Rowena's new body was officially two and a half years old. Much to her frustration, this was not a substantial improvement over being only one year old.

Oh, there were differences — she had finally remastered walking, for one — but her fingers were still clumsy and she still had little in the way of balance. Her stamina was terrible, too, so she couldn't spend a lot of time walking without rest.

On the other hand, her near-immobility meant that she'd been able to devote most of her time to gaining some measure of control over her magic. It was a shaky kind of control, nothing like she'd have once she was old enough to begin exercising, but it was a definite improvement over what she'd had before… and the reason that she was ready to try something new.

Rowena glared down at the pile of metal scraps in front of her, trash that Vernon had been able to bring home from work. She double-checked the diagrams she'd made based on the books about hardware that she'd read, then began her work.

A computer slowly took shape, the scrap metal fusing together and changing form. This computer was unique for more reasons than having been designed by Rowena Ravenclaw, of course. It ran on magic rather than electricity, and it would have thousands of tiny processors of Rowena's own design. The material would be magically cooled to zero Kelvin, ensuring that it would function as a superconductor at all times. Rowena had no room for anything but the best in her design, after all.

Of course, Rowena had to admit that it was still a very crude design. While she was certain that it would outperform anything that Muggles would invent for at least a couple of years, the fact of the matter was that she simply wasn't enough of an expert to completely revolutionize the technology to her satisfaction yet. That she would eventually become such an expert was not in question, merely the timeframe in which it would become the case.

Rowena smiled when the computer finished assembling itself, then booted it up to get to work on its software. She relied on her magic to work the keyboard, not trusting her clumsy baby fingers to do the job properly.

A few hours passed in a blur, Rowena happily lost in a world of code. It wasn't until she heard a hesitant knock on her door that she did so much as blink.

"What is it, Petunia?" Rowena called, recognizing the height of the knock.

Petunia cautiously let herself into the room. "I'm signing Dudley up for preschool so that I can go back to work," she half-whispered. "I'm sure you won't want to attend, but once you're a little older you'll be legally required to do so."

"Is that so?" Rowena asked, eyes narrowing.

The witch's first instinct was to revolt, but… she had to admit that she was curious about Muggle schooling. Surely it would cover all kinds of interesting advances in Muggle technology that Petunia knew nothing about — the woman was as dry of curiosity as a desert was of water, knowing only what she'd read complaints about in her gossip rags. While the early years would likely cover basics that Rowena had no use for, the later years might be of use to her.

"Very well, Petunia," Rowena declared. "You shall sign me up for this 'preschool.'"

"I… what?" Petunia squeaked. "You don't want to wait until you have to go?"

"The idea is tempting," Rowena admitted. "But I'm curious about your Muggle schools. You will see to it that I can attend."

"…of course," Petunia managed, her hope that Dudley would be able to escape the menace for several hours every day going up in smoke. She bowed her way out of the room and hurried off to take care of the registration, cursing Albus Dumbledore yet again for the blight that he had forced on her family.

Rowena straightened her skirt, then followed Petunia and Dudley into the building that apparently served as the 'preschool' she would be attending. It was squat and boxy, with a gray exterior — not an attractive look at all for an institution of learning. Rowena made a mental note to do something about that later, as she would not subject herself to such dull surroundings.

She didn't bother listening to the conversation between Petunia and the young woman who apparently served as the instructor of the class, instead casting her eyes around the room. In contrast to the exterior of the building, the walls were a pale blue and were decorated with exaggerated drawings of animals. There were a number of low tables, and blocks that the children in the room seemed to be enjoying stacking for some odd reason. The only books in the room seemed oddly thin, and when Rowena wandered over and opened one she discovered it was mostly full of pictures rather than words. She frowned.

"Would you like me to read to you while we wait for the rest of the class to arrive?" a voice asked, sounding almost hopeful. Rowena looked up to find the teacher looking down at her. Petunia appeared to have vacated the premises, and Dudley was throwing blocks at other children.

"I'm perfectly capable of reading myself, thank you," Rowena snapped. She looked back down at the book. "I must say I've never heard of any creatures quite like these ones before. Where does the story take place? The island is unknown to me."

"It's fictional," the teacher answered, looking bemused.

"Ah," Rowena said, voice flat. "May I inquire as to the location of the textbooks, then?"

"Textbooks?" the teacher asked blankly. "This is preschool, Miss…?"
"Rowena," Rowena supplied, taking a moment to steal the teacher's name — Jessica — from her head. "Rowena Ravenclaw. What does it being preschool have to do with its lack of textbooks?"

"Well, preschool is meant to prepare children for actual school and to take care of children while their parents are at work," Jessica explained. "We don't usually cover more than the basics of reading."

Rowena twitched. "What do you cover, then?"

"Not much," Jessica admitted. "We usually just leave the children to their own devices and try to prevent things from going badly." She wasn't quite sure why she was talking to this tiny girl as if she were an adult, but something about Rowena's eyes…

"Unacceptable," Rowena huffed. "I will not have my time wasted in such a manner." Her eyes took on a calculating look. "You said that you simply supervise the children. I would imagine that leaves you with a great deal of free time."

"It does," Jessica said.

"Excellent," Rowena declared. "You shall spend that time getting me caught up on the state of Muggle history since the late tenth century and the modern culture."

"What?" Jessica managed.

"I'm glad you agree," Rowena said, smiling as she turned to survey the classroom. "How many more children need to arrive before we begin?"

Jessica did a headcount. "Three."

Rowena nodded in acceptance, watching as Dudley moved from throwing blocks to hoarding them. "Then I shall spend the time prior to my lessons reminding Dudley that sharing is a virtue." She paused. "I can't say I understand why, but Helga always sounded very sure of it, and I suppose she would know."

Jessica could only stare as the bizarre girl stalked over and broke a solid wooden block in half over her cousin's head. She buried her face in her hands, already regretting listening to her mother's advice. "Become a preschool teacher," she'd said! "You like children," she'd said! "It will be fun," she'd said!

Right now, Jessica wasn't even sure whether she actually knew what children were. She certainly didn't remember being that eloquent at that age, and none of the other children seemed to be that way. Was Rowena Ravenclaw the aberration, or were the rest of the students late bloomers that she was expected to help blossom?

If it hadn't been her first day as a preschool teacher, the questions might not have nagged at Jessica quite so badly. As it was, she had no idea — and she didn't want to ask someone and admit that she had no idea, lest they think her unqualified.

Jessica's eyes blazed with determination as she straightened up. It was clear that children were capable of far more than she'd given them credit for, which meant her plans had to change as well. She hurried over to her desk and began writing a list of introductory topics to cover. Simple math, history, reading and writing…

She was going to be the best damn preschool teacher that those kids could possibly have, or she was going to die trying.

AN:

I was stunned (and more than a little flattered) to see that Wit Beyond Measure gained a ton of followers over the last few days. What in the world happened? Was a link posted somewhere or something? I'm thrilled to have you all reading and I hope you continue to enjoy the story, but I'm also just having a hard time believing that it gained nineteen new followers in such a short span of time when the last update was… uh…

Exactly a month ago today. Huh. I didn't plan that out, but it works I guess?

Anyway, glad to have you all here, however you found it! It's definitely a source of encouragement for me, and I've love to hear more from you all.