Title: Reminiscence

Author: Cheska

Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter, nor Sailor Moon. They are owned by their own respective owners.

Though this can be a stand-alone, it's also the second part of the one-shot.

Harry/Serena. No mention of Draco/Serena.

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Dark and light.

Night and day.

Contrasts that are beautiful in its own way. Though beautiful, they can never be together.

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Emerald green eyes lazily blinked skyward, staring between dark clouds to gaze at the stars. A small, sad smile curved upward at the sight of a familiar constellation.

"Hydrus."

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"Hydrus..."

The raven-haired Gryffindor twisted his head toward the blond Hufflepuff, confusion passing through his face. The blond didn't look at the Gryffindor, instead she continued to look skyward, an aura of peace emanating from her. For some reason, it calmed him.

"A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that the Hydrus is the Hydra."

Emerald green eyes blinked in confusion before they cleared - he now knew what she was talking about.

"The constellation?"

Amusement laced the girl's tone, "The Hydra is actually found further north from the Water Snake."

To further demonstrate her words, she rose an elegant forefinger up to the heavens, pointing in the general direction of the Hydrus before moving upward to where the Hydra laid.

The Gryffindor followed her forefinger and looked up, squinting through his glasses as he tried to make out the constellations in the night sky.

"If you say so..."

A light chuckle, reminisce of the twinkle of bells that could be clearly heard.

It was a cool December night up on the Astronomy Tower, but he didn't mind it so much as he laid beside the blond haired Hufflepuff.

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The lopsided smile disappeared, before he remembered where his destination lied. Turning his attention forward, the figure moved on before something else caught his eye, not a constellation, but a star.

"Sirius."

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"Sirius."

The raven-haired Gryffindor sharply looked at the Hufflepuff lying on the stone cold slab at the Astronomy Tower. For a moment, he seriously thought she was speaking about his godfather whom had recently passed away.

Silently he suppressed his tears, it was still fresh in his mind about what happened that night...

As if sensing his presence, the Hufflepuff pried her eyes away from the sky, and briefly looked at him - his figure still situated near the doorway. For some reason, as he looked at her, he felt comforted by her blue eyes. Before long, the two tore their gaze away from each other - she turning to look back up at the sky, and he casting his head away.

"Sirius," she repeated, this time her voice was comforting, "It's the Dog Star."

"I know," his voice was rough and broken; he was starting to regret coming out here.

She smiled a bit at his words, before plowing on, "It's the brightest star, after the Sun."

Instead of commenting, he looked up at the sky, trying to look for the Dog Star.

And as if she knew what he was doing behind her, she thrust her forefinger up at the sky and pointed it out to him.

"Canis Majoris - The Great Dog, is the constellation, and Sirius is the brightest star in that constellation."

"The brightest star, huh?" The Gryffindor echoed, his emerald green eyes trained up at the star.

"The brightest, you can pretty much find it every night if you look for it..." the blond Hufflepuff reaffirmed.

At her words, he felt greatly appeased. Although they never delved into what was truly upsetting him, she still managed to bring a smile to his lips. And as he looked up into the sky and spotted the bright star, he knew that he would be able to move on.

"Sirius..." he softly murmured, and angled his head so as to stare at the blond that was now by his side.

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He remembered, and stared up at the bright star shining amidst the night sky. Even after all this time, he could vividly remember what she had taught him, told him, and shared with him. No matter what happened throughout the day, he could come up in the middle of the night to find her there. And she wouldn't question why he was there, she would never turn him away, and simply spoke about the constellations and the stars in the night sky.

Remembering this, he broke into a small smile.

Even now, he could recall the time he asked her why she loved the stars so much.

"...why? It's because I know they'll always be there."

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"...why? It's because I know they'll always be there."

The blond Hufflepuff was not lying in her usual spot, but leaning against the stone cold edifice. She turned from staring at him to look up at the stars, a wistful smile on her pale, pink lips.

"Unlike flowers in which you can enchant to make it last forever, the sky itself will always be there, and no amount of magic can change that."

The Gryffindor stared at her dubiously, but left it at that. Her answer was not something he completely expected, but it was not completely surprising.

"I hate studying for Potions and Transfiguration. And no amount of torture can make me stay awake in History of Magic... but when it comes to Astronomy...I just feel like it's made for me.

"I can stay out here all night, and not get tired of it."

The Hufflepuff turned to look at him for a moment, gauging his reaction.

"Is that how you feel when you're on your broomstick, Mr. Seeker?" The Hufflepuff playfully said aloud.

At the sound of newfound nickname, the Gryffindor turned to her and gave a mock-glare. But at the sound of sincerity to her question, he paused and thought about it.

"Yes."

She smiled, but didn't say anything else. And to him, there was nothing else to say. She had answered her question as much as she can, and he accepted everything she had to say. And as he delved into her reasons, he came to a realization.

"You want to be an Astronomer after Hogwarts."

"Yes."

She already decided on what she wanted to do after Hogwarts, while he... was still contemplating whether or not he really wanted to be an Auror.

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Yes, she loved the stars. And yes, she wanted to be an Astronomer. But where did that get her? What became of her dream, of her love, of her everything?

And where did that get him?

A scowl appeared on his once-content face, emerald green eyes flashing.

For a few seconds, he stood there, letting his anger pass him until, soon, it had all but gone away.

A sigh, a rustle of robes, and then a bittersweet smile.

"Why do things like this happen?"

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"Why do things like this happen?"

Callous hands gently ran through silky strands of blond hair. Emerald green eyes softly gazed down into sad blue eyes.
It had been a difficult day - no, week or perhaps a month? He didn't know, nor did he want to know.

They had been trapped into the school for an indefinite amount of time now. The war had gotten progressively worst, and no one - not even the Professors - were certain of when this would end.

"Who knows?" he responded, squeezing her shoulder tightly with his free hand, and leaning his head to the crook of her shoulder, "But there's one thing that I am sure of..."

Blue eyes turned up toward him, hope, worry, and apprehension radiating all at once.

"I'm glad that I met you."

"And I you."

He leant down and kissed her - dry, chapped lips meeting dry, chapped lips. It wasn't perfect, but desperate - teeth clashing together, fumbling, desperate hands, and awkward stances. It wasn't anywhere near perfect, but it didn't need to be.

Nor did he want it to be.

Not with the war raging outside with dying Aurors, volunteer veterans, teachers, and students. Not with the thought that anytime now, only they would be the last reinforcements that the Wizarding World would ever hope to have.

And as their kiss slowly drew to an end, it was at that moment that reality finally set in.

"It's time." A student, barely even 14 years of age turned solemn eyes on all of them and spoke the words, his tone broken and afraid.

Nodding, he stood up, drawing the blond Hufflepuff up with him and gave one last kiss on her bruised lips.

"I love you."

It wasn't the first time he said those words, but his tone of voice, his stance, everything radiated that his words rang true. And to the bottom of his heart, he hoped that this wouldn't be the last time he would speak these words to the one that he had given his heart to.

"I love you too, Harry Potter."

And as he walked away, leading the way to the open doors of the Great Hall and the entranceway, he could still hear the softly spoken words of sincere, honest, and loving tone of the blond Hufflepuff that he had come to know and love.

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Harry let out another frustrated grunt release from his mouth, recalling what happened shortly afterwards. Emerald green eyes shined with unshed tears, and he allowed a wisp of breath expel from his mouth, a small mist forming from the cool air.

"Serena."

Emerald green eyes closed, a grimace forming on his face. He remembered, oh so clearly what happened shortly after they left the Hogwarts Castle.

The battle. The cries. The spells. The bodies. The blood.

The blond hair. The blue eyes. The body. The irises dilating...

Her body. Her hair. Her eyes.

"Serena."

Pain. Despair. Love. Loss. Grief.

"Serena."

Death.

"Harry."

Emerald green eyes blinked open, unsure of where his name was coming from. It sounded familiar, yet so distant that he thought he may have imagined it.

"Harry."

Now more distinct, he looked around and noticed that nothing looked out of the ordinary. It was night out, the stars shining just as brightly accompanied by the crescent moon in the sky. The ground remained the same save for his embedded footsteps, the trees continued to hold themselves upright and strong.

Nothing... different.

"Harry."

Louder, clearer, and more familiar. He looked around more carefully, and decided to move toward the direction he believed the voice to be coming from. And as he drew closer, his footsteps soon slowed down to a crawl - to a halt.

"Harry..."

He felt his heartbeat stop, for just a second. His breath quickened. His eyes widened imperceptibly.

A ghostly smile. Soft blue eyes. Unblemished, luminescent skin.

He felt his heart constrict.

"Serena."

The one he was remembering, reminiscing about was right there. Right there, in front of him. And oh how he wanted to run right over there. How he wanted to grab her, hold her, and never let go.

Never let go.

But as he stood there and watched her. He knew he couldn't. He knew it would be impossible.

After all, how could he ever hope to touch a ghost?

"I love you, Harry Potter."

She smiled sadly with her soft blue eyes.

"And I love you, Serena Moon..."

He stood there, in the middle of the night, and remained that way with the crescent moon overhead, and the stars twinkling amongst the blanket of the night sky.

He remained in that position, never moving and simply watching the one that he had fallen for and given his heart to. Simply content in watching her, as she watched him. Both remained in that position, watching one another with pain-filled, sad eyes. And as the sun slowly rose overhead, he watched, helpless, as her form slowly slowly disappeared until there was nothing left.

And sure enough, as the sun rose high into the sky, Harry Potter was alone once more.

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No amount of longing, no amount of lust, and no amount of love will ever bring them together...

It's just how fate, how nature, how everything is meant to be.

End...
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Hope you loved the second part. It's not how I completely imagined it to be, but it's close enough. I just wanted to post this out, while thinking about what to do with the other HPSM fanfic.

I wanted the ending to focus more on constellations, but my muse wouldn't cooperate. I hope none of you minded that!

What did you think?