The Griffin D'or

*Not using the word Muggle in the Founder's language because I don't think that they'd coined that term back those years, but don't worry, they'll soon learn the new term and use it. For now they'll use the term Mugpeople instead.

Godric had never felt more confused in his entire life – and this was saying a lot from a man that had lived over ninety years and fought in many magical battles where confusion was a granted thing. He still remembered the day he'd gotten turned into a cat for a week before his best friend Salazar could revert his state back to normal and he'd never forget – nor stop to laugh at – the time when good Rowena got hit by a particularly strong Confundus Charm and suffered from the consequences for a month. After the whole ordeal he felt it quite safe to state as a fact that a confunded genius was both the most dangerous and entertaining thing at the same time – Rowena was still trying to down live the fact that she'd somehow managed to climb to the topmost rooftop of the school by *Mugpeople means and then proceeded to recite backwards the alchemical uses and properties of all the potions ingredients Salazar possessed.

But back to the matter at hand, Godric perfectly remembered dying in total glory in a magical battle between two mayor magical families. He'd sided with the Lionne family and the enemy had been the Von. The battle had been more than wonderful, seldom did one get the opportunity to participate in such ferocious battles. Godric'd been on the first offensive charge and had managed to get at a good dozen or so wizards with his sword alone before he'd been forced to resort to his wand and rely mostly on it.

It had taken the enemy almost half a day before they'd spotted the gap in the eastern defense of the castle which he in turn tried to defend, that was where he'd finally been hit by over ten enemy arrows. He couldn't have asked for a better battle to die at.

Except that he wasn't dead.

Godric sat up in the bed he found himself prostrated in. Someone had ruined one of the most important things for a soldier – his glorious, heroic death – and had therefore managed to awake his ire.

Godric was still clenching and unclenching his fist in impending rage when he noticed that something wasn't right. He looked down at his clenched fist and felt his stomach go cold.

This wasn't his fist.

He was most certain that this tiny, flimsy, rubbery hand was NOT his.

But yet he could feel, move and touch with it.

"What?", was all his overtaxed brain was able to come up with after several minutes of steadily staring at the hand.

He was almost afraid to check out the state of the rest of his body, but he hadn't won the title of the Griffin D'or by being a coward so he took a deep breath and let his gaze wonder.

He sucked in a breath. He'd been regressed into a child.

How dare somebody regress him, Godric the Griffin D'or, great wizard and warrior known to both Mugpeople and Wizards, into a mere child.

Setting his jaw in grim determination he groped for his sword to swear a lifelong vengeance unto the vile monster that had done this to him, but came up empty handed.

Great, now he'd have to search for some strong magical item – he idly wondered whether he should choose a unicorn or the grave of some legendary wizard – to swear vengeance with and move from there on to plan a perfect retribution.

At last he settled on hunting the monster to the end of the world, have an epic sword and wand fight with him and after he'd disarmed him show mercy – he wasn't cruel after all – sparing thus the life of his newfound enemy letting him live in disgrace with himself for the rest of his life.

Content with his mastermind vengeance plan Godric threw the blankets of his bed away and stood up.

"Now where is the exit of this prison?", he wondered aloud.

Though now that he thought about it, this didn't look that much like a prison. In fact, it oddly reminded him of that new section Rowena had just finished with last week – the healing area – Rowena had insisted that their students needed a place to recover that wasn't their dorm rooms – she had this strange notion that the rats that appeared there sometimes weren't good for the sick children. Not that he disagreed with her, no, he'd learned that lesson long ago. He merely thought she was exaggerating a bit.

But of course no matter how many times he told her this – Godric had made sure to bring this information to her attention a least thrice a day – Rowena would just glare at him, roll her eyes, throw her hands in the air, and then stomp away – not necessarily in that order.

It was like the Astronomy Tower all over again. Godric had never quite grasped why they needed a tower to look at the stars. Sure, he knew about reading the stars to tell the future and he knew how to use them to navigate his way around the world, but he hadn't needed a tower to learn those things. For some reason Rowena had glared at him for a whole week after he'd told her that.

So now they had both a blasted Astronomy Tower and a healing area only because Rowena had insisted so – well, Salazar might have sided with her a bit, but that was because other reasons and not because those things were either necessary or useful.

Godric was roused from his thoughts when he opened the door of this not-quite-prison and found himself staring into one of the corridors of Hogwarts.

So he was at Hogwarts!

Had he been found at the battlegrounds turned into a child and brought to Hogwarts by somebody? Or had Rowena went to look for him and found him in this state? Or had he managed to get to Hogwarts on himself and just didn't remember it?

His brain was still swarming with thoughts and questions when a woman appeared behind him.

"Mr. Weasley!", she exclaimed, "What are you doing out of your bed?", she had one of those faces that indicated that she was not to be messed around and that he should probably answer her question as soon as possible before she resorted to drastic measures and gave him something ghastly – like a nutrient enhancing potion for example, those things were from hell itself.

"Eh-", he began, "Um, who are you?"

The woman seemed to tense at his question and asked in tensed tones, "Don't you remember me Mr. Weasley?"

"No", he shook his head and then frowned, half in anger, "And why are you calling me a weasel? I am a man! Not an animal!"

If possible, the woman's posture and expression had only gotten tenser, "Oh dear", she whispered, "Mr. – man – what is the last thing you remember doing?", she asked agitatedly.

Godric thought about it for a moment, "Fighting. I was in a battle wielding my sword and wand", he said matter-of-factly.

The woman – there was a voice in the back of his mind telling him she was a Madame something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it – raised her eyebrows, turned around and went to a desk at the other side of the room while muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'Gryffindors'. Godric followed after her.

"Young man", she began, "Let me tell you what really happened – you, your sister and your friends disappeared for a month without any of us knowing where you went and have only just reappeared – do you know where you are?"

Godric was looking curiously at the woman – Madame – sister? He didn't have any sister left alive! And what was this nonsense about disappearing for a month? He didn't do that – he would never do that. Not to Rowena and their children, she'd murder him out right before he could even apologize for borrowing her horse again instead of using his own – truth was, her horse was better trained and more intelligent than his own.

So, no, this was all wrong, Salazar was the one that always pulled disappearing stunts like that, not him, not Godric the Griffin D'or.

He pulled himself together and stood straighter, "I don't do disappearing like that Madame", it just felt right to call her so, "I'm an honourable soldier, and we don't do questionable escapades like that – only the normal ones mind you, but disappearing? I'm afraid not Madame."

This had seemed to amuse the Madame as she was now smiling faintly, "Gryffindor indeed", she muttered.

"I'm afraid none of this happened, Mr. Weasley", she said after a moment, "All that was created by your brain in order to cope with the shock you've suffered. Perfectly normal, nothing to be worried about Mr. Weasley, you'll be regaining all your memories and know where you are hopefully soon."

Godric was starting to feel exasperated, hadn't she just acknowledge him as the Griffin D'or? Sure, she'd said it a bit weird, but it had been an acknowledgement nonetheless! And what was all this nonsense about shock?! Godric the Griffin D'or didn't go into shock!

"Listen Madame", he began, barely restraining himself from lashing out, "First of all, I do know where I am – in Hogwarts-"

"That is excellent to hear Mr. Weasley", came a man's voice from behind him.

Godric spun around and saw an old wizened man standing before him. He didn't relax, this man being at Hogwarts could only mean that he was a wizard and wizards at this age could still do their fair share of damage if they so proposed themselves to do so.

"Who are you – sir?", he added hastily, the man looked like those men you just addressed as 'sir'.

"Ah – is his memory giving much trouble Madame Pomfrey?", the man asked the Madame.

So she is a Madame, realized Godric. Now he only had to find out why he had known she is one from beforehand.

"He's coming around. The fact that he knows where he is, is very promising. Aside from that he hasn't said much that made sense."

"Not made sense?", demanded Godric, "I was defending the honour of a castle and its family with my wand and sword!"

"Oh?", said the man and – was that twinkling Godric had just seen in his eyes?

"Um – yes, a battle for life and death", he said it with some uncertainty, the man's twinkling eyes were making him wary, "The enemies were at the eastern defences of the castle – I hope they managed without me, I was one of the only ones left there."

"Fascinating", said the man, his eyes – much to Godric's dismay – were indeed twinkling, "When all this is over Mr. Weasley, I'd like to hear more about your battle – but", he exchanged a look with Madame Pomfrey, "For now I suggest you rest. Your mother will be here shortly and your father will follow her soon after."

"Mother?", said Godric, feeling dazed. He'd never had a mother – sure, he'd had his Auntie Finella that had looked after him in his earliest memories, but a mother?

"This way Mr. Weasley", Madame Pomfrey was guiding him back to his bed.

Godric let his gaze wonder and only now noticed that some of the other beds in the room were occupied. Just beside his bed was there a little girl with ginger hair and at the other side of the room were two other children. One with bushy brown hair and the other with – Godric paused.

These children looked extremely familiar. Their resemblance was beyond uncanny with his best friends.

"Wh-who're those?", he pointed at the children.

"Your sister and friends Mr. Weasley", said Madame Pomfrey patiently, "The ones I told you disappearing with."

The full implications of what she said didn't fully down on him for quite a while.

Godric had been lying on his bed for a good ten minutes or so when he finally stood up and made his way to the bushy haired girl.

What happened then was probably one the most painful things his brain had ever had to endure. As one, two different lives were running before his eyes – none of them were his.

First, and expectantly, he had seen the bushy haired girl turning into a teenager and meeting her on her beautiful horse as she was traveling with that snotty prince wossname, then traveling with him and their best friends across the known world followed by building Hogwarts together, their marriage, having children, teaching, and finally him going to that battle and leaving her and their family behind – his dear, dear Rowena of Raven's Claw.

Then, completely unexpected, came the memories of the girl – not turning into a teenager or anything – but being just that – a girl. Meeting her at the Express and not really liking her at all, then having her sorted into his same house, her being hated by their year-mates followed by her hiding in a bathroom, the Troll attack, becoming friends, her scared face when he'd broken his leg and a couple of ribs, the explosion of light at the Astronomy Tower – the Astronomy Tower!

Godric had to grab the side of Rowena's – or was it Hermione's? – bed to steady himself as a wall broke down somewhere inside his head and his childhood memories came flooding through.

His parents, his siblings, the Burrow, the Express ride, Meeting Harry – or was it Salazar? – getting sorted into Gryffindor – his own House! – hating potions, boring at History, fun at flying, being the second smallest in a family of seven, the reason he hated spiders – he'd wondered about that one for ages – and most important, above all, the realization of him not being an orphan.

Godric – or was he Ron now? He stood still for a full minute internally debating on whether he was one or the other. Summing up the two lives against each other wasn't the best of options since Ron hadn't gotten much time to be Ron whereas Godric had gotten a whole life to be Godric – except that that wasn't true. Ron was Godric. Godric was Ron.

It all really came down to which of the two names he liked best.

Godric decided that Godric sounded a bit better than Ronald. Especially when it came down to interacting with insane, bordering on suicidal nemeses, Godric the Griffin D'or just wouldn't get the same reaction as Ronald Weasley.

Feeling quite better about himself Godric made his way to his bed and thought through what he'd just discovered.

His earliest memory had always been about limping around the peasants and working as much as he could to earn something to eat and being in an awful lot of pain. Things had been bad then and he'd been very near dying that winter so he'd never really wanted – like at all – to know in what kind of condition he'd been in before.

He'd been bitter, and that had made life quite more difficult than it already was – and now that he thought about it, he'd never really thought about why he'd been so upset with life. Now he understood.

Godric also understood why he'd forgotten and placed all his memories behind a thick wall in his mind. Madame Pomfrey had been right, he'd suffered from a sever shock – only not now, but back then – and his brain had fabricated a story – namely, him being an orphan – and locked all his other memories in order to continue with life and not despair at the loss of his family.

Godric looked at his best friends around him and wondered if the same had happened to them, his gaze staying a bit longer on Helga, his dear friend that had died some years ago. Only that she wasn't dead and was actually his sister. Would she be just as confused as he was when he woke up?

About half an hour later, he found out.

Helga – or was it Ginny? He'd have to ask her soon – had started to stir in her sleep for a few minutes and was now blinking her eyes open.

"Helga", he whispered as she lay there, staring at the ceiling in confusion.

She turned slowly to him and furrowed her brows in further confusion.

"It's me-", he hesitated – she wasn't recognizing him, she was the same as him then. As whom should he introduce himself?

He thought about how difficult it was for him to remember about being Ron Weasley and made a decision.

"Ginny", he whispered, "It's me, Ron, remember me?"

There wasn't any spark of recognition in her eyes.

Godric licked his lips and tried to jog her memory again, "We live at the Burrow, remember? It's a narrow house with lots of landings, I think I sleep at the top – I'm not sure though, I don't know where you sleep either, but I know your room is somewhere there", after all the years Godric found his memory failing him about certain details.

"We have gnomes in the garden, mom makes us de-gnome it from time to time. Bill is in Egypt doing-", he paused, "Something. Charlie is mucking about with dragons somewhere. Percy is still here at Hogwarts – sorted into Gryffindor of all places – and was made prefect this year – you must remember that, Fred and George haven't left him alone over it ever since."

There was a flicker of something in her eyes.

"Fred – George?", she asked slowly.

Godric nodded enthusiastically, "The twins, they prank everybody – also in Gryffindor for some reason – we both know they'd do better in Slytherin", he paused again, "Come with me." He took her arm and helped her to sit up and then get out of the bed.

"Where are you taking me?", she asked.

"Oh, just here", he led her to Harry's – or Salazar's – bed and let her stare at him for a moment.

Helga – or Ginny – stood still for a long moment looking at Harry – or Salazar – and then moved on to Hermione – or Rowena.

Finally she turned to face Godric.

"G-Godric?", she ventured and he grinned at her. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed her – it was almost surreal to have her back.

"Oh Godric!", she moved to hug him but stopped herself, "But you're – you're Ron – you're Ron my brother!"

Godric nodded solemnly, "So it seems."

She looked back down at Harry's – or Salazar's – sleeping form, "At least it's not him."

He nodded again, this time more urgently, "Look eh-"

She turned to look at him.

"Look Helga – Ginny – well, Helga – or Ginny – or-"

"Yes?", she mercifully interrupted him.

"Please, its driving me insane, what am I to call you?", he pleaded desperately.

Ginny – or Helga – bit her lip nervously and then there seemed to come a determined gleam across her eyes as she straightened her back. At that moment Godric could clearly see Helga of Hufflepuff in front of him.

"Helga", she said determinedly, "You?"

"Godric", he grinned at her and received a fierce embrace in return.

"When is – "she hesitated for a second," – mom going to arrive?", she asked.

"They said that in a little while."

"Good, we need to plan", said Helga seriously.

Godric looked a little uncertain, "Shouldn't we wait for the other two to wake up? Especially Salazar, the situation looks quite tricky and you know that this will be for him like being down at the dungeons with his snakes, he'll know best what to do."

Helga shook her head, "We don't have time. Last thing I remember from being here is the explosion of light at the Astronomy Tower, do you know what happened after that?"

"Apparently we've been missing a month."

Helga looked stricken, "That is – unexpected – so I guess they want to know where we were?"

Godric nodded in confirmation, "They asked me before I had realized what was going on and I told them about being in a battle at a castle, none of them believed me though."

Helga looked pensive, "So I should probably also babble on about my last memory and let them think we all were heavily confunded or something."

"Sounds about right, though don't mention the word confunded to Rowena, you know how she gets when one of us mentions it."

"Still?", asked Helga with a raised eyebrow.

Before Godric could answer her Madame Pomfrey came into the infirmary followed by Mrs. Weasley and Percy.

"Miss Weasley! What are you doing out of bed?", she narrowed her eyes at Godric, "Same to you Mr. Weasley."

"I – I tried to stop her Madame Pomfrey", said Godric only half-trying to sound convincing, all his attention focusing on the fact that his mother, the mother he'd thought he didn't have, had just come into the room.

"I was telling the boy about the day I had gone to the forests to pick herbs and talk with the badgers, but he wouldn't believe me you see", Helga began to explain, bright eyed and nodding excessively.

They both looked at Rowena's bed as she began to stir. Helga braved on with her story as Godric once again found himself staring at his mother.

"The badgers were dancing see, and there were many squirrels – and birds as well!"

After a minute or so Godric no longer bothered to listen to her and instead run to his mother and let her embrace him.

It was admittedly the best hug he'd had in a very, very long time.

So here the story is kinda really starting now. One of the reviewers asked if I would be showing stuff about their lives as the Founders and I am sorry to tell that I don't think I will. Though there will be many mentions of all the stuff they have been up to as the Founders so there is that...

Please review!