Beyond the Mountains and Above the Sunset
Giggling could be heard from the surrounding neighbourhood as the little girl was swung higher into the air, each time, a pair of strong hands connected with the chains of the swing. Her waist length chocolate brown curls flowed freely in the breeze and her smile lit up the features of her young father as she turned to face him.
"Swing me higher Daddy!" She pleaded and soon enough she was sent soaring into the air, another fit of giggles overcoming her petite form.
It was a warm spring afternoon. Beyond the mountains, a mixture of orange and pink swirls covered the horizon and the sun was but a little way away from setting. The young father lifted his little girl off the swing and set her on top of his shoulders in one swift movement. He then set her down on a small patch of grass, so that she was given a full view of the ever-approaching sunset.
The young girl sighed as she snuggled up to her father who had sat down beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder. After a while, the young girl became restless and looked up towards her father.
"Daddy, where is mummy now?" she asked expectantly, tugging on his sleeve with her tiny hand. Slowly, the young father turned his head down to face the child. His platinum blonde bangs fell into his blue-grey eyes as he stared intently into the honey brown orbs of his only family left. His face was chiselled and defined, yet his eyes were dull and large bags were visible underneath them. He slowly reached out to his daughter and tucked a stray curl behind her ear.
"Annelise, darling, you know the answer to that question" he finally answered. He placed his thumb and forefinger on her chin to bring her face up to face his own. Her honey brown eyes were slowly welling up with tears and her bottom lip began to quiver. Her breathing quickened as she struggled to remain calm. Finally she whispered in a small and broken voice;
"Mummy's in heaven, with the angels".
"Yes. She is sweetie, and she will always be watching over us", replied Draco, using his thumbs to wipe away the tears that were now streaming down his daughters face.
"But daddy, where is heaven? Where is mummy?" asked Annelise, a little louder than before. Draco sighed and stretched his long fingers out to point to a large, white fluffy cloud, beyond the mountains and above the sunset.
"Mummy is right over there, looking out for you everyday" replied Draco, relaxing his hand and placing it around his daughter's shoulders once again.
"If I ran further enough Daddy, could I ever reach Mummy?" asked the little girl, staring intently at the cloud. Draco chuckled, smiling at his daughter and patting her on the head.
"I'm sure if you ran as fast as your little feet could take you, one day you'll reach that cloud", said Draco heartily.
As if she had just been struck by lightning, Annelise leapt to her feet and took off at a sprint towards the sunset.
"I'll run to you mummy" Annelise yelled into the distance and kept up the pace.
Draco chuckled to himself and got up to follow his daughter beyond the mountain and high above the sunset.
"Hermione, you would be so proud of her," he mumbled to himself as he ran after his pride and joy; Hermione Granger's daughter, his daughter.