Uriel Avery

His words were heard, and a small smirk formed on her angelic features. It was amusing to think that someone thought she was going to be getting attention for being out this late. Clearly, they were in for a rude awakening. “I don’t know what I’m more disappointed about. That you don’t remember the sound of my voice, or.. no, nevermind. That is exactly what I’m upset about.” She nodded her head slowly. “Every night. I don’t mind the shifts.”

When he came back to the common room, he was fuming about yet another argument he just had with Goyle. And so when the younger boy pounced on him with a rant about the other, Stefan quickly joined in. “I did see him and I went to speak to him and he’s being a dick as usual.” he hissed in irritation. Stefan would usually not hesitate to take his wand out and deal with people who pissed him off this much – but he had a bad feeling that the boy would take it out on his sister, not something he could allow to happen and especially not because of him. “Not one which made it to the sacred twenty eight, that’s for sure. Maybe if my step-mother had proof of their blood being involved with muggles, she’d throw this betrothal in the trash?” 

It was comforting to find someone just as miffed about this whole ordeal as himself. One that wouldn’t likely stir the thought of violence away completely if it came down to it. Uriel let the aggressiveness of his breath breath out of his nose like a doused dragon. “Did he make fun of Gabby again?” The boy asked feeling his temper steam but not at Stefan. The only way to calm himself was to picture Goyle out of the picture for good. Ginger eyebrows raise with curiosity, and he would poise the question just as quickly. “That shouldn’t be hard to get. Do you really think she would call off the betrothal if she had it?” Perhaps there was a way to get rid of Goyle after all.

Gabrielle nodded her head, the corsage was fastened properly to her wrist now and wouldn’t flop around her wrist if she moved about. But his words were what made her fall speechless. Precious? Was she really precious in his eyes? Enough to be the most precious thing there? It just seemed so unlikely. Sure, it was something Stefan or Annabelle might agree with, or even Dolena, but that only brought about a fear that he thought of her as a little sister figure. Though, they’d been on a date and his compliments weren’t one that a boy would pay to a sister. “Thank you,” she murmured, eyes studying the corsage again, trying to cover the embarrassment that she felt from his compliments.

His forehead pressing against hers was like the calm before the storm, but panic bubbled in her chest, heavy and suffocating. She choked on her breath, tears streaking down her checks. Uriel’s reaction meant more to her than anything in that moment. Losing him, even just the thought of losing him was terrifying. They’d only been together for a short while, but Gabrielle was heart over head for the redhead boy. She caught the different flashes of emotion that crossed his face. The anger made her falter, even though it only lasted a second. Was he angry with her? Her gut told her no, but the seeds of doubt in her mind were already blossoming. The brunette shrunk in her spot.

Then, his hand was on hers, holding it, like he was holding on to her. She looked up at him, wide eyes peering through wet lashes, scared, like she’d been earlier when she’d gone to Stefan. “Stefan said he’s going to fix it.” Gabby spoke softly, but she wasn’t convinced, “But, I think my mum is scared that she’s not going to find any other family that wants me, and I don’t-don’t know how to convince her. I’m trying so hard to be enough; to be everything that a family would want for their son.” She was starving herself, exercising to the point of exhaustion, she spent hours creating elaborate baked goods to help her cope with her hunger, and more time on her makeup and hair these days than she spent on reading her beloved books. The extreme lengths she went to didn’t end there, like how she forced herself into corsets her mother had gotten her for Christmas the year before and sometimes had to cling to the arm rail on the staircases to catch her breath. Gabrielle was fracturing herself in hopes that the undesirable parts of her would break off and that she’d finally be enough. Though, with every passing day she felt like less and less. “I-I don’t know how else to fix this. I-I just want to be enough for everyone.” The girl admitted through her tears, and looked down, ashamed of herself. “Maybe I’m not trying hard enough.”

Uriel’s lips pressed against her cheek and then her lips. The kiss was quick, but comforting. She leaned into it, not wanting him to pull away. The words that he spoke against her rang in her ears, filling her up with hope. Did he really believe that she would never waste his time? That she was worth everything he was putting forward for her? She couldn’t imagine why he felt that way, couldn’t see it for herself. Gabrielle wasn’t good enough for the name she wore like cover-up over her father’s abandonment of her and her mother. It was like a band aid that her mother had secured as a negotiation for the terms of the marriage to Stefan and Annabelle’s father. It was no more than a facade that only ensured that her pureblood wouldn’t go to waste. She wasn’t worth Uriel’s kindness, nor his time, yet, there he was, fighting to tell her that she was and see to it that she believed it. Her lips pressed back against his and she closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the feeling of his want for her. Tonight they were still together, and that was all she had left to hold on to.

Within Uriel’s mind they were bonded deeper than Gabrielle probably realized. Once he was able to get this close to her he started to harbor in and mesmerize her facial features. Often taking note when her mind was full of unspoken words and doubts. He had his own doubts, but they were secure since he spent every awakened minute trying to watch her from a distance. No surprises at least that was the thought process until he learned of Roland Goyle. But any surprise to Gabrielle was surely a surprise to him as well. He was but one person and he could only stalk one person. The only one to garner this attention was Gabrielle for good reason.

Peering down to her as he controlled his anger at the situation, he furrowed his brows. “Stefan said he will? Then he will.” Uriel had nothing but trust when it came to the head boy and older brother. He checked out good as far as Uriel had decided and they seemed to get along fine even before Gabrielle became his girlfriend. Sure, Stefan probably didn’t know the extent of his time spent following his sister. But he knew what was important, and that was his obsession was only committed love. He frowned down to her trying to keep her as much close to him as she could get. Afraid that if he let her drift apart she would go to Goyle, and then he would have to figure out how to kill him in the middle of a fucking ball.

“You’re enough, Gabs.” He reaffirmed to her softly with a slow smile. “Anyone would be lucky to have you be their betrothed, but I was hoping that your mom would ask my parents.” He would think of many names that he shouted within his mind. He shook his head slowly, “Don’t worry babe. We’ll fix this. Stefan said he will fix it.” He smooths his fingers through the side of her hair being careful to not mess up the design of her brunette locks. Intense blues staring into her. “You’re perfect to hell with everyone else.” He moves his hand to smooth out some of her tears away. Uriel hated to see her this defeated, but it also made him quite murderous in hindsight. “You’re enough.” He whispered before pressing his lips to her.

Uriel had moved his hands around her waist, closing his eyes slowly as she reciprocated the kiss. Moving one of his hands to caress her jawline as he deepened the kiss. Trying his best to show her what his words may not have convinced her. Tightening the one arm around her waist to secure her to him as he ignored whomever surrounded them. Puling his lips apart just to speak against hers, “After the ball. Do you want to come with me?” He whispered opening his gaze to glance around at her face. Hoping that she knew his only intentions were to make her see her own self worth and how he deserved none of it. Before he could stop himself the next set of words weightlessly closed the gap between their lips. “I love you.”

The gift of a rosy pink blush rose to the brunette’s cheeks when the redhead’s lips brushed her knuckles. She could feel the flower on the corsage beginning to slips towards the inside of her wrist already. Gently, she nodded her head, her hair not straying from it’s delicate pin holds, but still, her free hand rose to check, scared that it would fall out of place and suddenly Uriel would see her the way she saw herself. Like some disillusionment would lift from him if the smallest flaw arose among the dozens that were already present in her mind. “Yes, just a bit tighter, I don’t want to have it fall. I want to make sure that everyone can see it.” She explained quickly, the nervousness clear in her voice, like she was scared she might offend him or bother him. Though, it was a normal additive anytime she spoke to someone.

The word gorgeous seemed to float around her, almost visible to Gabrielle as the pure delight made her heart flutter. No one had ever called her that before. Maybe her diet and exercise were finally paying off. It seemed that his words were always taking her by surprise,simply how highly he thought of her. Did he really think people would be jealous that he had her as his date? She was certain it was the other way around. Girls would be envious and confused, rightfully so, by Uriel escorting her to the ball. Her cheeks, as well as her upper chest were burning red with flattery. “Thank you, you’re always much too kind to me, Uri. There’s not another person in the world that I’d rather be here with.” 

His hand on her jaw made her skin tingle beneath it. It was like his touch put her into a giddy state of euphoria, like she was rested among the clouds for a while. “I’d love to dance with you.” Gabby whispered softly, eyes shining with happiness as she looked up at him. But then the reality hit her again; she was betrothed to Roland Goyle. Her stomach began to twist and her chest began to tighten with the sudden rush of guilt and fear that had only just hidden in the crevice of her mind for a beautiful moment. How was she supposed to tell Uriel?Selfishly, she didn’t want to tell him, because she wanted the feelings that she was having with him to last forever. Maybe she could just have one dance with him first and then she could tell him. Silently, she spent the moment wishing it was him that she would be courted by until she graduated, that she could grow into a couple with. The sparkle in her eyes seemed to disappear at that moment, her smile faltered and then fell from her lips. She’d tell him after there first dance, then she’d ruin the small slice of happiness that they’d managed to carve out for themselves.

She took his hand.

But the guilt of lying to him, even if it wasn’t really lying, was too much for even one moment. Gabrielle’s face fell. “Before we dance, I need to tell you something. And if you don’t want to dance with me, or be here with me, I understand.” She whispered, holding his hand tighter for support, almost as if he was her life line in that moment. The words didn’t wait for his response, fleeing her mouth like mice from a roaring lion. “I’ve been betrothed to Roland Goyle. I-I didn’t know until this afternoon. I had no idea and they wanted me to come with him to the ball, but I’d made plans with you and I wanted to come with you so I told them I was going with you. And-” There were tears welling in her eyes as the words flowed from her at a rapid pace. “And I don’t even like him, I mean, he’s not nice. He makes fun of me for being a hufflepuff and he makes me nervous. It’s not like with you, because you’re always nice to me and I like you and I want to be with you and spend my time with you and dance with you and-and hold your hand, but-um-uh…” The words had all come crashing out so quickly that she wasn’t sure what she was saying, and through the haze of her tears, she couldn’t see his reaction to it all. Gabrielle tried to blink them away, but only more appeared to replace them. “I just-I wanted you to know, because I don’t want you to waste your time on me. I-I know I should have told you this afternoon, but I was so upset and I just wanted to-to see you one more time and-and show you the dress I picked out to wear for you.” Finally she dropped his hand from her own, looking away from him, ashamed of herself for a decision that was not her own. “I’m sorry, Uriel. I’m so so sorry.”

He listened to her instructions closely tightening the corsage around her wrist, and even testing it with gently moving her wrist to ensure it didn’t fall off. “I think that’s good, what do you think?” Uriel swooped his gaze from her wrist to her face with a gentle smile. “Someone has to be kind to you, you’re the most precious thing in the ball here.” He replied with a slightly nervous chuckle. This was all going to plan, at least his own plan he schemed up a few years ago. Little did he know, however, that fate had a different plan for them.  

Uriel had known from past experiences that he didn’t like when Gabrielle fell silent. It was never a good sign, but he thought maybe she was just lost in her own mind. Just like the time he asked her on their first date. He drew his face closer so their foreheads lightly touched against one another. There’s something off, but he wanted to ignore it. Whatever it was, he would deal with it. Maybe Gabrielle wouldn’t know the lengths he would go, but he was sure as the years progressed on he would be taking bodies out and dumping them to the bottom floor of the Black lake.

His thoughts interrupted when she took his hand, and he noticed quickly how her face fell.  Those words. Uriel didn’t care for them, nor did he link them. Whatever she needed to say, he was unsure what his knee jerk reaction would be. What if there were another bloke? There wouldn’t be for long. Still he felt his own heart race and the inside of his hands turn clammy. As she poured out the overwhelming news to Uriel his face changed. It went from happy, to angry, to sad, and now it just looked gloomy and grim. It all took its time to sink into the older boy’s mind. Roland Goyle for fucks sake was not part of the plan.

A shiver ran down her spine as the older boy rubbed her arm that was clad in his jacket. The effect the boy’s affection had on her was almost intoxicating, like she was in a happy daze. It wasn’t as though she was starved for afffection by any means, because she was always hugging others, constantly, really, but the small touches, like a hand rubbing her arm or playing with her hair, or leaning against someone that was not her sibling wasn’t a frequent experience. Those small gestures were romanticized in her brain, like most things were.

She looked up at him, glancing at his lips as he spoke and wondered what it might feel like to kiss him. Of course her cheeks only served to turn a deeper shade of red at this thought and she hid her face beneath her hair as she looked back at the ground, trying to remember what he’d said a moment before, but it was lost to her. So, she nodded in agreement, always the safest bet, and continued leading him towards the edge of the forbidden forest. Of course, at the idea of disobeying Stefan, she looked up at him in confusion and shook her head. “No, no. Stefan knows I still come out to feed the foal, I just can’t come out after dark to do it.” She explained, not wanting the boy to think she would lie to her brother or misuse his trust in her. “He knows how much the foal means to me. He just wants me to be safe. Especially with what happened with the dementors.” Green orbs cast themselves back to the ground, knowing her brother was the one that set them free in the first place. And despite his insistence that it had been an accident, she seriously doubted it.

“Oh good,” she clapped her hands together at his assurance that Tuesday would work, and her cheeks went back to that pink tone that was never far from the surface at the “just for you”. She liked the sound of that. “I will, I promise,” Though, she knew she wouldn’t change her mind. “I’d rather spend time with you than a tutor anyway.” She confessed shyly, and though her stomach twisted uncomfortably at the thought of him seeing her all sweaty and the fat of her arms, stomach, and thighs bouncing unnaturally as she ran, Gabby couldn’t say no to his offer to run together. She’d just have to find something else to wear that would cover or construct that from happening. Certainly no more sports bra and leggings. “Alright, but if I slow you down, you can tell me. Okay?” She asked, even though she would slow down to accommodate him and not offend his masculinity, as her mother would say. It was always a matter of dumbing herself down or making herself lesser to make men happy. She couldn’t count the number of times her mother had told her that she was going to scare men away if she corrected them. Especially where magic was concerned. That’s why she’d offered to help Uriel study and not to tutor him like she did with younger students.

As the approached the area where the unicorns often grazed, Gabrielle reluctantly peeled herself from Uriel’s side so she could pull out the bag of food she’d brought. “Not unless you have powers beyond magic to convince my mother that I dont need her to send me a dress of her choice for the next ball.” She said a little more spitefully than she’d meant to. Her hand rose to cover her mouth like she’d just cursed in front of a professor on accident and turned bright red. “That was terribly rude of me, I’m sorry.” Not to mention embarrassing. Quickly, she tried to change the subject and offered the contents of the bag to the boy. “Do you want to feed them with me?” She gestured to the unicorns and their foals. “The little ones will be more receptive of you, but the older ones tend to be a little more reluctant around men.”

Uriel groaned inwardly once she mentioned that Stefan did know about her feeding the foal. It didn’t really surprise him, and it’s not like he wanted to sneak her off without her brother knowing. Part of him did, but he had deducted that he’d rather keep his goals with Gabrielle end game. She of course was aloof to most of this, even the fact that he had day dreamed about their wedding ever since she picked up his wand and handed it to him within his fifth year. Years he had been watching her from afar, mesmerizing her habits. Humans were habitual creatures after all. The mention of the dementors made his jaw tighten. She was supposed to have stayed safe and not ventured out, but she did anyway. She didn’t follow directions. “I’ll come out with you if it gets too late next time. Did.. Did the dementors get you?” He honestly didn’t know the full answer, since he hadn’t wanted to get caught.

He breathed a sigh of relief when she said she would rather spend time with him than a tutor. “I’d rather spend time with you than with anyone else.” He confessed shyly wetting his lips wondering if that was a good time to admit such a thing. Maybe she wouldn’t dwell on it as they continued their adventure onward. A small smile offered down to her, “I’ll tell you.” In reality he wouldn’t, but luckily for them both he had been keeping decent pace at her for a while. She just didn’t notice him, at least that’s what he had assumed.

Uriel almost felt insulted when she peeled herself away from him. Thought he understood as soon as she got the feed out. “You could always try Imperius.” He pointed out softly, though he very much doubted Gabrielle would ever use such a thing. It was still an offered solution in his eyes. He arched a brow as he heard her hurried apology and shook his head slowly. “Don’t apologize. It wasn’t rude, you were just conveying a feeling. Obviously your mother has terrible taste in dresses” He laughed lightly only trying to imagine what her mother would pick out for her to look nunly in. He took the contents and gazed reluctantly to where the unicorns grazed. Would the bite him? Impale him with their horn? Perhaps this was one of his least thought out plans – but he got a study date from it and that’s all that mattered.  “Yes I’ll give it a go.” He murmured slowing his pace and replicating hers with the food in his hands. “How do you do it?”

Once Stefan came into the door, the boy had already started to rant. “Did you see Goyle at lunch? How he just walked in front of her? It was rude.” Not to mention even after Gabrielle had told him about the engagement, he was dead set that Gabrielle was his.  “What the fuck type of name is Goyle anyway?”

@stefanxxnott

The day leading up to the ball was a disaster, to say the absolute least. It had started out with her mother rejecting the dress that she’d spent hours finding with Annabelle and Stefan. Of course, that shopping trip hadn’t occurred that same day and had actually been a wonderful memory that the three siblings had made. Thankfully, Anna had played her father like a fiddle and managed to get Gabrielle the right to wear her dress. Then, as if retaliating, her mother announced Gabrielle’s engagement to Roland Goyle, and that she would be attending the ball with him. And it was the first time Gabrielle remembered ever saying no to her mother. The world seemed to break out in chaos after that. She pleaded with her siblings and even her step father. She’d already accepted a date with Uriel, surely pissing off the Avery’s wasn’t a good idea. And it wasn’t as if she hadn’t told them in advance of her plan. It had taken a lot of convincing, but Annabelle offered to accompany Roland, since she hadn’t acquired a date for herself, anyway.

The stress of the day and the hunger pains that constantly gnawed at her stomach seemed to fade away as soon as she spotted Uriel. He looked dashing, to say the least, and her heart sunk as she remembered that this was to be their last date. She slowed her pace slightly, as if to savor the moment of his eyes finally falling on her. The anticipation of learning what he thought of her dress set off an explosion of butterflies in her stomach. Her heart quickened as she finally got close to him.

“Hi,” Gabrielle said softly, smiling as she took him in. Uriel was, as always, handsome, but even more so tonight. It was almost painful just how striking he was, especially with the knowledge that it would be the last time that he’d be, in some small way, hers. Welcoming the distraction from that thought, she looked down at the corsage and a smile gifted her painted lips. “It’s beautiful.” She gushed, “I love it. Will you put it on for me?” The brunette asked, holding out her dainty wrist.

“You look dashing,” Her voice was shy and hushed, eyes fluttering to look up at his own. She’d starved herself for three days so that she could look beautiful for him. Her eyes fell as her cheeks changed to pink and she smiled widely. “You always do.”

Oh how Uriel suffered through the breaks. It made stalking Gabrielle rather difficult, unless he could roll into the Nott residence under the guise of something, anything really. For once in the past several days, he days were too long to count, he had followed her almost everywhere to keep a watchful eye on her. Uriel found himself trusting of Gabrielle, but he dead sure didn’t trust anyone else completely. He made the decision to let her shop with her siblings without his eyes on her from a distance. So he was rather surprised with her.

He’s mesmerized the moment he sees her. Wanting to take an enchanted photo of them together. Because this memory would stand against time – or so he felt. Everything had a lag of movement towards it as he nodded own to her with a beaming grin. He knelt forward and delicately wrapped the corsage around her wrist. Taking the moment to brush his lips across her knuckles. “Is it too loose, do I need to tighten it?” The boy asked and raised his head to look up with her.

He found himself blushing himself at her compliment, still holding onto her wrist. “Thank you, but you’re so gorgeous. Everyone it going to be jealous you’re my date.” Uriel murmured his eyes glowing with their ignorant happiness. Little did he know about the betrothal, and as far as he knew at the beginning of the dance Gabrielle was his and his alone. “Are you thirsty? Do you want to dance first?” He asked knitting his brows together, while his other hand moved up to gently caress her jaw.