Haha...you're so funny, but now seriously, what were you gonna say?

[Katalina Harker]

It had been yet another grueling practice and Kat was exhausted. She'd finally managed to get all her bumps and scrapes all healed up for the most part before heading home. She called out to see if Chace was home yet, but after no response she'd decided she was home alone for the time being seeing as Serena had gone out with a group of friends after practice. The twenty year old started up the water in the bathroom and indulged in a nice hot bubble bath. It really was the simple things in life that made her happy and after a long day of practice that had been exactly what she needed.

After the hot water had turned lukewarm and her fingers were all shriveled looking the brunette decided to get out and dressed, hoping to catch a little nap before starting dinner. Kat threw on an old pair of shorts and a shirt before falling back onto her bed with her hands rested upon her belly. She laid there for several minutes, her fingers gently tapping on her abdomen as she thought back to the time she had spent with Rhyspa and her family and then talking to Estrella on her birthday and getting all caught up on her life with her kids. It just made the former Gryffindor wonder if there was something in her life she was missing. "Well so much for a nap with all that on my brain," she said with a halfhearted laugh as she sat up on the side of her bed, hugging her pillow to her tightly.

Kat looked at herself in mirror and an odd thought popped into her head. She didn't know why she was all of a sudden curious about it, but she stood and stuffed the pillow under her shirt. The brunette stood sideways and examined herself in the mirror. With a soft smile on her face she rubbed one hand over her pillow gently as she said to herself, "Might not be so bad afterall. Maybe one day...just maybe."

 

[Chace Harker]

Propping his feet on the sofa's left arm, Chace pressed his back into the cushions. He was a smug male at that moment. So what if he hadn't taken his boots off? A little bit of dirt had never killed anyone, right? The only murder a spot of mud could commit was that of someone's pride, and pride wasn't something Chace would give two bezoars about.

If his mother or girlfriend could see him now, they would first holler his ears off and then turn them to kumquats. He wasn't scared of two shrieking females. Well, he was, but who would he tell? Besides, he was safe for now. Maeva was tucked away in her own little world in New Zealand, concocting new guilt trips and stewing in disappointment. Merlin had been cruel to the witch; her youngest, her baby boy, was being corrupted by a harlot on the farthest ends of the globe, and there was nothing his poor mother could do about it.

Chace was hoping to scare the towel off the conniving harlot (at least the towel she wrapped her hair in.) When she didn't venture into the living room, Chace rose from the couch. Was his girlfriend talking to herself? Tiptoeing to her bedroom, Chace pushed the door open and peered inside.

His beautiful belle was more than silly at times. There she was, his Kat, with a pillow stuffed under her shirt.

"Who is he and where does he live?" he interjected. Any mask of seriousness he was wearing was knocked off by a grin. "If it's Sumner, I swear to god he'll have a career whacking bludgers with his back end, because that's where the bat's gonna go."

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat nearly jumped out of her skin and the pillow slid from under her shirt and silently plopped to the floor. At first a look of panic had plastered itself to her face, but upon hearing her boyfriend's words she smirked before bending over and picking the pillow up and tossing it on her bed. Looking at Chace she grinned and shook her head before saying, "It's not what you think. I was trying to remember what I looked like before they put me in the hospital last year. Boy I was pudgy, huh?" Her brow quirked when she saw his face register some odd look...almost like concern mixed with something else. Quickly recanting she piped up with, "Okay, okay...bad joke I know. I was only kidding."

Walking over to him she snaked her arms around his waist, but she stumped her toe on the sole of his shoes and she looked down. "You, my dear, still have your dirty shoes on in the house. What did I tell you about that," she said half-jokingly as she looked up at him and smiled. In reality, Kat was the actual slob out of the pair, but it was still fun to tease her boyfriend every now and then. The brunette was hoping that she hadn't freaked Chace out with what he'd just seen her doing. The two hadn't talked about making any changes in their relationship lately and she was unsure how he'd react to it.

"Hungry? You want me to make something or are we going to eat out tonight," she asked curiously, thankful she'd stopped by the store earlier this week so she actually had the option of cooking.

 

[Chace Harker]

"Pudgy as a stickbug, maybe," Chace snorted. His girlfriend's confidence- or lack thereof- bothered him greatly if he thought about it too much. Katalina Vanderhol had been the beauty of Hogwarts New Zealand and was now queen of the Quidditch pitch. With those legs and lips, the wizard couldn't comprehend why the witch would ever doubt herself. Then again, Chace had decided long ago that he would never understand females. Accepting that they were aliens was the easiest thing he could do. If they wanted to jam pillows under their shirts and play pretend, who was he to judge?

Chace ground his boots into the carpet and grinned all the while. If magic couldn't take care of dirt, then magic was good for nothing. "How about neither?" Chace suggested, "I was actually thinking about making your favorite." Too bad he couldn't remember what her favorite was.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat's jaw dropped in a look of mock disgust as she squealed, "So you think I look like a bug? That's what you're saying?" She poked him in the stomach with her finger and chuckled slightly. The brunette loved Chace with all her heart and even more so loved the way that he tried to be so protective over her. Her brow quirked when he suggested that he would cook her favorite food. Now that she thought about a BLT sounded like just the perfect dinner, but then a thought struck her. "Um, do you even know how to fry bacon...with or without magic? Come to think of it, do you even know how to cook," she asked, suddenly afraid that he'd burn something...like the entire apartment.

 

[Chace Harker]

Closing the distance, Chace reached out and pinched Kat's cheeks like an old maid would an unsuspecting child. "Yes, my little bug- who could resist these pincers?" the wizard joked, moving away with safety in mind. He shrugged and started towards the kitchen. "Bacon, black pudding, Shepard's pie... cooking can't be that difficult." Chace was hell-bent on making dinner tonight, even if he burned down all of Wimbourne to do it. The former Slytherin pawed through the cupboards and chose a giant pot. Surely, that would do the job. Placing the pot on a burner, he turned back to his girlfriend and grinned.

"Now, where's the bacon?"

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat squealed when Chace pinched her cheeks and glared at her boyfriend. "Turd," she mumbled under her breath as she followed him to the kitchen. The brunette was nervous. She'd never seen her love do anything in the kitchen other than washing dishes and griping about there not being enough milk in the ice box. Leaning against the wall Kat crossed her arms across her chest and eyed him skeptically. When Chace pulled out the boiling pot and asked where the bacon was the former Gryffindor nearly toppled over laughing. Making her way over to him she patted him gently on the back and said, "Babe, that right there would be perfect were we having spaghetti, but not bacon. Are you sure you don't want me to cook? Really, I don't mind and it won't take long at all and I really like our home and don't desire it to be burned down." Kat looked up at him and could tell he had his determined face on and would more than likely start pouting if she didn't let him do this. She leaned down and grabbed the frying pan out of the cabinet and the package of bacon out of the fridge and set it on the counter. "You cook and I'll be here to make sure you don't seriously injure...erm, I mean I'll be here if you need me," she said as she tip-toed up and gave him a little peck on the cheek.

 

[Chace Harker]

"You'll be chowing down these greasy little strips of piggy in no time," Chace assured his girlfriend. Returning Kat's kiss not on the cheek, but her nose, he turned to the stove. The wizard twisted the back burner's knob to what had to be the best setting: HI. From there, he placed the frying pan on the coils, waiting impatiently to see them dissolve from black to red. It was too bad he hadn't picked up any cooking spells during his years of study; muggle devices were awful. All of this standing around and hoping for things to happen would drive any true wizard bonkers.

The former Slytherin was bound and determined not to make a fireplace out of this flat. Be that as it may, Chace dropped the entire package of bacon into the frying pan, paper, plastic, and all. Not long after, a foul smell swallowed the kitchen and began to munch at the rest of the apartment.

Bollocks, it's Potions class all over again.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat chuckled and shook her head as she said, "Please do not refer to my favorite food as little strips of piggy. You're killing me babe, killing me." The brunette flipped through her latest copy of Witch Weekly and anxiously awaited for the scrumptious aroma to fill the air. Unfortunately, what she got wasn't scrumptious in fact it was downright pungent. Looking up from her magazine her blue eyes widened in horror as she quickly hopped up and grabbed the pan from one side of the stove to the other. With her hands on her hips she couldn't help, but laugh a little. "Hey, you remember that one time...I think it was like fifth year maybe, in potions when you..." Her voice trailed off as she looked up at her boyfriend and saw the look he had. Snaking her arms around his waist she pulled him close, looked up at him and said, "I probably should have mentioned that you take the strips of piggy out of the package before putting them in the frying pan. Might have been something important to know that, huh?" She had to bite the inside of her cheeks to keep from completely busting up and laughing at how ridiculously cute he was.

 

[Chace Harker]

"It's not my fault muggles are impossible!" Chace blurted, shaking his head. He'd about had it with their thingamajigs and doohickeys. In all honesty, he was better off blowing up the kitchen with potions. Be that as it may, he wouldn't suffer harassment and not retaliate. The former Slytherin's tongue jabbed through his lips and waggled at the smartass Gryffindor. "Yeah, it might have been just a little important to know that," he taunted.

Slipping his arm around his girlfriend's waist, he pulled her close. She would've smelled good if the stench of burnt paper hadn't suffocated her favorite perfume.

"I can't cook bacon, I'm afraid to fly, and I'm scared of my own shadow," Chace admitted with a devilish grin, "but do you think I'd make a good husband?"

 

[Katalina Harker]

"You know sometimes I leave out important little bits of information...suppose this was one of those times," she said shrugging her shoulders innocently with a smirk. In all honesty she probably should have known better than to let him cook, but he had seemed hell bent on it so who was she to stand in the way? Kat leaned into him. He may not have been the bravest of men, but when he held her like that she felt like she was in the safest place in the world.

She could only chuckle at what he said next. He was always adorable at the best of times. "Well if I can teach you to boil water and get you to kick your shoes off at the door then I think I might keep you around. As for a good husband...I'd like to keep you forever and always," she said kissing him lightly, obviously not understanding what he was getting at. "What are you grinning at? You only look like that when you've done something you might potentially get in trouble for," she started, eyeballing him suspiciously. "Chace Harker. What did you do? How much is it going to cost us?"

 

[Chace Harker]

Perhaps he would get in trouble, but the green-eyed sneak didn't really care. Lowering to bended knee, Chace took his girlfriend's left hand in his own. He paused for a moment before responding. The Slytherin wasn't going to waste time gauging Kat's reaction: knowing her, it would come all too quickly. Pulling a simple, silver band from his right pocket, Chace pondered on her last question.

"How much will it cost us? Well, if our families have anything to say about it, a huge party, plenty of galleons in debt, and a litter of children."

 

[Katalina Harker]

For the first time in probably an eternity the brunette was rendered speechless. Kat had no words she could only stand there with her mouth agape. She had, of course, dreamed about this exact moment for over a year and now that it was actually happening she couldn't speak. Chace was on one knee with a ring in his hand. His words to her broke through the fog she was in and she smiled. A wedding. Children. Katalina Vanderhol was going to marry Chace Harker and then one day have his babies. It was all she'd ever really wanted...to be a wife and mother.

The silver ring was slipped on her left ring finger and she just stopped and stared at it. No frills. Just a simple silver band. It was perfect and it was all hers. Kat looked at Chace as she grabbed his hands and pulled him up, wrapping her arms around his neck. She kissed him lightly before resting her forehead against his. "Are you sure? I mean I'm a handful and I'm stubborn and a pain in the ass at the best of times. You sure you want to put up with me forever," she said softly with her eyes closed as she tried to imagine what the rest of their lives together would be like.

The brunette knew that her parents would be thrilled for the couple, but then another thought struck her. "I'll marry you on one condition. You get to tell your mum," she said with a half smirk on her lips.

 

[Chace Harker]

"As sure as fish need water." Wrapping his arms around Kat's back, Chace held her close. If someone had told him four years ago that he would propose to Kat and she would say yes, he would've laughed until his spine split and teeth fell out. Chace Harker, the scaredy-gnome, mustering up the courage to ask a girl to be with him forever? Perhaps puffskeins would fly next.

The thing was, it didn't matter what he would've done four years ago or what that ever-present someone else thought. Chace was living in the here and now. The only thing- rather, person- of utter importance was who he held at this moment, the most striking woman in the world.

Chace snickered at Kat. "My mother?" he mused, "Now who said I was going to tell her?" His stomach was already churning. Center of his world or not, Kat would have a hell of a time weathering the monsoon of prudishness that was his mother.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat snorted. She knew that was exactly the reaction she would get from him. Maeva Harker was a hateful spiteful old bat at the best of times, but the brunette knew that this of all things would push her completely over the edge. A smirk formed on Kat's lips as she thought about Chace's mother completely losing her mind. Maybe it was an evil thought, but it was still hilarious nonetheless. "Hmm," she sounded, as she thought about how to respond.

"Well, how about I send her a howler? I'm sure she'd love that and then that way we don't actually have to tell her face to face because let's face it, neither of us has the guts to face her with this," Kat said, feeling very nervous about the thought of even having to face her fiance's mother. She shuddered in his arms thinking about it. "Or we could just get married and then just casually bring it up at a family dinner and be like 'Hey, sorry we forgot to tell you.' What do you think," she said looking up at him grinning sheepishly.

Kat didn't know why this was making her so nervous. She'd waited for such a long time for this moment and now the thought of having to tell her future mother-in-law was ruining for her. Leave it to that skag to ruin our big day she thought rolling her eyes.

 

[Chace Harker]

If Kat suggested sending a howler to anyone else in the world, Chace would've been her partner in crime. Unfortunately, the Slytherin was true to his innocence. His mum frightened him more than a dragon-dementor hybrid ever would. He was a man who truly feared his mother dearly. Chace could only shake his head and peck his girlfriend on the cheek. Kat was much better at tossing Quaffles than being evil.

"I like your second idea better," Chace laughed. Wrinkling his nose as burnt plastic crawled into his nostrils, he commented, "Merlin, that's awful. Romantic, huh?"

 

[Katalina Harker]

There weren't many things or people that Kat got nervous around or about, but Chace's mother wasn't the most pleasant woman in the world when it came to their relationship. She'd always let it be known that Kat had 'ruined her baby boys life' when he'd moved to England to be with her. At first the brunette had felt guilty about it, but never once had she asked him to come with her...he'd done it all on his own steam. "I think that telling her after the fact works for me," she said with a chuckle.

When he wrinkled his nose she could only smile at him lovingly. She tapped his nose lightly with her finger and said, "It is kind of awful, but I couldn't think of anything more romantic. It's perfect and so are you!" Kat kissed him and wrapped her arms around him tightly, wishing that they could stay like that forever. After a few minutes she looked up at him and asked, "Do you want this to be some big thing? If you do that's fine, but I'd really just like this to be our families and close friends. My parents don't really have the money to pay for some big wedding and I'd rather us save our money to buy a house later on. What do you think?" Kat had been to so many weddings that had been extravagant, but she didn't want that kind of wedding. She wanted it to be very small and intimate.

 

[Chace Harker]

Chace's girlfriend was aware of just how much he loved parties; he needn't remind her. "I think," he started, kissing her between the eyes, "that your idea," he moved to her nose, "is spectacular." His lips settled on hers, hovering there as he continued, "So, what's the date, Lady Vanderhol? Are we going to do this in Mother England or New Zealand?" The two lovers had never discussed which country they wanted to call home. They were living in Surrey now because of Kat's profession, but Chace was really just floating. The green-eyed wizard still didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. Someday, somewhere over the rainbow, Chace was determined to evolve from a leech into a worker bee.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat chuckled as Chace lightly kissed his way from her eyes to her mouth. She bit her lip slightly at his question, thinking on it for a moment. "New Zealand. It's home. That's where I want to get married. And I've always thought it would be nice to have an Autumn wedding. How about May of next year," she said, knowing that would give her a full year to get everything ready for a wedding. Even though it was still going to be small there was a lot to consider. Kat knew that they would be able to hold a small ceremony and a reception at her parents house seeing as the small cottage sat on a huge piece of land so that took care of the location. Her mum could bake a cake big enough to feed all their guests so there was another thing that was taken care of. Then a thought popped into her head. "Sweet Merlin, what am I going to wear," she asked out loud, her eyes wide. "I need my sister and my mother to help me with that. They'll just have to come here for a visit soon to help me. I can't pick out a dress by myself," she continued on her rant as she released herself from Chace's grasp and searched through the drawers for writing utensils. She had to make a list of everything so that she could check them off one by one as she got them finished. As she was flitting about like a mad woman the light from the kitchen beamed off the shiny silver band on her left ring finger and she stopped, looking down at her hand she smiled and her eyes grew glossy with moisture. Kat looked up at Chace and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I love you forever and always," she whispered, finally feeling that this was all real. She'd wanted it for so long and now it was happening. Katalina Vanderhol was going to marry Chace Harker.

 

[Chace Harker]

Seeing how excited his girlfriend was, Chace would've expected Kat to want to tie the knot before dinner. A year seemed like an eternity. There were advantages, however, to not just running off and eloping, so Chace didn't argue. He would do whatever Kat wanted. She might not get him onto the Quidditch pitch, but he was more than happy to let her run things. The snake had to admit that the lion was the one who wore the pants in this relationship. Chace never had and never would be a macho man.

Not able to respond to Kat's first question, Chace exclaimed, "Slow down, speedy, you've got a whole year to sort everything out!" A whole year to tell their parents and friends, to hear his mother rant and rave, and to have Steven Vanderhol throw him through the sitting room window.

Kat almost drove her boyfriend dizzy as she stormed about the kitchen. Thankfully, she came to a stop. Running his fingers through her hair, Chace murmured, "I love you, too."

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat breathed deeply, suddenly feeling very relaxed. Everything was going to be perfect, she was just sure of it. A year really did give her quite a bit of time to get everything ready. She was so excited that she reached over and pinched herself to see if she was actually awake. "Ouch," she said with a grin, "Definitely not dreaming!" She looked around at the mess they'd made in the kitchen and laughed. "I should have known something was up when you wanted to cook," Kat said teasingly as she kissed him on the cheek and broke away to clean up the kitchen. "So do we want to order in and watch a movie or go out tonight?" Tonight they would celebrate the two of them.

 

[Chace Harker]

"Let's go out," Chace answered, summoning their spring jackets and levitating them nearby. The two deserved a fancy dinner. Chace reached for Kat's coat and held it behind her. He was a gentleman even though he was as brave as a hen. Waiting for his girlfriend to slip her arms through the sleeves, he smiled. Katalina Vanderhol was not his girlfriend anymore, but his fiancée. He really liked that thought. Not waiting twenty years to ask her the question had been a good choice- Chace was thrilled that he'd made her so happy.

 

[Katalina Harker]

"Good," she said with a bright smile. Kat shrugged her way into her jacket when Chace offered it to her and tied her hair back loosely. Today was a good day and most definitely a day she'd never forget. Today started a whole new world of possibilities for the two of them and she just knew that the next year would fly by and when that time came they would start their new life together. Their new life as husband and wife and she simply couldn't wait!