Professor Binns
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is around one thousane years old. The exact date of its foundation is unknown, but it's founders Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin - after whom the school houses are named - wanted to created a school that would educate all young wizards and witches and teach them magic.
The Middle Ages were a dangerous time for wizards, magic and people with the gift to use it were deeply feared by the non-magic population. The four founders built the castle together, away from Muggle persecution. Each founder selected the students he or she would take into his or her house. Gryffindor the brave and daring, Ravenclaw the clever, Slytherin the cunning and the rutheless and Hufflepuff all the others.
After a few years, tension started to appear between the different founders, particularly concerning Muggleborn students, whom Slytherin thought to be unworthy of being taught magic. The tension reached its upmost between Slytherin and Gryffindor, leading Slytherin to leave.
But Slytherin did not leave happily and created a secret chamber that could only be opened by his heir. In it he hid a basilisk, a giant snake, that would rid the school of Muggleborns once let loose.
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