"Now boy, be good while we're gone." Said the severely corpulent man known as Vernon Durlsey as he walked towards the plain white bedroom door and into the hallway. "Please! I promise not to break or touch anything, just don't leave me like this!" Cried the teenager with feathery like ink black hair and startling emerald green eyes as he pulled on his shackles harshly, a wince breaking through his marred features as a small cut appeared, "Can't trust you." Grunted the watery blue eyed man. "Besides a couple day's without food won't harm you, you've handled it before." 'And I shouldn't have!' The teen wanted to reply but withheld lest he gain more injuries. "If you die you die, at least we'd be done with you and your kind, finally live a normal life." Vernon spat as he closed the door harshly, the clinking of chains could be heard and the young man knew that his uncle was locking the door thoroughly, an extra precaution Vernon had said. Harry – the young man, wasn't worried about food, or the lack there of. He was worried about his cuts, the cuts his uncle so painstakingly put on his face and body. They would soon become infected, deadly so and Harry didn't have any medical supplies near by. With the cuts and the infections soon to come and the lack of food, showers and a warm blanket he was soon to get severely sick or even die. He didn't want that, but then again … he did. He was so tired, he didn't want to fight in a war, he didn't want to be the one to kill Voldemort, he didn't want to go to school every year knowing he would have to fight and survive. He didn't want to live in an abusive family that treated him less like a house elf and he certainly did not want to be apart of a prophecy. He missed Sirius, he wanted to be with his mum and dad, he didn't and never wanted to be apart of the war, but he was. They only part that bothered him was the dying part. It scared him shitless. He accepted if he were to die, he just didn't want to hurt. He wanted it to be relatively pain free if it were possible. He hoped that if he were to die while the Dursley were gone for their two month vacation that it would be while he were asleep. If not, then he supposed he'd just have to accept it. He sighed aggrievedly and threw his bruised head back against the slim pillow. 'Where was the order!?' He questioned sullenly as he yanked the thick and heavy shackles for the thousandth time gaining the same progress as the many other efforts; nothing. He wondered if he would ever survive the two months, he was starting to get quite the fever after all and it hadn't been long since they left, he closed his eyes tiredly, as that was the only thing he could do. He was just happy that he had gotten Hedwig out in time, glad she hadn't gotten caged and starved as he did, she wouldn't have survived the first month in.
-O-
Two weeks. They've only been gone for two weeks and young Harry was already a shivering, sweating, pill of sickness. He groaned as he shifted in his sleep, the infection was worse then he though. The cut's he could see were located on his legs, some on his stomach, if he could look without being disgusted. The many cut's on his legs were black, inflamed and oozing with a yellowish puss. Some were even caved in, skin dipping down into the muscle giving irregular, bumpy skin. His once unblemished, pale, beautiful skin gone, leaving only one of disgust and dried blood. He whimpered as he awoke, body shivering heavily and sweat glistening his skin. The smell of his excrement's and dead flesh coating the once fresh, clean air. The corner of his lip twitched slightly, he hadn't been able to sleep for more then an hour each day. The death of Sirius Black, his godfather fresh in his mind from another round of horrific nightmares. Voldemort had used to send him visions, visions that left him in pain and crying out the very next day as he awoke, his scar inflamed and bleeding and his head pounding heavily, as if his brain wanted to break out from the confinements of his skull. But soon Voldemort had stopped, it was such an oddity but Harry wouldn't question it, he dared not to in case he decided to return. It was one less pain in his mind, why question it? He was starving though, oh was he. His stomach hurt so very much and he could count each of his rib bones if he wanted. He uncle had only supplied Harry with bottles and bottles of water, he had searched the internet one day and discovered that the human body could live up to 46 to 74 day's without food and live on water, that is if they were healthy, which Harry was definitely not. He couldn't even reach for the water, let alone drink it! A tear trickled down his check, hissing slightly when the salted tear fell into an opened cut. He'd never get to say goodbye to Ron or Hermione, not to Remus – his honorary godfather – nor apologize to Severus Snape, resident potions master of Hogwarts, his beloved home for looking into the man's pensieve. He had seen ghosts, of course he had, they invited him to their Deathday Party. They had unfinished business or refused to crossover. Harry decided he refused to crossover until he apologized to Snape, it was only right. He sighed heavily. His breathing irregular and his eyes bloodshot red. "I'm already thinking of my death." he mumbled hollowly. A raspy laugh escaped through his chapped lips, his eyes sparking with what little life it had left. In his mind, he was indeed thinking of Dumbledore's face when he found out his beloved boy-who-lived, saviour of the wizarding world, and prophesized child died, just like that, dead.
Had Harry been more coherent he would've noticed a presence in his room, and not just an ordinary presence. Someone he had longed to see, someone he'd give just about anything for to talk to, but he had succumbed to sleep, his aching bones relaxing slightly and his breathing evening out. The man stood there, watching with translucent tears trickling down his cheek. Silver eyes full of rage and pain, but not to the boy, for the boy. He shakily walked towards the sleeping teen, careful as to not wake him.
Sirius Black sat on the dirtied cot, love evident in his pain filled eyes. "Oh Harry," he spoke quietly, moving a stray hair from his face as gently as he could. "I'm so sorry…" A content smile appeared on Harry's lips as he heard the oh so familiar voice that he so longed to hear, though a frown soon followed after. "Not … your … fault…" He murmured, moving his head to the side, eyes still closed. "Not your fault…"
-O-
One month and two weeks.
Harry never let a sound escape his lips, not a grunt, not a whimper, not a mumble, nothing. Soon after the fifth week he had been chained to the bed he had sadly fell into a coma. A coma from where he dare not wake from, he didn't want to. Everyday, Sirius sat there, waiting. Expecting. Worrying. His adoptive son was dying. Dying slowly and hopefully not as painfully. A humourless laugh escaped his lips. "Hey pup," he greeted softly, as he did ever other day. "me again, Padfoot. I suppose you don't know why I'm here. Do you?" Sirius spoke as tears stung his eyes, threatening to fall at any given moment. "You're dying. I'm sorry Harry, pup. You're dying and I can't stop it. I'm here to come and get you, I've been waiting. Waiting and it's agonizing because I'm watching you die. I never wanted you to die. I never wanted you in this stupid bloody war, it's been going on long before you came, you shouldn't be fighting for it. Let alone placed in this disgusting place." He paused, a dry smile on his lips, tears spilling over. "Lily's mad. Well, mad's an understatement. She's murderous. I mean, you're her little boy Prongslet. She wanted to come down and kill Petunia, Albus, and the rest. James isn't much better. He cried. The last time he cried was your birth." Sirius laughed. "He was so happy to see you. So ecstatic. They wanted to come and get you but death decided against it," He sighed wiping the tears away. "death's real. Unlike life, it decided that since you've known me longer I should go, since you want to see me more…" Sirius continued to babble, not knowing that Harry had heard each and every word. It never would've mattered if his parent's came to get him, he would've been equally just as happy. But Sirius was there, he was waiting for him. Waiting for him to die. Harry knew he didn't have that much time left, a day tops. The nightmare's stopped. Now he just floated. Floated into an inky black abyss. He didn't feel the pain of his stomach demanding food, or the badly infected cut's that littered all over his pale, blooded, bruised, and disfigured body. He didn't know that his skin had grown over the shackles. Nor did he know his heart was slowing with each breath he took. He was correct that by tomorrow he would be dead. He didn't mind, he accepted it with open arms. He would talk to Severus and then move on into the next great adventure. A whimsical smile appeared on his lips, or what felt like his lips. 'Next great adventure my ass.' Harry thought with a slight scoff. 'Destiny has it out for me, I swear.' "Well Pup," cut in Sirius, ripping him from his musings. "I'll … I'll be back later to check on you. I bet you wonder where I go." Sirius paused, a grim smile apparent on his face. "I go and check on everyone. Dumbles is being his regular lemon sucking happy self. Remus though, isn't fairing to well. Last I seen him he looked like shite. Wouldn't put down the fire whiskey. Moony rarely drank, he was the mature one out of all of us, of course you know that though…" Sirius trailed off, Harry would've thought he left if not for the fact that he still felt his familiar and comforting presence. "I … I love you Harry." his beating heart constricted. He wished dearly that he could've said, 'I love you too!' but he couldn't, his mouth wouldn't work. He felt a warm sensation on his forehead before Sirius' presence disappeared. 'A kiss…' he thought, a bright smile on his lips, had Sirius stayed for a moment he would've seen that smile. 'He kissed me on my forehead…'
It had been four hours later when Harry felt it. It felt like the breath had been knocked out of his lungs, his chest and heart constricting and a harsh sting left in place. A gasped escaped his previously closed lips. The air wouldn't come, his heart wouldn't beat. The beating of his heart became irregular, barely beating before it stopped. A dull stinging left in his lungs from lack of oxygen. He didn't feel any different. He just felt … odd. Lighter. He opened his eyes slightly surprised, his didn't hurt, he didn't feel hungry. He sat up slowly, rubbing his head tiredly. But again, he was frozen in place.
He could move his hands.
He looked behind him, surprise soon overcome with horror. He was staring down at his body, eyes closed and lips parted slightly. He had very ugly infected wounds inflicted all over his face, he was barely recognizable. He screamed loudly, pushing himself off the bed, the sounds of shackles soon following. "What the…" He mumbled, lifting his right hand up, realizing that he did indeed have those horrid shackles still attached to his transparent form. The corner of his lips twitched slightly as he stood up, his body looked horrible. He was just glad his skin wasn't attached to the shackles anymore… He moved to the darkest corner of his room, never taking his eyes off the dead body that had been his own. It looked like he was merely asleep, dreaming. But he knew he wasn't. He was dead. He shuddered, he never wanted to experience that ever again. He felt like he was drowning in fire…
It had been an hour before Sirius appeared and Harry did nothing except watch his body. He dared not move, he dared not blink, he was afraid to after he seen a black smoke like substance screech as if in pain as it escaped from his empty body and into the chilling air. He was afraid something else would leave from him if he did look away. "Pup?" Sirius called, making Harry's head snap up in surprise. 'He came back!' "Sirius?" He questioned in a soft, lost voice. Making Sirius stop midstep, "Harry?" Sirius replied in a broken voice that made Harry's own heart break. He stepped from the shadows, his shackles following, clinking together and dragging against the floor heavily. "It's … It's me Siri. I died." The curly haired man known as Sirius Black turned around and faced Harry, eyes full of pain as he seen and heard the familiar shackles. "Oh Harry," Sirius cried, dragging his godson into a much needed hug. A hug that they could both feel. "I missed you," replied Harry, hugging Sirius as if he would disappear at any given moment. "I heard everything you said, every single one." tears overflowed in Harry's electric green eyes as sobs wracked his now scarred translucent body. "I missed you too pup, so, so much. I'm just so heartbroken that we had to meet again this way. I was hoping we would see one another when you were old and wrinkled like a prune." Harry laughed. "I'm just … I'm just glad I don't have to fight anymore Sirius … as you said, it was never my war. I was just thrown into it." Sirius smiled sadly, nodding slight. "Shall we go pup? Lily and James can't wait to see you again."
"Can we make a stop first? I need to tell Snape something and someone needs to know about my body before the Dursley's get rid of it…" He trailed off hesitantly as if he would anger Sirius with that simple question. Sirius in question ignored the hesitation and nodded. "I'll take you there Prongslet, just hold up. I need to say bye to Remus so I'll give you some time, alright?" He questioned, wrapping his arm around the small teen's neck. "Alright." Harry replied, smiling softly. "Tell Remus I said goodbye too and that I … you know … love him."
The silver eyed man's eyes softened before he nodded his head and disappeared with the spirit of Harry James Potter quietly, one would think Harry and Sirius hadn't been there in the first place, had it not been for the body of said teen.
-O-
"It looks like an Order meeting. Are you sure?" The man beside him questioned quietly as if to remain inconspicuous. Harry nodded solemnly. "Moony's probably in there so we'd both get to say our words."
With a reluctant sigh Sirius stepped forward, "Fine you in before me. Wait, wait, wait. How should we do this? If we gotta go in I want to prank one last time! But you're … err … chains are quite loud. They'd notice us."
The green eyed teen shook his head with a fond smile. "I can quiet them if you want. I'll go in fist and make myself less translucent, they'd have a heart attack! Wondering how I got there." He finished chuckling. "Alright, I'm going." Harry stepped forward, missing the grin that appeared on the older pranksters face. He walked through the wooden door and wards that surrounded the order meeting, remaining unnoticed.
"What about Harry? Anything odd?" Questioned the voice of Albus Dumbledore. 'Ahh … perfect timing.' He thought with glee before solidifying. "What about me?" He questioned innocently, tilting his head to the side slightly.
"Potter!" Growled the familiar voice of Severus Snape as everyone quieted down. All eyes boring into him. "How did you get here! Why are you here?" Severus ground out, eyes narrowing. "He's here with me." Came a reply that made many throughout the room gasp in shock and disbelief. "You're dead!" Cried Remus Lupin, tears leaking down his broken face. "I am." Sirius replied with a small smile. "Then … if you're dead … and you're with him…" Hermione cut in, her eyes full of worry before realization overcame that worry. "No!" She cried standing up. "NO! YOU CAN'T BE!" "Can't be what 'Mione?" Ron replied, bewildered.
"Dead." Harry replied calmly, a sad smile on his lips. "I'm dead." Many cried of outrage and shock echoed throughout the room. "Preposterous!" Spat Severus standing up and moving towards the entity. "You stop this lie right now boy! Obviously this is some sort of prank! The mutt is dead, Potter. He didn't come back as a ghost, we would've known." He finished, reaching out to grab the small teen, surprise evident in his eyes as his hand flew through the scarred body.
"I assure you," Harry replied in a serious manner before moving towards the front, heavy rusted chain's trailing after him, attached to the shackles around his wrists. "I'm very much dead, Sirius has come to … get me … But I wanted to say goodbye, so did Siri."
A sob broke through the quietness. "Harry!" Hermione cried, sclera tinged pink. "How?"
"How?" He replied calmly, Sirius beside him as he reached the front, right beside Albus Dumbledore whom was as pale as could be. "I was chained to my bed and wall the day I got home from school…" he trailed off eyeing each and every one of them. "They," he spat vehemently. "Left me there with only water. I could barely lift up my own arm with all the wounds I had, how could I drink something like water? It was maybe the fourth week, I don't really recall. I forgot I suppose. But Sirius appeared." He smiled at his godfather, love clear in his eyes. "He said he came to get me. To free me. He stayed with me until I died. I died today, hours ago. I was in a coma until then." He finished shrugging as if his death wasn't that big of a deal. "I just came here to say my goodbye and to tell you guys about my body, and one question." Tears fell from the familiar faces of the Weasley's, Tonks, Remus, Hermione, and Minevra McGonagal.
"What your question my boy?" Albus asked softly, the twinkle in his eyes barely there. "Why?" Harry questioned, not even hesitating. "Why didn't anyone hear me? Hear my pleas? I cried, screamed for someone, anyone. Nobody heard me. I knew I was left for dead but why?" No one answered, they didn't have an answer for him. Many looked down in shame, shame at not hearing the young man's pleas before it was to late. "I…" Harry sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. "Hermione, Ron. You were the best brother and sister I've ever had, the best friends I've ever had, albeit the only friends I've ever had, but then again, the only friends I've ever needed. Mr and Mrs Weasley, you were the best parental figure I've ever had and your children should be grateful for having people as loving as you." Hermione cried harder, sobs wracking her body as she held onto Ron as if her life depended on it. Ron's face was ashen, his eyes glazed with unshed tears trying to stay strong for his now only friend Hermione. "Sirius go say your goodbyes." Harry replied nudging Sirius in Remus' direction, Sirius nodded and walked hesitantly over to the only marauder left. "Now where was I…" Harry trailed off, clearing his throat. "Ah! Professor Severus Snape." He said in a whisper yet the whole room heard it. "I deeply, from the bottom of my heart apologize for looking into your pensieve. I'm appalled at my dad's behaviour. I hate bullies, why I never accepted Malfoy's friendship. But remember Snape, you keep telling me I'm just like him, my dad. But I'm not. I'm not pampered, I'm not arrogant, and I certainly am no bully. You on the other hand are. You've bullied me since first year and I hadn't had a clue as to why. I didn't even know I was magical until Hagrid came! What makes you think I know the answers to the question's in a higher level? Remember this Snape, James Potter may be my father…" He trailed off, eyes narrowing slightly, ignoring the pained look on the old potions master's face. "Lily Evans is also my mother." He finished. Severus flinched, as if he had just been struck. His face contorted into a look of pain and regret. "I'm sorry." He whispered, "And you're forgiven." Harry replied just as quiet, a soft smile on his lips. "It's time to go, Sirius?" He questioned, looking in Remus' direction. Sirius looked at Harry with a grin, "Yesss?" He drawled, translucent tears trailing down his cheeks. "Ready to go?" The black haired teen questioned softly, eyes softening as he looked at Remus. Sirius nodded, giving Remus one more fond smile before walking towards the direction where Harry was waiting at. "What about the prophecy?" Cut in Albus, looking slightly alarmed. "What about it?" Sirius replied sharply. "Barely anyone follows them! There's thousands being said everyday Dumbles!" He growled, eyes glinting in rage. "He won't follow shite all, he won't be your bloody martyr. He's no warrior he's a teenager! And guess what? Lily and James are quite angry with you." He finished with a ferocious grin. "Remember how they wanted to move out of England? How they didn't believe in that rubbish? How you convinced the not too?" A bark like laugh escaped Sirius. "Screw you, you old codger, kill him yourself, you made him." As soon as Sirius finished that statement cries of 'What's!' could be heard throughout the room. "What does he mean 'You made him.' Albus?" Questioned Minevra, eyes narrowing suspiciously, anger evident in her strict eyes. "We'll let you talk about this after I leave … collect my body will you? Or else the Durlsey's will burn it or something." Harry cut in, wrapping his arm around Sirius' waist. "And remember Moony," He said softly, as he felt his body lighten, a warmness spreading throughout his translucent body. "you'll always be my honorary godfather." Harry and Sirius soon disappeared in a blinding flash, leaving the occupants in the room blinking rapidly, tears still trailing down there reddened cheeks. "Goodbye Harry…" Murmured Hermione, raising her wand, the tip of her wand burning with a dull light, many followed after…
The soft whisper of "Goodbye…" could be heard throughout the quiet room as they mourned the death of the boy-who-lived, friend and brother...