"Remember how we were like gold."
22nd August 1998
“So… you know that fish and chip shop I said I was always obsessed with, well I’ve managed to get a job there and I’ve been working like 40 odd hours a week on minimum wage. Which is really good…because I’ve managed to save quite a lot for mine and Justin’s trip down under, we’re supposed to be going to New Zealand and we’re doing a lot of Australia too…also I’ve been down to London more than I’d have ever expected. Hannah and Neville love having us round and we’re always off to museums, Daphne is obsessed with the V and A but trying to get Neville, Hannah, and Clary to leave the natural history museum is literally impossible. And some days me and my parents go on hikes around the Lakes which is also pretty amazing.”
Ernie told him, he once again found himself sitting beside James’ grave basically giving him the run down about what had been going on. It had become a routine of his and somehow it was the most helpful thing he’d began to do. Somehow, slowly he could feel himself coming back, viewing everything that had happened with less sadness and more acceptance. It was something he wished had never happened, but the fact remained it had. Now he hoped he’d be able to begin to move forward, he would never forget but he started to view the memories less as bittersweet but as more moments that were now gold. They were more precious to him than anything he possessed.
“But yeah, I’m flying to Auckland in two days. And since I haven’t packed much up yet… which is quite unlike me, but it seems that between finishing my last shifts and going to museums and seeing everyone before we go… I haven’t had a lot of time to pack. So…it will probably be a while before I see you again. I’m sorry about that but I think I have to live a bit for both of us and make some memories. I have also got a place at University in Sydney, I’ve decided to study Transfiguration and Potions which sounds like both your dream and worst nightmare, but I think it will be good or at least I hope so. I think I’ll come back to see everyone at some point, but it won’t be for a while… so I hope you don’t mind. Hannah promised me she’ll always bring you flowers, and I know she’ll keep that promise.”
As he knew he would he began to feel his eyes burning but he stubbornly wouldn’t let his tears fall. “So, I’ll see you soon Jem.”
Ernie then pressed a kiss to his hand and placed it on top of the marble tombstone. He then stood up onto his two feet and walked hesitantly out of the graveyard. He didn’t want to leave that time knowing how long it would be before he could visit again, but he knew it’s what James would’ve wanted for him. He’d have wanted him to be happy and found something new, found some happiness somewhere else. He just knew he wouldn’t find it at Hogwarts. But that was fine.
He knew he couldn’t go back to the past. Sometimes he wished he could change it; wizards had once been able to do so. However, he knew that wouldn’t have been right. He knew that sometimes things were best left in the past. At least in the past his memories would remain untainted, they would remain golden. And it was best that way. He hoped one day he’d be able to look back at the past and realise how incredibly lucky he had been. He had experienced with James a love that some people don’t get in a lifetime. And maybe it was better than way, the past would be left perfect and intact and the future was his to grasp.