For the Hogwarts Forum Gobstones Club
Green Stone- autumn
Accuracy- Accio, Power- Windy, Technique- Iola Black
Iola glances over her shoulder, relieved to find that no one is behind her. If her family finds out the truth, she will lose them forever.
She shakes her head. She can't think about that now. Bob is waiting for her, and that's all that should matter.
Still, her mind continues to wander. This could be the last time she sees him. They've spent the past two years meeting in the clearing behind his father's farm, stealing every moment they can, and he still doesn't know what she really is. She wishes she had been upfront from the start, but, at the time, she hadn't planned to fall in love. Iola had assumed he would just be a whirlwind romance, a silly fling; after all, Blacks do not fall in love with Muggles.
She cuts through the woods. Fallen autumn leaves crunch noisily beneath her feet, and Iola smiles to herself. She's always loved this time of year. It makes her feel bolder. Maybe that's why she's decided now is the time to come clean.
Bob waits for her in the clearing, as he always does. Iola lingers in treeline, taking a deep breath. The wind tickles her skin and whips her hair wildly around. Her mother would scold her for meeting a suitor looking so disheveled, but her mother would do so much worse if she found out Iola's true love is a Muggle.
Bob turns when Iola takes a noisy step. "I was starting to think you weren't coming!" he calls over the wind.
Iola smiles softly, quickening her pace until there is no distance left between them. "I always come back," she says, standing on her tiptoes and pressing a kiss to his lips.
Her lover brushes his fingertips across her cheek. "I'm glad," he chuckles. "I'm not sure what I would do if I no longer had you by my side."
Iola pulls away guiltily. She turns her gaze to the treeline, watching the flurry of yellows and browns as the wind plucks the leaves from their branches and sends them swirling and dancing in the air. Will Bob still want her by his side when he learns the truth? Will he look at her the same and learn to work things out, or will he run away in fear?
"Will you always love me?" she asks, her voice trembling with doubt.
"Always."
"Even if I'm not what you think I am?"
She sees the confusion swirling in his kind, green eyes, but he still smiles. "I will always love you, Iola. Nothing will change that," he assures her. He takes her by the hand and kisses her knuckles. "What has brought this on?"
"I should have told you sooner, my love. I'm a witch."
Bob chuckles. "Halloween isn't for another fortnight," he tells her, a teasing grin tugging at his lips. "Unless you're referring to your temperament."
Iola doesn't return his smile. She exhales deeply, drawing her wand. Her heart races. The Statute of Secrecy says she cannot do this. But if she marries him, he'll figure it out one way or another.
"Did you carve that yourself?" he asks, letting out an impressed whistle.
She ignores him, pointing her wand towards his father's farm, in the general direction of the apple trees beyond the barn. Apple picking has always been their favorite autumn activity. "Accio apple!"
Bob clears his throat. "That's…. Um… What are you do-?"
His sentence is cut off as the apple whirls through the air, inches from his head. Iola catches it easily with her Chaser skill. She takes a bite, but her stomach feels sour. What she's done could scare him away forever.
Forcing herself to swallow the bite of apple, she chances a glance at Bob. His eyes are wide, but she's relieved to see that there is no fear. "It's not that windy," he says. "And it would be a hell of a coincidence if the wind knocked it this far."
"It's a spell. I'm a witch," she says, her voice barely above a whisper. "Do you still love me?"
Bob wraps his arms around her. The apple drops from her hand, thumping against the dirt at their feet. He strokes her dark hair and presses a kiss to her forehead. "I still love you."