fic: Not The Same (No challenge)
Title: Not The Same
Summary: Helga might not agree with Salazar's ideas, but a Hogwarts without him is just not the same.
Characters/Pairings: Helga/Salazar, Rowena, Godric
Genre: some kind of angst/fluff hybrid.
Beta: None
Rating/Warnings: PG. None.
Word Count: 1195
Author's Note: Inspired by Muffin's artwork Slytherpuff. (I sincerely apologise to Slytherin for butchering your Founder. :3)
Helga shared a familiar look with Rowena as she sank back into her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. She had given up taking any additional notes from their meeting as Salazar and Godric were arguing again and they were, as always, completely oblivious to the concept of staying on topic. Rowena had compiled their list of matters to deal with and Helga thought it was more than just a little bit important to get through them all. They needed to figure out a way to organise the newly arrived house-elves in the kitchen, the plans for the Astronomy tower were not yet finished and they still hadn’t dealt with the issue of the boys sneaking into the girls’ dormitories.
“Look,” Godric said, his face agitated. “We all agreed that Muggleborns would be welcome at the school and we can’t go back on it. You’re welcome to shut Muggleborns out of your house, but the rest of us will not.”
Salazar was tapping his fingers on the table, his eyebrows knitted into a frown.
“You make it sound like I’m being completely unreasonable,” he said, raising an eyebrow at Godric. “You know as well as I do that the more Muggles know about our existence, the more Hogwarts is at risk. Do you not read what they do to our kind, Godric?”
Godric sighed and shook his head. “Of course I know what they do to our kind. That’s exactly why we can’t let magical children born into Muggle families live their life alone not knowing what their powers can do. They need education.”
“It’s the Ministry’s job to protect magical children in Muggle families.”
Salazar looked tired and he wasn’t the only one who was tired of this discussion. It seemed to be an endless question between the two of them and it was one that Helga quite frankly didn’t see the need for at the moment. Salazar’s worries could certainly be an issue some time, but they weren’t right now and Helga had always liked crossing bridges when they were in the immediate vicinity.
Helga pursed her lips impatiently as she looked between the two of them. Had she known they would all be so ridiculously far apart on every question regarding Hogwarts, she might not have joined the project in the first place. It wasn’t that she regretted it. She had never done anything so worthwhile in her life, but her patience was wearing thin - and that was a feat.
She met Rowena’s gaze again and nodded, tight-lipped. Rowena straightened up in her chair and coughed loudly. The other two took no notice and Helga could see Rowena’s shoulders tense. A small smile tugged at Helga’s lips. There was nothing Rowena loathed as much as being ignored and the other two should have learned their lesson long ago. Two seconds later Rowena put her wand back into her robes and smiled sweetly at the two men whose lips were moving with no audible sound coming from them.
“Thank you,” Rowena said in a strained voice, “for derailing yet another meeting with this nonsense.”
Both Salazar and Godric looked so affronted that Helga nearly laughed. Salazar was pulling his lips into something that could only be described as a pout and Helga’s irritation was slowly being replaced by a familiar feeling of affection. It was infuriating in itself that he could do that to her, but she had long since come to terms with her apparent weakness for Salazar and his pouty lips.
“The first order of the actual agenda,” Rowena continued, apparently oblivious to the glares she was receiving, “is the organisation of the house-elves down in the kitchens. You may write your thoughts down, gentlemen.”
[---]
Helga found him in the middle of the Great Hall when everyone else had retired to their own chambers for the night. He was sitting on the Slytherin table, his feet on the bench, staring up at the enchanted ceiling. Wordlessly, she sat down next to him and followed his gaze, looking at the clouds forming slowly over the starry night sky. He didn’t acknowledge her presence and she looked at his expression out of the corner of her eyes. He’d looked tired for months now. Whenever she looked at him he had that look of exhaustion. It made her want to reach out and smooth down every line of worry from his skin. Instead, she linked her fingers with his on the table between them.
“I might have to leave,” Salazar said.
He wasn’t looking at her, but his thumb was drawing small circles on her skin.
Helga almost wanted to give a bitter laugh. Truth be told, she’d hated him when it all began a few years ago. Her first impression was that he was pretentious and held all too much pride in himself. He took charge immediately among their group and it had annoyed her, then, but now she couldn’t imagine him any other way. Salazar was nothing if not ambitious and resourceful. She’d wanted him to leave back then, and now she wanted anything but.
“Don’t leave,” she said, but it was purely for selfish reasons.
Part of her wondered if Hogwarts could remain standing with Salazar and Godric both under the same roof. And from the standpoint of what was good for Hogwarts, her ideas aligned much more neatly with Godric’s ideas. It was just that for her, personally, Hogwarts without Salazar would be unthinkable.
“There’s nothing left for me to do here,” he said. “I have other things waiting for me out there. I’ve done my share for Hogwarts, but the way Hogwarts is heading is not for me, Helga. You know that.”
She did know that. She swallowed and tightened her hold on his hand. He answered by bringing their entwined hands up to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of her hand.
[---]
The sun was warm on her skin and she breathed in the sweet scents of summer. This year the weather had seemed to take pity on them, giving them a beautiful, warm day with a slight calming breeze that ruffled his hair in that way that made her breath hitch. Last year, they’d been hit by violent showers of rain, but she hadn’t cared. They had run through the rain, their hands linked together and nothing had seemed more perfect. The day with him was always perfect. It didn’t matter that they only had this one single day together every year. If it could be like this, it was fine.
She turned her head and smiled softly. They were lying head to head on his cloak in the grass, Salazar’s face inches from her own and she could see that rueful smile playing on his lips. She reached up and held his hand, enjoying the warmth it spread through her chest.
“How’s Hogwarts?” he asked, as he did every year.
“It’s good,” she said, looking at him fondly. “But it’s not the same. Never the same.”
“I know.”
“How is your research?” she asked.
“It’s good, but it’s not the same.”
She smiled crookedly and squeezed his hand.
Ing/Hufflepuff/40
Summary: Helga might not agree with Salazar's ideas, but a Hogwarts without him is just not the same.
Characters/Pairings: Helga/Salazar, Rowena, Godric
Genre: some kind of angst/fluff hybrid.
Beta: None
Rating/Warnings: PG. None.
Word Count: 1195
Author's Note: Inspired by Muffin's artwork Slytherpuff. (I sincerely apologise to Slytherin for butchering your Founder. :3)
Helga shared a familiar look with Rowena as she sank back into her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. She had given up taking any additional notes from their meeting as Salazar and Godric were arguing again and they were, as always, completely oblivious to the concept of staying on topic. Rowena had compiled their list of matters to deal with and Helga thought it was more than just a little bit important to get through them all. They needed to figure out a way to organise the newly arrived house-elves in the kitchen, the plans for the Astronomy tower were not yet finished and they still hadn’t dealt with the issue of the boys sneaking into the girls’ dormitories.
“Look,” Godric said, his face agitated. “We all agreed that Muggleborns would be welcome at the school and we can’t go back on it. You’re welcome to shut Muggleborns out of your house, but the rest of us will not.”
Salazar was tapping his fingers on the table, his eyebrows knitted into a frown.
“You make it sound like I’m being completely unreasonable,” he said, raising an eyebrow at Godric. “You know as well as I do that the more Muggles know about our existence, the more Hogwarts is at risk. Do you not read what they do to our kind, Godric?”
Godric sighed and shook his head. “Of course I know what they do to our kind. That’s exactly why we can’t let magical children born into Muggle families live their life alone not knowing what their powers can do. They need education.”
“It’s the Ministry’s job to protect magical children in Muggle families.”
Salazar looked tired and he wasn’t the only one who was tired of this discussion. It seemed to be an endless question between the two of them and it was one that Helga quite frankly didn’t see the need for at the moment. Salazar’s worries could certainly be an issue some time, but they weren’t right now and Helga had always liked crossing bridges when they were in the immediate vicinity.
Helga pursed her lips impatiently as she looked between the two of them. Had she known they would all be so ridiculously far apart on every question regarding Hogwarts, she might not have joined the project in the first place. It wasn’t that she regretted it. She had never done anything so worthwhile in her life, but her patience was wearing thin - and that was a feat.
She met Rowena’s gaze again and nodded, tight-lipped. Rowena straightened up in her chair and coughed loudly. The other two took no notice and Helga could see Rowena’s shoulders tense. A small smile tugged at Helga’s lips. There was nothing Rowena loathed as much as being ignored and the other two should have learned their lesson long ago. Two seconds later Rowena put her wand back into her robes and smiled sweetly at the two men whose lips were moving with no audible sound coming from them.
“Thank you,” Rowena said in a strained voice, “for derailing yet another meeting with this nonsense.”
Both Salazar and Godric looked so affronted that Helga nearly laughed. Salazar was pulling his lips into something that could only be described as a pout and Helga’s irritation was slowly being replaced by a familiar feeling of affection. It was infuriating in itself that he could do that to her, but she had long since come to terms with her apparent weakness for Salazar and his pouty lips.
“The first order of the actual agenda,” Rowena continued, apparently oblivious to the glares she was receiving, “is the organisation of the house-elves down in the kitchens. You may write your thoughts down, gentlemen.”
[---]
Helga found him in the middle of the Great Hall when everyone else had retired to their own chambers for the night. He was sitting on the Slytherin table, his feet on the bench, staring up at the enchanted ceiling. Wordlessly, she sat down next to him and followed his gaze, looking at the clouds forming slowly over the starry night sky. He didn’t acknowledge her presence and she looked at his expression out of the corner of her eyes. He’d looked tired for months now. Whenever she looked at him he had that look of exhaustion. It made her want to reach out and smooth down every line of worry from his skin. Instead, she linked her fingers with his on the table between them.
“I might have to leave,” Salazar said.
He wasn’t looking at her, but his thumb was drawing small circles on her skin.
Helga almost wanted to give a bitter laugh. Truth be told, she’d hated him when it all began a few years ago. Her first impression was that he was pretentious and held all too much pride in himself. He took charge immediately among their group and it had annoyed her, then, but now she couldn’t imagine him any other way. Salazar was nothing if not ambitious and resourceful. She’d wanted him to leave back then, and now she wanted anything but.
“Don’t leave,” she said, but it was purely for selfish reasons.
Part of her wondered if Hogwarts could remain standing with Salazar and Godric both under the same roof. And from the standpoint of what was good for Hogwarts, her ideas aligned much more neatly with Godric’s ideas. It was just that for her, personally, Hogwarts without Salazar would be unthinkable.
“There’s nothing left for me to do here,” he said. “I have other things waiting for me out there. I’ve done my share for Hogwarts, but the way Hogwarts is heading is not for me, Helga. You know that.”
She did know that. She swallowed and tightened her hold on his hand. He answered by bringing their entwined hands up to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of her hand.
[---]
The sun was warm on her skin and she breathed in the sweet scents of summer. This year the weather had seemed to take pity on them, giving them a beautiful, warm day with a slight calming breeze that ruffled his hair in that way that made her breath hitch. Last year, they’d been hit by violent showers of rain, but she hadn’t cared. They had run through the rain, their hands linked together and nothing had seemed more perfect. The day with him was always perfect. It didn’t matter that they only had this one single day together every year. If it could be like this, it was fine.
She turned her head and smiled softly. They were lying head to head on his cloak in the grass, Salazar’s face inches from her own and she could see that rueful smile playing on his lips. She reached up and held his hand, enjoying the warmth it spread through her chest.
“How’s Hogwarts?” he asked, as he did every year.
“It’s good,” she said, looking at him fondly. “But it’s not the same. Never the same.”
“I know.”
“How is your research?” she asked.
“It’s good, but it’s not the same.”
She smiled crookedly and squeezed his hand.
Ing/Hufflepuff/40