The Healer | Part 3: The Survivors

Prestatyn and Glasgow

George

'It's your turn to decide today,' she told me after I let her in to the house the following Saturday morning.

I pretended to think about it.

'Well... it's a beautiful day,' I started. 'I want to go to the beach.'

She blanched, her smile falling.

'What?' I asked. 'You don't want to?'

'Erm...' she hesitated. 'No, it just I... erm... I donna have a swimming costume.'

'Oh, is that all?' I grinned. 'Even better, I can take you shopping for one. I'm thinking two-piece. String bikini specifically.'

'I dunno...' she hesitated again, averting her gaze and wrapping her arms around her middle.

Then I cottoned on. She wasn't comfortable enough in her own body to wear a swimsuit. Hell, she'd been starting to put weight back on, she was self-conscious. I would never understand exactly why, I had never been more attracted to her.

'What if it's just me?' I attempted to compromise. 'D'you know of any private beaches?'

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then she looked back at me.

'Sorry, I donna know why I'm being so silly,' she gave me a nervous smile. 'I'd love to go to the beach with you. Did you have anywhere in mind?'

'Dunno,' I shrugged, feeling relief wash over me. 'What about Wales? We haven't spent much time in Wales.'

'Alright,' she gave me a real smile this time.

'But you need a swimming costume,' I reminded her.

'Aye,' she sighed. 'You donna mind helping me pick one out?'

'Course not!' I assured her at once, putting a hand to my chest dramatically. It worked, she giggled. 'Where shall we go?'

'Hmm...' she mused. 'Glasgow?'

I laughed.

'Do you buy all your clothes in Scotland?' I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at her.

'Not all of them,' she crossed her arms right back. 'I got my robes and Healer uniforms in Diagon Alley. I just know where all the good shops are in Scotland.'

'Fair play,' I shrugged. 'Lead the way.'

I offered her my hand which she took firmly in hers.

'I have to go back every once in a while or I'll lose my accent,' she said as if this were obvious.

'Can't have that,' I retorted.

We Apparated near a muggle shopping centre in what I assumed to be Glasgow. I still hadn't spent enough time in the city to be able to recognize it easily. She kept holding my hand and led me inside where she quickly located a shop.

'I donna want to spend much time here,' she warned me.

I was already distracted by the variety of swimming costumes in front of us, visions of what she'd look like in each of them flooding my mind.

'Bikini?' I indicated to a tiny yellow one.

She grimaced and I laughed.

True to her word, we weren't there for very long. Actually, it only took fifteen minutes for her to find one she liked, try it on and then buy it. I tried buying it for her, but she won in the end as I had no muggle currency on me.

We went back to Falcon's Rest where we changed our clothes and packed a picnic lunch before setting off to Wales.

The beach was beautiful. It was mostly rocky, but sandy near the water. The sky was clear and the sun hot. There was no boardwalk, but that was a good thing as it meant we were the only people there and it was unlikely anyone else would disturb us.