So HR is back after a break. Needed to find new inspiration for it. This one is going to be so fucking sweet your FACE WILL MELT. Maybe. Probably. Either way, my snuggly readers, prepare to enjoy some good wholesome fluff. I'll try to finish this in the next week or two, which should not be hard given I only plan to have two more chapters after this, which are likely going to be epilogues for both pairings.
The beginning may be a little angsty, but I felt it was something you guys were probably wondering about. The history of Caroline and Arien.
Either way, thanks for coming for the ride peeps.
Hogwarts Rumble Alternative Chapter 4
September 1, King's Cross Station...
It was funny. Arien wasn't usually one for nostalgic sentimentality, and yet, as he looked at the Platform 9 and 3/4s for the last time boarding it as a student, he couldn't help but feel a little...sad. His time in Hogwarts was generally pleasant beyond his 4th year, and he wouldn't trade the times Blaise and himself had spent in the castle for anything. Still, after this year, he wouldn't be able to be nearly as lazy as he had been, because of troublesome Quidditch Coaches and Medical training. That wouldn't be as fun, though as he looked over at Fleur talking excitedly with his parents and the Zabinis, he felt a small smile creep onto his face. He watched his wife interact with his family for a few more minutes, before he slowly walked over to them. Before he could reach them, he felt a tug on his shirt. He turned around, half expecting it to be a first year who was unsure of where to go, though he froze when he saw who it was.
"Hello, Arien. I was hoping we could talk?" The face of the girl who'd destroyed his heart in fourth year, Caroline Prewitt, was gazing up at him hopefully, twirling a lock of her brown hair. He shut down, panic nipping at his head, he didn't want to be around her, he didn't want to talk to her-
"Arien! My beloved 'usband!" Came Fleur's voice from behind him, as she hugged him from behind, placing her chin on his shoulder. He couldn't see it, but Fleur narrowed her eyes at the 7th year Hufflepuff girl in front of them. He felt Blaise slide up beside him, with his brother placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Arien took a deep breath, feeling Fleur begin to rub gentle circles on his chest and pouring positive emotions through their bond. He then turned a rather cold gaze onto his ex, who flinched at his look.
"Caroline." He began simply. "What do you want? You haven't made any efforts to talk to me since I caught you cheating on me in our 4th year. So forgive me if I'm not exactly thrilled to see you."
"I..." Caroline recoiled at the comment, before she settled herself. "I just wanted to talk to you. About...about everything. Alone." She finished nervously, her gaze flicking between Fleur and Blaise, who did not look happy to see her at all.
This was likely due to the fact Blaise had taken it upon himself to show Fleur his memories of Arien in the time after his break up with Caroline. Needless to say, Fleur did not ever want see her beloved that hurt ever again. The fact said object of misery just showed up uninvited was even more so annoying.
"Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of my wife and my brother." Arien stated with as much confidence as he could, given how the icy fingers of panic still gripped him.
Caroline's eyes widened at the mention of "wife".
"Your-, oh. Okay, I wanted us to get back together." She stated rather lamely, her eyes refusing to meet Arien and his friends. Arien however, had a much different reaction. He laughed.
"Are-" More sarcastic laughter. "Are you being serious right now?"
Caroline ignored his bitter laughter, and nodded her head.
"Caroline, if you wanted us to stay together, you shouldn't have been running around with Diggory behind my back when we were together. For God's sake, I caught him inside you, something you told me repeatedly you wanted to wait for marriage for. And that's not taking into account how much you tried to change me when we dated. I was miserable when we were together Caroline. I was just too blinded to realize it."
"I'm sorry! I just- I-"
"Found out he got signed by the Vratsa Vultures?" Blaise had decided to go for the kill, not holding anything back.
Caroline's eyes widened, before she covered her mouth. "What? NO-"
"Really? Because I find it odd that you just so happen to reach other two days after Arien's face is on the front cover of the Daily Prophet, formally announcing his contract with the Vultures."
Immediately, Caroline's demeanor changed.
"I didn't even want to do this. I only came over here because my mother made me. She wanted me to be the pureblood Quidditch star again after she saw your picture, and since I've been single beyond some flings since Diggory dumped me in fifth year for Chang when I told him what I did to you." Caroline paused, shaking her head a bit. "I couldn't stand to be around you, Arien. I still can't. You have so much anger and darkness inside of you, it terrified me. I know it was never towards me or anything, but that was why you were never anything more than a means to get Cedric's attention to me. I'm sorry."
"I have darkness inside me? Look at you, Ms. Holier than Thou. You used me, dated me for 8 months just to get the attention of your real target." Arien sneered at her, before he turned around and walked off, Fleur and Blaise in tow. Before he boarded the train, he glanced back at Caroline. "I may have a lot of darkness inside me, but at least I never used people the way you did. And for the record? I'm a halfblood. Goodbye, Caroline. Hopefully forever, this time." He finished angrily, before he went inside the train cabin, with Blaise shutting the door behind them.
No one said a word until they entered an empty compartment. Blaise silently put their magically shrunk luggage on the rack, while Arien took a seat next to the window, angrily glaring out at the station. Fleur stood in front of him, before she knelt before him, taking his hands and placing them on her face.
"My Arien, I am so proud of you for not going off on her like I know you wanted to. I could tell you had so much more to say to zat 'arpy." Fleur then kissed one the palm of his left hand. Her words, prompted him to snort a bit. "Though, she mentioned you have a darkness inside you, but I've never seen it."
"She's referring to the reason I originally wanted to study healing arts." Arien commented bitterly, ashamed of his original reason for wanting to learn to heal.
"O'? And what iz zis mysterious reason?" Fleur tried to sound joking, but then realized how serious Arien's expression was.
"My surrogate mother was killed by Death Eaters 2 months after I was born. She was a muggle, and while my parents had met her at an agency for that sort of thing, she had wanted to be a part of my life as an aunt. I never got to know her because of those bastards." Arien ground out angrily, casting his eyes to look at the floor.
"Arien, I am so sorry. But...how does zis relate to your dream?"
"Because I originally started studying it so I could prolong their suffering after I found them."
Silence filled the cabin, with Fleur opening her mouth several times to say something, but stopping. After a moment, Arien lifted his gaze to look her in the eyes, and she could see she expected to rebuke and disdain him.
"You said that was your plan. What changed?"
"The fact my father hunted them down and killed them himself." Arien said, laughing mirthlessly. "He told me it was to prevent an unnecessary stain on my soul. Not that I really cared, but robbed of my ambition, I felt lost. I was kind of a broody kid."
"Yes, you were." Blaise chimed in helpfully, though he silenced when Arien shot him a withering glare.
"So?" Fleur pressed, making sure to firmly hold one of Arien's hands, even when he tried to pull away.
"So I went to burn my textbooks, but I saw a case study in the mind healing section. On Frank and Alice Longbottom." Upon seeing Fleur's lack of recognition, he elaborated further. "They were two Aurors who were tortured into insanity by high profile Death Eaters. They were also associates of my father. When I read about how lacking the magical attempts at healing were...I think that's when I knew what I wanted to do. One ambition died, and another rose in its ashes."
"Zat is beautiful, mon amour." Fleur brought Arien's hand to her lips, placing a gentle kiss on it. "Je t'aime. And nozzing you do will change that. Everyone has some darkness within. Zat leetle girl was a fool."
Arien locked eyes with the silver haired woman he'd married, and felt relief wash over him at seeing no judgment in her azure pools, a smile broke out on his face. At least, before his expression turned mischievous
"You realize your closer to a harpie than she is, Ms. Veela." He replied with a teasing grin, though his eyes still reflected some sadness.
"Yes, yes, my love. Get your kicks out. Zat is the only time I won't set your pants on fire for such a bad joke." Fleur kissed his palm again, before nuzzling her cheek against his hand, Arien now gently rubbing her face with his thumb.
He was about to reply, when their compartment door shot open, to reveal the very annoyed face of Tracey Davis.
"So I heard She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named tried to win back Arien."
Blaise opened his mouth several times to say something, but for once, seemed to be speechless. So he did the next best thing to shut up his betrothed, and kissed her.
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October, Hogwarts, Office of Horace Slughorn. 1800 hours...
Apparently, with the return of Horace Slughorn to the Hogwarts faculty, so too returned the Slug Club. This club, for all intents and purposes, was a brown-nosing festival, for the sole purpose of cultivating rapport among the powerful and influential.
So naturally, Arien was just about ready to blast most of them into oblivion. Between the idiots brazenly hitting on his wife in front of him, to the idiots trying to curry up to him and Viktor Krum for connections to their club team, Arien was just about 2 comments away from caving in one of the walls and drowning them all in the Black Lake.
"Da, these fools are very foolish, no?" Viktor said in annoyance, before handing Arien a glass of Bulgarian firewhiskey. "You look like you could use this. If only to spare the rest of us from your wrath." The ace seeker commented jokingly, getting a slight grin out of Arien, before holding his glass up to the dark haired Slytherin expectantly.
"Thanks, mate. Cheers." Arien clinked his glass against his teammates, as they leaned against the upper railing, gazing down at the rest of the party goers. Horace was apparently extremely connected in the wizarding world. Vampires, quidditch stars, politicians, and entrepreneurs all reunited under the Slug Club banner tonight. Arien flicked his gaze back to his quiet Bulgarian friend, who'd become a stalwart companion during their time on the Vultures. "I'm assuming Granger convinced you to tag along?"
Viktor grinned slightly, before taking another sip of his whiskey. "Da. Correct. Hermioninny wanted a, how you say, buffer? Plus, I am her boyfriend of the 3 years. This comes with the territory."
"Indeed it does, Viktor. For a girl not born in the wizarding world, she definitely knows how to play it." Arien said before pointing to Hermione, who was discussing with a motley crew of scholars, politicians, and entrepreneurs about the feasibility of using Muggleborns to strengthen ties to Muggle business firms, thus reinforcing the Wizard economy by proxy.
Viktor nodded in agreement. "I love the girl, but she sometimes talks above my head. It is very...endearing though."
"Some guys might be intimidated by that." Arien pointed out goodnaturedly.
"They are foolish then. A stronger partner means a better bond." Viktor replied sagely, before taking another drink from his glass.
"I couldn't agree more, my intimidating friend."
"ARIEENNNNNNN~!" Came the flirty and inebriated voice of his beloved Fleur from behind him. He turned to greet her, only for her to slam her lips against his in a battle for dominance...at least until Viktor coughed awkwardly. Fleur pulled back, before she hugged the tall Bulgarian tightly. "Viktor! It 'as been too long! I 'aven't seen you since the blowout game against the Chudleys on July 28th!"
Arien laughed a bit at Viktor's confused expression. "She means against the Chudley Cannons, that C tier team we played in the Champions League." At Viktor's still blank expression, he elaborated further. "We won by 700 points and you put their seeker in a coma." Arien deadpanned.
Viktor slapped his hand immediately. "AH! Yes them! In my defense, that vas the most obvious Wronski Feint I had ever done."
"Yeah, well, tell that to idiot who flew into the ground." Arien commented dryly, before pulling Fleur close to him, inhaling the scent of her cherry blossom shampoo on her hair. "Hey, baby."
Fleur move a bit to beam up at him. " 'Allo, mon amour. I missed you. Particularly when ze fools kept bothering me." Fleur then tapped her cheek thoughtfully. "I think I heard Blaise mention poisoning them with a box of basilisk venom muffins." (AN: yes this is an Arrest Development Reference)
Arien felt a bead of sweat drop down his forehead. "Yes, well, Blaise considers you his sister, so I doubt he takes kindly to idiots harassing you. I'd have stepped in if I felt you needed the help. You don't, since you're the brightest talent out of magical France in decades."
At this, Fleur puffed out her chest slightly, which had the intentional side effect of pressing her assets against her husband, prompting him to blush.
"O' me, o' my, dearest, you keep sweet talking me and I might just take you 'ome tonight." Fleur commented flirtingly, battering her eyelashes at her husband teasingly.
Arien felt a vein throb in his head. "You married me. That means I take you home every night. I haven't heard any complaints yet." Arien replied cooly, before placing his forehead against Fleurs.
Fleur leaned and kissed his forehead, before tracing a finger along his cheek. "Non non, you 'ave certainly 'ave not."
Viktor watched his friends with a smile, before he downed the rest of his firewhiskey. "Vell, my friends. As fun as this vas, I believe my Hermioninny could use rescuing. She seems socialed out." Viktor pointed to his girlfriend who was seeming more and more drained by social interaction. "Arien, we vill still go to that muggle football game in December, da? Between the Arsenal and the Manchester United?"
"Of course. Watching football tends to give me play ideas for our matches. I was thinking we could try to use you as an auxiliary playmaker for goals." Arien replied excitedly, before pulling his friend into a hug. "But I'll take more of that later. I'll see you later, my friend."
"Da. You vill. Take care." And with that, Viktor was off to play dashing knight to the rescue of his brilliant and introverted girlfriend, leaving Arien and Fleur alone.
They stood in silence for a few moments, before Fleur puffed her cheeks out in a cute pout.
"Arrrrrieeeeennnn. I'm 'ungry. Let's go to ze kitchen for snacks." Fleur pumped her fist excitedly, before stumbling a bit from the alcohol, with Arien catching her arm to halt the unwanted reunion with the floor. "Merci, mon amour."
"For you, my fleur d'argent? Always."
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December 25, 1600 hours, Paris, France...
The Champs de Elysee was reminiscent of a winter wonderland this time of year, with snow falling gently from the sky and glimmering in the city lights. Arien had decided to whisk his wife away for a romantic vacation over the holiday, something she had been very appreciated of after her initial annoyance from the last minute packing. After they'd settled their luggage at their hotel, they'd headed out to enjoy a leisurely walk and grab some dinner. She was currently walking beside him with her arms playfully tucked behind her back, wearing a furry hoodie, ear muffs, and some dragon leather pants. Her cheeks were slightly flush from the cold, though the smile she wore had enough warmth to brighten Arien's mood.
"No matter 'ow many times I come here, I cannot help but admire ze city in all its glory." Fleur said excitedly, before she wrapped herself around his left arm. He had made sure he was walking on the street side of the sidewalk, which prompted an eyeroll from his wife. "Zank you for zis, my love."
Arien felt the heat rising to his cheeks, before he turned his head to place a gentle kiss on top of his wife's head. "I'd do anything for you baby, and take you anywhere. I figured you'd want to spend some time on French soil after being around us savages for the better part of a year." Arien finished with a slightly teasing tone.
Immediately, Fleur's cheeks puffed out. "You shouldn't tease me, Arien. It iz not very nice. I am your cute wife." She said while poking him in the ribs with her index finger.
"Indeed, but you are also my cute wife that can throw fireballs. Meaning I know you can take it."
They shared a laugh, before they continued walking. After a few minutes in comfortable silence, they ended up on a crossover overlooking the Sienne River, before they gazed out over the partially frozen river.
"Zis...Zis is something I could do with you forever." Fleur whispered gently, before she laid her head on his shoulder, prompting Arien to wrap his arm around around her shoulder.
"So why don't we?" Arien asked curiously, an odd tone to his voice.
Fleur laughed a bit, before she shook her head. "Non, I did not mean literally, my love. We will have so many years together, I zink you may tire of me." She replied with an equally odd tone of voice.
"Not in a million years, Fleur. You understand me in ways that no one else has." Arien pulled her closer, before he discreetly threw up some privacy wards and a disillusionment charm.
"I actually brought you hear to ask you a question."
"If it's to marry you, I zink we covered zat already." Fleur commented jokingly, before pulling away enough to look her husband in the eye.
Arien laughed, but shook his head.
"No, but it is related to that. See, my family has a tradition that we do with our wedding rings, but we only do it after the first year of marriage. It's our own sort of...soul bond."
Fleur quirked an eyebrow curiously, but said nothing, waiting for Arien to continue.
"It's actually an offshoot of an ancient Sumerian ritual by some guy named Herpo. We place a small piece of each others' soul into our respective wedding rings. So we always have a piece of each other no matter where we go."
"Zat sounds...dangerous, but also beautiful."
"It is slightly. It could easily be branded as a type of dark magic, even though it stems from the magical bond between us. We don't have to do it if you don't want to though-" Arien tried to backtrack, but his wife silenced him with a soft kiss.
"Arien, zis is a secret tradition of your family. I will respect it. What must I do?"
Arien beamed at her, before he gently slid Fleur's wedding ring off her left hand, before he closed his eyes in concentration, his wand pointing at his chest. Fleur felt his magic fluctuate a bit, but before she could ask what he was doing, his eyes shot open and he began to speak Latin. "De anima, est fides. Amor vincit omnia." He began to draw a small bead of light from his chest with his wand, before he touched it to her wedding band. When he finished, he wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. He then replaced her ring onto her left hand, though it now possessed a warmth and comforting presence it didn't have before. It felt like Arien, something that made her smile a bit, before she nodded for him to proceed.
"Alright, now you repeat the incantation I said, and pull deep within your magical core, my silver flower." He explained softly, before sliding his own ring off his hand, and held it out to her.
She carefully took it from him, before she did as Arien instructed. "De anima, est fides. Amor vincit omnia." She spoke, before she tugged at her own magical core with her wand. She then saw a bit of light on the tip of her wand, before she guided it to her husband's wedding band. She felt the piece of her magic hum a bit in the ring, before it settled. She then slide the ring back onto Arien's hand, before she intertwined their fingers together.
"So will you explain to me why ze incantation was Latin if the ritual was Sumerian?" Her question was a fairly reasonable one, though it made Arien laugh a bit nonetheless.
"The first person in my family line was a Roman, who ended up being one of the first to settle in France. He also was a scholar, and he discovered an ancient marriage ritual between magical families from the Sumerians, using the intense and pure feelings of love to place a piece of the soul between two people in love, to remind them that they are now two parts of the same whole. Unfortunately, at some point prior, a wizard named Herpo discovered you could prolong life by splitting the soul, though he used horrific ways to split his own soul. I don't really know the details of his actions, but that's the general history of the family tradition."
Fleur hummed thoughtfully, processing the information. "While I can see ze apprehension, ze idea of having more time with you is certainly a pleasant one, my love. And knowing zat I have a piece of you with me always is very comforting." Fleur finished, before she pulled him into a kiss, letting the snowflakes gently fall onto them, as the bustle of Paris went on in the background.
"I was so worried you'd freak out." Arien stated honestly, relief evident in his voice.
"You'd be surprised at some of ze darker magic my farther's side has practiced in the name of Justice, my beloved Arien." Fleur stated casually, raising an eyebrow at her husband. "You should know by know that I would only leave you if you became abusive. Something we both know you would rather die than do." She place a hand on his cheek, before rubbing gentle circles with her thumb.
"You must always remember dear. You are mine, just as I am yours, beloved. I will always choose you, Arien." She stated warmly, before her tone took on an annoyed quality. "And don't zink I'm going to let you go either, you imbecile."
Arien felt a bead of sweat form on his forehead at his wife's blunt declaration, before he shook his head. He felt his lips twist into a grin, before he pulled his wife into a tight hug.
"Je t'aime, mon fleur d'argente." He murmured into his hair, content to stand in the streetlight over the Sienne for as long as time would stand still.
"Je t'aime aussi, mon corbeau."
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February 15th, Hogwarts Castle, 3rd Floor Corridor, 1400 hours...
The term seemed to be flying by, Arien had observed calmly. Blaise had been more high-strung than usual with his constant networking attempts at Slughorn's little bimonthly shindigs, which had prompted Arien to slip a Calming Draught into his morning pumpkin juice. The result had been a somewhat dazed Blaise, and without him pushing Arien to various places around the Castle, Arien soon found himself on a leisurely walk through the castle halls with his wife, who was scheduled to patrol for any students skipping classes.
Fleur had a rather possessive death grip on his right hand, though her eyes darted around the corridor behind her thick rimmed glasses.
"You're glancing around like we could be attacked, baby." Arien noted with amusement, sending a teasing grin and a poke to the ribs her way.
"I am merely being vigilante! Plus, if there ARE students in ze halls, that means I can't do zis too much." Fleur shot him a look like he'd said something stupid.
Though, before he could ask what "zis" meant, she slammed her lips against his, and forced him against a wall, kissing him hungrily. Arien couldn't help but flush at her taking charge. It had become a game at some point, with them trying to one up the other with taking charge in intimacy. Apparently it was Fleur's day to surprise him.
"Arien~" His wife pause her assault on his lips to kiss his neck and whisper in his ear.
"Um, y-yes dear?" Arien couldn't help but gulp audibly at her tone. She was going to kill him with her actions at this rate!
"I think it's time for zis professor to punish you for being a naughty student~."
'Holy shit.' Arien thought through the fireworks show going off in his head. His fantasies were finally coming true! He was finally going to-
A knockback jinx crashed into a wall down the hallway, followed by some raised voices down the hallway and some crashes of display cases. This had the annoying side-effect of making Fleur and himself leap away from each other, before they shared an annoyed look. Both sighed, before rushing down the hallway.
The scene before them reminded Arien of his fourth year when he'd met Caroline. Before him, a Slytherin first year boy was standing in front of a Hufflepuff girl, wand out and pointed at none other than Draco Malfoy. Arien felt his eye twitch. This little weasel had cockblocked him. He would pay dearly. However, he nudged his wife first, to let her know he wanted to observe a bit first.
"Leave her alone! She didn't do anything to you!" The first year boy tried to sound brave, but his voice was a little shakey, likely from facing down an older student with a reputation for being a bully. Several of the suits of armor were scattered across the ground, as well as some minor spell marks.
"Oh, you misguided little first year. She's a mudblood. She doesn't belong here." Draco stated as if it was obvious why he was there.
"That doesn't mean a thing! We all have magic, and we all have the same right to learn how to use it!"
Arien gave the kid mental props. He'd already realized how stupid pureblood bigotry was.
"That's a lie. Purebloods have been the forefront every major magical discovery and are always the most powerful!" Malfoy shot back hotly. Arien groaned with annoyance at the turn his day was taking. His wife had apparently heard enough, coughing to get Malfoy's attention.
"Mr. Malfoy. Spell usage in the corridors iz forbidden. As is harassing younger students." Fleur stated in her teacher voice, which Arien loveeeeeed.
"So what half-breed? What are you going to do about it-" Malfoy said as he turned around paled when he realized Arien was with Fleur.
"Oh, Malfoy. Ever the delightful douche. Let's see, since you only really seem to grasp things in archaic terms. Insulting an the wife to the future head of a Noble house AND threatening children? That doesn't look well for the House Malfoy." Arien commented with a vicious grin on his face, enjoying as the color paled from the obnoxious pureblood's face. "Not to mention your dear old dad was an assmuppet for a halfblood. Bet old Moldyshorts didn't broadcast that too much, huh?"
"Wha-"
"I tell you what. You write my wife a formal letter of apology for insulting her honor, with a lump of galleons, and I won't douse you alternatingly in basilisk venom and phoenix tears for what you just said to my wife."
Malfoy nodded furiously, before shooting off down the hall way in a reminiscent manner of Speedy Gonzales.
Arien was tempted to chase him a bit, but he heard the girl crying a bit, so he walked over to her with his wife in tow.
"Hey there, little one. That mean old bully is gone now. You guys are safe." He spoke in a soft and reassuring tone, placing a hand on each kid's head, patting them gently.
"Ms. DC?" The Hufflepuff girl asked between sniffles, prompting Fleur to kneel down and wrap the girl in a gentle hug. She knew first hand about the callous words of the foolish over something as meaningless as blood purity.
"Shh, child. I am here. It's okay now." Fleur shot Arien a meaningful glance, before flicking her gaze to the boy for a moment. Arien nodded.
"Hey buddy. Let's give them a moment of privacy, yeah?" He clapped the younger boy on the shoulder, before motioning to follow him. The walked a little ways away, before Arien threw up some privacy wards around his wife and the young girl so they could talk freely.
"So what happened exactly?" Arien asked the boy casually to break the silence.
"That blond bully called Miranda a m- not nice word, and shot some spells around her. That's when I stepped in."
"Hmm, yes, that does sound like Draco alright. He's probably pissed because Astoria refuses to break up with the Creevey kid, and date him instead of a 'muggleborn'." Arien finished with sarcastic air quotes. Malfoy still didn't take well to two of the most desirable purebloods dating outside the house, apparently.
"He was a jerk, and Miranda is my friend. I wasn't going to sit back and do nothing." The boy finished with fire in his eyes.
Arien nodded in agreement. "You did good, kid. I'm assuming you used the levitation spell to block some of Malfoy's jinxes. Clever. What's your name?"
The boy looked up at Arien, a bashful blush on the kids face from the praise. "It's Malcolm, sir."
Arien flicked his gaze down to his wife, who nodded when they made eye contact.
"Well, Malcolm, why don't we get you and Miranda down to Madame Pomfrey for a slight check up? Just to make sure you two are okay."
Malcolm nodded quickly, before grabbing Arien's arm and tugging him back towards the first year girl and his wife. Arien couldn't help but smile at the kid's enthusiasm.
The walk to the infirmary was uneventful, though the two first year students chatted animatedly about everything go on in their year, to which Arien and Fleur made sure to express interest in. After being examined by the healer, and given each of them a swing of calming drought, Arien and his wife dropped them off at their next class, waving goodbye before closing the door. Arien shook his head and smiled at the kids' antics, before he began to make his way down the hall towards the kitchen.
It was after about a minute he realized that his wife was gazing at him intently with a soft smile on her features.
"What's up, baby?"
"Nozzing. I was just thinking how good of a father you will be someday."
Arien said nothing at first, but he wrapped an arm around his wife.
"And you, my beautiful flower, will be the best mother ever."
When Arien saw Fleur's face light up like a Christmas tree, he knew he'd said the right thing.
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June 30th, Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch, 1600 hours...
Arien stood looking out at the pitch he'd played on for the last 6 years, unable to stop the feeling of nostalgic melancholy. He'd managed to best Potter's team, and he was due to start full time professionally for the Vultures in a week. Krum had kept their team together in his absence, but the club was anxious to get Arien on the roster full time after his performances for both house and the club during the summer seasons.
He had been so wrapped up in his musings, he never heard his wife and his friends show up, at least until Fleur hugged him from behind. He turned himself around to see his wife, Tracey, Blaise, and shockingly enough, Potter and Greenegrass.
"Came to butt in on my musing, eh?" Arien addressed the group jokingly, before placed a kiss on Fleur's forehead.
Blaise was the first one to respond. "Well, we couldn't just leave you to brood alone, could we? You're my golden goose to my bid for Minister. I need you 100% brood free." Arien laughed at his brother's joke, before he turned his inquisitive gaze to Harry and Daphne.
"I just, uh, wanted to say thanks. For everything. You were a rival on the pitch, and I'll miss playing against you." Harry said honestly, extending a hand out towards Arien. Arien grasped it gently, and shook with the younger dark haired boy.
"Likewise. If you don't go pro, I'll be pissed. Viktor says you're the only one who gives him a run for his money. So I better see you on the pro circuit in two years, Potter." Arien teased goodnaturedly, a grin resting on his face.
"Fine, fine. I'll talk it over with my agent here." Harry replied dryly as he jerked a thumb back to Daphne who blushed, and mumbled something that sounded like 'idiot'. "Just try not to get injured before I get there. Hate for you to have to retire early, old man."
Arien bristled at the comment, whereas Blaise, Tracey, and Fleur found it hilarious, laughing like hyenas. Fleur stopped when Arien pointed out she was older than him, prompting her to conjure some fireballs on her finger tips. Daphne and Harry said their goodbyes, leaving the long time friends together.
"So this is it, yeah? The end of our school days." Arien stated bittersweetly, running a hand through his hair as he watched the sun set over the Black Lake from the quidditch stands.
"If you think for even second, dear brother, that Tracey and I didn't already buy us all a house in Bulgaria to live together, you are a fool. So no need for any waterworks. We aren't going anywhere." Blaise said, trying to keep his own emotions in check.
"Shut up! I bet you wanted to cry too!" Arien said, tears prickling at the corner of his eyes, getting up in Blaise's face.
"Oh yeah! Maybe I do! My evil plan is coming together and I'm going to be rich!" Blaise said while also starting to cry. They then rushed each other and hugged each other before wailing like banshees in the sunset.
Fleur and Tracey shared a look, and though they shook their heads, the small smiles on their faces betrayed their feelings.
"Idiots." They muttered, before pulling their loves apart, and walking hand in hand back towards the castle, eager to see how the future would pan out.
Xxxxxxxxx
So it took a while to get this. Sorry about that. I just didn't have any inspiration for a while. I should be able to wrap this up, though I don't know if I can do two more chapters this long. I'll say the epilogues will probably be around 8-10 pages each. Hope that's okay. Either way, you guys should be satisfied.
Until next time readers.
Raizen out.