Golden rays of sunlight sifted into the room through the silky curtains, dimly lighting the setting.
Two wizards who were in the middle of a heated discussion “ one with bright red hair and blue eyes, the other with dark brown hair and grey eyes “ stood in the middle of the room, their faces wearing identical masks of fury. Two witches sat on a large couch opposite to the wizards “ one of them scrutinising the grey-eyed wizard with an unreadable expression and the other staring in simple disbelief at the pair.
Tension, as thick as a cloud, hung in the air. The red-haired wizard turned to the witches, an earnest look in his eyes.
As if on cue, one of them cleared her throat. “Listen, Salazar,” she implored. “This school is not just your dream. All of us have toiled equally hard in creating this school. It’s as much our dream as it is yours. And it would be considerate of you to remember that,” she finished, rather stern.
The wizard called Salazar sneered. “And it would be considerate of you, Helga, to remember that you are corrupting magic, for Merlin’s sake!”
The other witch fixed Salazar with a beady eye. “Salazar, just because someone has a Muggle heritage does not mean they are not one of us-” "Why on earth are you being so impossible?”
“I do not believe this madness!” Salazar threw his hands into the air. “I thought at least you would see sense, Rowena.” His eyes drilled into hers, almost desperate for an ally.
“Our ideology is madness to you?” Godric asked, outraged.
“You are the one who refuses to see sense, Salazar.”
Salazar shook his head, looking sceptical. “Let me get this straight. All the three of you want to demean magic by letting filthy Muggles into Hogwarts?”
Godric glared at Salazar furiously. “Firstly, Salazar, Muggle-borns are not the same as Muggles. Secondly, there is no talk of demeaning magic, as you put it. Hogwarts, will, as always, continue to educate magical children, despite their heritage.”
“And the two of you agree with that?” Salazar demanded, his eyes burning embers.
“I believe heritage should not be a problem when we are taking students in. It’s their intellect that matters more,” Rowena replied, her eyes never leaving his face. “Why do you refuse to accept that?”
Helga nodded. “We need to educate anyone who is willing to learn magic “ that’s the aim of Hogwarts.”
"Because Muggles are scum and deserve to be treated like that!"
Godric smiled triumphantly. Salazar was breathing heavily, the fire in his eyes still alive. “Fine,” he said, making his way towards the door, “I’m leaving.”
“Finally come back to your senses, eh?” Godric grinned.
“Won’t you stay for dinner?” Helga enquired, also standing up.
Salazar turned at the door, locking eyes with Rowena. “I’m leaving Hogwarts. And you. Forever.”
She stared, shell-shocked at his retreating figure. He could not possibly just leave, could he? Before anyone could stop her, she ran to the window and jumped, falling through the air…
Rowena Ravenclaw woke up with a start, breathing heavily. She had just experienced a dream “ the strangest one she had ever had (and this was counting the dream she had had a week ago about a pair of radishes chasing her). But there was something different about this dream; she couldn’t exactly place her finger on it, but it was strange… almost real.
Panic flooded her stomach at the thought “ it simply could not be real. On second thought, though, it was rather dense of her to think her dream would come true. Dreams were, after all, just that “ unreal figments of your imagination. And if her dreams were to come true, she would have long been killed by radishes. Rowena smirked as an image of radishes chasing her across Hogwarts’ grounds flashed through her mind.
Soothing moonlight was filtering through the window; silence, as still as a statue, reigned with the exception of the distant hoot of an owl. Sitting up straight, she squinted at the hourglass in front of her, realising it was a quarter to midnight. Pesky creatures, she thought scornfully, scowling at the owl which hooted again in response.
Something did not feel quite right; it was as though Nature was trying to convey something. She sincerely believed that every element of Nature possessed magic; it was up to each wizard to discover it. Salazar and Godric often scoffed at her ‘eccentricities’, as they called them, but she never did set store by what others thought of her.
A reluctant grin replaced her scowl at the thought of Salazar. That mischievous twinkle in his eyes… that seductive grin… that witty banter… any woman would fall for him. And fallen she had.
Still smiling, she groped in the darkness for her wand. Finding it near her water jug, she whispered Lumos and light debarred darkness. Slipping out of her bed, wand held in front of her to light up her path, she strode towards the window, resting her forehead against the cool windowpane. She stared at the horizon, her thoughts wandering inevitably back to the reason she had woken up in the middle of the night “ the dream. And it involved the one person she loved the most in the whole wide world “ Salazar.
Stop thinking about it, she chided herself.
It’s only a dream… consoled her intellect.
But Rowena wasn’t fooled. There was something about this dream “ it just seemed so genuine, like she was foreseeing the future. But this is just madness, she reasoned. Foreseeing the future, indeed. Smirking, she realised that was something Helga would say, not she, Rowena. Yet, she couldn’t really wash off that ill sense of foreboding. Maybe a drink of water would help clear her mind.
Turning around, she levitated her water jug, making it float lazily towards her. She placed it on the windowsill and waved her wand. A goblet appeared out of thin air beside the jug. Filling the goblet, she lifted it to her lips and drank deeply. Helga was right; drinking water did help clear your mind. Placing the goblet back on the windowsill, she turned back to survey the sky “ streaks of fiery orange complementing the deep purple expanse that stretched into eternity.
Salazar.
The first rays of the sun were radiating “ warm and cheerful. Dawn was upon them.
Salazar might actually leave the school. More importantly, me.
Birdcalls filled the air as the world came back to life…
It’s no use, she snapped. Try what she might to distract herself, she could not deny the inevitable “ she needed to talk to Salazar. Immediately.
“Fancy seeing you up so early,” a husky male voice called.
Her jaw dropped as she recognised the voice. It was Salazar, but how? Turning to face him, she leaned back on the windowsill and smiled. Standing by the door, Salazar’s profile was partly in shadows though she could see his arms folded across his chest and the mischievous grin that played across his lips. He was wearing a dark robe that matched his eyes perfectly. He strode forwards and embraced her; she held onto him like her life depended on it. His touch was comforting; at the moment, there was nothing that bothered her for she was in his arms.
Withdrawing from his embrace, she asked, her eyes gazing into his. “What are you doing here?” ”How did you know I was awake?”
Salazar sighed haughtily, his hands placed snugly around her waist. “I was merely bored.” “And you can talk to me aloud now, there are only the two of us here.”
“Is that so?” she wondered in mock concern, grinning at him. ”I know we are alone, but I like talking to you like this.
He cocked an eyebrow. “I take it there is something that worries you…” he said, his ape-like face suddenly turning serious.
“You know me just too well, don’t you?” she murmured, burying her head in his shoulder.
“I do, love,” he replied simply, holding her close. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Lifting her head to meet his gaze, she nodded. “I had this dream…” Salazar looked puzzled but did not interrupt.
“I realise this might sound absurd but this wasn’t like the usual dreams I have. This one was real.” Salazar’s look of disbelief deepened “ something that Rowena noted too.
“You’re probably thinking that I’m a lunatic, are you not?” she asked, crossing her arms.
“In the name of Merlin, no!” he replied hastily. “I was just waiting for you to proceed.”
Not entirely convinced, she continued. “Well, I dreamt of you leaving Hogwarts “ and me,” she added in an undertone.
Salazar let out a bark of laughter. “Why would I leave Hogwarts?”
She bit her lips. “I don’t know, we had a fight and then you-”
He held up a hand to silence her. “Hogwarts is my dream, love. My life. I will not leave the school forever.” “And more importantly, you.”
She smiled, allowing him to put his hands around her so that she could snuggle up even closer to him. His touch worked wonders on her, as always. Lifting her head up to gaze at him, she whispered, “I love you so much.”
Salazar grinned. “I love you too.”
“You’ll never abandon me like in the-”
He raised his index finger to her lips, silencing her. “Trust me, I’m never going to leave you or Hogwarts. And after all, it’s only a dream, love.”
Yes, she reflected, finally finding conviction in her voice. It’s only a dream. It could not come true…
How very wrong she was.
Only A Dream by miss padfoot
Chapter Notes: A million thanks and huggles to GreyLady and Ron x Hermione, my wonderful betas :D