AN: A tribute to the end of summer. School starts in… what? two weeks? *fweh!*
Disclaimer: Don't own, so don't blame. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. Song was written and performed by Incubus. Anything else? Mine.
Thanks to: Mr.SixToes, who ever so kindly lent me his Incubus VCD. Whee!
Wish You Were Here
I dig my toes into the sand
Harry Potter smiled widely, and let the warm sand run through his toes. From behind him, inside the rented cottage, came the snores of the sleeping Dursleys, taking their afternoon nap. They had taken a vacation to a Muggle beach for that summer… the summer before Harry's sixth year.
It seemed that Mrs. Figg was too busy with "other matters of great importance" to take Harry in, and so, with much trepidation, the Dursleys agreed to take Harry along with them to the beach.
Harry stood there, in the warm afternoon wind, breathing in the fresh sea air, unable to keep the grin off his face.
The ocean looks like a thousand diamonds strewn across a blue blanket.
"This is so beautiful…" he whispered, staring out at the sea, wondering at the way it rolled and crashed like some living being. The salt spray from an especially large wave gently touched his tanned skin, and Harry threw his head back and laughed, enjoying the moment of pure discovery.
I lean against the wind,
Pretend that I am weightless
The wind, tasting slightly of salt and breeze and far-off places, ruffled against his already mussed hair, leaving in it the scent of the sun. Harry closed his eyes and lifted his face, receiving the cool breeze and letting it soothe his warmed skin.
I could die like this, and I would be happy… he thought, standing in front of the sea, his toes in the sand, and his arms outstretched wide, as if to take it all in and never let go.
And in this moment
I am happy
In thirty minutes the Dursleys would wake up. It would be another bout of chores, another bout of giggling at Dudley in his absurd swimming attire, and another bout of hard work inside the cottage, away from the sea breeze that Harry so very loved.
But that was thirty minutes away, and Harry, leaning against the wind, eyes closed and arms open wide, felt like he was happy enough to forget about the Dursleys.
But he felt like he was missing something.
I wish you were here
"Ron… and Hermione!" he exclaimed, opening his eyes to greet the sparkling sea once more. "I wish they were here…" He knelt down and ran his fingers through the sand.
"They would have liked this."
He grinned, imagining their reactions. Hermione would probably spend most of her time reading through the school books for the next year, only relenting for a swim with the most intense wheedling and coaxing from Harry and Ron. Ron would probably be happily splashing around in the water, taking time out only to exclaim at the Muggle behavior on the beach.
I wish you were here
He missed them so much. Harry closed his eyes once more, conjuring up their conversation in his mind…
"Harry! What is that Muggle spreading all over her skin? That looks rather disgusting." Harry thought of Ron's amazed expression, the freckles bright red against the tan of his skin… and almost laughed out loud.
"Oh Ron!" came Hermione's imaginary voice, know-it-all and bossy, and Harry smiled. "That's sunblock. Muggles use it instead of Sun-Protection Charms. It's quite useful, I must say… but of course, the magical way is always the better way."
I wish you were here
Harry could almost hear Ron retort sarcastically. "The magical way is always the better way… gee, Hermione, that's one heck of a catchy slogan."
Harry listened to Hermione's offended huff, and listened for the rustle of pages which meant she had returned to her book. Now, Ron seemed to speaking to him.
"Would you believe her?! Reading on the beach?! She didn't even dip her toes in the water this afternoon…" Every note of unbelieving annoyance seemed so pronounced, that Harry was tempted to reply to his best friend.
I wish you were here
But when he opened his eyes, Ron and Hermione were gone in a whirl of warm, white sand.
Harry sighed, and contented himself with tracing designs in the sand with a small twig.
I lay my head onto the sand
Night fell, and somewhere through the palm trees, Harry could hear the loud laughter and the music of the outdoor barbecue that the Dursleys were attending. They had left him with the dark, deserted cottage and a plate of bread and cheese, telling him shakily "not to blow up anything with your… abnormal tendencies."
Harry didn't plan to blow anything up. He was content, and quite full, having sneaked some food from the barbecue earlier that evening. He laid back on the sand, on one of his old cloaks from Hogwarts, ripped to look like a blanket.
The wind was cool as it stroked his cheek, and Harry smiled once more.
The sky resembles a backlit canopy
With holes punched in it
The stars were absolutely beautiful that particular evening, and Harry, with a twinge of blues, thought of his two best friends.
"And that would be constellation Cassiopeia." Ron sounded particularly proud that he had identified something correctly.
"No, Ron… that's constellation Draco." came Hermione's soft, patient voice.
"I say its Cassiopeia."
"It's Draco, Ron. See the trail of smaller stars at the end of the inverted triangle?"
Ron snorted huffily. "You're just saying that because you like Malfoy. Haha…"
Harry, with his eyes closed, could almost see the indignant blush creeping over Hermione's cheek as she replied, just as huffily. "I do not like Malfoy! You're just mad because you overslept and missed the last Astronomy exam!"
I'm counting UFOs
I signal them with my lighter
"Hey, what was that?" Harry spoke out loud, blinking up at the sky. Ron seemed to answer from beside him. "Yeah, that bright flash of light…"
Hermione's bossy voice drifted through Harry's brain once more. "Oh, Muggles call those Unidentified Flying Objects. Everyone… well, everyone magical, knows that they are just wizards commuting by night. The light comes from the Glowworms they attach to their broom tails."
Ron sounded excited. "Yeah! The Glowworms! Fred and George invented a new kind of candy using those things… when you eat it, it makes your teeth glow in the dark!"
Harry laughed, and the mild wind carried the rare sound of that laughter up into the sky, to be lost among the stars.
And in this moment
I am happy
Happy
The sand piled up in soft mounds around his outstretched body, and it was in his hair, and on his skin. Harry didn't care. He liked the way the sand felt against his bare skin, like a thousand prickly fingernails. The wind tickled his nose, and ruffled his shirt, and Harry smiled at its kiss. The scent of sea and night and stars and stone filled the cool air, and Harry inhaled it deeply, trying to remember every single detail of that night…
The stars continued to twinkle down at him, and Harry felt a bit sad that he didn't have anyone to look up at them with.
I wish you were here
He missed them… Ron and Hermione. He wanted to talk to them, and listen to them bicker with each other. He wanted Ron's humor and sarcasm, and Hermione's intelligent conversation, and slight bossiness.
I wish you were here
Harry sighed against the wind, and the wind whispered back, reassuring him of friends overseas.
I wish you were here
Harry grinned up at the palm trees waving gently above him. "I'll write them when I get back home." he promised, and the trees seemed to nod in the wind, reminding him that this friendship was too good to lose.
The waves lapped softly at the shore in a reassuring lullaby, and the cool of the air was sweet on the skin. Harry sighed once more. Pure bliss.
I wish you were here.
He just wished he had Ron and Hermione to share it with.