Helga sat in her chamber, her green writing book on her desk in front of her, listening to the shouts from above her head. Godric and Rowena were arguing again.

“Do you take Slytherin’s side against my own yet again?”

“Godric, this is not about sides! Oh, stop waving your hat at me. Salazar had some valid points about our protection. I am not saying to hide completely, only to be careful.”

“Be careful about what, woman? As far as I can see, the largest danger to us is Slytherin and his legacy! Did you hear what he said as he left? That his legacy remained here? I can hardly dare to think what that snake has done to befoul my school.”

“Our school, man! Hogwarts is our school! I have spent just as many hours slaving away to build up this idea as you have. This whole building is my design! How could Salazar have corrupted it?”

“If you aided him, I am sure it would have been possible. Have you betrayed this school, Rowena?”

“I would never! And what do you accuse me of, Godric- betraying this school, or betraying you?”

The noise barely entered Helga’s perception, but she raised her willow wand and placed an Imperturble Charm on her ceiling anyway.

Helga’s quill was lying untouched next to her covered inkwell. She had been unable to write since Salazar’s departure. She did not even bother the attempt today and just sat rereading his words yet again. She rubbed her forehead wearily. Each time she read the words, it was as though she expected them to be different, but they had not changed yet.

She also kept walking by Salazar’s empty chambers, but they had not changed yet either.

After a few weeks of this, Helga was too numb to feel hurt anymore. Every day was about her students and her colleagues; her attention was focused completely on helping everyone around her get through the day. Her students, at least, continued to learn and grow; Godric and Rowena were hurtling to pieces rather explosively. It seemed incredibly important to Helga that she save the unions remaining so that if Salazar returned, they could all move on together.

Somewhere in the past week, that “if he returns” had subtly changed to an “even if he never returns.”

An abrupt pounding on her door made Helga jump. It was as if someone was attempting to bash it in. The sudden realization came to Helga, and she quickly rose, smoothing her skirt as she moved to open the door.

An enraged Godric stood outside. “I say, are you deaf? I was about to try and break your door down. Did you not hear me yelling for you?”

Helga kept her composure. “No, Godric, I did not hear you. Imperturbable charm, you see. Luckily, I included a loophole for knocking upon my door.”

“Ah.” Godric seemed to realize what precipitated the casting of the charm, and had the grace to flush the slightest bit, swiping his hat from his head and twisting in his hands.

Purposefully ignoring his discomfort, Helga asked, “How is she?”

“Ravenclaw is impassive as always. Nothing I say seems to sway her mind these days. The wench is starting to aggravate me.” His nostrils flaring, Godric expounded further. “She insists upon taking his side, and I just-”

“I meant, in what state did you leave my dear friend?”

The wizard stopped his diatribe abruptly as he seemed to lose his steam. “She appears to be upset. I- I might have been a bit harsh, but- it is hard to hear- she is all...” Gryffindor sighed, glancing miserably into Helga’s bleak eyes. “Would you perhaps go talk to her? See if she is all right? I am afraid I find myself unable to do so at the moment...”

Helga looked into Godric’s eyes until he glanced down. “You might consider swallowing your pride, Godric. That would do wonders for your ability to go and talk to the woman you have hurt.” Godric flinched, but did not raise his head. A scornful sigh escaped her before she thought to stop it. This was not the first time Godric had come to her with this request. If not for him, however, than for Rowena, she would go. “Where did you leave her?”

Godric looked up again, the gratitude splashed across his face. “We were in the Great Hall, but as I left she ran up the staircase. I believe her to be heading to the top of the tower there.”

Helga nodded, and she started to stride past Godric. As she passed the miserable-looking man, however, she recognized that some subtle part of her still felt enough to appreciate Godric’s pain. She reached out and gently grasped his shoulder. She smiled gently at him, but as he held her gaze, he realized her smile never quite reached into the depths of her eyes. Without a word, she turned and pursued Rowena.

As Godric had assumed, the witch was on top of the tower, trembling and staring out at the lake while her broom rested on the floor by her feet. Her hands shook as she rested them on the low stone wall separating the tower from the sky. Each deep breath of spring air seemed to shake her body to its core.

“What did he say this time?” Helga asked.

One of Rowena’s palms slapped the stone beneath it. “He explicitly accused me of being in a romantic relationship with Slytherin. As if I would... as if I could...” The anger and desperation were evident in Rowena’s voice as she struggled to retain control of her speaking capabilities.

“He is blind, then.” Helga stated it softly, trying to avoid the temptation of melodrama. “He is blind, and we have never told him.”

Rowena spun around to face her. “Is that supposed to comfort me? I have shown this man nothing but devotion and trust and support and what advice I feel is merited. Just because I am logical enough to recognize the logic in a few of our former colleague’s ideas does not mean I would find logic in his bed as well.” She spat the words out as she started pacing.

Those words broke through to Helga. “He did not-”

Rowena laughed bitterly. “Not in as many words, but I could- I could see it behind his eyes.” Despite her best efforts, the witch was starting to cry. “It seems as if he has reduced me only to logic and callousness and I now represent all the evils Slytherin left behind for us to clean up.”

Helga rushed forward and embraced her friend. “He does care for you so much. He almost broke my door down, desperate to send me after you, afraid for how he had hurt you. I have known Godric even longer than you have, and I know he does not wish to hurt you. Please understand that he is just hurting and cannot cope with it.”

Rowena pulled away from her friend. “And will that idea comfort me either, Helga?” she snarled. “That he cares so little for my emotions that I am his outlet for his aggression at his principal competitor?”

“And his principal friend,” Helga whispered, but Rowena did not appear to hear her and continued seething.

“This made sense before, Helga. In the beginning, this made sense. There were four of us and we were friends. Then we were couples, and it made sense, but now he is irrational and the worst of it-” By now, Rowena was sobbing, but she forced herself on. “The worst of it is that I am irrational as well. He once asked me to trust him, to accept my emotions. I abandoned my logic for him, and now the world makes no sense at all.”

“Please,” Helga pleaded, “please, just give this a little more time to make sense, to fall back into place.”

“Oh, how can you ask me to give more still? What have you done to help, Helga? What have you given? Have you told Godric about you and Slytherin? How can you expect this to fall back into place without that little detail? Do you think that might have a bit of impact on Godric’s interaction with me?” Rowena’s piercing eyes held Helga’s gaze.

“I- I cannot. I simply cannot,” Helga stuttered, caught off guard.

Rowena smiled bitterly. “And you say I am your dearest friend. You cannot even do this small thing for me.”

“It is no small thing!” Helga cried, wrapping her arms around herself. “Loving him… I do not regret it… I would choose nothing else, even were I to go back in time… but Godric…”

“Godric will see it as a mistake, and when you do not agree, you will lose his friendship as well.” Helga looked down at Rowena’s words. The shrewd witch shook her head, laughing. “Though you do see it as a mistake, a mistake but not a regret. And even with such beliefs, you somehow expect the world to fall back into place.”

“It will,” Helga insisted. “I will tell him, Rowena… I just have to wait until the time is right. I am giving this the time it needs. I can barely think about it myself, let alone discuss it with Godric. Please, hold on.” Helga held Rowena’s gaze desperately. “He loves you, Rowena. I know he does. He will come to terms with anything for you.”

Rowena laughed bitterly. “After this argument, I wonder very much about that.”

Helga took another step towards her distraught friend, but Rowena shook her head. “Please,” Helga whispered, “Please, just trust him a little more. Please, do not give up on him.” Helga held out her hands, grasping both of Rowena’s shoulders, attempting to hold her stationary. “Please, just stay grounded a little longer.”

The trembling witch laughed again, a desperate and bitter laugh. “I cannot remain standing still while he tears my world down, Helga. I cannot do it. I have opened myself too much already, and I have to stay moving to protect what is left.” Rowena closed her eyes, as she gripped Helga’s shoulders, locking the two in a shuddering embrace. “If I am not moving it feels as though I am falling through the air, with nothing to hold onto. I am used to the wind, Helga, but I am also used to a broom beneath me, a broom which I can easily control.”

“Please, Rowena, please just stay and give this all a little time.”

Rowena opened her eyes and smiled slowly. She let go of Helga’s shoulders and turned to reach for her broom, forcing her friend to release her own grip. “I am not leaving, Helga. I have students who need to be taught. Perhaps there is even hope for Godric and myself. At any rate, I have poured too much effort into this school to leave now. It would be highly illogical.” The smile did not fade, but then again, it was not a cheery smile. “I do not necessarily believe that what Godric and I have can be saved, but I will not be like Salazar and leave, abandoning my students in the middle of lessons. Eventually, this pain will end, and the world will make sense again. I can force this out if it comes to that.”

Helga felt an odd pulling sensation in her stomach, but could not come up with the words to respond to Rowena. The numbness which had pervaded Helga’s existence since Salazar’s departure enveloped her once more.

Rowena mounted her broom and pushed off, hovering just beyond the tower’s edge. “Thank you for the effort, Helga. You are my closest confidante, my dearest friend, even though I wish you would tell him. I appreciate your concern, even if I cannot believe as blindly as you do.” With that, the witch took a steep dive, levelling off just before she would have hit the ground. Her hair streamed behind her as she climbed into the sky and moved off away from the lake and the sun setting behind it.

Again, Helga was left speechless as she stared at Rowena’s retreating back. There was a horrible spot in her heart, right next to the spot that knew Salazar would not return, that feared Rowena and Godric would not hold together either. Rowena would stay, but in enough time, the relationships that were left would collapse. Helga still waited to really feel the effects of that knowledge, but her numbness did not change yet, either.

Helga returned to her room several minutes later, leaving her friend to flit about in the sky and calm herself down. The witch sat down at her desk, picked up her quill and bit the tip of it. She glanced out the window and watched as Rowena took another steep dive. Helga sighed, and placed her quill next to the inkwell again. She picked up her book, and once more read the words on the first page.

“To My Dearest Helga,

For all that you have done to make me welcome, for all that you have done to patiently earn my trust, for all that you have done in standing by our dreams when many would not, for all that you do to maintain a healthy peace between us all, I thank you. I pray that you continue to be a steadying force in this institution and in my life.

For your trust, for your understanding, for your love, I cannot begin to thank you. I pray that it remains enough for us both.

With as much love as it is possible for one like me to give,
Your Salazar.”