Hey, sorry it took so long to update. I've had finals, and in New York that means Regents!! PLEASE review!!
Rowena felt nothing, except a slight tingly sensation
Rowena felt nothing, except a slight tingly sensation. She was almost surprised. Almost. Somehow she had known all along that she wasn't going to burn to death or something of the like, or else she never would have gone in in the first place. Still, it was a wonderment.
"What is this?" she exclaimed.
Salazar did not answer her question. Instead, in a firm voice he declared, "Fluegique Abby!"
Rowena felt herself being lifted off her feet. The world spun around her, and the air was closing in on her until she felt like she couldn't breathe. The only thing she could concretely feel was Salazar's hand griping hers. She squeezed it tight, and felt a reassuring squeeze returned. Finally the spinning sensation stopped, and she took a huge gulp of air as they stumbled out of the fireplace.
"Ow!" Rowena exclaimed as she fell onto the rough woolen rug. Rug? There had been no rug in the room they had just been in. Slowly, Rowena looked up. She was no longer in the small parlor. In fact, she had the feeling she was far away from all that. She was in a store, surrounded by shelves. On the shelves hundreds of small rectangular boxes were haphazardly staked, as if in no order. The store itself was slightly musty, and smelled of wood shavings.
"Welcome," Salazar told her excitedly, "to the world of magic. Do you believe me now?"
Looking around in amazement, obstinate Rowena finally relented.
"I suppose I have no choice," she admitted. "Where are we?" Salazar took her hand and led her away from the fireplace, to what seemed to be the front of the store.
"This my friend," he gestured to the window overlooking a dim abbey, is ƒluegique Abbey, and we are in Demitri's Magical Wands, where I got my wand, and you will get yours." And from somewhere within his tunic, he withdrew a slim wooden rod, which looked like it could well fit into one of the boxes aligning the shelf.
"Yew wood and hair from the crossbreed of a unicorn and a Sphinx," a deep voice recited.
Rowena and Salazar looked towards the source of the voice. A burly man stood at the top of a flight of stairs, looking down at them. He made his way towards them, he wide breadth causing the stairs to creek threateningly.
"Salazar Slytherin!" He clamped the young boy on the shoulder. Despite his wide and naturally intimidating build, he had kind eyes, and a smile that lit up his faee. "How's the wand been treating you my boy?"
"Couldn't ask for a better one," Salazar responded, who casually flicked his, causing emerald sparks to fly out the end and Rowena to jump several inches. Demitri and Salazar looked round at her.
"This is Rowena Ravenclaw," Salazar introduced her to the wandmaker. "She is here to buy her first wand."
Demitri peered down at her.
"How old are you, young lady?" he addressed her.
'I am twelve sir," she answered. "Nearly thirteen."
"Well, then it's about time we go you started," he told her. He squinted his eyes, as if he were scrutinizing her, and Rowena felt herself stiffen uncomfortably. He gave a little nod, then turned back to his vast sea of shelves. He went down the rows, murmuring to himself. Then he stopped in front of a pile of boxes, pulled out a box, and brought it back to the front where Rowena was waiting.
"Try this one," he replied. He handed her a straight thin, wooden stick. she felt a little jolt, like a spark, when she took it in her hand. Rowena stood there idiotically, Salaar and Demitri both watching her.
"What do I do with it?" she asked stupidly.
"Wave it," Salazar told her. She gave it a little flick with her wrist. A black bolt shot out and shattered a glass pain on the wall. Rowena dropped her wand and jumped backwards in shock, right onto Salazar. He stumbled backwards a step, but steadied himself and her. He took her hands and stood her straight. Again she felt the cold skin against her fingernails. She looked up at Demitri.
"I'm so sorry," she gushed. "I…I don't know how I did that." He smiled kindly at her.
"Nonsense," he calmed her. "That's what those panels are the for." From the back pocket of the robes he was wearing, he pulled out a thick wand. With a small wave, all of the shattered pieces flew back into an unbroken, complete frame. Rowena carefully handed the wand back to him. "Interesting," he murmured, surveying it in his hand. His big bulk once again disappeared amidst the maze of wands. He came back with yet another box.
He pulled out a long, this black stick. It was straight like the first one, except at the end were the one branch split into to and then twisted around each other. She took it timidly, afraid to do anything this time, but this one felt differently than the other. She felt a warmth start from where her fingertips met the wand and then travel down her hand into her arm, reaching through her whole body. She glanced sideways at Salazar.
"Go on," he urged her. She gave a tiny wave, and purple sparks flew out of it. Demitri smiled, satisfied. She turned back to Salazar, as a panicked thought hit her.
"I don't have money," she told him. He nodded.
"Your money is no good in this world anyway," he told her. He pulled out a small leather pouch and spilled a few coins into his hands. There were three kinds. One was a brilliant gold coin. The second was a smooth silver circle. And the third was the smallest, a bronze medallion. He paid with three of the silver coins, and the Demitri waved them on.
They exited the store, Rowena, still trying to digest everything that had happened in the past hour. But they weren't done yet. There were robes to purchase, cauldrons to buy… and the books. Rowena would have bought the whole store had she not been conscious of the fact that she was not paying with her own money. There was just so much she had to learn, and these books could teach her everything she needed to know. She settled on five books of basic spells, charms, and potions, and the magical world in general. Her arms were full by now of her robes and books, and Salazar was levitating the cauldron above them. He glanced at a clock in the store in front of them.
"It's about time we headed back," he said. Rowena nodded. She had no idea what to expect back at the manor. How would her parents react to her being a witch? Not well, she imagined. They were the type of people that needed everything to be normal, proper and in it's right place. For her to be something so bizarre… it would be against everything they wanted for her.
While Rowena was thinking about this, Salazar had led her back into the wand shop. He pulled a pinch of the green powder out of his robes and threw it into the fire.
"There won't be enough room for both of us and the cauldron," he told her. "You think you can get back alright?" Rowena nodded confidently, not willing to admit how nervous the thought of traveling through a fire made her.
"Just instruct me what to do," she told him.
"You have to speak clearly," he commanded. And keep your arms tucked in so you don't fall out too early." She nodded again. Fall out to early? She'd stick with her horses, non-magically boring as they might be. "Now tell it to take you to Slytherin Manor." Rowena stepped into the fire, robes and books in hand. The tingling sensation overtook her again. She took a deep breath and commanded loudly, "Slytherin Manor!" all of a sudden everything started swirling. Salazar and the wand shop disappeared, and she was getting brief glimpses into other people living rooms and shops. Finally, with a jolt, she sopped, and stumbled into the parlor of Slytherin Manor. She steadied herself, and saw that Salazar, his parents, and hers had joined her. His parents were smiling; hers were not.
"Rowena," they exclaimed when they saw her. "Darling, are you okay?"
"I'm fantastic, " she answered. "You should see all the stuff I got."
"So it really is true?" her mother whispered. Rowena nodded.
"I've seen it with my own eyes."
Two Years Later:
"Good morning Lady Rowena," the maid chimed as she entered Rowena's room. Rowena sat up groggily. "Your mother is waiting for you t join her for breakfast in the dining room." She made to open the curtains.
"Don't bother," Rowena told her. She picked up the black wand next to her and gave it a flick. The curtains gracefully fluttered open. The maid smiled reproaching at Rowena.
"You make me feel absolutely useless around here," she complained.
"You're welcome, but my wand won't exactly help me dress."
"Good morning Mother," Rowena, now dressed, with her black curls spilling out of her ribbon, greeted her in the dining room.
"Good morning child," she murmured. "Your carriage will be here in an hour." She had been taking lessons everyday from Slalzar's father. It was something she enjoyed very much.
"Thank you." A plate of eggs was set in front of her she swished her wand and the salt flew from beside her mother into her hand. Her mother jumped slightly in her chair.
"Rowena," she sighed, "must you always use that thing? Would it trouble you so to just ask me to pass the salt?" Lady Ravenclaw had never fully adjusted to the fact that her daughter was unusual, to say the least. She tolerated it, as long as it did not reach such a ridiculous level.
"Sorry Mother," Rowena apologized. She finished her eggs and retired to the parlor until her carriage arrived. She curled up on the couch with a book, Potions that Made History, and got lost once again in the world of Magic. It seemed very soon that her butler appeared at the doorway to the parlor.
"Lady Rowena, your carriage is here," he informed her.
"Thank you." She closed her book, grabbed her traveling cloak, and was escorted out the door.
The ride to Slytherin Manor was not very long, and soon the carriage was opened by Salazar, who offered her his hand and helped her out. Salazar had changed little in the past two years. He was taller, and his hair had grown darker, so it was now a dark brown, almost black. His arms were firm from muscles that had been developed. But his eyes were still the same shade of green, and his smile was just as mesmerizing.
"Hello Raven," he greeter her with his nickname for her.
"Hello to you to. What has your father planned for today?"
"I'm not sure, something about potions." Rowena turned excitedly.
"Continuing our discussion on Gessly's Theory?" she was almost jumping. "We were getting so intense yesterday, but then I had to leave. I hoped we would continue." Salazar laughed.
"Well my father seemed to enjoy it just as much, so I would suspect he wishes to continue."
"No complaints there."
Indeed, they did continue discussing Gessly's Theory on potions, and it was a very enlightening lesson indeed. They had a major breakthrough when Rowena was able to explain how two conflicting theory's could work together. Sir Salazar was ecstatic about this display of knowledge, though this was not the first. Throughout their lessons over the past few years, Rowena had displayed a deep and crystal understanding of the Wizarding world and it's laws of nature. In a few years, she would probably be capable of going head to head with the leaders of the magic community. She was indeed one of the brightest witches or wizards he had ever met, if not the brightest.
Despite the intensity of that day's lesson, it ended early, with time to spare before Rowena's carriage arrived. Salazar offered to take escort her to the garden, and Rowena accepted.
As they strolled through the greens, Salazar teased Rowena.
"I think my father wants to adopt you," he jested. "Or at the very least trade you for me." Rowena nudged him playfully.
"Nonsense. Your father is very proud of you. True," she kidded, "you might not be as smart as me, but you have your own strengths to offer."
"Oh yeah? Like what?" Rowena contemplated for a moment.
"Well, for one thing, you're clever. You always know how to make me laugh, even when I may be in the worst mood ever. And you're a good companion to talk to."
"Wow Raven. It sounds like you're very fond of me." He stopped and turned to her, so she stopped too.
"Don't get a big head now," she warned, still playful. "I'm the smarter one, remember."
"Let's see if you can figure out this," he said. And then he kissed her.
It wasn't a long or passionate kiss. He simply leaned in towards her, lingered briefly on her lips, and then pulled away, holding her shocked gaze steady. She stood dumb for a minute, digesting what had happened, and how she felt about it. And then suddenly, slowly, a smile started to creep up her lips. A wide smile. When he saw this, Salazar let out a laugh, and took her hand. She joined in the laughing, though she wasn't sure what it was about. They laughed together for a few minutes, and then she silenced him by leaning in for another kiss. He obliged, and they shared a longer, more passionate one. Then they sat in the trees for a little bit, resting side by side.
"I guess things are going to be different now," Rowena said to him. He turned her head to look at her.
"I guess so," he agreed. "Does that bother you?" Rowena smiled.
"I think I can handle it. I'm perfectly fine with change." They were interrupted just then by a maid.
"Miss Rowena, your carriage is waiting." Reluctantly, Rowena got up. Salazar took her hand.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Raven." The special nickname he used for her had never sounded so beautiful on his lips. It was as if he had just recited the most beautiful sonnet, followed by a hundred kisses.
She flashed him a smile, and disappeared among the roses.
OKay, I'm going to ask nicely... Please please please review. I'll be gone... without a computer... for the next few weeks so I'm going to try to keep writing by hand, but the next update won't be for awhile. Don't forget me!!
RM