Basilisk (Dark Ominis Gaunt x OC gothic romance)

Chapter 96: Loup Amoureux

~~Damien/Ronan~~

Why was he so nervous about this? He'd fought countless trolls, entire armies of dark wizards and even Ranrok himself. Hell, he'd even faced a dragon before! Yet here he was, the big bad Keeper, his hands shaking at the thought of courting Marie. It wasn't even like he hadn't courted a woman before! This felt different, though. It felt more... meaningful.

He glanced over to her as they walked along the path outside of Hogsmeade, and he smiled softly as Marie looked around with such a contented look. It was morning still, and the birds were singing, the fog just lifting from the lowest points of the landscape.

"I did miss this area." Marie sighed softly after a long moment of silence. "It's always so beautiful."

His smile widened, and his heart hammered in his chest. He wanted to tell her that she was beautiful as well, but it sounded so cheesy in his head, and he didn't want to move too fast.

"Why are you still carrying your bag with you?" Marie asked, pointing toward the brown suede bag he carried on his shoulder.

"It's a secret." He grinned wryly.

He couldn't help but chuckle at her annoyed look as she tried grabbing for it, but he held it up so it was well out of her reach.

"You sneaky thing, why won't you tell me? You've been so secretive over the last few days with something!" She huffed, giving up on trying to grab it, and instead crossing her arms in frustration.

"I told you, it's a secret." He said, his tone warmer as he thought of her reaction. He hoped it was a good one.

"I don't like secrets." Marie whispered, her eyes turning uneasy. "We said no secrets."

His heart twisted a bit, and he couldn't help his hand reaching up to rest against her arm tentatively, desperately wanting to comfort her. That's not what he'd meant...

"It's a surprise." He said softly. "One I hope you'll like."

Marie's eyes widened in shock at that, and she bit her lip softly as she glanced away from him. "Is this because we spoke to Sebastian about getting a gift for Veela?"

Ah, she was so smart and quick, he rather liked that about her. "Yes." He answered honestly in a soft voice. He could feel his face heating a bit with embarrassment.

Marie looked up to him in surprise, and looked away again with a bashful smile. "You're too nice." She said, bumping him playfully with her hip as they walked.

"You deserve nice things too, Marie." He said softly. "You help other people all the time, but rarely help yourself."

Marie looked back to him with warm eyes, before she gave him a rather amused smile. "Take your own advice, Damien."

He chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his neck guiltily. Yeah... he did that too. They really were alike in some ways.

She giggled softly, and he smiled at the sound, loving when she laughed like that.

You really are smitten. Ronan's sleepy voice slurred in his head.

Yeah, shut up. He couldn't really help it. He wanted to do ridiculous things like get pretty things for her. This morning he'd even debated whether he should find a flower or something for her.

He heard an amused chuckle in his head from Ronan, and rolled his eyes.

"Ronan is awake." Damien said softly.