the Founder's Legacy

Chapter 8: Another Piece of the Puzzle

Hayden's PoV:

          School had settled into its normal routine of classes, extracurricular activities and studying. Though it was monotonous, this is what truly made Hogwarts feel like home. The new students had settled in nicely, mingling with the older students to create a melting pot of styles, attitudes, klicks and friendships. All the while, the 7th years concentrated on graduation and figuring out their next step in life.
Through all of this, I stood at a crossroads. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, there was the strange diary that may or may not be Helga Hufflepuffs that I had found. And last but not least, Sabrina and I's relationship was starting to fray at the seams. All of this at once was starting to finally take its toll on me.
"Sweetheart, I know you want to do well on this assignment,  but don't you think you're going a little overboard in pursuit of this?" Sabrina was immersed in the assignment from Celeste, creating a new unforgivable curse. At first, she had despised the assignment, mostly because she had been paired with Grant Gryffindor. But now, she was all about it and I suspected I knew the reason why.
"Hayden, I want to ace this assignment. I've heard getting on Celeste's bad side is something you don't want to do. Besides, the assignment topic is challenging and intriguing." It was the answer I expected her to give, even if I knew there were ulterior motives for why she was trying so hard.
"I understand that, but I also think you're trying so hard because if you create something truly outstanding, you'll finally live up to the Slytherin name? You're so desperate to prove to the world and yourself that you're worthy of being a Slytherin that you might be overdoing things and losing sight of who you truly are."
Sabrina slammed her book and turned to face me. Shit, I had gone too far. "For starters, I thought we had agreed that you would never psychoanalyze me and shit? Secondly, losing sight of who I truly am? You realize I actually hate who I am right? I'm a failure to my house, to my family name and to the great founder Salazar. Maybe I'm trying to change who I am so that I'll be accepted by my family and recognized as a true Slytherin."
       She was almost in tears and I knew it was all my fault. I had crossed a line in her eyes. My constant fascination with people had caused me to analyze the one person I swore I never would do. It was part of the compromises that we had made when we started dating. And yet, I had analyzed her, even if my analysis was correct...
I sat down on the bed next to her. I wanted to talk to her more, but she was avoiding my glances. "Sweetheart, nothing is wrong with you. You are a wonderful person, a person that I love dearly. You are worthy of being a Slytherin. Stop trying to change who you are, just to please others."  She was silent for a couple of minutes, silence hung in the air between us. I didn't want to say anything else for fear of setting her off again.
"Hayden, for right now, can I just be alone to work on this assignment, please?" There was sorrowfulness in her voice, resignation, defeat. She had put up her walls and the moment she did that, there was no hope of getting through to her. It would take days for her to let down those walls again. So much progress undone in just a conversation lasting a few minutes.
             Dejected and defeated I ascended up steps of the basement and away from the Hufflepuff common room and dorms. It always felt strange leaving this place. It was as if I was leaving a piece of me behind. Like a part of my soul was tethered to the Hufflepuff rooms, even if I hadn't been physically sorted into the house. But unlike Sabrina, I tried not to dwell on my sorting. It never really bothered me that I wasn't in Hufflepuff. Our legacy was never a burden. Hufflepuffs were always encouraged to be our true and authentic selves, even if it meant that we weren't sorted into Hufflepuff house.
And yet, my family's legacy and that of all of the Founders weighed on my mind. All four descendants of the original Founders were here for the first time in who knows how long. Each of us carried our own burden, our own legacy to live up to and our own goals for being here. Yet, being direct descendants of the original Founders was something altogether different.
       The Founders were placed on a completely different pedestal than all of the other great wizards and witches that came after them. They were the Alpha, the Omega, whenever you talked about greatness in our world, the conversation began and ended with those four names. And we, as their descendants, had to uphold that legacy. Truth be told, it was unbearable, as I was witnessing first hand with Sabrina.
As usual, the castle was bustling with energy. Students coming from class or the dining hall filled the hallways. Gossip, conversations about assignments and professors, comings and goings in the wizarding world, these types of conversations made this place feel even more alive. Plus, it was always fascinating to hear what people talked about.
After ascending the tall, winding staircase that was Ravenclaw Tower, I found myself back in my room, greeted only by Archie who was perched on the windowsill, giving himself a nice cleaning. A loud "hoo" greeted me as Archie perked his head up at me.
"Yes buddy, Sabrina and I had an issue today. No, we didn't break up, we just had an argument. You're lucky you don't have a name to live up to." Archie titled his head at me, looking at me like I was a crazy person, which I suppose I was. I was talking about my relationship problems to an owl.
I smiled to myself and laid back down on my bed. As I did, my eyes caught sight of the old Hufflepuff diary that I found in the greenhouse. I hadn't touched it since I found it initially, it was as if I had been avoiding it. But what was I avoiding?
       Was I avoiding potential disappointment in my ancestor? Or, was I avoiding it because I didn't want to be told that I really was failing as a Hufflepuff descendant? I knew I wasn't everyone had told me that I wasn't failing my family name. And yet, reading the words of Helga Hufflepuff would be the definitive answer.
       So, with trepidation and a little bit of anxiety, I decided I was going to read through the whole book. See what was in it and allay any fears that it was all doom and gloom.
        As expected, the book was a diary of some sorts. No specific dates or anything, it was more along the lines of musings from Helga.  
       Arguments between Salazar and Godric, early mentions of the founding and something about a permanent state of limbo being crafted fro their afterlife.....