Author's Note: PLEASE READ. This is for the Coldplay Challenge posted by Allie Caulfield at Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges. The song I was assigned was Life in Technicolor (Instrumental). Because there are no lyrics, I approached this fic differently than my other songfics.
I believe this is best read SLOWLY while listening to the instrumental version. You can find it on youtube. Just type in "Coldplay Life in Technicolor ii official instrumental" (yes, include the "ii"). Of course, you don't have to listen to it :)
Finally, I pictured Hermione as the speaker while she, Harry and Ron were at Grimmauld Place in Deathly Hallows.
Hope
Today, I walked outside into the street and just let the rain do what my friends' words of hope could not.
I closed my eyes, letting the warm, end-of-the-summer downpour soak my skin and tickle my cheeks.
My clothes clung to my body, providing the hugs I couldn't accept from anyone. The water seemed to go straight into my body, cleansing my heart.
It didn't matter to me that we were on the run. I needed to feel the rain. Needed to feel as though this was not a nightmare—although I desperately wished it was.
And no one bothered me.
Not a car passed.
The town slept, silent around Grimmauld Place.
And I smiled for the first time in months.
I thanked whoever was out there to listen for the friends I had, even if their words hadn't inspired me like the rain did.
Because we were all alive, still fighting for our cause.
The wind was gentle, nothing more than a friendly kiss on the cheek.
The rain landing on the sidewalks turned into laughter long unheard.
I imagined ourselves talking by the fireside in the common room, fretting over trivial assignments.
I imagined life after war, when fighters laid down their arms and looked after the wounded. When the white flag waved and families breathed a sigh of relief. When blood and tears stopped falling, and instead rain did, washing away the reminders.
That's what I was fighting for.
I opened my eyes and let the rain take the place of my tears.
I stretched out my hands, catching the rain on my fingers, feeling, for the first time in a long time, as though freedom was within my reach.
It was a wondrous feeling. One my blood seemed to sing for.
In a way, freedom was like water. Taken for granted once procured, and hard to hold onto once in your grasp.
But I knew that, no matter how hard we had to fight, we'd never give up until it was back in our hands.
Life seemed more bearable, knowing this was worth fighting for.
I looked up into the roiling clouds, accepting the solace I found in the rain.
As the shower slowed, I closed my eyes a final time, savoring the last few drops.
I slowly made my way back to Grimmauld Place, not really caring if Harry and Ron berated me for leaving its sanctuary. No matter what they said or did, somehow, I wouldn't mind. Not if they yelled or gave me the cold shoulder. Because, given time, they'd find their own rain to bathe in.
And even though the sky was grey and the houses were blurred by the pale streetlights, even though our fates were just as unclear and it scared me to think about the future…I felt hopeful. I felt the deluge slide along my arms and face. Felt the laughter fill my heart and mind and soul.
Today, I danced in that grey rain.
Today, life was worth living in color.