For the first time all year, Jordyn felt an incredible sense of relief mixed with an intense sadness.  She wasn’t sad for the break – finals were practically finished (one day left and she’d studied so hard… she just couldn’t study anymore) – the feast was tomorrow evening, and then the Hogwarts express was the day after.  It was the culmination of perhaps one of the strangest, most stressful, and weirdly enough – most satisfying year of school in a long time.  Sure, she’d gotten quite sick over the winter and there was the prefect debaucle, but she was sure that was going to right itself, and even though there’d been quite a few almost opportunities with Beauxbatons, eventually Jordyn ended finding someone right in her own school. 

That had led to so many things that she never would have believed if she was told it’d happen at the beginning of the year.  So, even though Jordyn wasn’t really artistic and no one would have expected her to be the sentimental type, she had some free time in the afternoon to think about how all of those things were coming to an end and summer was pretty much upon them.  The hardest thing, really, was knowing her first proper boyfriend was going to be graduating.  Well, that and not knowing who would be head girl come the fall.  She’d be staring out of her window every day looking for the post until they knew.  But, at least she could do something about Jai – even if she couldn’t ask him to purposefully fail his exams so he could stay back another year anymore.  Not that she ever would.  She had to settle on something different. 

She had extra envelopes that she hadn’t used to write to her parents (communication had become even more sparse after she’d lost her prefect position), and some cardstock paper that she could write on (she didn’t want to waste her parchment when she could bring it back the next year).  So, After her final, Jordyn had drawn a little cartoon on the front of the cardstock and wrote Jai his graduation congratulation card.  Flipping the envelope over in her hands, she agreed to meet him outside on the grounds (she was wearing a watch this time!). 

Glancing at the slender, leather band on her wrist, Jordyn sighed.  She still had fifteen minutes until she’d told him to meet her – Jordyn was usually notoriously early for things – and she found a place in the garden to sit down on a bench, crossing her ankles in front of her and she looked at the envelope again.  She hoped he liked it – it wasn’t like she could buy him anything if she wanted to.  Maybe the lipstick print and the perfume spritz would be enough to make it a worthwhile present. 

---

Thread title taken from Woodrow Wilson quote, "You have the greatest soul, the noblest nature, the sweetest, most loving heart I have ever known, and my love, my reverence, my admiration for you, you have increased in one evening as I should have thought only a lifetime of intimate, loving association could have increased them. You are more wonderful and lovely in my eyes than you ever were before; and my pride and joy and gratitude that you should love me with such a perfect love are beyond all expression, except in some great poem which I cannot write.”

As Jai's time at Hogwarts was coming to a close, he found himself feeling quite nostalgic. He didn't think he was quite ready to leave this place and join the 'real world.' It didn't help that this year at Hogwarts had been his favorite by far. Finally he had some control over his anxiety, and even better than that, he had a girlfriend. A serious girlfriend who he cared about more than he ever thought possible.

It had been hard to focus on his final exams, but since Jordyn was such a dedicated student he had been given plenty of time to study. Of course he would have rather been with Jord, but he cared about her happiness more than his own and he knew that her grades mattered to her. A lot.

Now exams were nearly done. There was one left and then it was pretty much time to get out of Hogwarts. Jai was trying to savor the rest of his time here, wondering if he'd ever have the chance to come back. How many years would it be? What would he be doing then? Trying to imagine the future felt like looking into a scary black hole. These days, though, his images of the future included Jordyn, his beautiful girlfriend. Girlfriend... he still couldn't believe it.

They were meeting in the Gardens today. Jordyn was all studied out, apparently, and so they decided to meet up. It was a nice day out and Jai was looking forward to spending it with her. He had been flipping through his notes on his exam the next day, but as the time Jordyn had asked him to meet her grew closer, he became more and more anxious. Eventually he decided that he'd just head down there early, because he was getting nothing done. He would only have to wait there for about ten minutes after he walked over.

To his surprise and delight, Jai spotted Jordyn in the gardens already. She was early too! Grinning at the similarity, he ambled over to Jordyn and wrapped her up in a big hug and planted a kiss on her lips and another on her forehead. "Hi," he greeted. "How's it going?"

It was weird to have a card for someone she intended to see all summer, as often as she could, but Jordyn wanted to make sure that she did something right in this relationship.  She wasn’t the most romantic person around, she wasn’t the most sentimental either, but she did feel a sad pang at the prospect of this year ending.  So, the card was in her hands and she had written about fifteen versions of the same letter before she decided on the final draft, and that one had made it into the milk and cookie card she’d made. 

When she heard footsteps, Jordyn immediately put the card on the bench, pressing her palm over it as though that was going to hide the envelope from view, particularly as she looked up and noticed that it was indeed Jai who was approaching. 

She couldn’t imagine having ever known the pattern of someone’s walk, but she certainly knew Jai’s and his greeting was so very typical.  She half stood (since he bent down, but she went to meet him) and kissed him back with a hug, leaving the card on the bench for a moment.  “It’d be better if I didn’t see pages from my defense book every time I closed my eyes,” she laughed a little.  Even in humor there was always a grain of truth.  Jordyn was pretty sure she had been having dreams about her exams for weeks. 

“What about you?” she asked, resuming her seat on the bench, sliding over a little (she pushed the envelope with her) and patted the seat next to her for him to take.  “How does it feel to almost be done?”

As he expected, Jordyn had been working extremely hard. Jai had been studying a lot too, but not nearly to the level that Jordyn had been. He definitely wasn't having involuntary visions of his textbooks! Jai had a somewhat photographic memory but had a lot of difficult accessing it, at least during exams. He had a pretty good memory but mostly focused on the aesthetic details of things, not always the content. So it wasn't always super helpful. He still needed to study.

"You nut," He smiled, twirling a piece of Jord's hair around his finger and kissing the top of his head. She was so warm and she smelled like ....him? She didn't really smell like herself. He looked down at what she was wearing and realized that Jordyn had on one of his sweaters. That made him bust out one of his biggest smiles. How sexy was that?

"You look adorable," he commented. "I especially like the sweater." He rubbed her shoulders gently and looked at Jordy's eyes. "I've been studying too, not as hard as you have been, though." He laughed. "I don't think anyone does." He didn't want to think about being almost done, but she had asked the question and if there was anyone that he could talk about this with, it was Jordyn. She understood him better than he ever thought feasible.

Looking down uncomfortably, Jai sighed. He did his best to look back at Jord but couldn't quite make eye contact. "I'm pretty nervous," Jai frowned. "Really nervous. Kind of terrified." He sighed, his breath shaky. Finally he was able to look at her. "Plus I'm really gonna miss you."

Jordyn couldn’t help herself.  She wore his sweater on purpose.  Even if it was getting warmer, she liked the feeling of it – the way the sleeves were too long for her arms and the way it smelled like him.  She couldn’t even pinpoint what he really smelled like, but his sweaters always made her feel like she was near him and it was sort of nice when she was studying to cuddle down in it and remember that there was something to look forward to after the long study sessions ended. 

“This old thing?” she picked at the extra fabric near her waist.  Even if Jai was like a million feet taller than her (well maybe just one foot taller), he was definitely a lot skinnier and her… ampleness stretched at the top portion of the sweater.  Thankfully, it was baggier by her waist so she could show off.  “I don’t know where I got it,” she wrinkled her nose at him and leaned up to kiss him again before she let him sit next to her and talk. 

She bashfully looked down when he sort of complimented her for how hard she as working.  “I’m sure that’s not true,” she replied half-heartedly.  She knew he meant well, but it was sort of embarrassing to be the person she was – always so concerned about school and her grades, but she didn’t really have other things to fall back on.  Sure, she was friends with some well connected people, but her parents… her dad especially… no one was going to look at her as a viable employee if she didn’t have some killer grades to override her embarrassment of all of that. 

She hadn’t even told Jai about it though – most of her friends didn’t even know.  It was a very well kept secret, even better that her parents would be out of town all summer.  She wouldn’t have to face it then either.  Of course, she could at least ignore it for another year.  It looked like whatever Jai was nervous about – the future, she guessed – was a little less avoidable for Jai. 

Reaching over, Jordyn put her hand on his knee and gave it a slight squeeze as he indicated that he had anxiety – terror – over graduation.  Then, she felt even worse when he said he was going to miss her.  “I mean,” she had to try to be at least a little optimistic, “we’ll have all summer right?  I’m staying in London for my internship… and whatever you’re going to do – you won’t be far away.”  She paused and then looked at him sharply, eyes narrowed.  “Right?”

As Jord cutely acted smug and showed off his sweater, Jai's eyes followed her. She was ethereal -- he couldn't be sure that he was awake, that this wasn't just a dream. Still he felt this way. Yes, it had only been two months, but he was already more enraptured by this girl more than girls he'd dated for months. He scrunched his nose up when she did and pinched her side playfully.

It was good to see her smiling and taking a break from the stress of exams. Jai knew how much Jordyn's grades mattered to her. Jai didn't expect good grades for himself -- he didn't test well. He couldn't be prouder of her, though, and was confident that they'd be celebrating her academic achievements very soon.

Not soon enough, though. It was going to be so hard to be away from Jordyn, especially since they'd been seeing each other so regularly. As she put her hand on his knee, he put his arm on the other side of her and leaned on it so that she was cuddled up close to him. "Of course we'll have summer," Jai said encouragingly. He kissed the side of her head. "I think I might have an interview at the Ministry..." It was a wonderful opportunity, maybe even his dream job -- which made Jai not want to think about it at all because every time he did, he felt bile at the back of his throat.

When Jai pinched her side, Jordyn yelped.  She was ticklish.  Swatting his hand away, she frowned at him (though it was not sincere in any way).  She calmed down quickly (not that she’d been mad in the first place), however, and leaned her shoulder into him when he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.  Jordyn couldn’t really believe it’d only been about two months since they started dating – it’d been three since they’d really talked for the first time… and other things happened…

But, two real months and school was already over.  Letting out a deep breath, she was glad he agreed that they’d have the summer – and really, Jordyn didn’t make plans beyond that (at least not for her personal life).  She had her professional goals already lined up, but anything that dealt with other people was certainly going to be up in the sky. 

She wouldn’t be upset if her plans with Jai stretched a little further than the summer though.  And then he had some really good news!  “The ministry?” Jordyn leaned back to look at him with a bright smile on her face, “that’s fantastic! Congratulations, Jai,” she said sincerely, a warm smile spreading across her features.  She turned in her seat a little so she could face him more fully. 

“I’m so happy for you!” she gushed again, her hand still on his knee and pressing down with emphasis.  “I know you’ll get it if you want it,” she added, “you’re so smart,” she smiled and complimented at the same time.  He might have mentioned not testing well before to her, but that didn’t mean she was smart.  Hell, her being able to test well was no real measure of her intelligence.  She hoped it was, but she knew better than that. 

Besides, he looked so nervous – it was her duty to make him feel better about it, make him feel confident.  That’s what girlfriends were for (and boyfriends, for that matter!).  “As long as you want it, I’m sure you’ll get it.”   

Jai hadn't shared the news about his interview at the ministry with anyone yet. His parents didn't know; none of his family or friends did. He was too nervous to tell them because he was afraid of facing them if he didn't get it. Jai absolutely hated letting people down, and he didn't want to get everyone's hopes up just for them to be crushed when he was rejected. He didn't want to get his own hopes up, either.

Telling Jordyn felt alright, though. If he didn't get it... well, her flattering remarks felt really nice. She really seemed to believe in him. Jai grew bashful and awkward... he didn't really know how to take a compliment.

"It's with the Department of Mysteries," he explained. "Working in the astrolab or the astronomical records office, maybe." Jai was hesitant to be excited. He definitely didn't want to get his  expectations up, but this job sounded really cool. And right up his alley.

He wasn't so sure she was right about getting the job just because he wanted it. There were probably plenty of other people who were far more qualified for the job than he was. "I think it would be really good for me," Jai confessed. Getting a job would be a confidence boost for sure. Jai just needed to know that he was capable of .... something.

The more he explained, the better it sounded to Jordyn.  Those parts of the ministry all sounded like things that he would really like.  Astronomy was his favorite subject and when she tried to find something he hadn’t read she had come up short more than once.  Being diligent about things was really good when it came to looking for careers. 

He was right when he said it would be good for him.  He needed to like what he did.  Jordyn thought that was pretty important when it came to jobs.  She thought she’d really like healing because it put her in a place to be helpful and indispensable.  Everyone needed healers once and a while, they were people no one took for granted or forgot existed.  They were necessary.  They were important.  Jordyn loved the sound of that for herself. 

She could only imagine for Jai that working with his favorite subject would make him happy.  “I agree,” she smiled warmly and leaned back into him.  “Before you go in, if I’m not at St. Mungo’s for my internship I’ll help you pick out what you’re going to wear,” she grinned, her cheek brushing against the side of his shoulder as she looked back up to him.  “I’ll make sure you impress the over stuffed department of mysteries worker you’re going to be interviewing with,” she grinned up at him.  Her father hadn’t exactly worked in that department… and he wasn’t really overstuffed (….maybe…).  She just imagined that many of the people who did work there, especially the ones in charge must be – sort of like walrus caricatures that sat in their offices and sipped tea under bristly mustaches. 

Hopefully, Jai wouldn’t be working with people like that though.  Laziness was despicable in Jordyn’s mind, and even more so when it was at the hands of doing a good job.  “Do you know when the interview is?” she asked as a curious follow-up.

The job sounded good but Jai didn't want to discuss it any longer. It was nerve-wracking, and he couldn't help but be constantly reminded by his lack of experience. He'd never really had a job, and his grades weren't that great... would he grow sick of astronomy, if he was doing it all the time? That could happen, right?

Jai shifted uncomfortably. When it came to his potential career at the Ministry, Jai's emotions went up and down. He didn't know how to feel. That's why he wasn't really telling anyone. Jordyn offered to pick out his outfit, which reminded him of the conversation he'd had with Bran Blackwell not too long ago. It still wasn't clear whether Jordyn had asked Bran to talk to him or not... Jai hoped that he wasn't embarrassing Jordyn. "Some fashion advice would be good," he said nervously. If he let Jordyn pick out his outfit, maybe he'd be able to figure out what kind of style she preferred.

"It's in... like two weeks, or something," Jai couldn't estimate exactly when it was right now. "Do you have any other plans for the summer, besides the internship?" Jai asked curiously. He was surprised he didn't know the answer to that already.

Jordyn did not have anywhere close to the same intentions for Jai that Bran did.  In terms of clothing, Jordyn wanted Jai to get the job and help him feel comfortable in meeting with people.  Personally, she liked the way Jai dressed.  He was charming and sort of geeky in an adorable way.  Jordyn didn’t need him to look like he stepped right out of the pages of Runwitch.  She knew she didn’t – so it shouldn’t matter too much. 

Bran, of course, had other ideas.  Jordyn had tried to tell him to lay off, to give him some space and let him be his own person, but that was just about as useful as telling a snake to do anything when you didn’t speak parseltongue: absolutely useless.  “It’d be my pleasure,” Jordyn smiled at him, wrapping her arm behind his back to lean into him. 

Of course, he sounded less pleased as they continued talking about when it was and what was going on.  She didn’t want to push him or make one of the last times that they hung out at school something either of them wouldn’t remember fondly.  “We’ll be ready,” she said gently, rubbing his side lightly with her hand.  She couldn’t remember if he was ticklish, but she’d find out immediately, if that was the case. 

Discovery found, Jordyn smiled and considered his question about plans.  Shrugging, she realized she hadn’t really thought about it – outside of Neely’s suggestions.  “Neely really wants to go on a holiday to the South of France,” she explained, “but I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that.”  There were a lot of reasons – none of which she wanted to get into at the moment.  But, it meant there wasn’t too much going on for her.  “Otherwise, my parents will be with my grandmother in the country all summer, so that’s that.”  She sighed and let her shoulders relax.  “What about you, Mr. Graduate?”

A holiday in the south of France sounded nice. Jai had never been to the south of France, but it sounded lovely. Jordyn couldn't go and she sounded rather disappointed about it. Jai assumed she couldn't go because of the internship and vowed to one day bring her to the lovely-sounding place. It would probably be expensive, so it definitely wouldn't be for a while, but he hoped to be together long enough to make it happen.

"Otherwise, my parents will be with my grandmother in the country all summer, so that's that."

Jai's ears perked at this revelation. Her parents were going to be away? There would definitely be some potential for private visits then. Leave it to a teenaged boy to pull that out of Jordyn's life update. "So you'll have the house all to yourself then?" Jai did his best not to smirk.

"What about you, Mr. Graduate?"

"Well it's not really summer vacation for me is it?" Jai shrugged. "It's sort of just the rest of my life. I guess I'll see how this interview goes... but it would be cool if we could take a trip, or something, maybe." Jai didn't have a lot of money but if the job worked out, then maybe before Jordyn returned to Hogwarts they could vacation together. Probably not the south of France, but something.

Jordyn hadn’t realized the implications of mentioning that her parents wouldn’t be home for the summer at all until Jai looked at her with that… gleam in his eyes and a sort of perked up puppy sort of look on his face.  Jordyn looked at him with furrowed brows, trying to figure out why he’d asked, and then she finally caught it.  Perhaps a couple of moments late as compared to what someone else might have figured out.  Jordyn was smart… but sometimes social cues were a little different. 

“Jai!” she pulled back a second and lightly whacked his arm.  “You are so terrible,” she chastised sweetly and pursed her lips again.  His question left something suspiciously interesting in the air and Jordyn wanted this night to be about something more than that.  Sure, that was fun – but Jordyn got way more out of other aspects of their relationship. 

It didn’t mean it didn’t have any relevance though, and Jordyn settled back down into her previous position, nestled against his side before she truly answered.  “I guess that’s true,” she mused with a smile that read far too innocent for its own good.  She’d write him an owl during break, inviting him over, probably, but she didn’t want to spoil right now. 

Talking was good, but Jai just needed to be more confident in himself.  He was going to do amazing!  The rest of his life was right there and Jordyn wished that she could do the same right now.  She needed to graduate though.  If only she had been a year older.  At his suggestion of a trip, Jordyn shook her head.  “I don’t need that,” she fumbled to lace their fingers together.  “I’m just as happy staying in London.  I told Neely the same thing,” she grinned.  “Sometimes it’s like I’m dating you… and Neely… and Bran…” she trailed off with a little giggle. 

“Thankfully though,” she added, “not quite.”

Jai smirked guiltily as Jordyn playfully slapped him. He couldn't help but smile -- she had just admitted that he was right! She'd have the house all to herself this summer. It would be so easy for him to visit, too, especially as a Hogwarts graduate. They'd both be able to use magic, and Jai would have all the freedoms of a full-blown wizard. It was weird to think about, but for the first time it sounded exciting.

"We could play house," Jai proposed, kissing her on the nose. It would be fun just to hang out with Jordyn, one-on-one, with no supervision. It wasn't like they'd be rabbits, tainting all of the Dimbleby furniture. He wanted to talk to her and hang out with her and cook with her and watch her brush her hair and.... he could go on and on.

Visiting Jordyn would be a lot easier if she was in London, too, particularly considering his potential position at the Ministry. He was curious about her parents and where they were going, but before he got the chance to ask Jordyn joked that it was like she was dating multiple people. Jai grinned a bit, but he didn't feel as happy about that as she seemed to be.

"Thankfully though... not quite."

Jai's smile got a bit bigger and he pulled her close. "I'm glad you'll be in London," Jai told her. "I'll visit all the time." Since their run-in at the Astronomy tower, though, Lydie had been pestering Jai every chance she got when she could 'officially' meet Jordyn. She'd even sent him a few owls despite the fact that they were both in school. "Although, you might have to come visit the Patil house sometime. Or else Lydie might stalk me all the way to London" He was joking, of course, but he wouldn't put it past his sister to do such a thing.

Jordyn got a sort of warm feeling in the pit of her stomach when he suggested playing house.  It sounded so silly, and she did laugh a little bit, but it was also a little bit of her nervousness, she detected, going through her brain.  It sounded fun – just having time to themselves without fear of getting caught by a professor or a fellow student – Jordyn was an only child and it wasn’t as though her parents would check on her.   They hardly noticed she was around when they were at home – if they weren’t… she didn’t suppose she’d see them at all, really.  They probably wouldn’t even pick her up from the train – goodness knows they hadn’t mentioned it in the last letter she’d gotten. 

It was hard for her to imagine being in a situation where someone’s family might be around all of the time.  Jai seemed to have a family that was like that though – that was genuinely interested in being with one another.  Jordyn loved her parents, but she didn’t feel the need to be near them (and as a teenager she did reserve the right to resent them most of the time, as well).  Jai suggested that Jordyn come to his house though and sound died in her throat for a second before she coughed into her hand – not sure how she felt about that before she nodded.  “Okay,” good girlfriend thoughts, she realized, would make her excited to meet someone’s family. 

Jordyn, unfortunately, wasn’t always the brightest and shiniest of people with optimistic thoughts to spare.  “I mean, it would only be fair if you come to my house that I go to yours, right?” she chuckled nervously, reaching up with her free hand to run her fingers through her hair, pulling at a tangle in her curls that wouldn’t give immediately. 

With a quiet snap, the tangle broke and Jordyn let her hand travel down her neck and then rested on her shoulder.  There was something gnawing at her though – she’d put the invitation out there for him to come over sort of without thinking about it.  Jordyn didn’t really have people come to her home.  The outside was nice enough, but… it wasn’t as though her family kept up with the insides.  Jordyn did her best to keep her room nice and her mother tried but without money…

She took a deep breath through her nose and twisted a curl around her finger, anxiety evident in her heightened pulse.  “If you do come over,” she looked down at her lap and the ground, “I just don’t want you to be too surprised,” she led in, finding it hard to actually talk about it.  “I might live in Belgravia… but the house is a family heirloom…” her voice trailed off, hoping he would get the implication – her parents certainly hadn’t bought it!