Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series, the canon plot and characters or anything else under the copyrights of our Queen, J. K. Rowling. Neither do I own the song lyrics in this story or anything else under the copyrights of the respective owners. Only the idea and writing is mine.
Summary: A land of snow. A land of darkness. A land of black and white. That is the dream world she has spent centuries in. Yet, the familiar memories of a long-forgotten past and the echoing words of a song barely remembered, serve to bring her back to the world of the living, where he awaits. Where he has waited. For A Thousand Years. A Scorpius and Rose Story.
Song suggested for listening: A Thousand Years by Christina Perri
Theme: Snow
A Thousand Years
The horizon was iridescent where ebony sky met ivory earth. The inky, star-devoid heavens coalesced with a shimmering blanket of snow as it blurred in the distance. The cold was numbing; the skies were overcast; the luscious face of the full moon caused the perpetual winter to seem surreal, as the undyed snowfield lay bare and barren.
The snow-covered earth allowed no warmth to escape its unyielding bosom; the ground concealing every form of existence that burrowed under its placid surface—unrevealing and undisturbed.
There was no sound to disrupt the solitude, save for the soft, crunching footfalls, whose eerie echoes reverberated in the resounding silence. The footsteps never seemed to falter as their owner ploughed through the endless stretch of snow. For centuries they seemed to continue—unwavering, unshakeable, unrelenting.
For centuries the everlasting winter moon seemed to reflect the light of a nonexistent sun.
But the incessantly monotonous scenery shifted in the slightest when an unknown gust of wind swept past, swiveling the fresh snow around the boot-clad feet, and the endless winter seemed to dissolve in a flash of blinding light.
Somehow she was in a place she recognized, within stonewalls and paved hallways that she recalled from fond memories. The portraits on the walls buzzed with excitement, as a lone figure stepped from the shadows and into the waning light of the sun; even the golden beams unable to seep colour into the boy's platinum locks.
He turned around slowly, as though sensing her presence, his pale skin translucent in the dwindling light. The only colour on his body seemed to come from the emerald scarf he wore around his throat, the strands of silver woven into it complementing his crystalline eyes. He parted his porcelain lips, making to speak, but it was as though she was being pulled out of a memory, and her spectral body watched the familiar scene dissipate around the boy.
She did not want to leave yet. She wanted to listen to what the boy had to say; his lips were moving to form silent words, and she did not want to leave without having heard and understood them. She did not want to leave without knowing the reason behind the bitterness in his gaze that seemed to overshadow his youthfulness...
She spun around as the chilly breeze nipped at the back of her exposed neck, the scene before her different from before, yet familiar all the same.
The boy was there once again, yet somehow he seemed older than his previous self; shimmering locks framing his handsome face in gentle waves. His silver eyes were crinkled at the edges, his pale lips were stretched in wondrous laughter, and his arm was held out toward her as though he beckoned for her to take his hand.
She felt herself unconsciously reaching toward him, but her ghostly palm passed through his, leaving her with crumbling regret as she watched his laughing form slip away…
She twisted around once again as she felt her unearthly feet settle onto the snow-swept ground, the undeniably familiar feel of smooth silk slide around her, and the scene settled into another long-lost memory...
Her breath caught at the sight before her. He stood dressed in a magnificent white suit, hands clasped behind his back as he watched her through the snowflakes that wafted down to envelop everything in their icy embrace; his smile widening into a delighted laugh as he beckoned for her.
It was as though the drifting snowflakes hung in the air in mid-drift, as she slowly began making her way toward him, the gentle folds of her silk dress skimming gracefully against the snow-strewn path as time itself seemed to pause in its unending traverse. She could feel her stomach fluttering to this memory, even after the centuries that seemed to have passed…
She remembered how long she had waited; waited to see him standing at the altar, waited for him to take her by the hand, waited for him to vow his everything to her, waited for him to seal the oath of a life together forevermore, as she stepped carefully across the threshold and into his embrace.
But she never reached her destination, as the scene once again dissolved around her, the previous feel of satin against her skin was something long forgotten. She looked around, panicked and dazed, as she heard the tinkling laughter of children encompass her senses. The carefree sound that she would give every drop of blood in her body for; the squealing delight of the two young girls who traipsed around in the snow, tossing snow balls at each other and giggling as they fell over into the cushioning whiteness; the vibrant crimson and startling platinum of her daughters' hair as they tumbled down into the snow, shrieking with joy.
She exclaimed soundlessly as she moved toward them, the snow forming a wall between her and her daughters, as though to prevent her from reaching them. She tried to call out to them with the hope that they would somehow hear her soundless pleas; that they would sense her presence; but with every step she took, the farther they seemed to get…
Her arms outstretched in front of her, she begged and pleaded to no one in particular, her phantasmal form seemed to serve as a barrier between her and the ones she loved, as she desperately tried to reach them… her daughters… her children… her life…
But even as the girls' ringing laughter echoed around her, she felt the rush of wind as the scene once again shifted, the only thing that remained constant was the fall of snowflakes that covered everything far and wide under a powdery blanket. She stumbled backwards, her world collapsing around her and suffocating her under its weight; memories long forgotten swum around her until she was willing to accept the hand of insanity thrust out to her...
She shut her eyes, wishing to be back in the endless plane of white, under the endless black sky, making her way tirelessly to a destination unknown. Yet, all she could see were his startling silver eyes and shimmering platinum locks, and the swirling snow and memories that spun around her like a hurricane caved-in on her, forcing her into a torrent of unending white.
When she finally coaxed her eyes open, it was to the sight of hazy colours and swimming forms. Her vision began to focus on chaffed lips that moved in song, the reminiscent tune filling her whole being with a sense of serenity and warmth that she hadn't felt in centuries; the words and sounds coming together to form the song that her very soul seemed to resonate to. The white walls of the small room she was lying in were so unlike the white of the snowy landscape in her dream world; it was warm and homely and in stark contrast with the cold, dreary monotony of her dream.
I have died every day, waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
His features had wizened with age and his platinum locks were greyer, but his shining silver eyes retained the same crystalline depth that had stolen her heart with the promise of a lifetime. She felt her own wrinkled face ease into a small smile as he leaned forward and clasped her bony hand, the corner of his eyes crinkling as tears streamed down the creases of his cheeks, the warm droplets splashing onto her skin as his tremulous voice continued to sing the final verse of their song…
All along, I believed, I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
And even as he pressed his trembling lips to her forehead and stroked her now white hair down her face, he smiled that jubilant smile that mirrored those from his youth; joyous and so full of pure delight and exhilaration, that she found herself laughing quietly, pleased to finally be able to listen to her own rasping voice.
His silver eyes danced as he kissed the band around her finger, his own glinting on his. When he parted his no longer porcelain lips to speak, she could finally hear his words. She breathed deeply as she watched the snow quietly falling outside her window, his words resonating through her mind;
"Happy Christmas my love, and welcome back."
A/n: This is a story written for the Christmas Competition hosted by a Harry Potter forum called Diagon Alley. Be sure to check it out!
Make sure to review and tell me what you think of this story!
This story has been beta-read by Madame Tortilla.
Happy Christmas, Happy holidays and a very very Happy New Year to all you beautiful people!
Lots and lots of love~