It was unfair, but necessary. They had also just agreed to slow down a little. That was also likely necessary, now that she knew there were long-term possibilities at play. Truthfully, though it said a lot of negative things about her as a person (at least according to society's standards) she had been perfectly fine with simply having fun, but they'd gone and gotten attached. Febs was finding that just as thrilling as everything else.

Closing her eyes as he took a turn running his fingers through her hair, she took her time to memorize the feeling of his heartbeat against hers, the intimacy of the quiet embrace. Slowing down was a good idea. "Mmm, but then we'd never get rid of this fog." She chuckled quietly. Though it provided them the coverage for moments like this, it would make things difficult in the long run if she could never get out of Hogsmeade again, especially if moments like this were not going to be the sole substance to their relationship.

She was procrastinating on leaving, but knew she'd have to soon, just in case somebody decided to check on her in her room.  

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If he hadn't gone and gotten attached to February Lynch in recent weeks, the only thing that would have been on his mind would have been the fog. The Minister had been right in that aspect—she had been a distraction, but that didn't mean it was wholly unwelcome. Having all of his attention focused on one issues lead to restlessness, paranoia, and over-working himself, which would have made his job no less easier than the distraction Miss Lynch provided.

"When it does disappear," he said, brushing her hair over her shoulder so he could see her face better, "you can come visit me in London. No sneaking through the streets for midnight visits," he chuckled, beginning to feel his chest tighten at the realization that she'd be leaving again momentarily.

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   February Umbridge

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— set by MJ! —

Feeling him brush her hair over her shoulder warmed her in a different way entirely. Febby didn't know exactly what it meant, but it was there and it was noticeable.

"Oh no, then I just need a reason to be in London and a way to get there; an alibi to keep me there for a while..." Febs felt her heart rate quicken at the thought. They could have a whole day together, a whole night maybe, if they played their cards right. It would be infinitely better than just a few minutes here and there they could scrape together in the dark.

Of course there was an obvious answer to uninterrupted time together and that was marriage, but that was, well, very long term and until this whole unnatural fog thing was resolved, that was not even on the table. Those were thoughts for another time though, when she was by herself and could think clearly. It begged a separate discussion altogether too, much deeper than the one they'd just had.

Finally Febby managed to disentangle herself from him slowly as she stepped back, "We're really very bad at this." She chuckled, pushing up to kiss his cheek before reaching behind her head to put her hair back into some kind of plait she could twist up out of her face.

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The idea of her being in his London home sent a surge of warmth rushing through his body, but it was difficult to identify just was kind of warmth it was. There was an obvious... activity that they could pursue there, but it would be a whole different environment—no stress, no fear of getting caught, no dusty-smelling fog.

"Say you're going to stay with a friend," he murmured, resisting the temptation to tilt her head towards him so he could press his lips against hers again. "Let her know you're going to stay with another friend... take the floo... mmm," he continued quietly, his hands comfortingly rubbing her back.

To say he was dismayed when she took a step back was an understatement, and her kiss to his cheek did little to help him shove the thought of what he'd be walking away from into the back of his mind.

He bit his lip to prevent an embarrassingly smitten smile from finding its way onto his face. "I'd be better at it if you weren't so damn insufferable," he teased. The term, once having been used as an insult, was now very obviously one of endearment to him. He attitude had become less insufferable than the teasing (the good kind) that she put him though. "You're going to be the death of me, Febs."

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His plan for her staying in London wasn't altogether bad. She did have family and Nate there, though she highly doubted that anyone would fall for that, Nate especially. She might be able to swing a stay with Uncle Reming and then... well she'd figure it out. She could be pretty clever when she wanted to.

"Ah, but then I wouldn't be so much fun." Insufferable indeed, as if he could talk.

With her braid finished, she fished the pins from her pocket and tucked it up as neatly as she could without looking. It probably looked no more untidy than it did when she spent hours reading. His last statement had her chuckling again. She leaned in to press a brief kiss against his lips, smiling as she did so. "Help me find my shawl, I lost it in the tussle." She'd forgotten about it until this very moment.

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He managed to kiss her back without going overboard, and then dropped his gaze to the ground to look for the shawl. He'd been so distracted by her that any memory of its color, fabric, or pattern was completely lost on him.

"What does it look like?" he chuckled, taking a step or two in the direction he assumed (?) they'd walked in to see if he could find any trace of it on the ground.

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— set by MJ! —

Febs had already started to search the ground nearby, judging by the tiny amount of streetlight they had back here, it was going to be damn near impossible. What she wouldn't give for an easy summoning spell right about now. "Dark purple, I thought it would be good to cover up with on my way in, so that nobody saw me, but clearly that was not the best plan." She was being cautious even in the dark and fog. She did not want to be in the paper again, nor did she want it rebound on him in any way, but she wanted to see him more, so she'd just gone for it.

Shuffling her feet so that she didn't trip, she ended up doing just that, her feet getting caught up in both her skirts and the shawl discarded carelessly on the ground. She toppled forward, landing roughly on her forearms and knees, yelping in surprise and pain. "Found it." She laughed as she fell over to sit on the ground, pulling the shawl from beneath her feet, then surveyed the damage to her arms. Well that was going to be hard to explain, the nice gash on her left arm.

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There was very little that could be more terrifying in that moment than hearing Miss Lynch's yelp and not being able to see her. His auror instincts set in, though there was definitely a bead of sweat indicative of his desperation that formed on his forehead. Having had years of auror training and experience under his belt, he was far more graceful than his large build might suggest; he traversed through the darkness, eyeing every shadow and gleam of light, until he saw the reflected light coming off her shoes.

"Febs," he grunted, bending down so he could help her up. It was difficult for him to see until she was on the ground, but when he did, his eyes went wide. His hands moved to push up her skirts, noting the scrapes on the area around her knees. He removed his hand and immediately moved to scoop her up in his arms.

"Dammit woman, you gave me a scare," he breathed, cradling her body against his chest, his eyes moving to the blood that now stained her arm. It was a harsh reminder that, despite that her bark (and not to mention her bite), she was just as fragile as any other woman. "How bad does it hurt?"

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— set by MJ! —

She sat there for a moment, laughing at herself before he found her. "I fell! I'm sor-" She started to protest but he'd already pushed on, literally pushing up her skirts this time. She was going to protest that too, but was momentarily distracted by his hands on her legs, even though it was in no way as enticing as it had been last time.

Then he physically hoisted her off the ground like she was a sack of potatoes. "Put me down." She demanded and kicked her legs a little, suggesting she wanted to not be in the air at that particular moment. "I'm fine, Edric I'm fine, relax." Could he over-react or what? It wasn't like she'd been attacked!

Febs stopped squirming, the fabric of her skirts was aggravating her skinned knees.  She wasn't sure if his concern was endearing or annoying, so settled for a little both. "I'm fine, I promise. I fell, it happens." She assured him again, this was not the first, nor the last time she would get tripped up. She was normally fairly graceful, but in the dark, anything could happen. "You should get a good look at my legs," In an attempt to distract him and maybe lighten the mood, she pulled up her skirt again, kicking it up with her leg. Though it would be hard to see in the dark, there was a decent sized scar just above her knee and the new abrasion, on her right leg among some other smaller ones scattered on her shins. "Quidditch, it happens. I'm a tough cookie."

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He hadn't expected her to argue with him, but he supposed it shouldn't surprise him either. Just like him, she liked having control, and he'd all but taken that away from her by whisking her into his arms. He didn't let her go, his gaze skimming over her gashes. She said she was fine, but the scratches suggested she'd taken a hard tumble. His eyes moved to her bare leg, partially because he wanted to see them, but mostly because he was still examining her.

Mostly.

"I don't have magic to heal those," he said with a motioning nod towards her leg, "and neither do you." He wasn't sure how she planned to get back into her home, but if she were caught, she'd have to explain her injuries—not to even mention the dirt on her dress and messy hair—to her family.

He rationalized after a moment that, judging from her adamant tone, that she was well enough to stand and reluctantly placed her back on her feet. "A very mushy cookie, actually," he muttered under his breath, his hands moving to wipe the dirt, sticks, and leaves that covered her outfit.

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— set by MJ! —

Febby pursed her lips at him, torn between laughing at him and smiling fondly. Clearly he cared, which was why he was so damn over-reactive, but damn it, she was fine! At least he put her down back on her own two feet. "A cookie who's punched you twice and left a bruise." She reminded him playfully before bringing her forearm closer to her face to see the damage.

"Ach, it's just a scratch." Really, it was superficial, she'd had worse from practicing quidditch in the backyard with August. I'll bandage it up when I get home." It would be fine, heaven forbid something have to heal the hard way. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket as he busied himself brushing her off. She hissed out a little whine as she pressed the fabric to the wound, but that was about it. "Tie me up." She held out her arm toward him to tie it around. It would suffice until she got home. Which she should be doing... should have done several minutes ago.

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A he worked on tying the fabric around her wound, he glanced up at her with a playfully-scrunched nose. "A cookie whose punches also left a bruise on herself, may I remind you," he bantered. They were being ridiculously silly, but as he'd noted once before, seriousness was not something that suited their conversations.

Once he'd made sure to tie it tight enough to where it wouldn't fall off, he dropped his hands and looked at her with a somber half-smile. "I suppose you're going to abandon me now?" he tried to joke, though his tone made his disappointment obvious. "Stay safe. Avoid vampires. Don't go out tomorrow night—full moon."

He stepped forward, gently pressing his hands against her cheeks before leaning down for a final kiss.

"Write to me if anything goes wrong." A pause. "Or, I suppose, even if everything's going fine," he added with a quirk of his brows and an affectionate smile.

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— set by MJ! —

"Minor details, " Febs scoffed playfully. She wasn't some delicate flower that needed constant supervision, but she did appreciate his concern.

She hated that her leaving was putting that tone in his voice, but she couldn't linger any longer. "I'm not abandoning you," She reached up to brush his hair from his face, gently trailing her fingers down his cheek. "I'm just making it so I can see you again and not get locked in my room forever. I promise to stay home."

He kissed her again and she felt an unfamiliar flutter in her chest, unlike before. Having to say goodbye was hard, but it wasn't forever. "Please be careful, because I assume you can't stay inside." She pushed those thoughts down and gave him a soft smile instead. He had an important job to do, an important dangerous job, but that didn't make it easy not to worry. "No news is good news, I don't want to distract you too much." Unlike today, where she'd been kind of a nuisance.

"I'll see you soon." It wouldn't be easy, and it might not be soon, but they'd make it happen.

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