Disclaimer - Harry Potter does not belong to me.

Red...

That's all he saw whenever he closed his eyes now. It was a vile, digusting, beautiful color, and it haunted his dreams. It reminded him of his family and friends. It prompted memories of school and teachers. It made him think of her. It reminded him of things that he fervently wished to forget, but no pensieve or memory charm would ever get rid of those memories. Then again, why would he want to?

Red...

Thinking about that bitter sweet color. It brought forward pictures in his mind. First he thought of his father reading him stories out of his favorite fairytale book at bedtime. Then came memories of his mother wearing her favorite red dress and red shoes as she got ready to go out with his father.

Red...

...like the candy his father kept hidden in his study and would sometimes give to him.

...like the strawberries he would share with his mother on warm summer afternoons.

...like the couch in the parlor that he would fall asleep on as a child.

...like the eyes of the vile man who ruined his family.

...like the blood that dripped from his mother's mouth after she stepped in front of a curse meant for him.

...or like the blood that spilled out of his father as he said "I love you" to his son for the first and last time.

"No!" he would say when the memories became too much, "Don't think about that. Think about the good memories."

Red...

...like Pansy's favorite perfume.

...like the wax seal that Blaise always used when he wrote letters.

...like the damaged skin around Crabbe's dark mark.

...like Pansy's eyes when she was forced to marry a man she hated.

...like the scar that marred Goyle's face after he told his parents that he wouldn't be a deatheater.

"So much for good thoughts."

Red...

...like the color of the bracelet he had given her.

...like the color of the lipstick she wore when she kissed the bottom of every letter she sent him because she couldn't sign her name. Their love had to stay a secret.

...like the lollipops she would suck on that made her tongue the same color.

...like the cherries they would eat late at night in the kitchens when noone was awake.

...like her face got red when she was angry.

...like the way it got when she was embarrassed.

...like her eyes as she cried at her brother's funeral.

...like the color of the curse that hit her.

...like the color of her hair as it stood out against her ashen skin while she faded away in his arms.

Red...

"Like..." he sighed "...like the color of the poison I just drank."

Red...

...like the book that lay beside the empty potion vial.

...like the ribbon that marked the very last page.

...like the ink that every word was written in.

Red...

...like the scar that was on the forehead of the man who found him.

Red...

...like the tie they buried the broken blond man in.

Red...

...like the lipstick his mother wore as she smiled at him.

...like the ribbon his father's hair was held back with.

...like Pansy's eyes as she cried because she was so happy to finally see him again.

...like the earing Blaise was wearing.

Red...

...like Ginny's hair that softly framed her beautiful face as she said, "Welcome home."

Red...

Where ever he looked he saw it. It was his favorite color, and it reminded him of so many things.

Red...

A/N Thanks for reading this...please review!