November 10th, 1888 - Pebble Cottage, Isle of Sheppey
Edric Umbridge

Febs, as promised, had been minding her Ps and Qs after Tuni's elopement. So far nothing had come back at her, but then again, gossip never failed to do its job, even after days had passed. It would no doubt get out somehow and she was waiting for the other shoe to drop, but as long as the minister didn't hear about it specifically (which she assumed he wouldn't?) hopefully it would blow over and go mostly unnoticed. She certainly wouldn't be stepping that far out of line again.

Thankfully, now that they were in the cottage, she had plenty to keep her busy. Setting up the bedroom had been first, but mostly because it got used the most- as of right now. She'd had her vanity brought from her house in Hogsmeade, they'd managed to get together a wardrobe and the like to keep everything in, the bed itself was all set up and ready to go with a new mattress, it was heaven really. The only drawback so far was that it was too cold for her to have the windows open while she puttered around. There was something about that fresh sea air that made Febs feel automatically at home.

Today was library day and thanks to Mr. Binns' help earlier in the week, she had a brand new stack of books to put away. She'd managed to find some really comfortable armchairs for the room and had thought about purchasing a sofa, but the room itself, though the shelves covered every wall, floor to ceiling wasn't very big itself. Plenty of shelf space, not a lot of floor space. The armchairs had been arranged in front of the fireplace this morning, but Febs was waiting for her surprise to arrive today while Edric was at work and that would require rearranging again. But no matter, she'd already planned on it and when Mrs. H had called on her to say that the desk had arrived from her grandfather's house, she nearly jumped for joy.

The gentlemen that brought it in for her set it in down exactly where she'd envisioned it and with the new leather chair behind it really looked quite handsome in the room. It wasn't anything terribly fancy, a good size, mahogany with some details on the edges of the surface, but that was it. Hopefully he liked it. Febs knew he tried not to do a ton of work at home, not now anyway, but she figured he should have a nice place to do it if necessary and if it was in the library she could read in her cozy corner and they would still be spending time together. She'd even gotten him some new quills and ink when she'd picked up her own new stationery yesterday in the alley.

Mrs. H was making dinner and setting up the kitchen when Febs heard her call her name. She'd asked Mrs. H to let her know when Edric got home so she could surprise him. Scooting from the library, she met him down the hall before he could get to the door. "Hello Love, I have a surprise for you!" Febs chirped with an eager smile on her lips.

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Living on the island had brought a new kind of adventure that his work didn't supply. It was new, exciting, and not to mention exhausting. His schedule had to be adjusted, new transportation methods had to be utilized, and travel—whether to Hogsmeade or London—had to be better planned. The distance between the island and mainland was great enough that he felt uncomfortable apparating over the ocean, and he felt uncomfortable having his own rural address available by Floo Network as the head of the Auror Office. In the end, that had meant applying for a public floo on the island that was mostly devoid of wizardkind, and while his position granted him many privileges, few extended to personal use. In the meantime, though, he'd been forced to open up his fireplace to visitors, which had, he'd admitted, helped with the moving-in process.

He returned home from work after a long day of paperwork, expecting to find his wife knees-deep in books. She was a stubborn woman who would go to great lengths to ensure everything was just how she liked it—and who would possibly tear the room apart once or twice if she didn't like something. He was itching to investigate, but he was stopped by his wife at the front door before he could catch a peek.

"You say that like every day with you isn't a surprise," he teased, leaning down to peck her on the cheek. "But I'm hoping this is a good one," he added, pulling back so he could give her a mock-stern look.

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— set by MJ! —

His response earned both a look and a girlish giggle. "I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing when you say it like that." She beamed at him nevertheless, far too pleased with herself. Hopefully he'd be pleased too when he saw what she'd set up. Reciprocating with a peck of her own, she stepped back in case he wanted to ditch all of his things from work.

Febs was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, a flush to her cheeks from trying to get everything ready, or at least as ready as she could before he came home. "I think you'll enjoy it." She bit her lip to suppress another grin. "How was your day?" She asked as she took his hand and started to pull him toward the library. It would be quick, then they could have some dinner and settle in for the night. This was what she loved about being married. Febs appreciated having the time to herself during the day, but nothing compared to having him home at the end so they could spend some time together before heading to bed. It made everything else they had to deal with a trivial nuisance; this was so worth it.

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Edric shook his head, a stupid smile stretched across his lips as she tugged him down the hall. It was moments like these when he, a thirty-seven-year-old man, had married a woman in her early twenties. She was so energetic, full of life... and some days he could barely find the energy to eat dinner before sprawling across the bed, still clad in his uniform. She made him feel younger, but she also drove him mad—and with the days's exhaustion weighing down on him, he hoped this wouldn't be one of those days.

"Physical activity in the morning and an afternoon of paperwork," he answered. There was nothing worse than those days; he was exhausted by noon and then spent the rest of the day trying to stay awake while repeatedly signing his signature. "As long as our bed isn't covered in books, I'm sure it'll be fine."

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— set by MJ! —

Febs passed him an empathetic smile over her shoulder, slowing her pace just a little. Sometimes it was easy for her forget he was far busier at work than she was all day and dealing with stressful situations both in and out of the office. Lucky for him however, she was more than happy to crawl into bed with him at any point in the day. "Bed is free and clear, promise. It's in the library." She assured him as she slowed even more, chalking up the little dizziness she felt to excitement.

"Alright, close your eyes." She requested, facing him with another more eager smile. Febs couldn't wait to see his reaction!

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Perhaps it was in his nature to assume the worst, but he began imagining all the things she could have done to the library: torn up the roof for more shelf space, picked a distracting wallpaper pattern or color, or worse—added some ugly painting he'd have to stare at until she found an even uglier painting to hang up. He knew a lot about February, but that knowledge didn't extend to her design or housekeeping choices.

By the time they gotten to the library, he'd decided to trust that February had studied his London home long enough to have a good grasp on what he liked. Then she asked him to close his eyes. All trust disappeared.

Closing his eyes, Edric held his breath and entered the library. There was room to walk, which was good. There were also no auguery cries, either, which helped him cross "inviting an exotic bird into their home" off his list.

"Can I open them now...?" he asked, clearly nervous.

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— set by MJ! —

Though he didn't look too keen to play along, Febby was genuinely delighted and mildly surprised that he followed her request. With her hand still in his, she took great care to lead him across the threshold and into the library to a spot where he could get a good view of the desk itself without much in the way.

"Just one-" Febs had let go to adjust one last little thing when the whole room started to spin. She'd only made it a step or two away, but her vision blurred and her ears went fuzzy. Alarmed, she tried to turn back to him, only managing a week attempt at his name when everything suddenly and completely faded out, causing her to collapse toward the floor.

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He was willing enough to keep his eyes shut while she led him to the library, but much less so when her words cut off and he heard a sudden thud against the floor. His eyes opened to a horrific sight before him: his wife, who, according to what he knew about her, was supposed to be healthy, lying on the ground unconscious.

"Febs?" he asked, mildly panicked. (Mild was an understatement, really. He might have had a heart attack had he not been a man specifically trained to handle these situations.)

He bent down beside her and lifted her head up with one arm, trying to get a look at her face. "Come on, lover," he said, shaking her shoulder with his free hand. He could feel the beating of her heart from where he held his hand, so a cardiac arrest was out of the question. Really, she'd probably just fainted—but this was his wife.

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— set by MJ! —

In never having passed out before, as she had always considered herself to be of finer stock than those girls who held a weaker constitution, Febs hadn't ever experienced the dizzying drop accompanied by fainting. It was decidedly not fun, not in the slightest and she had no idea how long she was actually out, but it felt like much longer than the mere minutes it actually was.

Slowly she could hear his voice through the haze and this time when she opened her eyes she was greeted by a very concerned husband, an unexpected wave of nausea and a headache. "I would like to not do that again." Blinking a few times, she knew better than to try and move, but she felt ridiculous and just a little embarrassed laying there on the floor in the library after managing to ruin her own surprise! The worst part was she didn't even know why she'd done it!

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Flooded with relief as February's eyes fluttered open, Edric smoothed a hand up her forehead and brushed away the stray hairs. This was something he ought to be concerned about; he'd never seen his wife faint, and she'd never fainted in truly tense situations like their first meeting.

"I would like for you not to do that again, too," he teased with a tone of concerned affection, gently pulling her into a sitting position. Long forgotten was the library and her surprise; he was more concerned with checking every inch of her visible skin for bruising—or worse. "You do this again and I'll never be able to concentrate at work. I can't have you falling and hitting your head." Though he knew many widowers around his age, he was not ready to be among them.

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— set by MJ! —

Febs leaned into him as he sat her up, grateful for the support. Her limbs felt heavy and she was suddenly exhausted, though the nausea had ebbed drastically. Had she actually bothered to stop and eat lunch today? She was starting to think that if she was questioning it, the answer was probably no.

"You say that like you won't already have Mrs. H attached to my hip from here on out. I hope you give her a really good Christmas gift." Poor Mrs. H, who never complained, was always exactly where they needed her and who managed to keep both of them in line, deserved the best pay she could get at this point.

Sighing slowly, Febby was starting to feel a little less shaky, but now truly miffed with herself for ruining the surprise! "I think I forgot to eat lunch, that would explain it." Maybe anyway, now that she really thought about it, she'd just had a snack not too long ago... She was running with it. He didn't need to worry himself over it. "I'll be fine, promise." She assumed anyway. Maybe not enough to eat or all of the excitement was catching up with her finally and the stress was winning out. Who knew.

"What do you think though?"  Now Febs motioned to the desk, determined not to dwell on it. "It was my grandfather's. Nan said I could have it a long while ago, but I thought you'd use it more than I would." More importantly, she was just glad one of her family members was still talking to her! And an important one at that!

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He chuckled as he smoothed her hair back, tilting her head up towards him so he could get a good look at her face. She was pale, but that could be the lighting; nothing else, though, gave him any reason to be alarmed.

"She should know to look after you now," he said, his voice raised so the housekeeper—who was bound to be around some corner—could hear him. "No need to wait until you crack your head on the floor." Distracted by the sudden fall, Edric had long forgotten about the surprise, or even the new additions to the library. He helped his wife to her feet, one arm wrapping around her waist to support her in case she swooned again.

"You're going to have something to eat now," he said, pushing her towards the doorway. He spared only a glance to her surprise, his concern elsewhere. His response expressed as much. "It's nice, and I'm sure it will be useful," he said, "but we'll have plenty of time to worry about it when you have food in your stomach."

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— set by MJ! —

Rolling her eyes, Febs allowed herself to be pulled up off the floor, but the lightheaded feeling returned and she forgot to be annoyed about the fact that it was not actually Mrs. H's job to be in the same room as her at every point in the day. She also wanted to be annoyed and pout about the fact that he was totally dismissing all of her hard work on the day!

Harumph.

Maybe she'd try again tomorrow. Right now, she still felt decidedly off and the mere thought of eating made her nauseous. The dizziness persisted as well and Febs clung to him as he started toward the door. "I think I need to lay down." She mumbled, one hand going to her temple as if it would ease the feeling in her head. Maybe she was coming down with something. That would explain it. When she'd been ill this summer she remembered feeling a little like this, though that could have easily been the fever at the time.

This had all come on so fast though, maybe it was just a combination of everything hitting her all at once, the stress of last month, the move, maybe she hadn't eaten enough. Perhaps it was just time for bed. Her feet stopped cooperating as her head swam again and she had to pause and take a deep breath, fingers curled tightly into the fabric of his robes. Whatever it was, it needed to stop. "I just need a minute," Merlin she hoped this passed and soon.

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She needed food. That was certain.

What wasn't certain was how February managed to skip a meal; despite all the work that needed to be done, surely Mrs. Harding hadn't neglected to feed her. A woman who showered him with sweets as a thanks did not seem the sort to forget a simple task such as meal preparation.

"Would you like me to call a healer?" he said, brows furrowed lips pulled into a tight line. "It's not usual for a woman of your health"—and situation, given that he felt no corpse under her bodice—"to faint in the evening. My medical training might be limited, but I'm sure of that much." He was not a doter by nature, but observant he was.

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— set by MJ! —

Oh she known he'd start this.

"I'm sure Mr. Podmore has better things to do than come tell me I'm coming down with something minor." She assured him after the dizziness had passed again. It would be highly embarrassing to have her husband's friend show up to simply say she had a cold. She was sure it wasn't anything life-threatening.

"I'll be fine, I just need out of this corset and into our big comfy bed to sleep it off." That would likely do the trick. "I had similar symptoms with the fever this summer while you were gone, I'm sure it's just that." Well, some of the symptoms, but this certainly wasn't anything to write home about.

As soon as she was steady, she started off toward their room to simply lay down, that would be so she needed.

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