Sunlight streams into the room, catching the mirror and refracting in thick golden beams all around the room. Harry, bleary-eyed, lifts his head from his pillow, only to slam his eyes closed again. His head feels like the aftermath of a large earthquake. Dragging his body out of bed, he stumbles into the kitchen, where the smell of coffee instantly alerts his senses. Ginny, hair loose, whirls round the kitchen to a Maisie Peters song. Without even pausing, she spins round to deposit a heaving plate of food in front of him, accompanied by a large mug of coffee. Harry, stomach rumbling, tucks in enthusiastically. Ginny slumps into the seat opposite him, cradling a small china cup of steaming green tea. Large black-framed glasses, an old flannel shirt of Harry's, leggings and knee high socks clue Harry into the fact that today is her day off. Ginny's hair, tied up in a messy bun, catches the sunbeams pouring through the window, glowing fiery red. The song changes to Good Intentions, softly filling the room with guitar chords and quiet vocals. The kitchen is completely peaceful.
The buzz of Harry's phone breaks the moment. Harry reaches for it, drops a knife on the floor, the noise jarring his head painfully, and knocks over his cup of coffee. Ginny sighs and gets up to grab a cloth while Harry picks up the knife and reads the text.
'It's from Nev. We're going to meet up in Kensington Gardens this afternoon. He's down for the weekend, picking up some new plants or something and he said he would find a time to see us. We won't see him until Christmas after this. You ok with that?'
'Uh, yeah, yeah, fine. No problem. It's a nice day anyway,' Ginny pauses. 'Will, uh, Luna be there too?'
Yeah. Neville's trying to drag her out the house. Apparently she spends an unhealthy amount of time on Tumblr. Will be nice to see her too,' Harry replies, eyes still locked on his phone screen.
'Alright then...what time? I should start getting ready,' Ginny rushes out of the room, with Harry glancing confusedly after her. All she seems to do is rush. Glancing at the time, he too heads to his room to get dressed.
It's almost two o'clock when they leave the house. Harry, dressed in jeans, converse and his black wool jacket, squints slightly into the painfully bright sunlight as they walk along the pavement. Ginny is dressed in jeans and converse too, except with a green, fur-edged parka. She kept the glasses on too, thoroughly enjoying relaxing on her day off. After swinging past Starbucks for drinks to keep gloved hands warm, they head through the gates and into the park. Walking along a path lined with stripped back trees, the Albert Memorial come into view. The miles of grass are covered in a blanket of red, orange and yellow leaves. The trees are bare, creating a vast skeletal canopy above their heads.
Harry spots Luna almost immediately, as she is dressed in a blindingly bright orange jacket. A green scarf and purple leggings accompany her look, along with her unmissable hair, which has a few glowing orange leaves braided into it. Neville calls out and waves stripy gloved hands. He gathers Ginny up in his arms and leans over to pull Harry into a half hug. Luna wraps orange arms around his waist and smiles up at him.
'Hello Harry. How have you been?' She asks in her soft lilting voice.
'Alright, Luna, I'm alright. We haven't seen much of you lately,' Harry replies, grinning down at her.
'I've been busy with my course recently. Also my house plants take up a lot of my time too,' She giggles as he rolls his eyes.
'Bloody houseplants,' Neville groans. 'You should see her flat, mate. They're everywhere!'
'Enjoying your weekend back?' Harry turns to him as Luna wanders over to embrace Ginny gently.
'It's always good to be back,' Neville says but Harry is distracted watching Luna and Ginny. Ginny's gloved hand is resting on Luna's waist as they pull back from a hug. Luna smiles sweetly and Ginny responds with a grin, green eyes sparkling. They exchange quiet words, close together. Luna lifts a hand and brushes a red lock of hair from Ginny's face. Both are oblivious to the world around them.
Nev clears his throat, tearing Harry's glance away from the girls.
'Mate, what is going on with you and Malfoy? Ginny mentioned you were out with him last night,'
'Well, I saw him when I went out with my friends from the department,' Harry blushes under Nev's scrutinizing gaze. Neville narrows his eyes for a few seconds, then shrugs and grins.
'Whatever makes you happy, mate,' he says.
They walk through the park towards the pond. The wind is sharp, biting into Harry's cheeks and turning the tips of his ears red. The swans circle lazily, the wind blowing ripples across the water. Kids race by on bikes as they head towards the old bandstand. The wind whips up handfuls of leaves, scattering them in all directions. The trees shake, branches creaking. Harry watches, smiling as Luna and Ginny race ahead, grabbing armfuls of bright leaves and dumping them over his and Neville's heads. Ginny hands him her phone as they reach the bandstand, leaping up onto the wrought iron railings and posing, Tumblr-style. Harry, pausing to take a picture, sees Luna looking up with a wistful expression. Ginny, cheeks flushed and hair tangled, green eyes shining bright, smiles cheekily down at them, glowing against the city background, looking like an angel. Luna is fixated, Harry notices curiously, following her gaze to Ginny as she leans against a pillar, eyes closed. Harry eyes them, not quite making sense of the atmosphere. Nev, as usual, is oblivious, eyes glued to his phone. They are frozen in time on a particularly blustery day in West London. The moment is only broken by the screech of seagulls riding the fierce wind.
By the time they get back to Harry and Ginny's flat, the wind has picked up, roaring over the rooftops and wildly whistling through the trees. Running up the flights of stairs, Harry opens the door and they pile into the flat, exhausted. Jackets are dumped in a heap on the carpet and gloves and scarves discarded. Ginny whirls around the kitchen with Luna as Harry and Neville slump onto the sofa. The curtains are drawn and the lamps lit as the girls crash around the kitchen preparing dinner. Tom Odell starts playing through the speakers as Luna launches into a long-winded story about her peers, eliciting a hyper giggle from Ginny, who seems to be in a very good mood.
'Girls. So much energy. I must be getting old,' Neville groans. He looks around at the pile of canvases stacked in the corner, the frames decorating the shelves and the mural that runs the length of the living room wall. Painted in a mass of swirling colours, it depicts a looming Hogwarts appearing out of the mist, a glowing Gryffindor common room, a candle-lit Great Hall and Hagrid's hut. Figures are recognisable too. In the low light, Neville can make out most of their group (including a certain Malfoy), teachers and students.
'Still doing the painting, I see,' he remarks.
'Yeah,' Harry mumbles. 'Good therapy, keeps me grounded. It's fun,'
Neville stands up to admire the frames on the mantlepiece. A portrait of Teddy Lupin is propped up at one end; the other end holds a painting of a sleepy-eyed Ginny, wearing glasses and an old shirt of Harry's. In the centre of the mantlepiece is a tiny model broomstick.
The smell of pasta sauce and spices floats in from the kitchen. Harry can make out the sound of Ginny's voice, singing along to the songs. Luna joins in, soft voice harmonizing perfectly with Ginny's. Heaving his body off the couch, Harry heads into the kitchen to help the girls. 5 minutes later, bowls of steaming pasta are in front of them as they reminisce about old Hogwarts days. Ginny had already spilled all the details of him and Draco to Luna, so the meal turns into a bit of an interrogation and ends with Harry bright red from blushing. After eating, they all collapse on the sofas with an old episode of Game Of Thrones on. Harry spends the next hour casting sly glances at Luna and Ginny who are subtly curled round each other as they stare at the TV, engrossed in the storyline. By midnight, Neville and Ginny are bundling on their coats and hurrying down the stairs after farewell hugs into a waiting taxi and the house is quiet again. Ginny, turning off the living room lights, heads to bed with a mug of tea, clutching a handful of red leaves. Harry spends a while with his sketchbook, but as it gets later, all that appears on his page is a face with white-blonde hair and sparkling grey eyes.
