Funny Seeing You Here (Robert)

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Constance wasn't expecting to make a trip to the ministry today, but the hospitals usual representative in monthly meetings asked her to cover for them. She made sure her patients were covered and made her way to the ministry. She wasn't happy to be going. She had work to do, people to care for, and lives to save. She frowned as she appeared in one of the fireplace transporters and walked down the brightly lit hallway towards the fountain. She smiled at people as she passed, even though she was feeling incredibly irked.

She found the elevator, asked for the correct floor and started to go. Soon another person got in the elevator with her, "Char?!" he said. Constance turned to him and frowned. One of her many ex-make out buddies from school. "Come on, Greg, no one has called me that since Hogwarts." she rolled her eyes and got off on the next floor, even though it wasn't the one she was supposed to be going to.

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Today was not his day. He had been dealing with a lot of paperwork and also he was being sent to do dumb and irrelevent things, all day. To say he is a little stressed is an understatement. The stupid old codger that they had for a minister was and is a complete idiot, and is acting just like fudge had when Voldemort had returned. Rob didn't like sitting around all day in an office, it was rather boring, he rather be out in the field finding out who is killing off his co-workers and that first year muggle born. 

He was walking on some random floor that his department wasn't even on when he heard a very familiar voice. "Come on, Greg, no one has called me that since Hogwarts." Rob just looked up and realized that he was near the lifts, to the other floors. It had been a long time since he had seen her, but he would recognize her anywhere. Said person was Constance Kase his sister's best friend. As he got closer he saw her step off the lift apparently wanting to get away from Greg. But he also noticed that Greg started to get off as well to follow Constance, Rob had his wand out in a flash and used a very subtle charm to push Greg back into the lift. He then slashed his wand making the gates on the lift close, and take Greg off to who knows where. Some times it pays off to be an Auror. He turned around to face Constance. It was the first time he had seen her in a long time, and he let a smile form on his face. "Constance." He said in almost disbelief that it was actually her. "I didn't expect to run into you here at the ministry of all places. How have you been?" Rob was beside himself the last time he had seen her was at Hogwarts and now he wasn't quite sure what to do.

@constancekase

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Constance let a smile spill onto her face as she made eye contact with Robert. She did a low whistle and cocked an eyebrow, "Robert Orion Hudson. Killer Beater turned Auror."She crossed closer to him and clenched her purse. She thought about giving him a hug, but was that appropriate? Sure, Rachel was, and still is, her closest friend, sure, they had been teammates and sure they had crushed a little back in 7th year. But she wasn't sure where they stood now. He had been gone for so long. It was like she had to reintroduce herself again. She smirked and chuckled, "I've been good, thanks for asking. Working with Rachel at St. Mungos," she shrugged, "I was sent to the ministry on business. I'm covering for our regular PR manager. I have to go to some meeting with the board."

She stepped closer to him and started walking around, in order to get a full view of him live and in the flesh, "So, where ya been, anyway? Some secret mission?" she nudged him with an elbow as she came full circle and stood in front of him again. "Thanks for not calling me Char, by the way." she frowned, "that name has a reputation." She rolled her eyes and gestured to the elevator where Greg was long gone.

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"I was sent to the ministry on business. I'm covering for our regular PR manager. I have to go to some meeting with the board." Ronan smirked as she said all of this and it seemed to him that she really didn't want to be here at all, and plus she was on the wrong floor, and plus the board wouldn't be meeting for another couple of hours yet. He knew because he had been given the fun task of making sure the room was ready for said meeting. "That is good, and I am guessing you do not want to go to that meeting? And what are you doing here so early, it isn't for another couple of hours?" He figured he might as well let her know about the time of the meeting. 

Rob grinned as Constance began walking around him apparently trying to get a good look at him. And as she walked around him he looked at her and realized that she was even more beautiful than the last time that he had seen her. "As a matter of fact yes I was on a "secret" mission as you call it. I was in America for the past six months." He paused at the mention of his twin sister. He felt kind of bad for not going to visit her since he had been back. Granted here he was sitting in the ministry doing nothing. "Your welcome. And I kind of figured it had to be something like that when I heard you tell Greg, to not call you that." Rob paused and made eye contact with Constance, before he asked. "Want to go for a walk around the oh so lovely ministry, since you have a couple of hours till your meeting with the board?" He held his arm out slightly so that if she accepted his invitation she could take it while they walked and caught up on everything that has been going on in their lives.

@constancekase

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She laughed, "you're going to make fun of me. But I'm early because I was sure I'd get lost. I try to avoid the ministry-slash-ministry minions at all cost. No offense, " she smirked, "I'm just not that into politics." and that was true. So many kids at Hogwarts wanted so bad to join the ministry in one way or another. Some even tried to convince her that this was the best way to change the world, to save lives, to be a hero. She could see how that made sense, especially in the Auror department, but somebody had to be there to pick up the pieces when things didn't go according to plan. Even the heroes needed heroes, and that's what she was doing with her life. She raised an eyebrow at him again, "Wait, how do you know when my meeting is?" she pursed her lips.

Robert looked good, really good. He wasn't so much the scrawny schoolboy anymore. He had been fit in school, sure, but he had really grown into those muscles. He was lean, but she could tell there was something just beneath the surface. Not too mention he had grown into his cheekbones, making him more handsome than ever. Why hadn't she given him the time of day since day one at Hogwarts? Heaven knows she made a mistake by not doing that. They could have had years of friendship rather than a few short months. Her jaw dropped when he mentioned America, "Really? That's... impressive. Rachel wouldn't give any details. Said I'd have to talk to you myself," because she's been trying to play a little matchmaker, she thought.

"You saw that?" she wanted to facepalm herself. Greg was one of her worst Slytherin exes who made it a point to treat Char like crap, not that she'd ever show it. She shrugged and put on a fake smile, "it's not like I can't handle it, being called Char, it's part of my name after all." Granted, Robert never called her that. She can't recall him saying it even once. When they first had a real conversation, fifth year when she joined Quidditch, he had called her Constance. She didn't notice that until now. She was snapped back into reality when he held his arm out to her. She smiled, oh so lovely ministry, that's cute, she thought. She slowly linked her arm with his and squeezed a little, "lead the way."

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Rob laughed along with Constance. “No, I’m not going to make fun of you for getting here early. Being early is better than being late.” He said but he also had to agree they were all ministry minions here. Well not so much the Aurors, cause they were allowed to get out in the field and do something for good and helping others. It was the only reason as to why he became an Auror besides wanting to catch, dark wizards so they couldn’t cause harm and destruction. "Wait, how do you know when my meeting is?" He chuckled a bit before he answered, granted he might get in trouble for saying this about the Minister “Well that is an easy question to answer. We have Aurors being killed and what does the minister do, acts like nothing is going on. So he has us, Aurors, sitting around doing paperwork, and such or even setting up rooms so that meetings can take place, such as the one you have.”

“Leave it up to Rachel, she could have told you about where I was at. But I think we both know what she is trying to do.” Rob said as he watched Constance. Man his day went from being boring and stressful to becoming a great day. And yet here his sister was still trying to get the two of them together. It had almost worked last time, but that was long ago and what if things had changed. Rob didn’t really know where he stood with Constance anymore, so it would be best to catch up. "You saw that?" He let smirk form before he answered “Yes I saw that, and I also saw him try and come after you.” He noticed the fake smile when she told him that she could handle it but before he could stop himself. “Yeah, let me guess by handling it, you mean if he would have said anything else you probably would have hexed him into next week?” He hoped that she wouldn’t decide to hex him for asking that. Rob still remembered the time when Constance and his sister ended up getting mad at him for something and he ended up on the receiving end of their hexes.

He turned his head and smiled. “Yeah I know the ministry isn’t the best place nor is it the ideal place to take a walk but since we are already here might as well.” Rob said as they began to walk nowhere in particular. It just wasn’t the same hell he would rather take a walk through a battlefield, which he had done not too long ago while in America. Than take a walk through the Ministry. “So how is your job going over at St. Mungos? I heard from a little bird that you are now the head of the spell damage department?” Was all he could ask, since they had to start somewhere. At the same time though he made a mental note to thank Rachel for this, ‘go ask him he can tell you, ha right sis you could have told her as well’ He shook his head a little to get his mind back to focus on the beautiful woman that he had on his arm.

@constancekase

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Constance smiled when he complimented her for being early. He was right. She was always running late in the past, she made it a point to be early nowadays, especially if she was representing the hospital. It was the most important part of her life and she wasn’t going to be a bad example. She found herself clenching her fists. She was getting too passionate again. She was snapped back into reality when he answered her question about the meeting. ”That’s....” she dropped her jaw and shook her head in disgust, ”I’m sorry about that. I don’t know much about the politics going on right now but it seems to be a lot more than I thought...” she shook her head and frowned.

”Well, she isn’t exactly the most subtle person in the world. Unlike you.” She smirked. Rachel was the kindest person Constance had ever met. She took her in and stayed her friend all these years. But, she had her own secret agenda, which wasn’t that far off of Constance’s current thought process. Constance raised an eyebrow at him, ”he tried to follow me? Figures, probably wanted to ‘reunite’, remember the ‘good old days.” she made a sound of disgust and then smiled, ”and yes. A hex sounds about right.” She lightly punched his arm, ”and you know how my hexes can be!”

Constance kept her arm tightly linked through his; she wasn’t feeling the need to comment on the boring nature of a walk around the ministry. She wasn’t the least bit bored; catching up with Robert was exhilarating. She immediately perked up at the mention of her job, ”It’s been going amazing! I was just promoted a few months ago, actually. It’s a big honor. Just means I get to do three times more work than before, which works for me.” she felt her cheeks getting warm as they walked. This was nice. ”It’s everything I’ve ever wanted really. Saving lives, taking care of people, being a hero. You know? “

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”I’m sorry about that. I don’t know much about the politics going on right now but it seems to be a lot more than I thought...” Rob could only nod in agreement, about the sad state that the politics were in. Here the minister had Rob and his fellow Aurors doing paperwork and dumb things like setting up things for meetings, instead of being out in the field doing their job, to catch and put a stop to whoever is killing off their coworkers and even going as far as killing a muggleborn first year. “Don’t worry too much about the politics, there really isn’t anything you or I can do about it. Once the public finds out or takes notice of what the minister is doing in order to cover it up, he will have no choice but to let us do our jobs.” It was the truth, however he really did want to tell her about getting stationed at Hogwarts. But he had basically sworn to secrecy when had agreed to join the Order, so he couldn’t tell her unless she was also in the Order.

Rob let out a laugh as Constance talked about Rachel. “Yeah, I can agree with you there. She never has been a subtle person.” Rob said, once he had stopped laughing. “Rachel really is a great person, but once she has an idea or plan well, good luck trying to stop her.” He stated with a smirk. It was true. She was just as determined as he was. “Yes he tried to follow you. And yes I remember how your hexes can be, and I am quite sure they hurt even more now than they did before.” Rob let out a chuckle as she punched him lightly in the arm.

As he listened to Constance talk about her job and having gotten promoted. Rob could see the brightness in her eyes as she spoke. “I am so glad that you are enjoying your job. I know perfectly well what you mean about saving lives.” He paused before he turned his head to look at Constance whom he had noticed had started to blush slightly. “Constance, you and your healers are the real heroes.” Rob really meant it. He wasn’t sure that she even remembered when he had come into the spell damage ward at St. Mungo’s in bad shape along with John. They had been in a major battle and both of them fought without hesitation. They had gone on a raid with ten other Aurors, who hadn’t really done their homework, and misjudged the amount of people they were going up against. When Harry and Ron had arrived, John and Rob were barely even standing and they weren’t recognizable. Since they had been hit with so many spells and potions, that they couldn’t block once all of the other Aurors had been taken out. But they had survived and took out all of the people that they were going up against. “I am not sure you remember but a year and a half ago, you saved my life.” He wasn’t sure if he should go on. They passed several offices of people that just gave the couple odd looks. “And that makes you my hero. All I remember of that night after the raid we were on had gone wrong I was brought into the spell damage ward hanging off the shoulders of Harry, and Ron. They had already dropped John off in a different ward. The last thing I remember before I passed out was seeing your beautiful face, which gave me the strength to push through, and hold on.I never got a chance to say thank you. So thank you for what you did.” Rob couldn’t go on, he wanted to but at the same time he wanted to see if she remembered or not that night, when he had looked his worst. He thought he had even heard her say something to him before he passed out but he was not sure what it was.

@constancekase

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She nodded, "things will even out, I'm sure of it," she said encouragingly. "The most I know about politics is the goings on at the hospital," she sighed, "My dear friend Althea, our director, as been telling me about how the ministry is trying to get far too involved in hospital affairs." She shook her head and sighed. Her lunches with her dear friend Althea lately have been full of stories about the ministers officials, letters and probing questions about the goings on at the hospital. The ministry wants patient records, names, injuries and even more information at their disposal. What good would that do? If a formal investigation was going on then, of course, the hospital would oblige to the aurors office and lawyers needs according to what the law allows. Who knows, soon the law might even change.

Constance laughed as well as they continued to talk about Rachels strong ability to formulate a plan and stick to it. That was one reason Constance loved her so much. Rachel decided to be kind to Constance and bring her out of her bad decisions as a teenager, and stuck with it until Constance became the woman she is today. She would forever be grateful to her dear friend for that. Constance nodded and laughed as he mentioned her hexes, "Just be glad you aren't on my bad side, Rob Hudson," she winked. There had been days where he was not on her good side. Not that he was on her bad side, but he was just entirely off her radar. She couldn't believe that she had so easily looked past him. Except for the fact that he was clearly one of the best quidditch players on her team. That was quite noticeable.

"I guess we do have that 'saving lives' thing in common now, don't we?" she said with a large smile. As he commented that her and her healers were the real heroes she blushed even more and shook her head, "we would be overwhelmed with work if it wasn't for the aurors preventative measures. You also bring the people to us that we need to save. It's all about teamwork." We're a team, she thought. The thought made her feel warm inside. The fact that they could do such noble work together, after having been such good friends for so long.

When he mentioned that she saved his life the color in her cheeks almost turned the color of blood, they were so warm. She remembered that day better than almost anything, even just thinking about it made her want to cry. When John and Rob, two of her old schoolmates, were carried in they were barely recognizable. John was carried in a different direction but Constance stayed close to Rob. She was just an orderly back then, and was assigned to Robs care along with several other spell damage specialist. More than once her sobs choked her, as she tired to reduce the damage while the more experience healers did all the hard repair work.

Constance stopped walking, and un-looped her arm from his. She turned to face him took both his hands in hers, not caring who was watching. Her eyes teared up, "Don't... don't call me your hero. All I did was hold your hand and prevent the-" she choked. Prevent the worst, she thought. She squeezed his hands tightly. She took a deep breath before she spoke again, "Isn't there somewhere we could go? For a moment, just to... talk about that day, I mean." She couldn't stand here and tell him what she was thinking that day. That moment, when his blood was on her gloves and clothes. She couldn't tell him what she had said, not in a setting so far from intimate. She sighed, "I wish we weren't on the clock, Rob," she said softly.

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"My dear friend Althea, our director, as been telling me about how the ministry is trying to get far too involved in hospital affairs." Rob was not surprised at all about this being the only type of politics that she had to worry about. But then yet again he already knew that the ministry was doing this since all of the hospital’s board meetings were and such had to be held here in the ministry. There was something odd going on and not just all of the killings. It almost seemed like the minister and his goons are trying to take control over everything. “Be glad that those are the only politics that you really have to worry about. For example the hospital board never held meetings in the ministry before. But now that the new minister has taken over he is trying to restrict everything, and anything. That is why the meeting you have to go to is being held here instead of at the hospital.” Saying things like this could lose him his job, but he didn’t care, if it happened then he would be able to do more work for the Order.

“Trust me. I do not plan on getting on your bad side.” He said with a smirk. Rob was enjoying himself. Lately he had been stressed out but within the few minutes that he had spent talking to Constance, the stress that had been bothering him lately was completely gone, and nowhere to be found. “Yes, we do have the whole ‘saving lives’ thing in common.” Rob said after he listened to her talk about how they worked as a team to save the lives of many different people. It was an everyday thing, it was normal. Just the other day he was walking out in muggle London when he saw some random old person crossing the middle of the street. With cars and trucks coming from both directions once the lights had turned green. He had a split second to react and he did, by running into the street, not really thinking about the traffic, and he quickly helped the old person across the street just in time to as a bus came barreling through where they had been standing. No one noticed and not even the person that he had helped. But that didn’t matter he was able to save someone’s life, and that made him happy.

When Constance had stopped walking he did too as she grabbed his hands. He could see the tears in her eyes as he had finished talking about that night, when she had saved his life. "Isn't there somewhere we could go? For a moment, just to... talk about that day, I mean…I wish we weren't on the clock, Rob," He could tell that she wanted to tell him something. Rob knew just the place where they could talk quietly and not be overheard. It wasn’t necessarily the nicest place but it would work. He felt Constance squeeze his hands tightly. Rob wasn’t sure if Constance was aware of the tears that escaped her eyes and started to run down her cheeks. He pulled his hands away and brushed the tears off of her face. “I also wish we weren’t on the clock, but seeing as how neither of us has anything to do for the next couple of hours until your meeting. I know a place where we can talk.” As he had said that Rob had stepped closer and pulled Constance into a hug, and then he whispered into her ear. “Hold on tight.” And with that he apparated(one of the perks of being an Auror let you apparate from anywhere in the ministry, to get in or out) them both out of the ministry to a safe house, that John and he used, and that only a select few knew about. Actually they hadn’t even left the ministry of magic at all. They were in a safe room that was located through a hidden door in John and his office. It was a room used by the International Aurors. Who apparently only allowed certain people to know about the room.

It was like the room of requirement at Hogwarts except better and it even knew what you need or were looking for before you even stepped foot into the room. The place had been warded not only by them but also by Walton Grey who had actually showed them this place one day as they had run into each other. They were standing in the middle of a small garden with a fountain and a couple of benches. Rob led Constance over to one of the benches and pulled them both down to sit, as he still hadn’t let go of her hands. “Well, here we are and it might look like we have left the ministry but we really haven’t. And we are safe from anyone, as no one can get into this place except for certain people.” He paused and then looked into her eyes and said “I think that there is something that you wanted to talk about. We have a couple of hours to burn before your meeting. So what did you want to tell me about that day?” Rob was ever so curious now and he really wanted to know what she had said that day if anything at all. For he barely remembered being in the hospital before passing out while the healers worked to fix him up.

@constancekase

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Constance shook her head as Rob told her more details about the problems in the ministry, ”that’s what Althea said, that my coming here was entirely unnecessary and absurd. She even told me that I didn’t have to show but, it was kind of nice to have a small reason to get some fresh air.” And bumping into you was just an absurdly good bonus, she thought. Constance raised an eyebrow at him and cleared her throat, ”Couldn’t you, uh, get killed for saying these things here?” she whispered. She was sure Rob knew the risks, but she didn’t want to be the reason something bad happened to him.

”You are the last person who could ever get on my bad side, trust me,” she laughed as she saw the smirk play across his face. He was almost more handsome when he was being mischievous, and she didn’t see a lot of that from him. In their school years they both had made mistakes and a lot of those had to do with doing mischievous things, pulling pranks and bullying people. Rob only really had one person he bullied, that Petar from Slytherin, but Constance never really minded. Especially back then when she was just a little trouble maker herself. Back before she knew what she wanted to do with her life. Back before she realized the real dangers in the world and the real need for people doing good things.

When Rob slipped his hand away Constance almost hesitated in confiding her side of the story that night to him, but when she realized what she was doing all the memories and wants for him to know just came back to her. She was embarrassed, to say the least, when Rob wiped the tears from her cheeks. She hadn’t even noticed that they started falling. She felt a tug in her stomach and the overwhelming desire to kiss him, but she knew that wouldn’t be appropriate. The tug in her stomach grew fiercer when he pulled her in for a hug and she released his hand to wrap her arms tightly around him. ”Hold on tight,” he whispered. The whisper sent a chill down her spine, as did the experience of being apprated to a new location.

For once she was glad she had left the hospital and came early. Yes, they could have found another time to talk and yes, they could have avoided being so emotional in public, but it was almost as if they were meant to meet again today. As if they were meant to talk about that night. About... them. When Constance woke up this morning she expected a day far different than the way it was turning out. But she couldn’t complain. She was being held tight by a man she cared for deeply and she was happy.

She buried her face in his chest for a moment longer before he pulled away in order to take her hand and lead her. She opened her eyes and let her jaw drop. The garden that unfolded before them was almost unreal, the beauty to amazing for words. Not because it was extravagant, but because the simple nature of it was done so well. ”Rob...” she muttered softly as he took her other hand as well and pulled her to the bench. ”I can’t believe there is a place like this inside the ministry. What is its function here, anyway?” she asked, her curiosity getting the best of her for a moment.

They sat down, hands clasped, and Constance blinked several times before being able to look up at his face and make eye contact again. As soon as she did her eyes started to quiver again. ”I need to stop being so... dramatic,” she said out loud as she took a few shaky breaths, trying to calm her heartbeat. She couldn’t look into those eyes, those sweet loving eyes, without losing it again. She could almost see flashes of the gashes and cuts across his face and chest. She turned away again before she spoke, ”when they said two aurors had been injured I... I prayed it wasn’t you. Or John, Oh John,” she bit her lip. John was also a dear friend of hers at school and she couldn’t bear the thought of him getting hurt either.

She looked back into Robs eyes to steady herself. She just had to stay focused. Stay focused on the healthy, living Rob who was right in front of her. ”I don’t know if you heard, or if you noticed, but I tried to... to tell you something as I held your hand. Everything was so crazy I... I didn’t know if...” she couldn’t bring herself to say it. People said crazy things in the heat of the moment, right? Was that all she was doing in that moment? No. She knew that she had meant what she said. She had meant every word of it. But how could she tell him, so many months later.

She took another deep breath and kept staring into his eyes, hoping they would somehow anchor her to the present. ”I tried to tell you that I loved you. Love you. Am in love with you. Something along those lines.” She spoke quickly and turned away as soon as she had said it.

”The truth is I remember what I said, word for word. If you really want to know.” She spoke so softly it was almost a whisper.

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”I can’t believe there is a place like this inside the ministry. What is its function here, anyway?” Rob couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit as he saw the look of curiosity on Constance’s face. “This room is only known to three people in the ministry, John, Harry, and myself. It is actually a room that the International Aurors built and the entrance is in John and I’s office. So they told us. It’s function is a safe room, and also a place you can use if you want to get away. It turns into whatever it is that you need.” Rob explained as vague as possible, it wouldn’t do him any good if others learned about the room. “Once you leave here, the room has a ward in place that only allows you to talk about it with those that know that it even exists. And no one will be able to pry the information from your mind either, because the ward will block and protect that information.” He wondered if he was telling her too much, but she had to know what would happen once she left the room. Since he had brought her here.

As he listened to what Constance was saying Rob watched as her eyes quivered when they made eye contact. He could tell that it was difficult for her to talk about this, but it also meant a lot to him that she was willing to go ahead and talk about it. Rob knew that she was reliving the memory of that night, and she was probably seeing all of his injuries due to reliving the memory. He knew that it was bad because if anything, Rob had seen how John looked and it wasn’t good, and he imagined that he looked the same or worse. “I remember you holding my hand, and it was what I needed at that moment.” He said with a reassuring smile to let her know that he was glad that she had done that for him.

What came next though was something that he hadn’t expected but was sure that is what she had said or at least something along those lines. ”I tried to tell you that I loved you. Love you. Am in love with you. Something along those lines.” At that moment he let go of one of Constance’s hands and put his arm around her as she turned away as she said that. Then when she continued he was curious if he should push for an answer when she said that she remembered exactly what she had said. “I would really like to know what you said word for word. But it is entirely up to you if you want to tell me, Constance.” Rob paused to gather his thoughts. “I don’t want to pressure you into telling me, and you know I won’t judge you or think any less of you, no matter what you say or do.” He said in a comforting way, as he reached up with his hand that wasn’t wrapped around Constance, and turned her face towards him so he could look into her eyes. ”Constance you can tell me what you said whenever you are ready to do so. It is completely up to you.” There was no way that he would ever doubt her, she had stayed with him when he had come into the hospital, and they set about working on healing his injuries.

Rob couldn’t help but wonder what she had said. She was and is an amazing, beautiful , and caring person that he cared deeply about. No he didn’t just care about her, because in that moment he knew that he would love her no matter what she had said or would say. The only thing that he wanted was for Constance to be happy and if that was with him great, if not, well that was fine too. Ok not really fine but as long as she was happy, he would be happy for her. As he looked into her eyes he wondered just what was going through her head right now.

@constancekase

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Constance nodded slowly as he explained the purpose of the room, ”So, it’s like the Room or Requirement back at school.” It wasn’t a question, she was simply remarking in a way that he’d know she understood. She had used the Room of Requirement more than once to hide in after a prank or with a boy back in school. She shook her head, all those stupid teenage years. She was glad the room was easy to understand though, as in she was glad the RoR gave her that knowledge. She also understood the secrecy of it, especially if it was created by the IA and Harry Potter was involved. She didn’t say anything about that, though. She felt it was perfectly clear that she wasn’t supposed to try and discuss the secret room with anyone else.

His smile was indeed reassuring, when he mentioned that he remembered her holding his hand. That proved that it meant a lot to him, which meant the world to her. She wasn’t nearly as skilled a healer then as she was now, and the best she could do was damage control. ”I wasn’t sure if you were aware of anything during that. But I’m glad I could do something that you needed.” She smiled a gentle and almost too small to see smile, but it was there.

When Rob put his arm around her, she felt her hands start to shake. Did this happen to everyone when they tried to confess their love for somebody? If so, she was hoping she’d only fall in love this one time. He then said that he wanted to know what she said, and paused. During his pause she felt a tear or two slip from her eyes, and used her now free hand to wipe it away. He released her other hand in other to clasp her cheek gently, and turn her to face him. His hand was so warm, so strong and soft. She lifted a hand and wrapped it around his palm close to her face.

As she stared into his eyes her courage started to return to her. "All this time, you knew I had said something, didn’t you? And you didn't ask me what it was. That's..." she sighed, "that proves you are better than me. You respected my privacy enough to wait on me to tell you. You're too good for..." She didn't want to be cliche, she didn't want to say you're too good for me but what choice did she have if it was true? She sighed again and reached her free hand to place it on his knee next to her, she almost gripped it a little too hard as she looked for support.


"I've never been so desperate in my life Rob I...” she sighed, ” I made a pact, a deal, with God, with myself, with whoever. That if you made it out of there I would make sure I told you how... how I felt. Feel. I didn't keep that pact. I've waited too long..." she felt herself starting to tear up again, but this time she didn’t bother holding back. Tears spilled out of her eyes and she leaned forward, resting her head on his shoulder.

"In that moment, your eyes flickered. I wasn't sure if you'd hear me. But still I... I held your hands tightly in mine and I leaned close to your ear so nobody else could hear,” her voice lowered as it became a barely audible whisper, ” I told you... I said 'If you die, I die too.'" She took another deep breath, head still on his shoulder, "'I beg you not to leave me,' I said, 'not now when all I want is to be yours.'"

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Rob nodded his head in agreement as Constance stated that it was like the Room of Requirement. He was glad that she understood, and he also knew that he didn’t need to go into any more detail about the secrecy of the room that they were in. ”I wasn’t sure if you were aware of anything during that. But I’m glad I could do something that you needed.” Oh he was quite aware of what was going on, well that is until he passed out. “I was until I passed out. When Harry and Ron got us out of the place we were at, they decided to apparate, and that is what made me aware of what was going on but before they did that I almost passed out while standing there.” He remembered every detail of what was going on like it had happened yesterday. “I not only needed it, but knowing that you were the one holding onto my hand was what kept me fighting and not giving up.” It was what had kept him fighting for his life as he lay on the table as the healers worked on him.

"All this time, you knew I had said something, didn’t you? And you didn't ask me what it was. That's... that proves you are better than me. You respected my privacy enough to wait on me to tell you. You're too good for..." Rob knew what she was getting at. It was almost seemed to him that she was basically guilt tripping herself. Well he wasn’t going to allow that. Because if anything he didn’t deserve her. “Yes I knew you said something, but I wasn’t sure what it was.” He paused as he looked into her eyes once more, for he couldn’t take his eyes off of hers. He was in love and he knew that she was the only one for him. “Your right I respected your privacy and I always will. I just don’t want to hear you say that I am too good for you, because it is the other way around. If anything you are way too good for me, but I am glad that we found each other.” Rob smiled a little, it was true sometimes he had asked himself once what had he done to deserve her, but he let that thought fade away just as quickly as it had come, because he was just thankful that he was able to be with her now. He wasn’t quite sure why but he just knew that no matter what, they were supposed to be together.

As Constance spoke about what happened all he could do was listen. And when tears began to fall from those beautiful eyes, and as she leaned her head on his shoulder Rob pulled her close and just held her in a comforting way. What he heard next caught him off guard. ”I told you... I said 'If you die, I die too.'…'I beg you not to leave me,' I said, 'not now when all I want is to be yours.'" Rob was almost taken aback. Because what Constance had just told him basically told him that she loved him even though she hadn’t even said the words. He knew just by listening that if he would have died she would have died emotionally. “It’s okay.” He rubbed her back a little since she was still leaning her head on his shoulder. “I never plan on leaving you. And I never will. You kept me alive that night and just a simple thought or a memory of you is what keeps me going every day.” He said quietly. It was necessary to speak softly, it just kind of happened. He was still amazed at what Constance had said that night. But at the same time he couldn’t help but feel content, and in his head he was glad that they had run into each other once again. In his honest opinion they had been apart for far to long.

@constancekase

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Constance shook her head in disbelief, ”you are so lucky that Ron and Harry showed up.” I owe a lot to them now, she thought. ”But why was my being there so important to you? We had barely spoken since graduation, and we’ve been so busy with work and school since then. I barely gave you the time of day when we were in school, not until the end when it was too late.” She shook her head, disappointed in herself for her behavior over those years in school. She could’ve have been with Rob so much sooner.

Constance couldn’t help but chuckle a little when he said that her idea of who was too good for who was the opposite. She didn’t want to argue, or they could be doing this all day long. Constance wasn’t sure what to say next, for a moment. They could have found each other years ago if she wasn’t so stupid and crazy as a teenager. But, would they be where they are now if they had started dating sooner? Would she be head healer of her department and him a talented auror? No, no they probably would have become so caught up in each other that they would have let the rest of the world fall away. Now they were fully ingrained as adults, and could give each other a real chance. ”If anything you found me, Rob, you and Rachel. You saved me from the path I was going on....” she shuddered to think of what she would have become if she had stayed with those friends. Rob would probably have been hunting her down.

She was relieved when Rob put his arms around her and held her close, rubbing her back softly. “I never plan on leaving you. And I never will. You kept me alive that night and just a simple thought or a memory of you is what keeps me going every day.” Constance caught her breath in her throat when he spoke those words. He spoke so softly, so reverently. It was clear that this moment was just as pivotal to him as it was to her. She took a deep breath, then another, before sitting up a little in order to look into his eyes. ”I think of you every day, Rob. Every day” it was the truth. They had been thinking of each other all of this time but never said a word. ”Just... promise me we’ll give this a fair chance?” she pleaded. She knew he would say yes, considering he just said that he would never leave her.


Constance took the opportunity to pull her arms from their previous positions and wrap them around his neck. She didn’t pull him in for a hug, not yet. She simply laced one of her hands through his hair and the other clasped the back of his neck softly. She chuckled under her breath, ”Oh gosh... Rachel is going to freak.” She could imagine Rachels reaction now, ”It’s about time you silly fools! What have I been telling you for almost seven years, Constance!?” Constances tears slowly started to dissipate as the humor of the situation started to play in her eyes instead.

@robhudson