Forever Is A Long, Long Time (Godric)

[Elizabeta Anne Beilschmidt]

Eliza had been surprised that when Godric was the one to suggest that they move in together, but she wasn't going to argue. It would be nice to have someone around, she figured; she'd never much enjoyed being alone. She'd grown up with most of her family living in her house, and even in school shared her dorm with other girls. So the idea of living by herself had been daunting until Goddy suggested that they live together out of Hogwarts, which was also why she found herself in a corner of the library curled up in an armchair going over apartment listings. She'd found a few that sounded nice, but now she had to see if Godric liked the sounds of them.

Which was an issue in and of itself because she had no damned idea where Godric even was.

He'd told her that he had an errand to handle earlier and run off. She could only assume that he wasn't back, yet. At least, she hoped that was the case and he wasn't running about the school looking for her. She'd told him that she would be in the library, hadn't she? Ah, maybe not...she was starting to wonder if she should perhaps consider going and looking for him. With a glance at her wristwatch, she decided that she'd wait a few more minutes in case she had told him that she would be in the library and he was just not there, yet.

[Godric Gillian Gryffindor]

Godric had gone on an errand after suggesting that he and Eliza move in together.  It was something he found in a book that would make a relationship progress further.  And he wanted to get married.  And... he had his sights on Eliza from the moment he met her.  It was something about her smile, her eyes, her attitude, and everything else about her that made him want her to be his wife.  After spending more time with her, he found that he hated when he was away from her, and even had stopped spending all his time looking for Merek, which he had told her about, to spend time with her.  Even though he missed that bird so much.

This errand he had to run on was a run to make a wedding ring for Eliza.  He had known some good spells, and created a ring with a beautiful sapphire on a silver band with small diamonds on the sides.  It took a little longer than he hoped.  Getting everything to look just right, and getting the spell to work correctly as well.  It was something he had created himself, where he synthesized stones.  It was useful, but it had been awhile since he used it, which was when he had made jewels for some goblins to put on his sword.  When Gryff had finished making the ring, he hurried up into the castle.  Now where did she say she was?  The Library?  Yes, that was it... probably.  He really hoped so.  He headed to the large library, with a skip in his step.  She wouldn't refuse right?  Living together was one thing, but if she wished them to share a bed to sleep in, engagement would be completely necessary, even if... nothing were to happen. 

He saw her, and slowed his pace, walking up to her, taking a seat in an armchair next to her.  "Hello, Eliza," Godric said with a smile, "Sorry I am late... things got a bit complicated.  Nothing to worry about though.  Have you... found some good places?"

[Elizabeta Anne Beilschmidt]

She wondered if he was off looking for Merek again. A part of her hoped so, because she knew that he missed the bird a lot and that he was spending a lot of time with her that would have been put to use looking for Merek before. She wondered if, maybe, the phoenix that Godric was searching for was Professor Dumbledore's...? She'd tried her best to avoid getting sent to the Headmaster, so she wasn't overly familiar with his office, but she was pretty sure that she'd seen a phoenix roosting there the few times she'd ever had cause to go see Dumbledore. She would suggest that to Godric later, she decided, because it was as good a guess as any as to the whereabouts of his bird.

She hummed a little under her breath and crossed out one of the apartments. She didn't feel like deal with the American Sector of Diagon Alley; they were so rowdy, and they never slept. She'd figured that much out in her own time. That left three, two of which were in the Third Yard, also known as Little Italy. She remembered the Italian section of Berlin as exceptionally...clean. Almost obsessively so. It was nice, though, very pretty, and the people that lived there were generally friendly. She decided to not discount those apartments.

She looked up at Godric when he sat down next to her and smiled a little. She was glad that she'd remembered to tell him where she was headed, after all, because it might have taken hours to find him. The school was ridiculously large, really; it made finding anyone difficult.

"I've narrowed it down to these three," she replied, showing him the circled listings. "What were you up to?"

[Godric Gillian Gryffindor]

But hey! His wand had a part of Merek in it, which made him feel a bit closer to the bird. Perhaps he might eventually talk to Dumbledore about finding his phoenix (when he was in Dumbledore's office Fawkes was not in the office). Godric wasn't much of an animal man, but Merek was his, and he loved that bird so, so very much. He had found Merek when he was young, or really, Merek found him, and the two bonded very quickly, and Godric fell in love with that bird. The sense that he was feeling with Eliza right now (though Eliza had a different feeling with her, but the attachment to her that he felt was like the one he felt towards Merek), never wanting to go somewhere without him, partners in crime. Merek had saved his life before... several times, actually. Even his friends liked the bird, but no one ever came as close to the animal as Godric had. Merek was highly intelligent, to the point he wouldn't be surprised if the bird spoke to him, though he knew that wouldn't ever really happen, unfortunately.

Godric peered at the three listings she had circled and studied them. Two with the Italians. Like that future empress who had introduced them. Perhaps Eliza didn't think of the Italians like that 'idiot' Italian who her sister fell in love with, because idiots were not the type of people who would be good neighbors, in his mind. Maybe in her mind it was. Maybe not. Probably not. If he knew anything about Eliza she wouldn't want idiot neighbors, so he decided that the Italians were probably not idiots in Eliza's book. After all the future empress introduced them, and she obviously knew what she was doing, as Godric really, really cared about 0Eliza, and hoped Eliza felt the same.

"Well, you know, things," Godric answered with a dry laugh, before he commented on the places Eliza picked, "I don't know, I like this one." He pointed to one of the ones in Italy, which had one bedroom, "But if we took that one, we'd have to share a bedroom. Which would mean... well... we'd have to get married, I suppose."

Not the most romantic line in the world, or lead up to a proposal perhaps today... if not today, sometime soon, whenever he felt the time was right at least.

[Elizabeta Anne Beilschmidt]

Eliza's own wand was cypress, with a dragon heartstring core. She'd gotten it back in Germany, and was therefore not very aware of the wandlore surrounding it...to be fair, she probably wouldn't give a damn if she did. Comments made by Ollivander about her House while she was helping out around his shop during winter holidays in her fifth year would make infinitely more sense, though. True Gryffindor, indeed. She was more than a little convinced that the old man was batshit insane, which seemed to be about the norm for wand-makers. They liked to make evasive, cryptic comments like "Ha, cypress. Dragon heartstring. Wand of a true Gryffindor." and then not explain themselves, which served to drive Eliza up a wall.

Ugh, why did she keep using that phrase in her head? She hated that phrase. She needed to think of something else to use instead of it.

The Italians weren't as bad as some other internationals, and the Italian section of Diagon Alley was lovely. She'd stayed in the Third Yard briefly in her fifth year, at the same time as she was working for Ollivander, with Gabe's great-aunt Celesta who ran a gelato shop. Celesta wouldn't remember Eliza in this time, because they hadn't met yet, but she was sure that the gelato shop existed. She would have to take Godric there. Oh, dear. She'd never explained the new additions to Diagon Alley to him; he probably didn't even know what the Third Yard was.

"In the Third Yard? I like that part of Diagon Alley. The German section, the Fifth Yard, is nice, too, but it's not as obsessively clean," she noted.

She blinked and frowned a little at his next comment. What was he getting at...? It could be hard to tell with him.

"Ja, I suppose so," she agreed neutrally.

[Godric Gillian Gryffindor]

Gryffindor knew about the Italians, though not their obsessive cleanliness.  He knew them as honorable people in most times, though from what he read about the second world war, he was a bit wary about them now.  Whether or not they were truly trustworthy.  Then again, the other choice was Germany, which lead the war... but Eliza was from there, so they couldn't all be bad.  Goddy was a bit prejudice when it came to anyone that wasn't English, though Eliza passed that barrier by being just amazing, and capturing him so quickly with that cute smile of hers. 

Goddy actually had no idea what he would do after school, job wise.  For now, he was probably going to find some job.  Godric Gryffindor, founder of Hogwarts, outlaw of England, magical genius, was going to have to get a job.  Perhaps he could get Dumbledore to hire him.  Yes, maybe he could convince him of that.  That way, he wouldn't have to leave this castle that had become his home, though a new home was not out of the question, especially one where he and Eliza were living together in. 

"It's a lot cleaner everywhere than I'm used to," Godric laughed, as in his time things were not very clean.  Even with Helga's cleaning... Hogwarts was clean, just not everywhere else.  And even then, Helga couldn't always get around to everywhere.

Godric thought about it for a moment, before he decided he had met all of the requirements on the checklist to marriage in a book he had recently read.  Perhaps it was the time!

"Well... would you want to?" Godric asked.  And he was supposed to be the one with tact! 

[Elizabeta Anne Beilschmidt]

As far as she'd ever seen of the Italians, they were honorable overall, but very often ruthless. She, personally, had always been careful to not give them cause to hate her. Actually, Eliza had encountered more prejudice and rudeness from the British than she ever had from the Italians, occasionally more as a result of being friends with Harry Potter than because of her German-ness, at least after she'd finally learned English. Indeed, even Godric had viewed her as a barbarian when they first met (which she laughed about privately when she thought about it).

Eliza had begun taking lessons for her dragon handling license already. She expected to be training hands on by the autumn, and then she'd finally be able to work with dragons again. Being a dragonologist had been her dream since she was a young girl, and now that it was happening, it was bittersweet. She'd wanted her mother and father to be able to work with her one day, and to tame dragons with her elder brother, but her parents were both so young in this time, and Roddy hadn't even been born yet. She still felt lonely sometimes.

"Italians don't like dirt," she agreed with a laugh.

She blinked when he asked if she'd want to get married, confused for a moment before realizing that he seemed to be trying to propose.

"I would," she admitted, trying to maintain a neutral tone of voice.

[Godric Gillian Gryffindor]

Godric could remember when he was a child, before his father was killed by the barbaric French, running in the fields where the servants had worked, and covering himself in mud, laying on the ground, and when someone would come looking for him, he would jump up with a roar like a lion and laugh.  It was one of the few memories he had left from that time in his life.  Needless to say, Godric had his fair share of mud and dirt coating him.  Battles, duels, ash, he was used to it, and barely even noticed it until he came here and was told by Dumbledore he should clean himself up more often to look presentable.  Of course, Godric had cleaned up for dances and other events before, what little he actually went to them.  But he had fallen into the habit of taking a shower at least every other day, if not everyday, something he was sure people appreciated.  He was still getting used to smelling like a freshly cut apple or occasionally this odd scent he could not attribute to anything he knew, something called "Old Spice".  He had recently gotten the "Old Spice" and didn't know whether he liked it or not.

"Hopefully it doesn't smell like the... what is it called?  Bleach?" Godric noted.  He smelt that... French-like chemical once and was immediately repulsed by it.  "And is it near the French sector?"  He just had an idea as he asked whether it was near the French or not.  He could go to their sector and mess it up, cause some havoc.  They would deserve it anyways.  Dastardly French. 

Godric's eyes widened as she said 'I would'.  Had he heard her right?  He began grinning like a madman, or a kid that just saw their stocking full of candy on Christmas day.  Godric had always wanted to be married, have kids, but mostly, have a wife, whom he could care about and dote about, and simply gloat about to Sal.  The race to see who would get married first belonged to him.  If Sal ever showed up in this time, that is. 

"Oh joyous day!" Godric yelled jumping up, placing a short kiss upon her cheek, "I was worried you might say no.  It is quite unbefitting for me to be nervous.  We'll be married."  He was happy, needless to say, not just because he got her to marry him or say yes to a proposal, but because it was to her, a woman he had grown to admire greatly and care dearly about, differently than he did Rowena, Helga, or even Sal.  "You shall become Mrs. Gryffindor." His reading had indicated as much.  He had done well, Row would be proud of him, of all the study he had done to adjust to this new world.  "I made this for you, my dear."  He fumbled in his pocket for a moment before he pulled out the ring he had made.  He hoped she would like it.

[Elizabeta Anne Beilschmidt]

When Eliza was very young, she had spent countless hours staring at planes. When she wasn't marveling at air shows, she'd been reading as much about them as she could. By the time that she came to Hogwarts, she'd had more books about airplanes and dragons than she did about school subjects. She did not, however, have many memories of going outside and just playing; her mother had been so afraid of what might happen that she hadn't let Eliza and Vash out much when they were young. To that day, Eliza wondered if her mother's well-meant doting and coddling and protecting them from everything had been what made her children so reckless when they were older. It was likely, she guessed, but she had the feeling that it was just how the two of them were and always would be.

She had a bottle of perfume that Hermione had given her for Christmas in their first year that she usually wore; it smelled like apple cidar, and she was incredibly fond of it. Besides her perfume, Eliza and scented soaps were not on speaking terms. She kept clean, but she didn't like smelling like a million things all at once, and always felt odd when using scented things to wash herself.

"Bleach is an awful smell," she agreed, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "But no, it doesn't smell like that. It smells nice, I suppose. The French were the first internationals to set up their own part of Diagon Alley, so they're the First Yard, and not exactly close to the Third."

She laughed a little at how he reacted to her saying yes, and then stared at him when he pulled out the ring. She'd wondered what had held him up, and....ja, that would. It probably took him a long time to make that.

"I am not changing my name to Elizabeth," she joked. "And it's beautiful, Goddy. How long did it take you to figure that out...? Those are some advanced spells, aren't they?"