Cost of War

"Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responbility."-Eleanor Roosevelt

The battles near York and Godric's Hollow turned the course of the war. With Morgana's power over southern Angleland broken, William of Normandy went on the offensive. After retaking London, his legions went north, bringing community after community back under his control. Like Rowena predicted, he had his eyes on a much bigger prize; the conquest of all of Angleland under his control, both wizarding and Muggle.

Sir Godric moved north along the Welsh border, eventually stopping his army at a village named Ottery St. Catchpole and setting up a training camp to turn his fyrdman into housecarls*. Leaving them, he headed back to Rowena's camp with Salazar in tow, to await the arrival of King William to plan their next move.

Rowena was having a rougher time of it. As March faded away into April, she became ever more stressed. More and more, even with her brother as King, her people came to depend on her. Her wisdom, even her magical powers, increasingly endeared to the Princess to them. She felt ever more trapped than ever, drawing the worry of her friend Helga, who became ever more determined to figure out what was bothering her sister.


Sir Gryffindor was greeted as a Hero when he entered the Ravenclaw camp. He marveled at the size of the camp, the jubilation of finally winning a battle, as he passed through, comparing it to the celebrations that he'd witnessed over his life.

"Godric," Mina shouted, enveloping him in a hug as he approached the small hollow that hid the cave that the King and Princess of Ravenclaw now called home.

"Welcome back," Rowena said and Helga said together, emerging from the cave into the sunlight. Godric puzzled; the Princess didn't look too happy at all. He could see some new stress lines reflected in her face and her eyes concealed a lot of emotion. Helga though, was a bundle of energy and euphoria, in the middle of doing what she did best; heal.

"We have a lot to talk about," Rowena said, gesturing to the opening behind her. "Come on in, grab a chair."

Salazar and Sir Godric pulled three logs into the chamber that Rowena had called home for the past few months and began to tell their stories. When they finished, Helga and the Princess related what had happened to them over the last two weeks. It took all of them over an hour to get through the battles, the stories, and the triumphs of the last two weeks.

"Wow, good work Rowena," Sir Godric said when she finished recounting the battle (and leaving out what Dolag and Helga had done to her). "I can see why your people look to you."

"What?"

"Nothing but compliments and awe on the way in for you and your brother," Sir Godric explained, picking up on her heistance more quickly than she'd have liked. "Really Rowena, you are a great leader. There's nothing to be worried about."

"I know," Rowena said unconvingly, looking away. Helga put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Rowena filed her conflicted feelings away, but she knew Helga could sense them. Never had anyone learned to read her moods and her expressions better than Helga Hufflepuff. She had a love-hate relationship with the newfound bond as Helga was quick to find the flaws and moments of weakness she'd rather keep hidden.

"We really need to talk," Salazar said, looking at Sir Godric. "Just the four of us. Alone, on our horses away from everyone."

"Why?" Rowena asked, her eyes narrowing like a hawk, an expression the other three knew all too well by now.

"About the future of Brittania."

"I'll tell my patients I'll be away for a while," Helga informed them.

"Alrght," Rowena said, trying to conceal her excitment of finally giving her brother a dose of his own medicine. "Let me get Eagle and tell my brother Fearghus I'll be gone for awhile."


The next day broke as dawn across a land brimming with newfound hope, but found the four riding peacefully through a glen. Eagle, Healer, Braveheart (Godric's war mount) and Salazar's new horse Serpent rode quietely through the thickets, the women flanking the men in the center. The four horses trod silently across a landscape scarred by years of mining, the forests obscuring what had once been vast quarries where thousands of years prior, skilled Stone age miners had carved multi-ton stones from mountainsides and moved to nearby monuments. Now the remains of the stones were covered by ivy and surrounded by forest, creating an eerie scene that kept everyone on edge.*

"So, what is you want to talk about?" Rowena asked, breaking the silence.

"Our plans for the future, this war will be over and Britianna will be in ruins," Salazar said. "We need to rebuild our world, with a man like William in charge."

"Well, obviously William will be king," Helga interjected, slowing her horse's speed to a light trot. "Rowena will be the Princess of her people..."

"No, I'm talking about our kind. Wizards and Witches," Salazar said. "This war has destroyed our way of life. We must rebuild it. The Muggles will take care of themselves."

"I've been thinking about that," Rowena said. She felt divided, lost; she was a Princess in charge of a powerful clan, but deep at heart she was also a highly-gifted witch, a product of two very different worlds. "I don't want any child to go through what I went through."

"Or be burned at the stake," Godric added.

"Well, we need a way to prevent that from happening and make sure evil magic isn't taught," Salazar said. The problem had been ruminating in his brain for sometime, but he couldn't figure out what to do about it.

"A school," Rowena said, a candle going off in her brain.

"What?"

"A school," she said, her facing lighting up like the sun. Helga was the first to catch on.

"A school hidden away from non-Magical eyes," the Welsh healer added. "Where teachers will teach the youth of the Wizarding community to hate evil, love the good and how to use their magic. We'll save hundreds, perhaps thousands from burning at the stake. It'll save our future."

"That's all great and such..." Sir Godric began, many obstacles surfacing before his mind.

Suddenly a massive beast lurched into the clearing. Rowena gasped; it was something she'd just seen in books and had no wish to ever meet it in real life. Of the others, only Helga's eye widened in recoginition because of the many cases of poisoning she had dealt with over her career. It had the body of a large lion and the tail of a scorpion, and it was mad as hell for no reason in particular.

"Manticore," the Princess shouted as the beast charged. "It has lethal poison."

She jerked the reins and Eagle ran towards the Manticore, jumping clean over it's body.

"EXPULSO!" Rowena shouted.

A massive explosion blew out the Manticore's feet from under it, causing it to slouch to the ground and turn in pursuit of the Scottish princess.

"Rowena how dare you!" Helga shouted hysterically as the beast lumbered after the Ravenclaw princess. When she had eluded it Rowena tied Eagle in a tree small hollow. She rubbed Eagle's nose affectionately, pressing her forehead to her faithful mount's nose.

"I love you, thank you for everything. I will return."

With that Rowena turned and ran back. The sight that greeted her was one she did not want to behold. Serpent, Healer, and Braveheart had all run off into the woods, leaving their riders on the ground.

"Incendio," Rowena shouted, aiming for it's scorpion tale. Her spell hit it's target.

Flames licked the Manitcore and it rounded on her, just what she wanted.

"Expelliarmus," Godric yelled. A jet of red light hit in the rear, and it turned back. The four surrounded it and began blasting it with every spell they could think of. Salazar used every dark curse, everything he could remember his uncle had used. It only made the Manticore even more mad.

Salazar intently analyzed the beast as spells fruitlessly bounced off it's mane, trying to find a weak point.

"Okay, I've got a..."

The Manticore roared at Salazra, who ducked as it's tail whipped just inches from where his head had been.

"Rowena, Helga, distract it," he shouted. "I'll weaken it, then Godric take it down with your goblin-made sword."

Basilisk, come, Salazar hissed softly. He hoped the Basilisk they'd encountered near Camelot's ruins was nearby.

Rowena and Helga nodded, Sir Godric retreated from the battle briefly, to find higher ground. The four friends had now pushed the manticore from the woods into a large meadow. Rowena dashed at it, but it cut her off, trapping her in a small depression in the ground.

Incendio! Stupefy! Expulso! Petrificus Totalus!"Rowena thought, blasting it with spell after spell.

Helga slammed into her, throwing both women down into a small ravine as a stinger the size of a man plunged into the rock where Rowena had just been sprinting. The Matincore roared with frustration, slammed the ground with it's tail again, deprived of a kill.

"How many times have you saved me?" Rowena asked.

"Too many," Helga responded, bemused.

Both women jumped out as the Maticore stumbled into the ravine. Salazar saw his chance. He mumbled some words and a powerful spell slammed into the beast, knocking it over.

"Stupefy!" he yelled for good measure and retreated as it got up for another bout.

Rowena charged at it; it slammed its full tail into her and she was thrown back first into a rock and slumped to the ground unconscious.

"Rowena!" Helga shrieked. She covered the Prinecss's body with her own as the Manticore raised it's stinger.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Sir Godric yelled, leaping onto it's back. The Manticore began to buck like a wild horse, but Sir Godric had a plan.

Mumbling some words under his breath, he clung on with a Sticking Charm.

"Salazar, use that curse again, blind it!"

Salazar smashed the Manticore's eyes as Sir Godric plunged his blade into it's neck; it threw him off, and he came to rest next to Salazar. Both of their wands and Godric's ruby-encrusted sword vanished into the night as it advanced on them.

"Now what?" Sir Godric asked Salazar.

"Just wait."

Nothing happened. For what seemed like forever to the mighty lion, the Manticore sized up the two helpless morsals of meat. Sir Godric was determined to go down fighting, alive and proud like King Arthur of legend. Behind the manticore lay unconscious Rowena and Helga, who was frozen in place by fear.

As the manticore raised it's tail a massive green body barreled into the clearing.

"The Basilisk is more powerful than the Manticore," Salazar shouted as the massive snake coiled itself around the manticore, snapping the scorpion-like tail off in the process. He looked around; Godric had resolutely shut his eyes.

"It won't kill you, trust me."

Sir Godric did so, his trust in Salazar was by now such that he overruled what his gut was telling him to do. To his astonishment, the most majestic serpent he ever saw moved before him, and it whipped around as it sank it's fangs into the manticore's body; it's eyes were closed.

"Wow Salazar, you can control it?"

"No, I asked it for help," Salazar explained. "He's my friend now."

The Basilisk, when the manticore had stopped moving, slithered to face Salazar. Salazar pressed his head against the Basilisk's body for just a moment, hissing to it in a language that only the two could understand. Slowly the serpent left, slithering away into the woods.

"Thank goodneess," Godric said when the snake had departed once more. "That was close."

"Rowena," Helga said, helping the sturdy but dazed warrior princess to her feet. Rowena shook her head, taking in the dead manticore on the ground.

"You guys are alright," she shrieked, enwrapping both Godric and Salazar in bone crushing hugs that left both gasping for air. All were left shocked; Rowena Ravenclaw never gave out hugs.

"Thank you so much," she added, now crushing equally-shocked Helga. "What would I ever do without you?"

Rowena froze when she realized what she had just done. An awkward, uneasy atomsphere pervaded the hollow for a moment as her cheeks turned a nice shade of pink. Sheepishly the Scot bolted away to find Eagle before her face was the color

"Now let's go find our horses," Salazar said when the moment was over.

As the four rode away from the dead Manticore's body northward back towards the Ravenclaw camp, a new feeling was shared between the four. They weren't just a motley group thrown together by survival, they were now best friends, a team, united as one despite their differences.

"So, friends?" Rowena said, willing the blush back down.

"Friends, dear sis," Helga added, nudging the princess playfully.

"Comrades," Sir Godric said.

"Witches and Wizards," Salazar finished. "Ok. Enough moosh. Let's win this war for once and for all."

During the Stone Age, Neolithic people erected hundreds of wooden and stone circles throughout the British Isles, the most famous and impressive of which is in Stonehenge. Stone would be quarried for local use, some used more heavily than others.