Title: The Four Founders' Hunt
Author: Zimagesto
Summary: AU. The four founders celebrate their success in building Hogwarts by going on a hunt. All fun and games until they become the hunted. Alone, they can't survive. And why does everybody think the school remained theirs?
Disclaimer: Don't own any of the founders or Hogwarts or anything else you might recognize from the HP books. But I own the plot and JS.
Story: In perfect accord with 'Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch', one of my other fics. However, it's not necessary to have read any of them to understand the other. Same world, different times. RER (Read, enjoy, review). Flames accepted.
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Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff were raising their glasses for the new school.
"A beauty, isn't she?" asked Godric. "Thirty difficult years, but it was worth it."
"I agree on that, brother" answered his sworn brother, Salazar. "And all the greatest we shall teach! All the ones with unstained blood."
"Great minds." added Rowena.
"And a great deal of courage, too!" said the brave Gryffindor.
"Yes, yes, we all know you need it" Helga teased. "How's the Sorting Hat doing?"
"It should be finished in one or two months" Rowena answered. "That means before the first students come! But oh, we've sent the letters! I can't believe it's actually going to happen!"
The others smiled at her enthusiasm.
"I say. Shan't we all go to bed?" asked Helga. "I know hunting makes me tired and I don't want to start like that, or I might not make it back."
"We'll carry you, sister" said Rowena. "We did once, remember?"
"Stop teasing!" she said and smiled.
They entered the castle, beautifully shinning under the silver light of the stars and the moon and from there, they all went to their rooms, saying their goodnights.
Rowena smiled at the changing stairs. They had taken a while to do, but they showed so well the caliber of the students they would have.
Godric grinned when he saw the passages. Ah, so many things to explore for his students! He knew they would love them. And so fun it was to have pesky stairs always changing. And you could blame it on the stairs if you didn't make it in class early enough. How he wished he'd had those at his former school!
Helga really liked the self-lighting torches. Never get lost and lightless! And you didn't need 'lumos'. Wasn't life beautiful?
Salazar grinned at the dungeons. Ah, so cold, so mysterious, so snake-like! How he liked snakes. Well, he was a Parselmouth, wasn't he? And the things they added, all the magic, all that showed how powerful they were! Ha! The best in the world, actually! Nobody could do that kind of magic! And even though nothing was alive, it all seemed so.
The founders lay in their beds, resting, unaware of all the danger they would have to face. Unaware that somewhere, some wanted them dead, especially before the war began. Because the war was about to begin. and none knew who the leader of the Dark side was. But for now, they slept in peace, happy with their work.
The next morning, they mounted their horses and left off for some of their favorite hunting spots. Their bows and arrows were carefully taken care of and their wands were safe in their pockets, as always. Right now, they were hunting a stag. Wonderful creature.
"Salazar, what do your little friends say?" asked Godric. He admired the other man's gift. He wished he could talk to griffins.
The other man stopped and looked at a slithering being in the grass, Godric watching him in fascination.
*- Where isss the ssstag?-* he asked.
*-Ssshould be clossse-* the small snake said. The snakes around were already used to the weird man that could talk their language. *-I sssaw it about five minutesss ago and it went where the sssun sssetsss-*
*-Thanksss-* Salazar said. "He said the stag is close, he saw it just five minutes ago and it went towards west"
The others nodded and guided their horses in that direction.
"We should get some horses to pull the carriages to the school" Helga said. "They're so wonderful!"
"I had that in mind too, sister. How about Thestrals?" Godric said.
"Not all will see them" she complained.
"It would be more interesting, don't you think?"
She nodded. Maybe it would work.
They kept going through the forest, enjoying themselves and killing nothing since they didn't have the heart to harm any living creature on that glorious day. Hogwarts was finally ready for its students!
When the evening came, they all decided to go back to their school and rest for a looong time. Hunting was fun, but tiring business.
And just then, their horses started to become more and more impatient and Godric's rose on two feet.
"Whoa!" he said, trying to calm it down. "Whoa! What's wrong?"
And then his question was answered, although in a way he wished it hadn't been. Nearly twenty people came out from behind the trees in the little clearing they were in. And he could tell from the beginning what they were: vampires.
They were showing their way too long teeth and charging for them, hungry looks in his eyes. But did they really know what they were facing? Even tired, the founders were quite powerful.
"Shit!" Salazar cried, looking at the charging people.
"No shit!" commented Godric and charged at them with his sword and a wooden stick he got from a tree. Not too good, but it would have to do. Especially since he had forgotten he was a wizard!
The others started shooting spells -evidently remembering their magical powers- and trying to hit them with anything, but the vampires seemed to be getting more instead of less every time they shot one down. Here, another one turned to dust only so that two others would appear there.
One of the vampires managed to stab Godric's horse with a sword of his own, killing it. Godric barely managed to get out of the way before he was crushed by the horse's body. But facing a pack of angry, hungry and fast vampires wasn't too pleasant either.
Salazar was hitting them with everything he had when he saw what state his friend was in.
"We're losing!" he cried to the others, as if they hadn't seen it yet. "Godric, get yourself safe, for God's sake!"
Not a bad advice, either. Since he was the only one left horseless, he was attacked the most and had way more vampires on his hands than he could handle.
"I'm trying!" he cried back. "Ok, maybe a bit of help!"
But whom to help him? They were all too busy with their own enemies. He danced his way out of there and managed to get himself near a tree. Well, at least now his back assured.
Rowena had her own problems and soon her horse was down soon, too.
"By gum!" she cried. "These guys are determined!"
She got herself up from the ground, not a moment too soon. Her wand was casting spells with the speed of light and she wished she could cast a spell to freeze them all and then get the hell out of there. Hmmm. She was sure there was one like that somewhere.
Soon, Helga too was left horseless and ended up in a tree. Nobody asked her how she had gotten there. Salazar was the last to lose his companion and he didn't seem too pleased with the situation.
"My best horse" he said, pissed off.
"Let's hope it's the most you lose tonight!" Godric cried.
Indeed, the battle was getting worse and worse. Helga was hardly keeping herself balanced in the tree and the vampires were climbing on it way too easy. Godric was starting to get tired, not a good thing when so many hungry vampires are attacking you. Rowena was in the middle of it all, petrified vampires all around and fire bursting out of her wand, along with hexes. A trick of hers. Not as good as freezing everything around, but good enough. Salazar was trying to gather snakes, but they were too few and too small to help too much.
Rowena understood, somewhere in a far corner of her mind, that the school was dead before it even came to life. Dead because they were the only ones who would be teaching, the only ones who knew the exact ideas of the school. The hunt which would have been the celebration of the school's birth was now the celebration and cause of its death.
All this she registered somewhere far away in her mind, concentrating a lot on the lost battle. Because it was lost now, that was sure.
Or, was she wrong? Not a moment too soon, a dark, cloaked and hooded figure, on a black beautiful horse galloped into the battle and jumped off the horse, the black animal leaving soon.
Without one word, the figure attacked the vampires around him. The vampires started to turn to dust faster than Rowena thought possible. She stabbed her own vampires with a new burst of power and so did the others. The battle was no longer lost, they had a new warrior within them, one that could kill the things so easily!
After not even five minutes the left vampires fled out of the clearing and left their petrified friends alone with the founders and the cloaked, no longer hooded person.
That cloaked figure was a man, tall and powerful, looking not a day over thirty. A little something that made him special was the sense of power around him. Maybe the fact that he had a scar under his left eye was special, too. Helga somehow managed to get herself off the tree.
"Thank you" she said. "You saved our lives"
"I have" he admitted calmly. If she was expecting an 'it wasn't much', she was greatly mistaking.
"We owe you one, brave warrior!" Godric said.
"You do" he again admitted.
"How can we repay you?" asked Rowena.
The man smiled.
"It would be a great payment I would ask if you decided to repay me."
"It doesn't matter" Godric said.
"Would it be money that you want?" Salazar asked. "Two thousand galleons?"
The man started laughing.
"No, two thousand galleons is not enough."
"Three?" asked Rowena.
"No" he said, smiling amused.
"Four?" asked Helga.
"No"
"Five? Six? Seven? Tens of thousands of galleons?" Godric asked, each time the man shaking his head. "Then what? Help, maybe?"
"You want us to help you do something?" Rowena asked.
"We'd help!" Helga said.
"We would" Salazar added, eyeing the man. Who was he?
"Nor help nor money is what I want" he answered.
"Then what?" asked Rowena.
He looked at them and smiled.
"You are the ones who built the school, right?"
"Yes, yes, we are!" Helga said enthusiastically. He knew about them!
"Hogwarts you have named it, haven't you?" the man asked. Salazar didn't like where this was going. Neither did Rowena.
"Yes, Hogwarts" Helga said. "You want us to change the name of the school?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and he burst into laughter.
"No, the name's just fine." he answered.
"Then?" Helga asked.
"I want something of a different nature."
"Don't tell us you fell in love with one of us" Helga said.
"Then, I won't" he said and she made a weird face.
"Tell us if you did" she mumbled.
"I didn't tell you" he toyed with her.
"I meant fall in love, have you fallen in love with one of us?"
"No" he said and smiled. "A different nature is the pay I want"
"Who are you?" Salazar voiced his thoughts and the man turned towards him.
"They call me Jack Strois, Slytherin"
His brown eyes looked calm into the man's.
"Straw? As in a straw?" asked Rowena.
"No, as in a French name, but with the same pronunciation, bringing me a lot of trouble" he replied. "Why do people think my name's Straw?"
The others took no notice in the rhetorical question.
"And how did you appear here like this?" Salazar asked, distrustful.
"I was around" he replied. "I was around with a reason. And that reason was to find you"
"Us?" Salazar asked.
"Yes, you" Jack said. "As a payment for my deed, I want the school, Hogwarts."
There was a pause for a minute and then Helga started laughing.
"You. you're joking, right?" she asked, hoping he was.
"No, I'm not" he answered and she went quiet. "I want the school."
"You're crazy, we can't give you the school!" Godric said. "It's our life's project, our dream!"
"I know" Jack said, calmly.
"But there wouldn't be a school without him" Rowena said, voicing the thoughts she had had since they had been saved.
"Correct!" Jack said and smiled. "So, will you give me your school?"
"No!" Godric said. "Anything but the school! It's our school! Our school and we're not giving it!"
"I'm with him! There's no way we're leaving Hogwarts!" Helga cried, mad.
"I never said you'd leave it" Jack answered, making her look at him confused. "I'd just have the school, I could do anything with it, but you'd be there. It's your creation. You're the founders. And none has to know."
"We won't let you change our school like that!" Rowena said. "It's worse than dying!"
"I wouldn't let anybody touch it!" Godric said.
"Our school!" Helga said.
"No." Salazar said, calm. "I knew you'd want something too big for you. And who are you, anyway? You just gave us your name, no detail."
Jack smiled to himself.
"I am the Lord of Darkness" he answered and the four stopped arguing with him, instead staring at him in surprise. "That's how I got all the vampires off you."
Oh, they all knew him now! The Lord of Darkness. He was on the Light side, but the man was a wonder. Appearing when he was needed, he had great power and it was said that no thing on the dark side could fight against his will for too long. It was said that he could control demons and shadows. It was said that nobody on the dark side dared oppose him. But it was also said that he was friends with everybody on the light side. He was a Lord of Darkness only by being able to control it, not by belonging to that side. They knew him alright. He was a legend! Wow. He was said to be immortal somehow and that he could summon ancient magic. Now there was a man who could help them with the school. But they'd be damned if they let even him rule it.
"I'm sorry" Rowena said "but we can't give our school even to you."
He smiled.
"I have no intention whatsoever of becoming its ruler. I do have an intention, however, of making it clear who's master, especially after a few years when you would have left the school for others to rule."
"You want the school- why?" asked Helga and all the others had the feeling they could slap themselves. Why didn't they think of that question?
"Hogwarts will become a very threatened place in a while" he replied. "With the threat of the war and all, it needs to be protected."
"And you will protect it why?" Rowena asked.
"That is just for me to know" he answered. "But I bond myself to protect the school whenever it needs help and never become its tyrant. Maybe Headmaster if it needs one, but never a tyrant. I shall leave things the way you make them to be. I vow to do this, if you formally give me the school."
He looked so noble, so serious, so sincere! Maybe it was a good idea.
"On what do you vow?" Salazar asked and the man looked thoughtful.
"I vow in front of the sun, the moon and the stars. I vow in front of this planet. I vow in front of the sky. And if I do not do as I have said, should I be taken by the cores of magic to you and if you will not agree with what I have done, the thing which I had done should be undone and my bonding to Hogwarts be destroyed."
The founders looked at each other. Oh, yeah, he was serious. Definitely.
"Well." Godric started.
"Um." Rowena continued.
"Er." Helga continued.
"Why the hell not?" finished Salazar. "Since you did vow like that."
Jack smiled. It was all going well.
Soon, the founders took him to Hogwarts and he looked at the school. Also his school.
"Well, let's get some wards around, shall we?" he rhetorically asked. "Your Apparition wards are pretty bad."
"How do you know?" Rowena asked, awed. Yes, she knew they weren't too good, but how did he know?
"I know many things" he answered and raised his hands high in the air.
"Don't you need a wand?" Salazar asked.
"Nope" he answered. "I'm old enough to have great power and not need it."
He closed his eyes and concentrated, smiling. Before long, a silver light which seemed to be coming from the moon and stars surrounded him and from him it left for the castle, leaving the founders awed. It was beautiful, silver surrounding the castle.
He finished too soon in their opinion.
"Do you know the older, different magic type of going from a place to another?"
"No" Helga answered, but Rowena had a different answer.
"Yes, opening a window and going through it. But nobody can do that anymore."
Jack looked at her and then waved his hand carelessly, different pictures appearing in front of them, showing people doing different things.
"These can. It is better to be warded against that too"
Again he closed his eyes and raised his hands. The others eagerly expected the same show to appear, but they had a surprise. Instead of just the silver light, there also seemed to be another one there, a pure white one. Again too soon, he finished.
"Hmm, what else, what else?" he asked, not expecting an answer. "Oh, right, a few wards against Muggles."
A new show of lights. and it went on again and again until dawn, the founders watching the light sow awed. And each time Jack put a new ward on the castle. And when the sun was just about to come up.
"And now, the Great Ward of Light!" he cried, victoriously and the founders gaped. But nobody could do that! It was a legendary ward, that protected a place from all darkness unless it was willingly let inside or it had no intention of hurting the ones inside. Legendary. There was nobody who could do it, out of what they knew. And yet, the man seemed to be able to do it!
The show was incredible. The sun beams from the dawn seemed to be all going to Jack, who held his hands up, lost in the red and orange bright light. Also, the silver light from the stars and the setting moon was hitting him. Together, in a very colorful blur, the beams hit the castle, which shone greatly.
When he finished, Jack had a blissful smile on his lips.
"I love doing that." he whispered. "This ward will protect you from all darkness and dark creatures, unless some circumstances occur. And the dark creatures can come in if they have good intentions. So you would be able, for example, to invite a kind vampire to dinner."
"Not a good example" Rowena murmured and Jack looked at her confused and then understood and started laughing.
"No, not a good one at all. Make that a nice werewolf coming to dinner."
He smiled at the castle.
"And one more touch."
He let himself fall on the grass.
"Thank God I don't need to be standing" he said.
He closed his eyes and nothing seemed to happen.
"Do you think he's asleep?" Helga asked after a few minutes.
"They say he doesn't need to sleep" Salazar said. "But I'm starting to doubt it."
"Think we should wake him up?" Godric asked.
"No, maybe he really is doing something" Rowena said. "Who knows."
They sat on the grass themselves and looked at him for about ten minutes, sometimes exchanging a few words. And after about fifteen minutes since he had fallen on the grass, the castle started glowing in different colors and then it stopped. It hadn't been too visible. Suddenly, Jack jumped on his feet, making them all jump up in surprise.
"Well, that's that" he said. "All done."
"What was the last thing you did?" Rowena asked.
"Ah, a great thing. I summoned the core of magic and asked it to guard the castle. And live in it. I do believe the castle is now alive."
"Hogwarts? Alive?" Helga asked, happily. "That would be wonderful!"
Jack smiled and started going to the castle and they all followed. How on Earth did he move so fast? And, oh, how far the last night seemed to be on this sunny morning!
They entered the castle and had the feeling that it was way more alive than when they had left it. The stairs were moving at their own accord.
Jack turned to them and said:
"And now, for the last thing. I will declare that I own Hogwarts in a contract and you will sign it. I will use it if anybody dares do anything wrong with this school!"
He waved his hand and three parchments appeared in front of them.
"You said a contract" Godric said.
"In three copies" Jack replied.
"How do we know you won't change anything in them?" asked Salazar.
"One: you'll have a copy. Two: I'll put a charm on them so they won't be able to be changed, once finished. And three: I give my word I won't"
The others nodded and started reading the parchment.
Us, the four founders of Hogwarts: Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin, declare with this contract that the Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry now belongs to Jack Strois, the Lord of Darkness.
However, we are still above him in ownership and therefore have the first word to say in all that concerns the school. The second to us will be him, before any of our descendants and before the ones we put in charge.
I, Jack Strois, take with this contract the second place in school command and vow to protect it when it is in need. I will not go against their will, or this contract will be broken and I will have no power whatsoever over the school and the wards I myself have put will turn, if necessarily, against me.
I swear not to do the following: I swear not to take control of the school unless it is necessary. I swear not to change the rules the founders have put in this school without their will. I swear not to change the school system against the founders' will. I swear not to modify in any way the school without their will. I swear not to interfere with the Headmaster's or Headmistress's decisions unless they would come against the founders' will.
I, Jack Strois, Lord of Darkness, have written.
Underneath the text there were the names of the founders plus Jack's and they all signed the three copies and then Jack spelled them so they couldn't be changed or destroyed.
'I thought you wanted to be first in command" Salazar commented.
"Crossed my mind" he admitted. "But I decided not to. I don't think I'll need it. I mean, since it's specifically said that I come before any descendant you might have, it'll do. Oh, mind if I wander around?"
"No, not at all" the four said.
"May I make a room as I wish it to be?" he asked.
"Be our guest" Helga said. "You may change whatever you might like."
Jack smiled and turned away and started going through the castle. He grinned. He had free hand. How about doing the things he was supposed to do now?
He quickly found a room that matched his wishes and decorated it beautifully with golden drawings of dragons and mystical and less mystical creatures. He also made it marble white under the drawings. Man, it was good to have huge powers!
And then he started creating a new room, attached to it, where he placed a fireplace and a lot of armchairs. He decorated it in blue and gold -his favorite combination- and made the armchairs brown. Then, he put two bookcases and he started putting books. Some were copies of what he'd once read. One of them he created so that it would keep an update of what would happen at Hogwarts. He could write it somehow, tell all that happened. Yeah, that'd be good. Maybe make a bit of magic and be able to mind-write it, so that he could think of the sentences and they would appear in the book.
He also placed a book through which he could talk to the one who would enter the room. How he'd enter it, that was the question. Hmmm, maybe he could place a password which could be 'felt' by the one who should enter. More magic. Then again, he was a very powerful wizard. Could be done.
He also invented a system so that the door to the room would actually be through the wall and that while somebody was on the other side of the room it couldn't be opened and it wouldn't be visible from any side if closed.
He also added a way out, just in case and didn't forget to put a few other tunnels here and there, for reasons only he knew.
Perfect! His own room! And the founders didn't have to know.
He exited the room and closed the wall and then smiled to himself. What a masterpiece! And the room he first decorated wasn't bad either. He then went to the founders who were happily eating lunch and smiled at them.
"Changed a room a bit"
"Great!" Helga said. "I'd love to see it! Oh, sorry we didn't invite you for lunch."
"It's ok, I don't need to eat" he answered truthfully and sat down. "Quite a good work you've done with the ceiling of this Hall"
"Yeah, we're pretty proud of that" Salazar said.
"You put so much work in it. There was so much magic here I almost didn't need to call the magic core to live in the castle. A few more years and it would have come by itself."
The founders smiled happily and finished their meals. Jack showed them his room -the one with gold drawings, of course- and the four nodded approvingly.
"I also thought maybe we could place this third parchment in the Headmaster's office?" he asked, referring to the third copy of the contract.
"Headmaster's office?" Helga asked. "But we don't have a Headmaster's office!"
Jack laughed.
"Behind the statue of the gargoyle. What do you think? Would it make a good Headmaster's office? The gargoyle could be guarding it, not just hiding it."
"Sure" Rowena agreed. "You know, you make it sound as if we would be leaving the school anytime soon!"
"Well, I'm an immortal, I have no age problems, but you will one day give your part in the school to the others and after say. a hundred years, who's going to rule it?"
They suddenly realized they hadn't thought of that yet. And didn't want to think about it yet, either.
"I'm sorry if I've depressed you" he said and tried to smile. "But it's just that my life shows me all mortals tend to think they'll live forever, which they don't. I know I will die, it'll just take me waaaay longer. And then I'll turn to Death and she'll show me where my old friends stay ad maybe I'll join them again."
He looked all dreamy and sad and suddenly they all started wondering whether living forever was such a good thing after all. But, not thinking about the bad way it was put, he was right: they'd die sometime and they all had to be prepared for that.
Later that evening, Rowena left for the edge of the forest just outside Hogwarts. She was thinking about all that had been and what would be. Jack looked alright now, but were they sure he'd stay like that? And what would happen to their own sons and daughters when they came to the school? Would all their descendants remain in the school, happily cooperating, or would they split up?
She smiled as she remembered Salazar's little boy. He would grow up soon and come to Hogwarts! In fact, he'd start in fall, at eleven years, such as all the others. And Godric's daughter! Wasn't she beautiful?!
She wished she had a son or a daughter. But all was not lost yet. She was just a bit over fifty, still could have children after the wizard standards. And Helga also.
She smiled thinking of her husband. What a wonderful man he was! And he waited for her for so long. Thirty years. And now she was free. Not that she hadn't been before! But now she could really have a life, her dream was fulfilled! And Helga also wanted to get to her husband.
She stood there, at the edge of the forest, thinking until it almost got dark. Then, she decided she had to get inside, she still didn't want to be bitten by a vampire, as she almost had last night. Las night! It had all happened last night! She wondered if it had been because of the war which was now almost starting. Maybe that king -what was his name? God, she couldn't remember.- would help them and they'd help him. It would all be alright, in the end.
Hogwarts. The Ghost War was about to come. They'd fight against the faceless who was leading the Dark side, the one whom they didn't even know whom he was.
Hogwarts. Hope Offers Great Wins And Receives The Solutions. How many meanings it had, this name! Oh, they knew why they chose it. They would win the war.
She entered the castle and smiled at the moon once more.
The next morning when they woke up, they noticed Jack wasn't around. He didn't appear for lunch or dinner either. Later, they concluded he had left. And they were right.
Far away, he thought of his school and saw it through his mind's eyes. He'd be back. Soon.
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Author's Note: And with this my fic is finished and the reviewing begins! Should I continue? Please tell me if I should or not.
Some of you might have read my 'Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch Story'. Yes, this is in perfect accord with what I've written there. If you remember, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Amala find the exact room which Jack built and look through it.
Author: Zimagesto
Summary: AU. The four founders celebrate their success in building Hogwarts by going on a hunt. All fun and games until they become the hunted. Alone, they can't survive. And why does everybody think the school remained theirs?
Disclaimer: Don't own any of the founders or Hogwarts or anything else you might recognize from the HP books. But I own the plot and JS.
Story: In perfect accord with 'Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch', one of my other fics. However, it's not necessary to have read any of them to understand the other. Same world, different times. RER (Read, enjoy, review). Flames accepted.
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Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff were raising their glasses for the new school.
"A beauty, isn't she?" asked Godric. "Thirty difficult years, but it was worth it."
"I agree on that, brother" answered his sworn brother, Salazar. "And all the greatest we shall teach! All the ones with unstained blood."
"Great minds." added Rowena.
"And a great deal of courage, too!" said the brave Gryffindor.
"Yes, yes, we all know you need it" Helga teased. "How's the Sorting Hat doing?"
"It should be finished in one or two months" Rowena answered. "That means before the first students come! But oh, we've sent the letters! I can't believe it's actually going to happen!"
The others smiled at her enthusiasm.
"I say. Shan't we all go to bed?" asked Helga. "I know hunting makes me tired and I don't want to start like that, or I might not make it back."
"We'll carry you, sister" said Rowena. "We did once, remember?"
"Stop teasing!" she said and smiled.
They entered the castle, beautifully shinning under the silver light of the stars and the moon and from there, they all went to their rooms, saying their goodnights.
Rowena smiled at the changing stairs. They had taken a while to do, but they showed so well the caliber of the students they would have.
Godric grinned when he saw the passages. Ah, so many things to explore for his students! He knew they would love them. And so fun it was to have pesky stairs always changing. And you could blame it on the stairs if you didn't make it in class early enough. How he wished he'd had those at his former school!
Helga really liked the self-lighting torches. Never get lost and lightless! And you didn't need 'lumos'. Wasn't life beautiful?
Salazar grinned at the dungeons. Ah, so cold, so mysterious, so snake-like! How he liked snakes. Well, he was a Parselmouth, wasn't he? And the things they added, all the magic, all that showed how powerful they were! Ha! The best in the world, actually! Nobody could do that kind of magic! And even though nothing was alive, it all seemed so.
The founders lay in their beds, resting, unaware of all the danger they would have to face. Unaware that somewhere, some wanted them dead, especially before the war began. Because the war was about to begin. and none knew who the leader of the Dark side was. But for now, they slept in peace, happy with their work.
The next morning, they mounted their horses and left off for some of their favorite hunting spots. Their bows and arrows were carefully taken care of and their wands were safe in their pockets, as always. Right now, they were hunting a stag. Wonderful creature.
"Salazar, what do your little friends say?" asked Godric. He admired the other man's gift. He wished he could talk to griffins.
The other man stopped and looked at a slithering being in the grass, Godric watching him in fascination.
*- Where isss the ssstag?-* he asked.
*-Ssshould be clossse-* the small snake said. The snakes around were already used to the weird man that could talk their language. *-I sssaw it about five minutesss ago and it went where the sssun sssetsss-*
*-Thanksss-* Salazar said. "He said the stag is close, he saw it just five minutes ago and it went towards west"
The others nodded and guided their horses in that direction.
"We should get some horses to pull the carriages to the school" Helga said. "They're so wonderful!"
"I had that in mind too, sister. How about Thestrals?" Godric said.
"Not all will see them" she complained.
"It would be more interesting, don't you think?"
She nodded. Maybe it would work.
They kept going through the forest, enjoying themselves and killing nothing since they didn't have the heart to harm any living creature on that glorious day. Hogwarts was finally ready for its students!
When the evening came, they all decided to go back to their school and rest for a looong time. Hunting was fun, but tiring business.
And just then, their horses started to become more and more impatient and Godric's rose on two feet.
"Whoa!" he said, trying to calm it down. "Whoa! What's wrong?"
And then his question was answered, although in a way he wished it hadn't been. Nearly twenty people came out from behind the trees in the little clearing they were in. And he could tell from the beginning what they were: vampires.
They were showing their way too long teeth and charging for them, hungry looks in his eyes. But did they really know what they were facing? Even tired, the founders were quite powerful.
"Shit!" Salazar cried, looking at the charging people.
"No shit!" commented Godric and charged at them with his sword and a wooden stick he got from a tree. Not too good, but it would have to do. Especially since he had forgotten he was a wizard!
The others started shooting spells -evidently remembering their magical powers- and trying to hit them with anything, but the vampires seemed to be getting more instead of less every time they shot one down. Here, another one turned to dust only so that two others would appear there.
One of the vampires managed to stab Godric's horse with a sword of his own, killing it. Godric barely managed to get out of the way before he was crushed by the horse's body. But facing a pack of angry, hungry and fast vampires wasn't too pleasant either.
Salazar was hitting them with everything he had when he saw what state his friend was in.
"We're losing!" he cried to the others, as if they hadn't seen it yet. "Godric, get yourself safe, for God's sake!"
Not a bad advice, either. Since he was the only one left horseless, he was attacked the most and had way more vampires on his hands than he could handle.
"I'm trying!" he cried back. "Ok, maybe a bit of help!"
But whom to help him? They were all too busy with their own enemies. He danced his way out of there and managed to get himself near a tree. Well, at least now his back assured.
Rowena had her own problems and soon her horse was down soon, too.
"By gum!" she cried. "These guys are determined!"
She got herself up from the ground, not a moment too soon. Her wand was casting spells with the speed of light and she wished she could cast a spell to freeze them all and then get the hell out of there. Hmmm. She was sure there was one like that somewhere.
Soon, Helga too was left horseless and ended up in a tree. Nobody asked her how she had gotten there. Salazar was the last to lose his companion and he didn't seem too pleased with the situation.
"My best horse" he said, pissed off.
"Let's hope it's the most you lose tonight!" Godric cried.
Indeed, the battle was getting worse and worse. Helga was hardly keeping herself balanced in the tree and the vampires were climbing on it way too easy. Godric was starting to get tired, not a good thing when so many hungry vampires are attacking you. Rowena was in the middle of it all, petrified vampires all around and fire bursting out of her wand, along with hexes. A trick of hers. Not as good as freezing everything around, but good enough. Salazar was trying to gather snakes, but they were too few and too small to help too much.
Rowena understood, somewhere in a far corner of her mind, that the school was dead before it even came to life. Dead because they were the only ones who would be teaching, the only ones who knew the exact ideas of the school. The hunt which would have been the celebration of the school's birth was now the celebration and cause of its death.
All this she registered somewhere far away in her mind, concentrating a lot on the lost battle. Because it was lost now, that was sure.
Or, was she wrong? Not a moment too soon, a dark, cloaked and hooded figure, on a black beautiful horse galloped into the battle and jumped off the horse, the black animal leaving soon.
Without one word, the figure attacked the vampires around him. The vampires started to turn to dust faster than Rowena thought possible. She stabbed her own vampires with a new burst of power and so did the others. The battle was no longer lost, they had a new warrior within them, one that could kill the things so easily!
After not even five minutes the left vampires fled out of the clearing and left their petrified friends alone with the founders and the cloaked, no longer hooded person.
That cloaked figure was a man, tall and powerful, looking not a day over thirty. A little something that made him special was the sense of power around him. Maybe the fact that he had a scar under his left eye was special, too. Helga somehow managed to get herself off the tree.
"Thank you" she said. "You saved our lives"
"I have" he admitted calmly. If she was expecting an 'it wasn't much', she was greatly mistaking.
"We owe you one, brave warrior!" Godric said.
"You do" he again admitted.
"How can we repay you?" asked Rowena.
The man smiled.
"It would be a great payment I would ask if you decided to repay me."
"It doesn't matter" Godric said.
"Would it be money that you want?" Salazar asked. "Two thousand galleons?"
The man started laughing.
"No, two thousand galleons is not enough."
"Three?" asked Rowena.
"No" he said, smiling amused.
"Four?" asked Helga.
"No"
"Five? Six? Seven? Tens of thousands of galleons?" Godric asked, each time the man shaking his head. "Then what? Help, maybe?"
"You want us to help you do something?" Rowena asked.
"We'd help!" Helga said.
"We would" Salazar added, eyeing the man. Who was he?
"Nor help nor money is what I want" he answered.
"Then what?" asked Rowena.
He looked at them and smiled.
"You are the ones who built the school, right?"
"Yes, yes, we are!" Helga said enthusiastically. He knew about them!
"Hogwarts you have named it, haven't you?" the man asked. Salazar didn't like where this was going. Neither did Rowena.
"Yes, Hogwarts" Helga said. "You want us to change the name of the school?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and he burst into laughter.
"No, the name's just fine." he answered.
"Then?" Helga asked.
"I want something of a different nature."
"Don't tell us you fell in love with one of us" Helga said.
"Then, I won't" he said and she made a weird face.
"Tell us if you did" she mumbled.
"I didn't tell you" he toyed with her.
"I meant fall in love, have you fallen in love with one of us?"
"No" he said and smiled. "A different nature is the pay I want"
"Who are you?" Salazar voiced his thoughts and the man turned towards him.
"They call me Jack Strois, Slytherin"
His brown eyes looked calm into the man's.
"Straw? As in a straw?" asked Rowena.
"No, as in a French name, but with the same pronunciation, bringing me a lot of trouble" he replied. "Why do people think my name's Straw?"
The others took no notice in the rhetorical question.
"And how did you appear here like this?" Salazar asked, distrustful.
"I was around" he replied. "I was around with a reason. And that reason was to find you"
"Us?" Salazar asked.
"Yes, you" Jack said. "As a payment for my deed, I want the school, Hogwarts."
There was a pause for a minute and then Helga started laughing.
"You. you're joking, right?" she asked, hoping he was.
"No, I'm not" he answered and she went quiet. "I want the school."
"You're crazy, we can't give you the school!" Godric said. "It's our life's project, our dream!"
"I know" Jack said, calmly.
"But there wouldn't be a school without him" Rowena said, voicing the thoughts she had had since they had been saved.
"Correct!" Jack said and smiled. "So, will you give me your school?"
"No!" Godric said. "Anything but the school! It's our school! Our school and we're not giving it!"
"I'm with him! There's no way we're leaving Hogwarts!" Helga cried, mad.
"I never said you'd leave it" Jack answered, making her look at him confused. "I'd just have the school, I could do anything with it, but you'd be there. It's your creation. You're the founders. And none has to know."
"We won't let you change our school like that!" Rowena said. "It's worse than dying!"
"I wouldn't let anybody touch it!" Godric said.
"Our school!" Helga said.
"No." Salazar said, calm. "I knew you'd want something too big for you. And who are you, anyway? You just gave us your name, no detail."
Jack smiled to himself.
"I am the Lord of Darkness" he answered and the four stopped arguing with him, instead staring at him in surprise. "That's how I got all the vampires off you."
Oh, they all knew him now! The Lord of Darkness. He was on the Light side, but the man was a wonder. Appearing when he was needed, he had great power and it was said that no thing on the dark side could fight against his will for too long. It was said that he could control demons and shadows. It was said that nobody on the dark side dared oppose him. But it was also said that he was friends with everybody on the light side. He was a Lord of Darkness only by being able to control it, not by belonging to that side. They knew him alright. He was a legend! Wow. He was said to be immortal somehow and that he could summon ancient magic. Now there was a man who could help them with the school. But they'd be damned if they let even him rule it.
"I'm sorry" Rowena said "but we can't give our school even to you."
He smiled.
"I have no intention whatsoever of becoming its ruler. I do have an intention, however, of making it clear who's master, especially after a few years when you would have left the school for others to rule."
"You want the school- why?" asked Helga and all the others had the feeling they could slap themselves. Why didn't they think of that question?
"Hogwarts will become a very threatened place in a while" he replied. "With the threat of the war and all, it needs to be protected."
"And you will protect it why?" Rowena asked.
"That is just for me to know" he answered. "But I bond myself to protect the school whenever it needs help and never become its tyrant. Maybe Headmaster if it needs one, but never a tyrant. I shall leave things the way you make them to be. I vow to do this, if you formally give me the school."
He looked so noble, so serious, so sincere! Maybe it was a good idea.
"On what do you vow?" Salazar asked and the man looked thoughtful.
"I vow in front of the sun, the moon and the stars. I vow in front of this planet. I vow in front of the sky. And if I do not do as I have said, should I be taken by the cores of magic to you and if you will not agree with what I have done, the thing which I had done should be undone and my bonding to Hogwarts be destroyed."
The founders looked at each other. Oh, yeah, he was serious. Definitely.
"Well." Godric started.
"Um." Rowena continued.
"Er." Helga continued.
"Why the hell not?" finished Salazar. "Since you did vow like that."
Jack smiled. It was all going well.
Soon, the founders took him to Hogwarts and he looked at the school. Also his school.
"Well, let's get some wards around, shall we?" he rhetorically asked. "Your Apparition wards are pretty bad."
"How do you know?" Rowena asked, awed. Yes, she knew they weren't too good, but how did he know?
"I know many things" he answered and raised his hands high in the air.
"Don't you need a wand?" Salazar asked.
"Nope" he answered. "I'm old enough to have great power and not need it."
He closed his eyes and concentrated, smiling. Before long, a silver light which seemed to be coming from the moon and stars surrounded him and from him it left for the castle, leaving the founders awed. It was beautiful, silver surrounding the castle.
He finished too soon in their opinion.
"Do you know the older, different magic type of going from a place to another?"
"No" Helga answered, but Rowena had a different answer.
"Yes, opening a window and going through it. But nobody can do that anymore."
Jack looked at her and then waved his hand carelessly, different pictures appearing in front of them, showing people doing different things.
"These can. It is better to be warded against that too"
Again he closed his eyes and raised his hands. The others eagerly expected the same show to appear, but they had a surprise. Instead of just the silver light, there also seemed to be another one there, a pure white one. Again too soon, he finished.
"Hmm, what else, what else?" he asked, not expecting an answer. "Oh, right, a few wards against Muggles."
A new show of lights. and it went on again and again until dawn, the founders watching the light sow awed. And each time Jack put a new ward on the castle. And when the sun was just about to come up.
"And now, the Great Ward of Light!" he cried, victoriously and the founders gaped. But nobody could do that! It was a legendary ward, that protected a place from all darkness unless it was willingly let inside or it had no intention of hurting the ones inside. Legendary. There was nobody who could do it, out of what they knew. And yet, the man seemed to be able to do it!
The show was incredible. The sun beams from the dawn seemed to be all going to Jack, who held his hands up, lost in the red and orange bright light. Also, the silver light from the stars and the setting moon was hitting him. Together, in a very colorful blur, the beams hit the castle, which shone greatly.
When he finished, Jack had a blissful smile on his lips.
"I love doing that." he whispered. "This ward will protect you from all darkness and dark creatures, unless some circumstances occur. And the dark creatures can come in if they have good intentions. So you would be able, for example, to invite a kind vampire to dinner."
"Not a good example" Rowena murmured and Jack looked at her confused and then understood and started laughing.
"No, not a good one at all. Make that a nice werewolf coming to dinner."
He smiled at the castle.
"And one more touch."
He let himself fall on the grass.
"Thank God I don't need to be standing" he said.
He closed his eyes and nothing seemed to happen.
"Do you think he's asleep?" Helga asked after a few minutes.
"They say he doesn't need to sleep" Salazar said. "But I'm starting to doubt it."
"Think we should wake him up?" Godric asked.
"No, maybe he really is doing something" Rowena said. "Who knows."
They sat on the grass themselves and looked at him for about ten minutes, sometimes exchanging a few words. And after about fifteen minutes since he had fallen on the grass, the castle started glowing in different colors and then it stopped. It hadn't been too visible. Suddenly, Jack jumped on his feet, making them all jump up in surprise.
"Well, that's that" he said. "All done."
"What was the last thing you did?" Rowena asked.
"Ah, a great thing. I summoned the core of magic and asked it to guard the castle. And live in it. I do believe the castle is now alive."
"Hogwarts? Alive?" Helga asked, happily. "That would be wonderful!"
Jack smiled and started going to the castle and they all followed. How on Earth did he move so fast? And, oh, how far the last night seemed to be on this sunny morning!
They entered the castle and had the feeling that it was way more alive than when they had left it. The stairs were moving at their own accord.
Jack turned to them and said:
"And now, for the last thing. I will declare that I own Hogwarts in a contract and you will sign it. I will use it if anybody dares do anything wrong with this school!"
He waved his hand and three parchments appeared in front of them.
"You said a contract" Godric said.
"In three copies" Jack replied.
"How do we know you won't change anything in them?" asked Salazar.
"One: you'll have a copy. Two: I'll put a charm on them so they won't be able to be changed, once finished. And three: I give my word I won't"
The others nodded and started reading the parchment.
Us, the four founders of Hogwarts: Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin, declare with this contract that the Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry now belongs to Jack Strois, the Lord of Darkness.
However, we are still above him in ownership and therefore have the first word to say in all that concerns the school. The second to us will be him, before any of our descendants and before the ones we put in charge.
I, Jack Strois, take with this contract the second place in school command and vow to protect it when it is in need. I will not go against their will, or this contract will be broken and I will have no power whatsoever over the school and the wards I myself have put will turn, if necessarily, against me.
I swear not to do the following: I swear not to take control of the school unless it is necessary. I swear not to change the rules the founders have put in this school without their will. I swear not to change the school system against the founders' will. I swear not to modify in any way the school without their will. I swear not to interfere with the Headmaster's or Headmistress's decisions unless they would come against the founders' will.
I, Jack Strois, Lord of Darkness, have written.
Underneath the text there were the names of the founders plus Jack's and they all signed the three copies and then Jack spelled them so they couldn't be changed or destroyed.
'I thought you wanted to be first in command" Salazar commented.
"Crossed my mind" he admitted. "But I decided not to. I don't think I'll need it. I mean, since it's specifically said that I come before any descendant you might have, it'll do. Oh, mind if I wander around?"
"No, not at all" the four said.
"May I make a room as I wish it to be?" he asked.
"Be our guest" Helga said. "You may change whatever you might like."
Jack smiled and turned away and started going through the castle. He grinned. He had free hand. How about doing the things he was supposed to do now?
He quickly found a room that matched his wishes and decorated it beautifully with golden drawings of dragons and mystical and less mystical creatures. He also made it marble white under the drawings. Man, it was good to have huge powers!
And then he started creating a new room, attached to it, where he placed a fireplace and a lot of armchairs. He decorated it in blue and gold -his favorite combination- and made the armchairs brown. Then, he put two bookcases and he started putting books. Some were copies of what he'd once read. One of them he created so that it would keep an update of what would happen at Hogwarts. He could write it somehow, tell all that happened. Yeah, that'd be good. Maybe make a bit of magic and be able to mind-write it, so that he could think of the sentences and they would appear in the book.
He also placed a book through which he could talk to the one who would enter the room. How he'd enter it, that was the question. Hmmm, maybe he could place a password which could be 'felt' by the one who should enter. More magic. Then again, he was a very powerful wizard. Could be done.
He also invented a system so that the door to the room would actually be through the wall and that while somebody was on the other side of the room it couldn't be opened and it wouldn't be visible from any side if closed.
He also added a way out, just in case and didn't forget to put a few other tunnels here and there, for reasons only he knew.
Perfect! His own room! And the founders didn't have to know.
He exited the room and closed the wall and then smiled to himself. What a masterpiece! And the room he first decorated wasn't bad either. He then went to the founders who were happily eating lunch and smiled at them.
"Changed a room a bit"
"Great!" Helga said. "I'd love to see it! Oh, sorry we didn't invite you for lunch."
"It's ok, I don't need to eat" he answered truthfully and sat down. "Quite a good work you've done with the ceiling of this Hall"
"Yeah, we're pretty proud of that" Salazar said.
"You put so much work in it. There was so much magic here I almost didn't need to call the magic core to live in the castle. A few more years and it would have come by itself."
The founders smiled happily and finished their meals. Jack showed them his room -the one with gold drawings, of course- and the four nodded approvingly.
"I also thought maybe we could place this third parchment in the Headmaster's office?" he asked, referring to the third copy of the contract.
"Headmaster's office?" Helga asked. "But we don't have a Headmaster's office!"
Jack laughed.
"Behind the statue of the gargoyle. What do you think? Would it make a good Headmaster's office? The gargoyle could be guarding it, not just hiding it."
"Sure" Rowena agreed. "You know, you make it sound as if we would be leaving the school anytime soon!"
"Well, I'm an immortal, I have no age problems, but you will one day give your part in the school to the others and after say. a hundred years, who's going to rule it?"
They suddenly realized they hadn't thought of that yet. And didn't want to think about it yet, either.
"I'm sorry if I've depressed you" he said and tried to smile. "But it's just that my life shows me all mortals tend to think they'll live forever, which they don't. I know I will die, it'll just take me waaaay longer. And then I'll turn to Death and she'll show me where my old friends stay ad maybe I'll join them again."
He looked all dreamy and sad and suddenly they all started wondering whether living forever was such a good thing after all. But, not thinking about the bad way it was put, he was right: they'd die sometime and they all had to be prepared for that.
Later that evening, Rowena left for the edge of the forest just outside Hogwarts. She was thinking about all that had been and what would be. Jack looked alright now, but were they sure he'd stay like that? And what would happen to their own sons and daughters when they came to the school? Would all their descendants remain in the school, happily cooperating, or would they split up?
She smiled as she remembered Salazar's little boy. He would grow up soon and come to Hogwarts! In fact, he'd start in fall, at eleven years, such as all the others. And Godric's daughter! Wasn't she beautiful?!
She wished she had a son or a daughter. But all was not lost yet. She was just a bit over fifty, still could have children after the wizard standards. And Helga also.
She smiled thinking of her husband. What a wonderful man he was! And he waited for her for so long. Thirty years. And now she was free. Not that she hadn't been before! But now she could really have a life, her dream was fulfilled! And Helga also wanted to get to her husband.
She stood there, at the edge of the forest, thinking until it almost got dark. Then, she decided she had to get inside, she still didn't want to be bitten by a vampire, as she almost had last night. Las night! It had all happened last night! She wondered if it had been because of the war which was now almost starting. Maybe that king -what was his name? God, she couldn't remember.- would help them and they'd help him. It would all be alright, in the end.
Hogwarts. The Ghost War was about to come. They'd fight against the faceless who was leading the Dark side, the one whom they didn't even know whom he was.
Hogwarts. Hope Offers Great Wins And Receives The Solutions. How many meanings it had, this name! Oh, they knew why they chose it. They would win the war.
She entered the castle and smiled at the moon once more.
The next morning when they woke up, they noticed Jack wasn't around. He didn't appear for lunch or dinner either. Later, they concluded he had left. And they were right.
Far away, he thought of his school and saw it through his mind's eyes. He'd be back. Soon.
/*-/*-/*-
Author's Note: And with this my fic is finished and the reviewing begins! Should I continue? Please tell me if I should or not.
Some of you might have read my 'Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch Story'. Yes, this is in perfect accord with what I've written there. If you remember, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Amala find the exact room which Jack built and look through it.