Dowager: An elderly woman of stately dignity, especially one of elevated social position
March 14, 1016
The grounds were too quiet now. They lay beneath a muted cover of mud and dormant life, between the peaceful, still beauty of winter and the buzz of summer. The trees did not yet bud with the promise of new life and the grass remained brown and dull. But the lake shimmered in the afternoon sun, casting brilliant specks of light across the stone. It was the only pretty place in the grounds at this time of year, she thought. So that was where she went most often.
Their age was ending. She could feel it. Half a century before, they had been building a kingdom, but now the kingdom was built and the monarchs were fading. Godric was already gone. He had never been quite right after Salazar's departure on bitter terms. And she had not felt quite right since Godric's death that winter – had it really been so many years before?
Without them and with the children gone, the castle seemed a lonely place. Especially in that strange time between spring and winter. But its corridors were still walked by a gaggle of young witches and wizards. New teachers taught in the place of those lost. So Rowena walked straight-backed and kept sharp eyes on her students' work and maintained the impression that she was still working towards something rather than fading away from it.
Helga found her by the lake. Helga always found her. Few words needed to pass between them anymore, and for a long while they sat in silence. But eventually Helga broke it.
"Do you suppose all this will last without us?" she asked, eyes sweeping the vast grounds, the few students messing about on the opposite shore of the lake, a herd of centaurs trotting along the edge of the forest.
Rowena sat straighter on the pile of stones she was perched upon – her throne Helga called it. Her gray hair was bound up in a wreath about her head and even though she had been wondering the same thing only moments before, there was no hint of doubt in her regal voice when she said, "Indeed I do. Helena would not let it crumble, and after her there will always be others who wish to learn and then to teach now that it is here. These walls will transcend time."
She had only needed to be asked the question to find an answer to it. She – the cleverest – could not fail to answer a question.
And maybe that's what she was working for, even as she felt her age slipping farther and farther away.
A/N: =/ Founders' era is hard. Why do I pick it then? Because honestly Rowena Ravenclaw was the only person I could think of for this word. And I'm not sure I really did a very good job of using it. But anyway… I suppose I could have picked a Black or McGonagall again, but Rowena was what filled my mind. So I went with it. Review?