A/N: This is the Seeker from Montrose Magpies writing for QLFC Round 5.

Prompt: Periwinkle (as inspired by Moaning Myrtle): Write about a character forming a blossoming friendship with someone they wouldn't normally associate with.

Thanks to my team for looking through it!

Word Count: 1567 (+1 for the title)

Disclaimer: I have no intentions of making money from this story, so all the recognisable stuff belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Unconventional

"Lady Rowena." One of the maid-servants curtsied to her, and Rowena wrinkled her nose at the action; it felt far too much like grovelling for her to be comfortable with it. "Your father has sent for you."

She nodded in acknowledgement. As soon as the servant left (not without curtsying again, to her frustration), she glared at the muffled sound of giggling coming from her water closet before opening the door to let her partner-in-crime and best friend, Helga, out.

"It is about looking for a match for you, My Lady," said Helga. "I told you before."

"You know that it is Rowena to you — and why is Father doing this to me?" asked Rowena, not expecting Helga to be able to answer.

"I do not know," said Helga, with a sympathetic expression. "What I do know is that you would not like to go to a dinner wearing a man's breeches and tunic."

Rowena looked down at her attire and let out a small oh, which had Helga laughing at her. Rowena frowned at her friend. "Wilfred said that a female unicorn was about to give birth to new foals. I couldn't not see that. And the gowns that Mother wants me to wear all the time don't work well in the forest."

Helga let out a soft laugh, her blue eyes shining. "I wish I could have accompanied you, but I was busy helping my mother in the kitchens."

"I know." Rowena sighed. She had all the time in the world to frolic about while her best friend worked, and now that Helga was finally free for once, her Father wouldn't let her be.

"You do not have much time to get ready — unless you want your father to send another summons. I should leave you to it."

Rowena huffed in frustration. "Okay. I will see you this evening."

"Of course, My Lady," said Helga, and before Rowena could complain about the form of address, Helga left the room with a cheeky wink.

Rowena oftentimes wondered if she should have been a cook's daughter like Helga, or maybe a peasant's. Like her mother, she had never gotten along with the other Lords and Ladies they met at dinners and parties; neither had she ever really liked the idea of separating people into commoners and elites.

The royalty were almost all selfish men and women who considered themselves too good to talk to the 'lowly class', and it was the latter Rowena preferred to spend time with. She especially steered clear of the wizards who boasted of being mighty knights and thought of women as ornaments to beautify their household.

Rowena shook those thoughts off. She had a dinner to sit through.

Rowena was ten minutes late when a servant announced her arrival.

"Welcome, Daughter," said her father as she reached the table, his eyes giving her the do not think I didn't notice you were late, or that you are excused look that she was so familiar with. "Meet Lady and Lord Gryffindor and their son Godric."

Rowena curtsied to each of them; as much as she hated the tradition, she knew her father would feel mortified if she didn't go along with it. She had to suppress the urge to make a face when Godric stood up, bowed back, and pulled out a chair for her. Instead, she smiled and graciously accepted the seat.

The dinner was a tense affair. Somehow, Rowena managed to sit through it without any incidents occurring. Her father often commented on her 'clumsy' nature, and she was known to drop (at least) one piece of cutlery per meal.

"The night is still young," her mother said, speaking directly to her the first time. She had her own habit of 'forgetting' any social expectations that didn't suit her; she was just better at hiding it than her daughter. "You should go on a stroll with the young man here," she added, shooting down all of Rowena's hopes to go back to the forest.

"Of course, Mother." She stood and curtsied. Even though she hadn't spared him a single glance all dinner, she found herself taking Godric's arm and making her way towards the doors with him.

Aside from the occasional attempt at conversation from Godric, they walked across the grounds in a surprisingly comfortable silence.

"You survived dinner, I see, and I haven't spotted any major food stains, either!" The brunette turned at the sound of the familiar voice and smiled when she saw Helga emerge from behind a tree. A moment later, Helga's eyes fell on the young lord at Rowena's side and widened in horror. "Oh, I didn't realise you had company." Helga flushed a deep pink, then added, "My Lady," curtsying awkwardly before greeting Godric in a similar fashion.

Godric laughed, startling the two women. "I assume the two of you are friends? Do not fear; my lips are sealed."

Rowena turned to him, stunned by his reaction.

"What?"

The two friends shared a look, then Helga blurted, "You shattered Rowena's belief that all young lords are pretentious little — "

Rowena coughed pointedly, her normally impassive face flushing.

"Most of us are," Godric admitted, still smirking.

"And that doesn't include you?" Rowena asked once she had recovered from the momentary embarrassment.

The man crossed his arms. "What do you think, My Lady?"

Rowena ignored the question, a plan forming inside her head. "Can you get my boots for me, Helga?" When the other two gaped at her, she added: "They told us to go for a stroll, but they did not restrict which routes we can take. The forest seems to be calling me."

"A rebellious woman," Godric said with raised brows. Not expanding on the comment, he added, "It will be my pleasure to accompany you to the forest, My Lady."

Helga snorted, then flushed and turned away. "The boots!"

Rowena had asked Helga to join them when the redhead returned, but she had said something about work before practically running away from her. If Rowena noticed the pink dusting her friend's cheeks, she didn't say anything.

The distance to the forest was once again scaled in silence. Godric tried to lead the way into the forest, his sword in hand to get rid of the undergrowth, but Rowena nipped that idea in the bud by snatching the sword and pushing him behind her. "I know the forest better than you."

"Oh, of course," he said and gestured for her to lead the way.

Rowena couldn't help but be surprised once again by how untraditional her companion was being. "What, no saying that I am a lady and should be following you instead of leading? Where is your masculinity, Lord Gryffindor?"

Godric laughed at that. "Forgive me, My Lady, but I like to believe men and women are equally capable of bravery, wit and leadership."

Rowena raised her eyebrows at him. "You are certainly not what I expected you to be."

Godric bowed as if receiving a compliment, and Rowena couldn't help but laugh with him.

The pair once again fell into companionable silence, the man humming a song under his breath and the woman unknowingly matching her steps to the tune.

"Stay here," Rowena whispered after a while, a hand extended to her left to stop Godric from moving forward. "The unicorns prefer a woman's touch — and this one is a new mother, so she might attack you."

"I can protect myself from an attacking unicorn, My Lady."

Rowena turned to face her companion. "It is the unicorn that I'm worried about."

The pair watched in silence, transfixed, as the mother, her coat shining a breathtaking silver in the moonlight, tended to the three little creatures who looked as if they were carved of pure gold and animated to move.

"They are magnificent, are they not?" Rowena asked.

"They are. No disrespect intended to your beauty, My Lady, but I have never seen such a divine sight before."

Rowena smiled and turned around to walk back to the castle, Godric following her. "I am not vain enough to compare myself to such a pure being's ethereal beauty." She paused, thinking over her next words, and then said: "If it is no offense to your honour, My Lord, I wish to inform you that I am spoken for."

"Oh?" Neither Godric's face nor voice revealed what he was thinking.

Rowena looked to the ground. "He is a peasant's son, and Father would never give us his blessing. Mother knows that I plan to elope once I come of age."

"Why are you telling me this, My Lady?" Godric asked, his face still impassive.

"That I do not know," Rowena replied.

"Well," said the man, "in return for not revealing this to your father, I hope you would not mind reintroducing me to your friend we met before?"

Rowena halted and stared at Godric, who had a small smirk on his face. After a minute, she laughed. "As long as you do not call me 'My Lady' out of Father's hearing range and promise to stay here to keep Father off my back until I come of age, I shall get a few meetings arranged for you and Helga."

Godric smiled. "Sounds fair, friend."

"Ally," Rowena corrected, though she had a feeling she would come to refer to Godric as a friend soon enough.