Fic: "Such Great Heights" for siriusly_lupine
Gift for: siriusly_lupine
Author: freetheelves2
Title: Such Great Heights
Pairing: Remus/Hermione
Rating: PG
Summary: They will see us waving from such great heights....
"Come down now," they'll say, but everything looks perfect from far away.
Notes: I really hope you like this!! :D Maybe I'll even get the bonus points and manage to make you cry! (that sounds terrible!)
It was supposed to be quite dark out.
It wasn’t.
Hogsmeade was lit up in celebration, as if it had turned itself into a gigantic fair over the day. Little kids ran by her with fizzing wands, reminding her of Muggle sparkle candles that they used to have, sparkling at the tips.
Everything looked perfect.
The war was over. It was a gigantic party, the whole wizarding world coming together in unison to the small village.
The outcome was truly breathtaking.
Few had died. And in a sense this celebration was in their honor, too. Had they been able to say so, Harry had said, they would have wanted a celebration, not a mourning.
The anxiety and fear and stress of the past eight or nine years were all gone. The new feeling seemed almost foreign to her. There was nothing to be worried about anymore, it seemed. It felt… different. And Hermione didn’t really know how to handle the new feeling, her legs somewhat dangling in the air and swinging back and forth below her as she sat perched on a rather large rock formation, watching over Hogsmeade. It did indeed look like a beautifully lit-up Muggle fair at night.
“Hey.”
She didn’t need to look to know who had just seated himself next to her.
“Doesn’t it look just perfect?”
“Yes.” She nodded, smiling slightly, scooting a bit so she was sitting on her hands. “Yes, it really does.”
They sat silently for a while, Hermione in thought. She should count her blessings. So many people she loved were still alive. Not only Harry and Ron - her two closest friends, but so many others. Even the man sitting next to her… she was excessively thankful.
“Professor-“ she started, but was cut off by him.
“Hermione, honestly. You’re no longer my student. You’re no one’s student anymore, for that matter. It’s Remus, all right?”
Leaning forward a bit she let her tousled, bushy hair fall forward a bit to conceal her face. She was blushing, a smile on her face, and currently very grateful for not only her hair, but also the dark night sky.
“The stars are out, you know.” Looking up, she noticed that he was right. “I don’t think you can see it very well from here, though…” he trailed off, seemingly in thought.
It was the first time she looked at him that night. The first time in a while. The last couple of days… weeks… months… had been so overcast with stress and anxiety that she hardly had had any time to live, experience, and take notice of the small things.
That’s what this celebration was for, she realized. To bring the veterans back to life. Back into reality.
He really was a striking man for his age. He was thirty-nine now; she was nineteen. But he didn’t look thirty-nine. At least, not to her. His hair had always had a slightly gray quality to it - she had seen pictures to prove it of him when he was at Hogwarts - and even with all that he had been through over the years, all the people he had loved and lost, his face didn’t show it. He didn’t have any wrinkles, and his eyes still shone with that spark. He might look weary sometimes, but she knew it was from something else.
“Why don’t you come with me?” he asked, stepping down from the rocks and holding a hand out to her. “I think I know where we’ll be able to see the stars and the sky a bit better.”
She considered it for a moment, her mind briefly flickering over all he had said and all the implications behind it. “All right.” Taking his hand, she noticed how warm it was as he led her down a little path.
“Where are we going, exactly, Pro-I mean, Remus?” she stammered, stumbling occasionally as they walked along the path.
“You’ll see,” he answered just as she could feel them stepping onto a wooden surface.
A dock. To the lake.
She would have been lying if she had said that she wasn’t surprised, but she continued to let herself be led by his hand until they had reached the very end of the dock where they sat down.
He hadn’t let go of her hand yet.
“Here, take your slippers off - your feet will be able to dangle and slip into the water. It’s wonderfully refreshing,” he told her as he did so himself, finally having to release her hand. After he had rolled up his pants a bit as well, they both let their feet slip through the water, gliding back and forth as she swung them below her, watching them as she did so.
Finally, blinking a bit, she looked up at the sky and at the moon. “It’s a good thing it’s only waning now… that the full moon was just recently. Makes me appreciate it more, I guess. I wouldn’t want you to miss this, after all. It’s too beautiful.” Smiling at him, their eyes locked for the first time that night, and something kept her gaze there, not letting her look away again.
“Not as beautiful as you, Hermione,” he whispered, his hand reaching out to move a stray lock from her face. When she closed her eyes at his touch, she heard him draw in a breath and look away again.
“I’m sorry, that was inappropriate,” he quietly mumbled under his breath, but she didn’t flinch, having expected this from him.
“You’re not my teacher anymore, Remus. You said so yourself.” When he just shook his head, she drew her hand up to his face and turned it to hers. “Look at me. Do I still look like the girl you taught five years ago?”
He stared at her for a moment or so, just gazing into her eyes without that sad expression he seemed to have every time she saw him.
“You know… it’s really amazing. You seem to have these… freckles in your eyes. Like little flecks of gold. It’s quite enchanting, really. I bet I’m the first who told you that, huh? Or even noticed it. It’s fascinating.”
Chuckling lightly she lowered her gaze again. “You have the same thing in yours, Remus.”
“Maybe they match,” he whispered, and before she knew it he was tilting her face upwards and drawing closer to her.
He kissed her. Very softly. And then he pulled away again, and it felt like it had just been a dream. A part of her prayed it wasn’t.
“I’ve missed you, you know,” he said quietly, not really daring to meet her eyes directly.
“Yeah. I know. And me too, Remus.”
They were quiet for a bit, when they heard someone shouting to them from far behind. “Remus! Hermione! Come back and join us for the party!”
It was Harry. And for what felt like the first time, Hermione stood, her dress caressing her legs in the wind as it fluttered about, and waved to Harry, calling back. “No, Harry. I think we’ll stay here. We’re fine. Everything looks perfect from far away… from up here. I’m fine. Really.”
She saw him shrug his shoulders and call back an “all right,” that was by far less enthusiastic than his earlier shouts had been, but he let them be anyhow, turning around and heading back.
“Up here?” he asked when she seated herself next to him again.
She just nodded, a mischievous glint in her eyes, along with a smile that made him feel better than he had felt in over three years.
“You know,” he started, “sometimes I wonder whether certain people fit together… like puzzle pieces, you know? As if they were made to fit together.”
They didn’t say anything, but when it finally hit midnight, the night sky in front of them suddenly lit up with fireworks. Red, blue, green, yellow, pink, purple, white, and orange illuminated the heavens in a brilliant display of beauty stretching far and wide and all around. They were surrounded by magic, truly.
And not just because of the fireworks.
As they watched, Hermione slowly leaned into him, letting her head rest on his shoulder as she came closer.
He took her hand in his and squeezed a bit. Her eyes first darted down at the action, and then up at him, staring him questioningly in his eyes.
All he had to do in response was to kiss her again. When he pulled away, he noticed something about her eyes. Something was sparkling in them.
Maybe it was the golden freckles.
Author: freetheelves2
Title: Such Great Heights
Pairing: Remus/Hermione
Rating: PG
Summary: They will see us waving from such great heights....
"Come down now," they'll say, but everything looks perfect from far away.
Notes: I really hope you like this!! :D Maybe I'll even get the bonus points and manage to make you cry! (that sounds terrible!)
It was supposed to be quite dark out.
It wasn’t.
Hogsmeade was lit up in celebration, as if it had turned itself into a gigantic fair over the day. Little kids ran by her with fizzing wands, reminding her of Muggle sparkle candles that they used to have, sparkling at the tips.
Everything looked perfect.
The war was over. It was a gigantic party, the whole wizarding world coming together in unison to the small village.
The outcome was truly breathtaking.
Few had died. And in a sense this celebration was in their honor, too. Had they been able to say so, Harry had said, they would have wanted a celebration, not a mourning.
The anxiety and fear and stress of the past eight or nine years were all gone. The new feeling seemed almost foreign to her. There was nothing to be worried about anymore, it seemed. It felt… different. And Hermione didn’t really know how to handle the new feeling, her legs somewhat dangling in the air and swinging back and forth below her as she sat perched on a rather large rock formation, watching over Hogsmeade. It did indeed look like a beautifully lit-up Muggle fair at night.
“Hey.”
She didn’t need to look to know who had just seated himself next to her.
“Doesn’t it look just perfect?”
“Yes.” She nodded, smiling slightly, scooting a bit so she was sitting on her hands. “Yes, it really does.”
They sat silently for a while, Hermione in thought. She should count her blessings. So many people she loved were still alive. Not only Harry and Ron - her two closest friends, but so many others. Even the man sitting next to her… she was excessively thankful.
“Professor-“ she started, but was cut off by him.
“Hermione, honestly. You’re no longer my student. You’re no one’s student anymore, for that matter. It’s Remus, all right?”
Leaning forward a bit she let her tousled, bushy hair fall forward a bit to conceal her face. She was blushing, a smile on her face, and currently very grateful for not only her hair, but also the dark night sky.
“The stars are out, you know.” Looking up, she noticed that he was right. “I don’t think you can see it very well from here, though…” he trailed off, seemingly in thought.
It was the first time she looked at him that night. The first time in a while. The last couple of days… weeks… months… had been so overcast with stress and anxiety that she hardly had had any time to live, experience, and take notice of the small things.
That’s what this celebration was for, she realized. To bring the veterans back to life. Back into reality.
He really was a striking man for his age. He was thirty-nine now; she was nineteen. But he didn’t look thirty-nine. At least, not to her. His hair had always had a slightly gray quality to it - she had seen pictures to prove it of him when he was at Hogwarts - and even with all that he had been through over the years, all the people he had loved and lost, his face didn’t show it. He didn’t have any wrinkles, and his eyes still shone with that spark. He might look weary sometimes, but she knew it was from something else.
“Why don’t you come with me?” he asked, stepping down from the rocks and holding a hand out to her. “I think I know where we’ll be able to see the stars and the sky a bit better.”
She considered it for a moment, her mind briefly flickering over all he had said and all the implications behind it. “All right.” Taking his hand, she noticed how warm it was as he led her down a little path.
“Where are we going, exactly, Pro-I mean, Remus?” she stammered, stumbling occasionally as they walked along the path.
“You’ll see,” he answered just as she could feel them stepping onto a wooden surface.
A dock. To the lake.
She would have been lying if she had said that she wasn’t surprised, but she continued to let herself be led by his hand until they had reached the very end of the dock where they sat down.
He hadn’t let go of her hand yet.
“Here, take your slippers off - your feet will be able to dangle and slip into the water. It’s wonderfully refreshing,” he told her as he did so himself, finally having to release her hand. After he had rolled up his pants a bit as well, they both let their feet slip through the water, gliding back and forth as she swung them below her, watching them as she did so.
Finally, blinking a bit, she looked up at the sky and at the moon. “It’s a good thing it’s only waning now… that the full moon was just recently. Makes me appreciate it more, I guess. I wouldn’t want you to miss this, after all. It’s too beautiful.” Smiling at him, their eyes locked for the first time that night, and something kept her gaze there, not letting her look away again.
“Not as beautiful as you, Hermione,” he whispered, his hand reaching out to move a stray lock from her face. When she closed her eyes at his touch, she heard him draw in a breath and look away again.
“I’m sorry, that was inappropriate,” he quietly mumbled under his breath, but she didn’t flinch, having expected this from him.
“You’re not my teacher anymore, Remus. You said so yourself.” When he just shook his head, she drew her hand up to his face and turned it to hers. “Look at me. Do I still look like the girl you taught five years ago?”
He stared at her for a moment or so, just gazing into her eyes without that sad expression he seemed to have every time she saw him.
“You know… it’s really amazing. You seem to have these… freckles in your eyes. Like little flecks of gold. It’s quite enchanting, really. I bet I’m the first who told you that, huh? Or even noticed it. It’s fascinating.”
Chuckling lightly she lowered her gaze again. “You have the same thing in yours, Remus.”
“Maybe they match,” he whispered, and before she knew it he was tilting her face upwards and drawing closer to her.
He kissed her. Very softly. And then he pulled away again, and it felt like it had just been a dream. A part of her prayed it wasn’t.
“I’ve missed you, you know,” he said quietly, not really daring to meet her eyes directly.
“Yeah. I know. And me too, Remus.”
They were quiet for a bit, when they heard someone shouting to them from far behind. “Remus! Hermione! Come back and join us for the party!”
It was Harry. And for what felt like the first time, Hermione stood, her dress caressing her legs in the wind as it fluttered about, and waved to Harry, calling back. “No, Harry. I think we’ll stay here. We’re fine. Everything looks perfect from far away… from up here. I’m fine. Really.”
She saw him shrug his shoulders and call back an “all right,” that was by far less enthusiastic than his earlier shouts had been, but he let them be anyhow, turning around and heading back.
“Up here?” he asked when she seated herself next to him again.
She just nodded, a mischievous glint in her eyes, along with a smile that made him feel better than he had felt in over three years.
“You know,” he started, “sometimes I wonder whether certain people fit together… like puzzle pieces, you know? As if they were made to fit together.”
They didn’t say anything, but when it finally hit midnight, the night sky in front of them suddenly lit up with fireworks. Red, blue, green, yellow, pink, purple, white, and orange illuminated the heavens in a brilliant display of beauty stretching far and wide and all around. They were surrounded by magic, truly.
And not just because of the fireworks.
As they watched, Hermione slowly leaned into him, letting her head rest on his shoulder as she came closer.
He took her hand in his and squeezed a bit. Her eyes first darted down at the action, and then up at him, staring him questioningly in his eyes.
All he had to do in response was to kiss her again. When he pulled away, he noticed something about her eyes. Something was sparkling in them.
Maybe it was the golden freckles.