Joyful Times

[Felicity Hjort]

Glowing that the older woman had all ready known, knowing Drew had to have at least told her a little bit otherwise there was little chance he'd been allowed to spend so much time with her. It would only make sense that he spoke about her a little. Felicity liked her House, though sometimes in the past she'd wished she was a Ravenclaw so she could spend even more time with Drew. Just sitting in the Gryffindor common room she had often thought of how nice it would've been to share a sofa with him, just lounging by the fire.

And her face went crimson red when Drew told his Aunt about the last game. "Barely, it was a a close call. Jeremy's really good as a seeker, he was awfully close, it was just the luck of the draw. I mean, he really did very well."

[Drew Thornton]

"He really is pretty good," Drew agreed with a sorry smile. It was wasted talent on a kid who hated the game. The only reason Jeremy had even signed up was because Drew had convinced him the alternates never played... that and his little girlfriend Hannah had been on the team. With the girl gone and the fact that he had been put in as seeker, Jeremy was probably going to steer as far as he could from the pitch.

"I think he only tried so hard so the game would end quickly," Drew added with a small laugh. His Aunt nodded her head knowingly. She was aware that her youngest nephew didn't follow the game as religiously as the rest of the family.

"So I'm sure that quidditch isn't your only talent," Aunt Abigail said. Though Drew had mentioned quite a lot about the girl, Abigail had seen the boy's red ears and thought it better not to disclose how much he had said. "Aside from baking, that is. The biscuits are divine."

[Felicity Hjort]

Giggling at Drew's suggestion, Felicity's nose scrunched slightly as it had a tendency to do when she found something slightly hard to believe but still humorous. His younger cousin had done very well at trying to get the Golden Snitch, there were a few times she had thought he really was going to grab it, being only just out of reach and then the little ball would disappear for a bit of time before she and Jeremy were neck and neck or one ahead of the other trying to grab it.

"I don't doubt he wanted it to end quickly, but I don't think he was only trying so hard because of that. I mean, your House won the Quidditch Cup as is, but I think he really was just trying to get a better advantage at having a higher score for you guys. I mean, winning the last game of the season would've been something on top of getting the cup, you know." Actually, it would've been amazing had they won the game, though Felicity was happy she'd done so well for her own team even if they didn't come in first that year. There was always the next, and she knew how much Drew had wanted the Quidditch Cup for his last year at Hogwarts anyway. But she did give his team quite a fight in the game.

But turning her attention quickly back to his Aunt when she spoke, Felicity's face turned an even deeper shade of red, if that was possible. The blonde didn't much like compliments, but she was baring them well from his Aunt. Hearing Drew give her a compliment made everything possibly bad flitter away, but from anyone else, it just didn't sound right.

"Not really. I mean, I'm all right at athletics, but I don't really have much talent elsewhere."

[Drew Thornton]

Drew knew Felicity was giving Jeremy too much credit. He loved his younger cousin a ton, but knew the kid couldn't stand the competition and had no desire to forward the House's standing for the cup. Drew knew there had to be a little bit of some sort of sportsmanship in the little dude, or else the kid wouldn't have even bothered, but there wasn't really much drive to do well in the game.

I'm all right at athletics, but I don't really have much talent elsewhere, Felicity said and Drew gulped hard, finding a few things wrong with that statement. He felt his ears heat up again and he scratched the back of his neck to hide his embarassment over what he was thinking of. The action got a small response from his aunt and Drew dropped his hand back to his side as he heard the woman lightly clear her throat. Gentlemen were not supposed to scratch.

"I'm sure you're being modest, my dear," Aunt Abigail answered with a small smile, finding the quality to be a sign of class in the young lady.

"I suppose you have plans for after Hogwarts?" she asked. Of course, Drew had mentioned she wanted to work with the big animals in Africa, but Aunt Abigail wanted to hear it from the girl herself.

[Felicity Hjort]

Obliviousness took reign again in Felicity's life when she missed Drew's thoughts and mindset, not to mention the colouring of his ears. Instead she was more focused on his Aunt, as she was supposed to be. All in all, Felicity was quite fascinated with the older woman all ready, even though they hadn't spoken very much in the few short moments they'd known one another, and most of the conversation was focused on the blonde.

Shaking her head when his Aunt said she was being modest, Felicity was pretty sure she wasn't being. While she was well talented with potions and herbology, she knew it was only because her mum taught her so much about both during her schooling. Other than sports, she didn't really have a lick of talent.

"Yes ma'am," she answered quickly with a smile, setting her tea down. "I'm hoping for acceptance into a research facility in Kenya, Africa to study Erumpents for a couple of years while Drew finishes his Auror training. That way I can get in some good studying time, learn about and work with amazing creatures, and that way I'll have experience under me when Drew's finished, so I'll have a better idea of exactly what I want to do and I can work things out..." she trailed off, realizing she'd been rambling about future plans with Drew, as well as with her own course of action in the far future.

[Drew Thornton]

Abigail paid no notice of the girl's assumption that the two would still be together after three years. Perhaps they would and perhaps they wouldn't. Either way, the older woman knew young loves always believed it would never end.

"That sounds lovely," Drew's aunt answered, noting how the girl perked up as she spoke of her plans with the Erumpents... or perhaps it was as she spoke of the future with Drew? maybe there was something to be concerned about after all.

[Felicity Hjort]

"I'm hoping it really is," Felicity answered simply. Maybe Erumpents wouldn't be her exact dream, but currently they were what she wanted to work with. Drew being in London was the only problem, or maybe it was her being in Kenya that was the problem. But it didn't matter, she and Drew had it worked out, even before she was leaving to go. They would spend as many weekends together as possible, and when they both had weekends off together, if possible, they were going to meet somewhere between the two of them. Italy seemed to be the best option at the time being, but there were so many of them. And so many of them were considered romantic by all means by many. Honestly, she was looking forward to some of those trips, they could stay in a hotel and they could do the tourist bit and look in the museums, take walks, shop, and spend a lot of time together.

"Miss Becket? May I ask what dream you pursued after leaving Hogwarts?"

[Drew Thornton]

"Oh, my dear!" Aunt Abigail answered with a small laugh. "Dreams were not for young ladies of breeding in my day, I'm sorry to say. My sister was the bold one, going off to America as soon as she finished her education at Hogwarts. I was the proper one, staying behind, presented to society, doing charity work, and waiting for a suitable gentleman to marry."

Drew noticed an unusual edge to his aunt's voice, almost bitter, possibly jealous of her younger sister. The Ravenclaw knew it wasn't anything to be concerned about and smirked slightly into his tea as his aunt continued.

"I would have liked to write, and I actually submitted a few articles to the Prophet, though I would have prefered to become an actual novelist. But never actually persued it.," she continued. "It wasn't seen as a proper and I'm sorry to say that even as a Gryffindor, I wasn't brave enough to break from the social expectations."

"Hey, you never married," Drew pointed out, having hear this story a number of times and knowing the right things to say.

"Well said, Andrew," his aunt responded. "Oh, I had my share of suiters, but not a one who caught my fancy. I was not about to settle for a dolt just to catch a husband. But again, my sister was the lucky one." Aunt Abigail cast a smile at her nephew. She held no actual jealousy towards her younger sister, but still found it ironic that she broke the rules and still ended up exactly where she wanted to be. Granted, she had married an American, but Beatrice had still come out on top.

[Felicity Hjort]

Most of what the woman said was disconnected in the blonde's ears as she listened. All Felicity could make heads or tails of was that Drew's Aunt was telling Felicity of their family status in society, something Felicity's family didn't have on either the muggle or magical end. That and his Aunt was proper by not following a dream she may have had, only pointing out that Felicity certainly was not being proper in pursuing her dream of working with creatures. Actually, Drew's Aunt just kept saying how wrong Felicity was for Drew.

Felicity wasn't in the same social circle, she wasn't proper enough by not staying home and waiting for suitors to come to her (though in her two years at Hogwarts she'd had plenty of suitors, but she only pursued one). There was Michael, Lucas, Caleb, Drew, and a couple others Felicity just wasn't interested in. Drew was the only one she really liked, well, liked enough to make it be known she liked him.

Nervous with the course of the conversation, Felicity gently started to caress her hands, fingering the little silver band on her third finger on her right hand. Right where Drew had placed it, and it hadn't come off. She hadn't even bothered to take it to a jeweler to have it resized so she didn't have to worry about a piece of string wrapped around the band. It was quite obvious to the blonde she had made a mistake in choosing the wrong question to ask.

"It isn't too late to pursue a dream," she offered quietly, mostly to herself. If the older woman had written a few articles, could she not still try to break into what she really wanted to do? A dream didn't ever have to die.

[Drew Thornton]

Aunt Abigal didn't notice anything wrong, but Drew caught a shift in Felicity's mood. He wasn't exactly sure what had caused it, but still poked her lightly in the knee with one finger under the table, hoping to catch her eye and give her a smile. She had said pretty much what the rest of the family had been saying for years now and he expected her to give the same answer.

"Oh, I suppose I'm too old and set in my ways," she answered with a light laugh, knowing she really didn't have the right to complain unless she wanted to do something about it. "But you're absolutely correct. It isn't too late if it were really as important to me as I belived it to be. If it's important to you, you don't let anyone stop you, right?"

[Felicity Hjort]

Feeling the small poke, Felicity quickly glanced up at Drew, a questioning look on her face. She knew it wasn't proper to be touching under the table, and if his Aunt was about being proper, well, she really didn't want to mess anything up. The blonde all ready felt like she had messed things up because of her question and how the older woman had answered. Bring proper was important, having some sort of status was important, and not going off from home was important. Felicity was really drowning on this meeting with his family.

Focusing back on what his Aunt said, Felicity nodded before taking a long glance at Drew. What if what was important to you, and what you wanted, needed the consent of another? Didn't that have to stop you until they had an answer, and all you could do was pray they wanted just what you wanted? What Felicity wanted was Drew, and she knew he wanted to be with her now and hopefully someday, but she could only pray that he still wanted that in a number of years to come.

"If it's not as important as you thought, then it isn't really your dream."

[Drew Thornton]

Drew gave a short laugh and sat back in his chair. "She's got a point, Aunt Abigail," he told the older woman with a smirk before turning to Felicity. "We keep telling her to stop griping about it and that she should submit some of her stuff, but she never does."

"Hush, Andrew," the woman answered, looking down her nose and smirking back at him but the twinkle in her eye told the boy she wasn't mad. "And I do not have any stuff save for what is in the cushions. But perhaps I just will send some of my writings in, prove that I have some of that Gryffindor courage after all."

[Felicity Hjort]

Playing with the bit of food on her plate, Felicity tried to tell herself to stop being so unrightly uncomfortable. She was making herself that way, making it so his Aunt wouldn't like him. Not on purpose, but she couldn't keep her mouth shut for anything it seemed. The wrong question, being rude with implying it wasn't possibly her dream if she gave it up so easily. Really, she wasn't very good at making impressions that were good on people. In fact, now she was more than dreading meeting his parents when that time came, if he let her. After ruining it with his Aunt, who was to say he wouldn't ever let her meet his parents?

Though, when she heard the woman say she might send something in, she perked a little, no longer looking like a wilted flower. Maybe his Aunt's writing really was good, who was to say except those who'd seen it? And sure there'd be someone that liked it. After all, the woman was living in the muggle area, she could submit writings to the London Post as well as the Daily Prophet if she chose to. Reach everyone she could.

[Drew Thornton]

Drew continued smirking at his Aunt's musings, a little surprised the woman had actually suggested she might go back to writing. Perhaps she actually would this time.

"Aunt Abigail's got some great stories from when she was little.. growing up during the rise of Grindelwald, being at school when the Chamber of Secrets was opened..." Drew said, trying to encourage the woman and at the same time take some of the pressure off of Felicity. His girlfriend had gotten quiet and while Drew wasn't sure why, he understood nerves over meeting someone's family.

[Felicity Hjort]

Nodding, Felicity looked at Drew with confusion on her face. Who was Grindelwald and why was he important to have a story about? And what was he rising from? At least the blonde had heard of the Chamber of Secrets before, a legend that flew around the school about an opening somewhere that took you down further past the bottom of the lake and there was supposed to be a huge snake located somewhere within the chamber. Of course, it was merely legend, so how his Aunt had a story about it, well, she knew it must have been made of fiction.

And at that moment, she wondered how Drew's gift was doing. After all, it'd been at least an hour since they'd sat down to breakfast and tea. Hopefully the House Elf was taking good care of it, for it wouldn't be nice for Drew to open his gift and see a mess rather than what was really there. And what was really there was something absolutely fantastic and perfect for her boyfriend. He'd once told her he wanted one, and she finally had a chance to get it for him. Something he had said he wanted.