Say Goodbye to My Heart Tonight
Mc’s mentioned in this story are Jules Farrier and Will Scarborough @cursebreakerfarrier, Morgana Canigula @lgvalenzuela , and Septimus Crowe @brothergrimm71. Finnegan Bradigan, Eliza Ryder, Augustus Hawthorne and Mathias and Matteo Alabaster belong to me.
As Eileen made her way to the library as instructed by Headmaster Dumbledore, she couldn't help but smile in anticipation and from the fluttering feeling in her stomach as she made her way to see the final surprise laid out by her boyfriend.
Boyfriend the very word made Eileen lightheaded and made her want to swoon. She found it very annoying. She wished it would stop.
But then she remembered the antics her and Will got into these past few days. How they had both heard the exact same announcement from Dumbledore that there was to be a Valentine's day Ball and the rush of excitement that flew through her veins in that moment.
She remembers how she had instinctively turned to look at Will from where he sat in the great hall with the rest of his housemates from Slytherin like Augustus who was just napping, Jules who had a far away look in her eyes. Probably thinking about her boyfriend Bill, Barnaby who was bursting at the seams with joy at the prospect of getting to dance with Morgana again, and Merula who although was sneering at the idea of some silly love fest with Ismelda Murke and the rest of her school clique, Eileen couldn’t help but notice the way her eyes darted off towards the Gryffindor table and on to Septimus Crowe, who was his usually broody self this morning but whom Eileen knew was hiding a drinking flask underneath the huge table. At most days Eileen would have scolded him for drinking on a school day but seeing as how her sister Eliza and Jae Kim were currently sitting near him and talking his ear off and just being plain pain in the asses, she would let it slide for now.
She remembered the electric shock that passed through her when she found Will looking right at her from across the room too, and how they had both blushed madly when they had realized that they had been staring at the other like love struck teens. Penny and Finn had squealed at how adorable they found it while Diego and Chiara just gave her a knowing look. Tonks on the other hand went as far as guffawing very loudly and had to have a hand smacked across her mouth before the entire teaching staff could silently scold them with their eyes. She remembers feeling her cheeks heat up with embarrassment and how badly she wanted to disappear in that moment because dammit she had a reputation to uphold-
But then it was announced that Madam Pince of all people would be planning the ball and suddenly the entire mood of the great hall dropped dead faster than a demiguise could disappear right before your eyes.
God they really were idiots. Not only idiots but idiots in love, how fucking cheesy was that? How fucking cheesy was it that they had BOTH immediately thought of saving the Ball for the other. How Will teamed up with Augustus (who had apparently only joined in with the promise of free snacks from Matteo) the Alabaster twins, Eliza and even dragging poor Septimus who looked absolutely done with everything into the mix to try and convince Madam Pince in making the Ball into something everyone would enjoy and not the classical and so very lonely event she had had planned. While Eileen teamed up with Merula, Finn, and Jules to give Argus Filch of all people a makeover in order to get him to woo and convince Madam Pince to change the Ball into a classical woodland fairytale.
When she looked back at it now she really should have paid more attention to the poorly concealed smiles and giggles her friends were throwing at her every time the boys passed them by in a hurry.
With Mathias blushing from the tip of his ears every time he spared a glance at his boyfriend Finn, to her own boyfriend nearly crashing into every damn column or wall that was around him if he so much as passed by her and probably would have had a concussion by now if not for her sister Eliza grabbing him by the scruff of his shirt just at the nick of time and throwing her a questioning look, seemingly judging her taste in a romantic partner when Eileen herself felt like she had no right to judge seeing as how piss poor her sister’s own love life was.
It was funny to think that she and Will had gotten together just a few months after the start of 6th year. Those first few months were bliss compared to what had been going on now.
It was hard. It was really, really hard not to think about Rowan. Eileen wanted nothing more for her best friend to be here with her, She was the first person to have picked up on her feelings for him long before she had realized it herself. She should be enjoying the Ball with them and teasing her with the rest of her friends on how adorable she was with Will. She should have been laughing with Ben and her as they danced badly to whatever song the band played next.
She should be here, here in Hogwarts, alive and not buried 6 feet below the ground. Here laughing that unrestrained laugh of hers that never failed to make her smile and look at her with so much love. Talking off Eileen's ear about the many historical romances and fairy tales she knew as they went on their daring quest to save the Ball for everyone at Hogwarts. The rich scent of parchment, ink and fresh-sawn lumber following right behind her. With that stupid scarf she loved so much hanging off of her gangly shoulders and fluttering in the breeze.
Sometimes Eileen swears she can hear her voice ringing down the halls. But she knows she is dead and gone from the physical world. She is but a muted colored ghost of regret and guilt in her mind but a dear friend and loved one in her heart. And Eileen tries her best not to let the heavy chains of guilt that she struggled so hard to snap off wrap themselves on her wrists once again.
She really shouldn't linger on such thoughts unless she wanted to dampen the mood. Rowan wouldn't have wanted that for her. She would have wanted her to be happy. A sad smile that slowly turned into a bright one graced Eileen's face as she remembered just how her friends had found out she was dating Will.
Will had given her his old Slytherin sweater a month after his confession to her by the black lake. She hadn't worn the sweater at all during those first few weeks after receiving it, wanting to keep their new relationship on the down low for now. And, albeit being the tiniest bit embarrassed at owning a piece of her boyfriend's clothing and what others might scandalously think happened between them if they caught her wearing it.
But after another disappointing encounter with her brother and an upsetting talk with her father that had involved a bank statement from Gringotts meant for him, followed by her breaking into the Gryffindor dorm rooms just to get an old friend of hers to take her to the Ryder family Manor in order to investigate said bank statement had left Eileen feeling drained and in desperate need of comfort. And so in a moment of weakness, she had finally put on the sweater and slept in it only to wake up the next day to be met with wide eyes staring right at her groggy form wearing a Slytherin sweater that definitely didn’t belong to her.
The girls had all screamed their heads off upon learning that yes, her and Will did finally get together. While Chiara, Rowan and Penny all gave her a group hug and immediately started swamping her with questions, Tonks, in her usual fashion, went and started screaming at everyone in the Hufflepuff dorm room that “THE SHIP HAS SAILED EVERYONE! IT'S FUCKING SAILED! WILL AND EILEEN HAVE FINALLY DONE IT HAHAHAHAHAH- OW!”
Before she got bonked in the head for being too loud and for cursing with first years around by Diego . It wasn't long until the the entire school found out about it and both her and Will were receiving congratulations from their classmates. In fact, Eileen could have sworn seeing Snape grumpily give Professor Mcgonagall a small pouch of money at the teachers table that morning during breakfast and for some reason, seemed to be glaring at her as if it was her fault for him losing some kind of bet but also seemed to look at her like he was...relieved…? Ugh, the very memory of such a strange encounter left her mind buzzing.
And so it was with a heavy heart Eileen buried down the guilt and pain that still lingered deep within her and focused on the present.
It was Valentine's day after all and she had a date. This was no time for sorrow and regret. This was a day of love and there was only one path for her at the moment and that path was leading her towards the Hogwarts Library.
Snapping back to the present, Eileen found herself right in front of the library door. She felt her palms start to sweat and her heart speed up. Whether from apprehension or excitement she could not say.
She placed her hand on the door knob and took a deep breath before giving it a twist…..And found herself walking straight into a fairytale.
The library had been completely transformed. Fairies that she recognized from the forbidden forest were flying about, buzzing softly and casting the entire room in a warm, soft glow. The books and tables in the library had been transformed into stairs and a platform to walk on. Above the platform even more books had been transformed into heart shaped archways and at the bottom of those archways lined scented candles that filled the library with the smell of lavender and lighted a path to somewhere deep in the library. Where the path led to she could not see but was excited to explore.
She took another step forward to investigate and saw that underneath the platforms were blue construction paper that seemed to have been enchanted to mimic the movement and flow of a running river.
Eileen couldn't help but cover her mouth in awe. She couldn't be blamed for it, because this…This was incredible and as Eileen stood there still struggling to take it all in, behind her came a familiar voice.
"Happy Valentine's, day my love." Will spoke softly as he emerged from his hiding spot. Carrying with him a brilliant red rose.
The smile on his girlfriend's face was so intoxicating Will couldn't help but smile back and think that he wouldn't mind getting drunk on it.
He was snapped out of his thoughts though as Eileen was suddenly running to meet him halfway and accidentally got a little too excited and ended up colliding straight into her tall-as-a-fucking-building of a boyfriend and hurriedly moved to wrap her arms around his shoulders and Will just laughed at his girlfriend's enthusiasm as he too, mirrored the gesture and wrapped his arms around his lovers waist and twirled her while also trying to not let the rose still in his hand get crushed in-between them as they both laughed.
Eileen drew back a bit to look at Will. He was taller than her and although Eileen had finally gotten that growth spurt of her’s these recent years and stood at a whopping 6’1 feet, she still had to crane her head to look him in the eye. Something he always liked to tease her for, only for him to be lightly punched by his girlfriend in the shoulder good naturedly.
"How in the world did you pull this off? This is- this is absolutely gorgeous Will! If it weren't for the musk of old books I would have thought I was transported somewhere entirely new." Eileen exclaimed to her lover with a smile.
Will just laughed softly, pleased at how much she liked it.
"I had a little help…" he explained rather cryptidly.
Eileen gave him a confused look when she suddenly heard a familiar chirp followed by a buzz behind her.
She twisted her neck to see where the noise was coming from and felt her jaw drop as she saw a familiar branch of bowtruckles behind her, it was the bowtruckles from the Care of Magical Creatures classroom but among them was also her bowtruckle companion, Barnaby Jr. And Tinkerbell, a fairy she had helped rehabilitate after having found her at the end of a nasty storm and whom she had named after some fairy from a muggle film Finnegan had shown her once, all up on a bookshelf.
Junior, noticing they had managed to get her attention, let out another happy chirp before quickly making his way down the bookshelf followed by Tinkerbell and the rest of the army of bowtruckles and Eileen could only watch in amusement as the tiny creatures raced towards her. She let out another laugh and bent down so she could scoop up Barnaby junior and let out a gasp as upon further inspection, noticed the tiny bowtie the little bowtruckle had on him. She turned to look at Tinkerbell and found her to be also sporting a beautiful blue ribbon tied into her hair as well as tiny rose bracelets on her wrist. Actually, all the other bowtruckles had accessories that fitted them all so perfectly. It was clear whoever gave them the outfits made them with utmost care.
"Oh Merlin, look at how stunning you two look with those accessories! They suit you both so well! You didn't just give Junior and Tinkerbell outfits though, you even gave accessories to Francis,and Ottie,and Rosie and- oh holy Hufflepuff look at all of you! You all look so lovely! Oh Will I think I'm gonna cry-" Eileen squealed happily as she did her best to cradle all the little creatures she had been caring for for years near her face and Will just smiled so lovingly at her as Junior and Tinkerbell, and the entire army of bowtruckles all let out happy chirps and buzzes at the attention they were getting from their caretaker and Mummy.
"I told them I wanted to do something special for their mummy. And as soon as they heard that I immediately had their attention. When I started to explain the plan they started jumping up and down, climbed down their Wiggentree, and made a beeline for the library. It was really funny and touching to watch them all clamoring to impress their mum." Will rubbed his neck in embarrassment.
"Junior found Tinkerbell fluttering around and must have explained to her the plan because the next thing I know, I'm putting some of the charms up to make the paper river and suddenly there's this group of fairies demanding they help out too!"
By the end of Will's recount, they were both laughing as the little creatures began to pat themselves on the back in a job well done and puffing out their chests, obviously liking the amount of praise they were all getting.
"Did Pince really let you use her precious library just for this or have you somehow managed to bribe our friends and the teaching staff to keep Hogwarts favorite librarian busy as we enjoyed our date?" Eileen asked playfully but with the slightest bit of worry in her voice. She didn't exactly want her date with Will ruined with an angry librarian and caretaker barging in the middle of it and having their date end with them sentenced to serve detention by helping Pitts out in the kitchens. It would have been worth it sure, but it would still be annoying and a wickedly bad damper on their special night.
"Actually yes, as long as we promise to tidy it all up afterwards and leave the place exactly as it was."
"Madam Pince has been left in such a good mood from her own romantic fairytale date with Filch that our friends and beloved teaching staff may or may not have set up for them that she has agreed for me to use the library for this very special occasion just this once." He finished with a flirtatious wink.
"The entire teaching staff? Even Snape?" Eileen asked, not quite willing to believe it.
"After being pressured into it by Professor Mcgonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore? Yes, even grumpy ol' Snape joined in on it."
The picture of the ill-tempered, greasy haired bat of the dungeons grumpily setting up a date for his two fellow co-workers left the two love birds cringe just the slightest bit at such a disturbing image.
"Now that that's out of the way, shall we?" Will said as he extended a hand to Eileen while still holding on to the rose from earlier and his face immediately lightened up as soon as the rough yet warm hand of his lover joined his open one. He led Eileen down the heart shaped archways and the path of scented candles while behind them, followed the crowd of bowtruckles and fairies. Letting out soft chirps and buzzing noises as they too went under the romantic shaped archways.
Will suddenly stopped and turned to Eileen to give her the red rose and she graciously accepted it with a soft smile that left Will's cheeks feeling warm. He quickly grabbed for the wand in his pocket and with a flick of his wrist, some string instruments cleverly placed in the corner of the room started to play a soft yet sweet ballad. Eileen gave Will a disbelieving look at the ridiculous amount of effort he put into this whole thing and Will just ducked his head and chuckled in embarrassment before grabbing for her hand again and moving on.
"So uh, this isn't too much is it? I-I know you're not the biggest fan of grand gestures or anything but, I… I know these past few months haven't been easy on you and I just- I wanted to do something special for you. I wanted to give you the storybook romance you deserved. And yes, I know technically storybook romances although ideal are not realistic, but…."
Will raised his hand, gesturing to something ahead of them and Eileen let her eyes follow to where they were pointed to before letting out a sharp gasp.
Soft, pale pink light emanated from the floating fairies like the faint embers of a candle. It cast the room in a rosy hue, highlighting the platform she saw ahead of her. It was one of the strangest displays she'd ever seen. And yet, somehow it fit.
The platform was composed entirely of books bound together by enchantments. Stacks of curving tomes that resembled the half moons flanked its edge, conjoining in a heart in the middle. Candles flickered along the edge, creating a kaleidoscope of pastel pinky, peachy colour throughout the library. It was a scene that would make Pince lose her mind. It was a scene that melted Eileen's heart.
Will once again gave his wand another precise flick and suddenly there was a silver dining platter floating gently to the ground. As soon as the platter touched the floor, almost all the small creatures in the room started to crowd around it. When the lid slid open, the plate was revealed to be filled with creature feed which started to float a few inches off the plate before swiftly distributing itself to the eager hands of fairies and bowtruckle alike. The creatures making pleased noises as they ate their meals.
“They deserve a reward for helping me out with this. They're er, they're eating it so I'm going to assume I got the right feed for them? I know you explained to me their diets in the past and I even asked Hagrid and Barnaby to make sure I grabbed the right one but even then I was still scared I went and mucked it up. S-sorry I'm just blabbering now aren't I? ” Will laughed nervously as he struggled to keep his composure relaxed.
Eileen just looked at him adoringly though. She was touched to know that Will had listened to what she said about bowtruckles and fairy diets. Hell, he even remembered the whole damn conversation and went as far as double checking with Hagrid to make sure he got it right!
God, she could feel how sore her cheeks were getting from how wide she was smiling right now. But she could complain about how stupidly cheesy this all was later on, in the privacy of her dorm room with her face maybe buried in her pillow as she replayed the night's events all over again on loop.
Right now, right now she was stupidly in love with her boyfriend because she's an idiot and her heart felt like bursting from joy. And right now she would very much like to kiss her boyfriend stupid.
Will looked at Eileen only to find her looking at him with those golden eyes he grew to love so much. Eyes that reminded him of the sun that, at times felt like they were gonna scorch him alive with that intense stare of hers but right now, felt more like a warm caress upon his skin and for all his charm and skillful words, he could not help but grow bashful at the knowledge that a girl like her was looking at him with so much love. And if his heart started beating faster and his cheeks grew flush then that was his secret to keep.
He grabbed for her hand once more and she let him guide her up the stairs of this strange platform. And in the faint darkness of the library, Eileen ludicrously wondered to herself if Will could see the faint red glow of her own cheeks as she felt his sweaty fractal covered palm against her calloused one.
As the two made their way towards the middle of the floor, Will took both of Eileen's hands in his and held them firmly as he gave her a small smile that told her a thousand secrets.
"You made this Valentine's ball perfect for everyone, even for the likes of grumpy old Filch and pinched-faced Pince."Will started off until Eileen decided to speak up in typical smartass fashion.
"Technically you could say we both did seeing as how we cheesily went behind the others back to save the Ball in an attempt to give the other the best night of their lives but please, continue."
Will gave her a disbelieving look at her interruption in which Eileen just laughed as her lover struggled to fight down a smile and keep their already sweaty palms clasped to one another.
"As I was saying, you made this night perfect for everyone, even when no one asked you to. And I wanted to do something for you in return. Can't have my own girlfriend outdoing me anyway."
"Outdoing you? Will Scarborough, are you saying this was a contest between us?" Eileen asked, exasperated.
"Of course not, because if it was then I would have obviously won and you would have obviously lost. Which you hate and today is a day of love. I mean, c'mon Elly I built you a whole damn classic fairytale romance with nothing but books and paper in a library that is guarded by a crazy librarian who hates people using her library with the help of the creatures you love so much. Without another person's assistance might I add! And no, Headmaster Dumbledore does not count because he merely stalled you so I could do the finishing touches, but I digress."
Will finished as Eileen fought to contain her laughter at his mini rant.
"Okay okay, we need to be serious right now. This is my serious face."
"I thought that was your dork face-
"Merlin's beard Elly, will you let a man speak? If you interrupted me this much when I first confessed to you at the shore of the black lake we would have been caught by the teaching staff before I could get a word out!"
And it was then that Eileen finally bursted out laughing and clutched her stomach as Will smiled down at her on how silly she was being.
He couldn't help but feel a wave of pride to know he was one of the few that could make her laugh like this.
Eileen let out a new guffaw of laughter as Will grasped her by the shoulders. Trying to steady her and make her stop laughing.
"Just- hold still. I'm being very serious right now. I am about to be a huge romantic so we are going to be serious. What I am about to say is serious" Will said as he craned Eileen's face to look at him as she finally ceased giggling. Sensing Will's sudden change of mood.
"These past few months have not been easy for you. They haven't been easy for me either because they weren't easy for you. And it hurts me to know you are hurting and all I can do is to hold you and hope you can feel my love. That you know that my love for you is always there. And that you are free to take it just as I am free to take yours. That you can trust in me like a lifelong friend just as I trust you, and have faith in me that I will come back like a sailor at sea does to his family and his wife after every little row we have no matter how silly or bad it was."
"I am grateful that you trust me enough to hand me your heart and have faith I will not break it or wander off with it as I hand mine to you and hope for the same thing. I am grateful I can make you laugh like no one else can and you are comfortable enough to be vulnerable around me just as much as I can be vulnerable around you."
"I thought I knew what love was but then I met you. I am so, so glad I met you Eileen, my love. My beloved. My trusted friend. And I know sometimes you question if you are worthy of being loved, if you are worthy of my love, and sometimes I wonder if I am worthy of yours as well. But I think- I think we should stop questioning if we are good enough for the other and just focus on being enough for each other instead. Love isn’t built on doubt after all, it’s built on trust and faith. Because at the end of the day that is what I want. To be with you and to continue to grow as a person because of you. And at the end of all that, I say- Happy Valentine's day, my love."
Will finished with tears in his eyes he was desperately trying to hold back his own tears only to find Eileen holding back tears of her own. He moved his hand to wipe them away, not wanting to see her sad but she merely grabbed his palm and pulled him into a kiss. And as Eileen claimed his lips she could only hope he got the message loud and clear.
I love you too.
When they both finally pulled apart for air, they pressed their foreheads together and smiled sweetly as tears of joy streamed down both their cheeks and held each other close. Tucked safely away from the prying eyes of all save for the small creatures that still hung around the room but were smart enough to give them their privacy.
When they finally opened their eyes to look at the other, green eyes met gold ones that were filled with such love and understanding that only they would truly know.
"Before we end the night, I have one more surprise up my sleeve."
"Another one? Haven't we had enough surprises in one night Will?"
"Trust me, I think you'll like this one." He said confidently and Eileen took his word for it.
" As you may or may not know, we are most definitely the best power couple in this school. And don't you think Hogwarts best power couple deserve to have their own love story written down for the ages? So why not have our own storybook?"
Will brought out his wand and with a wordless spell, a book suddenly materialized right between them.
It was a leatherbound book and was expertly crafted. It was a gorgeous shade of teal with various roses of pinks and reds decorating the edges of the cover and two interconnected golden hearts in the middle with what looked like an actual key hole in the space where the two hearts met at their feet. With a golden chained necklace wrapped around the book with a heart shaped key on the end of it.
"It's beautiful Will." Eileen breathed out softly. Still mesmerized at how well crafted the book was.
"Only the best for my lady." He said as he gave her his most charming smile which only made the smile on Eileen's face grow even bigger as she let out a small chuckle.
"So, what's it about? Wait no, let me guess… It's about a curse breaking witch who had a strong connection with animals and made a living by breaking curses who one day meets this charming sorcerer.
They don't get along at first but they keep running into each other over and over again and eventually team up to stop some ancient evil."
"And have a classic romance story along the way." Will added with a smirk.
"And end up becoming each other's future despite everything that was thrown their way. Because they knew the moment they met each other a second time, that it was fate." Eileen finished with a smile.
"I think that's a story I can read over and over again." Eileen said as she cradled the book gently and caressed the cover. Feeling the soft leather beneath her fingers and admiring just how much love was put into its pages.
"With you being a bookworm and a sappy romantic? Definitely. The key will allow you to open it so that way you can read it whenever you want. You can even wear the key like a necklace so that way the story will always be with you."
"Tch, and you call me the sappy romantic when you went and did all of this?" Eileen said teasingly.
Will just gave her a pouty face which made her laugh and to which he quickly joined in.
"It's perfect, this entire night has been perfect. Thank you Will."
"What do you say we end this night with a dance?" Will said as he offered her his hand one final time.
She felt herself smirk and grabbed his hand without hesitation.
"I couldn't think of a better way Mr. Scarborough."
As Will led them both to the middle of the library floor, this time it was Eileen who brought out her wand and with a gesture of her hand the instruments at the corner of the room started playing a song for slow dancing and the couple both positioned their hands on their partner's body and proceeded to dance. The bowtruckles and fairies, seeing the humans swaying softly to the music decided to follow them as well and all partnered up. Doing their best to copy Will and Eileen as they danced the night away.
And as Eileen rested her head against her boyfriend's chest and listened to the soft beating of his heart. For the first time in forever, Eileen looked forward to the future and hoped that Will was included in every step of the way. Because there was no one else she'd want by her side to take on the world than Will Scarborough.
And just for the night, the universe was merciful on Eileen Ryder and her lover Will Scarborough. And she smiled.
For even if it was just one night. No matter how short their love story would be. Eileen knew she would rather love Will no matter how short of a period of time that would be, than not love him at all.
And just for this night.
It was enough.