Well hey there!! If has been absolutely forever since I last posted on
FFN. Months ago, I think. And I don't think I've posted anything HP this
year. Anyway, I've finally found some time to write again and I have the
desire to do so, so here we go.
This story is the sequel to Spirits of the Past, a monster that I started way back when I opened my account here. That story isn't the best, I know, believe me, I know. When I started it, I was trying to get my feet wet and discover how to write. So, the story wanders around quite a bit, not seeming to have an overall plot till about halfway (because I kept having new ideas the whole while). Anyway, here is a little recap of what happened in SotP in case you've not read it already.
Oh, and a few of you might have read this little bit already. I posted it last year when I thought I was going to have plenty of writing time. Well, I didn't, so I took the old intro chapter down and replaced it. Anyway, here is the recap (after I have reread it twice to see how much I'd forgotten)
Before the term started, Hermione's parents were attacked by Death Eaters. She happened to be out with a friend or she'd have fallen too. She came home to find them that way and ran for as long as she could. She fell asleep on a park bench and was found by Colin Creevey the next morning. Harry and Ron made their way to the Creevey's as soon as possible. While there, Harry and Colin's mum talk. Harry finds out that he means the world to Colin and realizes he has a few feelings for the younger boy. Ron starts acting really weird while there.
They return to the Burrow with Hermione and Ron gets weirder and weirder, constantly insulting Harry and Colin. Harry and Ron have a fight and Harry leaves a day early for Diagon Alley to get away from Ron. On Shopping Day, Ron sticks up for Harry only to insult Colin in the next breath. He has no idea why he's been doing any of this. The same thing happens throughout the first part of the fall term. A mysterious stone appears before Harry one morning; no one really has any clue as to what it is for. Harry puts it around his neck.
Harry and Colin are an item and as much as he wants to, Ron can't accept that. He has nothing against it, but something won't allow him to. Soon after what I would call midterm time, Harry and Colin have a huge misunderstanding and Colin goes back to the Slytherin Common Room with Draco Malfoy of all people. Harry gets a dose of reality from Hermione and sets off to get his boyfriend back. He succeeds and after many tears, the two of them are fine again.
Draco starts turning his back on all his Slytherin ways after he finds out how much the Death Eaters hurt Hermione's parents, who have been in St. Mungo's since before term but have only shown limited improvement. His ideology turns 180 degrees and he is more or less blacklisted by his Housemates. He finds a home in his previous enemies Room, Gryffindor.
Ron begins acting even weirder than before, sleepwalking and having complete blackouts. He attempts to commit suicide to end all the pain he is feeling from losing Harry as a friend, but is stopped by a Spirit. Ron begins to improve with the Spirit's guidance, or at least he thought so. The Spirit helping him is actually a malevolent being trapped in the ground of Hogwarts. He has taken control of Ron's mind to get him to gather the necessary items for a ritual that will gain him a body again. Now all he needs is a sacrifice..
Harry and Draco go on a mission to Malfoy Manor to find evidence to convict Lucius. Harry is badly wounded during a battle with some creature guarding the Manor and Colin feels it instantly. Draco uses Black Majic on the creature to kill it. The two boys leave Malfoy Manor and flee home as quick as possible, all the while Draco vowing to get even with his father.
Colin is chosen to be the sacrifice, mostly as it would be a slap in the face to Harry Potter. Ron gathers him on the appropriate time and begins the ceremony, Harry and Draco still not back. Hermione appears and is dealt with. Colin is killed and Harry appears moments later. He and Ron fight for a moment and then Harry and the Spirit square off. Harry attempts to use the power of the stone but nothing happens. He then uses the same Black Majic that Draco used also to no effect. The Spirit drops its control over Ron in the attempt to finish Harry off. He knocks Harry out and then Ron picks up the stone and turns into a giant phoenix. He kills the Spirit and then transfers his life to Colin. Colin awakes and Ron fades out, Hermione seeing all.
Well, I just condensed 36 chapters into a page of type. That's the major idea of it. Anyway, sorry again for the huge layover between this and the previous story. I guess I pulled a JKR and put it off and off..^_^
The children in the Gryffindor common room were all a bit subdued after Harry left the hospital wing. It was really an odd sight seeing this many children in the House after the fall term had let out and Christmas was approaching. All of Harry's close friends, and a decent percentage of Gryffindor overall, had chosen to remain here at school and help him through this rough time. So instead of the usual five or six people there over break, the number was up to nearly twenty.
All the children miss Ron dearly, but none as much as Harry Potter. The day he woke from his injury induced coma, Harry refused to believe that Ron was truly gone. He would continually think he saw Ron from the very corner of his eye or hear his infectious laugh everywhere. Today, two days after he awoke, the calendar read December 24. Harry had never felt any less like celebrating. He would have rather spent Christmas morning watching Dudley open his massive amounts of presents than not have Ron at his side.
To be completely honest about Harry's mindset right then, he likely would have gone insane if it weren't for his boyfriend, Colin, at his side. Harry's grief was nearly matched by Colin's own. Harry missed a great friend, Colin missed a good friend as well as carried guilt over Ron's death. No matter how many times Harry had reassured Colin, Colin refused to stop believing that Ron's death was his fault.
"He died so that I would live, Harry. If I wasn't there, it wouldn't have happened at all. You'd still have your best friend." Those sort of lines came out of Colin's mouth whenever Harry asked why he was feeling down.
"Colin, I promise you, Ron made the choice of his own free will. Hermione saw it happen. He did it because he wanted to." That was the way the conversations about the topic always went. They would discuss it for a little while and then move on to other topics.
Today was Christmas Eve. The remaining students in the castle were preparing for the feast and festivities of the evening. Harry was sitting in a chair, surrounded by his little group. Hermione and Colin sat beside him on the couch, Seamus and Neville on another nearby, and Draco had pulled a chair over. They had subconsciously left a chair open for Ron. Maybe it wasn't totally subconscious..
The last few minutes before dinner passed away and the kids began to file down to the Great Hall. Harry was trailing the line with Colin at his side. He'd not said much in the last hour or two, busy reminiscing he and Ron's moments together, the others assumed correctly. Colin slung an arm around Harry's waist as they walked, giving him a very sympathetic smile. Harry forced a smile back.
Dinner was much more subdued than the normal Christmas dinner. Harry mostly pushed the food around on his plate instead of eating it. Hermione, instead of her usual pestering, let it go with only a slight look of concern. Sometime between the main course of turkey and the fixings and dessert, Harry slipped off, telling Colin that he needed to get out of the Great Hall. He quietly slipped by the others unnoticed.
Harry left the Great Hall and slowly made his way through the corridors of Hogwarts. He knew that everyone meant well in there, but he couldn't take anymore of the stares of pity and sorrow he was getting. He and Dumbledore locked eyes as he was leaving and the Headmaster nodding knowingly.
After stopping by his room to pick up his heavy cloak and scarf, Harry found himself heading up the steps to the Astronomy Tower. Harry pushed the roof doors open and stepped into the chill air outside, overlooking the snow covered landscape below. He wrapped himself up tighter and stood in the center of the stone floor. He looked around, remembering as best he could the events of only a few days previous. This was the first time he'd been here since he'd left the hospital wing and feelings flooded into him in seconds.
The events played back in his mind in slow motion. Seeing Colin laying dead on the ground. Fighting with Surtain. Being knocked back in a bloody heap. Waking up in the hospital. Finding out that Ron was gone. Harry walked to the ledge and looked down, seeing beautiful white snow covering the ground. Light flurries of snow were falling in the wind, quickly covering his footprints and whiting his black cloak. The end of his scarf was blowing out in the breeze. Had he not felt so bad at this point, he would have enjoyed the view.
Harry had no idea how long he'd been looking out over the grounds, it could have been a few minutes, or it could have been hours. He found himself suddenly wiping away tears, surprised that he had any left to shed.
"Oh Ron, I miss you," he said quietly as he wiped some snow off the rock ledge and watched as it fell out of sight. He looked up at the moon, wiping away a few more tears. "Where ever you are, Ron, thanks. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but thank you." Harry was extremely choked up and barely croaked the last part out.
Harry felt a light gust of wind on his face, much warmer than the wind that had been blowing previously. A small glow caught his eyes, coming from the space he'd wiped the snow from. He looked down and what he saw took his breath away.
"What?" Harry exclaimed as he picked the stone up in his hands. "Hermione said that they'd scoured this place clean but never found you," he said to the stone, almost expecting an answer.
"Harry," a very familiar voice called from behind him, startling the breath from him a second time in barely ten seconds. Harry whirled around in time to see a form coalesce from the ether. Flames wreathed the form, but Harry knew in a split second that it was Ron.
"Ron?" That was all Harry could say. The form nodded.
"I'm not really gone, Harry. Not really." Harry could only stand there mesmerized. Ron's normally fiery orange hair now seemed to roil like real fire.
"Ron.."
"I hope you understand, Harry. I'll always be watching over you two. I promise."
Ron's form started to dissipate then, as if the wind suddenly realized it was there and decided to remove it. Harry reached out a hand in a futile gesture to keep Ron from leaving.
"No, Ron, please don't go," he said as his and Ron's hands met, fingers interlocking.
"I'll be watching over you two, Harry," Ron said as he faded out of sight. Harry began sobbing openly, looking out over the grounds for any sign of his friend. He slipped the stone into his pocket and then put his hands and head on the ledge and cried his eyes out.
A few minutes later, the others made their way to the Tower, worried about Harry and following Colin's intuition that he'd be there. They stepped through the open doors and saw Harry leaning over the ledge, hitching slightly. With Colin and Hermione leading the way, the group made their way to Harry's side. Colin hugged Harry hard on one side and Hermione on the other. Seamus, Neville, and Draco stood close behind, enveloping the other three.
"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione and Colin asked at almost the exact same moment. Harry lifted his head up and looked at the two of them in turn.
"He was here, Hermione. He was here," Harry said and started sobbing again.
"We know Harry, we know. This will forever be Ron's Tower," Hermione said to him.
"No, you don't understand. He was just here. Right behind where Draco is standing now," Harry said, motioning to a spot about five feet behind himself.
"Harry, we know that you're taking this very hard, and you have every right to be, but no matter how hard you wish, Ron is gone," Draco said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"He's right, Harry. We all feel his loss with you, me especially," Colin said, looking into Harry's wet eyes. Harry just shook his head from side to side.
"No, he was really just here. He brought me this." Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the stone, now glowing fiercely. "See?" The five others were stunned into silence.
"He told me that he wasn't really gone and that he'd always watch over Colin and me. Then he disappeared." Silence again echoed off the stone walls.
"Maybe he's not gone," Seamus finally said after a lengthy time. "Maybe he's not gone at all." Harry looked at him and gave him a hopeful smile, and an even bigger one to Colin.
"He's not. I know it."
I know this isn't that long, but just wait. It will be. And it will be updated frequently!!! Woo hoo!!! Anyway, drop me a review. Oh, and thanks to Mare, Dark Angemon, eniomreH, and all the other reviewers I had on the other story. I hope you enjoy this one as much!!
This story is the sequel to Spirits of the Past, a monster that I started way back when I opened my account here. That story isn't the best, I know, believe me, I know. When I started it, I was trying to get my feet wet and discover how to write. So, the story wanders around quite a bit, not seeming to have an overall plot till about halfway (because I kept having new ideas the whole while). Anyway, here is a little recap of what happened in SotP in case you've not read it already.
Oh, and a few of you might have read this little bit already. I posted it last year when I thought I was going to have plenty of writing time. Well, I didn't, so I took the old intro chapter down and replaced it. Anyway, here is the recap (after I have reread it twice to see how much I'd forgotten)
Before the term started, Hermione's parents were attacked by Death Eaters. She happened to be out with a friend or she'd have fallen too. She came home to find them that way and ran for as long as she could. She fell asleep on a park bench and was found by Colin Creevey the next morning. Harry and Ron made their way to the Creevey's as soon as possible. While there, Harry and Colin's mum talk. Harry finds out that he means the world to Colin and realizes he has a few feelings for the younger boy. Ron starts acting really weird while there.
They return to the Burrow with Hermione and Ron gets weirder and weirder, constantly insulting Harry and Colin. Harry and Ron have a fight and Harry leaves a day early for Diagon Alley to get away from Ron. On Shopping Day, Ron sticks up for Harry only to insult Colin in the next breath. He has no idea why he's been doing any of this. The same thing happens throughout the first part of the fall term. A mysterious stone appears before Harry one morning; no one really has any clue as to what it is for. Harry puts it around his neck.
Harry and Colin are an item and as much as he wants to, Ron can't accept that. He has nothing against it, but something won't allow him to. Soon after what I would call midterm time, Harry and Colin have a huge misunderstanding and Colin goes back to the Slytherin Common Room with Draco Malfoy of all people. Harry gets a dose of reality from Hermione and sets off to get his boyfriend back. He succeeds and after many tears, the two of them are fine again.
Draco starts turning his back on all his Slytherin ways after he finds out how much the Death Eaters hurt Hermione's parents, who have been in St. Mungo's since before term but have only shown limited improvement. His ideology turns 180 degrees and he is more or less blacklisted by his Housemates. He finds a home in his previous enemies Room, Gryffindor.
Ron begins acting even weirder than before, sleepwalking and having complete blackouts. He attempts to commit suicide to end all the pain he is feeling from losing Harry as a friend, but is stopped by a Spirit. Ron begins to improve with the Spirit's guidance, or at least he thought so. The Spirit helping him is actually a malevolent being trapped in the ground of Hogwarts. He has taken control of Ron's mind to get him to gather the necessary items for a ritual that will gain him a body again. Now all he needs is a sacrifice..
Harry and Draco go on a mission to Malfoy Manor to find evidence to convict Lucius. Harry is badly wounded during a battle with some creature guarding the Manor and Colin feels it instantly. Draco uses Black Majic on the creature to kill it. The two boys leave Malfoy Manor and flee home as quick as possible, all the while Draco vowing to get even with his father.
Colin is chosen to be the sacrifice, mostly as it would be a slap in the face to Harry Potter. Ron gathers him on the appropriate time and begins the ceremony, Harry and Draco still not back. Hermione appears and is dealt with. Colin is killed and Harry appears moments later. He and Ron fight for a moment and then Harry and the Spirit square off. Harry attempts to use the power of the stone but nothing happens. He then uses the same Black Majic that Draco used also to no effect. The Spirit drops its control over Ron in the attempt to finish Harry off. He knocks Harry out and then Ron picks up the stone and turns into a giant phoenix. He kills the Spirit and then transfers his life to Colin. Colin awakes and Ron fades out, Hermione seeing all.
Well, I just condensed 36 chapters into a page of type. That's the major idea of it. Anyway, sorry again for the huge layover between this and the previous story. I guess I pulled a JKR and put it off and off..^_^
The children in the Gryffindor common room were all a bit subdued after Harry left the hospital wing. It was really an odd sight seeing this many children in the House after the fall term had let out and Christmas was approaching. All of Harry's close friends, and a decent percentage of Gryffindor overall, had chosen to remain here at school and help him through this rough time. So instead of the usual five or six people there over break, the number was up to nearly twenty.
All the children miss Ron dearly, but none as much as Harry Potter. The day he woke from his injury induced coma, Harry refused to believe that Ron was truly gone. He would continually think he saw Ron from the very corner of his eye or hear his infectious laugh everywhere. Today, two days after he awoke, the calendar read December 24. Harry had never felt any less like celebrating. He would have rather spent Christmas morning watching Dudley open his massive amounts of presents than not have Ron at his side.
To be completely honest about Harry's mindset right then, he likely would have gone insane if it weren't for his boyfriend, Colin, at his side. Harry's grief was nearly matched by Colin's own. Harry missed a great friend, Colin missed a good friend as well as carried guilt over Ron's death. No matter how many times Harry had reassured Colin, Colin refused to stop believing that Ron's death was his fault.
"He died so that I would live, Harry. If I wasn't there, it wouldn't have happened at all. You'd still have your best friend." Those sort of lines came out of Colin's mouth whenever Harry asked why he was feeling down.
"Colin, I promise you, Ron made the choice of his own free will. Hermione saw it happen. He did it because he wanted to." That was the way the conversations about the topic always went. They would discuss it for a little while and then move on to other topics.
Today was Christmas Eve. The remaining students in the castle were preparing for the feast and festivities of the evening. Harry was sitting in a chair, surrounded by his little group. Hermione and Colin sat beside him on the couch, Seamus and Neville on another nearby, and Draco had pulled a chair over. They had subconsciously left a chair open for Ron. Maybe it wasn't totally subconscious..
The last few minutes before dinner passed away and the kids began to file down to the Great Hall. Harry was trailing the line with Colin at his side. He'd not said much in the last hour or two, busy reminiscing he and Ron's moments together, the others assumed correctly. Colin slung an arm around Harry's waist as they walked, giving him a very sympathetic smile. Harry forced a smile back.
Dinner was much more subdued than the normal Christmas dinner. Harry mostly pushed the food around on his plate instead of eating it. Hermione, instead of her usual pestering, let it go with only a slight look of concern. Sometime between the main course of turkey and the fixings and dessert, Harry slipped off, telling Colin that he needed to get out of the Great Hall. He quietly slipped by the others unnoticed.
Harry left the Great Hall and slowly made his way through the corridors of Hogwarts. He knew that everyone meant well in there, but he couldn't take anymore of the stares of pity and sorrow he was getting. He and Dumbledore locked eyes as he was leaving and the Headmaster nodding knowingly.
After stopping by his room to pick up his heavy cloak and scarf, Harry found himself heading up the steps to the Astronomy Tower. Harry pushed the roof doors open and stepped into the chill air outside, overlooking the snow covered landscape below. He wrapped himself up tighter and stood in the center of the stone floor. He looked around, remembering as best he could the events of only a few days previous. This was the first time he'd been here since he'd left the hospital wing and feelings flooded into him in seconds.
The events played back in his mind in slow motion. Seeing Colin laying dead on the ground. Fighting with Surtain. Being knocked back in a bloody heap. Waking up in the hospital. Finding out that Ron was gone. Harry walked to the ledge and looked down, seeing beautiful white snow covering the ground. Light flurries of snow were falling in the wind, quickly covering his footprints and whiting his black cloak. The end of his scarf was blowing out in the breeze. Had he not felt so bad at this point, he would have enjoyed the view.
Harry had no idea how long he'd been looking out over the grounds, it could have been a few minutes, or it could have been hours. He found himself suddenly wiping away tears, surprised that he had any left to shed.
"Oh Ron, I miss you," he said quietly as he wiped some snow off the rock ledge and watched as it fell out of sight. He looked up at the moon, wiping away a few more tears. "Where ever you are, Ron, thanks. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but thank you." Harry was extremely choked up and barely croaked the last part out.
Harry felt a light gust of wind on his face, much warmer than the wind that had been blowing previously. A small glow caught his eyes, coming from the space he'd wiped the snow from. He looked down and what he saw took his breath away.
"What?" Harry exclaimed as he picked the stone up in his hands. "Hermione said that they'd scoured this place clean but never found you," he said to the stone, almost expecting an answer.
"Harry," a very familiar voice called from behind him, startling the breath from him a second time in barely ten seconds. Harry whirled around in time to see a form coalesce from the ether. Flames wreathed the form, but Harry knew in a split second that it was Ron.
"Ron?" That was all Harry could say. The form nodded.
"I'm not really gone, Harry. Not really." Harry could only stand there mesmerized. Ron's normally fiery orange hair now seemed to roil like real fire.
"Ron.."
"I hope you understand, Harry. I'll always be watching over you two. I promise."
Ron's form started to dissipate then, as if the wind suddenly realized it was there and decided to remove it. Harry reached out a hand in a futile gesture to keep Ron from leaving.
"No, Ron, please don't go," he said as his and Ron's hands met, fingers interlocking.
"I'll be watching over you two, Harry," Ron said as he faded out of sight. Harry began sobbing openly, looking out over the grounds for any sign of his friend. He slipped the stone into his pocket and then put his hands and head on the ledge and cried his eyes out.
A few minutes later, the others made their way to the Tower, worried about Harry and following Colin's intuition that he'd be there. They stepped through the open doors and saw Harry leaning over the ledge, hitching slightly. With Colin and Hermione leading the way, the group made their way to Harry's side. Colin hugged Harry hard on one side and Hermione on the other. Seamus, Neville, and Draco stood close behind, enveloping the other three.
"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione and Colin asked at almost the exact same moment. Harry lifted his head up and looked at the two of them in turn.
"He was here, Hermione. He was here," Harry said and started sobbing again.
"We know Harry, we know. This will forever be Ron's Tower," Hermione said to him.
"No, you don't understand. He was just here. Right behind where Draco is standing now," Harry said, motioning to a spot about five feet behind himself.
"Harry, we know that you're taking this very hard, and you have every right to be, but no matter how hard you wish, Ron is gone," Draco said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"He's right, Harry. We all feel his loss with you, me especially," Colin said, looking into Harry's wet eyes. Harry just shook his head from side to side.
"No, he was really just here. He brought me this." Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the stone, now glowing fiercely. "See?" The five others were stunned into silence.
"He told me that he wasn't really gone and that he'd always watch over Colin and me. Then he disappeared." Silence again echoed off the stone walls.
"Maybe he's not gone," Seamus finally said after a lengthy time. "Maybe he's not gone at all." Harry looked at him and gave him a hopeful smile, and an even bigger one to Colin.
"He's not. I know it."
I know this isn't that long, but just wait. It will be. And it will be updated frequently!!! Woo hoo!!! Anyway, drop me a review. Oh, and thanks to Mare, Dark Angemon, eniomreH, and all the other reviewers I had on the other story. I hope you enjoy this one as much!!