RP: Easter in Phoenix Park

[rar_npc]

Date: 7 April 1999
Character(s): [Edward Clarke], Any citizens who want to come out and have a picnic
Location: Phoenix Park, Hogsmeade
Status: Very Public
Summary: Easter Sunday in Hogsmeade and the grand opening of Phoenix Memorial Park
Completion: InComplete

Comments

[rar_harry]

Harry was carrying the picnic basket that Kreacher had made up, and could smell the meat from the sandwiches; his stomach growled as he arrived with Hermione at Phoenix park, where they'd been only a few weeks ago to help plant things. Everything had been tented and covered then, though. It all looked brilliant, to him, though he did want to check out the memorial that he'd heard about. He could see it in the distance but couldn't tell much about it from here.

"What d'you want to do first?" he asked.

[rar_hermione]

The park looked nice. Hermione could recognize the area where she and Harry had planted flowers, and it was lovely without the tents all around. There were already a lot of people around, which had her stepping closer to Harry and taking his hand.

"We could take a walk," she suggested. "There's several paths, so why don't we just follow one and see what the park is like. It seems to be lovely."

[rar_harry]

Harry nodded, noticing the different paths, as well. They started to walk. "So many kids around," he commented, looking around. The park was big enough to hold a lot of people, but not big enough to anything large-scale such as Quidditch. "Hopefully we won't stumble on any of their eggs."

He smiled; it really was a good day for this, and a really good way to remember everything -- with something alive, something that would grow and keep living. But it was still bittersweet. He squeezed her hand. "Think many people will be out? This is kind of nice."

[rar_hermione]

"There are," she agreed, looking at a group of younger children playing nearby. "This is good, to celebrate in this way. It's definitely an improvement over last Easter." She smiled wryly as she dragged her thumb along his palm. "We'll be careful as we walk so we don't step on any eggs."

"They might be out today. It's good weather, and a park is a good place to be on Easter, I suppose." She glanced at him. "Did you ever celebrate Easter as a child? I mean, with hunting eggs and all that?"

"I can remember hunting chocolate eggs when my grandfather was alive, but it was in our back garden alone. Usually, my family would just eat, but we stopped doing more formal dinners after the last of my grandparents had passed, before I started Hogwarts."

[rar_harry]

"No kidding," Harry snorted a bit. "I mean, at least there was Shell Cottage and Teddy, but other than that, I'm glad this year we get a plain old walk in the park."

"Me? No," he shook his head. "I mean, I stayed at school, of course, and before that -- just, erm, no." He stepped aside awkwardly as a young girl ran past them, giggling. "That sounds nice, though."

[rar_hermione]

"A walk in the park is definitely an improvement," she agreed, frowning slightly as she remembered cackling laughter and torture and burying Dobby. They would need to visit Shell Cottage this week, to visit his grave.

When Harry said that he'd never hunted for eggs or celebrated Easter, she had to resist the urge to kiss him and give him a hug. It was probably a good thing that she'd never met his aunt and uncle. If she did, she wasn't sure that she would be able to stop herself from hexing them terribly.

"It was alright. I didn't often get sweets, so I mostly remember the chocolate eggs. I'm not sure if my parents approved of it, but my grandfather probably didn't listen to them."

[rar_harry]

"Mint floss might not be the most traditional thing for an Easter basket, anyway," he mused, squeezing her hand as they walked along the path. "Anyway. I liked the Easter's they had at Hogwarts. Great food, and things. Had plenty of chocolate then."

He glanced at her. "Think this would be one of my better Easters, though."