The Lion and the Eagle
A Tale of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw
by Fiyero Oberon
Third

An arrangement of ivy and lilies sit on a pedestal next to the tall looking-glass. Peering in, Rowena sees the reverse reflection of herself – a black braid, looped with white lilies and an unnamed blue wildflower; a white veil, thrown over her head, that will be pulled back down to mask her face during the wedding; a white velvet gown, ornamented with blue ribbons; two eyes, big and blue and sad, heavy from the holding of tears.

"Milady," says a serving girl, rushing into the room, "the ceremony is to begin shortly. The sire awaits your presence…"

Rowena sniffs and wipes away the tears with a satin-clad finger; the gloved hands reach up to pull down the veil and the serving girl hands her an extravagant bouquet of lilies and blue wildflowers. Rowena plasters a false smile on her face and follows the serving girl to the chapel.

Sir Jonathon Evergreen stands at the front of the chapel, his bearded face beaming. Rowena finds that her eyes refuse to meet with Sir Evergreen's – Jonathon, she tells herself, call him Jonathon – and instead trail along the floor in front of her as she walks slowly down the aisle.

Looking up, Rowena searching the faces lined in the pews, searching for a familiar face – at the front, her six brothers and sisters, all smiling at her. Her father stands beside Sir Evergreen – Jonathon­ – beaming at such a fine match.

She looks again, looking for one face – where is he?

There.

Two green eyes and a mane of golden-red curls. On one side of him, Lord and Lady Lesauvage sit; on the other, a lanky, dark-haired wizard known as Salazar Slytherin smiles sadly at her. But the important thing is that Godric is here, and he is not smiling.

The ceremonies seem an eternity, but Rowena does not pay attention. Her mind is focused on her hatred for the bearded man before her and her love for the golden man behind her. She repeats what the priest tells her to repeat and drinks what the priest tells her to drink and places the ring on the finger the priest tells her to place it on. Repeat, drink, place, repeat, drink, place, drink, repeat, place, place, place, place, place, drink, repeat…

At the ball, Lady Lesauvage swoops upon her, hugs her tightly, and kisses her on each cheek without a word before moving on to introduce herself to Sir Evergreen – Jonathon. Salazar hugs her and Godric – Godric gives a curt nod, before moving on to shake Jonathon's hand. It feels like her heart has turned suddenly to lead and plummeted to the pit of her stomach, or lower.

"May I have this dance?" The orchestra has begun playing and before Rowena can accept or decline, she finds herself whirling around the dance floor with Sir – Jonathon.

When the dance has ended, Rowena gives the proper curtsy and then hurries away in search of Salazar and Godric. She finds them talking to a girl with a round face and long, golden-brown hair. "Hello," she says, coming up to them.

"Hello," the trio chimes in unison. All look very awkward, as though they do not know what to say, but it is the round-faced girl who speaks up first. "Hello, there," she says, and Rowena can feel the warmth and kindness generating from her voice, "I'm Helga, Godric's sixth cousin twice removed or something like that. Our mothers are third cousins whose aunt married the divorced husband of their grandmother making them – oh, I don't know, the point is that we're related."

Rowena smiled, deciding she liked this Helga girl. "I'm Rowena Ravenclaw," she says, extending a hand, which Helga takes and kisses, surprising Rowena. "Oh… formalities aren't really expected…"

"Ah, but they are now, Lady Evergreen," Helga says, smiling. "You married a knight to the King of England – it would be improper for me not to kiss your hand. I'm only a baroness of Scotland… not even, really; a baroness-to-be, once my mother and father have died… Not that I want them to die, I'm just saying that once they have both passed on, then I will become a baroness and I do believe I'm making a fool of myself in front of the wife of a knight of England. I beg pardon, Lady Evergreen."

"I'm not an Evergreen," Rowena says firmly, and Godric raises an eyebrow. "I mean to say, I kept the Ravenclaw family name. It's not a very common name, and my mother had only two sons to keep the name going after my father has died, and I have no cousins, so I fully intend to keep the Ravenclaw name alive as long as possible." Helga raises her eyebrows, apparently impressed with the strength in Rowena's decisions. "Of course, Jonathon will want to name any children Evergreen, so it won't matter in the end anyway…" She trails off – Godric is looking away, studying the dancing figures.

Rowena jumps at the feeling of two arms wrapping around her waist, and twists around to find Sir Ever – Jonathon's bearded face kissing her. "Are these your friends, Ro?" he asks, and Rowena decides that he makes the word "friends" sound childish and foolish.

"Yes," she says, despite herself. "This is Salazar Slytherin."

"Slytherin? As in the House of Slytherin?" Evergreen asks, and Salazar nods curtly, and Rowena pleads mentally that he does not say what she knows he is going to say. "Are those the famous family of Parselmouths? They were burned at the stake, weren't they? I thought Muggles had killed them all?"

"Not all," Salazar says through clenched teeth – Rowena sees Godric wrap a fist tightly around Salazar's thin wrist.

"How did you manage to escape?" says Evergreen, interested in a topic that made everyone else uncomfortable.

"Animagus," Salazar manages to say.

"No kidding, what's your form? You're registered, of course, aren't you? They're making all Animagi register now, to keep track and all, you know."

"Yes, I've registered. I'm a snake."

"Oh, of course you are," says Evergreen, chuckling heartily and pecking a kiss on Rowena's cheek; she grimaces in return. "And who is this fine couple?" he asks, turning to Godric and Helga.

"This is Helga – I'm sorry, I didn't catch your last name."

"Oh, right," says Helga, smiling, "it's Hufflepuff."

"Helga Hufflepuff," says Rowena, and she continues straight on into introducing Godric for fear of Evergreen embarrassing Helga as much as he humiliated Salazar. "And this is Godric Gryffon d'or; you have met him already, he is the son of Lady Lesauvage."

"Oh yes, of course." Evergreen – Jonathon – extends a hand to Godric, who shakes it firmly. "Well, you three wouldn't mind if I stole Ro for another dance, would you?"

"Oh no, not at all," says Helga, smiling – Godric, however, looks like he would care very much and Salazar looks ready to pull out his wand and charm Evergreen into a coma. It matters little besides, because even before Helga has spoken Evergreen has pulled Rowena away into a whirling waltz.