A/N: 40 hits in three days! Not bad considering this is only 293 words at the moment. So, since I made that remark in the first chapter about only the worthy being able to see the Founders, I may turn that into another story. So, watch this space...

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, I would not live in a small village in south-east Ireland. Instead I would be living it up in my Bel Air mansion. Or should that be Bel Éire?

o~O~o

Fifty years later, another group of first-years queued nervously before the High Table. Once again, the Founders Four had gathered at the end of the Great Hall to witness another Sorting.

"Bet you ten Galleons the next one is a Gryffindor. He looks fairly reckless, don't you think so, Helga?" Rowena commented with a mischeivous grin.

"Oh yes, just like Godric was when we started this school. Ten Galleons it is then Rowena, he looks rather like he could be a Slytherin. Speaking of when we started the school, you and Godric seemed to vanish an awful lot back then. Any idea why that could have been?"

"No..."

"And wasn't Helena born about a year after we four met?" interjected Salazar, eyes twinkling.

Had Rowena not been dead, she would have been blushing furiously. As it was, she turned away from the others, focusing solely on the Sorting. Godric leapt to her defence: "Helena looks nothing like me! Besides, she was a Ravenclaw, not one of my lions."

"Oh, look at that! Helga, you owe me ten Galleons."

"Hey, I wasn't paying attention! How can you prove that I lost?"

"Look around, and tell me which table is cheering."

"...Damn."

Godric cottoned on to her plan. "Look at that fat kid over there! He's just standing there, shovelling sweets into his mouth...Bet he's a Hufflepuff." he added in a loud stage whisper. It worked. Helga was now fully distracted. Unfortunatley, she also looked positively homicidal.

"What was that, Godric?" she hissed in a deadly whisper. Godric looked positively terrified, which was rather funny given the fact that Helga was more than a foot shorter than him.

"Oh, nothing. Hey look, the fat kid's up next!" Helga glared at him, then turned back towards the ceremony. Sniggers echoed around the hall as the boy stumbled forward, sweets in hand. The Deputy Head sighed, then placed the Hat on his head. The boy jumped, no doubt because the Hat had started speaking.

"No, that's not right. Oh, sorry." More sniggers were heard following this, as the boy clearly hadn't known not to speak aloud.

"What sort of wizard doesn't know how the Sorting Hat works? Even mudbloods are told before they come to Hogwarts. Well, such an idiot clearly won't be placed in my House. Or Rowena's, for that matter. Oh, I hope he's a Gryffindor. I'd love to see the look on Godric's face if that happened. Or Helga's, if he became one of her badgers. Helga, I've seen so many emotions on her face. Her beautiful face..." Salazar was snapped out of his reverie by the Sorting Hat's cry:

"SLYTHERIN!"

"WHAT THE-" Helga clapped her hand over Salazar's mouth before he could say any more, and with the aid of Rowena and Godric, dragged him back into the shadows. Once he was restrained, Rowena and Godric glared at him before returning to the Hall.

"What is wrong with you? Do you not remember the rules? We cannot be seen until the person is deemed worthy!" Helga's light Welsh accent had become more pronounced in her anger.

"I'm sorry! It's just, well, that boy is not Slytherin material!"

"So! That is no excuse for almost causing us to be discovered! Do you have any idea how selfish that was?" Salazar had stopped listening by this point, instead just looking at Helga. Her short red hair, perfect pale skin, deep brown eyes. Eyes which showed exactly what she was feeling. Eyes which, at that moment, held nothing but anger.

"Look, Helga. I didn't mean to reveal our presence. I was just, well, shocked. Please, forgive my overreaction."

Her expression softened slightly. "It's alright. I overreacted too. Although, the expression on your face was priceless!" She dissolved into laughter. Salazar looked at her, puzzled, before joining her in laughter.

o~O~o

Aw, Salazar has a crush! Just a little Helga/Salazar fluff there at the end. Just so you know, so far their relationship is pretty one-sided. Helga sees Salazar as a friend, while Salazar's feelings are a bit stronger than that.

Also, for the purposes of this story, the Founders are not exactly ghosts, they're a bit more than that. Best explanation would be that they are part of the castle. They poured so much of themselves into the school that when they died, they became part of the school. So, they have colour, which is why Salazar could see the colour of Helga's hair and eyes. Their hearts have stopped though, which is why Rowena was unable to blush. Also, Godric speaks about Helena in the present tense, because she remains in the castle as a ghost.

Review, please! It would make me very happy if you did!