Chapter Text
Prelude
"Get it!" The bullies cried out as they chased Derek Selwyn along the seventh floor of Hogwarts Castle.
The thirteen year old Ravenclaw ran through the corridor, purple and green spell light flying past as the two third year Slytherins cast hexes at him. He was looking desperately for somewhere to hide, somewhere safe.
He almost tripped on an uneven flagstone, but recovered and managed to run around it into another long corridor, long brown hair whipping him in the face. He spied an ancient suit of armour resting in an alcove, its once polished and smooth surface marred by dints, scratches and rents. Derek hid behind the large suit of armour as the two boys ran past. He was breathing hard, taking large gulping breaths and fearful that the bullies would hear. They paused, somewhere farther down the corridor.
The stairs down were in the next corridor along, just a left turn past the bullies and he would be free.
"Come on Derry , we just just want to try out this hair loss charm, get rid of that mess that you think makes you look like a witch!" Amicus Travers called out.
To the snickers of his friend, he added, "Maybe we'll use some make up charms, you'll still look like a wizard of course, you'll always look like a wizard. Just a wizard pretending to be a witch."
Dedelus Carrow, the hulking gorilla, said to his friend in a quiet tone that Derek barely overheard, "You keep going that way, I'll wait up here. That little freak of a witch will have to come this way if it ever wants to get off this level. "
Derek snuck out from behind the armour, the Slytherins were facing the other way, and ducked back around the corner to find a better hiding place. All he needed was an abandoned classroom or something, a place with more things to hide behind, or under. A place where he could go and be forgotten.
Life in the wizarding world had changed dramatically after the second wizarding war.
Pro pureblood laws were repealed and the idea of pureblood supremacy had waned. But the progression was still new, it hadn't had time to solidify. But there was a general understanding that such things were not to be spoken of. Wizarding society had not progressed much further though, with bigotry now focused on different targets. It may have been unacceptable to say the word "mudblood" aloud, except in the company of like minded individuals. This publicly acceptable, or at least frowned upon blood purity bigotry had been replaced by bigotry towards witch loving witches, wizard loving wizards and most of all those witches who were really wizards, wizards who were really witches or the third category who were calling themselves mages (who may have been born a witch or a wizard, but did not particularly feel like either.)
The Death Eaters may have been arrested, for the most part, but the sympathisers were still around and these Death-Eaters-By-Default were now focusing on passing laws to make it illegal for a wizard-born to ride a broom side-saddle or to prevent witch loving witches or wizard loving wizards from being able to stay in shared dormitories at Hogwarts.
Of course they willfully ignored the existence of the Holyhead Harpies, who were almost exclusively witch loving witches. Their existence was basically a sacrosanct tradition.
Derek was one such target. His father was a pureblood of an old family, while his mother was a muggle. His great uncle on his father's side was even a firm supporter of Voldemort. To the light, he was dark by association and to the dark he was a traitor by blood. But these issues were only secondary, simmering below the surface. An unspoken prejudice when anybody associated with him, but a prejudice all the same.
No, the prejudice that sat on the surface, like the skin on a potion not stirred enough; was that against those who looked and behaved differently.
Derek was a wizard who, for the past five years, believed that he really should have been born a witch.
In his closely supervised and very strict existence at home, he wasn’t even able to raise these intense feelings. If his parents even so much as saw a wizard-born witch in Diagon Alley, there would be gasps, disgusted looks and venomous comments. Less so from his mother, than his father. His mother actually had a nephew, who was now her niece; but she was not talked about at all around Derek’s father.
The one time Derek had almost raised the topic with his mother, he chickened out. It had felt like somebody had cast a Jelly legs jinx on him.
Hogwarts was a whole new world for him. It represented freedom, a place to be himself… To be Herself.
Derek peeked around the corner and caught sight of Amicus who was walking directly towards her.
Amicus shouted out “Here it is!”
Derek sprinted back the way she had come, faster and faster with the sounds of footsteps coming from the corridor behind her. She sped past the tapestry of the trolls doing ballet and skidded to a stop when she heard the footsteps of Dedelus coming from ahead.
Turning around as quickly as she could, she looked desperately for some place to hide and immediately spied a door that wasn’t there the previous times she’d gone past the tapestry. It was a nondescript brown door, similar to most others in the castle but she didn’t even think about its sudden appearance. She yanked the door open and pulled herself into the room as quickly as she could, slamming the door behind her.
Amicus and Dedelus both ran around the opposite corners of the corridor at the same time and stood staring at each other.
Derek stood on the other side of the door, holding the handle tight and with her ear pressed against it to listen for the approach of the bullies. She heard footsteps come together and the voices on the other side of the door.
“I thought you said you saw it?” Dedelus asked.
“I did!” Amicus defended. “It poked its head around the corner. It should have run right back into you, after all it’s not hiding behind this stupid tapestry!”
“Come on, it can’t have gone far. We’ll wait for it at the stairs.” Dedelus ordered and Derek heard the footsteps get fainter.
She sunk down with her back against the door and let out the breath she was holding.
Hogwarts was meant to be a safe place, a place to be herself. All she got, though, was more bullying. Every minute of every day in the hallway was on high alert listening for incantations, watching for pointed wands, waiting to be attacked in one way or another.
She thought she had made a friend in Ravenclaw, Jade Carrow. She thought Jade was understanding, was supportive, was her friend… But when Derek confessed to Jade her secret, Jade turned around and denounced her to the rest of Ravenclaw. She called her a freak. Worse than this, though, she told her older brother in Slytherin.
Dedelus Carrow. Who immediately banned his sister from being around Derek and began his campaign of terror. The teachers didn’t help, many silently supported the actions of the older Slytherin and would often give Derek detention when she was the victim.
Derek opened her eyes and beheld a huge hall, filled with ash and charcoal. It looked to have once been some sort of large store-room, full of furniture, that had suffered the effects of a fire.
One, lone item was untouched however. Far at the end of the hall, Derek could see a white marble pedestal and on the pedestal was a book.
She slowly stood and made her way through the hall, around piles of blackened wood until she stood right in front of the object of her attention.
The book was bound in blue leather with bronze corner plates and bronzed embossed letters.
Becoming the Raven
Rowena Ravenclaw.
Tentatively she reached out a hand to open the cover and flipped a crisp page to the start of the first chapter.
Dearest reader,
You hold in your hands the record of my life, my experiences and my knowledge. It is a very long story, for I have had a very long life. It has been a life full of heartache, of troubling times, struggle and loss. But it has also been a life of discovery, successes, peace and celebration.
Like most, it has been…. A life.
I was born in Glen Affric, on the shores of Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin. It was in a small cottage, surrounded by pine trees that my mother brought me into the world with naught but her own strength.
It was a turbulent time, our home was part of the Kingdom of Fortiu at the time, though part of Moray and then The Kingdom of Alba. The struggles of Muggle kings had little effect on our home, however.
It was the Four Hundred and Ninetieth year since the death of Merlin, or Nine Hundred and Twenty as the Muggles reckon it.
It was the same year that Ealdred, son of Ealdwulf and his brother Uhtred submitted to King Edward the Elder, son of Alfred the Great. It was also the year that Hywel Dda merged the Kingdoms of Dyfed and Seisyllwg , to form the new kingdom of Dehaubarth. It was from Hywel Dda that my dearest friend Helga did issue, whose mother was a witch of the family Hufflepuff.
I was raised for the first seven years by my father. It was a simple muggle farming life. My mother was known by the muggles in the surrounding areas as a hedge-witch and birth-mother. Among our kind, she was known as a supremely powerful witch.
She kept pacts with the Nix and the Grindylow in Loch Beinn a ‘Mheadhoin and her name was Neamhain.
It was on my seventh birthday that my mother began teaching me how to use my birthright.
Derek turned the page and blinked as the paper following began to glow with a soft silver light. It was like the page was woven with hundreds of thin silver glowing threads. She read the note on the left hand page.
And here, dear reader, is where my masterpiece comes into its own. The following pages are woven memories, my memories. Translation spells will adapt my story into whichever language you understand, just as those that have allowed you to read so far. A simple drop of blood is all that is required to view my life, to learn from it and should you choose it… To take up my mantle. To take up the mantle of the Ravenclaw.
Declan looked with hesitation at the glowing page in front of her. She wanted to know. She needed to know.
She looked around for something to prick her finger with but there was nothing around in the room except for the book. This was when her eye was drawn to the bronze corners of the cover, they were pointed and looked sharp. Perhaps there was a reason for that. She brought one finger up and pushed it down onto the point. A drop of blood welled at the point of penetration and she let this drip onto the page.
Declan’s world went black for a moment and then, in a swirl of colours she came face to face with a horrid little green tentacled creature. Its mouth was full of sharp teeth and its black eyes were looking at her expectantly. She tried to flinch away, but her body didn’t move. She couldn’t move. It was like she was trapped inside someone else’s body. With a bit of a shock, she realised that was exactly what had happened. She was looking out Rowena Ravenclaw’s eyes.
Her hand came forward and dropped a small fish into the creature’s maw. With a snap of razor sharp teeth, the mouth closed, the eyes blinked, and with a slight jump the creature dived back into the lapping waves.
‘My my… You were hungry today, weren’t you my wee bairn.’ the thought intruded into Derek’s mind. Rowena’s thoughts…
Derek felt her mind slip back, take a back-seat to the memories that were rapidly taking control. She felt Rowena’s mind take over.
“Rúadhán! Come here boy!” I heard my father shout and I quickly jumped up from where I was feeding the grindylow and ran back to the house, water dripping down my legs.
Father was likely near the granary and wouldn’t appreciate having to call twice.