The first night after classes was always a quiet one. The buzz had well worn-off from the excitement of everyone returning to school, the reality of rigorous coursework finally settling on the shoulders of all who attended Hogwarts. Naturally, it was always Benji's least favorite day of the school year, saddled with agendas and course outlines, and always homework from his mum without fail. Most professors preferred to wait a week before divvying out assignments.
Not Julia Barlowe. Class was in session and she wasn't wasting time.
This year, however, things felt a little different. It was his final year at Hogwarts. In the span of time that felt like a whirlwind, Benji had grown from a smart-mouthed street kid in oversized hand-me-down clothes, to a young man with an entire bright future ahead of him. A dynasty that laid in wait, a colorful career as an auror - and he supposed a boring ass barrister too - and a girl who made him feel things he'd never thought he was capable of.
Ruth Anaya Elliot was the brightest star in his sky.
They'd met in the corridor just outside these doors, all those years ago as little first years. She'd stepped on him while he'd army-crawled beneath the portraits, a brilliant start to a story Benji could have never foreseen in his wildest imagination.
Together, they'd been through a myriad of ups and downs, highs and lows. Things that tore them apart and ultimately brought them back together. Tears - plenty of them. Fights - innumerable. But the smiles, the laughs she could tear from the deepest parts of him, outweighed them all. With time, Rae had become more than his friend, more than his girlfriend. She'd become his rock, his conscience, his reason for wanting to succeed and do better than he'd ever imagined he could.
There had been a time when Benji was lost. When he'd thought himself content to settle in someone else's shadow and live off scraps for the illusion of family and love. Rae had chased that fog out, reminded him who he was, that he was great and meaningful in his own right and had an entire life that belonged to him. Benji knew a lot of who he was was because Rae had always challenged him to reach for better, to be a better version of himself.
A man that he could be proud of. A man that his mother and step-father could be proud of. A man that his uncle would feel confident handing his family over to one day.
A man that Rae would want to marry and share her life with.
The kitchens were dimmed, Toddles having ensured the other house elves vacated the premises early. Together, they'd set out a smorgasbord of all of Rae's favorite desserts. Cauldron cakes, exploding candy, cookies and of course, muffins. On every surface there were candles, illuminating the walls with golden flickers of light and all around the floor were dozens and dozens of flowers, all picked by Julia and Rosie who had been overjoyed to hear what he had in store.
He'd sent her a quick message, non-descript, to meet him in the kitchens for a late-night snack. His girlfriend never passed up on the opportunity for a treat, or for extra time with him, so there was very little worry that Benji would be left amongst his elaborate gesture alone.
As the door swung open, Toddles scampered out of view and hid himself in the pantry. Benji grinned as she wandered in, his hands in his pockets, looking every bit like the cat that had got the cream.
In many ways, he had.
