Rowena Ravenclaw

Name: Rowena Garnet Ravenclaw
Age: 25
Teaches: Transfiguration


Parents: Laurel and Adrastos Larkhaven
Grandparents: Odette and Bertram Larkhaven; Roxana and Osbert Kensington
Siblings: Gawain (disowned), Rambert, Gilbert,
Aunts & Uncles: Reine Vanay (nee Larkhaven), Eirian Larkhaven (all related paternally)
Nieces & Nephews: Rosemarie and Charlemagne (via Rambert); Edric, Armel, and Brennus (via Gilbert)
Cousins: Emyr, Gertrude, Griselda (via Reine)
Children: None as of yet
Grandkids: None



Skin color: Pale
Hair Color: Raven
Hair length: Midway to her back. Often, the raven locks are held back loosely in a knot of some sort with an accompanying jewel of sort holding the locks in place, but there are occasions, albeit rare ones, in which she allows the long lockes free from it’s jeweled restraints to tumble along her shoulders and be caressed by the wind.
Eye color: Emerald
Size: Petite in stature, and average in height. Stands at about 5’5, though often wears heels due to the intimidation leverage she believes an added height gives her.
Build: Slender, due to years of wearing corsets.
Picture:

Crushes: Salazar Slytherin
Mates/Spouse: Melchior Ravenclaw

Status: Unhappily Married




Personality While she doesn’t do so intentionally, Rowena tends to be snobbish around others. It is not because she believes herself better than others, for despite her gifts in magic and heritage, she still views herself and all others equally, with no one higher nor lower than another. The snobbery roots itself in the fact that Rowena is easily bored by her surroundings. With her thirst for knowledge, she thrives in challenging atmospheres and stimulating conversations that engage her wholly and thoroughly. She has no taste for idle chatter nor gossip about the latest news of the town, but rather recent worldly events and discoveries. As a result, there are few she may speak with, especially in the elite circle she was raised in, leaving her to be in her own little world of her own musings much of the time.

Despite that though, Rowena truly does make an effort to relate to others and make friends. Once her icy exterior can be overcome and she learns that another can be trusted, you will never have found a more loyal, caring friend. She will stand for what she feels is right, even if it is she who stands alone against a crowd, and will defend who she sees fit to the death and beyond if she must.


Around Family Like many aristocratic families of that age, Rowena had little relations to members of the Larkhaven clan. When she was a small child, still in the meadows of innocence, she and her brothers shared a very good relationship and were best friends. They shared the same interests and often played together. However, as time passed on by and the plots of their forebears in their quest for enhanced greatness grew, she and her brothers were soon taught that their true function was to aid the advancement of the Larkhavens to further greatness and eternal glory.

As a result of this new instruction, Rowena and her brothers soon became rivals against one another, competing for their Father’s favor, and the title of the greatest family asset. In present day, the no longer hold affection or care for each other and see each other not as blood, but rather pawns available to each other to rise or fall. There is still retains a sense of kinship and loyalty between all of them, and Rowena would come to their aids if ever it need be, but there is little affection or closeness between any of them, and all relations are, for the most part, strained.

With her husband, there is no affection, and little relation or interaction at all. She was betrothed and married to Melchior by her Father’s wishes, in effort to create an everlasting bond and alliance between the Larkhavens and Ravenclaws. Rowena views her husband with more disdain, and sees him as an ignorant person. While Rowena fills her time with reading and research, Melchior spends his time hosting balls, grand celebrations, and tournaments, and cares little about knowledge, much to Rowena’s annoyance, causing her to view him as someone beneath her; a fact that is quite apparent to Melchior, and causing him rather frequent bouts of anger.


Around Enemies Not wanting her enemies to use her emotions to their advantage, Rowena prefers to keep a strong, neutral, albeit a bit icy, front , when she stands before her enemies. She refuses to bow down to them and surrender, revealing how much she loathes them, and instead keeps a calm presence. When feeling devious, though,she does take the opportunity to use her wit and knowledge and embarrass her enemy, and make them look ignorant before others, in a myriad of ways, which she has done on more than one occasion during a confrontation with an enemy. It was a habit she indulged in often as a child, particularly with her brother’s, and does so even now, during present day, on occasion.


Usual Mood around strangers: For the most part, Rowena tends to be rather friendly, albeit a bit wary, around strangers. She is not one to immediately begin trusting another, particularly given her upbringing, but she will be polite and gentle when meeting another for the first time, assuming the occasion calls for kindness. Before letting her guard down completely, and allowing any possible friendship or relationship to form, she embarks the stranger on a test, of sorts, observing them closely to try and make note of their faults, of their honesty, of their bad habits, and in their overall chemistry and potential for friendship with her. This action isn’t some act of snobbery which she indulges herself in, but more of an act of assurance for herself that the friendship she may build is one that will flourish into a lasting one, and not one that will disintegrate instantaneously and leave her alone and hurt.




Your Story Please?

Born to one of the oldest, most powerful, influential, pureblooded families of Larkhaven, Rowena grew up with a particularly privileged life. All that she ever wished for, all she would ever need was granted to her at the snap of her fingers. Her Father, Adrastos Larkhaven, favored her from the start, and therefore granted her many things that most girls of her age were denied, such as education beyond that of running a household efficiently. While her Mother, Laurel, believed that advanced magical education should be reserved only for the sons, with Rowena’s insistence and pleas, Adrastos gave into his daughter’s wishes, and allowed Rowena’s magical education to advance, even beyond her own brother’s, who felt that much of what was being taught to them, particularly the theories beyond the spells were a waste of time and no longer bothered with them and soon abandoned their higher education. It was Rowena alone out of the Larkhaven children that truly appreciated the art of learning, and the mysteries that the proper education could unlock, and the secrets it could reveal; a trait that would carry on from childhood far unto adulthood, as each script and text presented to Rowena by her tutor was eagerly devoured, memorized, and interpreted by the young witch.


It was only as Rowena grew older did she realize the darker aspects of her seemingly perfect life. She soon learned after her tenth birthday the true reason she and her brothers were born. It wasn’t because of the joy of having children as her governess had insisted, nor because it was to that extent that her parents loved each other. In fact, it was quite a miracle her parents had a civil relationship, considering their marriage, like many, was arranged and they were the very definition of incompatible. No, on the eve of her tenth birthday, Rowena learned the destiny her parents had set for her. When she was old enough, she was to wed Melchior Ravenclaw, a man roughly four times her age, yet held powerful connections and a bountiful amount of land and wealth.

Outraged and convinced it was all a lie and a sick form of a joke, Rowena refused, crying out to her Father that she would rather die before being bound to Melchior. Angered at his once-favorite child, Adrastos struck her with a spell, sending what felt like flames devouring every inch of flesh. If she wished to continue her lavish lifestyle, he said, then it was her turn to make sacrifices. He had no use for a disobedient child and would not hesitate to cast her off to the streets for the Muggles to attack and burn, a fact evident by the fact that he soon disowned her eldest brother Gawain for refusing to marry a woman of wealth whom Adrastos had deemed worthy, for he had fallen for a simple peasant girl.

It was on that day that her childhood innocence died and she saw firsthand that her life had been a charade. She and her brothers were not her parent’s pride and joy, but the pawns in the chess game of life. Her parents didn’t live for their children’s happiness. Their children lived for their parent’s happiness.

Affection and admiration for her parents, especially her Father, disintegrated. Brothers and sister turned against each other, revelations of their fates turned to resentment and jealousy for one another, and Rowena was left standing alone. From that moment on, she sought refugee and comfort in texts and manuscripts more than ever, devouring each and every educating and enlightening word she could, in effort to forget the pain that surrounded her life.

Often as a child, she would gaze out of her window, at the ocean that surrounded the Larkhaven Manor, watching as the waves struck against the pebbled shore. In the rare moments she had time for herself, when her parents weren’t occupied with hammering unto her head lessons on “Etiquette”, “Propriety”, and “How to be the perfect Mistress of a Manor”, she would flee, a book in her hand, and perhaps a small snack such as berries, unto the shore. Taking off her shoes, she would walk along the beach, allowing the sun to caress her pale skin, and the water to wash over her, invigorating her, bringing her back to life as though it were her elixir, as she read. Every now and then she would gaze out into the open sea, up above her head where the birds flew and would wonder what it would be like to be a bird and have the ability and right to just turn and fly away, at will. Much of the time as she gazed at the avian creatures, she felt absolute envy, for these creatures to be so graceful and delicate, yet gifted with absolute freedom.


It was her trips to the shore that inspired Rowena to strive to become an Animagus. Her tutor, Professor Artemis, had spoken to her of witches and wizards who were rumored to have gained the ability to transform themselves into a single animal at will, without using any transfiguration spell. Intrigued, she begged and prodded her tutor to tell more. Reluctantly, he did so, and Rowena, ever the scholar, listened eagerly, drinking in every word he spoke. For weeks and weeks, hours at a time, she practiced, striving to perfect this new skill. By this time, she had already become accomplished in the fields of Legilimency and Occlumency, and was determined to become one of the handful of Animagi of this age. It didn’t matter that the attempts at transforming were painful, often leaving her in bouts of agony and multiple bruises. Once Rowena saw something she desired, she would stop at nothing to get it.


Exactly seven months from the day she had begun her independent study, she managed transformed completely into a humming bird. It wasn’t the proud, dignified eagle she imagined herself to be, but she retained a sense of pride nonetheless for her accomplishment. Occasionally, when she was feeling particularly mischievous or in need of a moment of solitude, she would transform into a hummingbird and soar out the window. For hours, she’d circle around the Manor, high up in the skies, reveling in the sense of borrowed freedom, yearning for the day when she wouldn’t have to have feathers to be free.


The next few years passed swiftly and though she had fought against it for as long as she could, delaying and pleading various excuses to try and put off the wedding, Adrastos had had enough. At the age of sixteen, with bruises upon her neck, courtesy of her Father, Rowena was married to Melchior, and thus became Rowena Ravenclaw.


For Rowena, married life was not much different than life at Larkhaven Manor. Ironically enough, it could even be said that while marriage was a lifelong chain between two, Rowena had more freedom than in her childhood. Due to his own personal agenda and business related affairs, Melchior was often away, leaving Rowena to be alone and at peace, free to study and research to her heart’s content, at the small price of a sacrificed night or two, every now and then to be at his beck and call.


Still though, despite the freedom to be alone and do her research peacefully, Rowena couldn’t help but still feel incomplete. It was as though, there was a void within her yet to be fulfilled, leaving a small part of her hollow. Her Mother insisted that the reasons for such were because a lack of children in Ravenclaw Manor, but Rowena brushed it off. If anything, she was relieved that the potions she secretly took on a regular basis were working. It wasn’t that she did not desire children, for she did. Just not Melchior’s children. Melchior had little care for ancient scripts and transfiguration manuscripts, and if she were to have a child, Rowena would prefer that it have the same love of learning and solving puzzles that she did. After all, laziness was a dominant gene, and Rowena wasn’t willing to take that chance.


A few more years passed by, when an owl arrived at her study, seeming to be an answer to her haunting dilemma: an invitation for a conference to discuss the education status of wizarding society. Intrigued, Rowena confirmed her intention to attend, expecting a large room filled to the brim with highly intelligent witches and wizards. She got half her wish, for there were what she found to be intelligent beings. Merely less of them than she had anticipated. Insisted of the filled room, there were three in attendance: Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar Slytherin. She didn’t know any of them personally, but knew of their names and reputations, as well as the brilliant feats they were said to have accomplished. Though Salazar looked rather familiar, much like a wizard she had encountered in a Monastery Library before, years prior. Despite the fact they seemed to have very little in common and they seemed to clash more between themselves than any of the others, Rowena had to admit, even to herself, beneath a steel wall of Occlumency, she was rather intrigued by the wizard…

The Meeting proved to have been rather successful. All four seemed to share similar views and it was not long before a plan was conceived: to build a school for all witches and wizards, and educate them on how to control the gifts they were graced with.

It was regarded as a foolish scheme, with many scorning at the attempt, looking down on the four, convinced that such an idea could never come to pass. Even Melchior had a laugh at his wife’s attempt, much to her annoyance; though let her carry on with the plans, chuckling as he went.


For weeks they searched for the perfect area, finally finding it in a secluded area, away from prying Muggle eyes. Together, they put their magic in together, designing the school, with Rowena focusing on the floor plan, using her gifts in Transfiguration to create special features, such as a moving staircase. It had been a challenging task to construct the castle and apply the necessary charms, but as they stood in front of their completed spell work that they had christened Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, now bonded together by a forged friendship between the four. Well, in Rowena’s case, three, considering she and Salazar still tended to clash rather often, each with their own contrasting opinions. Still though, as they stood together, strong and tall, Rowena smiled, looking forward to the years ahead and generations of students they would teach.




Magic Side: Because of her love of learning, Rowena sees all magic without boundaries, neither classified as light or dark. To her, all magic is to be explored to the depths and beyond and all mysteries and secrets unlocked. As a result, she allows her love of research and knowledge to cloud her better judgement, leading her and others to potentially fatal situations.
Favorite Spell: Ostendo Sum Vestri Animus – reveals the condition of a soul, whether it is still pure and intact, or torn and scarred by dark magic. Also reveals dark presences and secrets upon a person.



Unique powers Legilimency, Occlumency, Empathy, and Animagus.
Weakness: Rowena is like an addict when it comes to research and education. She never knows when she goes too far in the name of research, and has potential to possibly injure herself or others before realizing what she has done. Also has hyper sensitivity and limited control over her powers as an Empath. For example, should she sense a presence who is depressed, she may find herself in the depths of despair, unable to break away, due to her empathic connections to the individual.

Rowena also tends to get bored easily with short attention span for anything not related to her interests. As a result, she has limited friends and relations with others, for with her mindset, she desires strong intellectual conversations, and someone who can keep up with her in a conversation, which more often than not, is difficult with her to come by.

Skills:
- Basic Healing
- Scrying
- Spell-Creations
- Alchemy
- Solving and Creating Puzzles
- Dancing
- Painting
- Composing Music.
Items:
- Ebony Grand Piano
- Harp
- Painting Set
- Larkhaven Necklace: L-Shaped piece of gold, with sapphire hanging off the end
- Wand: 12 1/2 inches, Hazel, Achiyalabopa and Phoenix union feather core
- Journals, filled with various formulas, research, and musings



Favorite Color: Sapphire and Black
Voice: Light, almost ethereal, with a gentle cadence.
Theme song: Falling Awake - Tarja Turunen



Just as the sun began it’s daily ascent, hours before most of the occupants of Hogwarts were even awake, Rowena Ravenclaw stood before her new classroom, gazing at the row of desks before her. Today was to be the first day of classes at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the witch couldn’t be more excited. The notion of teaching had never crossed her mind, yet now that time had presented the opportunity before her, she couldn’t help but be excited. The idea of sharing her knowledge and skills, teaching students the secrets and mysteries of magic, encouraging them to explore the theories of magic and test the limits to beyond… it was all simply enlivening.

For once in her life, she had something for herself, something no one else had given her. True, all the feats and abilities she had mastered and achieved magically could be considered her own hard work, but when she really thought about it, would all those have been possible without the aid and tutelage of the Tutors she had had as a child? The same tutors her Father, the heir to a long line of wealth and power who had never had to work a day in his life for his riches, had provided?

That was one of the many drawbacks of growing up in privilege; you were blessed with wealth, connections, greatness, and yet… deep down, you know you’ve cheated. You know it was not your sweat, nor blood, nor even tears that granted you the position you held in life. True, it was someone in your family whose hard work was well worth the effort, but you yourself did nothing. You had everything given everything on a golden platter. All you ever had to do was exist.

Now Rowena no longer had to be one of those remorseful privileged few. No longer did she have to classify herself as worthless. For the first time in her life, she could proudly say that everything that surrounded, all that she was apart of, came from her and three others hard work and dedication.

For the first time in her twenty-five years, Rowena Ravenclaw felt proud of herself. She felt complete.

With a bright smile, much like a child would have in a candy store upon being told she may get whatever she wished, Rowena made a slight modification to her name written upon the blackboard.


Not Madame Ravenclaw, not Lady Ravenclaw. Professor. A title she had earned by her own right by her own hardwork, and not merely because she had been born lucky.