The Founders Four: Their Tale of Greatness

By SamGryffinclaw

AN: Woot! Chapter four! This is a fun one, I think. I'm so sorry for the long wait, but real life really got in the way. Life for a teenage guy can often get quite hectic, and I've luckily turned that into inspiration for this chapter, hence the chapter title. Speaking of which, I'm going to go and retitle the first few chapters soon, because they are rather pathetic. If you have any ideas, just leave them in a review. Also, please just ignore the bolded random letters and symbols; FFN doesn't seem to like my transitions. If you have any suggestions to fix that issue, please do tell me! Erm, read on, I guess. (LOL)

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with J. K. Rowling or her books, other than fondly enjoying them. Neither is this story. Anything you recognize belongs to her or another FFN writer from whom I might have inadvertently gotten inspiration, and anything you don't know belongs to me.

Dedication: To the VERY talented writer here on FFN, LouisaB. She's written a ton of wonderful Harry Potter fan fiction, much to the delight of my inner procrastinator while I'm supposed to be taking notes for Geography. XP If you enjoy RL/SB slash writing, or generally humorous, well written stories, then hers are for you. She's not only a great author, but I think she's probably a nice person too, based on her diligent, thought out and personal replies to my reviews. So once you finish this chapter, go off and spend a few days trying to read through all of her wonderful stories. And if you're reading this, Louisa, thank you!

Chapter 4: Teenage Drama

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"Godric...Oh, Godric!" the blond maiden cooed to a happy young man of the same name. The youngest Gryffindor leaned in to make real the kiss for which he had been pining for the past few days and nights. "Oh, Godr–"

"GODRIC!" cried Galinda Gryffindor as she grabbed his shoulders and shook heartily. As he began to stir out of his breakfast, she finally let go. "At last! I've been calling you for five minutes, half of which in this room! Oh, honestly! And you still have some of the oatmeal on your face, here." She clapped twice, and little Gilbert could be heard falling down the last four stairs as he rushed in to serve his mistress.

"Gilbert, look at Godric." The silver-haired butler did so; as he saw the quite evident traces of oatmeal upon the face of his young master, he gave a high pitched squeal and rushed to dab it all away with a crimson kerchief bearing the Gryffindor crest.

As he did so, Galinda began to speak once again. "Godric, I am going into the city this afternoon to purchase some...erm...necessary items. In all likelihood, they will be quite numerous, and I will require someone to carry them, as it is rather un-ladylike for one to carry such things themselves or to levitate them before one's self. We'll just be going down the road to the Hooting Hen, as the stands that sell such things set themselves up on Mondays, as it is today." She paused for a moment. "I believe that is all. Be ready in fifteen minutes, as I need to properly dress." And with that rather flippant form of salutations, she was off to her dressing room, turquoise dress robes and all.

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Even with the trouble of guiding the Hufflepuffs' mare, Anne-Marie, behind her, Helga was very much in love with Calaway City. The hustle and bustle of the townspeople going through the streets was both overwhelming and endearing. The little stands and booths that she passed on her way sold everything from potions guaranteed to turn your little brother into a hybrid lizard-rat to the latest fashions, which happened to be womens' dress robes that generously accentuated the wearer's hind-quarters (which was quite scandalous, in Helga's humble opinion).

Her favorite part by far was listening intently to the conversations that happened around her. "5 sickles, only 5 sickles! Okay, 4, that's fair." "No, Brian, I'm not going to buy you a child-sized broomstick; you're not near what they say is the required height!" Helga smiled smugly, remembering that her father first brought her on his broom when she was several inches shorter than Brian.

Helena stopped abruptly as Anne-Marie walked by a large moving statue of a mother hen. "Helga, what do you think of this spot?" she asked, indicating one of the quite rare empty spaces along the road. Helga nodded absentmindedly; she was now rather distracted by her brother Hudson climbing up into the hen's nest. He was met with a very stern glare from the stone bird, so he quickly crawled back down to Hugh's amusement.

"It is a very nice spot," Mrs. Hufflepuff continued, her index finger upon her chin. "It's by the inn, so we'll get local and visiting customers! Very well then. Hudson, Hugh! Come over here and help me unload Anne-Marie's cart; she must be so very tired by now." She began untying their mare from the cart and attaching her to a wooden stake in the ground instead.

"Oh, Hugh, honestly!" said an exasperated Helga. She flicked her wand wordlessly, and the banner which Hugh had been trying (unsuccessfully) to unfold shook itself out and hung itself on two poles sticking out of the cart. Upon the banner, Helena had sewn on in beautiful golden script, "Exotic Hand-made Jewelry and Fabric from the West!"

Just after they had finished setting up, a large blob of white-blond hair approached the cart (Helga failed to notice the woman beneath). She was accompanied by a quite bored-looking young man with a mop of fiery red–

Oh! thought Helga. It's him! Oh no, oh no, oh no...hide me! She proceeded to dive behind the cart in a way that even Anne-Marie found improper, so she quickly found her face to be covered in dust from the hooves of the former.

The blond woman, who Helga assumed must be the redhead's mother, began to inspect the pieces on the cart. "Oh!" she cried. "This pendant is gorgeous! Is that a real sapphire?"

Helena looked over and said, "Oh yes; I believe it is. Probably something my husband picked up in the mountains." She continued to unroll the pale blue fabric that she had embroidered with gold colored thread. At the woman's surprised look, she said, "Well, that's where we get all that which we sell. He travels a lot; I guess you would call him an adventurer, an explorer. He always brings back what he can, and I make it into whatever I can. I'm Helena Hufflepuff, by the way." She backed out of the stand for a moment so she could curtsy properly.

"And I'm Galinda Gryffindor! My husband is the mayor of this town." She gestured grandly to the area around her. "And how could I forget! This is my wonderful little step-son, God–"

"I can introduce myself, Galinda," the young man cut in quickly. "I'm Godric Gryffindor. And, if you don't mind me asking, do you have a daughter, by any chance? I thought I met a girl with your surname in the valley a few days ago..."

"I do indeed! And she's around here somewhere...Helga!" she called. She turned around in the stand to look behind her and happened to crunch her shoe into her daughter's hand. "OW!" cried Helga from below.

She crawled out from below the stand, and blushed furiously as she made eye contact with Godric. "Nice to...erm...see you again, Mr. Gryffindor," she said to the dusty ground below her. Godric laughed heartily. "Mr. Gryffindor? That's my father!" He reached down with his heavily callused hand to help her up, which she took slowly.

"So, Helena, would you and your daughter like to come to our house for dinner some time? Gilbert is a wonderful cook!" said Galinda.

Helena thought for a moment. "Well, I would love to come, but I really would have to stay back with Hugh and Hudson...Helga could go, however." She turned to face her eldest. "Helga, would you like to have dinner with the Gryffindors?"

"Er...all right," said Helga. "I'll go. When would you like me to arrive?" I'll have to arrive early, thought Helga. I ought to try and impress them. She then realized that she was still holding Godric's hand, so she dropped it quickly as an intense hint of pink appeared in her cheeks.

"Around 6 o'clock should be fine," replied Galinda, now inspecting her nails. "But let's see what I want to buy...Oh! I want this one, and that one...oh, and that bracelet is gorgeous!" She continued on like this until she had picked out half of their stock. Godric was quickly crumpling under the load. As he was about to fall over, Helga leaned in and muttered a charm to lighten his load. He gave her a silent look of thanks, and they were off.

As Helga watched them leave, Galinda asked loudly, "Who was that girl? Are you going to marry her? She is very pretty..." That did make Godric fall over.

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"What's cookin', Cassie?" asked a ravenous William Ravenclaw as he bowed into the cozy kitchen. "You'd be surprised how hungry potting makes you."

"I'd be more surprised if a week went by without you mentioning that fact," his wife responded with a wry smile.

Will chuckled amiably and turned to his daughter who sat idly pushing around her cornmeal. "Rowena, perk up! Your mother has made your favorite! Apple pie for dessert! Yum!" He rubbed his belly slowly and moaned for the dramatic effect.

The sight of her father talking and acting so childlike was almost enough to set her into fits of raucous laughter, but the more stubborn side of her made her see enough sense to resist and simply glare.

"Rowena!" chided her mother as she brought in the dessert. "Such an expression just isn't lady like. I don't think that your father is very funny tonight either, but that doesn't mean you have to be rude." She pulled her hair back into a dully colored cloth and started to daintily eat her pie.

As apple pie was indeed her favorite dessert, Rowena conceded to her parents' suggestions and began to heartily tuck in.

After a few minutes of simple banter and ferocious eating on Rowena's part (which earned her much scolding), Rowena took a deep breath and said, "Goingouttalktoyoulaterbye!" And ran to the door.

Just before she got out, her mother cut her sprinting off with the sort of sound one would use to discipline a dog. "Rowena, I don't like not knowing where you are when you leave. After all, you are only fifteen!" her mother said.

Rowena scowled. "If you must know, I'm off to the Lis' house. Apparently, Cho has had another baby, and Tara and I wanted to see it. Happy now?" The raven-haired girl felt quite proud at her spontaneous lie, especially seeing as it sounded accurate.

Cassidy Ravenclaw thought for a moment, then finally relented. "Fine, that sounds reasonable," she said. "But don't get used to this easy Mum; it's just because of your little episode a little while ago!" But her words were lost to her daughter who was already halfway across the clearing which they called their home.

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Salazar Slytherin was not a prideful man, but today, he was certainly not humble. When he set to his task of making a wand for Rowena, he could think of nothing else. As much as he tried to deny it to himself, pleasing her was his main motive, although he often chastised the part of his brain that told him that. This far more sensible region of his mind reasoned that he only worked so hard out of "creative duty"; that is, he worked so hard because he wanted his work to be good, not because he wanted someone to think it was good.

He arrived at the place where they had first spoken (not where they first met, if you count him watching her fall unconscious as meeting) several minutes before the decided meeting time. He slipped the new wand out of his pocket and rubbed it softly on his dirty shirt to try to add a little to the polish. Several blue sparks fizzed out of the end unceremoniously.

A sudden horrible fact came forefront in his mind: he had never tested it. What if it didn't even work? How stupid of a wizard would she think he was; she'd probably write him off as a fake, or a lunatic, and never want to see him again.

Before he let himself get too carried away with the worst case scenario, he decided to test the new wand before she got here.

He pointed it at a small pebble and whispered (ever conscious of the way sound carried in an empty forest). "Engorgio." He held his gaze for several seconds as the pebble grew to approximately the height of his knee.

"That was a pretty impressive bit of magic." Salazar jumped clumsily at the sound of the girl's voice. She laughed a quiet, innocent laugh that reminded him of what angels ought to sound like. "Think I could learn to do that?" she asked hopefully.

Salazar pondered for a moment and responded, "No, I don't think so. It's not difficult, but it's certainly not a good first spell. But you need a wand first, right?" He raised his eyebrows and paused to let her nod excitedly. "Well, here it is!" He flipped the wand between his fingers, a trick that he had taught himself as a child, so that the handle was extended towards her. "It's about eleven inches long, made from a branch of a Holly tree I found on the other side of the lake."

As he said this, she finally grasped the wand tightly, then waved it slowly. A shower of bright blue sparks, more reminiscent of a fireworks show than the trickle of light that emerged earlier from Salazar's polishing, flowed gracefully out of the end of the wand, illuminating the two of them in a soft blue glow.

For a moment, the girl was speechless. "Did you... I mean, did I...wow. That was beautiful." She paused again in awe.

"I guess it likes you," Salazar joked. "You know, some people say the wand chooses the wizard, as if they have some sort of mind of their own. I think it's rather ridiculous, but..."

"I think it's wonderful," Rowena said indignantly. "It's a deep metaphor at the very least, and in a world of magic, who knows?" She laughed. "Wait. What exactly makes it a magic wand anyway? I mean, could I just wave around a branch of wood, say a funny word and have pretty lights go everywhere?"

Salazar smacked himself for his ignorance. "Of course! I forgot to tell you about the core!"

"The core?" asked Rowena. "What's that?"

"Well, like you said, a wand needs something magical to amplify the magic in a witch or wizard," Salazar explained. "This something is usually called the wand's core. It's a magical object, usually from a magical creature, that is found in the center of a wand and allows the wand to work."

"Wow. What's mine?" asked Rowena thoughtfully.

"A hair from the tail of a unicorn," Salazar said proudly. "It's the first time I've gotten anywhere near one; I was thinking you might need to deal with Kneazle Claws!"

Rowena's jaw dropped. "You mean...unicorns are...real?" she asked in awe. "Like, as in, not just storybooks and things?"

Salazar smiled. "Yeah, they are, and I've got the scab to prove it!" he joked.

"Well," said Rowena. "Do you think you could teach me one, here, now? I mean, an easy one I guess." She looked at her dirty shoes as she said this.

Salazar responded, "OK, I guess. What do you want to learn?"

Rowena chewed her lip for a moment as a quick mental battle went on in her head. "I've always rather wanted to fly, but that doesn't sound very easy..." she said rather inconclusively.

"Well," Salazar said, "why not do the next best thing and make other things fly? Or levitate, anyway. That's a pretty easy charm; it's one of the first I learned."

"Oh, could you really?" asked Rowena. "That would be so amazing! You're so smart, Salazar."

The dark-haired boy blushed and mumbled something unintelligible about "nothing". He managed to hide his embarrassment by cloaking it with the retrieval of his own wand. "Like I said, it's pretty easy. You just sort of raise your wand-" they both did so "-swish and flick-" he showed her, and she repeated in perfect time "-and say the incantation: Wingardium Leviosa!"

"Wingardium Leviosa!" repeated Rowena, pointing her wand at a small branch on the ground before her. It rose to about the height of her knee when she dropped her wand as if it had burned her.

A worried look came across Salazar's pointed face. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

"It's just...I actually did it. I dunno why, but I was sort of thinking that this was all a dream, and that I was about to wake up. But I really just did it." A wide smile broke out across her face. "I'm a witch, Salazar!"

Salazar looked into her chocolate brown eyes and whispered, "Now, that's not polite to say about a lady, is it?" he joked. "But you are very magical."

AN:

Woot! I finished it! That was a much harder one than I expected it to be, but here I am finishing around one AM. It's done though, so that's what matters. I hope you enjoyed it, because I did work pretty hard.

I'm actually really looking forward to writing the next one; I know of at least two, maybe three scenes that will be in it that will be loads of fun to write (and hopefully also to read). It's also a rather Godric and Helga heavy chapter, with approx. 4 scenes with them and just one or two with Rowena and Salazar.

Be sure to review as you leave this page; if it weren't for those of you who kept reviewing, I would probably lose heart and stop writing.

Oh! I forgot to mention: if you would like to beta my story, please email me at: samtheman286 [at gmail [dot com. If you could cite a story on FFN that you've beta'd, that'd be great. Otherwise, just write me the kind of email that would make me think highly of your spelling, grammar, etc. TTFN!