Rowena had been working as a caregiver for the local Duke's children for just over a year now. She had been afforded the opportunity shortly after reaching her majority. Her parents were so proud of her getting out of the slums and having a place in such an upstanding house.
See, Rowena and her family had grown up in the slums. Her father usually worked the fields for a chance to bring home some of the crops that were a bit over ripe. While her mother would do odd jobs for a few coins here and there. They usually had food on their table, even if it was typically a soup using said over ripe produce. They could almost never afford meat, so Rowena saw it as a luxury that was to be treasured.
If they only knew why she was really there. The Duke saw her as a potential toy for his nighttime games. Even though she had grown up poor and somewhat underfed, Rowena was a gorgeous girl that couldn't hide her looks in threadbare clothes that rarely fit. As such, the local Duke, being the pig that most nobility turned out to be in Rowena's mind, felt that getting her into his house would get him his prize,
Luckily she had her magic and no one knew about it. With it she was able to keep him confused every time he decided to try and make a move on her.
The casual observer wouldn't understand why she was willing to stay in a position that placed her in danger of being taken like that. Some may say it was because she cared for the children, or that she was sending her wages back home in order to take care of her parents and siblings. "Well," she thought to herself, "Some would be very wrong wouldn't they."
Rowena didn't feel those bonds like others seemed to. She wasn't sure if something was wrong with her, but while she felt like she loved her family, she didn't feel like it was her responsibility to take care of them just because she was able. She definitely didn't think she should sacrifice herself for just the opportunity to send them some money.
Okay, she did send some money back to them, but it wasn't all of her wages, not even close. It was enough to maybe add some meat to their table once a week or so.
Rowena had goals in life, and taking care of someone else's children didn't fit into those goals. She wanted to be acknowledged for her abilities, both magic and non-magic.
See, magic wasn't the only talent Rowena had that she kept hidden. There was another thing about her that would get her shunned at the least and burned at the most, she was smart. Not just kind of smart, but truly intelligent. And she loved learning. She learned how to fix things around the house and how to cook just like any female was expected to, not because she was expected to, but because it was something that she could use to improve her life. Unlike other women though, she learned how to read and write and do math. Being a woman this was unheard of and seen as getting above her station.
What most people overlooked was that the Duke had an extensive library that included everything from children's stories to complicated manuals on how different aspects of the world worked. When she had some down time she would sneak into the library and read to her heart's content. And when she was alone, she would consider everything she had learned and try to figure out some way to apply it to life and real situations, because what was the point of knowledge that wasn't being put to use in some productive manner?
Rowena knew this placement was just temporary for her, even if no one else did. She had heard stories from the local orphanage of a Lord that didn't believe that a learned woman was evil. Her friend Helga had explained that the Gryffindor family tried to be fair to everyone as long as they followed the law. Of course her friend Helga also had magic even though she tried to hide it from her. Seeing her heal with it is what led Rowena to talk to her in the first place.
Of course noticing that she was trying to keep it hidden meant Rowena couldn't ask her to teach her about it. And oh what torture that was for Rowena who felt an almost unquenchable thirst to learn something new.
The first conversation slowly developed into a true friendship. Between Helga's hard work and dedication to her calling and Rowena trying to learn everything she could, they devoured all the knowledge they safely could without raising suspicions from the other villagers about their individual talents and daily tasks.
It was just two months ago when Rowena discovered that the end of her current position was closer than she expected. When a caravan of injured people came rolling into town and Helga helped take care of the ones she could. This ended up being a major turning point in Rowena's life, even though she wasn't present when it happened.
Having heard about it, she knew Helga would be heart sore and berating herself for those she had been unable to help, so she decided to visit.
Upon her arrival to the orphanage on one of her rare days off she noticed the garden looking uncharacteristically bare. She knew Helga would never allow her garden to fall into disrepair and slowly started coming up with theories. The most likely being that either Helga was moving the garden to another location or she was leaving and decided that she couldn't leave her plants out for just anyone to mess with.
She figured the best way to get the answer would be to ask her directly, so she entered the orphanage proper.
She could feel the mood. It was palpable and sat heavy on the whole building. This made her decide that the answer must be that Helga was leaving and that the kids were not taking it well.
"Helga dear, I'm here." she called out.
She heard the rustle of cloth and the sound of a book being placed on a table, followed by "Back here Ro."
"So, when are you leaving and where are you heading to?" Rowena was nothing if not straight to the point.
Helga just stared at her with her mouth agape.
"Oh please, with your garden in its current state and the mood of the orphanage, it wasn't that hard to figure out. I'm even willing to wager that it has something to do with those people that you had to work on the other day." Rowena said with a smirk.
"Argh, I just can't keep a secret from you can I?" Helga sighed. "Yes, I am leaving as soon as I get all my affairs in order. And I'll being heading to Lord Gryffindor's lands in order to help with this bandit infestation he seems to have."
This wiped the smirk right off of Rowena's face just like Helga knew the casual reference of her philosophical hero would.
"Gryffindor you say? And you're going to help with the bandits?" She asked, her mind trying to formulate a plan that would get her included in the trip.
"It's going to be rough trip, especially for a lone woman traveller. How about I go with you? There is always safety in numbers, and being my dear friend I wouldn't feel right letting you face these hazards on your own." Rowena said with an almost self sacrificing tone. Which, if it had not been Helga hearing it would have sounded sincere. However, Helga knew better, and decided this was a good chance to mess with her friend.
"I think I can handle myself Ro. I wouldn't want to burden you or take you away from your current position. I know how hard it is to obtain a dependable place in a successful house." Helga was barely able to maintain a straight face as she saw Rowena start panicking.
"But Hel, please, its Gryffindor. A place where my intelligence won't be a hindrance or seen as a negative attribute. You have to let me go."
Feeling like her friend had suffered enough Helga decided to put her out of her mercy, "I was planning on asking you to accompany me anyway Ro. I wouldn't dream of visiting the Gryffindors without taking you."
This about brought tears to Rowena's eyes, "Thank you, Thank you."
Rowena felt that telling the Duke would be a very bad idea as he still had not given up on getting into her bed and knowing he was working with a deadline might push him into doing something drastic. So she didn't tell anyone she was planning on accompanying Helga. Although she did start sneaking some of the more rare books into the bags she was packing. She knew they wouldn't be missed as she was the only person in the house that visited the library.
Rowena had written a note to both her family and the Duke to explain everything for when she left. Her days to herself were spent with Helga planning the trip. Helga found this humorous as her friend refused to do anything spontaneous if she could avoid it.
"You would make a plan in order to make plans if you could." She joked.
Rowena felt she was ready for the next chapter in her life, and was just waiting on word from Helga that it was time.
AN: This was the hardest to write because I couldn't figure out how I wanted to describe Rowena without just following the stereotype of wisdom. I wanted her young and ambitious and eager. Now that all 4 founders I was originally going to end it there and leave it open, but I think I will keep going up until they actually create the school. I have some plot points in mind that I think will be good. However I still haven't decided how I will make them come up with the name Hogwarts.