Bill shuffled through the parchments on his desk, searching for the one with his class list for the seventh years. He wanted to memorize the names of all of his students before school began in two weeks.
Outside his window, he could hear the clanging of steel as Godric and Salazar sparred using their broadswords. It was a sound that had only recently begun to make Bill feel at home. It was quite odd to the red haired man as he'd never been around the sounds of sword fighting before, but now it just felt right.
Bill also felt that way about the smell of Helga's pastries, and even Rowena's perfume. It was a potion that the young Foundress had created herself, and it smelled like cinnamon and vanilla with a hint of something more. Truth be told, that scent was the most addicting one ever in Bill's opinion.
Unfortunately, Rowena didn't like Bill much. Actually, that was an understatement, as she loathed him.
Bill sighed as he read through the list of names that he'd finally found in one of the drawers. One name stood out boldly to him, Helena Ravenclaw.
Being the curious type of person, Bill went in search of Rowena, and found her in the armory. "Lady Ravenclaw?" he said, polite as always. He may have been on a first name basis with the other three Founders but he knew better than to think she would appreciate the same level of familiarity.
"Yes, Mr. Weasley," she replied, looking up from the dagger she was sharpening.
"I noticed that there's a Helena Ravenclaw on my seventh year class list. Is she your sister?" he asked.
Rowena frowned. "She is my younger sister, yes." Her eyes narrowed. "Don't even think about laying a hand on her," she snapped.
Bill glared in response. "I wouldn't dream of it! She's the same age as my younger brothers, and children that age don't attract me!"
Rowena tossed her hair and snapped, "Fine!"
"Fine!" Bill snapped back as he started to walk away.
"Fine!" she snapped again, wanting to have the last word.
A "Fine!" echoed back down the corridor to her. She huffed angrily and glared at the door, just as Helga walked through it.
"Are you mad at Bill again?" Helga asked, barely holding in her amusement at the pair's antics.
"He's such a – a – well, I don't know what he is, but it's bad!" Rowena huffed.
Helga just shook her head. "I think that you're just upset because, despite your claims to the contrary, you like him," she said.
"I most certainly do not!" she retorted.
"Fine, fine… but you do want to like him," Helga said, checking how sharp her arrows were. "But you don't trust any men, at least not until they've proven themselves to you. I mean, you only trusted Godric and Salazar after they rescued Helena from those bandits." She turned from the rack of weapons.
Rowena glared at her best friend.
"Row," Helga said, "Come sit with me." She sat on a bench and patted the empty space beside her.
"Alright," Rowena said, moving to the indicated spot.
"You're so busy trying to protect yourself from being hurt again, that you won't trust people," Helga said, wrapping her arms around the taller, more slender brunette.
Rowena sniffed as her eyes welled with tears, and leaned into her friend's embrace.
"Sweetie, you have to let go of the past, or you won't have a future," Helga said. "Bill Weasley is a good man, and despite your prickliness towards him, he seems to quite admire you."
"Why?" Rowena asked in confusion. "I've done everything I can to push him away!"
Helga smiled and rubbed her friend's arm. "I believe that he finds your stubbornness attractive. He seems to be the type of man who'd find a strong woman appealing."
"You can't be serious!" Rowena snapped. "The whole reason I act the way I do is because all men ever want are women who are meek and soft-spoken, not brash and bold!"
Helga smiled. "Perhaps," she said, smirking a little, "Men in the future prefer their women to be strong. I think Bill quite enjoys the challenge you present him."
Rowena turned to stare at her friend. "Challenge?"
"Mhmm," Helga said. "I heard him telling Salazar, during one of his weaponry lessons, that nothing worth having is easy to get. And you, my dear friend, are perhaps the biggest challenge Bill will ever face."
Rowena laughed softly. "I do want to like him. He's so… likeable. That doesn't make any sense does it? I don't make sense!"
Helga laughed as well. "I think, Rowena, that you are in grave danger of falling in love with Bill Weasley," she said.
The brunette looked a bit dreamy-eyed. "Perhaps he is safe," Rowena said.
"No, Rowena, he isn't, and that is precisely what intrigues you," Helga said. "We women are often attracted to men with the very attributes that we swear we don't care for."
"Oh," Rowena said. "That does explain why you worry so whenever Salazar starts another fight with Lord Malfoy. Remember the last time you patched Sal up from one of their fights. You must have lectured him all day, but after he was asleep, I caught you caressing his face."
"You saw that?" Helga said in shock, her eyes wide.
"Oh, yes," Rowena said. "I think it's very sweet. Do you know why Salazar duels Lord Malfoy so often?"
"No," the blonde replied.
"It is because Lord Malfoy insults your heritage. Salazar will tolerate any insult toward himself, but when someone insults, or worse, threatens you, Salazar tends to go into a blind rage," Rowena explained.
Helga turned pink. "What sort of insults?" she asked softly.
Rowena's eyes flashed in anger as she said, "The last time was because Lord Malfoy referred to you as Salazar's Mudblood whore."
Helga gasped in shock. "How could a nobleman speak so? I had thought better of him."
Rowena shook her head. "Have you not heard the saying, 'Fair speech may hide a foul heart'?"
"True enough," Helga agreed. "Now, shall we not go and watch Bill get disarmed again?" she asked, smiling. Salazar and Godric often teased Bill for getting disarmed while sparring whenever Rowena was watching but never anytime else.
The two ladies exited the castle, arms wrapped around each other's waists. The men had not yet noticed their presence, and Rowena took that time to admire Bill's form.
He was quite lean and muscular, though not bulky. His long red hair was tied at the nape of his neck, and his earring swung as he fought both Salazar and Godric at the same time. He was glistening with sweat from holding the broadsword aloft, and from the strength it took to fend off attacks from both men at once. His white shirt clung to his damp chest, revealing the ridged plains of his stomach, and the stylish tight pants showed that he was in excellent shape overall. The pants were beige and he wore a pair of black knee-high boots as well. His golden tan had not diminished despite have spent the past three months in Scotland as opposed to the desert. Rowena had often admired Bill's blue eyes, most especially when they were shooting sparks at her in annoyance or frustration. Right now she noticed that they were sparkling with pleasure, and she realized that they were no less attractive like that.
Helga, on the other hand, gazed fondly at Salazar.
He had long black hair, held back on the top and sides in a thick braid that lay across the rest of his hair, which hung loose. His emerald eyes sparkled in pleasure at the challenge his new friend gave him. His black shirt which was usually loose and flowing on his torso now clung tightly from his exercise. His strong jaw was clenched tight, as it often was when he fought. He was very tall, even more so that Bill, and he was broad shouldered enough to seem larger than he really was. Salazar always dressed in black or rarely dark green. It made him look mysterious. And despite Helga's fondness for fairness, she did so admire his cunning, even as it exasperated her to no end.
Out of the corner of her eye, Helga noticed the young girl they had hired to make school robes for the students. If she was not mistaken, the newly eighteen year old girl was staring at Godric.
Godric's hair was long, black and usually quite messy, though just now he had it tightly braided. His eyes were hazel and changed from green to brown depending on his mood. He wore red clothes today. His shirt was a bright crimson color, and his pants were quite dark. He was shorter than the other two men, but was not short by any means. He was broad shouldered and well muscled; in fact, he had once wrestled an adolescent dragon and won.
The young girl was most definitely eying the fourth Founder, and the more Helga thought about it, the more she hoped Godric would notice the young girl.
At that precise moment, Bill noticed Rowena and rather than being disarmed, he began to fight harder than ever.
Perhaps Rowena's comments had hurt him more than he let on, Helga thought as Bill disarmed Salazar then Godric in two easy flicks of his sword.
Two hidden movie references, or perhaps not so hidden. Remember, they are worth 10 points each.
20 Points: In the movie "Dragonheart", who was the voice of the dragon?