The Seducer Seduced

Rowena wasn't sure what had surprised her the most in what Salazar had revealed. She knew she had to set him right about Richard as soon as she was able to, but she didn't know how to do that without revealing that she had listened in on his very private conversation with Godric. She felt a sharp twinge of guilt when she realised that she wouldn't have wanted Salazar to listen in whilst she was talking confidentially to Helga.

Whilst her guilty conscience was fully active, she could not help the small smile that had settled on her lips at the knowledge that Salazar hadn't been with any other women before her. She understood entirely his fears that he would not live up to her expectations, as she had wondered the same thing about her own lack of experience.

"The blind leading the blind," she said to herself with a small laugh.

She walked for nearly two hours before she finally arrived back at the Hufflepuff's house. She was half way down the path when the door burst open and a dark haired wizard flew out of it and pulled her into his arms. "Where've you been?" Salazar asked.

"For a walk," Rowena replied, pulling back to see the worry in Salazar's eyes. "I told Helga before I left."

"You've been gone for hours," Salazar scolded. "I thought you'd left me."

Rowena laughed. "You're not getting rid of me that easily," she teased.

"I wouldn't ever want to be rid of you," Salazar said in all seriousness.

Rowena looked up at him and knew that had she not listened to his conversation earlier that morning, she would have certainly been unable to resist the impulse to kiss him. Now, she merely looked at him and waited for him to make the first move.

Salazar seemed a little surprised that she had let the opportunity to kiss him pass her by, but he soon recovered enough to capture her lips with his own.

Rowena wasn't passive as they kissed, but she made it clear that he was the one who was taking the lead and that she would follow his guidance.

"Are you all right?" Salazar asked, pulling back slightly.

"Better than all right," Rowena replied, pursing her lips for another kiss.

"We should go inside," Salazar said. "The others were wondering where you'd disappeared to as well."

Rowena nodded and let Salazar take her hand in his own as they walked inside.

Godric and Helga were in the sitting room talking when Rowena and Salazar went inside.

"Your lunch is cold," Helga told her without missing a beat in the discussion.

"I think I'll just go upstairs and rest a while," Rowena said. "I'll be down for dinner."

Helga nodded absently and waved her away.

Rowena turned towards the stairs and was surprised to see that Salazar was following her. She wondered whether to say something, but decided against it. She walked past the door to Salazar's room and heard his small sound of surprise.

She turned to face him, her hand on the doorknob to her own room. "Sal?"

Salazar looked at her quietly, confusion clearly written on his face.

"I've decided not to keep pushing you," Rowena explained. She gave a small shrug.

"Helga told me," Salazar blurted out, his face reddening with embarrassment.

"Told you?" Rowena whispered, fear settling in her gut.

"Told me that you two had used one of Helga's spells to listen to Godric and I outside," Salazar clarified. "Don't be angry with her; she knew you would tell me yourself, eventually.

"I'm sorry," Rowena offered quietly. "It was a shameful thing to do."

"It's all right," Salazar assured her. He opened the door to his room and gestured for her to enter. She crept past him and sat in the solitary chair, her gaze fixed resolutely on her shoes.

"Aren't you angry?" Rowena asked. "I'd be mad if someone was listening in on my private conversations."

"I wasn't very pleased at first, but then I realised that I should have spoken to you before Godric anyway."

"He's your best friend."

"And you're the woman I love," Salazar countered. He sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed at the back of his neck.

"Richard was only a friend of the family," Rowena offered. "There was never anything more than friendship between us."

Salazar's smile was a little shy as he asked "really?"

Rowena nodded. "There's never been anyone else for me. You're the only one I ever wanted."

"Really? You'd never kissed other boys you found hiding in your apple orchard?"

Rowena grinned at Salazar's teasing tone. "The others shut up when I asked them to, and I didn't have to resort to such desperate measures."

Salazar laughed and soon Rowena joined him with chuckles of her own.

Eventually the laughter stopped and a quietness descended on the room.

"Well, this is awkward," Rowena finally commented.

Salazar nodded slowly. "Highly," he agreed. "I'm sorry I'm not all you were expecting."

"Huh?"

"You know, suave, experienced…"

"You think I care about that?" Rowena asked.

"Isn't that why you're no longer trying to seduce me?"

"No!"

"Then why are you sitting over there, instead of beside me?" Salazar asked.

"Because I'm waiting for you to make a move," Rowena explained. "I didn't want to push you, not now I know why you were holding back."

"Oh."

"Do you want me to try to seduce you again?" Rowena asked with a sly smile.

"I've been kind of anticipating it all morning," Salazar replied with a smirk of his own.

Rowena laughed and stood up to remove her cloak. Naturally the knot was stuck again, and Salazar stood up to untie it for her.

"Are you going to tie it back up again?" Rowena asked teasingly.

Salazar shook his head and tossed the cloak onto the chair. "Not this time," he replied.

Rowena toed off her shoes and climbed up onto the bed. "Are you going to join me?"

Salazar nodded and stretched out beside her. "I don't want to disappoint you," he said.

Rowena slipped her hand into his robes, and for the first time she encountered no resistance from Salazar. Instead Salazar moaned loudly and inched closer to her, his own hands doing some exploring of their own.

Neither of them knew exactly what to do, both were acting instinctively and letting themselves be guided by the other's sounds of pleasure.

The bed creaked ominously as their movements became more confident and passionate.

Rowena and Salazar were oblivious to the strain they were putting the aged bed under until a loud crack heralded its collapse.

"Bugger!" Rowena swore as they rolled from the mattress and onto the hard wooden floor.

Salazar groaned and struggled to sit up. Thankfully they were still sufficiently clothed to preserve their modesty when Helga and Godric burst into the room.

"What in the world are you doing in here?" Helga asked as she surveyed the mess.

"Seducing Rowena," Salazar muttered as he stood up.

Godric chuckled and smirked in doorway. "You know, if you wanted some tips, you only had to ask. No need to destroy the entire place with your ineptitude."

Salazar swore and helped Rowena to her feet. "Come on, love."

"Where are we going?" Rowena asked as Salazar swept past their friends, tugging her along with him.

"Your room, of course," Salazar told her. "Where we're going to make sure to lock the door behind us this time."

Rowena laughed at Helga and Godric's expressions, which were the last thing she saw before Salazar closed the door behind them, locking it manually and with several strong spells for good measure.

"Now, where were we?" he asked.

"You were seducing me," Rowena reminded him.

"Oh yes," Salazar murmured as he ducked his head to kiss her. "Or was it you seducing me?"

"I don't remember," Rowena teased as she closed the final inch between them.

It didn't really matter who was seducing who, not as long as they were together.

The End

-o-xXx-o-

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has been so patient in waiting for me to finish this story. I hope you enjoyed the story. I know it isn't as long as my other founders stories - this one was actually never intended to be more than a oneshot.

For those who may not have read my other Founders stories and would like to see the apple orchard scene referred to (but without reading the rest of the story) you can find that scene in chapter 9 of Whatever it Takes. You will need to scroll down the page a bit though as it is not the whole chapter, just a brief flashback within it.

At the moment I don't have any plans for any more founders stories, though I do have a 'never say never' policy so I may return to that era at some point in the future.