Harry lay down on the soft mattress and pulled the thick duvet over himself, being careful not to disturb Ginny. A lock of her silky red hair got caught under his cheek as he put his head on the pillow. He lifted his head slightly and moved the hair, stroking it gently in his fingers for a moment before letting it rest with the other strands. He stroked them gently too. He loved watching her sleep, loved watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed softly and soundlessly.
Soundlessly…
Harry listened for a moment to the sounds around him. He could hear nothing, no pipes clanking as the water went through them, no dishwasher downstairs. He thanked silencing charms for a moment, glad that he never had to be bothered by any of those noises again. Harry smiled, the house was quiet and peaceful, silent, blissfully silent. It was music to his ears, and Harry lay still and listened to it, relishing the absence of noise.
He couldn’t remember the last time he heard absolute silence, certainly not at the Dursley’s with Aunt Petunia’s constant cleaning and shouting, or Hogwarts, with the murmuring portraits and ghosts and peeves. It was never silent at the Burrow, too many comings and goings for silence, and the ghoul in the attic. Nowhere that his Family lived was ever quiet, they all had children, who screamed and ran around just as much as James did.
He wondered if there was ever a time when everything had been silent all at once. Was it silent before the world began, before there was anything to make any noise? He supposed there must have been silence then, but how do you know if it is silent if there’s no one there to hear it?
Well whatever silence had happened before he was hearing it now, and he was relishing in it. The house had been so noisy of the past few days, what with visitors and family and laughter, Ginny cooking, sounds of children playing. None of these sounds were particularly bad, but if exposed to too much sound your brain goes into sound overload and you get a headache.
It’s sometimes nice to have a change, nice to hear something different, and this was different. Harry’s life had never been quiet, he’d lived in the fast lane, the lane full of adventure, full of noise and spells and shouting. It’s said that change is as good as a rest, and this change was definitely relaxing. He sighed happily, breaking the silence for a moment, but it was soon, back and he smiled. He closed his eyes, he was exhausted, and slipped into a peaceful doze.
Less that a minute later, or was it longer, Harry wasn’t sure, a noise disturbed him, it was quiet, but the volume was building. His eyes snapped open. As the noise grew Harry recognised it, he smiled. Harry glanced at the clock, 3.27 he laughed.
“Right on time.” Ginny stirred next to him. “I’ve got it.” He whispered, before getting up and going to fix James his bottle.
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