"Welcome, young one."
Helga's voice was soft, gentler even than her smile or her gaze. As she spoke, the herbs around the room seemed to stir to life, their leaves faintly quivering.
"Hello," Tver greeted her respectfully with a bow. He could not afford to be impolite before someone like her. "You must be Madam Helga Hufflepuff?"
Helga tilted her head thoughtfully, the gesture adding a touch of playfulness to her composure.
"And you, young visitor? Tell me your name—and how much time has passed?"
"My mistake, I should have introduced myself first," Tver said, lowering his head slightly. "You may call me Tver—Tver Fawley, the current Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts."
"As for time, it has been a thousand years."
A spark of awe flickered in Tver's eyes. This really was Helga from a thousand years ago.
"A thousand years..."
Helga's expression grew intrigued as she studied him with renewed curiosity, her gaze lingering longer this time.
"A thousand years have passed, and yet the professors at the school are all as young as you?"
In good humor, Tver relaxed and smiled.
"Only me. Because I'm especially gifted."
Helga chuckled lightly. "Then tell me, young and gifted professor—how did you manage to find this place?"
At that, Tver's demeanor turned serious. He raised the badge in his hand.
"This badge guided me here."
Helga's eyes sharpened instantly. The warmth vanished from her face, replaced by a piercing intensity befitting one of the legendary founders of Hogwarts.
"May I see that badge?"
The question caught Tver off guard.
If Helga had truly created the badge, she should have been more familiar with it than anyone. Her reaction didn't make sense. Something about this felt off.
Still, he stepped forward and placed the badge into her outstretched palm.
He took the chance to examine her closely—the woman who had lived a millennium ago. Her hands were not delicate but strong and worn, marked by faint scars from thorns and calluses earned through labor.
Helga's fingers brushed across the engraved animals of the four houses. When they reached the Hufflepuff badger, it seemed to respond, twitching joyfully under her touch.
A look of nostalgia filled her eyes. As her fingers lingered on the surface, the badge began to pulse with magic, releasing waves of vibrant life force.
Beside her, Tver felt like a sponge, instinctively absorbing the surging vitality.
He lifted his right wrist.
The black mark etched there was washed over by the flow of life energy—the snake curling inward, the skull fading and shrinking—until only a tiny remnant remained, no bigger than his little finger.
But that last trace held firm, unmoved no matter how strongly the magic pressed against it.
Realizing it was futile, the vitality ebbed away, retreating back into Tver's body.
"This is a powerful curse," Helga said at last, the reminiscence fading from her tone, replaced by quiet wonder.
"What people call a curse is usually nothing more than a persistent destructive spell—hardly worthy of the term. But this one on you… it feels more like—"
"An evil prophecy?" Tver finished for her.
Those were the very words spoken by the ring before it was sealed. It was because of that phrase that he had kept the ring with him, searching for a way to unravel its meaning.
Helga's eyes brightened with sudden realization.
"Yes, prophecy—that's quite an apt description. Over the past thousand years, it seems wizarding magic has advanced quite a bit."
"Then… can you help me remove this curse?" Tver asked urgently.
This was the very reason he had come—to rid himself of that damned curse.
But to his disappointment, Helga shook her head gently.
"If you truly understand the nature of this curse, then you should know—it has already become a part of your fate."
"Before it took hold, it could have been easily dispelled. But once it attached itself to you, it merged with your life's thread."
"Unless..."
Tver's eyes lit up immediately.
"Unless what?"
Helga paused, deep in thought, then raised the badge in her hand.
"Unless you can find the one who made this badge. If I'm not mistaken, she is a Seer—one capable of bending fate itself."
"But… weren't you the one who created this badge? I followed the magic it carries to find this place," Tver said, frowning.
Helga shook her head, a mischievous smile curving her lips.
"Part of the magic does come from me. To be exact, the part that channels life energy is mine."
"But in truth, this badge was forged by blending the magic of all four of us."
"All four of you? You mean the four Founders?" Tver's doubt deepened. "Just what kind of person could do something like that?"
"Why, her, of course." Helga smiled, pointing at the eagle engraved on the crest.
"Rowena Ravenclaw."
Tver's eyes widened in shock.
He had suspected, ever since meeting Helga, that the four Founders might all still be alive.
"Lady Ravenclaw—is she still alive?"
The words had barely left his mouth before Helga burst into laughter. It was a warm, clear sound that filled the small room.
"Alive?" she repeated, chuckling. "What ever gave you that idea?"
Her eyes sparkled as she lifted a finger and pointed at herself. "You don't mean to tell me you thought I was alive, do you?"
Tver froze, realizing he might have misunderstood. He pressed his lips together and studied her closely.
Helga felt his gaze but met it openly, her gentle smile unwavering.
"Do you see it now?"
Tver nodded helplessly. "You're right… in your current state, you can't exactly be called alive."
Indeed, her existence was closer to that of a soul—far more complete than a ghost, yet still not truly living.
"Through my research on life force, I managed to create something akin to a soul—a version of myself. Of course, the decay of my physical body was inevitable."
Helga gestured lightly toward a corner of the room.
"But I was never one for showing people my ashes," she said with a playful shrug.
"A soul-like being?"
"Exactly. This is only a fragment of my will. The real me set off long ago—on a new journey."
Tver finally understood.
Even with such vast mastery over life and magic, someone like Helga Hufflepuff would never have feared death.
To those of true strength, death was simply another great adventure.