Birth of a Nightmare Man

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Hogwarts grew more and more known amongst wizard families around the country. They began to write their children up before they even had the right age for starting school. Rowena had the idea of having families write their children up when they are born, so they could get an acceptance letter once they turned eleven.

The four founders had all but stopped teaching, and didn't live at the castle at all times either. They had even gotten married.

"Don't worry," Rowena reassured the Nightmare Lord. "I'll always fancy you a little bit."

"Me too," Salazar told the man. "After all… you are very pretty."

They had known the Nightmare Lord for almost twenty years now. They had all gotten older, and it was beginning to show; lines around Godric's eyes, crinkling when he laughed. Salazar's frown became more pronounced, and for both Helga and Rowena small lines had started coming in at the corners of their mouths.

But the lord hadn't changed at all. While they looked more mature he still appeared the same as when they first met him. Youthful and mysterious.

There were days when the four friends went to visit only to find all the mirrors in the manor covered with cloth. Elise had explained it the first time.

"He doesn't like the reminders," she told the founders. "That you're aging, and he's not. You're master's first friends in a very long time."

The last friend had been George, as far as they knew, and George had met a violent end far, far too early. Perhaps that was why they didn't risk their lives. Sure, there were challenges but actually nothing that would put their lives at stake.

The closest thing anyone of them had gotten to a near-death experience was a potion gone wrong. The fumes would have been deadly to inhale, the Nightmare Lord informed them later, as he had breathed it in and it completely shut down his organs for a while.

"Nasty feeling," he had added.

They wondered if that was it, or if he just spared him from the more painful reactions he had experienced having his organs shut down. Either way, they knew he wouldn't tell them. They also knew he'd rather risk himself than have one of them die too early in his opinion.

-o-

They all had children, but for some reason the Nightmare Lord wasn't too keen on meeting their families. He did come sometimes to see the families from afar, but usually met the four founders outside their private homes, or when the families weren't around.

"They know you know me, isn't that enough?" he said.

"They are curious about you," Salazar replied.

"Well, that's hardly my problem."

"Can't you just say why you won't meet with them?" Godric said. "We won't feel offended, lord, you know this."

"I know, I just… I just don't want to meet them."

"That's a lie if I ever heard one," Helga said.

The lord looked at them. They had gathered in his home, and it was one of those days when the mirrors were covered. The Nightmare Lord had been found tucked in a dark corner with some books and they had to coax him into the light. He sat so that he didn't really look at them.