September 28th, 1888 - High Street
in regards
Edric Umbridge

It's like one, two, three / Just as easy as can be
Just the way you look at me / You make me smile
Ain't no need to complicate it, we both know that's overrated

Simple - Florida Georgia Line

Febs had hardly noticed the pink envelope, her owl simply dropped on the vanity the day before. It had been later when it had arrived and febs had been too engrossed in a book to pay it any attention. Lately the only letters that came were from Edric and she highly doubted her send something pink. Then she'd dozed off before giving it another thought.

That morning she'd forgotten about it until she was trying to get ready for an evening out. In truth, she was too distracted to pay it too much attention, this afternoon- in just a few short minutes really, was a mildly panic-inducing, hugely important moment and she was incredibly nervous; Edric was meeting her mum for the first time. Of all the things that they'd gone through and done, this should have hardly been a huge issue (and she may have been worrying a little too much) and despite the fact that there was nothing that would change her mind on their plans, Febs knew that that things would be easier if her parents were at least a little fond of Edric. Thankfully her father was stuck at work, so it was just her mother this afternoon, but Febs never knew how Rose was going to react these days and that was probably what had her the most on edge.

After fixing her hair one last time and making sure her pendant, ring and locket were carefully hidden beneath her bodice, Febs stuffed the envelope into her pocket to read downstairs and nearly fell down the stairs in her efforts to get down and try not to freak out about the entire thing. It was going to be fine. At least she hadn't managed to break her wand in this process. Waiting in the front room was excruciating and she forgot about the envelope. When the knock at the door sounded, Febs nearly bolted toward it, her mother followed behind though Febs was determined to keep things brief, at least this time. They were only headed out for a stroll up High Street, maybe into the park if there was time. Mrs. H came waddling up behind, a smirk on her face as clear as day that nearly had Febs laughing.

Introductions went smoothly enough, Febs apologized for her father's absence, pleasantries exchanged and Febs pushed for a quick exit without looking like that's what she was doing. It had everything to do with the fact that if they hung around for too long her mother would no doubt start asking all kinds of questions. Best to keep it short and sweet this time. She could subject Edric to a family dinner soon enough. "Not too bad, right?" She eyed him carefully before glancing back at Mrs. H strolling along behind them. She hoped he wasn't reading too much into her hurry about the whole thing. Febs hadn't been able to judge her mother's reactions too well, but she would likely find out later anyway, even if the information was secondhand. If she were being honest however, she was starting to get impatient with everything, but in the same breath was still trying to make sure some of the social niceties were observed. It was kind of miserable; all she wanted to do was elope and be done with it.

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Despite his undeniable nervousness, the last thing Edric wanted to do was appear as such. After all, he'd been the one pushing to meet her family, and he'd been the one pushing to move a little quicker. It was almost as if he and Febs had been switching roles: when their relationship begun, she'd been the one wanting to hurry while he'd been determined to keep things slow for the sake of work, but now it was reversed.

However, when push came to shove, 'meeting the parents' wasn't exactly what he got—at least in the traditional sense. It was more like an official introduction and an exchange of pleasantries followed by Febby shoving him out the door, but he obliged without objection. Edric had little idea what happened in the daily life of the Lynch family, and did not want to press when doing so might end in disaster.

"Not too bad," he agreed as he fell into step beside her. "But you know the day will come when we have to answer questions. There's no avoiding her forever."

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— set by MJ! —

Ducking her head sheepishly, she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, a guilty smile on her lips. "Are you sure? I'm pretty sure simply eloping would do the trick." She lowered her voice just enough so that prying ears couldn't hear, but she didn't even actually mean Mrs. H. If her her housekeeper wasn't aware by now, Febby rather thought she gone daft.

In truth, Febby just really didn't want to share him with the rest of her family, but she knew he wanted to meet them all, eventually. There were just so many of them and all some kind of demanding (except maybe January) that she would rather do it in small batches. He'd realize she wasn't really exaggerating at some point. "I will endeavor to make sure Papa is home next time, he's much more mellow than the rest of us." Thank Merlin for small miracles. Somebody had to have a level head in that house.

Now though, out in the fresh air and without her family's prying eyes, Febby was starting to feel a little more at ease again, despite being out in public. It still wasn't her favorite, but it was getting a little easier. "Oh, I meant to ask," Febs started, as she remembered the pink envelope in her pocket. "Was this from you?" She asked, though she was already opening it.

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Edric could only smile at her comment. There once had been a time where he assumed that eloping was a given; she didn't care for fancy weddings and thought that marrying in such a manner suited her well. Things had changed, though, and now Edric was counting down the weeks until he could officially ask for her hand.

(Yet he somehow still felt that day would never arrive.)

Luckily for him, the "marriage" conversation was not one he would have to have—at least at this given moment. Edric's expression shifted to one of surprise as she pulled out a pink envelope. He dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out an identical one, except his was labeled with his own name.

"I was meaning to ask you the same," he chuckled, tearing his envelope's seal as she did.

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— set by MJ! —

By the time Edric had shown her a similar pink envelope, which should have been a red flag, Febby already had the little card in hand. She started unfolding the paper, a sudden warmth spreading through her limbs, a wild rush of affection for the man walking beside her. A slow smile curved her lips and she blushed a little. That would have been the second red flag, if she wasn't completely dazed.

"I didn't," She admitted, suddenly frowning. Why not though? Their letters had lapsed in frequency since the end of the fog, but she should have been more diligent! He deserved to know how much she adored him- every day! She hadn't even read the note contained within her own envelope yet, the paper all but forgotten- it wasn't important now, as she stuffed it back in her pocket, but the damage was done. Febs latched onto his arm, leaning in close, despite their very public position. "I should send you more love notes, I'm so sorry I haven't been! Will you ever forgive me?" She cast a sad, sorry glance toward him. She heard a noise of warning from Mrs. H behind them, but largely ignored the housekeeper's protests.

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Her shift in demeanor was obvious by the time he pulled his letter out of the envelope, but his curiosity regarding its contents outweighed how uneasy her sudden silliness made him feel. His eyes scanned over the parchment, but halfway through reading the cheesy poem, his vision went out of focus and a rush of affection overwhelmed him.

He glanced down at Febby, who now clung to his arm. His eyes were drawn to her pouting lips—then her big, brown, beautiful eyes. "There's nothing to forgive you for, lover," he said, his eyes softening as his lips spread into a wide, toothy smile. "Every word from your mouth is like a love song crafted just for me. No love notes needed." His free hand came to rest on her arm, and he gave it a gentle squeeze.

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— set by MJ! —

Febs broke into a wide, unnaturally cheerful grin that would have normally made her feel like a complete idiot, but right now she was too smitten to care. She was so lucky to have him, she needed to make sure sure he never thought otherwise! Giggling like a school girl, Febby moved to tangle her fingers in his as she rested her head against his arm gently, sighing in contentment. Somewhere, deep down, she knew she shouldn't be so forward in public, but she couldn't help it! The overwhelming desire to give him all the affection she could was barely outweighed by the craving of his direct attention.

Looking up at him with attentive brown eyes, her smile softened into that of a love-stricken fool. If she were feeling normal she'd be beet red in embarrassment. "You're too good to me." She all but cooed. "I don't know what I would have done otherwise, certainly something drastic to win back your love." Would there have been anything too drastic, however? She would have never even survived without his forgiveness.

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Edric was naturally a private person. Dramatic declarations—even while dosed on love potion—were not his style, nor were gushy displays of his affection. That did not, however, prevent him from showing his love through more practical means: suggestions. "My love for you was never lost, nor will it ever be. I will forever be yours, until the day we die," he declared with both utmost confidence and an unusual softness.

He eyes the spot on her chest where he knew her locket—along with the engagement ring he'd given her—were hidden. "In fact, I wish to prove it to you." That was a sentiment he'd expressed today, but one that was unavoidable now. "I will not be happy until you are Mrs. February Umbridge." He reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face before gently drawing a finger down her cheek.

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— set by MJ! —

Febs felt that mythical skip of her heartbeat when he spoke next, breath caught in her throat. Turning wide, expectant eyes on him, she bit her lip, frozen, but very in the moment. Feeling his fingers brush her cheek sent a shiver down her spine and brazen as she was- even on love potion, she was too distracted by his implications to act on it.

Febs eyed him carefully, Merlin did she enjoy the sound of his last name attached to hers; that really needed to happen sooner rather than later. Was there any moment better than the present, was that where he was going with this? With her free hand she looped a finger through the chain of her pendant and pulled it free of her bodice. Both the purple stone and ring came sliding into view, though she longed to wear the ring without having to hide it!

"Nothing would make me happier," She whispered after a moment of awestruck silence, through a very alarmed Mrs. Harding's protests, though they fell on deaf ears.

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An uncharacteristically expressive grin broke across his features at the sight of her engagement ring. He wasn't sure how to get it off without breaking it, but he didn't need to get it off to understood what it represented. No more hiding. No more pretending to be something they weren't. They were Edric and Febby, not Mr. Umbridge and Miss Lynch. They were a couple—a happy couple—and they would not be split.

"I know somewhere we could go," he offered. At his age, he'd seen more than a few of his colleagues and acquaintances marry, and he'd sat through enough boring weddings to have the voices of the officiators etched into his memory. Through the protests of Mrs. Harding, Edric lowered both his head and voice: "We could be Mr. and Mrs. Umbridge by morning—but only if you want me as I do you."

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— set by MJ! —

Mrs. Harding's voice was becoming increasingly louder, her very sensible protests went unheard. To February there was no other people on the street, though some had no doubt stopped to gawk, Febs was oblivious to anything outside of the two of them. It was as if her entire world revolved around him and the brash decision she knew they were about to make. Why shouldn't they make it now!? Take the plunge the kept talking about! Everything was leading to this anyway, why wait?

Febs found herself nodding before she found her voice. "Yes, of course I do." She breathed out. Even when February was not on an amortenia high she would have readily admitted that. (Though not in public quite so soon!) Now however, with the love potion coursing through her veins with such intensity, everything she'd been thinking about recently came bubbling to the surface and she was unable to contain it. "Let's go right now." Febs urged, reaching up to lay a hand on his cheek. There was no need to wait any longer.

Mrs. H's desperate pleas were silenced then as she stared at the pair in sudden realization about what was possibly about to happen.

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Breathing in a shaky breath, Edric reached up and pulled her hand down from his cheek to hang—joined—between them. A smile still on his face, he moved towards a very distraught Mrs. Harding and took her hand without question. "My dear Mrs. Harding, you must accompany us, too. Your cookies helped establish—this," he said, motioning to he and Febby's joined hands with a nod of his head.

Turning back to to Febs, he laughed giddily. "Let's go, then?" he asked expectantly.

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— set by MJ! —

Positively grinning, Febs was elated that he agreed to go now, so she turned hopeful eyes on her poor, poor housekeeper. "You simply  must come with us, it wouldn't be right without you!"

Oh how they were both going to regret that.

And poor Mrs. H just trying to do her job, simply nodded, dumbstruck. It wasn't as if she was going to let them go galavanting off somewhere unaccompanied! Somebody had to know where they'd gone!

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