Something Worth Losing | S.B

12: Unhappy Valentines Day

February came, just as cold as January, but didn't seem to drag on as long.

For some reason, the student population of Hogwarts seemed to get a lot more chipper at the arrival of February, likely due to promise of Valentine's Day. The school usually made sure that there was a Hogsmede trip around that time and the halls and common rooms were often filled with a dull buzz of chatter, about who was asking who and whether or not they'd say yes.

To Beatrice, it was just like every other Hogsmede trip and Valentine's Day was just like every other day of the year, despite what her friends may have to say about it. Before this year, however, she'd never had anyone to celebrate it with. 

Edgar was the sort of boy that took Valentine's Day quite seriously. He treated her wonderfully all the time, of course, but something about the way he eyed other couples in the Great Hall and the common rooms led Beatrice to believe that there was an element of competitiveness in his nature that fuelled his desire to express to his girlfriend quite how much he adored her. This was a source of great amusement to Beatrice, who had never had anyone care about her so strongly. 

Of course, what her mother had said to her at Christmas was never far from her mind when she was with Edgar. Whenever they held hands, her attention was always brought to her left ring finger, which in a matter of years, would be home to a no doubt extravagant ring. And Regulus would have a matching one on his left ring finger. They would share a house and a will and a name. Her name would be Beatrice Black. They would be the ones holding the Christmas parties, greeting other families and posing for portrait after portrait. The thought made her shudder. 

Beatrice Black.

It began very hard for Beatrice to be around Edgar at all, for she was absolutely dying to tell him about the arrangement even though it was against her better judgement. He was competitive by nature and she figured that telling him that she was betrothed to her best friend may do more harm than good. In fact, it may do mostly harm and very little to no good at all. 

So she suffered, which may have sounded dramatic to anyone else but it seemed to be just about the only word Beatrice could think of to describe the way she felt. Every time she laughed with Edgar she wondered if she would be just as happy with Regulus. Because she was happy with Edgar, after all, despite all the secrets and such. They were happy. So sickeningly happy, in fact, that on Valentine's Day, Beatrice spent the whole morning without thinking of the betrothal, and almost made it through the day.

Almost.

Due to Edgar and Beatrice's difference in age and house, they had to rely on mealtimes, weekends and afternoon's in the library to spend time together. On Valentine's Day however, they had taken to short moments between classes to chat. 

"How was Potions?" Edgar asked cheerfully, slipping a hand around her waist.

"Beyond boring." She smiled. "How was Ancient Runes?" 

"Beyond beyond boring." He grinned. "Turns out OWL's weren't the worst of it and NEWT's are actually harder."

"I could've told you that."

It was quiet then for a really long time. So long, in fact, that Beatrice had to look up to check that Edgar was still OK. He was deep in thought and even though his face appeared serene, she could tell there was something bothering him. "Edgar," she began warily, "is something the matter?"

 "Well, nothing's the matter I suppose, I'm just thinking." His voice was soft and unassuming, in a way that comforted Beatrice because it was quintessentially him. 

"Would you like to share those thoughts with your wonderful girlfriend?" She teased lightly, smiling up at him.

 He looked up with a very serious expression and, out of nowhere, said "I love you, Bea."