Disclaimer: Everything here (besides the few things you don't know) belongs to JK Rowling, creator of the worlds of Harry Potter.
A/N: Well, this chapter's a little shorter than the previous one. I hope you like it all the same. The reviews I got were heartwarming, and I thanks you all greatly.
I know I said I'll update in a week's time, but… well… you know how it is ((stares at feet in embarrassment)) If you detect any typos of some sort, please forgive me. I really wanted to update this before I leave for a couple of days tomorrow morning, and I'm getting tired of sitting in front of the computer…
Well, on with the story, then!
Chapter 13 – First Trial
"After they had completely severed themselves from the Council, the Founders knew it would not be long before some confrontation would take place. It took Ambrosius over a year to locate them, but when he did, he immediately sent his men to take care of the troublesome companions.
"The man sent to command the operation was one Marcus Gregory, former Knight of the Phoenix. He had great resentment to both Ryan Ravenclaw and Gawain Gryffindor, and he had no problem whatsoever on passing his hatred to their descendents. He had sworn to bring an end to both lines by the means of the Council's command.
"In almost no time, Gregory had managed tracking down the Founders and discovered their base of operations was at the Loch…"
- Hogwarts, A History; Author unknown
Rowena was irritated. No, worse than that. She was livid. She would be the first to admit that she liked a little bit of good ale at times, but she would also smugly add, that she knew when it was time to stop.
Her three friends, however, seemed to have a remarkable lack of that ability. The three were sprawled on various surfaces of the house's main room, be they chairs, tables or floors.
Luckily enough, as they had dismissed their students for the summer the previous evening, there was no need to go out and teach, but she distinctly remembered that they had agreed upon continuing their rebuilding work that morning, since the weather was so fine.
Her mood was too foul to be considerate of the snoring trio in the house, so Rowena decided it was best if she would simply go outside by herself and get some work done.
As she stepped out of the house and started the walk up to the framework of the castle which perched above the lake like a foreboding bird of prey, she felt her bad humour dissipate. Their castle was getting on beautifully and everything was well, for as Godric had said the previous night, Ambrosius failed to destroy them in the year or so that had passed since they escaped his clutches.
Rowena was no fool. She knew that Ambrosius was aware of their whereabouts. Perhaps he could not as yet pinpoint their exact location, but he knew that they had taken residence in the vicinity of the Loch.
To make things worse, the fact that quite a few former Knights of the Phoenix drifted to the area had made it clear to anyone aware of the situation that the escaped quartet planned something that will not sit well with Ambrosius and his cohorts.
She dreaded what they were planning on doing. Now that all former Knights lived in the Loch there was no reason for them to put off the confrontation with the entirety of the village.
With a heavy sigh, she climbed up to the castle and entered the shadowy doorway. The large hall to the right of the entrance chamber now had a ceiling, but it looked so empty and forlorn. The floor was still covered by dust and rubble, and the overcast sky let no light in. Grumbling to herself, she began levitating the debris on the flagstones out from the hall.
When the others arrived there, sometime after midday, she was done with about a quarter of the hall, and was feeling rather winded.
"There you are!" she snapped, letting her wand arm fall. "Get to work already! I'm not about to clear this whole chamber by myself."
"Will you please keep it down?" Godric winced.
"No!" she exploded. "I will not keep it down. It's your own fault that you're feeling this way! Now get to work before I hex you!"
"But Rowena," Salazar pleaded. "We just woke up - be gentle with us, please."
"Gentle? Gentle? I've been slaving here since morning! I want you all to help me and I want you to help me now."
Grumbling and groaning, the three joined her in labour.
About an hour or so later, the four stopped for a bit of rest.
"It's so empty," Rowena voiced her thoughts from earlier on. "And it looks like a block of stone."
"It is a block of stone, Rowena," Helga said, her face still a little pale.
"Yes, but we didn't really try to make it seem prettier. We should have decorated the walls or something along those lines. A bit of stone carving on the supporting arches would do wonders to the ceiling."
"It's too late," Salazar said flatly. "I calculated the weight of the arches precisely. To chisel them now would impair the balance."
"Well, you're the creative mastermind, aren't you?" Helga said cheerfully. "Go to your drawing board, Salazar. Go play with your coloured inks."
"I don't play," he replied sourly.
"Of course you don't," she replied generously, winking in Rowena's direction.
"Women!" he spat, though Rowena noted that he did exactly what Helga had told him to do.
While Salazar was immersed in his drawing, Rowena pulled her friend aside, away from where Godric was removing the last bits of stone and rubble from the hall.
"What's going on between you and Salazar?" she demanded pointedly.
"Going on?" Helga replied innocently. "There's nothing going on. We're friends."
Rowena snorted. "Don't tell me that, Helga. At least one of you wants this to be more than friendship. You had better decided what you want, because I don't want this interrupting our business here."
"Is the pot calling the kettle black?" Helga asked mockingly.
"What do you mean?" Rowena asked, suddenly alarmed.
"Oh, you know perfectly well what I mean, Raven. I'd do something about this soon, if I were you. But never mind that," the other girl diverted the conversation. "We had better start cleaning the floor before the men start asking why exactly we are doing nothing. Oh, and Godric told me this morning-"
"Noon, you mean?"
"Yes, noon," Helga grimaced. "He told me that Dahlia wanted to have a word with me, so I'll be going to the village after nightfall."
"Have fun - and don't let Rhiannon coax you into spending the night again. It's hard enough for us to sneak in during the night."
"All right, Raven."
They started cleaning the floor, Rowena sprouting water from her wand, and Helga drying it after shoveling the dirty water away.
"Rowena! Helga!" Salazar said, coming towards them. "I've had an idea. Take a look at this and tell me what you think."
The two took the drawing board handed to them and observed the parchment in front of them.
"This will never work, Salazar," Rowena said shaking her head after examining all the scribbling he had drawn. "Paint all weathers on one ceiling and then make sure they correspond with the weather outside? I can't see a way in which we can make it possible."
Salazar sighed, the excited light in his eyes dimming. "Then what you're saying is that these plans are as good as dirt."
"Basically? Yes."
"Back to the drawing board, then?"
"I'm afraid so."
Salazar crumpled the parchment on which he had sketched his plans for the ceiling of the large hall. He then pulled a fresh sheet out of his cloak pocket and continued scribbling furiously. After a few minutes of that, his quill paused in mid-air.
"Rowena?"
"Mmm?" she mumbled, tearing her attention away from sprinkling water into the dirtiest corners of the hall.
"Is there such a thing as a transparency charm?"
She frowned. "Transparency? Well, not precisely, no. There's something that's called a Disillusionment Charm. It's a rather new one, I think. Supposedly it will give anyone it is cast upon chameleon-like qualities - practically let one blend in with one's surroundings. It is some sort of invisibility, or transparency if you'd like. I suppose we could try and modify it to apply to still-life instead of living creatures.
"Let's do it this way," she decided. "You will go on planning your ceiling, and in the meanwhile, I'll go do a bit of research."
"Good," he said. "I was starting to thing that I finally had had an unachievable idea and it was making me more than a little depressed."
-
Rowena always loved a challenge. It was a way to vent out all frustrations. Just close herself to the outside world and concentrate on the problem at hand.
The minute she entered the house that afternoon, she pulled out a couple of books, found a scrap of parchment, a battered quill with its feather chewed through by diligent writers and an almost dried inkwell, and settled down at the kitchen table.
Two hours later she was still there, only with many crumpled or ink-smeared parchments surrounding her and far more books that she had to begin with.
Godric prowled the kitchen around her, searching for something with a gradually darkening expression on his face.
"I'm hungry," he finally whined. "Why isn't there dinner?"
"You're a grown boy, Godric," she said absently, copying a certain paragraph that seemed about right to her. "Feed yourself."
"But - but, Rowena! You are the one always tells me to get away from the kitchen on account of-"
"You being completely inept, yes," she completed. "I'm busy, Godric. Go bother Helga."
"Helga's been invited to Dahlia's remember? Dahlia wanted to have a word with her."
"That's right," she conceded, putting down her quill. Then she brightened. "Go bother Salazar, then. At least he can boil water without burning three pots in the process."
"Salazar is snoring over his drawing board," he informed her sullenly.
With an irritated huff she threw her quill down. "Godric," she said scathingly. "As I have told you repeatedly, I am busy. Eat an apple, drink a cup of milk - I daresay you can still find some in the pot - and go to sleep! It should sustain you till morning."
"You always treat me like a little boy!" he flared. "I'm older than you!"
"Then by Merlin - act it!" she growled. "Go away! Leave me in quiet!"
Angrily, he stomped off, muttering darkly to himself.
Rowena stared after him, somewhat in shock. Then she sighed and buried her face in her hands. What am I going to do with him? She thought mournfully.
Godric puzzled her greatly. She could never quite figure him out. He was intelligent and resourceful, and he could be unbelievingly charming if he really wanted to, but he could also be so… so childish. Sometimes she wanted nothing more than to grit her teeth and wring his neck, but many times she wanted to hug him and maybe bring his lips down to hers…
Feeling annoyed, she closed her books, picked up her things and left for bed.
When Helga came back late that night, Rowena pretended to be asleep. She could not bear seeing that smug expression that she just knew would appear on her friend's face.
-
The week after the students were released for the summer the first real council took place. They prearranged it a long time beforehand, and now that they had the great hall roofed, they had room for all those who had chosen to come.
The four of them spent an entire afternoon conjuring chairs and a long table around which the discussions would take place. The rest of the time until the others came was spent in precise measurements of the ceiling of the hall. Rowena was certain that she managed adapting the Disillusionment charm properly and they were ready to try and cast it.
She was quite sure that they had startled Ceridwen and Rhys when the two first entered the hall through the empty doorway, for the first thing either of them had said was "Great Merlin, what in hell's fire are you doing?"
Salazar and Godric were standing firmly on the ground and levitated Helga and Rowena up to the ceiling. The two women were busily measuring the length and breadth of the hall, as well as its height.
"Measuring, Mother," Godric said laconically as he gently lowered Helga down. "Are you all here?"
"They are all right behind us," Ceridwen answered.
There were about two and a half dozen people in the council that first night; Phoenix Knights and their wives, Dahlia and Bran, Ceridwen, Rhys and his three eldest sons, and a few couples from the village who had, according to a rather sarcastic Godric, "seen the light". Once they were all seated, he got up and addressed the assembly.
"Welcome to our new Council Chamber," Godric said, knowingly comparing the new hall to that of Ambrosius' Council. They had not discussed the matter beforehand, but Rowena, and by their amused expressions, quite a few of the Knights present, found it rather fitting. "It's not completed as yet, and this furniture will definitely change in a few years' time, but get used to seeing this place, because you will spend here a lot of time.
"A little less than a year ago, my friends and I arrived here without any clear idea in mind. We were exiled by Ambrosius, with a death warrant over our heads, and all we really thought about at the time was how we could survive.
"This has changed. We took upon us two missions in the past year. The first one, and the most important in the long run at that, is the education of the next generation. We had already started working on that.
"The second one, however, is much more important at the moment, for if we cannot rid ourselves of Ambrosius' threat, we cannot continue the venture of this school.
"You all know why you are here. Many of us had been waiting for this day for a very long time. We can't rush it, however. We need to plan and make ready, for without it, we are no better than he. We invited you here in order to make our first plans. Rowena?"
Rowena nodded and stood up. "Godric, Salazar, Helga and I came to one conclusion a long time ago. Some of you know of it, but in benefit of those who don't, I shall repeat it.
"We cannot do this by ourselves. True, we have many more people than we had when we first arrived here, but this is not enough. In order to make things possible for us we need the help of the entire village. The people of the Loch must support us - or at least not be a hindrance to us. Therefore, we have decided to address the people of the village as soon as possible. We asked Sir Rhys to call for a village meeting. It should take place during the next week or so, and we would like all of you to participate and show your support."
"Are you out of your mind, woman?" Bran demanded from his place at the end of the table.
"I beg your pardon?" she asked mildly. From the corner of her eye she could see Salazar putting a restraining hand on Godric's arm.
"You will get us all killed - not to talk about getting your heads right where Ambrosius wants you - in the noose!"
"And why should that happen, Bran?" Salazar asked.
"Because the people of the village will hand you in! Ambrosius' arm is long."
"Do you truly believe that, Bran?" Ceridwen asked with an arched eyebrow.
"He will crush the whole village down!"
"Ambrosius is weakening, Bran," Sir Brendan said calmingly. "His grip on the Wizarding World is now ever so fragile. There are pockets of resistance starting to crop up everywhere. None of them has been successful so far, that much is true, but if we contact them and unite under one banner…"
"And what banner is it exactly?"
"The banner of Hogwarts, of course," Helga said quietly from her place. She rose to her feet to stand next to Rowena. "We have in our power to unite all the groups who oppose Ambrosius and the Council, Bran. Our connections are wide - from Muggle borns to born wizards. From the poorest wizarding family to the richest. We can get them all to participate. It may take time, but with your help we can make it happen. Talking to the people of the Loch is just the first stage in our overall plan. Ambrosius will go down." She then sat down and Rowena continued.
"Satisfied?" she asked Bran, staring hard at him.
He swallowed hard but said nothing.
"As we were saying, then. We want you all to come and be the grain of truth that will tip the scales in our direction. That's all we had done up till now. It is time to start discussing our future plans beyond the support of the Loch."
"We can start by hunting down the members of the Chamber Guard the Council had sent to kill you for," Sir Gwilym suggested.
"Not a bad idea, all in all," Sir Deiniol conceded. "But I think our first action should be to contact every former member of the Order - not including those such as Sir Randolf. I know that Madam Gryffindor managed to contact some of them, but there are many others whom she can't get in touch with and only we can."
"And what will we do once we contact them?" countered Eanraig the smith.
"We will have a military force in case Ambrosius comes with a direct force against us," Deiniol answered. "Once we reinstate the old contact system we can have the entire Order here within two days at the most."
"The system hasn't been in use for more than twenty years, Deiniol," Sir Reynard said, shaking his head. "Some of the Knights are dead and others are no longer of us. The probability of it actually working properly is minuscule."
"But possible all the same," Deiniol said mildly. "I say we give it a chance."
Rowena jotted the suggestion down and looked expectantly at the rest of the crowd.
"Once we contact the Knights," Ceridwen said, "We might as well contact the groups Brendan mentioned before. I think it would do no harm to spread around the word that the ones leading the rebellion-"
"Who said it's a rebellion?" Eanraig's wife demanded, fear etched into her expression.
"My dear Eilish," Ceridwen said softly. "When you go against the authorities in such a way as we are planning, it is considered a rebellion. Now, as I was saying, I think we should let people know that the ones leading the rebellion are Lords Gryffindor and Slytherin, and the heiress of Raven Lord. Those names have a grand legacy surrounding them, and should add more glamour to our cause."
Silence fell after that suggestion while the participants mulled it over. It was soon broken, however, by a villager by the name of Wallace - one of the first to submit his children to their care.
"I think that we are overlooking one important detail," he said seriously.
Rowena immediately turned her attention his way. "Oh?"
"Well, we really should consider how to protect both our children and our leaders. We can't let them go unprotected."
"We already took those precautions," Godric said confidently. "We placed hexes and curses around the perimeter so that none could come near in order to harm us or the children."
"No, Godric," Rowena said thoughtfully. "There's something in what he says. We should probably erect an Apparition block."
"An Appa-what?"
"Apparition!" she said irritably. She just told them about that the previous week! "It derives its meaning from the synonym to the word ghost, phantom, specter. It means a spirit, something invisible, a-"
"But what is it?"
"The ability to disappear from one place only to appear in another, miles away. Merlin, Godric! You have watched my mother, Helga and I practice it for a whole winter!"
Sourly, he demanded "So why do we need this Apparition thing? You're the only one who knows how to do it."
She rolled her eyes. "We are going to need it because I'm going to teach our students how to do it, and once we start teaching it, Ambrosius is bound to discover it sooner or later and then we will need the block - or shield, rather."
The rest of the evening was spent discussing how they will contact all those they hoped to be their allies. All that time Rowena felt her friends' accusing eyes on her, and wondered what she had done to deserve that.
She discovered soon as the meeting broke off and their guests left.
"When exactly did you plan on letting us know that you're are going to teach the children Apparition?" Salazar asked coolly.
Rowena stared at him in surprise.
"It is our school as well as yours," Godric added accusingly.
"You should share those things with us, Rowena," Helga said also.
She shook her head in annoyance. "But I did tell you," she huffed. "Last week. Ah, now I remember. You were to bleeding drunk to remember a word I said!" With that she left.
-
Rowena erected the Apparition Shield herself. It was rather small, encompassing only the castle and the house. Into it the others wove anew all their curses and hexes.
"It's much stronger than the previous protections," she told them with a somewhat self-satisfied expression when she was done.
"Was it hard?" Salazar asked in interest.
"Not too hard, no," she said flippantly.
In truth, however, the placing of the Shield was one of the hardest things she had ever done. In the same time she had had to concentrate on the thing it was supposed to shield the area from, on pushing the bubble of protection further on and on not ripping the texture of the Shield and by that enabling hostile forces (namely, Ambrosius) to break it. She was sweating profusely by the time it was done, but being Rowena, she would be damned before admitting that.
She wobbled just a little, though, when they prepared to go back to the house.
"Are you sure you're all right, 'Wena?" Helga asked worriedly.
"Why, of cou-"
She never finished her answer. A booming voice coming from the direction of the pillars carrying the winged warthogs roared "Come and face me, cowards! Come and face Marcus Gregory!"
The four exchanged glances. They were not used to be addressed this way. Carefully they made their way to the pillars.
The man standing between the pillars was tall. He was wearing full armour, red as blood. He had a flowing mane of blond hair and his grey eyes were cold.
"Who are you?" Godric demanded in the most insolent tone he could muster.
"I am called Marcus Gregory and I have come to take your lives!"
"That's nice, dear!" Godric taunted and Rowena slapped his arm warningly.
"Don't tempt him," she hissed.
"Oh, don't worry, Rowena. He can't go beyond the pillars, remember?"
"You imbecile! We withdrew the protections until I can build a larger Shield, remember?"
"What do you want?" Salazar took over.
"I told you. I am here for your lives. Come and face me, and I shall kill you."
"Ah… I don't think so. We're not so tired of living, you see."
"I shall get you, Slytherin - I shall get all of you, and Ambrosius will have what he wanted, and I shall have what I want."
"And what is that?"
"None of your business."
"When I say," Salazar whispered. "Send your most powerful curses in his direction. Let's get him in one piece. I'd like to… question him."
"Don't do that, Slytherin," Gregory said in disgust. "I have come here well protected. This is but a friendly warning. I shall be back with the Chamber Guard behind me!"
Then he flickered out of sight.
"Damned be he!" Rowena swore. "He Disillusioned himself! We will not be able to get him, Salazar. Let's go into safety, shall we?"
And the four companions retreated into the safety of their home.
Rowena knew that this will not be the last they had seen of Marcus Gregory - whoever he may be.
A/N: Well? Tell me what you think, please. Too dry? Too business-like? Not enough action? Not enough background or descriptions? I want to know it all.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand now to all those lovely people who reviewed:
Chenelle: Thank you:D And now Rowena's starting to admit things, too! I rather liked the drunkenness part, too ;) Now, to important matters: when are you updating?
Cecilia Orechio: About your question concerning Salazar and Helga: If you really want the answer, then email me, because I don't want to ruin things for those who don't want to know, k?
Now, I hope I haven't hurried the Rowena/Godric too much in this chapter… That last line was because Helga was so drunk that it made Rowena despair.
Well, technically, the house now has two bedrooms (one for the guys, one for the girls), the main room and a sort of an extra room for the kitchen. There's also the outhouse, or the privy outside, and they will add one room in order to house the students whose parents aren't living at the Loch before the next school year starts.
Well, that's an idea. Maybe it is where Hagrid's house was… It's a rather nice diea, in my opinion.
Waiting for your update!
Eratosthenese: Well, the more serious action starts in later chapters, but I promise not to make those chapters in-between dull! Thank you very much ((blushes tomato-red)) that's one of the greatest compliments anyone writing fanfiction could get!
Lira Neflin: Ooh! New reviewer! I'm glad you chose to read my story even though you don't make a habit of reading that sort of fics! Thank you very much and I hope that this amounts to your expectations.
Wicked.Awesome: Thanks! It seems like everyone liked the drinking party… maybe I should have more of that… ((laughs))
Angelsword: Glad you enjoyed it! Helga is a rather sober little thing in my story, I think. It's good for her to relax a little, don't you think? ;)
Jackie G: I have updated! Hopefully the next one will take me a little less time, as I have parts of it prewritten by hand! Thank you!
Innekeminneke: Thanks!
Moonlight on the Water: Thank you! ((bows)) Yep, guys definitely belong there… wrapped well around our little fingers… Go Rowena!
Rhysenn Riddle: Thanks! I'm happy to hear it :)
Frigabi: Hello! Welcome aboard! I'll be happy to read your stories once they are translated.
It's not that I don't like Salazar, and indeed, my views on him have changed vastly since I started writing this fic… It's just that I like the others a little more - Rowena being my favourite. As a matter of fact, I love my Salazar ((huggles him)) pity he has to leave…
I thank you for all your compliments, and I'll be happy to see you again here!
Well, that's all for today, my friends! Please enjoy my story and keep in mind that even though at times it takes me ages to update I do not forget you or the story…
- Star of the North