This one-shot was written for:
1. Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges - Montley's Title Swap Competition III - The Amber Flame - Albus Severus Potter - Hermione Granger, flight, pond
2. Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges - PossiblyPossible's The Tour de Fiction - 2013 Edition (Competition) - rain, pregnant, Happy Meal
3. Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges - Cheeky Slytherin Lass's All Sorts of Love Competition - Angsty Love
Wordcount: 2921 words
Please, everyone who liked this story vote on Montley's profile!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, all rights go to J.K. Rowling.
The Amber Flame
i.
The first time you see her you are at Aunt Hermione's parents. Your parents, your uncle and aunt are talking with Mr. and Mrs. Granger while your sister is playing with Rosie. James and Hugo are explaining something enthusiastically to one of Aunt Hermione's distant muggle relative.
You are sitting in the corner with a cup of muggle soft drink (it is called Cola if you remember well) in your hands. She is sitting far across the garden in the shadow of a big tree. You don't see her well in the darkness but when she looks at you her flaming amber eyes surprise you so much you pour yourself off with the sticky dark-coloured muggle drink.
ii.
The first time you speak with her is on Rose's birthday. She is standing next to your cousin who is talking to her in a hushed tone and who is looking at you sometimes. She looks up when Rose does and you see those unbelievably soft eyes once again. When the two girls approach you and you are still looking at her like you have never seen anything more beautiful and it's true. She has soft long slightly wavy blonde hair. Not like your Aunt Fleur's, but a lovelier, vivid colour. Her skin is light, but her cheeks are pink.
"This is Al, one of my cousins," Rose says to her dramatically, but you don't care about your cousin, you are just staring at the amber-eyed girl. She blushes slightly as you openly stare at her and Rose is rolling her eyes.
"I'm Olivia, it's nice to meet you," she says a bit shyly to you and you shake your head as your mutter your name.
"Liv, I must introduce you to my friends too," Rose tells her enthusiastically and before you could speak with her your cousin drags her away.
iii.
"I'm going to meet up with Emma." You hear your Aunt and for the first time that day you pay attention to the adult's conversation. You remember that Emma is your Aunt Hermione's muggle cousin's name and Olivia's mother. "I wanted to take Rose, but she isn't feeling well. I thought that Olivia would want some company." Your Aunt Hermione tells your Uncle Ron and your heart starts beating faster.
"Why don't you ask one of the children?" Your Uncle suggests and you find his suggestion a perfect idea.
"I would keep her company." You hear your own voice and your Aunt and Uncle look at you in surprise. Your Aunt nods quickly and accepts your offer.
The first time you are alone with her your Aunt is talking with her cousin and her husband. You are standing in the exact same place you first saw her, under that shady tree.
"Thank you for coming." You hear her soft voice and you find yourself blushing.
"It's nothing," you mutter and two pink spots appear on her pale cheeks too.
"You... You... Your dress is really pretty," you say in embarrassment and she chuckles softly. She is wearing a blue sundress with a blue flower in her creamy blonde hair. Her amber eyes are fixed on your green ones.
"It's from your Aunt actually," she says and you nods stupidly.
"Tell me about yourself," you plead her and a small smile appears on her perfect lips.
"I'm seventeen, I'm a student, I've never done anything important and although my life is nice it can't be called interesting," she says with the most beautiful smile you have ever seen. Even hearing her voice wakes up the butterfly in your stomach.
"Just speak about yourself," you ask and she laughs. Her laughter seems impossibly high and beautiful for you. As she tells you about her parents who she loves very much and about her little brother who means everything to her, her eyes are on fire.
"Amber flames," you mutter and she looks curiously at you.
"You... you have very nice amber coloured eyes," you says embarrassedly and her pale cheeks resemble the Weasley's hair once again.
iv.
The first time you ask her on a date it's actually your Aunt Hermione who encourages you.
"She is a very nice girl," your Aunt says to you and you are nodding stupidly at whatever she says. She fixed her brown eyes on you and frowns. "You obviously like her and from what I've heard from Emma she can't stop talking about you," she says and you feel yourself blush again which seem to happen pretty often since you have met her.
"James is looking for me," you mutter as an excuse and leave you Aunt behind. Rose appears out of nowhere with Olivia right next to her and you sure you will die in embarrassment. Her ambers met yours and the tension is thick between you and pregnant silence fall in the conversation. Rose seems to notice it as well as she disappears with a just as lame excuse as you did before.
"It's nice to see you again," she says quietly and you take a step closer to her without even realizing it. You nod and a stupid smile appears on your face.
"Would you like to go... go on a date with me?" you ask a bit stuttering, but you are proud of your Gryffindor courage. She blushes, which makes her even prettier and the flame in her amber eyes even more vivid.
"Of course," she says simply and you take one more step closer to her.
v.
For your first date with her you take her to one of your favourite places, to a small meadow right next to a pond not far from your house. You sit on a tartan blanket right next to her and you are eating cupcakes made by your Mom and your Aunt Hermione and something she calls Happy Meal, some type of muggle food.
"You have a bit of icing on the edge of your lips," you tell her and she blushes. You slowly lean closer and brush the icing of her smooth skin.
"Thank you," she mutters softly and you laugh at her embarrassment. She looks furiously at you and then she starts laughing too.
"You are even more beautiful when you laugh," you state and even though you know well it sounds really cheesy you don't care and it seems she doesn't care either.
"It sounds somewhat differently from you, it seems more... real?" she asks softly but solemnly and you smile at her.
"Because I'm serious," you say simply and she nods. Both of you are serious and you know that.
vi.
The first time you kiss her is during your first date. You are already in your swimming trunks and she is wearing a pretty red bikini. You are playing in the water, splashing water to the other.
"You can't catch me," she says with a laugh as she runs deeper in the pond. You smile at her and run after her as quickly as you can in the water. She is splashing water at you, trying to stop you, but from years of Quidditch your reflexes are good and you are quick. You catch up with her and put your arms around her waist to stop her. She turns around and looks deeply in your eyes with those flaming amber eyes of hers.
"I've caught you," you mutter as you lean closer to her. You inhale her fragrance, peach and magnolia you realize. You aren't sure who kisses whom, but your lips meet and it seems perfect. You step back after the soft kiss you shared to give some space to her.
"You didn't like it?" she seems to misunderstand you so without answering you put your arms around her once again and this time you kiss her more passionately pouring everything you feel towards her.
vii.
The first person to know about your relationship is your nosy Aunt of course.
"You are together." You know as well as she does that it's not a question so you just nod.
"I was right again," your Aunt smile in a triumphal way and you roll your eyes instead of thanking her that she gave you the courage to ask Olivia out.
viii.
The first time you confess your love towards her you are sitting on the same plaid on the same spot as on your first date. She is talking about one of her best friend, a muggle girl who finds you a bit weird.
"And she says," she starts, but you can't help it, she is beautiful when she is talking about something passionately, you close the space between you, you put your hands around her and you kiss her hungrily.
"I love you," you mutter in the kiss without even realizing it. However, she does and she stops. She pushes you a bit away and those eyes of hers are on amber fire once again, this time the flames seem even bigger.
"Do you mean it?" she asks softly and you nod with hazy mind, but you know that you love her. How couldn't you love such a pure and beautiful creature as her?
"You love me?" she questions you as she can't believe it.
"I love you," you mutter in her ears and she shiver as you brush your hands against her soft skin.
"I love you too," she says with closed eyes and you don't like it. You want to be able to see in her soul through those amber flames.
ix.
The first time you really fight she is close to leaving you.
"You don't tell me anything. You-you are lying to me. Are you cheating on me?" she asks on the airport ready to take off and leave you behind. You are standing in front of her trying to make her realize that she is making a mistake.
"Liv, listen to me. I will tell you everything, I'm promise," you say and your words are more than some empty promise. You know that you can tell her your biggest secret, because you trust her, more than yourself.
She looks at you with those amber eyes and hesitates.
"You are lying to me," she says weakly and you nod as an answer.
"I won't lie to you anymore," you promise to her and she starts crying. You slowly put your hands around her hoping she won't push you away and she doesn't. She lets you comfort her and you don't let her get on her flight.
"I love you, Livie," you mutter to her and she doesn't answer, but you know better than to push her.
x.
The first time you say to her that you are a wizard she thinks that you are kidding. You don't blame her, but then you slowly explain everything to her.
"You say that even my Mom's cousin is a witch?" she asks in awe and you nod. "That's why you were lying, right?" she asks and you confirm her suspicion. You tell about the relationship between muggles and magical people and she listens to your explanation carefully.
"So, you haven't cheated on me," she stated and you look at her in surprise.
"I would never be able to cheat on you," you mutter and she nods.
"I love you, Albus Severus Potter," she states and you kiss her softly before it becomes snogging.
xi.
When you ask her to marry you for the first (and last time) you are on the same little meadow your first date took place and where you first told her that you love her.
You are on your knees and her eyes are on fire. You feel warm inside and you know for fact that the same smile is on your face as on hers.
"When I first saw you I knew you were different. Your amber eyes told me everything about you I needed to know. I fell in love with you, Livie. You are everything I've asked for and more," you say and a traitor tear appears in the edge of her flaming eyes.
"Will you marry me, Livie?" you ask her and she is just standing there fixing those eyes on you.
"Yes," she says softly before you capture her lips. It takes one little word to make you the happiest man on Earth. You are just standing there with your hands around her and you don't care that the rain starts pouring.
xii.
The first time your heart is in million pieces when your Aunt Hermione appears with your mother and father in the door of your office. You know the moment you see them that something is not right. Your Aunt and your Mom are crying, their eyes a red, and your Dad is radiating sorrow and pity.
"Emma has just phoned," your Aunt said so quietly and desperately that you hardly hear her, but from the expression of your family you don't need words.
"Is she?" you ask without even taking a breath. Your whole family has clear pity in their eyes. Your father's emerald green eyes, so similar to yours are on you.
"I'm sorry son. It was a car accident, the other driver was drunk," he says softly. His eyes are on you, but you only want to see a pair of amber eyes.
xiii.
The first time you say good bye to her she is already in the Otherworld and you are all alone. You are standing right next to the mourning family in your dark suits which are so unfamiliar for you.
The priest looks at you and encourages you to take his spot, so you take a few steps and you reach the podium. You look at all the people who miss her, but only her parents' and her brother's expression matches yours.
"I don't know what I will do without her," you say and you close your eyes as you don't want to see the pity in everybody's eyes, those dull eyes which were so uninteresting compared to her flaming amber eyes. "She was everything I loved, her laughter was like hearing million of bells, and her smile was like looking in the Sun feeling its warmth and her eyes... Her eyes were like they were on fire, full of passion and love. I-I don't know what I will do without those amber eyes," you say and you leave the podium without looking at anyone.
xiv.
The first time you think that there is a possibility for moving on for you is when you accidentally run into a girl on the street. You are just walking aimlessly, not even looking in front of you. You end up on the cold concrete just as the girl does and you only look at her when you give her the books she dropped.
She has red hair, but darker than the Weasleys. It reminds of you of your grandmother, but instead of emerald eyes you meet with a pair of beautiful amber eyes. She smiles shyly and she plays with a lock of hair when she says sorry.
"I'm the one who should say sorry," you say. You feel surprised at yourself, but the girl only blushes, she doesn't seem to realize your discomfort.
"I wasn't paying attention, I just had so many books, I needed to make sure I don't lose any of them," she explains and you nod.
"I'm Albus Potter. May I help you with your books?" you ask and she nods, but her face is nearly as red as her hair and her freckles seem more emphasized.
"That would be great," she says and her eyes are gleaming. No, they aren't on fire, they aren't flaming amber, but you still find them very pretty. "I'm Alice Lawson," she says and you take her hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," you say and she smile.
"The pleasure is mine," she answers.
xv.
The first time you see those flaming amber eyes again after Olivia's death is when your first child is born. She already has the thick dark Potter hair and you find her beautiful.
"You want to name her Olivia, don't you?" You look up to meet the eyes of your wife. Alice smiles at you, her eyes tell you what you need to know, she understands.
"Can we name her that?" you ask softly and she nods. "Olivia Alice Potter," you say and Alice smiles at you, her amber eyes on you.
"She is beautiful," she says and you nod. You know that she is right. You brush your hand against your baby's smooth skin and you give her a kiss. The baby fixes her tired amber eyes on you and your heart starts beating faster again.
You lean closer to your wife who loves you more than anything and you give a kiss on her forehead. Both of you know that you are on the way of moving on already and one day in the near future your heart will be in one piece again.
"I love you," Alice mutters and you smile.
"I love you too," you say and you know that you aren't lying. You really love the redheaded beauty, your wife, the mother of your newborn daughter. You just still needed a little time until it feels more... right.
You take your newborn in your hand and you look in those flaming amber eyes one more time before putting down her to sleep.
Maybe the time is closer than you would think.
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