ALONE- Harry Potter

prologue

prologue

☄☄☄

THEY'RE SLOW DANCING, IS THE FIRST THING SHE NOTICES. He holds her waist gently, as if she'll break if he holds her as tight as he really wants to. He's smiling down at her fondly, his green eyes smiling behind his round glasses. His scar glistens on his forehead, his hair pushed back as though he doesn't care that it's there at all. A trumpet sings in the background, and there's a woman softly serenading them from a spinning record on a table.

They're both dressed in fancy clothes, she notices. She's wearing a soft, pale yellow silk dress that flows at the bottom, so when he twirls her it spins around. He's dressed in fancy dress robes. A white dress shirt, a bow tie, and leather shoes. She isn't quite sure where they are, but it's only then that she seems to notice that they aren't the only people there. Couples surround them, clinging to each other and whispering softly as they sway to the soft music. And though she's shy, when she's dancing here, with the boy she loves, it's as if everyone has suddenly disappeared. When she looks into his beautiful soft eyes that gleam whenever he looks at her, she feels that nothing else really matters. And she smiles, looking back at him with a soft smile that pulls at her lips and makes her eyes crinkle slightly, and her own hazel eyes looking up at the boy gleam as well.

They sway softly, and neither of them speak, they just hold each other. And then, the boy leans his head down, to the girls ear, and whispers softly, "I love you."

This isn't the first time he's ever said that to her, and she's not shocked, but her heart seems to forget how to work properly every time he says the three words. And, as she always does, she whispers back, her voice filled with honey, "I love you too." And then they both smile, and blush coats their cheeks, as though they're teenagers discovering themselves for the first time.

They dance for a long time. And they don't say anything else for the rest of the night, though it's not like they need to. They enjoy each other's company enough to not need words to fill an imaginary space between them. And for the rest of the night, and a little into the morning, the couple dances, and send smiles and meaningful looks to each other. And then, once the music stops, and they look around, they realize everyone else has gone, and they hadn't even noticed.

And as they walk home in the light of the sun rising, he stops her in the middle of the street and dips her and kisses her. He's always been a little bit of a hopeless romantic. She lets out a small squeak of surprise, before her lips move gently against his. And then, they pull apart and continue the walk back home, both still high up on cloud nine and never coming down.

They reach their small little house and he opens the door with a small little key, and they both step inside. She immediately goes to the kitchen to start making some tea, because it's always what they do after a night out. She hums softly as she waits for the kettle to boil and she hears him making a ruckus upstairs. He's probably changing, she thinks. And soon enough, he walks out into the kitchen, in soft cotton pajamas, and walks towards her. He hugs her from behind, and says to her. "Your turn." And then she walks upstairs, and he watches the kettle in the meantime.

He smiles to himself, because even though nothing is happening, he still sometimes can't believe this is his life. He loves the girl so much, sometimes his heart aches and he'll long for her even though she's right next to him. And though she doesn't say it all the time, they both know that she feels the exact same way.

When she comes back downstairs in one of his t-shirts and some long pajama pants, he smiles once more. Because to him, she's never looked so beautiful, and he's never felt so lucky to have her than in this simple moment.

"Harry?" She calls out to him.

"Gail?" He responds.

"What are you thinking about?"

"You." He responds, and a soft blush coats her cheeks, and she lets out a soft "oh."

And even though the two live in a magical world where witches and wizard and werewolves are real, she thinks nothing has ever felt more magical than when Harry looks at her the way he is now. Like she's the only girl in the world. Like the world could be burning all around them, but so long as they were with each other, looking at each other, they wouldn't notice until the flames ate them up.

And that's how it would always be. Because they loved each other, and nothing would change that. Gail looks at Harry. "I love you," she says.

Harry looks at her for a long while, with a smile on his face, and he thinks, so this is what it's like to be whole. And then he says it back.

"I love you too."

Gail leans her forehead on Harry's, their noses brushing, and she closes her eyes and wishes she could stay in this moment forever. Though she knows it's too good to be true. Because soon enough, Gail opens her eyes, and her heart longs for that place. That wonderful place. Where she loved Harry, and, more importantly, he loved her back.

But Gail knows the truth in her heart of hearts,

It was all just a crazy dream.