Resolution
Salazar is devastated by an attack on Hogwarts, and Helga tries to comfort him.
Helga gently rapped on Salazar's door. "Sal? Can I come in?"
Silence slapped back. But the locking mechanism on the door clicked open.
She peered into the gloom, eventually making out a still figure lying on the velvet chaise lounge.
She dragged a chair next to him and sat down. "Not your usual welcome, Sal." Coldness snapped and broke over them both. Helga shivered. "I know this is especially hard for you."
"Do you?" His voice whipped out like a blade.
She flinched, and then her own temper straightened her spine. "Unending empathy, remember. As you're so fond of telling me."
He snorted.
She ignored him. "May I tell you a story?"
"If you must."
Heartbeats passed. "Once upon a time, there was a man with a dream. He was a visionary man, a brilliant man." She caught his eyes in hers. "A compassionate man. And he saw how the magical children of England were suffering so terribly, especially the ones of muggle heritage. 'I will build a place for them to be safe,' he said. And he did, with the help of his three best friends. It was a glorious magical school, a haven for every magical child in England, no matter where they came from."
Salazar's eyes glinted with something unreadable.
"But every dream comes with its own trials, and this one was no different. A muggle-born child made the mistake of telling his muggle kin about the magical school. But the muggle kin didn't understand and developed a great fear and, in their ignorance, attacked the school with a mighty muggle force."
Salazar's jaw clenched.
"It was a terrible battle. Many lives were lost, both magical and muggle. And the man fell into a bleak depression, for he feared his dream could not be."
His eyes burned into hers, aching.
She lifted her chin. "But he was wrong, Sal. It was a beautiful dream. And when things don't go as planned, you don't just give up on a beautiful dream. You find a way to bend things to your will. You never ever give up. The man had taught his three best friends this very lesson."
She took his hand in hers, feeling it tremble.
"And so one of his friends took it upon herself to remind the man of his own resourcefulness and perseverance. Because she believed in his beautiful dream. All magical children would be safe, muggleborn and magical-born alike."
Silence coiled between them, his hand still trembling in hers. But then, he took a deep breath and it became still.
"Let me tell you a story, Helga." Weariness wrung his voice like a rag. "Once upon a time, there was a man with a dream that he could save every magical child in England. All could be trusted because all knew what it was to wield magic." His eyes caught hers, his voice dwindling to a whisper. "But he was wrong."