The hospital seemed to be practically deserted as House walked down the hallway and into his office. Of course, not everyone was at Kutner's funeral. The hospital still had to go about with it's daily duties. People would continue to get sick and need help even without Kutner. But most of the hospital, or at least most of the people on House's floor, had gone and it left a kind of eerie silence that made you think the words "It's quiet. Too quiet…" Or, at least that's what it had made House think of.

So now he had returned from Kutner's apartment and was going to his office, the black and white picture of a depressed looking Kutner in the hand that wasn't using the cane. Yes, he had taken it from Kutner's apartment, but it wasn't stealing. He was just "borrowing" it with no intention of giving it back. Besides, the guy was dead. He wouldn't be using it.

House really had no idea why he had taken it. It seemed like the proper thing to have of your dead co-worker. A picture of him looking sad. If you had showed it to House, or anyone for that matter, before Kutner's death he wouldn't have thought it looked like Kutner, apart from the fact that it was obviously him in the picture. It looked like Kutner now though, oddly enough. Besides, Kutner had always smiled way too much, and the picture was kind of a change of pace.

House finally reached his destination, leaned his cane up against the wall, limped over to his desk, sat down, put the picture and his feet on the desk, and started throwing the ball that he used to help him think up in the air and catching it. He couldn't make sense out of it. He threw the ball up in the air, caught it, laid it back down on his desk, looked at the picture again, and opened a drawer, intending to put it in there. What he saw in there made him stop.

Inside was a copy of one of the Harry Potter books. He picked it up and looked at the front cover. It was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. He gave it a puzzled look as he turned it in his hand. The only thing he could think of was how in the hell it had gotten there. House definitely didn't read Harry Potter.

This had to be Wilson's idea. House opened the book, expecting to self-destruct or something along those lines. Instead, he found a note written on the inside cover.

Remember the patient that I said was like Harry Potter? Well, I'm giving you this so that next time you know what I'm talking about. Hope you like it!

Kutner

House stared at the note for a minute, trying to process what it was saying. Suddenly, he remembered the patient whose problem was that he had to say exactly what was on his mind, and how Kutner had said that he thought that the guy was like Harry Potter and that who you tried to be was who you were you. He thought about it for a second, and then realized that was what Kutner had been. In a way, that is. Up until the end. But that was something to think about for later.

He looked back in the drawer and saw a watch that had been under the book. It was the watch that Kutner had given him for Secret Santa. The watch looked brand new and must have cost a good deal. House reached into the drawer and examined the watch before slipping it onto his wrist. He then put the picture of Kutner in the Harry Potter book, like it was a bookmark, put the book back in the drawer, and closed the drawer. Then House limped back over to his cane and walked out of his office. He had decided to take Wilson up on that "drinking until we fall asleep in out own sick" proposition.