Title: Cerulean (1/4)
Pairing: Ravenclaw!JamesNarcissa
Author: Ella (ink teardrops)
Notes: This is, of course an AU, in which both James and Narcissa are sorted into Ravenclaw. It was written for the glorious Allie's Big Sis Lil' Sis Competition using the prompts "you chose to break my heart", Lover of the Light – Mumford & Sons and candle. The bolded words are purposeful, and correspond to the section they're in.
"And in the middle of the night I may watch you go, there'll be no value in the strength of walls that I have grown," – Lover of the Light, Mumford & Sons.
i.
Some nights, as his hazel eyes lie inches from yours, you remember how it happened.
You remember the hat shouting "Ravenclaw!" and you remember Bella's hiss and your parents' letter. You remember walking numbly up to your cerulean tower and you remember another boy with a heavy heart and disappointed, hazel eyes joining you in the common room. Most of all, you remember his airy voice when he said 'James'.
You remember reading books side by side and falling in love and kissing over parchment and you remember how his lips tasted of laughter and crisp autumnal leaves.
You remember how you were just another falling leaf, spiralling off-course and you remember how he caught you and showed you that there was more to life than just obeying your parent's orders.
Now, when you kiss him, it still tastes like autumn sunrises and mischief; his eyes are still the ever falling leaves of green and golden and brown, but he feels like something else.
He feels like your future.
ii.
One minute, you are lying in his arms in the flickering, golden candlelight, his heart beating out a steady thrum against your shoulder and he whispers something about how loving the one you hold is to live forever and you smile against his cheek and you dare him to.
Then, you make some offhand remark about the future and suddenly, his eyes fill with molten rage and flames and the candle casts distorted, elongated shadows across the walls and the inevitable fight occurs and it rages on until it is nearly dawn.
"Your parents don't approve of me - fine," he spits out, finally, "but I thought you were done being their puppet. We are fucking over, Narcissa."
It is the middle of the night and he leaves you alone to curse the walls that you have built up around you; the walls his fiery words couldn't destroy – you know that if they had, you would be in his arms.
Instead, the shadows that the candlelight throw aren't any comfort – the fire of your broken love and burnt out passion isn't enough to illuminate the darkness anymore.
You are alone.
iii.
You are standing on the edge of the Astronomy tower and you are wondering whether the air will be enough to hold you up or if you'd simply tumble to the ground and you consider maybe trying but, he is there, in the shadows.
"What are you doing here?" you ask.
"I'm here for the same reason you're here – I'm wondering whether the air will carry me or if you'll be there to catch me," James replies, with a significant glance.
His words nearly knock you down. "No! You were the one who… You chose to break my heart!"
"Don't you fucking get it, Narcissa?" he says, suddenly angry. "I did do wrong but you… You built your tower long before my words grew to flames. You wouldn't let me in – don't you see it? I'd be yours if you'd be mine, call me yours and knock down those walls and I'd build you an eternal kingdom in my arms."
"Don't be ridiculous – you span me so high with your poetic whispers - you caught me and made me feel like forever could exist and then you snatched it all away and the air wasn't strong enough."
"Maybe if you'd let me in, I could've-"
You cut across him.
"No! You expect me to tumble homewards, back to you with your promises of kingdoms that last forever but don't you know that there's no such thing as forever? We are all destined to fly away so James – watch me glide away. Watch me leave you."
You turn to walk away and you swear you can feel your heart shattering.
iv.
You run from the tower and he finds you at the edge of the forest, his smile soft and his eyes shining, like the sea under the moon.
His words flow towards you, "Narcissa – I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left. I was frustrated, trying to knock down your turrets and I was rash and foolish and stupid but, I love you and I want to hold you again, I want to be with you Narcissa, please believe me, I'm sorry."
Your head is telling you to carry on running downstream, but you can feel your cerulean heart thumping out a hopeful beat.
The words tumble out of your lips like a waterfall, before you can stop them.
"Hold me," you whisper and you stumble towards him.
Then, he presses his lips to yours and you can feel his fiery kisses melting away your icy heart and your tower like a torrent of forgiven heartbreak.
"Forever," he replies, catching you in his arms and finally, you start believing in the word.
