A/N — Thank you so much, Arty (The Lady Arturia) for beta'ing, and she also deserves full credit for that last line :)
[844]
Colin could tell things were changing. Outwardly, the world appeared exactly the same, but Colin knew.
The letters from his friends were as they had always been — cheerful and carefree, full of tales of summer adventures and anticipation for the new school year — but, underneath it all, Colin could sense the subtle shift in their lives. That nagging sense that not all was as it should be.
He was back.
.oOo.
At school, it was slightly more obvious.
Occasionally, a student would be pulled from class and sent to their head of house's office with no explanation. Most returned with tear stained cheeks; some would sit with their friends, seeking their comfort, while others would seclude themselves in the privacy of their dorms. Some, were pulled straight out of school, not even given the chance to say goodbye to their friends.
But mostly, things carried on as they had always been. People ignored the subtle changes, ignored the sudden absences, and they moved on.
.oOo.
Colin clutched his camera in front of him like a shield, as if it could protect him from all that was happening outside the safety of Hogwarts. He took photos with an almost desperate need to capture every moment of his friends' lives. Anything to keep them with him, always.
Ron Weasley, midway through yelling at him with a mouthful of half-chewed food.
Hermione Granger, holding up a book to hide her face from the lense.
Harry Potter, holding an uncomfortable looking pose, too awkward to say no to having his picture taken.
Ginny, pointing a wand at the camera, expression scarily calm.
Luna, arms spread and smiling serenely.
And Dennis, sitting cross-legged on the floor in the middle of a game of exploding snap.
He taped them to the walls, keeping spare copies of each photograph safely tucked away in albums, and storing each roll of film carefully.
He took more and more each day, wanting to preserve the image of his friends as he had known them forever.
Ginny, leaning over a cauldron and throwing annoyed looks at the camera.
Neville, helping a first year with her Herbology homework.
Luna, finger pressed to her lips and crouching by the Great Lake.
Hannah, wrapped up warm in her winter coat, waiting by the gates to Hogsmeade.
And Dennis, drenched from a sudden downpour of rain and grinning widely, laughing.
The albums grew in number, and he had to begin taping photographs to the frame of his bed, but still Colin didn't stop. He couldn't stop.
There was no telling when anyone might be suddenly pulled from his life, and he needed to keep them with him. Always. He needed that reminder that they had been there, that they had impacted his life. He needed to be able to look back on the photographs and know that he wasn't mis-remembering them—that he wasn't embellishing or forgetting details.
He needed to preserve them.
.oOo.
The photographs didn't stop, even when they went on the run. His camera and as many rolls of film he could fit into his bag were all he had thought to grab before they snuck out in the middle of the night, but they were all Colin needed.
Dennis would disagree, but then Dennis had grabbed all the more useful items they needed, and Colin could still take his photographs.
Dennis, bent over a fire and turning stolen sausages over on a stick.
Dennis, walking down a Muggle high street, hands buried in his pockets and trying to blend in.
Dennis, holding his hand out to a cat he had befriended.
A woman and her three irritable children, who had asked after their parents and offered them lunch.
Dennis, face red with anger and yelling at the camera.
Dennis, staring down at a golden coin, surprise written across his face.
Neville, wary and injured, welcoming them into the castle with a warm smile.
Hannah, pulling Dennis into a hug and reaching for the camera.
Professor McGonagall, blinking in surprise at the sudden flash, interrupted in the middle of a sentence.
Harry, standing in front of everyone, expression grim.
Dennis, grinning in excitement, anticipation.
.oOo.
It would take Dennis years to get those last rolls of film developed, and even longer to actually look at the photographs.
His friends had all moved on with their lives, as people were prone to do.
Harry and Ginny had three beautiful children; Ron and Hermione had two.
Neville and Hannah shared a flat above the three broomsticks, and Luna was travelling the world.
When Dennis finally looked at the photographs, he could see them all as they had been. Young and carefree, still innocent despite all they had been forced to go through.
Nostalgia curled in his chest, bringing the sting of tears to his eyes. There were so many photographs, so many moments of their lives preserved forever, but there was one notable absence.
In all his brother's attempts to immortalise the lives of others in rolls of film, he had forgotten to preserve his own.