Salazar sat in front of the fireplace as he contemplated everything he had learned after his revival in spiritual form. He was ecstatic to learn that Auden had awakened earlier than they had expected, and finding out that his niece, who had died all those years ago, was still sane made him feel happiness as well.
Most important of all, he was more than proud to know that Auden had awakened his bloodline magic earlier than the others had. The subsequent conversation with him had made Salazar see that he was a bright boy and that he had talent that surpassed his and the others' even without the awakening of the bloodlines present within him.
But after some time, Rowena told Auden to go and rest and then turned towards him with a troubled expression. Salazar had a feeling something was wrong, as the enthusiasm shown by Godric was far less than what he had expected it to be. But even he had not expected the problems to reach such a level.
"Salazar," a voice came from behind him, but Salazar did not turn around.
"Godric, you should spend some more time with Rowena. It has not been too long since you both manifested yourselves," Salazar replied curtly, without any emotion in his voice.
"Well, I'm pretty sure she will understand that I wanted to talk to my friend who is hurting," Godric said as he sat on a chair right next to Salazar.
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Godric knew Salazar was not a child and only needed a few more minutes before he spoke out the problems in his heart. Even though Godric knew what those were, he decided to give his friend some time. And just as he expected, Salazar started opening up as soon as he felt the time was right.
"They were torturing children, Godric—innocent children who knew nothing about this world and suffered for it. I was able to see through Helena's eyes. They came to the world of magic with wounds and suffering on their bodies, and their eyes were filled with wonder as they took in the world," Salazar's voice faltered at the end, but Godric did not intervene.
"They looked like they had hope when they discovered they had magic and a new world to live in, only for those in the supposed pureblood families to treat them like dirt," Salazar's voice took a dark turn. "And they even had the audacity to use my name to spread their vile deeds. My house was supposed to be filled with those cunning and powerful enough to protect the other houses in times of danger. They were kept near the dungeons so that they could act like generals and make plans to protect their brethren. But now they are known for an empty noble heritage where their bloodline is more important than the talent earned through hard work."
"Hundreds of talented wizards and witches were killed out of jealousy because they had talent that those pureblood families lacked—killed while still children. And the killers managed to escape punishment every time due to the ridiculous situation they created in the courts, where the pureblood families hold full power.
Tell me, Godric, they have laws that seem righteous from the outside when read, but at the same time, punishments can only be carried out when the voting done by those pureblood families aligns with the laws, resulting in them having the power to escape any punishment as long as they have the approval of the majority of the noble families.
And who among that noble group will speak up for an orphan who came to this world simply for being gifted with the talent of magic?
Each new child who awakens magic outside of magical families is a potential mage with the purest form of magic—untouched by the practices of any other magical ancestor. Therefore, they can bring fresh blood into the magical community, making them less dependent on inbreeding to ensure that the population does not die out. They should have been treated as valuable additions to society but were instead seen as eyesores, tolerated only to avoid dealing with an Obscurial," Salazar finished with even more anger in his voice.
Godric sighed, as he too had been in the same situation as Salazar when he first learned about it. But at least in his case, he was treated as a symbol of courage by the people and not like how Salazar was viewed right now.
"Come on now, I won't deny it was bad, but it's better now, isn't it? Tomorrow we'll be infiltrating Gringotts to free Helga, and finally all four of us can be united to guide Auden for his future," Godric said, thinking that speaking about Helga would cheer his friend up—but he was sorely mistaken.
"Oh no, oh no… Godric, what the hell am I going to say to her?" Salazar immediately stood up, his face filled with fear.
"What is it, Salazar?" Godric asked, confused by what he meant.
"How the hell am I going to explain to her how the house-elves are treated in this era?" Salazar screamed, silencing anything Godric was about to say.
"Oh my god," Godric muttered as he realized the severity of the situation.
House-elves were brought out from the great forests by Helga. They were supposed to be partners of the students who graduated from Hogwarts at the time the Founders ran it years ago. They were meant to be treated as family, where the wizards would supply them with magic and the elves would take care of the families in return. They were supposed to be treated with kindness and care, as they protected the families of wizards while the wizards were away.
For them to be treated worse than pets—made to punish themselves and feel pride in having their heads chopped off and mounted on walls…
Perhaps the world would soon see a new face of Helga Hufflepuff, the kindest of the four founders.
A/N: Hope you like it.