Dark, Twisted and Time Turned

Chapter 34: A 12 Carat Distraction

February 14 snuck up to them. Being locked in the castle everyday, with barely any variation apart from weekends, days began to blur together until Hermione had forgotten the date. So she had woken up, exhausted still, clad her robes and grabbed her quills and began class for the week. She, along with just about everyone else, hated Monday, and realizing she had forgotten it was Valentine's had made her hate that particular Monday even more.

"Good morning Hermione!" Matilda smiles, tying a pink bow up in her hair. "Happy Valentines!" Hermione froze on her way out the door.

"What?" Tilly's smile drops, looking at her incredulously.

"It's Valentine's Day! Merlin, did you not realize?"

"No I didn't realize!" Hermione exclaims, rushing back into their dorm. "Salazar, I don't have anything for Abraxas, I don't know what I'm wearing-!"

"You don't need to dress up, Hermione. Just because it's a dress-down day doesn't mean you need to be all fancy. And I'm sure Abraxas won't care if you have no gift for him."

"I care." She replies, refiling through her trunk until she finds a deep red skirt, high waist, just past her knees with a matching jacket,  and a white blouse, high collared and short sleeved.

"Borrow my gloves, they'll look fantastic with that." Araminta Meliflua suddenly chips in, having been previously wrestling to get curlers out of her hair. She pulls a cream coloured pair of gloves from her drawer. "Silk, so don't stain them." Hermione puts on her shoes first, elegant and simple Mary Jane's, before wearing the gloves.

"Isn't Abraxas coming back from Rome today?" Phyllis asks, coming out of their bathroom. "Wear that charm bracelet of yours, Hermione. I'm sure he has another for you. Does this blue look good on me?" She swings her skirts. Hermione hands her a black ribbon for her hair.

"Looks excellent." She hooks the beautiful Malfoy necklace around her neck, and Matilda wrestles her necklace from Parvus's cage.

"If you're quick, you can express order something through the floo. They've opened it up since owls are delayed lately." Chyllie adds. Her nose was unfortunately still purple in colour but healing well. Hermione, acting on Chyllie's advice, takes out a catalogue from the herb shop Abraxas likes so much. She glances through until she finds a specialty blend. Dittany, Fluxweed, and jewelweed, which he ought to like. She tips a bit of floo into her ink pot and fills out the order form, and throws it into the fire, which glows green and swallows the paper. "There you are doll, now hurry off now. Your sweetheart must be back by now." Hermione smiles at Chyllie, before darting out the door.

~*~

"Hermione!" Abraxas calls, and she stops in the hallway, and turns as he quickly makes his way to her, not caring of the curious people around them. She pulls him into a secret passage, a smile splitting her face at his return.

"I missed you." She murmurs, wrapping her arms around his neck as he embraced her. "Did you enjoy your trip?"

"I certainly tried. My, aren't you all dolled up today. You look swell. And my trip wasn't all work of course, I got you another souvenier." He tells her, and pulls a charm from his pocket. She attaches the silver colosseum to the bracelet she'd put on earlier.

"Honestly, Abraxas, you're spending a fortune on me." He shrugs.

"You're worth it. Besides, the colosseum only cost me five galleons, it was on sale at a bargain shop. They didn't know it was real silver. And then, well, because it was so cheap I thought to myself, 'Hermione wouldn't want something cheap. She likes good, expensive gifts.'" He says jokingly, and pulls a wrapped package from his pocket.

"Abraxas I swear, if that's expensive I'm not taking it." She warns, and he continues talking.

"So when I had some time off, I went up to the finest Italian jeweller, and found a little something for you."

"Oh my god, not an Italian jeweller. They're so expensive."

"Relax, it didn't cost me that much. I also payed a visit to another shop and found you something else, since I know for a fact those gloves aren't yours." He remarks.

"Please, please please tell me it cost no more than a hundred." She pleads, and he gives her a sheepish grin.

"Afraid I can't do that, 'Mione. Are you opening it or am I?" She reaches out and takes the package, pulling at the ribbon to examine its contents. Two pairs of beautiful white gloves, folded one on top of the other, and a tiny box a-top both of those.

"Your bottom pair there are white lambskin leather, lined with a silk and cashmere blend. The top pair are just plain silk. Open up the box, love. I think you'll like it." With trembling fingers, she lifts the lid from the box, and nearly drops it.

"Abraxas, I am going to kill you." She says in a small voice. "My god, its massive, its so beautiful. No, I can't possibly take it."

"My father has given me our ceremonial dagger. Both of my parents have given you our heirloom necklace-" He reaches out to cup the emerald around her neck. "They knew long before I did that I'd be doing this, so here I am doing it. I'm offering 12 carats, inlaid in a platinum band. And one man, standing before the most magnificent woman in the world. Hermione Luna Dagworth-Granger," he takes both her hands in his, "if I stare at you for even just a moment, I can think of a thousand things I will forever love about you. The amount of love I have for you... it is so great I will never find a way to describe it to you. Every waking moment is filled with you, every peaceful dream is filled with you. My heart is filled with you. I am far from perfect. There will always be something broken inside me, yet you accept me completely. If you accept this ring you must understand that I will forever be yours, and I beg you,  please, to have me." His thumb brushes away a tear from her cheek. "Come now, love, let me see that smile."

She laughs, eyes dripping onto her cheeks, and she beams at him. "I will have you, Abraxas." He tenderly kisses her forehead, his eyes growing damp as well as he slides the ring onto her finger.

"I understand I have not courted you for very long, but I cannot think of anyone I would rather have. And with the war coming closer... I didn't want to waste anytime."

"Well, now I feel quite lousy for only getting you herb blends." She laughs, and he kisses her again.

"I have a much better gift." They hold each other candidly for a moment, before Abraxas breaks the silence. "It was 100 000 Galleons."

"Abraxas!"

~*~

A/N

Hi! Yes, the ring was actually priced out to be 100 000 Galleons! In dollar form it was $480 000, and I used a realistic converter to price it out in wizarding money (the Malfoy's are worth about 1.6 Billion dollars). Also, almost every character in this book is a real character that would technically be in Hogwarts around this time, and every potion and potion ingredient is also all real, as well as most towns. By real, I mean I've spent hours researching on Fandom Wiki or Pottermore. Though i highly doubt anyone would take the time to look up the things I reference, I still like to make sure I'm not just making up a bunch of details. If you'd like to know more about anything in my story, make sure to comment! I'll always be sure to respond.

XOXO

QueenOfClass