Title: Loving Hope
Chapter Title: Strolling Along
Author: Rasei
Disclaimer: I, Rasei, do not own Harry Potter. All rights are retained by the owners, and I'm not making any money off of this.
Summary: 100 stories of Hope and Lyall Lupin. Now. It's been a week since Hope met the mysterious man.
Challenges: 100 Word Prompt Collection Challenge [98. Rainbow]; Year Long Scavenger Challenge [c33. Write about a romantic stroll]; 100-Ways-To-Say-I-Love-You-Challenge [19. Can I hold your hand?]
It was a cloudy day but Hope Howell was afraid. It wasn't a logical fear really, after all, she wasn't being followed by anyone after all. The large, evil looking man that followed her that night a week hasn't been seen since then, but still she couldn't help but be afraid he was going to come back. Her savior hasn't been seen since then either. What if the evil looking man hurt her savior after he walked her home. Just the thought made Hope bite her lip, as images of her savior's body broken on the ground surrounded by blood flooded her mind. She shook her head, cursing mental about her over imagination but the images didn't fade. One of the worst things about that night was she was too frantic to even thing of getting her savior's name even as he walked her home.
As she hurried home from her job at the insurance office, she kept an eye out for either of the men. It wasn't until she was walking down her street towards her small apartment, she saw the man leaning against her building. She froze, her breath catching in her lungs. The person was wearing a hat, and with the distance she couldn't tell who it was. Part of her wanted to turn around and run away; but...
'There is nothing to be afraid anymore. The man is gone and will not be back."
The words echoed through her mind. With a sharp but nervous intake of breath, she tried walking towards her building without showing her fear. When she had almost arrived, the man looked up. Gasping, Hope covered her mouth.
"It's you." The whisper was quiet, but the man seemed to hear with a smile forming on his young face.
"It's me. Hello, I hope you don't mind me coming to visit you, right? Or is this to awkward? Maybe..." The smile disappeared as worriment overtook his face. She shook her head as she waved her arms.
"I don't mind at all. In fact, I wanted to see you again," Hope blurted out, feeling a rush of heat on her cheeks. He didn't reply. The silence between the two felt huge as a cliff was away from the ground. Finally Hope broke the silence, afraid if she didn't speak to the man, her savior would walk away.
"It was quite silly of me... I never got your name last week. It's been bothering me."
"I'm... I'm Lyall. Lyall Lupin. Um... It's been bothering me as well. What is your name?" He said, fidgeting slightly. There was a blush on his face.
"I'm Hope. Hope Howell. It's sort of a silly name... but..." She said, looking down her face even more red. The silence took over again, as Hope could not look at Lyall's face. Finally she glanced up, as he did. Their eyes met, and Hope felt like her cheeks were on fire. He suddenly tilted his head then looked up at the sky. After a moment of biting his lip, he suddenly broke the silence.
"Your name isn't silly at all. In fact, it fits you. Well, I guess i should..."
"Do you have to leave?" Hope interrupted, not wanting him to go yet. Lyall tilted his head, then smile softly making Hope feel at ease.
"Would you like to take a stroll with me, Hope Howell?" he asked, as he walked all the way to her. She smiled and nodded. Any fear she had earlier was gone. The two started walking, sneaking glances at each other.
"There is a park nearby. It's not as lovely as the woods but it's really pretty," said Hope, breaking the silence.
"That sound great to me," said Lyall. The walk to the park was quiet, except for a couple of sentences about the weather. It was an almost comfortable quietness, but it was still a bit awkward.
"This is a pretty park. Do you come here often?"
"Yes. I mean I usually prefer to walk in the woods. Something about woods is peaceful. My nana always says woods are where the little people live and if you walk through them you might meet one. It's quite weird I know,"
"I think your nana is correct about little people and the woods. I seen some quite amazing things in woods. I travel a lot in woods because of my job." Lyall followed as Hope started walking up a small hill. Hope turned to smile at Lyall.
"Thank you. Most people think Nana is a bit crazy," She said, as she reached the top of the hill. Suddenly the clouds parted, a small rainbow appearing across the sky. Hope gasped as she looked at it. With how cloudy the day been, she hadn't expected it. A hand reached out and grabbed hers. She turned to look at Lyall, who was smiling looking at the rainbow. He turned to look at her and said,
"Beautiful." Hope didn't know if she meant the rainbow or her, but she couldn't help but whisper,
"Yes." He look down suddenly, she followed his gaze to their hands entwined with one another. Both of them jerk their hands away from each other, blushing even harder. After a moment, Hope regretted jerking her hand away. His hand had felt warm. She slowly looked at his face then whispered again,
"Can I hold your hand?" Lyall didn't answer with words, but instead slowly grabbed her hand. He squeezed it, and she squeezed back. They turn to look back at the rainbow.
"Would you mind if I come visit again?" asked Lyall. Blushing, Hope replied,
"I wouldn't mind at all. Would... Would you like to get dinner tomorrow?"
"Yes. I need to get going soon, but may I walk you home again?" Hope tilted her head, eyeing him.
"I would love that, Lyall Lupin." The two continue their stroll, hand in hand.