Written for Hogwarts' DADA Assignment: Task One: Write about someone with a bad cold.

Also for the Writing Club: Character Appreciation: 5. [Features] Messy hair, Dark Lady's Diabolical Lair: 7: Shimmering, Lyric Alley 13: How am I the lucky one?, Ami's Audio Admirations 12: Under the Duvet — Write about someone thinking hiding under their duvet makes them invisible, Angel's Arcade 8: Rouge the Bat: (trait) playful, (color) white, (action) smirking, Lo's Lowdown, D5: "That's rough, buddy." - Zuko, Film Festival: 9 - Item: Ring Box.

Also for Feline Fair 18: Siamese Cat: Write about a helpful person, Sewing 101: Step 2 - (setting) Common Room, (action) laughing, (restriction) No one over 18.

Also for Sapphic September, Day 5: autumn.

Word count: 1221

and all the flowers will bloom brighter than before

"You know I can see you, right?" Alicia asks, laughter in the voice as she looks at the body-shaped mass under the heavy red and gold covers. "I can tell that you're in there."

Silence, and then a head pokes out of the bed, dark hair all tousled. Katie groans as the light hits her eyes, and she pulls the white bed sheet over her head with a moan.

It's a struggle not to laugh, and Alicia's heart swells with fondness at the sight of her girlfriend this way. "You look terrible."

Katie's head emerges only long enough for her to send a dark glare back, and Alicia stifles a chuckle. "Why, thank you, Alicia," says Katie's muffled voice from underneath the sheet. "Always nice to have your support when I'm sick."

"That's rough, buddy," Alicia replies as seriously as she can, sitting down on the bed beside the Katie-shaped lump. "You caught a cold again, didn't you?"

Katie doesn't reply, but she doesn't have to. For as long as they've known each other — 6 years now — Katie has always gotten sick during this time of year. There's something about the autumn climate, apparently, that makes her particularly susceptible to viruses and the like, and Katie inevitably ends up sniffing and fighting back fever as soon as the leaves start to fall.

"I hate autumn," Katie mutters, peeking back out from underneath her sheet. The fabric shimmers a little as she lifts it, and Alicia smiles. "Why can't the whole season just, go away?"

Alicia laughs. "You know, I don't think that's quite how things work."

"Well, it should be," Katie replies mulishly. She sniffles again, and Katie summons her a tissue with a fond but sympathetic smile.

And then, because she knows Katie and how bad these can get, she summons the whole box.

"T'anks," Katie replies, blowing her nose. "Ugh, what would I do without you?"

"Despair, probably," Alicia teases, smirking. "And then perish."

Katie laughs. "That sounds about right."

"Do you need me to go and get you some Pepper-Up from Madam Pomfrey?" Alicia asks worriedly.

Katie just shakes her head. "I had one yesterday already, and she told me to wait until at least lunchtime to take another one. But thanks."

Katie's smile is blindingly bright, and Alicia's heart makes a funny dance in her chest. Her right hand is drawn back to her side — to her pocket, to be more exact. She worries the edge of it, thinking.

"I —" She starts, then stops, unsure of how to follow.

Katie stops too, looking back at her with worry in her eyes. She still has a tissue hanging from her fingers — a new one, thankfully. She looks awful, with feverish eyes, red cheeks and her hair all messed up.

Alicia has never seen anyone more beautiful in her entire life.

She leans down to press a soft kiss to Katie's forehead, and has to blink back tears from the sudden rush of feelings in her chest. Her hand tightens around the edge of the box she's been carrying in her pocket for weeks now, and it's too soon, it's too sudden — they haven't talked about it yet, haven't even really talked about what they'll do next year, when Alicia will have left Hogwarts, but…

But it feels too right to wait.

"What was that for?" Katie asks when Alicia pulls back, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Just… I love you."

Katie's eyes soften. "I love you too."

"No." Alicia shakes her head. "I mean…" She takes a deep breath and pulls out the ring box.

"..." Katie sits on her bed so fast she feels faint.

"Look, I love you," Alicia continues. "We've been together for almost three years now, and I can't imagine ever loving anyone else half as much as I love you. And I know I'm going to be leaving at the end of the year, and we're definitely too young for this, but I was visiting London this summer, and I saw this and thought of you."

She opens the box. The ring is simple, just a band of gold. It barely qualifies as an engagement ring — at least not according to all the stories Katie's read or heard about — but it's perfect.

"You don't have to say yes, or, or anything, really," Alicia says, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. "This doesn't have to mean anything — it can just be a get-well gift, or an early birthday gift, or anything, really. I just — I wanted you to know that I wanted, well, that. WIth you. I —"

Katie hisses, hushing Alicia with her hand and cutting her off.

Alicia startles. She starts to draw back, but Katie grabs her arm to keep her still.

"I'm… sorry?" Alicia says, heart freezing cold in her chest.

Katie shakes her head, eyes still riveted on the ring. When she does look up, her eyes are wet and shining.

"I can't believe you," she says, and it sounds like a sob. "You don't get to — You can't just…" She takes a swipe for Alicia's arm but it doesn't hurt and that's how Alicia knows that Katie's not really mad.

"Gosh, I must look like such a mess, why couldn't you pick another time — just, any other time. I'm sick, Alicia, you can't just spring this one me when I'm sick and I can't even kiss you, you —"

Hope rises in Alicia's chest, so terribly fragile it hurts to think about it. She licks her lips. "Does that mean…?"

Katie huffs. She wipes her eyes and blows her nose again. "It means I hate you and how dare you ambush me like this, but of course I want to marry you. Of course. I mean, not now, but… someday." She smiles. "I love you, Alicia."

"Someday," Alicia repeats, and it feels like a promise. She lets Katie pull her into a hug, and buries her face against Katie's shoulders, her lips stretched into a grin too wide to contain.

(Of course, Katie sneezes less than thirty seconds into that hug. Alicia is so startled that she's almost thrown off the bed, and the ring slips out of its box and onto the bed.

It takes them the rest of the morning to find it again — mostly because they can hardly stop laughing.

If this is what Alicia gets to look forward to for the rest of her life, she cannot wait.)