Whoops. Sorry guys. Time flew away from me.

So...yeah. Here's the next chapter.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Hey, give that back!"

"Ouch! Stop poking me!"

"Wait for me! We're going to be late!"

"Hey!"

The cries of young voices rang out in the now-crowded halls of Hogwarts Castle. Students chased each other up and down the corridors, weaving around each other and ducking behind suits of armor at the threat of approaching teachers. The learning experience had begun.


Helga dodged a few hyper first years on the way to her classroom. She stopped when a figure with a familiar face stepped out of a door a few yards in front of her.

"Hello Helga," said Zephyr Moonstone. He watched in amusement as her features melted into a goofy smile. She blinked at him a few times before giving a nervous start and regaining control of herself.

"Right. Er. Right. Er. Er, how are you, Zephyr?" she asked, cheeks aflame.

The corner of his mouth curved up into a smile. "Oh, I'm doing quite well Helga, and yourself?" he asked.

"Hey! You're a right pig, you are, I said give it back!" screamed a student as he passed, chasing a girl down the corridor who had his pink and yellow spotted pet toad.

"All right then!" shouted Rowena. "Miss Smith! Give Mr. Bourke his toad back." She frowned at the girl, who meekly returned the pet to the boy. She joined Helga and Zephyr.

"Hello, Ro," said Moonstone jovially.

"H-hi, Zephyr," she breathed.

Helga looked at her. "Rowena, what're you doing? I saw him first."

Rowena laughed. "Oho, did you now?"

They promptly launched into a fight about who had seen Zephyr first, who was going to marry him, and who was going to live in misery scooping dragon dung in Romania.

Zephyr Moonstone watched with wide eyes. He turned on his heel and walked off when neither of them were looking.

~*~*~*~*~

Meawhile, Godric was walking along on the kitchen level, whistling to himself. A house-elf scampered past him. He watched it go, bewildered, and changed direction, setting off in the way it had come.

Salazar was taking a shortcut to the dungeons. He had just been to visit his friend in the Chamber of Secrets, and this way was faster than the staircase. He turned a corner to see a sad sight. Professor Keydragon had a house-elf cornered and he was screaming at it. Salazar simply looked on, horrified.

"How dare you walk about this castle like a free wizard? You are a house elf and will do my bidding if it kills you!" he screamed, red-faced. "I told you to carry me up to the Great Hall and your little arms are too weak to do the job! You have disgraced yourself and your entire species!" The house-elf began to cry, cowering into the wall, sobbing into its hands.

"Keydragon!" called out Godric. He slipped past Salazar and marched right up to the professor.

"Ah, look who it is. Mr. Godric Gryffindor," said Professor Keydragon, immediately turning away from the house-elf in the corner and giving Godric a sweeping bow. "How may I be of assistance to you, sir?"

Godric gave him a baleful glare. "Your treatment of this house-elf is beyond cruel. It cannot continue. House-elves are made to serve us, but to do things like serve tea and bake food, not to carry you wherever you please and do hard labor. You are banished from the castle."

Keydragon looked up. "I beg your pardon? You cannot simply banish me! I am a teacher here, and you are--"

"--a co-founder of this school and therefore more powerful than you. Don't come back or I shall set Salazar on you." He jerked his thumb back to where Salazar stood. The man was clenching his hands into fists so tight his knuckles bled and he looked as though he was restraining himself from charging with extreme difficulty.

Keydragon glared at the two of them for a moment, but there was nothing he could do. He huffed and spun around, growling a curse at the house elf before storming off.

As soon as he was out of sight, Salazar let out his breath. "What a complete--!" He was at a loss for words. "I can't believe that man." He walked over to where the frightened house-elf crouched. "It's all right Silas, you're all right," he said soothingly. He took the tiny creature by the hand and led it back towards the kitchens. "You don't have to work for a few days, or at least until you recover..."

Godric watched him go with a smile on his face. Another problem solved. He turned and started off for Gryffindor Tower with a feeling of satisfaction.