Rowena's Quill

Rowena kept Alice's secret, and when she began to see less and less of her, she understood it was because of Frank. For lack of company, Rowena began spending more time with Dirk, and they achieved the status of "going out." She even let him kiss her, which seemed the thing to do, but though she wouldn't admit it to anybody, she found it sort of disgusting. Her roommates thought that boyfriends were a sign of social status, but Rowena wished she could have a secret love like Alice's instead of her very public relationship with Dirk.

She did discover, though, that being a couple in public had a positive side. It was one way of avoiding long snogging sessions. As the weather grew colder and walks around the school grounds became less pleasant, Rowena and Dirk began spending most of their time together in the Ravenclaw common room. Rowena taught him Rack 'n Rune, and he proved to be a quick and clever player. Of all the things they did together, Rack 'n Rune was easily Rowena's favorite, and it became their trademark. It came as a bit of a surprise therefore when one mid-winter day, sixth-year Helena Juxtafort asked to join them.

"Only an even number can play," said Dirk.

"We can find a fourth," said Rowena. Her eyes scanned the room. Everybody was busy talking or studying with somebody else - all except for Leonard Lovegood. Socially awkward and easily overlooked, he was always alone. "Let's ask Leonard," she said.

Helena shook her head doubtfully and Dirk emphatically, but Leonard had already looked up from his book.

"Would you like to play Rack 'n Rune with us?" Rowena asked.

"Yes, I would like that very much," said Leonard with his characteristically odd formality.

Dirk shot Rowena a dark look, but she ignored it and began teaching the two newcomers to play. They were fast learners, but still played slower than Dirk and Rowena, so to encourage them whenever they scored, Rowena bewitched a few spare titles to spell out "YAY!" When Helena got a very good word, Rowena made the tiles cry "Hooray!"

"That's rather impressive," said Leonard.

"I don't remember learning anything like it in Charms," agreed Helena, "and I'm three years ahead of you."

"It's nothing, really," said Rowena. "I just like to play around with sounds."

"People who experiment often come up with the best spells," said Leonard. "Most people just follow the textbooks, but there's more to be learned by trial and error, you know. Severus Snape -"

"Is he a friend of yours?" Dirk interjected.

"I have no friends, actually," said Leonard matter-of-factly. "Severus Snape is my lab partner in Potions, and he knows shortcuts that would baffle even Slughorn. I rather suspect he invents his own spells."

"Just what the world needs," muttered Helena.

"As a Muggle-born, you ought to be more careful about who you choose for friends," said Dirk.

"As I said, I have no friends." This time, the sadness in his voice was unmistakable. None of the others knew how to respond. After an awkward pause, Rowena put a few tiles together and spelled "FIZGIG."

"No nonsense words allowed," said Dirk.

"It's not nonsense," Rowena insisted with a grin, "It's . . . um . . . I read about it for Care of Magical Creatures . . . um . . . "

"The fizgig," said Leonard. "It's an endangered species, actually. It is hunted for its fur because it's resistant to the harshest of freezing spells."

"Really?" asked Rowena. "I just made that up as a joke."

"So did I," said Leonard. He smiled and looked gawkier than ever.

Helena and Dirk exchanged looks.

"I think I've got to call it a game," said Helena. "I've got a Defense test tomorrow."

"Want to take a walk, Rowena?" asked Dirk.

Rowena didn't want to. She felt bad about abandoning Leonard so suddenly.

But Leonard took it as a matter of course. "Don't forget to warm up your robes," he said. "That doesn't look like fizgig fur."

"Yeah, thanks," said Dirk, getting up and pulling Rowena with him. Under his breath he muttered, "Weirdo."

"Don't you need to put your game away first?" Leonard asked.

"Oh, it usually cleans itself up and goes back to my room by itself," Rowena explained.

"That's rather an interesting charm," said Leonard.

"But she didn't invent it herself," said Dirk, "her mother cast it for her."

This was not quite true, but with Dirk pulling her toward the door, she didn't have much chance to correct the mistaken impression, and it would be boasting if she did.

"See you, Leonard," Rowena said on her way out.

Once outside with Dirk, she began to scold. "You were very rude to him, you know."

"Oh, come on, he asks for it. He talks too much, he has no sense of humor, and even he admits he has no friends. No wonder. If a person can't learn the normal social graces, he deserves to be an outcast."

"Nobody deserves that," said Rowena.

"Always siding with the underdog," said Dirk, pulling her closer. "That's one of the things that I like about you."

But Rowena liked Dirk much less after that. She respected him for his high standing in their year, an especially remarkable accomplishment for a Muggle-born, but he was a snob, and that she couldn't tolerate. She knew she had to end it, and after a night without much sleep, and a morning of classes she could barely sit through, she told Dirk.

Unfortunately, her timing could not have been worse. It was Valentine's Day, and though she had forgotten, Dirk had not. He smashed the heart-shaped box of Chocolate Frogs he'd bought for her and yelled, "Pure-blood snob! Get the h-l out of my sight!"

Rowena was only too happy to oblige. She ran outside into the cold, crying and paying no heed to where she was going. Everywhere she looked, she saw another couple. Darius Smith was snogging Helena Juxtafort.

"Alice is safe at least," thought Rowena as she hurried past.

She ran further from the castle. Alice and Frank were snogging behind some bushes. She ran toward the Forbidden Forest.

"Hi, Rowena!" called her roommate loudly, showing off because she was walking hand in hand with Sirius Black.

Rowena swerved in the opposite direction and entered the woods. It was one place where she might get some privacy. She stomped over the brambles and paid no attention to whatever might be sticking to her clothes, but as she got in deeper, she began thinking less about Dirk and more about where she was. She'd never been inside the Forbidden Forest before, and she knew it was home to all sorts of dangerous creatures. Realizing how foolish she'd been, she turned to head back to the castle, but she didn't get very far before a rustling on her right side made her jump.

"Do not be afraid," said a deep male voice.

Terrified despite this assurance, she turned see who was talking to her.

"Oh, my!" she gasped.

She was standing face to face with a real, live centaur.

For several moments, she simply stood and gazed at him, but then she remembered her manners. "Umm . . . uhh . . . excuse me for staring, it's just that I've never seen a centaur outside of a book."

"It was foretold that we would meet, young Rowena."

Rowena's heart began to pound. Meeting a centaur was astounding enough, but how did he know her name?

"The clouds are heavy over Hogwarts castle," he said. "It is a portentous day."

"It's Valentine's Day," said Rowena faintly.

"Human custom," said the centaur. "I am not familiar enough with it to judge whether it is superstition or has actual power."

"It certainly has power over Dirk," thought Rowena.

The centaur meanwhile began pointing out the different cloud formations and explaining what they meant. Rowena listened attentively until she recalled something she had read about centaurs.

"Sir," she said shyly. "I am grateful you are teaching me all of this, but I thought centaurs don't share their knowledge with humans."

"We seldom do; that is true, but there have been exceptions throughout history."

Rowena's curiosity got the better of her. "Why me?"

"You are a direct descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw, are you not?"

Rowena nodded.

"It has been foretold that the descendants of the great Rowena would carry some of our knowledge to the human race."

Rowena knew she ought to feel privileged, but she was a little disappointed. The centaur didn't know her name; he knew her lineage. It wasn't that there was necessarily anything special about her personally.

"The path to your destiny is clear but short," said the centaur. There was more rustling behind them. This time, it was the centaur who was unnerved. "I must return to my herd. I have taken a risk in speaking to you."

Rowena did not want the centaur to put himself in danger, but she did not understand. "If it has been foretold, then why -"

"Centaurs are not always correct in their interpretations, and the herd disagrees with mine. The path to your destiny is clear but short. Goodbye, young Rowena."

And with that, he turned and galloped away.

Without the centaur to protect her, Rowena was anxious to leave the forest immediately. She began to run in the direction of the castle. On the way, she bumped right into Leonard Lovegood.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, recovering herself. "Are you?"

"Yes."

"The path to my destiny is clear but short," she thought, looking at Leonard. "Did you hear what -?" she began.

"Every word," said Leonard.

"Does it mean . . ." but she was too embarrassed to finish. Leonard was embarrassed, too. "What were doing in the forest?" she asked.

"I was following you. I saw you were crying and upset, and the forest is dangerous, so I thought, perhaps you might need . . ." his hands fell clumsily to his sides, "my help."

"That's sweet," said Rowena.

"I'm not much of a fighter, actually," said Leonard. "Really, I might not have been any help at all."

"It's the thought that counts," said Rowena.

"I didn't know you were a descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw," said Leonard.

"My mother doesn't like me to tell people."

"That's very admirable," said Leonard.

The two fell into silence, but it was not an awkward one. Neither of them dared discuss the centaur any further. They simply walked back to the castle together in quiet happiness.