She beamed at Josh when he commended her answer. Awesome, she was going pretty good today.

Cassie stood there half expecting Josh to play punch her or something but he did neither. He instead started to circle her and she shifted uncomfortable. Was it going to be a surprise attack or something? If it was she was going to fail. While she was quick on a draw with her wand, she was not sure how she would defend herself against a surprise attack from Josh.

Out of the blue her right arm was pinned behind her back and he was expecting her to get out of it? She could do that..couldn't she? Thinking quickly, she stomped on his toe and used her free hand to swing an opened palm blow past her face to his forehead.

Smirking at her back and still holding the arm, Josh was quitely wondering what kind of a way she was going to use to get rid of this situation. Actually there were several ways to do so yet he always seemed to like to experience the original girly ones. Not that he would and could perform them himself, he just found it fun to witness.

And then it was going to come in a few second, Josh could feel it...

...ouch!

Okay, he had to admit that it did hurt a bit since it was not really expected. However, he kept his position and tried to dodge the second attack. Keeping her locked was pretty much restricting his moves though, he got a bit of that hit too. But still...his grip on her wrist got tighter.

Then...he laughed. ''Very nice, Cassie. Nice indeed. Good to see that you already have the spirit. That is one of the important elements we need here'' and now to the second. Releasing her, Josh indicated her to follow and walked to the giant punching bag there. ''Now we will see how hard you hit. Your best. Since you are all warmed up, i believe you'll able to do it or at least something close to it.''

Walking up to the punching bag he stood next to it. ''You know how this works. You'll hit it with your best. Whatever you think your best; a punch, a kick or whatever and we will see the situation together. If it would not move, you'll directly hit me. But we will try this first. Ready?''

Cassie rubbed her wrist when Josh let her go and smiled proudly at him. Though it was a bit more painful, this was so much better than doing warm ups and stretches. This was what she had been waiting for all along and now..well now, she was in the big time, doing muggle combat. Of course she wasn't sure when she would be needing this skill but it was good to have anyways.

Why did he keep mentioning warming up? Gah..its like he knew she didn't and wanted guilt to consume her. Bad Josh.

"Yeah I just kind of let instinct help me out there..not that it helped much, I didn't exactly get myself free did I?"

She followed Josh to the punching bag and nodded as he told her what to do. SHe had pretty strong legs because of all the dancing she did, so she figured she would be awesome at kicking.

Stepping back a little, she swung her leg hard at the punching bag and heard a little popping sound as she did..then there was a sharp pain in her ankle. A pained shriek escaped her lips as she brought herself to the ground and clutched her ankle.

"My..ankle....my ankle..." Tears slowly filled her eyes but she bit her lip trying to hold them and the sobs at bay.

Josh happily watched her trying to guess what she was going to do. She had better not wait too much to decide and cool down otherwise they were not going to be able to get the results he wanted. Seeing her so enthusiastic about this was always bringing those smiles to his face and to be honest it seemed to help with his last not so happy and days and weeks for it felt like he could make at least one person happy.

''You could have. It was good enough and will work on most people.''

His eyes focused with interest when she lifted her leg and...oh no! Maybe he was unable to make anyone happy at all. Dark brown eyes widened a great deal when she seemed to be in pain and collapsed. ''No!'' he exclaimed immediately rushing forward to her. Kneeling down next to her, he took her leg from her grip and got rid of the shoe and sock quickly to have a look at the problem.

Well...he was not a healing expert but he knew well enough about injuries that could happen during physical effort. And this one was nothing he would not be able to recognise. ''Let's hope it is what i think it is and not something more serious.'' sitting on the floor, he took her lower leg on his lap and pressed on the tendon a bit. ''Does it hurt when i do that?'' and he could not help the sigh escaping him ''You have not warmed up properly, have you?''

Cassie cringed a little as Josh told hold of her leg. She was never ever good with injuries and hated when people touched whatever was hurting. Yeah she was a coward when it came to pain and right now she didn't care very much either. All she knew was that her ankle hurt really bad. Hopefully it was nothing too serious. School was almost out which meant dancing season was starting. Her legs were very very important to her.

She stiffened as he removed her shoe and sock and examined her ankle.

"No no don't touch it Josh..." She squeezed her eyes shut as he pressed down on it.

She nodded when he asked if it hurt when he pressed on it but didn't open her eyes, even as the tears squeezed through her closed eyes.

"No..I didn't..I'm sorry..I just wanted to get started and now...now I messed up my ankle.." And it was all her fault too.

With her words Josh quickly took his hand back. Well...it looked like what he thought it was however there were still other possibilities too. Maybe he was supposed to take her to the healer yet there was no way he would let her trying to go there with this. She could not. So, it was going to be all his job.

''I'll do the first aid then take you to the hospital wing. If it is the tendon, and it looks like that so, i know it hurts...bad. But do not worry. Nothing is broken though it probably feels like that. The pain of tendon is often bigger than the injury itself.''

Keeping examining her ankle, he kept checking the injured part there but with careful and gentle touches this time. His fingers followed the structure there to the back of her lower and he pressed that spot there a little as well. ''Does this hurt too?''

And when he looked up at her face to see the reaction, he saw the tears that immediately brought a very unhappy expression on his face. ''Okay, okay, Cassie. Look...'' taking a deep breath, he rubbed the ankle a bit and leaned in to look into her eyes ''...look at me. You will be alright, okay. Trust me. I'll bandage your ankle then carry you to the hospital wing. Okay?''

Cassie nodded but kept her eyes shut as Josh said he would perform first aid on her foot. She didn't want to see. Actually she didn't need to look to know that he ankle was starting to swell a little. She just wanted Josh to fix it and fix it fast, the pain was horrible.

"I'm not worried..I trust you Josh..it's just...this hurts really bad."

She let her head fall back as she squeezed her eyes even tighter causing little white lights to appear behind her eye lids. She could feel the warm tears running back to her ears.

She nodded as he touched her ankle again and asked if it hurt."yeah..it does a bit.." This must be karma for lying to him. She mentally promised to never lie ever again.

She pulled her head back and opened her eyes for the first time in several minutes, and met his eyes. They seemed sincere and she had no reasons to mistrust him anyways. "O.K..I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you..none of this would have happened..it's my fault." She reached out and touched his cheek gently and smiled at him. "You're amazing you know.."

*Walking into the room Matty started setting things up for a special night. Today was going to be a very special night if things went right and not only because it was Marie's surprise birthday from Matty.*

He blocked everyone... including her?

Well this wasn't what she wanted to hear. And just what was it he had to set up for tonight? And why didn't he want her to...

Ohhhhh...

Her birthday.

Feeling like a total fool now she bit her lower lip as she followed him into the Room of Requirement. She should have known he would be planning something for her. He never let a special day go by without making her feel extra special.

*Giving her a quick kiss he opened the door to their room. But it wasn't their room. It was a beautiful room with flowers, candles and...*
"I got Frankie jr. here for you."
*Just then the crup ran right for Marie and jumped into her arms.*

Kissing him back she walked into the room and immediately her jaw dropped. "It's beautiful." She said as she looked around. Just then she seen him...

"FRANKIE!"

Hugging him when he jumped in her arms she laughed as he licked her face. "How'd you get him in here?" She couldn't believe she was holding Frankie... who weighed a ton now.

"What can I say... I'm a wizard." *Matty said with a wink and a smirk. Every year he would give Marie two gifts. Frankie was the first.*
"Still mad at me?"

Holding Frankie in one arm she wrapped her other arm around Matty's waist as she gave him a kiss. "Thank you so much for getting him here for me." It wasn't until she seen Frankie that she realized just how much she had missed him. She really hated that she had to leave him at home with her parents while she was in school.

Wait! What? Mad?

After putting Frankie back down in the floor she turned to face Matty and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I was never mad." She said as she stood on her toes to kiss him on the nose. She was more... worried. Worried that he didn't want her in the room with him anymore.

She really needed to stop being so insecure all the time.

"No problem, I had a feeling you might be missing him." *Seeing the look that came to her face he gave her a sad smile and lightly rubbed his thumb on her cheek.*
"I love you Marie... Never forget that. Come here..." *Taking her hand he lead her to the balcony. It was a beautiful night without a cloud in the sky, only stars. Even though it was cold on the real grounds of Hogwarts the place was warm where they were.*

"I was. I just can't believe you actually got him here." She gave him another hug. "Thanks again." Now the question was how long did he get to stay?

Looking into his eyes as he rubbed her cheek she could feel his love for her. "I know you do and I love you too. Always and forever... remember." Taking his hand she followed him out to the balcony. Thoughts of the last time they were on a balcony started running through her head.

Hmm... would this night be like that one?

"I will always remember..." *Now starting to get very nervous looked down then back at her.*
"Marie I love you so much... you are my life and I can't picture my life with out you, so..."
*Matty then bent down on one knee and pulled a small box from his pocket. Opening it up a ring rested inside. It took him awhile but finally he had gotten her fathers blessing. He had never seen himself getting married before but now that was what he wanted more than anything. Matty knew that he would spend the rest of his life with her and he didn't want it any other way.*
"Marie... You are everything I could ever want and more. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. To love and protect you for as long as I live... will you do me... the honor of marrying me?"

Why was he talking about picturing his life without her? She wasn't going anywhere. Not even after graduation. They had already talked about this, she was going to go to Sweden with him to help him with his cousins in his uncles absence. And why was he looking like he was about to pass out? She didn't like seeing that look on his face. The last time she seen him look like that was when he told her he was going back to...

NOOOOOO...

It couldn't be. He couldn't be going back there. He promised her last year on her birthday that he wouldn't go back...

WHAT was he doing? WHY was he getting down on the floor like that?

O___O

Seeing the box in his hand and him on one knee, her heart started to beat so fast she thought is was going to explode right out of her chest. Was he really going to propose to her?

HE WAS!

Looking at the ring as he opened the box she instantly felt the tears forming in her eyes. Hearing him speak though she looked back at him taking in every word he was saying. When he finished speaking she just stood there staring for a moment. Sure, they had talked about marriage before but it always ended with him saying he wanted to wait... until they were older. Not to mention the fact that he was afraid of her father.

Her father.

CRAP!

The thought of him brought her out of the little shock she was in. "What about my father?"

What about my father? Matty just asked her to marry him and all she says is What about my father?

Way to ruin the moment Marie.

*Wow not the reaction he was looking for at all. His face falling a little it had just hit him that if she said no he might be on the floor for awhile.*
"I asked him if I could have your hand and he said yes..."
*And I was kind of hoping you would say yes too? Matty thought as he looked up at her. Maybe it was too soon, a flood of second guessing started running around his mind.*

Ame smiled, the water was still cool against her hand. "Eh, Perhaps. But I doubt we will ever beat Slytherin. You guys are AMAZING!" She giggled, her hair flowing in the wind. Onyx opened her wings slightly, about to fly beside the too.

Glenn had walked past this hallway many times and had never noticed the door. Maybe she should get some more sleep?

She pushed her long, blonde braid over her shoulder and quietly pushed open the door; curious to know what resided in this room. Glenn let out a little squeak as she saw the couple in the corner and let the door go with a slam.

Glenn stood inside the strange room, completely lost for what to do. Oh no, she ruined this couple's moment! Glenn buried her face face in her hands and grabbed a book at random from a shelf and started pretending to read the old yellow pages.

He said yes?

Her father, Marshall Salazar had agreed to letting his only daughter get married? After the way her father acted over the summer she was having a hard time here believing that he would agree to this. Not that she didn't believe Matty. She was just surprised her father would agree to this... before she had even graduated.

Hearing that her father was not against this brought even more tears to her eyes. Tears of joy that is. This truly was the happiest day of her life. The man she loved had just proposed to her and her father was accepting of it.

Speaking of accepting...

Leaning down she gave Matty a soft kiss as she sat on his knee. "Matthias Gardner, I love you more than words could ever say. You have made me see that I really am worth being loved. I could never picture my life without you in it, you make me feel complete. What I'm trying to say here is... YES! I will marry you."

Even though this was the happiest moment in her life so far, she couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. That's just what she did at times like this... cried.

"You will! You really will?!" *Mattys face soon lit up and he stood up with her in his arms. Giving her a deep kiss for a moment he soon put her back on her feet. He had to be the happiest person... okay maybe male in the world at the moment. Using his thumb he rubbed away her tears and rested his forehead on hers.*
"I love you so much..."
*Getting back on one knee in front of her he took out the ring and slowly put it on her finger. Being so over whelmed he put it on the wrong finger first then the right one. Get it together Matthias He then kissed her hand and looked up at her.*

"Yes, really, I will." Holding on tight around his neck as he picked her up she kissed him back with passion. Once back on the ground she couldn't take the smile off her face. Not that she wanted to. "I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Watching him take the ring out of the box her heart started to race again. This was it, once that ring was on her finger it was going to be real. She was going to be engaged to Matthias Gardner.

Staring at the huge beautiful ring that was now on her finger she was actually looking forward to her life after graduation... her life as the future Mrs. Matthias Gardner.

Yeah, her smile wasn't going to be going away for a very long time... if ever.

*Seeing her smile really made it real for Matty. He knew this was now what he always wanted. To be with someone he loved with all his heart for the rest of his life. Standing up he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.*
"I was going to wait till the train... but I couldn't wait anymore."
*He still had another gift for her but it wouldn't be worst a whole lot if she didn't want to marry him.*
"Happy Birthday..."

Wrapping her arms around his neck she hugged him back as she held her hand out so she could still see her ring. "I'm glad you didn't wait. You've made this the perfect birthday."

He couldn't wait any more? "Just how long have you been planning this?"