Rowena Ravenclaw | The Eagle | Blue & Bronze | FC: Nina Dobrev
“Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure.“—A quote attributed to Ravenclaw and etched in her diadem.
Black Hair | Dark Eyes | Olive Skin | Family Line: Ravenclaw
Professor Rowena Ravenclaw was a Scottish witch who lived in the early Middle Ages. Noted for her intelligence and creativity and regarded as one of the greatest witches of the age, Ravenclaw was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as well as the namesake of the Ravenclaw House.
Ravenclaw died sometime into the eleventh century, after she fell fatally ill. Legend had it that a broken heart was the cause – because her daughter, Helena, had run away with her diadem.
When Rowena fell fatally ill, disregarding her treason she asked the Baron, who was in live with Helena, to go and find her daughter – merely wishing to see her one last time. He eventually tracked her to a forest in Albania but when she refused to go with him, the Baron flew into a fit of rage, furious at her refusal and envious of her freedom, and stabbed her. Immediately overcome with guilt he then took his own life. The two would later become, respectively, Ravenclaw and Slytherin House ghosts. Thus, Rowena did not get a chance to reconcile with her daughter because their untimely deaths (unless her daughter’s ghost returned to the castle before Rowena’s death.)
It is popular historical theory (though there is proof hidden within the castle) that the location and name of Hogwarts were both chosen by Ravenclaw, who dreamt that a warty hog was leading her to a cliff by the lake.
Ravenclaw’s Diadem (also known as the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw) was the only known relic once belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw. Etched upon its surface was Ravenclaw’s famous quote: “Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure.” It was said to enhance the wisdom if it’s wearer, which is Ravenclaw House’s most treasured attribute. It has a blue sapphire shaped like an oval.
Centuries later, Tom Marvolo Riddle managed to charm the story out of Helena’s spirit, then known as the Grey Lady, ghost of the Ravenclaw House. Upon learning of the diadem’s location, Riddle travelled to the Albanian forest shortly after he left school, transforming it into his fifth Horcrux by killing an Albanian peasant, and later chose to return it to the very place it had originated from: Hogwarts.
In 1998, Harry Potter, accompanied by Ron Weasley and Hermione Grainger, returned to Hogwarts in search of an object belonging to Ravenclaw - having learned through his mental connection to Voldemort that it was hidden at the school. After learning of the diadem, coaxing the story out of the Grey Lady, they were off to the Room of Requirement. He was confronted by Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle, and Blaise Zabini before he could reach the diadem and a battle ensued within the Room of Requirement (in it’s form as the Room of Hidden Things), resulting in Goyle’s creation of the Fiendfyre curse that then went out of his control and burned him to death, while Harry and his friends save Malfoy and Zabini. Harry stabbed the diadem with the Basilisk fang and Ron kicked it into the fire where it was destroyed.
Magic Abilities & Skills:
Charms: Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem was a magical artifact that was bewitched, presumably by Ravenclaw herself, to enhance the wearer’s wisdom.
Magical arts: The founders taught no particular subjects to their students; they taught them a bit of everything. Thus, it is more likely that Ravenclaw mastered all the basic branches of magic such as Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Potions, and so on.
Magical architecture: It is thought that Rowena Ravenclaw herself devised the ever changing floor plan of Hogwarts Castle.
Foresight: The ability to predict or the action of predicting what will happen or be needed in the future. It is rumored that Rowena had a premonition of sorts in her dreams, guided by a spirit animal and lead to the spot where Hogwarts would one day be built.
Ravenclaw’s most notable trait is her intelligence and creativity, and the fact that she valued the same in her students. She also seemed strict and intimidating, but despite this she seemed to be forgiving and loving, as shown by the fact that she was willing to disregard her daughter’s betrayal just to see her one last time on her deathbed. She was also very proud, not admitting that her daughter had run away with her diadem not even to her close friends, the other founders.
