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lifeofkaze · 5 months ago

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A Sky Full of Stars

A/N: Look at me, I'm not ever going to write a mirror scene again. Look at me, I'm sticking with my words. Oh well. Last day, last prompt. Stargazing. Thank you to @hphm-ship-week for hosting this event. As always, the original to this mirror can be found here. Special thanks (and curses) to @eternalchaoschocolaterain. Look what you made me do.

Away from the bonfire of the victory party, the temperature dropped immediately. It was a mellow summer night, the air fragrant with the last idea of the wildflowers that lined the side of the path Lizzie and Orion were following along. A cool breeze drifted towards them from the Black Lake, its dark waters shimmering in the silvery light of the moon above.

Ever since their first impromptu celebration of Hufflepuff winning the Quidditch House Cup - and what a win it had been - Orion had longed to finally be alone with Lizzie, to let the impressions and emotions that had stormed in on him since the end of the match settle. They hadn’t had a chance to speak yet, and even at the big party hoisted in their team’s honour further up the path, he had had no sight of her.

Now, walking down the winding path by the lakeshore, it was like a heavy weight had lifted off Orion’s shoulders, one he hadn’t even realised had been there. He had been apprehensive of this moment but now that it had arrived, his nerves had dispersed like smoke, leaving behind nothing but a vague memory of the knot that had come undone in him when Lizzie had taken his hand and not let go again.

They talked as they were walking, those couple of minutes since they had left the party filled with more words, more laughter and ease, than all the days since they had stepped off the Hogwarts Express last September until now combined. Orion had missed this; he had missed her.

At some point, Lizzie had moved closer to him, leaning subtly into his side when he let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She fit right into him, her body warm against his, growing increasingly more quiet as the path carried them further into the moonlit landscape surrounding the castle. Not thinking much about it initially, Lizzie’s silence soon stirred a sense of worry in him. An idea which seemed right and sensible in the warmth of a bonfire might look entirely differently once the golden glow was stripped away, leaving only the cold light of the moon to illuminate its consequences. Did Lizzie regret leaving with him? Did he? Was this a trial of their will, or were they headed down a path that wasn’t theirs to walk? Slowing his steps, he studied her but Lizzie didn’t seem to notice. She was looking up ahead, entirely lost in her thoughts.

“What are you thinking?”

Lizzie gave a start, as if she hadn’t heard him at all. “Sorry, what?”

“You’ve gone very quiet. What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing really, don’t worry.”

It had taken her only a moment’s hesitation to reply and yet to Orion, it felt like an eternity that made his stomach drop. Unwrapping his arm from her shoulders he stopped, turning her towards him.

“I’ve always known you to carry your heart on your sleeve, Chaser. Until this year. Now that you and Rowan have made your peace, I had hoped you would go back to not being afraid of your thoughts anymore. You don’t have to hide when you’re with me.”

Lizzie pressed her lips together briefly before pulling them into a weak smile. “I’m just not used to feeling this awkward around you.”

She meant to lighten the mood, Orion knew that, but he felt like a door was closing inside him. He raised his hand to her face, brushing away a strand of her hair in the same way that had started them on this turbulent journey.

“We can always go back if you don’t want this.”

Lizzie shook her head almost instantly, the determined look in her eyes as much reassurance as the hand she placed over his. Leaning into his touch, she momentarily cast down her gaze before raising it again to meet his. Even in the moonlight they looked blue, deep and dark and inviting, but there was an openness to them that Orion had rarely seen before, a vulnerability that was almost sacrilegious to witness. Running his thumb across her cheek, seeing how she closed her eyes to his touch, he whispered,

“Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?” Lizzie’s eyes softened, her lips parting ever so slightly. She tilted her head and stepped closer, and so did Orion, both their eyes closing, just a breath away from…

The sound of nearby laughter cut through the night, making them both start and hastily step away from each other. Another laugh followed, quickly hushed by a subdued voice and a giggle that ebbed in volume as the voices drew nearer. They had yet to see Lizzie and Orion, so he took her by the hand and pulled her off the path and into the shadow of a tree. Concealed from curious eyes, they waited for whoever had disturbed them to appear.

It didn’t take long. First, the shadows of two people following down the lake path came into view. Soon, the shadows took shape, one tall and broad, the other small and stocky; both of them looked familiar though Orion couldn’t say why. Lizzie, who was peering at the approaching pair with furrowed brow, cocked her head.

“Isn’t that…”

The moonlight hit the couple on the path, revealing their friend and teammate Skye Parkin and - much to their mutual surprise - Erika Rath, Ravenclaw Beater and Skye’s declared mortal enemy. Or so Orion had thought. Lizzie had just leaned in to him to comment on this peculiar sight when her mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide. Over by a bend in the path, beneath the shadow of a tree not unlike theirs, Erika Rath had pushed Skye against the tree trunk, Skye’s arms coming around her neck in a tight embrace as they kissed passionately. A disbelieving giggle bubbled from Lizzie’s chest, quickly growing into laughter barely contained by the hand clapped in front of her mouth. Her whole frame was shaking from it, so much so that Orion found it hard not to join in.

“Even the most steadfast rivalry can turn into fondness, it seems,” he chuckled, backing away from the tree to get back onto the path unseen. “Maybe we should leave them to it.”

Casting one last, disbelieving look at Skye and Rath, Lizzie followed him, bursting into laughter as soon as they were out of earshot. Her laugh was contagious, skipping over to Orion after all until it was bouncing back and forth between them. It made his belly hurt, and he winced as he tried - in vain - to relax his already aching cheeks. Lizzie was faring no better. She had laughed herself into a state close to hysteria, having reached a point where she was unable to stop.

“You need to calm down,” Orion told her, fighting the urge to begin laughing again. Lizzie nodded and pressed her lips together but it was to no avail. She began giggling again, so he raised a hand and put a finger against her lips, as lightly as the touch of a feather. “Hush now. Calm down.”

Lizzie took a shallow breath and became still. Her shoulders relaxed and so did her features as she let Orion pull her against him. They stood like this for what felt like forever, neither of them moving, not daring to. A crossroad had opened before them, as plain for Orion to see as the moonlit water of the lake or the shooting star that cut across the sky. One road would continue them on familiar territory, steady and secure, a path they had begun to walk comfortably before it had become unsatisfying, without adventure, without promise. The other, branching off from the broad and well-trodden way, was obscure, winding, with an end they would be unable to see before they’d reached it. It could lead to the most beautiful place imaginable, or end abruptly and drop off into nothingness. Orion didn’t know what lay ahead, but the well-known roads had never much enticed him. He longed to explore this new path together with Lizze. All they needed to do was take a step.

That and a lot more ran through his mind, thoughts tumbling over each other as he remained frozen, waiting - hoping - for Lizzie to do something. And she did, eventually, but in a way Orion hadn’t expected.

She suddenly broke free and wordlessly wandered to an upturned tree trunk by the lakeshore. The mixture of relief and frustration at the moment having slipped by dissolved into wonder as Lizzie scrambled onto it and held out her arms to the sides.

“What are you doing?”

She laughed at his question. “Balancing.”

She walked to the middle of the trunk, Orion following her on the ground. The dampness of the night air had made the wood beneath her feet slippery, however, and in an inattentive moment, Lizzie misplaced her foot. She swayed dangerously, Orion’s hand shooting forward to catch her, but there was no need; she had regained her balance by herself and now stood facing him, an amused look crossing her face.

“Do you worry about me falling?”

“One time per day is enough, don’t you think?” Orion replied. Her collision with a Bludger earlier during the match could have ended nastily, even more so than it had anyway. The image of her clinging to that Ravenclaw banner, her broomstick tumbling to the faraway ground below her, had burned itself into his consciousness, making his heart race even now. His smile faltered at the memory, needing Lizzie’s touch to break him from his thoughts.

“It is,” she smiled, seemingly more unfazed by what had happened than he was. Her hands came to rest on his shoulders, then wandered higher, gently brushing over his hair and along his temple. “But once again, you’re here to catch me.”

Orion leaned into her touch. “I’ll always be here to catch you.”

Lizzie paused, dropping her hand from his hair to his neck as she pulled him in at the same time he stepped closer. His nerves had ceased to tear at him. All his doubts and worries disappeared as Lizzie bent down and he raised his chin and their lips met calmly, naturally, as if it had meant to be this exact way and no other. It was a sweet kiss, lacking the fire their first one on top of the Astronomy Tower had had, but there was a different kind of warmth to it; a warmth that spread through Orion like the blood in his veins, a warmth that made his heart beat fast and heavy and strong, making him feel focused, present, and alive. His lips pulled into a smile as he lifted Lizzie off the tree trunk by her hips and spun her around to set her to the ground, the sound of her laughter as silvery as the moonlight illuminating the night around them.

When they finally broke apart, Orion rested his forehead against hers, feeling even the last of the weight he’d carried fall from his shoulders.

“I missed you.”

Lizzie’s eyes softened at his whispered admission, gently touching her hand to his cheek. “I missed you, too.”

She kissed him again and rested her head against his chest, sighing deeply. She didn’t say anything for quite a while; so long, in fact, that Orion eventually grew uneasy.

“What’s the matter?”

Lizzie shook her head against his chest, her voice thick with emotion. “Do you know how good it feels, not having to hide anymore?”

She sounded so relieved, so full of emotions she hadn’t dared to show to the world, that Orion just let her have that moment, running her hand over her hair until the tension had left her body. When he was sure she was in a balanced state of mind again, he gently let go and took her hand.

“Come on,” he said. “There’s a place I wanted to show you.”

He led her to a willow tree right by the water, a little set back from the path. He came here often, both day and night, to meditate or let his thoughts wander. He sometimes brought Murphy along, but never her. Somehow, it was different now. Somehow, he didn’t want this to be only his spot anymore.

“Stars again, huh?” Lizzie said, remaining standing when Orion had already laid back in the grass with his hands crossed behind his head. His eyes wandered from the glinting firmament to Lizzie, lips curving into a smirk.

“You sound surprised.”

“Not really.”

With a sigh, Lizzie settled into his side. Head resting against his shoulder, she looked up at the glittering expanse above them. The sky was crystal clear, its inky vastness dusted with sparkling stars and gleaming planets. A smile formed on Lizzie’s face as she observed them, so peaceful that the stars seemed just a little less bright than a moment ago.

“Care to enlighten me on what’s making you smile?”

Lizzie laughed quietly, nestling her head into the crook of his neck. “I just thought that I can now stop pretending not to know my stars anymore.”

“You never had to in the first place.”

She didn’t reply, instead placing a hand on Orion’s chest, right above his heart. He covered it with his, still not quite daring to believe that this was truly happening, that this wasn't just a lucid, starlit dream. The idea made his head swim, the surrealness of it all threatening to overwhelm him. Willing his mind to be silent, he did his best to focus on what was right before him - the sky glittering above their heads, the water murmuring a couple of feet away, and the girl he had fallen in love with leaning into his side.

They lay like this for a while, stargazing, talking, sharing the occasional kiss and each other’s company. The universe turned above them, making it feel like they had fallen out of time itself when, eventually, the touch of Lizzie’s hand by his neck made Orion pull his shoulders up.

“You’re icy,” he muttered, capturing her hand between his as Lizzie immediately pulled away. “You should have said something.”

“I’m fine,” Lizzie said but - as if only now realising herself how cold she was - her teeth had begun to chatter. “I didn’t want this moment to end. I wish it was forever.”

“In some ways, every moment is forever. You just need to hold on to what’s dear to you.”

Turning one of the woven bracelets he wore around his wrist, Lizzie hummed thoughtfully. “What’s going to happen now?” “Whatever you want to happen,” Orion replied. Even now, there was a slight drop to his stomach as he considered her question. Choosing not to heed it, he rose to his feet, pulling her along with him. “But for now, I suggest we go back and get you near a fire.”

They walked back in silence, each following their own train of thought. Orion had his arm draped around Lizzie’s shoulder once more, hoping to provide her at least with a little of his warmth. She seemed comfortable by his side, albeit silent, but when the sheen of the bonfire appeared ahead of them and she slowed her steps, his doubts were there again all of a sudden, so strongly that, for a moment, Orion was sure he was dreaming after all and now it was time to wake up.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Lizzie mumbled, not looking at him but the firesheen ahead. “Everything just feels so surreal all of a sudden.”

The knot in Orion’s stomach tightened. “Do you want me to let go?”

“No,” Lizzie said hurriedly, reaching for his hand to keep it in place around her shoulder. “This is what I want.”

Her words were like a key unlocking the band that had closed around his chest once and for all. Not that his heart was lying open, free to breathe and grow and fly, he was willing to give it to her wholly.

“That’s fortunate, Chaser,” he smiled, “because no matter what the universe had planned for us, I don’t intend to let you go anytime soon.”

Lizzie raised her face and breathed a kiss against his lips, pulling him into her embrace. Sooner than Orion would have liked she let go and reached for his hand, walking ahead with a spring in her step, back toward the party, toward the light and life where their friends were waiting for her, for him, for… them.

Where everyone was waiting for them.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #orion amari #quidditch #hphmshipweek24 #lizzie jameson #that really was the last one though #promise #art of balance #aob

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