Altheda is a fictional character in both the real-world and in-universe version of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. She is a witch who tries to reach the Fountain of Fair Fortune.
Story[]
Altheda is robbed by an evil sorcerer who took her home, gold and wand. She hopes to receive good fortune from the Fountain of Fair Fortune to repair her powerlessness and poverty. To reach the fountain, she has to enter an enchanted garden surrounded by a wall through a gap that will only open for a brief moment. While she is waiting outside, she encounters two other witches, Asha and Amata and they agree to help each other reach the fountain.[1]
Once the gap opens she begins to enter the garden but Altheda and Asha fall over and grab onto Amata, which causes her to catch on the armour of Sir Luckless, a Muggle Knight. Altheda and Asha are upset with her for bringing through the Knight because only one can bathe in the waters of the fountain and it is hard enough to decide which one them it will be without adding a fourth person. They encounter three obstacles on the way. The first is a giant Worm which demands proof of their pain to pass. Asha eventually pays the proof of her pain and the Worm crawls back into its hole. [1]
The group carry on until they reach the second obstacle on the slope leading up to the fountain. An inscription requests the fruit of their labours. The group try to carry on walking but realise after several hours that they haven't advance a step. The sun kept getting higher above the exhausted group with Altheda walking faster and harder than the others. She encourages them to keep walking and tells them to have courage and not yield. When she wipes the sweat from her brow, the drops fall to the floor. The inscription disappears and they finally advance now that Altheda has paid the price.[1]
The third obstacle is a stream running around the grassy hill upon which is the fountain. They try to leap across but it will not let them until they have paid the treasure of their past. This time, Amata is the one to pay the price. When the stream fades away, they cross over on stepping stones to reach the fountain. Asha collapses in mortal agony and refuses to be touched. The others cannot carry her to the fountain so Altheda tries to help by gathering herbs nearby to create a potion. After Asha drinks the potion, she is cured of her malady and is able to stand.[1]
Asha tells Altheda to bathe in the fountain instead of her because she no longer has need of it to heal her sickness. Altheda has also realised that she doesn't need the fountain. She can carry on using the surrounding herbs to heal the disease and that will earn her plenty of gold to escape her poverty. Amata also has no need for the fountain so the witches encourage Sir Luckless to enter. After he returns with confidence and gains Amata hand and heart, Altheda walks back down the hill with her friends and they live long and happy lives.[1]