The Ravenclaw common room was spacious, with a high ceiling and arched windows. Comfortable armchairs and sofas, all adorned with beautiful designs of ravens, were scattered about the room, making it more like a reading place in a library than a school. The walls were adorned with tapestries depicting famous Ravenclaws and numerous celestial images. But what dominated the room were the bookshelves stuffed with books of all shapes and sizes.
"It's very blue," Lisa whispered wide-eyed.
"Shows Rowena had good taste, as it's my favorite color," Morgaine grinned, her hands itching to grab a book and sit on one particular comfy-looking sofa.
Penny clapped her hands together, gaining everyone's attention. "Alright, a few things before I say goodnight. For the first week, us prefects will wake you up to ensure you get to class on time. By then, Professor Flitwick will have taught you the alarm charm, so please be sure to have at least one person in your dorm proficient in it. Because after that, you're on your own."
Anthony raised his hand. "Does that mean you're not waking us up?"
The girl prefect smiled. "Sorry, I forgot. Miles Amaury is the male fifth-year prefect; however, he's currently attending his grandmother's birthday party. He will be here in the morning to make sure all of you are up on time."
"Alright," Anthony nodded somewhat happily.
"Professor Flitwick will schedule a meeting with each of you in the following weeks to see how you're getting along. You will have another meeting before you select your electives, then a similar one right before OWLs and NEWTs. However, if there is a problem that one of the prefects can't solve, he is available in his office after dinner or Saturday mornings. If it's an emergency, grab the nearest professor or a prefect, or even ask one of the paintings on the wall for help."
With a nod from everyone to make sure they were listening, she continued. "As Ravenclaws, we expect you to do well in all of your classes. But, before you go off and do whatever personal research catches your eye, be sure to have all of your homework done. After dinner, a couple of prefects will be in the common room to help. However, some of us do better with one-on-one instruction if it's something we are having particular trouble with. On the bulletin board behind me, you will find the names, schedules, and prices for older students willing to tutor you on various subjects."
"I tutor runes," she said with a grin. "But don't hesitate to ask if you need help. We also have separate study rooms and a potion lab, all of which can be used; however, be sure to see if someone has reserved the space."
She then pointed to an older boy off to the side. "Jeremy here will take you boys and show you around. Just one last thing before we get the lot of you to bed. The girls' dorms are off-limits to all wizards. Don't try going upstairs; it will be an unpleasant experience for you."
A boy Morgaine thought was named Terry complained, "Seems unfair."
Penny shrugged. "A witch's chastity was sacrosanct and still is today, especially with many older families. However, Hogwarts was ahead of its time in many ways when the Founders roamed the halls, as many witches were generally only given a rudimentary magical education. Rowena insisted that both sexes be taught the same, but it was still only in the last century or so that the classes were mixed."
She then looked at Morgaine and the rest of the first-year girls. "This does not mean you witches can just go upstairs into the boys' dorms without an invitation. Anyway, if you're interested, you can find most of this in 'Hogwarts: A History.'"
The Ravenclaw dorms could be found up a spiral staircase of a tallest tower, each level housing two grades, which allowed the seventh-year students an entire one to themselves. And much like the other houses, Ravenclaw's were shared spaces, with each student having a four-poster bed, a desk with a small reading lamp, a chair, and a wardrobe. All the bedding and wall hangings were, of course, in blue and bronze, Ravenclaw's house colors. And much like downstairs, bookshelves adorned the walls.
"Comfy," Sui Li commented, and all the girls nodded in agreement.
"Your trunks are already at the end of each bed. The loo is over there; you share it with the second years. Let's see what else. I reckon all of you can sort yourselves out if you want to trade places. Oh, before I forget, just tap the bed with your wand; it will lower the hangings so you can have some privacy."
With most of them dead on their feet, they wasted no time getting ready for bed. Long night talks to get to know one another would come at another time. Morgaine, however, decided to read a little, looked over her space approvingly, opened her desk drawers, and quickly searched inside her wardrobe. Unpacking would come later.
The following day, the former Queen of Rheged felt something cross her wards. However, its intent wasn't malicious. Opening her eyes, she found an oddly dressed fey child standing at the edge of her bed.
"Good morning, your Majesty, I be Sunflower."
"Good morrow to you as well," Morgaine gave a small yawn, sat up, then began brushing her fingers over Breuddwydion in his feline form.
The fey child stared at the cat for a moment, then looked up. "I be your personal House Elf, miss."
"A House Elf?" Morgaine frowned. "Not a brownie?"
"Oh no, miss, no one calls us that anymore."
Morgaine then had a sneaking suspicion. "I assume I am the only one in this room who gets your attention."
"Oh yes, your Majesty," Sunflower said proudly. "All royals do; the last was that princess from Germany, and before that, one of the English princesses."
Rose Potter would have balked at such treatment, finding herself unworthy. For the former Queen, it was how she was brought up, so she didn't give it a second thought. Plus, she didn't want to trouble the poor thing who looked so excited at the prospect of being her personal maid.
"Well then, please just call me Morgaine, as I have no throne."
"Of course, your Majesty," the House Elf gave her a smile. "And don't you worry, none, your friends won't know I am here. Guthlac said you didn't want to be announced."
"Guthlac?"
"The Sorting Hat, miss."
"I see, thank you."
By the time Morgaine returned from her morning ablutions, she found all her clothing put away and the day's outfit sitting on the bed. By the time she slipped on her robe, a couple of other girls were getting up.
"You're an early bird," Padma said with a yawn.
"Always have been. I tend to wake with the sun."
"Oh, I would hate not having a bit of a lie in on occasion," Mandy said from behind her, grumbling about the cold floor.
The door slamming open caused all three girls to turn.
"Oh, good, some of you are awake," Penny cheerfully greeted them as she came into their room, then proceeded to tap each of the bedposts of those still asleep, producing all sorts of squeaks and groans.
"Good morning, witches," she then announced quite loudly. "You need to be downstairs in the next thirty minutes so we can get to breakfast on time, which starts at seven-thirty and ends a little before nine. Bit of a rush being the first day, so let's get cracking."
Morgaine was the first but not the only Ravenclaw sitting in the common room. There was a smattering of older students reading or quietly talking amongst themselves, waiting for their friends to come join them.
Sui Li came down first, taking a seat before pulling out a small book and beginning to read. Then, slowly but surely, the rest of the girls arrived, but still no boys. Penny, who had finally joined them, looked toward the stairs with a frown, then rolled her eyes as all the first-year wizards came down in one noisy group.
"Glad to see you could make it, Miles," she said with a slight grin.
"Oh, hush, you know I'd be disowned if I missed the old bird's birthday. Anyway, morning girls, I'm Miles, as you might have guessed."
He then did a double-take when he spotted Morgaine. Turning back around, he looked up at Rowena Ravenclaw's statue, then back to the first years.
"Huh, looks like we have a mini-Rowena in our midst," he laughed.
"She even has the same raven," Terry helpfully pointed out.
"Yes, yes, we all noticed the same thing," Penny sighed. "Let's not dawdle. I'm hungry."
"Oh, before we can't get back into the common room," Lisa raised her hand. "Are we expected to know different languages? I know a smattering of French but can't say I can answer a riddle."
"Different languages?" Miles looked confused.
"Oh, that's right, the Raven asked its riddle in Latin last night," Penny replied, perplexed.
Miles just grinned. "So, I bet our mini-Rowena knew the answer."
Morgaine just sighed.
"So, class," he then smiled. "What language do you think the original students of Hogwarts spoke?"
"Latin," Terry said.
"Anglo-Saxon," Mandy raised her hand right after.
"Exactly, so how does it know today to speak in modern-day English? Magic, right. Rowena Ravenclaw was a brilliant witch, but don't ask me how it works; it's one of Hogwarts's mysteries. I do remember those Hanoverian twins who attended during my first year spoke to the Raven in German."
Penny nodded. "I didn't know that, OK makes sense."
"Still letting you answer them," Lisa slipped next to Morgaine and whispered with a giggle.
"Schedules?" Padma then asked.
"Oh, Professor Flitwick likes to hand them out to all the first years," Miles replied. "And if you haven't been told for this week, when your classes are finished, wait outside and one of us prefects will escort you to your next class. And with that, let's go, I'm hungry too."
Monday morning, like most weekdays, found the four long house tables—Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin—filled with students preparing to eat with a smattering of late comers coming in dribs and drabs. At the front of the Great Hall, the staff table, on its raised platform, appeared to be somewhat empty. And by the time the students finally started to dig in, a few notable spots were not filled.
"Seems our Headmaster isn't going to make breakfast," Lisa leaned over and whispered.
Morgaine, who had been adding a bit of cinnamon to her oatmeal, looked over and nodded.
Su noticed as well then said, "OK, you two know something we don't."
Lisa whispered, "There was a muggle article in a Surrey newspaper about a missing girl named Rose Potter."
"Surrey newspaper?"
Lisa then explained, "My parents own the Owlery Bookstore in Swindon; they carry both the Prophet and some Muggle newspapers."
"Sounds lovely, tell us about Rose Potter," Mandy, who had been listening in, insisted.
"Not much to tell really, we read that a Rose Potter was missing and there's a big mystery around it. Since Potter is a common name, we thought maybe it wasn't her."
Padma then joined in, "Rose is pretty common too. But the 'Girl Who Lived' didn't show last night, and the Headmaster is not here this morning."
Then a second-year Ravenclaw asked what was going on, then another and soon the whole table was talking about the disappearance of one Rose Potter.
"Owls," Terry pointed out.
"Lots of them," Lisa smiled as one landed in front of her and stuck out a leg. "From my parents."
Morgaine smiled and took a sip of tea, not expecting any herself. However, a few seconds later a regal-looking red kite landed gracefully in front of her.
"Oh, aren't you gorgeous," Morgaine murmured. "For me?"
After a nod from the bird, she reached into a pouch hanging from his neck and found two sealed scroll cases, both apparently from Gringotts. Then she remembered all of her mail would be checked by the Goblin Clan first.
"That's one ruddy big bird," she heard a familiar voice say from behind as everyone watched the kite fly off.
"Morning, Tracey," Morgaine turned. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did. Daphne and Pansy say hi too. Here," she then handed her a letter. "It's from Charline, not sure why she didn't just send it to you. Anyway, I heard that we'll be in Herbology together. Seems our Defense Professor got lost or something."
"Really?" Padma asked.
"Snape just told us. "Oh, here's your Head of House now, I'll talk to you in class, Morgaine," Tracey then gave one last wave before scurrying back to her table.
"Well, it's good that all of you are sitting together, makes this easier," Professor Flitwick greeted his first-year Ravenclaws with a smile as he began to pass out their schedules.
"Unfortunately, your first class, Defense Against the Dark Arts, has been canceled due to Professor Quirrell still being out," the diminutive professor explained. "Instead, Professor Sprout has offered to move all of you to one of the larger greenhouses, where she can host all of you first years. That's the Asclepius, Miss Clearwater."
"Yes, sir, we just heard," Penny said after joining them. "Sir, does this have anything to do with Rose Potter?"
Professor Flitwick sighed. "I see the rumor mill is strong as ever at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, we know very little. The Headmaster has not returned, so until he arrives with news or our wayward first year, we will have to wait."
"Lisa said that she read something in a Muggle newspaper about Rose Potter," Michael motioned across the table.
"Is that true, Miss Turpin?" the professor asked.
Lisa nodded. "Yes, sir, I still have it upstairs."
"Well then, perhaps you will allow me to borrow it later. With that, I hope all of you have a good morning."
The Asclepius greenhouse currently housed not too many plants, and none that would endanger the first years. Plenty of space for the entire first year, even if Professor Sprout had to change her lesson plans a little. It was going to be a little short on actual herbology, so the double class was switched to only a normal length, which would allow the first-year students some time to wander the grounds before third class.
Professor Sprout smiled in amusement, with most of the boys on one side and the girls on the other. What was interesting was that the Ravenclaw and Slytherin girls were intermingled and appeared to be having a friendly discussion with also a couple of Gryffindor girls and some of her Puffs.
For a moment, she thought she heard Rose Potter, which caused her to sigh. Goodness, Albus had insisted the young girl was safe, although from what Minerva mentioned to her in private, the school's letter had never been delivered. So, the Headmaster has known for weeks and never said anything.
Actually, she was surprised that the news wasn't on the front page of the Daily Prophet. She could see Fudge's hand in that. Frankly, Albus would be lucky to keep his job if the poor girl was not found. Maybe tonight, she will reach out to one of her favorite Hufflepuffs and see what's going on. She was sure Amelia would love to hear how Susan was doing.
Unexpectedly, the Ravenclaw girls decided to head outside after class, since there would only be a limited time before it got too cold to do so. All of the Slytherin girls followed, including Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot from Hufflepuff.
"We have History of Magic with you next," Tracey pulled out her schedule before joining them on a spot overlooking the Black Lake. "Although from what Charline told me, it's a good time for a nap."
"A nap?" Morgaine, who had her eyes closed enjoying the morning sun, said. "Oh, that's right, she said that the class was taught by a ghost."
"Really?" Padma said, not sounding amused. "My parents are paying for us to be taught by a ghost?"
"According to one of my mother's cousins, Professor Cuthbert Binns is a leading historian on Goblin Wars," Daphne gave the others a knowing smile.
Morgaine frowned; she already knew that a lot of it was because the Goblin clan refused to turn over Arthur's Treasury to the Wand Wielders.
"And nothing new about Rose Potter?" Pansy asked.
Daphne sighed. "It's only an hour or so since breakfast. I imagine that the Headmaster will make some sort of an announcement tonight."
"So, do you know anything, Susan?" Tracey asked.
"Me, no. Although I did write a letter to auntie and sent it off this morning," she explained, setting down her exploding snap card and looking at Hannah who nodded.
"So, Morgaine," Susan began, then reached into her pouch and pulled out a Chocolate Frog Card. "We noticed something just this morning. See, we're both big collectors and, well, we noticed you look a lot like one of the cards."
Lisa grinned. "Some of us might have noticed that last night."
"And this morning," Padma giggled.
Millicent Bulstrode, one of the girls just introduced, looked at the card, then dropped what she was doing. "Wait, I have the gold-edged one. It's a much better."
Hannah's eyes went wide, and she quickly moved over next to her. "Really? Those are rare."
"Yeah, my Papa got it for me last Yule," she smiled, then pulled out a small deck of cards from a bag. "Let's see."
"Oh, you have a Morgan le Fay one too."
With a grin, Milli found what she was looking for. "Please be careful."
Morgaine smiled and nodded, taking the card with great care."Rowena Ravenclaw was the founder of Ravenclaw House at Hogwarts. Beautiful and intelligent, she was the most brilliant witch of her time."
She then held the card up to her face.
"She does," Lisa insisted, and Su nodded in agreement.
Daphne tilted her head. "True, I can see the family resemblance."
Morgaine handed the card back, then looked over at her familiar with a huff.
"So?" Pansy asked, scooting on the ground a little closer.
"So?"
Pansy grumbled, then sat back, realizing what she was doing. "Are you related to Rowena Ravenclaw?"
"Yes," Morgaine said simply, then laughed. "What more do you want me to say?"
Tracey shrugged. "She's not going to tell you anything else unless you want to talk about healing."
"A perfectly good topic," the former Queen insisted. "Anyway, as I said, there's not much to tell."
"Don't listen to them, Morgaine," Hannah laughed. "I wish Zacharias Smith was more like you. He wasted no time bragging to our entire table last night that his family is related to Helga Hufflepuff."
"He's a bit of a berk," Pansy nodded, then covered her mouth, looking around.