Chapter Nine - Three wizards assembled

"I really should be doing my spells homework rather than reading this book," thought Felicity, as she sat in the small room of the library reading The Search for the Widow's Son.

It was true that spells and charms class had taken a back seat of late and she really did need to pull her grade up a bit. She was nearly finished with the book, however.

The Search for the Widow's Son had proven to be somewhat interesting, if a bit uninformative. It turns out that very little was known about either the Widow's Son or those known as The Raisers. What was known wasn't of much use.

The Widow's Son was believed to be a child of a Salem family who had fought against the hysteria, which had gripped the community in 1692. Because he had represented a threat to the first lord's plan to control the magical and non-magical people of America, he had been placed in what the book called "the tweens."

He could not be raised from the tweens except by three wizards called "The Raisers." Over the centuries, several attempts had been made by powerful wizards and witches to break the spell, but each had failed. The problem was that wizards could not enter Salem because of the curse placed on the town, which prevented wizards from ever setting foot on Salem's soil. Thus, the Widow's Son remained forever trapped in the tweens and Salem remained forever closed to magical people.

One fact which did catch Felicity's attention, however, was that the Raisers each had to have a connection to three of the four houses of the ancient wizarding school in England known as Hogwarts: Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. The fourth house, the book had said, was Slytherin; it had been the house of the first lord and, so, it was believed, was unwelcome as part of the Raisers.

Gryffindor, Felicity recalled, was the house that her great-grandfather had been in. Felicity wondered what all this talk of houses at school was about.

Salem Academy had dormitories: Franklin Hall for the girls, presided over by the Dows and the animated picture of Ben in the reception room; and Dickinson Hall for the boys, managed by Dr. Foymal, the instructor in Defense of the Black Arts and Advanced Magic. Dickinson had its picture as well, that of the poet Emily Dickinson.

Sarah had found it funny that the girls' dormitory had been named for a man and the boys' for a woman.

Felicity decided that she would ask Dr. Mather about Hogwarts' houses the next time she had the chance. He had gone to Hogwarts and would know.

At first' Felicity didn't notice the strange little woman standing in the doorway. When she did, it startled her and she wondered just how long she might have been there.

The woman was no taller that Felicity herself. She was very old and dressed entirely in black from head to toe. She carried a black cane with a lion's head carved into the top of the handle. Despite her small stature, there was a presence about the woman that made Felicity stand up from the desk.

"Come with me," the woman said in a clear commanding voice.

Felicity generally liked to know why she was doing something before undertaking a task, but there was something about the woman that seemed to demand that she follow her instructions. They walked through the stacks of the library until they came to a small door at the end of one of the rows.

The woman took out a brass key and unlocked the door. It opened onto a small winding staircase that led upwards. Felicity followed the woman as she slowly made her way up the stairs. The stairs had a musty odor to them, as if they had not been used for some time. Felicity noticed footsteps in the dust of the treads.

The woman opened the door at the top of the stairs. She led Felicity into the dark-paneled room. The place smelled of spells being brewed, and dust. Every surface seemed covered with books, papers and other such items. Cages for owls hung from hooks in the ceiling. Whoever this woman was, thought Felicity, she made her Aunt Joan look like Martha Stewart as far as housekeeping was concerned.

"Please join your friends," the woman said, pointing to Sarah and Roger on the other side of the room.

Felicity went over to the two. In a whisper, she asked, "What's this about?"

The both gave her looks which told her they had no idea, either.

"Do you know who I am?" The woman asked.

No one answered. "I am Miss Brattle," she continued. "I was the headmistress here for many years until I retired. The school has been kind enough to permit me to stay on here in the tower for my remaining days, given my many years of service.

"I have something for each of you."

Miss Brattle reached down and pushed aside some papers on a low table next to her chair. She picked up three flat boxes and handed one to each of the puzzled students who stood before her.

"Go ahead, open them," she instructed. As they did, she continued, "It's October and it's getting colder; I thought you might need these."

In each box was a knitted scarf. Sarah's was yellow and black, Roger's blue and silver, and Felicity's gold and scarlet.

"They will keep you warm this winter," Miss Brattle said with a smile.

"Thank you," said Sarah; the others thanked her, as well.

"But why us?" asked Roger.

"I felt you three needed these more than the others," the woman answered. "And there is one more thing." She handed Felicity an envelope. "When you leave here, read this to your friends. Show it to NO ONE else."

With that, she led the three down the narrow stairs to the library.

"What is it," Sarah steamed, "about older magical people that they always want to talk in riddles!"

"What's in the note?" Roger said, looking at the envelope.

Felicity turned the envelope over and noticed that it was sealed with wax, into which had been impressed the image of a lion. She broke the seal and removed the note inside:

Upon the morning of the day when night is the same.

Go to the rest of those who have gone before.

Look to the east.

"See what I mean..." Sarah fumed, "another riddle."

Felicity was beginning to understand what Sarah meant. For it seemed to her that since discovering her family's secret, there were as many unanswered questions as there were answers in the wizarding world.

"I wonder what it means," Roger said.

"It's as if she wanted us to know something more," Felicity said, puzzling over the note.

"But why not just tell us?" Sarah asked. "Why all this note business?"

"Maybe she doesn't know," Roger said. "This note looks very old and no one has used wax to seal letters in a very long time. Maybe she didn't write it."

"Well, whoever wrote it this will have to wait," Sarah said. "We'll be late for formal supper."

The formal supper was held once a month. It was one of those occasions that Felicity's grandfather had mentioned when a student might wear the tie of their choosing. This was the first one of the school year and Felicity was eager to see what Aunt Joan had referred to about the unusual ties.

Felicity stood in front of the mirror in her room, tying her great-grandfather Weasly's tie around her neck. She finally finished and tucked the remainder of it into her vest. Sarah had on a blue and white tie with small blue six-pointed stars woven into the fabric.

"My rabbi in Newport gave it to me," she said, admiring the tie in the mirror with Felicity. "How about yours?"

"It was my great-grandfather's," Felicity said.

"Better not spill anything on it," Sarah warned.

"You're the one with the white tie," Felicity said, joking. Felicity was aware of the dangers of eating a meal with the old tie on. It was for that reason that she had decided to wear the vest, as well, in hopes of keeping as much of the tie covered as possible.

The two girls checked themselves over one last time, tugging at their clothing to insure it was in the proper location, before heading down to supper.

"My aunt was right," Felicity whispered to Sarah as they came into the dining hall. The place was alive with ties of all types, including ones that glowed or had figures that moved like little cartoons. In the dim light of the dining hall, the array of ties gave off strange effects that flickered and danced.

At formal suppers, each table was assigned a student to act as a waiter. At Felicity and Sarah's table, that student was Anne Francis, a Master class girl, who did not like the assignment much. She moped through supper trying to get everyone to eat as quickly as possible so the chore might be finished.

"It makes for a rather unpleasant meal," thought Felicity.

As Felicity and Sarah were leaving, there was a voice from behind them. "Miss Stockwell..." It was Dr. Mather.

"Your tie," he said, as the two girls turned.

Felicity looked down at the tie, half-expecting to find a stain of some kind. To her relief, there was none. "Yes?" she said.

"Where did you come by a Gryffindor tie?" he asked.

"It was my great-grandfather's tie. He was from England." Felicity figured that this was as good a time as any to ask Dr. Mather about the houses at Hogwarts. "He went to Hogwarts School there," she continued.

"As did I," Dr. Mather said, with a air of pride in the matter.

"Dr. Mather, what are the houses at Hogwarts?" Felicity asked.

Dr. Mather always took great delight in anyone asking after Hogwarts and was happy to answer Felicity's question. He explained that, in English boarding schools, it was common for the students to be assigned to "houses" in which they would live with other students for the time that they were in school. The houses had students of all ages in them and, in the case of Hogwarts, each house had a section for boys and girls.

The houses at Hogwarts had been named for each of the four founders of the school and, like the classes at Salem, each had their own colors.

Dr. Mather said that he would bring Felicity a book about Hogwarts to supper the following evening.

"Dr. Mather?" Felicity asked, as she was about to leave, "Which house were you in?"

"Why, Slytherin," he smiled, "the best house there is."