The Chamber of Gryffindor

Part Three

Godric's Journal

Things have been in disarray since Salazar left. Rowena, never the one to think badly of anyone, is in shock that he could betray us. Helga cries in her office and will not come out. I feel as if I am walking in a dream. Everything is unreal; nothing is as it should be. There is a hole in my heart where my friend should be. He is gone, but I cannot stop searching for him. I turn around, expecting to see him, but he is never there.

I mourn the loss of a friend who is not dead. Such sorrow should not be. Come back to us, Salazar. We cannot be whole without you.

I have begun constructing my own chamber. We held a meeting to discuss what should be done about Salazar's chamber, but Helga and Rowena were unable to find a solution. I have thus taken the matter into my own hands. When the chamber is opened, as I fear it will be, one person at the least must stand against its evil. I must give this hero as much help as I can.

Work on the chamber progresses rapidly. I expect to finish before the students return. I have spent long hours thinking on what to put into the chamber. I have decided that as Salazar's heir will inherit his symbol, so shall my heir inherit mine. This fight does not end with our deaths, Salazar. Unto each future generation, we pass a trust of hatred greater than all magic can ever be. It is a sorrowful thought that two men should have the power to so influence the world, robbing it of ever achieving its dreams of peace.

Rowena and Helga have both decided they need to leave the school for some time. They plan to wander the country, searching for old friends and lost relationships that can be renewed. I hope they find their joy. I know I will take no more happiness from life, without my dearest friend with me. I remain here only to complete our dream of creating a school for magic, and I only hope that its students find less sorrow here than I. This was the dream that the four of us shared- now only I am left. Where did we go wrong?

The chamber is complete. I have hidden the key in my hat; only the person who opposes the chamber's evil will be able to draw it out. Now there are two chambers in our school. A chamber of secrets, and a chamber of answers, and each is in its rightful place by name. But I will say no more, for I cannot know who will someday read this, nor which chamber they shall seek.

I say a fond farewell to my students, our school, and our memories; I am leaving this place to travel with Rowena and Helga. If only Salazar were with us, it would feel like the days when we were young and carefree, before we began to dream a dream of unity between all magic, which I now fear will never come to pass. Someday, perhaps, I will wake up and find that our dream was only part of a nightmare, and I will be free. Until then, this school will be divided as we were, so that some will remember our shame and live better lives than we could.

There can be no future without a past to shape it and a present to live it. We who are the past must suffer for the future to be brighter. And in the end, we will be praised for our mistakes.