"Helena, Hogwarts must have been beautiful a thousand years ago."
"Yes. Back then, the unicorns in the Forbidden Forest and the merpeople in the Black Lake would come out to interact with the young witches and wizards... Hogwarts today may be steeped in history and livelier than ever, but there's far more ambition and impatience."
"But I heard Hogwarts faced a lot of outside pressure when it was first founded."
"A thousand years ago was a turbulent turning point, too. For various reasons, many powerful Dark Wizards emerged. Fortunately, Hogwarts had four legendary figures guarding it, and they kept every danger outside the school gates."
"..."
Shawn spent the afternoon chatting "casually" with the Grey Lady, satisfying the lonely ghost's need to confide in someone.
He also heard plenty of fascinating historical anecdotes. After the sun set, they agreed to talk again another time.
After bidding her a gentlemanly farewell, Shawn strolled through the Castle's corridors, considering and taking stock of what he had gained from their conversation.
He set the other matters aside for now.
When it came to the other three Founders, including her mother, the Grey Lady generally spoke about whatever came up. Shawn only needed to offer an encouraging response here and there.
But whenever Shawn "inadvertently" mentioned Hufflepuff, the Grey Lady merely described Aunt Helga as a very accepting person who devoted herself wholeheartedly to teaching.
She glossed over everything else.
She also pretended not to hear his subtle references to the secret passage in the Forbidden Forest.
Thinking about it now, Helga's story probably had more to it as well. This Founder must have been genuinely kind to the Grey Lady back then for her to guard her secrets so closely.
For now, Shawn could do nothing but wait until he obtained the golden