Chapter 30: Meeting a Snake (983 AD)

Chapter 30: Meeting a Snake (983 AD)

I would like to thank my beta, AvidReader2425, for his help in this chapter.

--------------- nove(l)bi(n.)com

983 AD, somewhere in Britain

It's been a couple of years since I started traveling with Godric and Rowena and I've learnt a lot about them. Godric for example is a great swordsman, something he probably got from Mordred; even Rowena confessed that she could use a rapier but usually prefers magic over weapons. We travelled everywhere in Britain, gathering information and learning new types of magic, well new for them. I really underestimated how curious Rowena actually is and how obsessed she was with knowledge. I can't count how many times both siblings almost died stealing a rare book or spying on local wizards and witches. It's really ridiculous.

Godric, on the other hand, is very impulsive and brash. I do not exaggerate when I say that he doesn't have a sense of self preservation. He lived for battle and constantly found himself in duels for no reason, going so far as to antagonize the ones that were not willing to fight.

So yeah, both siblings had their own faults but who doesn't. Godric might be reckless but he is brave and kind. Rowena might obsess over knowledge but she does not hoard it, she shares it with everyone. It has been a while since I had company but I'm glad it's them. Even though I do have to act as their mother to stop them from going too far.

What I did notice was the discontent among the muggle population for the magical. Not only has the church been spreading some rumors about magicals but in general a wizard is more likely to have a better life than a muggle. They can build shelter at any time, they can make water, find food or increase its size, and the muggles were very envious. We even heard some rumors of witch burnings.

Now, we are arriving to a small village for some rest before going to Scotland. Apparently, there were still some druids there and Rowena was adamant to learn from them. This village was home of one of the most prestigious magical family, one that I'm personally curious about how they're doing, the Peverells.

We decided to stay at an inn to recover and after a while, I got bored and decided to take a walk in the village. It was curious, there wasn't a single spark of magic in this town and it was bothering me. No, there was one spark, just one piece of magic that's still alive in this land. I follow towards it slowly to find a young man, around my age, passed out next to a tavern. From the smell, I could tell that he was drunk but the emotions he projected were of suffering and despair. I noticed my stone on a ring on his fingers and knew that this young man is a Peverell.

I pick the young man up and take him to my room, rest him onto the bed and let him sleep comfortably. This situation will probably be uncomfortable.

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The morning after, the man was still asleep and I went down to take my breakfast. Explaining what happened to Godric and Rowena went better than I expected; I guess they thought I was due some reckless actions considering how much I had to put up to with them. Anyway, I decided to bring some breakfast back to my guest only to find a wand pointed to my throat as I enter the room.

"Where am I? Who are you?" asked the man.

"My name is Helga, you're in the village's inn and I would like to ask you to stop pointing your wand at me." I replied with a raised eyebrow.

He still kept pointing his wand at me. "And how did I get here?"

"You were drunk and passed out on the street. You were the only wizard I met in the village and I had some questions I needed answers to."

"How did you know I was a wizard?"

I decided to tell a lie on this since I didn't want it to be known that I can sense magic. "You had your wand in your hand, which might I add, is very dangerous and could accidentally cast a spell."

The man grumbled, muttering under his breath something probably unflattering and put his wand in a holster. "What do you want to know?"

"It is polite to introduce oneself first."

He huffed and said "My name is Salazar, Salazar Peverell." Huh, didn't expect that. Kinda makes sense considering the Gaunts will have my resurrection stone and Salazar's locket in the future.

And so, for the first time, the four founders of Hogwarts met. The only thing that was left is, well, the actual school part. But at least, that's a step in the right direction. After Salazar, finished explaining what happened to his family, they immediately agreed to allow him to travel with us. Though, I'm pretty sure that Rowena only agreed because she would be allowed to read through Salazar's family library. Then the conversation turned to Salazar's goals.

"So, what are your plans, Salazar?" Godric asked.

"I don't know. I just know that I want to prevent what happened to me to happen to someone else. I have no idea where to start though." Replied Salazar.

"What about creating a sanctuary for wizard and witches?" piped in Rowena.

"Not a bad idea, but what would be the point. What if someone like the man that killed my family lived there. A sanctuary wouldn't stop someone already inside."

"What if we teach them better?" I asked.

"I don't understand." Godric said.

"Oh, this is brilliant! We were thinking about adults. But the thing is, adults are usually inflexible and they're not the future of wizard kind, the children are." Exclaimed Rowena.

"And it's not the adult that need protecting it's the children." I nodded.

"And we can guide them, nurture them. It would lower the chances of them turning into someone like the dark man for example."

"The dark man?" I asked with a grin on my face. Rowena blushed.

"What? We can't just keep calling him 'the man' and we know anything about it. From what Salazar told us he was shrouded in darkness, hence the dark man."

"Fine, we'll call him the dark man." I replied.

We all laughed, even Salazar cracked a smile.

"But seriously, are going to teach them how to protect themselves with magic. It would be like have multiple apprentices at the same time. It wouldn't even be called apprenticeship. The council is not going to be happy with that." Godric chimed in.

Sometimes I forget that Godric was trained to be the heir of his house and can be quite savvy with politics.

"Let them think what they think. It's not like they could do anything about it. The council has no real power, it hasn't had any since Merlin died, it's why my family attending any council meeting. They can't even enforce their own rules. Even then, what we're doing is not against any law they ever made." Salazar supposed. "And It's not like they will be forced to come. We just have to make it clear that all magical children are welcome at our sanctuary and that they will have access to a better education than a regular apprenticeship."

"How do you know that we will offer a better education?" Godric asked.

"Please!" I replied, "All four of us are better than most master in our fields and if we combine both our family libraries and what Rowena, we would have the most extensive library in the country."

"What about a residence for our sanctuary. It needs to be very well protected and easily defensible. I don't think my family home would fit hundreds of children." said Salazar.

"Neither would ours." Said the siblings at unison.

Not hearing any denial from me, they all looked at me. I grinned, "I have a fantastic idea."