In the heat of the morning, Katie Bell was enjoying the view. The view consisted of: the verdant green grass, each blade inhaling the sunshine; the castle, its shadow at this time of day falling away from the lawn; several people wandering the grounds, taking in the beautiful weather; the new sensation of liberation; and--Leanne.
Her eyes were closed, but Katie knew that were she to open them, then Katie would be able to stare into their dark green depths until the sun set. Her small hands were folded on her belly, which was rising and falling with each breath. She had rolled up her sleeves so that the most amount of skin was exposed to the sunlight, and Katie brushed her finger against Leanne’s upper arm.
Leanne didn’t react, so Katie traced Leanne’s smooth light brown skin with her pale finger, glancing to Leanne’s face to see her lips twitch in a brief smile.
–I knew you were awake,†Katie said, smiling. –I want to see your eyes.â€
–I don’t want to open them,†Leanne murmured, her voice mildly annoyed.
–But they’re so beautiful. They’re like the forest. And you, you look like you’re worshipping the sun,†Katie whispered, her finger tracing Leanne’s collar bone, her neck, her chin, her cheek, and then her lips. –Sun goddess.â€
–You know,†Leanne said, voice distant, as if she was only half awake, –I’ve known you for so many years, but I’m only just realising how romantic you are.â€
–Romantic?†Katie snorted, now twisting her fingers into her girlfriend’s long black hair. –I’m not romantic.â€
–You say my eyes are like the forest and that I look like a solar deity, of course you’re romantic. I like the sun, you know that.â€
A slight wind was rustling the leaves of the tree next to them, and Katie noticed that goosebumps were forming on Leanne’s skin. The sun may be shining gloriously, but it was not summer, not quite yet. This was the beginning of something new. Just as Leanne’s lips were trembling on the edge of breaking into a full smile, Katie felt as though she was on the brink of falling into something glorious, and she wanted to extend the fall for as long as possible. This was the heat of the morning, and it was going to be a very long, and very beautiful, day. There was no need to rush.
There had been a need to rush the night before. Katie, staring at Leanne’s relaxed, prone form, and knowing it was hers, could think about last night with the security that came from knowing everything was now all right. It had been Oliver Wood who had told Katie that there was a battle happening, and she hadn’t hesitated in Apparating with him to Hogsmeade, in entering Hogwarts through the secret passageway, in emerging into the Room of Requirement.
She had only hesitated when she saw Leanne, talking to Neville, a determined look on both their faces. The last time she had seen Leanne had been last August. They had always been good friends, but grown closer when they helped each other revise and panic for their O.W.Ls. It was only that summer, however, that Leanne had taught her the pleasure to be gained from staring at the sun with ones eyes closed. Katie had noticed that the light bled through ones eyelids, but this had always been an annoyance, something that forced her out of bed, rather than something to take joy from.
They’d been lying in Katie’s garden, talking with their eyes closed. Leanne had said she never felt so alive as when she felt sunlight on her skin, but Katie wanted to talk about what they were going to do when the summer ended. She was confused by Leanne’s unwillingness to do so, putting it down to fear for the future, and laziness. Only later, did she realise that Leanne’s concerns were far greater than that.
A few days later, the announcement that Rufus Scrimgeour was no longer Minister was made. With it came rumours that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was behind the coup, and now the country was in his grip. Certainly the changes regarding Muggle-borns seemed to confirm this. Katie didn’t hear from Leanne, but hoped and prayed that she’d fled.
One late August night the doorbell rang, and she opened the door to find a shivering, shaking, rain-sodden Leanne trembling. She immediately pulled her in, taking her upstairs and putting her to sleep in the spare bedroom, before going downstairs. She expected her parents to argue with her, to tell her they should report Leanne immediately, but they did not, instead asking if there was anything that they could do.
Katie felt guilty for thinking so little of her parents.
When she went upstairs again, she found her friend sitting upright, handed her a cup of tea, and then sat on the bed beside her, squeezing her hand and saying that whatever had happened, Leanne could stay there as long as she wanted.
Leanne had stared at Katie’s pale hand enclosed around her darker one, eyes wide, as if she was staring at a ghost. When she finally spoke, it was to say, in a dull voice, quite unlike her usual one, –My parents are dead. They died resisting arrest, and screaming at me to run, and I did nothing--â€
She broke out in sobs, and buried her head into Katie’s side. Katie wrapped her arms around her, unsure what to do. She’d never had someone die. Her heart suddenly clenched at the thought of her parents gone, but what surprised her was that she feared Leanne going equally. And she liked the feel of Leanne’s body against hers, liked the fact that Leanne had come to her for help, that Leanne trusted Katie to keep her safe and sound.
–I’ll look after you,†she had said, kissing Leanne’s forehead.
Once Leanne was asleep, she went to her own bedroom. Her dreams were mixed: happy memories of her parents enjoying the sunlight, her and Leanne in the back garden, only a few weeks before, and then, without warning, she would imagine their bodies, still and cold. She wouldn’t allow that to happen.
At some point, she imagined that Leanne was in her room, whispering, –I love you,†before leaving. She chastised herself for dreaming such a thing--she and Leanne were good friends, and nothing more--but when she went to the spare bedroom, to find the bed made and no trace of Leanne, she realised she hadn’t imagined it at all.
With every Potterwatch broadcast, Katie feared that Leanne’s name would be mentioned. But there was nothing, and Katie wondered if she’d been killed without anyone noticing, and whether even now her corpse was slowly rotting away, without anyone to bury it.
And so when she emerged from behind the portrait, into the Room of Requirement, and saw Leanne, she did not hesitate because she was afraid. She hesitated because she had thought her friend as good as dead, if not actually so, and was too stunned to see her alive to react.
Leanne had smiled across at her, but when Katie didn’t smile back, Leanne’s face fell and she turned away. They did not exchange a word, and when they were assigned different defensive duties, neither commented. But even in the thick of battle, with hexes and curses flying through the air, half Katie’s mind was on staying alive, and half was hoping that Leanne was doing the same.
That night had seemed to last forever, and at the same time had moved too fast, not giving them the time to say what they had to say, and do what they had to do, before their lives were snatched away from them. And so when the interim in the fighting came, they seized the opportunity not to help remove the dead and care for the wounded, but to go to a deserted classroom.
Neither could say who grabbed whose hand, dragging them there, and when the door shut behind them, both stared at each other in silence for a few moments, before Leanne said, –I’m sorry for leaving.â€
Katie strode across the small gap between them, and whispered, –Never leave me again,†and began kissing Leanne, passionately, fiercely and desperately, fearing that these few snatched moments together might be the only ones they’d ever have.
–You’d better not die,†Katie had said, breathing heavily between kisses. –Promise me you won’t die,†she muttered, as her hands traced the inside of Leanne’s thigh.
–I can’t promise you that,†Leanne had managed to whisper. It was one of the things Katie had always valued about Leanne when they’d been friends: Leanne never made a promise unless she was sure she could keep it.
But she hadn’t died. Neither of them had.
Now, there was no need to rush. Katie could feel every rise and fall of Leanne’s chest, could feel the heat of her skin, and had never felt so alive. Time rolled out before them.
Shifting position, Katie rested her head on Leanne’s belly, and closed her eyes. The sunlight felt so beautifully warm on her pale skin. It was the first time she had felt, and enjoyed, the heat of the morning in a long time.
There would be many, many more days, of her resting on Leanne, feeling the warmth of her skin against hers. She felt Leanne’s fingers crook around hers, and held the hand tight, both girls with their eyes closed, both with the rest of their lives to live.
–I love you,†Katie whispered. She thought she’d spoken too quietly, but then felt Leanne’s other hand, gently stroking her cheek.
–I love you too,†Leanne said.
In The Heat Of The Morning by welshdevondragon
Story Notes:
Soraya-thanks for being first a great beta, and now a great friend. Thank you.
This hasn't been beta-ed. Any comma errors are entirely my own, and if you want to nitpick at any mistakes I've made, then do feel free to and I shall correct--thank you to Carole for doing so already.
Chapter Endnotes: Soraya-I hope you enjoyed this. To anyone else, reviews are greatly appreciated and always responded to! Alex