Mad World Mods (madworldmods) wrote in madworldrp, @ 2007-08-14 20:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | edgar bones, sarah bones |
RP Log: Ed and Sarah
LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY mrbones)
Who: Edgar and Sarah, scattered NPCs
When: Select incidents between September 1972 and July 1975
Where: Around Hogwarts, Sarah's parent's house
Rating: PG-13 for language and partial nudity.
What: Just a few instances featuring the two, including their first meeting, a public spectacle, first 'I Love Yous', first "real" fight, and the discussion that followed Sarah finding out about being pregnant with Matty.
Sarah was leaving the library, hurrying a litle so she'd have time to drop her stuff off in her room before heading to dinner, and she was already cutting it close for time. The sound of laughter caught her attention and on a whim, she paused and peered up a not often used hallway. The sight of a blonde haired boy halfway up a flight of stairs sunk in to the knee at the trick step with another boy standing a few above him and laughing made Sarah smile and decide to take a detour.
"Do you need a hand?" Sarah called, shifting her book bag on her shoulder and raising her eyebrows at the two boys.
"What he needs is a punch in the face," the blonde boy--one Gryffindor Edgar Bones--grumbled, still attempting with no avail to hoist himself up and out.
"You deserve to be laughed at," his mate retorted, grinning at the girl, whom he vaguely recognized. "You're a sixth year, Bonesie, and you didn't skip a trick step."
"Didn't he," Sarah said, and walked up the steps to stand next to this Bonesie. She held out a hand to the boy stuck in the step. "You're going to be late to dinner, both of you."
"Saviour!" Edgar grinned up at her, grabbing her hand and allowing her to help pull him free. Pulling himself to his feet and brushing his hair out of his eyes, he said, "I'm indebted, Miss...?"
"Sarah Holmes, and you're not indebted. It's fine. It's what any decent person would've done," Sarah said, and gave his friend a stern sort of look before tucking her hair behind her ear and turning to head back up the hall.
"Hey, wait," Edgar called, signalling for his mate to piss off as he caught up with her. "Sarah," he said, still grinning. "I'm Edgar Bones. Let me walk you to dinner?"
Sarah looked at him and then grinned a little disbelievingly. "Really? I mean really? All I did was help you out of a trick step. It's fine, Edgar Bones. I'm not going to dinner right away anyway. I'm dropping my book bag off. It's heavy, and I have Charms Club after. See you around."
"I can carry your books," Edgar offered, and flexed as he gestured to his arms. "Big, strong and muscly, you see. Quite useful to have around, I'm told. Yes?"
"No," Sarah responded, amused by his antics, but not impressed. She started walking again. "I'll see you around, Edgar."
He kept following her, undeterred. "So you're a Ravenclaw then? Fifth? Guess that means you've got looks, brains and everything, does it?"
Sarah stopped. Obviously walking away wasn't going to get the message across. "You don't know me. You don't owe me anything. I helped you out of a trick step, that's all. You really don't have to go out of your way to try and impress me."
"I'm not going out of my way," Edgar said. "Trying to impress you, maybe, but that's not a matter of owing so much as a matter of wanting. To, that is. Wanting to impress you."
"Well, I can carry my own book bag," Sarah said, and then smiled a little shyly. "But you can walk with me if you really want to. But you have to keep me entertained."
"I can do that!" Edgar said a little too excitedly and then laughed awkwardly before repeating himself in a much less eager sounding voice. "I mean, I can do that. Entertain you. Er. How would you like to be entertained? I know this great joke about a naked goblin, a house elf and Grindelwald--"
"Stop. You Gryffindors. Too much energy and noise," Sarah interrupted. "Tell my why you want to impress me. Explain it to me."
"I. Oh. Well. You're quite pretty, for one thing, though I suppose you'll call that Gryffindor superficiality, will you?" Edgar asked. "You seem interesting. Different in a good way. I feel the urge, as it were. Should I not want to impress you?"
"It's just illogical. You don't even know me well enough to know if you can stand me, let alone like me enough to want to impress me," Sarah said, and tried not to blush at his compliment. "Look deeper. Ask questions."
"Er. Okay," Edgar replied, tucking his hair behind his ears and making a face as he tried to think of something somewhat appropriate to ask. "What's your favourite class?"
"Charms," Sarah said. "I'm head of the Charms Club. Potions is a close second. What about you?"
"Defense, probably," Edgar said thoughtfully. "And I like potions. And charms. Not big on clubs. Only put up with Sluggy as he throws lovely Christmas parties."
"I've never been," Sarah admitted, and looked at Edgar out of the corner of her eye. "I'm not high profile enough, I guess. I spend too much time behind books and out of the spotlight. I do clean up quite nice though, if I do say so myself."
"I'll agree with that," Edgar said brightly with a wink. "As for being high profile, Sluggy is all flash and pizzazz, you know? He wants the goods. I only got an invite in the first place because I'm a Bones, and apparently a pureblooded name is currency, I don't know. I'm not really out there waving my arms and saying 'Hey! You! Look at me! I'm impressive!' or anything, you know? And I'm rambling. Like quidditch?"
"I wouldn't call myself a die hard fan, but I don't have it out for organized sports either," Sarah said, smiling up at him and then swinging her bag in his direction. "There are a lot of stairs up to Ravenclaw tower, and I don't often have a willing slave. You did offer."
"Happy to oblige!" Edgar said, pleased, and pulling the bag over his own shoulders. "And your slave any time," he added, enoying pushing the flirting boundries with this new girl, whom Edgar found inexplicably fascinating. Watching her hair bounce he said stupidly, "You know, I've always wondered what it's like to not be blonde."
Sarah looked over at him and let out a short laugh, glad for his silly comment so she didn't have to respond to his quip about being her slave. "Well, I can't very well tell you what's different about being a non-blonde. I've never been blonde, have I?"
"Well what's it like to be brunette then?" Edgar asked playfully. "We can compare trade secrets."
"It's smarter," she said shortly, smiling at him. "You have no idea what sort of epic brilliance goes on beneath these chocolate locks."
"I am astounded by just considering it," Edgar replied, smiling back. "As you can imagine, we blondes are far more preoccupied with swaying our hips and working out what two plus two equals. Someday," he added fake-dramatically. "Another life goal is to discover the secret of how they get caramel in the centre of chocolates. That's a skill you could rule the world with."
Sarah laughed again, and looked up at him. "You're an interesting boy, Mr. Bones."
"Interesting as in you'd like to disect me to see what makes me tick, or interesting enough to let me take you to Hogsmeade next weekend?" Edgar asked forwardly, cheeks turning red.
"Not quite that interesting," Sarah said softly. She didn't have a lot of experience with boys, but from what she knew, walking down the hallway together and going on a date together had very different expectations tagged on to each. Given Edgar's interest had started when all he had to go on was a first impression, Sarah was sure it wasn't her personality he was interested in. She wasn't about to put herself in that position. Though, turning him down would make for a really awkward last few flights of stairs. "Thanks for the invitation, though."
"I. Oh," Edgar said, disappointed. "Well we could just meet up there instead. I could buy you a butterbeer. We could discuss the many complex mysteries of boys who have no manners or tact, and the girls that deign to give them the time of day."
"Actually, I don't like butterbeer," Sarah replied, hoping he'd get the idea and stop pushing.
"Tea? Coffee? I could nick some firewhiskey if you like a good stiff one every now and again," Edgar paused, realizing what he said before turning twenty shades of red and spluttering, "A stiff drink! Drink, I mean, not a... not a you know. Nothing to do with shagging. Oh Christ. Right. Removing my foot from my mouth now, sorry."
How embarrassing. Sarah turned sort of red and looked away from him. "That's not what I meant. I don't... I don't want to date you, Edgar. And I'll take my bag back. It's not that much further."
"I'd gathered that much, I've just never been the sort to comprehend limitations," Edgar said with a sigh. "Wish you would want to get to actually know me, Sarah. I'm far less of a wanker in day-to-day life."
Feeling uncomfortable, Sarah just held her hand out a little more obviously. "It was nice chatting with you. My bookbag, please?"
"Oh honestly," Edgar said, taking the bag off and giving it back to her. "Right, well. If you're going to be like that, I'll actually go."
Sarah smiled at him, and felt a little bad, but there was no point leading him on. He'd get over it, anyway. In the long run, she was inconsequential. She hooked the bag over her shoulder and tucked her hair behind her ear, looking up at him sheepishly. "Bye, Edgar."
Edgar raised his eyebrows, but smiled. "Bye then, Sarah," he said, and with a slight wave turned and made to go back down the stairs. A sensible bloke would've seen a lost cause and moved on, but there was just something that made him stop for a split second to glance back at her before he grinned widely and made the decision to not give up on her because of being shot down once.
Edgar loved a challenge.
***
Edgar cleared his throat and climbed on top of the table in the Great Hall, grinning like a madman as he touched his wand to his throat and murmured 'sonorus'. "Morning, everyone!" he said happily, causing everyone who hadn't seen him get up to turn and look in his direction. He spotted Sarah at the Ravenclaw table and gave her a self-amused little wave before ploughing on. "So we all know it's a day in Hogsmeade on Saturday, yes? And many of you have your dates and your plans and etc ready to go. Unfortunately the girl I asked to Hogsmeade said no."
There was a collective "aw" from most of the female population of the room, including a few professors who automatically hid their faces behind thier hands. Not even McGonagall seemed to have a desire to stop Edgar Bones from making a public spectacle of himself over a girl. On the contrary, Minerva in particular was cheering him on. Though not out loud.
"I'm not sure if I'm going to convince her that I'm insane or worthwhile with this," Edgar continued. "But at any rate take heed that I'm about to mangle a Beatles song--that's a muggle band--in the name of Sarah Holmes." He cleared his throat again before starting in (very off-key) on, "Sexy Sarah, what have you done? You made a fool of everyone, you made a fool of everyone. Sexy Sarah, ooh what have you done? Sexy Sarah, you broke the rules. You layed it down for all to see, you layed it down for all to see. Sexy Sarah, oooh you broke the rules. One sunny day the world was waiting for a lover; she came along to turn on everyone. Sexy Sarah, the greatest of them all!"
Most of Sarah wanted to slide down in her chair an just hide away from all of the attention she was now getting. A large chunk of the rest of her was annoyed at Edgar for making such a scene instead of just sitting next to her or something. Of course, a small part of her was incredibly flattered.
Sighing, she got up and walked over to him, grabbing his sleeve and tugging in an effort to get him down.
"Dramatic idiot," she said, trying to keep her face and voice neutral as she tugged again on his arm. "Get down. You're making a spectacle."
"Well yes, that was the idea," Edgar said, grinning widely at her before realizing with an "Ooops!" he'd forgotten to finish the sonorus. He touched his want to his throat again. "Finite," he said happily, climbing off the table. "What's important to me, however, is whether or not it worked."
"I don't like tricks or drama. They aren't genuine. You could've just come to talk to me," she said evenly. The way she saw it, big gestures were meant to be cute, perhaps, but just ended up putting more pressure on her to say yes. It just wasn't real. "Why didn't you?"
"Because I talked to you before and you said no," Edgar said with a shrug. "I don't know. I'm not trying to be a prick or anything."
"Me neither. I mean. I'm not trying to be rude. I just... this isn't real life," she said, gesturing at the lingering few still watching them. "If I decide I like someone, it won't be because he put on a show. That's as much for anyone else as for me."
"Oh. Well. That's the thing about getting to know someone I guess, isn't it?" Edgar asked. "You learn what they actually would like you to do. What would make you maybe decide you might like me?"
Sarah smiled a little at his determination and couldn't help but think, for all she said, he wasn't doing all that bad a job so far. Besides, she figured if he was just after one thing, he'd probably lose interest and go find someone a little... easier to get to know. "Make the effort. A real effort. Show me you're actually interested, and not just indulging a passing fancy or having a laugh at my expense."
"I can do that. A good start would be going to Hogsmeade together. Really," Edgar said hopefully. "Conversation, you know. Maybe, yes?"
Sarah just smiled and said, "I have to go. I have a study group later with my friends and I have to get my homework done first." She hesitated then, and met his eyes as she added, "You can come, if you want. It's in the library at seven."
"A study session for what?" Edgar asked, interested.
"Well," Sarah said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's sort of a standing weekly tradition. Every week a couple of us get together and eat sweets and we each pick a topic or ask a question. It's not so much a study session, I guess, as in informal innovative intelligence and education futherment group."
"That's quite different. In a good way, though! Sounds interesting and challenging. I'll go," Edgar said. "And I'll bring sweets!"
Sarah had been bracing herself for laughter. At best, she'd been hoping for poorly concealed amusement. She knew it was dorky, but they were Ravenclaws. She wasn't sure she bought into the house stereotypes completely, but one thing was for sure: they enjoyed intellectual stimulation. Even if half the time it tended to degenerate to throwing sweet wrappers at each other and making up and playing word games until the library closed. Edgar's agreement--and almost enthusiasm--was both shocking and pleasing.
"Okay," Sarah said, smiling. "I'll see you later, then."
"Later, yes!" Edgar said, already plotting an escapade to Hogsmeade for impromptu Honeydukes. "Bye, Sarah."
"Bye, Ed," she replied, but couldn't hide a wide smile as she walked away. Maybe he actually did like her.
***
Edgar thought the group had gone well. Perhaps even very well. Sarah's friends had all buggered off with obvious winks and bad excuses, leaving Edgar and Sarah on thier own, Edgar with a big grin on his face, and having watched and listened to Sarah for the last few hours was now pretty certain that she was one of the smartest, most intriguing birds he'd ever accidentally met. Or met ever, for that matter.
"So. That wasn't obvious at all," Sarah said, shooting an annoyed look at one of her dormmates as she looked over her shoulder before disappearing around a corner. She could have had the decency to come up with something better than, 'I have to ask the house elves to iron my socks.' Okay, so it was kind of funny. "I didn't ask them to do that. Just for the record."
"Still just you and me, either way," Edgar said, inching slightly closer as they walked, trying not to be too obvious himself. "I really liked what you said about animagi," he added. "You really think it's connected to the patronus in some way? I'd never really thought about it before."
"They're both incredibly strong, animal based forms of magic that are very closely tied to the person," Sarah said. "Even if people believe they have some influence over their animagi forms, the fact alone that we can only have one animagus form still makes it significant. I don't necessarily think one somehow equates the other, but it stands to reason there has got to be some influence..." After trailing off, Sarah looked at him sheepishly. "Sorry. It's hard to turn it off sometimes, especially after I've been fuelling it with sugar all night. Did you have fun tonight then?"
"Yes, very much," Edgar said. "Particularly when the conversation about goblin rebellions turned into a game of 'Catch the Bertie Bott's in Your Mouth'. I don't think your friend'll ever recover from the surprise of that Italian sausage flavoured one."
Sarah laughed and looked up at him, feeling happy. "I know it wasn't quite as dramatic as a song in the Great Hall or anything, but I think tonight was more impressive than all that."
"You're just jealous you don't have my flair for song," Edgar teased.
Rolling her eyse, Sarah replied, "Well, that too, but I meant that you impressed me more tonight being a real person than you did with the silly song."
Edgar blushed. "I'm glad to hear that," he said. "And for the record I think you're the smartest bird I've ever met."
"You're a flatterer, Edgar Bones," Sarah said, and then took a breath, gathered her courage, and took his hand. "I suppose I'll go to Hogsmeade with you then. If you still want me to."
Edgar had to stop himself from skipping slightly with glee. "Yes! Of course I do!" he said excitedly, squeezing her hand.
"I have a question for you," Sarah said. "Are you a glutton for punishment or something? Because I wasn't trying to be mean--and I'm sorry if I came off like I was--but I certainly don't think I was all that encouraging."
"There's just something about you," Edgar answered. "I couldn't not keep trying."
"That's illogical," Sarah said, and then squeezed his hand a little. "The good kind of illogical, I guess. In case that wasn't clear, or... Is it really obvious that I don't do this often?"
"It doesn't matter, so long as you're doing it now," Edgar said happily. "And unfortunately my penchant for illogicality does not stop here."
"Doesn't it?" Sarah asked. "A statement like that ought to be followed with an explanation. I like logic, you know. I think I deserve a warning if you're going to do anything else illogical. Like singing to me in front of everyone. Though, you're not half bad, you know."
"My showerhead is very impressed," Edgar grinned. "And I just mean that I have a tendency to just do instead of considering a situation--my solo proof of that, I'd imagine--but I'll try and tame it down if you'd rather small, personal displays of affection instead of loud, ridiculous and obnoxious ones. I'm a bit of a dolt."
"Oh, I don't know," Sarah said casually, not wanting to encourage him to be an idiot but at the same time not wanting him to not be himself on her account. "I guess you're all right."
"All right is a good start," Edgar said, smiling down at her. "You're pretty ace yourself. I kind of wish you'd had a chance to rescue me earlier on."
"Sap," Sarah said, rolling her eyes at him. "It's only barely October, so we have nearly the whole school year. It's illogical to assume this is bad timing."
"Then my statement shouldn't come as a surprise since I've already admitted to being an illogical person," Edgar grinned in reply. "And the whole school year, huh? Do you have more faith in my ability to restrain my arseish ways, or your own patience?"
"Oh, I wasn't trying to be presumptuous or anything!" Sarah said quickly. "I didn't mean it like that. We haven't even been on one date yet. It might be totally horrible. Maybe we'll actually spend the rest of the year avoiding each other."
"I think that's probably highly unlikely, Sarah," Edgar said. "I'd like to think we'll spend it doing as little avoiding as possible but perhaps I'm the one being presumptuous."
"We're getting ahead of ourselves. Why don't we just wait and see how this Saturday turns out?" Sarah suggested.
"That works for me. And this is your stop," Edgar said as they finally came up to the Ravenclaw dormitories. "Guess this is where I bid you good night, fair maiden, and pine until Saturday?"
Sarah nodded and let go of his hand, turning to face him. She leaned in and kissed his cheek chastely before leaning back and saying, "That's right. Pine until Saturday."
Edgar blushed. "I can do that. And not obnoxiously, I swear to Merlin's trousers."
"Good night, Edgar," Sarah said softly. "See you Saturday."
"Night, Sarah," Edgar replied.
***
His shirt was off and her shirt was off and Edgar's fingers nimbly reached for the clasp on her bra. He grinned into Sarah's lips as they kissed, running his other hand down the length of her body and over her arse as the bra came undone and the straps slid off of her shoulders. Edgar turned the tables then, moving them so that he was straddling her instead of the other way around, tossing her bra distractedly before putting his mouth wetly to her nipples, his long, blonde hair tickling her chest.
Sarah gasped a bit and arched her back, one hand squeezing his thigh and the other twisted in his sheets. She'd never let him do this before, and at the moment she had no idea why not.
"I'm really going to miss you this summer," Sarah murmured, letting go of the sheets and cupping the back of his head, tugging him back up for a kiss.
"And I'll miss you," Edgar replied, cupping a breast with his hand as he kissed her again. "Clandestine meetings. Daily owls. Nnaugh, ugh, you make my brain melt..." he trailed off, although Sarah had eaten most of his words. Not that he minded in the slightest considering how close that squeezing hand was to his crotch.
Sarah just bit his lip a little in response and slid the hand on the back of his neck down his bare back, just barely dipping her fingertips underneath the hem of his trousers.
Edgar made another indecent sort of sound and kissed her harder, a thumb tracing circles around the nipple on the breast he was massaging. His hips moved automatically forward, his erection pressing obviously into her thigh through his trousers.
She'd felt him hard before, through his clothes like that. She'd even on more than one occasion considered sticking her hand on the other side of that barrier to feel him hard without the clothes. She'd never quite worked up the nerve, and she didn't think she would tonight just because they were leaving for summer holidays soon, but it was still kind of a turn on.
Edgar began kissing a path from Sarah's lips to her jaw, along her neck, and down her chest. He took each nipple in his mouth, giving each breast equal playing time while massaging the other, before continuing his kisses to her bellybutton, and lower, and popping the fly on her trousers.
Sarah inhaled sharply and then quickly placed a hand on top of his at her fly. "I don't think that's a good idea."
Edgar stopped and peered up at her. "I. Oh. Sorry, I just thought. No, right," he babbled, crawling back up to eye level with her. "Sorry," he said again.
"It's okay. Just not yet, all right?" she said softly, blushing a rather spectacular shade of red before kissing him. "I'm sorry too."
"Don't be sorry," Edgar said. "Really don't. I don't want to do anything you're not ready for."
"Of course you want to. You're just being a gentleman," Sarah said with a smile, running her fingers along his naked sides. "And I appreciate it. You're too good to me."
"Maybe we're too good for each other," Edgar suggested burrying his face in the crook of her neck and kissing the skin lightly.
Sarah laughed happily and tilted her head up to give him better access. She let her eyes fall shut and said softly, "You're wonderful. This summer is going to be so long. I'm sixteen now though. I'm allowed to date."
"Allowed to date now?" Edgar asked, laughing slightly. "So the last nine months or so have been a practice session?"
"No, idiot," Sarah laughed. "I mean my parents won't stop me from going out with you. We can go to Hogsmeade together this summer."
"You can come visit too," Edgar said. "Ma and Pa want to meet you. And we have several spare rooms that are easy to sneak out of."
"Well, I don't know if my parents would allow me to stay over night. They wouldn't want any funny business to go on," Sarah whispered, tracing her fingers along his side and then dipping her head and kissing his earlobe.
"Funny business can happen during the day as well as at night," Edgar grinned.
"Don't be a scoundrel," Sarah snickered. "What kind of girl do you think I am?"
"The sort of girl who's in my bed on a school night and topless," Edgar answered, running his hands over her breasts again.
"Oh, yes," Sarah answered softly, shifting against him. "That sort."
Edgar wrapped his arms around her, pressing butterfly kisses to her cheeks. "There aren't enough months in the school year," he said. "Two seems too many to spend away from you."
"What do you suppose love feels like, Ed?" Sarah asked suddenly, voice low as her lips moved against his ear. "Because I've been thinking about it. I think I love you. Do you think that maybe you... I mean. Do you love me?"
Edgar was a little startled by the question. He'd thought about it too. He was pretty sure he loved her. He thought about her all the time. He wanted to be with her as much as he could. He wanted her to be happy and safe, and he was fairly certain she was the best thing in his life. "I. Yes," he answered, quietly.
She was unable to prevent a smile then as she kissed him on the side of the head and snuggled a little closer, wrapping her arms around him. "You're not just saying that because I asked, are you?"
"No," Edgar said. "I thought about telling you before. I was just a little afraid that maybe you wouldn't love me back."
"Well I do," Sarah replied, feeling sort of like she was lighter than normal. It was silly and girly and a little ridiculous, but he made her so unbelievably happy she just didn't know what to do with herself sometimes. She'd never had a boyfriend before him, and now that she was with him, she couldn't imagine what it would be like to not be. She loosened her grip on him and nudged him off of her a little so she could shimmy down and look right into his eyes. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Edgar replied, smiling broadly. "That feels really good to say. I love you, Sarah."
***
Edgar was getting irritated.
The bloke whose name he didn't care to learn was sitting too close to Sarah at the dinner table and touching her arm affectionately way too much and as far as Edgar was concered, Sarah was being too indulgent. She was Edgar's girlfriend, and had been for nearly a year, and if the other bloke didn't back off soon, Edgar was going to snap and crack him across the face, which was hardly appropriate favour for the Head Boy. The very annoyed Head Boy. He pushed his food on his plate absently, watching them. Sarah looked up at one point and caught his eye, smiling and waving, and almost immediately the little wanker beside her tried to claim her attention by speaking to her and causing her to look away from Edgar.
That was pretty much the straw that broke the camels back.
Abandoning his food Edgar stood and walked over to her--to them--stuffing his hands in his pockets and shooting an obviously dirty look at the other bloke. "Hey, Sarah," Edgar said.
"Hi Ed! This is Jeremy. He's in fifth year," Sarah said brightly. "We were just having a debate, maybe you can help. Do you think boggarts are just mindless things that exist solely to terrify humans and have no consciousness, or do you think the question of morality should be considered in Defence Against the Dark Arts when they teach us how to vanquish them? I mean, what if they only turn into our biggest fear as a defence mechanism or something?"
"I thought that was what they did, actually," Edgar answered. "Uses our weakness to protect itself."
"But no one has ever seen them do anything else. All they do is haunt our personal space and try and terrify us. They're single minded," Jeremy said excitedly. "Prove to me just one instance of them doing anything else, of serving any other purpose."
"But the only time we see them is when we give them cause to protect themselves. Thus, there is just as much evidence for and against whether or not morality ought to be considered," Sarah said quickly, picking up her glass to take a drink, but then thinking of something else she wanted to say and setting it back down again. "In fact, the fact that they never confront us, and in fact only attempt to frighten when disturbed, suggests their sole purpose is not, in fact, scaring us."
"You're so smart," Jeremy said, eyes wide. "And pretty. It's really hard to argue with you, because even when I think I've got a point worth bringing up that you might not have already thought of--which is rare enough on it's own--I just look at your face and I get distracted. You should go into politics."
"You're a flatterer. And pretty or not, you have to admit, I raised good points," Sarah said to him dismissively, rolling her eyes before looking up at Ed. "Everything okay? Did you come over for a reason?"
Edgar's face was red, and it was taking a lot to hold himself back from doing something he was sure to regret. "If you're getting distracted by her face then maybe you should stop speaking to her altogether. It would help you remember your points," Edgar said angrily. "And do I have to have a reason to come over and speak to my girlfriend? Sorry, I'll make an appointment next time," he spat in addition, before turning on his heel and heading towards the doors.
"Sorry. He's just..." Sarah started, and then got up. "He's just being an idiot, that's all. See you later, Jeremy."
"Okay. Bye," Jeremy said, looking worried. "Sorry if I caused problems or something. I didn't mean to."
"It's not your fault. I've got to go after him. I'll talk to you later, though!" she called and then turned and hurried out of the Great Hall, catching him before he'd even gone up the first set of stairs. "What's wrong with you? That was completely out of line."
"Oh, right!" Edgar snapped. "Because he's all over you and flirting with you right in front of me and I'm suppose to what? Stand there and pretend it's not happening? Least I didn't beat the crap out of him like I want to!"
"He knows I'm dating you. He's just got a crush. It's harmless, Ed, and if you'd better not lay a finger on him," Sarah replied, annoyed. "You were the one being rude. To me and to him."
"Yeah, well, what he knows isn't obvious in how he acts, touching your arm and your hair, and trying to upshow me and catch your attention," Edgar said back.
"Ed, honestly," Sarah said, closing the last few feet between them so she wouldn't have raise her voice. "What is your problem? He's a friend of mine, and we were having an intellectual discussion. That's all."
"Mmm, yes, and with one look at your pretty face he was distracted into submission," Edgar said. "I don't like it."
Sarah stared at him for a moment and then took a step back from him, giving him a slightly disgusted sort of look. "Edgar Bones, I do not like this side of you. Thankfully, it's the seventies, not the fifties, and you don't have to like what I do. Now I'm going to go sit with Jeremy and finish my dinner, and remember that the longer you take to apologize to both of us is proportionate to the amount of time I will spend having enjoyable intelligent conversation with my friend Jeremy. And you have to both mean it and make me me believe it. Jealousy is a waste of energy."
"Well enjoy your intellectual conversation, then," Edgar said irritably, and started up the stairs again.
Sarah watched him go and then turned around and headed back towards the Great Hall, stopping just short of the doors. She didn't feel like going back in and talking to Jeremy. She didn't really feel like talking to anyone. She felt like sitting down in some abandoned corner and reading something depressing.
She wished she could hang on to the righteous anger, but she'd never really gotten in a real fight with Ed before. It didn't feel very good.
***
Sarah sighed and shifted uncomfortably from her position seated behind the third suit of armor in the hallway behind the library. She'd been there for over an hour, and only gotten through two chapters of her book.
She was... sort of waiting for Edgar. Not actually, because she wasn't sure he'd show up, but she wanted him to. And this way she wouldn't run into him by accident. He'd only come here if he was looking for her. After all, she was hiding behind the suit of amor she and Ed had hid behind last year to avoid getting caught making out in the hall after hours, and it had kind of become a meeting point for them over the months.
She was starting to get cramped, however, and there was still no sign of him and she was feeling steadily and steadily worse.
Edgar was feeling quite mad at himself. He'd overreacted. He still felt he had some right to be upset about the Jeremy-kid's touchy feely crap, but he should've just talked to Sarah about how uncomfortable it made him rather than throwing a hissy fit and acting like a total jackass. And now he was looking for her. She wasn't in the library, or her dorms, and while Edgar wasn't sure if she'd be there, the only other place he thought she might be (or sincerely hoped she might be) was their hideaway behind the third suit or armor in the hallway behind the library.
"Sarah?" he asked softly, as he came around the corner into the deserted corridor.
Sarah froze when she heard her voice, holding her breath and pulling her legs in. She was surprised that she felt nervous, and though she'd been waiting for him, half of her didn't want him to peek around the suit of armor and find her. She'd never been in a situation like this, and she didn't know how to handle it.
Edgar swallowed and moved to the suit in question, peering around it and spotting her. "Er. Hi," he said sheepishly. "I, um. I wanted to apologize for acting like a complete arse earlier."
"Hi," she replied, mouth hidden behind the large book in her lap as she looked up at him. She was a problem solver. She'd learned to use her words. "I know there isn't much room, but do you want to squish in? I think we should talk."
"Okay," Edgar said, scrunching his body in and down and between Sarah and the wall. He was quite a bit bigger than her, and thus quite a bit more uncomfortable.
She wasn't sure where the thought came from, but she looked at him and again wished she were still angry because that was easier, but instead she tried not to tear up as she said, "I didn't mean to imply that I thought you needed an excuse to come talk to me. I just didn't think you had even finished your food, and you didn't look happy, and I wanted to know what was going on. That's all. I wasn't..."
"Hey, hey," Edgar said, squeezing an arm around her shoulders awkwardly. "You shouldn't be apologizing to me at all, you haven't done anything wrong. I should've pulled my head out of my arse and talked to you about things like a rational person rather than a dictator."
"I'll tell Jeremy to back off. I'm not going to stop talking to him, though. And you still have to say sorry to him too," Sarah said, leaning into him and tucking her head against his shoulder. She'd almost choked up before, and she was hoping she wouldn't tear up. She wasn't really a crier, but she really didn't like fighting with Ed. "Jealousy is ugly, Ed. You've never talked to me like that before."
"I'm really sorry," Edgar said. "I just... I couldn't help it. He was touching you and the way he was looking at you... It's not a excuse, really. But I just wanted to smack him upside the head. But I'll apologize to him. I promise."
"Yeah, well. Maybe I was flattered by his attention and letting him get away with too much," Sarah admitted grudgingly. "You know I love you, right? You don't have anything to worry about."
"I love you, too," Edgar replied, smiling. "And I know I don't. But, um. D'you want to go somewhere a little less suffocating? I can feel my ribs cracking."
Sarah laughed, if shakily. "Yeah, can we? My legs are going numb."
***
Edgar had woken up to sunlight filtering through the blinds in Sarah's bedroom. He was supposed to be in the guest bedroom (as per her parents request), but had snuck in with her after everyone else in the house had gone to bed. He reached out for her, but it seemed she had already gotten up, and with a glance around the room he confirmed that he was, indeed, alone. After a languid stretch and a big yawn he climbed out of bed and got dressed, pulling his hair back and shoving on a pair of sandals before heading to the bathroom and taking care of business there. He wondered why she'd gotten up so early (his watch read nine, when they'd barely gotten up before eleven for the entire time he'd been visiting her and her parents at Book End on Sea), and where she was, and once his teeth were brushed and his face was washed he headed downstairs, and out the backdoor onto the patio.
"Morning, Mrs. Holmes," Edgar said to Sarah's mother as he shut the door behind him. She was sitting in a lounge chair and looked up at him with little surprise, but a little concern.
"Good morning, Edgar," she replied. "Sarah went down to the beach a little while ago. She seemed upset, so I suggest you go after her. There's fresh fruit diced on the counter if you'd like to eat beforehand."
"Oh. I suppose I'll eat later, that's fine," he said, already moving toward the steps and wondering what might've happened so early in the day to upset Sarah, and send her off on her own. "Thanks."
Sarah was facing the water, but the soft noise of his approach caught her attention. She turned her head towards him without really looking at him and unwrapped her arms from around her knees, planting her hands in the sand behind her and leaning back a little as she stretched her toes forward into the damp sand.
"Morning," he said, and sat down beside her. "You all right?"
Sarah nodded and looked back out over the water. She had to say it. She didn't want to because she didn't want it to be true, but she had to. Maybe it was wrong. She could cast the diagnostic spell again in a day or two, or a week, maybe it was just misreading something...
"I'm pregnant," she said suddenly, before she gave herself time to convince herself not to. "I just... wow, that's blunt. If I didn't say it, I wasn't going to say it. So. I said it. And there it is. You can do the spell thing for yourself if you don't believe me, but this is the third morning in a row I've felt sick and so I cast it, and then I cast it again and again and each time it was... well, anyway. I am. So. Now you know."
And now she felt like she was going to throw up again. She pulled her knees back to herself and wrapped her arms around them once more.
Edgar blinked, not sure if he'd just blacked out for a moment there and imagined what he'd just been told. "You're. Wait. I. Pregnant? Er. What? Um..." he trailed off, turning his head to look at her with a very confused expression on his face. "How?"
Sarah turned and gave him an unimpressed look, then said dryly, "I had a dream about a stork. How do you think."
"No, no, that's not what I meant," Edgar said quickly. "I just thought. Charms and things. Um. Christ, this is unexpected."
"Sorry," Sarah sighed, and then took a deep breath as her eyes filled. "I don't know how, exactly. Leaving the charm on too long isn't really healthy. Maybe I didn't do it right when I put it back on, or maybe I took it off too soon after, or maybe you just have super sperm or something. I don't know. I thought I did everything right. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry," Edgar said, inching closer and sliding an arm around her, trying to be comforting despite the fact that his brain was on overdrive and he had no bloody idea what to do. "It's just well. We did it, and this happened, and now we're just got to decide where we're going from here, right?" Pregnant. Buggering trousers. His mother was going to get a house elf to beat him senseless with a broom.
Sarah was torn between leaning into his touch and shrugging the arm off to get up and walk away. He'd done nothing wrong, though, so she just sat still and pressed her face against her knees. "This is all my fault."
"No, no, it's nobody's fault," Edgar said firmly. "Please don't think like that and blame yourself, okay? Um. Two to tango and all that, right? I. Just..." he sighed. "Do you. Do you want to keep it?"
She looked over at him, cheeks damp and eyes red, and couldn't help but feel a little appalled at the idea of getting rid of it. "Yes. Ed, I... yes. You don't have to... feel obligated, or... I just can't get rid of it."
"Good, no, yes. I mean. I don't feel obligated. Not like that," Edgar said, unsure of how to make sense of the words that were coming out of his mouth. "I don't want you to get rid... I would never ask you to do something you didn't want to do, I just. We're. Dear Godric why have I lost the ability to talk sense? Sarah. We're in this together, okay? I love you, and we'll figure this out."
"Figure it out? Ed, there is no figuring this out," Sarah said, voice strained. "There's a baby growing in me. Our baby. God, Ed, shit. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to do what I'm going to have to do. I..."
"It's not. It's not just you. It's a 'we' thing. It's what we're going to do because it's our baby, and I. You. Me," Edgar started. He paused for a moment taking a few deep breaths. "Marry me?"
Sarah led out a choked sort of sob and got to her feet, kicking off her shoes and walking until the waves washed around her ankles. She wrapped her arms around herself and took a shaky breath. "No, Ed."
"W-what? Why not?" Edgar asked, getting up and following after her without taking off his own sandals. "Don't think I'm asking you just because... because I know it would've come to this eventually. It's just, it's sooner, right? And we can do this together and..." he was practically breathless as he turned her to face him, holding her shoulders firmly with his hands. "We could be a little family. We could do that."
Sarah looked at him, just stared into his face, trying to figure out if he really wanted that or if he was only suggesting it because he thought he should. She could hardly imagine it. She hadn't even had time to consider what all of this meant, really. She'd only found out a few hours ago and she was still reeling. "A baby, Ed. It isn't easy. You've hardly got your foot in the door at the MLE, and this is... it's going to affect that. It'll change everything. If you don't really want it and you're just saying that because you think you should, it'll make us both miserable."
"I'm not going to say that I'm not petrified and worried and freaking out slightly, but I wanted to marry you, and have kids, and have a little place of our own somewhere. I want to. And it's happening. I want you to marry me."
Sarah wrapped her arms around him then, and said into his neck, "I never pictured my proposal being so wet."
"Well I pictured getting the chance to plan in out properly," Edgar replied. "And having a ring to give you, too. But you. You will?"
"Yeah. Yes. I will," Sarah said, leaning back and smiling at him despite her tears. "Only if you're sure. I love you, and I don't want this to wreck us."
"I'm sure. Very sure. I love you, too, Sarah, so much," Edgar said, returning her smile. "We can do this. I know we can."
"We could wait, you know. Until later. After. So it isn't like we're just getting married because I have a bun in the oven," Sarah said.
"It's up to you. I'll do whatever you want," Edgar answered. "I don't know, um. What our parents might say about it, but..."
"Well, what I want is to know your opinion on it, Ed," Sarah said, smiling a little as her mood lifted just enough to let a bit of her personality show through her teary face. "Don't just say whatever I want."
Edgar laughed slightly. "Um, I don't know. I don't think I'd want to, you know. Wait very long."
"How long is not long?" Sarah asked, and then bounced a little and smiled. "A couple months? Next week? Tomorrow? We could elope. Ha, oh my goodness. What kind of wedding do you want? Big? Small? Outside? In a cathedral?"
"Months, maybe. Er. September? And small. Definitely small," Edgar answered. "Just family and really close friends?"
"This is so... I don't know," Sarah said softly, eyes welling up again. "I feel... completely overwhelmed."
"Me too, really, wow," Edgar said. "A baby. And marriage. Well no one can say we're not ambitious."
"Yeah." Sarah took a deep breath and then held her arms out and fell backwards.
Edgar automatically reached out for her, losing his balance and falling with her into the shallow water, eyes comically wide. Drenched, he sat up, spluttering, and then laughed. Leaning forward he grabbed Sarah and kissed her.
"I love you, Eddie," Sarah breathed, floating on her back and looking up into the sky. "We're going to be okay."
"I love you, too, Sarah," Edgar replied, watching her. Sure, it was a lot to swallow, and a lot to take upon themselves, and yes they were young, but if anyone could do it, he and Sarah could. They were strong. They were great together. "More than anything."