Clarity (Artemis)

[Bella Walsh]

The grounds were fairly occupied this afternoon. Classes had yet to start until the next school day, and most of the studets were spending time adjusting to the time difference, the climate, and catching up with friends that they had not seen over the summer break. Most were wearing their uniforms to keep up with the practice, including Bella. The pleated skirt swung slowly about her legs and the yellow tie lay securely over the buttons down her white button down shirt. She watched people quietly, nodding to those who chose to greet her with a vague smile.

"Is that...Bella? Didn't recognize her without her head being buried in a book."
"She's alone? That's...odd. Normally the twins are around her."
"Yeah, I didn't think that was her at first..."

The blonde ducked away from the people in the courtyard and did her best not to visably fret before she heard a voice from behind her. "Bella?"

"Oh! Liliane, thank Merlin it's you. I'm so glad to see you. Ah, erm...how was your summer?" She tried to divert the conversation away from the topic of the twins until she could finally see them, specifically Artemis again.

"It was great! Spent part of it with Cern and his family, how was yours? Oh! What's that?"

A soft touch nudged at Bella's left hand and she looked down sharply, before smiling warmly at the glittering green gem there. "Oh, it is a promise ring from Artemis. He got it for me this summer and gave it to me at the end of a spectacular date. I met his parents this summer too, that was...interesting. I don't think I was quite what they expected when Artemis said his girlfriend was coming by. His mother is wonderful, his father...well...I think I ruffled his feathers some, but I'm not entirely sure he didn't enjoy the debating. He seemed to approve that I have a head on my shoulders anyway. But, I haven't seen Artemis since then. I'm a little worried, but I know he's here somewhere and I must just be unluckily missing him."

What would she do when she saw him anyway? She really wanted to just sit beneath the trees and stroke his hair like he liked, simply soak up the time together. It made her happy to take advantage of the time they had together before the year became full of exams and homework, though she had already promised him that they would have at least one evening that they would have together as to avoid what happened last year. She didn't want him to feel second to anything.

Nothing was above him in her heart.

Bella smiled as Lili went off to see her other friends, disappearing into the castle, and moved into the sunlight again in the warm air of the grounds. She moved into the fountain area and perched on the edge of the fountain, running her fingers over the silvery water softly before pulling out a book on defensive magic methods and thumbing through the pages quietly as one pale foot still swished softly back and forth through the water of the lower reflecting pool beneath the fountain's edge.

[Deleted]

It seemed as though it had been a long time since he had last been at Hogwarts and in some aspects he supposed that had been. A month had passed since the end of the previous school year and while he was happy to be back at the school for the most part, there was a small part of him that was both nervous and slightly upset. This would be his last year at the wizarding school and aside from his marks in his classes he had next to nothing to show for all of the time that he had spent at the school. His sister had some of the highest marks in their house and year. His sister had been an excellent beater for the Ravenclaw team for the past three years. His sister seemed to have a talent for almost everything that she did and it was almost unnerving to him.

She was still the talented one and he was still the weak and scrawny one that seemed unable to triumph over his other half in anything and that scared him more than almost anything else for it would be at the very end of this school year that he and his sister would be expected to face each other in a duel that would determine their futures. This duel would be the very thing to test the twins and the one that won the duel would win the privilege of inheriting both their birth parent's family name and the legacy that they had left behind for the winner. This was the one thing that he felt he needed to win in order to prove himself to everyone that he was just as strong as his sister.

He had the ability, the strength and the cleverness to best her, all he needed to do was prove it.

He made his way through the campus grounds quietly lost in his thoughts, ignoring the stares and the murmurs that his classmates were giving to him. He knew that they were questioning why he was alone when he was almost always seen with either his twin or his girlfriend. Luna was off somewhere, probably avoiding the Transfiguration professor by hiding in the Ravenclaw towers and he was currently searching for any sign of his Bella but had turned up short so far, much to his disappointment.

He really had missed her over the summer and while he had gotten to see her twice [once on their date and once when she met his adoptive parents] he still missed her terribly. He wanted nothing more than to hug her and never let her go and when he finally stumbled across her moments later, he couldn't keep himself from running to her calling her name and scooping her up into his arms. "Bella, I missed you so so much!!"

[Bella Walsh]

She hadn't been fully focused on the text in the book when she sensed the softest hint of Artemis' cologne on the wind and her eyes lifted only slightly before she found herself getting scooped up into those arms that she missed so badly coupled with his voice. "Artemis!" The book was forgotten, tossed to a dry place as her arms were thrown around his neck. "There you are, love! I was beginning to think you'd turned your form on me! I missed you so much!" She leaned up and covered his face in soft kisses, careful to not marr his complextion with a crimson stain. It was amazing that just with his presence, the world was far less cruel and cold.

Her fingers softly wound into the fabric of his shirt as she looked up into those dark eyes, "Oh, darling. I tried to find you on the train, but it seems that fate had other plans. I'm so glad to see you now." The summer months had provided her frame with some of the muscle that she had lacked in the school year and her pale skin held traces of freckles from the sunlight (something her mother found beyond adorable and she had grown weary of covering up) scattered across her arms and over the bridge of her nose.

She had been approached to be on the Quidditch team again and had spent some of the summer practicing diving on her broomstick. Being so light, she had an advantage to some of the other players at being able to stop on a dime and drop through the air with no resistance. She'd be in trouble if Onyx Holland played this year, and there were rumors that Aito Satoshi would be playing for Ravenclaw. If that was the case...Hufflepuff was in so much trouble. She had heard from those who had followed Xayden around all year last year that Aito was a skilled flyer, and that almost worried her. Almost.

No matter how much she loved Quidditch, it was not her life. Her life resided inside those warm brown eyes that gazed at her so happily, and inside the lines of the books she read. Life made more sense than it ever did now. Nothing of the bullies in the past mattered now. Especially being held to Artemis' chest and smiling at the soft pounding of his heart beneath her ear. "I could stay like this forever." A bright smile covered her lips and lit up the contours of her face before sweeping up into the eyes that gazed so adoringly into his.

Never happier.

[Deleted]

The young man smiled brightly as he burried his face into the softness of her hair, softly inhaling the beautiful scent that he knew to be only hers, the smile growing wider when her heard her speak again. Oh how he had missed hearing the sound of her voice as she called his name and as she spoke to him. How he had missed her smile and the sound of her laughter. How he missed the feeling of her in his arms as he held her close to his form. He truly had missed just about everything there was to miss about his beloved girlfriend. He was so glad that he had the chance to see her again before school started and got in between them again.

When she said that she had been afraid that he had changed forms on her, he smiled sheepishly at her.

" I won't ever change my form unless its absolutely nessacary for me to do it and when I do I promise I will tell you. That being said, my sister and I did change our forms on the train ride here and we secured a compartment for ourselves. My sister had a few people who've been bothering her lately and she didn't want to be found. I stayed with her because I didn't want to leave her alone..I'm sorry love, I should've come to find you. I won't do it again so please don't be upset." He frowned and placed a small kiss on her nose in apology before pulling away and smiling.

When she said that she could stay like this with him forever, he couldn't help but smile again before he sat down on the stone bench, placing Bella on his lap and just holding her close to his form. His head moved down so that his cheek was resting on the top of her head and his hands moved so that they were resting on her waist, gently rubbing circles into the skin. " So can I....I love you Bella and I missed you so much. I am so happy to see and hold you like this again."

[Bella Walsh]

Se cured on his embrace, she listened to him speak and smiled softly. People bothering his sister again? Always back to the old games, some people were. It was as if they never tired of playing. "Oh, love I'm far from upset with you for changing. You have the right to change when you wish to, it is your gift as well as your body to change as you so desire. I will love you no matter what form you choose to take." The kiss to her nose ushered forth a soft giggle from the blonde's lips, turning her mouth to a wide and happy smile. "Oh, how I missed you."

As he brought her over to the bench and positioned her on his lap, she found her cheek resting on its natural place upon his shoulder, fingers softly stroking the long ends of his hair. If a moment could be frozen in time, she would will it to be this one. For a moment, the silence was savored before she said softly, "I can't believe this is our last year here. It seems like we just started." Perhaps it was that life truly wasn't worth living until last year. He brought her far more happiness than he realized.

"What classes do you have this year, love? I doubt we have one together...unfortunately. I have Advanced Potions, Advanced Transfiguration, Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts, Advanced Herbology, Advanced Charms, and private dueling lessons with Professor Satoshi. It's going to be a busy year." Green eyes shifted from the spot where her fingers met his hair and moved to those beautiful eyes of his. The dueling lessons were on a side of caution, plus with her career field, it was needed. Maybe she could help Artemis gain the confidence he would need for his duel at the end of the year.