A/N: I do not own Harry Potter.
"I'm going to be leaving soon," Lucy whispers. She stares up at the tree and follows a leaf with her eyes as it breaks its final ties with the branch and makes its way down to the damp ground.
"Yeah," he says, imitating her actions and her dead-panned tone.
"James—" she says, but stops when she sees the look he's giving her.
"I know," he laments, before walking over and picking up the leaf. "Take it with you," he says. "Please," he adds, when he sees her expression.
"Okay," she says, and takes out the bookmark she had been using in her re-read of Great Expectations and replaces it with the leaf. "Thank you," she says, placing the book carefully into her bag.
The pages are falling out, corners are flipped back on almost every page, and there are three different colors of highlighters within its pages. Half of the cover is missing.
"How many times…" he asks, trailing off.
She smiles, and he thinks it's refreshing to see her happy, even if it is just for a second. "Eight times, James. You know it's my favorite."
He nods. "Right."
She looks up, bites her lip. Her eyes search his. "You could come with me," she whispers, and he senses the urgency in her voice. "You could come with me, James."
"Lucy," he smiles sadly. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere and I'm going to be here when you get back." He brushes a tear from her cheek. "Your mascara is running," he comments.
She looks up, kisses him hard on the mouth, and walks away without another word.
He does not hear from her the first month she is away and he misses her more than he thought was possible. He writes her love letters; some he sends, others he doesn't. He saves the unsent letters, puts them under the flower pot on her front step.
She calls him at 2:16 AM the day before he leaves for college. "I'm going to miss you," she says when he picks up, and he isn't sure how to respond. She sounds happy and he guesses he can't ask for anything more than that. He glances at the clock, wondering what time it is in Rome. He hangs up before she can say anything else.
The first couple of months after he leaves are the hardest. He replays her words in his head, and he is endlessly reminded that she is not there with him. He had sent his new address to her long before he left, but, again she has failed to contact him in any way.
He wonders what her life has been like all these months. He imagines that she is happy, because why else would she not write back?
He has ceased writing her love letters that he know will not be returned, but before the close of his first semester, he writes a note, scribbled onto a napkin, and sends it.
I miss you.
Seventeen days later, he receives an envelope. He traces his own name, written in her delicate print, before opening it. He holds his breath as he takes out the contents and places them on his bed.
Revealed are the missing half of the cover of Great Expectations and the leaf she no longer uses as a bookmark.
He is no longer hers.
A/N: Reviews are always welcome.