It Was Always You

It was snowing. She was twirling, her hands flung out to her sides, her eyes closed and her tongue out as she attempted to catch snowflakes. She wasn't having much success, but she was doing better than Harry. He hadn't managed to catch a single one, having been staring at her the entire time.

Her head tilted back into its normal position, a gorgeous grin on her face. "How many?" she asked, parading over to him through the blizzard.

"Whu?" he said, coming out of his trance. "Oh, right, snowflakes. Yea, um, five," he stammered, having no idea what would be a reasonable number.

She looked slightly disappointed. "I only got three," she said, looking down at the snow-covered ground.

A sharp pang pierced his chest and he found himself wishing he had told the truth: none. She slumped, dejectedly, and ice ran through his veins. He had upset her. He, Harry, had made her look so sad.

Suddenly, something cold and wet collided with his face. He looked wildly around, turning violently on the spot. "Who...?" but he faded off upon seeing her face, a wide grin gleaming across it. She had tricked him! Oh, she was going to pay for that.

He bent down, now grinning himself, and quickly putting a snowball together. With a playful scream, she ran, him tearing wildly after her. The chase came to her hiding behind a tree, jumping from side to side, preventing him getting a clear shot. Giving up on the chase, he made a mad dive and pulled her down with him into the snow. She was rolling in the white, her face red with cold. They were both laughing, though her more than him, as they lay there in the snow.

Seized by sudden whimsy, Harry rolled over slightly and began waving his arms and legs through the snow. She laughed harder than ever now, sitting up to watch him. He jumped up, admiring his work. A snow angel lay before him, his messy hair evident even in his icy likeness. She got up and ran, collapsing onto a hillside some ten feet away. She created her own snow angel before jumping up and repeating the process several more feet away. Harry, picking up quickly, ran after her, stopping at intervals to pepper the grounds with snow angels. Standing under a tree by the icy lake, they admired their work. What looked like thousands of snow angels lay before them. He looked to his left, gazing at her looking at their masterpiece. He couldn't help but think he had his own snow angel right here. No, he thought, looking away. She's not mine.

He turned, gazing out over the lake. There was a sudden pressure on his arm. He looked down. Her hand was resting on his elbow, clearly her effort to turn him to face her. He obliged, his arms unfolding.

"Are you alright?" she asked, snowflakes clinging to her eyelashes.

"Ya," he said, wishing he could tell her the truth. "I'm fine." She looked doubtful, but let him return to looking at the lake. Seconds later, however, she had jumped in front of him, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

She grabbed his hands and, walking backwards, pulled him towards the lake. "Let's go skating!" she said, quickly turning her shoes into ice-skates with a flick of her wand.

"Skating?" he questioned, but she was already gliding effortless over the ice. He hesitated on the edge of the lake. He didn't know how to skate.

"Come on!" she said, floating over to him. He stammered, not wanting to admit his incompetence. She seemed to guess, however, and, taking his hand, coaxed him onto the ice with a gentle, "Here, I'll help you."

Normally, it would have bothered him to be led around the ice by a girl, but he couldn't care less at the moment. Her hands were warm in his as she charmed his trainers into skates and led him across the ice. It momentarily occurred to Harry that there was freezing water, as well a giant squid, a matter of feet below them, and he stumbled, threatening to fall. With a quick and precise pull of his hand, she managed to keep him on his feet. He smiled nervously at her, still not entirely sure about this whole skating thing. For a whole half-hour this went on: Harry attempting to skate while the girl crooned words of encouragement. He was fairly glad when they returned their shoes to normal and fell into a heap at the foot of the tree, though he would have liked the handholding to go a little longer. He leaned back against the tree, his eyes closed as he listened to the peaceful quiet of the snowy grounds.

She looked over at him, her heart skipping a beat. Even with his eyelids covering the vivid green depths she could get lost in, he was gorgeous. Her heart hammered in her chest as she watched him. He breathed deeply, clearly savoring the crisp winter air. His mouth was open slightly, and he would have looked asleep had it not been for his foot tapping to some unheard rhythm. If only she could tell him... She turned her gaze to the castle. She watched as Hagrid carried another Christmas tree inside the front doors. It was then that she realized: he was going to leave her. Soon it would be Christmas holidays and she wouldn't see him for weeks. The mere thought made that sensitive spot around her heart ache painfully.

She looked back at him, trying to memorize this moment; it had to last her till after Christmas. She took in his every feature, as an artist would if they were planning to later draw the subject from memory. His black hair, untidy as ever, was being ruffled by the light wind. His glasses were flecked with bits of ice, some melting into tiny streams that rolled down the lenses. At that moment, something stirred within her. Something took over. She suddenly did not care what he would say, what he would think, what he would do. She only knew that she couldn't bear another second of waiting, wondering.

Harry's eyes flew open, but he barely moved. Her lips pressed against his, a warmth spreading through him that he thought would surely melt the surrounding snow. Her lips moved gently across his own, her hand sliding further back on his shoulder. Coming to his senses, he raised a hand to her cheek, his fingers brushing away stray strands of hair. He returned the kiss, deepening it as he guided her face forward with his hand. His heart leapt with a happiness he had not felt in a long time, far too long of a time. The kiss broke, though his hand remained on her cheek, their heads not moving away from the close proximity they now held. He could feel her warm breath on his face, her nose lightly brushing his. He leaned in, his hand stretching further up her cheek, and kissed her again. There was a definite passion in this kiss. Without entirely knowing what he was doing, his tongue slid into her mouth. Far from moving away, she leaned closer to him, his head now pushed back against the tree trunk. Her hand slid through his hair, tugging at icicles that at formulated at sometime.

When they finally broke apart, she leaned back, separating them by a little less than a foot. Their hands fell back from each other, sitting awkwardly by their sides or in their laps. "Wow..." was all Harry could think to say, and he said it very faintly. She looked up at him, and he was shocked to see her eyes were glistening with tears.

"Hey," he said, moving closer to her. "Hey now, don't cry. No, no, don't cry," he said, pulling her close to him. She sniffled into his cloak, her hand sitting limply on his chest. He crooned softly to her, and she swiftly calmed down. No more sniffling sounds could be heard, but she still rested in his arms. She pressed herself further into his comforting embrace, her head nestled in his shoulder. He stroked her hair, leaning his cheek on her head as he continued to whisper words of comfort.

She stirred, her hand clutching his robes as her head became tucked almost under his neck. "Don't ever let go," she breathed, her hand gripping his robes tighter as she spoke.

He tightened his hold on her, his lips settling on the top of her head, sitting lightly on her hair. "I won't," he whispered, kissing her head lightly.

He adjusted his position so he could see her, his face looking into hers. He had wanted to say it for so long, and now was his moment. He looked into her eyes, smiling lightly as he whispered, "I love you, Luna Lovegood."

Her eyes widened, then crinkled as her face broke into a smile. She sprung out of his grasp, knocking him onto his back into the snow. Her face was hovering above his as she lay on top of him on the ground. "I love you too, Harry Potter," she said. She kissed him deeply and he wrapped his arms around her as the snow fell gracefully from above.