AN: Written for semi-finals of Season 8 of the Quidditch League Competition.
Beater 1, Pride of Portree
Prompts: Loyalty, Fear, Burn
Helga knew something was wrong the moment she arrived at Godric's office.
"Where is Sal?"
Godric and Rowena exchanged a look.
"He's not coming, you should take a seat."
Salazar knew he was in trouble. Godric and Rowena had not approved of his research. Helga as always had been supportive, weary but supportive, the loyal friend that she was.
A seer he knew had shared a vision of carriages that moved without horses or magic. The current carriages always needed to be maintained, it took a toll on the magic of whoever needed to do it. He had decided to see if he could create this sooner. Godric and Rowena had been immediately against interfering with the future, saying he was messing with things he could not understand. They refused to help or participate and had stopped talking to him all together. They believed anything involving time was dark magic and would not stand for it to have an influence at Hogwarts.
Now he couldn't find any of his fellow founders. He knew Helga would defend him, but he feared that it wouldn't be enough.
"No."
"Helga-"
"No. I will not support any of this."
"He is impacting the school!"
"He is trying to make life easier."
Godric took a breath, "First it was brooms, flying, something no one had thought of. We did not say anything because we saw the potential. But this is different. He is taking out leniency too far. Messing with time, associating with seers is not acceptable. We need to stop this before he finds something much worse that he 'just wants to try'."
Helga felt her blood run cold. "That is not what needs to happen."
Godric would not be convinced, not unless Rowena was, and with her past experience with seers, that was not going to happen anytime soon.
"Helga, it is time to realize that he is not the man he was when we met him. This is for the scho-"
"Stop." She cut Rowena off. "It is bit for the school, it is because of your own personal biases. You refuse to even see the possibility of good inventions so caught up in your fear of a bad idea."
"He will burn this school to the ground!"
"Just because that is what happened when you angered a seer-"
"How dare you-"
"How dare I?" Helga stood, anger flashing through her. She saw both Godric and Rowena's eyes widen at her unusual display of anger. "You are the one willing to throw away a possibility of the future, and your loyalty out of fear. I have never heard of something of so unintelligent or cowardly in my life. I will have nothing to do with this. When you are done behaving like children, then we can talk." She spun around and left the room, making her way quickly to Salazar's rooms.
As she passed students, she made sure to put a reassuring smile on her face, no need to cause concern with their pupils.
She took a calming breath before knocking on the door.
"Come in."
She walked in to Salazar's rooms to see packed trunk by the door.
She turned to Salazar, frowning, "Are you taking a trip?"
Salazar let out a sigh and looked at her, for the second time in less than an hour Helga felt cold sweep through her body.
"No."
"Helga-"
"You can't leave."
"I fear that if I don't they will force my hand. I would rather it be on my terms."
"They will come around-"
"If you thought that you wouldn't have come down here so quickly."
"I-they'll come around, they have to."
Salazar gave her a sad smile, "we both know that they don't and that if it comes down to it they will gladly burn my reputation to the ground before ever admitting I may have been on to something. I'm sorry Helga, I do not wish to leave you here. I would offer to take you with me, but one of us must remain to care for our students, you will take care of mine won't you? I fear they will face judgement after I am gone."
She went to argue, but knew that everything he said was the truth. "Of course I will."
"Thank you."
"When do you leave?"
"As soon as I am packed. I put the water on, would you care to have tea while I finish?"
Helga sighed, trying to ignore the ball of worry and fear growing in her chest, "tea sounds lovely."
The next morning, the students awoke to the news that one of their professors had left. Helga had convinced Godric and Rowena to simply say it was for personal reasons. Nonetheless they still managed to 'accidentally' let students over hear that it was because he was 'practicing dark magic'. Within a week the school was alive with rumours about what really happened. Distrust and anger started to be directed toward Salazar's students.
Helga tried to keep the peace, but with half of the students, for she would not tolerate the behaviour from her own, and both of her friends against her, there was little she could do. Students would show up at her office or in the healing rooms at all hours of the day with injuries from their peers who took something a little too far.
As much as she tried to stop it, instead of looking ahead to the future and exploring new things, the school seemed stuck in the past. The staff and students were falling back into old practices of punishment and retribution that she and Salazar had fought so hard to move past.
Worst of all was that Helga was all alone, and there was nothing more she could do to help. For a healer - there was no worse fate.
AN: Thanks for reading!