Starry skies and Gardenias

Chapter 181

He recognized the place as the grounds of Hogwarts. Near the lake. The water was glistening in the sunlight, and the mallow grass swayed in the breeze like satin.

It seemed as though he was meant to be there all along. 

There was a figure in the distance. A girl he knew too well.

"Isa!" he cried, breaking into a run.

The girl turned around to watch him sprint towards her.

"Please, don't leave today," he begged, not daring to reach his hand out to touch her, scared that she would vanish again.

Her hair blew in the fine and her lips curved into a small smile.

"Will you talk today?" he pleaded. "Please, talk to me, Isabella. I need to hear you. Or I might just go insane,"

"Have you ever wondered," the girl said and his eyes went wide. He had seen her countless times in his dreams but she had never uttered a word.

"That if you did hear me you might have actually gone insane?"

"I don't care!" he cried, barely holding in the urge to embrace her.

"I don't care. I'd go insane if it means I get to be with you," he said.

"That's dangerous," Isabella told him, her hair framing her face perfectly as it blew in the wind. The fabric of her pale blue dress fluttered slightly.

"You should be able to stand on your own," she said.

"It is your fault," he snapped. "It's your fault that you've done this to me. You had to be so incredibly beautiful. Inside and out, how could I not fall for you?"

"You're feeling guilty," Isabella said, turning her gaze away. "There is no need for you to,"

"I lost you," he breathed. "I lost you. I think I've lost everything,"

"There are better things worth living," she said simply.

"But you were the best, Isa," he said, his voice constricted.

Isabella gave a low tinkling laugh, a laugh he adored so much. He was wrestling with his urge to touch her. 

"You asked me to leave," she said quietly.

"No! No, no, no!" he cried. "I was angry. I was worried. I wasn't thinking straight. I didn't want you to leave. I never wanted you to leave,"

"I know," she sighed. "I know, and that's fine,"

". . .Can I stay here forever, then?" he asked desperately. "With you?"

"No," Isabella said bluntly. "This is no place for you. You obviously have to go back,"

"But you won't be there," he argued. "What use is me going there if you aren't there?"

"Plenty, I would say," she said promptly. 

"I'm still waiting, Isa," he said as his heart burned with agony. "You promised. I'm still waiting,"

"Sorry for doing this to you," she said quietly and he panicked as the scene began to dissolve.

"And thank you for all that you've done,"

"No! NO! Don't go! Don't leave!" he cried. "Isa, please! Don't leave me!"