For the Houses Competition
House: Ravenclaw
Year: 6
Category: Drabble
Prompt: "There is always a time for everything"
Word count: 461
Sometime between the battle ending and the grief beginning, Bill took Fleur's hand and led her outside, away from the Great Hall, from the bodies of his brother and friends. She didn't say a word as he guided her through Hogwarts' ruined halls, out into the courtyard and across the grounds to a shaded spot near the Black Lake. He sat, pulling Fleur down next to him, and held her close, watching the water ripple.
"I used to come here all the time when I was at school," he said softly, staring out across the lake. He felt her shift at his words, her head tilted up to look at him, but he didn't meet her gaze.
"When I was tired of studying, or just needed some peace and quiet, I would come here, to this very spot, and I would watch the water, sometimes for hours. I would think about the future, what I wanted to be, who I might become." Bill sighed and shook his head. "I don't think, even on the loneliest of days, that I ever imagined anything like this."
Bill felt tears slipping their way down his cheeks and he hastily lifted a hand to wipe them away, but Fleur beat him to it. He closed his eyes as she cupped his face with gentle hands and planted a soft kiss on his forehead.
"It was always so peaceful back then," Bill murmured. "I suppose it still is. You wouldn't believe that there had just been a war, or that my brother is -"
He stopped, a lump forming in his throat at the thought of Fred. He pursed his lips and sighed heavily, trying desperately not to cry.
Fleur's hands stroked through his hair, her touch tender and almost motherly. "Per'aps we should go back inside," she suggested. "Your family will be missing you."
Bill slowly shook his head, finally meeting her eyes. She was looking at him with such love and concern that it made Bill's heart hurt to see it. He managed a weak smile, then bent his head and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her, holding her body close to his own.
"Do you remember," he started, resting their heads together, "what I said to you when you said we shouldn't get married at a time like that, that war was no time for weddings?"
Fleur smiled and laughed quietly. "There is always a time for everything."
"'There is always a time for everything,'" Bill repeated, pulling back just enough to see her face. "And now, mon amour, is a time for us. Okay?"
Fleur nodded, then kissed him again, her hands tangling in his hair. "A time for us," she whispered against his lips, and Bill smiled.
They would be okay.