Winter had come to the Highlands, and the snow lay thick across the glen. A thin layer of ice covered the loch and icicles dripped from the trees in the forest. From afar, smoke could be seen rising from the chimney of the manor house on the cliff, indicating that its owner was at home.
Following the death of Edwin, Rowena had left behind the Westminster caves and had returned home to the Highlands. She still had to travel south at times because, although Edwin was dead, the rest of his gang was still in the process of being rounded up and put on trial, and Rowena was needed to give evidence at those proceedings. But for the most part, she remained in the north. She had much to think about and found that the quiet and open air helped her. She also wanted Helena to spend time in more peaceful surroundings, away from noise and crowds.
She sat in the main hall of the house, in front of the fire, and watched Helena at play. Helena was toddling around the room in circles at incredible pace, deliberately making herself dizzy. Occasionally she would fall over, but always landed softly and would pick herself up immediately and start all over again. She seemed to find the whole process thoroughly amusing and Rowena smiled to watch her having fun.
She glanced out of the window. The sun was rising high; the others would arrive shortly. She thought over again all she had to say, and what the response would be. Would they think their work was done now the Wizengamot was a success, or would they embrace this new challenge? She had to try at least. She knew it had to be done.
A short while later, she heard a loud knock at the door, and her housekeeper showed Godric into the hall. Rowena embraced him warmly. –How fares the king?†she asked.
–He’s in excellent health and full of energy,†Godric replied. –He is a strong and decisive ruler; I expect in time he will be one of England’s most successful kings of our era. He is staying in Winchester at present. I have been neglecting my duties towards him of late. I hope whatever you have called us together for will not take me away from him for long.â€
Rowena smiled. –I’m afraid it may, Godric. But I will wait until the others arrive to explain.â€
–All right, you can keep your secret for a little longer,†said Godric with a laugh, and went to play with Helena as Rowena waited. Helga was the next to arrive, not long after. She had recently returned to visit Hufflepuff as she had promised, and was happy to report that the village was thriving.
–I expected no less, after the gift you left,†said Rowena.
–They have used it well. I am glad I could give something back to a place that has given me so much. It will always be a home to me.â€
Last to arrive was Salazar and Godric was the first to greet him. Rowena stood to the side watching the reunion of the two friends and pondering, as she had done for many days, Edwin’s last words. Had they been the last ravings of a desperate man with a grudge, or was there truth to them? She cast her eyes over Salazar’s wizened features, his high domed head, his dark deep-set eyes that betrayed so little emotion. Could he really read minds? Rowena knew of a magical skill known as Legilimency practised by some wizards in lands bordering the Mediterranean, but she had never heard of anyone with the talent in Britain before.
But Salazar was, and still remained, unique, an enigma. The mystery of who he was still frustrated Rowena, like any puzzle she could not solve. What was his ancestry? Where did he come by the strange epithet Slytherin? Had he given it to himself, was it given to him, or had he inherited it? The name Salazar, his gift of Parseltongue and, if true, the skill of Legilimency all pointed to his origin or heritage lying beyond Britain, yet he firmly claimed to be a son of East Anglia.
In the year and a half Rowena had known him, he had proved to be nothing other than a trustworthy friend and a loyal ally, Rowena had to admit. If it had not been for what Edwin had said, she would have been happy to trust him without reservation now, but Edwin had reawakened her old fears. Still, if she could not fully trust him, Rowena needed him, she knew. Her plan needed all four of them.
–Please sit down,†she said, and the four took seats in front of the fire. Helena continued to play happily by herself. Rowena took a deep breath, recalling what she had rehearsed to say. –Well, the Wizengamot is up and running, and I think we can all say that so far it has been a success. But the trouble is, it is not enough. Law can only go so far in shaping a people. It can provide a framework for society, and ensure that people fear breaking those rules, but it cannot change society. We cannot hope to see a better wizarding community unless its very culture can be changed. Our community is broken, and it must be rebuilt. It was Edwin who showed me that.â€
–Edwin?†exclaimed Helga. –What could you have possibly learned from him?â€
–A great deal in his last words to me,†said Rowena, with an unconscious glance across at Salazar. –Evil men are rarely born, Helga, they are made. Edwin was a product of our society, and we know well he is far from the only one. He was born into poverty, with no wizarding ancestry. He faced scorn or fear from all sides. He thought the only way to improve his lot in life was to take whatever he could, without thought to others. He fed on the fracture in our community, able to cajole others similarly disenfranchised and to threaten and even kill with impunity. He could not see any other way of living.â€
–It is tragic, to be sure,†said Godric, –but what else can be done other than what the Wizengamot is doing?â€
–There is a way, a simple way, to reform our community and to lessen the likelihood of such people arising again. Salazar, do you recall on the day the Wizengamot was constituted, you spoke to me as the members were being sworn in? We discussed the ways you had negotiated with the different groups.â€
–Indeed,†said Salazar, puzzled, –but what of it?â€
–Something you said about knowing what people want caused my imagination to form some lines of poetry on the spot, and they have been running around in my head constantly ever since, as if my mind is trying to tell me something. I would like to share them with you.†Rowena sat back in her chair and recited:
–Some men dream of power, and some dream of glory
And some dream of money, and others of fame.
But wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure,
And those that possess it put others to shame.â€
She paused, before leaning forward once more and continuing more earnestly. –I understand what those words mean now. Never mind strength, or wealth, or popularity, the most powerful tool any of us can possess in our world is knowledge. The more we know, the stronger we are, and the better we can understand and appreciate others. Wit and wisdom, and an enquiring mind, are the greatest gifts we can have.â€
–That may be true, Rowena, but not all of us have been blessed with those gifts to the amount you have,†said Helga gently.
–But within everyone lies the potential for greatness, if their minds are but unlocked; I firmly believe this. And there is a way to do it. Education.†Rowena paused briefly again, letting the word hang in the air for the others to consider. –Imagine this - a school, one great school open to every magical child in Britain. A microcosm of the whole magical community gathered together in one place, at their most formative age. We take them, we teach them, we mould them, we unlock their potential. They live together, they learn together, they grow up together as one community. We can build a united society through our children.â€
Godric interrupted. –Sorry, but we teach them?â€
Rowena smiled. –Who else? The four of us represent the whole of Britain, north, south, east and west. We have a standing in the community, but no ties or affiliations. We have more experience than just about anybody. Helga, you’ve been a teacher before. Salazar, you’ve spent a lifetime working with people and learning to understand them. Godric, you’re a natural leader who commands authority and respect. As for me, I think I was born for this, to pass on the knowledge I have gained to the next generation.†She looked over to Helena, still playing happily.
–You ask a great deal, Rowena,†observed Helga. –This would be a lifetime’s commitment. And where would we make such a school?â€
–We would build it,†answered Rowena. –I envisage it as more than just a school but a centre of magic, a focus for the community. It would house the accumulated knowledge of our society, and be a store of magical artefacts. Creatures of magic would live in its grounds under its protection. There would not be a home of magic like it in the world.â€
Rowena could see the eyes of her three companions drift as they imagined such a place, and she knew her words had hit home. Salazar leaned eagerly forward in his chair and was the first to speak. –A home of magic, you say? That is a wondrous idea. A place we who have magic can call our own, away from all others. We would take in those of true magic, the best, the wisest, and make them the future leaders of our people.â€
–Yes, the greatest and strongest of us,†said Godric. –Those of true heart, eager to learn, to make the best of themselves. What greatness we could forge!â€
–A place for all those of magic, however humble,†added Helga. –We could raise them up, make them more than they could ever hope to be otherwise. A place of inspiration to all of what they could accomplish.â€
Rowena too could imagine it in her mind’s eye: bright, enquiring minds flocking to the greatest seat of learning wizardry had ever known, their minds open to discover all the wonders of the world. –So, my friends, will you join me? Shall we make this place and change our world forever?â€
Salazar looked up, straight into her eyes. –I say yes,†he stated firmly.
–As do I,†said Godric.
–And I,†said Helga. She stretched out her right hand. Godric placed his hand on top, then Salazar, then finally Rowena. –So it is pledged,†said Rowena, and smiled with delight as she looked around the group. They were truly four friends, united as never before, ready to make a new world. It was all she had hoped for. The warnings of Edwin seemed meaningless now.
Godric, always the first to get down to practicalities, did not let the moment last long. –The question now is where to begin. It is one thing to say we will build this school, but quite another to make it actually happen. How would we construct such a place, and where would we build it.â€
–It would need to be somewhere remote and hidden from non-magical eyes,†said Salazar. –Charms exist to disguise a building, but it could certainly not be built in any town or city, not for the size of place you envisage, Rowena. I would suggest the Westminster caverns, but they belong to the Wizengamot now.â€
–Not even they would be big enough,†replied Rowena. –I have already given thought to the location of the school, and the perfect place was clear to me. Here.†She stood up and went over to a window. –Think about it. This land belongs to me, so we would not need to purchase land from anyone else. It is certainly remote. We can knock down this house and build the school in its place.†She pointed eastwards out of the window. –That forest is part of my land. It would make an excellent safe home for a range of magical creatures. Aquatic creatures could live in the loch. This spot on the cliff is good solid ground on which to build and dominates the landscape. It’s perfect.â€
–Are you really prepared to give up your home for this school?†asked Helga.
Rowena looked over at Helena and then out of the window down to the shore of the loch, to the place where Donald was buried. –This land is far more my home than any building,†she said. –This will still be my home - this will always be my home. It would be my privilege to make it yours too, and a home to hundreds more, for generations to come. I can’t wait to begin.â€