InsaneJournal

[RP ENTRY] Hannah, Ernie, Hestia; 26 December, 1999; PART TWO

WHO: Ernie, Hannah, Hestia at end
WHERE: Ernie's flat
WHEN: Sunday, 26 December, 1999; early evening
SUMMARY: Ernie and Hannah go back to his flat after Boxing Day festivities with his family. Unexpected company breaks up their alone time. COMPLETED LOG.
RATING: PG-13
Starts here

The quickness of his gesture startled Hannah slightly, though despite the slight jump she did gasp encouragingly. However her initial reaction formed, her body's reaction was definite, nipples pebbling beneath the fabric of her bra as goosebumps spread across her skin. Trembling slightly, whether from expectation or need alone or a combination, she buried her face against his neck and pressed closer to him.

Careful not to rush things too far, Ernie moved his hand to slide under her back slightly holding her to him. He could feel her trembling, and he himself was having a hard time keeping his breath in any sort of steady cadence. It felt like they were on some huge tilt-a-whirl and it was spinning faster and faster with so little they could control and all that he could do was cling to her, hold her near for fear that she would be thrown away from him, and find any way possible to get closer to her. She was so warm in his arms, so warm and perfect.

Hannah clung back, allowing her heart rate to slow enough so it seemed to be distinct beats again instead of a constant hum because it thudded so hard and fast. They had reached some pause and she knew it was because of her response to his touch, her initial startling that had not been because she felt wrong, only had not expected it so quick and brief.

Reaching up, she loosened several buttons on his shirt and pressed a kiss just below his collarbone. Though she had not originally intended it, curiosity gripped her in wondering if he would react the same if touched how he had touched her, so she moved her hands upward under the shirt again, her palms brushing feather-light over the small nubs on his chest, her gaze on him as she drew her head back to watch his response and determine if it was the same for him.

Without meaning for it to be so, his response was nearly exactly the same. The feel of her palms over his chest was startling, though quite pleasant, it was just so unexpected that he gasped and then pressed closer to her. Unaware that that was what she was trying to do, he just pressed closer to her hand, pleased at this sort of initiation on her part, making him less afraid that he had been too bold and more eager to explore her once more.

A smile touching her face at his response, Hannah repeated the gesture, delighting in the feel of tightening flesh brushing the sensitive center of her palm, a touch that brought her pleasure too as her stomach tightened. "That's what you do to me," she whispered roughly, turning her hands to bring her thumbs within reach, giving each nipple a gentle flick before moving her palms back again.

Ernie looked down at her, a lopsided smirk on his face as he imagined that he could make her skin feel as though it were on fire and electrified all at once. Gods but if he could make her feel half of what he was feeling just now he was certainly doing something right. "But it's good though, isn't it?"

Nodding, Hannah moved a hand free of his shirt to guide his head down for another long kiss. "Very good," she told him, something almost shy about it, though her other hand remained on his chest, occasionally brushing slow and light over her targets. She finally did move away, touching his side and back freely as she kissed him thoroughly, making soft sounds signifying her pleasure each time their lips brushed in an enticing way or he moved just so under her hand.

Ernie let the soft sounds she was making sink in, almost drinking them in as their lips moved against one another. "Hannah...." Her name was a sigh of complete contentment, happiness literally coursing through him. He wanted her to feel again, experience what she was doing to him, so he slid his hand across her stomach, very, very close to her breasts, but not over them, wanting her to not be so startled this time.

This time, Hannah only welcomed his advances, knowing where his hand was headed because of a steady, sure progression instead of a quick darting touch. She moaned and wriggled under him, encouraging now what had made her tense before. "Ernie, please." The plea was the barest of whispers, hardly carrying beyond a small space, but their closeness would no doubt lend help to letting it reach his ears, a tone of voice and intent that was for him alone.

Ernie smiled down at her, though it wasn't a happy smile--more accurately, it wasn't SOLELY a happy smile so much as a combination of things, happiness, anticipation, pride. He wanted to make those things flare in her as well. More deliberately this time, he let his hand touch one breast, it's movement caressing and exploring rather than brief and darting. "Of course, Hannah, you only ever have to ask."

Though she might have laugh at that at another time, the idea of asking for what she wanted right now, Hannah had no room to laugh for her all was focused on the path of his fingers. And then, dear Merlin, he was touching as he had not before and she felt certain she might topple over had she not been laying flat. His fingers caressed and cradled and she had never been touched like this, yet it did not seem so foreign now as she had expected, because it felt so wonderful. She arched up, pressing her breast into his hand with a boldness that was unlike her in many respects, yet the Hannah she was in their private time was a slightly different person, as all things should be. She reveled in the touch, even as her cheeks flushed brighter, and anticipated the next step now rather than slightly fear it.

Loving her reaction, Ernie lowered his lips to her neck, trying to drive her to that point of almost madness again as he touched and kissed and reveled in her. "Hannah..." He sighed, his hand cupping her breast and wondering for a moment how it was possible that it felt like it was made to fit so perfectly in his hand. "You're bewitching."

"Am not," Hannah whispered, breathless and near insensible from the ripples of pleasure coursing through her. Without the ability to further his touch toward what he had intended, she pressed her hips upward, seeking those sensations. The sound that escaped her was a clear whimper of pleasure, for in her focus on his hands, she had put the closeness of their lower bodies to the back just slightly, but the feel of him, of them together and yet not because of what separated them, brought it all rushing back. Stroking hands turned almost clawing as she struggled with the overwhelming, pleasurable feelings.

Her movement making their lower bodies close once more, what little self control Ernie claimed to have faded swiftly away, leaving his motions more frenzied and less well thought out. Impulsively he reached his hand behind her back, unclasping her bra, though he had learned well from his actions earlier that had been too swift, he ran his hand instead over the small band of skin he had uncovered by unsnapping the bra, kissing her intensely to try to make it easier for her.

Not startling this time, Hannah lifted her back off the sofa to aid him once she realized what he was doing, shivering in pleasure as his fingers brushed her back in a spot fabric had always previously covered. The loosened bra rubbed against her now aroused nipples, the friction odd but pleasurable, though not as enjoyable as his hand. Not content to lay passively, she kissed his neck and collarbone again, fumbling fingers loosening another button or two on his shirt so the expanse of skin available to her grew.

Ernie slid his hand hand out from her blouse, impatiently tugging his shirt over his head and tossing it to the side. It was one thing to want to take things slowly with her and another to want her touch to him unhindered, besides, she had seen it before. He had begun to take a smug sort of pride in stripping off a dirty shirt coming into his flat if she were with him when he got off work, knowing that she saw him and appreciated what she saw. That done, he returned to her, kissing her again and testingly sliding one hand just barely under her blouse.

The smile that lit Hannah's face was part need and part admiration as the shirt disappeared, for she certainly knew how attractive her boyfriend was and it was still, even after all this time, something of a novelty to know her once-stout best friend had grown up into the well-muscled Auror she loved. Not that she had not been without changes, baby-round cheeks and other similarly round places turning slimmer or curvier, bit to her his outer change had been the most significant of the two of them, even as the Ernie inside remained wonderfully the same in so many ways.

Hands now given free roam, she happily exchanged touch for touch, kiss for kiss and when his hand slid once more beneath her blouse, she shifted to eagerly assist him, finger caressing and lingering on his back and chest as she peppered it with kisses.

Ernie moaned quietly when she touched him free of the hindrance of his shirt, and as she began to kiss and touch him, his hand darted higher, playing with the skin of her stomach. He splayed his hand over her stomach, fingertips barely brushing against the underside of her breasts. "You are by far the prettiest professor Hogwarts has ever seen."

Looking up at him with pleasure-heavy eyes, Hannah shook her head, mildly bemused above and beyond her ever growing want. "You wouldn't say that if..." she trailed off, kissing him at length before resuming speaking, "if you weren't my boyfriend, if," she gasped, trying to wriggle down to coax his hand to move beyond the underside of her breasts where her loosened bra had begun to bunch from all her moving, "you were a student."

Ernie rested his hand firmly on her stomach, wanting keep her there and from moving lower until he had said what he wanted to, words he knew would do her good to hear. “Were you my teacher I would have failed for sure, because I would have been able to focus on nothing other than your pretty eyes and the way your hair smelled when you leaned over to help me with something. I'm sure I would have been no proper representation of your teaching abilities.” That said, he let his hand dart out under her bra, cupping her breast with his bare hand as he kissed her again. “Such a pretty professor, Miss Abbott.”

Any retort to his claims that Hannah might have made was stolen from her, along with her breath. His hand, warm and almost impossibly suited to holding her breast just so, was a shocking new sensation, this time now in it being so much more than any graphic thoughts or nighttime fantasies had ever been able to conjure. Every nerve beneath her aching alert skin communicated back sensations, from the slight roughness of his palm as it rested against her to the typical wand callous on his finger brushing across as his hand shifted. "Oh Ernie." Approval in her gasp, though not much else because even the exhalation required to say those two words was an effort, her breathing so shallow it felt as though it had been taken permanently.

Ernie let his hand slowly drift across her chest, fingertips slowly exploring the skin that had as of just a few hours ago been something he hadn't touched even through clothing, and now...it was perfect. She was perfect. "Perfect." He said, not really meaning to speak the words, it was more of his mind speaking for him. He groaned softly, wanting to kiss what he was touching, wanting to touch even more. That need within him was stronger than ever, but Ernie knew they had already pushed the boundaries much further than they likely should have. "Gods but I love you." The shift was subtle, rested more of his upper body on top of her so that his bare chest was pressed against her, preventing him from touching more, wanting more.

Hannah couldn't speak, his touch had robbed her of words as well as the ability to draw a deep breath, her chest rising and falling shallowly under his hand. His hand. Her skin. She had never imagined something so intimate, yet so simple, could make her feel so much all at once. Yet, it was not just his touch, but the feel of his body against hers, his bare skin in contact with hers across her stomach where here shirt was bunched to make room for his hand, the evidence of how this all was affecting him pressed against the part of her that ached, that had begun to throb and, yes, his hand cradling her breast in a way she had never been touched. It was... overwhelming and wonderful and she loved him so much, yet could not say it because her voice refused to work. All it seemed she could do was make a soft whimpering sound of need, moving beneath him in an unintentionally wanton way.

Ernie pressed himself more firmly against her, letting his body rest more firmly against hers, hoping that it would help slow the motions that were driving him slowly insane and yet leave her a bit more satisfied. Gods but he wanted her. It was too soon but he wanted her so much. His breath ragged, he brought his lips to her ear. "I love you, Hannah. I love you so much..."

Not understanding her movements were testing his hard-pressed control, nor really thinking about anything right now as this was all about feeling, Hannah continued to move beneath him. It satisfied everything and yet nothing at all, for even in the satisfaction of feeling his skin against hers, there was a deeper well of unfilled want. It was stronger than any feeling she had ever known, more overpowering than any spell she could imagine and she never wanted it to stop. "Love you," she gasped, struggling hard for words, anything at all besides the mindless moans and whimpers. "Ernie, please." She didn't know what she was pleading for, not in the sense of what action she was asking for or in the sense of what ramifications would come with a plea like this, but in this moment, everything she knew about herself seemed to be forgotten.

How could he resist that? How could any man, even one with more self control and a more healthy sense of self preservation deny her when she was pleading and moving like that--and that was to say nothing of how she was setting his own nerve endings afire and slowly driving him to the brink. "Alright..." He said, lowering his head to kiss her neck and sliding just a bit lower to kiss her upper chest. He wasn't kissing her breasts, not yet, just an inch or so under her shoulders, but it was another step in the right direction, the right direction which could also be considered the WRONG direction, and though it satisfied the deep throbbing need within him minutely, it also damned them both a bit more, driving them closer to the point where both of them might not be able to remember the reasons they had waited so long.

The seeds of imagination has been planted the moment he dropped his head, Hannah knowing then what she wanted was to know what his lips might feel like where his hand hand been. Part of her knew that should be too far too fast, at least in terms of what she thought should be right and what would be considered indecent, but a larger part seemed to not really care about idea of steps and stages and propriety and all the ideas formed by innocence and influence on her life, only about what she felt and how right it felt. Her hand went up to the side of his head and though she simply meant to caress him, she unknowingly exerted a faint pressure, silently guiding his mouth down the vee of her blouse. Had she been more coherent, her fingers might have wandered to her blouse buttons, but then were she more coherent, she might not be so greedily seeking pleasure with no thought for anything else.

It was then the fireplace flared and Hestia exited, right on to the scene of the two of them, at her feet the shirt Ernie had discarded. Clapping a hand to her head, she cleared her throat loudly. While it was the equivalent of opening an unlocked door, and in fact had been necessary to arrive as she had – a slightly convoluted plan in which she had allegedly gone to check on Max at her flat and fetch Hannah from the Macmillan's, but in reality guessed they would be here – so it was not Dominic here instead. Which, apparently, was a very good plan after all.

Ernie didn't notice Hestia's arrival immediately, after all, he had far more interesting things to focus on just now, namely his girlfriend. However, when he turned his head to the side a bit, kissing a bit more toward her left breast than her right. That was a mistake. Well, not the kiss leading closer to her breast, not exactly, but turning his head to the side, because it was when he did that he noticed the all too familiar trainers standing next to them. He had not heard her clear her throat but the visual reminder was more than enough to know that he was likely in a good deal of trouble. Groaning and feeling vulnerable and exposed, he reached for a throw blanket he had thrown somewhat haphazardly over the back of the couch earlier and draped it over what he could of Hannah's upper body. Hestia might be just another woman but his protective instincts were still there.

"For fuck's sake, Hestia, ever think about knocking?" He asked, his impatient voice driven a bit more by the throbbing thing that Hannah's lower body had been writhing against than his head. A bright flush spread over his face as he focused on Hestia's hands, her trainers, anything other than her face and the furious emotions he knew were likely building.

Hannah hadn't heard Hestia clearing her throat either because anything beyond the two of them had ceased to exist some time ago, but when Ernie reacted so strangely, she looked up, meeting Hestia's gaze as the rest of the world came crashing sharply back. Mortification was not strong enough to describe how Hannah felt right now as she buried her face against his chest, hands fumbling behind her awkwardly to try and find the clasp of her bra.

Fury wasn't particularly what was building right now, at least initially. Initially, Hestia felt an embarrassed sort of amusement, amusement on her behalf and embarrassment felt on their behalf at being found like this. However, after the shirt observation came the lack of anyone stopping anything, giving her time to notice just where his hands were, what position the two were in on the couch, what Hannah and he were doing in said position and the fact they did not seemed deterred by her presence. Reaching out to cuff Ernie on the back of the head, she was stopped by his sharp voice. That tone, however, dampened amusement and flared annoyance.

"Well, pretty hard to knock when Flooing," she said, giving him a disgusted look, "but really, if you'd wanted knocking, I'm sure Dominic would have done that before he beat the door down and then knocked again when he bludgeoned you to death with the door. He was going to be the one to go get Hannah at your parents, but I distracted him because I suspected you two weren't there anymore. Now how about you get off Hannah so she can get hold of whatever she's rummaging behind her for before he changes his mind and finds out you both were here and then shows up to find your shirt on the floor and your face and hands places he'll kill you for?"

Ernie groaned again, rolling off of her and awkwardly trying to deal with the throw blanket and cover her a bit more. "Come on, Hestia..." he said, still not meeting her eyes. "It's not as bad as all of that. Hannah and I just came back here for a few moments after the boxing day celebrations with my family because I haven't seen her in ages thanks to all of this Christmas nonsense." He looked down at Hannah, blushing in sympathy. "I'm sorry.' he mouthed to her, not wanting to get her in trouble with Hestia or her father.

Hannah, not wanting Ernie to take blame for this, judging by the annoyed look on Hestia face directed at him, started to speak up but Hestia held up a silencing hand.

"Hannah, you're both adults," she said, utterly serious despite her slight smile, "and even if your father or even I object to anything you want to do, with Ernie or not, you're still free to do it. But we're all going to talk before there is any more doing of anything between you two like you were when I came in, okay? Floo to my flat, wash your face, brush your hair, toss some dog toys around because Max will like the company, I'll be there in a minute."

"Hestia, please," she said, struggling still with her clothing, "don't yell at Ernie. He didn't make me do anything I didn't want to do!"

Oh Merlin. This would not be a short talk then. Groaning silently, Hestia shook her head. "I didn't say he did, now did I?" she said calmly, "now shoo."

Hannah cast Ernie an uncertain look, one that said she'd stay with him if he gave even the slightest indication. It didn't make much sense to her that they were so adult yet Hestia was ordering her away, but with Hestia it sounded more request than order and she didn't fear Hestia would hex him into a wall like her father would.

Ernie rested his hand on top of Hannah's, squeezing it gently. "No, it's alright." He said, voice a bit embarrassed as he took her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing first the palm and then the inside of her wrist. "Go see Max, and give him my best...you can owl me later or we'll talk tomorrow, alright?" There was no use in her getting in trouble as well for resisting, and he certainly didn't want to suffer the embarrassment of her seeing Hestia ranting at him. He groaned, reaching out and leaning precariously over the couch for a moment to grab the edge of his shirt and put it on, though he didn't bother buttoning it just yet. Only then did he look at Hestia, trying to see just how much trouble he was really in.

Having finally gotten her bra to a manageable place, even though her shirt remained untucked, Hannah gave him a look to match his embarrassment and then lightly kissed him. "Love you," she whispered before letting go of his hand and moving to the fireplace.

As Hannah drew even with her, Hestia sighed softly, for Hannah walked like she was attending an execution. "Hannah, I'm not going to kill him."

"I know."

"Considering you're supposed to tell Dominic when you're getting more serious, this is preferable to telling your father and having him do this, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Okay then. You can even journal him when you get home, no one said you two aren't allowed to do what you want."

Hannah simply nodded and a moment later, she was gone from the flat.

Ernie watched Hannah go, saying “I love you too,” just as she got into the floo. His eyes lingered on the fireplace for several moments more than was absolutely necessary before he heaved a sigh and began to button his shirt. “I know what you're going to say,” He said, finally daring to glance at Hestia as his hands were busy fastening his buttons. “But you can save the lecture. Yes, I really do love her, no, I wouldn't dream of hurting her, and no, I didn't pressure her into any of this. She wanted it, we both did, and you can tell her dad if you want, if the thought of hurting Hannah in the process appeals to you, because we didn't do anything wrong. It's not something awful that we were doing, we're two adults, two unmarried dating adults who can do what they want to in the privacy of my flat."

Silently studying him for a moment before shrugging and crossing the room, Hestia settled onto his sofa. "Oh, don't stop there, since you know all I'm going to say, by all means keep up both sides of this," she said agreeably, folding her arms across her chest as she shifted slightly, every appearance of someone getting comfortable. "I'm looking forward to the part where you argue about needing to be willing to accept the consequences of sex, like babies, and how you should know because you're pregnant. That should be fun."

Ernie groaned, deciding that this and many other things was Dominic Abbott's fault because for some reason he was convinced Hestia would have been a bit more understanding and on his side of things before Dominic was involved. “I love her.” he reiterated. “We're still a bit young to think of children and settling down but she's the one I DO want to do that with..” He flushed, as talking about this with Hestia wasn't necessarily the most comfortable thing. “So if you're worried I would leave her alone with a child to care for...I wouldn't.”

"I didn't think you would," Hestia said, completely serious. "Mostly because I know you're not that despicable, but also because Dominic would build a dungeon in the Ministry, have you strapped to a wall and schedule in a daily torture session if you even tried. That is, if he let you live after learning he's going to be a grandfather by his unmarried daughter."

Frowning slightly, she canted her head to the side, as if he were some interesting subject of study. "Hannah isn't a cart before the horse kind of woman, and if you don't know it, you need to learn it damned fast before you go sticking anything where it shouldn't be stuck without a real commitment. And if you think you're too young for settling down and children, then maybe you need to keep your cock in your trousers."

Ernie gaped at her for a moment, then laughed. It wasn't a humorous sound so much as a release of tension, as it had been quite tense. “I didn't mean it like that, Hestia. Obviously if Hannah was pregnant then we would get married. I'd be a man and take care of her and the baby, but she deserves a chance for now to decide what she wants, to get to do everything she wants.” He said it as though it were as natural as anything, a led to b and then there was c, simple math though that wasn't Ernie's thing. He never considered how offending that might be for Hestia in her position, he just pressed blindly, foolishly on. “And I know what sort of girl Hannah is. I wasn't intending to sleep with her, Hestia.”

Though offensive, Hestia bit down on the flare of temper for a moment because this was about Hannah, not her own situation, and the point of this was to put the fear of pain and suffering in him in Dominic's place, not paste on her issues to their situation.

"Let's face it. Hannah, unless she has some secret split personality," she said, rising from the sofa, "is an innocent in a lot of ways. Adult or not, she hasn't had many boyfriends and knowing how Hannah is about most things, she's placing her trust in someone she cares about and following their lead in uncertain territory. That means you have an awful lot of power, whether you are aware of it or not, whether you use it or not, and that kind of power is not something that makes Dominic happy. In fact, it makes him see red, in the form of your blood. Hannah's going to follow your lead, no matter how much you want to convince yourself she'll get to do what she wants when she wants how she wants."

At this point, she had reached where she stood, nearly nose to nose with him. "If I, for one minute, think you aren't doing your absolutely damnedest to stay far clear of using that power, catch one hint of that 'my bullocks are bigger than yours' bragging conquest idiocy Miles is so fond of, feel even the smallest way as though something is not perfectly right in Hannah's world of sexy funtime games, I will castrate you. I will cut off your bullocks and perhaps even the brain down there you were functioning with and I will get away with it. I will end you in the most embarrassing fashion and no one will never know because that's not the kind of thing you'd be spreading around. Are we clear?"

Ernie gulped. Hestia had always been one of his favorite aurors, and he had never thought of her as just a pretty face to make the office look nice, he always knew that she was pretty kick ass, but he never thought that she could be THIS intimidating. No wonder she was so good at her job. He gulped again for good measure. “I wouldn't hurt her for the world, she's much more important to me than making a grand show for Miles or anything else for that matter. I know it's hard to believe but I've exercised a great deal of restraint in the two months we've been dating. It's been over two months, actually,” Ernie blushed, because he could still remember the exact day and the details of how Hannah had become his exclusive girlfriend, something he knew Miles would never let him live down if he knew. “We're taking it slow. I don't want to hurt her any more than you want to see her hurt, and I WON”T hurt her.”

Hestia nodded, seemingly mostly satisfied, but her next response made that satisfaction very short lived. "If your hand up her shirt to the extent she's fumbling for her bra is your idea of slow, Macmillan," she said quietly, almost a bit dangerously, "I'm going to need your outline of fast written out and left on my desk in the morning for future reference."

Okay, perhaps she was being a bit hard on him, but that was the point, right? If he thought this was as okay as it really was, then he wouldn't think hard about future intimacy with Hannah. If he wasn't thinking, he really did stand a chance of dying at Dominic's hand and that was very bad. This was for the good of all of them.

Ernie flushed, looking away. “That wasn't something that I planned.” he assured her. “And perhaps we did take these last few steps more quickly than we might have, but I assure you that never at any point did she want to stop, did she show any unhappiness.” He paused, raking a hand through his hair. “Not that I should really tell you such things, but we've been quite chaste up until now, and I know what I am getting into with her, how she's trusting me to guide her. I won't let her down, and I won't give you cause to have to HUNT me down.”

Hestia smiled, but there was something vaguely predatory in it, or maybe just maternal. It wasn't that she wasn't pleased to hear what she walked in on had been a very new development, rather than the opening act of something more, but again it was about establishing a healthy respect for his life. He and Dominic were too adversarial anyhow, there was less fear in Ernie there because he was too busy fighting back, but with her there was a happy camaraderie that made intimidation a hell of a lot easier.

"I won't have to hunt you, Macmillan," she said in that same quiet voice. "I know where you are practically every moment of your life."

Ernie shivered, wanting the funny woman who he teased and who he was hellbent to get to say that he was her favorite trainee back. “You're scary as hell when you want to be, Jones, but I guess you already knew that. Given the choice I'd chose taking on the minister over you any day.” He looked down, noticing that in his nervousness he had buttoned his shirt a bit crookedly at the top, and he snorted, straightening them out. He was thankful for the excuse to have something else to focus on, even for a moment, something else to look at other than Hestia when she was all quiet and deadly serious like that. No wonder Abbott was so crazy if she pulled this stuff with him, he was probably scared for his life!

Looking quite pleased with herself, Hestia grinned and finally backed off her campaign of terror. "I'm pregnant, it comes with the territory. Add hormones to years of intense training and you get someone you don't want to get on the wrong side of," she said, patting his cheek, albeit sharply.

Ernie made a grand show of wincing, rubbing his cheek as though she had slapped him, and just generally making a grand show of things for comical effect. “Merlin, Jones, I thought you were going to leave me alive to journal Hannah later, not beat me to a pulp.” He paused for a moment, his look turning more serious. “When you see Hannah, tell her...” Well what was there to say to her? Something not too telling but just enough to tell her that this little talk hadn't scared him away, that he still loved her and wanted to be with her and see her again. “Tell her I will be looking forward to hearing from her in the journals when she gets home?”

Hestia rolled her eyes at his dramatics but nodded at his request. "Oh don't worry, she'll be home soon, we won't be long," she said as she moved to the fireplace. After a moment's pause, she leaned back toward him, as if sharing something secretive. "We're just going to talk about penises," she whispered conspiratorially and then, laughing heartily, tossed down some Floo powder and left his flat.

Ernie's jaw dropped, not his most attractive look to be sure but he couldn't do much else in the wake of her parting blow. There were so many things he COULD have said to counter that, so many comebacks, but they didn't come until he remembered to close his jaw, before she was long gone. "Nice going, Macmillan." He said, groaning and going to fetch his journal, waiting on Hannah's words.