Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I do not have any rights to Harry Potter and I do not make any money from writing these fics.
A/N: Written for the A Bit of Motivation Competition, the One Million Words Added Challenge, the Chocolate Frog Challenge, the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp Challenge, the 335 Pairing Bonanza Challenge, the If You Dare...Continued Challenge, the Disney-A-Thon Challenge, the Hogwarts Classes Challenge.
Prompts: Eerie, Mary Cattermole/Poppy Pomfrey, Pelican, Write about a long distance relationship (Queen Clarion), Must be romance, Ribbon, Pocket Watch.
Romantic Meetings
A happy tune came softly out of Poppy's lips as she allowed her happiness to get the better of her. In front of her on her office desk sat a picnic basket in the shape of a Pelican which she opened the mouth every few seconds to place an item into it.
'I hope Mary likes what I have made for her' Poppy thought with a blush as she placed in the Pelican shaped picnic basket an eerie shaped Victoria sponge cake that was in the shape of a pocket watch and had thin ribbon like writing as numbers. 'I hope I have got the right type of Birthday cake for her. I went through all of my letters and reread them to make sure everything would be perfect for our first meeting.'
At the thought of her penpal Poppy let out a girlish giggle and another blush appeared on her face. With fond eyes Poppy glanced over to the large pile of letters that sat besides the pelican picnic basket, when Hogwarts had first started to make teachers join the penpal programme in an attempt to encourage the students to join in she had thought it was a horrible idea. Now through...now that she had met the love of her life and they had both conufsed to each other in their letters how they felt...Poppy adored the penpal programme.
'I can't believe that I am finally going to be able to met Mary in person and on her birthday too' Poppy thought happily as the pains of loneliness because of a long distance relationship slowly disappeared. 'I hope she does not take one look at me and changes her mind about me.'
Shaking her head slightly to try and chase away any negative thoughts Poppy quickly went back to packing the odd picnic basket. By the time that she had placed the last item into the pelican picnic basket the clock in her office gave off a loud beep.
"Oh my! I should of not put that spell on my clock, I do not know how muggles cope with those alarm clocks of theirs," Poppy said as she recovered from the shock and turned to look at the clock. "Right, we agreed to meet up in the Hogsmade park for midday and I have ten minutes to get there."
Not wanting to be late Poppy quickly picked up the pelican picnic basket, the summer outdoor clock and the two medium sized bags that she had packed the other night before turning and walking out of her office. As she exited her office she found Severus waiting for her, he was leaning against a wall in the shadows with his arms folded.
"Thank you for taking over for the day Severus, I really appreciate it," Poppy said with a smile on her face which only grew when Severus began to grumble and mutter under his breath. "I will be back in time to take over for the night sh-"
"Go and enjoy yourself Poppy, stay out all night and come back tomorrow morning or the day after," Severus said with a nod of his head in greeting as she got closer to the man. "I am quite capable of looking after the hospital wing until your return. Just make sure that you are back in time for Monday morning."
"Severus, it is Saturday afternoon," Poppy replied with a small smile. "But I understand where you are coming from and I will enjoy myself. If Mary asks if I can spend the night over in her hotel room than I will."
"Good," grunted Severus. "You have been working too hard, you deserve a break no matter how short it is."
"Well I better get going if I want to make it to our meeting spot in time," Poppy said with a smile before patting the pelican picnic basket lightly with her free hand. "Thank you against Severus and I will see you later today or on Monday."
With one last Farwell with Severus Poppy turned and walked out of the hallway, a smile played on her lips as she felt the cold stare from Severus on her back. It always made the hairs on her back stand up without fail.
'I hope that everything goes alright and Mary likes me' Poppy thought as she walked down the hallway towards the entrance hall. 'I have made sure to ask her in our letters if she has any allergies so I should be alright.'
As Poppy walked through the castle she felt her nervous finally begin to win over her, even though it was a weekend and all of the students were outside enjoying the beautiful weather Poppy still found herself scanning the hallways for any sign of students.
'I hope that no one makes a big deadly out of me wearing a dress that is not my work uniform' Poppy thought as her free hand went down to straighten out her dress, even though there was not a single cress or mark on her dress. 'Through I would not be surprised if people did stop and stare at me, it has been so long since I have worn anything else but my work uniform.'
Stepping into the entrance hall Poppy paused for a moment as a group of third year Ravenclaw students came down the moving stairs giggling and gossiping together. As she waited for the students to walk outside Poppy took a moment to try and calm her nerves.
'You need to stop being so silly Poppy. You have made sure that you look beautiful for Mary, she will fall heads over heals for you so you have nothing to worry about' Poppy mentally told herself as she gave herself a pet talk. 'Just take a deep breath and get going so you do not make that beautiful lady of yours waiting.'
Standing tall with her head held high Poppy took a unsure step forwards only for each step to grow in confidence as she followed behind the group of third year Ravenclaw students. As the bright warm summer sun shone brightly down on her face as she finally stepped outside Poppy allowed the warmth of the sun to recharge her before she pressed on and walked forwards.
'Now is the first one of the two real tests' Poppy thought as she walked out into the grounds, she was aware of the many shocked stares from students that came her way. 'If you do not look nice or if something looks out of place than the students will stop you. If you can get off of Hogwarts grounds and onto the path to Hogsmade than you know that there is no problem with how you look.'
Hyper aware of every single little noise and action going on around her Poppy held her head high and quickly walked towards the school gate. Poppy pushed her fear and nerves to the back of her mind and shoved them into a box, she knew that the students could smell fear and did not want to give them anything to get a hold of to pull her a part.
'You are almost there, the school gates are in sight and no one has stopped you yet' Poppy thought in relief as her eyes landed on the large iron gate.
"Madam Promfrey!" a familiar voice shouted out causing Poppy to bite back a small whimper of fear.
'Oh no, did something happen? Is there something wrong with how I am dressed or is someone injured?' Poppy thought as she slowly turned around to face the voice only to find herself looking at three smiling faces she knew well.
"Good morning Madam Promfrey," Hermione Granger said with a polite smile on her face, Ron and Harry nodded their heads in their own greetings. "How are you this morning?"
"I am doing very well this morning thank you," Poppy replied as she took in the scene before her, Hermione, Ron and Harry was sitting on a large red blanket with books surrounding them. "What are the three of you doing so close to the gate?"
"Studying for our NEWTs," Ron replied easily, a blush appeared on his face. "It is easier for Harry and I to study here where it is quiet instead of where there is a lot of distraction."
Poppy raised an eyebrow only for a small smile to come to her face when Ron and Hermione suddenly leant over to Harry and placed twin loving twin kisses on his checks causing him to blush bright red.
"Ah, to be a teenager again," Poppy said in understanding, as she watched Harry blush even more thanks to the perverted looks Ron and Hermione was sending him she found herself thinking if she and Mary would ever be like these three.
"Madam Promfrey, are you expecting or meeting anyone?" Hermione asked suddenly causing Poppy to nod her head.
"Yes, I am on my way to meet up with my penpal," Poppy replied without any farther explanation.
"Did you to agree to meet by the school gate?" Hermione asked as she slipped her hands into Ron's and Harry's
"No...we agreed that we would met each other down in Hogsmade, in Hogsmade Park," Poppy replied with a frown on her face. "Why do you ask?"
"Because there is a strange woman standing on the other side of the gate," Ron said plainly making Poppy freeze in surprise. "She has been there for an hour or so now, we keep hearing the words 'should I or shouldn't I' over and over again. She has been standing there for a very long time now."
"She keeps mentioning your name when she thinks we are not listening to her," Hermione said slyly as she snuggled up to her two lovers. "Is she someone who you know Madam Promfrey?"
"Is she one of your patients from outside of Hogwarts that you treat during the summer holidays?" Ron asked bluntly. "Because if she is that would explain a lot."
"Ron!" Harry and Hermione cried out, their faces going bright red.
"Thank you for your wonderful review on my nursing skills and abilities Mr. Weasley," Poppy said dryly as she shot a quick glance at the gate only to spot a person standing a few feet away from it. "I will keep what you have said in mind, as for the person who is standing outside of the gates it might be someone I know as I have agreed to meet up with one of my friends."
With one final nod of her head in the trios direction Poppy turned and walked towards the gate with her head held high with her eyes firmly glued on the stranger. As she got closer and closer to the gate her eyes took in every single little detail that appeared with each footstep that she took closer to the gate.
'It cannot be...can it...' Poppy thought as she remembered the description from the letters between her and Mary. 'This person...this woman looks exactly like how Mary described herself in the letters she wrote to me.'
As Poppy came to a stop just a few footsteps in front of the gate the stranger looked up and gazed at Poppy with a soft tender smile on their face.
"Hello Poppy, it is wonderful to finally be able to met you face to face," Mary Cattermole said with a soft tender smile that had Poppy feeling as if her legs where made of jelly. "I know that we agreed to met in the park in Hogsmade but I just could not wait any longer. I just had to see you...I had to see if your face and how you talked was like I had pictured in my mind as I read your letters."
It was all Poppy could do to nod her head numbly in shock through the soft whispers of three certain students made her keep her think before speaking.
"I feel the same as well Mary," Poppy said with a kind smile as she pulled out her wand. "I am glad that you came here because I was thinking about you too."
Giving Mary a smile and enjoying the blush that appeared on her face Poppy tapped her wand against the metal bars of the gate and watched as a few seconds later the gates opened with a soft creaking sound.
As Poppy left the grounds of Hogwarts Mary found herself staring with wide eyes full of love and excitement at Poppy. A blush appeared on her face as she stared at Poppy's body, a thrill of excitement buzzed through her along with the feeling of safety.
"I know this must sound extremely silly but I feel safe around you," Mary admitted as she gave Poppy a shy smile as the school nurse walked through the gateway to join her. "I do not know if it is because of the letters that we have shared for so long or the fact that you are a school nurse and I have met you just coming out of where you work or that we most likely knew each other when I went to Hogwarts but around you...I feel safe and happy."
"I understand how you feel, I find myself feeling the same way," Poppy admitted as she came to stand next to Mary with a soft loving smile planted on her face. "Even though this is only my first time seeing your face in person I find myself feeling as if I have been with you for years and...I feel as if there is something about you that just seems to click and the feeling I got from the war telling me when to run and when to charge ahead is telling me to charge ahead right now."
As the iron gate swung shut behind Poppy leaving Ron, Hermione and Harry on the other side to stare at them Mary held her hand out with a nervous smile.
"D-Do you want to continue on our little picnic date idea or do you want to not bother," Mary asked nervously only for her to blush from head to toe when Poppy reached out and took hold of her hand. "I would understand if you did not want to continue with what we have planned to do today or even continue writing letters to each other if you-"
"I think that would be a wonderful idea," Poppy said as she cut Mary off and placed her hand in Mary's hand giving the young woman a much needed boast of confidence. "How about we take a slow walk down to Hogsmade while we get to know each other? I brought a Pelican shaped picnic basket filled with different types of food that I made myself without any help from the House Elves."
"You already know me so well Poppy," Mary said with a large smile as she squeezed Poppy's hand. "I would love to join you on a picnic, it would make my year."
Sharing love filled smiles with each other Poppy and Mary turned and began to walk down towards Hogsmade. Their worries and stress gone for a short time as they lost themselves in each other.
End.