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Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind.
Where those of wit and learning will always find their kind.

    Rowena Ravenclaw coughed and wheezed on her death bed. In a few hours at best, old age would take her to the next life.
    “Water…bring me water.” She rasped. A small servant boy hurried to her side with a goblet. Carefully he held it to her lips as she took a few small sips before she brushed him away.
    “Where is she? My daughter, why has she not come?”
    The Bloody Baron came through the doorway, panting for breath. "Your daughter...is nowhere to be found."
    Rowena mustered whatever strength she had left and growled. "Bring my daughter here now!" BRING HER TO ME IF IT’S THE LAST THING YOU DO!" She threw the goblet across the room. Rowena’s vision blurred from a dark, desolate room to a vision of the past.
---
    The sun had set on a warm summer night. Just as the last rays of sunlight left the sky, the night became alive with a festival. The smell of food, the laughter of people, and the beat of the drums made an environment of harmony resonate in the air.
     In the summers of eighth-century England it was tradition for a grand traveling camp of witches and wizards to celebrate the founding of their community. No matter what, they were all family by an unbreakable bond of friendship and blood.
    Rowena Ravenclaw appeared out of nowhere, clutching onto a particularly fluffy quill. As extravagant as it was, it was the only portkey she could use to transport herself to the festival undetected. She wouldn’t risk too much around these folk, most of whom were gypsies, the magic community held high prejudice against their schemes and sticky fingers.
     After passing through the woods, Rowena found her way into the crowd. She maneuvered through the crowds of people, taking extra care not to attract attention to herself. As much as she enjoyed immersing herself in other cultures to unearth the knowledge they possessed, she was on a grimmer mission tonight. Instead of hunting for facts old and new, Rowena was on a hunt for blood.
    They have to be here somewhere. She scanned the crowd several times but to no avail. Strange, someone of their character should be easy to find, even around this lot. She dodged a flying wizard overhead, ducking into a nearby tent.
    "Oi, what are you doing here, lass?"
    Rowena whirled around to find herself in a tent with three rather large men sitting at a table playing a game of dice. A few empty jugs of wine and piles of food littered the table. On their huge biceps, a tattoo of a multi-colored crown was visible, distinguishing them as guards of the gypsy king.
    Perfect.
    “Well lookie here lads, ‘eres a pretty one up for grabs!” One man drawled. His smile faded however as he focused on the girls cloak.
    “Wait, she’s-“
    Before any of the men could advance, Rowena stunned two of the men, knocking them unconscious. She dashed forward and jabbed her wand into the remaining man’s cheek. His eyes widened with surprise.
    “Take me to the prince, or you die!”
    “W-what? But you’re-“
    “You should be more concerned with the preservation of your life than my identity!”
    "He’s in a tent on the edge of the festival! He did not want to take risks and thought that would be the safest place to hide.”
    Nowhere is safe, not for him. Surely he must see that! Rowena swiftly knocked the man out with another stunt spell before exiting the tent. She pushed and shoved through the crowd not caring who she angered. Time was of the essence. Eventually she saw a small tent on the outskirts of the festival, an outrageously obvious outlier to the others. Only an idiot would think to hide there.
    That’s why he chose it, and that’s why they’ll find him. Rowena ran to the tent before bursting in the flaps. That’s when she found her targets: a man and a woman in an amorous embrace, sharing a passionate kiss as if the world depended on it. On her dramatic entry the couple released from their kiss and stared at her.
    "Sister!" The man exclaimed. "What –“
    "There is no time to explain, brother!"
    "Like the devils there's not!" He pulled the pregnant woman closer to him. "We are in love! You do know what that is, don't you? I though you knew everything, dear sister. I am in love with her, not the woman father betrothed me to. That's why you came here, to kill me! Killing me will not change the fact that I love her."
    "I'm not here to kill you!" Rowena said. "I'm trying to save both of you!"
    The woman lifted her face, bewildered. "B-but he told me you didn't approve."
    Rowena pulled a small scroll out of her cloak. "If you will not listen, the least you can do is read." She threw the scroll at their feet. The woman clung onto his shirt as he scanned the page his eyes widened in surprise.
    The woman stared blankly at the page. "What does it say, my love?" she whispered. The man dropped the scroll and gently pushed the woman away. He tried to maintain composure as his hands twitched and his brow gleamed with sweat.
    "Do you know where you two can hide for a while?" Rowena inquired.
    "There are a few hiding spots used for runaway slaves." The man hurriedly grabbed a bag and stuffed some rolls in it.
    "What is going on?" The woman's question fell on deaf ears.
    "We had our suspicions they existed; do not linger there for too long just in case," Ravenclaw said.
    "In case what?!" The woman sounded hysterical. "Someone please tell me!” The woman screamed loudly before falling to her knees.
    "My love!" The man abandoned his bag and rushed to the woman's side. She clutched her stomach as if she was holding onto it for dear life.
    Rowena watched in horror as water and blood pooled onto the woman’s skirt. Oh Merlin, the baby is coming! No, not now! The woman continued to scream, her body wretched with pain.
    “Carry her to the bed!” Rowena searched through her cloak as the man carried the woman onto their small bed. “We don’t have much time, we have to ensure a safe delivery before you leave.”
    “But what about-“
    “We cannot use a portkey let alone move her!”
                Rowena worked with expert hands, ripping the snake skins. She picked up a nearby goblet and filled it with water. Mixing the snake skins, Rowena added a few more ingredients from her cloak and the potion was complete.
            “A meager portion, but it will be enough to stabilize her.” The man turned a blind eye to the outside of the tent to congratulate her when a beam of red light shot through the tent, hitting the man square in the chest. Rowena shot up taking her wand out to fight, but she loosened her grasp on the goblet enough for some of the potion to slop out onto the ground. She refastened her grip before being faced with two cloaked wizards.
            “You will not have them!” Rowena whipped an Avada Kedavra curse at the closest intruder, killing him instantly. The second man was much quicker on his feet and dodged the curses Rowena threw at him. He aimed his wand and with a simple incantation, Rowena's brother’s throat was slit.
    His lover screamed in agony from both her lovers’ death and the contractions. They would not wait for anything. The baby was determined to be born. The woman screamed once more as her child forced itself out. Blood flooded out of the woman as she fell back exhausted.
            Before Rowena could shoot a curse at the intruder he aparated out of sight. Cursing under her breath she rushed to the woman’s side. The bleeding showed no signs of stopping. Rowena knew she didn’t’ have long. A gentle coo roused from the newborn, a little girl had been born amongst all the chaos.
            “P-please,” The dying woman rasped. “Let me see my baby.” Rowena wrapped the newborn in her cloak, careful to wipe the excess blood off her pudgy face. The baby opened its eyes, a brilliant blue that showed resemblance to her fathers. The woman mustered a smile before her last breath forced its way out of her body.
                Rowena sat on the ground, cradling the newborn in her arms. The baby cooed quietly, its bright blue eyes were fixed on Rowena as if waiting to be told what to do with itself.
Surely she couldn’t keep the baby. For one thing, it wasn’t her own child. Second, it was born out of wedlock, a bastard, a mistake. If she claimed the baby as her own the rumors would run through the community like magical fire: inextinguishable and major damage in its wake.
            She looked down at the little girl whose lips formed a grin. A bubbly laugh erupted out of the baby.
            “What is it? What do you find so amusing?” The baby continued to laugh, reaching its pudgy arms up to Rowena's head. She freed one arm and touched her head, realizing the baby must’ve been amused by her diadem.
            How could I be so foolish as to bring this here?! The folk here would snatch it up given half the chance. Rowena took the diadem off her head and lowered it down low enough for the baby to reach. The baby took it gleefully staring deep into the gleaming stones.
            Precious little thing really. Rowena couldn’t help but smile. With a heavy heart, Rowena wrapped the baby tighter and aparated back to the campus of Hogwarts School. At this point, she did not care what the consequences would be, she would face the wrath of her father a thousand times over to protect this baby.
She knew it was the right choice.
~~~

     Rowena flashed back to the present, her chest struggling to breath. She knew her daughter would not come back, she would be long gone into the night by now. Her precious diadem had been taken from her.

    "I wish I could have seen her...one last...time." Rowena gasped one final breath before she ceased to be.