i say your name but you're not around [tag; gemma]

Her body leaned back in the chair as her hands pulled her hair up, combing her fingers through the fiery long locks before pulling the strands to rest on her right shoulder. The table was scattered with books of varying subjects, there was parchment resting on the open pages and notes scribbled about them. The heirloom fountain pen she held rested against her full lips as she stared down at her Arithmancy homework. Albany hadn’t figured in doing the actual required homework when her schedule had come into question. The redhead had mountains of work, literally, in front of her. No matter, she had all the classes she wanted and she wouldn’t regret them because she had just a bit more work then she expected.

She was nearly done with most of it but she found that she needed to pause every now and then as not to completely lose her mind. “Thank you.” Her bright green eyes rose with the edges of her full lips as she gave the waitress a smile. A small hand reached out to pick up the hot tea to have a sip, dropping her pen in the ink bottle just at the edge of the table, before she reached for a bridal magazine. Her eyes rose for a moment to look around before the book was flipped opened to the first dog-eared page. She wasn’t sure if her owl had reached Gemma, which worried the Ravenclaw.

It was weird not seeing her across the room in the bed now occupied by someone else. Albany’s days seemed longer now that she had so much time to herself outside of class. The Ravenclaw’s hand rose to ruffle her hair a bit as she flipped the page, pulling the stray strands over her shoulder more. Her hair had significantly grown while away at Spider Island, falling just short of her waistline now. The hot liquid she’d been holding was lifted to her lips for a sip as a page edge was turned down. Those tablecloths were nice. It was strange how even down to the silverware even the smallest detail was an important piece of the day, the day she anticipated more than any other she could think of.

Her dress had already been picked, the photo owled home to her mother so it could be passed along to her cousin. Having a family so big always made her feel at ease, she knew that it was impossible to feel alone. There were so many Regan’s running about it was hard to really. Soon, Gemma would be her family. As she stared down at the napkin choices her eyes drifted to her Herbology homework and she gave a soft sigh. It was nearly done almost with the DADA work next to it. The seventh year lifted her hand to let her fingertips massage her tired eyes. There was so much to think about with school that thinking of wedding plans seemed impossible.

She hadn’t told her friends yet, that she was engaged, but she would. She was still reeling from the yes she thought wouldn’t come. She longed to look into the dark green gaze of her fiancée. Albany missed the feel of her touch, the warmth of her smile. She wanted to kiss her, just kiss Gemma, once more, even if it was all they did. The redhead missed other things about the former Ravenclaw as well, but mostly she missed her. Gemma’s presence, her wisdom and that smile that made the seventh years her flutter wildly was missed greatly.  Letters weren’t the same, they were nice, but nowhere close to the intimacy that was exchanged face to face.

Her hand ran over her face a bit, eyes still closed, as she heard someone approach. Thinking it the waitress, she spoke softly “You forgot to bring the honey…” She sighed a bit “…and crackers please…” She gave a smile before her eyes opened, casted down over the pile in front of her preparing to make a choice for what to do next.


@Gemma Whitbeck

Gemma had been looking forward to this weekend for a long time. It had seemed like forever since she had last seen her fiance, too long. She felt like a schoolgirl again, not like the adult everyone expected her to be. Sometimes everything seemed so overwhelming. At the end of a long day of work, all she wanted was for Albany to be waiting for her, but that wasn't their reality. The younger girl had responsibilities and duties of her own. It would be several long months before they could be together in the way that they both desperately wanted. These Hogsmeade weekends were all they would have until the first winter break.

It took her more than a few hours to figure out what to wear. Finally settling on a more casual outfit so as to not be too overdressed, she headed to the Hog's head. She scanned the room, eyes finding her lover in a few seconds. That flaming hair was impossible to hide and Gemma felt her heart rate pick up speed at the sight of Albany studying so diligently. Her fiance looked stunning and it took every ounce of willpower not to run to her. The older girl managed to walk calmly to the table. She almost giggled as Albany spoke without looking up, clearly mistaking her for a member of the wait staff.

"Sorry about the honey," she replied, her French accent almost as pronounced as it had been the first year back at Hogwarts. Working with the French Ambassador's people meant a lot of time conversing in French. "Maybe this will be sweet enough." As Albany looked up, Gemma slid her hand into her lover's hair, craddling the back of her neck as she gave her a deep and passionate kiss. She nipped softly at Albany's lips as she pulled back. "Hello, fiance..." Her voice was a low purr. "I've missed you."

She thought having a nice class schedule would keep her busy and it did, but it also kept her up later because everything needed to be done in a timely fashion. She could not lag behind, not when she had no idea what she wanted to do with her future, she was still so unsure of a career path that it worried her. She would sit down soon and wade through the options, tossing the pros and cons around until she came to a solid decision. Her hand reached out to pick up her pen before he body froze. Her her jumped in her chest as for a moment she forgot to breathe.

Gemma’s voice washed over like the calmest wave and a smile crossed her face. “Gemma..” She looked as Gemma leaned and she melted. Her eyes fell closed then she sighed before her hand rose to cup Gemma’s face. If she had been standing her knees would have gone weak and her fiancé would have been holding her up. She kissed back, her body turning more towards the older girl and nearly forgot where they were. Her eyes didn’t open as Gemma pulled back and her hand rested in the air for a second before falling to rest over her own lips. She could still feel the heat of Gemma’s lips there.

“I missed you, too..” Her voice was soft as her eyes opened and she finally looked at her former schoolmate, her love. Albany pulled the edge of her bottom lip between her teeth as she took in the blonde before her. The seventh year was suddenly awake, shifting to straighten her notes insides the books to close them, making room on the table. “I wasn’t sure I would see you..” She smiled, her head shaking a bit “It good to see you.” The weight on her shoulders had been lifted. All she had wanted since the beginning of term was to see Gemma, talk to her, and kiss her.

“I hope work isn’t too hard. I have…” She looked down at her books, chuckling as she stacked a couple off to the side before her hands rose to play with her hair. The strands lifted before they were released to drop down around her like a well placed curtain. “…a workload of my very own.” Her hands rested on the table, running her fingers along the worn wood beneath them. “It’s weird seeing someone in your bed…like super weird.”

Gemma smiled tenderly at Albany, fingers stroking through her hair. The older girl really was obsessed with her fiance's locks, and took every opportunity to touch and play with it. "My love, wild hypogriffs couldn't keep me from you this weekend," she reassured her. "I've been looking forward to this since our last kiss goodbye." Going from spending just about every waking hour together to only interacting through letters was almost unbearable. She missed the constant contact, missed being able to simply stretch out her hand and Albany would be there. Now, when she reached out in the darkness, there was no one there to reach back. It was incredibly lonely. Having Albany here to touch and kiss was like heaven.

She sat in the chair across from Albany's, her eyes locked on the girl in front of her. "You're getting enough sleep, though?" Gemma was worried about Albany's health, now that she wasn't there to take care of her. "And eating right? You can't keep up your grades if you're exhausted and starving." She reached out to tuck a strand of her hair behind Albany's ear. The former Ravenclaw giggled. "I imagine it would be a little odd," she admitted. "It's weird, not sleeping in a room with a dozen other girls. The amount of time I spend in the shower now is practically decadent."

"Work isn't as hard as I thought it would be," she admitted with a little surge of pride. "Mostly I take notes, transcribe documents, address letter and make sure things get to the proper departments. Also I make a lot of tea, and the occasional cup of coffee for the French visitors. They don't understand the English obsession with what they call 'dirty leaf water.'" She chuckled, watching the waitress did actually come to the table. Gemma ordered a hot butterbeer and a platter of cheese and meats.

She caught sight of the bridal magazine and her smile became a little warmer, her eyes a little hungry as they looked at Albany. "Have you been looking at wedding things?" Her voice was low and warm, her accent getting more pronounced. The thought of their wedding always made her excited and a little terrified, but with Albany here to remind her of exactly what it was she was working towards. It filled her with a kind of desperate heat to think of Albany being hers, officially and permanently. After the confession that had nearly ended them, they were still rebuilding. That Albany wanted to commit to forever made her feel a little more secure.

“I’m glad. IT’s all I’ve been able to think about….well outside of my school work.” IT had been. Seeing Gemma after so much time apart seemed ever important, the closer the day got the more anxious the Ravenclaw got. She couldn’t focus, her thoughts constantly drifting to the older girl. She could cope, too desperate to be close and missing the simplest moments together. “I don’t think it could have gotten here fast enough.” Her laugh was gentle as her head shook, her hair swaying in response.

“Yes, I’m getting proper sleep. I’m sure the naps in the library count for more.” She grinned, sleep had come hard. She couldn’t relax enough to drift peacefully and when she did she tossed and turned until she found herself in the common room. Her mind was still filled with flashes of their last term together. As much as Albany liked to believe that she had grown, that the dome was behind her it wasn’t. She was haunted by her fears of uncertainty. Being back at Hogwarts had been different, things had changed but she still felt the ghost of dome past. “I eat way more than I need to, I promise you that.” Her grades weren’t suffering from her lack of rest and for this the seventh year was grateful. “What I wouldn’t give for a unnecessarily long shower..” The redhead gave a longing sigh. She had never had a bathroom all to herself before and sharing with a dozen other girls didn’t give her much room to enjoy her shower time. “I think that’s the first thing I will do on break…shower until the water goes cold.” A girl could dream.

“I’m glad, you seem happy when you talk about it.” It was clear on Gemma’s face as they sat there that she was enjoying her work. I’m not sure I’m a fan of tea either.” She admitted, having found a taste for coffee when studying had been her life and she needed to keep awake. “But I can see the appeal.” She gave a grin, her gaze drifting to the waitress. “You forgot the honey..” She gave a soft smile before she looked back at Gemma, “When I have it I need tons of honey…I can’t drink it otherwise.” The warm liquid she had been served was still sitting where it had been left as if proving the redhead’s point. “Have you made many friends?” She wanted to ask if she had met some beautiful older woman with whom she was spending way too much time, but thought against it. She was jealous and worried about the things Gemma would be able to do now that she was a part of the adult world.

Green eyes dropped to the magazine and the blush rose hot and deep in her cheeks. She had thought she’d put it away. She was excited to finally have Gemma as hers and to have her forever. “Yes, but, I promise I’ve only done it after studying.” She knew Gemma didn’t want wedding plans to take Albany’s focus. “I was just taking a break…” She looked up as the honey was sat down, “Thank you.” The redhead went about adding the honey to her tea as Gemma’s order was sat before her. “Have you been thinking about it? I mean…I know you’ve been busy…but have you?” She could only hope that it stayed on the older girls mind as much as it had Albany’s.