The Four Figures

Chapter 27

    Back at Hogwarts, all was well. The students had agreed with the enchantments easily and enjoyed a bit of freedom. Although a quick feeling of loneliness swept through the castle and the students were unsure of what to do.
   As Rowena was quietly slipped from the Creaky Stone, Lex the niffler made a surprising return.
"Oy, its Lex!" A student called. From the Ravenclaw common room tower, they saw him padding his feet against the stone bridge of Hogwarts.
"Alfred, you're mental" Another student said, as they continued into reading.
"No, Ellyren, I'm not! It's really Lex! But- he can't get in!" Alfred cried out.
"Be QUIET. You're going to stir the entire castle with your obnoxious mouth" Ellyren fumed. She closed her book and went to the window, careful of the enchanted barrier.
"Bloody hell! It really is him..."
The students stared wide eyes at the moon illuminated campus. Alfred squinted and wanted to get a better look.
"How's he going to get in?" Alfred said.
"Not sure"
"Oh no" Alfred whispered.
They saw Lex padding up to a door on the castle. He stood on his hind legs sniffed the air.
"Maybe he knows they set up enchantments" Ellyren said as her breath fogged up the chilled glass. Lex reached, his tiny paw barely coming in contact and he was launched backwards. Tumbling on rocks, his back leg was missing.
Ellyren screamed, Alfred let out a small shrill and it stirred students from the dorms.
"Wait, what's he doing?" Ellyren noticed Lex twitch and cramp, as if the missing leg didn't effect or phase him.
Soon, Lex grew into a normal human being. A tall black man stood on the castle grounds with only one functioning leg. He grunted and limped to the door.
"He's got no leg!" Alfred whispered in shock. Lex reversed the Splinching spell with his wand and he pointed it at the door. The two students saw his mouth move and then the door to the castle explode open.
Alfred and Ellyren stared in shock and horror.
"There's an intruder in Hogwarts" Ellyren said.

Morning came in Rowena's village and Salazar was the first one up. Groggy from sleeping on a less than decent mattress, he got up and stared at the purple bags under his eyes. He slipped off his shirt, revealing soft pink scars lashed across his sides. He changed shirts, pulled on a new vest and swung a cloak around him. Slipping his wand in his pocket, he decided to check on the ladies, since Godric was snoring away into the morning.
He stepped out into the hallway and all was quiet. He heard no stirring or walking from his friends room. He tilted his head and walked across the small hall to their room. Salazar raised a fist and knocked gently.
A knock on the door startled Helga who was more than in a deep sleep. Like a bird in a nest, her hair was matted and tangled. She swung her feet off the bed, attempted to smooth her hair and opened the door.
A familiar face appeared and she smiled.
"Hey is Godric still sleeping?" She asked softly.
"I was going to ask you the same thing but..." Salazar trailed off and his expression changed to alarm. Helga turned around and saw the empty bed.
"Oh my God" She covered her mouth with a hand. Salazar tripped trying to go back to his own room. Swinging the door wide open, crashing into the bed frame, he yelled at Godric.
"Rowena's gone!" He yelled. Godric turned and groaned. He rubbed his eyes and ran a finger through his hair.
"What?" He managed to get out. Salazar threw his head back in annoyance. Helga was scrambling to pack her things in the other room.
"Rowena is gone!" He said irritated. The words struck Godric and he kept up, stumbling a bit.
"Get your stuff together, we're going to find her". Salazar said stifly, strapping on his satchel.

  The three, missing one, were stomping down the cobble stone filled with fret, anger, and stress. Salazar had stuffed his hand in his pocket, holding his wand until his knuckles turned white.
"Salazar stop" Helga said, attempting to rid the dreadful feeling of tears accumulating in your eyes and the tight throat feeling. He stomped on, ignoring the fact Helga and Godric stopped paces before.
"SALAZAR." Helga screamed. The scream sent chills down Salazars spine and paralyzed him. He breathed out and let go of his wand. He swiveled around and his face revealed blood shot eyes glimmering with water on the edge from breaking and falling softly down his face.
Helga stepped forward and Godric was behind her, watching.
"We're going to find her". She said sternly. Her cheeks became hot and the color of a blossoming rose over took them.
"This was a mistake". Godric spat bitterly.
"You agreed to it". Salazar barked back. The space between them slowly closed as Godric stepped forward.
"Argue and fight right here at this minute I swear to the Gods green earth I will Stupefy the both of you" The bitterness and anger managed its way out of Helga and onto her tongue. She grabbed the front of Salazars clothes and turned her head to Godric and shaked it.
"Fine" Salazar said, gulping as the tears sinked back into his eyes. "Where do we start?"
"Take it easy. Start on one end of the Village. She couldn't have gone far. I don't have the assumption she ran away, she couldn't have. Rowena was taken by someone".
"The mob" Godric said.
"From yesterday?"
"Yes. They're hunting witches. They're mental. It's them".
"We can't  just assu-"
"Both of you. Be quiet". Salazar put his finger to his lip.
The sound of angry cheers and hissing grew. The crackling of fire echoed through the village.
"Jackpot" Salazar said with a sly smile.
"Not just yet, they're coming this way" Helga said. The mob grew louder and louder with each step. The three ran to the left and slid into a more than cramped alley. They ducked behind barrels until they saw the dirtied and snaggle tooth faces of the crowd. They dropped to the ground, backs against the barrels.
"All! Stick your oblivious heads out your windows! Look at this WITCH! She's going to destroy us all!" A woman screamed. She marched down the street calling out the villagers to see the witch.
Helga let out a quiet shriek and Godric turned his head at her and raised a finger to his lip.
The boy who made eye contact with Helga was staring at the tall stack of barrels next to the Inn. He squinted and kept marching with the infuriated mob.
   The mob settled in the village square where the hustle and bustle reached its peak. The sounds drowned away as the three peeked up and saw the last of the yellow faced villages holding torches in broad daylight.
"Go" Helga whispered.
They slipped out and around the barrels and they took another shortcut to get to the square. Godric lead them into another alley and turned right into a second alley way which smelled of rotting fish. Salazar gagged and they kept running swiftly but quietly. Godrics stuck out his arm like a barrier and they all stopped, looking into the over populated town square. People stopped trading fruit, pushing carts and rolling barrels of wine to pay attention to the odd woman tied to a wooden stick on a platform for all to see.
   Helga slipped out her wand and they waited for something to happen.
"Ladies, Gentlemen, Stray dogs, I present to you a witch..." A disgusting looking women shouted. Rowena struggled with the chains and ropes burning against her wrists. Her eyes scanned the more intrigued crowd of villagers, and the only thought was
They know me, why won't they do anything?
  An old man stepped onto the platform and unscrolled parchment
"Rowena Ravenclaw" he gave a side eye to her.
"Is on trial for the practice of witchcraft!" He exclaimed. An outburst of cursing and spitting horrendous commented erupted from the villagers and mob. The old man cleared his voice and continued.
"For the accusation of practicing such Satanic magic, she will be burned at the stake". He finished and applause erupted.
"Burn 'er now!" Some called.
The three witnessed this in shock.
This put Hogwarts and their students in danger if groups like these were roaming the lands.
"Never again" Helga huffed, broke free from Godric and held her wand tight.
"Bombardia Maxima" she whispered. The curse jetted from her wand and into the crowd.
It acted like an explosion, throwing people left and right. Screams erupted from the crowd and villagers began to scurry.
"Devils Child!"
"Witch!"
"Burn her already!" An impatient voice called out. They stepped on the platform and came face to face with a sobbing Rowena. Keeping eye contact, the man grabbed a torch and bent down.
"Burn in hell" the man snarled. He jetted out the torch to the stack of wood and hay.
"No!" Salazar screamed.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" He chanted, standing up. A Burst of green light exploded from his Wand and he lept over a cart, slamming into scampering villagers. The mob stood back in awe and shock. They prepped themselves with their pitchforks and anything sharp.
The mans light left his eyes and he fell from the platform onto the cold road.
"Salazar...." Helga said as she chased after him.
She unleashed Stupefying spells onto the mob and Godric followed, throwing Hexes at them.
The three dodged knives and blades of glass, and they threw Hexes, curses and jinxes left and right.
  By the time they all ran away from being frightened or were stuck, frozen on the ground, Helga unleashed Rowena's chains, pulled the rope from her mouth and she heaved over.
Breathing heavily, She hobbled over to Salazar, raised a bloody hand and slapped him across the face.
"Nice to see you too" He said, rubbing the stinging ache of Rowena. She turned around and embraced Helga but ignored Godrics presence. The sight of something in the immobile crowd caught his eye. He hopped down, avoiding the one dead corpse.
Hunching down on one knee, he grabbed someone's vest.
"Hey guys, come take a look" Godric called. They all climbed down, and stood over the jinxed, unconscious villager.
"Is that a badge?" Helga asked and all four knelt down. She ripped it off and held it close to her eye. A finger ran over the silver.
"O.O.H" she spelled out.
"What the bloody hell does that mean?" Salazar asked, but was caught in the fact that each villager affiliated in the witchcraft crazy hunt was wearing an O.O.H badge.
They kicked around and tore off as many badges as possible.
"Oh no" Rowena said.
"What? Found something?" Godric asked.
"O.O.H"
"What about it?"
Helga quickly caught on to Rowena's train of thought.
"Order Of Heriot" She said, dropping the badges in disgust.
Rowena nodded and stared at the villagers on the ground.
"The group Aldis warned us about? The group that wants Hogwarts destroyed? The group that's been hunting us?" Salazar asked.
"Were putting an end to this". Rowena said coldly. She turned around and walked back to the Inn where her bag and wand waited impatiently for her.