Confrontation and Consequences (Alfie and Helena)

[Rowena Ravenclaw]

Rowena Ravenclaw had been feeling ill the entire day and she left the staff room, planning to go to her office and lay down a bit. However, she got lost in her thoughts and eventually ended up in the Trophy Room. The room seemed to be empty as usual and Rowena found herself aimlessly wandering around. Suddenly, another wave of nausea struck, making her sit down on a bench under the window. Rowena leaned on the wall behind her, looking out the window. It was already March, but the snow hadn’t melted yet. Seeing the snow sparkling under the weak sun beams was a beautiful sight.

Rowena turned around after hearing the sound of approaching footsteps. When she saw the man coming towards her, Rowena’s expression softened and she smiled at him. Alfie’s presence always had strange influence on her. It didn’t matter anymore that she had had an awful day and that she wasn’t feeling too well. However, she was taken by surprise to meet him in such a strange place. “Have you been looking for me, darling?” she asked gently as she watched him come towards her. “I hope you're not angry with me again.” she whispered, moving closer to the window so that he could sit next to her.

[Melkor 'Alfie' Valenceus]

Alfie was finished writing his letter of resignation to his uncle from the Hogwarts Board of Governors. His letter recommended Gordon to a full-time post on the board. Though it did not cover Alfie's own future ambitions. He planned to seek employ under the founders of Hogwarts. To take a position on the Hogwarts staff that would both keep him near Rowena Ravenclaw and render the Board itself obsolete. Alfie would be capable of funding and transporting students himself. He even had plans to pass a decree to keep the students at Hogwarts year-round until they graduated. The sundering of Salazar Slytherin was not a bad thing at all. Without him, Alfie and Rowena could turn the two remaining Founders to any direction they pleased. Alfie stood and tied the letter to his owl's leg. He thrust the animal from his study's window.

Alfie then gazed down at three objects; his first wedding band, his father's medallion and insignia and an old dark arts book that he had recieved from his father long ago. Each of these items were one of his three horcruxes. Alfie meant to destroy them and regain his mortality. But he did not possess the means to destroy them. And Alfie wanted Rowena to see them first. He picked each of them up and placed them in a leather bag. Alfie hurried over to the fireplace carrying the bag in one hand. He reached into another pocket and pulled out Floo Powder. Alfie stood in the fire and muttered, "Rowena's office," as he dropped the powder. He was almost instantly transported.

Alfie stepped out of Rowena's fireplace. He did not see her so he went and checked in on her bedroom. He was saddened to realize she was elsewhere. Alfie noticed the bottle of firewhiskey on Rowena's desk. He grinned devilishly and strode back across Rowena's office to her desk. Alfie took the bottle and forced it open with a good tug. He tipped the bottle itself into his mouth. It tasted wonderful, perhaps too good but he did not think anything of that and sipped again. He sat in silence, waiting for Rowena. His bag in one hand, the bottle of firewhiskey in the other. Alfie began to feel sluggish, but attributed it to the effects of the alcohol.

With a sigh, Alfie stood. He'd decided he would search out Rowena himself. As he walked toward Roaena's door, he felt as though he'd be sick himself. He ignored it, figuring he was either soft or the drink was simply too strong for him. Alfie left Rowena's office. He headed first toward the trophy room, curious about his students' awards. He spotted Rowena there and stumbled over to her. He drank from the firewhiskey bottle again and shook his head. "Mad at you? When have I ever been? Mad about you, you mean, dear!" Alfie grinned and set the bottle on the bench next to Rowena. "Your friend here kept me company awhile in your office. How do you always get the sweet drinks? So lucky."

[Rowena Ravenclaw]

Rowena's large smile turned into a worried frown as she looked at Alfie stumbling across the room. He looked as if he had been drinking. "Oh, dear, what have you..." Rowena's eyes widened in shock when he put the bottle of firewhiskey on the bench next to her. She took the bottle, trying to keep it away from him. "Please, tell me that you haven't taken it from my desk." she said, foolishly hoping that he'd brought the bottle with him. Rowena nervously shook her head and sighed. "Lucky? How could I be lucky if she poisoned you?" She had no idea what kind of a potion Morgana had added to the firewhiskey, but she was certain that she'd poisoned it. Rowena theoretically knew how to make dozens of antidotes, but she had never actually made any of them.

Rowena stood up and moved closer to Alfie. "Darling, how are you feeling?" she asked gently, caressing his cheek. "Let me take you to the hospital wing, the healer should know what to do." Rowena lowered her gaze and finally noticed the bag he was holding. For a brief moment she wondered what he had in it. "Salazar is still in his office, I can ask him for help." she added and raised her eyes to meet his.

[Melkor 'Alfie' Valenceus]

Alfie chuckled at Rowena's panicking. He was drunk and drugged, quite gone at the moment. Alfie grabbed the bottle and put it to his mouth. He was a mere sip away from ingesting a lethal dose. "You don't have to poison me, dear. I'll buy you more if you tell me where you get them. Or was that Wafflepoof that gets them. Anyway, I can't die. Remember? Not until a basilisk eats these horcruxes here." Alfie lifted the leather bag to pass to Rowena, the action proved too much for his poisoned body. Alfie's eyes widened and he dropped the horcruxes on the floor to clutch his chest in pain, The bottle stayed grasped in his other hand though, Alfie knew his priorities. Alfie's knees collapsed under him. He looked at Rowena, his face didn't show his previous expression of pain at all. He spoke quite calmly but obviously detached from reality, "About the horcruxes, Hehe! Nevermind, Dear. I'd like a nap first." Alfie put the bottle back on the bench and fell backward onto his back. His knees were still bent with his lower legs tucked underneath him. Alfie's arms were spread wide. His eyes still wide open. The pain was unbearable. He whispered desperately, "Help..."

[Rowena Ravenclaw]

Rowena tried to pull the bottle out of Alfie's grip, but he wouldn’t let her take it. The drink and the poison made him act like childishly. “Alfie, darling, look at me...” Rowena placed her palms against his cheeks. “Love, listen to me. Let me take you to the hospital wing, the healer can help you.” She repeated slowly, as if she was talking to a child. “I don’t want to poison you, but someone has already done it.” Rowena frowned at the mention of horcruxes; she loved every part of him and accepted him for who he was, but there were certain things that she preferred not to talk about in public. That included horcruxes. “What...” Rowena reached to take the bag, but it dropped on the floor before she could take it. “Alfie, no! No, you mustn’t fall asleep!” Rowena sat on the floor next to him, gently placing his head on her lap. It was all her fault, again. She kept getting him into deadly situations, but had no idea how or why it kept happening. “Alfie, please stay with me. I’ll get help, but you must stay awake!” Rowena pulled her wand out and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on the charm she wanted to cast. She managed to conjure a patronus and send it to call for help.

A couple of hours had passed. Rowena was sitting by Alfie’s bed in the hospital wing, watching him sleep. He looked so peaceful, lost in his dreams and Rowena was wondering if he was dreaming about her. It was her mistake that had brought him there in the first place. Rowena sighed and opened Alfie’s leather bag, eager to see what he kept inside it. Much to her disappointment, the three objects didn’t look strange or dangerous. The first one was some kind of a medallion. The second one, a wedding band, made Rowena wince. She felt a small pang of jealousy, but ignored it, quickly placing the wedding band back into the bag. Rowena frowned slightly when she took the third object out of the bag. She browsed the old book, amazed and disgusted at the same time, with explicit explanations of dark spells. Rowena heard the door open behind her and quickly closed the book, turning towards the sound.

[Helena Albertyne Ravenclaw]

Helena, under the covers, felt so comfortable and so warm she almost wanted to not get up forever. The young Ravenclaw was in the hazy threshold between waking and sleeping, so when she saw a familiar looking patronus, her groggy mind told her that it she was dreaming. So, instead of waking up and getting out of her room, she turned and hugged her intelligent-looking teddy bear.

After about a couple of hours, Helena finally woke up. Stretching and yawning, she made her way to her full length mirror and surveyed herself. She grabbed her comb and started untangling her hair. As she combed, she saw the reflection of the wall behind her and she was reminded of the patronus like vision she had in a dream… What was it? Her eyes widened as she realized that it was not just some random patronus. It was her mother’s eagle patronus. Dear God… She paled, put down the comb hastily and hurried out of the dorm.

She kept praying to whoever was listening that her mother was safe. If someone had been trying to murder her, again, they would have either succeeded or failed by then and there was nothing she could do. She went straight to her office and when she found it empty, she realized the hospital wing would be next place her mother would be if she had been attacked. In a matter of minutes, she reached the Infirmary and cracked the door open. She let out a relieved breath the moment her eyes landed on her mother’s seating form. “The Patronus… what happened? Are you okay?” She asked as she started walking toward her. She still felt the urge to curse herself for not coming earlier. Despite all that, she noticed her mother shoving something in a bag and she made a mental note to ask her about it later.

[Melkor 'Alfie' Valenceus]

Alfie had realized by now that the bottle had been poisoned. It hadn't registered clearly the first time Rowena had told him. He had thought she was angry. He did not recall any of his dreams. They changed so quickly. He woke suddenly, after his dreams altered so quickly that it forced a headache. Alfie opened his eyes, He heard someone blabbering about a Patronus. "Knock that off, you. Should know I never cast that spell without need." Alfie had no idea who had inquiried about a patronus but he was pretty sure everyone was fine besides himself. Yet he had already recognized the potion from its effects. It was useless unless consumed in a large amount, which is why it forced the taste buds to enjoy it. Still, he'd be confined to home for weeks before the poison could be purged in full from his body.

"Such a weak potion, I doubt it was meant to actually kill. Who gave it to you?" Alfie coughed into his sleeve then sat up. He had expected Rowena to still be sitting next to him. It was what he would have done. "There's no antidote," Alfie looked for the Healer as he spoke. "Thankfully I didn't drink enough to die from it. But it's still there. I can feel it throughour my body still." Alfie finally found Helena. He raised an eyebrow. "Miss," he greeted her shortly. "I would want a pain numbing solution but that would merely slow my body's defences." Alfie knew of people who had destroyed their minds and bodies by ingesting the parasites used in the poison. It would infect any organ or muscle tissue it could find and eat away at them slowly. Usually only leaving skeleton tissue. But it tasted good so dimwits would continue to take it until they resembled Inferi or died.

[Rowena Ravenclaw]

Rowena sighed with relief when she saw Helena enter the room. "I'm fine, darling." she said reassuringly, smiling at her daughter. "There's been another accident." she answered, looking at her daughter as she started to walk towards her. Rowena didn't want Helena to be scared or worried about her. When Alfie spoke Rowena turned back to him and took his hand. "Darling, how are you feeling?" she asked gently, leaning forward to kiss him, but she backed away before their lips touched, knowing that Helena was watching them. She glanced at her daughter before turning back to Alfie again.

"I don't think it's so weak, you should have seen yourself a couple of hours ago." Rowena gently rubbed Alfie's cheek and sighed sadly. "I thought I'd be in my office when you came. And I wanted to take the bottle to Salazar, but I didn't." Rowena lowered her gaze, feeling ashamed of herself. "Morgana Gaunt brought it to me a couple of days ago and said I was a traitor, manipulator and the most unpleasant person." Rowena shrugged and raised her eyes to meet Alfie's gaze. "There has to be an antidote, we'll think of something. You'll get better in a day or two." When Alfie greeted Helena, Rowena realized that they hadn't met before. "Oh dear... Alfie, this is my daughter Helena. Helena this is..." My friend? My lover? "This is lord Melkor Alphard Valenceus."

[Helena Albertyne Ravenclaw]

Helena smiled back at her mother, still not believing that for one moment she thought her mother was dead. If her mother died, someone would have the decency to wake up the dead woman’s daughter… right? Helena almost jumped when she heard the person on the bed speak. To Helena, he was merely rambling nonsense. She was sure it had been her mother who cast the patronus, unless the two of them had the same corporeal patronus forms. From where she was standing, it was obvious that there was something wrong with him, so she shrugged, blew a stray lock of hair out of her face and decided to ignore him. Helena’s heart stopped when she saw her mother’s actions and when her mother glanced back at her, she forced a smile.

She frowned. Now they were trying to poison her mother? She shook her head in disbelief. She had always been so focused on her mother’s popularity and intelligence; and, it was not until then that it dawned on her that along the way her mother gained a few enemies. However, she saw the point of the one who drank the poison. It was not meant to kill her mother and she had a feeling that Morgana Gaunt made it to serve another purpose and that purpose was unknown to her. “Morgana Gaunt is a crazy dark witch and is scarily obsessed with blood purity. I would not listen to her if she ever talked to me.” She voiced out her thoughts absently, not looking at any of them. “Sir.” She said awkwardly in response to his rather short greeting. Helena had a hunch that it was Lord Valenceus. Truth was, she never saw the person before so when her mother introduced him formally, the young Ravenclaw gave him a smile and politely said. “It’s good to meet you, Lord Valenceus.”

[Melkor 'Alfie' Valenceus]

Alfie grinned at Rowena. She had obviously been worried for him. Although he was no longer panicked about the poison himself, he knew was probably wrong about developing an antidote. He was not optimistic however, since he was aware that one did not exist. It mattered very little. His body was stronger than such a minor dose. Alfie gazed at Helena sceptically. He had imagined her as a much prettier girl but if Rowena was sure it was her daughter, he'd be too.

"Morgana Gaunt," Alfie repeated more to himself. She tried to seduce him once, Alfie remembered reluctantly. He had led her on until her husband actually came home. Alfie shrugged, "Never heard of her."

Alfie grinned though it pained him to he reached an arm out to Helena. "I am just as pleased to meet you as well, young lady Helena. I must apologize if I've frightened you." Alfie grinned. He would try to contact Morgana later, now he just wanted to be as calm as he could for Rowena and Helena.

[Rowena Ravenclaw]

Rowena couldn't suppress a small satisfied smile, things were better than she'd expected. Not only that Alfie was feeling better, but he was also having a rather friendly conversation with Helena. Rowena smiled at her daughter. "Don't worry about her, I wasn't offended or scared and I certainly didn't take anything she said seriously." Rowena frowned and looked at Alfie; for some reason she didn't believe that he'd never heard of her and Morgana had also spoken to her as if she knew him. Rowena made a mental note to discuss it with him later.

Rowena lowered her gaze to the book on her lap. She picked it up and put it back in the bag; she wanted to keep that kind of books away from her daughter. Rowena glanced at Helena and then back at Alfie. It was a rather awkward situation.

[Helena Albertyne Ravenclaw]

After getting a better look at the Lord on bed, Helena was unsure if she liked Lord Valenceus. There was something dark about him, she mused. She internally hit her forehead with her hand. Of course he was dark, he performed a seriously dark ritual to bring himself back to life. Since the time she had a talk with her mother about Lord Valenceus, she had been doing research on the dark magic that Lord Valenceus might have used. After spending some time in the school’s library, in the restricted section to be more specific, she knew what the ritual was and it disgusted her. Suddenly, she glanced at her mother, wondering if she took part on such dark ritual.

However, she kept on smiling as she shakily shook his hand, quite disgusted by the prospect of touching his resurrected flesh. "It's okay." She said quickly, possibly too quickly, not even bothering to lie that he did not give her the creeps. She realized the she did not have to like him to be civil and decided that he being with her mother was not going to be a problem, as long as he did not hurt any of them. Upon hearing her mother’s voice, she turned and smiled at her. When she saw that her mother held a book, she was instantly curious. Books were learning opportunities written on paper. So, she made her was to her and sat beside her just as she was shoving the book in the bag. “Mother, when have you started reading such dark books?” She asked in a curious voice, assuming it was dark right then and there to trick her mother into confessing. She remembered a dark book that looked similar in the restricted section. And, if she wasn't mistaken, it was the one that contained the details of the dark ritual.

[Melkor 'Alfie' Valenceus]

Alfie grimaced and groaned with the pain. He did not usually talk about his use of dark magic or his moral loyalties, Alfie was the best defence against all-out war against muggles and mudbloods and goblins and other creatures for fifteen years. Of course, he had his own reasons for inadvertantly protecting mudbloods other than noble causes. But the reality was that few others alive outside of Gryffindor had done more for mudbloods. So, Alfie really wasn't much interested in hearing naive rhetoric on his use of Dark Arts from a mere child. On the other hand, Rowena's opinion meant a lot more to him.

Alfie preferred to fight through pain rather than ingest pain relief potions. He'd actually wrote a hypothesis on the danger of such potions, addiction. "I see. Well, Dark Arts was not always frowned upon. When my father presented me that book, it was considered a great honor. The author only wrote fifty copies and distributed them only to 'those who were worthy'." Alfie remembered the day it came. He was a few years older than Helena now. Alfie's father received the book. He handed it to Alfie, as an insult because Alfie showed little interest in the dark arts. "I was not one of the worthy back then. I wouldn't think I'd be considered worthy now either." Alfie shook his head. Sometimes he could sense his father's presence. As though he was in the room. But that was impossible, he had died.

[Rowena Ravenclaw]

Rowena winced when she saw Alfie's grimace; she hated seeing him in pain. She even contemplated calling the Healer to ask for a pain relief potion. However she knew what Alfie's thoughts on such potions were, so she decided not to. Rowena caught her daughter's gaze and frowned. She didn’t like the way Helena was looking at her, as if she was accusing her of something. Rowena watched her daughter shake his hand with narrowed eyes, wondering if he had actually startled Helena or she just didn’t like him. She was trying to be polite, but the answer to his question came a bit too quickly. Not for the first time in her life, Rowena wished she had Salazar’s ability, so that she could see what Helena was thinking. It would be a completely unacceptable way of invading her privacy, but perhaps it could help Rowena finally understand her daughter.

Rowena had to smile at her daughter’s attempt to trick her. It was charming, but Rowena was still the smarter one. “To be truly wise, one must learn about different things, darling.” She said gently, moving to the side, so that Helena could sit next to her. Rowena had never practiced any kind of dark magic herself, but the dark arts had always been a temptation for the most powerful ones. Rowena’s eyes widened in shock, making her look like a child on Christmas morning, when she realized how special and rare the book was. “That’s amazing.” She whispered, tightly holding the bag with the book in it. “I wonder how many copies of the books are left, probably less than the original fifty.” She said more to herself. Rowena looked at Alfie with raised eyebrows. “Darling, don’t say that.” She whispered gently, caressing his cheek.

[Helena Albertyne Ravenclaw]

Helena was guilty of a lot of things, her biggest guilt would probably be the innate jealousy she felt for her mother. For some reason, she just could not turn it off. Now, to add to that pile of guilt she already had stocked inside, was Lord Valenceus’ effort to be actually nice to her. Through his pain, he reached out to her and Helena felt her guilt eat up her insides so she tried to be more accommodating. Maybe the knowledge of the dark arts was not a factor to consider when it came to liking people? She quickly dismissed the thought. That would certainly not be the case if the person involved did the ritual to preserve his life. She sighed, it would either be that or she was just being hard on him because she felt like he was replacing her father. Suddenly, Helena realized it was good that she said, back in her mother’s office, that she trusted him and not she liked him too.

At her mother’s reply, Helena could not help but smile brightly. “Of course, I just never saw you near dark books before. I was merely surprised.” Deep down, Helena wondered if her mother really read dark books before she fell in love with the dark lord. Upon hearing Lord Valenceus’ story about the book, she could not help but share her mother’s feelings. “Yeah, that would be an honor if that was the case.” She said almost automatically. However, his feeling of being unworthy of it made her frown. “Lord Valenceus, you are more worthy of it than anyone I know. You conquered death with its help.” She told him flatly. Feeling weird after saying what she just said, she changed the subject. “If I’m not mistaken, I encountered a copy in the library’s restricted section. So that would be two copies now.” She smiled at her mother, surely she would not scold her for snooping around in the restricted section after saying her ‘to be truly wise’ statement.