The melody stopped playing and Helga craned her neck to get a view of the entrance.
Rowena rose, setting her book down and crossed to open the door more fully. "Gwynne, it's wonderful to see you well again," she pulled Gwynne into the room and sat her down on the chaise. She motioned for Sirius to enter the room as well.
Noticing how exposed Gwynne was in her nightdress, Rowena draped a lightly weaved lavender shall over Gwynne's shoulders.
Gwynne thanked her and Godric crossed the room, grabbing Sirius's hand and shaking it joyously.
"I recognize any son of my house when I see him!" he chuckled.
Sirius didn't know what to say, he was shaking hands with Godric Gryffindor, so he merely smiled meekly.
"Gwynne, please introduce us to your spouse" Rowena asked nonchalantly.
Gwynne's eyes went wide, "Oh, no, he's not my…, we're not…"she stammered. Sirius felt as if his face was on fire, I wage she cannot even stand the thought.
"Nonsense, we can sense these sorts of things" said Helga as she removed herself from under her harp.
"Oh, but I assure you…we aren't" Gwynne stated.
Is that disappointment on her face? Sirius wondered, just thinking that she might want him made him feel like he was floating.
"Very well then…" said Rowena. "Who are you then dear?" she asked facing Sirius.
"Sirius Black my lady" he said warily.
"Call me Rowena" she pleaded. "And this here is Helga," she pointed to the fair-haired woman, who simply smiled, "And Godric"
Godric patted Sirius's back, not realizing his rough yet good natured thump, practically knocked the wind out of Sirius.
"Come sit" Godric boomed, and Sirius followed him, sitting across from Gwynne and Rowena.
Helga stood, her beautiful dress flowed behind her as she crossed the room, she then returned with a silver tray filled of cakes and sweets as well as tea, in extravagant porcelain china.
"I'm so glad to see that you are in good health now, you gave us quite a fright," Rowena stated. "…it's a right good thing that Godric found you when he did."
"But enough with that, what brought you here, it has been so long since we've enjoyed your company."
"I regret to tell you, but Sirius has only fallen through recently…"
"That would make it, 26, now?" Helga asked Godric.
"Such a mess I have created…"Rowena said sadly.
"That is why we are here, I kept my promise, but I could not prevent Sirius from coming here, he has a right to know."
"I don't know…" Rowena said as she looked down at her hands.
"Rowena, if you don't tell the lad, I will." Godric said solemnly.
"Enough, I shall tell him, but thank you Gwynne, for keeping our secret." Rowena said then turned to look at Sirius.
"I shall start at the beginning then…When I was young, as I appear to you now, I came upon a young muggle witch, life had been cruel to her, are kind were persecuted in those times. I thought of dear Phiona as my own daughter and in an attempt to save her we fled to Hogsmeade. I met Godric, Helga, Salazar and his wife and son there. We shared the same dreams; I wanted a safe place for those who were like my Phiona. We were all contributing our special talents for the school. I felt my ever-changing floor plan was inadequate so I sought to do more."
"I tried to convince her that she had done plenty." contributed Godric.
"But she would have none of it" continued Helga.
Rowena glowered unappreciatively and carried on. "Well you see, long ago, when I lived with my dear grandpapa, Loberus, he always wore a small pendant around his neck, this pendant." Pointed to the base of her neck where it lay, made of rich turquoise stone in which an eagle's head was embedded.
"He said it held all the lessons he had ever learned because he had worn it through them all. I could not deny this gem had mystical powers so I tampered with it, trying to make it an enchanting object in which the four of us could preserve our memories, and keep watch over the school for all ages. But Salazar had left us before I could finish, so only our three memories were imprinted in its powers. One day I was moving the pendant to a safer place within the castle, and Phiona in her unknown excitement knocked me over, thus dropping the pendant"
Rowena looked too pained to go on until Gwynne place a hand over hers, "It wasn't your fault…"She comforted.
Rowena nodded and persisted, "The pendant cracked, in the very archway we stood in, I fell forward but Phiona fell backward, the power had filled the entire doorway, its great curtains rustling from the enchantment. I knew that I was on the other side but I knew I would only ever see Phiona in this dreamlike half world I had created. My own creation still mystifies me because even those who have killed themselves, their spirits still remain; there is no possible way out for you I'm afraid, there have been people trapped her for centuries."
"So what of those people, do they die here, will we die here?" Asked Sirius; on the edge of his seat.
Helga answered for Rowena. "Something odd happens to time here, it seems to preserve us in a time when we were happiest. You will still age here, but slowly and gracefully. We though don't age one bit, being memories and all."
"So what of the world out side, does time stay the same, how many days have passed out there?" Sirius asked.
"It's hard to tell, time is something we have yet to understand here, years have passed in matters of days here. Some time ago, a man fell through, claiming to be from some Victorian Britain, and in a mere month a woman fell in from the year 1953." Helga said.
Gwynne spoke up, "Let me ask you something I had always wondered, Rowena, how did the archway become separated from its foundation and end up at the Department of Mysteries?
"Well I don't know what a department of mysteries is but, when the pendant absorbed the archway and consumed Phiona, I and Helga removed it from its foundations, and hid it away, it must have been found after we had died, I nor anyone else spoke of it, perhaps that is why it is a mystery in the modern world." She answered, "When we each died our spirits came here along with all our memories and knowledge, just as in the original enchantment, but now our souls seemed to be trapped here as well."
"So there is no way to return to our lives?" Sirius asked.
"I'm afraid not my comrade." Said Godric; solemnly.
Rowena's face became grave, "You must speak of this to no one, Sirius Black, and you must promise this just as Gwynne has."
Sirius nodded his gaze then fell to Gwynne, she smiled at him and pulled her shall around her tighter.
"I wish you would make you and your "companion's" stay longer" Rowena asked; raising an eyebrow at Gwynne.
Gwynne had obviously refuse shelter from them before by the look of defeat on her face.
"I suppose, but only until Sirius is back in good health."
"What if Sirius would rather stay here?" Rowena questioned smirking deviously at Gwynne.
Sirius could see something was going on between the two and spoke up, "I think, when better, I should return with Gwynne."
"Oh posh, you don't need to!" said Rowena, now Sirius knew there was an unspoken game being played in the room.
"I want to" Sirius's voice nearly screeched. Did I just say that out loud? His entire body felt numb as he looked to the others for their reactions.
Helga covered her mouth with her hand to suppress a giggle, and Rowena and Godric laugh mirthfully.
Gwynne's rosy complexion doubled as she stared down at her hands that were now nervously playing with the fringe of the lavender shall.
"Perhaps you should rest now?" Gwynne offered.
Sirius nodded and bid a good night to the others as he allowed Gwynne to help him stand.
As they walked through the candle lit halls, Gwynne spoke "Do you really want to come back with me, when your better?"
"That's what I said wasn't it?" Sirius joked, butterflies fluttering around in his stomach as he looked at her.
She stopped, they were now in front of his room, she turned to face him, and placing her hands on his shoulders she brought her lips up to tenderly kisse his cheek.
"Sweet dreams…" she whispered, walking to her door a ways down the corridor and slipping into her room.
Sirius entered his room quickly, hobbling over to the bed and throwing himself down on it.
He let out a deep sigh as he stared up at the heavy velvet canopy that hung above him. He reached a hesitant hand to touch his cheek where here lips had been.
So soft, like nothing I've ever felt…
Sirius didn't know why he had been thinking like this lately, loneliness, perhaps. Maybe he had lost his touch, never before had he felt emotions like these when around a woman.
He prayed that she didn't think of him the way others did. He felt like someone better than himself when he was with her. Just being around her seemed to be his reason for living.
But could you spend the rest of eternity with her? He asked himself and then thought, Eternity would not be enough.