Helga Hufflepuff, now sixteen, burst open the door, startling the two boys inside. Salazar, who was recently fifteen, and Godric, who was seventeen, jumped and looked up from the chessboard set out before them.

Helga looked down at them on the floor and sighed. "Salazar, move your knight to E5."

"Seriously?" Godric asked. "You come crashing into my room just to advise Salazar in chess?"

Helga sighed again. "No. I came to vent my frustrations, and saw he was losing so I assisted him."

"And what is it you need to vent about?" Salazar asked, calculating the pros of taking her advice.

"My mother! She claims that being taught magic at home is no longer enough for me! She wants to send me off to Beaubaton's Academy of Magic in France." She sat on the bed and rested her chin on her hand. "What should I do?"

"Why don't you just go? Beaubaton's is an amazing school. You could become a great witch there."

"Because, Godric, it is in France! I cannot even speak French, not to mention how I would be over there nearly the entire year. On top of that, the boys and girls who attend there have reputations for being quite snobbish," she informed them.

"Knight to E5. Listen, Helga, you should just tell her you do not want to go," Salazar said, watching his knight move. Godric swore, his plan to checkmate his friend now ruined. Helga slapped his head.

She looked to Salazar. "She would be devastated," she said simply.

His heart melted. Helga was the most selfless person he knew. With her long blonde curls and graceful curves, she could easily be vain, yet her beauty seemed lost on her. Her skin was tan and her nails chipped as proof of her spending countless hours helping people, despite her high stature in their town.

Salazar himself had been pegged as a troublemaker from an early age, mostly a result of his accidental magic. That, on top of a michevous face and quiet, calculating air, made any person who came upon him check their pockets.

Godric was the crowning jewel of the town. The muggles believed he was just a naturally athletic, talented young man, but really he tended to enhance his abilities with magic. His blond hair and handsome face made every girl in the town swoon.

Rowena, currently nineteen, was as much Helga's opposite as she'd been eight years previously. Her raven black hair and endless eyes attracted the attention of many single men, yet their courtship was lost on her. She was a woman of the mind, one who much prefered courting a book to a man.

The foursome was certainly an odd grouping, three high class beautiful young people, and their lower class, younger friend who seemed so out of place to all but them. People in the street tended to stare when they saw Salazar in his plain outfits next to the delicately stitched dresses of the girls and the dashing clothes on Godric. Rumors flew as to why three socialites of such elegance and potential chose to spend their days with the strange troublemaker who belonged to that odd Slytherin family.

One rumor claimed that Salazar was a charity project of the three elites. Another claimed he was a dark wizard who had bewitched them to stay with him. These tales of him being a wizards sparked and flared like a forest fire. Though he was a wizard, the people of the town did not know it and believed he was a user of dark magic who was cursing three innocent muggles. When they were with him the people left him alone, save for a few dirty glares, but when they caught him alone they spat at his feet, kicked him, and taunted him. He never told the others, for fear of them over-reacting.

None of the townspeople considered the truth: that the four of them were merely friends. Of course not, how could they ever want anything to do with him in such a way?

Helga huffed and sat down heavily. "This is horrible! I can't stay without hurting my mother, but nor can I go without hating the next two years of my life!"

Godric shrugged. "What if you wound up enjoying it."

She snorted in a very un-ladylike manner. "Oh, yes. And perhaps one day Rowena will stop reading books, or you will stop losing in chess," she said, voice dripping with disbelief.

Salazar looked deep into her eyes as she squabbled with their friend. He was good at reading people, and he noticed something else there. Something she wasn't revealing to them.

"Is there another reason your mother is sending you away?" he asked. His friends turned to stare at him. Godric in confusion, Helga in sorrow. She nodded.

"Yes," she said quietly, almost in a whisper. "Yes, there is. My father, his job is being threatened by James Accleston. He is trying to bring down his position on the town council. Of course, he has no need for the job, seeing as he is head of the council himself, but he has another cause. You know his son, Braiden?"

Godric nodded. "Of course. He's the one we always refer to as 'that arrogant sod.'"

"That's him," Helga agreed. "Well, he has been trying to court me for a year now. It seems he has now recruited his father to give me no choice but to agree. If not that, then my father loses his position. I believe that my mother figures that I cannot be used as a bargaining chip from France."

"You cannot blame her," Godric reasoned. "Braiden Accleston has been with more girls in this town than should be legal." Salazar nodded in agreement.

Helga let out a sigh. "But if I do not agree, I will be either sent away, or my father will lose his job. And you know that the Acclestons will not let him go without a ruined reputation as well."

Salazar put a hand on her shoulder. "We can't tell you what to do, but we can warn you. Braiden Accleston is not someone you want to be around, especially once he gets into his father's liqueur storage. We don't need you getting hurt, or possibly worse."

Helga gave him a small smile. "I'm a witch. I think I could handle one arrogant little boy." She sighed again. "Why are there no wizarding schools here in Britain? It would be so much simpler!"

Salazar grinned. "Well, maybe in a few years, when we are finished with our schooling, we could start one."

Godric rolled his eyes. "Us? Starting a school? The three of us would never manage it!"

Salazar shrugged, a grin still plastered on his face. "No, but perhaps the four of us could."

Helga and Godric grinned along with him. They understood what he was saying. Rowena would be perfect as far as starting their own school went. Smart and logical, she was the brain of the group, and could find a way to make anything work.

"Salazar," Helga said. "You are the only clever boy I think I have ever met!"

Godric began to nod, but then stopped. "Hey!" His friends began to giggle. Helga shook her head and stood up.

"I have to go. My mother will be expecting me. Don't make any plans for our future school until I get back. Good-bye!" Helga said, sweeping out the door.

Salazar and Godric watched her go, eyes misty. Even as her best friends, they could not deny the fact that she was one of the most beautiful people they had ever met.