A/N Chapter schedules for this timey wimey book are announced on my twitter ( doublequillmlp) in case you're wondering, so that I don't have to keep deleting them in old books. Thanks, enjoy!

Chapter Eighteen

Keeping Things Under Hat

"So... you were about to answer my question?" Jennifer asked, Aurelius glancing at her questioningly. "Just who all knows about this?"

"So far, just Anna, me, and now you," Aurelius informed her. "Not even the Sentinel apprentices have figured out what he did yet."

"Yes, I've always kept it under my brim until now," Godric said. "I suppose considering your comment about the thread, you figured out how I did it."

"Yes, you used the power of the Distaff to make a thread that would bind your soul to your favorite hat, and then charmed it with basic sorting, memory-capturing, and memory-reading charms, so that it'd function properly even before your soul left your body and took over," Jennifer said.

"I always wondered had he managed it," Aurelius admitted. "So in a way, it's like how Mallus rigged his painting to entrap his soul in the mirror after his death."

"Sure, except Mallus did that with the intention of possessing someone else's body down the road so he could come back to life again," Jennifer reminded him, then turned back to the Hat. "At least, I hope that's not your intention."

"Of course not," Godric said. "In all honesty, I had this fine hat made for one purpose alone; so that I could point the finger at my murderer... well... figuratively speaking," he explained.

Feeling a story coming on, Aurelius and Jennifer both found seats in front of the stool.

"You both know as well as anyone that things deteriorated quickly between Salazar and the three of us, and he and I fought constantly. Well, some of the dark comments that Salazar made during some of those fights made me wonder if he wasn't plotting to get rid of me. Even our four assistants came to me out of concern... yes, even Janus himself, once stopped me on a walk around the lake and suggested that I watch my step. That's when I went to Holda, the owner of the Distaff and our expert in charmed items. I asked her if there was any way to use the thread to bind my soul to an item other than my remains, so that if Salazar ever did go to far and end my life that I had a way of exposing him. For, if Salazar were to murder me without being held accountable, I knew for a fact that he would waste no time in taking over Hogwarts and I feared for the safety of students taken in from non-magical families. I did it out of desperation because I believed in this school and wanted our community's children to be safe regardless of their background. Never would I have predicted that I'd have lasted this long as a Hat," he admitted.

"You're right, it was a very dangerous thing to do. Anything could've happened to this Hat over this amount of time," Jennifer replied sternly. "If that Hat hadn't been a art of a school tradition, you might have ended up in the rubbish bin."

"As I said, I wasn't really thinking of the long term ramifications. I was only attempting to save that school when things were falling apart," Godric explained.

"Yes, but surely Icarus must have said something to you about the fact that he saw the school lasting for generations to come," Jennifer said.

"Jennifer, the nickname Mad Ick didn't start when he was in Azkaban. There were moments while Ick was alive that he was completely incomprehensible," Godric informed her. "His curse to remember all times made him pitiful as well as pitiable, and one of the few times he was sane was when he was over a cauldron, brewing up some new concoction. Potion making gave him a sense of order... now that I think back on it, it might have been the fact he had to sequence things in precisely one way that helped. Despite his mental setbacks, he was a brilliant teacher and a caring husband. But if his mind became too idle, the trouble began. His friendships helped, of course," he added.

"But any time he began spewing his predictions and prophecies, I was convinced he was having another mental spell and didn't listen to him... especially after hearing that Salazar had taken him under his wing," Godric said. "As often as O'Laren attempted to get me to listen, I did not. I was convinced that I was hearing nothing short of the ravings of a madman, and after killing Salazar and turning on his own family, I was convinced he had been. The only reason I allowed him to stay as a ghost was the fact that he did us all a favor getting rid of that purist blight on this school... and the fact that I never went in the dungeons anyway. At the time, the ghost never left them, so I never had to deal with the blighter again while I was alive. I didn't question whether I misjudged him or not until you and Dumbledore decided to let Mad Ick back in the school. What I saw then was a very different side of Icarus than I ever saw when he was alive, or even during his earlier years as a ghost. He may not have been completely sane when he returned to the castle, Jennifer, but he was well on his way back, you must admit that."

"And now you're stuck in a Hat with no remains to return to if anything does happen to you. There's no proof that your soul will stay in tact if that Hat is destroyed," Jennifer scolded.

"There's no proof that it won't," he huffed. "Besides, I knew the risks. I did what I had to so that I could save this school if I died. Surely you don't blame me for that. Besides, some of my remains do still exist somewhere," he offered, and this time even Aurelius looked up in surprise.

"What? Are you sure?" Aurelius asked.

"Buried in a mass grave on consecrated ground somewhere," Godric replied, and the brim came up for a second as if in a shrug. "It's just a feeling, and it's not as if it really matters all that much, considering I'm bound to this Hat anyway."

"Well, it may not matter to you, but if you have remains somewhere, I for one would feel a lot more comfortable if I knew that they were interred in the Memoriatorium for safe keeping," Jennifer replied.

"I'm with you on that point, Mum," Aurelius said. "But we wouldn't be able to find them without taking the Hat with us to confirm it. How do you expect to do that without explaining to Father why we'd have to take the Sorting Hat off property?"

"I'd rather you not tell Severus about this, if I were you," Godric immediately protested. "In fact, other than Quintin, I'd very much prefer that no one ever found out."

"You have only yourself to blame if it does," Aurelius said with exasperation. "That whole fifth house stunt has everyone even remotely associated with the school asking awkward questions. I don't think you're going to be able to hide the truth forever... at least not from Father."

"Jennifer, do you remember a conversation that you and Severus had in the Headmaster's Study, contemplating how disruptive it would be if any of the long-lived founders were to come back to Hogwarts after all of this time?" Godric asked. Jennifer thought back for a moment than grimaced.

"Yes, I do recall that conversation... and no offense was intended," Jennifer said apologetically.

"I didn't take offense in the slightest. I am using it to explain why I never told anyone about where I was," Godric said calmly. "And to be honest, I was perfectly content with that, sitting on my shelf where no one even gave me a second thought. Sitting in the Headmaster's Study gave me a front row seat to all of the trials this school has been through. The vast majority of the time, it was a reassuring place to be, although I'll admit some years did give me pause, like the Ciardoth thing. I even had a fun adventure or two thanks to students like Harry and Aurelius.

"Besides, I knew from very moment my soul entered the Hat that my position in this school had changed forever. Caprica Dusthorn had worked so hard to clean up the mess we made and to keep this school going, and I knew that she and O'Laren needed plenty of space to work out things on their own. They were very brave taking that responsibility on in light of what happened. But I realized that if I spoke up and told them the truth about the Sorting Hat, they would forever be turning to me for advice, as would all of the Headmasters that followed. I loved this school too much to allow that," he confessed. "Even when Caprica brought the painting of O'Laren into the Headmaster's Study after his death and took to speaking to it, I decided to stay out of it. The only one who knew the truth, Holda Hufflepuff, put the strongest of spells she could think of to preserve the leather and keep me whole, but she kept her word and took our secret to the grave. None of the apprentices ever learned the truth, and although there have been a few Headmasters suspicious of my intelligence over the years, and two or three that might have even figured it out, no Headmaster or former Headmaster has ever confronted about my identity until this very moment."

"That is because you decided to meddle. And in so doing, you're putting those of us who discovered your secret in a very difficult spot," Jennifer said sternly. "I know that we needed a new house, there are few on the faculty who will deny it. But I'm also certain that there's more to it than that. This wasn't just because you wanted to start a new house, it was because that in the process, you knew that the students would have to research the school's past to try to find a suitable name for themselves."

"I admit that played a part in the decision as well, Jennifer. I believe that Hogwarts is finally strong enough to face the truth about its questionable beginnings," Godric said seriously, "because I know that most of the students and staff are finally willing to accept the cold hard facts... including the two of you, and including the new house. And I am hoping, in their innocence, that Quintin and his housemates are going to discover just how much of a poisonous snake Slytherin actually was, and that they'll want to expose the truth whether anyone else is ready to hear it or not. And that, more than any other reason, is why you cannot tell Severus about who I am or why I'm doing this."

Jennifer frowned, studying the Sorting Hat carefully.

"He's right, Mum," Aurelius said quietly. Jennifer gazed at him. "When I was a student and we found out that Slytherin had used those shackles to drain that Aethermage, Albus was quick to make as all keep it a secret. That whole situation with Lucius Malfoy exposed just how strong Voldemort's influence remained, and I think Albus was afraid of how they'd react if the truth had come out then."

"Considering what happened afterwards, Albus had a point," Jennifer murmured. "Even years later, when Ambrose wrote his addendum and tried to write about what happened to Wuscfrea then, the board had Severus edit it out... and it wasn't just the traditionalists who had concerns about it. Eric and the other reformists were also afraid of what might happen if it was published."

"Even if it's published now, it'll still cause a total uproar," Aurelius warned. "The school will be getting heat from every single alumnus that ever graduated from Slytherin, demanding a retraction. And since the board has meeting records show that Father was asked to keep it a secret, it'd get pretty nasty if he ended up in the middle of the fallout. As much as I respect Eric, I don't think the board's position has changed on this. Minerva's probably the only board member who would be on Father's side." Aurelius looked up at the painting, who nodded somberly in agreement. "I don't think it's unrealistic to believe that some jobs are going to be on the line if it does get published."

"Fine, I won't tell Severus about this, Godric," Jennifer agreed solemnly. "But I'm going to help Quintin with his research despite the risks, especially since my research on the Sorting Hat is officially over."

"Thank you for understanding, Jennifer," Godric said sincerely.

"I had best get you back to the Headmaster's Study before Severus wakes up," Jennifer decided.

"It's a bit too late for that, Jennifer. He's already inquired about where you are," the Minerva painting warned.

"What did you tell him?" Aurelius asked.

"Simply that Jennifer was doing some early morning research. It isn't as if you can hide that the Hat was gone," Minerva replied.

"True enough. Let's get you back," Jennifer said to the Hat.

"I don't suppose you could drop me off in Quintin's room instead? I'd really prefer to tell him about this myself," Godric said.

"If you're planning to tell him now, let me go along," Aurelius said, getting up. "I want to make sure he doesn't trip up and call you by the wrong name when he's not supposed to."

"That's probably a good idea," Godric agreed, and Aurelius put him on his head.

"I'll escort you up since I know the passwords," Jennifer offered, then led them through the Doorlift.

After seeing them inside, Jennifer cut through Quintin's room into her sitting room, attempting to work out what she was going to say to Severus when she got to the Headmaster's Study. Perhaps the truth was best, Jennifer mused, but with as little information as possible. She stepped inside and walked over to the coffee pot.

"Good morning, Severus," Jennifer said.

"Good morning. You're up exceedingly early, especially under the circumstances," Severus said thoughtfully.

"Well, maybe I was still wound up," Jennifer said flirtatiously.

"Then you would have woken me up as well," Severus pointed out. "Where's the Hat?"

"Oh, I dropped him off in Quintin's Room. I got up for some early morning research, but I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to be able to write a paper on the Hat. It's just not something that I can compare to other sorting devices," Jennifer explained carefully.

"As I have been saying the entire time," Severus replied with exasperation.

"Yes, alright, so you have," Jennifer said with a smile. "I hope you don't mind if I help Quintin with his paper now and again, especially when it comes to tracking down things in the Research Library."

"I always assumed you would. It's one of the reasons I agreed to not to take him off the allowance list, because I knew you'd probably be nosing in," Severus said.

"And he's likely going to need to borrow the Sorting Hat a time or two, to get more dates and things," Jennifer ventured.

"As long as he's getting the work done with plenty of resources to back up those dates, it's alright with me... assuming the Hat is returned for his sister's bedtime... and he doesn't get it muddy if he decides to play with the thing again."

"It could be worse, Severus. It could be mushy peas instead of mud," Jennifer teased.

"You're right. That would be worse," Severus agreed, refilling his coffee.