Stunned by the sudden change in conversation Helga bowed back and introduced herself.
"Hufflepuff eh?" said Rowena leading Helga across the room, where a painting of a meadow hung. If Helga didn't know better she would have sworn the flowers were swaying ever so slightly in some invisible breeze. But that wasn't possible.
Then again, traveling from one room to another in a blink of the eye wasn't usually possible either. "Never heard of a wizarding family by that name."
"I wouldn't expect you would." said Helga sheepishly following Rowena as she moved the painting aside to reveal a secret stair case. "I didn't know there were other people with my curse, no one in my family had it any way."
"Helga honey, it isn't a curse, it's a gift and people who say otherwise are just idiots. You are the first one in your family with magic? A Muggle-born then, we don't get many of those, though they are the ones who get caught by the witch hunters. Can't control their magic most times." That's when Rowena suddenly stopped, causing Helga to almost fall back down the stairs. "But the witch hunter said you cured a boy! That's no amateur magic, that's A class stuff!"
Helga simpered slightly.
"I used to practice a bit when I was younger. Thought it might come in handy someday."
"Oh! So you aren't as oblivious as most Muggle-borns! Fanatastic! You must have a wand then, can I see it? How did you acquire it? What's its core? Wood type? Length? Density? "
"Wand? What's that?" asked Helga.
"Honestly!" sighed Rowena sounding exasperated, already regretting what she said previously about this Muggle-born. "The little wooden thing that you've been flicking around and yelling gibberish at to make things happen." She flicked her own wooden stick as if to emphasis her point.
"No… I never used a… wand." Said Helga careful so as to not make the older woman question her intelligence again.
"No wand! That's preposterous. Simply impossible."
"But it's true. How would I get such a thing if I was the only one in my family cursed?"
"Not cursed." Corrected Rowena, looking at Helga as if she has just become a lot more interesting. "So you mean to tell me you are capable of performing calculated magic without the use if neither wand or incantation?"
Helga shrugged.
"Apparently so."
"That's evolutionary!" exclaimed Rowena jumping down the step in excitement almost causing Helga to stumble back again. "If you're right, you might have just discovered a whole new branch of magic! Why, the mere thought sends chills down my spine!"
"Rowena, would you care to stop your chatter and finish climbing the bloody stairs? I'm hearing way too much of your voice and not enough footsteps!" The voice echoed around them, as if the walls themselves had spoken causing Helga to jump again.
"Oh don't get your tights in a twist Salavar we are coming.!" She yelled before turning back to Helga and saying in a lower voice. "We'll discuss this later, okay?"
She didn't even let the bewildered Helga answer before she turned her back on her and continued to climb up the smooth stone stairs. They exited from another portrait, this one showing numerous bottles and jugs. They walked along numerous bare and deserted corridors until they came to a massive wooden door.
The new room they entered this time was truly magnificent. A large corridor with a high vaulted ceiling , tapestries adorned the walls and a long table, probably capable of seating over a hundred people lay in the middle. People sat around it cheering and eating and joking. A hundred smells wafted around Helga, making her stomach churn with hunger.
"Mamma ! Mamma! You're back!"
A little girl with long brown locks ran out from somewhere around the table, her long sky blue dress almost causing her to trip.
"Helena!" laughed Rowena giving the child in tight embrace. "Were you being good for Godric?"
"She was a little pixie!" laughed another man in a crimson jacket who walked towards them. He had shoulder length curly brown hair and the beginning of a beard, giving him a handsome sheen. His brown eyes twinkled as he watched the mother and child embrace.
"I see our intel was correct?"
"As always Godric." Laughed Rowena picking up Helena and turning to face Helga. "Helga Hufflepuff, meet Godric Gryffindor the man responsible for saving you."
