the Founder's Legacy

Chapter 4: Welcoming the Young Bloods

Hayden's Pov:
Fresh sunlight poured into my window as the first true day of my third year dawned. Sure, I had already been present in the castle for almost a week now, but that was just because I wanted to be back here. I wanted to be back at the place which I truly called home. Sure, the ancestral home of the Hufflepuff Family was where I had grown up and it was going to be mine someday, but Hogwarts was where I belonged.
This place of knowledge, history, and new beginnings suited me perfectly. Sure, I had the Hufflepuff name, but my sharp mind and intellect always lended itself to the Ravenclaw name, hence the sorting hat's selection of Ravenclaw for me. My mother was not one but surprised and had won a friendly wager with my father involving my sorting. Although, and thankfully, neither of them were upset, as this wasn't their nature.
Throughout my first two years, I had scored top marks in so many of my classes, including Divination and Herbology. I loved deciphering what the future might bring and trying to tell reality from fiction. With Herbology, it was all about helping people. Whether it be medicinal herbs, finding new and exciting uses for things, Herbology helped cultivate a passion for improving the lives of others around me. That was something myself and famed Professor Neville Longbottom shared.
But, of course, the single greatest thing to ever happen to me here at Hogwarts was finding the lovely Sabrina. Heiress to the MASSIVE Slytherin family fortune and name, Sabrina was every bit as alluring as she was intriguing. Despite the family name and everything it brought with her (including her ever intimidating older brother), Sabrina was the love of my life. I knew her family was complicated and that made her life miserable (except for her older brother, who seemed to be the only family member to truly care about her), so I knew that being the bright Ray of sunshine that I was, would help her out of whatever dark shadow which lingered over her always.
It hadn't always been that way between us of course. When she first arrived, Sabrina exhibited an air of authority and power over the school, as her name alone struck fear into the hear of every student present, even those who bore the Malfoy name. That is, until she was sorted into Hufflepuff. Once that happened, the air of invincibility that surrounded her just vanished. As though it had never existed... people were no longer afraid of her. They no longer saw her as an alpha leader. She was exposed. Even her fellow Hufflepuff housemates avoided her. So, her already isolated world became even more so. She was alone and vulnerable. Her shield had dropped. And, I so desperately wanted to be the one to keep her safe.
Which was where I came in. We were grouped together for a project in one of our classes in our first year. Like with most people, Sabrina was standoffish towards me at first. And I understood why. I was a true Hufflepuff, I was the embodiment of the embarrassment she now felt. She hated me because she thought I should be where she was and I was sure she would have rather been in any other house than the one that bore my name. But, I was determined to  make her see that there were people in the world that didn't care that she was a Slytherin in Hufflepuff house. And, as time went on, it worked. She opened up to me a little bit slowly but surely. And by the time of the end of year ball of our first year, I had worked up the courage to ask her out on a date, and not just any date, a date to the ball... on my arm. And as the muggles say, the rest is history.
Despite the fact that our relationship was a good one, there were still bridges that we hadn't crossed yet. For example, Neither of us had met each other's parents, I hadn't even met her brother in person, just over the phone or Facetime calls. I was terrified of meeting her family, which suited her just fine. And she was reluctant to meet mine. She had talked to them over the phone on multiple occasions, but I still couldn't get her to physically meet them. I could kind of understand why though.
Her own family relationship wasn't the greatest and I figured she was wary about becoming too close with another family. Family was a tough subject for her in general, so I was taking what I could get with her and my family. And despite all of the strides we had made in our relationship, there still felt like there was a part of her that I couldn't reach, no matter how hard I tried. It was if there was a part of her soul, a part of who she truly was, that she refused to let the outside world see.
         A gentle "whoo" interrupted my internal monologue. Leave it to my Barn Owl Archie to focus me back on the real world and the first  day of classes. Sure, I could have had a completely different and exotic animal as a companion at Hogwarts, but I had decided to go with a classic owl. Archie was a great companion and always seemed to know when I was lost in my own internal monologue and needed to be pulled back into reality.
"Yes buddy, I know it's time to get going. The more time I stay in bed, the less time I have with the young bloods." Ah the young bloods, equal parts excited and terrified for their first of classes, at least that's how I was. In my second year, I had volunteered to be part of the  welcoming committee for the new students.
Headmaster Malfoy had wanted Hogwarts to feel more welcoming to new students, hence his relaxation of some rules, plus the introduction of a welcoming committee. This welcoming committee was meant to help show students how to get from the dorms to different areas of the castle, introduce them to extracurricular activities as well as informing them of out of bounds areas, which still existed weirdly. We came into play after the young bloods had been sorted, we were a little more care free and friendly than the house prefects.
A quick shower and a change  of clothes later, and I was truly ready for the start of the new term. Third year was the year most students began deciding on potential career paths and unfortunately for me, I had no idea what I wanted to do....
I had thought about a teaching position, but unless Neville retired soon, the position I would want would not be open. Which left me very few options in terms of a career path. I could theoretically go to St. Mungo's hospital and work as a physician. My knowledge of herbology and desire to help people would both come in handy. But, I had never been truly convinced that was the job I would want to hold for the rest of my life. So that left library work, being a fortune teller in Diagon Alley or having a shop of some kind.
But none of these was entirely appealing to me. So, I was stuck in a position where I needed to know what career path I wanted, but I had no clue what path I wanted. Sabrina had tried to calm my worried and anxious mind and it worked....until I left her side. Once I was one with my thoughts again, my mind would race at a breakneck pace.  It was a bad habit that she was trying to help me break, but nothing seemed to work.
I swallowed any lingering doubts and fears and decided just to roll with the day's punches, greet the young bloods, go to class and enjoy my day. Opening my door, I was greeted by several other members of the welcoming committee. "Well, well, we were all starting to get concerned about you. Not sleeping on the job are we Hayden?" Michael was a 4th year Gryffindor and my right hand man on the welcoming staff.
"Haha, very funny. First off, I didn't over sleep, secondly, I am not late. I am right on schedule. You all just happen to be early." Laughing and joking with the committee came naturally and easy to me. Which was why, even though there wasn't a dedicated leader, everyone looked to me for guidance and direction. "Now before we all go to class, let's touch base and hear how each house is doing. Andrea, how's Slytherin House doing with their new head of house?" We all walked and talked as we discussed things.
"Unsurprisingly, she's the talk of the house. As both a Malfoy and a former Slytherin herself, she's a legend to the Slytherins already. Boys can't keep their eyes off of her and the girls are talking about emulating her style already. She's certainly putting a stamp on the house. We haven't won the house cup in a few years and she's determined to never lose one under her watch." Figured that Celeste was the talk of the house. When rumors of her appointment began to circle, the castle's mood changed. Slytherins rejoiced and the rest of the castle shuddered. The headmaster himself seemed relieved to have his sister and brother-in-law here.
The mood out of Gryffindor tower was the same. Sebastian was all anyone could talk about. The laid back manner, easy going style, he was quickly endearing himself to the students. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff didn't have much to report on, nothing as exciting as the head of houses. Though, I couldn't escape the fact that both the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor heirs were here now as well. It was rare for all four to be in the castle at the same time, so I couldn't shake the feeling that it meant something.
"Well, good work everyone. You all know your assignments so get to it. Have fun as always and let's make this year another to remember." Our little meeting broke up and as it did, I caught sight of my lovely Sabrina. She had been patiently waiting in the wings, waiting for my meeting to break up. I wasted little time thinking about going over to meet her. "Good morning my love." I gave her a kiss before we linked arm and arm and walked to our first class.
"You certainly have a way with people Hayden. Always so energetic and eager to see everyone." I knew she wished she could relate to people more. I knew she wanted to feel less isolated. But no matter how hard I tried, I could never reach her and reach that place.