Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling
Prologue
He shifted the delicate shoe from hand to hand while he watched her from the safety of the trees. She stood with her back to him in the quiet, the sole being at the end of the mossy dock that rose over the lake. She looked so peaceful that it seemed almost a shame to disturb her, but disturb her he must. He had been searching for her for far too long to turn away now.
And yet, he was unable to move. His feet stood glued to the spot, refusing the take the first step the remove the vast space between the two of them. Instead, he watched her silently while her hair blew in the wind, a curtain of blonde that whispered over her shoulders and back, and he found it captivating. Even in the beginning, when there had been so little that he remembered, he had remembered her hair - the glossy strands spread over his pillows in the moonlight.
It was it's true color now as she stood in the sunshine and as he looked at her, he wondered why he had not figured it out sooner. She had been right under his nose all this time, working just two doors down from his shop - and yet, all this time, she had escaped his notice. That she had done it on purpose mattered little. He should have known, should have realized…
She shifted slightly, causing the boards of the dock to creak, breaking him out of his thoughts. He gripped the shoe he held tightly, wrapping a fist around the delicate clear acrylic heel, then took a step onto the dock. Each step brought him closer, the moment that was so long overdue - now moments away. Only a few yards separated them when he stepped on a loose board and it creaked loudly under his foot. She turned to face him and in her eyes, - at last - he saw the truth that she could not deny.
It was she. It really and truly was her. At last, he had found her.
He stopped and they stared into one another's eyes, silver into brown, while the moments ticked away in silence. Questions heavy in the air, rushing forward where they were met with resistance, and he realized - had it been up to her, he never would have found out that she was the one. She was afraid of something; he realized as he looked at her closer. Yes - she was afraid. But why - what could she possibly have to fear? They were friends; they had known one another their entire lives - why…
And then he noticed something that he had not noticed before. Something that she could no longer hide - though she was desperately trying.
The shoe fell from his hand and landed with a thud upon the dock.