to the castle known as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with an unconscious Harry Potter in his arms. He quickly made his way up to the castle, ignoring the confused looks of some of his colleagues. He ran to Helga Hufflepuff's quarters, pounding on the door loudly. Helga opened it, then looked down at the bundle in his arms with widened eyes.
"Bring the boy in here, Sal. He is Harry Potter, no?" Helga murmured, her thick accent making it difficult to understand her at times. Despite popular belief, she was a German witch. She began muttering healing spells in her native tongue, which Salazar understood absolutely nothing of. She stepped back after about five minutes and wiped sweat from her brow and rummaged around for some potions and massaged the boy's throat to help him swallow them. After approximately another five minutes, she stopped again and looked to Salazar and sighed.
"He will be fine, Sal. You are very lucky. You found him in time. He lost much blood and was beginning to get an infection. But he will survive. What will happen to him now?" Helga asked with a concerned frown. She was a charitable woman who cared for every living thing in need, especially children. She treated everyone the same despite their backgrounds and skills. While the other founders decided they wanted students with certain skill or traits, she decided she would take the rest of them.
Salazar released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and answered his friend and colleague, "He will stay with us," he told her, "he will be trained in the wizarding ways just as every other student. His village did this to him for performing accidental magic. It is a sad thing that muggles can't understand." Helga nodded with a frown and murmured soothingly to the boy in German.
"Sie wird gut Kind sein. Ich werde fur dich sorgen."* Helga whispered in the boy's ear. He shifted slightly, moaning. She smoothed his messy black hair, which immediately sprung back into place the moment she removed her hand. A knock on the door drew her attention away from the boy in front of her. Salazar moved from the chair he'd taken and opened the door to reveal Godric Gryffindor. He stepped in without being invited and gave a loud greeting.
"Sal, Helga, just the two I wanted to see! Hey, have you heard from the Potter boy? Rowena and I haven't heard a thing. I'm kinda worried!" Godric exclaimed, not noticing the boy lying on the lounge behind Helga. Salazar growled angrilly as Harry started to stir. Godric whipped around Salazar to see a small boy lying on Helga's lounge. He had longish inky black hair and a lithe figure with several healing cuts and bruises marring milky white skin.
"Is this the Potter boy?" Godric asked, his voice thick. Helga rubbed the boy's arm and he fell back into a deeper sleep.
"Yes, this is the Potter child, Godric. You'll do well to shut your mouth and allow him much needed sleep! He was ousted by his family for accidental magic and tortured by members of his villiage. I found him in a dark alley. The boy needs peace and quite to recover, so you'll do well to shut your mouth before I silence you!" Salazar growled, strangely protective of the young man he found only hours before. Godric gaped at his before turning on heel and leaving, presumably to find Rowena.
"Why scold him, Sal? It will do no good. The rift between you two is ever-growing. Why make it larger? Rudeness pushes people away. Kindness draws them in. You draw more flies with honey than vinegar, my friend." Helga chastised in a motherly way. Salazar couldn't help but smile. Helga was their mother dragon and treated everyone she came in contact with as her hatchlings. But thinking back to her words, Salazar sighed.
"The man has never grown up, Helga. He remains an overgrown child and it is time he takes his place. For the sake of magic, it's time to grow up! The man may one day have children, and think of how that would turn out? Instead of his wife having a husband and child, she'd have two children to care for. He loves his jokes and that is fine but...it gets very old and grates on my nerves. I am sorry for snapping at him in front of you, though." Salazar apologized as the boy behind them began to stir yet again. It appeared Morpheus's embrace was not tight enough and the boy opened jewel tone green eyes.
Helga gave him a bright smile and helped him to sit up as he looked around the room with wonder. It was full of books and potions to assist in healing, as well as many artifacts of her family's history and a map of Germanic territories.
"Hallo, Liebchen, I am glad to see you are awake. Though, you probably should've rested more. Oh well, I am Helga Hufflepuff and the man sitting beside you is Salazar Slytherin. We are two of the founders of Hogwarts as well as professors here. Do you remember anything, child?" Helga fussed gently, sending a jolt of pain through Harry. She reminded him of his own mother, who he would likely never see again.
"I remember Mr. Slytherin coming to retrieve me and picking me up, but after that, I am blank. I am sorry, ma'am, for any inconvenience I have caused you." Harry whispered politely, his throat parched. But his father taught him not to ask for anything from a host unless offered, and he wouldn't. Another pang went through him as he thought that he'd never see his father again. After that followed a bittersweet happiness that his father likely got what he deserved for starting the witch hunt in the first place. He just hoped his mother handled it alright.
"Liebchen, I am Helga and this is Salazar or Sal, one of the two. You will not refer to us as anything but until you are in your classes. Sal brought you here to me to heal. Do you wish to remain and take classes? Or would you prefer to leave? It is all up to you child. We will not stop you if you would like to leave. There is a small wizarding village nearby named Hogsmeade. You could likely live there, where you would be accepted." Helga explained. Seized with fear, he grasped Helga's hand tightly.
"No! Please don't send me away! I want to learn more about magic! If it could heal me from certain death...imagine what else it could do!" Harry exclaimed with a gleam in his eye, now knowing that his thirst for knowledge would only be quenched by attending the full seven years. Beside him, a dark chuckle could be heard. He turned to face Salazar, who gave him a once-over.
"I believe he will be valued by all houses, Helga. He is obviously courageous for standing against his village; he is intelligent with a fiery thirst for knowledge that Rowena would adore; he is a hard worker, I can tell by the looks of him and obviously, he is very cunnin if he wants to use the wizarding world and its knowledge for his own. It will certainly be fun to see this play out." Salazar chuckled, leaving Harry confused by his words.
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A/N: I know Helga is said to be from Wales but...I dunno. I liked the one I created from a Germanic tribe. I don't think Germany was formed by the time Hogwarts had been founded, but hey. This is my AU and my imagination can get pretty strange.
*This roughly means: "You will be okay, child. I will care for you." I may have taken three years of German, but I'm still pretty bad at it! So I probably made a mistake somewhere -.- Thank you in advance for the reviews!
