Sometimes I go out by myself
And I look across the water
And I think of what you're doing
And in my head I paint a picture
-Valerie by Amy Winehouse
I sit at the edge of the lake dangling my feet into the cold water. Fish swim past lazily, occasionally stopping to nibble on a toe or two, but I remain still. My focus remains on a small point way out in the middle of the lake. I've been staring at it so long that the edges of my vision have started to blur, but I can't find the strength to tear my eyes away.
All around me, students frolic in the unseasonably warm June sun, enjoying their first taste of summer after a long, harsh winter. But for me the winter never ended. Your death made sure of that. My soul is frozen like the roots of flowers after the first frost; only it will never have the chance at thawing.
In the peripherals of my vision, I see a group of girls who look vaguely familiar. They were my friends once, a lifetime ago. I hear one of the girls call to me, uncertainty ringing out in her words. Pretending I haven't heard, I continue to stare into the murky waters of the lake. The girls look at each other, a mixture of concern and annoyance written clearly on their faces. They disappear back inside of the castle, no doubt whispering about my lack of response. There was a time when that might've bothered me.
The only people who seem to understand anymore are the ghosts that haunt the halls of Hogwarts. Like them I mourn a life lost that I can never return to; a life in which your eyes still sparkle with laughter. Instead, I'm left with unseeing, glassy eyes seared into my dreams and night terrors where you die over and over again.
Staring at the water, I try to put away the awful images of your death. If I focus hard enough on the shimmering surface of the lake, for just a moment I can pretend that you're still here. I can feel the specter of you beside me, but when I try to pull you to me, you disappear. The phantom of your kisses tingle along my cheekbones like an amputated appendage.
A tentacle splashes up from the murky depths, breaking my focus momentarily. I quickly realize that the cool summer breeze is the only thing that caresses my face. Your hands are painfully absent. A few tears trickle down my cheeks as I remember that I am hopelessly alone.
Hey there!
This story was originally posted on HPFF for the Playlist Challenge where I won 1st place! The song that I was assigned was Valerie by Amy Winehouse. I was thrilled with this prompt since I absolutely love this song. A direct quote from it appears at the very top of this story.
I'm not sure how I came up with the idea that I did for this, but for some reason as soon as I got to the part about looking across the water and painting a picture, I imagined Cho Chang sitting at the Lake mourning Cedric.
Anyway, I hope that you like what I've come up with and I'd love to hear any feedback that you might have! Thanks as always for reading!
~Kaitlin/TreacleTart