The Founders

Rowena

A young girl's dark hair fell over into the pages of a well-loved book, it was long, and sparkled beneath the candlelight. The girl's skin pale from so much time inside, spending hours reading through her family's library, which was quite extensive. She had gained her thirst for knowledge from her father and her curiosity from her mother.
Rowena's mother died in childbirth, so she had never known her. She'd tried asking her father about her, but he spent most of his days locked away in his study or on business to the ministry. He worked closely with the minister, working on expanding the magical community.

Rowena's family told her stories of the old days when witches and wizards ruled most of Europe, and they spoke of powerful objects that held magic so old it was there before people even walked the Earth.
Then one-day muggles grew stronger and pushed the wizards out of power, forcing them into hiding. Some would argue that now they're cohabitating, but the Ravenclaws thought otherwise.
Her father, and his father, and his father had all spent their whole lives locked away in their cold castle. They would tell her that they were reading and studying the old magics, but Rowena thought they were living in the past, and her mother thought so too.
Rowena had found her mother's old journals, she talked about how people should unite with the muggles and use their magic for the good of the world. Not hide it or keep it to themselves, but do something good for everyone.
Rowena would spend hours reading through her mother's writing, learning of her mother's curiosity and creativity. She wanted to spread knowledge and expand it, not just keep it in her head.
Rowena was raised her whole life believing that her mother was reckless, but when she'd discovered those journals, everything changed.

Tonight she was reading over her favorite one, the journal from the year she was born. She was gazing over an entry from a few days before her birth,
"I can feel my baby moving about, she is so restless like her father. Always believing there's something beyond where you are. I know it'll be a girl, I can feel it, but I also know that she and I won't have much time together. My body is tired, and it weakens more every day. I'm not scared, but I hope that I will be able to feel my baby's heartbeat before I go. I want to look into her eyes and know she will be safe, and then I'll be ready. I hope she will thirst for knowledge like her father, but I also pray that she will search for something better than what's right in front of her. I want her to make this world better, and I know in my heart that she can. I love my husband, but his family has poisoned his mind against the idea of harmony being among the magical kind and the muggles."
Rowena had reread that page a thousand times because it comforted her to know that her mother had felt her. It made her feel connected to her in a way, and all she'd ever wanted was to know her mother.