Ravenclaw
Charms
Theme: Romance
Standard
Main Prompt: [Animal] Butterfly
Secondary Prompt: [Image] On discord (Old books with a magnifying glass)
Word Count: 2458
AN: Minor AU
Rowena Ravenclaw could have looked resplendent in her vibrant blue robes with bronze stitching along the sides and pale blue butterflies dancing around her head. Unfortunately, the belle of the ball could not be bothered to remove the nasty scowl from her face.
"Dear, however do you expect to attract any of these gentlemen if you can't even pretend to enjoy the festivities?" Evaline Ravenclaw asked her daughter in a voice that screamed disapproval.
For just a moment, Rowena's frown increased in intensity. Then it vanished, replaced instead by the polite almost-grin expected from a lady of her standing. The butterflies, obviously magical, sensed the change and slowly turned an angry red as a result.
Ever since her birthday, Father had been hosting parties of all sorts in an effort to find her a husband of good standing.
"Much better, Rowena," her mother whispered before walking away, taking no notice of her daughter's unique headpiece. The reason for this became immediately obvious as a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes made his way through the crowd, directly toward the Ravenclaw family's only daughter.
"Might I have this dance?" he asked in a deep baritone.
Rowena curtsied as was proper, glad that she had put up a glamour to keep her smile in place. She'd much rather be locked away in her rooms picking apart the weaknesses of Townson's Treatise on Transfiguration or working on her newest project.
Salazar Slytherin was finally ready to make his move. He had been trying to curry favor with the Ravenclaw family and even joined in the quest to wed the family's only daughter, all with one goal in mind… gaining funding for his plans to create a school, an ambition that his own family refused to support. Unfortunately, this had proven quite difficult.
Lord Ravenclaw seemed to like him well enough, especially after he gifted the man with a mated pair of eagles. Unfortunately, he seemed to hold other potential suitors for his daughter in similarly high regard, and as such, each man was to be given opportunities to win the lovely Rowena's affections before a match would be announced.
From the start, Rowena held herself apart from the festivities. Salazar watched from afar as the others made their move at formal dinners and garden parties. He needed to know which topics of conversation interested her in order to make a good first impression, after all.
This goal proved difficult to put into practice. Speeches of the suitors' bravery in battle seemed to bore the young woman almost to the point of tears, and those who thought to ask after her public interests - namely sewing fine tapestries known far and wide for their detail - got only the most rudimentary of responses. Clearly, the way to her heart would not be through such commonplace discussions. Unfortunately, time was running out.
With his goal firmly in mind, Salazar decided to put some of his… lesser-known talents to use.
Ravenclaw Castle's defenses were horribly easy to get around when one's animagus form had the ability to shrink or grow at will, and whilst everyone else enjoyed the ball downstairs, he had managed to slip into the personal quarters of one Rowena Ravenclaw.
As he'd halfway expected, evidence of Rowena's publicly favored pastime was distinctly lacking. Instead, he found himself in what appeared to be a scholar's workroom, if such a room were to have ivy climbing up the bookcases and a grassy meadow in place of a hard, unforgiving floor.
Remembering the butterflies that had decorated the heiress's hair when she entered the ballroom below, he wondered if this was the magical beasts' habitat.
Ink and parchment lay at the ready on low-lying desks scattered about the room, and the dozens of shelves appeared to house books and scrolls on any number of topics. More than that, works that were currently in use lay about the room according to a system that only the room's owner could understand, each one subtly protected by any manner of charms. It certainly would take Salazar weeks to even reach a basic understanding of the organization behind the place.
Working his way towards a desk in the center of the room, Salazar couldn't help but marvel at how comfortable his snake form felt in this environment. It was almost difficult to gather the strength to change his form, but once he did, it quickly became apparent why exaggerated tales of bravery left something to be desired for his potential spouse.
Everything about the area gave the impression of a place of learning and experiencing the how's and why's of the magical arts. The diverse blooms suggested a magical touch even if the floor hadn't made it clear, and the books on this table explained why.
In the center of the table, an obviously well-used magnifying glass could be seen beside two books that were lying wide open: one whose title he was familiar with while the other was one that he'd thought was still in the process of being written. He was familiar with Master Townson's latest treatise in Transfiguration and was surprised to see still drying critiques of it written in the margins by what seemed to be a delicate script. This was not nearly as surprising as the book next to it, however. The Interdisciplinary Nature of Nature and Magic by Roland Ravenclaw was a much-awaited piece; for Rowena to have an unfinished copy of it suggested much.
Salazar had heard of Roland, of course: the eccentric cousin of Rowena was considered an up-and-coming intellectual famous for coming up with unusual theories and proving them with rigorous testing. Roland, however, was supposedly doing research on the connections between nature and magic in the far East. What could it possibly be doing in the study of his female cousin with-Salazar double-checked-the same script that colored the pages of Townson's work? A dozen possibilities flashed through Salazar's mind. Proving any whilst hiding away in this room would be nigh on impossible, but it certainly seemed that the lovely Rowena was far more ambitious than he could have dared to hope.
Finally having an idea of what to talk to the young heiress about, he slithered out of the room.
When Lord Slytherin asked for her hand at the next dance, Rowena felt relief. While each of the men's ideas of appropriate courtship discussions left something to be desired, hopefully Lord Slytherin's abilities around the dance floor would exceed those of her previous partner.
Gliding about the floor, this quickly proved to be the case, and Rowena waited for the tall, black-haired man to ruin things by opening his mouth.
"I hear your cousin is an academic," he said.
That was a new one. Rowena wondered if he would disparage her nom-de-plume for going against widely accepted practices or go on and on about how he should focus on one area of study. That was most likely.
"Roland?" she responded with the air of one who knew little of such things. Mother never did agree with her looking into the more 'masculine' magical arts.
"Mmhmm. I especially liked his work on human-animal transfiguration. It's helped me in some of my pursuits. I have to wonder what he would think of Townson's treatise on the matter though. I don't suppose you have any thoughts on the matter?"
The lord-to-be seemed innocent enough, but Rowena was no fool. She could think of very few circumstances in which he'd know just the right topics to entertain her. Could he know her secret? Still...this was a conversation she could sink her teeth into. If he didn't care to be shown up by a woman, well, at least she could honestly say that she wasn't the one who had brought it up!
"Townson's research, such as it is, adds very little to today's discussions on magic. He makes claims on who may or may not succeed in the art of Transfiguration based upon data that is centuries old and based upon a system of learning that begins children's magical studies far later than is recommended by Kenley or Erikson," she began heatedly.
"Ah, so you're a revolutionary then, believing in education for the masses?" Lord Slytherin asked, carefully not giving away his thoughts on the subject.
What followed was a grand discussion about the Obscuri epidemic and untrained magical accidents cutting down on the survival of magical youth in Brittania compared to other regions. For once, Rowena found herself enjoying an intelligent conversation whilst at a party of her father's. Normally, such engagement was limited to when she could sneak off, glamoured as Roland. Still, all good things must come to an end, and eventually, it became necessary to address the real reason he was there.
"I've enjoyed this evening, Lord Slytherin, but do not take me for a fool. You pour honey in my ear, offering me the intellectual stimulation I crave, but I am not naive to your goals. I am surrounded by lords who would have my hand in marriage and lock me away in an ivory tower, taking me out as a decoration on their arm as they will it, bidding me to give them heirs aplenty. What is there to set you apart?
"Perhaps, you'd graciously gift me the occasional book, or materials to continue my secret studies for which I would, of course, demonstrate my neverending gratitude whilst granting you access to my family's fortune. Let us speak plainly. Were I to tell my father I've made my choice in your favor, how would you endeavor to set our marriage apart from what I could have with any other?"
Rarely had Salazar had such an interesting conversation. What began as a ploy for financial gain had allowed him to meet a genuinely interesting woman, one whose interests and goals seemed to align with his quite nicely. On hearing her call him out, he was so impressed that he took a moment to put his words in order.
"You ask if I would be gracious enough to allow you to maintain a name that is not your own and study in secret. Should that be what you require of me, I would grant it, but, truthfully, I would prefer if you stood by my side rather than hide in the shadows."
"By your side?"
Salazar looked straight into Rowena's eyes, ignoring the bright butterflies dancing around her.
"Let me be frank. I am working on the creation of a school, one that would educate magical children aged 13-19." On remembering a particular detail of their discussion, he quickly corrected himself. "Or 11-17 if the expert advice of Rowena Ravenclaw believes a lower age to be more beneficial."
"That's the first time my name has been connected to that side of me."
Salazar could see that this affected her greatly, but that she still needed something to be convinced of his sincerity. Remembering some of the information he'd gathered whilst preparing to meet the Ravenclaws, he asked, "I've heard rumors that your family is gifted in the mind arts. Is this true?" If it was, it could solve everything.
Rowena pointed towards the colorful butterflies that had seemingly fallen asleep clinging to her hair. "With the help of these, much is possible."
Salazar didn't ask after Rowena's connection with the butterflies, nor did he ask how such magic was accomplished. She would tell him later, or not. He understood family secrets; few knew of the Slytherin connection with snakes after all.
"Look at the butterflies. See their pretty colors," Rowena whispered as the butterflies quickly shifted into every color of the rainbow at dizzying speeds.
After what seemed like a millenia later, her voice commanded, "Look me in the eyes!"
Suddenly, Salazar felt the presence of someone else in his innermost being. It should have felt foreign, an intruder, or a parasite that needed to be exposed. Instead, he felt comfortable, as if inviting a trusted friend home. Rowena wished to see how he learned so much about her. He showed his visit to her private rooms. After a pause, she requested to see his plans for the school, and he revealed before her a castle many times as grand as her own, ready to defend the inhabitants within. He showed gardens on the grounds and rooms warded for magical exploration, anything she desired to know of his plans were at her fingertips. He showed her a library filled with books, dozens, hundreds of them. And then he revealed what he imagined their private rooms would look like. This was less detailed, more based on recent events than months of planning, but she needed to see the possibilities, if only she would say yes. The room was modeled after her study upstairs… grassy floors with flowers blooming and butterflies flying. And behind a current of ivy stood a bed that was perfect for late-night talks.
Most importantly, however, he showed her a pile of books towered high… each one authored by Rowena Ravenclaw or Salazar Slytherin. And on top of the pile, the exact magnifying glass that Salazar had seen on Rowena's desk.
When they pulled away an eternity later, Salazar could not help but notice that the butterflies now had a pink hue that matched his beloved's cheeks.
It was the start of something that even Salazar, with all his ambition, couldn't have clearly imagined. Salazar and Rowena did, indeed, marry for the most practical of reasons, guided by their ambition and thirst for knowledge respectively. With her at his side, Salazar met with two other like-minded souls eager to join in with their plans for a school. Rowena kept her maiden name, and Lord Slytherin and Lady Ravenclaw, together with Lord Gryffindor and Lady Hufflepuff, built a magnificent school of sorcery. Roland Ravenclaw was forgotten, quickly surpassed by his 'cousin's' achievements to everyone's pride. Only Evaline Ravenclaw wished that her daughter had gone a more conventional route.
In time, their marriage shifted from one of practicality and mutual respect into something far more difficult to define. Debates on the most arcane aspects of magic were met with gentle looks and touches that ignited a different kind of fire than they'd ever experienced before. Rowena's trademark butterflies rarely flashed the red of anger or blue of melancholy anymore, and when they did, a hue of the brightest pink could still be found along their edges. Alas, in the same way that Roland became forgotten in time, so too did their beautiful relationship, lost as it was when a distant relative of Salazar's killed him in a fit of envy and attempted to take his place, destroying Rowena's precious butterflies. But that is a story for another day.