Title: That Summer
Author: Reija Linn (T'Reija)
Email/Feedback: theganan@gmx.de or thiari@theganan.de
Archive: The Potter Slash Archive, ff-net. Others please ask beforehand and leave the full header intact.
Originally posted: hpslash list
Codes: Harry/Bill, slash
Rating: [R]
Summary: The Dark Lord has risen, and sorrow at a deep loss bonds Harry and Bill together.
Spoilers: Haven't read the books? Do so. Right away. Do not eat, sleep or pause until you're finished. Then come back.
Warnings: male/male sexuality and/or relationship(s) featured within. Don't like, don't read, don't flame. Simple really, though seemingly not simple enough for some dim witted clots out there. Also, this is not a nice story. Character Death, and insanity featured within. If you prefer the fluffy kind, please read on of my other stories instead - most of them are.
Legal disclaimer: I never have, nor ever will, owned the rights to the setting of the Harry Potter books or the characters featured within. The use of said settings and characters by me is for non-commercial purposes only and does not mean to infringe upon the given legal rights that belong to Mrs. J.K.Rowling and those she has associated them with.
Notes: I've been wanting to put this story up on ff.net for over a year, now, and I always told myself I'd spellproof it thoroughly beforehand as well as remove some slight discrepancies. However, I haven't managed to do so for over a year, and since this has by far been my most popular (and longest) story, I'm putting it up with only minor changes from the way it was originally posted on the hpslash mailing list. Please forgive any left over typing errors and such. I hope to find the time some day to go through it again and upload a more professionally made copy.
THAT SUMMER
By Reija Linn (November 2001)
Harry
Winter had passed. But though the last of winter's cold was replaced with the soft, warm rain of April, and finally the warm spring sun of May and July, the world had become a dark and uncomfortable place to live in. We were no longer allowed to visit Hogsmeade on the weekends, or even leave not only the school grounds, but the very school building alone. Voldemort had, once again, risen to power, and all around us, the wizarding world was falling apart.
Draco Malfoy had left the school after Christmas, and had not returned. I had never liked him much, but I could never forget the look of sorrow on his face, and for the first time I wondered, if his talk all through the years had not been just that - talk. We all knew he was leaving for good, and we all knew where he was going, but no one, not even Dumbledore, could do anything about it. Deep in my heart, behind all the hatred we had shared over the years, I wished him well, and wished that he may escape the dark, may escape the grasp his father held over him.
Laughter had become a rarity, but then, what was there to be happy about? I had always believed myself to be brave, I had always believed that if the time came when Voldemort would rise, that I could *do* something, that we could fight back. But as once before, the first time he had held power, less and less people found the strength to fight. Most had just become dull to the pain.
We were in our seventh year, and under other circumstances, we would have had the world open to us. As it was, life had lost much of it's meaning. Our community seemed to break apart. All the people I knew seemed to drift away from me, and there was nothing, nothing I could do about it, I or anyone. Even Dumbledore's hands were tied, and the ministry still refused to publicly acknowledge the threat until it was too late.
Cho Chang had left for Asia the previous year. Fred and George were now living with Charlie in Rumania. Percy and Ron's dad were at the ministry almost non-stop, not even coming home to sleep on some days, trying to persuade the ministry to *do* something, to admit to everyone the true situation. Hermione had graduated one year early, and was now working as an auror with Sirius and Remus. Neville Longbottom had been taken from school by his grandmother, they had sought asylum in the United States, where a distant relative of his lived. Seamus Finnigan, too, had left school early, and with him Dean, they were living in Ireland now with Seamus mother, after Dean's parents had, as many muggles, fallen to the plague that Voldemort had spread on the muggle world. Seamus had sent a couple of letters by owl, telling me that everything was alright with them, safety-wise, but that Dean had retreated into a shell further and further after the loss of his parent's. The healers couldn't tell if he would ever really come back. Ginny was going to school in Beauxbaton, since she had taken on French in school and had received full grades, she didn't experience too many problems.
So many people had left school that all four houses were put together into one class, and after all these years of house competition, it no longer seemed to matter much - except for the Slytherins. To the surprise of many, myself included, we found out that most Slytherins were okay to come along with, but many of them came from Death Eater's and Voldemort-supporter's families, and had been brought up with the Dark Mark over their heads like an evil omen. Many of them had been taken from school, too, as Draco had, and those remaining were just as scared as the rest of us.
From our old lot, only Ron and I remained, and we were to stay with Bill in Egypt as soon as school was finished. Not to flee, as so many did, these days, but to receive further Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons, from one of the pharaoh's own men. Unknown to the muggle world, there still was - and is - a pharaoh in Egypt, though only for the wizarding world there, and he was an old friend of Dumbledore's. The headmaster had arranged for our training there, knowing I was one of the few people who had a real chance against Voldemort, being blood-bound to him. However, we could go into action only as soon as the ministry officially declared a state of war, and we were to be prepared as best we could. Mrs. Weasley had been opposed to Ron participating in this, but she knew it was a chance way of bringing him to refugee, if only for a while, and finally agreed.
It never was to come.
On our trip to Egypt, we were caught by a bunch of Death Eaters. Bill and Mr. Weasley did their best to defend us, and Bill and I did manage to escape - but only after Ron and his father had been killed by the Avada Kedavra Curse. Molly Weasley was admitted to the mental asylum two days later, after trying to cut her wrists with an old kitchen knife.
When we finally arrived in Egypt, I could not find it in my heart to feel anymore. And prayed to whatever Gods there might be that they would kill me, too.
I was not so lucky.
Author: Reija Linn (T'Reija)
Email/Feedback: theganan@gmx.de or thiari@theganan.de
Archive: The Potter Slash Archive, ff-net. Others please ask beforehand and leave the full header intact.
Originally posted: hpslash list
Codes: Harry/Bill, slash
Rating: [R]
Summary: The Dark Lord has risen, and sorrow at a deep loss bonds Harry and Bill together.
Spoilers: Haven't read the books? Do so. Right away. Do not eat, sleep or pause until you're finished. Then come back.
Warnings: male/male sexuality and/or relationship(s) featured within. Don't like, don't read, don't flame. Simple really, though seemingly not simple enough for some dim witted clots out there. Also, this is not a nice story. Character Death, and insanity featured within. If you prefer the fluffy kind, please read on of my other stories instead - most of them are.
Legal disclaimer: I never have, nor ever will, owned the rights to the setting of the Harry Potter books or the characters featured within. The use of said settings and characters by me is for non-commercial purposes only and does not mean to infringe upon the given legal rights that belong to Mrs. J.K.Rowling and those she has associated them with.
Notes: I've been wanting to put this story up on ff.net for over a year, now, and I always told myself I'd spellproof it thoroughly beforehand as well as remove some slight discrepancies. However, I haven't managed to do so for over a year, and since this has by far been my most popular (and longest) story, I'm putting it up with only minor changes from the way it was originally posted on the hpslash mailing list. Please forgive any left over typing errors and such. I hope to find the time some day to go through it again and upload a more professionally made copy.
THAT SUMMER
By Reija Linn (November 2001)
Harry
Winter had passed. But though the last of winter's cold was replaced with the soft, warm rain of April, and finally the warm spring sun of May and July, the world had become a dark and uncomfortable place to live in. We were no longer allowed to visit Hogsmeade on the weekends, or even leave not only the school grounds, but the very school building alone. Voldemort had, once again, risen to power, and all around us, the wizarding world was falling apart.
Draco Malfoy had left the school after Christmas, and had not returned. I had never liked him much, but I could never forget the look of sorrow on his face, and for the first time I wondered, if his talk all through the years had not been just that - talk. We all knew he was leaving for good, and we all knew where he was going, but no one, not even Dumbledore, could do anything about it. Deep in my heart, behind all the hatred we had shared over the years, I wished him well, and wished that he may escape the dark, may escape the grasp his father held over him.
Laughter had become a rarity, but then, what was there to be happy about? I had always believed myself to be brave, I had always believed that if the time came when Voldemort would rise, that I could *do* something, that we could fight back. But as once before, the first time he had held power, less and less people found the strength to fight. Most had just become dull to the pain.
We were in our seventh year, and under other circumstances, we would have had the world open to us. As it was, life had lost much of it's meaning. Our community seemed to break apart. All the people I knew seemed to drift away from me, and there was nothing, nothing I could do about it, I or anyone. Even Dumbledore's hands were tied, and the ministry still refused to publicly acknowledge the threat until it was too late.
Cho Chang had left for Asia the previous year. Fred and George were now living with Charlie in Rumania. Percy and Ron's dad were at the ministry almost non-stop, not even coming home to sleep on some days, trying to persuade the ministry to *do* something, to admit to everyone the true situation. Hermione had graduated one year early, and was now working as an auror with Sirius and Remus. Neville Longbottom had been taken from school by his grandmother, they had sought asylum in the United States, where a distant relative of his lived. Seamus Finnigan, too, had left school early, and with him Dean, they were living in Ireland now with Seamus mother, after Dean's parents had, as many muggles, fallen to the plague that Voldemort had spread on the muggle world. Seamus had sent a couple of letters by owl, telling me that everything was alright with them, safety-wise, but that Dean had retreated into a shell further and further after the loss of his parent's. The healers couldn't tell if he would ever really come back. Ginny was going to school in Beauxbaton, since she had taken on French in school and had received full grades, she didn't experience too many problems.
So many people had left school that all four houses were put together into one class, and after all these years of house competition, it no longer seemed to matter much - except for the Slytherins. To the surprise of many, myself included, we found out that most Slytherins were okay to come along with, but many of them came from Death Eater's and Voldemort-supporter's families, and had been brought up with the Dark Mark over their heads like an evil omen. Many of them had been taken from school, too, as Draco had, and those remaining were just as scared as the rest of us.
From our old lot, only Ron and I remained, and we were to stay with Bill in Egypt as soon as school was finished. Not to flee, as so many did, these days, but to receive further Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons, from one of the pharaoh's own men. Unknown to the muggle world, there still was - and is - a pharaoh in Egypt, though only for the wizarding world there, and he was an old friend of Dumbledore's. The headmaster had arranged for our training there, knowing I was one of the few people who had a real chance against Voldemort, being blood-bound to him. However, we could go into action only as soon as the ministry officially declared a state of war, and we were to be prepared as best we could. Mrs. Weasley had been opposed to Ron participating in this, but she knew it was a chance way of bringing him to refugee, if only for a while, and finally agreed.
It never was to come.
On our trip to Egypt, we were caught by a bunch of Death Eaters. Bill and Mr. Weasley did their best to defend us, and Bill and I did manage to escape - but only after Ron and his father had been killed by the Avada Kedavra Curse. Molly Weasley was admitted to the mental asylum two days later, after trying to cut her wrists with an old kitchen knife.
When we finally arrived in Egypt, I could not find it in my heart to feel anymore. And prayed to whatever Gods there might be that they would kill me, too.
I was not so lucky.