AN: And here it is, finally. No more waiting, no more worrying. Right? :)
EDIT: Alright, here's where Time begins, simply because Distance was getting much too long. ;) Again, I apologize for spamming everyone's inbox!
96
Taylor
The rest of the day, and the morning after, left everyone in miserable disarray. The only expressions were ones of grief, pain, and sadness; the only movements were the occasional heave of a chest, and Ron's hand rubbing comforting circles on Hermione's back as she cried into his shoulder; and the only sounds were sobs and sighs.
Until the faint buzzing that shook Harry from his hollow state of solitude. He reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out his new phone. She'd bought it for him, Taylor had. Paid for the plan and hid it in his trunk after they'd boarded the Hogwarts Train.
That thought in itself led to a new wave of grief washing over him.
Sadly, and slowly, he pressed the talk button and put the phone to his ear, a hoarse 'hello' escaping his lips as he got up and walked into the hallway.
"Harry," He heard Sirius's voice, and the tone of it made him worry. It was urgent, as though it was the most important call in the world.
"Yeah…?" But the only call he wanted now was one telling him that his best friend was back from the dead.
"You need to get back here as soon as you can." He said seriously, the smallest tone of happiness in his voice.
How he could be happy in a time like this was beyond Harry.
But the words that followed quickly enlightened him.
I pushed my hair back, the warm water streaming down my numbed body. I was glad for the hot water, especially after the nearly freezing shower I'd had in the little motel.
I was also glad that I had thought to bring my shampoo with me, considering it seemed that Kreacher had stolen the hygiene products.
I waited for my body to thaw entirely before stopping the water flow. I dawned my baggy gray track pants and a yellow tank top before rubbing my towel over my head and brushing my hair. Due to being on 'break' – not that I would consider it that – I was unable to dry my hair with magic.
The room I was given contained not only my luggage, but what I assumed was Hermione and Ginny's as well. Their own whereabouts however, were a mystery to me. Sighing, I stared in the mirror and wondered how I was going to explain the happenings of the last 24 hours to everyone.
Just then however, I heard the door open downstairs. Curious, and longing for communication, I walked to the bedroom door. As I gripped the doorknob, I heard the stairs creak, and by the time I opened it completely, our guest had reached the open doorway.
Harry stood, stunned, his face red and his eyes wide.
He wrapped his arms around her without a second's hesitation, holding her to him fiercely and gripping the back of her shirt as he tried to prevent the tears from rushing to his eyes.
She was surprised at first, but silent, and she soon smiled softly, sadly, and returned the gesture. Her fingers threaded through his hair as his chest heaved, and his hand held the back of her head as he kissed it thankfully.
"I'm ok." She whispered lovingly, her hair smelling of fruit as it dampened his skin. "I'm alright."
"We…I…thought you were…"
"I know," She hushed, feeling the tears stinging her eyes at the thought. "But I'm ok Harry…we're ok…"
He pulled back, not releasing her, and she smiled up at him. His hands slid up to hold her face, and she placed her right hand over his, turning her head to kiss his palm.
The faintest of smiles graced his tired lips, and he leaned down to place them on hers. She wound her fingers through his hair again, the other resting on his jaw as she pulled him closer.
She was ok.
They were all ok.
We sat downstairs, at the dining room table, and I explained carefully what had happened; the ministry workers, the death eaters, the crash and everything else.
Harry and Sirius took it with hard expressions, and worried scowls.
I knew though, that they had only one person on their mind.
Voldemort was now at the top of our priority list – and this meant harsher training as soon as we returned to school. Assuming Umbridge didn't find out about 'Dumbledore's Army' and expelled all of us.
"Harry?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you have your phone on you?" I asked anxiously, after finishing my tale. "I need to…well, I need to call…"
"I got it," He offered a small smile, pulling his phone from his sweater pocket and handing it to me. "I take it yours died before you had a chance?"
"Yeah…"
He nodded, and I stood up from my chair as Dad scratched at the back of his neck. He didn't know Harry or Sirius all that well, but he would have to deal, as the phone call I had to make was one meant solely for my, and my contact's ears.
Stepping out into the hall, I punched in the number I knew off by heart, forwards, upside down, inside out and backwards.
It rung once, twice, three times as I ascended the first set of stairs, and by the seventh ring, I had reached my temporary room.
I began a steady decline into irritation until finally; I heard the phone pick up.
"Hello?"
Thank god! And I could hear her, instead of airport static.
"Alyssa…hey."
"Who is this?" Her voice was hoarse and soar, as though she'd been crying, and I felt my heart drop.
"'Lyssa…it's me. It's Tay,"
There was a pause, a moment of silence that turned the air cold.
"Whoever this is, it's not funny. I'm not in the f*cking mood."
Her voice grew more distant, unimpressed, upset, and in a moment of panic, I realized she was hanging up. She thought I was dead; and I was on Harry's phone so she wouldn't even recognize the bloody number!
"No! Alyssa! It's me! I swear to you, it's Taylor!"
"How?" She cried, and I winced at the sudden swing in tone. "Explain to me how exactly my dead best friend is calling me from a number I don't know!"
"I didn't get on the plane! Alyssa, I'm fine; me and Dad are with Padfoot. I tried calling from the airport, but – "
"Prove it." She demanded, sounding as though she was struggling to keep her composure.
"Prove it? Wha - ?"
"Tell me something only we would know. Prove to me that you're not just some asshole thinking that this is some hilarious f*cking joke."
"What…? What do you want me to say?" I asked, wishing this was easier. I knew regretfully that I had done this to her. I had hurt her like this, and now she didn't believe that I was alive.
"Something! Anything!"
It sounded like her attempts at keeping the tears at bay were failing, and I could hear sobs in her voice that pulled at my heart and made me want to cry with her.
"We've known each other for eleven years." I said quietly. "When we were ten, you had a crush on a boy named Jason. We have a party every year around this time, because we prefer having snowball fights over sun tanning." I let out a small, sad laugh, but gained nothing from her in response. "We had our first major fight this year," I offered, "It was over a boy; the one thing we promised we'd never do. And I missed my chance to say goodbye to you on the train; something I regret more than anything. Because I need to tell you that I'm sorry; for everything."
I waited a few moments, and wiped a stray tear from my cheek with the heel of my hand as the line became silent. I thought for a second that she had left, but her shaky breaths told me otherwise. I was thankful for that, at least.
"Me too…" She choked out, and I took a hopeful, deep breath. "I'm so sorry…Tay…I – I'm sorry! So – so sorry!" She was crying on the other line, and being unable to hug her close and prove to her that I was whole blurred my vision with salty tears. "The paper - ! I – it said the plane crashed and I couldn't tell you! You were gone and I couldn't tell you that I was sorry! That I don't care that you want to keep it to yourself and that I love you…!"
"I love you too Alyssa…" I smiled happily, my voice cracked as I spoke through my sobs. "I'm sorry I couldn't reach you sooner…I'm sorry you had to go through that…all of it. I tried calling from the airport, but all I got was static and bits and pieces of someone's voice – "
"You called…?"
"Yeah – someone picked it, but there wasn't enough service." I sniffed, rubbing my eyes. "Some guy…I couldn't make out who it was…are you still at Hogwarts?"
"N…no…"
"No…you're not at home though?"
"No, I'm not. Listen Tay, don't get upset, but – "
"Alyssa."
"Huh?" She stopped, and I bit my lip and took a shuddering breath.
"Alyssa, your parents were on the plane."
