In a cold, dark, grey room, #nine people sat around a large stone table.
They all seemed agitated. That wasn't surprising, really. They had been
meeting there for ten days now. These nine were the most powerful, most
well known witches and wizards in the British Isles. They were trying to
decide how best to defend their people from non-magical peoples (Muggles),
who had begun to lash out against the wizards, without become the very
monsters they were portrayed as.
"What are we going to do? Every year it gets worse! It'll be war soon!" A handsome man with golden hair and bright brown eyes bellowed at the small group of assembled witches and wizards. He looked to be in his early forties, but being a wizard, was probably closer to sixty.
"Godric, calm down." These claming words came from a woman about the same age as the man. She had thick brown hair that fell down her back in waves. "If you weren't married to my sister, I swear I'd hex your mouth off."
"Rowena, light of the entire wizarding world, if you did hex his mouth off you'd be honored beyond all compare." This time the speaker was a man with straight black hair, hazy green eyes, and a smile that made most witches melt.
"That easy for you to say, Salazar. It wasn't you son who was killed!" Godric shouted again.
"Please, Godric. Don't." A pale young woman with dark red hair. Her hazel eyes were bright with tears. She was easily the youngest person in the room.
"I'm sorry, Helga. I know you loved him." It was the first time Godric spoke calmly. Seeing Helga's pain reminded him that he wasn't the only one suffering.
"Helga, dear are you sure you want to be here?" Rowena asked.
"Yes, I want to help. I think I can be useful. Maybe I'll have a vision. You never know." She said trying to smile.
"Damn girl, but that's the spirit!" A man with black and yellow striped robes and silver white hair spoke now. "And you even seemed to have clamed the raging griffin."
Helga smiled weakly again. "I'm nineteen years old. I can behave like it. Just ignore me if I turn back into a weepy child. I'm not very practiced at this, you know."
"We'll remember, child. Don't fret." Salazar said kindly.
"We've all suffered losses." Said another woman. She wore red and gold robes and had ice blue eyes and hair just like Rowena. "I didn't think it would get this bad. Not here."
"Mairead, love, we should have been preparing for this. We were foolish to think we could out run it." Godric said.
"I know Godric, but this is my home I though we'd be safe here. I thought we'd be able to watch our children grow old and have children of their own." Mairead said.
Godric stood behind his wife and put his arms around her shoulders. Rowena watched Salazar's smile flicker for a moment. She looked around the rest of the room. Helga was writing furiously on parchment spread in front of her. Salazar had begun talking to a pretty witch named Fiona. Ulric, a young wizard just returned from a trip to the Holy land was looking forlorn at not having gotten home in time to save his boyhood friend. He couldn't even look Godric and Mairead in the eye. Old Bedowyr in his black and yellow robes sat back waiting. And then she turned to Richard. He was staring at her.
What nerve! she thought indignantly.
Why was he looking at me like that? Didn't he realize how serious this was? Hopefully Mairead wouldn't see. Pesky little sister trying to marry me off!
Rowena was pulled out of her thought by Bedowyr. "I think I have an idea." The old man said.
"Well," Fiona said impatiently. "What is it?"
Bedowyr's bright eyes seemed to dim. "I don't particularly like this idea, but I also think it's our only hope. We need to withdraw from the muggles. Make them forget we exist, or at least how powerful we are. Removing the threat should remove the fear."
"Hmmm," Helga's pensive sound was heard over the sound of exclamations of brilliance and everyone looked at her. "I don't think it will work."
"And why not? It's a sound theory. I can't imagine the muggles would fear us too much if they didn't know we existed." Rowena said. Helga was a sweet girl but questioning the wisest wizard alive was very impertinent.
"It may be a good theory Rowena, but our kind is known to show off a bit." Helga pointed out.
Salazar stood now. "And I don't like the idea of hiding like some rat." He said.
"I would think you eat rats, Sir Slytherin." Richard up in.
"Stop bickering all of you!" Mairead had always had a commanding voice, it only grew stronger being married to Godric. Her simple words were now quite effective.
"It may not be the solution, but it's the best we have." She turned to her husband. "You've lead armies against invading hordes. Tell me, a strategic retreat is some time the only option, correct?"
He nodded his assent. "But I agree with Salazar. I don't like it."
"That may be," Rowena said, "But Mairead is right. A strategic withdrawal will give us some time to plan. We need figure out how our kind are being killed. Why aren't the simple spells being used to save people?"
"That's it then?" Ulric said now. "We're just suppose to go home and tell our kin to hide?"
Mairead's cool eyes met the young man's now. "Yes, until we find a better way."
"So our owls are going to be getting quite a work out for some time yet, eh?" Richard smiled.
"So it would seem." Bedowyr said. "So it would seem."
"What are we going to do? Every year it gets worse! It'll be war soon!" A handsome man with golden hair and bright brown eyes bellowed at the small group of assembled witches and wizards. He looked to be in his early forties, but being a wizard, was probably closer to sixty.
"Godric, calm down." These claming words came from a woman about the same age as the man. She had thick brown hair that fell down her back in waves. "If you weren't married to my sister, I swear I'd hex your mouth off."
"Rowena, light of the entire wizarding world, if you did hex his mouth off you'd be honored beyond all compare." This time the speaker was a man with straight black hair, hazy green eyes, and a smile that made most witches melt.
"That easy for you to say, Salazar. It wasn't you son who was killed!" Godric shouted again.
"Please, Godric. Don't." A pale young woman with dark red hair. Her hazel eyes were bright with tears. She was easily the youngest person in the room.
"I'm sorry, Helga. I know you loved him." It was the first time Godric spoke calmly. Seeing Helga's pain reminded him that he wasn't the only one suffering.
"Helga, dear are you sure you want to be here?" Rowena asked.
"Yes, I want to help. I think I can be useful. Maybe I'll have a vision. You never know." She said trying to smile.
"Damn girl, but that's the spirit!" A man with black and yellow striped robes and silver white hair spoke now. "And you even seemed to have clamed the raging griffin."
Helga smiled weakly again. "I'm nineteen years old. I can behave like it. Just ignore me if I turn back into a weepy child. I'm not very practiced at this, you know."
"We'll remember, child. Don't fret." Salazar said kindly.
"We've all suffered losses." Said another woman. She wore red and gold robes and had ice blue eyes and hair just like Rowena. "I didn't think it would get this bad. Not here."
"Mairead, love, we should have been preparing for this. We were foolish to think we could out run it." Godric said.
"I know Godric, but this is my home I though we'd be safe here. I thought we'd be able to watch our children grow old and have children of their own." Mairead said.
Godric stood behind his wife and put his arms around her shoulders. Rowena watched Salazar's smile flicker for a moment. She looked around the rest of the room. Helga was writing furiously on parchment spread in front of her. Salazar had begun talking to a pretty witch named Fiona. Ulric, a young wizard just returned from a trip to the Holy land was looking forlorn at not having gotten home in time to save his boyhood friend. He couldn't even look Godric and Mairead in the eye. Old Bedowyr in his black and yellow robes sat back waiting. And then she turned to Richard. He was staring at her.
What nerve! she thought indignantly.
Why was he looking at me like that? Didn't he realize how serious this was? Hopefully Mairead wouldn't see. Pesky little sister trying to marry me off!
Rowena was pulled out of her thought by Bedowyr. "I think I have an idea." The old man said.
"Well," Fiona said impatiently. "What is it?"
Bedowyr's bright eyes seemed to dim. "I don't particularly like this idea, but I also think it's our only hope. We need to withdraw from the muggles. Make them forget we exist, or at least how powerful we are. Removing the threat should remove the fear."
"Hmmm," Helga's pensive sound was heard over the sound of exclamations of brilliance and everyone looked at her. "I don't think it will work."
"And why not? It's a sound theory. I can't imagine the muggles would fear us too much if they didn't know we existed." Rowena said. Helga was a sweet girl but questioning the wisest wizard alive was very impertinent.
"It may be a good theory Rowena, but our kind is known to show off a bit." Helga pointed out.
Salazar stood now. "And I don't like the idea of hiding like some rat." He said.
"I would think you eat rats, Sir Slytherin." Richard up in.
"Stop bickering all of you!" Mairead had always had a commanding voice, it only grew stronger being married to Godric. Her simple words were now quite effective.
"It may not be the solution, but it's the best we have." She turned to her husband. "You've lead armies against invading hordes. Tell me, a strategic retreat is some time the only option, correct?"
He nodded his assent. "But I agree with Salazar. I don't like it."
"That may be," Rowena said, "But Mairead is right. A strategic withdrawal will give us some time to plan. We need figure out how our kind are being killed. Why aren't the simple spells being used to save people?"
"That's it then?" Ulric said now. "We're just suppose to go home and tell our kin to hide?"
Mairead's cool eyes met the young man's now. "Yes, until we find a better way."
"So our owls are going to be getting quite a work out for some time yet, eh?" Richard smiled.
"So it would seem." Bedowyr said. "So it would seem."