They twirled slowly around the dark room, a light fog parting around them. The couple danced in time to a haunting choir, soft voices whispering. The floor was a shining black marble, and reflected their shadows, mimicking every motion they made. The air was crisp, but not overly so; cold enough that the speaker’s breath was joined by a thin cloud.
The man, no more than twenty years old, smiled close-lipped as he spun the smaller, red-haired woman in his arms. While her hair flowed around her face, his hair remained an untidy black mess, framing joyous hazel eyes behind round glasses. They were a beautiful couple, both in facade and spirit.
“Will you join me in this dance of misery, cradled in impossibility?
Swooning. I am swept away, swept off my feet.
With step-by-step we take the lead as drop-by-drop we start to bleed.”
Death had come quickly for the both of them; a blinding flash of green light, and then nothing. No pain. Nothing but the frothy, harmonious sensation of floating away. Floating away into the afterlife. Could anything be sweeter?
The couple had found themselves in this world of darkness. But it wasn’t a frightening absence of light. It was peaceful, comforting. Warm hands seemed to close around them, tacit oaths of safety whispered in their ears. They were guided into the abyss of nothingness. Forever lost. Alone, and yet surrounded.
The man and the woman continued to dance about the room, calmly pivoting to the beat. Their eyes locked, and the first sense of discomfort struck them. Uncertainty flooded through them, touching every nerve, every vein.
“James,” said the woman, “what happens now?”
“We dance, Lily, my love,” replied the man. “We dance for eternity; locked in a realm of serenity.”
Lily’s face creased with worry. “But what about the things we left behind?”
“Dumbledore will take care of everything,” James smiled comfortingly.
“I’m worried, James, about Harry. What’s going to happen to our son?” Implored the fiery-haired woman.
“Hush now, my Lily. Sirius will take care of him. Please don’t worry.”
“And we dance in misery, all lost in the arms of our misery.
Swept off our feet by our misery, we’re swept into shadows.
Will you lend yourself to beauty that will horrify?
Let me hide within your black, the still inside your eyes.”
“And Remus and Peter will be there, as well,” reasoned Lily, as James swept her into a dip.
“Of course they will. They all adore Harry, especially Sirius. Would you expect our friends to just abandon our son?” James inquired, a small smile curving his lips.
Lily shook her head. “No, I just... I just worry, James. Harry will grow up without us. Without his parents.”
“Lily Potter,” exclaimed the man, “don’t you trust me? Our son will be fine. He’ll grow up with three men who love him almost as much as we do.” He paused a moment to spin his red-haired bride, chuckling when she squealed in mild surprise. “Harry will never know neglect. He will never experience loneliness. Harry James Potter will know love like no other wizard has ever dreamed. He already has Dumbledore’s favor.”
“What about Voldemort?” Said Lily, resuming the waltz around the dark room. “What if he tries to kill my baby again?”
“Lily,” James pleaded coolly.
“I miss everyone so much, James.” Lily sunk against her husband’s chest, silent tears soaking the cotton of James’ clothes.
“So do I,” replied James, guiding their dance in small circles. He rested his chin atop his wife’s head and whispered meaningless words until she settled.
“Deafened, caught within a cry so sensual.
As step-by-step I separate, while breath-by-breath I suffocate.
So who will follow? Who is the lead?
I know I’ll leave a stain because I bleed as we dance.”
They continued to twirl about the room, laughing, basking in the elation of their wondrous afterlife. The fog danced about them, swirling in wide arches around their connected bodies. The music played on as if it were playing to the beat of their very romance.
“So ends our story,” came a voice.
Both Lily and James whirled around to see who had spoken. A tall man emerged from the depths of the fog. His long, black hair flowed down his shoulders, framing intense grey eyes. His stride was elegant, yet very much masculine. A handsome face, filled with horrors that would never die. And yet his eyes smiled as he gazed upon his friends. Unshed tears consumed his eyes as he came to a halt before them.
Lily shared a serene smile with her husband, and held out a pale hand to the strange man. Not a word was spoken as Sirius Black walked over to join his friends in their timeless dance.
Friends in life, and in death.
“We all dance.
We all have no chance in this horrid romance.”
Fin.