Xavier paced around the small clearing at the top of the hill. From here you could see all of Hogsmeade and with the sun bright in the afternoon sky it made for a stunning sight. Cadance had suggested the spot when he asked for ideas and a quick letter home to Cook took care of the rest. He paused in his pacing to glance at the spread before him. An old fashioned (hopefully romantic) picnic. He wasn't a stranger to this attempt though he was certain this time things would be much better - and weren't likely to end in a werewolf attack. Jordyn had specified no frilly froufy tea shoppes. Xavier couldn't have agreed more. This was much more intimate without really being isolating.  After all they could see nearly everything going on in the village below, all their peers bustling too and fro during the last Hogsmeade visit of the year.

Now all he needed was his date. He hoped to impress her. He felt there was very little he could do to impress her (aside from the few study sessions that were clearly just snogging sessions in disguise) While it wasn't so much that he felt uncertain around her, Xavier was still trying to come to terms with the fact that he had finally won her over. True he wasn't the same idiotic kid he was when they first met, hell he wasn't even the same person he had been a year ago. He supposed he had simply become the kind of man worthy of her attention.

Taking a deep reassuring breath, Xavier leaned against the single tree in the clearing. The weather was nice enough, sunny but not hot yet, sweet spring weather. He focused his wandering gaze on the bustle below. He wondered how often he'd actually visit the little Wizarding village once he graduated. His Grandfather's Manor - his Manor now - was  not far from London and he had yet to settle on a career. Without living at Hogwarts, there was little reason for him to be here after today. Perhaps if the picnic went well he could come back as a sort of anniversary thing.

Jordyn had promised that she wouldn’t cancel on him.  That was a thing she had said earlier in the day.  Of course, it’d been in the middle of the Great Hall after a rather intense kiss in front of everyone which was not Jordyn’s style at all.  She was quite a bit more private than all that.  But, Xavier had been upset and it happened so quickly… at least it hadn’t ended up with her getting a hex to the back and landing face first on the floor again while Virgil snapped pictures again.  Truthfully, the kiss was a marked improvement. 

She’d had a bit of time to process everything, which, as soon as she thought it seemed selfish.  It was really the shock for Xavier, not her, that was most pressing.  She figured though, if she could be as supportive as possible and try to maintain normalcy (whatever of that she could maintain).  Making her way round the area that Xavier had indicated, it was a little hilly, so she reached up and pushed a wild strand of hair back into her plait. 

She hoped she looked all right.  Neely had assured her she was lovely, but Neely had a way of embellishing the truth.  It was sort of sad that they had only gotten to walk to Hogsmeade for a final time together, but it was going to be okay.  They’d have plenty of other adventures, wouldn’t they?  Moving on to London, working at the hospital (hopefully), and pursuing the next best things in life.  There’d always be time to come back… maybe.  Isn’t that what people said?  Though, she was also fairly certain some memories were best left just that… memories.

It was a lot to think about as she approached the crest of the hill and saw Xavier, his whole frame leaning against the tree.  An involuntary smile crept over her face and Jordyn soon realized that it wasn’t just the view that was so good.  He had a picnic all set up and some color rushed over her cheeks.  “Wow,” she breathed, starting to cross the distance between them a little faster, “This is lovely, Xavier. Really lovely.”   

Xavier turned at the sound of her voice and a smile split from ear to ear at the sight of her. She was lovely like always but it was something more than just that. All the girls in his past had been lookers but he genuinely enjoyed her company. Every interaction with her, even the not so great ones, was something he looked forward to. He was glad she still came. He knew she said she would but there was still a bit of doubt lingering. Too much had happened already today. He didn't want to focus on anything but her.

He crossed to the picnic and rubbed at the back of his neck nervously, "I feel a bit of an ass." He motioned to the many dishes he had to offer her, "I uh didn't know what your favourite food was so I kinda just let Cook go wild." He didn't really want to emphasize the fact that he had a personal chef on his payroll considering the bomb dropped on him that morning. He hoped Jordyn wouldn't be too freaked out by it. He was still getting used to it himself. He had always known his family was rich but they hadn't acted it when he was young, his father actively tried to keep him from that life. Living with his grandmother and uncle was pretty much just average. It wasn't until he ended up in Arathorn's custody that he truly felt the impact of his family's wealth.

"I hope you'll find something you like." He took a seat on the blanket that was laid out and pulled out two bottles of Butterbeer. He twisted the caps off of each and offered her the bottle.  It wasn't until after that he questioned himself as to whether or not she even liked Butterbeer. He had purposely not brought any alcohol with him. He liked to think he had proven that he was interested in her without the help of alcohol but the fact that he was completely shmammered the first time they ever snogged still weighed on him.

"Hope it wasn't too hard for you to find. Cadance recommended it. Apparently Charlie took her here for Valentine's. Supposed to be rather romantic."

She wondered if Cook was a house elf on the grounds or someone else entirely.  After finding out about his family earlier she wouldn’t be entirely surprised if it was someone else… but it was probably not the time to ask.  She’d choose to believe it was a house elf at Hogwarts, for the time being.  It was a little less intimidating that way, looking at such a spread.  “It all looks amazing,” Jordyn said honestly, eyes still roving over each dish trying to even decide what she might want to try. 

Taking the seat across from Xavier, she smoothed her skirt over her thighs and busied her hands with the hem.  It was so weird.  She hadn’t really felt nervous the entire walk here, but now there were definitely pesky pixies fluttering in her stomach. 

Jordyn gracious accepted the butterbeer that was offered, ducking her head with a soft thank you.  Fiddling with the bottle a little bit, Jordyn took a little sip and tried to relax herself.  There was nothing to be nervous about.  This was Xavier.  They’d been in the same house for seven years, she’d yelled her head off at him more than once, and now had snogged him more than once too.  There was nothing to feel nervous about!   “It does all really look good, and it wasn’t very hard to find,” she looked back at him with a shy smile – not very smooth – and then another glance around the spread.

She couldn’t help herself.  Jordyn was immediately drawn to a plate of chocolate biscuit sandwich with some kind of filling.  Lifting it to her lips, she took a bite and realized that the cream in the middle had a coffee or espresso type of filling.  An excited little squeak came out of her mouth and she held out the biscuit sandwich toward him, “Have you tried this?” she asked enthusiastically, big brown eyes sparkling with delight at this simple treat.  “It’s amazing!” she leaned closer, not even giving a second thought to potentially feeding it to him, “Chocolate and coffee,” she explained, hoping it would entice him to try it. 

Xavier's smile was a constant fixture on his face. He was happy to see that Jordyn liked his idea of having a picnic and having her here made him feel far more comfortable. Being away from prying eyes helped as well. The rumor mill would be rife by the time they got back to school but for now it was just the two of them. They could enjoy a quiet afternoon and some good food. He made a mental note that she had gone right for one of the desserts. He never really pegged her as one of the girls that was neurotic about 'watching their figure' like some of the rest of the Monarchy. It was comforting in a way to know that she had a sweet tooth.

As she offered the pastry he didn't hesitate in taking it from her fingers with just his lips. He tried to be polite but he was sure there was at least some small contact between her finger and his tongue. Not that his tongue hadn't been other places already but he also didn't need to remind her of an eager puppy when he was trying his hardest to be romantic.

He swallowed and gave a noise of approval, "That was tasty." He rolled his tongue around a bit trying to remind himself that she preferred his English accent. He had pondered whether or not to switch over on a more permanent basis once they left school. Entering the working world (especially if he was now expected to run his Grandfather's company) it was probably in his best interest to keep himself comprehensible. Besides it wasn't like he'd be returning to Scotland any time soon and all the family that he had been emulating were gone or hadn't spoken to him in years.

He rifled through the packages of food and pulled out some nice hard cheeses and crackers. He knew there was easily a few full meals amoungst them but he felt like starting light for now. There was a certain uneasiness that had settled into his stomach. Nerves most likely. This was their first actual date. He wanted to make sure that it went well.

He glanced over his shoulder, "Any shops you'd want to visit afterwards?" He didn't want to rush her through their lunch but he also didn't want her to miss out on her last visit to Hogsmeade just for their date.

A fresh flush bloomed over Jordyn’s cheeks when Xavier took the cookie.  She didn’t know why it made her blush so hard, but when his tongue hit the tips of her fingers… she averted her eyes and giggled nervously, reaching down for another cookie to quickly put to her lips.  It was a good distraction as she tried to will the color from her cheeks. 

Rather than settling on something agreeable to say, or even sweet, Jordyn replied, “I know,” complete with an exasperated eye roll, before she even had the chance to think of how that would come off.  Almost all of their years at school had been passed with some level of sarcastic or dismissive commentary shared between them.  She’d be hard pressed to break the habit now.  Though, at least now rather than remaining with a pursed lip sort of look, she broke into a wide smile and a giggle. 

“Sorry,” she covered her mouth as she spoke, afraid of crumbs clinging to the crevices of her teeth – and the way she couldn’t stop smiling.  “I didn’t mean that…” she paused for a second and looked up again, “I mean, I did, but not quite how it sounded…” it was close to an apology as the situation demanded, but at least she was a little apologetic.  That was moving in the right direction, wasn’t it? 

The obviously solution was to shove the rest of the biscuit sandwich in her mouth and avoid talking again for the moment.  Usually she was so good at talking, people couldn’t get her to shut up but now she was feeling nervous and like anything she said would come out wrong.  It wasn’t so far off the mark. 

Her eyes shot up as he mentioned shops and Jordyn’s breath sort of hitched for the moment.  She hadn’t expected that.  “Well… um,” she paused, tryng to think of what she really would want.  “I’ve never passed up a butterbeer,” she lifted the bottle at him, “but since we’ve already got that… my only must is Honeydukes,” she added.  “No rush though,” she added hastily, wrapping both hands around the bottle to find something to do with her hands, her eyes darting from the blanket back to his sharp face, “It’s really lovely – the hill, this,” she motioned over the blanket.

“Truthfully, I never would have expected it,” she took a modest sip of butterbeer, “I’m pleasantly surprised.” 

Xavier softly chuckled alongside her, "No worries luv, it wouldn't be us without a few sarcastic remarks and inappropriate comments right?" Their entire relationship prior to them starting to snog each other was years of inappropriate comments from him and sarcastic remarks from her. Just because they were dating now didn't mean they needed to suddenly change that dynamic. Although the apology was a welcomed change. He wasn't sure it was necessary but still welcomed. He was sure she agreed that the few apologies she had received from him over the last month or so were welcomed as well.

He nodded to her mention of Honeydukes, "That's a given," He gave her a wink. His stomach was starting to feel a little calmer and he started to eat a little more, pulling containers of assorted food out of what appeared to be a bottomless picnic basket, "We can go whenever you'd like." He wasn't in any sort of rush either and it was clear they had plenty of food. Easily more than they'd be able to eat but he had no problem bringing it back to the common room and letting the younger years have at it.

He chuckled softly again, "I'm glad you like it." The sentiment was the most genuine he could have been. He had been so nervous about her not liking the idea. Now that he knew she did, his nerves calmed down, "You can thank Cadance, it had been her idea." In fact his cousin had practically forced him to do it. He had been hesitant about having a picnic given how his last one had turned out but it wasn't a full moon and as far as he knew they weren't near any werewolf dens. His face fell for a moment. He quickly distracted himself from the unpleasant memory by thinking of his cousin. Unfortunately given their exchange that morning, the distraction hadn't served to brighten his expression.

Xavier looked back up at Jordyn and quickly smiled, "Sorry." He said off handedly, aware that his expression had soured for a moment, "Got distracted for a moment." 

WARNING: Some M language in this post. Swearing ahead.

Jordyn turned her eyes to the view of the village from the little hilltop and nodded as Xavier indicated they could, indeed, go anywhere she wanted to go.  But, tracing the sloping pitch of each of the connected storefronts, bouncing across the cobbled streets littered with students in all manner of regular wear.  “Oh, I don’t know,” she rolled her head and looked over at Xavier with a glimmer of a smile, “I’m content to stay right here for the time being.” 

It felt rather odd to say, and somehow maintaining eye contact with him after such a soppy sort of thing felt just as silly.  Jordyn cleared her throat before quickly tucking another biscuit between her teeth to bite down and chew. While she chewed, she reminded herself that it wasn’t entirely strange to admit one wanted to spend time with their… boyfriend.  Yes, boyfriend. 

Using the guise of reaching for one of the many snacks nearer to him, Jordyn scooted in that direction.  “I shall thank her for telling,” Jordyn smiled, “but I should also commend you for listening,” she added, tipping a water crack with a carefully assembled bit of cheese and thin meat… whatever it was.  It tasted quite nice though and she smiled, lips closed and cheeks full as she chewed. 

Trying to look as elegant as possible (she reassured herself as she moved to make the positioning of her back less throbbing and more comfortable), Jordyn shifted her legs.  The movement, which she intended to remarkably improve the experience, however, did no such thing.  A sharp, stinging pain erupted on her calf and Jordyn screeched.  “What the fuck?! Shit!” she exclaimed, limbs flailing before she could turn about and inspect the wound.  A round, red bump was already sprouting and the offending insect that she’d crushed during its assault lay wriggling on the blanket.  “Merlin’s beard!” she hissed, “That bloody hurt!” she scowled at the bee that still kicked in a feeble attempt at life. 

Xavier looked away intent on his food when she got 'sappy'. However it wasn't because the sentiment made him uncomfortable, quite the opposite. He was a little embarrassed about the smile he hadn't been able to stop.  This was all still so new for them and he was worried he'd muck it all up. There was still that small voice in the back of his head that told him she was too good for him and he needed to enjoy all this while it lasted. It wouldn't be long before she realized her mistake.

He could feel her getting closer to him. He nodded gently making sure he didn't talk with his mouth full, "I'm glad I listened too." It was a rather lame thing to say and sounded much smoother in his head. He didn't get a chance to redeem himself however as she suddenly screeched out a curse.

The sudden exclamation caused Xavier to jump and knock over his Butterbeer. He cursed himself, picking up the bottle and trying to mop up the mess before he turned to see what had caused her such alarm. The mess was soon forgotten as he spied the angry red welt, "ah shite, please tell me you're not allergic." She was the future healer not him. He couldn't think of a single spell or charm that would keep her from going into anaphylactic shock. The panic was clear on his features as he closed what little gap there had been left between them.

He placed one hand fully on her calf next to the welt. He deftly removed his wand gently coaxed the stinger the bee had left behind out of her skin. With the stinger removed he placed his wand tip directly on her skin, using a simple cooling charm to ease the pain. Deep concern showed in his cold grey blue eyes when he looked at her, "you okay?"

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.  Jordyn was not accustomed to outdoor activities, and she was even much less accustomed to dealing with the consequences of interacting with nature on a regular basis.  The greenhouses were about as “outside” as she ever got.  She wasn’t even a regular at Quidditch games!

This affirmed everything she ever thought about the outdoors too.  A little panicky, she looked at Xavier with wide eyes, “I – I don’t know!” was her throat starting to close?  She desperately reached up to her neck and felt for inflammation.  She mulled her tongue in her mouth – it must have been growing!  She was going to die, any second she would die! 

But, moments passed and she didn’t die.  Her throat didn’t close; she didn’t see the white light fading over her vision.  She was still here.  Even more grounding than the realization she wasn’t dying was the fact that Xavier’s hand was pressed into her calf, working around the bump.  She was glad he knew something of first aid.  Jordyn chewed her bottom lip anxiously as he got the stinger out of her leg – the little rip in her tights where it’d happened allowing the stinger to fall to the blanket. 

She hissed as the cooling spell spread over her leg.  The pain was eased, but it was definitely an odd sensation for a moment.  The tears that threatened to leak earlier spilled out in two silent trails.  Jordyn quickly reached up to wipe her eyes, pretending that she hadn’t cried at all.  That sniffle was clearly not about this.  “I hate bees,” she replied lamely, taking another sniff. 

“But you!” she tried to be positive, “you are a life saver,” Jordyn reached out to touch his face and tilted him toward her so she could give him a kiss.  She didn’t always initiate a kiss, but when she did she made sure it was a good attempt.  As she pulled away she bit her lip and wrinkled her nose as she teased, “You might be the one with a future at St. Mungo’s, not me.”

He had taken a moment to examine her, she certainly wasn't showing any sign of an allergic reaction. Which was good for both of them. He didn't know any spells to help her in that situation and he wasn't sure he could have got her to St Mungo's in time. He was thankful all he needed to do was remove the stinger. It was going to hurt for a little while, though shouldn't be enough to ruin the rest of their date. Or so he hoped.

A bright blush crossed his cheeks when she took his chin and gave him a kiss. He had been so focused on her leg he hadn't seen it coming. She usually let him initiate all the kissing. It was refreshing and certainly welcomed.

He chuckled and shook his head, "nah. I'd be a rubbish Healer. Could you imagine my bedside manner?" He sat back and started munching again, "when I was a kid, my Dad ran the Magical Menegerie in Diagon." His tone was soft, he never talked about his father, "every summer I'd be running around the store, playing with and feeding all the animals. It would get really stuffy in there so he'd leave the front door open. All kinds of bugs would make it into the shop. I don't know how many times I got stung by bees." He looked back down at their little feast. There were so many memories from his early childhood, time with his father and grandfather, family events with his cousins, that he had practically blocked out when his father disappeared. Acting as if he had simply come into existence as an angry Nine year old in the Scottish Highlands.

He narrowed his brow, "I've never told anyone that before." There was a ghost of a smile on his lips. He had spent so long being angry it was nice to finally look back on those memories fondly.

The flush on Jordyn’s face was no longer necessarily from pain and panic.  It was much more pleasant than that!  And maybe just a little bit embarrassing.  It took everything in her to bite the inside of her cheek and avoid making any sort of comment about what she imagined his bedside manner to be. 

Not that Jordyn ever thought in those ways.  That wasn’t it at all.  But, you know, once the suggestion was made… her mind flashed briefly back to snogging him on the couch in the common room and decided for all intents and purposes, she’d be better off not saying anything. 

She lifted her hand to cover her mouth and rapidly turning cheeks.  Thankfully, able to stifle herself, she tilted her head as he started to talk again – softer this time, thoughtful.  Jordyn’s eyebrows drew in and she was honestly surprised: he was talking about his father?  Like most of their classmates, she’d been under the impression that Tawse didn’t have a father – at least not in the traditional way.  (Sometimes, if she was going to admit it, the worst parts of her wished she didn’t!) But, with the advent of a Prophet article and everything else… well… it wasn’t that at all. 

That realization made Jordyn suddenly uncomfortable.  Was he really going to be so vulnerable in front of her?  She’d never really seen that side of him.  It was a little disconcerting.  She wondered if this was what he was genuinely like… and if it were, would he tolerate her for very long?  She did not have the immediate emotional honesty that he apparently had.  Because apparently the cherry on the top of the emotional sundae in front of her was that he’d never even told that to anyone before.  Jordyn could write a volume of novels filled with the stories she’d never told anyone. 

She also couldn’t be upfront about her actual feelings about it.  Though his tone was fond, Jordyn found the idea of a stuffy shop filled with animals and stinging bees to be about the least positive memories she’d ever have (to this day, Jordyn had no pets), she could respect he thought happily about it.  She elected for something probably just as bad but less straightforward, “I’ve never heard you talk about anything so fondly,” she teased awkwardly and fumbled for a follow up, "it's sweet."  She did not nail it.

Xavier flushed crimson and gave her a shrug, "Yeah, well, you know . . . no big deal." He went back to eating silently, His mind reeled, trying to comprehend what she had just said. Surely there were plenty of other things he talked about fondly. Perhaps it had more to do with their lack of meaningful interaction over the years and less about his complete lack of fondness.

On top of that she seemed weirded out by him sharing such a simple memory with her. Wasn't he supposed to do that? She was his girlfriend now, it was all part of getting to know someone. Despite having spent the last seven years together how much did they really know about each other? All they really had were each other's reputations. His own didn't lend to fond memories as a kid running around Diagon. So many people knew only one side of his family and the Tawse's weren't exactly the nicest of wizards. So many were purists, extremists, not to mention entire generations of Death Eaters. When he had first come to Hogwarts - and especially after being sorted in Slytherin - it was easier to let everyone think he was a budding dark wizard than the pampered rich kid he actually had been.

Was she shocked by his confession because that's all she had seen of him as well?

"Does it change anything?" He looked up to her, His expression colder than it had been but his cold grey blue eyes pleading, "knowing who I am? Who my family are?"

It was so odd to see him blush.  Xavier Tawse had never, in her memory, blushed.  He had flushed in anger, and she’d seen him after practice and red from exertion, but to look abashed and retreating?  And then to act so humble about it on top of everything?  Her smile widened and Jordyn leaned in, bumping her shoulder against his.  “We’ll agree to disagree,” she teased, regaining some semblance of confidence.  “But I like it.” 

Even if it was totally different, not all things that were different had to be bad.  This whole situation was decidedly different and good, wasn’t that proof enough?  She’d have to believe so, otherwise that was a pretty piss poor omen for the relationship as a whole.  Electing to be optimistic about the situation, Jordyn continued to smile and picked up her glass bottle once again. 

The bubbly, buttery froth danced over her tongue for the moment, anticipating more light hearted conversation, but finding herself surprised at his serious question.  Embarrassingly, she dribbled a bit on her chin.  “What?” her eyes widened in surprise.

She tried to be as dainty as possible while wiping her chin, but felt she must be failing miserably.  “No, no,” she reassured, “not at all! It wasn’t that,” because it truly wasn’t – she didn’t even have to lie about it!  It wasn’t like her family was much better.  Though it was most assuredly in the distant past, just searching the name Dimbleby in the Prophet would turn up all manner of articles about her father and what he did.  Family history wasn’t something she liked to discuss. 

“I just – I mean, it’s just nice,” she offered, setting the butterbeer down to put her hand on his knee.  “It just means you defy expectation,” she explained with another sweet smile, “I sincerely hope that is the case for everyone,” she admitted sheepishly.  Not quite as quick to open up as Xavier was, she’d just let that hang in the air for a moment.  “Besides, you don’t know me well enough if you think I’d care more about who you are related to than how well you do on your exams,” she sat up straighter and fluffed a little, like a  prize purebred after showing. 

Xavier ran both his hands through his hair, tousling the dark brown curls more than usual. He took a long centering breath, pulled back on his bottle of Butterbeer and offered her a weak but inviting smile, "I'm totally fucking this up aren't I?" He asked it with a chuckle. He was being playful about it but there was certainly something more serious festering underneath. He had trust issues, he had image issues, he had relationship issues. He wasn't sure Jordyn was ready to handle all his baggage and he certainly wasn't doing much to make the journey look appealing. She was simply being nice about seeing a new side of him and he had practically shut down on her.

He leaned back admiring the pampered purebred position she had obtained. It was true that he didn't really know her all that well but that wasn't about to stop him from trying. He was ready to move on. Ready to be his own man and not the person everyone expected or thought he had been for the past seven years. She deserved better from him and he was ready to do everything in his power to make sure he gave it to her.

"Sorry, guess I'm more shaken by this morning than I thought." He knew there would be some in the castle that would view him differently now. He was glad to know Jordyn wasn't one of them, "I just, I don't want to be treated differently. At least not because of some stupid Prophet Article." He looked to the clouds wistfully, "Can't wait to graduate. Start over, start fresh. Be my own person, you know?"