He couldn't afford the real thing, so he spent hours making her paper roses. He would get home from work at the bank every day and get out the paper, folding carefully and adding gold embellishments. They were the most beautiful thing that his hands had ever created.
Meanwhile she was at Hogwarts, teaching astronomy. She loved her job but she loved him even more. She just wished that he wasn't so set on staying home every night. Half the time she never got to see him. He would just say that he was working on a surprise for her.
Day after day, the piles of paper roses grew until Bill couldn't see his carpet anymore. He smiled at his work and resumed his folding. Iris had resorted to spending most of the evening in the astronomy tower, wondering what to do. She loved him but he was never there for her.
She grew to despise him. When they talked, he said only a few words. He never let her come to his flat. He rarely came to the castle to visit her. She eventually stopped bothering. No more owls, no more surprise visits (not that he ever let her in anyway). She was certain that he was seeing someone else.
Weeks later she took off the necklace he had given her and stormed down to his flat in Hogsmeade. She was going to give him a piece of her mind after all.
When he didn't answer the door, she let herself in with her key. He was lying in the middle of the room on top of a bed of paper roses that reached the ceiling in some places. He was dead.
With every rose constructed from the gauzy paper, Bill's heart swelled with love for Iris. One day, after thousands of paper roses, his heart couldn't hold any more love.
Meanwhile she was at Hogwarts, teaching astronomy. She loved her job but she loved him even more. She just wished that he wasn't so set on staying home every night. Half the time she never got to see him. He would just say that he was working on a surprise for her.
Day after day, the piles of paper roses grew until Bill couldn't see his carpet anymore. He smiled at his work and resumed his folding. Iris had resorted to spending most of the evening in the astronomy tower, wondering what to do. She loved him but he was never there for her.
She grew to despise him. When they talked, he said only a few words. He never let her come to his flat. He rarely came to the castle to visit her. She eventually stopped bothering. No more owls, no more surprise visits (not that he ever let her in anyway). She was certain that he was seeing someone else.
Weeks later she took off the necklace he had given her and stormed down to his flat in Hogsmeade. She was going to give him a piece of her mind after all.
When he didn't answer the door, she let herself in with her key. He was lying in the middle of the room on top of a bed of paper roses that reached the ceiling in some places. He was dead.
With every rose constructed from the gauzy paper, Bill's heart swelled with love for Iris. One day, after thousands of paper roses, his heart couldn't hold any more love.