Rowena {a founders story}

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

        Salazar had taken to wandering the castle at odd hours, feeling his way by the deep runnings of ancient magic beneath the floors. It had begun to spread into the new parts of the castle as well, and he found interesting signs of such. Flowers growing from stone, a hallway that had a ceiling that sometimes looked like the night sky. He was intrigued, and decided to study it further. Perhaps he would tell Rowena – but not about the chambers deep beneath the school. That would just be for him.

It was on one of his late night wanderings that he decided to take a secret passageway to his chambers, and as he wove through and was about to push back the tapestry, he heard whispering. If it were students out of bed, they would sorely regret being caught by the strictest of the Founders. However, as he peered out from behind the tapestry, he saw not students – but Godric, leaning toward Rowena, who had her back against the wall.

Salazar felt his stomach drop; they were not often seen being intimate with one another, Rowena wanting to be professional in front of the students. However, when the four of them were alone, Salazar was inflicted with rather dark thoughts towards Godric when he got to have his arm around Rowena, or to kiss her cheek at the end of the night.

As Godric moved, Salazar was startled to see that the dark head of hair was not black but brown, and was fairly straight, not curly. It was not Rowena at all – but Alva, her pretty face tilted up towards Godric as he leaned down to press his lips to hers.

Salazar stumbled back into the passage, suddenly euphoric. Godric was being unfaithful to Rowena, this was his chance. She would never stay with him. Not after this. And he, Salazar, would be there to comfort her when the Gryffindor brute broke her heart. Turning on his heel, Salazar headed back to his chambers the long way, planning on the best way to begin the breaking of Rowena Ravenclaw's heart.

        The grey slate of the lake's surface didn't ripple, the air still in wait of snow. A fallen tree had become a spot for students to sit over the past few months, and this is where the eldest and youngest Slytherin siblings had perched themselves. Salazar sat with his chin in his right hand, toiling his wand between the fingers of his left. Beside him, Saidra was rolling a sweet in her mouth with her tongue, concentrating on its changing flavour. Alva had begun making candy in her spare time.

"Mother knows about your Halfblood friends, Saidra." Salazar said finally, keeping his gaze locked on the motionless water.

Saidra stilled beside him, crushing the candy between her teeth. "Oh."

"If you wish to stay here you must break contact with him, and I know you do not wish to be sent home."

She really didn't. The thought of returning to Slytherin castle made her go hot with anxiety: back to her mother, zapping the base of her spine when she got something wrong. Where no one can see you are wrong, but you will always know, is what Zephyr would say. Saidra had more scars than any of her siblings. Salazar had almost none.

"He is my partner in Herbology, Sal, what am I meant to do?"

"That is not my concern," he said, stony faced, "Do whatever it takes so I can tell Mother you are fine, and she will stop bothering me, and you can stay here and not gain any more scars."

Saidra fell silent, but looked behind her as a laugh rolled down the hill to the shore. It was Godric and Rowena, going on their evening walk. "Rowena –" Salazar shot her a look, "I mean – Professor Ravenclaw, looks happier with Professor Gryffindor than I have ever seen her."

Now it was Salazar who said nothing, just kept his back to the couple, holding Rowena's heartbreak in his hands.

         Rowena had never stopped spending time with Salazar, and still treasured their time alone. They spent long evenings in either of their chambers, or somewhere in the castle, discussing the school, students, anything else that caught their fancy. Tonight they were watching for a star shower, meant to be good luck; they stood in the Astronomy tower, and looking down at the grounds could see Helga and Gwylim reading to collect stardust with a few particularly eager students.

"I heard some younger girls discussing how tonight is good luck for romance," chuckled Rowena, head titled to the sky. Her hair had been taken out of its twisted up do, her thick plait coming undone. There was a tea stain on her sleeve, a smudge of ink on her temple. Her few summer freckles had begun to fade, and her blue eyes appeared even darker as her skin paled. Salazar thought she had never looked so breathtaking.

Caught up in her beauty, his only response was: "Hm."

"Poor Godric, he was looking forward to this." She referred to Godric being stuck in bed with a cold. "But Alva was kind enough to look after him so I could come and watch, no need for both of us to miss it."

Salazar felt the night chill all more fiercely then, the knowledge of Godric's affair weighting his mood. He had yet to tell Rowena, for each time he went to, she seemed so happy. He had loved her for so long it seemed wrong to crush it.

"...Godric and I have spoken of marriage," Rowena had been talking, but Salazar hadn't been listening. He tuned in then, feeling sick. "I truly love him Sal – and that is why I feel I must formally break off our engagement."

"Our engagement." His voice came out strangled, but Rowena seemed not to notice. The stars had begun to fall, and she was enraptured.

"Our marriage would never work, Sal – we do not love each other." She smiled over at him briefly. "Now that I know, know what love feels like...I could never enter a marriage where I did not love my husband. I thought – well, it would not have been the end of the world if we wed. But I love Godric, like I never thought I could love anyone. And I would hate to deprave you of the same." she closed her eyes for a moment, the imprint of falling stars dancing behind her eyes.

Beneath them on the grounds, students ran about catching love lucky stars while Salazar played Rowena's words over and over – 'it would not have been the end of the world if we wed' – and wondered how he had been the one whose heart was broken in the end. 

A/N: Damn Salazar. Stirring up trouble all over the place. 

Wonder what the founders will get up to next. (also I really like Saidra, she'll be popping up again...)

Rose