Nervous ramblings, continued.

[Autumn McLoughlin]

He did something totally unexpected, something Autumn would have never thought would happen. He kissed her. For a second after their lips met she didn't do anything, but then get kissed him back, smiling a little into the kiss. When his lips left hers the smile was still on her face. She grinned up at him, her cheeks flushed. She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him close to her. He felt so right for her. Nothing felt out of place when it came to him.

She moved away again, her hand still holding his. Autumn looked at him in the eyes, her smile not faltering. Her grin turned mischievous. "So, does this mean we're...you know? Dating?" She didn't want to rush things. She really liked spending all of this time with Beau. She felt that this was some of the most meaningful and fulfilling time she had spend in a long time. She didn't want to mess it up at all.

[Beau Hopkins]

Beau smiled, but this smile was less shy and embarassed. It was a little playful, and mostly just showed how happy he was at that moment. Sure, they were in Zonko's, a wierd place for a couple's first kiss to take place, but the details flew by the wayside. Beau couldn't believe he had just done that, or even have the courage to do that. Her grin was also a bit mischevious and he leaned down slightly, pulling her a little closer. When she moved away again, though, he wasn't dissapointed. Blissful, certainly, but not dissapointed too much. He didn't want to rush into things, as he was still a little nervous.

' So, does this mean we're... you know? Dating? ' Beau quirked his head to the side slightly, still gazing at Autumn as he answered, " I was... kind of hoping. If that's what you want of course. " He was still doubting himself, why he didn't know exactly, but he wanted to double check that this really was what she wanted right now.

[Autumn McLoughlin]

She listened to him and couldn't help but let her grin get bigger. Her hand squeezed his hand a little tighter as she watched him. He was so...amazing. Beau wasn't like any other boy she'd met. He made her want to do insane things, much more insane then her usual insanity. She got back on her tippy-toes and kissed him thing time, prolonging the sweet little kiss for a few seconds. "Thats exactly what I want," She whispered to him. She kissed his cheek again, feeling totally happy.

She got moved away again, still grinning. Her eyes finally broke away from him. "I think we should get the shopping done before we forget and have to go back to school." Her eyes danced with the thought of them trying to buy his father a present from Hogwarts. They idea was ludicrious. "So, what doe he like? Muggle stuff? Trick Teacups? My dad likes those. Uses them when his brother comes over and he always falls for it," She said nodding. "My uncle doesn't have all of his potions in a row."

[Beau Hopkins]

Another kiss, another small blush that rose to the Hufflepuff's face. He couldn't help it, having Autumn that close to him was more than he could have asked for. He smiled into the little kiss, looking down and meeting her gaze as she whispered something to him. His heart skipped a few beats and continued rolling along at top speed. He couldn't believe his luck... at all... He also couldn't believe that she wanted it to. " So... " He paused, his smile increasing to that of a playful grin. " Officially official? " He asked with a teasing tone as she kissed his cheek again. He sighed inwardly.

Beau bit the inside of his cheek lightly as she moved away from him and finally began to scan the shelves. The Hufflepuff did the same, agreeing that it would probably be a good idea to get the shopping done while they had time. " Alright.. Well, he likes wierd things. Trick stuff, gag gifts, wierd things like that. " Beau let out a small laugh at the girl's story, thinking her father would probably enjoy a gift like that. His eyes continued to scan, though, wondering if he could get him the biting teacups as well as something else. " What about hiccuping sweets? " Beau reached up and grabbed a package with his free hand and reading the back of the label.

" Says 'ere that the person who eats the candy will have hiccups for an hour. " He laughed at the thought of his dad having hiccups for a continuous amount of time.

[Autumn McLoughlin]

"Officially Official." She nodded, gleefully. She felt amazing, no better than amazing. She felt like she could do anything. The second she got back to school she had to write both of her sisters, telling them everything as she promised. They wanted no detail left out. But those could wait. If she had her way this day would never end and she and Beau could hang out all the time never having to do anything else. As they walked along she lay her head on she shoulder. They stopped for Beau to pick something up. Autumn read the label with him. "Sounds pretty funny. I would buy those and put them surreptitiously where he could find them." She gave Beau and nod and a wink, grinning her most mischievous grin.

As the looked around her eyes fell on the biting teacups. There were so many colors she didn't know which one looked the nicest. "What are his favorite colors?" She asked, picking up a green and pink one delicately, trying not to get bitten by the teacup. "Might have to get my Da one. He could use one. I'm thinking this green and pink one is just the color he needs."

[Beau Hopkins]

It had a ring to it, he had to admit. Just the thought of being ' official ' with Autumn was enough to make Beau grin. They were official for all the world to see. He didn't realize how much he wanted it to happen until it did. He was finally emerging from his shy little shell, at least with Autumn anyway. Everyone else could wait, because he was going to be busy enough with Autumn. He didn't mind in the slightest though, turning and kissing the top of the girl's head lightly as she leaned against his shoulder. He felt content, and hoped she did too.

Snickering at the idea, Beau kept the box of hiccuping sweets as they continued on to the biting tea cups. " I think I'll get him both the sweets and the teacups, just for a gag. " He said, browsing the different types of tea cups and the various colors they came in. " I think red and blue. " He mentioned once he heard her question about his dad's favorite color. " Green and pink? Sounds like a right fun tea cup. " He said with a laugh, his eyes scanning the various ones before falling on a specific blue one with red accents. It was nice, and he knew his father wouldn't suspect a thing.

[Autumn McLoughlin]

Standing there with Beau felt different then before. Since they were now a couple things were felt different. Even though they'd only been a couple for a few minutes being with Beau felt different, better. She snuggled next to him as they walked in the store. When he kissed the top of her head she grinned, knowing she didn't need to look at him to see his expression. She could feel it. With a happy sigh she wrapped her arm around his waist, almost anchoing herself to him.

She nodded as he looked at the tea cups. "Since we're on the topic of colors, what is your favorite color?" She turned her head to look at his. Even though they'd spent every waking hour of the last week together she still didn't know this detail. Her blue eyes looked into his, her lips curling into another smile. "Mine is pink. Very unlike me." She smirked after saying thing. She wasn't the type of girl who you'd think would like pink. She was more of a green or a blue girl. But if you went into her room you'd find that almost every surface had something or is pink.

[Beau Hopkins]

Beau's gaze dropped from the many gag toys and looked over to Autumn whos had just fastened her arm around his waist. He smile a bit as he released his hand from hers and put it around her shoulders, casual like. He wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, and really didn't want to mess anything up, but it felt comfortable and it felt like the right thing. He thought about her question as he slowly started looking back at the tea cups and grabbed the one he had in mind, albeit very carefully.

" I dunno. I've always liked darker, earthier colors. Blue, green. That sort of thing. " He replied honestly with a partial shrug of his shoulders. Upon hearing that Autumn's favorite color was pink, Beau grinned slightly. He wouldn't have figured her to be a pink person, but then again he supposed there were many things he didn't know about her yet. All in good time. " Well, I think pink is an... alright color. For a girl. " He said teasingly. Beau wasn't exactly partial to pink, it was okay, as he said, but he didn't really like it too much. " Ready to check out? " He asked, the hiccuping sweets and the biting teacup in hand.

[Autumn McLoughlin]

Autumn made a mental note when he spoke about her favorite colors as it may come in handy later. "You seem like someone who'd like blue." Her arm tightened around his waist as the walked along towards the checkout counter. She nodded as he asked if they were ready to check out. They made their way over to the counter, having to find their way around some little third years. "I swear, they're smaller every year." Her smiled brightened as they finally got to the checkout counter.

She put her items on the counter. The witch smiled brightly at her and tallied up the total. "1 Galleon and 2 sickles." The witch grinned again as Autumn pulled out a nicely sized bag of money. She pulled out the right amount and gave it to the witch. The witch put her purchases in a bag and gave them to Autumn. She stowed them in her own bag and stepped to the side, giving Beau some room to purchase his items.

[Beau Hopkins]

Beau nodded his head, smiling in an amused manner as she said that he sounded like someone who would like blue. He was a nature kind of guy, and it was consequence of that the fact that he liked the colors of nature as well. He gave her shoulders a light squeeze as they maneuvered their way to the checkout counter where they were greeted by a nice smiling witch behind the register. " Hm? " He mumbled, not catching what Autumn meant by her statement. Looking over, he caught sighte of a group of younger students they had just walked around. Beau laughed, agreeing with her. " Or maybe it's just that we're getting older? " He offered up, thinking both would probably make sense.

Beau's eyes wandered off as Autumn paid for her purchases, he was still looking at several other kinds of joke candy and gag gifts. The options were endless, but he knew his dad would appreciate the tea cup and the candy. Once his Ravenclaw companion was done, Beau moved towards the counter and set his things down. He retrieved the specific amount of money that he needed and gave it to the woman in exchange for a bag full of his purchases. He was glad that was over with, but... " So, what now? " He asked, turning back to Autumn.

[Autumn McLoughlin]

A smile broke out on her face when he said that they were getting older. She really never thought about how she was aging. She felt so young and yet at the end of this year she'd be taking her OWLS then going on to start her NEWTS classes. This brought a somewhat bittersweet grin to her face. As she thought about this she felt older, more mature. Her eyes went over to Beau, feeling very content. "We are getting older aren't we?" Her mind floated away to the future for a second, a future with Beau in it. She quickly dismissed that thought, telling herself they had time to see how things worked out.

After he finished paying for his items he asked her what she wanted to do. She stood there for a second, thinking of the things Hogsmeade offered. "How about The Three Broomsticks? I could use a butterbeer!" Her hand went back down to his, entwining her fingers with his. A small smile appeared as they started to walk out of the store. "Do you need to stop anywhere else first?" She really wanted to just talk to Beau somewhere that people wouldn't bother them. The looks she was getting from other classmates, though nice, were making her feel nervous.

[Beau Hopkins]

' We are getting older aren't we? ' Beau nodded his head, a nostalgic smile on his face as he thought about years past. Good years, for the most part. He didn't mind getting older, though. " Yes, we are. For better or for worse. " He said with a soft laugh as looked back over to the small group of third years. That had been a fairly easy year for Beau, although he didn't have many friends other than Ellie and a couple of second years. It was a fun time, though, he remembered that rather clearly.

The Hufflepuff gave a quick look around the place for the easiest route out and started walking in that direction, Autumn's hand in his. He liked the feeling of his fingers laces with hers. It felt comfortable and it was good to have her close. " Butterbeer sounds excellent. " He said, finding the idea a good one. As the exited the shop, he took a quick look around High Street and finally looked back to Autumn, shaking his head. " Nah, I don't think so. You? " He asked, thinking that if she needed anything else they might as well stop before they went into the Three Broomsticks for drinks.

[Autumn McLoughlin]

She nodded, agreeing with what he said. They were getting older for better or for worse. Her hand tightened around his. They walked out of Zonkos, looking around to see who was out there. No one she even remotely wanted to speak to. They turned and started off towards The Three Broomsticks, hand in hand. As they walked along people did double takes, watching them and whispering as they walked by. This only made Autumn want to get to the Three Broomsticks faster. She wasn't embarrassed about being with Beau, quite the contrary, she was embarrassed that someone like him would ever want to be with her.


"Have you noticed people staring?" She asked him quietly, leaning close to him. Her eyes went over to a group of Hufflepuff girls that looked younger then them. They were shooting daggers at Autumn. She looked away quickly, trying to hide a slight grin on her face. "Oh gosh! The girls to your left are shooting daggers at me!" Even though it was rude she couldn't hide the tiny bit of pride in her voice. These girls were jealous of her because of her boyfriend.

[Beau Hopkins]

Again, Beau was rather oblivious to the looks he and Autumn were getting. He hummed a song he had been learning to play in his guitar as they walked along, giving her hand a small squeeze as he smiled down to her. A butterbeer really did sound good at that moment, especially with the coldness of the snow starting to seep in through his jacket and shoes. He swung his bag to and fro a bit hapharzardly as he walked, a childish move, but still fun all the same.

" Staring? " He repeated, clueless about what she was talking about. Was his hair sticking up wierdly like it did sometimes? Was something on his shirt? He ran his fingers through his hair quickly and looked down to his jacket to see nothing. Looking back over to Autumn, he finally noticed what it was she was talking about. " Oh. " He said with a laugh, feeling embarassed but not knowing why he felt that way. " Are you sure? " He asked, wondering why the girls would be glaring at Autumn. Did they not like her? Beau really couldn't see a reason not to like the Ravenclaw girl, but maybe something had happened?

[Autumn McLoughlin]

Autumn stole another peek at the girls who were now deep in conversation about something. She looked back at Beau, a small glint in her eyes. "They're totally jealous of me." She nodded sweetly as they approached the door. "I have the hottest boyfriend in Hogwarts. No, the world." Her smile was true and pure. They were almost to the door, away from prying eyes but Autumn stopped them. She turned so she was facing him. "We've only known each other for a week but I can already tell how lucky I am." She kissed him lightly again, her hand still holding his.

When the kiss broke she was blushing. Everything about him made her happy. His eyes, his adorable grin, everything. She felt so safe and cared for around him. She didn't need to act girly to get him to like her. They met when she was covered in mud, all dirty an gross and he still liked her for it. He was special.