Firelight Revelations

We lit a few candles and a fire and found ourselves leaning against the couch infront of it. Dantes was asleep infront of my chair. We were silent, staring into the mesmerizing movement of the blaze.

"I have a question." Harry said, his eyes remaining fixed on the flames.

"Shoot." I said, my eyes glued to the fire as well.

"How old are you, if you don't mind my asking." I laughed.

"A lady never tells her age." He laughed along with me. "I'm twenty-four." I said, a smile on my face. I wasn't going to lie about this part.

"Same as me."

"Aren't you turning twenty-five soon?" I closed my eyes and bit my lip. It came out so suddenly! I hadn't meant to say that at all. Now I sounded like some demented crazed Potter fanatic.

"You know everything don't you. Yes I turn twenty-five in two weeks. How did you know that?" He finally pulled his eyes from the fire to meet mine. He orange and shadows danced on his face, making it softer somehow. He'd become so handsome.

"I read a lot." I muttered quietly.

"I used to know a girl like that." My heart sank. He USED to. Past tense. He wasn't looking for me after all.

"What? Your girlfriend doesn't read?"

"Haven't got one right now. I actually just broke up with her. That's why I'm looking for my friend."

"Because you broke up with your girlfriend? I don't understand."

"This friend is the smartest person I know…always has the best advice and at the moment I need some." His gaze lowered from my eyes to the floor.

"Give me a shot. What's the problem?"

"I'm in love with somebody else, but I don't think she's in love with me."

"Ask her." I said bluntly.

"What?" Harry asked incredulously. He started laughing this loud, glorious laugh that I hadn't heard in ages. "Just…ask her?" I nodded.

"If she cares about you, she won't be offended. If she loves you, then I'm sure she'll say yes. And if she doesn't…well then she'll probably let you down easy. You are Harry Potter after all." He was still laughing. "What?"

"That's just exactly what my friend would've said." I smiled and looked back at the fire. I could feel his eyes looking at me, burning into the side of my head. I didn't want to look back.

"What did you run away from?" I looked back at him.

"Excuse me?"

"You told me while we were lighting the candles that you lived in England after you graduated. I'm just wondering what you were so afraid of that you had to run away."

"Who says I ran away from anything?" I pulled my legs up and hugged them against my chest.

"I can tell there's more to the story than simply 'helping Monsieur Rimaud'. Although I'm sure he's a lovely man…you're terrified of something. And it's something in England." I looked at him slowly looked back into the fire. "You haven't been back since you left have you?" I shook my head. My eyes were starting to well up with tears.

"It's a long story." He reached his hand out and put in on my arm. Thunder crashed loudly above the house, Dantes started to bark.

"I think we've got a long time to kill." I told Dantes it was only the storm and he quickly fell back asleep. I looked over at Harry.

"I was in love with someone. He was smart, funny, handsome, and absolutely wonderful and I really truly loved him, even if I was only seventeen. Anyways, we lived together in England after we graduated. We worked together; lived together; played together…we were inseparable for two years. One night, I worked up the guts to tell him how I felt and he didn't reciprocate the feelings. The next morning I woke up and he was gone. I tried to stay and continue my life, but his leaving hurt me." I paused. "I've always told myself that I am not that type of girl. I would not let a man have that kind of impact on my life. But he did. I wouldn't go to work. I didn't eat. I couldn't sleep. The fact that he left destroyed me." I sighed as tears poured down my cheeks. I quickly wiped them away and felt his strong arms go around my waist and pull me closer to him.

"So you left?"

"He sent me a letter to say he was coming back and I couldn't face him. I was afraid that I still loved him." I looked up and him with tears in my eyes. He wiped them from my cheeks and pulled me onto his lap.

"Sometimes the things you're afraid of are the most worthwhile." I pulled back and looked into his eyes. He bent his head down gently grazing his lips against mine.

A/N yep…nothing (well I guess that's not true. I did invent the plot…and the dog)