Title: The Garden
Author: FelsGoddess
Timeframe: Spans several years post-DH
Notes: Written for the 17th Housecup game. \happened.
Song: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by the Beatles
Disclaimer: Harry Potter doesn't belong to me, nor do the lyrics by the Beatles.
Picture yourself in a boat on a river,
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies.
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
Her girlish giggle echoes through the garden behind their small cottage. Her redish-brown hair hangs into two braided pigtails that bounce off her back as she runs. A handmade crown of daises sits on her head. Her cream-colored sundress floats around her like a cloud. A multi-colored bracelet adorns her tiny left wrist. Her little brother runs after her, asking where the boat is to take them across the sea. His blue cotton shirt and dark pants contrast to her whimsical appearance.
The game is complicated. The two search for the boat to take them to the magical island of dragons. The girl could defeat them with her songs and the boy could fly. They tell their parents that the trees are covered in fruit-shaped marshmallows. She tells her father the path was made of treacle tarts. The boy says the boat is made of licorice and fairy floss.
Rose and Hugo bring innocence back into Ron and Hermione's world. After years of death and destruction, they need peace. They need to believe that the world is good again. As the children of famous war heroes, Rose and Hugo have few friends. They usually play with their cousins or together. They have been forced to attend many formal dinners and occasions over the years. Their fantasy world became their escape.
The children call to their parents, beckoning them to come join their adventure. The parents follow, willing to pretend whatever fantasy their children create.
Cellophane flowers of yellow and green,
Towering over your head.
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes,
And she's gone.
Her innocence is gone, stolen by death. The man she loved is dead. Tears rolls down Rose's cheeks as she watches the casket lower into the ground. Her eyes only know sorrow. She stands between her parents, hand gripping her father's. She looks to Ron, eyes filling with despair. The light is gone. She steps forward and drops a flower into the hole. The cheery yellow of the flower mock the mood.
She stays in her old childhood bedroom, unable to go home. She sits in the garden where she used to play, watches the sky change from yellow to blue to red to black. One tear rolls off her cheek. The setting sunlight catches it, creating a sparkling diamond.
Rain begins to fall. She tilts her head up towards the sky. Raindrops roll down her hair and cheeks. Her soaked clothes cling to her thinning frame. She stands from her seat, spread her arms out and begins to spin.
She spins until she collapses on the walkway. The walkway is no longer sweet and magical. It is hard and dirty. She clutches the weeds growing through the cracks, skin tears off her knuckles. Blood trickles to the cobblestone path, mixing with the dirt.
The rain slows and the sun appears. She stretches out her hands and the light catches the diamond on her finger. She stares in horror at the ring; the ring that was supposed to lead to the wedding in two months. She rips the ring from her finger and throws it across the garden. It clinks against the small stone fountain and falls to the earth. Her heart breaks once again and she scurries across the garden to take the ring back. Its hard diamond is unharmed. She clutches the ring to her chest.
Two strong arms wrap around her from behind. It is her brother: dear, sweet Hugo. He helps her stand and leads her back into the house. He helps her to her old bedroom and wraps a blanket around her. He kisses her forehead and disappears. She rises from the bed, whole body shaking, and places the ring on her dresser. She removes her wet clothes and puts on an old ratty robe. She stumbles out of the room and into the bathroom. She turns on the shower, sheds her robe and moves to stand under the mist.
She washes herself, mind a blur. Her head slumps forward as the hot water beads massage her neck and shoulders. She watches as water, shampoo and soap circle around the drain. The spiral motion is almost hypnotic. As the water becomes cold, she leaves the shower and wraps a towel around her. She walks into her bedroom and dresses in a simple robe.
Hugo enters and hands her a cup of hot tea. She smiles at him as she takes a sip. It wards away some of the remaining chill. He sits next to her on the bed. She looks at him, wondering exactly when they grew up.
"I was thinking of when we were children," Hugo says quietly, studying his hands. A strip of fresh, pink skin mars his left palm from a dragon burn.
"When?" Rose asks. She suddenly misses when they were little. Their parents made everything scary or sad disappear. They protected them from hardships and pain. Rose herself had protected and comforted Hugo. Now he was taking care of her. He was acting as her shield.
"I was thinking about when we used to play in the garden. You used to tell me that there was a land we could always go to be safe and happy," he says, eyes seeking out some glimmer of light in her brown eyes.
She smiles sadly, "I was wrong."
Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain,
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies.
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,
That grow so incredibly high.
She sits on the ground in front of the fountain, watching her baby boy toddle around the garden. His uncle Hugo chases him around, telling him about a land of magical trees and candy skies. They disappear through the flowers, the tall stalks hiding the small boy.
Her father and mother enter the garden through the wrought-iron gate, watching her with worry in their eyes. Rose has yet to marry. She raises her son alone. She works, lives for him. She knows they want her to move on and be happy. She knows they fear for her health. She wants to tell them to stop; that she is happy. She knows it's useless.
Her baby boy's laugh echoes through the garden, as hers once did. He races to her and begins to tell her about his Uncle Hugo's land. Listening to her son takes her back to the world she and Huge created. She smiles, shadows leaving her eyes.
It will be all right. He is her sunshine now. He brings the colors back into her world. Her baby boy takes her hand and pulls her onto the path; determine to show his mother the fantasy world. He adds his own creations to the child's world: Great-uncle Charlie's dragons, Great-uncle George's shape-shifting fireworks and more. Rose recognizes remnants of her parent's and Uncle Harry's exploits in the tale. She hears laughter behind her when he tells her about the life-size chessboard. Rose turns to see mirth filling her parents' eyes.
It takes her back, back to a land of safety, fun and imagination.
Newspaper taxis appear on the shore,
Waiting to take you away.
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds,
And you're gone.
She is old now. Her hair is now grey. She never found love again. She found joy in her son, in her nieces and nephews. She is happy. She has had success. She completed her dreams.
Her parents died many years ago. They died within a few years of each other. After her father died, her mother moved in with her. Rose helped her mother find some happiness in the world. They worked together on potions and spells. She helped her mother complete the story of the search for the Horcruxes. It had been a difficult story to write. Hermione had started it decades before, but circumstances didn't allow completion. As the last surviving member of the hunt, Hermione told Rose she felt obligated to finish it.
Two decades later, her mother's book is still a best-seller.
It is the end. She closes her eyes as she holds out a hand. She feels her long-dead fiance's hand grab it and pull her toward him. She smiles as she sees him, her final breath leaving her body. She smiles as opens her eyes. She sees her oasis, her magical land. The pink sky with fluffy, sweet sticky clouds hangs over heard. Colorful trees line the candy path. Her tall, tall flowers fill the air with a sweet scent.
She starts to laugh. The laughter brings happy tears to her eyes. The light catches the tears, making them sparkle like diamonds.
Her brother and child see from below the diamonds. They know is her, their beloved Rose. Her happy tears create a sparkling light as they stand in the old garden. Hugo's gray hair billows in the wind. He is sad to lose his sister, his friend, but he knows it's time. He will see her again one day.
"Goodbye, Rose."
Picture yourself on a train in a station,
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties.
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile,
The girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
Years later, she stands at the dock. She holds her hand out to her brother. It is his time to join her. His wife will come later. He clasps his hand in hers as he steps aboard the boat. He looks nervous, yet trusting. He knows she will not lead her astray. They ride the boat together along the perfect blue sea. They arrive at the island and step off the boat. They walk hand-in-hand through the wrought-iron gate. They walk down the path together, laughing joyous at their magical land. It is as if they are children again.
They walk to a fountain. His mother and father are there, smiling. He taps the water with his finger and sees his family standing in the old family garden. A wistful smile graces his wife's face. He kisses his hand and touches the surface. His children stand next to her, cheeks still wet with tears. His grandchildren play in the garden. They know of their father and aunt's game. He can hear them laughing and adding their own creatures to the garden.
The littlest, Lucy, waves her wand, Hermione's old wand, and a crinkly yellow flower forms from a weed. She laughs, her bushy brown hair bouncing around her. Lucy, like her great-grandmother, will be a powerful, great witch.
The water sparkles as the sun moves overhead. He misses his beloved wife and children, but he is at peace. They will be fine without him. He knows he will see them again, one day. He will wait for now and watch over them. He knows his children will take care of their mother and that brings him comfort. He looks forward to the day that he can show her his oasis.
He is home.