The young girl played happily at the water’s edge, paddling barefoot in the shallows and throwing pebbles as far as she could out into the loch. Her mother finished her short vigil by the mound of earth close by and came over to her. –Come on, Helena,†she said, –there’s something I want to show you.â€
Reluctantly, Helena came out of the water, dried off her feet as best she could, and put on her shoes. She followed after Rowena as she headed off away from the loch. To Helena’s surprise, she found they were not taking the direct route back up the cliff to the castle, but rather a less steep route upwards, to the east of the castle, skirting the edge of the forest.
Helena did not care too much for the forest, it seemed dark and forbidding, so she hurried to keep up with her mother as they followed the line of trees. –Where we going?†she asked.
–Where are we going,†corrected Rowena instinctively, then instantly regretted it. She had promised herself she wouldn’t keep jumping on every little mistake Helena made; it would just make Helena feel insecure and picked on. She was a normal, average eight year old girl and would learn at her own pace, Rowena kept reminding herself. Sometimes, however, her instincts would leak out. It would be something she would have to learn how to control if she was to be a good teacher. –Not far,†she said quickly to answer Helena’s question. –There’s a place up here where you can get a great view of the castle, and then I want to take you on to something we’ve just finished building.â€
They climbed up the hill to the top of a high mound and, with the forest at their backs, looked down upon the castle. It looked beautiful in the morning sunshine. –Well, there it is, in all its glory,†said Rowena. –All but finished now. A year in the planning and five years in the building, and it seems like no time has passed at all. I wanted you to see all of it properly. It’s a wonderful sight from up here.â€
Helena looked down on the sight in awe. –It’s so big,†she exclaimed. She had never realised it from close up. It filled the space on the cliff above the loch, and its towers extended so high, Helena could almost imagine they touched the clouds.
Rowena smiled. –It is indeed, Helena. Far bigger than we need now, or will need for generations to come for that matter. But that’s exactly what I told Dunmore I wanted when we designed it.†Dunmore was the architect Rowena had hired to be in charge of the construction. –I want this place to last for centuries, whatever future wizarding needs may be, and to be just as grand and imposing then as it is now. I want it filled with wonders and mysteries, so that a lifetime of searching would not uncover all its secrets. A treasure trove of magic, to stand for all time. Five years it took to build, and without magic it would have taken fifty, but it was worth it.â€
She crouched down next to Helena and pointed to the furthest right of the three tallest towers of the castle. –See that tower? That will be our new home, once the finishing touches are made to it. Those students under my care will live in rooms throughout that tower, and you and I will have a place at the very top. The Raven’s Claw Tower, the builders have taken to calling it. On the left, that will be Godric’s tower. The tallest in the centre belongs to us all, and its summit will be used to study the heavens.
–Helga insisted she didn’t want a grand tower to herself, so she will have more modest dwellings on the ground floor. We have delved down into the cliff as well as built above it, and Salazar wants to make his home deep under the castle, perhaps even below the lake. The grand entrance to the castle is in front of us there, and under that high-arched roof is the great hall, where feasts and gatherings will be held.
–The four of us will each have a quarter of the students under our care, living alongside us, but they will all come together for lessons and for meals. One day, in a few years when you’re a little older, you’ll be one of them, and I’ll expect you to join in all the activities of the school as much as any other student. For now though, you’ll continue to live with me in the tower.â€
–When will everyone come?†asked Helena.
–The school will open in a few months. We still have a few things to finish off, plus we will need to hire the all the necessary support staff. We expect the number of students to increase gradually, as the school gains a reputation and parents get used to the idea of sending their children here. A lot are still sceptical this venture will work; we need to show them that it will. For now, the plan is that we will accept any young witch or wizard between the ages of ten and sixteen from anywhere across the island of Britain. They will be expected to live here continuously, except for over the Christmas and Easter festivals, if they wish to return home then. We will provide for all their needs while they are here.â€
She stood up and took Helena by the hand. –Come, I’ve got something special for you to see now.†She led her further away from the castle and the loch, heading on north towards the mountains. Ahead to their right, the forest ended as the roots of the mountain to their immediate north rose out of them. Extending across from the edge of the forest east to west, Helena saw that a high wall had been built, curving away far into the distance.
–That wall marks where our old lands ended, and is now the edge of the school’s grounds,†Rowena explained. –It eventually curves round and runs south down to the loch, enclosing the grounds on two sides, the third side being the loch itself, and the fourth the forest. Only witches and wizards will be permitted within this wall. Charms have been set in place to keep out non-magical folk and to discourage them from approaching. Other wards will prevent magical incursions. This school will be the most secure and protected place anywhere in this island. The only way into or out of it is up ahead.â€
As they approached the wall, Helena saw that a massive gate had been built into it, and that was where Rowena was leading her. The gate was made of bars of iron and was secured on either side into tall stone pillars built onto the wall. It towered over Helena as she came up to it, as tall as the entrance to the castle itself.
Rowena raised her wand and the gate parted in the middle and opened. –I want you see it from this side,†she said, and they passed through and the gate closed behind them. From this side, Helena could see that set into the gate, two on each side, were four large emblems, each finely painted in bright colours.
–These are the emblems of the four of us, the founders of this school,†said Rowena. –The red Lion of Wessex on gold is for Godric, the symbol of the House of Gryffindor. The silver snake on green was Salazar’s choice. Salazar is a Parselmouth, that means he can speak to snakes,†she explained, unable to resist a little educating. –Helga of course said she didn’t want an emblem, but we persuaded her there should be one for all of us, so she chose the badger. It represents Hufflepuff, she says, the village that is dearest to her of anywhere. The bronze eagle on blue is the symbol of our family, Helena, mine and my father’s, and his father’s before him. It is also yours, and a part of your heritage of which you should be proud. But this gate should mean more to you than just that emblem. Look at the whole gate. What do you see?â€
Helena did as she was told and stepped back and looked up and down the gate. Apart from the emblems there seemed nothing else of note. But then she looked up to the top of the stone pillars on either side and stopped and pointed. –Animals!†she exclaimed. –Animals with wings on the top there!†Two sculptures made of stone sat on top of the two pillars.
–Yes, Helena,†replied Rowena. –Can you tell me what animals they are?â€
Helena stared closely. –They look like boars,†she said.
Rowena sighed. –Unfortunately they do, Helena. Dunmore may be extremely talented in many ways, but the man has no concept of the difference between a hog and a boar. Plus he thought the wings gave them a nice ‘artistic touch’. I didn’t push the issue because building them at all was a bit of an indulgence of mine and I didn’t want the real reason known. So winged boars is what we got. But I want you to pretend they’re hogs, not boars, Helena.â€
She took out a small object and knelt down to show it to Helena. It was a finely engraved pendant. –This belonged to your father. It shows his own emblem, the symbol of his family. I want you to have it. Look at it.†Helena did so. The pendant showed a tall gate made of iron bars, and two giant hogs standing guard, one on each side of it.
–This land was your father’s land before he died,†said Rowena. –I swore on his grave I would make a better world for you to live in, and this school is the result. This is his legacy as much as mine, and so this symbol of him will stand here for all time, to welcome each student and each visitor to this place. You never knew your father, and I cannot change that, but take this pendant, look upon this gate and think of him. Know that he was a good man, a kind man, and the best of companions anyone could hope to have.†She pressed the pendant into Helena’s hands and hugged her. –The true meaning of this gate will be our secret, Helena. To everyone else, it will be just a gate, but we will know.â€
Helena looked down at the pendant again. –What’s it mean?†she asked.
Rowena resisted the urge to correct her grammar again. –The symbol? It’s a guarded entrance, such symbols are common in many places. It usually means both openness, but a sense of protection and security. Perhaps the guarding of a boundary, between one land and another, or between one world and another. Why hogs in this case, I don’t know, but they may represent wards over the boundary, either in the physical sense of wardens, or wards as in charms designed to offer protection. Think of them as hog wards.â€
Helena had not really followed Rowena’s rather academic explanation, but she was used to that. However the last words made her chuckle. –Hogwarts!†she said in between giggles. –Hogwarts!â€
–No, hog wards, Helena,†Rowena said patiently.
–Hogwarts!†said Helena again, insistently. –Hogwarts sounds better. Hogwarts, Hogwarts.â€
–All right, Helena,†said Rowena. Despite herself, she couldn’t help but smile. –Hogwarts. You know, it does have a good sound to it. Hogwarts.†She laughed to herself, then stood up and took Helena by the hand again. –Come now, we have to be going back. It’s approaching lunchtime and Salazar has called a meeting for this afternoon. Apparently he wants to discuss admissions policy or something. Anyway, let’s go.â€
She raised her wand again, the gates parted, and mother and daughter passed through. Hand in hand together, they walked down to the castle... to Hogwarts.