Oh,
my love
Please don't cry
I'll wash my bloody hands and
We'll
start a new life
Harry sat between Hermione and Ron in a small church outside of London on a dreary winter afternoon. In front of them, sat the entire staff of Hogwarts. The small sacred edifice was packed with Hogwarts students but this was no joyous occasion.
The small group had gathered to honor the life of one of the school's more clumsy students; Neville Longbottom. On the opposite side of the church sat Neville's grandmother and a cluster of three individuals that Harry did not recognize. He would later learn that they were Neville's only other living relatives.
The Lagardes hailed from Washington DC, USA. Jeremy and Kathy had been married for three years before their daughter Chanel was born. The now 16-year-old girl stood at 5'9'' with silky maple red brown hair that was tinted with the slightest firelight orange and sharp, inquisitive olive green eyes. Each ear sported two rubies and her left cartilage held a small silver hoop.
As the teen stood and stretched her lanky arms above her head, a small diamond glinted from her stomach. In Harry's mind, this girl was the complete opposite of his deceased fellow Gryffindor. As Harry and his companions entered the small receiving line, he caught a glimpse of Luna Lovegood, Neville's girlfriend. Harry had secretly loved the girl since their fifth year at Hogwarts. He cared for his friend deeply but couldn't stand seeing the two together.
So as Harry thought back to that night, a single tear fell from his eye. His memories brought him back to the letter and her sobbing frame as it crumpled in his arms…
Harry paced anxiously around his room, glancing fervently at the window. Growing agitated and bored, the teen slumped down in his desk chair.
Inevitably, just as he leaned his raven-haired head back on the headrest, Hedwig soared into the room and landed with an agile flutter on the desk next to him. 'Took long enough' Harry thought angrily to himself.
He feverishly pulled the envelopes from the owl's twig-like leg. One letter was from Luna Lovegood. He was more interested in the other, the one with the ivory Ministry of Magic seal.
Tossing Luna's letter aside, he tore into the ministry letter with glee. Scanning the note inside, his emerald eyes lit up. He'd done it. He'd passed his Apparating test.
"Perfect," he said with a most uncharacteristically sinister smile on his lips and a deep quaver in his voice.
At the sound of her owner's verbal self-congratulation, Hedwig turned her ovular tawny eyes on him expectantly.
Laughing, Harry tossed the snowy bird a handful of owl treats and picked up the second letter. He scanned its contents with hawk-like precision. He found it almost immediately. It read:
Harry, you know that I cherish our friendship more than words can say but I have some news to tell you. Neville and I have been seeing each other seriously since our 6th year. I bet you're smiling. I knew you'd be happy.
Harry swallowed quickly, trying to send moisture to his suddenly dry throat. He had expected something like this. He closed his gem-like eyes and sighed.
The letter was exactly what he'd needed, a confirmation. He had tried to convince himself before that it was an inaccurate truth. He opened his eyes and a frightening glint radiated from them, a look even the bravest wizard would cringe under, a look that would equal and yet surpass that of Voldemort.
With an aire of confidence and determination the young wizard pulled on his jacket and with a quiet 'pop' disappeared.
He reappeared in the downstairs hallway of a shabby two-story apartment. He heard voices coming from down the hall and knew he was in the right place.
Creeping slowly down the corridor, he pushed open a rust colored door and peeked inside. Sitting at a desk of red cherry was Neville, a cordless phone in his left hand. Immediately Harry knew who was on the other end.
Silently stepping into the room, the emerald-eyed youth pulled from his jacket pocket a small pocketknife, his wand tucked safely inside his coat. He wasn't risking his identity being found out by using magic. Escaping death countless times had taught him that.
Neville laughed and turned around in his chair, a look of shock and confusion crossing his somewhat pudgy features. With his free hand Harry took the phone from his schoolmate and placed in face down on the desk.
"Harry? How'd you get here?" Neville questioned.
"Simple. I Apparated," Harry sneered.
"Oi congrats on getting your license then. I go for mine next Wednesday," the dark-eyed wizard said with a smile.
"I don't think so," the famous youth said quietly.
Neville just shot him an inquiring look. It was then that Neville noticed something glint in his friend's hand. Unfortunately, he was not fast enough.
In moments Harry had his victim pinned to the ground, the knife poised just centimeters from his throat. A look of genuine fear and pain shot through Neville's eyes.
He was searching for some sign of sanity in his fellow Gryffindor but he found none. Instead there was a red-hot fire of passion and hatred flickering behind the blazing green. Harry bent down close to his schoolmate's ear.
"You don't deserve her," he whispered and then let fly the blade.
Within seconds the deed was done.
Harry rose from his position above Neville's bleeding frame. Extracting his wand from within the folds of his coat, he pointed it at his throat and muttered "Empethisa," and picked up the phone.
"Hello? Neville are you there?" came the dream-dazed voice of Luna Lovegood.
"L'anima di una unirsi delle nostre anime," Harry whispered in an eerie, bass voice; a voice that was not his own.
With that he took from his remaining pocket a CD player and pressed the pause button. The harsh tone of Good Charlotte blared into the phone's receiver. The words spoke of a deed:
I ripped out,
His
throat,
And called you on the telephone,
Just in time to hear
you cry.
Harry placed the phone back on its receiver and turned to face the bleeding frame of Neville Longbottom. He ran a hand through his tousled charcoal hair. He pointed his wand at the knife lying by the dead teen's body and muttered "Scourgify"
Immediately all the blood disappeared and the handle glistened free of fingerprints. Replacing the CD player in his jacket pocket, the criminal youth took in a deep breath. A noise outside the door caught his attention. He quickly slipped into shadow. The door was gently pulled open and Chanel stuck her head in.
"Neville can you get off the---," she began but stopped short when her olive eyes found the body of her dearest cousin lying on the floor, blood pouring from a wound in his throat.
What happened next became a bit of blur to Harry. The girl screamed as loud as a chorus of banshees in a thunderstorm.
Three sets of hurried footsteps pounded down the hallway and came to stop behind the grief-stricken girl. All eyes were upon the boy on the wooden floor, which was not covered with a thin film of crimson blood to match Chanel's hair.
An eerie silence engulfed the four individuals.
Just as quickly as the silence had set in, it gave way to panicked scurrying as the authorities were called in. Harry took his opportunity and Apparated out to his final stop before returning to No. 4 Privet Drive.
With an almost inaudible 'pop', Harry appeared in the bedroom of one Luna Lovegood. She had her back to him and her head rested in her gentle hands. Full-body convulsions signaled that she was crying.
'She must have known the message' Harry thought to himself with satisfied warmth. He knew she would not believe him when he told her unless he sounded like he had on the phone. So taking a quick breath, Harry tapped Luna on the shoulder. She jumped slightly and turned around in her chair. Her liquid-blue eyes met his vibrant emerald green ones.
"Luna, I hope you can forgive me," Harry sighed, his voice still retaining the eerie quality it had had on the phone.
"Harry? Wh-what is going on?" she asked, stifling a sob.
Harry smiled and pulled out his CD player again and pressed the pause button once more. This time, it provided the next sequence of the deed:
There
was
Police and
Flashing lights
The rain came down so hard
that night
Before she could say anything in reaction to the song, Harry pulled her close and into a deep kiss.
He stroked her neck and simply held her as she cried. It seemed she did not understand that she was relinquishing herself to her dead lover's murderer. Brushing a strand of silky bleach-blond hair aside from her left ear, he leaned and whispered:
Oh, my love
Please
don't cry
I'll wash my bloody hands and
We'll start a new
life
I don't know much at all
I don't know wrong from right
All I know is that I love you tonight
Luna leaned into Harry and sighed. The young girl just stared at the boy in front of her, not completely comprehending the night's horrific event. He rocked her gently back and forth until her weeping had subsided. Suddenly, as if a meteor had struck, the grief-stricken girl pulled away from Harry and pointed a shaky finger at him.
"H-how could you!" she screamed, a fresh onslaught of tears falling from her red-rimmed eyes.
"Luna…I did it for you, for us," Harry said, taking a small step towards his angelic classmate.
"How can you say that? You killed him!" she wailed, her knees buckling beneath her as she descended towards the carpeted floor.
Harry caught her as she fell. He cradled her exhausted frame in his strong arms all the while trailing light kisses along her hairline. Slowly, the dark-haired boy turned his shaking cherub around to face him. Locking eyes with her, he spoke:
Standing over him, he
begged me not to do
What I knew I had to do cause I'm so in love
with you
Harry lifted Luna up into her bed and gently kissed her on the lips. With a small 'swish' and 'pop' he was gone.
Returning to No. 4 Privet Drive, he snuck the CD player back into his drawer and got into bed. It had been a long but fulfilling night. As he closed his eyes, he knew he had won the apple of his eye……
Harry felt a slight tug on his sleeve. He looked up and met the watery eyes of Luna. She simply stared at him for what seemed like eternity. She reached out her hand and took his.
With a faint smile, leaned in and kissed him. Before he knew it, he was in a bear-like hug. Harry squeezed a small smile back. She loosened her grip and pulled the famous wizard aside out of the sight of the crowd. Placing her mouth next to his right ear, she whispered:
All I know is that I love you tonight.
Author Note: the Latin phrase roughly translates to "Our souls are bound together forever"