꧁—— ❦ ——꧂
An acute torridity enclosed Little Whinging; the sultry weather burned, twirling and twisting through the air to touch exposed skin, creeping underneath fabrics and leaving lines of scarlet in it's wake as people hid, concealed in the shadows, withering.
The stylus trailed the etched grooves of the record, drawing attention to the hidden nicks, blissful beats filled the air, patio resounding with the tune. It was melodic — a captivating thrum that drew you in, visions of an unattainable past dancing behind your lids.
"Send me the pillow that you dream on.
Don't you know that I still care for you?"
Her vision momentarily went black as shapes formed in front of her until she was standing in the corner of her old living room; four years old and standing on her fathers feet, hands intertwined, spinning in circles and swaying with the beat, blonde pigtails flying through the air, laughter and off key singing echoing through the house.
"Send me the pillow that you dream on.
So darling, I can dream on it, too."
She took a step forward only to be violently thrown backwards, grabbing onto the patio table as she blinked back into focus, standing in her backyard. She cleared her throat, thickly swallowing and smoothing over her shirt, humming to the tune as she pushed the memories away, locking them beneath the barrier in her mind, twirling with each step towards the bush of pale pink peonies.
"Each night while I'm sleeping, oh so lonely.
I'll share your love in dreams that were once true."
Lavinia halted in front of the flowers, standing on her tiptoes to peer over the fence to her right where she swore she saw a mop of raven hair, following the sound of shears until she spotted the young boy, sitting on his knees and hunched over the garden.
"Hello, Harry." Lavinia said, watching as he jumped.
Harry flushed, pushing at the bridge of his glasses, "Oh, hello."
Lavinia threw her hands on-top of the fence, resting her chin on the back of her hand. "You don't seem very excited to see me." She drawled. "Am I a bore?"
"No... you're... " Harry sputtered, scrambling to stand up straight, "You're brilliant."
"Aren't you sweet." Lavinia teased with a grin, "Don't go spoiling me, Mr Potter."
"Send me the pillow that you dream on.
So darling, I can dream on it too."
The blush that darkened on his face satisfied Lavinia, watching as he struggled to form a sentence. As much as she hated to admit it something about him had drawn her in; his lack of burning hands intrigued her, absentmindedly wondering what he could have done to be free from his sins. She spent eight days peeking over the fence and watching out the front window, yet, today was the only day he had made an appearance.
"What are you doing?" Lavinia asked, flickering her gaze between the shears and him.
"Deadheading the flowers." Harry replied, sheepishly smiling at her.
Lavinia craned her neck over the fence, admiring the assortment of flowers. "Do you think you could help me when you're done? I'm supposed to deadhead ours but I always mess it up."
"Oh, erm, yeah I can." Harry said, lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck.
"Thank you." Lavinia nodded, furrowing her brows. "Are you going to continue, or?"
Harry shook his head, green eyes going wide, "No, I'm done."
"Then come around the front and I'll let you in." Lavinia told him as she took a step backwards.
She watched as he nodded, picking up the shears as he walked away from her, stepping inside his house. Lavinia skipped while she made her way to the front door, the record playing in the background. She stopped in front of the door, unlocking and twisting the handle to open it, rocking on her heels as she waited for him.
Harry appeared only a few seconds later, his face a deep shape of red, fidgeting with the shears. Lavinia took pity on him, resisting the tease sitting on the tip of her tongue, taking a step back with a small smile, waving for him to follow her.
"Do you have a music preference?" Lavinia asked, twirling to walk backwards, now facing him.
"No, not really." Harry replied, emerald eyes anywhere but on her.
Lavinia glowered, coming to a stop in front of the patio door and gesturing towards the vinyls. "Take a look and pick one." She said. "I tend to listen to the same few albums."
"Are you sure?" Harry asked, gawking, gaze trailing over the shelves filled with vinyls.
"Of course." Lavinia grinned, hands laced behind her back.
She furrowed her brows, watching as his eyes briefly glowed a brighter shade of green, fingers twitching at his side, nervously biting his lip. Waiting patiently she dropped her chin, pretending she missed his nervous shift, and the nervous breath before he delicately pulled the album off the shelf.
"Which one did you pick?" Lavinia cheerfully asked, peering at the album.
"This one." Harry said with lopsided grin, holding it towards her.
Lavinia took it from his hands, eyes widening excitedly, looking up at him with a toothy grin. She glanced at the album then back at Harry, laughing as she looked back at the Queen album, "A day at the races. You are truly full of surprises, Harry."
Because she swore she was a good person deep down, she turned, pretending she didn't notice when his shoulders tensed, torn on explaining himself or keeping it secret; but that was okay, she would know all of his secrets one day.
She tossed the garden shears to her side, exhaustion coursing through her body, lifting the back of her hand to wipe her forehead; sweat trickled down their faces, the sun burning white-hot overhead, basking the soil in front of them.
Lavinia dropped onto her calfs, heels digging into her tailbone, Harry sat in her peripherals, hunched over the flowers as he continued the deadheading. The duo had been outside for a good two hours, listening to Queen play in the background, Lavinia getting up and putting the stylus back at the beginning of the record, the odd conversation here and there.
She turned her head slightly, allowing her to see him better, gaze trailing over him. She could tell he was nervous, only speaking when spoken too, fumbling with the shears when he knew she was watching, but she pushed it aside, having already decided he might make her summer more interesting.
"Why don't we go get some lemonade?" Lavinia asked, catching his attention.
Harry dragged his arm across his forehead, placing his free palm on his knees, "Yeah, that would be great."
Lavinia nodded, standing up and dusting the end of her shorts off, holding a hand towards him. "C'mon then, I reckon this heat will do us in soon."
With curious eyes, she watched as he grabbed her hand, shooting an ice cold feeling through her bones, a full body tingle washing over her, immediately combating the intense heat. The end of her nose twitched, keeping an unaffected mask on her face from the sudden switch in temperature, wondering if he felt it too.
Forcing the thought away she shot him a smile, dropping his hand so she could turn and lead him towards the kitchen, rolling her eyes at the awkward silence between them.
"You can sit there." Lavinia told him when they entered the kitchen, pointing at her usual seat.
He shot her a small smile as he sat down, and taking that as her cue she walked towards the cupboards, opening the one to her left to grab two of Alida's precious crystal glasses, almost hoping that Harry would accidentally break one. Shifting the glasses to hold them awkwardly in one hand, she opened the fridge and pulled out the pitcher of lemonade, shutting the door with her foot as she walked by.
Lavinia placed the glasses on the table, pouring the lemonade in them before placing the pitcher between them, sliding the glass in front of Harry and taking a seat at the head of the table.
"Thank you." Harry said, flushing as he took a sip.
"You're welcome." Lavinia replied, taking a sip from her glass. "Why don't you tell me something about yourself?"
Harry furrowed his brows, index finger tapping against the glass. "Like what?"
"Anything, really." Lavinia shrugged, resting her elbow on the table and laying her head against her palm. "For example, I've only lived on Privet Drive for a year."
"Where did you live before?" Harry asked.
"Brixton." Lavinia grinned, crossing her left leg over her right knee. "Your turn."
Harry lifted his hand from under the table to scratch his jaw, emerald gaze locked on his drink, brows furrowed. "Oh, I know." He said after a few moments of silence. "My godfather has this huge black dog named Snuffles. He's a nice dog."
"That's not exactly what I meant, but that'll do." Lavinia snorted with a grin. "What's Snuffles like?"
"Oh, sorry." Harry flushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "He's mostly well-behaved, well actually he's a bit aggressive, but I think he thinks he's scarier then he actually is."
Lavinia chuckled, lifting the glass to her lips, "He's probably aggressive on his more ruff days."
"Well, he's barking mad on those days." Harry laughed, shaking his head.
"Finally, someone with a sense of humour." Lavinia grinned, drinking her lemonade.
Harry lopsidedly grinned at her, "Your turn."
"I can recite 'Romeo and Juliet' word for word." Lavinia told him, swinging her leg side to side.
Harry's mouth slightly parted as if he were about to say something, choosing to bite his lip instead. He sat silent for a few moments, then raised a brow. "You're taking the piss."
With a small smirk she placed her chin in her palm, shrugging. "I'll just have to prove my word, won't I?"
"Oh — erm, yeah." He flushed, avoiding her gaze. "You'll have too."
"C'mon, follow me then." Lavinia stood up from her chair and held her pinky towards Harry, slightly hoping for a reprieve from the heat.
She patiently waited as his gaze flickered between her pinky and her eyes, almost as if he were searching for any signs of mistrust; it made her wonder what had happened to this boy that he was so mistrustful, fully knowing the feeling herself. She gave him a soft encouraging smile when he finally locked his pinky around hers, quickly squeezing it before she lead him through the house.
The same ice cold feeling had washed over her body again. It was as if she had jumped from the towering height of a cliff, gracefully soaring through the air until she plunged into the midnight blue waters, losing her control as she succumbed to the thick blankets of ice coating her.
Lavinia shook her head to free the thought, feeling grateful in the cold threatening to shoot shudders up her spine in oppose to the smothering heat. She would think about the situation and do her research at a later date, hoping that if she got to know him the answer would appear right before her.
She tugged on his pinky to pull him around the corner at the top of the stairs, leading him to her room, shooting him a playful wink as she opened the door. Harry let out a gasp, eyes floating over the room in admiration, finally stopping on her paintings and examining them.
Feeling slightly embarrassed with the fact that he was viewing her paintings she turned towards the bookshelf, smiling as she noticed the natural light carving out a path as if it were Fate itself, leading them to the book. "This is my favourite copy." Lavinia told him, grabbing the book off of the shelf and passing it to him.
"Your favourite copy?" Harry said, dropping her pinky to take the book in both hands, opening to the first scene of the play. He skimmed the first few pages, snorting. "I like your side comments."
Lavinia grinned, "This copy has all of my annotations and thoughts." She grabbed another copy from the bottom of the bookshelf, showing him the first few pages, "And this copy is for anyone who borrows my books, school too actually when we eventually study it —"
Harry tuned the rest of her words out as he drifted his gaze over her, starting with the blonde curls that were perfectly tied back —
every time he had caught a glimpse of her, she was always so put together — then the few freckles that danced across her cheeks, and he'd bet that if he connected them they'd draw out a constellation, because she seemed the type to like astronomy.
Nothing drew him in more though than her cerulean blue eyes, curiously piercing through his soul and raising the hair on his arms. They shone so bright, however — so pretty, he'd first thought when he'd seen them, entranced by the instant comfort he found himself in.
He took note of the sky blue sparks in her eyes as she spoke about different parts of the play, unintentionally exposing to him a part of her passions, revealing a quarter of her soul; and like a greedy teenager, he took it.
In those few moments they had both decided, that maybe, this friendship was worth it.
hello! what are everyones thoughts on the story so far? how is everyone feeling? i hope the chapters aren't too long. each one is like 2200+ words, but i feel like i have so much to fit in, in each chapter, ya feel? anyways, don't forget to comment and vote. until next time, besties <3