<Eddie> will you still love me? <Paul>

[Catrine Jude]

Catrine stood in the entrance hall, looking at the closed doors of the great hall. Her hands were closed around her backpack and her owl's cage, Tristan fluttering about inside and wanting to be sent to the owlry. She couldn't believe that she was late for the feast...again. Second year in a row she'd missed the sorting.

Oh, well. It didn't really matter--not like she wanted to watch a pile of snot-nosed first years be inducted into the school, anyway. Cat would run into them in the halls soon enough. The only reason she'd want to be in that hall was--

She heard a noise on the stairs, her dark curly hair bouncing around her cheeks as she turned her head.

[ejp]

Eddie was happy to be back to school, his Summers were not always the best. He would constantly think about classes, and the ones he enjoyed spending the most time with. Mostly Cat, and her smile, that drove him crazy. For the most part, his wisdom tempered her bad attitude, and they got on brilliantly. He smiled as he walked up the stairs, and spied out just the person he had been thinking of. He walked up to her, in his fresh Ravenclaw uniform, something he wore as often as he could.

"Why hello there?" He smiled, his brilliant blue eyes flashing in the light of the morning sun. "And were we waiting on someone?" He placed his hand into hers and pulled her into a light hug, not wanting to get either of them a detention should a Professor be watching. He sighed in her ear, before letting her go.

[Catrine Jude]

Cat smiled brightly as she saw Edde come towards her. They'd been dating since their third year, when somehow he'd seen past the exterior she presented to the other worthless members of the student body and miraculously fallen in love with her. And Cat thanked Merlin every day that he had...Eddie was the one person in the world that she really truly cared for.

She put down her luggage when he approached her, delighting in the smile she gave him. "We?" she repeated innocently, looking up at him. Squeezing his hand when he took hers, Cat woudln't pretend that she was alright with the light hug they exchanged after spending the summer writing to each other. Looking around, her clear blue eyes scanned the hall for professors before she pulled him back towards her and rose on her tip-toes to gently kiss him. "I've missed you, babe," she said softly, her lips just parting from his. Cat's mouth turned up in a smile, and she tucked her hair behind her ear as she looked up at Ed.

[ejp]

Eddie blushed at the kiss, like he did sometimes when they were in public. He was different with her, when they were all alone, but sometimes he had a hard time showing her how he felt when people were around. She had always been the aggressor when it came to things such as that. She had made the first move then, and she did so now. He laughed alittle and looked at her.

"I missed you something awful," he said, his voice low so not to be over heard as he looked around. "You do not even know. Last summer was the first we did not go on holiday together. It seemed like you were so far away!" He smiled as he said it, but his eyes touched hers and said much different things. Like, for instance, how he had missed her more than he would miss air, should air decide to leave him too.

He brushed his lips across her cheek, which was a huge move from him when they were not in some of the hidden rooms they had found together over the years. He knew it would mean something to her, for her to know he did feel for her. He smiled, the blue of his eyes glinting as his vision filled with her.

"Anyway, it is always good to see you back, even if you have those same colored robes on." He made the joke they had shared for a long time, knowing they did not hold to the House Grudges that their houses usually did try to keep going. Their shared love took all that, passed it by, and went on, even if they were alone in this way of thinking.

[Catrine Jude]

She smiled at his light laugh. Cat had forgotten over the summer how embarassed he got when they were in public. Not letting go of his hand, she listened to his quiet words. "I missed you too. Every day..." Cat didn't look around, though. If someone wanted to overhear them, fine. She wouldn't let any other kids drive them apart...or professors, for that matter. Even if they were caught, going through the doors of the hall now would mean having everyone stare at them as they went to the feast early, and then sitting at their respective tables and watching each other from across the hall. "I'm never going to listen to my father again. The trip to Holland was ridiculous and pointless. Ambassadors to wizardkind, indeed," she wrinkled her nose.

Cat turned her cheek towards Eddie when he brushed his lips over it, wishing dearly that they weren't standing in the entrance hall. It was a huge step for him, making any sort of public display of affection towards her where people might see. Sure, they held hands and spent every moment that they could together, but Eddie was too reserved for much more. And she didn't mind...it just meant that Cat was the one who unearthed empty broom closets between classes and pulled his clever little Ravenclaw self inside. She looked up at him, her blue eyes soft. Cat squeezed his hand again, smiling and thinking quietly that he'd missed her just as much as she'd missed him. Being away for the holiday, she'd turned around countless times during too many days to say something to him, and discovered devastatingly that he wasn't there.

Smirking, Cat plucked at his blue-accented robes. "Green is all around a better color," she complained. "Blue is just too...depressing." It was a joke they'd had for a long time, a good-natured rivalry about their respective houses. Not half as bad as Slytherin and Gryffindor....Cat couldn't stand those prats. She honestly thought that Ravenclaws and Slytherins were meant to get along...intelligence and cunning were only one step apart.

Catrine nudged her owl cage with her foot. "So...I missed you on the train," she said, making a face. "Dad didn't want me taking it there, he side-alonged to Hogsmeade..." Cat had thrown a fit when her dad had told her that she wouldn't be taking the train. It had seemed like the summer apart from Eddie had been enough....another few hours might have killed her. But here she stood...good thing he had the foresight to skip the feast. Actually... "Why are you out of the feast, love? Worried?" she smiled impishly, amused that he might have risked getting caught by a prefect to stay out and wait for her.

(OOC: it's a wonder you put up with me, lol. specially when I post mid-party.)

[ejp]

Eddie watched her speak, his bright blue eyes sparkling with her in his vision, a little smile playing a dance across his lips. He could listen to her speak for days as her voice was music to him, fed his very being with the song of her voice. He nodded to her, blinking to the owl cage as she moved it slightly. He looked back to her, his eyes watching hers as he smiled.

"What do you think I am doing out here? I am waiting for you, of course. It has been far too long since I got to see you, and every second longer was more than too much for me. I read each of your posts a thousand times between owls. I hope you know this?" He nudged her softly with his shoulder, his own hands forcing themselves into his pockets to keep from doing something that he should do do in public. He had always been the reserved one in the relationship, a little more quiet than his love, but also more the one to plan out their little meetings away from others. And it was during these alone meetings that Edward excelled at doing things for her. He was a die-hard romantic at heart, and all his time was consumed with her when these moods struck him. He tilted his head and watched her, wishing they were alone at the very moment, he would do the things his heart told him he needed to do.

The two were closer now than they were last year, and that had been closer than the year before. Time doing nothing but making Eddie even more fond of Cat, his love for her undying in his chest as he knew it would be soon that he would be able to show his love for her in ways he had only just imagined recently. It took the whole of a Summer apart for him to know that his love for her was stronger than he could ever had imagined. He placed his shoulder against her, looking down to her, his smile moving slowly as he spoke.

"This past Summer was the hardest I have ever spent, Cat." He whispered to her, not bothering to glance around this time. He did not care for the moment who might over hear, it had been so long since they were together, that for a moment his heart led, and he leaned in, his lips searching for hers in a swift movement. This was something Eddie had never done in public before, but he was no longer in control of his emotions, he could not bare to be apart from her, and knew that he wanted her to know this.

Even his own thoughts were drowned out as he kissed her, reaching out after having removed his hand from his pocket to hold her small waist. He smiled as he kissed, because nothing in the world made him any happier than having this girl in his life. It filled him in way work, and study, and even magic could not. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that his love for her would go on until the end of time. And he hoped she knew this too.

[Catrine Jude]

Warmth filled her when she saw him smiling, and knew that Eddie was smiling for her. Cat wanted to reach up and kiss him again, but even she knew that snogging in the entrance hall on the first day back to school wasn't a good idea. Better to save it for later, when they were truly alone. Tristan fluttered in his cage, and she glanced down at him. Sometime soon, she'd need to take care of her belongings...and hope that she could catch her prefect leading the first years to the common room and get the new password.

"I understand you completely," she murmured, hair bouncing as she nodded. Cat grinned at him. "You do realize that I carried yours around with me," she said. And she had, slipping his letters into books and pockets and eventually just her wallet as she traveled abroad. She'd read them over and over again...imagining that he was there with her, saying the things he'd written out loud to her. Cat still had them, in her trunk, pressed between the pages of her Latin book.

Catrine looked up as Eddie moved closer to her, brow creasing slightly in confusion. He almost never did this when there was a chance that people could see him. Standing still as he pressed his shoulder against her, she was pleasantly surprised when he whispered to her and leaned in to kiss her lips. Cat slid her hands over his chest to pull him closer as he kissed her, loving the way he was holding her. Just the fact that Eddie had taken the initiative told her how much he'd missed her...reassured her that he'd missed her just as much as she'd missed him. Cat felt him smile into the kiss and smiled with him. So long as Eddie was with her, she never had a reason to do anything but smile.

"I'm so sorry, baby," she whispered softly, blue eyes meeting his. "I don't think we've ever been apart for so long. I don't think I'm going to let it happen again any time soon, either." Cat let her fingers drift through his hair, not wanting to let go of him yet. She meant what she said, too. So long as Eddie wanted her, Cat wasn't going to leave his side. Her father could figure out his own life--next summer, Cat would be seventeen, and she'd be able to make her own decisions. And most of those would involve--if not directly, then be influenced heavily by--Eddie.

[ejp]

Eddie smiled at her soft words, knowing that it only reflected what was in his own heart. He could not tempt fate for another kiss, but his soul was dying for nothing but that very thing. He would make plans for them this Summer, something for just the two of them. He was after all of age, and knew she would soon be too. Then no one could really tell them what to do. His parents might try, but this would not matter so much. After all, he would be able to write anywhere he wanted, regardless of how useless they thought his hobby was. He reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a soft green book, one he had been writing in all Summer long. It was the one he made for her. Bound the parchment with his own hands, dyed the color a soft shade of green, and even enclosed a little book mark with their names on it. The book was filled with his own hand writing, and the title on the cover was...

A Love Story

"It is a little something I wrote for you, when we were away. It might contain some things that not happened yet, but in my heart everything has already happened. So, I thought you might want to hide this away for when we are stuck in separate common rooms at night." He blushed slightly, knowing that some of the details in the book were a little more than they had already done together, but maybe, just maybe... soon. He sighed and touched her cheek as he took a step back, with a quick glance around.

He knew that they should get to the Fest, but he could not make his feet start moving any further away from her. It was hard enough to deal with the miles they had already spent apart. He knew she would feel this same way, but he had to be the level headed one sometimes, and get her to do the right thing. It was his place in the relationship as the calm and collected one. Something he found amazing as it contrasted so well with her do or die attitude. An attitude he loved dearly. She made him feel so alive. And this was something not even his writing could do for him, all the time. He smiled, his blue eyes sparkling in the morning light.

Time never changed Eddie much, looking much the same as he always had from his younger years, but his smile had changed. It seemed to bloom on his face, cherry red lips parting slightly, as his love was well evident in his eyes. The smile always touched the baby blue hue of his eyes, and when he saw her, he seemed to glow with the emotions he knew they shared. One day, these emotions would take the a step further, and he prayed this day would come soon. He held a deep ache for her, wanting to be with her, spend all his time with her. Although he knew this was not possible for the moment, he held a hope that their future would be as one. Wherever he went, he wanted Cat by his side. Where ever her heart took her, he wanted to know he was safe inside it. Always reminding her of him, always remembering her.

Eddie Paul was nothing if not romantic. But this had not always been the case, he was sheltered as a youth, and this love for Cat had just made him blossom into the man he was becoming. Nothing in his life did this to him, but for Cat. Sometimes when he would day dream of their future, he would see her charging off in some wild adventure, doing the unexplainable as she would sometimes do, while he followed chronicling the event as they unfolded. Even in his fantasies, he could not imagine her not there. A part of him, she had become, always held her in his heart. And would until the day he died... a long time in his future.

He smoothed out the front of his uniform and coughed lightly. He tried to make his blush disappear, but it would only glow even more as he locked his gaze on hers. Wishing they had more time, and knowing that they would find a way to have more time soon. There was always that secret place they often visited, spending hours just talking, or looking at each other. Sometimes falling asleep after a good laugh, sometimes touching, sweet innocent little touches, that he really wanted to become more. When she was ready, he would show her his love. And he thought she was ready, but it was something they never had the chance to discuss. He imagined it would happen, without words, just something almost as random as the kiss he had just given her.

And he loved her more then, and knew she loved him. It was something he would never hide from anyone. Always willing to share his life with her. He nodded and looked to the Great Hall, wondering if he should talk her into going in with him. Even though the tables would separate them, he would not be able to take his eyes off of her. Such as it was every year, since the first. Even then, he loved her, but did not know her as well as he could. Now, these things had changed, he loved her even more, and knew her well. Life was good, love was sweet, and Cat was his everything.

[Catrine Jude]

Catrine brightened when Eddie held out a small green-bound book, looking up at him when he began to explain what it was. "You shouldn't have done this," she breathed, carefully opening the cover and looking at the handwritten pages. Cat loved Eddie's handwriting...she traced her fingers over the first page, seeing their names repeat throughout the start of the story. Not tucking it away like he said, Cat held onto the little book, smiling up at the person she loved the most in the world. "Thank you," she said sincerely. Cat leaned up on her toes and kissed the side of his mouth, unable to stop smiling. She wanted nothing more than to go to her common room right now and read the entire thing...but that would mean leaving Eddie, and she wasn't ready to do that yet.

She saw him blush and her smile widened. Cat blushed a little bit too, feeling color creep onto the tips of her ears. Looking up at Eddie, Cat tried to memorize his face. had he changed at all over the summer? They'd been together for so long--since their first year...even before that--that they'd watched each other grow up. She noticed that he was just a little bit taller, that his eyes were a warmer blue than she remembered. Eddie still looked very much like his old pictures, though...still the same baby face, the same full kissable lips. Catrine looked up at him and wondered if she'd changed at all while she'd been abroad.

Well, it woudln't happen this summer. After her birthday, Cat would be able to decide what she was doing with her own life. And she didn't want to do anything without Eddie...so long as he wanted her too. They could both go somewhere that they were interested in...perhaps to America, Eddie could visit the big printing companies in New York. Catrine didn't really care where they went, so long as they were together. She also didn't want to be clingy, though. If Eddie decided that he wanted to do something with her...then they would. Cat would cry herself to sleep for the duration of the summer holidays if he decided they'd spend them seperately, but if that was what he wanted...she couldn't do too much about it.

She saw him nod and look towards the great hall, something like panic flooding her for a moment. They were just reunited...did he want to be seperated so quickly? But then Catrine took a breath and calmed down instantly. It was just Eddie...she'd gotten lucky that he'd waited for her in the hall. Looking morosely towards the closed doors, she twisted her mouth to the side in speculation and muttered, "Do you think we could catch our prefects later? I mean...if we knocked, would they let us in?"

Since Eddie was the lucky one who had to answer a riddle rather than give a password, it was really only Cat that had to be concerned about it. And she was upset about forcing them apart early. Thinking about it, she could pretty much guess who the Slytherin prefect for the year was. It woulnd't be hard to get her to open the door...after all, Cat knew where she kept her Quidditch Corner foldouts. If she got locked out of the tower tonight, she could always threaten to destroy them. That'd sure get the door opened.

She tugged the edge of her Hogwarts skirt, suddenly aware that she hadn't bothered straightening her clothes after the walk from the gates and the side-along before that. Running a hand through her short, curly brown hair she smiled self-consciously. "I missed you so much," she said quietly. "Do we have to go to the feast?" her voice was nearly whining, but she didn't care. Slipping her hand into Eddie's, she twined her fingers with his and tugged him towards the stairs. "Come on...I'm sure that there's more empty classrooms than usual. No one will miss us until later." Cat smiled, just leaving her luggage where it stood. This was Hogwarts, after all. The elves could take care of it.

[ejp]

Eddie glanced to the Great Hall once again as she tugged him, but his lips curled into his boyish smile, knowing he would do almost anything Cat had ever asked of him. He had once tried to catch a frog for her, when they were in the third year, just because she wanted to pet it. Leaping into the Lake after the creature, Eddie ended up needing rescued when the Giant Squid had decided to play a game of tag with him, tossing him high above the glistening water of the lake, only to catch him and do it over and over. If it had not been for Cat's quick skills with a spell, Eddie might still be up in that game. He could only recall one time when he had been more embarrassed in front of her.

This had been the last day of school, before they parted for the long Summer. The first they had ever spent alone, without the other one to hold close. Eddie had cried, bitter tears dropping from his eyes as he felt his only true love fading away to be miles apart from him. He could not hold them in as she held him in her arms, in that last embrace. Her temper was the only thing keeping another group of Slytherins from saying something about it. He shivered in her arms that day, and made her shoulder wet with his silent sobs. It had broke her heart to see him like that, and although it embarrassed him, he had shared more of his soul and love with her on that day than anyone in his life. And he never said a word to her after his first sentence. That had been 'You carry my heart with you now Cat, use it well' And so she had, and so she still did.

These thought went through his mind in a flash as he looked back to her, allowing her to led him through the stairway and up to the first floor classrooms. He no longer cared about getting caught with her, his mind slowly drifted to other things, things not shared as of yet, but soon may be. His heart leaped at the mere thought. If he soft smile made him weak, that might kill him. But he knew he would die happy, and in love. And then he would wait for her to join him. Eddie Paul would go no where without his Cat, ever again.

"Hurry up before someone sees," was the only words he spoke as he followed closely behind. Knowing his sudden impulsiveness would make her smile. He had never done much out of bounds, and it seemed that when he did, it was always Cat's idea. He would be able to figure out the riddle later than allowed him into his common room. This was not even on his mind as he watched her walk in front of him, his hands reaching to touch hers. Holding her hand, he went, willingly. Knowing he needed her more than he needed air.

[Catrine Jude]

She looked imploringly up at Eddie when he turned to look at the great hall again, begging with her eyes. If they did what they were supposed to, it would mean hours spent apart...scant minutes together after the long torturous months of the summer, only to be separated again too soon. And after the feast, they'd have to go to their houses and stay there. Not like it was the middle of the year and they could sneak out...at least for the first night, she had to stay with her roommates. They'd want to hear about her trip...but Cat didn't want to talk to anyone but Eddie right now. If they went to the feast late, she'd have to tell them why she was late. And 'I was standing with Eddie in the entrance hall and thinking about how much I loved him' just didn't seem like a good excuse.

A huge smile spread over Cat's face as Eddie followed her. She wasn't surprised by his words, but now that she knew he was coming, she climbed the stairs quickly. Glancing over her shoulder and still smiling at him, she looked quickly to make sure that their professor-less luck was still holding out. Trying the knob on the door at the top of the stairs, she wasn't surprised to find it locked. Cat grabbed her wand out of her pocket and quietly said, "Alohomora!"

Once they got into a place where they wouldn't be caught, Cat would be out of her element. It was Eddie who took control when they were away from prying eyes...Cat was just the one who had to get them there. His shyness in front of other people was one of the things Cat loved about him though. Making Eddie blush was a wonderful hobby.

"Eddie...I love you," Cat said, pulling him into the room behind her as she got the door open. She turned to face him, not wasting any time in kissing him like she'd wanted to before. At this point, she didn't care if they were caught. But then, Eddie was usually the one of the two of them that managed to keep her out of the Headmaster's office.

[ejp]

Of all the things in his life, his pressure from his parents, his desire to do something with his writing, his secret pain that he told no one about, and had for years now... only three words in his life had meant more than the three she said to him then. As he watched her, raced after her, joined her in the room together at last... three words were all it took to melt Eddie's heart, making him smile, and almost cry at the same time. Simple words, if one would look at them, no longer than a pinky finger, typed out, written out, or even said out loud. But within these three small words, Eddie found his life, his future, his past, and everything that ever meant anything to him. His eyes locked on hers as they entered the empty room. She had said, I love you. And his passion took over.

Eddie took her in his arms, swinging her around suddenly, and pushed her up against the door they had just entered. His arms folded around her, and his lips found hers, as he pressed himself against her to feel as close as he possible could. In his short life, Eddie never loved anyone as much as he did his Cat, the girl who made him feel so good about life and everything in it. He wanted her to feel as good as her words made him feel, and since they were alone, he would do nothing but that.

His tongue pushed out to touch her lips, running over them softly, then parting her lips to find her tongue, as his hands grabbed her soft hair, puling her into him. He no longer cared about school, classes, punishment, all Eddie cared about was his Cat, and the love they would soon share....

~TBC... Elsewhere... You know where to find me.~