Hogwarts; A History

"Melorius! Eneforeous! Uneleous!" shouted Rowena, waving her wand furiously around. "Enelous! Onileous!" Nothing. Rowena glared at her wand, willing it to do something. She had been at this for at least an hour today and for the past month as well, and she had not figured out one new spell. "Ufideious! Orchideous! Suddenly, a bouquet of flowers shot from the end of her wand. "Well, I guess it's something..." she muttered, waving her wand as bits of flower petals flew off, some falling gently into the pond that lay peacefully in front of her. "Now, if only I could remember what that spell was!" she frowned, trying to remember what she had said to make the flowers appear, but nothing came to mind. "Ufidois? Olideous? Enelius? ARGH!" She slammed her wand to the ground in frustration. It bounced off the grass and hit the center of the pond with a splash. "M...m...my wand!" she gasped as she realized what had happened. Her pale brown wand was bobbing up and down in the center of the large pond, floating, but barely. I'm not about to swim that far. She ran her fingers through the freezing cold water. The water is too cold, anyway. But, how will I get my wand back?! She looked around helplessly. Suddenly, she heard something. Her ears pricked up as she listened to the high-pitched sound that seemed to be coming from the sky. The sound got louder and louder and, as she looked up, she saw what at first looked like just a black dot hurtling towards her. As it got closer, however, it began to take shape, until she realized what it was. "Oh my goodness, it's a human!" she cried. "If only I had my wand!" she looked around frantically for something to help the boy, but there was nothing. She looked up as he came closer and closer, screaming at the top of his lungs, waving his wand around wildly in one hand, the other hand full with all kinds of bags and luggage. He gave another cry as he let go of his wand, throwing it down towards the ground. She ran over to it and caught it in midair, pointing it up towards the boy and shouting "Impedimenta!" the boy jerked up, causing him to drop a few bags, which fell to the ground beside the pond. The boy still fell to the ground, but noticeably slower. Rowena sighed in relief at her success. Soon, though, the boy fell right into the middle of the pond, baggage and all! Rowena frowned and looked where he had fallen, hoping the boy could swim. For a few seconds, the water remained mostly still, rippling gently away from where the boy had fallen. Rowena bit her lip, hoping he was alright. Soon, she saw something black come partway out of the water. The boy began to flop around wildly, trying to untangle himself from all of his stuff. "Are you alright?" she called out.

"Oh, I'm fine," he sputtered. "Wonderful. I'm just drowning in your freezing cold pond!"

"It's not my pond!" she called out, irritated. He clearly didn't appreciate how she had just saved his life. "Well, since you're there, could you get my wand? It's somewhere in the middle of that pond!"

"Sorry, but I'm more worried about my own life than I am with your stupid wand!" he shouted back. He managed to untangle himself and started to swim back towards the shore.

"Wait! What about my wand?!" she cried. The boy didn't answer. He just continued swimming. "Boys..." she muttered angrily. She raised his wand into the air and hurled it into the center of the pond. "There, now you have to get my wand!"

"What are you doing?!" he asked incredulously as he saw his wand flying through

the air, over his head, and landing a good way behind him in the pond. "Trying to get me killed?!"

"If that's what it takes for you to listen to me..."

The boy turned around, heading back towards where his wand had fallen. After some time, he reached the center and, after searching around for a little while, found a wand and, holding it firmly, headed back towards the shore. After a few minutes, he crawled onto the shore. He lay there for a while, panting. Rowena looked at him and soon realized that he was only holding one wand!

"Hey! I told you to get my wand!" she shouted furiously. The boy sat up and glared at her. He stood up and looked out to the pond. "Well, aren't you listening to me? I guess you'll just have to swim out there and get it."

"Not a chance," he replied as he went over towards the bags that had landed on the shore. Suddenly, he stopped and looked frantically out towards the pond, running his hands all over his shirt, his face molded into a look of pure terror.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking at him, a slightly worried expression on her face.

"Ch...Ch...Chuckles?" he stuttered, standing completely rigid.

"Chuckles? What is that supposed to mean?" she asked curiously. The boy didn't answer. He dropped to his knees, looking terrified. "What is Chuckles?" she persisted. The boy looked at her.

"Ch..Chuckles," he stuttered. "M...my s...s...snake."

"A snake?" she said questioningly. The boy nodded slightly. "Oh, a pet! You have a pet snake named Chuckles! Well, I don't know if snakes can swim, so you might as well just get over it. Oh, I don't think I introduced myself! I'm Rowena Ravenclaw. And, who are you?"

"S...Salazar. Salazar Slytherin."

"Salazar Slytherin? Really? I've heard about you. You're the Minister of Magic's son, aren't you?"

"Mmhm," Salazar nodded.

"And, what brings you here?" she asked. "Boys flying through the sky aren't a common sight around here. My mother would throw a fit if she had seen you. She's very strict about anti-muggle precautions." The boy seemed to have calmed down. He walked over towards a tree and leaned against it.

"I ran away," he stated simply.

"Ran away? From what?"

"My parents. I was grounded so I ran away."

"Well that's stupid. Now, I've never been grounded, but I'd imagine your parents would let you out sometime!"

"No, I doubt it."

"Then you must have done something really dreadful!" she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Um, yes, I guess," he muttered. "I don't think it was that bad, really. I don't really want to talk about it."

Rowena sighed, obviously disappointed. "Alright, then. Well, what are you going to do now?"

"Um..." his voice trailed off as he looked out towards the pond.

Rowena ran her hand through her long brown hair and sighed. "Well, you can't stay here. My mom would throw a fit if I had a boy staying in my room!" she paused for a second. "Oh, I know! We have a shed in the back of the house. My parents never go in there but, then again, I doubt someone like yourself would want to stay in a shed. Well, I guess you'd better go back to your house then. There's no where around here that you can stay!"

Salazar gave her a distressed look and said hastily, "No, really, a shed is fine."

Rowena smiled. "Alright, then. The problem is, I don't have my wand." She looked wistfully back towards the pond.

"And, how is that a problem?" asked Salazar, obviously confused. Rowena rolled her eyes.

"Well, you don't think my parents just leave the shed unlocked, do you? And my parents would be awfully suspicious if I asked for the key because, as I said, no one ever goes in there. I learned an unlocking spell but, without my wand, there's no way I can use it."

"Well, I have mine. I can try," Salazar said hopefully.

"Oh, alright. The spell is Alohomora. Just wave your wand and say it."

Salazar raised his wand a said, "Alohomora!" Immediately, the door to the back door of the house shot off and fell into the pond. Rowena stared at him, shocked. Suddenly, she heard footsteps inside, getting louder as they approached the silhouette of the door.

"Quick! Hide!" she whispered frantically. Salazar dropped his wand and hurried around the pond, hiding behind a tree and peeking around it, towards the door. Soon, a woman came out. She looked very similar to Rowena: they both had very rounded faces and light brown hair, though the woman wore hers short, while Rowena's reached her mid-back. The woman looked around frantically when she came through the doorframe.

"Rowena! What on earth happened?" she asked hurriedly. Rowena bit her lip and looked down.

"Um, I was playing and...you see, it...the door just came off and..." she replied slowly. She looked off towards the lake where the wooden door was floating, just barely visible over the surface of the water. Rowena's mom followed her daughter's gaze and let out a sigh.

"Rowena, you've got to be more careful! If you can't keep your magic under control, I may need to take your wand."

"Sorry..." she muttered and gave a sigh of relief when she turned and went back into the house. Salazar emerged from behind the tree, smiling.

"What's so funny?" Rowena asked angrily.

"...Nothing," Salazar said, trying to hold in a laugh.

"Oh, shut up," Rowena replied, picking up his wand and throwing it at him.

"Watch out! You're going to break it!" Salazar shouted.

"Like it's not already broken enough. You saw the way it blew apart the door!"

"It was an accident! Don't blame my wand!"

"Then who should I blame? You?"

"Um..."

"Ha!" she laughed triumphantly.

"So, is my wand broken?" Salazar asked.

"I don't know! Let me look at it," she replied, taking his wand carefully and turning it all around in her hands. As she examined, a wry smile spread across her face.

"What?" Salazar asked, slightly nervous.

"Look at the wand," she replied, her smile getting bigger. Salazar took the wand and looked at it, bewildered.

"What about it?"

"Notice anything different about it?" she asked.

"Um, well, it's still sort of wet..."

"Salazar, what's your wand made of?"

"Um, what do you mean?" he asked, still confused.

"What kind of wood?"

"Oh, ash...so?"

"My wand's made of maple. Does this wand look like ash, or does it look like...maple?!"

Salazar's eyes got wide as he looked at the wand. His jaw dropped open as he turned it around frantically. Soon, though, it was snatched from his hand by a grinning Rowena.

"Ha! You idiot! This is my wand! Yours is still in the pond! No wonder it didn't work well! There's no way you can successfully use my wand!" She hugged her wand and smiled happily. Salazar, however, looked far from happy.

"You stole my wand!" he shouted angrily. Rowena was taken aback by this sudden outburst.

"Stole your wand? You're the one who took my wand instead of yours! It's your own fault! What kind of a wizard can't recognize his own wand?!"

"You did steal it! If you wouldn't have dropped your wand in the pond, there would have only been one wand to grab: mine, and it was only in the pond because you threw it there in the first place! Also, I don't spend all day studying my wand, as you seem to do!"

"Well, I wouldn't have even thrown your wand if you would have just gotten mine when you fell in, which was your fault as well, I might add!" she glared at him and turned away. He had some nerve, blaming a near total stranger for his own stupidity. It was then she remembered; she had said she would let him stay in the shed. She turned to face it, raised her wand, and said, "Alohomora!" There was a clicking sound and the door opened slightly. She turned to face Salazar. "Well? There's the shed. It's unlocked know, so you might as well get in."

"Already?" he asked in disbelief. "That place has no windows! It will be pitch black!"

"I'm sure I can find a torch."

"But, it's a shed! There's nothing to do in a shed!"

"Then you can go home."

"But..." he shook his head angrily and glared at Rowena, who stood perfectly still, pointing towards the shed. Fuming, he stomped inside and slammed the door shut. It was then that he remembered: he forgot to get a torch. He stood rigid, the she creaking and moaning around him. Just as he lunged for the door to open it, he heard the faint sounds of a spell being cast and the clicking of the lock. He grabbed the doorknob and twisted it frantically, but to no avail. He felt around the door, trying to find the lock. His hand ran over something metal in a strange design on the door. He felt around, certain it was the lock, but he could not find how to work it!

"Rowena!" he called out, hoping she could here him, but he got no reply. He pounded the door with both hands, calling out loudly at the top of his lungs for what seemed like hours, but Rowena didn't hear him. Finally, he sat down, leaning against the door, hoping Rowena would eventually open the door. He sat still for a few minutes, but quickly became bored. Besides, the dark was really starting to get to him. He stood up and took a precarious step forward. He reached out blindly in the dark and felt a shelf. It was dusty and creaked under his touch. As he ran his hand along the shelf, he noticed that there wasn't much on it except...ew! He recoiled his hand quickly, shaking it violently. Except spider webs. And where there are webs, there are usually spiders. Although Salazar loved lizards of all shapes and sizes, he really hated spiders! He fell back against the door and, just as he did so, the door was thrown open. Salazar waved his arms wildly in the air and fell right into Rowena, knocking her to the ground. He quickly got up and brushed himself up, looking down at a very upset Rowena.

"Er, sorry?" he offered, reaching down to help her up. She glared up at him as she stood up.

"I was just going to see how you're doing, but you seem to be amusing yourself, so I guess I can leave now." She turned to walk away, but Salazar grabbed her arm. "What?" she asked, turning around.

"That Alohomora spell you used...how did you learn it?" he asked, not really caring about the answer too much, just wanting to do something instead of sitting in the dark shed.

"Oh, that," she said, smiling. "Well, there are so little spells that magic folk no, so I...experiment."

"What?" Salazar asked, not really understanding her answer.

"You know, I try out different words, seeing if any of them do anything. Then, I right the working ones down. I've been doing it for the past few years."

"And, how many do you have so far?" he asked.

"25," she said proudly. Salazar snickered. "And what's so funny this time?"
"I just thought that you would have come up with at least 100. I mean, really! If you've been working on it for a few years already..."

"It's not as easy as it sounds!" she cut in irritably. "You think of the spell, then, if you're so smart."

"Fine, I would, except for the fact that I DON'T HAVE MY WAND!"

"Calm down! Why do you always get so upset?"

"I'm not always upset. In fact, I'm nearly always calm."

"Oh, so then all of our arguments have been my fault, have they?"

"What do you mean all of our arguments? We've known each other for less than an hour!"

"Yes, and we've had quite a few arguments in that amount of time, haven't we?"

"Well, now who's arguing?" Salazar replied, grinning. Rowena let out a small giggle at this.

"Well, how was our shed?" she replied, trying to make a conversation.

"Oh, it's wonderful!" he exclaimed. "Dust, cobwebs, and all!"

"And I'm sure you anticipate sleeping there, don't you?"

Salazar gave her a distressed look, causing her to laugh again.

"Don't worry! You don't have to sleep in there! Our yard is awfully big. I'm sure you can find somewhere to sleep where my parents wouldn't notice you!" Salazar gave a sigh of relief. "But first," Rowena began as Salazar bit his lip, "you must help me put the door back on the house!" Salazar smiled and they headed towards the pond.

"Well, Salazar, you grab that end and I'll grab this one," Rowena ordered when they reached the door, which was drowning in the water. "One, two, three, lift!" They both pulled up at once, lifting the door out of the water and walking it onto the shore. They both dropped it and plopped down next to it, worn out after lifting the heavy door.

"Well," Salazar said, "I guess it's time to attach the door to the house!"
"What? Aren't you thinking? The door just fell in the pond!"

"Yeah, that's why we have to attach it and..."

"The door is wet! We're not about to attach a wet door to the house!"

"Oh...Well, how do you suggest we dry it off?"

"Well, if we just leave it here, it will dry, right?"

"Yeah," Salazar replied.

"Well, it's getting late," Rowena said, starting to get up and walk towards the house. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Salazar replied, watching her enter through the front door and close it behind her. He wandered around the pond, trying to find a nice place to rest for the night. Soon, he found a nice grassy spot and lay down, looking up. The sun was setting, splashing the sky in a rainbow of colors, and the moon could be seen, peaking over the roof of the house. He closed his eyes, thinking about all that had happened today. His thoughts went to Chuckles, his beloved snake, lost forever. His wand, too, both destroyed in the pond. At least he had met a new friend today. A human friend. With this last comforting thought, he fell into a peaceful slumber.