The lovely dark-haired witch simply arched an elegant eyebrow (Could she possibly one of Snape’s ancestors?, Harry wondered) and commented in a faintly superior tone, “Of course it worked, Helga.”

The blonde witch…Helga Hufflepuff?...gave Harry and Snape a kind smile, “Are you quite all right, then? We saw you appear from the castle windows and it did look like a rough landing. We do apologize and if you need medical attention, I’m a fair hand at healing, even Salazar says so.”

Harry wasn’t sure how to respond and for once in his life, Snape seemed to be rather at a loss as well. The professor was quiet for a long moment, his eyes shifting from one woman to the other, steadily keeping his wand ready.

Finally he said, “Am I in the midst of some irrational delusion, or are you truly suggesting that the boy and I have traveled a thousand years through time and that you are the Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw who helped to establish Hogwarts?”

The blonde witch gave Snape an indulgent look. “Yes, dear. We are indeed.”

While Harry gaped at her…he couldn’t imagine anyone brave or crazy enough to call Snape ‘dear’…Rowena added calmly, “Actually, its nine hundred and sixty-four years, not an even thousand. This is the Year of Our Lord 1032.”

“So good to know.” Though he still looked shocked, Snape had apparently recovered some of his snarkiness.

Helga laughed delightedly and, to Harry’s further amazement, she walked over and patted Snape on the arm. “Oh, I like you. Rowena, doesn’t he remind you of Sal?”

“That’s not terribly surprising. He is a direct descendant,” Rowena remarked.

Harry blinked and then glanced over at Snape, to see if he were surprised by the revelation or if he’d already known, but it was impossible to tell. The professor still looked uncertain and wary, but that could have easily just been because they’d apparently been transported back a thousand years in time.

No, not a thousand years, only nine hundred and sixty-four, Harry thought with a sudden, slightly hysterical desire to laugh.

“You have an advantage over us. You know our names but we don’t know yours,” Rowena continued.

“But yet you know that I am a descendent of Salazar Slytherin?” Severus countered.

“The spell that called you here was to bring a descendent of Sal’s and a descendent of Godric’s. Based on your behavior, I surmised that you come from Salazar,” Rowena said.

She looked over at Harry and nodded to him. “while you have Gryffindor blood.”

She turned to let her gaze encompass the both of them again. “But no, we do not know your names or any details of your lives.”

“I’m Harry, Harry Potter.” Harry told her.

“Severus Snape,” the Potions Master said in a grudging tone.

“I’m sure you must have questions. Why don’t we go inside and have some tea? Rowena and I will do our best to explain everything,” Helga offered.

Harry almost agreed immediately, but Snape seemed to read his mind. Without taking his eyes off the pair of witches, or lowering his wand, he reached with his free hand and gave Harry’s arm a light swat. Harry glared, but remained silent and let the professor make the decision.

Snape considered for a long time before finally giving a curt nod. “Very well.”

So they crossed the lawn and entered Hogwarts. Harry looked about eagerly once they were inside. The basic structure of the castle was unchanged and thanks either to magic or to the diligence of its caretakers, it was as bright and clean in the future as it was now in its early years.

But there were some small differences. There were only a few portraits hanging on the walls; there were no suits of armor; rugs, tapestries, and pieces of furniture were set in different places; and when they passed the door to the Great Hall, Harry peeked in and noticed that instead of the four long House tables, there were only two smaller round tables at the far end.

Rowena and Helga led them down a corridor and to the circular steps that led up to the headmaster’s domain. There were no gargoyle guardians barring the entrance now, though. They simply walked up the stairs and into the circular office.

Harry was accustomed to seeing the room furnished to Dumbledore’s taste and it was here that the differences were most jarring to him. Where the headmaster’s great mahogany desk usually rested, there was a U-shaped table instead. Of course there was no red and gold phoenix standing on a bronze stand and no spindly-legged tables with silver contraptions. The office actually looked rather bare, though one wall was lined with bookshelves and an exquisitely beautiful tapestry showing the Four Founders standing before the castle hung on another.

Helga waved her wand at the straight-backed wooden chairs around the table and they changed into comfortable stuffed armchairs instead.

“Normally we keep the wooden chairs for when we have students or visitors up here…it looks more professional. Intimidating, Salazar says. But they are hard and stiff so when it’s just us we change them. You don’t mind, do you? These really are much more comfortable. Oh, go ahead and sit down, of course.”

Harry started to sit, then paused with a sidelong glance at Snape. Perhaps it would be wiser to follow his professor’s lead. Snape remained standing until Helga and Rowena had seated themselves before cautiously perching on the edge of a chair. Harry hesitated, but the only other free chair was right beside Snape. Reluctantly he slid into it.

He followed Snape’s example and kept his wand in his hand, and when cups of tea and a platter of pastries appeared on the table before them, he and Snape did not eat or drink until the witches had.

It wasn’t good manners, Harry knew, but safety did have to be a top priority. Helga and Rowena must have understood because they promptly sipped their tea and nibbled on the tarts before giving their guests a knowing look.

“You can go ahead and eat. It’s quite all right.” Helga smiled.

Rowena gave them an approving look. “I think Salazar would be proud of you, if he were here. And that brings us to our explanations, I suppose.”

She folded her hands on the table before them and began. “There are four of us…Helga, Salazar, Godric Gryffindor, and myself…who have been close friends for many years, since childhood. We are among the fortunate in the wizarding world. Our parents were able to send us abroad to school so that we could learn to use our powers to our greatest ability. But until last year, there was no school in Britain for young wizards and witches to attend and many families either could not afford the tuition and fees the foreign schools charged or they did not wish to send their children to live so far away.”

“The result is that magical education in Britain has been…well, haphazard at best. Most families teach their children on their own, and in some cases it works out well, but often the children grow up with huge gaps in their education. For example, if the parents own an apothecary, their children will be skilled in Herbology and Potion-making, but will likely know next to nothing about Transfiguration. An Arithmancer’s child will be very knowledgeable about Ancient Runes, but will be unable to cast a simple Shield Charm.”

“So for many years now, my friends and I dreamed of starting our own school here, where youngsters could study all the basic magical subjects and receive a well-rounded education.” Rowena smiled and gestured about them. “Last year we finally realized our dream and founded Hogwarts.”

“We’ve just finished our first year,” Helga added. “And it’s been so rewarding. We have students from eleven to seventeen…well, actually those are our guidelines but I know full-well that Geordie and Fiona McClean are only ten and I believe we have some that are older than seventeen. Even some of the local villagers come up sometimes to learn a bit. But that’s all right. We’ve always said that we were willing to teach anyone who wanted to learn.”

“Well, not quite anyone,” Rowena remarked.

She and Helga exchanged knowing looks.

“Before opening Hogwarts, we had a rather strong disagreement over whether or not to admit Muggle-borns,” Rowena told them.

Snape only nodded. Harry had to struggle to repress a scowl. A thousand years and the wizarding world hadn’t made much progress in its prejudice against Muggles. But of course he knew that. The Sorting Hat had told them all that the troubles went back to the days of the Founders. Stupid Salazar Slytherin. Harry already had a strong dislike for the man, especially if he were anything like Snape.

“Helga and Godric felt that they should be included. Salazar was adamantly opposed, and while I did not feel as strongly as he did and for different reasons, I did have some reservations as well.”

Rowena sighed. “I’m sure things are very different in your time than they are now, but in these days most Muggles are woefully ignorant.” She seemed to notice Harry’s indignant expression and shook her head at him. “I mean ‘ignorant’ in its true definition of ‘uninformed’ and ‘uneducated.’ Most wizards are literate and we teach our children to read and write at an early age. The majority of Muggles are illiterate peasants. Pure-blooded wizarding children come to us prepared to read texts and write essays. The Muggle-borns come not knowing the alphabet or how to print their names.”

“But isn’t that even more reason to teach them?” Harry exclaimed. “They need an education even more than the purebloods.”

“Be silent, Potter!” Snape snapped.

But Rowena only smiled and shook her head again. “That is a valid point, and one that Helga and Godric successfully argued, that we have a moral obligation to teach those who are willing to learn and help them to achieve their potential and have a fuller, richer life. However, my reservations were based on the fact that our objective in founding Hogwarts was to provide a quality education in the magical courses, not to teach beginning literacy skills. I was concerned that by admitting Muggle-borns we would have to devote so much time just bringing them up to the basic standards that we would be forced to neglect our other students.”

“There are other concerns as well,” she continued. “Most Muggles are deathly afraid of magic and believe that wizards are devil’s spawn. While we have very limited contact with the Muggle world and can usually escape unharmed from persecution, there have been some cases where a wizard or witch was caught unaware.”

She looked directly at Harry. “More often, it is young children who cannot control their magic who are found. There are wizarding families who have had to flee for their lives from a panicked crowd of Muggles coming to burn them alive. There have been cases of small children being hurt or even killed. It hasn’t happened often, but even one occurence is too many.”

There was a silence and Harry noted that both Rowena and Helga looked particularly sorrowful.

Rowena took a deep breath. “I’m not saying that prejudice against Muggles or Muggle-borns is right, but that perhaps it is more complex than you might think. Those who believe that we should keep to ourselves and have no contact with Muggles often have a reason for feeling that way.”

“So you think it’s wrong to let the Muggle-borns come to Hogwarts?” Harry asked her softly.

“No, I did not say that. I had reservations, but Helga and Godric were persuasive and I eventually came to agree with them. Salazar was more resistant, but he finally agreed to a compromise. We would admit a small number of Muggle-borns on a trial basis and at the end of the year, we would evaluate the situation and decide whether or not to continue the practice.”

“So, a few weeks ago, we completed our first year and while it was very fulfilling, I must admit that it was also more exhausting and difficult than any of us had realized it would be,” Helga took up the tale. “But we were encouraged. The children had learned so much and they are such eager and willing students that it was all worthwhile. We all agreed to continue the practice of admitting Muggle-borns and then…”

She broke off and tears came to her eyes. “One of our Muggle-borns went home to her family and even though we had cautioned the children against using magic away from school, especially the Muggle-borns, for some reason she performed a simple charm for her brothers and sisters. But some other Muggles witnessed it and went into a frenzy, believing her to be possessed. There was a mob and she was killed.”

“Well, of course we were all devastated and that tragedy sparked Sal’s arguments again. He said that Muggles were treacherous fools and we were better off without them. Even more, that by admitting Muggle-borns and teaching them to use their powers, we were placing them in danger, that they were better off never knowing about our world, too.”

Helga sighed and looked at them sadly. “I don’t know what to think, I have to admit. All the children had made such progress, especially the Muggle-borns, and they were so excited and happy. All year I’ve believed that we were right, that we were doing a good thing, opening up new possibilities to them. But I can’t deny that poor little Moira would still be alive if we hadn’t brought her here.”

“You were right,” Harry said softly. “You are doing a good thing teaching them.”

“I hope so,” Helga said quietly.

Snape cleared his throat. “I still don’t understand how Potter and I came to be here.”

“Of course,” Rowena sighed. “Helga and I were mostly sad and confused after little Moira’s death, but Godric and Salazar were angry. Unfortunately, when Sal began arguing against the Muggle-borns again, they turned their anger against one another. They were the best of friends, but it ended in a duel and with Salazar leaving and swearing that he would never return to Hogwarts. Godric stormed off in a fit of anger too, and Helga and I were so confused and distraught. Even with all four of us, we were barely managing to run the school. There are precious few other wizards and witches capable of teaching. We have a few guest instructors, but the four of us are the only full-time staff members.”

“Helga and I were afraid we would have to close the school, but then one of our part-time professors, and a good friend of ours, came to us and told us about a vision she had had,” Rowena continued. “She is one of the few true Seers and many of her visions have already come true. She told us that far into the future there was a Gryffindor and a Slytherin who could bring the Four Founders into harmony again and save Hogwarts. Fortunately for us, she also knew a spell that could touch your minds and bring you here from the future. She and her husband are geniuses. They were my mentors and they spell-creators.”

A sudden knock on the closed door interrupted Rowena’s speech. She smiled. “There she is now. Come in, Sarah.”

The door opened and a tall, slender woman came in. She had frizzy hair and hazel eyes that were greatly magnified by her spectacles. Harry’s jaw dropped and if he had happened to glance over at Snape, he would have noticed that even the Potions Master looked startled.

Helga beckoned to the woman. “My dears, this is Sarah Trelawney-Dumbledore, our professor of Divination.”