Ravenclaw
Charms
Drabble
[Color] Royal Blue
Word Count: 997
"Oh, Kimmy!" Sandra Kingsfield called. She and her daughter had been browsing a car boot sale for the last hour or so, but it was time to start heading home.
"Look, Mummy, look!" her youngest yelled while running up to her. In Kimmy's hand was a beautiful silver circlet with what appeared to be a single royal blue sapphire in the centre as decoration.
"Kimmy, darling! Where'd you get that?" Sandra wasn't an expert on jewelry, but to her eyes, the piece looked far too exquisite to be within the family's price-range, nevermind suitable for a six-year-old.
"The nice man over there gave it to me, Mummy." Kimmy pointed to a bear of a man with a large red beard streaked with grey. "He said it would be perfect for such a magnificent young lady as me. Isn't that nice, Mummy?"
Sandra nodded absentmindedly while walking towards the one who had 'gifted' her such an item.
"Run along to your father now, dear. I need to speak to the nice man." Sandra's hand gripped the piece of jewelry tightly. It weighed so little that the pressure was needed to ensure she didn't drop it and risk shattering the blue gem within.
Before Sandra could speak, the gentleman caught sight of her and smiled broadly.
"Welcome, milady, to my humble booth," he began before glancing at the trinket in her hand. "Ahh, I see you are here on behalf of the youngling. Quite perceptive that one, aye, with intellect to match?"
Somewhat off-put by the man's jovial demeanor and somewhat arcane speech, Sandra could only nod in mild agreement before steeling herself to demand an explanation for the 'gift'.
"Now see here, Mister-"
"You may call me Griff, madam," the man supplied.
"Now see here, Griff. I'm not sure what stunt you're trying to pull giving my daughter-"
Again, Griff interrupted. "I see that she with the eyes of an eagle has a lioness for a mother. That is good. Might I see the piece in question?"
Once the circlet was shared in both their hands, he asked, "The crown, it is light, yes?"
"Very light."
"Tis light by design and material, madam. No gem of this size," the deep, royal blue of the sapphire seemed to twinkle in the sunlight, "could be light enough for a child's head were it pure, especially if the silver were as it appeared."
"You mean it's-"
"It's simple costume jewelry. A fine mimicry, to be sure, but naught more than that. There's not an appraiser in Britain who would argue differently."
Sandra slowly nodded.
"Still, it must be worth something. Allow me to pay you for the piece at least. You, and it, delighted my daughter so. I'd also like to apologize for going off on you like that, sir."
The twinkle in the man's eye seemed to dim.
"The finest thanks you could grant me would be to allow your daughter to use it in her play. She reminds me… she reminds me of someone I lost long ago, and it would be good for it to be worn again by a child with eagle's sight."
"If you're certain…"
"Thank you, madam. I am."
Much of that trip was forgotten in short order by Sandra Kingsfield. But her daughter's new decoration quickly became a constant sight around the house and when going out. Soon enough, a trip to the mall was required for dresses to match the circlet upon her head, most especially dresses of the same shade of blue as the sapphire.
That Halloween, rather than be a ghost, Kimmy insisted that Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would be the perfect costume. No matter what Sandra said, her daughter would not be persuaded against royal blue body paint. Everything stemmed from a love of that simple circlet.
A circlet that Kimmy never quite grew out of. While Kimmy no longer insisted on wearing the piece of jewelry everywhere, the circlet still fit as well on her ten-year-old head as it had when she was six, and some might argue even better. Every day after school, Kimmy would spend a good hour or two wearing it while writing in her journal.
"Why do you wear that little circlet every day?" Sandra had asked once.
"It's not a circlet, Mum. It's a di-a-dem." Her daughter had answered in exasperation before continuing. "It helps me to see things clearly. When I wear it, it's easier to examine what's happening in the world around me and see it from an eagle's point of view."
Something about that niggled.
"You mean a birds' eye view?"
Kimmy had just shrugged, and life continued.
And then came the knock at the door one Saturday morning.
"Good afternoon. Is this the Kingsfield residence?" asked a smartly dressed woman with bushy brown hair. "I'd like to talk to you about an educational opportunity for your daughter, Kimberly. May I come in?"
What followed was a rather shocking meeting, for the adults that was. Kimmy was already quite aware of her soon-to-be school.
"Tell me, dear, whoever told you about Hogwarts?"
"My diadem did."
"Diadem?"
Kimmy brought down her prized possession.
"I don't understand. This is a near-perfect replica of Rowena's famous headpiece. Only the sapphire is different. For it to communicate with you…"
"'Scuse me, but it says that that one was her school diadem. Its abilities were very limited. Sky-blue's the House color, but royal blue was the Ravenclaw family color. Her husband gave it to me so that her personal diadem wouldn't be lost to time or dark magic."
The professor looked rather faint to Sandra's seasoned eye. Granted, all of this was news to her as well, but at least she was used to Kimmy talking about the piece as though it spoke.
Finally, the professor collected herself.
"Perhaps, it's time we go to the Alley. I think the trip to Gringotts will be especially interesting."
"Can I get royal blue robes?"