A good student, she did very well in her lessons. Although weak in some areas (like Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures), she always tried and worked hard. She was especially good with history, theories, and anything that involved memorization. This led her to become fascinated with potions, but Snape was resistant to having her in class. She finally went to Dumbledore in September, who insisted Snape allow her, reminding him of her intense desire to learn and her ability to understand, even excel in, other subjects. Snape relented, and Alexi became a quick study – she was a natural at memorizing and mixing potions. However, Snape did everything he could to make her uncomfortable. He constantly berated her Muggle status, and allowed the Slytherins to tease her as well. Whenever she tried to volunteer an answer to a question he had asked, he simply ignored her.
Several weeks went by, and Alexi used the secret room often, even bringing in several of her knickknacks to make it more "hers." One night while she was studying advanced potions recipes (she had caught on to potion-making very quickly), she was startled by a light commanding voice.
"I notice you have been making good use of my room, friend of Sir Nicholas."
Alexi shot upwards, surprised. Glancing around for the source, she quickly found it in the black canvas, which was no longer black. Instead, a beautiful lady stood there, dressed in a sapphire blue dress that matched her eyes. Her entire being was filled with a powerful and commanding presence; this was a natural leader with many talents, and she knew how to use them all.
"I am sorry, my lady – you frightened me." Alexi bowed her head, showing respect. "Nick – er, Sir Nicolas – told me you had given him permission to inform me of this location."
"And so I did. I have been watching you for some time, and frankly, I like you. You remind me of when I was a young girl, always inquisitive, with a stubborn streak." She smiled warmly. Alexi looked up, and returned the grin.
"Yes, this is my special room. I built it for my use, and for the use of those I deem worthy to know of its existence. It is called Rowena's Refuge, after myself of course," she laughed merrily.
Alexi searched her memory – the name Rowena seemed familiar. "Are you Rowena Ravenclaw?" she asked, remembering. "One of the founders of Hogwarts?"
"Very good. Yes, I am indeed." Again the light laugh. "You are very clever – if I didn't already know my descendents, I would guess you to be one of my heirs. Please, sit down," she directed. Alexi sat awkwardly.
"Tsk, tsk, we must work on that – not very graceful," Rowena critiqued. "A lady must be smooth and deliberate in all her actions." Alexi blushed. "Now, to the reason for my visit with you. Obviously, you have been making good use of my Refuge, with my blessings. However, you do not know many of its secrets. It is time that was changed." Alexi sat up straight and listened.
"First, there are six entrances to the Refuge, spaced throughout the castle. The North Tower entrance is the simplest to find. I will leave the location of the other entrances undisclosed for now, though I will give you hints for another entrance at the end of our meeting. As you may have noticed, there is residual magic throughout the Refuge which controls the environmental settings, such as the fireplace and keeping the dust away, one of my favorite accomplishments." She offered the smile again, and Andaxia echoed it.
"This area is impervious to Tracing, Tracking, and Summoning Charms, Apparating and Disapparating, Portkeys, and even elf and phoenix magic. Ghosts and poltergeists can not enter it, and I am the only portrait that can access my canvas. There is a warning system available for your use that will alert you if someone or something does find their way in. This custom spell is not fooled by Animagi, Metamorphmagi, or Invisibility Cloaks, and is activated by the phrase 'I am alone.'" Rowena paused, looking Alexi over. "That's another thing. You might want to consider changing your passwords to phrases. Everyone uses single words – too boring and too easy to guess. Phrases are more exciting. Moving on," she continued, "the Refuge was created to serve as my personal study and sanctuary. Its location has remained secret for centuries, and it must remain so. Please do not pass this information on to anyone, unless you can completely trust that person. The purpose of the Refuge would be severely undermined if several people knew of it." Alexi nodded in agreement – she had no intent of sharing this place with anyone else. "The Refuge is considered to be rumor, even more so than the Chamber of Secrets had been. Slytherin's area was known by others to be true; mine is not." Rowena smirked at that, reveling in her cleverness at keeping her area concealed.
"Now our conversation must come to an end. I have business in the East Tower tonight."
"Wait, please! You had said you would give me some clues to another entrance at the end of your instruction," Alexi reminded her.
Rowena's grin widened. "So I did. You do not let anything slip past you - that is good. As promised, here are your clues." Alexi grabbed quill and parchment and wrote. "In the library, find the owl and raven with the serpent. Rub the serpent's spine and you will locate the Junction. Where the cloth dragon and unicorn are different from the stone, warm the white one's back and say the words that can be found on the painting of the vampire's bane."
Alexi made a face. "Ugh, a riddle."
Rowena tried to look stern, but could not. She grinned once more, "Let's see how clever you really are, my adopted one." Before Alexi could comment again, Rowena was gone and Alexi was glaring at the black canvas.
That weekend, Alexi made it a point to ponder Rowena's riddle. "The cloth dragon and unicorn" she interpreted as a tapestry with these two magical creatures embroidered on it, and "the vampire's bane" was most likely garlic, though it could also be a cross, a stake, or a mirror. That evening, while the students were at dinner, she headed to the library to find "the owl and raven with the serpent." Hours passed with no luck, but she was determined, returning to the library every day during dinner. After twelve days, her luck finally changed. Between Rows 46 and 47, there was a large oil painting of a snowy owl and a black raven standing guard over a stack of books and scrolls. In the center was a large book entitled "Secretes of the Sea Serpentes" with a large green snake entwined on the cover. Remembering the riddle, she stroked the book's spine. As she lifted her hand, the painting shook and rose, revealing a stone passageway. Looking around to verify she was alone, she took a breath and darted through.
The passageway led to a long stone hallway lined with doorways, tapestries, and paintings. This was the Junction, a secret area of the castle filled with shortcuts and often used by Filch on his rounds (Few others knew of this area – Dumbledore, the Heads of House, and Pomfrey used it, and the Marauders discovered it on their travels –thereby making it a favorite hangout of Fred and George). Alexi remembered she was looking for a tapestry, and set out, scrutinizing each one. Near the end of the hallway was a small cul-de-sac filled with twenty-four tapestries, each with a single dragon and unicorn. A pair of stone sconces was mounted beside each tapestry, and as she approached, she noticed the sconces were also in the shapes of dragons and unicorns. The riddle had said: "'Where the cloth dragon and unicorn are different from the stone';" what did that mean? "Cloth and stone, cloth and stone, hmm," she pondered. "The cloth must refer to the tapestry, so the stone refers to . . ." She narrowed her eyes in thought. "Aha! The sconces!" With a sharp eye, she scrutinized the walls. Every sconce corresponded with the animal on its respective side of the tapestry – unicorn sconce paired with a woven unicorn, and dragon with dragon – save one. The oddity had its dragon sconce paired with the tapestry unicorn, and unicorn sconce with tapestry dragon. Alexi grinned; she was close to unraveling this entrance.
Knowing she still needed the words to say to the unicorn (for that was the "white one"), she began looking for the "vampire's bane." Back and forth down the long hallway she traipsed, searching for anything that could be the bane of a vampire. Frustrated, she flung herself down on the stone floor, glaring at a small painting of a sunrise. "Duh!" She smacked herself in the forehead; the vampire's major bane was the sun! Scrambling back up, she ran a finger over the canvas. In the bottom corner was a small inscription: "Symbol of purity, I require refuge." Quickly memorizing this line, she returned to the tapestries, only to discover the different one had disappeared. Alexi started to panic, but realized that it had merely switched to a different tapestry in the group. Deliberately approaching the tapestry, she placed her hand on the unicorn's back and muttered the phrase. The tapestry shimmered with a blue magic, and became translucent. She saw the familiar marble stairway through the cloth and heard the fire begin crackling as it lit itself. Smiling in glee, she walked through the shimmer and onto her stair. Glancing behind her, she noticed the same tapestry hanging on the stairway wall; this was her shortcut back to the Junction. As she entered the Refuge, she noticed glowing blue words on the black canvas: "Congratulations, my clever one. You are truly a Ravenclaw at heart." Alexi didn't stop smiling for many hours that night.
