October 7, 1889 - Hogsmeade, Harvest Dance

Ever since the fog last year Asha had been wary of venturing to Hogsmeade, one never did know when one would be stranded there after all. But the inaugural Harvest Festival was definitely bound to have something newsworthy happening. As such Asha had rented a room, assuring himself that it could be no worse than a cursed flat that had haunted him that spring, and traveled to Hogsmeade, camera in hand.

Having made the rounds earlier and capturing several of the events on camera, Asha had felt he deserved a break. What better way to enjoy an evening in Hogsmeade than with a dance? This in mind Asha made his way to where the event had been set up and began to mingle.

It was nice to be social, to speak with others outside of his group of friends. The last year had been something of an up and down (although to be fair, with him they always were) and seeing people mingling and having fun was refreshing. Perhaps this evening he’d ignore his worries and find a merry gal to dance the evening away with.

Asha was finishing the pumpkin punch (spiked as all good punch was) when he spotted a face he recognized from his last trip to Hogsmeade. How could he have forgotten her? The woman who had steered him through the fog, who had set him on his course to travel to Irvingly in quest of heroics rather than in pursuit of photos (the fact that she had also been the one to break his camera and therefore make it necessary to do so had long since faded from his mind). He had thought to see her at the Ministry the handful of times he had been there in the past year but she hadn’t been on duty those times. But here she was.

Asha walked over to her a smile on his face. “Good evening, Sarah.” In his mind she was always just ‘Sarah’. Her last name had long been forgotten. He bowed to her, as close to a picture of a gentleman as he could be.

  

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Amazing Elaine set!

The harvest season might have engendered despondent thoughts in her, if she ruminated too long on it - but then Sarah might find misery in the passing of any season, and somehow her misery flourished more with every year.

She had determined, as usual, to have fun and count her blessings and see that she couldn’t soak up the high spirits from elsewhere in the room, the hall looking so lively as it did. She had already been smiling in spite of herself before she saw him, but the sight of a face she had resolutely not forgotten, actually in the flesh after all this time, saw her spirits ascend quite rapidly. 

And somehow he had remembered her. “Asha from the fog!” Sarah exclaimed delightedly, throwing herself forwards to embrace him as she might an old friend, before she quite digested that although a great deal of time had passed since their last encounter, they were technically little better than strangers. Acquaintances at best. She didn’t even know his last name!

Well, too late, she had hugged him (he was a little tall for her to manage it, but she had given it her best try), though she withdrew hastily and wound her hands behind her back in nervous contrition. “You must forgive me,” she said, hoping that he wouldn’t be annoyed or offended, after his gentlemanly greeting. (Besides, she still hadn’t forgotten breaking his camera.) “I’m only pleased to see you, after all this time! I half-thought I had made you up.” She laughed faintly. That day of darkness had been a singular experience, something hard to set into place in the real world.

But here he was, in the real world, alive and well and looking much as he had when she had at last glimpsed him in the light.

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Asha chuckled, ‘Asha from the fog’ had a sort of ring to it that his surname rather lacked. But it was the exuberance and warmth of her arms around him that had Asha breaking into a grin. “In the flesh.” He agreed as she pulled away, an easy comradery still remaining between them. Apparently getting lost in the dark streets during a fog storm was something that bonded one on a more friendly level than otherwise might have.

“No need to apologize.” He brushed the comment off with a gesture of his hand. “Now I know that I had not made you up either.” It was more proof than he needed, simply her smile was enough to assure him.

Smiling down at her beautiful face Asha almost found himself lost for words and remembered just in time. “How have you been?” After all it had been more than a year since he had seen his angel of the fog.

  

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Amazing Elaine set!

In the flesh: yes, yes, here he was. He was tall and lean and his skin was so warm that she might have melted right into him if she had allowed herself a split-second more before pulling back. But that would be ridiculous. She barely knew him.

He didn’t seem particularly cross about it, at least, and seemed as cheerful as he had in the pitch darkness, and he had at least remembered her, since he had approached her. It made Sarah feel a little better for overreacting at the sight of him - she knew it was silly to have thought of him as much as she had since; and it would be more silly still to admit it. All the same, she could feel that gladness spilling out in her smile, and his - his was almost magnetic. She might have looked for days.

She looked down at her feet for a moment to fight a strange little flush, and then glanced back up to answer his question. “Oh, as well as ever,” Sarah replied as serenely as she could manage, grateful that he didn’t know her, because then he would believe her lies about her life, and being well. Those that knew her best could see the cracks in it, and the holes in her that got hollower ever year. Freddie was the same as ever, by which she meant restless and bored, and more interested in everything but her; she was perfectly fine. Certain things, like the fact that she had nearly poisoned herself in desperation for a baby, were not what one might call mentionable. She gave a light laugh instead. “Hogsmeade has been much less eventful since the fog cleared.”

She meant to cast her gaze around the room to be sure of where her husband was, but she almost couldn’t bring herself to look away, in case Asha disappeared again. “But what about you? How have you been? Better than when I broke your camera, I’m sure,” she pressed jovially. He had crossed her mind plenty of times over the months, but she had grown almost scared to try and seek him out, almost afraid - selfishly, quite selfishly - it would ruin the illusion. If she didn’t ask, and didn’t look, Asha would not need to have a last name and a life, might stay in her head where he now belonged.

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"I'm glad to hear that." And Asha was earnestly glad to hear she had been well. She seemed like a woman who deserved to have a life full of laughter and smiles and well being. Quite the opposite of his own circumstances, but he did try to make the best out of all things that were thrown his way.

Asha's chuckle echoed her own. "I can imagine." After all the fog was an incident that one hoped only happened once in one's life. It had lent itself to a great deal of adventure, however, even before Asha had joined the group to head to Irvingly. One simply hadn't known what was to be expected.

And what of him? How to sum up what had happened in the months since he had last seen Sarah was a chore. He'd ventured into a cursed casino, almost been pummeled to death by a boulder, eloped and annulled said elopement, and had lived in a cursed flat. Instead of mentioning any of these things Asha instead responded with, "Well enough, although I admit I would be even better if you were to allow me to take you for a turn on the dance floor." He grinned at her offering her his hand.

  

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Amazing Elaine set!

There was something so terribly sincere about him, the way he talked. Honest, and open, and kind. All he’d said was he was glad to hear it, but somehow it felt like more in his tone, carried all the warmth he did. Or Sarah was imagining things, getting carried away with herself.

She had not gotten carried away with herself in a very long time. Optimistic though she was, it felt as though the last several years of her life, and her family’s lives, had forced her to some degree of realism: to tamp down her expectations, close the shoebox lid on wild fancies and live with feet firmly planted on the ground. One had to be grateful for what one had, and accept heartbreak and tragedy when it came. It did not do to ask for more.

But it was not getting carried away to indulge in simple, harmless pleasures like this conversation, was it? Sarah couldn’t fathom how it could be, though she felt a twinge of guilt anyway. And a dance was no worse than a conversation - he had just offered his hand to her so brightly - and even a single dance, she thought, would make the evening worth the coming.

She wanted wholeheartedly to say yes, and put her hand in his, but she couldn’t quite believe that he would want to. There was a room full of lovelier, livelier people, after all, pretty girls in carefully handsewn dresses, with charming smiles and bright futures. And what was she? A Trelawney at best. But how to express that, and how to refuse him when he had phrased it so kindly? “Well... if you’re quite sure you want to,” she replied, trying to make a joke of it as she hesitantly moved to take his hand. “I suppose it is the sake of the evening, after all,” she said with a smile, mostly to convince herself, “and Fred won’t mind.” (He’d not be dancing with her as long as he had a drink in his hand.)

And she did like dancing.

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“Quite.” Asha put in as she paused before placing her hand in his. He indeed could think of nothing that would make him happier than enjoying a few moments with a beautiful woman such as Sarah.

Fred? Asha was thrown for a moment at the name. He had of course noticed her wedding band the last time he had seen her, but it hardly seemed important at the time. Or since, to be honest. It was merely a dance, a friendly conversation. Asha, afterall, was still a married man - despite the misadventures of this past winter. It was different to know of a thing and not think of it (as many of his friends did when it came to Mrs. Bilton) then to hear the name and have it jarringly reminded to him. It was only a reminder that had caught him off guard, nothing more than that. Why should it be? He reminded himself.

Instead of ruminating on Fred, Asha smiled and led her to the floor, content to make Sarah smile and to enjoy the evening with her (and not just memories). “Well if it is the sake of the evening, I suppose we shall have to.” Asha replied jovially spinning her into line as they reached the other dancers for the jaunty tone that had begun, a lively and spritely dance that Asha hoped he would be able to master with more ease than perhaps he expected.

  

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Amazing Elaine set!

Her reluctance passed more swiftly than she had meant it to, but it was hard to be reluctant when there was a hothouse full of butterflies in her stomach, a flutter in the pace of her heartbeat that couldn’t be from the dancing, because they hadn’t begun yet.

She took in a deep breath before they did, and then they were off, the hall bursting into motion, lines and figures and forming archways with fingertips for pairs to run through. In a matter of moments, she felt sixteen again, able to shed a layer of shyness in a dance that she had forgotten she was able to.

The other benefit of dancing here was that being poised just across from Asha gave her the excuse of looking at him - innocently - without the added pressure of conversation, leaving Sarah free to imagine things about him as she pleased, and to take his hand from time to time when the dance required it. The dance was quick, but still she felt there was less room for missteps here than in most things. When she took his hand again for the next sequence, she gave it a small squeeze - in gratitude, she thought, for asking her. In some sort of confidential, conspiratorial feeling.

“Do you like dancing?” She murmured to him with a grin when she neared his side for a moment during it, and was able to speak over the bright music.

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It turned out that the steps Asha hardly remembered came back to him easily enough, all he needed to do was follow the others around them - which left him with decidedly little time to take in Sarah (or to converse with her). Had dancing always been so tiring? Asha found himself wondering as he attempted to keep his breathe (and wits) about him. But he smiled and grinned and follow each formation until his hand's found their way back into Sarah's.

In that moment Asha could only think of one answer for her hastily asked question. "Yes." And it was true enough. With Sarah, dancing breathlessly across the floor, he could only believe that he found dancing agreeable. While he had little time to take her in he was left with the lasting impressions of her smile, her eyes on him, her blond hair, her gown swirling.

Finally the music wound down and Asha found her coupled with him again. He laughed, feeling exhilarated from the movement. "I take it you do too." He observed, continuing their half started conversation as he led the way back off the dance floor.

  

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Amazing Elaine set!

If she had had second thoughts before the dance, they had long since fled by the time they came to a stop. She half wished that it hadn’t ended. But what could she do, except treasure those three minutes going forward more than she had any right to?

“Is it that obvious?” She said, biting her lip to quell the grin as she followed him from the centre of the room, almost tempted to keep hold of his hand despite having no excuse to. Of course it was: a mere dance had delighted her. (She supposed this was a terrible indictment of how ungrateful she was for the rest of her life. Perhaps she wasn’t hiding the sorrow so well anymore.)

She could feel a telling flush coming to her cheeks the longer she looked at Asha again, and for a horrible second felt sure her husband would happen to wander back their way this very moment, see Sarah’s face and be able to read her immediately, back to front, inside out. She and Fred may not always see eye to eye, but they had been married long enough, and she had never been hard to read.

“Although I could use a bit of fresh air,” she admitted with a telling exhale, to try and explain away the blush. It was warm in here, and the dancing had made her warmer. There need be nothing else in it. A moment outside would be all that was required.

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From the look on her face it was obvious even as they left the dance floor just how much she enjoyed the activity. "It is." Asha told her with a smile that indicated that it wasn't a bad thing.

"Of course."After such an activity could hardly fault her for it. He led her through the crowd to the relative peace of outside. The evening air held a chill of the winter in it, but Asha found he didn't mind. Above them stars shined as they did anywhere outside of London. "I always this evenings this time of year are lovely." Asha admitted taking in a deep breathe of fresh air. "Especially when I'm not in London." A rueful grin crossed his lips.

  

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Amazing Elaine set!

She was glad the world was turning to autumn, and that they were not faced with the close heat of the height of summer; as soon as they stepped outside the hall the slight chill in the air cooled her cheeks.

The fresh air did not do much for her lightheaded feeling, but perhaps she had been asking too much of it. Instead, she glanced up at the sky briefly - clear enough to see the stars; later at night and yet not nearly so dark as when they had first met - and then tilted her head at him. “They are,” she murmured in agreement, and then leaned back against the wall outside, tucking her hands between her back and the bricks as some physical reminder to hold herself back. In spite of that, her mouth betrayed her, and the sentence that came out was not nearly casual enough. “Maybe you should come to Hogsmeade more often.” She wished he would.

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Her words surprised him, but even in the dim light Asha was sure she could see the smile cross his lips. He was a fool, he knew, he had seen the band on her finger, he knew his own past, but of the years between him and his own entrapments this was the happiest he remembered feeling. "Perhaps I should." He agreed thoughtfully. "It would likely do me a world of good." He added, realizing his gaze lingered much to long on Sarah's face.

  

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Amazing Elaine set!

“Not just you,” Sarah said softly, before she could stop herself. It had been a selfish request, though maybe he hadn’t known it - all she wanted in this moment was the surety that she would see him again.

Well, not quite all she wanted, not with his eyes on her like that, so... unpretentiously, and a smile curving on his mouth that she couldn’t stop looking at. She had shifted forwards a fraction, no longer anchoring herself against the wall, and she almost let herself go further.

But it would only be using him, wouldn’t it? Using the pleasure of having someone’s attention - someone as warm and kind and natural as Asha was - to assuage the worst feelings in herself. She shouldn’t. She hoped he didn’t know what she was thinking.

“I -” she said abruptly, tearing her gaze away. “I should go.” Never mind that she’d suggested coming out here, never mind that she’d said he should come to Hogsmeade, just... never mind. There was no sense in making a mess out of a happy evening. Seeing him again had been enough, she told herself. More than enough.

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Her words warmed Asha and he smiled back. He wasn't a fool, he had seen her ring, knew his own situation all too well. But there was something in her gentle admission, something in her smile, that made him want to pretend none of that existed. That it was only Sarah and him in this world together.

He might have acted on such thoughts if Sarah hadn't hastily excused herself. Leaving Asha to stare after her and wonder just what he had done wrong. It was his luck, he supposed, things such as this did end this way after all. At least when they happened to men named Asha Bilton.

  

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Amazing Elaine set!