This is not goodbye...

[Aries Centauri]

Aries took a deep breath and sat down on the sofa in the student lounge, he could have gone to the prefects one but what was the point? It was packed and she wasn't there. Standing outside the Hufflepuff house seemed a complete waste of time so came here instead. Another Hufflepuff had been leaving as he entered and in the hopes of meeting her, he sent the little third year in search of her.

Wanting nothing now but to speak with Violet, to sit with her and hold her as if it were the very last time Aries ran his hands through his hair and sighed. It was hard to imagine that he had come to this school because of Andy and had met the girl of his dreams here, his future wife. He smiled at that closing his eyes as he leaned back and rested against the sofa. He had faith she would come, she held his heart after all. As soon as she was close by he would feel it.

 

[Violet Bellamy]

Only a few more days of sixth year. Only a few more days. Then it's holidays, and seventh. Violet was a nervous wreck. Sixth year had been enjoyable, but seventh? She was terrified. Her whole future rested on seventh year. Whatever future that was, anyway. She had no idea what she wanted to do with herself. What she was going to do as a career. The only constant she saw in her future was Aries. Oh, and the fact that he was about to graduate didn't help. She was going to miss him terribly, even if they wrote all the time and saw each other whenever possible. At least afterwards they could be together. A year was a long time. And what if he...no, don't be stupid, he loves you and you love him and you're going to be together forever.

Waking from her reverie thanks to the poking of a third year, Violet shook her head, pushed her hair out of her face, and walked up to the Student Lounge. And by walking, it was more of an awkward half-jog, really. She couldn't lose any time with Aries now, not when they had so little time left together at Hogwarts.

Entering the room, Violet smiled as she saw him leaning on the sofa. Beaming, she practically sprang on top of him (gently-ish, though, so she wouldn't hurt him), threw her arms around him, and nuzzled in next to him. "Hi," she whispered, grinning to herself.

 

[Aries Centauri]

Sure enough he felt the tingling on his skin before she had even touched him, felt the quickening of his heart and she had not even sat beside him yet but when she did, his arms were about her instantly and he held her close to him. Kissing the top of her head and holding her as if he were afraid she would disappear as soon as his hands moved.

"Hi yourself" he grinned, she had made the last few years possible. True his friends had been there as well and all the new ones he had made but Violet had been his anchor, his reason for doing so well here. He had wanted to prove himself to her time and again, wanting her to know that the young man she had chosen was worthy of her. At times he felt he came short of his own expectations in this regard but she loved him. Warts an' all.

She had seen him fret over the past few months with studying and had even helped him. He was sorely disgusted that he would not be there for her the following year. His arms about her squeezed her gently to him once more.
"You're coming to graduation yeah?" he asked, knowing of course that she would but also very aware that once they left the school this year they would not see each other every day again ... at least not until she graduated. He wondered how he would get through a normal day without her; she had become a necessity to him.

 

[Violet Bellamy]

In all honesty, Violet thought she'd fall apart without Aries by her side at school. She held close to him, almost afraid to let him go. She still loved the lightness she felt when she was around him, how her heart fluttered in her chest when he put his lips to hers...that, and he was just such a wonderful person. Clever, funny, kind...Violet couldn't imagine being without him. Which is why it hurt so much to think of a whole year where he'd be off exploring the world, and she'd be trapped within the confines of the castle. It's only a year. When you've got your whole life ahead, a year isn't much, she reminded herself. It didn't stop her from being miserable, though. Not that she was going to look it.

"I'll consider it," she joked, but the fact that she squeezed him in reassurance let him know, in the off chance that he wasn't sure, that she wouldn't miss it for the world. "You're going to come to mine, of course," she added, not as a question, but as a statement. Her voice threatened to betray her misery, but she kept smiling, kept on a brave face. She may not have been a Gryffindor but she didn't want to be sad, for his sake as well as for her own.

 

[Aries Centauri]

It felt almost painful to be by her side, knowing that they were not going to be attending the same school the following year. He released her then and turned on the sofa to face her, taking her hands in his and rubbing his thumb across the engagement ring. The best decision he had ever made and the easiest.
"We have all summer long if you want... the boys and myself have been talking about it and we all sort of want to spend time with our respective girls before we leave. Just how long you want me to stick around over the ...okay technically winter holidays, is up to you."

He placed a finger then under her chin so she would only look at him and no where else.
"I will be an apparation away ... don't forget that. Flying isn't going to kill me and neither will portkey's or the floo network" he told her, "I have told them again and again that at the Brightstone weekend's I'll be coming back to see you. For the vacations I will be coming back to see you and you can be guaranteed that the day you graduate, I will be there for you. Prouder than anyone else in that room when you get your diploma" leaning across he kissed her gently before pulling away to simply rest his forehead against hers.

"The year will fly by... you'll see" he felt now as if he were reassuring himself more than anything.