Feb had been content to stall, but he came to his sense first, reluctantly starting the process of leaving. She smiled sadly as he kissed her forehead, but nodded along anyway. "I consider that a pretty high achievement." She teased, giving him a squeeze before she pushed up to her elbows, tucking them beneath her on the ground so she could look at him.

He was right too, they did need to get home. Though she'd left a convincing arrangement of pillows under her covers, that would only fool for so long. Oh but if there was anything she was looking forward to, it was collapsing into bed for the next twelve hours.

His promise had her sighing wistfully. The wait was going to be agonizing. "In time, it'll all work out." She agreed, voice somber. "I love you too." She leaned for a whisper-soft kiss before sitting up. Her entire body protested the movements as she reached up under her hair, behind her neck for the clasp on the necklace that sat concealed beneath the bodice of her dress. It was a simple amethyst pendant on a plain silver chain, but it had a lot of sentimental value. Febs reached out for one of his hands and pooled the necklace in his palm.

"Maybe that'll bring you good luck on the expedition." Just a little physical part of her to take with him.  Febs wondered just when she'd become such an emotional wreck and determined this was all his fault, but she wouldn't change it for the world.

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   Edric Umbridge

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Every move they made towards getting dressed and off the ground tugged at Edric's heart strings. If this had taken place a month earlier, they wouldn't have to be worrying about the when and the how of their next meeting, nor would the dreading possibility that they wouldn't see each other again exist at all. He found himself second-guessing his decision; he knew that he, as the newly-promoted head auror, would be getting criticism for attending no matter what, but he also knew that choosing not to go might prompt speculation.

Hearing the four little words—"I love you, too"—made all the difference, though, and it supplied him with enough hope that things would turn out well. He was a pessimist through and through, but he was also a dreamer; much of his life had been spent hoping for the best, but learning to expect the worst had long helped him deal with the disappointment when things failed to go the way he wanted them to.

He kissed her back, his hand reaching up to touch her face, before she moved away all too soon. He watched her with confusion as she reached up and began messing with her hair, until he realized she'd grabbed something instead: a necklace. His heart swelled as she placed the necklace—an amethyst pendant—in his palm.

"I'll treasure it," he responded, leaning forward to press a kiss to her cheek. He then began patting down his bunch-up robe until he found the pocket he was looking for. He pulled out a single handkerchief, which, while not as sentimental as a necklace, likely smelled of the familiar cologne he'd dabbed onto it earlier in the day. Hopefully it would be enough; being an auror meant not carrying around sentimental things all the time.

"Keep it for now," he said, similarly placing it in her hand. "And when I come back from the expedition, I'll bring you something exceedingly more valuable to take its place."

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— set by MJ! —

Curling her fingers around the handkerchief, she held it to her heart as she leaned in to press her forehead to his. Letting her lashes flutter closed she realized time was ticking by and she still had to venture home and up the tree into her bed. She'd give anything to prolong the moment for just a few more minutes.

His next words had her leaning back so she could meet his eyes with a quirk of her eyebrow, her breath caught in her throat. That kind of promise was something she'd thought she'd have to wait a long time for. Even though they'd discussed it already, she had resigned herself to wait as patiently as she could until this whole fog disaster was over and an lingering rumors had been replaced or forgotten. Febs felt the promise settle into her bones, something to hold her over until he came back.

A genuine, almost serene smile made its way to her lips, blue eyes locked on his. "Deal."

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