Two Grandmothers in Rocking Chairs

They were red and gold together, the colors of their house. The redhead was tall and thin, with eyes that seemed to change color with her thoughts and the lightest sprinkling of freckles across her nose and her cheeks. The golden-haired girl was shorter and rounder, curvy but certainly not what anyone could call fat, and her eyes were large and brown.

It was a splendid springtime Saturday, and they walked with their arms around each other, just a few steps back from the others who were heading home from Hogsmeade. The redhead broke away for a moment, picked a handful of grass with her left hand, and used her right hand to point her wand at the grass. Red and gold flowers - sunflowers, carnations, roses and poppies - suddenly appeared in the place of the blades of grass. She smiled and handed them to the golden-haired girl, whose face lit up with a brilliant smile.

"Minnie, you shouldn't have!"

"Oh, why not, Poppy? Besides, flowers always make me think of you, so...I wanted you to have them."

The blonde girl - Poppy - turned as red as her companion's hair. "Minnie, you're so sweet...now I have to give you something."

Minnie's protest of "No you don't!" was drowned out by the casting of a summoning charm. "Accio chocolates!" A box of chocolate-covered cherries appeared in Poppy's hand. "These are for you, my lady."

"Poppy, where did those come from? If you summoned them from Honeydukes we'll be in trouble."

"Oh, I had them waiting in our room. I was going to give them to you today anyway."

"Why?" Minnie said, just a little sharply. "Because I can't get a boy to give me chocolates?"

"Because I wanted to. Why did you give me flowers?"

"Because flowers make me think of you."

"See, then? And you're my best friend, and these mean more than flowers from some stupid boy." Poppy made a ridiculous face, then paused and looked at her friend with eyes full of concern. "Minnie? Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing. I'm fine." Minnie smiled, though the smile looked just the slightest bit forced.

"Knut for your thoughts?"

"Just wondering...what it's going to be like when we graduate. What we're going to do."

"Well...we'll travel around together, just you and me of course, for a while. Maybe meet the wizards we want to marry, and bring them back home with us. And we'll have houses right next door to each other, and visit every day, and maybe your son will marry my daughter, or my son will marry your daughter, and we'll live longer than our husbands and be two grandmothers in rocking chairs together, and watch sunsets like this one every night and tell our grandchildren how much fun we had when we were at Hogwarts. Would you like that?"

"You'll be a grandmother in a rocking chair, Poppy. I'll just be old Maiden Aunt Minnie, I think."

"Minnie! Don't be ridiculous!"

Minnie just sighed and shook her head.

"Why do you think you'll be an old maid?"

"I don't know. Boys don't much care for girls like me. I read too much, talk too much in class, and I'm too tall and my hair's too red."

"You're a smart girl, Minnie, and there's nothing wrong with that. And I think your hair is beautiful just like it is."

"It's easier for you."

"Not really. Boys might like me but I don't like most of them that much. All they care about is getting me alone in the Astronomy Tower or something."

"Have you ever...?"

"Of course not." Poppy rolled her eyes impatiently. "Besides, I don't want to just settle down. Not yet. We've got too much to do. I want to see the sun setting in Egypt and California and France and maybe even Australia, not just here and in London. And I want you to come with me."

"My father will go mad if I turn into an old maid. He thinks it's bad enough that I'm a witch." The Irish brogue that had all but been eliminated from the redhead's speech suddenly returned, a sure sign that she was upset.

Poppy shook her head. "Minnie, sweetheart, you worry too much," she said softly, kissing her friend on the cheek. "Look, if I were a boy I'd marry you in a second. Even young as we are."

Minnie laughed softly at the ridiculous notion of sweet, feminine Poppy Pomfrey as a boy. "Poppy, that's crazy. Anyone less like a boy than you..."

"It's true. I swear it. Now stop worrying about being an old maid and watch this sunset with me. It's too beautiful to miss, and you're too beautiful to fuss like that."

The redhead looked about to protest, then changed her mind and took her friend's hand, leading her to a bench that faced west. "If we get to sleep early enough we can come back out here, turn the bench the other way, and watch the sunrise in the morning. You want to?"

"That's the spirit, Minnie! Let's!"

"So long as we do that when we're grandmothers, too. Sunrises and sunsets. Remember, Poppy."