I wrote this for owluvr's Honeydukes Competition on the HPFC forum :)
THANK YOU, littlemissreadbookacholic! You've been a wonderful beta, without my grammar would be atrocious!
I am not our queen JKR, thus for I don't own the characters or the places, only the concepts.
Stars
4-year-old Harry looked up at the sky. It was black and dark, but pin-pricked with stars, tiny silver sparkles littering the sky. Tonight was one of the few nights that Harry got to go out of the house and see the sky; Aunt Petunia usually locked him up in his cupboard before she went to bed, which was always before dark.
Harry loved the sky, when he stared up at it; it was as though his mother and father were staring back at him. That made him feel safe, it made all his problems seem so much smaller when he looked up at the sky and realized how small he was, too.
oOo
An 8-year-old Harry looked up at the sky, much like he had done four years ago, but this time his thought were not of wonder and safeness, but of sadness and anger. As he stared up at the sky, all the stars seemed duller and the moon shone out like a coin in the middle of a dusty black blanket, he wished his mum and dad were here; surely they would stop Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia from hurting him. Why did you leave me? He thought, why did you have to crash that car? Harry felt a tear leak out of his eye, I want to leave.
oOo
Harry, age 10 1/2, was gazing at the sky again, but tonight there was something different, and he didn't know why or what, it was the same moon, crescent-shaped and waxing, and the same stars, small silver sparkles, but still, there was something different about it. He felt a sense of hope fill him as he looked up, that was strange too, because surely there was nothing to be hopeful about tonight, tomorrow was Dudley's birthday, and he was surely going to be stranded at Mrs. Figg's house while Dudley got spoiled rotten. But for some reason he felt like someone was reassuring him that everything was alright, that things were going to get better.
oOo
Harry looked up at the sky, thinking of Sirius, and Lupin. It was a full moon. This time it was clear and the stars only seemed brighter. He was back at the Dursleys', after another life-threatening year at Hogwarts, and his head was full with 'what might have been's. He whispered them to himself and it seemed as if someone was listening and telling him it was no use worrying about it, he had gotten something out of it after all, the Dursleys wouldn't be bothering him any more, not now that he had a 'mass murderer' as a godfather. And besides, Ron had mentioned something about the Quidditch World Cup...
oOo
Harry was looking at the sky again, but this time he wasn't alone. He was sitting under the birch tree by the black lake and Ginny Weasley's head was rested in his lap. He played with her silky, red hair as they sat in silence, watching at the stars. Sometimes one of them would whisper something and they would laugh or smile, but mostly they just stayed there, unmoving and content. There was no moon in the sky and it was showered with stars. He looked down at Ginny and she smiled, life was good.
oOo
Harry was sitting out on the porch, his wife, Ginny, and his three children sat around him. They all looked up at the sky. Harry was pointing out constellations and Lily, his youngest, was making up shapes with the stars she could see, and whispering it all to Albus, who was also trying to find constellations, but ones he claimed to be 'real'. James really didn't care, but liked to hear his mum and dad's stories. Ginny point out a constellation to Lily, and then leaned over and whispered something in Harry's ear. He laughed and pulled Lily onto his lap. The war was over, Voldemort was gone, and Harry, after years of running and taking risks, was here to stay.