Preface Part Two- Story of the Great Gryffindor
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Come children, gather 'round. Please, take a seat by the fire. Yesterday you heard about the evil snake Salazar Slytherin and you now know his side of the story. Let me tell you the story that most of you already know. Here is the story of the great Godric Gryffindor.
Listen well young ones; see if this be the truth or the lie.
I give you the tale of the founding of Hogwarts, the story known to the whole of the Wizarding World.
III
Godric Gryffindor surveyed the brand new school, Hogwarts, with pride. He had come up with the brilliant idea of building a school where he could teach children magic. His two friends, Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw had eagerly helped him build the school. Salazar Slytherin, a scowling, angry man with enough money to pay for the construction of the school, needed to be coerced and coddled into building the school. After a while Slytherin relented and granted them enough money to build.
The school became a huge castle like one the great lords lived in at the time. The only difference between the castle of a lord and Hogwarts was the amount of time and spell work Gryffindor and his two friends placed on every stone in the entire school.
Slytherin was very unhappy with the idea, after all, who would want to build a school where you could teach children magic. If everyone started to learn magic, how could you use your own advanced knowledge of magic to control the underlings? All those who did not know magic should be bowing to the magnificence of those who did have the learning required; or so Slytherin believed.
Gryffindor resolved to keep an eye on Slytherin. If Slytherin decided to use the students he was supposed to watch over as an army bent on destroying the world, Gryffindor would have to step in and protect everyone else from Slytherin's scourge.
The school was built and the first few years passed without problems. Gryffindor had explained about the rules of the school on the very first day and the four founders began to choose their students. Twenty young boys had decided to try their luck with magic. Gryffindor chose six students to be the first in his prestigious house. Harrous Potter, a hot headed boy with enough courage to suit, Geoffrey Longbottom, a small clumsy boy that was quite good at spells, Anthony McGonagall a true leader, Rashton Dumbledore a wise child with advanced knowledge, Mattathias Fey one of the fairies from his own moor, and his own son, Kenneth Gryffindor.
Gryffindor could not help noticing that the four students Slytherin chose where all sallow and ugly. All four of those students had money backing them and had a twisted disposition towards the other students. They continuously acted superior and snotty towards their equals.
Gryffindor and his students quickly learned to avoid the Slytherins. Instead they threw themselves into their studies. They learned all of the precious magic Gryffindor and his two friends could teach them.
After they graduated from Hogwarts, they went out into the world to help all of the impoverished peasants who had magical abilities, learn how to use their magic. Rashton Dumbledore and Anthony McGonagall decided to create a town just outside of Hogwarts called Hogsmeade where all those who were wizards and witches could go. Diagon Alley was created a few years later in a small but growing Muggle town named London.
All of the Gryffindors, old and new members, tried their best to improve the world of those around them.
The great Godric Gryffindor himself went into the struggling world for a few years and created new housing for all wizarding kind. He built Godric's Hollow with his own magic.
After years out in the world helping people, they returned to Hogwarts. Inside the school they found chaos. Slytherin's original students had not left the school, but had remained to pass on their slimy influence onto younger generations. They ruled over the school with a scowl on their faces and an unkind word for all of those around them.
Slytherin had taken over Hogwarts.
Godric Gryffindor knew that Salazar Slytherin had always been resentful of Gryffindor's students, especially the fey, Mattathias. The Gryffindor's were helping the community and Salazar was too busy trying to destroy all wizarding kind to notice that what his Slytherins were doing to other students was wrong. From the moment that Godric Gryffindor had left the castle, Slytherin had not allowed any students into the school that had a muggle in their recent family history. Only pureblooded students were allowed to learn in the school. Slytherin house expanded rapidly while the other three houses fell into disrepair. It was horrifying.
Gryffindor took control of the school back from Slytherin and began to rebuild Hogwarts until the school was back to its former glory.
Slytherin house became resentful of Gryffindor's actions and began to learn the darker material that Slytherin had to teach them.
Gryffindor watched as the Slytherins began to dabble in the dark arts but he did not step in to stop the horrible practice. After all, Salazar had helped build the school. If he wanted to teach rudimentary dark arts to his students, so be it.
The dark arts did not stop at basic offensive spells. They learned so much dark magic that they felt that they had to thank their wonderful teacher. Salazar Slytherin became a lord in Slytherin house. Slytherin's students' devotion became so encompassing that the students had created a shrine for their mentor deep beneath the school. They placed a basilisk there to protect their lord, Slytherin.
Slowly news began to ooze out from the Slytherin common room in the dungeons. They had created a spell that could torture any unsuspecting person into submission. They called it the Cruciatus curse and they delighted over the fact that it gave them complete control over weak-minded muggles. Soon the Imperious curse was created and some Hufflepuff students had been found wandering the halls with the curse placed on their mind. Total control was a wonderful thing to Slytherins.
After he had found his first helpless Hufflepuff wandering the halls late a night, Gryffindor decided to step into the fray. He descended into the dungeons to have a chat with Slytherin and his wayward house. He told them to cease their dark magic immediately or face the dire consequences.
Sadly, his efforts were not enough. Barely a week after his talk with the house, a Ravenclaw student was found dead in a dungeon hallway without a mark on his body. The cause of his death was unknown. Fingers were immediately pointed towards Slytherin house.
Gryffindor, willing to let his good nature override his doubts gave Slytherin house a chance to defend itself. They declined and announced new spell, Avada Kedavra, the killing spell they had used on the Ravenclaw.
Salazar Slytherin was sent from the school in disgrace. His four disciples left the day after to follow Slytherin into the depths of Hell. Their kind of dark magic was not welcome in Hogwarts any longer. Any child found using dark magic or communicating with Salazar Slytherin would be expelled.
Parents were angry that a menace like Slytherin had been allowed into the school in the first place. They thought that the entirety of Slytherin house should be eradicated and Slytherin's students should not be taught magic. Forcing the Slytherins to live like the muggles they so disliked would be a fitting punishment.
Gryffindor disagreed. He believed that no matter what family or past you held, all people should be allowed to use magic. Slytherin house was allowed to stay in Hogwarts because of the kindness of the great Gryffindor.
Over the next couple of years, Gryffindor began to ensure that Slytherin's ideas would never take root in magical society again. He made laws in the fledgling ministry that restricted all Slytherins from taking power. He also made an unbreakable law that enforced the anti Slytherin Law in Hogwarts. If a headmaster was ever a Slytherin, he would have limited powers and the next headmaster after him must be a Gryffindor to ensure that any malpractice used during the Slytherin's tenure could be fixed immediately.
Gryffindor's greatest accomplishment was on the hat that he constantly wore. Gryffindor placed a spell on his hat that would give the previously inanimate object a mind to think with. The hat would continue to filter students into the correct house when all of the remaining three founders died.
He had the hat place all of the smart students into Ravenclaw, the courageous students into his own house, and all of the descendents of Slytherin house and any one else who fit in with their ilk were sent to Slytherin. The rest of the students were sent to Hufflepuff.
Soon peace returned to the school. Slytherin house had been controlled though there was still resentment simmering below their subservient front.
Before leaving the school, Slytherin had hidden the entrance to the chamber where the basilisk lay as his last defiance towards what was right and just. When questioned none of the members of Slytherins legacy would tell where the entrance was hidden. It became the rumor of the Chamber of Secrets.
Soon after, the first Weasley arrived at Hogwarts. The sorting hat immediately placed him in Gryffindor and the first pureblooded all Gryffindor family was created.
The stage had been set to deny all Slytherins power over others and Gryffindor died pleased with his life's work.
III
Thus, my children, the story of the founding of Hogwarts has been written. Be it true or be it false? It is for you to decide.
This is the story that Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix believe with all of their large hearts. They fight against Voldemort to finish what Godric Gryffindor started, the elimination of Slytherin and his false ideas. This is the story widely told to all children not of Slytherin decent. It is considered anathema to not tell your children about the great deeds of Gryffindor.
Next you will go into the minds of the children who are to learn the truth, or the lie of the truth. They may be deluded in their version of the truth but they stand by their beliefs.
Can you fault them for that?
Their enemies do.
Farewell my children. I do not know if we shall speak again. Until such time I give you one piece of advice.
Forget all that you have learned about the wizarding world before these tales. Broaden your mind so you may see the truth and the lie that is truth. If you refuse to believe anything that is said in the next few pages, you will never see what is truth and lies.
