Work Text:
Their last year. It was their last year at Hogwarts. ln fact, it was their last official day. There was nothing less surreal.
Rishe had been here for so long that it was more of a home than her parents’ mansion had ever been. It felt… wrong to think that she would no longer be a student here. That she would only be able to stare at the school’s silhouette from afar in a few days once she left, unable to step back inside.
She already had a career lined up far away from her parents' watchful gaze—not that it mattered, since she’d been disowned only two weeks prior.
“Rishe, what are you doing?” Arnold asked, standing behind her as Rishe stared out over the castle grounds from the highest tower.
“It’s the last day of school before graduation. I wanted to take it all in,” Rishe answered, taking in a deep breath of air from the early dawn. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Arnold moved to stand beside her, placing his hand atop her own. Staring contentedly at Rishe, he hummed in agreement. “It is.”
They’d come a long way since the day they had first met. When Rishe first met him, she had only considered him a ledge of some sort: a person who, incidentally or on purpose, could provide a shelter or a handhold just by being there. Arnold had confessed to her that he had seen her as not much more than a snake, and Rishe couldn’t blame him.
It was funny because it was ironic how two people who held such little trust for the other could become inseparable in the end.
After her quidditch accident last year, Rishe had been forced to remain in the hospital wing for nearly a week while she recovered from her head wound, though she had been in a coma for a week prior. Apparently, skull fractures took a lot of time to heal properly, even with magic.
But Arnold had been with her every step of the way, barely leaving her side. For that week, his scowl had been her constant companion, all she saw for most mornings and nights.
“You’re an idiot! A prideful, reckless, self-sacrificing, adrenaline chasing fool!” Arnold had growled when she first became fully conscious and truly able to process the world around her.
All she had been able to do was smile and mumble, “I’m glad to see you too,” through parched lips.
“Don’t you dare do something like that ever again. Do you understand me?”
“I promise that—until next school year—I won’t play in any more quidditch tournaments,” Rishe vowed with a “solemn” look.
“You’re impossible.”
“But you love me,” Rishe teased playfully, dragging out the vowels of each word.
Arnold bit his lip, shoulders tensing at her words.
“Arnold?” Rishe asked, concerned that she’d crossed a line.
Taking a deep breath, Arnold looked Rishe directly in the eye. Resolve glimmered in his gaze like ice floating in the ocean as he stated, “Yes. I do.”
Conversations were meant to involve two or more talking, and so it fell to Rishe to give a response: yet, slack-jawed and breath caught in her throat, all Rishe could do was stare. Hyper-aware of her current state, she couldn’t help but note how her heart was beating as fast as a Snitch’s wing mid-flight. She blinked, closed her mouth, opened it again, and finally had to concede: Arnold had defeated her.
“All I ask is that you be more cautious with your health.”
“Arnold…”
“Well, in any case, it wasn’t completely for nothing,” Arnold sighed. He jerked his head towards her bedside table: Rishe followed the motion, and realized that the Quidditch Cup was sitting there. Several bouquets of flowers and sweets had been crammed inside, along with a glass box that appeared to contain:
“Is that… the Snitch?” Without the ability to fly freely, it suddenly seemed rather comical, bouncing around between the four walls that confined it.
“Congratulations, Rishe,” Arnold said dryly. “You might have fractured your skull, but you caught a tiny ball and won yourself an over-glorified goblet.”
At first, pride swelled in her chest at the knowledge that she had won; that she hadn’t let her team down after all and restored honor back to her house. But then when she looked back at Arnold, something akin to guilt twisted a knot in her stomach. It was obvious that he had been rather terrified after her fall. She wondered if he had been beside her the whole week she’d been unconscious. If so, she owed him a rather large apology.
“I’m—”
“No, don’t apologize.” Arnold leaned on his elbow and regarded her with mild exasperation. “It’s hardly going to change anything now.
“You do realize that no one would have been angry with you for not winning the cup, correct? They might have been upset for a few minutes, but you Gryffindors are too short-sighted to hold a grudge.”
“But—”
“Your parents aren’t included here,” Arnold dismissed. “Stop thinking about them. Finally, as I know I won’t be able to stop you from participating in this sport again, just promise me you won’t act as recklessly next year.”
A rather unexplainable mix of emotions overwhelmed her. Rishe’s chest ached in at least four different ways, there was still a slight pounding in the back of her mind, her throat was scratchy, and only a few minutes ago Arnold had just said that he loved her. Clearly, though, he was still very upset at her for being too reckless.
“Why are you crying?” Arnold asked softly, brushing away her tears so gently that it felt like the Sword of Gryffindor had been thrust through her heart. “Does anything hurt?”
“No,” Rishe hiccuped. Arnold said that he loved her. I should say it back, she thought. I should tell him that he’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever met.
Reaching for his hand, she kissed the knuckle of his ring finger, and whispered those very words against his skin.
“Rishe?”
“Arnold, do you know why I think you're noble?” She asked, looking up so she could meet his gaze.
“I...”
“Because you’ve always protected me. Even when we were young and we hated each other, you stayed by my side. You always make time to help those you’re close to no matter how busy you are. You’re always fair, listening to both sides of a problem before finding a solution that everyone agrees on—though sometimes you're a bit too blunt in the delivery.
“You're compassionate, just, hard-working, and the best person I’ve ever met. You are valiant and always stand up for what you believe to be right. You're my guide in the night and my solace in the day. My greatest weakness and my brightest joy. That’s why you're the greatest and the most noble man I’ve ever known.”
“You don’t need to tell me all this.” Arnold breathed, turning his face away from her.
“That response just makes me certain I do.” Rishe beamed.
Arnold turned back to scowl down at her, the tips of his ears red. “I suppose we can both do this,” he said, forcing calm into his voice.
“Huh?”
“You’re reckless but you’re the most courageous person I know. You claim I have always protected you, but you protected and looked after me first, even when all I did was spurn you. You’re loyal to a fault, and I sometimes wish you’d be more careful with that heart of yours. You’re resilient and determined: you always have been, since the first day I knew you. Your kindness is self-evident in all that you do.” Arnold took a breath, and added, “I did hate you, at first. But I always respected you.”
Rishe was red down to her neck, tears streaming down her cheeks faster than before. She squeezed Arnold’s hand tightly in her own. “Arnold…”
“I believe you to be the most beautiful view I’ve ever laid eyes on. Nothing could compare to the grace and warmth you carry. I find you the most perfect woman in this world, and that’s why I love you.”
Without any warning Rishe pushed herself up and out of her cot, wrapping her free arm tightly around Arnold’s neck. The edges of her vision went dark, legs giving out beneath her. Hastily, Arnold hugged her by the waist and set her back down on the cot, squeezing her hand back. “You don’t have to say anything,” he murmured against her ear. “I said you should be more careful with that heart of yours, remember?”
“I love you.” It took her several tries to pry the words from her mouth—she doubted she’d ever spoken anything more true in her life—but the more she said it, the easier it became. “I really love you, Arnold; I love you so much—”
Arnold kissed her. Rishe quickly reciprocated, allowing herself to melt against him completely. Nothing had ever felt more right than that moment where they were finally one.
Rishe let out a muffled yawn, leaning against Arnold to absorb his warmth.
“Tired?” Arnold asked with a small smirk, wrapping his arm loosely around her waist.
“Hard to sleep when you know everything’s about to change. We’re about to start a completely new path filled with new beginnings, what’ll happen if I fail and lose them all?”
“You, failing? That doesn’t sound like you.”
“There’s a difference between school and a real job. The stakes are much higher.”
“Higher than taking 15 classes at once?”
“Of course!” Insulted, Rishe wriggled away from him and hopped up to sit on the window ledge, crossing her arms. “I could lose my job, for one, and then what? It would be more difficult to get a new one, and meanwhile I would still have to buy food and file taxes. I didn’t have to worry about that while in Hogwarts. There were always more chances.”
“Of course there’s always another option.” Arnold replied smoothly, trailing his fingers across the back of her hand.
“And what would that be?” Rishe challenged, turning her face away from him indignantly.
“Be my wife.”
“Huh?!”
When Rishe turned back to look at Arnold, he was already on one knee, reaching up so he could take her left hand with his right. In his free hand, he held a small gold band with a sapphire in its center bordered by two smaller diamonds. It was the same ring they had received as clues during the Triwizard Tournament to help them with their second task, refurbished and with one of the gems replaced since Rishe had tossed the ring in acid to get their clue.
“You said it yourself, this is a path of new beginnings.”
“But-but…”
“We can start them together, just like we always have before. You wouldn’t have to worry about food, money, or working a job you may despise. I’d be at your side every step of the way, and if you decided to walk your own path or work for another, you’d have my full support. Whatever you ask of me I will find a way to provide it as long as it’s within my power.”
Rishe felt warm tears running down her cheeks like gentle streams, yet she couldn’t bring herself to feel ashamed as she nodded–unable to breathe let alone speak.
Arnold smiled up at her, a small thing that seemed to carry the warmth of a thousand suns as he slid the ring onto her left ring finger. “Don’t hold your breath,” he teased.
“I’m not holding it,” Rishe defended, “I’ve simply forgotten how to breathe.”
Arnold let out a huff of laughter at her words. Placing a kiss atop where the ring that now rested on her finger, he whispered the word, “Beautiful,” against her skin, sending a thrill of warmth through her body.
Her heart would explode at this rate!
“Rishe,” Arnold murmured, slowly rising back to his feet, “you can look now.”
When Rishe looked at the ring, she couldn’t help the small gasp that left her lips. It looked even more beautiful up close. When she held it to the light, she couldn’t help but notice that the sapphire was the same beautiful shade as Arnold's eyes. It made her heart ache in a painful, yet welcoming, way.
“Do you have the other ring?” Rishe asked suddenly, shocking Arnold.
“Yes.” Arnold answered, brow furrowed slightly in confusion.
“Can I see it?”
Wordlessly, Arnold pulled out her ring’s twin. An emerald sat in its center rather than a sapphire. There were no diamonds, and she decided that she would amend that as soon as possible, but it would do for the moment.
Carefully taking the ring from his hands, Rishe slid off the ledge, taking a step closer to Arnold. Taking his hand the same way he did hers, Rishe slid the golden band onto his finger before mimicking the kiss to the ring with a whispered, “Perfect.”
A light flush colored Arnold’s cheeks, but he was far more composed than Rishe had been, a look of contentment softening his sharp features. “Unpredictable as ever,” Arnold sighed, squeezing her hand once.
“Is that a deal breaker?” Rishe teased with a bright grin of her own, squeezing his hand back.
Wrapping his free arm around her waist, Arnold pulled her close, placing a languid kiss against her lips. “Never.”
The sun had completely risen, casting its warm rays over the young couple’s entwined forms. “Should we head back?” Rishe asked, oddly breathless, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Arnold’s ear. She had to resist the urge to kiss him again. There was a world outside of this enclosed space, outside of his words and his arms: she shouldn’t keep him from it.
Arnold didn’t seem to think the same way, pulling her into another, more passionate, kiss. “Arnold,” Rishe gasped dazedly once they parted once more, “we should get some breakfast.”
Arnold let out an amused huff. “Now that’s a first.”
“W-well, you’re always the one nagging me to eat! You should be happier!”
“Of course I’m happy,” Arnold said, placing one last chaste kiss to the top of her temple. His eyes were soft, the sun reflecting off its blue hues creating a landscape of glittering stars swimming in his irises. He squeezed her hand once more, and despite her flustered countenance, she still squeezed back. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
The gleam of the ring in the morning light caught her attention. Rishe let out a breath, a little stunned by the joy she felt. It was such an improbable thing for her to be standing here with the person she cherished, with a future she was excited for; one she got to choose for herself. She could have failed hundreds of times over: she could have failed to help Arnold with his shoulder, she could have failed to open up the rings in her fifth year, she could have not sat next to him in the first place. In that sense, it was truly a miracle she was this happy.
Her miracle, holding her hand, kissing the crown of her head, keeping her tethered: her miracle right in front of her, now and forever.
Hand still carefully entwined with his own, Arnold pulled Rishe out of her stupor, leading her out of the tower.
“I love you,” Rishe whispered, hoping that the love and joy she felt could be understood from those three short—inadequate—words. Then she hoped that he didn’t hear, because her voice had broken in the middle and she knew that those cracks were mirrored in her heart, overflowing with her adoration. What was fragile and blossoming didn’t deserve to be seen by him.
All Arnold did, though, was place a loving kiss atop her knuckles as if he were a prince professing love to his lady. “I love you too,” he murmured. He’d heard her. Faced with his own affection, it didn’t seem like such a bad thing anymore.
The world was waiting and with it all her dreams and nightmares. With Arnold at her side, Rishe was certain she’d be able to conquer anything that came before her.