Foundation

Chapter Three

Rowena Ravenclaw stood at the bottom of a very ornate flight of steps, waiting for her best friend.

"Helga!" she called, impatient to get going.

There was a very long pause, in which Rowena heaved a very annoyed sigh, before: "Yes?"

"Let's go! I've been waiting for a half an hour!"

And so she had. Rowena had been ready long before Helga had. She was considerably simpler and much less concerned about her appearance.

For instance, Rowena had dressed herself in a simple gown that was not too low cut but not right up to her neck either. She wore blue leather slippers that we incredibly comfortable for long hours on her feet, and had her hair pulled up into an elegant yet simple bun.

Helga, on the other hand--when she appeared at the top of the stairs--wore a very complex black and yellow dress that slimmed her figure considerably. It was the same dress that she had worn the day she met Godric. Rowena, having not seen her friend that day, didn't know this.

Rowena, upon spotting Helga, immediately knew that Helga might be expecting to meet some single fathers. Something that was very unlikely to happen. After all, how many fathers of eleven year olds were likely to be single?

Rowena rolled her eyes and beckoned to her friend. "Come on! They're going to be mad if we're late. I want to make a good impression."

Helga giggled foolishly and linked arms with Rowena. Together they stood on the front path of the school, looking up at the large oak doors that Rowena had created.

After a few moments of harsh whispering and discussion, the two disappeared with a small pop.

When they reappeared they were standing in front of a very small house with an equally small blue door. There were little windows on either side and it had a wood roof that looked like it might be rotting.

After exchanging uncertain looks with her younger friend, Rowena took a few steps forward, looking around the yard to see if anyone was outside.

When she spotted no one, Rowena boldly took herself to the front door and knocked. But where was Helga? Rowena whirled around, her skirts flying about in the process, and looked behind her for her friend. Helga was standing at the beginning of the flagstone walkway gazing uncertainly at the quaint house.

"Helga!" Rowena hissed, and pointed to the empty spot next to her.

She watched as the blonde practically skipped to the doorway, her blonde curls bouncing about.

"You don't have to talk, just--"

But she was cute off when an elderly looking man with graying hair and weary brown eyes opened the door. He had wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, as if he had laughed a lot when he was younger, and was wearing a drab sort of outfit that suggested he didn't have enough money to pay for anything more expensive.

Rowena smiled brightly and held out her hand, saying, "Rowena Ravenclaw, sir. May I ask your name?"

He didn't look surprised at her cheery appearance and held out his own hand to shake. Rowena noticed it was very rough, undoubtedly this man had done hard labor for most of his life.

As they shook hands, he muttered his name, "Chase McBrian."

"Pleasure! This is my friend and colleague, Helga Hufflepuff," Rowena said, gesturing vaguely towards the blonde next to her, who was looking very nervous.

He managed a little smile and shook hands with her as well before shifting his attention back to Rowena, who was clearly in charge and wanted it to look that way.

"It has come to our attention that your son--Oliver--is a wizard."

Rowena, Helga, Godric, and Salazar had decided that they would just come right out and say it. If the poor Muggles didn't understand than they would step inside and answer any questions that they had. And from the looks of it, this was going to be one of those cases where they were blatantly told that that wasn't possible.

Chase McBrian was visibly shaken. He took a step back and looked at the two women like they were aliens.

"I think ya must be mistaken. Some sort of joke?" He had closed the door just enough so that all they could see was his face, as if they wouldn't be able to get in if they didn't want to.

Rowena shook her head, her earrings hitting the side of her face. "I assure you, this is not a joke. I wouldn't fool around with this sort of thing...May we come inside? Perhaps we could explain a little bit better."

She did her best to look kind and friendly, but this man clearly wasn't having it.

"Look, I've worked on this 'ere farm me whole life and me son's gonna do it too. Ain't no one gonna take him away from 'ere."

Rowena took a deep breath and counted to ten in her head. She wasn't angry, per se; she was just annoyed at the ignorance of these foolish Muggles. Obviously the man didn't understand the advantages of having a Wizard in the family.

"Sir, please hear us out. I promise you that I am not here to do you--or your son--any harm. Look, I can show you. This is no joke."

Spotting a very thorny rose bush next to the door, Rowena leaned over and jabbed her finger on one of the sharp points, effectively drawing blood.

Helga seemed rather surprised by this and gave her friend a look that clearly stated disapproval.

Rowena shook her head ever so slightly to indicate that she could handle this, and straightened back up to face the now quite shocked man standing in front of her.

"Ya alright there, Miss?" he asked gruffly, craning his neck to try and peak at her hurt finger.

"Just fine, sir. Would you mind opening the door a little bit further so that you can watch? I am about to do a demonstration for you."

If anything, he closed the door a bit more. " 'Stration o' what?"

"Magic, of course!" Rowena said, taking her wand from the ribbon that held it in place by her side.

He looked a bit scared, but Rowena was confident that once he saw her perform magic he would realize that this wasn't all a big joke to make a fool of him.

Rowena held up her pricked finger so that he could clearly see the drop of blood pooling there. She held her wand up to the small cut and muttered a quick healing spell.

She felt the cut heal instantly but doubted if he could see such a small wound seal itself shut. So she cleared away the blood with a cleaning spell and held up her finger for him to see.

"You see? I'm not joking. We're here to offer your son a place at our school for Wizards and Witches. He will be perfectly safe there, I promise, and he will be able to do things like this after he has attended a few years."

He had opened the door a bit wider during her demonstration but now closed it once again. "How long?" he asked.

"Seven years of school. If he chooses to take an occupation in the Wizarding world after this completion, however, he can do that as well. Although, that may require additional schooling at another school."

He opened the door a bit further. "How long?" he asked again, and Rowena had an answer ready.

"He will be at our school from the first of September until the last of June, and will return each year in September until his education at our school is finished. What say you?"

He looked at her for a very long time, his eyes shifting between the blue clad Rowena and the yellow clad Helga. He seemed mildly interested in why Helga was just standing there pouting, but after a while he answered.

"'Spect I better tell the boy," he said hoarsely, and opened the door just enough so that Rowena and Helga could slip through before he snapped it shut.

"We'll wait here, Sir," Rowena said, and he nodded vaguely and set off in the direction of a door at the end of the foyer.

But it was a very small foyer in a very small house. The floor was very dirty, though with a little bit of rubbing with the end of her shoe Rowena could unearth a floor that seemed to be roughly planked out of maple. Good flooring gone bad, she decided. The dirt certainly didn't look too appeasing.

There were no pictures on the wall and the one window let in hardly any light because of the layer of dust that coated that as well. Everything seemed soiled with either dirt or dust.

Rowena looked over at Helga to see her reaction at the filthy house, but Helga was cowered against the wall holding her skirts up off the floor in an attempt to keep them clean.

"You'll insult him if he sees you like that!" Rowena hissed, tugging on Helga's arm.

Helga looked up at her dubiously. "You actually expect me to drag my wonderful dress around in this filth? I'll let them down when he gets back, but until then I won't!"

Rowena rolled her eyes and settled on her heels. She wasn't sure how long it would take for the man to tell his son that he was a Wizard...she wasn't even entirely sure that the man knew exactly what they were talking about.

But suddenly a small boy came running around the corner from the far room. Rowena saw Helga drop her skirts and put on a pleasant smile just as soon as they heard footsteps.

The young boy seemed quite excited. He had round blue eyes and a thin nose that peaked up at the end. His hair was mousy and very tussled. Rowena had the strong suspicion that it might be very dirty as well.

"Is it true?" he squeaked. "Am I really going to school?"

Rowena nodded. "Yes, but a very special school. Did your father tell you?"

The boy looked even more excited. "Nah, he just I was going off to school. What sort is it?"

"A school for magic. Do you know what that is?" Helga spoke this time, clearly enjoying the little boy's obvious excitement.

"Nah, but it sounds awful fun. When do we leave? I can go pack now!" He started to run off, but his father appeared in the doorway. The boy stopped dead and stood very still, his arms straight down at his sides and a clear expression on his face: his eyes no longer round with uncontained excitement.

"Yer not leavin' yet, ya great git. In Sepmembberrr, 'member? I told ya! Don't ya pay 'tention at all?"

Rowena was torn between amusement and terror at the way he had stumbled over the word 'September'. She had never met a man so uneducated. But then he cuffed his son on the back of the head--and from the looks of the way Oliver's head jerked forward it wasn't a loving cuff--and decided that it would be best to get this young boy out of the house as soon as possible.

"Actually, Sir, there are a few agreements that we could make for him to come early. He would benefit from that, actually. It would give him a chance to see the school and get to know it before he actually starts on September first."

He seemed to consider that for a moment. "A'right. Get, you."

And with no more ado Rowena ushered Oliver out of the house and onto the front walkway.

"Is there anything you want to get before we leave?" Rowena asked him, stooping down so that she was looking him in the eye.

He nodded and ran back into the house. Rowena stood back up and looked at Helga.

"That was a good idea. That poor kid looks kind of roughed up," Helga said, smiling.

Rowena nodded. "I just find it hard to believe that someone would treat their child like that."

Helga agreed and they fell into silence. As Rowena was watching a blue bird flutter by Oliver ran back out, yelling that he was ready.

"Alright! Let's go then," Rowena said, smiling at him. For a moment she considered walking back to the castle, but it wouldn't hurt him to experience a quicker, more efficient way of getting there.

She took his small hand in hers, nodded to Helga, and with a small pop the three disappeared.

When they reappeared Oliver seemed wildly excited.

"Am I going to get to learn how to do that?" he squeaked, looking up at Rowena and Helga with wide, excited eyes.

Helga laughed. "Of course! That's one of the things that we teach you here."

He jumped up and down with excitement. "Wow!"

Rowena laughed quietly and took his hand again. "Come on, we'll head up to the castle and you can meet your other teachers."

If it was possible this prospect excited the young boy even further.

* * *

"Here you are! When the rest of the students get here you'll be moved to another room, but for now you can sleep here. Meals are served in the Great Hall, do you remember where that is?"

Helga watched as Rowena spoke with the eleven-year old. She had never had the patience that Rowena did for little kids. She rather thought they were a little bit annoying at times: but Rowena seemed to be just fine.

After Rowena told the boy to stay there until she and Helga returned, the two of them disappeared once more.

"So, where are we off to next?" Helga asked, walking beside her friend.

"A small village in Germany, I think. Godric said something about not wanting to do this one, but I can't imagine why..."

Helga nodded. She was tired. They had recruited three more students before Oliver, and still had four more to do after this next one in Germany. She wasn't looking forward to it.

Rowena had decided at the last moment to bring the students back to the castle, which ultimately caused for much more trouble. Not one of the three students that they had visited earlier would come early. Two of them had been Muggle born and the third a boy who had been very snobby. Helga hadn't liked him at all and had a strong suspicion that Salazar would end up taking the boy into his own house.

The four of them had decided to not use the Sorting Hat unless they couldn't decide where a student should go. Helga liked this idea and had already decided which of the students they had recruited so far she wanted in her house.

But Helga soon cut off her thinking when Rowena gave her a look that clearly stated she would be doing most of the talking on this next one, and she quieted.

They walked up towards the large, expansive castle with quick steps. Rowena had informed her that it was taking much too long and had elected to speed up the process. How she was going to do that Helga didn't know.

"Go," Rowena whispered, and pushed her towards the enormous front doors.

There was a sort of burgundy cord dangling from a spot high above their heads, so Helga pulled. It didn't budge. She pulled harder. The cord still refused to move. She elected for hanging all of her weight off of it and was rewarded when the clang of a huge bell rang through the crisp, cold air.

Several minutes later a maid wearing a thin, worn gown arrived and peeked at them.

"Hi, my name is Helga Hufflepuff and this is Rowena Ravenclaw, may I please speak to the master of the house?"

The maid gazed at them shrewdly for a moment before nodded and pushing the doors closed.

They waited for at least an hour before a relatively aged man appeared before them.

"How may I help you?" he asked curtly, as if he usually had beautiful young women appearing on his doorstep.

"We represent the Wizarding School Hogwarts. It has come to our attention that your daughter is a witch."

He nodded. "Zhe vill come. Vhen doez thiz zchool of yourz ztart?"

Helga was perhaps a bit taken aback by his strong German accent, but soon recovered herself. This was not the time to be marveling at foreigners.

"September first. If you like, we could take her back now and she could get to know the premises a bit more before classes actually start."

He shook his head. "That vill not be necezzary. I vill zend her along vhen the time comez. Good day."

And the door closed with a snap.

"Well, at least he's sending her!" muttered Helga, a tad angry at his indifference.

Rowena turned and smiled at her. "Well, no sense in thinking about it too hard. If he's says she'll come, she'll come. The only problem is, we'll have to come back and pick her up." Rowena shook her head. "Git."

Helga burst out laughing. "Rowena, I don't think I've ever heard you speak that way about anyone!"

Rowena grinned. "I have my moments!"

And the two friends disappeared, laughing.

* * *

"Too much information!" Godric said, clapping his hands to his ears and grinning. Salazar laughed.

"Well, you know how it is."

Godric gave him a weird look and shook his head. "Salazar...I don't want to know what Rowena is like in that respect. It just...isn't something I'm up to listening to. She's one of my best friends and I don't think you realize how awkward it is for me to hear you talking like that!"

Salazar raised his eyebrows. "I put up with your talk about Helga, though."

The two friends were sitting at the teacher's table in the Great Hall, newly charmed to look as though the ceiling opened up to the heavens. They had been eating lunch when Salazar had glimpsed Rowena and Helga leading a new student in through the Entrance Hall.

"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus! Yes, you do put up with it, but at least I don't talk about how well she kisses. In fact, I don't even know that!"

"Alright right then."

The two fell into silence, picking away at their sandwiches.

Eventually, Salazar spoke. "Have I ever told you how much I like that phrase? 'Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus'...it sounds like a perfect quote to put on the Hogwarts crest. Humorous yet serious. What do you think?"

Godric seemed to consider, slowly chewing his food in his mouth. "I suppose that could work..."

"Then it's settled! I'll let Rowena know tonight at dinner."

Godric nodded. "Fair enough."

* * *

But Rowena was not at dinner that night. Instead she asked the house elves to deliver her food to her room so that she could relax for a little while. She lay down on her bed with a hot mug of tea and thought about the previous few days' events.

"Salazar...I wanted to apologize for running away after we...er...Well, yeah..."

"I understand, you don't need to apologize."

Rowena drew closer, putting just a foot of air between them. "But I do. I...I wanted it, too." She definitely felt immensely awkward saying that to his face, but how else was she to do it? Rowena had been thinking about what she would say for several days before she actually got the nerve to say it. He seemed taken aback.

"You did? Well then...why did you pull away?"

Rowena sighed. She had hoped he wouldn't ask that.

"I don't know. I think you surprised me."

Salazar nodded. "I surprised myself..." he trailed off, looking at her. Rowena took another step. They were inches away now, just at that level...

It had been wonderful, and Rowena was very happy that she had finally gotten the courage to speak to him. While the kiss had only lasted for a few moments, their feelings had become quite evident during that time. It made her smile just to think about it.

She looked around at her small living quarters. She had made it small so that she wouldn't be tempted to spend too much time there, but it was so cozy she hadn't been able to stay away.

It consisted of only a lush, redwood bed, two windows, a bathtub--put in a small room off of the one containing her bed, complete with indoor plumbing, something that she still had trouble getting used to--and a chamber pot that sat under her bed.

She didn't know what Godric's, Helga's, or Salazar's looked like, but she had a feeling they weren't so small as hers.

Just as she was putting down her mug of tea and book to sleep there came a knock at the door.

Surprised, she called, "Come in!"

Salazar opened the door, smiling at her. "I have news for you, Rowena!"

Rowena sat up and gave him a questioning look. "Well, let's hear it!"

"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus, our new school motto."

Rowena smiled. "Godric uses that one a lot, I'm sure he's happy."

Salazar nodded and came to sit on the bed. "Where were you at dinner? I was going to tell you then but you never came."

Rowena shrugged. "I wanted some time alone, and now that I've had it I feel quite refreshed." She smiled.

Salazar nodded again. "I know what that's like." There was an awkward pause in which each gazed at the other for a few moments. Finally, Salazar stood and crossed the few feet of floor to the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," he said, and opened the door.

Rowena watched him pull the door open, and just as he was about to close it, she said, "Wait."

He whipped the door back open with the speed of one who had been hoping he would have an excuse to open it again.

"Yes?"

"I think I fancy some company tonight," she said, looking up at him.

He looked at her, astonishment clearly visible on his strong features. "You do?"

"Yes."

One Silencing Charm later the curtains in Rowena's room were closed.