Wedding Anniversary June 7th
Prescott heard a pop outside the window, like from an apparition. He set down the framed picture he had been gazing at in his misery but keeping his half empty glass in his hand. He walked to the door waving away the house elf, curious if the children had come home. That thought he quickly pushed out of his mind for his children were loving, in a child like manner, but also very self centered on their own lives having no care that it was their parent's anniversary. His curiosity peaked knowing the magical wards around the manor were strong enough to keep random people from popping in. Then he heard the familiar knock, could it be?
The sound of his rushed footsteps echoed in the large stone entryway, until he stopped. Pulling his hand through his hair trying to look presentable before throwing open the door to see what had to be a vision.
"Where is Toady? Is he all right?" Jadzia's concern for the house elf masked her surprise to find herself standing face to face with her estranged husband. He looked like he hadn't slept well in days as he stood there silently staring at her. The intense eyes made her feel ridiculous at this whim she had back at Hogwarts. She hadn't been able to concentrate all day. Her eyes glancing at the calendar during the hours of school as she filed away the reports, sent out notices, and owled parents of children in disciplinary actions. Her job as secretary at Hogwarts kept her very busy but today was their wedding anniversary and she couldn't stop thinking of all the good times they had, before he had abandoned her and the children.
"He's in the kitchen." Prescott spoke the few words he could manage. He couldn't believe she was here, she looked lovely with sun setting behind her as if she was a magical illusion. The urge to pull her into his arms and cry into her shoulder, apologizing for the mess he had made was overwhelming but something made him just stand and stare at her.
"I didn't mean to interrupt. I just brought a bottle of wine for old time sake." Jadzia pulled out a bottle of muggle wine. It wasn't an extremely expensive bottle of wine, not like many of the vintages stored in the Blackburn manor wine cellar. It was the honeymoon memory of them laying in the French countryside grass, under the stars as they dried from skinny dipping in the pond, drinking the bottle of wine they had bought earlier from a small shop, that made it priceless.
The bottle was thrust into his free hand as she turned to leave. Panic filled him as he grabbed for her arm, dropping the forgotten glass to the hard stones, shattering it.
"Won't you share a glass with me, for old time sake?" Prescott smiled as his hand made contact with the soft skin of her upper arm. She turned back looking at the glass shards scattered on the floor, separating her from him.
"For old time sake. Reparo." She looked up at him, her magic effortless, just as she stepped over the now fixed glass sitting in a puddle of spilled alcohol on the floor.
"Looks like you are a few drinks ahead of me already" her soft laughter sent a delightful stir down Prescott's memory of the early mornings when that laughter would dance over him from his playful touches to wake her.
"Toady will clean it up, come let's find the correct glasses for wine and not drink from tumblers." slipping her arm into his with that smile it felt like somehow the harmful past had just been undone. But as they walked into the back study there lay the mess of his life in a huge puddle of pity.
There were empty bottles of assorted alcohol laying about on the small table and floor. They were of the cheapest vintages that were stored in the wine cellar, as he wouldn't waste the best stuff on himself as he stared at pictures of what he had ruined. He didn't normally drink like this, but today had been a misery of shattered memories.
"Is Toady not taking good care of you?" Her question was a simple one but it made Prescott feel unclean. He was from one of the oldest magical families, a lord in his own right, but he had been wallowing in his own self pity, locking out everyone's help.
"I banned him from my study." Prescott ran through in his mind the possible rooms they could go, but he had banned the house elf from all the rooms that were his. Only allowing the cleaning invasion of the well meaning house elf when it was his weekend to have the children. "We could go outside, by the pool."
"The outside pool? No wonder the children want to come here every weekend you are spoiling them." Her gentle chuckle eased into his mind as her hand guided his arm from the mess of his self loathing, to back door.
Calling it a pool was an understatement. It had been a pure guilt led purchase of abandoning his children. When the magical contractors kept adding more to the price tag with new better ideas he just nodded and paid. Before the first weekend he had the children at his home, the pool was installed with two large water slides, a hot tub, a lazy river and a full kitchen grill area. It clashed horribly with the ancient architecture of the manor but guilt makes one blind to such reason.
"Oh my Merlin, that is a pool alright." Jadzia blinked as she took in what looked more like a full muggle water park taking up the entire right side of the once manicured lawn. She and the children had been living with her aunt Inara since Prescott had left them, and such extravagance like this for children would never be tolerated by her aunt. He had always had a tendency to spoil those closest to his heart, she once had been in that group but then he had vanished from her life. Hiding the pain that had burrowed into her heart and made a home there since the day he left her, she smiled at him. "The kids must love it."
The awkward silence that clung to them as Prescott could only nod his head, feeling foolish with his loss of words in that moment. He had words, million of them beating in his mind to come out, but he didn't want to wax poetic and pour out his soul and ruin this and make her vanish.
"You open the wine and I will test this pool of yours." Jadzia's smile flashed in the darkening light as she began to unbutton her shirt. Prescott looked down at the bottle still in his hand, completely forgetting he had it then looked up to watch her peel off her shirt and begin working on her skirt. His wife had been way more daring then he had ever been. Back when they were children at Hogwarts she seemed not scared of anything, willing to try everything, so unlike him. He had been calculating and controlled, making every move in his life, like a well thought out plan. Jadzia had always been to him like a wild fire jumping into everything without thought, and he had been like a steady river, one that could over flow it's banks when he was upset and smother her fire.
"There has to be glasses and a wine opener over there." Jadzia pointed at the rock walled, fully outfitted kitchen and bar area, just as she stepped to the edge of the pool in just her bra and panties.
-oO0Oo-
"To memories." Prescott offered the toast, he had matched her in dress and was just in his boxer shorts standing in the water that lapped up to his waist right next to her. They both held glasses of the wine as twilight fell on them standing at the edge of the lap pool.
"To our memories." Her smile warmed her response and Prescott didn't take a sip he placed his glass on the edge of the pool as he stepped closer to her. His arms pulling her wet, almost naked form to him.
"I don't want just memories, I want you. The past doesn't have to define us, please come back, forgive my foolishness. If you give me another chance, I wont mess up this time.." the words began to spill out but before they had all been spent her lips were on his.
Her mouth seeming a bit shy at first, then her arms slipped around him and it was like the dreams that haunted his nights, melted into reality. He could feel her warm body pressed to his, her kisses again and he needed more, he needed her. Her tongue pushed his mouth open as her body responded eagerly as she wrapped a leg around his thigh pushing herself tight to his hardening member bulging from his submerged silk boxers.
Hands grabbing and ripping leaving tiny bits of her lace and his silk floating over the ripples of the pool. Prescott lifted the slight form of Jadzia up on the steps leading out of the pool, pushing his hips between her thighs, becoming one again with his beautiful wife. Her soft gasp of pleasure rippled into his heart as the water splashed up against the edge of the pool as the first stars in the night sky came out to watch.
The next morning Prescott woke to a pounding headache, not wanting to open his eyes to the blaring sun then he heard the soft sleep murmur next to him. The pain ripping through his head was worth it as he looked down into his arms and found his Jadzia sleeping. The sunlight drifting over her naked back and through the tumble of her long hair. Bending his neck down to kiss the top of her head he pulled her tighter into his arms, closing his eyes to fall back asleep to the dreams that had become his reality.