A longer chapter than the previous two, only because of details and descibing people and place etc.
I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, it really made me happy to see that! So yeah, please continue to review my story!
Well, not much to say here except that this would have been up earlier if there hadn't been thunder storms for the past three days, and my dad forcing me to turn my computer off during it and then having a black out...sucks really... :(
Oh well, here's the new chapter!
Please review!
Chapter 3
Harry and Draco followed Salazar down the bank of the river, their stones crunching beneath their feet as they continued behind the tall, skipping blonde man. Salazar suddenly turned and walked towards a small opening on the tree line, which stood at the edge of the river.
As they began to head into the forest, Harry noted that instead of stumbling on adjacent tree roots and small rocks, there was a small stone laid walkway which winded in and out of the various trees.
Harry quickened his pace, eager to see what the other three founders would be like, when he noticed that Draco was still strolling along at a leisurely pace.
"Come on Malfoy," Harry said with an impatient tone, "aren't you excited to see what the other founders will be like?"
"Not particularly Potter," Draco drawled as he continued at the same pace, wanting to aggravate the raven haired boy, "why should a Malfoy have to hurry just to meet a few famous witches and wizards."
"Because," Harry stated as he turned to face the blonde aristocrat, "I bet that on the inside you are peeing yourself at the thought of meeting such famous people, and the fact that you're trying to save face at your earlier shock of meeting Salazar Slytherin."
"I certainly are not, as you said, 'peeing my pants', neither on the inside or the outside," Draco said with a bored tone, "and I did not loose face before. It was only a temporary shock to me that made me loose my bearings and in a result, made me seem shocked, or have an expression of surprise."
"Right," Harry said with a snort, "whatever Malfoy."
Harry continued after Salazar, not caring about the Slytherin who was walking behind him, rather focusing on the Slytherin who was skipping ahead of him, humming to himself.
Draco just followed silently, observing his surroundings, as they ventured deeper and deeper into the forest.
As they continued down the path, Salazar turned and waved a hand at them, "come on! Come and meet my friends!"
With that, Salazar bounded down the stone path which led to a group of trees ahead, and he promptly ran through a gap between two trees, disappearing from sight. At that, Harry to turn to grin at his fellow time traveling comrade, before he ran to where Salazar had disappeared through the trees.
Draco watched as Harry turned and gave him an excited grin, before he sprinted off towards a clump of trees where Salazar had just disappeared between two trunks. Draco couldn't help but smile at the childish antic of the boy, before he shook his head, composed his façade and strolled towards the trees as well.
As Draco walked between the two trees he had seen both Salazar and Harry disappear through, he ended up in a large circular, brightly lit, and grassed area. He looked up and could see clear sky, the sun bathing the area in its' warm rays, lighting up the area naturally.
This is quite strange…Draco mussed to himself, wondering why on earth would there be such a area in the dark forest which could give off vibes of being a 'happy place'.
As Draco observed the area, he saw that towards the opposite end of where he was standing, there was a homely looking three story slab stone cottage, which had a small chimney poking through the shingled roof. There was a large oak tree off to the right of the house, with a wooden bench situated beneath the tree.
A little ways away from the large oak tree was a small pond, its' clear water showing the small fish darting between the roots of the lily pads which adorned the surface. At the edge of the tree line, there was a small paddock, which held two horses, one a magnificent golden hue and the other a speckled brown, who were grazing happily on the green grass.
Draco heard Salazar calling him over, so he strolled over, noticing the other man who Salazar had his arm slung around with narrowed eyes.
No way…Draco though as he approached, it can't be…
"Ric!" Salazar exclaimed, as he first entered the place that he had dubbed, 'home' as he skipped towards the shorter man, a wide smile on his face, "this is Harry! And Draco! No wait…no Draco just yet…"
Harry followed behind Salazar and couldn't help but let his jaw drop at the man Salazar was talking to.
No way…it can't be…no way in hell can that be-, Harry thought to himself in shock, before he was cut off by Salazar who promptly introduced the man he had slung his arm around.
"Harry, this is Godric," Salazar said, introducing the two, "Ric, this is Harry."
Harry stared shocked at the man before him. The man known as Godric Gryffindor was a man of average height, standing at about 5 foot 5, with long black hair which was mid back length. He had crystal blue eyes, which shone out beneath his hair, which he had parted to the side in a sweep.
He wore a pair of black leather pants tucked into black leather boots coming up to his knees, with a red tunic and a gold sash around his waist. Tied on top of the sash was a black belt, which had strapped to it a snake handled sword, which had emeralds incrusted into the snakes back as it wound down the handle of the sword, it's mouth opening up at the guard.
"No way…" Harry said as he observed the man before him, he's exactly like how Salazar Slytherin was described in books…minus the red and gold clothing of course…
"Draco! Over here!" Harry heard Salazar yell out, beckoning the other blonde who slowly approached them, eyeing the new man wearily.
"Draco this is Godric Gryffindor, Ric this is Draco," Salazar introduced.
Godric ignored the two travelers who Salazar had brought with him, instead pulling the taller man to the side and whispering quietly, "Sal…who are they?"
"Huh? Draco and Harry?" Sal said as he cocked his head to the side, "I found them."
"You found them?" Godric said with a raise of his brow, and when Salazar nodded happily, Godric could only sigh.
"I found them, and they will be my friends," Salazar said with a grin, "besides, the small one, Harry, he speaks."
"He speaks?" Godric echoed as Salazar nodded.
"He is family now, and I won't let him out of my sight," Salazar replied, "plus, I think he's adorable."
Godric only snorted before he retorted, "sure Sal. Who's the blonde with him then, and where did you find them?"
"The blonde is Draco, don't you ever listen Ric," Salazar said with a shake of his head, "and I found them on the hill, where we're going to build the school."
"Why were they there, of all places?" Godric muttered to himself.
"They said they were lost, and that they were traveling through this area," Salazar explained, "and I saw them do magic so I thought, why not let them stay with us, I mean they are lost and they don't have any provisions or anything."
"Sal…are you insane?" Godric whispered, "Who knows who they are, I mean they could be robbers or murderers!"
"Don't worry Ric, they are nice, trust me," Salazar replied with a smile as he patted his friend on the back, before heading back to Draco and Harry, who also were conversing amongst themselves.
Harry and Draco had been debating quietly to themselves when Godric had pulled Salazar away to talk.
"Are you telling me that was Godric Gryffindor?" Draco exclaimed, "He's more like Salazar Slytherin than Godric Gryffindor, for Merlin sake."
"I thought the exact same thing…" Harry replied slowly.
"I would say great minds think alike, but then I'd be degrading myself to your level," Draco replied with a smirk.
"Very funny Malfoy," Harry retorted with a roll of his eyes, "I'm going to nominate you for comedian of the year."
"Oh, quite the comedian yourself there Potter," Draco taunted.
"Shut it Malfoy," Harry growled out, "or you might just find yourself in a real pickle."
"Really?" Draco replied with a sneer, "Oh, I'm shaking in my shoes."
"The great Draco Malfoy being afraid of poor little old Harry Potter," Harry replied with mock surprise, "What is the world coming to!"
"It's called sarcasm Potter," Draco retorted.
"Really?" Harry said as he slapped both hands against his cheeks, his expression shocked, "here I was thinking he was finally admitting his fears."
"Don't get your hopes up Potter," Draco said as he turned up his nose at the shorter man teasing him, "a Malfoy never admits weakness."
"Hm, whatever you say, Mr.-I'm-shakin-in-ma-boots," Harry retorted.
Draco just stared at Harry, who only replied with a sharp, "what?"
"Nevermind…" Draco said as he internally shivered at Harry's very bad name calling.
"Yeah, that's right," Harry replied with a snap of his fingers, "no comeback."
"I have an assorted arsenal of comebacks in my possession," Draco drawled, "but none of them are worth saying in retaliation to your poor attempt at a verbal attack at me."
"Think you're funny do you?" Harry said with a small smile, "cause personally I think your humor is drawl and boring."
"I'm not trying to be a comedian Potter," Draco snapped back, "I'm only stating the facts."
"Right…" Harry said in an un-interested tone, as he began to observe his surrounds, having had the chance to do so earlier in his haste to meet the other founders.
"Oh yeah…I wonder where the two women are…" Harry said out loud, more to himself than to his companion.
At that moment Salazar walked back towards them, Godric standing behind Salazar, eying them jadedly.
"So, you must be hungry, or thirsty or even tired," Salazar said with a grin, "come, I'll show you inside. There is plenty of room, and I'm sure you two would like your own rooms."
"Thanks Salazar," Harry replied with a grin, "we really appreciate that you're letting us stay with you, us being strangers and all."
"Nonsense," Salazar dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand, "we would love to have you, right Ric?"
Godric didn't reply, instead he nodded slowly before stalking towards the house ahead of them, silent.
"Don't mind him," Salazar said with a soft sigh, "he's just a bit shy. He may seem cold and heartless but really he's a big softy, you only need some time to get to know him."
Draco and Harry exchanged a quick glance at each other, one of whom shrugged, the other didn't do anything in response.
"Come one, I'll show you the house," Salazar said as he led the way towards the cottage, "I think Helga is inside, I haven't the foggiest where Rowena is though."
"Oh, who are Helga and Rowena?" Harry asked, trying to sound like he's never heard the names before.
"Helga and Rowena? Oh they're friends of Ric's and I's," Salazar said as he held the cottage door open for them to walk through, which turned out to lead into a seating area, much like a modern living room except with the lack of electronics and photos which are usually present.
"This is the den," Salazar said with a sweep of his arm at the room, "we sometimes just sit around and talk here."
Inside the room there was various bookshelves constructed from slabs of food, pieced together, housing a countless amount of books. In the middle of the room was a large wool woven rug, which adorned the stone floor.
Seated on the rug was a large round table, the top being a slice off a tree trunk, showing the countless rings indicating how old the tree was when it was cut. Surrounding the table were two high back wooden chairs and two large high back two seat benches. There was a purple knitted blanket which was draped over the back of one of the benches, which Harry assumed was for warmth.
From this room, there was an archway on the left hand wall, and beside the archway was a staircase, leading to the upper levels. They followed Salazar through the archway, which led into the kitchen and eating area. There was a large table with four chairs placed around it, and on the table there was a vase of assorted flowers, arranged in a beautiful display.
"This is where we cook dinner, and we have a fireplace there to cook on, along with some benches to prepare food for," Salazar explained, "I think its' Rowena's turn to make dinner tonight, so it should be nice…we should also transfigure some more chairs and cutlery too…"
"I look forward to it," Harry replied with a smile, "sorry to be a bother."
"No bother. Anyway," Salazar said as he returned Harry's smile, getting back on topic, "that door there," Salazar gestured to the wooden door on the far wall, "leads to the back garden, where we sometimes have lunch and also Rowena has begun to grow a vegetable patch so we can be self sufficient in certain foods, rather than having to ride to town all the time."
"I was wondering Salazar," Draco asked hesitantly, "but why is there such an area in this dark forest, I mean, wouldn't it be easier to live up on the hill?"
"Why! Didn't I tell you?" Salazar exclaimed happily, "my companions and I are thinking of making a school! How exciting is that!"
"Really?" Harry questioned, "what are you thinking of calling the school?"
"We don't know just yet," Salazar said as he tapped his finger against his chin, "but we'll think of it once it's finished."
"Oh, so you already have a plan?" Draco asked, curious.
"Yes, Helga is quite the smart one, she's like the brain of our group," Salazar said with a smile, "anyway, continuing on."
Helga is the smart one? Harry thought to himself, if Helga Hufflepuff is smart, I dread to think what Rowena Ravenclaw will be like…
Salazar led them back to the den and proceeded to trudge up stairs, leading the tour.
When they reached the second floor, there was a wide corridor, with six different doors along it, and at the end of the hall, there was another staircase leading up.
"This room," Salazar said as he indicated to the first door on his left, "is the planning room. This is were we hold all our designs for the school and all the material lists. This room is just the storage area though."
"This room is the one we actually use to draw out plans and to discuss things," Salazar said as he opened the door closest to him on the right, opening up into a large room, reminding Harry of the library, with its various little tables and the multiple bookshelves adorning the walls.
Along the wall were large windows cut into the stone, with a wooden two door shutters which opened out, letting in the breeze.
"So you just plan everything for the school here?" Draco asked casually.
"Pretty much," Salazar replied.
"Salazar, please quiet down, I'm trying to write here," came an un-emotive voice from the far corner of the room, where someone sat with their back to them at one of the various tables.
"Oh sorry Helga, didn't mean to disturb you," Salazar said as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I'd like you to meet Harry and Draco, who'll be staying with us from today."
The woman known as Helga Hufflepuff turned her icy stare at the new comers, as she slowly got out of her seat to fully face the other people in the room.
"My name is Helga Hufflepuff," Helga said coldly, "pleasure."
"Nice to meet you too," Draco replied back, more out of politeness than of friendliness.
The first thing they noticed about the woman before them was her hair. It was a dark brown with various hues mixed in, but the most astonishing thing was that her hair was down to her knees. She had plated her hair in a braid, which was tied with a black ribbon. The black dress she was wearing was floor length, with puffy long sleeves and a ribbon tied beneath the bust of the dress, accentuating her curves. She was of average height, and Draco estimated she stood around 5 foot 1, a little bit shorter than Harry.
She held herself with a poise of someone of great status, and Harry was greatly reminded of a pureblood. The most friendly thing about her cold demeanor was her eyes, which were a deep green, flecked with specks of gold, making her face look soft, despite her hard features.
"Sorry to intrude, we'll be going now," Salazar said as he jerked his head in the direction of the door to the other two men, who nodded and followed the man out the door, who softly shut the door with a thud.
"Wow, that's Helga?" Harry whispered to Draco, "I mean, she's like the Ice Queen or something!"
"Agreed, I think she's more Slytherin than even Godric," Draco whispered back quietly, not wanting the real Salazar Slytherin to hear.
"Yeah…that was intense…" Harry replied back as he stared at the door they had just exited from.
"What you guys whispering about?" Salazar asked as he bent over and stuck his head between them, an excited smile on his lips, "is it something funny?"
"Oh, nothing, I was just telling Malfoy how nice I think he's hair is looking today," Harry lied smoothly, mentally berating himself on how stupid it sounded.
"It does," Salazar exclaimed as he clapped his hand on Draco's shoulder, "good job with the hair. Oh, I was wondering…why do the two of you refer to each other as your last names, it's not very friendly at all."
"Potter and I have had some…issues between us since our childhood, and so it results in us fighting all the time and referring to each other by our last names," Draco explained calmly.
"Well, that's not very nice," Salazar said with a frown, "I mean, you two haven't fought since I've met you, and if your supposed to be enemies, then I would assume you'd be trying to kill each other by now."
"We're not so bad now," Harry said as he glanced at Draco to see his reaction, "after some…stuff…that happened, we sort of got over out little quarrelling but I don't know, old habits die hard I guess."
Harry shrugged after he finished, to emphasis his point. Salazar looked between Draco and Harry, both of whom were indifferent about the situation.
"I think that the two of you should refer to each other by your first names," Salazar said wisely, "I mean, if the two of you used to be enemies, but now are not, wouldn't that mean your friends? I mean you put up with each other right?"
Draco could only blink in response to the statement, me, friends with Harry Potter? Nu-uh, no way…well…maybe we could be…no, we can't be…I mean, we're mortal enemies…aren't we?
Harry had a similar trail of thought, Draco Malfoy, friends with me? Ex-death eater son turned good friends with the boy who lived? The Prophet would have a field day with this…I mean, me friends with him? It couldn't work…it'd never work…right?
"Ok, Salazar," Harry said with a sigh, seeing the pout on the said man's face, knowing that he won't back down unless they agree, "is that alright Draco? Calling you Draco I mean?"
"Uh, sure Harry…" Draco said, feeling strange as the name rolled off his tongue.
"Right, that's better!" Salazar exclaimed with a grin before proceeding to show them the other four rooms on the floor, which were a library, Helga's bedroom, which they avoided entering, a small room which held seating cushions and a floor table, which Salazar explained was Rowena's relaxation room, and a potion room.
The upper floor consisted of six different doors, much in the same as the lower floor.
"Ok, so the door on the left is mine, directly opposite mine is Godrics'," Salazar explained, "the last door on the right is Rowena's so you two can pick a room out of the three left."
Harry and Draco took doors directly opposite one another, Harry on the left, beside Salazar and Draco on the right, in between Godric and Rowena.
With a little help from Salazar, they rearranged the two rooms' furniture and placed clean sheets and pillows on the beds. They also dusted the rooms magically, freeing the room of all dirt and grime.
"Well," Salazar said they stood in the hallway after they had finished their renovation of their rooms, "I shall let you two rest, I'll call you for dinner later."
"Thanks Salazar," Harry said with a small yawn, feeling the exhaustion finally settle in, opening the door to his room and giving a small wave to the said man and a quick smile to the other blonde Slytherin.
Harry closed the door behind him before staggering over to his new bed, and collapsing onto the sheets, his eyes drifting shut the moment his head hit the bead.
Draco saw Harry wave goodbye to Salazar and throw him a small smile, before he disappeared behind the wooden door.
"Well, I shall rest as well," Draco said as he opened the door to his room, nodding in acknowledgement at the man in the hallway before he shut his door, letting it close softly. He approached his bed, lying down elegantly on the white sheets, as he pulled off his shoes and let them drop to the floor.
It's been an interesting day… Draco thought to himself as he too, settled himself onto his bed, his hands tucked behind his head as he recalled the day's events, yet why do I get the feeling that it's only the beginning…?
So, we finally meet Godric and Helga? What interesting characters...but personally my fav is Sal... ^^
Rowena will be introduced at dinner, and I think that she will be quite amusing... ( V )YY
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