PARKER | Dark H.S. AU

lviii. snowflakes

~ I inserted an additional chapter between "Chapter xxxiv. Charlie happened" and "Chapter xxxv. Youareafaggot". It's named "xxxiv.i. Charlie happened (2)". It's really important for you to read it, guys.

"And this, this one's the library." With pride in her voice and the same cheery smile on her face that Harry fell in love with, he hears Charlie say. She's standing right there in the middle of the doorway to the library. Behind her are stacks upon stacks of books piled neatly in different bookshelves. Kids quietly mind their own, seated by the long tables while sticking their noses on interesting titles. He notices how many of them decided to stay in and grab a read, considering the weather outside. It had been raining relentlessly over the past few days. Today, it has stopped for the meantime, but the temperature has dropped dramatically that only a few dares to chance it.

He smiles at the wonderful sight of the kids.

"Wow. Look at what they've done to this place." Harry says through a breath. His first visit to the home, the place was a deserted library. Only one or two kids were ever found roaming the aisles and that was only to dust off the books and clean the shelves. It was a glum place to begin with, not too inviting for kids to hang out in.

Now, there are colors everywhere plus the computer sets lined up on one section of the room. New additional children's books, school supplies, and whatnot.

"Amazing, right?" The glint in her eyes is priceless. Harry would have done anything in the world just to see the same effect over again, but he knows it only comes with small things that astonish her. "Who would have thought someone would finance such a huge renovation? It must be -" Charlie stops herself mid-sentence. She looks down at her feet, drags her eyes back to Harry, and then looks down again. She turns her head around, watching the kids on the table - one of them stands to pick another book from a shelf. A bunch of four to five year olds are busy coloring some books from another table, the walls behind them adorned with murals of butterflies and flowers.

There is only one thing that ties them altogether - the smiles on their faces, excitement visible.

She looks at Harry again this time. He can almost see her wheels turning. She catches her own bearing, opening her mouth to speak. "You - you..." Harry raises his brows, feigning innocent though he already knows what she's about to say. "You did this." The blonde finishes, gesturing her hand back to the library.

"I did?"

"Oh, stop it, you." She hits his chest lightly. "Why?"

"Doesn't matter, Charlie. Look, they're happy. You are happy. I am happy."

"And the woman who sends in the envelope every month...?"

"T'was Betty, my assistant."

"Beatrice?" She recalls the small woman marveling at her wooden figurines back in her old apartment the day she first met her now husband-to-be.

"The only one."

She nods, absorbing the information. They agreed to not discuss about the past where Harry was Aiden to her, though she just can't simply forget about them. Most of them were the loveliest memories she could've ever made with someone, though they were tarnished by a mistaken identity and the lies that trailed behind it.

Charlie shakes her head to get rid of the bad thoughts and composes an unadulterated smile.

"Thank you." She says in a hushed tone before turning back around to watch the kids inside the room.

Harry allows his eyes to roam beyond the expanse of the room before settling back to the woman standing next to him. Even when dark clouds overcome the firmament, she still has the sun in her face, painting a bright glow for everybody else's sake...especially his.