AN: Hello my dearest friends, another chapter awaits you! I was very glad to have this to turn to... You see, lately my life has been a little... hectic. What with returning to university for my final year, and various issues giving me grief. This story has served as a reprieve to that. I hope that you like this chapter. Any and all spelling or grammar mistakes are my own, as they always are. Enjoy :) x

Thursday 4th September 2014

Dear Diary,

Everything with Hieronymous is resolved, again. I hope we can stop having these silly misunderstandings now. It's felt like life is some kind of TV show for a while… Anyway, I'm feeling pretty rotten. Hypothermia, that's what Hieronymous told me it was anyway. I suppose it was quite cold last night... I feel bad for making him worry. But, I'm still happy. I got to see him smile…

Ellen started fussing over me before she headed off for dinner, she said she'd bring me some food back, though I don't feel hungry.

I ache all over, and I keep shaking… I think I should try and get some more sleep.

Unfortunately for Arianna, her body was shaking too much for sleep. She laid there, staring at the ceiling, wishing that sleep would come and take her away from the throbbing headache that was rapidly forming. She knew, however, that the more she thought about it, and the more she wished, the less likely she was to find sleep. She tried to avoid moving, but found herself turning over and over in her bed, as if the movement might tire her out. She could feel her hair becoming more and more tangled with each turn, and her pyjamas had dislodged themselves, twisting around her body in an uncomfortable way.

She considered a sleeping spell, but didn't know if it was even a good idea. Firstly, she was ill… Magic when ill was hardly a good choice, since the illness made it almost impossible to focus on casting. Secondly, sleeping spells were Green Magic. Green Magic was hardly a subject she was interested in. Much of her studies comprised of Blue and White, with some Red, and the odd sprinkling of Black. Green barely played a part, and as such her skills in it were low, if they even existed at all.

She had manoeuvred herself to be face down on the pillow, when she heard the door open.

"Hey, how ya feeling?" Virginia's voice rang out loudly, despite her apparent efforts to avoid said volume. All Arianna could do in response was groan. "Still bad, huh?" She could hear the concern in her friend's voice, but Virginia had never been great at comforting, and she was awful with sick people. Her aggressive nature made bed-side manner nearly impossible for her. "Need anything?"

Arianna shook her head slightly, moving it to take advantage of a cooler area of the pillow, before pressing her burning face back onto it. The relief was brief, as that part of the pillow began to absorb the warmth radiating from her, and soon she found herself having to turn onto her side to stare at the wall, just so she could breath.

"Ellen was lagging at dinner, I think she was trying to find Grabby." Arianna didn't have the energy to even sigh at the nickname, and to be honest she had long since given up on trying to convince her friend to stop using it. "Damn, you are sick, you didn't even scowl at me!" Virginia joked. Arianna huffed a tired laugh, moving her head again to find a cool part of the pillow as the door swung open to reveal a slightly flustered Ellen carrying a bowl of soup, and a tired-looking Hieronymous.

"Sorry I took so long Arianna! The queue was massive, and then I couldn't find the Professor and…" Arianna tuned out of Ellen's ramblings with a small smile, gratefully taking the soup as Ellen offered in to her, before she turned to Virginia to continue her complaints. Hieronymous, meanwhile, carefully sat beside his young wife, picking up the long dried cloth and casting a couple of spells on it before replacing it on her forehead.

"I have no comprehension of how you manage to share a room with these two." He muttered quietly, and Arianna huffed another laugh.

"I wonder the same thing sometimes…" she replied weakly, before attempting to pick up a spoonful of soup. It was a shaky, but eventually successfully, endeavour. However, Hieronymous gave her a look. "I… I can do it…" she flushed, remembering how she'd had to feed him when he'd been ill. She suddenly found herself realising why he had been so adamant against it at first. It's embarrassing to have to be fed… And by your teacher or student who also happens to be your accidental spouse? She shuddered slightly at the uncomfortable feeling that had settled over her. He must have felt so silly…

"Perhaps… I should return the favour?" he said quietly, indicating the spoon shaking in her unsteady hand.

Arianna was only vaguely aware of her roommates leaving, something about Ellen needing Virginia's help finding a book in the library… She flushed, realising they'd probably made up an excuse to leave them alone. She was grateful, though. It meant she was less self-conscious when Hieronymous gently took the spoon from her shaking hands. She could see he was uncomfortable though.

"Y-you don't have to…" she stammered awkwardly as he placed the spoon in the bowl. He looked at her, scowling slightly. He tried to soften his face, but to no avail, so he just kept the scowl.

"You looked after me. Should I not do the same?" it was clearly a rhetorical question. He sounded irritated, but Arianna smiled. He was embarrassed, perhaps thinking he'd done something wrong. She sighed.

"I guess…" at those words, his face softened slightly, as he lifted the spoon to her lips. The warm soup was comforting, and she started to feel drowsy. "Is there a potion in this?" He smirked.

"You have good instincts." He complimented her, lifting another spoonful to her lips. "Miss Middleton came to find me saying she had soup for you, so I went to Petunia and acquired some medicine to help you sleep. I suspected you might be struggling with that particular task."

"You were right… Thanks." She said with a smile as the pleasant tiredness seeped through her body with every spoonful of the soup. The corners of his eyes crinkled slightly. A yawn escaped Arianna just as she'd swallowed the last drop of soup and he carefully flipped the cloth on her forehead over so the cooler side was against her skin. She smiled up at him, her eyes hooded by her eyelashes, casting a shadow across her eyes.

"Sleep now." He said softly, and she yawned again in response. "I shall visit you in the morning." Standing from his position on the bed, he adjusted her covers and turned towards the door.

"Hieronymous?" a drowsy voice called him back. He turned to see a silly smile plastered on his wife's face. He couldn't help but smile a little as he raised his eyebrows as an indication to continue. "I… Iloveyou…." She slurred. His mind froze for a moment at the statement, but then his eyes softened a little.

"And I you…" he muttered quietly, before slipping out of the room and hurrying back to his rooms so that those still in the halls wouldn't see the smile still on his face.

Arianna slipped into a peaceful sleep, barely aware of his words.

Thursday 4th September 2014

Arianna is ill. This illness is my doing, I did not take proper care of her yesterday evening when I found her. However, I shall not dwell on this fact. It was a mistake I shall endeavour not to repeat, and that is the best I can do.

For now I rather dwell on the words she spoke to me, and those I replied with. Though she was drowsy and swiftly slipping to sleep, my wife told me that she loved me. I confess I should not be surprised. She has said it to me once before. But after everything that has happened between us, all the mistakes I have made… That she would still blindly care for me is foolish and ridiculous.

I admit as well that I still feel concerned about this fact. Such a young girl should not be in love with someone as bitter as I. The world has been unkind to me, and I have turned on it. But then, the world has been just as unkind to her. Taking her parents away in such a sudden way, forcing my burdens upon her fragile shoulders. No-one can imagine my pain, but in the same way, how can I begin to understand hers?

It has affected her, I see it in the glint of her eyes. They are duller than they were. Beneath every smile there is a sadness. All I hope is that I can protect her from further pain. I will not allow her heart to turn to stone as mine did so long ago.

Back to the subject at hand, however. When she told me that she loved me the first time, I knew that I cared for her. However, now I have realised that she has become important to me in ways I had never imagined possible.

I have not felt love since I was young, and thus I cannot remember the feeling. But I imagine it starts with the warmth I feel when she smiles at me; because of me. I would do anything to see that smile.

Does she feel that? Does she want me to smile? I know I have smiled more in the months since our marriage than I have in much of my adult life. But they are not full smiles like hers. Still, I see the way her eyes light up at even the slightest quirk.

Yet, what if neither of us were able to smile? If some tragedy befell us and the ability was lost?

I believe it would make little difference. I would work tirelessly to bring her smile back. And if I could not… Then I would comfort her as best I could. I have little confidence that I would manage this. But I would try.

I wonder if that would be enough.

Reading over his entry, Hieronymous scowled. Good god, what have I become? He thought, a tinge of bitterness to his thoughts. Then, he sighed, closing the book.

"What a ridiculous question." He said aloud to the room as he replaced the journal on its shelf. "I haven't changed in the slightest. She certainly never asked me to." He smiled at that realisation. She never had asked him to change. She loved him for who he was. Grumpy, broken and harsh.

He honestly couldn't understand it, but he decided it wasn't something to question. Because if he were asked to explain his feelings for Arianna, it would most likely require a whole book, perhaps more, simply to unravel the mystery for himself, let alone another person.

No. He would not question it. For now.

Please don't forget to let me know what you think, it really does help xx