A/N: Hi everyone! It's me, anastasia87. People have been pressing me to add on to Breathe, to put in a sequel or something along those lines. I've thought about it, and discovered that once these people put the thought of a sequel in my head, the plot bunnies wouldn't leave me alone even during my recent exams. So there you are people! The much-awaited sequel to Breathe: presenting….Just Let Me Hold You
Chapter 1—The Longing
Come away, O human child
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand
For the world's more full of weeping than we can
understand
(The Stolen Child, by W.B. Yeats)
The warm sunshine stole through the curtains, and lighted upon a boy sleeping on the bed. It gently urged the boy to wake up, and when he wouldn't, moved to shine straight onto his face. The boy responded by burying his face into his pillow and slept on. Another boy in the same room noticed, and with a smirk, crept closer and closer to the sleeping figure, and prepared to pounce…….
"AARRGH!!!!", the sleeping figure leapt out of bed with a shriek. "Ron, don't do that! You scared the shit out of me!". The now wide-awake boy panted, bright green eyes glaring at his laughing best friend who was sprawled out laughing on the floor.
"You should…have…seen…your FACE!" Ron choked out through screams of laughter. Managing to wrestle a little control over himself, he got up saying, "C'mon Harry, get your lazy ass out of the bed! 'Mione's waiting for us downstairs to go down to breakfast together".
"What's the freaking occasion?", came the muffled grumble.
Harry by this time was attempting to burrow back under his warm blankets, but Ron was pulling them in the opposite direction, causing a mini tug-of-war game. Which of course Harry lost spectacularly.
"What's the occasion? WHAT'S THE OCCASION? Harry, it's Hogsmeade weekend! C'mon! breakfast is gonna be over in like 30 minutes, and the carriages will leave straight after! I've been waiting for you to wake up for like, forever. Think of all the yummy food I'm missing downstairs: pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, toast, sausages…"
"OK OK I'm up Ron. Gimme a little time to wash up. Why don't you and Mione go down to breakfast first. I'll catch up with you; save me couple pieces of toast yeah?"
Once Ron had merrily skipped downstairs, singing horribly off-key at the top of his voice, Harry, flopped back down on his bed. His blankets and pillow was strewn all over the floor. He propped his hands under his head and tried to recall the strange dream he had last night….
It was pitch-dark. Night-time. The stars were out and a cool breeze was blowing. Harry stood by the lake and listened to the rippling of the water.
All was still about him. Peaceful.
Then Harry heard it. A soft, faint voice, humming a strange melodic tune. It stirred him. His feet began to move of their own volition. The melody wove its way into his heart and he just HAD to find out where this voice came from.
The voice led him into the forest, walking deeper and deeper into the heart of the trees. Until he stumbled upon a clearing. In the midst of the clearing was a fountain full of sparkling water.
He bent over to peer into the water, seeing only his reflection. Something made him keep staring, and a shape behind him formed. Strangely not frightened, he watched the figure take shape. A person, taller than he was, with blurred features. The humming continued.
In the water, the figure's arms wrapped around his, holding him close. Harry could see the peace, serenity and trust in the face of his reflection. He watched as his reflection snuggled into the arms of the person behind and closed his eyes. In his heart, he made a wish: so beautiful. THIS is what I want.
"Is this what you want, young Harry?" a soft female voice spoke. He tore his eyes away from the water and turned around. A woman, dressed in pale blue, stood in the moonlight which shone through the trees. Her long curly hair flowed down to her hips, a yellow flower in her hair. She was barefoot.
Harry did not hesitate. He reached for his wand, but found it was not on his person.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"Who I am is none of your concern child. Look in the fountain again. Do you hear the music speak to you? Feel in twine itself into your heart?"
"Yes, I do. What is it?"
"Nothing more than the deepest desires of your heart, child. And one you have no clue of, as of yet. This peace, serenity, trust, love: is this what you truly want? With all the fibres of your heart?"
"That has been my deepest desire since I was a child. I want someone to love; I want to be loved. For who I am, not as a famous celebrity. I want a family".
"Then you shall have it, child. Everyone needs to love and be loved. There are two forks in your road to love. Pick wisely child. Life, and love, is full of choices to be made".
The surroundings started to go misty around him, and bit by bit, faded to black.
Which is where we leave our hero, lying on his bed, pondering his dream. 'It's probably only a strange dream. But why do I keep feeling this little tug in my heart?' He sighed and turned his head, his gaze falling upon the alarm clock on this nightstand.
"Oh shit! Hogsmeade! Breakfast!" He sprang out of bed and dashed to the washroom, completing his morning routine with alacrity. He rushed back to his trunk and started digging for clothes, pulling out a pair of black jeans and a white button-down shirt. Over the summer, Remus had adopted him after the ban against werewolves adopting children was dropped, and they had gone out on a shopping spree. Harry had replaced his old horrible wardrobe with clothes that actually fit him. Most of his current wardrobe was full of jeans and plain button-down shirts. When Remus had tried to get him to buy shirts with prints or designs, Harry had declined with a simple, "I like simple, Rem". And Remus had left it at that.
Dressing quickly, Harry shoved his feet into socks and sneakers, ran a quick brush through his hair, and tore down the stairs and out of the tower as fast as he could, running to the entrance hall.
"POTTER! NO RUNNING IN THE HALLWAYS!". Harry skidded to a stop, and turned. There, standing in his trademark black robes, was Hogwarts' most feared professor, Professor Snape.
"Sorry, Professor. I was just in a hurry to…"
"No excuses Potter! You know the rules, and you still persist in breaking them! Ten points from Gryffindor!"
Snape turned and stalked away down into the dungeons in a swirl of robes.
"Git," Harry muttered under his breath, and proceeded on his way, albeit just a little slower. He reached the entrance hall, where the students were already lining up to get into the carriages. Looking for his friends, he spotted Ron's bright red hair near the doors and ran over.
"Sorry guys! I got stopped by Snape on the way down. Took ten points off for running in the hallway. Git didn't even let me finish my explanation."
"Git" Ron agreed with a nod.
"Oh Harry, you know you shouldn't have run. We would have waited for you. Anyway, here's your breakfast", Hermione shoved a napkin with sausages and toast at him. "Let's get in line".
The trio lined up and got into the carriages.
At Hogsmeade, the boys dragged Hermione, protesting all the way, into the sweet shop first. Filling their pockets with Ice Mice and Sugar Quills, they paid and left the shop, each eating a Chocolate Frog. Hermione, primly eating a black strip of licorice (no sugar!), told the boys, "let's split up. I want to go the bookstore, but I'm sure you boys don't. Let's meet at the new café in town for lunch in two hours ok?"
The boys wandered down the street, eating their candy and generally enjoying the freedom to walk down the street in broad daylight without the fear of attacks. The mood was carefree and happy. Ron spotted Dean and Seamus, and asked Harry if he wanted to join them. But Harry wanted to wander by himself, so telling Ron to go ahead and join the other boys, he proceeded to turn into another corner of Hogsmeade and found himself standing outside a craft store.
Crooked letters proclaimed the shop to be 'Wishes'. Harry stepped in the store, and quiet washed over him. He strolled down the small narrow aisles, pausing to touch a wooden craft item occasionally. Then he came face-to-face with a shelf of crystal shapes. Delicately carved, the crystal sparkled in the light. Harry was drawn to a crystal carved in the shape of a violin.
It's beautiful," he breathed, his voice hardly above a whisper.
"It is, isn't it, Mr. Potter."
Harry whirled around, hand on his wand, only to find a grizzled old man watching him. The old man took no notice of him, but continued,
"It's rare to find youngsters like yourself being interested in craftwork, much less in crystal, Mr. Potter. Every single piece here was crafted by hand, and every piece contains a wish inside it."
"A wish?"
"Yes. All my pieces are meant to be gifts, gifts of and from the heart. Every wish is personal to the giver, and symbolizes something meaningful. I see you like the little viola".
"I thought it was a violin?"
"No, the viola is a cousin of the violin. A little smaller, and the sound is a little more robust than the airy strings of the violin". He picked it up, and laid the crystal viola on Harry's hand. Harry's other hand dropped away from his wand in a bid to examine the little crystal more carefully.
"It's so beautiful". He engaged the owner in conversation, admiring the crystal, holding it up to the light. Harry never noticed the eyes watching him from outside the craft shop.
'He looks beautiful, standing there in the sunlight. Changed so much from that snotty first-year. I just want to hold him and squeeze him tight. Never let him go. He will be mine. Soon'. His hands reached out, as though trying to hold his prize. Then his hands dropped, and he relaxed.
The figure outside stole one final glance and turned away, walking back to the main street.
Harry remained in the shop, oblivious to everything else except the old man and the crystal viola in his hand.
A/N: all right, first chappie of the sequel is up! Let me know what you guys think, I'm quite sure of where I want this to go, but want to hear your opinions anyway. Who do you think the guy was outside the store? What did you make of the dream? Don't forget to review!
Hugs and kisses,
Anastasia87