A/N: This is a genderbent story wherein Harry Potter is a female and is married to the Dark Lord in an attempt to end the war.
A/N 2: Written for the Houses Competition Year 4. 'Bold and italics' is conversation in Parseltongue.
House: Ravenclaw
Year: Prefect
Category: Drabble
Prompt: [Song Prompt] Hey Jude by the Beatles
Word Count: 950 (as of Google docs)
He stood in the doorway of her room, unmoving, unblinking; his crimson eyes focused solely on her form.
His breath hitched, and his heartbeat skipped in fear when her raspy voice filled the indefinite silence of the room before she started coughing violently.
'Is he okay?', she'd asked, worry prominent in her tone, and Marvolo's heart ached in the worst of ways. She was determined to know if he was alright, stubborn enough that she hadn't let sleep overcome until she'd received an answer from Narcissa, who'd taken it upon herself to take care of Harriet.
"He's okay, he's fine. You rest, darling," Narcissa had lied expertly to her. It was a lie, because how could he be okay when his wife was barely hanging onto life? How could Marvolo be okay when he saw Harrie shudder every time she tried to breathe? How could he be alright?
His mind was going into a frenzy - the image of Harriet pushing him out of harm's way and taking the nasty curse upon herself kept rolling at the forefront of his mind like a movie scene. And he was clueless as to how to keep himself from going insane.
"Why don't you go inside and talk to her instead of standing there like a statue?"
His gaze broke from the figure of Harriet resting peacefully, and towards the intruder of his thoughts.
"What good will my presence bring? She's already in such a state because of me; I don't want to hurt her anymore," he replied to Nagini. With one final glance at his wife, he turned away and left.
"Is he okay?" he heard again; this time there was fear in her voice instead of worry as if she was afraid of hurting him. It had been two weeks since the attack and he couldn't bring upon himself to face her just yet.
He wanted nothing more than to cross the threshold between them, take her into his arms and keep her safe there for all eternity. But his feet wouldn't move; Marvolo wasn't as courageous as his wife.
"Is he angry with me?"
"He's not angry with you, hatchling," Nagini reassured her.
"Then why hasn't he come to see me yet?"
"He's only busy with catching the people behind the attack, hatchling. He'll come soon."
Marvolo decided that he'd heard enough and turned to leave when Nagini's voice stopped him.
"Why are you afraid of letting her in? What is stopping you from being with her?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," his voice was hoarse from the tears he was hiding, and his eyes seemed lifeless. The furrow between his brows only deepened when he got a hissy laugh in reply as if Nagini was mocking him, taunting him.
"You're a fool. An utter fool if you think that this distance is helping you. A complete idiot if you think that being away from Harriet is good for her, because I can read the worry and hurt clearly in her eyes whenever you're not in sight."
He stood still, with head bowed in defeat and exhaustion.
"You're stupid if you think that you don't care about her, Marvolo. And I can't find any reason behind your foolish actions. Let her in, she's your wife now, not the enemy, and she's proven it. She took a dark curse that could have killed her, only to save you. If that isn't her love and respect for you, then I don't know how to convince you."
Marvolo watched Nagini slither away in anger and annoyance - he wanted to ignore her words and get on with his work, but he couldn't. Not when Harrie needed him. With as much courage as he could muster, he started making his way to her room.
He opened the door to her room slightly, and as if sensing his presence, Harrie turned her face from the window to meet him. He could see that she was concerned, it may have been because of his pathetic appearance - his hair was dishevelled, and there were bags under his eyes. Even his shirt was crumpled - it was clear that he'd been losing his sleep for the past several nights.
"You're a fool." That were the first words he greeted his wife with, after two weeks of absolute silence. His pace increased when he saw tears gathering in her eyes. Good! He was angry at her for putting herself in danger.
"Absolutely stupid," he sat on her bed, wiping the tears away as he spoke, "Why did you do it?"
"You're my family. I couldn't let you get hurt," Harriet said without missing a beat and without any hesitation.
"I'm not a good man, Harrie. I'm a poison, burning everyone around me - my mother, father and now...you."
"I'm no better than you, then. I have lost people too - mum, dad, Sirius, Cedric. Not to mention the countless times Ron and Hermione have been in danger because of me," Harriet spoke defiantly, trying to make him understand her point, "But I know it's not my fault. Life hasn't been kind to either of us, Marvolo."
He looked at her and Nagini's words echoed into his mind 'let her in'.
"Promise me you'll never pull a stunt like this again," he whispered.
"I can't. I'm sorry." Her eyes didn't meet his when she answered. He was expecting as such. Instead of giving her a cold shoulder as she probably would have thought, he laid down gently beside her and pulled her to him.
It felt like he could breathe again.
"Sleep," he murmured with a gentle kiss.
For now, she was safe in his arms, and that was all that mattered.