Gwydion (left) | gabie | snickleways

York, England | July 1983

The squeals of feminine laughter, not to mention the sounds of what was a The Police record, was playing in the backyard of Gwydion Mayberry’s flat that he had received for his graduation from Hogwarts. Gabrielle Murray-Harker had only just turned eighteen a few weeks ago and well, she was blissfully happy with Mayberry. Their relationship had been revealed right before the end of the year exams – many were shocked, needless to say. A Slytherin dating a Hufflepuff was seen by many as treachery, not to mention a sign of foreboding doom. However, the two lovebirds ignored these warnings as they found each other rather acceptable in each other eyes.

Moments before the laughter had began, Gabrielle had been lying on his white wicker loveseat, gazing at him with loving stares, not knowing that the pictures that he was taking would last through the troubles that were to come soon enough. However, it did not change that the two of them would keep the photographs of her and the capture of innocence. Gabrielle was squealing out in laughter as Gwydion had only just grabbed the sprinkler hose and began to aim it at her.

“Gwydion. NO. NOOO!” she shrieked in laughter, which in returned resulted in a chuckle from Gwydion’s neighbor Mr. Sumner, who happened to be a wizard himself. “If you hit me with that water hose, so help me . . . I think I’ll kill you.” She was semi-serious but the threat was evident. That water had better stay inside rather on her – so help his life. That is, if he valued it.

Every little thing you do is magic was not only the name of the song currently playing on Gwydion´s record player, it was also a quite accurate way of describing his feelings for Gabrielle Murray-Harker. He hadn´t really thought she would respond to his advances, a little more than two years ago, except maybe by shooting a well-aimed Limax at him. The prospect of her turning him down did not discourage him in the least, however; Gwydion Mayberry always spoke his mind, never fearing rejection or humiliation, and if he liked a girl, he told her so even if he knew very well that his chances were low. It wasn´t about winning, for him, it was about playing the game. Strangely enough, his carefree approach led to success more often than not, a fact that never ceased to surprise and annoy those people who thought of him as a good-for-nothing weirdo who certainly didn´t deserve all the attention he was getting.

With Gabrielle, even Gwydion himself had been convinced that she would turn him down. And at first it had seemed like she would, a cool Slytherin princess raising her eyebrows at the quirky Hufflepuff jester performing metaphorical somersaults for her. But then, somehow, they had clicked. Gwydion, who had been mainly impressed by her beauty, soon found that Gabrielle was more than that, that she was smart and kind-hearted and shared a lot of his interests, and that was when he really fell for her. Granted, he hadn´t been happy about having to keep their relationship secret, a request Gabrielle had made of him for her family´s sake; it had been perhaps the greatest proof of love he could give her that he had actually managed not to let anything on for as long as two years. It had cost him a tremendous effort, too; Gwydion Mayberry wasn´t made for pretending.
But now they were both out of school, and they´d made their relationship public - even before graduation (Gabie´s proof of love for him) - and everything was just splendid. Especially today, since Gabie was spending the weekend with him in his flat (well, his and Toby Sutcliffe´s, to be precise - or, to be more precise, just Toby´s, who had taken him in as a roommate) and they had the rest of Saturday and the whole glorious Sunday before them.

Gwydion had been taking photos of Gabrielle with his new camera. Now that they were officially a couple, he wouldn´t hesitate to show off his beautiful girlfriend, and that included keeping a picture of her in his wallet. However, when Mr. Sumner next door started watering his garden, he recalled that Toby had asked him to do the same with their – his – garden while he was away, and so Gwydion put away the camera and grabbed the sprinkler hose.

“Wanna help me with the plants, Gabie?” he said, and only when she jerked up and started shrieking did he realize that he was pointing the hose at her. Taking that as an invitation, he took a few steps closer, his grin only deepening at her threats. Water started leaking out of the hose; Mr Sumner was chuckling, Gabie was cursing him while giggling, it was a hot day and Gwydion knew that if they got wet (and it was perfectly clear that if Gabie got wet, she would get her revenge on him), they would dry within fifteen minutes. Frowning, he fumbled around with the hose, pretending not to know how it worked, muttering under his breath “Wait a sec, I´ll turn it off, let me just see where the darn button… ah! There it is!”

A full splash of water shot out of the hose, missing Gabie only by inches. Gwydion fought with the hose as if it were a sea snake, struggling to get it under control, managing finally to set it to sprinkle rather than splash, and thus having ensured that she wouldn´t get soaked through and through, pointed the hose at her.

“Look out! I can´t control it any longer!”

Finally the “sea snake” was defeated, no more water coming out of its ugly mouth, and it fell to the ground like a, well, wobbly hose. By then, Gwydion was rather wet himself. Reaching out for his girlfriend, he proclaimed, “There, I killed the monster! How will the princess ever thank her hero for saving her?”

Probably by hexing him to bits, if she was mad enough. Or a kiss, that was a possibility too. You never knew with Gabie.

Seeing the water hose in his hand set off an alarm in her head, knowing full well Gwyn would likely use it on her, one way or another. She wasn't the Wicked Witch of the West, but depending how much water sprayed upon her really made her worry slightly. Her eyes kept a steady pace on him and that hose up until it did release itself, hitting her legs and feet, causing a loud boisterous squeal to erupt from her lips. "GWYNNNN!" she shouted in mocking anger, though it did look like on her face she was quite irate with him. Carmina had taught her grandchild very well in playing (well, 'pawning' as Carmina had said) well with your enemies. Gwyn was hardly an enemy but it was still all in fun, right? She watched him 'defeat' the great water monster and snicker ever so slightly seeing him completely drenched. He looked like a poodle when he was wet.

His hand was reaching out for him and she gladly obliged, taking it and stooping down to his level. He had been correct in finding a beautiful person in Gabrielle. She showed it well once you knew her, otherwise, she seemed like a prat the rest of the time. Her father believed it to be a sign of rebellion because of Mina's death (of which she hadn't really told Gwydion all about that - but who really would? It wasn't a fairy tale ending, though the rest of it was), while Sarah Harker, who seemed to have a slight interest in the child (Gabie didn’t buy it because the woman was bitter all the time) blamed it on the usual suspect: Vlad. He was the one who had thought it to be best passing the child around while he stayed busy with work – she didn’t believe in magic because she was a strict Muggle woman who didn’t believe in what she called ‘childish fantasies’; after all, to her, people who flew on broomsticks and went to magical schools were to be damned for all eternity. However, her two grandchildren, Quincy and Gabie, had to be the exception to this rule. Gabrielle shook off all these thoughts as she looked into her beloved Gwydion’s eyes – was this, perhaps, what her mother and father had felt? A passionate love that seemed to span through the centuries in literature and prose, or was it just puppy love?

“Aye, you’ve slain the beast and for that, you shall be justly rewarded, dear soldier,” she commented, smiling at him as her lips gave him a repayment of a kiss upon the lips. The time around them seem to have prolonged as she stood there locked in this moment with the boy until she broke it apart. “There. Did we enjoy it and sir, might I ask, what were you planning to surprise me with? Dinner again?” Gwydion had indeed surprised her the first time – he had attempted to make a Romanian meal and well . . . it had not ended well at all. She told him to work on it and then try again sometime when they were together again. Hopefully there was more surprises than that – after all, he had missed her birthday and had yet to tell her why.

 „Did I enjoy it? Uh, I´m not sure, do you think you could, you know, repeat it? I promise to pay more attention this time…”

Again their lips met, hers still curled up in a smile, but so were Gwydion´s own – they seemed to do one or the other constantly, either smile (or giggle or laugh) or else kiss. As far as he was concerned, that was the way it could stay forever. After all, they were two of his favourite pastimes, and especially so when he could share them with Gabie.

“Dinner? Ha! Been there, done that.”

He grinned at her, breaking the embrace for a flourish, gesturing for her to step back into the house.

“What I have for you is much better than burnt meat and half-raw potatoes, impossible as it sounds. Oh no, not what you might think”, he added quickly, gathering from the look on her face that she had her own suspicions as to what he had in store for her. “Or let´s say, that too, but a little later. No, I promise that my gift for you is much easier to digest than that meal from last time, and much more pleasing to the eye…”

While talking, Gwydion had led Gabie to the far side of the living room (not that it was really far – the apartment was too tiny to warrant any impression of distance at all), and when they were standing right in front of the desk, he pulled at the corner of a tablecloth that was draped over an object leaning against the wall, and uncovered a painting.

It was a portrait of Gabie, painted with magical pastel colours that made the young woman in the picture look like she was moving, dancing to a silent tune, and smiling alluringly at the viewer. Gwydion was rather proud of the painting. It was his fourth take, actually; the first three hadn´t come out right, and he had disposed of them (silently lamenting the waste of the pretty and expensive colours), working on until he had achieved something even the perfectionist side of him was proud of. He thought he had captured Gabrielle rather well, her beautiful hair, her smile and, the most difficult to put down well, the graceful movement of her body, swirling around herself, moving almost out of the picture at times and then coming back with the graceful steps he knew so well from her.

He had moved behind her while she was watching the painting, and now he wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him; tenderly, he placed his chin on her shoulder, looking past her at her twin, captured forever smiling on the canvas.

“See? That way you´re always with me, even when you can´t be with me.”

Their moments together were more than wonderful - they were sheer bliss & right now was proof of that. Gwydion had been so very good to her, listening ever intently to what Gabrielle to say, offering advice when it was necessary (and a few times unnecessary too). He always had a way with words & it seemed right now, Gwydion Mayberry was one smooth jive cat, soul brother talker. "You and y'mouth," was all she could find to say as he dragged her back into the small flat without hardly a protest. What did he have this time up his sleeve? Overcooked meat & raw potatoes sounded absolutely horrid & Gabrielle hoped he was kidding or she'd hex him for that most definitely.

He moved to an unidentified object (she had a worried look on her face) but it completely dissolved into a mixture of blushing, awe & tears. It was herself, a mirrored image, dancing to & fro, leaving & reappearing all while with a smile upon the face. Gabie choked back a sob - no one, ever or for a very long time, had done such a kind deed for her & so the natural expression on the face was real, sans any artificialness.

Gwydion soon took his place behind her, wrapping his arms around his beloved while Gabrielle fought to allow words without crying. It certainly did not help when he said the painting would remind him of her for all time. Kissing his hand, her eyes looked up into his, all misty-eyed & glorious. "Gwyn," she spoke in a whisper (which was uncommon for the girl), "I love it. It's more than beautiful; I'm at a loss what to say...but thank you & I love you." Her head rested back onto his chest, uncaring he felt scruffy while she soaked up all that she felt within her. Maybe, just maybe...her father would approve of him. Because it was clear both for to see that Gabrielle Murray-Harker undeniably did.