Founding Hogwarts

It was the dead of night and the two girls had only gone about five miles from their village.

"Rowenaaaaa," Helga whined, "How much longer is this going to take?"

"Helga, do you realize it's very, very far to England? We haven't even made it to France yet," Rowena explained.

"Why are we going to France? I thought we were going to England," Helga said, confused.

"Yes but to get to the ocean, we must go through France. From there we'll take a ship to England, okay? And can you please stop complaining? You knew it would be very far when we started out," Rowena said.

"Can we at least take a rest?"

"Oh I suppose so, if you must."

It was dark; the girls could barely see anything around them. It was a wonder Rowena had been able to follow her compass so clearly all this way.

"What was that?" Helga whispered suddenly, nervousness in her voice.

"What was what?" Rowena said and sighed. She had started to get a bit annoyed at the fact that Helga seemed to be scared of everything. First, it was the dark. Then it was the trees that looked like they were going to eat her. Now she was scared of things lurking around them.

Suddenly, a noise interrupted Rowena's thoughts.

"THAT!" Helga whispered, quite scared now, hoping it hadn't existed before.

"Well. . .what is it?" Rowena asked, Helga's nervousness beginning to catch on.

"I don't know, you're supposed to be the smart one! Do something!"

"Accendo!" Rowena whispered, a very faint light coming out of her wand, which she had just retrieved from her pocket.

"That's your solution? I still can't see and whatever it is it's going to get us easier now!" Helga said, almost in hysterics.

"Will you be quiet?! I've no doubt it'll find us if you keep going on like this! Now just be silent for a moment while I try to figure out if it's gone or not," Rowena said, trying to look around with the small amount of light her wand would give her.

"Oh fine. But you're never going to see what's out there. They really should invent some better sort of light spell. . .but then again, they might not know how. But I bet you probably could, Rowena, you're really smart, though I daresay I'm doubting your brilliant abilities tonight, but that's okay, I will forgive you. I know I've been stupid on quite the number of occasions. . ." Helga said, forgetting she was supposed to be quite and falling into her talkative ways.

The noise, sounding much like the roar of a very large animal, was heard again.

"Rowena!! It's back! It's one of those. . .those things! I know it!" Helga whimpered.

"What things?" Rowena asked impatiently, wishing Helga really would shut up so she could think of some way to get rid of whatever it was.

"The creatures!" Helga said, like it was obvious what she was talking about.

"What creatures? Helga, hurry and tell me!"

"You mean to say you haven't heard of the creatures?" Helga said, eyes wide. She loved to gossip and tell stories, and was ready to tell Rowena all about the 'creatures'. "Well, you know Claire Lilienthal? She's the girl with the red hair that I absolutely love and envy. Well, yes, I'm getting side tracked. Well, she said that Bertha, you know Bertha of course, she lives next door to me, well Bertha told her all about this sort of creature that her brother Charlie saw. It lives in the mountains and it comes down to villages and takes little children away and it eats goats and, and, it's twenty feet tall! Twenty!! And she said it has pure white fur and looks much like a cross between an ape and a man. And ohhhhh. . .Rowena! It's going to eat US now!" Helga said, now becoming fearful again.

"Oh that's just a silly rumour, Helga," she commented, not quite believing what she was saying herself, "Now do be quiet! Maybe we should just keep walking. . ." Rowena then picked up her bag and continued the direction they had been heading, hoping Helga would do the same and follow her.

But instead, Helga remained where she sat. "Oh real brilliant Rowena! Walk right in the direction the noise was coming from. Oh of course, let it find us quicker, then we'll all have a merry time and enjoy a cup of tea!"

"Will you just shut up and come along?" Rowena said, going back over and grabbing Helga's arm, pulling her up so she now was standing. Reluctantly, Helga finally followed.

They continued along, the noise did not make a sound again that night, but still Helga rambled on behind Rowena about how 'They were surely going to be eaten'.

A well awaited dawn finally approached, with both girls yawning, heads drooped, and walking very slowly. They were indeed, very tired.

"Well can we go to sleep now?" Helga said sleepily, stopping to yawn after her first sentence, "The sun's up and you promised Rowena!"

"Yes, yes, all right, we can sleep now," Rowena said, stopping where she was and beginning to take blankets out of her bag.

No matter how sleepy was, Helga was still herself and when she finally figured out Rowena was going to have them sleep here she definitely had something to say about it. "Sleep. . .on the ground?! But it's dirty Rowena! There's things on it! Rocks, and leaves, and there are probably disgusting insects that come out from the dirt and crawl in girl's hair that were stupid enough to sleep here!"

"All right, if you find somewhere better to sleep then please tell me, otherwise don't wake me up unless it's important," Rowena said, lying down in her bed for that day.

"Oh! You can be so difficult Rowena!" Helga exclaimed. But, although she refused to sleep here, she had to give in now. There was no where else to sleep. Upset, she slowly pulled out her blankets. She forgot all about the insects though once she laid down, for she was fast asleep.