Chapter fourteen! Enjoy. (: As always, thanks for reading. Yes, there's a bit of fluff ahead, but not quite so much, alright? Alright.

Chapter Fourteen

Though one might have thought that spending five hours the previous night just cuddling and whispering loving nothings to one another would have constituted as a thorough goodbye, Antonin still came to see me off at King's Cross. I had to tear myself away from Lory, who was babbling about her various summer flings, and for a second he just stood silently, looking at me as if there was no one else at the platform.

"I'm going to miss you," he finally told me softly. "Are you absolutely positive that you have to go back? What difference is one year going to make?"

"Don't tempt me," I answered with a weak smile.

Sighing, he pulled me against his chest and kissed my hair. "Is it so wrong that I don't want to have to live without the one I love the most?"

"I'll be home at Christmas. You won't even have time to miss me." I was trying to be positive, but Christmas seemed an awfully long way off.

"Ally, I miss you even when you're just one room away for one minute. How is it possible that I won't when you're off at school?"

Even though I was glad to hear such things from him, it was breaking my heart that he was telling me that then- particularly when I had no control over the matter. "Antonin..."

I wasn't exactly sure what I was trying to say, but he seemed to know because he kissed my forehead and whispered, "I'll be all right. You just behave yourself and don't get too wrapped up in all of Lorraine's drama, okay?"

Nodding, I responded, "I'll write you as often as I can."

"I know." He was quiet for a second, and then he let go of me. "You'd better get going before you miss the train."

"Antonin..." There was a lump in my throat, and I could feel tears prickling behind my eyes. Willing myself not to cry, I swallowed and then finished lamely, "Take care."

"I love you," he stated solemnly, his fingers brushing absently over the necklace he'd given me the previous evening. I couldn't bring myself to meet his eyes.

"I love you, too." By that point, I was having to breathe deeply in order to refrain from collapsing into his arms and sobbing.

"I know." He tilted my chin up gently with one hand and pressed his lips to mine. There was too much "goodbye" written into that kiss for it to be enjoyable, and when he pulled back, he had to wipe a tear from my cheek that I hadn't even realised had fallen.

"Bye..." I mumbled, pulling away from him. I was afraid that if I lingered any longer, I would never be able to leave.

"Bye," he returned, sounding as if it was the very last word he wanted to say.

I turned and boarded the train before the longing in his eyes could overwhelm me.

---

School began in the usual fashion; teachers were emphasizing how important our NEWTs were and how it was even more paramount than ever to keep on track with our studies. I wasn't too interested, really, even though I expected to have a career of some sort when I finished school. I had never been particularly goal oriented.

Though I missed Antonin terribly, his letters- which came almost daily, and sometimes more than that- made it a bit easier to be away from him. He kept me updated on his life, mostly, though I got the occasional slip of paper that merely read "I love you", which somehow always meant more to me than a full-length letter.

I suppose I treasured the shorter notes more because it seemed like his desire to be with me was so overwhelming that he'd lacked the patience to sit down and compose a drawn out message; it gave me a sort of reassurance that he wasn't forgetting about me while I was gone. Not that I'd thought he would, mind you- he was by far the more attentive and loving than any boy I'd known or heard of, and never once while I was away did my faith in him really waver.

However, the last week in October- the one preceding the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year- I wrote him to ask if he'd be coming to meet me, seeing as he'd promised to do so every time I visited the village. Rather than writing back immediately as usual, he didn't write at all.

Thursday and Friday, the two days following when I sent the letter, I was extremely on edge about most everything. I was eager to hear from him, especially if he was writing to tell me that I would, indeed, be seeing him at the end of the week- but, unfortunately, there was still no answer by Saturday morning.

I considered not going at all, but Lorraine wouldn't hear of it.

"Merlin, Alecto," she told me exasperatedly, "I thought that once he left school, you'd be done obsessing over him!"

When I merely glared at her in response, she qualified, "Sure, he's worth obsessing over, but honestly. Take the day off. If he writes while we're gone, I'm sure the letter isn't going to grow legs and walk away by tonight."

"Ugh," I answered, rolling my eyes.

"I'll take that as a yes. I'll meet you in the Common Room in ten minutes, okay?"

I sighed heavily, but somehow wound up in the Common Room ten minutes later, anyway.

"I knew you'd come around," she beamed.

A little while later, though, she'd ditched me in order to try on a pair of dress robes I was almost positive that she already owned somewhere in her immense collection of clothes. Bored, I went outside to see if there was anything more interesting for me to do. Of course, there really wasn't much hope for that, but it was better than listening to Lorraine go on about whether or not she really wanted to buy new robes or if she looked fat or whatever.

There were many students bustling around the street, despite the chilly wind. I was regretting my decision to come to the village, and wondering whether I should just leave- I doubted that my friend would notice anytime soon, anyway.

After a couple minutes' deliberation, I began to trudge my way back toward the castle, deciding it really wasn't worth it to waste time I could spend on homework.

"Leaving so soon?" came a very soft, entirely familiar voice in my ear as a pair of arms wound around me from behind.

"Wh-" I sputtered immediately, too surprised to do much besides spin around. " Antonin! I- you- but- You know I hate surprises."

He grinned, looking very pleased with himself. "I know."

"Why didn't you tell me that you were going to be here?" I queried, though a bit less peeved now that the shock had worn off.

"To surprise you. Why else?"

I was too happy to see him to say anything more on the matter, which I think was probably his intention. "Antonin..."

"I've missed you so much," he finished the statement for me, and then kissed me. It felt amazing to have his lips against mine after so long, and I almost wanted to protest when he pulled away. "I have something to show you."

"What?" I asked, but he just smiled mysteriously. "Antonin, you know that I-"

"Hate surprises, yes. That's precisely why this has to be one," he cut in, smirking slightly. When I wrinkled my nose, his smirk turned into a fond smile. "Honestly, Ally, one would think that it was a heinous crime to keep you in suspense for longer than five seconds."

"It is a heinous crime," I insisted, teasingly.

"Somehow, I think you'll forgive me," he murmured in my ear, and then kissed it before skillfully running his lips down my neck. He was right, of course, and I couldn't help but shiver slightly.

With a self satisfied smile, he pulled away and laced his fingers with mine. "Come on, love."

"Where?" I demanded to know, though I was certain he wouldn't tell me. He seemed to enjoy frustrating me.

"Somewhere," he shrugged vaguely, and despite how obnoxious he was being I had to admit that he was gorgeous while being infuriating.

"Antonin-"

"You'll see, Ally. And you'll like it. I promise."

Though I knew he wouldn't make it a surprise unless it was really worth it, I was still slightly annoyed. Perhaps I was just used to him catering to my every whim, but the fact that he wouldn't just flat out tell me where we were going wasn't exactly the sort of thing that I took kindly to.

I was even more irritated when everything suddenly went dark. A blindfolding spell, no doubt. "What if I fall down?" I demanded to know, stopping in my tracks.

Sighing, he questioned, "Do you want me to carry you, then?"

"I want you to just tell me where we're going. You're torturing me." And to think, I'd really been looking forward to seeing him again.

"It's not far," he answered, as if I'd asked, and pulled on my arm gently. Apparently, I was getting no choice in the matter whatsoever.

Reluctantly, I stumbled along with only his and in mine as a guide. Finally, after it seemed like we had walked for miles, his voice came softly in my ear, "We're here."

Immediately, light flooded my vision as he removed the spell; I had to blink a few times to realise that we were in the more residential area on the outskirts of town.

"It's not much, but I thought that if I was close-"

"Antonin, you bought a house?"

Directly in front of us was quite possibly the most charming brick house that I'd ever seen. There was no doubt in my mind that it cost a fortune.

He glanced at the building, then back at me, and shrugged. "I might have."

"Why?"

"To be closer to you."

I sighed impatiently. He was really a bit obsessive. If I hadn't known him all my life, I might have been alarmed at the obvious fixation he had on being as close to me as possible at all times. As it was, I'd always known he had a very intense personality- I'd just never really expected it to be exhibited in this way.

"You don't like it?" He looked genuinely crestfallen.

"Antonin, it's a beautiful house, but... I guess I just don't understand you. I can't see why you'd just go buy this when you have a perfectly good one already."

"Do you expect me to live with my parents forever? Honestly, Ally, if I'd known you were so keen to live with them when we got married, I might have reconsidered."

There he went, mentioning marriage again. I couldn't help but bristle slightly at the thought- we were far too young for him to be talking about things like that. "That's in the very distant future," I pointed out. "For the moment, you really don't need this... it's not like I can come visit you. There's no reason to be so close."

"I like keeping an eye on you," he shrugged, though he was frowning as if I'd said something that offended him. "Do you not want me around?"

"I love you being around, I just... I..." I wasn't sure what it was, exactly. "I just think you're getting too serious."

Looking distinctly uncomfortable, he gave a short "Oh" before averting his eyes, his gaze becoming fixated on his shoes. "So... you're not serious about us?"

"Of course I am. I love you. But I mean, I'm only seventeen. I don't know how the rest of my life is going to turn out yet and..." The dejected way he looked up at me was extremely alarming. It almost looked as if I was breaking his heart, though I really wasn't sure how. "Stop looking at me that way."

His jaw clenched, as if he was fighting something internally. Though I was used to the feeling that his dark eyes were searching my soul, there was a disconcerting element to the gaze that I wasn't accustomed to, almost as if he was trying to change what I was saying into something he would rather hear. "Alright, Ally," he finally returned, more coolly. "You're right. You're young. I get it. You need to explore your options before you decide to get serious about an idiot like me-"

"What?" I cut him off immediately, an incredulous edge in my voice. "You honestly think I would settle for anything less than you?"

"I don't see any other reason for you to always get so... so... touchy when I mention marriage. I was under the impression that we loved each other and that it would only be natural we would spend our lives together, but apparently you think differently."

Scowling, I stepped away from him. "You're being ridiculous. I never said I don't want to marry you. I just don't want to rush into things."

"Why wait, Ally?" he demanded. "You're the only girl I'll ever love, and if half of what you say is true then your case is much the same. Why, then, waste time that we could be spending together?"

By that point, I didn't even want to give an answer. He was being unreasonable, and suddenly, I was glad that I could go back to the castle and not see him for a couple of months. I didn't want to be around him at the moment- especially when he was basically accusing me of not loving him.

"You know what? Fine," I shot back. "I'll marry you straight out of school. Hell, I'll marry you right now, forget my education. I don't need to ever pursue a career or take time after school to forge my own way in the world before tying my life to someone else's permanently." My words were dripping with caustic sarcasm, and I could feel angry tears burning behind my eyes.

Antonin, always the calm, collected one, merely sighed. "Whatever you want, Ally."

"Quit calling me that," I insisted. Though I was sounding increasingly immature, I was irritated and didn't care.

"Alright."

"I want to leave now."

"Alright. At the end of the lane, take a right... you'll see the village."

I could feel his eyes boring into my back as I walked away, but something kept me from looking back. I didn't even want to know his reaction.

Someone's PMSing and her name starts with an "A" and ends with a "lecto". Um, anyway, I'd love to hear what you think, so please review! (: Told you it wasn't all fluff from here on out. So ha.