The Founders

Chapter 50

When Alexander and Kyra were walking across the Hogwarts grounds back towards the castle, the sun was well on its way to setting in the West and despite the blinding sunlight, a cold spring breeze had sprung up. Kyra huddled closer to Alexander as they discussed the events of the last 24 hours.

"So, do we believe this? That it's Godric who's contained?" she asked in a low voice, raised just enough to be heard over the wind.

He pulled her closer to him, securing a hand around her shoulder. "I don't see how we can't. Those were Helga's private diaries. They're probably as reliable as ancient records get."

She let out a shaky breath. "Okay. In a way it doesn't change much though, right? It's still one crazy person trying to raise another older crazy person. So, what's the plan? Assuming the rest of our information as correct, the only object that they haven't yet gotten is Hufflepuff's cloak, which is in Hufflepuff's chamber."

They skirted around the front entrance and walked instead towards a covered side-passage that led into the central courtyard. Walking through the shadowed stone arches, Alexander frowned, deep in thought.

"What we can do is better protect the Hufflepuff chamber, and protect you from being forced to open it."

Kyra looked up at Alexander's jaw as they sheltered from the wind in one of the cloisters bordering the inside of the courtyard. She sat down on the step and could feel spits of rain beginning to be blown in. Alexander sat beside her, their shoulders touching.

"Okay," she eventually responded, staring out at the bleakness of the grey and empty fountain sitting in the centre of the courtyard.

It was in the shape of three women collecting water, except their vessels had holes in the bottom. She felt a little like that, as if she couldn't quite hold all the information in her head long enough to string together the answer. "But I want you to start training me, and Oscar and Grace and Kat," she finished.

He turned to look at her profile and brushed a strand of hair away from her neck, where the damp had stuck it to her collarbone. "Okay. But please can we keep all this," he gestured to encompass all that they had discovered, "between us?"

She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off, saying, "I already broke about every law of my codex telling you all this. I need some integrity." He said it jokingly, but Kyra felt that there was some part of him which really didn't want to feel like he'd failed in every part of his mission.

She met his eyes, raising an eyebrow. "And it could be dangerous," he admitted.

She nodded. He continued, "I just think that, if us two know about this, then we can contain it better. Letting more people in just endangers them and endangers the secret."

Kyra, who hadn't fully considered this, paused and then nodded again, resolved. "You're right. Okay, we'll just tell them that they should train because of all the attacks that have happened. Which isn't exactly a lie."

The rain started coming down properly from the darkening sky, in confused gusts. Kyra wrapped her arms tighter around her legs and leaned against Alex. "And about us..." she trailed off. She could feel him turn towards her, slightly tense.

She turned to look at him. "I don't think people should know. Everyone that I'm closest to is getting attacked. I don't want to add you to the hit list."

Alex relaxed against her, a reluctant smile on his face, as though he were trying to stop himself from laughing. "What?" she demanded.

"Nothing," he said. "It's just that- well, I was going to say a similar thing to you. The person obviously knows that I'm Ravenclaw's heir."

She sighed, looking back out at the windswept courtyard. The rain was making her tights stick to her legs and she was starting to shiver. "Yeah. Depressing. We're both targets already. Well," she shrugged, standing up and trying to wipe the rain from her itchy legs. "Let's not exacerbate the issue by letting the person know that we've joined forces."

He got to his feet, his hair windswept and messy and the hairs on his arms raised in the cold air. "Joined forces?" he snorted. They walked through the darkening cloisters to the side entrance.

"What?" she asked, ducking into the warmth. "What's so funny?" Kyra made to walk towards the dungeons, to her dormitories but was swung back by Alexander grabbing her wrist.

"Hey," she said in protest.

Looking at her incredulously, he said "You just got attacked, for the second time." He shook his head in disbelief. "You can't just sit in your empty dormitory, waiting to get attacked again."

She rolled her eyes. "Literally the only reason why I keep getting attacked is because I do stupid shit like going into dark greenhouses and libraries alone."

"WHAT?" a voice shouted, vibrating with rage. Kyra turned around in alarm to find Grace standing at the top of the dungeon steps, looking like an angry wasp.