Ravenclaw

Chapter 69- The Gift of Love

Song for the chapter: End Game by Taylor Swift Featuring Future and Ed Sheeran

~

Rowena rushed around the common room, her wand jerking in her hand as she casted spells as quickly as possible, sending a million things flying and into order.
She burst into the girl's dormitories; it was empty, apart from a small stand that stood near the large bay window, which has a large glass jug and a box of sweets in a drawer, in case the students got peckish. A circular, royal blue carpet lay in the middle of the room, and with another flick of her wand, the dust that filled the room vanished.
One by one, she checked the dormitories of each gender, grade by grade, cleaning it and making sure that everything inside it was in tip top shape. Because the Sorting would take place the minute the students entered the school, they were thus unaware of just exactly how many students would be in each of the four founder's houses.
Two days.
     In two days, the empty common room Rowena stood in would be filled with students, ranging from the ages of 11 to 17, eager to learn magic in a way never taught before. To think that wizard education would finally be standardised in the whole of the Old Kingdom, who's to say it couldn't be standardised in the world?
     Rowena adjusted the dress on the mannequin one last time, placing a charm on it so that the dress on the statue would not be ripped or damaged in anyway. Then, she walked over to one of the wooden tables in the common room near the fireplace, towards an old, rusty, brown box.
     "Alohomora."
     The box, donated by Katrine, Godric's father, held one of the greatest heirlooms their ever was. Godric, who had gone to his father's family friend— a goblin— had gotten the treasure handmade from the finest silver, that would never rust, never grow old. It shone as bright as it could, even with the dim lighting, and had three beautiful sapphires encrusted on to it.
     Rowena had worn such a beautiful piece of work on her head during her wedding day, and Godric made sure that the goblin who had made it swore to never make a replica or ever give the design to anyone else. It was the only one of its kind.

     The diadem of Ravenclaw.
Godric made it in honour of her, as a memory of what had happened in order to achieve what she wanted, to achieve the goal of having education for all. Rowena picked up the diadem from where it lay on the purple, velvet cushion, and ran her finger across it's fine details.
The smooth etching of her favourite quote lay on the rim— Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure.
Rowena smiled at its extraordinary beauty; then she raised her wand and tapped the diadem gently.
"Gemino."
Just like that, a complete replica of the diadem floated in mid-air before dropping, Rowena catching it expertly. She then kept the real diadem back inside the box and, using a perfect hovering charm, placed it atop the marble statue's head.
Taking a step back, Rowena admired her handiwork. The common room had two large banners of silver and blue, the Ravenclaw's family crest emblazoned on them. The fireplace's black chimney led climbed up the long wall, out of sight, and books stood atop the mantle— volumes such as Which Witch and Wizarding History just waiting to be read. Chairs of all shapes, sizes and magnificent colour sat around the room, surrounding large and small tables, on which a few candles stood in their trays, ready to be lit with wands rather than matches. A mini library stood in the back corner, its shelves empty. 'Book Donations' read the small sign hung from one shelf, and a a few decorative plants and paintings filled the corners.
     Rowena sighed happily as she finished gazing admirably around the room. This felt like home to her— a place to seek refuge, amidst the company of a good book, people and knowledge. She hoped that the students, whom she had chosen, would enjoy the place, too, and that they'd see Hogwarts just as she saw the school— as home.
     Rowena exited the Ravenclaw tower and rushed back to her office, humming, a slight spring in her step. When she threw open the door, her trusty eagle, Fenella, sat on her desk, a rolled up parchment attached to her left claw.
Rowena grinned, tossing her trusty pal a snack; true, she had started the owl delivery as a child, and yes, she wasn't the only one that didn't use an owls to carry messages, but she certainly could be the only one in Britain to still be using her eagle.
"Ah, what is it now, Fenella?" She said, hoping it wasn't another parent's letter. Even after sending the FAQs she had drafted and sent to all students, and after answering the questions of persistent parents, many still decided to pester her with the most ridiculous questions imaginable— a Muggle-born student had his parents asking whether a wand was necessary.
But it was not one of the parents— it was the Hogsmeade hospital. The note was rather long, longer than she had anticipated, but then again, Rowena's visit had two particularly important... requirements, to say the least.
She unrolled the parchment and the first part of the letter delighted her; she had been asking for the most skilled doctor or nurse to be dispatched to the school, and the hospital had decided to give her indeed, their best nurse there is— a woman named Tulip Pomfrey had taken up the post of being the Hogwarts matron.
Then the second piece of information blew Rowena away.
She reminisced the times when she saw Professor Lilac leaving the castle early, in order to tend to her child, whom which she named Grayce, and sometimes, if she was lucky, she'd catch a glimpse of the adorable, rosy-cheeked baby that even she treated as her own. Rowena, five months into her marriage with Godric, had already gotten so used to the four children around her— Grayce L. Forfax, Devriul Lovegood Jr, and of course, the twins, Freida Gidienne Slytherin and Georgia Fabien Hufflepuff, named after the respective parents due to the colour of their eyes— one sported shining, emerald green eyes, while the other had the same beautiful, rare, amber eyes that Helga had.
     Rowena had no idea that her heart could swell so much to have the capacity to love all of these children of all of her friends she now considered family, but a certain longing had began to consume her. Even her own sister, Flaura Mae Lestrange, had gotten married two months ago and just recently discovered that she had been conceived.
     It made the longing inside of her even worse.
     Which was why, just the week before, she had had chat with Godric on the issue.

~

     "Godric?" She asked as they returned to their small, two-storey home at the edge of Hogsmeade near the clearing where she had threatened her sister. It was a cosy home, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and quite a spacious sitting room joined with the kitchen and dining areas. As Godric opened a bottle of wine, Rowena took off her cloak and sat beside him, a serious look on her face.
"What's wrong love?" He asked, concern lining his features as he poured two glasses of wine for them. Rowena took a deep breath and suppressed a cheeky smile.
     "You know how... um, you know the uh... wow this is harder than I though it would be... um, okay, about Helga and Zar, I mean..." she stuttered, unable to find the words to describe what she felt, what she really wanted. She knew they were married, but how awkward would it be to blurt out the words 'I want to get pregnant'?
Godric placed a hand on top of hers reassuringly, tracing small circles on her palm with his thumb. "Hey, you know that you can tell me anything right?" Rowena nodded, swallowing down her nervous thoughts and emotions and decided— it's got to come out anyway.
"Godric, I want a child."
Godric became shell-shocked. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. He reminded Rowena of the merpeople living in the lake— she stifled a laugh.
"Rowena— I... a, a child?" He stuttered, clearly not expecting such a question— a statement really. Rowena's tone made it clear that she wanted a child. But who's to say he didn't want one either?
She nodded her head, and colour rose to her cheeks. Godric smiled, took a sip of the wine and leaned in closed. "Why the sudden want, or need, I shall say?" Rowena wasn't like any other woman— true, the Muggles had their ridiculous was of living, with their revolting ways of making women objectify themselves and allow it to happen, but then again, wizards weren't always that different. Some heed the advice from their fellow Muggle counterparts and pretend to be flimsy at magic to appear vulnerable— but no one really wants a squib. Maybe just a very... incapable witch.
     As blunt as she is, Godric could see why she struggled to get her point across at first. But then, his curiosity had won over his shock, so, with a very appropriate confused expression lining his features, he spoke.
     "But... why now, Rowena? Why do you... why do you suddenly, you know... want, a child?" He asked, averting his eyes. They did it once, and yes, it had been a very eventful and pleasurable honeymoon, but that was without the intent of having a child...
"Because, Godric," She said, unable to hude back a cheeky smile, "I want to have a family. Look all around us; the Lovegoods have a child, Helga's got twins, even Professor Lilac's had a child, for Merlin's sake!" Rowena cried, holding Godric's hand tightly in her own.
"I want to be able to say that I have had the child of my love, Godric Gryffindor, and that I have successfully started a family with him, a family which I will love and grow old with."
Rowena's little speech— paired with an extreme amount of passion and enthusiasm— had left her a little breathless, and Godric a little speechless. Rowena definitely does want a child, he can really see that now, and the suppressed want he himself had had arisen, and he was ready to fulfil it.

~

Rowena decided to hide this piece of news from Godric for a little while, at least until she found the perfect way and the perfect moment to tell him.
It became hard to answer all the owls that came flying with an increasing amount of parents' concerns, and after one week, when about eleven owls sat perched on her windowsill, quaking at the sight of her majestic— yet slightly intimidating— eagle, Godric himself had to step in to help her.
"Wait, the standard response to these queries is what?" He asked as another parent sent a very angry message containing such profanities. Apparently, she seemed to share Salazar's new way of thinking, only allowing those of pure blood to be allowed access to their seemingly prestigious education.
"Just ignore them. If we write back, they might continue this unhealthy share of ideas," Rowena replied shortly. Godric nodded, tossing it into the wastebasket. After opening several more envelopes containing the same kind of harmful messages, he sighed and threw away the lot.
"The language they use! Imagine these people as parents, by Merlin!" He huffed, and Rowena, still distracted, just nodded and gave a soft hum. Godric eyed her suspiciously. Usually she'd laugh at his outburst, and tell him to adopt her very call composure. But she remained silent...
"Imagine if these letters could shout, they'd literally be red, shouting the entire letter whether you'd like it or not..." he shook his head. No reaction came out of his wife, and he sighed again.
"Rowena, what do I have to do to get your head in the game?" He asked, and Rowena simply smiled. She took the rest of letters and chucked them into the drawer, where she'd keep all the unopened letters for her work tomorrow or to be passed on to Helga.
She got up from her seat and smoothened her peacock blue dress before pressing her warm lips onto Godric's cheek. His heart melted slightly.
"Be ready and meet me at 8 o'clock sharp tonight, I've got a little gift for you. Mind, it's only just been made." She told him vaguely, before elegantly sweeping out of the office, closing the door behind her to get ready, leaving a very bewildered Godric behind to ponder over her words.

~