At the Shore of The Heart

They walked hand in hand up the path, and the sun shone down on them. A little way ahead a little girl with black, shoulder-length, curly hair was skipping and waving around a bunch of flowers in her hand.



‘Lucy, be careful,’ Hermione called her.



A small sandy-haired boy was holding onto Severus’s free hand, and he looked up at his father gravely.



‘Why does she have to skip everywhere?’ he said quietly.



Severus smiled down at his son and whispered, ‘because she’s a girl, Freddy. And girls can be a bit silly.’



Hermione snorted, ‘Yes, that’s why boys like them so much. Isn’t it, Severus?’ She glared at him, and he winked at her with a smirk.



‘Absolutely,’ he said.



They reached the grave just after Lucy, who was standing seriously with her hands in front of her, having already placed her flowers over the grassy mound. Her face was crumpled into a frown of concentration, and Severus couldn’t help but smile. He knelt down beside her and put his arm around her waist, pulling her closer.



‘Why are you frowning?’ he asked her quietly.



‘Why is my name on that?’ she pointed at the headstone.



‘Because the lady who is buried here was also called Lucy Snape, that’s why. And that’s why we called you Lucy, too,’ he murmured.



‘Was she a nice lady?’ Lucy squinted up at Hermione, who had moved close and put her hand on Severus’s shoulder gently.



‘She was the kindest, most gentle soul you could ever meet, and Daddy and I loved her very much. When you are bigger, we can show you a photo if you like,’ Hermione squeezed Severus’s shoulder and he smiled up at her gratefully.



‘Mummy, the pelargonium’s are about to flower,’ Freddy said, his small hands lifting up the heads of hanging buds to show her.



‘That’s right, so they are,’ she smiled.



‘That will make Lucy happy when we are not here to talk to her,’ Freddy said. He repeated verbatim Hermione’s words and she laughed softly.



‘You remembered, Freddy?’ she asked him. He looked at her a nodded, and gave her a rare smile.



‘Lucy loves them,’ he said.



‘Do you, Lucy?’ she looked at her daughter and rubbed her tousled hair.



Freddy laughed. ‘Not that Lucy, the other Lucy, the one who sleeps here,’ he said.



Severus stared at him and his face went as white as a sheet. Hermione walked over to Freddy slowly and bent down to talk to him.



‘What do you mean, Freddy? What other Lucy?’ her heart was pounding in her ears.



‘The lady with the yellow hair. She’s very pretty. She is always here when we come,’ he smiled softly.



‘Is she here now, Freddy?’ Hermione asked in a whisper. He nodded softly and pointed to a bench that sat a little back from the graves, just under the shelter of a group of trees.



‘’And does she talk to you, Freddy?’ Hermione asked him gently, not even daring to look at Severus.



‘Sometimes. She’s happy that we come, but she isn’t always here. She only comes when we do,’ he said. He was getting bored now, and started to scuff the toe of his shoe against the dirt.



‘Is she happy?’ Severus’s voice cut through and Freddy’s head snapped up. He looked up, seemingly into thin air, and then he laughed a little.



‘She says she is, now that you are,’ Freddy said.



Severus nodded slowly. He didn’t know what to say.



‘Thank you, Freddy,’ Hermione hugged her son close as tears threatened to fall down her face, and she smiled widely. He had such a special gift.



‘Can we go to the party now?’ Lucy asked Severus and pulled at his shirt to get his attention.



Hermione answered for her. ‘Yes, we had better go. Let’s say goodbye then,’ she said softly.



They all stood quietly and Lucy said ‘Bye Lucy,’ and waved at the grass mound.



They walked down the path slowly, Hermione clutching Severus’s hand, neither of them able to look at each other immediately.



Freddy stopped halfway down the path and turned, looking back towards Lucy’s headstone.



He grinned and waved.







******



Don\'t even ask me where that came from. I must be channelling someone else.