Character Name: Rowena Ravenclaw (Rowena is a Latinised form of an old Germanic name: "Fame" (cf. the Anglo-Saxon hrōd, or hrōð), and "Joy", (cf. the Anglo-Saxon wyn(n)), or "Friend", (cf. the Anglo-Saxon wine). In Welsh poetry, Rowena is named "mother of the nation", which could link in to her being a founder of Hogwarts. She also is another character whose name surfaces in the great epic Ivanhoe. Ravenclaw is simply 'raven' + 'claw'. A raven is a large black bird that belongs to the crow family. In legend, ravens are known to be smart birds and quick learners; Ravenclaws are known to be also wise and quick learners.

Gender: Female
Age: Early 30s
Universe: Harry Potter
Canon or Original: Canon with some headcanon sprinkled in to fill in the blanks

Appearance: Rowena Ravenclaw was a beautiful yet austere-looking and slightly intimidating woman. She was tall, had long black hair and dark eyes, and spoke in a pronounced Scottish accent. She always seemed calm and collected no matter the situation, and could be hardly seen panicking even in dire circumstances. However, if one were to look closely, they would be able to see the glint of curiosity and perhaps even mischief in her eyes, and the glimpse of delight and excitement when she was facing a difficult puzzle. Rowena maintained a graceful appearance to everyone around her, and would always be found dressed appropriately for the occasion—namely elegant, feminine, and dignified—and would only appear more relaxed around her best friends Helga, Salazar, and Godric.

Personality: Rowena's most notable trait is her intelligence and creativity, and the fact that she valued the same in her students. She was intrigued by puzzles, mathematical equations, and solving problems. She needed the world to make sense, but at the same time she wasn’t bound by logic as well. She was also a person who loved imagination and dreaming beyond the wildest possibilities. If there was a person who used both sides of their brain exactly equally—the logic part and the creativity part—then that would be Rowena. She used what was defined by science as possible to dream about the impossible. Besides, magic didn’t work with the law of science so well. And so, her favorite pastime was inventing new spells and discovering new ways magic could work.

She also seemed strict and intimidating, but this was merely a cover she adopted for her teaching days. She was a firm teacher, knowing that discipline was necessary in education if the students were going to get nowhere, but she wasn’t unkind. In fact, deep down, her heart was 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 would have a soft spot for students who struggled but who tried so hard, wanting them to be the best version of themselves they could be. Rowena believed that there was no mind that could not be taught, that there was no such thing as stupidity, only laziness. Contrary to popular belief, she did not value only intelligent students. She valued their desire to learn and their thirst for knowledge, regardless of how much intelligence they started with.

Rowena was also a very proud person who hated admitting that she was wrong. Perhaps that was the downside of being always right—every time she was not, it felt like a failure or a slight against her character. She kept a high expectation for herself in the things she was supposed to excel with, and did not deal well with failure. She would be prone to self-blaming and loss of confidence as a result. This was also the reason behind her not admitting that her daughter had run away with her diadem—not even to her close friends, the other founders.

In regards to Muggles, Rowena was also not prejudiced towards those of Muggle parentage or inheritance, as she disagreed with Salazar’s views on admittance to Hogwarts and a large percentage of her house were of Muggle descent.

Any Unique Abilities/Skills:

• Intelligence: Rowena was described as the most brilliant witch of her time. She was able to invent or tweak spells, discovering new ways to use magic, and an amazing mind that could solve the most intricate of problems and puzzles.
  
• Charms: Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem was a magical artefact that was bewitched by 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. Rowena mastered all the basic branches of magic such as Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Potions and so on.
  
• Magical architecture: Rowena Ravenclaw herself devised the ever-changing floor plan of Hogwarts Castle.
  

History:
Rowena Ravenclaw was born sometime in the tenth century in the glens of Scotland. She was the youngest and only daughter of the Ravenclaw family. They were descended from a noble line, and so were considered high-born. Of course, none of the family friends knew that they also came from a long line of witches and wizards. Practicing magic at the time was difficult, without a real formal education and the need for secrecy. Rowena learned the basics from her mother, while her father and brothers seemed more interested in blending in with the Muggles and their politics. At the time, it seemed strange for a woman to pursue such interest in education, given what was generally expected from them. But Rowena had always been attracted to knowledge, and she did not like the notion that her place was not among books and literature, but rather in the kitchen and with her future offspring.

She would often join the men’s conversation with opinions of her own, never shy about sharing them. They were forced to acknowledge her insight and shrewdness, often able to solve problems that stumped others, be it financial, political, or practical. Whether it was chemistry, alchemy, or magic, Rowena excelled in everything, inspiring both admiration and envy, impressing and stirring up controversy at the same time.

Rowena met her future friends when she was quite young through the social circles they all traveled in, and soon discovered that they all shared a common goal and dream: to share their knowledge with the rest of the magical community. To make magical education more accessible for their youth and to provide a place to learn that was safe from the Muggles, where they could learn all there was to know about magic without worry for discovery and subsequent persecution. Helga Hufflepuff, Salazar Slytherin, and Godric Gryffindor were the first few people in her lives who understood her more than anyone else, and were just as brilliant besides. And so they agreed to build Hogwarts together, establishing the school sometime around 993.

It is a popular historical theory that the location and name of Hogwarts were both chosen by Rowena, who dreamt that a warty hog was leading her to a cliff by the lake. Rowena also came up with the ever-changing floor plan and moving stairs, simply because she could. Working on the school was like a dream come true for her. Doing what she did best and for what she was most passionate was an experience like no other, especially because of how stifled and suppressed she’d felt about her talents all her life. Hogwarts let her flourish, and her imagination and creativity ran rampant in various parts of the school, forming the uniqueness it had today.

Rowena selected her students according to what she valued best; intelligence and wisdom. Ravenclaw House therefore values a sharp mind, wisdom, creativity, and cleverness in its members. The four founders were happy and the school flourished under their own guidance for a few years, until the rift between Salazar and the other three in regards to his opinion about accepting half-blood and Muggle-borns became too big to overcome, and he eventually left the school. Hogwarts was never quite the same again after that.

At some point, after a brief dalliance with another wizard that she eventually left, Rowena bore a daughter, Helena, who was taught by Rowena herself at Hogwarts. Helena, feeling like she was never able to live up to her mother’s reputation and jealous of her mother’s intellect, stole Rowena’s diadem, an object that she had enchanted to enhance the wisdom of the wearer. She took the diadem with her to Albania, far away from her mother’s reach, in hopes of surpassing her. Devastated and ashamed of her daughter’s betrayal, Rowena Ravenclaw opted to keep her daughter's treachery a secret from others, and denied it even from her fellow founders. The idea that she had failed at something—raising her daughter to believe in and love herself as she was—was simply too much to bear.

Then, Rowena fell fatally ill, with one of the diseases that had no cure yet. Despite her own best efforts, she was unable to mitigate the symptoms or find a cure. She finally accepted that her time was running out. And she only had one last wish. Disregarding her daughter’s treason, she asked the Baron, who would then became the ghost of the Bloody Baron of Slytherin and was in love 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 return 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. Thus, Rowena did not get the chance to reconcile with her daughter before their untimely deaths, and Helena later returned to the Hogwarts castle as the Grey Lady, the Ravenclaw ghost.

Legend had it that her “broken heart” due to her estrangement with her daughter added to Rowena’s early demise.

Rowena was the first of the founders to die.

Other Noteworthy Facts:
Ravenclaw's Diadem: Also known as the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw, this was the only known relic once belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw, the founder of Ravenclaw House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Etched upon its surface was Ravenclaw's famous quote: "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure." It was said to enhance the wisdom of its wearer, which is Ravenclaw House's most treasured attribute. It has a blue sapphire shaped like an oval. The diadem was later stolen by her daughter, Helena, a fact Rowena kept a secret from the other founders until her death bed. Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, Helga Hufflepuff's Cup and Salazar Slytherin's Locket, made up three of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes.

Universe Specific Information: In the Harry Potter world, there are two main types of people; wizards and muggles (beyond Squibs; those born from wizards who display no magical abilities). The former can practice spells and perform magic while the latter are ordinary people like us. Hogwarts is a school of magic that teaches wizards.

Storyline Specific Information: The Four Founders: During their golden ages, four of the greatest witches and wizards in Europe came together to form a school. They were friends, colleagues, perhaps even lovers, before their relationship began to crack and some turned into enemies. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin once came together in order to build the great Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the first wizarding school in Britain. In a world where those with magic abilities were persecuted, the four of them provided not only a safe haven but also a place of learning and teaching so that the children might hone their abilities together. But how did they do it? Who decided on the name, or the slogan, or where to put their common rooms? How did the friendship between them form and blossom, before everything came apart?

Before Salazar let his prejudice for Muggle-borns drive a wedge between him and the other founders, before Rowena lost her daughter and died of heartbreak, the four of them had happier times, when the school was just built and they discovered the joy of working together with like-minded people. Although some of their personalities clashed sometimes, the love that they shared with each other allowed them to see that they complemented each other with their differences, and mutual respect reigned... before.

Source: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Rowena_Ravenclaw
 
RP Sample:

“Godric! Godric, come quick!”

Rowena’s hurried footsteps echoed down the hall, and Godric turned to look at her in surprise, obviously not used to seeing her being harried like this. She was usually the most calm and collected of them all, although this school project had made her more excited and alive than anyone had ever seen.

“What is it, Ro?” he asked, seemingly curious.

Without much preamble or explanation, Rowena grabbed his hand. “Come with me!” she said, pulling him along the hallway, giving him little choice but to follow. They soon arrived at the other end of it and stood looking down at the many staircases that linked the hallway with the floors below. Except the stairs were moving.

“What…?” Godric asked in confusion at the bizarre sight in front of him.

“I did it, Godric! I charmed the staircases, so they could move on their own!” Rowena explained giddily, but Godric just stared at her with the same confused expression.

“You charmed the staircases so they could move…” he stated carefully, then paused for a long while as if he was waiting for the punch line, “…why?” he said at last.

Rowena, who’d been looking expectantly at him, waiting for him to be impressed, blinked at the question. It was certainly not the response she’d expected. And she just looked at him, speechless.

“Because…” she started, but seemed at a loss on how to continue, another rare occurrence for someone normally so eloquent. Indeed, what reason could anyone have to enchant stairs to move on their own? Their whole point was to not move so that people could use them safely.

Rowena knew the true answer in her heart, but she knew admitting it out loud was another thing. A thing that could potentially embarrass her.

And yet, Godric kept waiting expectantly. And she didn’t have the heart to come up with some convoluted explanation that would only be a lie to her best friend.

“Well… because… because I can!” Rowena said at last, averting her gaze. Her face flamed, and she felt like a petulant child.

And of course, it didn’t help at all when Godric let out one of his infamous booming laughter, which echoed down the hall and probably could be heard from the entire school.

The laughter went on for quite some time.

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