Current mood:	tired
Current music:	Reba McEntire - I Wouldn't Know
Entry tags:	fan-fiction

FIC: a hazy shade of winter (G, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff)
It was the loneliest winter I would ever experience when she stood before me and said she could no longer bear my friendship. Helga was the greatest friend a person could know; she was the one that held Hogwarts together until she could no longer handle the burden. Salazar had broken the Oath for the last time and Helga denounced her allegiance with him. Godric followed Helga. Salazar would not be forbidden to enter Hogwarts for a long while after the falling out. But nothing was ever the same between us. Salazar and Godric were the worst of rivalries though once great friends. Out of us all, I am the last one that remains devoted to Hogwarts alone, because I could never let friendships and rivalries stand in opposition to learning.

Despite this devotion, the thought of her friendship being torn from my hands caused such heartache as I had never felt before. How could a woman make me feel what a man could not? It was a strange and wondrous feeling, but I knew it was not the sort of love that a man and woman felt. Helga had explained long ago that feeling was at the heart of loyalty--and loyalty was at the heart of Hufflepuff. "I can be loyal, Helga," I pleaded.

"No, Rowena," she answered. Her tone, despite the message, was warm. "You consorted with Slytherin! How did you think I would feel about that? I do wish we could remain friends, Rowena, but you value knowledge above friendship. As long as Slytherin roams this Earth, you will never be loyal, Rowena. I apologize, old friend, from the depths of this heart of mine." Helga squeezed her eyes shut for just a moment before looking at me with the saddest expression I had ever seen. The depth of her sorrow brought tears to my eyes and I bowed my head. Our friendship and allegiance was lost. "Our houses shall be further divided, Ravenclaw. Hogwarts will not fall, but it will remain without the cooperation of the houses."

"You could never be as pitiful as me, Helga. From the greatest depths of this soul, I apologize for the disgrace I have done you. I do not deserve the loyalty of one as true as you and I therefore accept this fate readily but sorrowfully."