The Light

Chapter 74- The Dandelion

Chapter 74- The Dandelion

February 1980

Hermione woke up on the settee in the Muggle house, having refused to sleep in the emerald room again. She sat up blearily, wincing at the stinging of her eyes and the dull throbbing of her heart. Avery was still sound asleep, sprawled out on the floor and she frowned slightly. She remembered him setting his bed up there, even when she told him he could have the sofa or the armchair. He'd scoffed and said, without looking at her, that the armchair would leave him with a sore neck and if she slept on the floor, he'd be the one to face her wrath in the morning. Hermione had tried not to be too offended and had acquiesced only once he'd gotten comfy.

She regarded him now, and it surprised her to hear a soft snore come from his sleeping form. She'd always known it, but Avery was really quite beautiful. His dark hair and thick eyebrows framed his face, which was usually harsh and stoic but now looked soft in slumber.

"Are you watching me sleep?" His voice was a low and husky murmur, reverberating from his chest. Hermione started and her eyes jumped away, even though she had been caught in the act.

"No," she said.

Avery lifted his head up and she flicked her gaze to him. He still looked half-enraptured by sleep, all muzzy with bleary eyes and a soft, dopey smile that curled his lips as a result of her quick denial. Hermione swallowed, feeling something leap up to her throat. He rested his head on his hand and looked up at her.

"Did you sleep well?"

She nodded. Unbelievably, she had slept soundly. "Yes," she replied. "You?"

"The best night's sleep I've had in a long time," Avery told her, stretching out.

Hermione raised her eyebrows, laying back down and looking at him sideways. She said sarcastically, "And it was on the floor of a Muggle lady's house."

Avery tilted his head. "Who would've guessed?"

She grinned at him, folding back the thin blanket that had been draped over her and getting up. Her hair was knotty and Hermione simply reached for her wand and tapped the top of her head with it; she felt the magic trickle over her, and felt instantly revitalised. Her skin cleared of dirt and blood. There was nothing to show she had been to the cave at all. Nothing except the hole in her where Regulus had been-

Avery stood up then, and she hadn't realised how close they were until she turned around and came nose-to-nose with him. He didn't notice. Hermione wrapped her arms around him, pulling her to her and relishing in his warmth. Although he stiffened initially, he soon melted into her embrace, lifting his arms up to hold her.

Her head rested against him and she could both feel and hear his heart beating, and the steady rise and fall of his chest. Hermione honestly didn't know what she would do without his steadiness. Amongst the chaotic oscillation of her life, Avery remained the one constant variable, the one thing that kept her sane.

They pulled away at the same time, but their bodies remained close and their limbs were still entangled within another. Hermione looked up at him through her eyelashes. From here, she could see the smooth porcelain of his skin, and the pinkness of his lips. He was so whole. She couldn't help but remember what he had said last night:

"The balloons have got holes in them now, and no matter how much they try to fill themselves up, they'll never be whole, whilst the vases can be fixed with a bit of glue or tape. They'll never be the same, but they're fixable. You see? You're not a balloon, Hermione. You're a vase." His eyes were steady as they stared into her. Avery never wavered. "And I promise to God, you've got your tape on."