The Dare of Dawn (Helga)

As they entered the Great Hall, Maximus's gaze unsurprisingly went up to the ceiling but his reaction was not what one would have suspected. He simply walked in, studying the edges of the sky with his fingertips raised to his scruffy chin. He of course recognized his brother's handiwork, and while it was impressive at the sheer size he had managed to be able to produce the everchanging image, it still lacked a few things.

"I be surprised 'e managed te get it se large," he commented after a few moments of study. "Though, 'e should o' considered lettin' it represent a truer image o' the time. Lighter durin' the day an' maybe a few clouds te give it real significance. 'owever, tis much improved since we last worked on it."

It wasn't a well-known fact that Maximus had actually helped Merrick develop the enchantment, so he knew what it had likely taken to get it this far. It wasn't the easiest of charms and was more of a combination of several to produce a sky that was accurate and shifting with the heavenly bodies as they were. He just felt that there was so much potential to make it better, especially in an open space such as this.

Turning his attention back to Lady Hufflepuff, Maximus offered her a tired half-smile. "I would like te thank ye, Lady 'ufflepuff, fer allowin' me te eat at yer table. It 'as been a terribly long journey," he explained. "One I was nay eager te delay. Most o' the time I rode straight through towns instead o' stoppin' te sup properly. Foolish per'aps, but tis what a man does when determined I seppose."

Helga tilted her head slightly, a bit confused as what she had hoped would have been a surprised and amazed reaction from Maximus over his brothers work was in fact one of calm and analyzing, critiquing it even as if it wasn't the first one he had seen from his brother. Similar to one she remembered would form on Rowena when she was studying and appraising something, a few times she had viewed it during the construction of the school in fact. 

She could remember Merrik mentioning he had done the enchantment before but she couldn't remember where he had said it was. Was it possible then it was somewhere his brother had seen it therefor he wasn't so stunned by the one in the grand hall? It seemed that way given his reaction at least. Helga silently exhaled a sigh, drawing her gaze away from the elder Raine brother to look around the rest of the great hall. Well, maybe at least she could impress his stomach since his eyes hadn't been satisfied enough with the view. Wouldn't hurt and at least he could see if the food would also earn a stamp of approval for his sister to attend Hogwarts herself.  

Helga turned back to Maximus as he spoke, smiling as she listened to his thanks while on the inside she was grinning. It was a new challenge before her now indeed. What she had assumed was a battle with travel food had turned into a battle with an empty stomach. A challenge on how she was to go about satisfying a hungry stomach but one she knew quite well how to complete and with flying colors. After all Godric was a hard case to keep full and satisfied, anyone else was surely a walk in the park but not wanting to put too much pride into her work she would just be happy knowing she had satisfied a hungry and well deserved stomach with a good hearty meal it wouldn't forget.

"Your most welcome Sir Raine and its the least I could do after causing the misunderstanding before. I don't always use the best of judgement with myself when it comes to people. I like to make them feel welcome and happy, forgetting I need to be using more etiquette and proper greetings before jumping on people or making assumptions as I did with you. I know better and will no doubt be getting an earful from Rowena and Godric later about introductions and stranger awareness" she explained with a warm tone on her smile. It shifted to one of what she hoped looked reassuring realizing what had said may come across wrong. "Not that I thought you were bad or dangerous but I have been known to sort of welcome the rough and rugged to the table before without making sure they weren't fully safe. Like a blinder on a horse, sometimes I turn a blind eye to people's exteriors when I get a feeling they are not as bad looking as they appear but do need a bit of cheering up spiritually and I've found nothing works better or stronger then a good warm meal." 

"My apologies, I must not sound very professional or reassuring right now given you are here to see if our school is adequate enough for your younger sister. I can assure you though I do take my role here as both an educator and temporary guardian of all the students who come stay here to learn very seriously and with great importance" she added after giving him a few moments to take in her ramblings. "Now then lets see about getting you something to eat to make up for the long journey here. If you'll follow me I can show you to the head table where the other founders and I as well as the rest of the school staff sit and enjoy our meals."

Helga gave a small wave of her hand, signally to Maximus to follow her and calmly with her hands tucked loosely behind her back led the way down the center aisle of the long tables towards the other end of the room. "In the great hall here we have four tables, each one assigned to a specific dorm house that one of the founders is in charge of. We sort the students into one of the four houses that best fits with their personality and overall spirit however should more than one house be fitting the hat gives the student the option to pick which they like. At the moment because of our small number of students we have most of the candle light focused towards the front half of the long tables but eventually the candles will cover much of the ceiling and blend well with the ceiling above" she said as they walked. 

Helga led the two of them up to the table running a different direction than the long four house tables, a good dozen high backed chairs sitting along one side facing out towards the room. She paused at the end of the table, smiling warmly as she moved one of her hands towards the chair at the end of the table. "If you'll have a seat Sir Raine, we can see about getting that empty stomach of yours filled with a delicious warm meal" she said, waiting until he was seated before drawing her wand from the front pocket of her gardening apron. 

With a small light wink she gave the top of the table three slow taps with the tip of her wand. After a few seconds there was a small pop and an empty plate appeared in front of the chair followed by an empty goblet and a set of cutlery. Next came several more pops as different bowls and platters of steaming dishes like roasted pheasant, saute'd vegetables, buttered julienned potatoes for him to choose from appeared on the table around the plate and within his reach from the chair. Last a waterskin filled with wine appeared beside the goblet, completing the small but grand little feast fit for one.

Smiling, Helga pocketed her wand and gave the dishes a quick glance over. The house elves had done wonderfully from what she could see and it all smelled fantastic. If she was going to earn any good points in favor of the school, for sure it would be for what was now presented in front of Maximus. "Alright, go ahead and tuck in Sir Raine. If you need anything else in particular just let me know, usually the house elves are pretty quick at getting it here once its asked for."

Godric had just finished class, actually, when Helga summoned him. There was little time to do anything but wash his hands and splash a bit of water on his face to clean up a bit. The clothes were a little dusty but nothing to be done about that. Maximus, a knight himself, would understand that these things happened sometimes.

Leaving the bathing room, he headed for the Great Hall where Helga requested his presence. And it seemed he was right on time, as a small feast appeared around Sir Raine. Rhiannon was right on his heels as he strode through the Great Hall up to where Maximus was sitting/Helga was standing, preening over the presentation her house elfs had set up.

"Well, it seems I picked the best time to come in! Thank you, Lady Hufflepuff. It looks rather scrumptious. Class was a little rough today so a hot meal before lunch might suit me well, if Sir Raine is willing to share." He leaned over and gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek. "You're a God-send - no question about that." Then he took a seat next to Maximus. It wasn't his usual one at the staff table but it would be illogical to take his usual seat and make Maximus yell any questions he had for Godric.

However, he was fairly certain Helga had been fully capable of answering any questions up to this point. She knew this school as well as anyone, if not better. She had been here for the construction, while he and Salazar had not.

"Well met, Sir Raine." Godric said as he rounded the edge of the table and gracefully slid into the seat. For once, he was grateful that Astrid had healed him so he didn't look like a brawler to meet a potential, concerned parent's proxy. Not that he wanted to think about her or last night! Just...no! No thoughts. He needed to focus!

Maximus had just sunk into the chair as Lady Hufflepuff put on a fine display of magic in bringing the food forward. He knew she wasn't simply making it appear out of thin air as that was known to be impossible, but clearly summoning it magically from the kitchens seemed reasonable. The smells alone were enough to make his tired mouth water.

Before he could fully turn his focus onto that however they were joined by Sir Godric Gryffindor and Maximus stood from his chair to properly greet the fellow knight. "Sir Gryffindor," he said with a sharp incline of his head. He waited until the other man seated himself before retaking his own. He sagged ever so slightly, looking very travel-weary at this point though he was trying to look less so in the presence of his acquaintance.

"Tis ye table, thus be yers te share," he said in reference to what the other man had previously said. "I be grateful fer ye hospitality this day." With that said, he would wait until Godric began loading his plate before doing so himself. He took a little bit of everything though he doubted he'd be able to eat it all in one sitting. Perhaps they would let him take some for the journey home, he thought. Perhaps that would keep him better than dried meat and stale bread.

Helga turned as she heard the familiar cheerful tune of Godric as he walked across the room towards the head table where she and Maximus were. She smiled as he paused to give her a sweet greeting of a kiss on the cheek and chuckling lightly under her breath. "What you call good timing I call it simply your bottomless stomach could smell the food the moment it appeared in the great hall" she teased, gently giving his stomach a poke with her finger.

Seeing as she would need another table setting, Helga gave the table two taps with the tip of her wand and as Godric sat down in the chair beside their guest a table setting appeared in front of him with a plate, silverware, and an empty goblet. She gave the table one final tap and a small wooden plate appeared under the tip of her wand with bite sized pieces of cooked meat ends and bits followed by a wooden bowl of water. Tucking her wand away she set it down on the floor for Rhiannon followed by the bowl of water. No stomach would be ignored on her watch at the school, human or animal.

Helga looked up between the two seated at the table, watching as they took turns filling their plates with plenty still left on the dishes if they wanted second helpings. "Be sure to pace yourself Godric, don't want to overdue it if you plan on enjoying the mid day meal not long from now. I would hate to have to roll you out of here if you ate so much you swelled up like a bale of hay." she teased at her friend with a soft playful grin. "You best at least be letting Sir Raine have the bigger share of those dishes. He has had quite the journey with very little stops to take a break to eat and I won't go letting an empty stomach remain so a moment longer. Not on my watch." 

With her snack quickly finished Rhiannon approached Helga, giving her leg a small nudge with her nose as her tail wagged. Smiling she knelt down, giving Godrics faithful companion some attention while he enjoyed his snack or rather his pre-meal meal.

"Of course I will have room for my lunch," Godric reassured her. "Don't I always?" He shot her a charming grin, knowing it would always be the case. He did enough physical labor throughout the day that three meals were often necessary as well as a little snack at least once. It was usually during whatever meetings they held at night but he could refrain during one such event, were it to happen this evening. Over-indulgence was not something he approved of - unless they were talking alcohol and then, bring it on!

Once the two men had filled their plates, Godric took a few bites before approaching the subject at hand. "Well, Maximus, what do you think of our little place here? Bit unconventional, I know, but these first few days have gone well enough and I really think Moira would thrive here." Having spent at least a little time with his brother-in-arm's family, he'd come to know them all at least to some degree. Thus, he knew about the youngest one's hunger for learning, as she did. She would do quite well in Rowena's house.

Maximus ate slowly, not wanting to upset his stomach from the sudden ingestion of food. He had learned that lesson as a boy in the field, thus he tried to pace himself. Also, there was a lady present and he didn't want to give her the wrong idea about his manners. He took a drink to wash down a mouthful of food before answering Godric's question.

"Well, from the lil' I saw o' the grounds an' gardens, tis a beautiful piece o' land. Perfect fer inspirin' youngsters," he said after considering what he thought. "An' the amount o' tomes in the library be somethin' extraordinary. Yer dinin' 'all seems large enough te 'ost an entire regiment o' men at arms. The lil' I've seen se far seems impressive."

"I de 'ave questions, 'bout wha' ye plan on teachin' an' 'ow yer lessons progress," he phrased it carefully, not wanting to discount what Lady Hufflepuff had already told him but he wanted Godric's perspective as well on the matter. "Will they 'ave set lessons te follow o' will they be allowed te study wha' they wish?"

"Also, in the interest o' protectin' me sister's virtue, I trust tha' the lads are bein' kept away from the young ladies?"

Helga gave Godric a small playful glare. Of course she knew he would always have room for meals, the man was worse then an adolescent boy at times. At least the way she could remember her brothers and their bottomless stomachs. Guess it was a good thing they were usually willing to be her testers one new food charms, her strength and experience had to start somewhere after all.

Rather than stare and watch the pair eat, she instead took a chance to look around the great hall. It looked grand yet held boldly to her vision of it being a place of warmth and gathering. In time, she hoped at least during her lifetime she wanted to see the room full of students, the air buzzing with the soft sound of light chatter as everyone feasted together. Maybe in time it would be her own children sitting among the other wizards and witches gathered here to learn. It would be nice to be able to see them on a daily basis again after the last few months without them entirely.

Helga shifted back to the pair eating and chatting, happening to overhear Maximus's concerns of his sister's well being more or less. Hoping Godric wouldn't mind if she jumped in here, she turned to face the table and politely cleared her throat for a second. "Classes we don't separate the boys from the girls, rather we include both in the class as the information they will learn is vital to both. There may be a few exceptions to that with just boys being the only one attending but I'm fairly certain most of the classes are both gender included." 

"In each of the four house dormitories there are separate sleeping quarters for the boys and girls. I believe between Rowena and myself we managed to put down an enchantment that prevents students of the opposite gender from trying to go into the other's sleeping quarters. If you are not sure that it is enough to ensure your sisters safety and ease your concern we can implement a few more precautions into place. As of right now what we are doing seems to be working so far in keeping the young ladies virtues and safety well in place and secured" she explained calmly then glanced at Godric just in case he had more to add to what she had explained.

Godric nodded along with Helga as she explained the classes. When she explained about the boys' and girls separation in the common rooms, he snorted. "Don't be modest my friend," he insisted, shaking his head.

"Essentially, they're split into sides - male and female. When a male tries to go up the girls' side, the stairs turn into a slide, landing them flat on their behinds at the bottom. It's genius, not to mention, a little scary what lengths they've gone to to protects our students from their natural curiosity. And the portraits over the bathing chambers monitor those coming in. If it's a girl painting observing a boy trying to enter, it simply won't allow the door to open and vice versa. We take the safety of our students very seriously and that includes from each other." He explained.

"But otherwise yes, the courses are intermingled. Honestly, now that you say that, Lady Hufflepuff, I can't think of any classes that are restricted by sex. We teach them everything - the young men will learn to do household charms, the young ladies will learn defense with both blade and wand. I know that young ladies aren't quite as strong as men but there are daggers and bows, which are just as good for protection as a sword at one's hip - if they know how to use it.

"And I'll see that they do. Otherwise, we have set lessons for the general masses. There simply isn't enough time to teach every spell out there, which is what the library is for - giving those students who are hungrier for knowledge a chance to really research something if they're deeply interested in it." All of this was said in between eating his food as Godric was really looking forward to this whole conversation.

"After we eat, I can take you on a tour of the castle. Not all of it but some of the highlights - places Moira will likely be if she's allowed to attend so that you can see for yourself what we have set up."

Maximus was glad to hear that they were taking the safety of the ladies of the castle seriously, as one damaged reputation could soil an entire family if given the opportunity. As Godric spoke, he ate quietly and far more neatly than most men. Occasionally he would even wipe the grease from his fingers on his riding breeches. He would wash the rich food down with his drink, careful not to have too much lest he fill up on pleasing liquid.

Though dreadfully tired, the idea of looking about the castle and seeing areas that might be of interest of his sister was very enticing. He nodded in agreement. "Aye, I 'ave laid eyes upon the library. Tis disorganized, but I think wit' a bit o' work ye will 'ave it in workin' order soon enough," he commented. "The amount o' knowledge in those tomes be priceless an' I was pleasantly surprised te see so many volumes."

It wasn't hard to imagine his sister learning here, even with the scant amount he had seen of the place. The library alone had been worth the long trip from the south. He knew his mother would be pleased as well, though his father might yet prove to still remain the hard sell. He was simply too attached and protective of his daughter. It was why Moira was not yet married at her tender age. The man simply refused to let go.