Bliss

Ron sat quietly on the grass while the sun shone brightly from above. Harry was at Quiddich practice and Hermione refused to leave the library as usual, so Ron was alone.

It wasn't a situation he found himself in often, but it was a great way to be on a day like this. It was coming into summer, so the sun was starting to bite as he lay in the long grass with his tie undone and his shirt pulled out, with his hands behind his head.

He could feel the sunburn starting on the bare undersides of his arms, but today he didn't care. The birds were chattering above him and he was watching a rabbit cloud chasing a puffy dog cloud across the sky. The stillness of the world and the silence of the grounds seeped into him as he lay there and he felt the tension melt through him and into the ground.

He wanted nothing more than to freeze this moment of peacefulness, caring for nothing more than the cool breeze that gently tousled his red hair and cooled his now slightly sticky brow. This was what being a kid was all about, he though. Not a care in the world, no responsibilities and most importantly, no homework.

He closed his eyes and let his mind wander to other things and so he didn't notice the shadow that was cast over his feet as someone rounded the corner and came upon his secluded spot in the corner of the grounds. They stood watching him quietly for a while and then smiled and walked away. Hermione knew that it was very rare to have a moment to yourself in this place of hustle and bustle which was Hogwarts and the smile on Ron's face was too nice to affect.

She had made a quite an important discovery on the project that she had been working on, but seeing the gentle bliss on his face, she realised that sometimes everyone needed a break from the coming events. Even she could have a quiet moment alone and unencumbered with the work that she would have to finish eventually.

A song crept into her mind as she wandered to a sheltered area near the great lake. A small area that she found last term, with a rock pool and brightly coloured fish that darted out of the shallows and frolicked in the water. She hadn't thought about that place since first finding it with Harry and Ron that quiet day after their talk.

It would be nice to be able to slip off the stiff socks and dip her toes into the cold water. It was nice to be a kid sometimes even though you knew it wouldn't last. So, off the socks came and into the shallow water went her toes. It was too perfect to lie back on the sandy, loamy soil, jumper folded under her head, while the chilled water, cooled her feet. Occasionally the little fish bumped into her toes causing her to smile, but the most relaxing was watching the clouds as they moved across the sky and the hot sun filtered through the leaves of the giant trees around the rock-pool. This was how a lazy afternoon should be spent.

Or, if you were Harry, you would be zooming amongst the low-lying clouds with your hair flapping wildly in the wind, tie hanging loosely and shirt slightly open. The guilt he felt from lying about Quiddich practice had disappeared the moment he felt that familiar rush of wind on his face. Sometimes, you just had to spend a couple of hours looping and flying and rushing through the air to remind yourself why you were alive. The feeling of power as he controlled his broom effortlessly had not changed since the moment in their first flying lesson when he had felt the broom fly up into his outstretched hand. But that didn't compare to the feeling he got chasing after Neville's Remembrall after Draco threw it.

Nothing had changed and nothing made him feel quite the same since. He felt complete and uninhibited when he was up amongst the birds and clouds. To look down on the frantic school that was below, all those students rushing around not taking notice of the blue sky and the singing birds.

This should be how everyday is spent. In total absence of pressures, responsibility, and impending doom. Just flying and falling and flying again. It was as if nothing mattered in the world.

Ron lay in the grass with his eyes closed paying no attention to the ladybird crawling delicately across his hand.

Hermione giggled softly as the fish nibbled at her toes as she lay in the soft loam under the speckled leaves.

Harry? Harry just flew as if nothing could touch him.

Sometimes it was nice to be alone.