- - - - Bonus Scene - Harry - - - -

Harry was kind of surprised to be so excited at the prospect of shopping. He was finally going to Hogsmeade that morning with the rest of the third year Gryffindors. He had a signed permission slip in his pocket. Heath gave it to Harry at the train station after the Yule break. The man had told him to be careful, to go in a group, and not to forget Black was still out there. As much as Heath and Serena had debated on whether to allow him to go or not, for his safety, Harry was determined to prove their faith in him was well placed. Then Serena gave him ten galleons to spend on anything Harry wanted.

Hermione had been chatting nonstop about all of the things she wanted to show him. Neville had a few suggestions to add. Seamus kept trying to tell Hermione that Harry only needed the Three Broomsticks. While Dean just grinned about something called a Shrieking Shack.

But Harry's excitement died in the pit of his stomach when he saw who was checking off names… Professor Bloody Snape. The other person checking names wasn't any better… Argus Bloody Filch.

Neville noticed the change in Harry's demeanor and asked, "What is it, Harry?"

"Snape and Filch." Harry looked away from the two men. "They aren't going to believe me when I show my permission slip."

"You have a proper permission slip." Neville frowned in confusion. "They have to accept it."

"Come on, Neville." Harry gestured towards the professor. "When has he ever believed a thing I said? Even when I'm telling the truth?"

The group had grown quiet as the discussion changed tone and Hermione stepped closer to her best friend. "Just try," Hermione urged. "Just this once? Neville is right. Professor Snape has to let you go, he just has to."

"I'm going to say 'I told you so' when it doesn't work," Harry warned.

Hermione bit her lip, then nodded. Neville nodded as well and said, "That's fair."

Harry kept his head down and grew more depressed the closer they were to Snape and Filch. Finally it was their turn. Snape didn't speak a word when Harry hesitated. Snape didn't have to, the man's raised eyebrow spoke volumes. Harry bit back his groan, put on his Gryffindor courage, and stepped forward handing over the wrinkled parchment.

Snape barely looked at the permission slip, marked his list, and told the boy, "Don't miss curfew."

Harry was stunned into silence. The boy stared, open mouthed at Snape. Hermione grabbed Harry's arm and led him away saying, "Thank you, sir!"

- - - - End Bonus Scene - Harry - - - -

Hogsmeade morning came bearing snow, wind, and frigid temperatures. As most students trudged their way towards the small village, sounds of shrieks of laughter and crunching ice under foot filled the air. However, there were four who appeared to be lazily making their way around the castle, following after their fellow students.

Helga wore a navy cloak with a matching cap and gloves, leading the other three around the perimeter of the school. She paused periodically, sending her magic into the earth and checking the protections she had put into place eons ago. She and the others stayed near the whomping willow the longest as she checked the magic around the tree.

When they had finished the journey around Hogwarts and had started making their way to Hogsmeade, she glanced over at Godric and broke the comfortable silence around them, "Ric, have you checked the guardians?"

The wind whistled around them, catching Helga's long dark hair and making the strands dance around her face. Godric huffed. "I have, but there is little I can do right now. I have a few obstacles I need to figure out how to overcome."

Godric had on an emerald winter coat... with none of the buttons clasped. He wore no gloves. And no cap, his short chestnut brown hair a tousled mess.

Rowena paused and the friends stood a few meters away from the path to the village, far enough away that any stragglers heading for the town wouldn't hear their conversation. "I'm assuming your protections are not well?"

Helga shook her head. "Much like yours and Sal's, mine have also been altered and added upon and in some areas dismantled or, in new cases like the whomping willow, damaged to the point I don't know if I can save it." She turned her attention back to the pouting Godric who seemed upset about being ignored. When he went to say something, she asked, "And where is your cap?"

Salazar spoke over Godric's sputtering nonsense, "Probably in the tower. With the excuse that he forgot it."

"I did not forget it!" Godric ground out.

"Oh, so you do have it?"

"I don't. It's merely nippy out, I don't actually need one."

As Helga opened her mouth to say something else, Rowena sighed and dug into her bag. The woman pulled out an extra cap that matched her own blue one and easily put it on Godric's head to cover his ears.

Godric's scowl had Helga's dissipating. As the man went to take the cap off, Salazar smoothly interrupted, "You'll get sick if you don't wear the hat and I'm not going to pamper you while you whine. There's also the fact that if you refuse to wear the cap, Helga will try to force it upon you every few minutes before dragging you to the nearest shop in order for you to purchase one for yourself. Though, let's fix that color." He swirled his finger through the air and the blue hat changed to silver. "Much better." Godric shrugged, a small smile gracing his lips. "Regarding your wards, I am curious as to what obstacles you have to face," Salazar said as they once more started towards the forest path.

Helga watched as Rowena glanced over at Salazar before pointing a finger at Godric's head and once more changing the cap's color back to the original blue. Helga choked back her laughter when Salazar's mouth pressed into a thin line as Godric cheerfully answered their friend, "Someone has either dispelled or cut off the original spellwork. The runes I placed in each of the guardians act like the warding stone, on a much smaller scale. They're meant to hold and strengthen every year by taking any excess magic that comes near them. Not harmful to anyone, but I assume whoever cancelled my work thought it was.

"I have to start over from scratch, which means I need to overload them with magic for the process to start over. On each one. The amount of magic that entails, for a single one, is a bit more than I can manage right now. While we are stronger than the other students here, I... well..."

"You don't have the amount needed to fix the problem."

Godric turned and nodded to Rowena. "Precisely. And not only that, I have to create a way so either the process is undetectable or a way to show that the runes and the effect are not harmful."

When Godric faced away from Salazar, the hat once more turned silver. Godric rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

"Altering the runes can be done now, but how are you going to do that without alerting the Headmaster about what's happening?" Helga pulled her loose, dark hair over her shoulder and absentmindedly began braiding the locks.

"That's my final obstacle. I'm not sure. I'm working on the arrow slit issue, which won't take much time as the runes for the wards are still there in each area so they can go back up once we figure out how to move forward."

Salazar hummed quietly. "I'm not as familiar with the warding stone, but..." He looked at Rowena and asked, "Is it possible to - essentially - take small pockets of the wards we want to fix, pull them within the stone, adjust them, release them and repeat until the job is complete? Since Dumbledore is not connected to the warding stone, the changes will be gradual and not as noticeable."

When Godric glanced over at Salazar, Rowena once more changed the color of the cap to blue as she answered, "Give me a few days and I'll have an answer for you. But I believe it can be done. It will be a slow process."

"Slow progress is better than no progress," Helga said as they finally made it to the main path and began making their way to the town.

The rest of the walk passed in relative quiet, Rowena and Salazar more concerned about what color the hat was, and Godric cheerful that the two normally calm people in their group were fighting over something so pedantic. Helga, for her part, was merely amused.

When the town of Hogsmeade came into sight, Godric gently grabbed Rowena's hand and placed it in the crook of his elbow, the hat silver once more. "I believe Sal and Helga have an errand they wish to run. Rowena, I want to go see the Hog's Head and find out why most everyone gives it a wide berth."

Helga laughed as Rowena was nearly dragged away by a happy Godric, saying, "Possibly because of an irritable goat, a messy bar, and a grouch of an owner," as they went. She watched as Rowena turned to Salazar and went to change the color of the hat once more and Salazar reacted: changing Godric's cloak silver instead.

Godric laughed, waved a hand, and turned his cloak scarlet and the hat gold. "I adore you both. Let's go get me a hat first, Ro, and I'll give you back the cap. In its original color."

Rowena gave a curt nod and the two went into the town at a quick pace, thanks to Godric.

Helga turned to Salazar and placed her own hand in the crook of her friend's elbow and the two walked at a more sedate pace to the town, letting the sounds of village life grow slowly and watch the bustle of the town before they were enveloped. "Is there anything else we need for the potion that we need to pick up? I believe you said that it's nearly ready?"

Salazar nodded and began moving them towards the apothecary in the town. "All that's required is Powdered Unicorn Horn and Powdered Moonstone. As we want a fast acting relaxant, a pinch of each ingredient must be placed within before he drinks it."

"Excellent news."

"How are you going to explain the potion?"

"Oh, that's quite simple. The base potion was found in the library and it was tweaked from there."

Salazar smirked as they walked into the store. "The man has no need to know how much it's been altered."

"Of course not. I will have conveniently forgotten the name of the base potion and I will tell him that I will let him know once I remember. It'll just slip my mind every time he asks. Oh dear, is my memory going so soon?"

Salazar laughed.

- - - - Founders - - - -

Helga sighed, holding the cup in her hands. "It isn't dangerous, Professor. I simply wish to give you something to help with your aches and pains."

Professor Lupin stood leaning against the door to his office, pain easily seen in the lines of his face. "I am unsure why you thought I would need this." He reached out and gingerly took the cup from Helga's grasp and brought it up to his face as if to inspect it. "But I do appreciate the sentiment."

She waited patiently as his nostrils flared, taking in the scent. "It's that time of the month, Professor. You seem as if your entire body aches. I thought I might be able to do something about it."

"I-" The professor's eyes widened and he took a step backwards.

"Please, Professor. I just wish you well." She discreetly looked around and cast a silent revelio spell and saw no one else in the area, and covered the portraits with a quick, soundless spell so they wouldn't hear anything. "There is no aconite in this potion, nor silver. Or anything else that could harm you. This is a thank you for helping Ro, Sal, Ric, Harry, and I. You have been the best Defense Professor these past three years and I do not wish you in pain. If you do take it, please put this on top right before you drink it." She handed over a small pouch, the Powdered Moonstone and Powdered Unicorn Horn mixed inside. "Have a good evening, Professor."

As she left, she removed the spells around the paintings and went on her way to the Hufflepuff Quidditch practice.