The Four Figures

Chapter 6

Rowena awoke to the sound of screaming from Helga and a yell from Salazar and Godric. Salazar had found a crystal ball in his common room and had touched it, causing him to fall into a dream like state. His pupils were gone and all they saw was white. He was slump on the ground, while everyone pulled him to the single chair in the great hall.
"Salazar?!" Rowena screamed. She shook him in the chair but he wasn't waking. "Is this a dream!" She yelled to Godric. "Wake him up!". Helga pulled out her wand and pointed it at Salazars chest. "RENNERVATE!" She cried. And a red light beamed out of her wand, hitting Salazar, whose head was pulled back and his pupils weren't visible, only the white of his eyes. He jolted awake, breathing heavily. "The school- the-" He was sweating, staring at Godric who was backing away. "You!" Salazar cried. He jumped to his feet and charged. "Stupefy!" Rowena yelled, stunning Salazar and causing him to fall over. Godric was staring at the floor in disbelief, Rowena ran a hand through her hair and let out a sob and slumped in the chair while Helga had a hand over her mouth while she fell to her knees on the cold stone floor.
Some time had pass and Salazar was back in the chair, contemplating what had happened. "Salazar you have to answer my question. What did you see?" Helga gently asked. He did not refuse to answer.
"The futures of our school" he croaked.
"The future?" Godric asked, stepping forward. "Like what?"
"There's a boy and his family, people getting expelled, dark lord, our school destroyed, I keep seeing a boy with round glasses and his son and a boy before him with-" he stopped. "I don't know" he said. The Great Hall went silent for the first time since their arrival.
"What does this mean for us?" Helga asked. "Where did you find that-that- thing?" Rowena asked. The crystal ball was still on the other side of the Great Hall and the three of them stared at it. "Godric no-" Helga tried to stop him but Godric walked to it. He pulled out a handkerchief and picked it up. "See?"
        A week had gone by and they were helpless. They didn't know what to do next. Sure, they had their House figured out but what next? How could 4 people start a school for magic? It seemed impossible and they were all starting to think that. Nobody spoke after the incident and the crystal ball. Nobody knew where it came from or what it did and Salazar didn't speak of what he saw after it.
        Once again, they all sat silently, thinking of how to start this school of magic. To teach kids about the wizarding world. "Houses" Godric spoke up. "How do we- er- sort them" he asked.  "Well there's something we can work on" Salazar said bitterly.
"Ooo! Why not a Sorting ceremony for all the new students?" Helga proposed.
"No- well- maybe. But how are we going to sort them? Certainly not ourselves. What happens if this school does work and it's 1,000 years after and there's nothing or nobody to sort them?" Rowena said, staring sadly at the blank parchment. It was a long moment of silence before Godric said something. "Maybe we could- er- bewitch something?" He asked. "Brilliant!" Helga said. "But what?"
A loud crash startled the four and each by each they stood up, looking down the hall into the corridor. "What the- OOF!" Godric was nailed backwards, all fell onto the ground.
"Godric!" Helga cried, running over. A laughter of sorts drifted pass them while Sir Nick was chasing after that thing. "Peeves! They are GUESTS!" He yelled. "I am dearly sorry my friends! That's Peeves the Poltergeist. Nobody favors him! Tried to get rid of him back in the 1400s but never did he leave! And I worry for your future students for he might injure them!" He floated off, looking for peeves. Godric got to his feet with Helgas help and they all looked down the corridor. "Back to work, anyone?" Rowena asked.
"A bewitched hat?" Salazar wasn't impressed.
"How else are we going to sort student when we're dead?" Godric said. Godric had pulled a pointed brown hat out of his bag. It was loosely sewn and a bit ratted. He had made it himself, but never wore it. It had to have a purpose sometime in its life.
"Why not bewitch it, to match all of our traits and once a student puts it on, they know their house!" Godric said triumphantly. It was a good idea but how would they bewitch a hat? "Alright so how do we do it?" Rowena asked. They all stood up and stood in a circle, Godric gripping the hat. "Me first". He said. He placed the old hat on his head carefully and closed his eyes. Without verbal magic, he took his wand out and tapped it. A thin, red stream of sparks swirled around the hat for a few seconds and burst in thin air like a firework. Another few seconds had passed before Godric opened his eyes and Salazar asked if it worked. Indeed it did, although they thought it did.
"Helga, you're next". He said, passing the hat to her. Slowly, she put it on, staring at it above her. Godric walked over and tapped the hat with his wand. As like it was ribbon, a stream of yellow swirled around the hat quickly and descended into the hair with a swish with faint yellow sparks.
"Bewitching spell". He said, quietly, as Helga passed the hat to Salazar. He put it on and Godric tapped it. Like a fire being struck, a green flash traveled to the top of the hat and burst into a small green flame before vanishing. Rowena was last and she eagerly put it on. Godric tapped the hat for the final bewitching spell. As if a tree started to grow around the hat magically, blue vines and branches tangled around the hat all the way up to the top before it all disappeared, leaving a single leaf drift down to the brim of hat, vanishing.
"So what now?" Helga asked quietly.
"Did it work?" Rowena asked.
"I don't know". Godric placed the hat in the center of the circle. He pointed his wand at the old hat and chanted. " piertotem locomotor!" They all stood, watching. In an instant, it seemed like a small flash exploded under the hat. Before they could say anything, streams of blue, red, yellow, and green came shimmering out of the hat. A purple translucent eagle, glided around Rowena before vanishing in thin air, leaving purple smoke behind. "What in the bloody hell-" Salazar tried to talk but a seconds after the eagle, a green transparent snake came gliding out of the hat, and wrapping itself around Salazars leg before also disappearing. Again, it happened, but this time a great lion of transparent red had leaped out, circling and prowling around Godric before bowing and vanishing. Finally, a yellow badger hopped out and leaped around Helga as if it was flying around her. It vanished, leaving everyone astounded. But a second later a great big "HA!" Emerged from the now bewitched hat. "My name is the Sorting Hat. Let me tell you where you belong!" He yelled. As if it was ripped open, a mouth had formed in the hat and creased like a face. They stood in the Great Hall, wide eyed and gaping. Helga didn't stop staring, Salazar had raised an eyebrow and Rowena and Godric were intrigued. "Hello Sorting hat" Rowena said. "This is Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor. And I'm Rowena Ravenclaw".