1 PM Meeting

(OOC: I’m going off our idea of them announcing their call to the meeting to each other, and thus knowing they’re matched)

While her lunch break had felt relatively tedious, Ana rested easy knowing that she only had one more day left of these meetings at the Ministry. There were a vast number of students that she had been required to deal with, but at least they tended to be less volatile than that adults were. Upon returning to her office with a few minutes to spare before her one o’clock meeting, Ana was shocked to find that someone was actually early to their meeting.

“Good morning, Mrs. Levski.” A bright voice commented, a smile lighting the woman’s face in addition to her pleasant greeting. Ana stared at the brunette for a moment before offering a hand for the woman to take.

“Miss Swan, I gather.” Ana replied lightly, astounded at the geniality of this woman. No one had been this pleased to arrive at their meeting. No one. Not even the blonde who married the Ivanov. Something was off. It simply made no sense.

As Mrs. Levski turned to unlock the office door, Audriana shifted her weight, glancing over her shoulder at least twice. Eyebrow raised in question, Ana opened the door and gestured for Audriana to head inside before her. “Are you feeling alright, Miss Swan?” She asked after following the brunette inside.

“Quite, yes. Just ready to get this started,” Audriana shrugged, passing another smile to the Ministry Employee.

Entirely unsure what to do with herself, Ana settled behind the desk and suggested that they give the man a few minutes to arrive before starting any questions. Audriana nodded and leaned back in her chair. She honestly couldn’t believe her own life just then. She’d gotten Gavin back only a few weeks ago, and here he was: her match. So, even if she hadn’t run into him again, he would’ve been hers in some sense. The real question would’ve been where she stood with Robin – if she hadn’t gone with Gavin in New York, would things have changed? Would they have made some deal to keep from having to participate in the law? Audriana had heard of such things happening.

She shook that question away; if she was correct (and, judging by her observations at the Ivanov wedding, she was very right), the blonde was rather perfect for Robin. She didn’t really take any nonsense from him, even when she was clearly so panicked about everything going on that day. Audriana had a feeling that while no one was getting off easy, everything was going to work out as it should.

Under normal circumstances Gavin would have liked to wait at least a few more months before proposing, as tradition might suggest. But nothing about this was normal, allowing the Gryffindor to feel genuinely excited as he considered the idea that in less than a month he would be married to Audriana Swan, the one who had almost gotten away.

Since New York the pair had been 'dating', though they had never had the labeling conversation. It had become an unspoken fact that Gavin was hers and she was Gavin's which they had advertised to the world in a series of lunch, movie, and wedding dates on eachothers arm.

To say the least, it was a strange experience. On one hand he knew Audriana better than almost anyone - everything from her mannerisms to posture was as familiar to him as if they hadn't spent a day apart. But on the other hand there was so much he needed to learn again. After a few dates Audriana had confided in Gavin about the particularities of her job, leaving him equally shocked and impressed. There was almost ten years worth of stories and history to tell.

Gavin had always been in love with Gryffindor Audriana who was the youngest Seeker in school and always had her nose stuck in a book. Now he was finally meeting adult Audriana, the almost-bounty-hunter who lived in a castle and had a pixie cut. She was different but it was a good different. An interesting, exciting, lovable, completely captivating kind of different. It had only been a few months but it appeared that Gavin Blackmoor had already fallen in love with his new old companion.

They had planned to arrive at the meeting separately - it made no sense to meet before when Gavin was already working in the building. Any paperwork that had been on his agenda sat untouched in the files on his desk as the Gryffindor had made the rounds of the office to socialize with his coworkers. His excitement radiated joy and many employees glared at the chatty man from their cubicles.

At lunch, he had told his tale to Irene who offered him congratulations but not the enthusiasm that Gavin was looking for. The older woman seemed vaguely amused by his plan but offered no words of advice one way or another, allowing him to glow with the perkiness that resembled a teenage girl who had just been asked to the ball by the Head Boy.

Then it was 1 PM.

Gavin left his cubicle and made his way to the office where he had been instructed the meeting would be held. He arrived exactly on the hour, not wanting to arrive early and appear overeager. But when Gavin let himself in he saw that his girlfriend did not have the same concern. There she was just sitting across from the 'dreaded' Ana Levski, casually awaiting the news of their future together.

An altogether too-pleased smile came across Gavin's lips. He reached into his pocket and felt for a small box that he had purchased that morning on the way in to work.

A quiver trembled in his stomach - the first one since he had seen the letter addressed from the Ministry. It was strange that he knew exactly what he wanted to do but Ana's watchful eyes suddenly made him nervous. This wasn't nearly as private or meaningful as he had imagined it in his head.. but he needed to, no, he wanted to, because this did mean something. Even after only a couple months.

Gavin fully stepped into the room, announcing his presence by greeting Ana with, "Good morning, Mrs. Levski." and a genuinely warm smile. Then without another look at the woman behind the desk, Gavin moved beside Audriana's chair and lowered himself down to one knee. From his pocket he removed a small box and opened it to reveal an antique ring nestled in fluff. Gavin looked up and caught her eyes, letting the rest of the room disappear into the background as he held her gaze.

"When I saw you in New York I knew I could never let you go again. If anything makes me believe in fate or destiny or whatever you want to call it, it's that we found each other. You're.. it. And so -" Gavin paused momentarily, a soft expression of hope on his face "- Audriana Swan, will you marry me?"

Audriana looked up as the door opened, smile plastered on her face and completely oblivious to Ana’s greeting in return for Gavin’s. The woman’s smile didn’t reach her eyes as she spoke, though, so Audriana chose to pretend no one was around besides Gavin. After they received their letters the night before, she had hardly been able to get to sleep. After wondering after him for nearly a decade, she couldn’t quite believe that it was officially real. He was hers.

Not that she wasn’t seeing him anyway. They hadn’t stated specifically what they were, in certain terms, but she was sure that Gavin realized that she considered herself his. In an attempt to cover her near-giddy smile, Aud bit her lip as he approached. When he sank to the ground, though, and Ana sat up to stare at the both of them, Audriana sat up straighter.

He didn’t have to do this. He knew he didn’t. And yet, instead of accepting fate and treating it as such, Gavin had chosen to be his fairly spontaneous and entirely Gryffindor self. He seemed determined to make their story one that involved more love than Ministry influence. It didn’t even take a thought to reply – Ana Levski or otherwise. If he’d asked a week ago, she would have had the same response, and it didn’t come from knowing they had been pushed into something. It came from six years of learning to love him, a year of hating herself for avoiding him, and eight years of wishing she had said something. Of re-reading the letters she had never sent.

“Of course, Gavin.” Audriana beamed, reaching down to hold his face in her hands as she kissed him. “I always wondered,” she added against his lips, “if you’d actually ask me… Captain.”

Though she added the name as a bit of a joke, she had to wonder if it would end up being her endearment for him. She never really was the type to use them, or want to, before him. Perhaps he would change that about her. The childish part of her mind pointed out that their names really were lovely together. She nearly laughed as she pulled away, but managed to refrain as she looked down at the box in his hand. Although she had been aware of the presence of a ring box, she hadn’t bothered looking at it. When she took the moment to stare down at it, Audriana suddenly wondered when he had actually gotten it, where it was from. He hadn’t been planning it anyway, had he? Surely he didn’t want to-

Well. He had to, didn’t he, to be so very enthusiastic about it all?

It was a foreign concept to her, this sitting back and realizing that someone loved her. Of telling herself that he did. In a sudden desire to ensure that he knew that this wasn’t her accepting because she had to, she covered the box with her hand so he couldn’t be focused on giving it to her instead of her words. “Gavin, I- See, we haven’t exactly said it before, but I feel like, after what happened in our seventh year, I need to be more… vocal about things. So I don’t make any more stupid mistakes like thinking distancing myself made sense. Gav, I-... I love you... I did in school, even. I’ll explain what happened that last year later, but I needed you to hear it.”

Clearly, she didn’t care a whit about Ana sitting there and trying to piece together what was going on. How the two in front of her knew each other and knew to expect each other. The woman had to have gotten the gist by now. Neither of them were putting up a fight, and Audriana had a feeling the only thing she would fight about in regards to Gavin would be if the Ministry changed their minds and put her with someone else. Or took him away. She needed him, even if she hadn’t realized it after Natalia died. She had been desperate to keep herself safe, not realizing that if she were right, she would have been hurting him at the same time.

Seventh-year Audriana hadn’t understood that she could be right in her assumption that Gavin had actually been flirting with her all of those years. What did she know about love, right? Aside from the familial, unconditional love she received from Natalia. Her parents hadn’t given it to her, so why would someone like Gavin want to? Now, she was starting to understand that love wasn’t always the unconditional, almost obligatory sort that one found in families. It came from years of deciding that flaws weren’t annoying, they were charming. That when it rained, it poured, and that could be way more fun than just a few drops on the window. But only if it meant that the pair of them went running through the rain together.

“I love you.” She murmured again, nudging his nose with hers.


(ooc: I almost went on with Ana's part, but it's like 1 am so. Also, I hope you liked me ONCE references )

She said yes.

Even though there was no legal choice in this matter, the proposal made everything feel much more real, confirming that they both wanted this - law or no law. Gavin was shorter than her on his knees and he rose slightly to meet her lips when she leaned down to kiss him, sealing her response. She murmured against his lips and he smiled, their mutual movement separating them for a moment.

Captain. The term had been used sarcastically in school after he had won their little competition. It was a label of his victory and for that reason Gavin had never quite understood why Audriana seemed to take so much pleasure in using it. Especially since their reunion, she had addressed him as such on more than one occasion. The name had lost most of it's sarcasm and was becoming increasingly endearing to him. Every time she called him Captain it was a little reminder of the past - of why he had first fallen for her.

Gavin was about to stand when she spoke again, this time more hesitantly. I love you. The admission was completely unexpected but the Gryffindor could immediately sense that it was true. Maybe he had known it already, expressed through little looks across the dinner table or playful pushes when he made bad jokes. Gavin didn't need an 'I love you' from Audriana because it was always there, every time they talked, laughed, or kissed. Still, those three little words did have their significance and he felt a rush of affection at her bravery for saying them first.

Audriana always had been the true Gryffindor out of the pair.

Their foreheads touched and their noses exchanged an Eskimo kiss. She repeated the sentiment and Gavin smiled softly, murmuring back, his voice suddenly lower as if to keep his words a secret between the two of them. "I love you too. Always have, always will." They rested with their foreheads touching for another fraction of a second until Gavin snuck in for another quick kiss that was more innocent and delicate than the one before. He then stood up and moved to the chair next to Audriana.

Once seated, Gavin looked to Ana, finally seeming to remember that there was another person in the room with them. He reached out for Audriana and their hands clasped, hanging in the gap between the chairs. Gavin would have felt slightly apologetic for the blatant displays of affection if he wasn't so absolutely thrilled with, well, everything. "Should we.. start this?" he asked, a bounce in his voice.

Audriana’s breath caught at his reply. Always have, always will. Had she really been right sixth year? She found herself wishing he had said something, but at the same time, she almost felt like their growing up had changed not only themselves but their potential relationship as well. In school, both were so overly competitive and where he had seemed fairly sure of himself, Audriana had been entirely lost when it came to having an idea of who she was.

Smiling into his brief kiss, Audriana sank back into her chair, gazing at him blatantly as he reached for her. The ring caught her attention again as it rested against his hand when he took hold of her own. Gavin spoke again and she looked up with a wide smile; his enthusiasm was massively contagious, aside from her own excitement. Turning her head, she gave Gavin’s hand a squeeze as she offered Ana a smile as well.

Ana, on the other side of the desk, was painfully confused. Sure, it was obvious that the two knew each other and were practically tripping over themselves with how pleased they were about the match. That didn’t mean that she wanted to sit about and watch them act like teenagers. Indeed, she wanted to get the meeting over with just as quickly as the man across from her did. “Yes, of course.” She nodded immediately, glancing briefly at her file before looking back up at the pair of them.

“I daresay you won’t be needing the two weeks provided to get to know each other. That said, you’ve got a month to officially marry and file with the Ministry. Today I’ll need to perform a fertility test on each of you to ensure that you can participate in the law-“

“Wait.” Audriana cut in, sitting up and staring at the older woman. “If-if it comes out negative we can’t-“

“No.”

The Gryffindor’s face fell, unable to look at Gavin for fear of seeing his equally disappointed or worried reaction, should it be there as she expected it would be. The idea that he could have just proposed for nothing frightened her, her hand gripping his more firmly. “Oh,” she replied finally, voice coming out as small as she felt. She had literally no choice in her fate; either it worked or it didn’t. Either she could keep him or one of them would be sent away.

“Should we do that first, and then go over any questions you may have?” Ana asked, breaking through Audriana’s thoughts. The younger woman nodded slowly, standing when Mrs. Levski gestured for her to do so. She refused to release Gavin’s hand, though, as if his holding her would bring good luck.

Ana’s wand passed in front of Audriana’s middle, colors lighting the air between the two women. Finally, they settled, and Ana nodded silently. Aud’s heart sank, expecting the worst from the woman’s refusal to speak. She had begun to pull her hand away from Gavin’s, trying to cut him off immediately – she didn’t want to prolong the ache – but Ana finally spoke.

“You’re fine. You can have children.” Ana almost seemed to take pleasure in the fact that she had worried the two in front of her. Like she enjoyed seeing their panic. Audriana just wanted to hex her for the worry. She would be fine. Good. But would Gavin? Glancing at him sideways, she swallowed and waited for him to stand as well so she could weave her arms around one of his.