Only two chapters left! Would really appreciate any comments/reviews/thoughts :)
Certainty
Rowena looked up from her maps as the door to her chambers opened. She stood up before Helga had even the time to enter the room properly and close the door. "I think I have done it."
Helga frowned, as Rowena directed her friend back to her desk.
It was the summer holidays - one full year since Helena had left. During that time Rowena had begun to teach again but not full time. Although she loved her job and aways strived to help her students learn as much as they could during their time at Hogwarts, Rowena's health was declining at a rather alarming rate.
Every illness that seemed to go about the school, Rowena would catch. There were some months where she had spent days in bed - too weak to stand unaided, and too sick to do much independently. Even now, after having just recovered from a particularly nasty cough, Rowena still had not seemed to have regained the colour in her cheeks, or the weight she had lost during those several weeks.
Even her hair, which had always been a deep, rich, ebony, was becoming speckled with grey hairs that should not have started to appear for another several years yet. It was a difficult transformation to witness, and Helga often spent fitful hours in bed thinking of what would become of her friend if Helena did not return soon.
Helga followed Rowena. "What have you done, dear?" she asked.
"I have heard rumours that Helena might be in Albania," Rowena said. She looked expectantly at Helga. "A relative living in Germany believes they might have seen her last month."
Helga swallowed and pulled out a chair. "Are you certain?" she asked, helping Rowena into the chair.
"I am certain," Rowena insisted. To prove it, she pulled out a letter from her pocket and handed it to Helga. "See?" She then stood up suddenly, leading to her having to lean on the table slightly to steady herself. "I must—I must go at once," she stammered faintly as she swayed alarmingly.
Helga's eyes widened. "I do not believe it would be prudent—"
"I cannot afford to be prudent anymore, Helga!" Rowena interrupted. She pulled her cloak on and collected a bag Helga had the impression Rowena had been packing ever since she had received the letter. "It has been 12 months, Helga, and Helena is only a child after all." Rowena stopped for a moment and closed her eyes. "She may—" she stopped and put a hand to her clammy forehead. "She may need me," she added eventually.
The longing and sadness in Rowena's voice broke Helga's heart. "Let me come with you, Rowena."
Rowena opened her eyes and shook her head. "I could not ask that of you."
"Then," Helga paused, thinking desperately for an excuse to stop Rowena from leaving. "Then, at least wait until morning. It is dark now, and travelling at night is no recipe for success."
Rowena semed unmoveable. Then, quite suddenly, she deflated and collapsed back onto her chair. She looked so unwell, Helga thought.
"Very well," Rowena acquiesced. She dropped her bag and pressed her much too thin fingers on her eyelids. "I shall leave tomorrow morning."
Worried
"Are you sure about this?" Godric said as he and Helga walked to Rowena's chambers.
Helga bit her bottom lip in obvious anxiety.
"Her health has been so precarious these last few months," Godric continued. "If something should happen—"
"Oh, do not say that Godric, please," Helga interrupted.
"I am only trying to be practical, Helga," Godric said seriously. They came to a stop in the corridor, and Godric turned to face her. "She becomes exhausted at the end of one teaching day. How well do you think she will fare travelling across the world to Albania?"
Helga appeared to hesitate. "At least it is the summer - if it was winter—"
"Helga, it may be summer but the weather is unpredictable at the best of times..." he trailed away. "I do not want to stand in the way of Rowena and Helena reuniting," he said. "But I fear leaving Rowena to travel alone will bear such terrible consequences. I worry about her even when she is safely in the castle."
There was a brief silence.
"She will not listen to us, Godric."
Godric began to walk again. "She will have to," he said.
Collapse
Godric need not have thought about the various arguments he would propose to Rowena to convince her that she ought not to be the one to travel to Albania. As it happened, upon arrival at Rowena's chambers, they found the witch leaning quite unsteadily against the wall.
"Do not try and stand in my way," she said, her voice slightly slurred. "I must—I must..." she trailed away and staggered, her body clearly refusing its own orders.
"Rowena, are you all right?" Godric said, taking a concerned step in her direction.
"I—I," Rowena frowned and the colour drained from her face. She slipped down the wall slightly and finally admitted, "I do not feel at all well,"
The comment and behaviours were so unlike Rowena, that Helga immediately rushed to her friend and tried to help. "Rowena? Rowena—oh! Help me, Godric!" she cried as Rowena's knees buckled at last
Several hours later, Helga had successfully managed to tuck Rowena into bed without being on the receiving end of too many protests.
"Would you like some water, Rowena?" Helga asked quietly.
Rowena's eyelids fluttered. "I must find Helena," she said faintly.
Helga smoothed down Rowena's hair and then kissed her friend gently on her forehead. "When you are well enough, dear," she promised.
This did not have the intended result of reassuring the witch. Instead, it made Rowena more agitated.
"No," she said, her frail hand reaching out to grab Helga's in an attempt to convey how much this mattered. "Helga, I cannot—" she then appeared to wilt back onto her pillows. "It cannot wait, Helga. Send—send that boy—the one—the one who seemed to dote on Helena. You know the one I mean?"
Helga wracked her brains until she remembered the boy who had proposed to Helena more than once. "I do," she told Rowena. "That Baron boy?"
Rowena nodded and seemed to relax. "Helena liked him too, I believe. Perhaps she would be more willing to return with him if he asked."
"I will ask as soon as you have taken your medicine."
"No, Helga. Helga, dear," Rowena said desperately. She weakly squeezed her friend's hand to convey the urgency. "You must get the boy and you must do it at once. Time is short, Helga. Please. I—I cannot wait any longer."
Helga felt tears pool in her eyes. She brushed them away and touched a reassuring hand to Rowena's cheek. "All right, Rowena. All right."
