Fortuna Major

Rowena lay in a clearing amongst the trees, asleep after a day of travelling through unworn paths. Her belongings were piled on a horse that stood by grazing on a small patch of grass. The forest was peacefully calm. However there was no assurance that she wasn’t in any danger. In this time, people of her kind were hunted and brutally killed in order to guarantee the safety of towns and villages. Rowena had centuries of magical knowledge left to her by her ancestors, and though talented at the magical skill she possessed, would not be able to handle groups of four or five bandits that hunted witches and wizards to turn in for money. Fighting was never her strong point.

The sound of crunching leaves awoke Rowena with a start.

It was dark, but the sun was beginning to break through the horizon. Slowly sitting up, she threw away the blanket that had covered her and immediately reached towards a hidden pocket in her dress. Looking around the forest, she saw no movement.

The sound stopped for a moment, but soon sounded again. Wide eyed, Rowena stepped backward trying to move silently towards her horse. The rustling of leaves hastened her to move quicker, but she couldn’t make out where the sound was coming from. Keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of movement, she took another step back, lightly pressing her foot to the ground, and praying mentally that it wouldn’t alert anyone to her presence. Sighing with relief when she was close enough to her horse, she moved to get its attention, silently gesturing to call the horse over.

“What are you doing?”

Jumping, Rowena spun around. Her foot got caught on a tree root and without delay she was falling backwards, landing with a dampened thud. Sitting on the ground with shock etched across her face, she looked up to survey her attacker.

A man stood before her. Gripping the reins of a chestnut horse, he held an amused look. Stubble was scattered across his square jaw line and the crimson, linen shirt that he wore was dulled with dirt. Rowena would have thought he was a bandit, if not for the sword that hung on his belt, shining with royalty in the light cast by the rising sun. Was it stolen? Perhaps, but Rowena had no desire to find out.

“I...I...” Rowena started. She hastily stood up, brushing off the leaves that stuck to her long blue dress. Her hand had already snuck back into the pocket, holding her only defence against the man.

“I only ask,” he began, “because it’s strange to find such a fair lady travelling alone.”

She threw him a disgusted look, straightening her posture. “I didn’t need an escort. It is a short journey to Munross and I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

He broke out in a smile. Despite his face looking weathered, Rowena observed, he couldn’t have been past his early twenties, like her. Her eyes then fell to his belt, catching an object that looked out of place next to his sword. To anyone else it would have looked a stray twig had gotten caught on him. She immediately recognised it as a possession similar to her own.

“You’re a wizard?” she inquired, curiously.

Surprise briefly crossed his features as he raised his eyebrows. He nodded slowly, a hint of caution in his actions.

“And you’re a witch,” he stated.

Rowena furrowed her eyebrows and took a step back. “How...”

“Your hand,” the man explained, gesturing towards her, “has been in your pocket the entire time, probably clutching a wand. Am I right?”

Rowena’s pale face stayed blank as she stared hard at him. She shifted her grip on the wand. As he turned his back to steady his horse, Rowena took a chance. She rapidly sent a jet of silver light shooting from the end of her wand streaming towards him. But just as quickly the stranger turned around as if expecting it, drawing his wand to deflect the spell in one quick motion.

“You just took a shot me!” he exclaimed, half astonished, half entertained. Rowena wore a look daring him to counter attack.

“Go ahead,” she threatened, trying to sound more confident that she actually was, but failing to disguise the shake in her voice, “just try me. I can do more than stun you. “

He stood there for a moment, contemplating whether or not he would try it. For half a moment Rowena stood in fear ready to defend herself. Licking his lips as he ran a hand through his short, brown hair, he put his wand back into his belt.

“I’m Godric, by the way. Godric Gryffindor.”

He looked at her expectantly, but she said nothing. Her defences had lessened slightly as she weighed her circumstances. If he wasn’t going to duel, then he didn’t pose much of a threat. It wasn’t likely for witches and wizards to turn on each other, not in this time. After a moment of silence Godric let out a short laugh.

“You know, a beautiful lady like you would arouse suspicion if you went anywhere near the borders of village by yourself,” he suggested. Rowena scoffed at his words. Rolling her eyes at his overconfident demeanour, she began moving towards her horse.

“Thank you for your concern, but as I said before, I can take care of myself,” she stated. With a flick of her wand she sent her blanket flying neatly into a bag that hung off her horse. Godric looked slightly dejected for a moment, but that didn’t stop him.

“If there were two of us, we could easily get through the gates.”

“That’s not necessary,” Rowena stressed. Climbing onto her horse, she brushed her dark hair away from her blue eyes. The sun had fully risen now, but Godric stayed where he was, the smile never left his face. Rowena became suspicious.

“Good day,” she nodded, warily. She had barely turned her horse around when she heard Godric speak.

“How are you going to charm more than one guard at once?”

She stopped her horse and turned around to look at him. Opening her mouth, she suddenly found that she had nothing to say. Blinking in surprise that she hadn’t thought of this, she was left momentarily speechless. If it were possible, Godric’s grin grew even bigger as he jumped on his horse.

“Then it’s settled. I’ll come with you,” he affirmed. Rowena shook her head hurriedly.

“No, I don’t need an escort-“

“I can take care of myself,” Godric mimicked in a high voice, “I know. What is that, your motto? The problem is that most muggle women don’t travel by themselves. They’d burn you at the stake within the hour.”

“Would you leave me alone?” Exasperated, Rowena tried to continue on, hoping that Godric would get the hint.

He didn’t.

He trotted up beside her, that signature smile plastered on his face. Rowena refused to speak to him, thinking that her ignorance of him would deject him enough to send him away. They rode slowly through the forest. By now there was more movement amongst the trees, and the lack of talking between the two allowed Rowena let her mind wander. They travelled for a few miles without breaking the silence.

“You never told me your name,” he said, out of the blue. Rowena looked towards him, shaken out of her still thoughts. “Before, when I introduced myself, you never told me your name,” he repeated.

She hesitated before speaking.

“Rowena Ravenclaw.”

Godric attempted to say something else, but Rowena interrupted before he could get a sound out.

“Why are you coming with me anyway? How on earth does this benefit you?”

“Obviously you don’t believe that someone could do a good deed for a damsel in distress.”

She rolled her eyes. “You seem like you have an ulterior motive.”

“Well, going through the village would be much faster than travelling the long away around it.”

“Ah...So you’re using me to get yourself through the village gates?” she questioned, “how chivalrous.”

“Let’s not forget that I am helping you. It’s just that I look like an ordinary peasant. Usually I would be able to get by without any suspicion, but...” his eyes dropped to his side, and Rowena followed his gaze. “This sword is a bit out of place with my current attire. They’d probably suspect I stole it. I can’t conjure up new clothes out of nowhere.” He gave her a sideways glance. Rowena made a small noise and tried to hide a knowing smile, but she didn’t say anything.

“And what about you? Why are you travelling there?”

“I am visiting a friend,” she explained as she regained her composure. “I haven’t seen her in a long time.”

“A witch?”

But there was no response. Godric looked over to see Rowena had stopped her horse. She nodded toward where they were headed. Following her gaze, Godric looked ahead to see that the village gates were only about five hundred metres away. The wooden entrance stood tall in front of them, with four guards standing in front.

They weren’t by any means particularly heavily built or threatening. They were just peasants. Rowena suddenly felt good about letting, or at least tolerating, Godric coming with her. If they could get through without having to hurt anyone, she would feel much better.

“Please don’t do anything stupid,” Rowena requested, beginning to move forward. Godric gave her a sly smile, but followed anyway.

As they got closer, the guards who were talking amongst themselves became alerted to the presence of others. Almost immediately they took defensive positions, spacing out and standing up straight. The clothes they wore were similar to Godric’s, and they held long spears beside them.

As they approached, Godric fell back, riding behind Rowena. The guards looked up to them expectantly when they approached. Sizing up Rowena, they took in her graceful blue dress that moved slightly in the wind, her high cheekbones and clear skin and her long hair that fell in waves. He also looked behind her at Godric, taking in his unkempt exterior. Coming to the conclusion that she was of a higher order than the rest of them, the leader of the guards bowed.

“Welcome to Munross, M’lady,” he greeted, gesturing for her to go through the gate that was now being opened. Rowena inwardly sighed in relief as she moved forward, but then a knot tied in her stomach.

“Hold on,” the leader instructed, “what’s this?”

Stopping her horse, Rowena looked back; he used the end of his spear to slightly lift the sword that hung off Godric’s belt.

“Don’t touch that,” Godric snapped darkly.

Rowena inhaled sharply as the guards moved their spears in front of them, ready to attack. Godric stared threateningly at the leader. Thinking that Godric was a servant, the leader was noticeably shocked by the way he was being spoken to.

“Didn’t steal it did you?” he interrogated. Looking towards Rowena, he tried to re-evaluate her appearance.

“That’s mine”, Rowena began, attempting to sound angry, “and I’ll thank you not to touch it, as it was a gift. Godric is merely carrying it for me. Surely you don’t expect me to hold it. Honestly, where would it go on my dress?”

Her outburst had stunned both the guards and Godric. The leader, who now began to look embarrassed in front of his friends, cast his eyes downwards. Gesturing in the same manner that he had before, he gave them permission to go through the gate.

Rowena rode through without looking back at them. Godric however, stared unfavourably at them as he followed after her. Once the gate was closed and they were safely inside the city, he rode up beside her.

“Well, that was an excellent performance on your part,” he complimented.

“Are you stupid?” she hissed, furiously. Godric looked back at her confused. “Don’t touch that,” she imitated in the deepest voice she could muster, “did you want to get in a fight? We only just got through that, no thanks to you.”

Rowena was fuming, but Godric waved his hand.

“Don’t be so overdramatic.”

“Overdramatic?” Rowena cried. Realising that she was raising her voice, she looked around to make sure that no attention was being drawn to them as they continued to ride through the village. “Overdramatic?” she repeated, quieter, “I’m being logical here.”

Godric shook his head and laughed, letting Rowena continue rambling. He didn’t really listen until she said something that broke him out of his thoughts.

“You’ll be leaving now I presume?”

Godric look a bit startled. “Why?”

“You said that... you were going somewhere...” Rowena trailed off, failing to remember his exact words. Stopping her horse, she turned to look at him.

“I never said that,” Godric pointed out, stopping his horse as well, “besides, I’d like to meet your friend.”

“No.”

“Please?”

“Absolutely not. I let you come with me this far, I don’t need you tagging along and you certainly don’t need to start bothering my friend as well.”

“Bothering? Is that what I’m doing to you?” he joked. Rowena didn’t say anything but gave him a disapproving look.

“You don’t understand. I don’t meet witches or wizards very often.” His eyes usual deep brown eyes had changed. “All the ones I knew, they’ve gone into hiding since the witch hunts began.” They didn’t hold the cocky or mischievous attitude they usually did; instead it was replaced with a sort of honest request.

Rowena twisted her lips in thought as he looked at her expectantly. She let out a groan of frustration, as her head fell in front of her to rest on her horse.

“Is that a yes?”

A similar groan was heard again, and though incoherent and muffled, Godric decided that it must have been an acceptance and smiled brightly. Rowena lifted her head up, giving him an exhausted glance.

“Come on then.”

Rowena and Godric continued to move through the village. Some stared as the strangers rode through, but eventually lost interest. Munross wasn’t overly large, but their destination was on the very outskirts, nowhere near the main town. Eventually they passed larger paddocks with the occasional cow in them, and reached a section where the trail veered off to the right. She stopped her horse. Rowena looked around making sure that they were well out of range of any watching eyes. She pulled out her wand and sliced it through the air in front of her. Godric heard her murmur some words, but they were carried off in the breeze. His disappointment disappeared when he watched something unfold before him.

Another path had materialised, creating a fork in the track. The original was a much more travelled path that probably lead to the gate on the north end. The new was noticeable by a faint marking in the grass that had been worn only from walking. Looking ahead, Godric saw that there were wild flowers and overgrown trees surrounded it.

A small smile broke out on her lips and she lead the way down the new path as Godric trailed behind her. It wasn’t long before they reached the end.

“Is that where she lives?” Godric asked, incredulously, staring at the house in front of them

“Yes,” Rowena replied lightly. Jumping off her horse, she tied it to the short brown fence.

The house that stood in front of them, in essence, was a dilapidated hut. It may have looked like it was about to fall down, but Rowena knew that it wouldn’t. The wildflowers that ran along the path also surrounded the house. The front garden had a number of plants that Godric hadn’t seen before. Pushing open the gate, she ushered him through. The climbing roses that stretched across a piece of lattice appeared to actually be climbing. Godric reached out to touch a strange plant that held red flowers, only to hear them ring like little bells when they moved. He gave an amused laugh as Rowena moved up the path of grass to the front of the house.

She knocked on the wooden door. The sound of a small smash was heard, and a flash of blonde hair flitted past the circular window before the door swung open.

Godric and Rowena watched as a young woman appeared in the doorway. Her bright blonde curls fell around her face to just past her shoulders. Taking a moment to register the two people standing at the door, her full lips stretched into a bright smile as she recognised Rowena.

“I am so glad to see you!” she exclaimed, as the two embraced. Looking past Rowena with her round eyes, she noticed the other visitor. “And who is this?”

Rowena turned back to see Godric standing there calmly, even though she knew that inside he was probably buzzing with excitement. “This is Godric,” she introduced. He could hear the strain in her voice, but her friend seemed not to notice as he bowed to her.

“Godric, this is my good friend, Helga Hufflepuff.”