A/N: This is a LONG way outside my comfort zone - my first (and probably last, um) attempt at writing freeverse. It's for the Diversity Competition (I had to write some summer-themed poetry) and the OTP Freeverse Poetry Challenge (prompts 'beach', 'downpour' and 'future'), both on HPFC, and if not for these challenges, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't ever have written this. So don't judge too badly :) I'm not JKR.

they walk along the beach

handinhand;

content.

they hear [children]

playing and laughing,

the carousel

*t*i*n*k*l*i*n*g*

and the ~w~a~v~e~s~

(in and out)

calm and constant

so very different from the past year.

she thinks b.a.c.k...

.

in the {heat} of the battle

all she could feel

was a

d'

'o

w'

'n

p'

'o

u'

'r

of emotion

an indistinguishable mIxTuRe

of feelings

so different from the confusion

she normally felt around him

(was it real?

or was she only dreaming?)

.

they'd

\d/a\n/c\e/d\

around each other

for so many years

- one step forward

and two steps back - -

they were

|oblivious|

infuriatingly oblivious

.

but now

they'retogether

and the future's like the open sea:

VAST

_e_x_p_a_n_s_i_v_e_

(the past

is behind them.)

they belong together.

it couldn't be clearer.