The Original and The Wizard
Chapter 2
Hogwarts
AN: This story is a Harry Potter crossover with The Vampire Diaries, Twilight and whatever else may appear.
WARNINGS: This will be a somewhat very AU story. There will be time line changes of course, with location changes thrown in the mix too and at some stages, time jumps. That is the beauty of fan-fiction, you can change it to suit your own little twisted tale. There will be NO slash. This will be OOC.
I will be forthcoming with a heads up that my style of writing will be somewhat of a difference throughout my story from chapter to chapter, and even within them, as the progress of time changes throughout history.
Alas, it's also for the joys of being able to experiment in the world of fanfiction. Notwithstanding the fact that, I, obviously was not there in the ways of conversation back from a thousand years ago. But I purely wish to explore and play with it a little, if not; a lot.
Enter at your own risk!
And most importantly, I hope you enjoy the ride with me.
Pairings will develop throughout the story, but more in the later chapters than the earlier ones.
"Talk"
'Thoughts'
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, The Vampire Diaries, Twilight or any of the respective characters, nor anything else that may pop up. No copyright infringement intended.
Early 1000 A.D – 1150 A.D
"Hogwarts?!" Niklaus asked incredulously. Briefly forgetting his manners in his surprise.
"Quite right!" Helga replied cheerfully. "It is a school for the magically gifted." She explained as if speaking to little children, although not unkindly. Her bright blue eyes glinting mischievously.
Distractedly wiping his hands quickly on his travel worn trousers, Niklaus could not help but stare. "Magically gifted?" He repeated slowly. He looked over at his siblings and raised his eyebrows. Silently asking what madness this was, before turning back to the woman.
"Indeed." She said with a chuckle. "Why not follow me inside so we can talk over a nice hot meal! What say you?" She asked with an encouraging smile as she raised her dark eyebrows questioningly.
Niklaus shot his siblings another look and shrugged. They gave him a slight nod in return. "Sure!" He answered. Smiling back at Helga.
They followed her through a set of very tall, thick doors to what seemed to be a large entrance hall, it was brightly lit with numerous torches placed strategically into sconces on the walls. Niklaus stared in open wonder at the sight before him. Never had he seen such magnificence. To his right was a closed set of double wooden doors at least twelve feet high. He could only imagine what might be in the room beyond it. To his left was a large staircase that lead to at least a dozen other staircases above, and to his amazement, they moved.
"Wow!" He heard Kol say.
"Wow, indeed, little brother!" He agreed in awe. Although it was such a vast open space, it had a welcoming warmth to it.
He was greatly impressed.
Helga gestured to the large wooden doors to their right, "Shall we?" She chuckled, obviously pleased at their reactions and breaking them out of their trances.
Reminding Niklaus that she was there, he smiled politely. "Of course; please, after you." He nodded in return.
They proceeded to follow her to the doors as she opened one, Niklaus did not think she would have the strength, but she proved him wrong.
Niklaus was wrong, very wrong indeed. He could not have imagined what was in the room behind the enormous doors. It was nothing short of, well, magical.
"Oh my!" Rebekah exclaimed.
"Magnificent!" Elijah said in wonder.
"Impressive!" Was Finn's murmur.
"I love it!" Said Kol with a grin.
With nothing short of wonder, they were all, stood stock still at the door way as they looked around the Great Hall.
It was another vast room with four long tables running along the length of it, and a single long table sat on a raised platform along the far wall, facing all the tables as if to keep watch over invisible children.
But that was not what held Niklaus' attention, forgetting himself, he was staring with his mouth slightly ajar at the thousands of gently bouncing candles floating near an open roof, showing the blue sky above as clouds lazily drifted along. "How do you protect the inside of the hall?" He asked in disbelief.
"Well you see, Godric Gryffindor thought it would be good to look like the outside sky, and to also reflect the weather. Which indeed he was right, he did such a wonderful job of it there would appear to be no roof." Helga said with pride. "But do not tell him I say so, or it just might go to his head." She chuckled with delight. At Niklaus' confused look she clarified. "It is bewitched you see! There is a roof, only it appears there is not." She smiled kindly.
"I see." Niklaus responded with a slow nod, although really he did not.
"It is wonderful!" Rebekah said mesmerised.
"Why, thank you!" A deep voice chuckled from behind them. They all spun around in surprise. Niklaus, with his distraction at such a place had not even heard the approach of the man. He was a large set man that appeared to be around Five and Twenty, with dark red hair and bright green eyes. His golden trimmed red robes half covering an attire akin to a warriors, only rather different. His soft red tunic hanging over golden leggings, a rather large heavy looking sword hanging at his hip with a thick black girdle.
"Ah, Godric, we have visitors!" Helga said happily. Also turning to look at her dear friend.
"I see that!" He chuckled again. Niklaus watched as he walked over to Helga and guided her with his hand on the small of her back to the other end of the hall before looking over his shoulder at the gathered siblings. "Please, come." He said with a welcoming smile.
The Mikaelson's quietly followed the two to the large table on the platform. Once arriving at the long table, Godric stopped in front of Niklaus. "As you already know, my name is Godric Gryffindor." He said politely with a grin, offering his hand to Niklaus.
"My name is Niklaus Mikaelson," Niklaus said with a smile as he shook the man's hand. 'He has a strong grip, for a human!' Thought Niklaus as they let go, "and these are my siblings, Finn, Elijah, Kol and our lovely Rebekah." He said indicating to each respectively.
"Pleasure." They said together with a polite nod, as each shook Godric's hand in turn.
Upon reaching Rebekah, Godric gently pressed his lips to her hand. "The pleasure is all mine!" He grinned, eyes shining with mirth. Rebekah gave him a small smile as she curtsied.
"Thank you." She said pleasantly.
'Hmm, I may have to watch them two.' Niklaus thought watching the exchange. He chanced a glimpse at Elijah and felt he may have been thinking the same.
Helga cleared her throat delicately, looking at Godric with exasperation.
Godric looked at her with a grin. Niklaus was starting to wonder if Godric's smile was stuck to his face. "Right you are Helga... please have a seat!" Godric said as he pulled out a chair for Helga before taking himself a seat to Helga's right.
"Thank you." Niklaus nodded politely as he took a seat to Helga's left. The soft sound of chairs scraping on the stone floor filled the hall as his siblings took a seat along the table.
Once they were seated comfortably an approaching conversation reached Niklaus' ears. He looked up to the entrance of the hall and spotted a young woman holding a small girl's hand and walking along side a young man, entering through the open door.
The brown eyed handsome looking woman had very long black hair that flowed in waves down her back and cascaded over her shoulders. Her dark blue robe contrasted perfectly with her pale skin as it was delicately placed over her equally dark blue tunic. The gentleman next to her had a scowl on his sharp face, his eye colour the most curious of grey, matching the colour of his hair, which surprised Niklaus, as the face of the man looked to be around Five and Twenty.
It was obvious that the young girl was her daughter as she had the same dark brown eyes as her mother, but Niklaus could not see any resemblance to the man by her side.
"Ah, nice of you to join us," Godric boomed happily to the three as they approached the table, "we were thinking we would have to start lunch without you!" He laughed.
"Would not be the first time." The handsome woman replied, raising her brow at the man as she placed herself in the seat next to her daughter.
"Nor the last." The sour looking man said, sitting to the small girls other side.
"Oh, cheer up lad, we have guests!" Godric admonished lightly. "Let me introduce you and see if I remember correctly!" He looked at Niklaus with a wink. "Here, we have Niklaus, Finn, Elijah and Kol," He said as he indicated them correctly, "and the beautiful Rebekah." He said softly with another wink, this time at Rebekah. "These here are my dear friends, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and her cute little daughter, Helena Ravenclaw." He finished affectionately.
"Nice to meet you." Niklaus said with a smile. His siblings doing the same. 'What is it with their unusual names.' Thought Niklaus with some amusement. It was clear Godric enjoyed saying them. Well at least he seemed to get entertainment out of it.
"Well, now that we got that out of the way, let us eat." Godric continued cheerfully with a clap of his hands.
Niklaus raised his eyebrows in surprise when a plate full of food suddenly appeared on the table before them all. He looked at his siblings to see their reactions were much the same as his.
Kol looked over at him with a carefree grin, and Niklaus could not help but to return it with a small chuckle. His younger brother's excitement was definitely infecting Niklaus. He turned back to his food to see what was on offer. It was more than Niklaus could ever remember seeing at one sitting. It was more of a banquet.
There was a mixture of fresh vegetables and fruit, some turkey and chicken legs, cheese and bread, and Niklaus' favourite, cold smoked ham. Not for the first time, Niklaus was extremely glad he could still enjoy food. Sure he needed blood to survive, but he could still enjoy a nice meal. Next to his right hand was a goblet full of what smelled of brandy. Picking up his fork, Niklaus took a bite of the ham. 'Definitely have to start with that, but I will surely save some for last.' He decided, as he savoured the taste.
"So where do you come from?" Salazar asked conversationally, as he sipped at his drink. It seemed to Niklaus that all the man needed was a goblet of brandy for his sour mood to be removed.
Niklaus finished chewing before answering. "We were born here, in the Old' World -"
" - Old World?" Helga interrupted in confusion, looking at Niklaus with a frown.
"England." He clarified with a smile. "Not too far from here to be exact."
"Ah, these lands are just recently now known as Scotland." Godric informed, nodding his head pensively with a frown.
"Oh?" Asked Elijah with interest.
"Indeed," Agreed Salazar. "Constant wars over the lands," He said with a shake of the head. "Muggle's!" He mumbled.
"Muggle's?" Rebekah chuckled at the odd word as it rolled off her tongue.
"That is what we call non magical folk." Godric said with a grin as he looked at her.
"Interesting." Elijah said with a half smile. Godric returned it with ease.
'He definitely is a cheerful fellow.' Niklaus thought. "We moved with our parents a long time ago, when Rebekah was but a babe, to the New World, the America's." Continued Niklaus as he looked at his siblings. Turning back to the four he explained further. "After a time, we lost our youngest brother to a local pack of werewolves!" He sighed as his eyes closed briefly. It was still difficult for Niklaus to think of that horrible day.
"Werewolves?" Interrupted Rowena. "The werewolf packs that we have come across have always kept to themselves, there has not been attacks on humans for a very long time." She said with a frown.
"You must be forgetting," Elijah said kindly with a smile, as he looked down the table at her. "This was a werewolf pack in the America's. They have not been there for a terribly long time, so having humans in their territory is not something they would be too comfortable with, I would imagine that the werewolf packs here in England have had much more time to learn to co-exist!" He reasoned logically.
At first Rowena seemed affronted at being told she had forgotten something, only to however nod her head in agreement with Elijah as she continued to listen. "Yes. I am sure you are quite right." She said with a gentle smile in return. If Elijah could, Niklaus would say his brother would be turning as red as the tomato upon his plate. 'It seems like I will have to keep an eye on those two as well.' Niklaus thought with a mental roll of his eyes.
Niklaus was not sure about telling these clearly magical people about what Esther had turned her children into, he did not fully know what they were capable of. It was evident they were very talented with what they are. It was also evident that Mikael somehow had not managed to find them yet. It was something Niklaus was in need of getting to the bottom of, as it were they may be welcomed to stay here for however long they may need to.
It was more than likely better for them to be honest about who and what they are, as if they were to stay, it would not take long to notice there was something different about their guest. Niklaus was sure they could be fast enough to escape should the need arise. No one had seen the likes of their kind before, they were the very first.
Deciding on the truth, Niklaus cleared his throat softly and continued. "Not long after that, our parents decided they needed to protect the rest of their children. Esther, our mother, cast an immortality spell on us and changed us!" Niklaus explained with no hesitation, preparing for anything. He noticed his siblings stiffen as they did the same.
"Changed you?!" Asked Salazar with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean, changed you?"
Niklaus noticed the young girl had been quiet the entire time, only observing as she looked from one adult to another while listening to the conversation around her.
Niklaus looked to the man before looking to the other three, mostly to see what he could make of their thoughts. He could see it was mostly wary curiosity and took that as an invitation to keep talking. "We were changed into a creature of the night you could say, a Vampire."
"Vampire?!" Godric asked, "I have never heard of such a thing!" He stated confidently.
"You would not have, I dare say." Kol answered. "We are the first of our kind. Our mother created the spell! Or so we were told." He finished with a small shrug.
"Interesting." Godric said, as he looked at them closely while stroking his beard. Helga nodded her head in agreement.
"How do you know that you are a Vampire, if you are the first?" She asked with curiosity.
"That is what we have named ourselves, we thought that we shall be the ones to call what we are, seeing we are the first." Niklaus answered with a half smile.
"So you are half wizards and witch. Half Vampire?" Salazar asked slowly with a puzzled look on his face.
"We do not think we are both. No!" Elijah said shaking his head.
"You must be!" Rowena said confidently. "You would not be able to see Hogwarts if you were not!" She assured with finality and a nod of satisfaction.
"What ever do you mean?" Asked Rebekah with shock.
"What Rowena means my dear one," Answered Godric with a small smile at Rebekah, "Is that the non magical can not see Hogwarts. It is a place for the magical, human and creatures alike. The only thing non magical humans can see is a lonely ruin on vast open land nestled amongst the mountains. We should know, as we created it ourselves." He boasted with evident pride.
To say that Niklaus was surprised would do an unjust to how he really felt at that moment. He could honestly say he was speechless. He could see that he was not the only one as his siblings were staring at the man with their jaws hanging on their faces. Niklaus cleared his throat so quietly for only his siblings to hear to remind them to close their mouths.
"Is that even possible?" Kol asked with excitement, the first to recover from his surprise. "Our mother did not change herself along with us because she said she did not want to lose her magic!"
The four Hogwarts founders shared a sad look. "I am sorry son, I do not think your mother was entirely truthful with you!" Godric was the first to answer as he turned his attention back to the Mikaelson's.
"Would not be the first time!" Niklaus muttered to himself, but everyone had heard him. His siblings briefly looked at him with sorrow and Rebekah placed her hand above his that was resting on the table.
The founders shared another look with each other. "What happened to your parents?" Godric asked in concern as his gaze flickered from one sibling to the other.
Finn looked at Niklaus with a raised eyebrow, Niklaus returned the gesture with a look of his own as he raised his brow in response. 'It seems Finn may not believe me of what happened to mother after all.'
Godric cleared his throat expectantly as they all watched the silent exchange. "Our mother changed our father, Mikael, into the same creature that we have become, after all was said and done, we found out that the man I thought was my father, was not my true father at all. My true father was a werewolf from here, named Ansel," At this Niklaus noticed the four share a brief look with each other. Deciding to get answers later, Niklaus continued. "Mikael came here to kill him, we tried to save him, but we were too late, Mikael made it here before us. Our mother died before we left the America's!" Niklaus explained with feigned detachment, staring with empty blue eyes out of one of the windows to the side of the hall.
Rebekah noticed however and gently squeezed his hand in comfort. It was a part of his story he wished his perfect memory would let him forget.
"Mikael, it would now seem, is determined in using his eternal life to hunt us down!" Elijah added, once it was clear to him Niklaus would not continue.
Regaining his composure, Niklaus could see the shock of the four as he looked over to them. The little girl was staring at him with wide eyes. "You mean to tell us that you are half Werewolf, half Vampire?" Asked Salazar in shock. His grey eyes boring into Niklaus' dark blue ones.
The founders shared another look, and if Niklaus did not know any better, he would say they knew something he did not. "I can tell you I am part of both, but my mother placed a curse on my Werewolf heritage to block me from being both at the same time!" Niklaus clarified.
"Half Vampire, half Werewolf, with magic also!" Godric whistled impressed, shaking his head slowly. Causing Niklaus to frown. It made no sense to Niklaus as he and his siblings had never learnt magic. "We have never practised the art of magic!" Niklaus said, deciding not to beat around the bush.
"That does not matter!" Rowena said as a matter of fact. Poised in her position in her chair. "If you can see Hogwarts, than you are magical! I am sure we can teach you what you must know!" She added in a tone that brooked no room for argument.
"Indeed!" Godric exclaimed happily, giving a cheeky wink to Rebekah. Rebekah, for her part gave Godric a shy but beautiful smile as her blue eyes danced with delight. Niklaus was sure that if his sister could blush, she would be. 'Indeed, I must keep an eye on those two.' He thought with something akin to dread.
For all it was worth, Niklaus was very protective of his little sister, and he felt the need to protect her innocence.
By the time conversation was finished, lunch was well and truly long over.
It seemed Niklaus was not the only one to notice this new connection with the pair, as Helga once again delicately cleared her throat. "Come, let us give you a guided tour of our school and grounds." She said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood.
Niklaus could honestly say, he loved being at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He knew his siblings felt the same as he.
It had already been several months since they had, quite literally stumbled across the magnificent castle.
Kol was absolutely in his element here at the school. Finn was more reserved but Niklaus could tell he was quietly enjoying himself. Elijah and Rowena had become close over the past few months of them being here, and Rebekah, well Niklaus could tell she was loving the attentions of a certain founder of the school. Godric had made it his mission to personally teach her everything about magic that he could bestow upon her. Niklaus was having a hard time keeping his eyes on both Elijah, and Rebekah combined.
He trusted the four founders, as much as his mind would allow, but when it came to his baby sister, well Niklaus could admit that he may sometimes be a little over protective.
That had come to light when one evening he had found them in the man's personal chambers getting rather cosy, as they were discussing a book Godric was writing. They were not so close at to be intimate, but too close for Niklaus' reasoning.
With gentle pushing from the young ladies and not so gentle pushing from Salazar, Niklaus in the end had swallowed his pride and apologised to the man for accusing him of some not very pleasant things.
Niklaus had not once seen the man loose his patience until that evening. Nor had Godric seen the same of Niklaus. The man could be intimidating, for a human when he wanted to be and although he did not bring fear to Niklaus, it did bring a measure of respect. Things had been a little tense for a short time, and Niklaus had found a friend in Salazar during the time. The man would always defend his great friend it would seem as he had openly demanded Niklaus to apologise and stop being so foolish as a man in love, when it came to his sister.
"She is a free butterfly, and you shall not cut her wings!" He had chastised impatiently.
Niklaus sometimes felt like a child against the four only to shake his foolishness away with reminding himself they were only a year or two older than he himself.
Mutual respect and friendship had steadily grown with the permanent residents of the school and Niklaus reluctantly learnt to trust that Godric would not steal his sister's innocence. He was a man of honour and Niklaus could see how much respect the man held for Rebekah. He truly was a gentleman.
As the months went by, Niklaus and his siblings had learnt a lot from the four founders, they had learnt that they did indeed, have a talent for magic. The four founders owned wands but barely used them, only for what Godric had called "Delicate little spells!" unlike Salazar who would call it "Pesky!"
Most of the time they would use wand-less magic. The Mikaelson's had no choice but to learn it wand-less, as with not owning their own wands, they could not do the 'delicate little spells' as they became affectionately known.
The Mikaelson's loved to explore the large castle and find all the hidden stairways and halls, it was not hard for them to remember where they all were, but even with their vampire senses they were some times fooled by the castle itself. They would sometimes come across a slight draft that came from behind a tapestry hanging on the wall only for it to be a dead end.
The amount of magic they could feel humming throughout the castle seemed to be turning it sentient, as it enjoyed trying to trick them with disappearing steps on staircases, and trapping them on a floor as it decided to move the staircase away from them. Niklaus believed that if the castle could, it would be laughing at them. It did not only happen to the Mikaelson's but also to the four young adults that had helped build the castle while they had imbued it with much of their own magic. The castle would however leave the young Helena free to roam unhindered.
The siblings had also come across the many different variety of the magical creatures that roamed through the dark forest and surrounding lands. As surprising as running into the different creatures was for Niklaus, what had surprised him more was his affinity with them. He and Elijah had quickly become attached to many a beast as they wandered through the land when they went out to hunt. His siblings too had their favourites.
Not only were the animals clever, they did not fear them, and truth be told, Niklaus was glad. It gave him a chance to get to know them and they him.
The founders had noticed their odd disappearances and had one night at dinner, asked them about it. Niklaus had nonchalantly told them the truth that human food alone could not sustain them and they required to feed on human blood to survive.
The four had taken the news with surprise and a small measure of distaste, but concluded that if the animals trusted the siblings, then that was good enough for them. As Godric had said, "The beasts are a great judge of character, and we all must feed to survive." But had insisted they not feed in the villages too close to the school.
With respect, they had all easily agreed with the terms.
Slowly the months trickled into years and they had fallen into a satisfying routine, but as for it being a school, well there was much to be desired for the four in having any students to teach. Being a fairly young school they had yet to find many magical children to invite. They would send their familiars out to scope the distant lands as the four would take it in turns to scout the local villages for any magical beings they could teach.
Niklaus had never felt more at home than at the castle. He would take a guess to say his siblings felt much the same. Although the rest of his family had been happy back in the days of their old home, Niklaus never felt so much at peace as when he had come to belong at Hogwarts.
It got to the point that they had started to welcome the magical animals to make a home on the grounds of Hogwarts. They would never have turned them away had they come of their own free will, but all the same they had felt it was necessary to invite them to a permanent place to stay.
The vast and very deep black lake, as the founders had named it, was already home to countless of creatures, great and small.
Before Niklaus had known it, they had already been at the castle for five years.
Over that time they had all grown to become very close friends. Elijah had respected Rowena's wishes of just remaining as very close friends, someone they could mutually depend on for witty conversation. They definitely had feelings for each other, but Rowena would not allow it to grow into anything more. It was hard to see Elijah so close to someone but not be able to express his feelings for her the way he wished. It was probably for the best.
Rebekah had become very close with Godric, as he had with her. It was clear to Niklaus that love had blossomed between the two. It had truly worried Niklaus as he did not want to see his sister get hurt, being an immortal with a human is sure to bring nothing but heartache and torment, but Godric respected tradition and would never be with her before marriage.
Finn was a quiet learner and although he was much of a recluse, preferring to learn all he could then go on his own to practice what was taught, he still managed to interact with his friends and family.
Kol was an eager student, willing and wanting to learn everything, all at once if he could. It was surprisingly Helga that would settle him down and advise him to steady himself, as she was sometimes known to be just as enthusiastic as he at times when they would come across something new.
Niklaus had found a good friend in Salazar, even with the man's grumpy temperament. Niklaus had learned a lot from the man. He learnt the many different potions that Salazar favoured, he was extremely good at wizard duelling and enjoyed having their own little tournaments with his co-founders. Niklaus was always reminded of how impressive it was when he saw the display of magic as Salazar went up against Godric, both men were fierce when they got going and it was always hard to predict which one of them would win. Not that they did not try, of course. Sometimes they would all place a friendly wager on the two. Niklaus had found that to be very entertaining. Eventually they had allowed the Mikaelson's to join in, once the four had felt they were ready, that was.
It was interesting to the siblings at just how diverse magic truly was. Not to mention all the diverse creatures of the world. Sometimes they would even catch a glimpse of the dragons coming from the nearby mountains as they would fly over the castle. It never ceased to amaze Niklaus.
"Are you still with me?" Salazar asked as they walked across the castle grounds. It was Salazar's turn to go to the local village to talk to the folks living there, and scout for any magical children. Niklaus decided to accompany the man as far as the Grand gates. After five years they were hoping that the village had grown enough to accommodate youngling's with the magical gift.
"Sorry Salazar, I was just reflecting!" Niklaus responded a bit sheepishly. Shaking himself free of his thoughts as he brought himself back to the present.
"Yes, walking across these grounds can often times do that!" He replied pensively. "That is why I choose to do it every evening, as a way to clear the cobwebs so to speak." He chuckled.
Chuckling along with his friend and mentor, Niklaus stopped next to the lake as he looked over the far horizon. "Have you ever tried to see how far this lake goes?" He asked with curiosity.
Salazar stopped beside him as he glanced a look at his Vampire friend, "Why would I do that?" He asked with a puzzled frown.
Niklaus delicately shrugged and looked over at the man, "To see where it will take you?" He half stated, half asked.
"No... I think I will leave that to the curious!" He smirked, "perhaps that should be you, my curious friend! You never tire of asking questions for that sponge you call a mind," He mused aloud with no small amount of amusement.
If Niklaus could blush, he would. "I seem to be akin to someone else we know!" He stated with indignation, raising an eyebrow in challenge as he peered at Salazar's grey orbs, daring the man to contradict him.
"Well now, I may be thirsty for knowledge, but I do not go asking questions left, right and centre, pestering for more. I go and find it myself!" He teased as he raised his hands in surrender.
"As do I!" Niklaus smirked back.
"Indeed... from me, as though I am your very own library!" He snorted with a shake of his head. 'It is always a nice sight to see his grumpy friend in a teasing mood.' Thought Niklaus has he too shook his head with amusement. Perhaps that was why they got along so well, both were told they were grouchy but could never be far from teasing for their very own entertainment.
Salazar once more began to stroll towards the gate. Niklaus following shortly after. "Do you have hope of finding any children?" Niklaus inquired curiously.
"I truly hope so, we are not much of a school, as you children do not count!" He replied with a smirk. Earning himself a glare for his efforts.
"You are not very much older than me. Why Finn and Elijah are older than you! Which would in turn mean you are just as much a child as me!" Niklaus snorted, waving his hand dismissively. "Which would indeed explain a lot!" He muttered loud enough for Salazar to hear.
"Impossible!... A child can not be a teacher!" Salazar said as if the very thought was unimaginable.
"I would not be so sure Salazar, after all, there is always one child learning from another during play time!" Niklaus said seriously while trying to hide his smile.
"Why you little bugger!..." Salazar growled indignantly, raising his hand toward Niklaus.
In the blink of an eye, Niklaus was a few feet ahead of the man that was trying to smack the back of his head. "You are too slow Salazar, I think you might be right, you are getting too old!" He said with a chuckle at his friends expense.
Growling under his breath he glared at Niklaus. "Indeed, as you are very immature!" He huffed while crossing his arms over his chest.
Niklaus could no longer hold it in and started laughing at the ridiculousness of his friend.
Later that evening they were all at the usual head table of the Great Hall having dinner and talking animatedly amongst each other.
Niklaus was seated by Salazar's side as the man did not have a very successful outing earlier that day. "I am thinking we should start tracing where the ancient pure-blood families are hiding and invite their children to the school. We are having no luck at all with the way we are searching high and low for any one with magic." Salazar said in conversation to Niklaus. At that all other conversation stopped. "What say you, Godric?" He asked as he looked over to his long time friend.
Godric looked back at his friend with a thoughtful expression. "It may be the only way if we want to actually begin teaching!" He replied, "At least in our life time." He muttered with a chuckle.
"I would not be so dramatic Godric, you know as well as I that our magic makes our lives much longer than that of ordinary humans!" Rowena chastised calmly.
"Indeed!" Agreed Helga with a nod of her head.
"You are not so very old!" Rebekah laughed as she glanced at Godric.
"Thank you my dear!" He grinned at her. "But one day I shall be!" He said with a slightly haunted look.
"Let us not worry about that for a long time to come." She answered gently as she placed her hand over his. They shared a smile as he lifted her hand in his and placed a gentle kiss upon it.
'Well, as I was saying..." Salazar grumbled, interrupting the two.
"Stop grumbling Salazar, it is very unbecoming of you!" Rowena interrupted haughtily.
Niklaus covered his chuckle by taking a sip of his drink as Kol snorted into his. Niklaus saw Rowena turn her green gaze to Kol with a sigh. "Children!" She muttered under her breath so only the Vampires could hear, shaking her head sadly.
Salazar, Niklaus could see, was getting rather frustrated with continuously being interrupted. Narrowing his eyes at the group. "May I continue?" He asked rhetorically to no one in particular.
"Sorry my friend!" Godric chuckled. "Please do." He said as he spread his hand in invitation.
"Thank you." Salazar said with a glare. "So you know we are getting nowhere with the way we are going about looking for magical children, we need a better strategy. We have many books of old with details on a number of magical families that still may haunt the old villages they were last seen in, I think we shall be better off tracing them back and seeing if we can find any of them with excursions out into the further reaches of the land." He finished without a pause.
Niklaus sent him a funny look. 'Obviously he did not want to be interrupted once more.' He thought, shaking his head with exasperation.
"Right you are, Salazar!" Godric nodded. "We have to start somewhere." He added in conclusion.
"Start somewhere?" Helga laughed, always in good humour. "I would say we started years ago!" She said as her laughter turned to quiet chuckles.
Godric looked at the lady fondly. "Indeed!" He said with a smile. Niklaus found himself shaking his head in amusement, every meal was often like this, all of them having turns to tease one or the other. Not one of them were immune.
It had been a couple of years since that conversation, and Niklaus had finally seen Salazar's plan start to come to fruition.
There were only a handful of students, not including the Mikaelson's, but the hard part was trying to place them in the right house. It was a tricky business Niklaus thought, as he would watch the four argue quietly over whom they wanted to represent what they stood for. Each of their respective houses reflecting their namesake and personalities.
It was something the Mikaelson's never need worry about for themselves, as upon arriving at the castle the four had given each of the siblings their own chambers.
Rowena had taught her daughter Helena herself in any number of the hundreds of classrooms of the castle.
Rowena wanted the intelligent and hard working children to represent her house. "They must be clever to make it in my house! After all, wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure!" She had said.
Godric wanted the fiercely brave and daring to represent his namesake. "I want the children that are brave enough to face... well a Griffin." He said as he laughed at his own joke.
Salazar wanted the cunning and high achieving children to follow in his footsteps. "They must be ambitious," He had lamented. "Not a herd of mindless trolls!"
And dear Helga wanted any and all, so long as the children were willing to be there. "I shall take the lot and treat them all the same!" She had said affectionately.
In the end, with his brilliance and humour, it was Godric that had come up with the idea and created a Charm that each founder contributed to, only for it to be placed on his old hat, that would in turn be placed on the children's head.
The hat would decide once and for all which house the children belonged to. The children varied in age, but none were younger than Eleven. The Mikaelson's were told that magic in children younger than that was too unstable to control, it was hard to know why, but at the age of Eleven it would somehow begin to settle and they were able to work with it then. Godric had said is would be like trying to duel a dragon, as it was too wild to be tamed. Niklaus humorously wondered when he had duelled a dragon to know the comparison.
In preparation for the formal way of selecting students, the four founders had created large rooms of their choosing to be big enough to accommodate the students sorted into their respective houses. Each of them selecting a place close to their own Chambers, to be ready and on hand if ever the children may happen to need them.
Godric had chosen one of the tallest towers of Hogwarts near his own Chambers and decorated it with tapestries, wall and floor coverings in colours of deep reds and golds. There was a common room as you enter and two stone staircases leading higher up the tower to various dorm rooms. One set of stairs for girls and another for boys. He placed a Charm on the girls stairwell that would never allow for a boy to walk up them. If they tried, it would slide them back down to the floor below. Kol had fun testing it. "We need must protect the young ladies while in our school from any a young man and can not allow them entry whenever it takes their fancy!" He had said with obvious pride. You had to give a portrait the password to enter.
Salazar had selected a number of large rooms in the dungeons, near his own Chambers, and transfigured it to have a comfortable common room in the centre with two wooden doors on either side of the main room. The left side led to a corridor that snaked around a few bends and had multiple doors leading into dorms. To the right was the same for the girls. He had protected the girls side with a solid wall that would appear and cover the wooden door once it detected a boy approaching. Although the place was decorated in dark greens and silver linings, the place had a warm feeling. Salazar had said many times he felt he was speaking to a brick wall when sometimes conversing with his fellow founders, so thought it fitting to make the entrance a stone wall you had to tell the password to.
Rowena had selected another high tower for her house, and had decorated it in shades of dark blues and bronze finishes, large bookshelves as high as the ceiling littered the walls of the large common room. She had protected her girls dorms with a statue of a very large raven that would come to life and block any young lad that would dare try to enter. She made it so you had to answer a riddle to gain entry to the large common room.
Helga had picked the rooms near her chamber, that also resided near the kitchens, she decorated it all with simple taste, of yellows and blacks. She would keep the stray boys away from the girls with the sound of a beating drum that would gain intensity and sound the closer you approached and would only stop once you move further away. She tested it on all of them, and Niklaus did not enjoy that demonstration. With their sensitive ears, it was very painful. You had to beat the same tune on a fake barrel to gain entry to her house common room.
Over time, Salazar came to detest going to the surrounding villages that were gradually growing to become little towns. He never seemed to have it easy when it was his turn to go, coming back home and grumbling about the Muggle's.
Niklaus would say it more often than not, that it was probably due to the man's scowl that was almost always on his face when he left the castle grounds, but he would have none of that, and defended on his honour that he is a very civilised man, not a common vagabond.
It was after a few years that Salazar absolutely refused to go on any more excursions unless they were to known Wizarding families. It created a few disgruntled comments from the other founders but they all knew it was a losing battle trying to convince him otherwise. The man was set in his ways if nothing else.
The student population had grown considerably over that time and now there were at least fifty children running around the corridors. The founders had made the Mikaelson's promise they would never feed off a student. And Niklaus and his siblings had adamantly insisted they would never harm a child.
The founders were in their element, busy running classes. The now Thirteen year old Helena was able to meet new people her own age and was now taking classes with more than just her mother.
As more students arrived at the castle, the founders had worked a system to keep the varying levelled children in classes of their own age. There was now years One to Seven as once a prospective student turned Eleven they would start in year One and continue on each year until they graduated in year Seven at the age of Seventeen to Eighteen. The four had explained to the Mikaelson's that the inner core of magic was fully matured at the age of seventeen and in turn, that was considered adulthood in the traditional magical families.
It was at that time that the Mikaelson's had more or less learnt everything about wand-less magic and what they can do. It was a slight disadvantage not having a wand when it came to those delicate little spells, as Godric had once called it.
Such spells as a Patronus Charm, certain summoning Charms, a small amount of protective spells and Curses and a few defensive spells. They could manage as it was in a duel with what they already knew with wand-less magic, but it left them at a disadvantage without a wand for those particular spells.
When Niklaus had mentioned his thoughts with Salazar, he had agreed that being at a disadvantage especially in a battle was not a good position to be in. Salazar had proceeded to inform Niklaus of a wand maker in the southern lands of England at a place now called London.
The wand maker, Ollivander, was renowned amongst the Wizarding families and magical folk.
The Mikaelson's had decided to traverse the lands together for an excursion to purchase their wands. The founders had offered to help them once they had known what the siblings were needing, and gave them Four Galleons each. Niklaus was not one much for charity, but the four had agreed that they could repay them one day when they became teachers of the school. Niklaus was not sure if they had made the offer in jest, but never the less had no choice to take it once the four had begun their insistence, ending when all were in agreement that the four could be really stubborn when they wanted to be.
Upon arriving at London, Niklaus had wondered if he was at the right location, he could see the land had once been home to what was most likely thousands of people, if the numerous, run down, buildings were anything to judge by, but had been largely abandoned now. Only a few lonely travellers and vagabond's were residents now.
It was as he and his siblings were searching for any indication of Ollivander's that they stumbled across nothing but a small lonely stall, standing alone on an open field not all that far from a scarcely used dirt road on the northern outskirts of the large town of London.
It appeared a similar enchantment that was found on Hogwarts had been placed on the wand maker's little stall, as the straggler's, obviously muggle, were staying far away from the stall and walked around it as though they could not see the strange little sign that allowed the observant customer to know what the man had to offer.
After purchasing wands of various differences the Mikaelson siblings began their long journey back to Hogwarts.
"I think it is a marvellous idea, Salazar!" Godric said jovially one evening as the four founders and the Mikaelson's sat at the head table of The Great Hall.
"Are you sure about that, Godric?" Niklaus asked dubiously with no small amount of doubt.
"Absolutely! You have been here long enough to learn the history of our world along side wand-less magic, you all have now mastered the use of wands after the past year! We need the help here, with the school population growing! It is a perfect solution!" He chuckled before taking a sip of his brandy.
"What ever would we teach?" Rebekah asked with a puzzled frown.
He paused at her question as he gently ran his hand down his beard, humming pensively all the while. "Well... I think Niklaus and Elijah would be perfect to teach the children about magical creatures, it would seem that creatures flock together, seeing as though they all get on so well!" He smirked as he looked at the two men.
Niklaus and Elijah shared a look, one shaking his head in amusement while the other gave a roll of his dark blue eyes. "We have nothing on serpent tongue over there!" Niklaus said with a cheeky wink and a nod in Salazar's direction.
Salazar, for his part just grunted with a scowl set upon his face, crossing his arms over his chest. Niklaus frowned at that. He had noticed his friend had become somewhat more a recluse and was always easy to agitate. Especially towards Godric. It puzzled Niklaus, as he never seemed to say a reason as to why he was ever more grumpier than usual.
Noticing his narrowed eyed stare, Salazar turned to Niklaus. "I only have an affinity to one specific kind of creature." He said grumpily in an attempt to placate Niklaus. But Niklaus was no fool and resolved to confront him about it at a later time.
Noticing this exchange, Godric cleared his throat and continued on as though nothing had happened. "I think Kol could teach the children to fly a broom, as he has excessive amounts of energy! Finn will work in the hospital wing! And my dear Rebekah, you love your flowers and pretty things, I think you could teach the children of the magical plants of our wonderful world!" He said as he sent a charming smile to Rebekah.
"I will continue to teach the children defence against dark arts and the like, as Rowena will continue Charms and Helga Transfiguration. Salazar I am sure will continue with Potions!" He finished, sounding a bit harsher at the end than Niklaus hoped he actually meant to.
Both men ignored it however as the conversation moved on to other things.
From then on it went as clock work with each teaching their respective classes.
Niklaus had noticed the strain between the once dear friends of Godric and Salazar, and Niklaus vowed it was time to confront his friend as he made his way to the Great Hall for dinner.
The feast was, as always, comfortable chatter between almost all of them as they watched over the number of children.
"Niklaus, would you care to join me after dinner for an evening kip in my chambers?" Salazar asked after the meal had finished. Niklaus thought the timing could not be better.
"Of course my friend!" Niklaus agreed easily.
Niklaus was confused as they left the Hall together and made their way towards the second floor. "I do not remember going this way to your chambers." Niklaus mentioned as he looked over at the man with a frown, he had walked to Salazar's chambers on many occasions and never went this way. Nor did he ever come across a hidden way to get there from this point in the castle in his many explorations. "Unless you have made a secret passage to get there from here?" He asked in confusion. He could not fathom why Salazar would, as it was no short cut.
Once going a ways down a dimly lit corridor they reached the entrance of a large empty dark room. Niklaus was even more confused now. "No, I do however have something I wish to show you!" He said as he made his way inside. He beckoned Niklaus to follow, silently closing the door behind them once both men were fully inside and magically locked it. Salazar lit the torches on the walls with a wave of his hand before guiding Niklaus to the middle of the room.
Niklaus was standing there waiting for something to happen, not really sure what this was all about, and could not help wondering if his friend had finally broken and was now muddled in the head. 'Is my friend no longer a friend I can trust?' Niklaus thought as Salazar looked down and whispered to an empty stone floor.
After hearing Salazar speak Parseltongue multiple times before, Niklaus immediately knew his friend had said something in the tongue of snakes. Suddenly there was an opened trap door, that was not there seconds before.
Niklaus looked down and saw nothing but a dark tunnel. "Follow me!" Salazar instructed, not giving Niklaus a chance to reply, as he gracefully slid himself down into the darkness. The dark never bothered Niklaus, as he could see through it clearly.
"You are not planning anything foolish are you Serpent Tongue?" Niklaus asked casually. He knew if his friend had lost his mind, and was trying something unsavoury with Niklaus, he had enough confidence in himself to be able to get out of what ever may come.
Shaking his head with a sigh after hearing no reply back, Niklaus followed after his slippery friend.
He was sliding at a rather fast pace down a long tunnel, Niklaus would have believed there was no end if he could not see in the darkness a glimmer of light far down below him. After only a few long seconds he had made it to an open chamber, slightly less dark than the tunnel itself. He looked around himself and noticed a few lit torches on the walls, as his gaze went above him he noticed the ceiling sitting at rather a large distance away from them. 'It is definitely way beneath the castle.' Niklaus thought in amazement. "Where are we?" He asked Salazar, as he gazed at the man, narrowing his dark blue eyes that glowed eerily in the darkness.
"I have created a little chamber far below the castle for my own studies and the like." He stated arrogantly. "Follow me and I will show you the rest." He said with a smug smirk.
They walked through numerous dark tunnels, turning left and right. Niklaus could obviously see clearly, and wondered how many times Salazar had traversed them as he was having no trouble navigating in the dark. It made Niklaus curious as to how long these tunnels had been here. He could feel the hum of the potent magic as they continued along. Salazar's dark robes billowing out behind him.
Eventually they reached another vast chamber, this time the torches lighting themselves with a green flame. Contrasting against the many columns and flickering against the polished stone floor. They made their way to the far end of the chamber and Niklaus stared in hidden amusement when he was face to feet with a giant statue of his serpentine friend. He gazed up at the very large stone head of his dear friend. The statue towered over them as it loomed like a sentinel, staring fiercely at any brave enough to face it. Or to anyone that could speak to snakes.
At the base of the feet, was a small step going down into a comfortable looking sitting area, with soft green lounges and a small wooden table covered with scrolls, parchment and ink.
"What do you think of Muggle-born Witches and Wizards?" Salazar suddenly asked nonchalantly, as he casually made his way down to a seat.
Surprised, Niklaus pondered what the question may imply as he calmly took a seat opposite Salazar, giving it some thought before answering. "They are the same to me... they are all humans!" He answered with a shrug.
"I should have known you would say something like that." Grumbled Salazar with a huff.
"I do not know what else to say?!" Responded Niklaus, bemused.
"You may have noticed that Godric and I have not lately been as we once were?" Salazar half asked, half stated.
"I have indeed noticed." Niklaus replied truthfully. Salazar grunted then fell silent. Niklaus decided to let the man get his thought in order and sat there just as quietly. In the silence, Niklaus studied the man. He noticed how withdrawn Salazar appeared. He had lost some of the spark in his sunken grey eyes, there were dark circles around them. He was paler than usual and his grey hair seemed darker. He definitely did not look like his usual snarky self. He did however look a lot grumpier.
"I believe we should only train the pure-blooded families and my fellow founders disagree with my reasoning." He finally said as he stared at the table between them, breaking Niklaus out of his examination. "That is why things between us have been so strained."
"Why do you believe we should only teach pure-bloods?" Niklaus inquired with slight annoyance. "Of all the years myself and my siblings have been learning under all of you, we would not have had that chance if you had decided to only teach Pure-bloods."
"Well your not even human so it does not matter with you." He said dismissively, waving it away with his hand.
Niklaus raised an eyebrow at the man. "Thank you, dear friend." Niklaus said sarcastically.
"You know what I mean?" He stated with a smirk. Well, there was a look Niklaus was familiar with. "I have reason to believe that prolonged teaching of the Muggle-born and Half-blood will be damaging to our world!"
"Why do think that?" Niklaus scoffed.
"You see how they war between each other, I know they have no sympathy for what is different to themselves, they would burn their own children if it meant to free themselves of the responsibility of it, or so they believe!" He growled scornfully. "I have witnessed it, when I have travelled to their towns to detect magical children."
"Well then, should not it mean that we protect them from the idiocy of their own parents? Rather than tormenting them to that fate?" Asked Niklaus. Salazar had never gone into any detail of his old outings to the villages. He wondered why he was now. He also wondered why he never mentioned this before.
"No, they will only have their beliefs and bring them into our world. Changing it as time continues on. We need to stop that from happening." Salazar said vehemently. He was determined to open all of their eyes.
"I can not agree with you serpent tongue." Niklaus disagreed with a shake of the head, only using the name he gave Salazar for when he was displeased with the man. "I think we need to continue to protect the children from that life and shape them to fit only in our world." Niklaus said with conviction.
"I see you are of the same mind as Godric!" Salazar stated calmly as he stood from his chair. Niklaus knew it was a clear dismissal. "It appears to me that only I can see what will become of us. You mark my words, in time our world will no longer be our own!" He said adamantly.
"Salazar, what in Merlin has you believing this?" Niklaus asked, as he remained seated. Determined to get to the bottom. He had no idea where this was coming from. The man he called a friend had never broached this with him before.
Salazar started pacing the floor. "I have witness terrible things these so called parents have done to their children in fear of what they were, and although I do feel pity for the little things, I witnessed these children believing the same thing as their parents. With that way of thinking can you not just imagine what that will do to the magical world. How they will never fit in - " He rambled, no longer taking notice of Niklaus as he left the little chamber and returned to the bigger one outside of it.
" - All the more reason to start them young, get them away from all of that! I could never agree to hurt children that way." Niklaus interrupted, as he too stood and followed his friend. Salazar shook himself out of his thoughts to gaze at Niklaus with anger.
"It may not happen in my life time but you will see, eventually, what intermingling will do with our world. It will weaken our magic, it will weaken our traditions, and you will also see it will weaken our world! We are their superior's and they have no respect of that! They will bring wars, they will jeopardise our very existence!" He said angrily, narrowing his eyes at Niklaus.
"If you have a mind of that, then I must be a superior of you! I am immortal, you, although ageing slower than Muggle's, shall still eventually die of old age just as they do. I shall never die of that affliction! I could never hurt a child!" He growled with no small amount of his own arrogance. Finally arising and standing in front of the man. His own anger coming to the surface.
"You have said that many times, I am not asking anyone to hurt a child, you are blinded by that assumption to see what I say is the truth of the matter. I see I shall not convince you, nor any one else it would seem." He said, dismissing Niklaus with a wave of his hand before turning his back on him as he peered up to the face of his statue.
"Leaving them to that fate shall only hurt the children!" He said with a shake of his head. Sometimes he did not quite understand his friend. "I do not wish to argue with you my friend, I am sorry, but I can not agree with you in this!" Niklaus said with a sigh. Running his hand over his face. If he was not immortal he was sure he would be feeling exhausted. As it was he was feeling very wary this night.
Niklaus silently watched the man as Salazar continued to gaze thoughtfully at the statue. If Niklaus did not know any better he would say the man was having a quiet conversation with the face of himself. "It is late, let us be off to bed!" Salazar said quietly as he slowly turned his gaze to peer at Niklaus. "I shall ask you not to mention this chamber to any other?" He half asked, half demanded.
"You have my promise Salazar. I shall respect and keep your secret for as long as you wish it!" Niklaus agreed with a sharp nod.
"Indeed, thank you!" He replied with a smirk.
Niklaus could only think the man was up to something, as he looked at his friend with some concern. What ever it was, Niklaus was sure he would find out eventually.
The next day, Niklaus' thoughts were a disorganised mess. He absently made his way alongside Elijah as they walked across the grounds and over to the edge of the Dark Forest.
He could not understand what had brought on the sudden admission of Salazar's feelings. Did he witness something more dangerous that he was not willing to impart the information of to his friends, was he keeping something from them all that would be very important for them to know. Was he suddenly aware of something they all were not. He loved to spend time researching so perhaps he had come across something that troubled him. And what was he planning.
Niklaus did not know, and wondered if he would ever know with how secretive his friend tended to be.
"Now children, we will be teaching you about Unicorns today." Elijah said when the last of the first year students came to a stop in front of them, all the young girls staring up at the Professor's with something akin to adoration.
Niklaus noticed the furtive glance his brother had directed at him when he spoke. Successfully interrupting Niklaus' train of thought.
Clearing his mind of all else, Niklaus focused on the lesson they had planned for the day.
"If you would all follow Professor Mikaelson and I, we shall be leading you into the Dark Forest. We require you to be on full alert, as there are many different creatures that have decided to call this forest their home over the many years." He explained, as he watched the children exchange cautious looks at one another.
Elijah shared a smirk with Niklaus that turned into a smile when it was returned, knowing he had shaken Niklaus out of his reflective mood, at least for the time being. He had no idea what he was thinking over so thoughtfully but Niklaus knew he would badger him until Niklaus would tell him.
It was not that they enjoyed scaring children, but they could not help being amused at the reactions of the students, it was always the same fearful glance they all shared, no matter their ages. They had nothing to worry about, so long as they stayed with one of their Professor's.
Elijah quietly lead the class through the thick trees until they reached a small clearing as Niklaus took up the rear of the group. Stopping a few feet away from the Unicorn so as not to scare the beautiful creature away with their sudden appearance. The children coming to an abrupt halt behind him.
Elijah just stared at the beautiful thing for a brief moment as the children were sneaking curious glances around him. Niklaus watched in wonder as the Unicorn ignored them and continued to gnaw on the grass at his feet. It was not the first time they had seen him, but it always inspired in them a deep awe. It was such a creature the likes of no other.
"Now class, this magnificent creature is of course the Unicorn." Elijah whispered so quietly Niklaus was sure the children could not hear him. Not even turning to address them.
Shaking his head in exasperation, even if he could understand his brother's awe, Niklaus silently made his way to the front of the gathered group. He placed his hands in his robe pockets and began to explain the differences between horses and Unicorns, apart from the obvious horn on his brow.
"The Unicorn must demand your utmost respect," Niklaus said firmly, "If you slay something so pure, you will live a cursed life, a lot of people have been known to hunt a Unicorn in order to mount the horn as a trophy. I will advise against that, lest you wish to end up like King Arthur." He finished seriously. Peering intently at each child.
"King Arthur?" Murmured a boy quietly, looking to his friend, his friend shrugging his shoulders in response. Not daring to take his eyes from his scary Professor's.
"Indeed!" Elijah said, turning to look at the boy. The child jumping slightly in surprise at being heard.
"Surely you know of King Arthur and Merlin?" Niklaus asked with that same seriousness as before.
"I thought it was a myth." Said the same boy timidly.
"Indeed it is not!" Elijah said, "One day when King Arthur was but a prince at the time, he had killed a Unicorn and removed his horn in order to keep as a trophy to impress his father, indeed he did impress him, but at a terrible price.
It started with small things, that they could blame on anything else. But as time went on and worse things were upon them, Merlin had given some sense to his King, in the end after much suffering from plagues and famines along with deaths, King Arthur finally listened to Merlin and was sent on a quest to redeem himself before his lands could be restored and his people saved." Elijah finished. The children staring at him in amazement, wanting to hear more.
Niklaus took over the story from there. "In the end, King Arthur had proven himself to be of pure heart, sacrificing himself with what he thought was poison to save his servant, Merlin's life. It was not poison really, but Arthur did not know that. And therefore had proven he was worthy enough for the Unicorn's guardian to restore the land back to prosperity. The Unicorn to rise once more." He explained.
"That is a wonderful story, Sir's." A small girl whispered in awe. Her blue eyes open wide in wonder as she gazed up at her Professor's with adoration.
"It is not merely a story my child." Elijah chastised gently with a half smile. The young girl blushing profusely as she lowered her gaze. "You will find that it is the utmost truth as part of our history!" He concluded softly. Niklaus was thankful, not for the first time, that he and his siblings had enough control and no desire to hurt the youngling's as to not be affected by the blushing children, the smell of their blood rushing to their senses in an instant. Which tended to happen more times than he could count when they were in their company.
Niklaus looked intently from one child to the next, making sure he had all of their attention. "I think we can safely say the Unicorn's fate are safe in each of your hands?" Niklaus asked firmly. They all nodded quickly with quiet 'yes Sirs' reaching his ears as they stared up at him in fright.
"Good!" Elijah said kindly, as both men were hiding their amusement quite well from the class.
After they had walked the children away from the forest, Elijah had dismissed the class to go to lunch.
They were making their way back to the castle at a much slower pace, enjoying the sun and the stroll. "What is it?" Elijah asked suddenly. Breaking the peaceful quiet.
"What do you mean?" Niklaus asked calmly, feigning ignorance. He knew exactly what his brother wanted to know.
Elijah knew what Niklaus was doing as he glared over at him as they walked side by side. "What has gotten you so quiet and thoughtful?" He elaborated, humouring his brother.
With a sigh Niklaus paused to look at Elijah wondering how much he could honestly say, he had promised Salazar that he would not divulge his secret, but had only ever kept one thing from Elijah, and he could say he did not enjoy the feeling. "Have you noticed Godric and Salazar lately?" He asked instead.
"Of course!" He answered perplexed, but not willing to stop his brother from telling him by reminding him he did not answer his question. "Is that what has you so bothered?" He questioned.
"It is part of it." Niklaus said thoughtfully, "I had a little talk with Salazar last night, he has gotten it into his head that we should only be teaching the pure-blood children." He said. Niklaus continued, filling his brother in with the rest of his conversation with Salazar from the night before.
"You think he is planning something?" Elijah was nothing if not smart, and picked up on what Niklaus did not say.
"I really do not know, he always appears to be up to something after all." Niklaus chuckled with a shake of his head.
"Very true." Elijah smirked. "Without anything to go on, all we really can do is speculate and wonder. Perhaps we should keep an eye on him?" Elijah suggested thoughtfully.
"Perhaps." Niklaus agreed as they reached the castle entrance. "For now, let us go eat." He said as they made their way into the Great Hall.
It was during one Christmas break that saw Niklaus and his siblings return from a hunting trip. They were making their way to the Great Hall only to stop short at the large doors leading into the room. To say they were confused, would not do justice at all as they were met with the scene of the founders talking animatedly with a group of... painters? Helena sat quietly to the side as she watched the adults in amusement. They all could hear as the group chatted away about colours, placements, postures, ornaments, enchantments, personal traits and endearments.
The family shared a look of complete confusion.
"Ah... my lovely Rebekah, please, come and join me?" Godric boomed happily from the other end of the Hall once noticing their arrival, beckoning her forward with a gesture of his hand.
Rebekah glanced at her brother's with a raised eyebrow before shrugging delicately and walking towards the large man. "What are you doing, Godric?" She asked perplexed once she reached him.
"We have decided to get magical portraits done of ourselves to hang in our house common rooms!" He answered cheerfully with pride.
As Niklaus and his brother's approached the group of men and women, Helga beamed at them and nodded enthusiastically. "Indeed... We were also hoping that you would allow for a portrait of yourselves to be made? It shall be fitting after all, as you are the first employed Hogwarts Professor's at the school, it would be nice to have you on our walls?" She asked with much enjoyment.
"Indeed it would be wise to except." Godric said as he gazed at Rebekah imploringly.
"Magical portraits?" Niklaus asked before agreeing to anything.
"Yes... it means they will move." Rowena added, not giving much help to the question. Niklaus glimpsed at his brother's once more.
He remembered the portrait guarding Gryffindor tower, requiring a password to enter, but there was no interaction between student and painting, he would sit there with his eyes constantly closed and only open the passage when he acknowledged the correct password, without nary a word nor change in his demeanour. At least when Niklaus had made his way near there to converse with Godric, that was all he would see. There were not many portraits on the walls of Hogwarts.
"The real question is, will you accept?" Salazar said calmly, as he spared them a glance. Niklaus looked over the founders and warily looked at the artists, they were elegantly dressed in bright colours and wore calm expressions, clearly confident in their own right. In the end the Mikaelson's had agreed.
After the magical paintings were finished, Niklaus was that impressed of the hard work and magic the artists had imparted on their task, that as he positioned his own portrait onto the wall of his private chambers, he decided to learn how to do the same himself. It had inspired in him the desire to accomplish the same level of dedication into a magnificent piece of magic. It was indeed marvellous how they suited their counterparts to an exact mirror image and representation.
It was only a few months after they all had a portrait painted of themselves, that one of their friends would leave forever.
One Hallowe'en evening as the Mikaelson's and founders all were sat at the teachers table in the Great Hall having dinner, a rising argument was growing between Godric and Salazar.
Niklaus never really had the chance to speak to Salazar since the night of their conversation regarding Muggle-born's. The man would go out of his way to ignore him, and became more of a recluse than ever before. Niklaus suspected that when he was not teaching or in the Great Hall at meal times, he was down in his chamber.
A place Niklaus could not enter without being a Parseltongue.
The men were really not bothering to lower their voices any-more and the students were starting to take notice.
"I do not care, Salazar!" Godric exploded loudly.
"Of course you do not, I would expect nothing more from one whom carries a muggle sword." Salazar retaliated just as angrily. "You shall be happy to see our world as no more?" He asked mockingly.
"Of course I do not." He growled angrily, his face nearly as red as his lion-like mane. Niklaus had never really seen the usually cheerful man this angry before, he wondered if he should intervene. The two ladies were sitting to the men's sides as they watched warily. Rebekah doing the same by Godric's other side. "I just do not agree with your reasoning, Slytherin."
Niklaus had never once heard Godric refer to his friend as Slytherin before, and wondered if that meant their many years long friendship was over.
Upon hearing the disrespect as Godric spoke his name, Salazar abruptly stood, sending his chair flying backwards. "How dare you disrespect me, Gryffindor!" He said as he fumed. His grey eyes narrowed harshly at the man he once called a dear friend.
Godric's chair scraped across the stone floor as he suddenly stood in response to the outburst, sneering at the other man as his impressive height and build was much larger than Salazar's. Preparing himself for anything.
Salazar had become quite unpredictable over the last few years.
"Sit down, Salazar!" Rowena chastised impatiently.
"Please, dear friend?" Helga added pleadingly.
"No! I shall not! I have had enough of this!" He growled as he removed his wand from his sleeve, aiming it straight at Godric. Godric was ready however and had his wand in his hand in the blink of an eye, he was nothing if not the best duellist. No one was able to best him, not even Salazar.
The students gave a collective gasp of surprise and fear. Niklaus spared them a glance and noticed a select few of them looking rather excited, if he was not mistaken.
"Godric?" Rebekah murmured, placing a hand on his arm in an attempt to calm the man down.
"I'll be fine! Do not interfere, I do not want you getting harmed!" He commanded quietly, without sparing her a glance. Not daring to take his eyes off his opponent.
"Stop this nonsense, Salazar!" Godric said firmly. "We are causing a scene in front of the students." He gestured toward the hall with his free hand, still refusing to take his eyes away from the other man.
With a menacing scowl, Salazar stormed his way down from the platform of the teachers table, hissing to himself all the while. Niklaus feared the man had truly lost his mind. Godric shook his head with a sigh as he watched Salazar's retreating form. "I do not understand him any more." He murmured, more to himself than any person in particular.
Once Salazar reached the centre of the Hall, he quickly turned to Godric once more and shot a curse at the man. Godric had hoped it would not come to this as he waved his wand just as quickly and conjured a shield over all the teachers. Helga and Rowena jumped from their chairs and did the same over the children. "What are you doing?" Rowena hissed furiously at the man.
He ignored her as he sent another curse at Godric, his rage taking over his senses. In the blink of an eye, Niklaus grabbed a surprised Rebekah as he stood and shoved her behind his back. "Niklaus..." She grumbled quietly, the only protest she gave him in such circumstances.
Taking Niklaus' lead, Kol, Elijah and Finn made a wall of themselves in front of her. "Honestly," She huffed quietly, "I can defend my self as well as any of you!" She growled softly.
Godric would not respond with a curse of his own, he only kept shielding them from the onslaught as Salazar continued to attempt to curse him. "Fight back, you coward!" He hissed angrily, with no small amount of frustration.
The children were noisily scrambling from their tables as they quickly made their way to the side of the Hall, pressing themselves into the wall, trying to be as small as possible to avoid the mad man's attention being drawn to themselves, and to avoid any stray curses.
"If you are so eager for a duel, why do we not take this outside... away from the children!" Godric said furiously, narrowing his sharp green gaze.
"You want us to go outside? Let us be there now." He said, slowly walking backwards, flicking his wand and throwing curses all the while. Leading them outside.
Godric kept his magical shield in place as he slowly followed Salazar. Not once removing his eyes off the man. Niklaus removed his own wand and followed the two men, his siblings coming along with him. Helga and Rowena instructed the children to stay in the Great Hall and rushed behind the group.
The students, ignoring the two women, quickly followed, before anyone could stop them.
Once they reached the grounds, Helga and Rowena placed a barrier around the two men that no curse or hex could penetrate.
Godric, through no fault of his own, made a fool out of Salazar with his duelling abilities. No matter how quick he was, Godric was quicker, no matter what spell he muttered, Godric countered. The only advantage he had was when he whispered something in Parseltongue and conjured a snake from the end of his wand, commanding it to attack.
In his surprise, Godric had nearly been bitten by the snake when it launched a strike, but with his quick thinking Godric had promptly set it alight. Nothing but ash was left in the form of a snake on the ground.
Flashes of sparks from their wands danced around them as they continued to duel. Godric more than not, getting the upper hand.
Just when it seemed like Salazar was about to concede defeat, he chuckled with a threat of one day purging the school of non pure-blood ancestry before apparating away.
Everyone was left in stunned silence.
Niklaus wondered if he had disappeared to his secret chamber. 'It is not as though I can check!' He lamented with a silent sigh.
Niklaus noticed the children of Slytherin house share a secret look, that he could not decipher. He wondered at it as he looked over the other children, not one of them seeming to notice. Although the other houses, especially those of Gryffindor, looked rather pleased as they all cheered at the popular man as if forgetting they were told to stay in the Great Hall.
That quickly alerted the other teachers attention, as the children were chastised and promptly ushered back inside the castle by Helga and Rowena.
Being witnessed by the children that represented the two houses, they defended their Heads of House with passion, each had hoped their own would become the victor.
Niklaus listened as the students made their way into the castle, bickering amongst each other at how unjust it had been that Salazar had felt no choice but to disappear, and how brave Godric was for facing that unusual snake. Slytherin's defending Salazar, Gryffindor's defending Godric.
Niklaus just shook his head at the lot of them.
Neither houses being aware that a life long rivalry was now born.
I hope you enjoyed, Chapter 2!