He supposed this was the best he could have hoped for; perhaps her decision to leave him the other night had truly been one of poor judgment and impulse. He hoped that a ring - the surest sign of commitment that a man could offer - could convince her of his devotion going forward so they wouldn't be driven apart again.

He kissed her back gently and without any desperation before pulling back and sliding the ring onto her finger.

"I need you to keep it safe," he said, glancing back up at her face. "And just as importantly, I need you to keep it secret - just until I can handle matters at work. I don't think you'd wish to marry a jobless man whether you loved him or not." No, he couldn't just spring a scandal upon the Minister; he needed to figure out how to approach the situation and make it seem normal.

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— set by MJ! —

Febs smiled down as she felt the ring on her finger. It was a little big, but she could fix that, once she found the right spell. It wasn't like she was going to get to wear it very often, just yet anyway. "Of course, I'll put it on the chain with my pendant." Which she did still want back, but wasn't going to bother asking for now. Nobody ever saw that anyway, it was always tucked beneath her dress, along with her locket. She would have put it in her locket, but she didn't think it would fit.

Speaking of, she pulled the locket from her pocket and reached up to put it back where it belonged, already feeling better with its comfortable weight where she was used to it. With that all straightened out, Febs leaned back down to the mattress to tuck herself in beside him once more. Toeing off her slippers, she curled up, feeling at home for the first time in nearly a week. The smile on her face couldn't even be dampened by the reality of their situation outside his room.

However, keeping her ring safe and secret meant they still had a whole host of logistical things to figure out. "Maybe we should just wait a while. Try for actual courting later in the autumn?" She sighed, letting her head fall back against the mattress as she stared at the ceiling. That felt like going backwards, but she thought that at least by then things may have died down a little bit. Would it really be that bad if they just waited it out and then appeared to do things by the book, elopement aside? She didn't want to upset his position or his good standing, but it wasn't like anything done the right way could be all that bad. Being patient didn't come naturally to her, but she could do it when she had to, especially when the end game was so clear and defined between them.

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It seemed that even with the promise to make her his bride, there still was uncertainty. He wished they could be a normal couple who did things the normal way, but that would have meant passing up all the bonding moments that made them click. There would have been no chasing of pig-maids, no midnight visits to her kitchen, no garden escapades, and no sleepovers. And besides, they likely would have never connected without the oddities involved.

He also didn't want to admit that waiting to marry was giving them - specifically her - more time to decide that he wasn't the man for her. What was a promise of marriage without public knowledge? It was nothing. Who knew how he could manage to infuriate her through the autumn months and into winter?

"If you don't wish to marry me now, just tell me. I won't take offense," he chuckled, but it was not nearly as genuine as he wished it was. He wished he didn't care that much. "The Minister may have meddled before, but that was in the middle of a crisis. Who is he to say who I can and cannot marry - or when? You're not an inherently scandalous pick; it's not as if you're a twice-incarcerated werewolf I plucked from a whorehouse." To that he legitimately chuckled.

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— set by MJ! —

Febs frowned slightly, nudging him with her shoulder. "That's not what I meant," She narrowed her eyes at him, but chuckled at his follow up comment, rolling her eyes a little bit. It wasn't going to be easy, nor could they please everybody, but if they were smart about it, they could make most people happy- themselves included. Febby just really didn't want it to impact his job too badly.

"I meant for appearance's sake. You're stuck with me now, can't have this back." Febs hid her left hand beneath her back to lighten the mood. Leaving once was one time too many, she wouldn't do it again. "I don't want to cause an uproar at work for you; you know how I feel about that." Febs had made it abundantly clear in the past, or so she hoped. "Plus, it would be kind of us to ease my parents into it, just a little, before we up and elope on them." Oh she could see her mother's face now, it was going to be glorious.

"As much as we like to pretend this only concerns us, it doesn't." That was the simply the reality of it. "Until we are actually married, then to hell with everyone else." It was her turn to laugh quietly, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

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There were very few people in his own life whose opinions he cared about, but he knew the same could not be said for her. The worst people could assume of him is that he took advantage of an innocent woman, and even then the gossip would made after it became apparent she wasn't carrying his child, but for her - Merlin, there was lots they could say about her in the meantime. Unlike him, she had a family who cared about her social capital and sisters whose reputations could be damaged if she gave the impression that she was anything less than perfectly respectable. After being so careless with her feelings and body - and perhaps to prove that, despite taking her virtue and being generally infuriating, he really could be a gentleman - the least he could do was give the facade of a completely respectable courtship. All he needed to do was not fuck things up further.

"We shall ease into it, then," he agreed in resignation, stroking her hair with his free hand. "Perhaps we might take a day to visit the carnival - I haven't had the opportunity to go since it kicked off. We could be seen together - chaperoned and all, bring Lydia or Mrs. Harding - and see if any gossip comes from it," he explained. "We will, then, have an idea of where to go from there."

It would be best if they didn't show up there together, he figured, but rather meet there as if it was some surprise to see each other after the hospital incident months back. It was the scenario that would prompt the least amount of rumors - if any - and would allow him to spend time with her without ridicule.

"And then, if you're feeling up to it...perhaps you might introduce me to your parents - officially - and I might do the same." You know, if his father decided to come home while they were both available.

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— set by MJ! —

Nodding along with his suggestion, Febs rather thought that was a good way to go about it, to start anyway. She had been wanting to go to the carnival anyway and she was sure she could tempt Mrs. H. into coming along. It would give them a decent idea of how other people would react- not that it would actually stop her, but she would prefer to do this with the least amount of public whiplash, if only for his job. She couldn't much care less about what people people thought of her, not really. The people who mattered would know better.

"I think those are all excellent ideas." Febs agreed, reaching out to poke his nose gently. This was serious business she just wasn't in the mood to take too seriously at the moment. There was also something in his tone that had her feeling like it wasn't exactly what he wanted. The meeting of the parents would certainly be interesting, but hopefully not too monumental. Febs hadn't so much as breathed his name aloud at her house since the hospital incident, even when asked about it right after. "I have been wanting to go to the carnival. It'll be nice to get out and be social, for a little while anyway. I keep forgetting to do that." She mused aloud with a little chuckle. Between helping Tuni with her exhibit and trying to match Lena's pace with their animagus studies, she was pretty busy at home. How come she couldn't have had that benefit last month!?

Though she could feel the fatigue setting in, Febs wasn't sure if she was staying or not, so she leaned in to brush her lips against his neck, hoping to sway him in the direction of yes. "As long as I get to keep sleeping over in the meantime...?" She trailed off, smiling to herself, one hand moving to the buttons on her dress.

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It was settled them. They're pursue a "courtship" during the fall, and if he didn't manage to ruin their relationship through whatever arguments they'd likely endure in the meantime, he might find himself with a wife by the time the new year rolled around. There were questions still left to be answered, but they'd answer them as they went along. And besides, he very much liked the idea of getting to know her outside the confines of his bedroom.

"I'm not on call Wednesday evening if you'd like to go. I heard the entertainment varies throughout the day, and the dark skies might afford us some privacy if we don't make a scene," he teased, his gaze following her hand as it slide down to her dress' buttons. For a woman who claimed she wanted to postpone an official, public relationship, she was sure good at testing fate. If she kept this up, they might find themselves at the alter before autumn was out - and a baby before the next summer.

But for all he wanted to prove he could be a gentleman with her, she was so tempting...

"Who am I to deny you?" he murmured in response, his free hand moving down to undo one of the other buttons. The fatigue caused by the day's stress was weighing him down like a bag of bricks and it was unlikely he had the energy for that, but that didn't mean he couldn't let his hands wander freely, right?

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— set by MJ! —

"Me? Make a scene? I have no idea what you're talking about." Febs giggled. So far every one of their public interactions had been a scene of some kind and all of them were her fault. "I promise to be on my best behavior- then." Now was an entirely different story, though truthfully she just wanted out of her Merlin-forsaken corset and to curl up beside him for a decent night's sleep. When she stepped into the fireplace she hadn't know how tonight was going to go, showing up in her nightgown hadn't exactly been an option.

If she were being honest though, she was excited to get to go out and do something normal together, especially after all of the upheaval of the last couple of weeks. It would be hard to minimize their level of familiarity, but she could handle it. Honestly the hardest part would be not to call him by his first name. Not that she didn't enjoy this, but if they were to put up a good show of propriety, they were going to have to practice.

Letting him take over with the buttons for a moment, Febs pulled the tie from her hair and shook the waves loose, chuckling when her ring got caught near the end. Thinking through getting out of all of these layers was already exhausting, but not nearly as tiresome as putting them on. As entertaining as it would be to let him try and figure it all out, she was just too sleepy. Not to mention getting it off from their current position was nearly impossible. Fucking skirts. Febs leaned into kiss his cheek again before sitting up. "I'm too tired to fight with this, hang on." She punctuated the thought by covering a yawn with one hand as she slid off the bed. Finding her wand in her pocket, Febs gave the closures on her corset and skirts a quick spell, everything coming undone relatively easily. She felt that familiar whoosh of air into her lungs as soon as she was rid of her corset, dress pooling on the floor at her feet as she dropped her corset on top.

With a cheeky grin, she dove back onto the bed, nearly landing on him, not entirely unlike that time he'd tossed her. It was far too easy to fall back into their regular habits, despite the heavy start to the evening. For that she was incredibly thankful. "There, that's better." She chuckled as she rolled over to push her stockings down her legs.

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It had been long time since he and February had been seen in the public eye together, and it was the last time they had - that morning in the hospital - that his feelings for her had begun to bloom. He had little issue addressing her by Miss Lynch, but keeping his outward emotions in check would be the most difficult part: the smiling would need to be kept to an appropriate minimum, as would the teasing and the laughing.

He bit his lip to avoid laughing as she bounded off the bed to rid of her clothes through magical means. She was a tease and she knew it; there was no way she was unaware of the effect she had on him and his body. Of course she knew, he thought, letting out a barking laugh as she nearly tackled him as she landed back on the bed.

"How will I ever resist you like this?" he teased as he moved into a sitting position so he could tug the sheets from the opposite side of the bed. With a pleasant hum, he covered her with them before quickly tugging off his own shirt."I'd even say this is the wrong type of 'practice' for the months to come," he snickered.

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— set by MJ! —

The relief of tonight's outcome washed over once more when he laughed at her. Febs couldn't have asked for a smoother end to that whole fiasco. She for one, was very much looking to put that all behind her so she could focus on the good things to come. Like a good night's sleep.

Tossing her stockings into the pile of clothes on the floor, Febs was left with the breezy comfort of her chemise and the inviting feeling of soft sheets on her skin. Hopefully she didn't forget anything in the morning when she apparated home and collapsed back into her own bed. One day, sooner rather than later at that- she wouldn't even have to do that.

Smiling over those thoughts, Febby wedged herself right in next to him, the warmth between them already lulling her closer to sleep. She draped one arm across his middle as she tucked her head comfortably on his shoulder. "I think this is where we need the least amount of practice, but tonight we shall resist and instead get some much needed sleep." She chuckled quietly, leaning in to kiss him slowly, just long enough to be a tease, before leaning back to kiss his nose. "Goodnight Edric, I love you."

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   Edric Umbridge

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