THE FIFTH FOUNDER ⚡️ [h.p./founders era]

Five

A putrid smell infiltrated my senses, waking me from my shallow sleep. Shortly after dinner the night before, I resigned myself to my room. The day was new and with it, brought more secrets waiting to be unveiled. Rising from the bed, I quietly left the room and went to search for the source of the stench. It did not take me long, for in the room right across from me, Rowena's room, I heard her getting sick before letting out a quiet whimper.

I softly knocked on the door before opening to alert her of my presence. "Rowena? Are you all right?"

She was sitting on the floor next to a bucket with her back leaning against the wall. Shutting the door behind me, I took a cloth and dipped it into her water pail. I knelt down next to her and offered her the cloth to cool her down.

"Thank you." She whispered. Her eyes were glistening, red, and swollen, as if she had been crying but tried to hide it once I came in.

"Do you want me to find a doctor for you? Or surely you or one of the others would know a healing spell." My voice was laced with concern, but she just forced a smile and shook her head at me.

"No, I am not sick." She sighed, placing her hand on her stomach, and suddenly, I realized.

How could I have dismissed this possibility, after I had gone through the same thing?

"You're with child." I gasped, now fully sitting on the floor next to her.

"Yes. I do not know how far along I am, but it has to be more than eleven weeks. I am scared. I know nothing of how to raise a child, and even worse, I have nothing." Rowena's eyes began to tear up again.

I held her hand and shook my head. "That is not true. You have us. We will help take care of you and your baby. I will help you."

"Lyra, I appreciate you so much. Do not take this the wrong way, but what do you know of raising a child? You are still young and have much to learn about yourself." Rowena sighed but squeezed my hand to let me know she was afraid even though she was pretending to be strong.

I licked my lips, hesitating for a moment, before saying, "I had a baby of my own. For three years. Her name was Ophelia. Do not make the same mistake I did. Do not take your child for granted. This child is a blessing."

"But how can I raise it without a father?" Rowena cried. "He's gone, like your daughter. I hardly know how to function without him, much less raise our child."

"Rowena," I breathed out, tears of my own forming, "you can do this. It will be hard, but so worth it. Have you told the others?"

She shook her head, and I almost did not believe her. "You are the only one who knows."

~

Helga and I stood outside of the stables. Today the students had the day off, so Helga agreed to begin teaching me apparition.

"All right, let us begin." She smiled encouragingly, but her enthusiastic attitude did not erase the nervous sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. "First, pick a destination. For now, I will draw a ring around you and you will try to apparate out of the ring."

Helga pointed her wand to the ground and circled around me, surrounding me in a light yellow ring. "You must be absolutely determined to get out of the ring, and you cannot hesitate, or else the consequences may be deadly."

Nodding my head, I let out a slow breath. I gripped my wand tightly and closed my eyes, imagining the ground right outside of the yellow ring. I could feel myself slipping away, but I scared myself. I knocked myself off balance and landed hard on the ground, still inside the circle.

"That was a good start!" Helga clapped excitedly. "Try again."

I was already tired from the first attempt, but I ashamedly did not want to admit it. Closing my eyes again, I tried once more. Do not hesitate, I told myself and began imagining the ground right next to me. I felt myself slipping again, but instead of resisting it, I let myself be pulled away.

I felt as if every bone in my body had been pressed together into a tight bond, and for a moment, I wondered if this was the end, until Helga's words rang through my head. "You have to be determined."

I knew I could do this. Removing my attention from the uncomfortable bind I was in, I forced myself to think of the small patch of grass I needed to land on.

Suddenly, I hit the ground hard again, and I half expected to be back inside the circle. But from the squeal that erupted from Helga, I was motivated to open my eyes and see that I was outside of the circle. Even though I was on the ground, I felt accomplished.

"You did it! Don't worry about falling down, that happens to everyone. You will learn how to balance with practice." Helga ran over to me and helped me to my feet.

For the rest of the afternoon, I continued to practice and slowly began to travel longer distances. I even apparated inside of the stable once, though I was still landing on my bottom. I felt a new sense of accomplishment that I had not felt since I was young.