Ravenclaw

Chapter 88- Finally, Tranquility

Song for the chapter: Marathons by Corbyn Besson

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It was dark.
Rowena groaned. Her body ached all over-- she reckoned she sustained a few bruises, and something hard was poking her back. There was a lot of noise and commotion going on around her-- the tinkling of glass, the dragging of furniture, the murmuring of voices. It seemed like a lot to deal with...
But Rowena didn't want to get up. She felt tired-- every bone in her body protested against her getting up, she wanted to just lie there, without anything bothering her, just tranquility in lying there without any disturbance...
"Rowena..."
A hazy voice caused her to stir; she now noticed the throbbing in her head, the way her eyelids were shut quite tightly, and that thing poking her back should really cut it out...
"Rowena..." She recognised the voice. It belonged to her husband. Almost instantly, her eyes flew open, and she bolted up from where she lay.
"What is it? What happened?" The words tumbled out of her mouth as she failed to register what was going on-- still feeling faint, she made to lie back down again, but strong, firm hands gripped her arms and kept her in the sitting position.
"Calm down, calm down... it's alright, Ro," The voice of her husband said again. Rowena waited for her eyes to adjust to the bright lights in the pub, and she could finally see Godric's features more prominently. He had his arms around her, a concerned look on his handsome face. She smiled gratefully at him.
"Thank you, Godric." She looked around. The place was as messy and cluttered as it was before she fainted-- tables and chairs remained broken, their legs scattered across the floor; shattered glass from the windows and the bottles forced everyone to walk carefully; pieces of wood lay around the place. Rowena noticed that it was a rather jagged piece of wood she had fallen on-- she was lucky not to sustain any injury from it.
A few people were walking round the place; Helga was crouching over two people she could not see; two teachers she recognised were cleaning up the place with their wands; some Hogsmeade town folk were examining the damage done to the place; Flaura and Ophichus were discussing something intently with each other, and they seemed to be standing guard over--
"Aurora," Rowena muttered, as everything came back to her. She had stunned the woman-- who still remained unconscious-- because she saw her two professors drop dead onto the floor... She noticed that Salazar, Mariana and Maria were missing.
"Where is--"
"Salazar?" Godric interrupted. He sighed, looking disappointed. "When he caught glimpse of his wife on the floor, and Aurora locked in fierce battle with you, he decided that it was time to retreat. He stunned Flaura and took Maria, then Maria Apparated, and so did he."
He sighed again, scratching the back of his neck. "He called off the battle, and everyone ran off. We've got a number of bodies left though." He grimaced. "Horrible sight. But we've got no clue if and when they are coming back. The least we can do is hope."
Rowena closed her eyes-- things had been much simpler when she was asleep. But it would be no use to anyone if she was. With all her effort, she got to her feet. The talking ceased immediately; everyone's attention was now on her.
"I want everyone, including the people of Hogsmeade, inside the Great Hall of Hogwarts. Bring any... any bodies you encounter as well. I will address matters there-- the bodies will be laid neatly inside, so that any family members can come to claim them." She turned to the townsfolk. "Will you be so kind as to locate Rose and her husband? I will have people assist you shortly."
She then turned to her sister. "Bring Aurora to those dungeons you made. It should hold her well for now, we can interrogate her later. Ophichus, please alert my parents on what has happened, tell them to stay put. Find the Americans, bring them to... where my parents are." She raised her brows, and Ophichus raised his in return to show that he understood. The two said their goodbyes before hurriedly walking away.
Rowena turned to Godric. "We should go." She made to leave, but her eyes found Helga's-- slowly, they drifted away, spotting the bodies Helga was leaning over previously...
"Professors," she breathed, before running towards them and kneeling cautiously, cradling Helena in her arms. "Professor..." Tears started to fall from her face and onto the pale, lifeless one of Helena Lilac, whose baby had no idea what had happened, who, despite her age, still had so much more to live for, still had a husband to marry...
She moved her gaze and found the dishevelled face of her teacher's fiancé; Raziel Forfax still managed to look intimidating, even in death. They had fallen next to each other; ironically, in death, their hands had found each other. Their fingers were slightly tangled; so close, yet so far...
"Rowena."
She looked up, and saw through her teary eyes that Helga was looking at her with a look of extreme pity. Rowena didn't want to leave-- she wasn't ready yet. She glanced back at the bodies of her fallen, fellow teachers. Did they have any other family besides Grace? Would anyone else mourn over the loss of these great people, other than her? Rowena let another sob escape.
"Rowena, I'm afraid we must go." Helga said again. "We will bring them along," she added, thinking it would console Rowena. Left with little choice, Rowena nodded; she wiped her watery eyes with the back of her hand and stood up, her puffy eyes less red than before.
"That's the spirit." Rowena took Helga's outstretched hand, and the two walked out of the wrecked bar-- Godric stayed behind to carry the bodies. Together, they made their way back to the castle; it didn't seem chilly anymore. The cold feeling, the lack-of-warmth had lifted, and it was noticeable despite the losses left behind.
The war was over. They had won the fight.
When they reached the castle, silence fell as they spotted Rowena. People stared as they walked past, all on their way to the Great Hall. Rowena didn't mind-- let them stare. They were, after all, curious as to what had happened, curious to know whether or not they had actually won.
A few bodies had already been placed neatly at the side of the Hall-- the House tables were packed closer together in order to make more room for the fallen. The bodies of Resistance members in dark cloaks lay beside the bodies of students, some of the people of Hogsmeade. Rowena felt a stab of pain in her heart, to see people who were willing to fight lying weirdly still, never to take another breathe...
She regained her composure as she stepped up onto the podium in front of the teachers' table, the top half of which had been blasted off. Nonetheless, people could see her from where she stood as they settled onto the four House benches, not caring about sitting according to their Houses.
Rowena took a deep, shaky breath. "Attention," she said, but there was no need for it. Everyone was already sitting rapt with attention, eager to hear what she had to say, ready to carry out the instructions given.
"There is much that I want to say to you all," she said, looking at everyone inside the Hall. "All of us have been preparing for this, for the time the Resistance attacked, and it comes as a relief that most of us have not fallen to their evil ways. But we must acknowledge the loss of very fine students and people, who should be sitting here, celebrating our victory."
A few people nodded, some bowed their heads. Some people let out quiet sobs, tears trickling down their faces, for they had lost a loved one that night. "These people have exemplified many of the qualities that the four of us Founders wish to instill in our students," Rowena continued.
"Despite our separate beliefs, we wanted to instill the values each of us put before others. To be a good and loyal friend, and a hard worker." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Helga nod. "To be brave and courageous, to stand up even when we are afraid." She knew that Godric was nodding. "To be smart, and to use or minds to find a way out of difficult situations."
Rowena drew another breath. "And even Slytherin, he had good intentions with him, even if they weren't displayed for the right reasons tonight. To be ambitious, but not for oneself, but for the sake of others as well. To work for things we want to have-- and this case, we wanted peace. And now, we have earned it."
"Their deaths were brought about by the wrongdoings of some of our fellow wizards and witches, who thought that the purity of blood was to be valued the most, out of everything else, regardless of the magical skill they possess." She continued. " But this is wrong."
Her voice echoed around the spacious Hall. Everyone seated there either nodded, or shifted uncomfortably in their seats. This did not go unnoticed by Rowena. "You have seen today what this kind of mindset has brought about. You have seen that some of our Muggle-born friends perform just as well as those of pure-blooded descent, if not better. So I ask of you now, to not repeat any of this nonsense in the future."
The soft scratching of quill on parchment could be heard, but nobody seemed to mind. It seemed good to have someone take note of what Rowena was saying; there was quite a lot of sense to it.
"The aim of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was to further and promote magical understanding, and to form ties between ourselves through our thirst for knowledge, Such ties are important if we want to avoid such a disaster like this one to repeat itself again." Rowena smiled. "Everyone seated her in this Hall is welcome to come back here, at any time, should they wish to come. In the light of what had just happened, I must remind you, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided."
"We have all faced dark and difficult times," Rowena said sadly, as gaze fell on the bodies that lay motionless in the Hall. "Some of us have suffered at the hand of the Resistance, and many of our families have been torn asunder. Today, many people have been taken from our midst."
"Remember these people. Remember, if the time comes when we have to make a decision between what is right, and what is easy, remember what has happened to the people who were good, and who were kind, and who were brave enough to fight for what is right, because they strayed across the path of those of ill desire. Remember the fallen."