IT WAS CHRISTMAS MORNING and the dark hallways of the castle were adorned with Christmas trees. During Christmas season, the corridors were empty, but that year, they were filled with students, and a bunch of them decided to open gifts in the Hospital wing. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred and George, Ginny, Neville, Michael, and Cedric were all gathered around the bed of the unconscious girl. Madame Pomfrey allowed the big wave of visitors under the direction that they wouldn't be too loud.
Michael was just by Wendy's side fixing her messy hair to stay away from her face. All the others were there, because they didn't want their friends to be spending Christmas in the hospital wing by themselves, and that's when Neville had the bright idea to open gifts there with Wendy.
Dobby paid a quick visit too, and brought Miss Wendy her favourite drink. Dumbledore and all professors refused to tell them anything about what happened to her, and what the diadem was, and along with that, professor Snape confiscated the bag Fred was holding for Wendy and Hermione couldn't even do her thing and research about what happened to her, as she never saw the diadem in the first place.
It was belittling it to say that Michael was worried. He wasn't aware of the consequences of wearing the Diadem when it was a Horcrux, but if it was anything like the ring, she couldn't stand a chance. Fred and George tried to ask him about it but just like the sister, he seemed unconscious of the real world.
The group of friends exchanged gifts and tried to be as happy as they could, but when it came to giving their gift to Wendy, they all felt quite hollow.
When visiting hours was done, Madame Pomfrey allowed them to stay longer, knowing it was sad to leave their friend during Christmas time. Even the owls, with gifts and posts from families delivered to the Hospital wing.
Noir delivered some letters for both Wendy and Michael. Michael read her letter aloud for her, convinced that she could hear him. Sirius couldn't send as much letters as he wished to, but Christmas was a special time, and he wanted the two to feel like they had a family to write to.
He contemplated whether or not telling Sirius about this, but he knew that if it were him, he would have wanted to know. Michael answered the letters they received and sent the owl to deliver the neatly handwritten letter the same day, for both him and his sister.
Fred and George did their best to cheer up everyone with their funny gifts and small pranks. They managed to steal some common laughs, but Michael was an unbreakable case.
"She'll manage," Harry reassured him.
Michael looked up at Harry, the Horcrux boy. How could he live with a piece of Voldemort's soul inside him, while Wendy was barely making it alive just by wearing one. But he then thought of Umbridge and the necklace, she wore it for so long and no effect came to her horrid personality.
"Yeah, I know she can," he said honestly.
Michael stayed for that night, while everyone retired to their own beds. Hermione, Ron, and Harry would visit her all the time, making sure that at least one of them was with her at all times. Michael refused to leave, but, with the reassurance of Hermione, he too was able to rest in his bed.
Draco visited when he knew Hermione was the only one there. As much as she hated Draco she knew that Wendy was his friend, and wouldn't stop him from paying her a visit. Although, she would temporarily leave them, not being able to sit around him for so long.
"Fainted again, uh, Wendy?" He said when he found enough force to let out a whisper, "you haven't been gone for this long before."
He could see her shiver and he pulled her blanket higher to cover her more.
"You better come back," he said, "my mom wants to see you again... 'When is Wendy coming back for a visit? She asked me in the last le-letter," he pulled himself together. "Don't leave her disappointed," he paused to close his eyes.
"Please."
Sirius received letters from Harry and Michael, both telling him what happened to Wendy. He was worried, and thought of visiting her, but good old Remus made him realise how deeply stupid and dangerous that was for him. Even sending letters to the three was dangerous enough for him, he couldn't risk too much. For Harry's sake too.
Many professors were worried too and came to visit. Michael couldn't count them all but McGonagall visited the girl several times. He wasn't sure what Snape came in for, but he seemed to be there to examine the girl's situation, rather than just visiting a student. Dumbledore visited once only, when Michael fell asleep beside her bed and unaware of the Headmaster's presence.
"Stay strong, Wendy," he said to her. "We're coming to get you."
Mountains was all Wendy could see. Cold and white were all around her. She found it hard to walk through the snow, but she felt the need to walk somewhere. There was no sun, but it was so bright it seemed like a summer afternoon. She still wore the dress from the ball and it was quite uncomfortable as to how it barely gave her any warmth.
She seemed to be going nowhere and she couldn't see any village nearby. She walked and walked, her feet didn't hurt but the cold was unbearable.
What she thought to be wind, slowly came to morph, more clearly, into be voices whispering into her ear. She couldn't focus the words as they were all fighting against one another to be heard. It was like multiple different voices were whispering at her, and the longer she walked the louder and messier they got. It didn't hurt her ears, but her mind was exploding. Like a heavy boulder was put inside her head and she was expected to carry it wherever she was going to.
"Wendy," a voice called for her, clearing the whispers away.
Wendy looked around and her eyes met a beautiful woman, so pale yet, so elegant. She wore a very antique dress, the kind she saw in museums and in her favourite movie as a child, The Princess Bride. She smiled at her but her eyes were still somehow sad.
"Hello," her voice was soothing, and it almost was worth all the whispers she heard earlier. Almost.
"Hi," Wendy answered, walking closer to her.
"Let's walk for a bit."
And so they did. Wendy never was so comfortable talking with a stranger, let alone walk in a sketchy place with. She studied her, there was no way she could have guessed who the woman was, so she gave in and asked, "do I know you?"
"You do, but not personally," she said with a kind smile, "I'm Rowena Ravenclaw."
"Oh," Was all Wendy could say. She normally would have felt overwhelmed by such information, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to react accordingly. She looked at the tip of a mountain and casually asked, "Am I dead?"
The woman chuckled, "I don't think so."
Wendy thought that when the time would come, she would have been all panicky and in pain. She didn't expect to be hiking in ice and snow aimlessly as voices wailed against her. But for some reason, the moment the woman came by, things got a little bit easier.
"You don't think so?" She repeated, quite confused by the wording.
"You would be seeing more people if you were," she explained, "I think my diadem called me out to you after you wore it."
A wave of guilt flooded her, like the time when her mom found out about her sneaking out of the house to go to a sleepover with friends,"I'm sorry for wearing it— I know it's special..."
"You did what you had to do," she looked into the horizon, "but that must have been painful."
"I didn't feel any pain, actually—is that weird?" Wendy asked.
"Is that worry I sense in your voice?" She asked back.
"I expected it to be painful... But it was just a lot of things at once," she tried to explain at the best of her capacity, "...still is."
"What do you feel?" The woman, like a mother does when her children were trying to explain something they couldn't. They encouraged.
"Confused," she said the first thing in her mind, "but I also feel like I shouldn't be. Like all the things that are happening are supposed to happen, and things are going to be okay-- Maybe that's why I'm not feeling as scared as I thought I would be, if I found myself in an alien place with a ghost of the past," she chuckled, hoping to not offend Rowena." But there's something in my mind that's... Weighing me, that if I do one thing wrong everything will change... and it's scary."
Rowena didn't say anything and not a change in her expression was visible.
So Wendy thought of asking herself, "What will happen to me?"
"Don't you know?" She finally stopped walking.
And Wendy stopped walking too, "I have to wake up again, don't I?"
Rowena gave her a nod.
"It's not going to be easy like Harry's, is it?"
A compassionate smile appeared and she slightly shook her head.
"Why were you the one who came to me?"
"You wore the diadem. Before it became a Horcrux, it already was a dangerous object, Tom Riddle only turned the dangerous, into evil. You wouldn't be able to control it all. I came here to help you."
"Was it the voices I heard before you came?"
She nodded again, "you'll have to learn how to control them before you wake... otherwise it'll be intolerable."
Wendy nodded, she wasn't sure how will she be able to, but she will do her best, "will I hear them for a long time?"
"I'm sorry Wendy," she said, "but there's a chance they'll never go away."
Wendy expected much, but to hear it out loud still hit her.
"Before I go," she said, "let me clear your mind from one last thing."
Wendy couldn't imagine what it was about, but if it was something helpful she was glad to hear it.
"Godric asked me to give you and your brother his congratulations, for making it into Gryffindor."
Wendy was a bit surprised the founder of Gryffindor would go to such lengths to ask Rowena Ravenclaw to congratulate her. But she couldn't be rude, "well, thank you, I'm quite proud of it."
"You should be," she said cheekily, "as it is more or less a birth right."
Wendy wasn't sure that what the woman said, cleared her mind as much as she thought she would.
"You aren't exactly a muggle born. Quibs are wizards's offsprings that weren't granted the gift of magic, and Godric had one son quib," she explained, "Unfortunately, they weren't recognised as wizards and often, if not always, were sent to the muggle world—that is why Godric was said to be the only of the founders without of child. From quibs a wizard can be born, but only generations after."
Wendy wasn't sure she was following, "so I'm a descendant of Godric Gryffindor?"
"Yes, Wendy," she cleared it out. "Both you and your brother are the only wizards left from the Gryffindor family tree."
notes:
sooo thats why the hat was saying funny things when he sorted wendy ehheh
i hope this wasnt too long of a chapter
hopefully you enjoyed it half as much as i enjoyed writing this chapter
and sorry again for the late posting uhuhh forgive me plsss