The small tree was odd; gnarled and bent, bitter seeming in the bright light. Loud, cheerful birds flitted about the edge of the Forest, but avoided the shivering tree. It was little more than a sapling, and though Rowena had been quite clear that it was simply an odd, warped willow, it nevertheless fascinated Godric. He sat in front of it, a pile of haphazard documents held down against the wind by a palm-sized stone he'd found at the edge of the lake. Speaking of which...

He let his eyes leave the willow and move to the lake; unsurprisingly, Salazar was on the beach, having stripped down to trousers and naught else, preparing to wade into the shallows to speak with the creature residing there. Not a snake, but Salazar was a man of many talents, and he would find a way to communicate even without Parseltongue. Godric rolled his eyes a little and returned his gaze to the tree. It shivered and twitched, as if cold, or afraid.

"Strange little thing you are, no?" He leaned back on his arms, smirking a little as the gray form twisted and relaxed, as if sighing.

"Well, it can't be helped – we're all rather odd here."

"Talking to trees, Godric? Have you been in Helga's presence more often than usual?" He bit off an oath even as a shiver ran down his spine at Salazar's liquid tones.

"No more than you, Sal." Salazar eyed him haughtily, before sitting, tossing some of his long dark hair out of his equally dark green eyes. Godric absently produced a hair tie, nodding in response to Salazar's thanks as he pulled the dripping locks back. His hair fell to his middle-upper back, longer than both Helga and Godric's hair; only Rowena, who appreciated the waist length style cultivated by medieval witches, wore hers longer. Helga actually had the shortest hair, inviting much gossip with her short, spiky do that made her hair look like gold spines. Godric's own hair was a messy affair that generally only lay tame after Salazar had dealt with it – much like the wizard himself. He was jerked out of his musings by warm breath on the back of his neck.

"Salazar..." He breathed his name, eyes fluttering shut as the other wizard rose onto his knees and began to litter kisses over his neck, throat, collarbone, and shoulders, hissing soft words of endearment in Parseltongue and purring smugly as his partner melted into his arms. Long fingers massaged his scalp as he was pulled back into the other man's lap, tucking himself into the taller man's body until they were fitted together like two pieces of a puzzle.

"Mm..." Salazar chuckled a little, enjoying the soft purring sound from his lover.

"A lion, hmm? More like a house cat."

"Be silent, beautiful."

"Be still, my heart." Godric murmured something unflattering, his own dark gold eyes slitted against the sunlight as he examined the tree.

"It's a sad little thing, is it not?"

"Perhaps it is nothing of the sort, Godric." The other wizard twisted to look up at him, one eyebrow arched in question. Salazar continued, eyes tracing the tree's twisted form.

"Perhaps – perhaps it is merely resigned; it has known little of life yet, Godric. It does not know sadness or happiness, Godric – and over the years, a thousand experiences will shape it. Only then can we judge it, and even then perhaps not at all. Who are we to speak of sorrow or joy?" Godric huffed and eased away from him, rising to approach the tree. Salazar lounged, wondering what was on the other man's mind, when Godric suddenly yelped, then laughed. Confused, he rose and joined the warrior mage, until he saw what had prompted such a reaction.

Godric had splayed his hand across the bark, and the tree had twisted branches around his wrist, in a caressing embrace. Salazar eyed the wood skeptically, then slowly wrapped his arms around his lover's waist. A warm sensation engulfed him, and they exhaled in unison, brilliant light rising in the shape of their totems only to sink into the wood. A twisted, heart-shaped knot remained, tinged slightly in the fading light. Godric pulled back a little, bemused.

"What..." Salazar nuzzled his ear, smiling against Godric's warm skin as the other wizard turned, gazing up the scant centimeters into his eyes. Fingers twined, and mouths fused for a short, hot kiss, laden with sweetness and slightly sour lust. Godric exhaled as Salazar inhaled, their breath mingling – Salazar tasted to Godric like apples and licorice; Godric, like chocolate and pumpkin juice. The sun set in a glorious blaze behind the lovers and the lone tree, and it seemed to stretch into the light, no longer twisted with bitterness but imbued with yearning. Godric pulled away first, breath puffing across Salazar's still damp skin as he panted softly. They rested against one another, forehead to forehead, Godric's eyes closed, Salazar's open. Even in this, they were at odds; a subtle opposition that appeared in every interaction, every discussion, every kiss – at odds, yet in sweet tandem. Salazar's fingers traced abstract patterns on Godric's palms; Godric stayed frozen in place, as if afraid that motion might shatter the delicate serendipity of their position.

"Salazar..."

"Godric?" The back and forth, stating and questioning, with the tree rising behind and between them, like an axis, the axis of their world. Finally he moved, twisting his fingers through Salazar's, smiling when he finally noticed the glint of gold at his throat. He pulled his left hand free and lifted the heavy ring hanging from the delicate gold chain – a gray-green snake devouring its own tail, its features modeled after a basilisk they'd once encountered together early in their friendship. A basilisk ouroboros. Salazar flushed a little at the pure joy in his lover's eyes, and slowly curled his hand around the one caressing the pendant, feeling his flush deepen as those burnt gold eyes rose to meet his own green ones.

"You still have it." Salazar's voice was barely more than a whisper as he replied, "You once said if you ever had to leave me...it would be a reminder of you – but we'll always be together Godric...won't we?" He raised his lover's hand to his lips, brushing the lightest of kisses across his knuckles.

"Forever..." Godric murmured, leaning forward to capture his lips once more. A soft rustle, like a dreamy sigh, sounded behind them from the willow, and the heart-shaped knot pulsed with warm magic – the imprint of their love.

Thousands of years from that marked day, the Willow towered over the grounds, a frightful visage over a soft hearted guardian spirit, watching over the generations of students that flowed like time itself over the timeless grounds, leaving traces of their memories even after they'd been gone for years. Here, it exhaled softly, its ancient spirit turning to the two wizards seated a safe distance from it, echoing the memory it barely recalled from that day of marking...

"Draco..."

"Harry?" They leaned forward, lips hovering but not yet touching.

"I don't want to leave you, Draco..."

"Then don't..." They finally came together, and as if sensing the culmination of another such bond, the heart-shaped knot resting at the base of the tree, the only thing that tamed the wild branches, hummed contentedly, sending surges of warm magic through the Willow's branches. Twin gasps were drowned out by the creaking as the trunk twisted and relaxed in a sigh, a thousand new blossoms raining down over the new couple, who gazed up at it in awe, fingers and bodies pressed together reverently as ancient vows mingled with new.

"I will always love you."

A/N: Fluff. Pure, unadulterated fluff. I was in the mood, and Felix offered a prompt involving the Willow and Godric and Salazar. Voila. I think it's sweet, anyway. Review, even if it's just to curse me for rotting your brain with excessive literary sugar. :)