Ex-pec-ta-tion can morph into in-fa-tu-a-tion
As Ginny to Harry (Because distraction comes in many different forms and because a little laughter, friendly needling, and the flash of bright green eyes is more tempting than the destruction they left behind. Collapsed castle walls and dead mad men and the thrill of a chase that is no longer the bedtime story she grew up with doesn't compare to heroic antics and a princess that tosses a knife to her battling prince.)
Lon-li-ness can morph into lea-der-ship
As Riddle to Voldemort (Because there is power in charisma and ideals that have been buried beneath a thin sneer, for generations. Blood doesn't go away, and neither does the pain that comes with it. Time proves itself invaluable but it neither dulls nor fades.
Distance? Distance is several steps away from a broken orphanage and threadbare sheets with several hundred more to come. Distance is hope and the sounds of the radio commentator blaring instructions to the nearest hospital in the event of a bombing injury.)
Somewhere, a scholar turns to an invisible, fading idea. The man behind it stands next to him, and the scholar asks,
"If a tree falls down in a forest and nobody is around..." The man's shadow fades and he is trapped within a prison of his own making. The old man stares at photographs of lost love. A wizened god has regrets too.
And memories?
A family is reduced to dull candy wrappers and hospital visits. Tears and disappointment. A burning question,
"Mum, do remember me? It's your son. The one you almost died for..."
While another sort of family sorts out the secrets that have been buried unguarded and half-forgotten beneath dusty tomes in a miserable library. The heads of dead men are filled with secrets and they have no way to tell them. Scrutiny is found to be impossible and perspective is limited, even among the living. Stubbornness sticks and opinions, irrespective of time, don't change, even if the people do.
(A man in a shabby coat stares at an old photograph before ducking his head so the light doesn't hit his eyes. Another listens to the buzzing in his head and fades out of consciousness for the third time in five minutes. The last revels in the luxury of chance while living in constant paranoia. His humanity had faded away long before the years he's spent in his current form.)