I got really positive feedback, so i pulled an all nighter so i could give you guys this. continue with the reviews!

Things were different from then on. And as Rowena reflected on it two years later she knew she didn't mind. Her and Salazar had never been more in love then they were right now. Every second she spent with him was so precious. Especially now that those times would be much fewer and farther between. It had been just last week that she had learned this, and the thought still made her squirm uncomfortably.

It had been right after their lesson, and they had taken a walk in the area surrounding Salazar's property. There were woods nearby, which is where they stole off to now. Rowena leaned up against a tree, and Salazar leaned in for a passionate kiss. Rowena ran her hands through his hair. His chestnut hair had not continued on it's path of growing darker in the past two years, and Rowena could've sworn it had even turned a few shades lighter. He told her that it was because he felt lighter when he was with her. They continued kissing, until they had exhausted themselves and sank to the green floor, heads resting on each other All of a sudden she jumped up, a panicked look in her eyes.

"What is it?" Salazar asked worriedly.

"My clip!" she told him frantically, groping at her hair. "It must have fallen out when we were here!" It had been a valuable clip, embedded with a small diamond. Her mother had warned her not to wear such fine jewelry on and ordinary day, but it had matched so perfectly with her dress and she couldn't help herself. Her mother would be furious when she found out that she had lost it. Salazar took her hand calmly.

"Don't worry," he assured her gently. "We'll find it." The he turned to a passing snake, and began hissing at it. Rowena had been startled and frightened when she first discovered Salazar's bizarre ability to converse with snakes, but over time she had learned to accept it. Nonetheless she still felt the slightest bit unsettled as he hissed his thoughts at the snake on the ground.

"Don't worry Raven," he told her. "If it's in the forest, we will find it."

"You mean the snake will find it," she corrected teasingly.

"I've got all the forest looking for it," he assured her. He took her hand. "Let's enjoy this moment while we still have it."

She let herself fall back onto him.

"We will always have this," she told him. She felt him stiffen uncomfortably, and looked up at him. "Won't we?" she asked, now unsure. He looked at her, sad longing lingering in his eyes.

"I have something to tell you," he confessed. "I was unsure how to do it, but I must tell you now. I'm running out of time." He was scaring her.

"Time for what?" she asked. "What's going on?' Her black eyes moved frantically back and forth across his face, searching for a clue as to why their time together was limited.

He brushed a stray hair from her scalp.

"I am leaving," he said. She sat up quickly to face him.

"What do you mean, leaving? Where are you going?" He looked down at the floor, not meeting her eyes.

"My father has decided that I have learned all that I could here. He sending me to live among wizards, so that I expand upon my gift, and make a life for myself."

"Must you leave now?" she pleaded.

"Raven," he used the nickname he so loved, but now it just sounded tragic upon his lips. "I am eighteen. My time to start a life is now."

"A life without me," Rowena stated. Salazar looked up in her eyes.

"I will come back for you, as soon as I am settled, and then we can make a life together."

"When are you leaving?" she whispered, a single tear dripping in a mournful path down her cheek.

"A week," he said.

"That's so soon," she lamented, her euphoria from just moments before all but vanished. Just then a snake slithered up to them, the glittering hairclip in his mouth. Salazar took it, hissing his thanks and cleaned it on a leaf. He cupped her chin in his hand, leaned over to place it in her hair, and whispered in her ear.

"So let's turn it into an eternity," he challenged.

"Ouch," Rowena, lost in her thoughts, had absentmindedly pricked herself with her needle as she prepared her special gift for Salazar's journey. She knew that she could just magic something out of thin air, but to her that would seem meaningless. So she worked on it in the dead of night, because every other available second was spent with Salazar. She smiled at the memory of the previous afternoon, and frowned when she remembered that it was to be the last of such afternoons for a while, as Salazar was scheduled to leave tomorrow. Driving herself not to dwell on this miserable thought she focused on the task in front of her.

The next morning she was at the Salazar Manor as early as she could to see Salazar off. The skies seemed to agree with the mood of the two young lovers, its gray hue reminding them of the dismal loneliness to come. She had promised herself to put on a brave face; promised there would be no tears. However, her resolve was tested when Salazar pulled her to the side, away from his family, for a bit more privacy. As soon as they were out of view of onlookers, he grabbed her and began a most fierce, passionate farewell. Rowena returned, her hands running now through his hair, now around his face, trying to remember every detail. Finally they pulled apart, breathing hard.

"I have something for you," she told him, and pulled out an emerald green traveling cloak. "I made it by hand," she told him proudly. "And there is a special charm on it, it took me days to figure it out, but now anything that you may need, you will be able to pull out of these pockets here," she instructed, pointing. He looked at her in with a look reserved only for her.

"Can I pull you out of it?" he asked wishfully.

She laughed mournfully.

"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that." A deep sorrow crossed his face. "What is it?" she asked.

"Tell me not to leave," he pleaded. "Tell me to stay with you!"

"I can't do that," she felt moisture pushing on her eyes.

"Why not? If you ask me to, I will stay." The tears now really threatening, Rowena paused a long moment before answering in order to strengthen her resolve.

"I know that," she told him, "but you need to go. There is so much out there, and it's waiting for you to discover it." She lay her head upon his chest and pressed the cloak into his hands. "You are going to do great things Salazar Slytherin," she promised him. "and I will be here waiting to join you in them."

He fingered the special symbol she had embroidered in the upper left courner of the cloak. It was a snake, with diamonds for eyes. "So you will remember eternity."

He looked at her then, with such passion in his eyes that no more need to be said. Rowena kept her promise to herself not to cry in front of him. It was only after the carriage had disappeared from view that she let the tears flow freely.

Rowena continued her daily lessons with Salazar's father, but the days seemed awfully empty and melancholy without her love teasing her, goofing off, kissing her. She threw herself into her studies, in order to fill the void left by the gaping absence. She was deep into her lesson one day, scratching away with her quill, when a ringing from the front gate interrupted their usual silence. Minutes later, a servant appeared at the door of the parlor they were in and beckoned for Sir Salazar. He excused himself, and followed the servant out. Rowena continued scratching away, sinking farther away from her surroundings and deeper into the essay on mobility charms she was writing a paragraph on. So it was when she heard the room being reentered she called out, not looking up from the ink she was absorbed in, "I don't understand sir. The motions that are instructed in this essay are inconsistent with the usual patterns."

"There is an exception to every rule," a voice answered. A voice that did not belong to Sir Salazar. Now roused, Rowena whipped around, her strait black hair flying behind her. In the entrance to the room stood a boy, not much older than Rowena, with reddish brown hair, and smiling eyes when he saw Rowena's astonishment.

"I'm s-sorry," stammered Rowena. "I thought you were Sir Salazar." At that moment, the aforementioned sir followed his guest into the room.

"Rowena, meet your new study partner," he gestured to the boy. "This is Godric Gryffindor."

Can't wait to post another chapter... in a couple of weeks. enjoy this cliffie!!

RM