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The sky was covered with grey clouds that kept the sunrays at bay.
For Salazar, that made it the perfect day for a walk along the castle's lake. He would have preferred his own company, but Helga had joined him when she caught a glance of him as he passed by the castle's entrance.
She had been carrying a basket full of fruits and vegetables that were supposed to be delivered to her elves working in the kitchen. When she approached him, Salazar insisted that she should complete her task first; otherwise, dinner could be delayed.
Helga dismissed his concerns and claimed that it wouldn't hurt anyone if she took a couple of minutes off. With that, Salazar's only hope of being alone vanished, and he had no choice but to accept Helga's company. He offered to carry the basket, but she declined his help.
They walked in silence for a long while. Helga occasionally looked at him from the corner of her eye but made no attempt to initiate a conversation.
Salazar felt great gratitude toward her for it, even if he didn't express it out loud.
Eventually, they reached the school's lake. Salazar stared at it without saying a word, allowing his mind to find some peace in the water's stillness.
"I knew you'd pick a snake as the symbol of your house, Salazar." Helga said casually as she put the basket down. She knelt for a moment to pick up a handful of pebbles and offered some to Salazar, but he politely refused with a gesture of his hand. "They are misunderstood creatures with a misplaced bad reputation, but I'm sure your students will give them a good name in no time."
"Godric disagrees." Salazar felt how the words left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth.
"Doesn't he always?" Helga said with a humorless chuckle as she threw a pebble toward the water. It pounced thrice on the surface before sinking into the lake.
"I'm getting sick of his lofty attitude." Salazar clenched his jaw. "I'm also beginning to think it's personal. No matter what I say or what I do, he seems to be against it. He even contradicted me when I suggested a diet richer in vegetables for the students! I swear, he was so against the idea that I thought that he would start a civil war about it."
"That one might be on me." Helga sighed. "I was the one that came up with the menu, after all."
"No, this has nothing to do with you." Salazar said as softly as his stern voice allowed. "He just does it to spite me, Helga. Our differences are too great for us to get along."
"Since when that's been an obstacle for a friendship to blossom?" Helga gave him a small nudge in the arm with her elbow. "Look at us. We couldn't be more different, but we are friends, aren't we?"
Salazar looked at her. Her hazel eyes were filled with concern. Salazar could see it, no matter how hard she tried to hide it behind her humorous façade.
He felt his heart soften.
Helga, if only you knew the power you have over me.
"Of course we are." Salazar said with a subtle smile, getting his face closer to hers. "That will never change."
Helga looked away and gave him a playful push with her hands.
Salazar laughed as he took a couple of steps back before recovering his balance. "I did nothing to deserve that."
"Yes, you did." Helga said with feign pride. "You made me blush. You have no sense of personal space when you talk, Salazar."
"Only when it's with you."
"You stop that now, Salazar Slytherin!"
"My name sounds so sweet when it comes from your lips." Salazar approached Helga with careful, calculated steps. "I hope you can say the same when yours comes from mine, Helga Hufflepuff."
Their faces were only a few inches apart. Salazar watched how Helga closed her eyes and prepared her lips to welcome his.
My heart belongs to you. That's why you must never have it, no matter how much I wish you did.
He smirked almost with sadness before picking up the basket overstuffed with fruits and vegetables. "Come, let's take this to the kitchen. I don't want your disrespectful elves to make a scene because of their missing ingredients."
Salazar started walking toward the castle. He had to bite his tongue to keep himself from laughing when he looked over his shoulder and discovered that Helga's dreamily face had transformed into a scowl.
"Do you plan to ever do something out of all this teasing and flirting, Slytherin? Or do you just enjoy playing with my heart?" Helga said with her hands firmly resting on her hips.
"If I gave you an answer, then all the magic would be gone from our relationship."
"You have no shame." Helga said as she caught up to him.
"I never stated otherwise."
They laughed, and spent the rest of their journey back to the castle in silence. Nothing had really changed during their brief absence, but Salazar felt the sweet relief of having casted aside a big burden from his shoulders.
It was all thanks to Helga.
A conversation with her, no matter how small or trivial, always soothed his soul. Her presence alone was enough to make him feel calmer and more focused. It had always been that way between them.
Your influence over me scares me.
Salazar thought as they were getting close to the kitchen. The clanking and sizzling sounds that came from inside it made Helga smile.
The most trivial and simple things have always been enough to make you happy, Helga. It can never be the same with me.
"Salazar." Helga stopped walking. Salazar did the same. "We are friends. You can tell me what really happened."
Salazar felt a hole in his stomach.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You aren't angry at Godric because he disapproved of your decision of making the snake the symbol of your house. There's more to it than this, isn't it?"
Salazar had always been proud of his ability to conceal his emotions. It wasn't for nothing that many wondered if he even had a soul from which a ghost could be born once he died.
And yet, Helga had seen right through him, like she always did.
When Salazar thought about it, he realized she had been quieter than usual for a reason.
It wasn't that her tongue had run out of things to say, she just been waiting for him to tell her the truth.
"Nothing is ever lost to you, Helga. You're very cunning for someone so kind, I even dare to say that later is a mask to hide the former."
"Tell me what happened." Helga insisted without paying attention to Salazar's insinuations.
Salazar's smile disappeared. If it had been anyone else, he would have replied to that sort of bluntness with a direct spell.
But it's you, Helga. I am yours, and it scares me...it scares me more than you can imagine. More than anyone can ever know.
Swallowing his pride, Salazar confessed the truth to Helga. Somewhere during their conversation, Salazar put down the basket again, leaving no obstacle between him and Helga.
She came closer to him, as charmed by his voice as he was by her eyes.
"No muggle-born wizards?" Helga repeated in disbelief.
"Not even one." Salazar stated in a whisper. "Not in my house. I will never admit it."
"I see." Helga said. She looked away for a moment, and Salazar stared at her in silence. "I understand why Godric would disapprove. I assume Rowena would do the same if she knew."
"What about you?" Salazar held her face with his cold hands and made her look directly at him. "Do you disapprove of this too, Helga? Would you hate me for it? Would you try to convince me to change my ways?"
Because for you, I would.
Salazar loosened his grip on her face and caressed her cheeks.
I may be mad, I may be weak...but I'm only a man, and you have charmed my heart. And even if I hate myself for it, right now I'd do as you said. That's the power you have over me, Helga. Not even the power of the Imperio curse could compare, my love.
Helga closed the small gap between them.
Her breasts pressed against his chest just a second before her lips did the same with his.
They kissed with no one as their witness.
"I disapprove of it, Salazar." Helga said right after breaking the kiss, their lips still brushing together as she spoke. "But I could never hate you for it, nor would I ever want you to change. I love you as you are. I accept you whole, no matter how different we are. That is something that will never change."
"Not even if the rest disagree?" Salazar said as he embraced Helga. She rested her whole weight against him, making him lean against the wall. "Not even if I'm hated for it? Would you still love me then, Helga?"
"Always." Helga said. Salazar felt her hand move against his back, followed by the creaking noise of a door opening behind them.
Salazar found himself lying on the floor of a room he had never seen before.
"The Room of Requirements." Helga explained as she laid on top of him. "My own addition to our castle...our school. It shows up only when someone is in great need."
"You never stop surprising me, Helga." Salazar smiled, proud of himself for having fallen in love with a witch of her caliber. "Do Godric and Rowena know?"
"No. This will be our little secret, Salazar. Do you promise me that you'll never tell them?" She kissed him again. "Do you promise me that you love me?"
"Always, my love." Salazar answered, tangling his fingers with hers.
During the whole act, Helga took the lead, and Salazar allowed it.
'Always' is such a strong word, Helga. I have never taken it seriously, and I don't think that will ever change.
Salazar thought as he allowed his body to give into his impulses as Helga did the same with her own.
But for now, I'll pretend I do. Maybe, I'm not pretending at all. Right now, I love you and I'm yours, no matter what tomorrow holds.
The door on the wall disappeared just in time to evade the curious eyes of an elf who left the kitchen to go find Lady Helga and the missing ingredients.
His quest was cut short when he found the basket just around the corner, but of his beloved Lady he found no trace.
Helga and Salazar wouldn't be seen again for the rest of the day. Their absence sparked the curiosity of Godric and Rowena, who casually commented on it as they both had dinner on the Great Hall.
The same that would soon be crowded with students.
Muggle-born, halfblood and pure blood alike.