Year/Job
Dad
"I'm pretty major and I'll sing it out loud." |
Travis
Fox Bishop
Flourish and Blotts Employee IS OFFLINE
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Post by Fox Bishop on May 27, 2023 8:47:46 GMT -8
Frigiliana changed everything. Fox knew when he left that Christmas break with Emilia that his life would never be the same, but he hadn't totally expected just how radically everything would feel coming back from Spain. They were married, an incontrovertible truth that none of the parents, step parents, or close friends in the world could take away from them. Their was starting before their past was even over, and now they had to go back to Hogwarts and act like kids again.
It was a strange transition. In the morning Fox would awaken in his dorm room bed and he would reach over for Emilia but find nothing but empty space. In Frigiliana he had spent every morning with her, rolling over and holding her tight until they were ready to move. At Hogwarts they had always had the room of requirement to spend their late nights, but no matter how long they got to be together on any given night he knew that he was going to have to leave Emilia sooner rather than later. All he wanted now was to be next to his wife, the love of his life. He had fantasies of standing before a panel of Hogwarts professors and delivering an impassioned speech. "Would you separate a mother from her baby? Tell me why we can't be together? When we've already taken the step so sacred to unite our names forever? What difference does it make if we're sixteen or thirty-five?"
Okay, the speech needed some work, but not was one that he ran through his head every night when he tossed and turned in his bed. Fox could only sleep when he imagined Emilia was there with her. He would close his eyes and envision himself on a beach somewhere. He would imagine Emilia joining him, and as they talked and watched the sun dip down below the horizon, somehow he would drift off to sleep. If Fox was lucky, he'd get to continue the scene in his dreams.
As Valentine's Day approached, they had begun to settle into something more like a normal school schedule. But even when Fox was up late working on a paper for herbology, Emilia was never far from his mind. When the last semester had been winding down, it was easy to spend every late night with her, but now that they were in the heart of a new semester there was actual work to be done. Fox focused on acing all of his classes so that he could be on that magic lawyer track, while Emilia was back at it working hard with the Quidditch team. All Fox wanted was one night to be Emilia's husband, and what better night than Valentine's Day?
Emilia agreed with Fox, though with one slight hiccup. On Valentine's Day night Lizzie Vance was holding her own party in The Room of Requirement. They had plenty of other locations that they could spend a night together, but The Room of Requirement was the one most equipped for their needs.
"It's okay," Fox had assured a frustrated Emilia. "Listen, this is what we're going to do. You take Liv to the party, make sure she gets there safely and is having a good time, okay? And I'm going to work something out. We're going to have a magical first Valentine's night. You trust me, right?"
Fox didn't have a clue what he planned to do in lieu of The Room of Requirement, but a few places bad crossed his mind. It was just going to take some extra bit of work to get everything romantic for Emilia. If they were using the Room of Requirement the candles would come pre-lit.
Fox spent the weekend planning their date night. He took Emilia to Hogsmeade and Saturday and bounced around the shops hunting for decorations, playfully hinting at where he was taking her on Tuesday. By mid-evening on Valentine's he gave Emilia a kiss and told her to have fun with Liv before he scampered up to the top floor of the clocktower to add some finishing touches.
Around 11:30, Fox took a seat on the floor of the clocktower and began to write on a new, golden sheet of parchment that he'd picked up on their recent trip to Hogsmeade. He rolled it up into a tiny scroll, tied a green ribbon around it, then walked over to one of the windows on the wall perpendicular to the clock. Fox opened the window slightly then, tapping his wand to the parchment and saying something that sounded like a spell, he dropped the small out of the window.
From there the scroll would float to the ground and, as if possessing a mind of its own, begin rolling back into the castle, dancing through the halls until it found its target. The scroll rolled to a stop at Emilia's feet as she exited the The Room of Requirement.
Fox still hadn't told Emilia what he had planned for then that night. Instead, he assured Emilia that he would come find her when she was ready to leave the party.
On the scroll he had written:
Do you remember a boy who fell for you, drunk and entranced by your supernatural beautiful? Do you remember where he took you away to? Do you remember where he kissed you until you thought you were in love?
He's waiting for you there, the boy who loves you. Emilia Montes
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Year/Job
Healer
Potion & Plant Poisoning
Heaven’s here, it’s right where you’re standing. |
Steph
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Post by Emilia Montes on May 27, 2023 9:55:54 GMT -8
Emilia had known before they departed to Spain that coming back to life at Hogwarts would be difficult.
In Frigiliana, she would wake up to Fox’s embrace. The morning light would always bounce off the curls of his hair, giving him a radiant, golden glow. She would lay there, smiling and watching him. They could spend all day in bed or they could walk through the small town holding hands, laughing and enjoying each other. Their nights were spent in the living room as Emilia discovered boxes of memories from her childhood to share with him. A picture of baby Emilia pulling on her dad’s hair while he laughed, another of both her parents holding her close while the little family smiled at the camera. One night, she found her father’s favorite blanket. Emilia had wrapped the blanket over her shoulders and while she sat on the couch, she felt the tears returning. But Fox did what he did best, he pulled her close and comforted her. So, yes, their time in Frigiliana was sometimes clouded by the memory of Emilia’s father and the loss she felt to this day, but they learned how to deal with it. And that was the thing she loved about Frigiliana, while they were home, they had all the time in the world for the good and the bad.
But back at Hogwarts, Emilia always felt like they were running out of time. The new semester brought a new set of obstacles for them. Fox hit the books from the get-go and Emilia jumped back into practice, both of them being pulled in different directions. The time they would spend together would often be in the library while they both labored over their homework. Practices were running longer, homework was piling up higher and Emilia started to feel like she was suffocating. Slowly, the radiance she had returned to school with started to fade. It was replaced by exhaustion. Emilia knew she was pushing herself too far when she started to feel sick in the mornings and when she felt her eyes slowly closing in class while a professor carried on with a lecture. She would give anything to be back in Spain, just her and Fox and no worries in the world.
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, Emilia had expected to spend another night in the room of requirement but whispers of another party started to circulate the week before. Was it really that hard for Emilia to have one thing she wanted? She sat arms crossed, her lips pouting as she complained to Fox one afternoon. He immediately started to come up with a new plan which helped cheer her up a bit, but she couldn't shake a sinking feeling in her stomach. She'd had that feeling for over two weeks and it seemed to be consuming her every morning. She was sure she'd feel better soon, she just needed a little bit of rest. Emilia put on a brave face, not willing to risk ruining Fox's mood or plan by voicing her concerns.
She decided, instead, to skip one weekend practice to spend the day with Fox at Hogsmeade. His excitement poured out and helped her forget about anything she had been worrying over. Emilia chose to focus on his laugh and all the facts about parchment he was sharing with her. As she smiled back at him, Emilia could feel that glow engulfing them again. It really didn't matter if they were in Spain or Hogsmeade as long as they had each other.
On the evening of Valentine's Day, they parted ways with a promise of meeting later on in the night. Emilia had agreed to take Liv to the party, encouraged by Leo. They both wanted Olivia to have a night without tears, but the best Emilia could do was escort her there. She made sure Liv was left in the capable hands of a housemate. Truthfully, she started to feel lightheaded in the room and couldn't wait to get out. As she exited, Julian was making his entrance. They nodded at each other and Emilia knew Liv would definitely be okay. She felt like she could breathe, finally, as the giant door disappeared into the wall behind her. Her palms were clammy even though she'd spent less than five minutes in the crowded room. With a small frown, Emilia wiped her palms on her black skirt before she started to walk again.
Emilia only managed to take a couple of steps after turning a corner before something rolled up to her and stopped at her feet. She picked it up and held it up to study it, it had to be for her. Her fingers delicately pulled on the emerald ribbon and the scroll opened up for her. She found her breath catching in her chest once again as she read over the words, the handwriting all too familiar to her. Emilia held the parchment in her hands after she finished reading, but she didn't move. Her hazel eyes pore over the words again and again eventually becoming blurred by tears. She wasn't sure why she was crying, there was nothing sad about it. In fact, it was the complete opposite. The memories from that night always brought a smile to her lips. If she closed her eyes, she could remember the cold, September night. Fragments of memories flashed; a bottle of vodka, Fox's thumb on her red lips, the moonlight cascading over them, then the warmth of his lips on hers.
Emilia wiped the tears away, she was being ridiculous. She was wasting time crying when she could be with Fox. She rolled the parchment and tied it again, keeping it in her hand as she made her way toward her destination. With each step, she was closer to her husband and it elevated her mood once again - as if she wasn't just crying for no reason.
Her heartbeat picked up as she approached the clocktower and she had to stop walking for a second. Should she had gone back to change? Emilia felt a little over dressed in her party clothes. She hesitated then decided against it, she was already here and all she wanted was to run into Fox's arms. Emilia entered the room, the walls and ceiling immediately catching her attention. The last time she'd been here, it was in almost complete darkness. Now, the walls mimicked the hills of Frigiliana, the outline of houses illuminated by small lights. She gasped, realizing what she was looking at. The enchantment on the ceiling twinkled down on at her; Frigiliana's night sky all around her. Emilia turned around, finally finding Fox. She smiled, though the tears were back again, and hurried over to where he sat on a blanket. She dropped to her knees, her hands grabbing on to his cheeks and she pulled him into a kiss. Emilia had expected something cute from Fox, but this was beyond that. He knew her better than anyone and he knew what she wanted most in the world. Fox couldn't take her back home yet, but he managed to bring it to her.
"I love you," Emilia whispered as she broke the kiss. She used the back of her hand to wipe away the happy tears on her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm crying, I'm really happy. I love this so much."
Fox Bishop
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Year/Job
Dad
"I'm pretty major and I'll sing it out loud." |
Travis
Fox Bishop
Flourish and Blotts Employee IS OFFLINE
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Post by Fox Bishop on May 27, 2023 10:23:58 GMT -8
If there was ever a moment where one could see how totally Fox had fallen for Emilia, it happened on a rocky beach the day before they left Spain. After a walk to the shore, they spread a blanket out onto the beach and watched the waves from the ocean wash in. Fox admired Emilia there as the wind whipped through her hair. They’d spent many of their days in Spain holed up in Emilia’s childhood home, but Fox didn’t regret a moment of their holiday together. In a lot of ways it was like Emilia was reconnecting with her family, like he was getting to meet her father, even if her father took the form of a house now. But of the mornings they spent in bed, the afternoons cuddling on the couch, and the late evenings on the deck, Fox was certain he would remember this moment on the beach. The smile on her face as she looked at him the brightness of the sun and he could see so clearly that she loved him.
And in that moment Fox had a ridiculous thought, an impossible thought, even.
“Why do we have to go back?” he said, sliding his hand through his hair to pull it back from his eyes. “What’s stopping us from staying here? We have a house, we have means.”
By means Fox meant that they knew sixth year level magic, which was more than enough than the fundamentals required to survive in the wild. He was also perfectly confident, despite any formal Muggle education, that he could walk into an interview and talk his way into any job. Emilia would have been well aware of Fox’s dreams by then. His five year plan included law school, advocating for magical creatures, and establishing a Muggleborn nonprofit—though admittedly, the nonprofit may have to wait for his second five year plan. For Emilia, however, Fox was willing to throw out any plans he had. All he wanted was to spend his life with her.
Fox leaned in closer so that she could hear him better over his choking voice. “I always thought that Hogwarts was my real home, that for my first eleven years I just existed in some place, waiting. But now I kind of feel like my life wasn’t meant to start at Hogwarts. It starts with you. So let’s stay here, okay? Let’s stay here and be married and live every single day in paradise.”
Fox knew that he was talking nonsense. All he really wanted to do was pretend that this wasn’t their last day in paradise. He feared returning to school and forcing attention back on worthless pursuits like, I dunno, turning a cat into a purse or something. Cooler heads prevailed though, and the couple returned to Great Britain on schedule. Fox felt like they’d been chasing those feelings ever since. That’s why, when Fox had the opportunity to plan their first Valentine’s Day together, his mind turned back to that day on the beach in Spain.
It was hard for Fox to accept that he didn’t know everything about Emilia yet. They had known each other for all of school, but he hadn’t been totally aware of her work ethic. It wasn’t until they were dating that he saw just how much she put into school and Quidditch. She seemed to tackle everything in her first semester—including the late nights they spent together—without a sweat. But as the year dragged on, Fox could see that her responsibilities were beginning to take a toll. At first, he thought it was just the full weight of Quidditch coming down on her. Slytherin was in contention for the Quidditch cup and as the season dragged on, her practices seemed to multiply in frequency and duration. Despite the exhausted look that she carried with her everywhere that month after their holiday, Fox felt that Emilia was only becoming more beautiful to him. She just needed time to rest. She needed a good night away from everything.
Once the plan was set to spend Valentine’s together, Fox was in the library every night researching the magic that transformed the ceiling of the Great Hall. Though their first night together had started in the Room of Requirement, it ended in the clocktower. They had wanted to escape from everything, to enjoy what few hours they had with each other. Emilia confessed to him there that she wanted to go home and Fox had promised that he would take her there. They couldn’t go back to Spain yet, but now sober, and with a week’s worth of planning, he could bring her home to her.
When Emilia stood before him the clocktower, admiring his hard work crafting the room around them into the Frigiliana landscape, Fox knew immediately that he had outdone himself. He didn’t even have time to hold up the bouquet of flowers that he’d bought from Professor Tannen.* Emilia moved too quickly, dropping down onto the blanket with Fox and pulling him into a kiss.
“I love you,” Emilia cried. “I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm crying, I'm really happy. I love this so much.”
“It’s okay,” Fox laughed behind a wide smile. He felt his eyes watering too, but didn’t quite approach the point of crying. “It’s okay to cry as long as you’re happy,” he said. “I love you too. I’m pretty sure more than you know.”
Fox was ready to launch into a breakdown of how the night happened. He wanted to tell her about the hours of failed attempts transforming the room into Frigiliana, or to reveal to her the contents in the basket next to the blanket (he had planned for the evening to be sort of like a late light night picnic, curated by his house elf friends in the kitchen), but first he wanted to take a moment just to enjoy how beautiful she looked tonight. His smile fading to something more serious but still just as happy, he closed the gap between Emilia and himself to give her a kiss of his own, his hand traveling up to rest on her cheek.
He thought of their first night here, how hungrily he had kissed her, and he was a little surprised how the hunger was still there.
“I just realized,” Fox said. “That we’re living in a memory. It’s not just that we’re here, where everything started, surrounded by the landscape of your hometown. But that this moment is a moment itself that I’ll come back to every night, because I’m never going to forget how beautiful you are right now.”
Emilia Montes
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