Whispers in the Night
Disclaimer: I'm just playing in JKR's sandbox and make no money from this. Please enjoy the story and feel free to leave comments and critiques, it's the only way to get better at this. I'm writing this story for my own enjoyment.
Content Warning: This story will contain mentions of abuse and scenes containing but not limited to swearing, violence, smut and other Adult Content.
Author's Note: 1. I had a lot of people asking why we didn't see as much of Hermione and Ron last chapter and why I didn't delve into reactions as much. Simply put, we will see the reactions of characters over time as Harry discusses it with them at his leisure, or will see it mentioned. The reason I didn't bring more Hermione and Ron into it all is because I want to focus more on my preferred cast, new characters and what they all have to offer. We have seen Ron and Hermione in similar situations and I think it's done to death, so I avoid it a bit because I want the camera focused elsewhere. Yes some of the friendships are quick, but sometimes they can be that way. I'm taking advice into account but I'm still proceeding mostly with what I have already written and editing in a few other things. I'm sorry if this disappoints some of you, and I'm sory if I don't go as in depth as you expect I should, but it is my story and I like where I had/have it going. 2. We see a smidgen of action here but not much. Actually there was supposed to be a lot more here originally but I decided not to kill a certain Grim here. You're welcome. 3. We will begin to see different perspectives more and more from here on out. I'll be including various adults and even some teens here and there that help progress the story. 4. As always, huge thank you to my reviewers and supporters. 5. Sorry for the wait, college and some doctor's appointments took over my life. We will be on track next week.
Chapter Ten: Halloween
A week had passed since Harry's scars, his history, his greatest secret had been revealed. The interview had left Harry compromised, his emotions in wild swing before the calming draughts Poppy gave him had settled in. Those potions were the reason why he had spoken so easily with Blaise, Hermione and all of the others. The next day had not gone so easily. Poppy had eased Harry down from the calming draughts which in some opinions was not a good thing.
Namely everyone Harry had put through a thorough reaming the likes of which they would never forget.
Harry had remained quiet around everyone except Poppy and Minerva whenever the latter stopped by to visit, usually at meal times. Cedric had respected Harry's silence and taken to getting ahead on what assignments he could while in the Hospital wing. Bill had work at Gringotts' to attend to and Amelia was busy fast-tracking the classified trial for the Dursleys with the eager help of Tonks, Kingsley, and Hestia Jones. That left everyone else at the mercy of a very irate teenager with anger issues.
The moment his friends had gathered just after dinner to confront them he had let loose. Daphne and Susan had been particularly shamed for deciding to use a listening charm, that they hadn't trusted him enough to tell them in his own time, which also applied to everyone else. Tracey had tried to defend them all with the fact that they wouldn't have used the listening charm if he had just trusted them in the first place.
That had set Harry off.
"And now that you know the truth do you feel better?" he asked them. "Do you feel satisfied, more fulfilled now that you know I'm a bloody freak?! That my past is worse than the lives of countless slaves? Are you happy to learn a friend carried all of that pain, anguish, and agony and managed deal with it? Are you happy you got to learn that when I was so desperate for you not to know I couldn't even look at you?!
"I didn't want anyone to know for a reason, dammit!" Harry growled at them. "I was weak! I still am! I fought back as best I could and even then I only survived, and maybe that's not even the right word! I never wanted anyone to know because this is my greatest shame, my darkest secret, and you all stole it from me! You stole my choice to trust away from me!"
Poppy had cut him off after that and sent everyone away and talked quietly with him. To say everyone was ashamed of listening in was an understatement. Cedric was absolved of guilt because there really hadn't been any plan behind his circumstances, just dumb luck that he had been badly injured enough to stay in the hospital wing and hear the entire thing. That and being sworn to secrecy by a very scary trio comprised of the Head of the DMLE, the local Healer and the Deputy Headmistress might have had something to do with it.
Harry had received a string of apologies in the mail from all of his friends, along with several attempts to apologize in person. Poppy's presence had kept Harry calm, without using any potions, and eventually he had come around to talk normally with them. Of course, any mention of his past had brought them back to angry looks and absolute silence until they changed the topic. When Hermione had tried questioning Cedric, Harry had cast a silencing spell on her that took the combined efforts of Minerva and Poppy to break. Harry had not been affected by any threats of punishment or admonishment, not from anyone, even his best friends.
Bill had been impressed when he stopped by for a late dessert that Tuesday night when Harry told him what had happened. Of course, that little event had only spurred another. Hermione and Ron had snuck down with the invisibility cloak and Hermione had cast a privacy ward around the golden trio so they could talk privately. Bill, who raised an eyebrow at them from the other side, shrugged and went back to his book.
"Traitor," Harry said with resigned futility, only for Bill to shrug on the other side of the ward, having read the teen's lips.
"Yeah, well, sometimes family takes precedence over friendship," Ron shot back as he pulled a pair of stools over for himself and Hermione.
"Then where are Fred and George? I'm friends with them too. Aren't they family enough to you to be down here?" Harry sniped as he sat up straighter in bed.
"This isn't about them, it's about us and your little tantrum the other day about us not trusting you," Ron put bluntly. "But you don't trust us is what I got from that."
"Tantrum, huh? Let's stick you under the Dursleys' care for a few years then see how you feel when someone invades your privacy, decides you don't get to have secrets, decides you don't get to have a choice in who you tell about things or what you tell them," Harry growled in return, making Ron look away ashamed of the momentary outburst. "Yeah… I thought so."
"You still didn't trust us, Harry," Hermione nearly whispered. "We've been friends since first year… We saved the Philosopher's Stone and you killed a basilisk to save me, to save Ron's sister. We killed a troll together, Harry… We've been the closest, best of friends since that Halloween and I… we can't do this without you. We have always been honest with you when you asked it of us. I think it's time you were honest as well."
"She's got the right of it, mate," Ron added quietly. "We just wanted to know the truth and we want to hear you tell us, not hear you scream about it to Dumbledore."
"We just want to help," Hermione continued. "If you had told us sooner… Harry we all know you've been different this year… that you've been trying to break out of your shell but you could have done that from the start. Please… help us understand."
Harry looked to his hands and took a breath. It was not what he expected, nor what he wanted, but it was the honest truth of their friendship that he needed to open up, now more than ever. His hand drifted to the novel on his bedside table and he slowly pried it open. Between the pages was a bookmark unlike any other, one that Harry doubted anyone else possessed.
"My room for the first twelve years of my life was here," Harry began as he seemingly unfolded a bookmark that had once had been seamless. Of all the things Harry had managed to salvage it was the envelope of the very first Hogwarts letter. "This is one of my most prized possessions…"
Hermione took it with ginger hands and examined the envelope. How Harry had hidden it, possibly with some sort of transfiguration enchantment, was interesting, but right now the object in her hands mattered far more. Tears welled in her eyes and Ron's hand's tightened into fists as he read it
To: Mr. H. J. Potter,
In the Cupboard Under the Stairs, Number 4 Privett Drive
Little Whinging, Surrey
From: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
"It reminds me what I faced and where I came from… but it also reminds me that I was able to escape, to move on, that there was an entire world just waiting for me to find it…"
For a while Harry spoke of the hope it had given him until he had delved, much more gingerly, into his past. In overview he explained what punishments were, what his life was like, but nothing compared to the interview. By the end of it all Hermione was sitting on the bed, holding Harry for dear life as Ron held his head in his hands, apologizing over and over again for not doing enough, for not trying to do more when they rescued him from bars on his windows, thinking it was just another muggle punishment to keep him from communicating with everyone.
They had continued to talk late into the night, Harry forgiving them for never knowing, never doing anything, for prying and for not when they should have. They forgave him for 'playing his role' as he called it, for not showing them the side of him he never wanted seen. It brought them closer together in its own way and eventually Bill walked the pair of uninjured students back to Gryffindor Tower before he left for his early shift at Gringotts. But not without saying a few words of wisdom himself.
"They're the closest you ever got, you know," Bill whispered in the dark infirmary. "To a family."
"A brother and sister… I know," Harry muttered softly. "We still are… but not all families last."
Bill chuckled and shook his head. "Always a pessimist, is that it?"
"Maybe, but right now I just see the cracks," Harry murmured in a small voice. "I'm not blind, Bill. I know them better than they think. I've heard things spoken from both of them I never told them I did."
"Why not call them out on it tonight?"
"Because it wasn't what they needed… It's not what I needed either," Harry answered after a long pause. "If I even know what I need anymore."
Bill sighed as he set a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder. It wasn't exactly what he had hoped to hear from the young man, but it was how the teen felt and there was little to change it. "Hopefully someday you do… And maybe someday I'll help you find it." Bill slipped his coat on before a grin slipped across his lips. "Or maybe a far prettier redhead than I will and I'll just reap the benefits."
Harry went to bed laughing as he thought of Bill's parting words. The days that followed were far easier on everyone, especially when they asked questions or Harry would make certain comments about his past that he had never spoken of before. Cedric was released on Thursday which left Harry the sole long-term tenant of the hospital wing, barring a few brief visits from those that came in from quidditch practice, potions accidents, and sometimes a few brief duels for those that wanted to become aurors.
"He walked by again," Harry muttered a week after the incident. "He keeps walking by like that I'm going to start thinking he's my next Halloween disaster."
Madame Bones chuckle lightly around her scone as she sat next to his bed, a daily prophet next to her and a meal shared between them on the table. "I'm sure professor Lupin is just concerned for your health."
"And you would know this, how?" Harry asked with a skeptically raised eyebrow.
"I asked him the first time you told me of your suspicions when I visited yesterday," the Head of the DMLE answered. "He's as safe as having Fang around."
"I'd rather not be covered in the slobber of my defense professor… and that notion is just a bit creepy when I put it like that," Harry realized allowed as he mulled over his contemplations with a slightly off-color expression. "Moving on…"
Amelia had already taken to snickering at Harry's unintentional innuendo before she gathered herself to answer him properly. "Professor Lupin is not a, ah, cradle robber, nor is he inclined toward men."
"As I said, moving on…" Harry pressed forward as Amelia continued to grin at him.
That she could find the humor in the day was a good thing. He wished she had brought Tonks with her, or that Bill was there, but Amelia was the right sort of person. Harry felt safe around her, safer than he had around anyone in his entire life, which felt incredibly odd about. He had spoken with her for a number of hours certainly but she had never lied to him, had always been honest and earnest in her intentions, and the fact she had gotten rid of the Dursleys and personally tossed them into something comparable to a pit of hell was definitely a point in her favor. So perhaps it wasn't so odd, but he would always be cautious.
Harry's expression became slightly dourer as his gaze returned to his lap. Some days were for laughing, some were for being thankful, others for giving gifts, and some for receiving them. Some days even signified the end of a war, some days were celebrated more than others, and some should never be celebrated. This day, however, was one that broke apart a family forever. In his hospital bed, Harry Potter sat quietly, his fingers tracing the lines of faces he had never touched, faces of people he had never met, people whose names he only knew because of others.
"There's a lie that people say, that you can't miss what you don't have, or what you've never had," he whispered to himself.
"They're wrong," Amelia asserted softly.
"I told myself that very lie for so many years, hoping it would be true," Harry continued gently as he nodded in agreement with Amelia. "Sometimes it was real. Some days I didn't miss it. Weeks, even months would go by and I wouldn't feel a thing about it... Then I'd see a little girl scuff her knee and her dad come running to kiss it better. I'd see a boy looking for someone to play with only for his mum to push the swing he's on. I'd see a teen get welcomed home by their mother with a warm, loving hug... And I'd always wonder what it felt like..."
"A family."
Harry's solemn nod in response to Amelia's assertion as he caressed the picture one last time was all he could manage before he set it on his bedside table. To either side of his bed well wishes had been left by friends and admirers alike, most of them opened to get at the soothing and decadent chocolate left after some hard conversations. Harry would stay in the infirmary for another week, perhaps two to continue repairing some of the more extensive damage done to him by the Dursleys. It had gone well, to a point, but only so much could be done in a short span of time. In another week greater progress would be made, according to Poppy, but time was their greatest ally where the sort of magic they were using to treat him was concerned.
"It's Halloween," Harry sighed as he sat up a little further on his bed.
"I know," Amelia agreed sadly.
"I hate Halloween."
The woman snorted, her expression stuck somewhere between morbid humor and bitter agreement. It was a quiet reminder there was still humor in the world. "I know."
Harry peered at the woman curiously, his gaze trained on the bright silver eyes that stared right back at him from behind thin, black glasses, rounded at every corner to frame her eyes more softly. "How?"
"Because I hate this day too. Despite what it meant for our world a young man lost his family this very night fourteen years ago, and it serves as far too potent a reminder of what I lost as well," she responded kindly as she set a hand on his when he turned to face the table and partake in some of their breakfast. "While I never went through what you did, Harry, I haven't enjoyed this day any more than you have since that night. You lost everything, and I lost everything but Susan in the war that preceded that night. None of us were left unscarred by it."
Harry shifted uneasily, though his hand remained cradled by Amelia's as he pushed his gaze away from her and up to the ceiling. He tried to count the tiles in order to not remember but it was of little use. Flashes of everything that had happened on Halloweens of years past flooded back to him. The young wizard grit his teeth and looked back to the woman beside him, a woman that had done nothing but help him since he met her.
"My parents were killed and I was given to the Dursleys. Every Halloween since something bad has happened. Burnt food meant a burnt hand, a treat snuck meant no food for a day, a question asked meant a belt stripped flesh from my back... Every year there was a mistake, a punishment, and then it changed. A troll in a bathroom, a cat petrified by a basilisk, I can only imagine what this year holds." He let out a sigh, his gaze staring at nothing as he looked out the window. "This day is cursed... or maybe it's just me."
"I don't know about cursed, but this year might be different," Amelia suggested hopefully. The air about her made her seem calm, but something in that hopeful tone tipped Harry off.
"What is it?"
Amelia raised a brow at his more demanding tone. With only a sliver of sheepishness, Harry ducked his head and offered an apologetic smile before she sighed in resignation, a slight smile upon her lips at their momentary interaction. "The Prophet finally announced your availability. Offers to adopt you should be turning up any minute now."
Stunned, and not a little intimidated at the idea, Harry leaned on the table. He had known it would happen eventually but now the whole of the magical world knew. As Amelia held up the Prophet for him to see, Harry knew it to be true. Thankfully, as he read some of the article, Harry noticed none of the circumstances surrounding the sudden change of status had been revealed, just that he was now up for adoption among the wizarding world after his previous guardians were deemed unfit to handle his current status and growing powers. It speculated on just who might attempt to adopt him but little else besides acting, essentially, like want ad.
"Holy shit."
"Language," Amelia admonished casually with a smile. The pair snorted at that before Harry set the paper aside.
"I just... I mean I'm just a wreck of a teenager. Who in their right mind would want to take me in?" Harry breathed in disbelief as he finally took his eyes off of the paper and looked to Amelia for an answer.
Folding the paper, the matriarch of the Bones family offered a light shrug, her eyes following her hands attentively before she grasped her wand and gave a gentle flick toward the window. She didn't want to see the results, especially considering she wanted to act on impulse instead of patience and planning for once. Mere moments after the windows had opened an owl flew in, then another, then a dozen more at least, each dropping off a letter for him on the bed. The first wave hardly had time to leave before the next glided into the infirmary, each owl depositing their letter before leaving straight away. Convinced that was quite enough for now Amelia swept her wand across the windows and sealed them all before she turned to him.
"Quite a few people it would seem." Amelia paused, her thoughts conflicted as she watched him deliberately pick up each envelope in shock. Part of her was quite pleased the boy in front of her had so many opportunities available to him, but another wished otherwise, for her own sake at least. For now, however, she had a different issue to address.
"Don't open any of them just yet," she commanded as she stepped forward, her wand waving intricate patterns in the air. "I'm checking for any compulsion charms or potions, things that might influence who you choose or do you direct harm."
Convinced by the stern aura that surrounded the redhead Harry quickly dropped the two in his hands and let Amelia work. Now he knew why she was here. He had been curious why she had shown up today of all days but this was definitely a good reason. The fact she came to do this personally warmed him somewhat, as she was no doubt a busy woman with many responsibilities. He almost felt guilty about that until he realized the useless ministry was without its Head of the DMLE for a day, though no doubt she had taken action to make sure she didn't get bogged down with any bullshit upon her return.
"Ah, here we are," Amelia said as one letter glowed a misty green. "Compulsion charm. Shall I just take this for evidence now?"
The knowing lilt in Amelia's voice made Harry snort. A few short encounters and she could already read some of his personality. "Take it, take any that have anything similar on them too. Anyone going to such lengths to curry my favor or hurt me deserves a good hexing."
"A fine is more likely, Harry, but I agree." Amelia quickly conjured a cardboard box and tossed the letter in as she wrote "evidence" on the outside and continued scanning. A number of others had similar charms or potions upon them but not a single one had a hex. Harry was surprised at first but figured nobody would want the backlash of harming the Boy-Who-Lived, especially when any family he might choose would probably seek retribution on his behalf. "I believe that's all of them for now. Go on and take a look while I get the castle's elves to gather the other offers."
That was all Harry needed to hear before he began to examine each letter himself. He was honestly astounded that so many people wanted to give him a place to live. Some of the names sounded vaguely familiar but nothing jumped out at him immediately. Most of them were quite formal, each stating certain terms adoption and explaining more about the family and living conditions. He was halfway through the small pile when the infirmary doors opened to reveal the Weasleys siblings that still attended Hogwarts accompanied by a number of other students, including his friends.
"Harry! How are you doing?" Percy Weasley asked as he approached.
"Fine, just going through some of the offers now," Harry said with a gesture to the three piles of letters he had started to make.
Percy's smile almost seemed a bit smug and indulgent as he nodded. "Of course, always keeping your options open. However, I've been told to give you this," the third oldest Weasley brother declared as he handed over a letter rather pridefully. "Mother and father wished to congratulate you on getting away from the muggles and would like to extend-"
"Mum and dad want you to live with us," Fred and George chimed in unison.
Flustered, Percy spun around only to find Ginny and Ron as the twins sidestepped him and each shook one of Harry's hands. "We hope you make a good brother, Harry."
Thoroughly irritated with the twins Percy smacked both of them upside the head and smoothed out his robes. "Yes as I was saying, mother and father want to invite you to-"
"Can you believe it mate?!" Ron asked as he stepped up to Harry's bedside. "Brothers! If you'd like you can share my room."
While Harry smiled at the offer, of sharing Ron's room as he had in the past. Harry had never dreamed of having a family like theirs to support him but there they were, offering him a place in their home. The longer he considered it, however, Harry felt uncomfortable about it. He remembered all of his time at the Burrow, all of the reactions he'd ever had in regards to living there for a month around the rest of the family besides Bill and Charlie. His mind stuck on Bill, how he had bonded with the eldest Weasley son over the summer. He hardly noticed that every Weasley in attendance was trying to talk at once until he offered a wistful smile of his own.
"Thank you," Harry began in as grateful a tone as he could muster. Only the thanks he had given to Amelia and Tonks the day they told him it was over, and the other day they had told him he would never return to the Dursleys and that they were in Azkaban outstripped what he offered the redheaded siblings now. "Really I mean it, thank you, for the offer, for everything. I adore your family, you're all friends of mine and your parents are great...
"But I can't accept."
You could have heard a feather drop at a hundred paces in the silence that washed over the infirmary. Harry gently pressed the letter back into Percy's hand that had once been waiting for a handshake. As he closed the older teen's hand around the letter Harry knew he had done the right thing for himself and let out a long slow breath. Part of him ached at refusing the offer but he knew it was right, right for him at least. Not a single soul made a sound, even the students waiting to speak with him were struck silent. For their parts, Poppy and Amelia stood in quiet anticipation, each with their hands hovering near their wands in case the rejection wasn't handled well.
"I'm sorry, did you just-"
"Harry said no," George cut across Percy. "I didn't think-"
"-that was possible!" Fred finished for him with a measure of stunned disbelief. "Are you sure about this, Harry?"
"Yeah, I'm sure," Harry continued as he looked from one Weasley to the next. "I truly appreciate the offer but I don't think yours is the right family for me to join."
"Why?!" Ron's sudden shout turned every head in the room to him as his ears burned bright red in anger. "You complain and moan that you haven't got a family. Tell me I should be happier with what I have! That you would give up all of your money and fame just to have a family like mine, to have even a moment with your parents!"
Ron was in tears of anger as he grasped the front of Harry's shirt and pulled him up to look him in the eyes. "You spend part of last summer with us even! You saved my sister from death and risked your life for her, for all of us! You spend a summer chatting with Bill at the Leaky Cauldron on occasion and you befriend all of us only now you're saying no?! My family just offered you everything you could have ever wanted, things you told me you wanted time and again, and now suddenly you're saying you don't want us as family?! What are we not good enough for you?! Are we not rich enough to have you join our family, is that it?!"
"Ron that's-"
"No! Not this time!" Ron roared at the twins as he fought them off when they tried to pull him away. "I want to know why you don't think our family's good enough for you! Well, come on! Out with it, Harry!"
Harry sat in his hospital bed, shocked and hurt at what had come from his friend. One of his first friends, his best mate, didn't believe he couldn't accept for any reason but that they weren't good enough, weren't rich enough for him. He wasn't sure what hurt worse, the look in Ron's eye, or what he had said. He had made friends with the family, had gotten to know them all very well but they just didn't click, not in the right way.
"I'm sorry, Ron," Harry managed to get out as he stared down at the redhead's hands that held him up before their eyes met once again. "I'm sorry I'm not joining your family. I'm sorry you think it's because of those reasons. I'm sorry you don't know me better than that. I can say sorry until I'm blue in the face but it won't change anything. I'm not joining your family… But I thank you for offering."
Ron was about to yell once more when the twins firmly grasped a hold of him and dragged him off. The younger redhead cursed his way out before he tore away from the twins and ran off. Ginny quickly followed with tears in her eyes as Percy walked away in shocked disbelief that they had been refused. Fred and George looked back at Harry and offered him wistful smiles. For a moment he thought they understood what he was trying to get across to them, that he was still trying to give a name to himself before they walked off to try and limit the damage done to their siblings.
Everyone that had come to give Harry an offer was stunned he would reject the Weasleys. Harry swallowed down his emotions as he looked to everyone else, a fake smile plastered upon his face as convincingly as ever. He had done the right thing, for him and for no-one else. He had to believe that, and he did.
He just wished it wouldn't hurt his friends so much.
"Family drama, right?" Harry joked lightly to only a few snickers among the assembled group of students. "If you have your family's offer just leave it on the bed. I appreciate every last one of them and will give them all consideration in the days to come."
Glad they weren't being refused outright, a number of school mates set their family's adoption offer in front of Harry before departing with well wishes. Harry bade each of them a good day and thanked them in turn as they set down their offers until only a few remained. Harry almost sighed in relief until he thought about how any of them might react to being rejected.
"That went well," Daphne quipped as she sat down on Harry's bed, her hand gently touching his knee. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Harry assured her as he eyed the offers listlessly.
"Funny, that sounded like you felt like shit. Care to try again?" The brunette coaxed as she squeezed his knee.
"Language, Daphne," Amelia chided as she scanned the various offers.
"Yes auntie," Daphne drawled as she smirked first at Susan, then Amelia. "I'll be sure never to say any curses like shit, bugger, fuck, bloody hell, or other indelicate words such as dick, prick or cock- SON OF A BITCH!" Daphne leaped off of the bed, her hand rubbing one side of her rear end as she tried to hide it from Amelia. "Alright! Fine! I'll stop!"
"You better, or I aim for the other one with something more than a stinging hex," Amelia answered as Susan erupted in giggles next to her aunt. "Perhaps a shrinking charm?"
While Daphne flushed bright red Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the scene that unfolded before him. The smiles that erupted around the room inspired a warm feeling in Harry's chest as he sat there watching Daphne remount his bed and set her hand on his knee. The reassuring pat she gave it directed his gaze to her lavender eyes and Harry shook his head.
"No, I'm not ok," he finally managed. "But I don't want to talk about it. Not right now."
"You sure you don't want to talk?" Susan pressed as she sat on his other side. "You know you can talk to us, Harry. It will be just like how we've been talking all week now. We know what you've been through now. Let us help. If nothing else we can help you figure things out."
"I know, Susan! I just..." Harry sighed as he looked toward the empty infirmary doorway then back to his hands. "I just need time to think about this."
The two girls shared a look then nodded as they began to help Harry look through the offers. Daphne even presented Harry one for her own family as they worked. Susan glanced at her aunt only to receive a questioning eyebrow in return. The pair communicated silently for a moment before the teenage girl determined she wasn't getting an answer on whether or not her aunt had made a full-fledged in-writing offer for the young man next to her.
Harry was oblivious to the silent exchanged and had begun to separate the offers he had read into rejected and possible piles, with the remaining in the final pile that Amelia was making on the table. Most of the rejected offers came from people Harry felt were digging for gold or fame and just trying to use him. A few more that the elves brought were placed in the box Amelia had conjured earlier and Harry wondered, not for the last time, what everyone's real motives were behind these offers.
Eventually the small group was joined by Hannah, Tracey, Theo, Blaise, Neville and Hermione. Ever since last week each of his friends had been eager to help him any way they could. Unfortunately all of the help was too much for him one day and it had taken isolating himself for a couple of hours to get the point across. Thankfully, however, they had backed off a bit, though everyone had given him help in one way or another; notes from classes, help with a spell, rune scheme or arithmantic equation, even keeping people away when he needed some more privacy.
Today each of them was helping sort mail, though everyone except Blaise and Susan had added their own family's offers to the pile. Harry couldn't help but give them each a heartfelt thank you before they continued digging through the piles, curious to see who was interested in adopting him. Hermione, however, had a question that she just couldn't let go of.
"I wasn't here for what happened with the Weasleys but Ron was furious, Harry," Hermione explained delicately. Harry visibly tensed and the intelligent brunette worried her lip anxiously. She hated to see her friends fight, especially the two that had kept her alive and attending Hogwarts when she had thought about returning to the mundane world. "You don't... I mean, you don't really believe they're not good enough, right?"
"How can you even ask me that, Hermione?" Harry breathed, wounded that she would think that. "Of course they're good enough! They're fantastic! It's just... I don't think they're the kind of family I need."
The room breathed a collective sigh of relief. All of them had worried it was something else but for now what he said made sense. Well, for the most part.
"Why not?" Hermione pressed. "I'm not trying to make this an argument," she added quickly as she saw several of the group tell her to stop with various expressions, including a set of rather furious glances from Amelia and Poppy. "I just... I hate seeing you two fight just as badly as you hate seeing Ron and I argue. I just don't want to have to choose, Harry. You were my first friends too. I just want to know why you didn't accept the Weasley's offer so I can better understand what's going on."
Harry's shoulders fell. He knew exactly what she meant. It seemed more and more that things were turning pear shaped for the so-called golden trio and none of them were enjoying it. Sure they had made progress a few days ago but now, for some reason Harry doubted very much there would ever be a trio again. Harry, however, wasn't sure what he could say. "I need time, Hermione. I need to think this through. This isn't easy, you know? I just don't know what it is I need! I've never had a family so how can I know?!"
The feeling of a hand holding his shoulder firmly stopped Harry in his tracks. As soon as he glanced over he couldn't help but be thankful to have met Blaise in the hall that first day. Theo nudged his shoulder on the other side to let him know he was there and the group went quiet as Harry calmed down.
"I'm sorry, I just..." he whispered as he gathered his thoughts. "I can't really say why other than the fact it didn't feel right. I'm close to them, yeah, but I just don't feel they're what I need. I feel like someone else might be out there and I… I don't know. I'm still trying to figure all of this out. I'm sorry, Hermione."
"I'm sorry too," Hermione said softly as she hugged him. "I'm sorry for pushing you and I promise I'll try not to ask any more about it until you're ready to tell me."
Harry smiled slightly as he felt her adjust how tight she hugged him. One thing they had learned in the past week was that hugging was still new territory and he wasn't quite sure what he felt comfortable with yet. As soon as they parted the group turned back to the offers at hand, each gave suggestions based on what they knew of the family that sent it. Of course, a little bias was expected when each came to their own families.
Eventually Harry decided that he had looked through enough and set them aside. Amelia was nice enough to conjure a few more boxes so he could send out replies later to those he rejected and keep everything relatively neat. Talk of Quidditch was brought up from Tracey of all people, and the group chatted about the current standing of teams. Hermione, for once, joined in seeing that other girls were discussing it, unlike all of the times she witnessed the boys of Gryffindor being fanatical in their support of certain teams.
"Honestly, I haven't got a favorite team," Harry admitted as he unwrapped a chocolate frog. "I know Ron likes the Cannons but I'm clueless about the league unless I hear it from my house mates. Don't have a wireless and anything magical wasn't welcomed at the Dursleys'. I'm more likely to know about football, but I listened to music mostly when I had my stolen radio handy."
"You should check out the Harpies then," Hannah recommended while working on her own chocolate frog. "All women team, lighter than their opposition but absolutely fierce in the air."
"Not to mention quite the lookers," Blaise chipped in as he bit into a licorice wand.
"Hard not to be as a witch," Tracey teased with a grin. "Magic just makes us naturally desirable. Muggles were just jealous of us when they first portrayed us in books and movies. Morgana and Circe know we only get better with age."
"Really?" Hermione asked suddenly. "I didn't know that magic made us, well, prettier than normal people."
"There's rarely an ugly witch, Hermione, but it does happen," Daphne continued with Tracey's explanation as the blonde ate some ice mice. "None of us know exactly why we're better looking, in general terms, than muggles but we just are. Some say it's just naturally a part of being magical, others say it was a spell cast by the first wizards and witches to ensure we were better than normal beings, but really we just don't know. It's just become natural for all of us."
"What about Bulstrode?" Theo questioned for the sake of curiosity. "Think she's an exception to the rule?"
"My bet is that she's just a late bloomer," Susan decided. "It's not all instant, it's gradual. The amount of magic, or pure blood, doesn't make you more or less beautiful. My guess is Millicent will just be a different kind of beauty... Hopefully."
"Well you witches all look pretty good from where I'm sitting," Harry muttered under his breath. Apparently he hadn't been quiet enough, however, as each of the girls was grinning at him, a light blush on their cheeks. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"
"You could say it again to be sure," Susan teased as she tempted him with a better view of her cleavage while reaching for another bar of Honeyduke's, her cheeks pinked even brighter.
"Ah, yeah umm... Not in front of the armed DMLE Director, who also happens to be your aunt," Harry pointed out as Amelia smirked at a groaning Susan. "Nor around the ever-present Queen of the Infirmary."
Poppy grinned as she approached, happy to see her favorite patient enjoying some time with his friends while he could. "Indeed not, or I'll have to separate you all. Unfortunately for you lot it's time for dinner."
"But Madame Pomfrey I've eaten far too much chocolate. Shouldn't I stay here just in case an upset stomach happens?" Daphne asked with a concerned pout Harry wouldn't have bought. Then again, as the girl continued to maintain the pout he couldn't help but fall for it a little, if only because he wanted to make a pretty girl like her happy.
"Not a chance, Miss Greengrass. If you have had too much chocolate then the reign of your sweet tooth is at an end," the matron said as she gently ushered everyone out.
Harry waved goodbye to them all, a mixture of emotions ran through him at the sight. Part of him was glad to be left with his thoughts for a while, but another, larger part of him was sad to see them go. He was, however, surprised to see Poppy conjure yet another raised table for herself and Amelia beside his bed, just like the one they had vanished to make room for his friends, before the house elves delivered them dinner.
"Umm, Poppy?" Harry began slowly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm enjoying dinner with my only patient and an old friend," the nurse said with ease as she doled him out large portions of each dish. As soon as all the plates were set, her wide smile became more solemn as she withdrew a candle from her pocket. It didn't seem extraordinary in the least, it was just a medium-sized sky blue candle which she set in a delicate silver cup edged with runes.
"What is that?" Harry asked curiously with only a hint of unease.
"Dreamers' Delight," Amelia murmured as she looked at the candle.
"I light one every year on this night," Poppy clarified with a nod to Amelia. "The stand there ensures the candle burns a full night so that in the morning you can blow it out, and know that you've breathed life into the memories of loved ones lost or into happy thoughts in the hopes of a brighter future. The candles are laced with what's called Dreamers' Delight, as Amelia said. It brings sweet dreams of the last thing you think of before you fall asleep. On a night like this, I thought we might all appreciate such a dream."
Harry's gaze was locked on the candle. Dreams? What sort of dreams might he have tonight? It had been so long since his last dream he hardly remembered it. If this latched onto the right idea, what might he see? The very power of this candle to give him an idea, a moment, a dream of what might have been, a dream of what might be, seemed priceless in that moment. Slowly Harry set his hand on Poppy's, his fingers latched gently around her palm when she finished lighting the candle.
"Thank you, Poppy," he breathed as his green eyes finally met her blue ones. "Truly, thank you."
"You're welcome, Harry," she accepted with a smile. "Now eat up, we wouldn't want it to get cold now would we!"
Harry chuckled at the matron's antics and listened as she chatted with Amelia about the Aurors she had cared for over the summer. He had never thought the Healer would work so closely with law enforcement, but then why wouldn't she? Their job was as dangerous as any other and good healers would be a commodity not to be wasted. Harry listened intently on some of the injuries she healed but took particular note of one case.
"Cyrus Greengrass is the slipperiest man I've ever met," Amelia grumbled in response to Poppy's latest story as she stabbed a piece of chicken.
"Amelia, you're his friend, you are practically his daughter's own aunt! Why so frustrated with him?" Poppy questioned as she cut up her own meal.
"Because the slippery bastard keeps out-doing me," she groused over her goblet of wine. "I've had tips come in from various sources about smugglers the Ministry doesn't approve of and he's always there, helping my aurors along the way. I think half of the tips come from him anyway, the charismatic git… The fact he's made his business legitimate only irks me farther because I know he doesn't always follow the rules."
"I thought he had gone legitimate but I wasn't sure. I had needed some extra ingredients and potions for Harry and he acquired them for me at a manageable price. Wasn't he smuggling in the war?" Poppy continued to ask.
"He was. Cyrus worked extensively with both sides until he realized a future under Voldemort would mark him and doom Daphne to being a trophy wife. He sided with us and it made a difference until the end of the war. By then he had earned enough to invest and buy his way into businesses so legally and ironclad the only illegal thing we might be able to catch him on is selling things on the side to people who may or may not be licensed for certain materials, but even then we can't prove it," Amelia explained in a rather defeat, but fond tone. "And then he gets pardoned from it and makes some more deals to keep his side-business so discrete and manageable that even I can't outright prove he's doing it."
"Wait, this is Daphne's dad, right?" Amelia and Poppy nodded in tandem. "He's a criminal?"
"Not... necessarily," Amelia sighed as she set her wine down. "He's a good man and a good father but he's also an import and export specialist, a merchant and businessman that owns and operates his businesses very shrewdly. Other than that, however, he's the slyest opportunist I've ever met and he smuggled extensively in the past, something I believe he continues to do on occasion."
To say Harry was impressed was an understatement. Here was the Head of the DMLE admitting she was associates with a so-called former criminal. More, she respected that man. "If he's so good at it why does he keep up a friendship with you, especially since you might actually be the one to catch him?"
"Daphne, Astoria, and his wife Diana. He earned enough in the war and went legitimate for them and has been a great help on a number of investigations both in the past and the present. That doesn't stop him from making side deals that we get the barest whiff of that we can't do anything about, however," Amelia explained. A small smile reached her face. "He's good for them. He's raised his girls right and done well by Susan, Tracey and Hannah when we've all spent time together. I was his ministry contact during the war and ever since we've been friends. In part I think we stick together because we know we may need one another in the future."
"He sounds interesting if he can do what he does and remain friends with you," Harry commented lightly as he finished his plate.
"He's a scoundrel," Amelia chimed fondly. "But a good one. In fact I remember one time he-"
Loud slams and cranks rushed along the walls on either side of the hospital wing. The waning sunset outside disappeared with each shutter that closed and sealed itself with magic. When the doors that led to the balcony at the end of the infirmary crashed shut, the windows glowed bright blue and the torches flared brightly to light the dark room. Loud groans and the sudden crash and clank of massive locks were heard in the distance and Harry held his wand tight, his breath quickening as the snick and crackle of locks being done up in the hall and all around the infirmary's windows reached his ears.
"Not this time, uncle," Harry growled as he moved to the center of the infirmary, his wand glimmered with pale, angry wisps of magic. A quick thrust of his wand and the angry wisps flashed toward the entrance only to demolish it and everything outside it. The walls were scorched, the doors shredded into nothingness and most concerning of all a very large, very dep crater revealed itself when the dust had settled.
"Harry it's not what you think," Amelia's voice whispered in his ear after she had moved to stand behind him. "It's not that monster you call an uncle coming for you."
"How do you... How can you be sure?" Harry's voice trembled as he raised his wand to the wreckage, the pale wisps getting ready to act on his will once again.
"Because I locked him up myself. He's behind bars In the deepest, most Dementor infested part of Azkaban I could put him in. He is never able to harm you again..." She intimated as she let her hand drift to his arm. "Come on, lower your wand. It's the castle locking down, it will keep us all safe."
Reluctant to take his eyes off of the Infirmary doors, Harry nodded and let his wand arm be lowered, though he refused to release it. Amelia's comforting grasp of his shoulder was mirrored in her expression as she stepped in front of him. Seeing a friendly face before him, Harry's breathing finally calmed and he let the scent of honey from the candle relax him as he watched the Bones matriarch.
"Sorry, I-"
"There's no need to apologize, Harry. You're just trusting instincts honed from years of being locked up and hurt," Amelia assured him gently. "I promise you won't be, not here. I'm going to find Dumbledore and figure out what's going on. Wait here and keep Poppy safe for me, will you?"
Harry smiled as he realized just what she was doing and gave her a quick nod. "Count on it."
Amelia's smile remained for only a moment before her expression turned focused and hard. Her wand seemed to smolder with energy as she walked away, a ball of light hovering around her with a hardly a wave of her wand. With another swift flick the doors were repaired and locked, though the scorch mark remained and the crater only filled halfway before Amelia gave it up and left. Harry watched the door a few moments longer before he turned to Poppy. With a gesture she beckoned him to help her and the pair prepared for any emergencies that might transpire, all while keeping a close eye on the door.
Not long later, Amelia returned with Dumbledore and McGonagall on her heels. "No trouble?"
"Quite as a crypt," Harry joked lightly. "What's going on?"
"Sirius Black, he was inside the castle and slashed the Fat Lady's portrait in an attempt to get into Gryffindor Tower," Amelia explained quickly.
"He was looking for me, wasn't he?" Harry determined from the looks on the three adults' faces. The grip on his wand tightened as he saw each of them nod in turn. Only when he realized he would be up against a wizard with five times his experience did he come to his senses enough to realize he had a snowball's chance in hell of actually bringing down a mass murderer. Then again, wasn't beating the odds just his sort of thing? "Good thing I was here then."
"Indeed, however I believe it best if you rejoin the rest of the school in the Great Hall. With all of the teachers protecting it there is no possible way Black will reach you or anyone else," Dumbledore responded confidently.
"Except the teachers," Harry pointed out. "Use me as bait, put me out in the open just enough so we can hang him. So I can gut the bastard for his part in killing my parents."
"We can't do that, Harry. I won't allow it," the headmaster proclaimed. "You're to remain with the other students until we are certain Black is no longer within the castle or on the grounds."
"Harry, I admire your bravery and cunning with such a plan but now is the time for self-preservation, not dangerous risk taking," Minerva advised as she stepped forward. "Let us handle this. You have enough people to be taking care of. Your friends are worried about you and they need you right now as much as you need to make sure they are safe."
Although he was ready to argue the point, Harry deflated under the logic of his increasingly favorite professor. With a quiet nod he let himself be guided by Minerva toward his belongings to grab a few things before he was ushered toward the Hall with Madame Pomfrey. Minerva, Dumbledore and Amelia all kept watch, but it was the bag and candle in Poppy's hands that caught his attention.
"Would you mind if I held onto that?" Harry asked as he gestured to the candle. "Just for tonight, I promise. I just... Need something to light up the darkness tonight."
Poppy smiled and with gentle hands wrapped one of his own around the small silver cup stand and let him take it. "Don't tell anyone. Let them think it's just a candle. Our little secret."
Harry smiled at that and returned the healer's nod with one of his own. "Our secret," he agreed before he looked to Amelia. The woman offered a brief smile before her eyes returned to scanning for possible threats. It wasn't long after that when Harry found himself inside the great hall overlooking every student in plush sleeping bags, spread out according to whim instead of house. Harry did a quick search and the waves of his friends beckoned him over quickly to sit with them to wait out the night.
It was some hours later that a restless Harry Potter stared up at the enchanted ceiling, gazing at the beautiful starry night sky it gave them. His friends had indeed been worried, even the Weasleys had checked up on him, though Ron had hardly spoken a word, the twins had remained quite friendly as Harry had hoped. They had all talked for some time until the professors called for lights out. His candle was one of the few exceptions in the room and Harry had set it just near his head at the end of his sleeping bag line.
The candle's pale light was a gentle reminder of what awaited him when sleep would come but Harry's mind was too busy to actually grant him sleep as he laid there. Any thought of the sleepwear they had seen the girls in earlier had vanished under more weighty notions and ideas which wouldn't stop baying for attention. With a sigh, Harry listened more closely to his surroundings and quickly found he wasn't the only one awake so late at night.
"Nev, that you?"
"Yeah."
"Can't sleep either?" Harry asked as he turned his head to look at the boy to his right.
Neville shook his head as he turned over to stare back at him. "No."
"Neither can I," Blaise muttered as he rolled onto his back in his sleeping bag beside Harry's head.
"Same here," Theo murmured from beside the Italian boy.
"Looks like the gang's all here," Harry chided softly to the sniggers of the other boys.
"What's on your mind, Harry?" Blaise wondered from his bag.
"Susan's tank top, or Daphne's shorts?" Theo guessed to chuckles from them all.
"Well they're on my mind now," the dark-haired teen shot back. "How did you even notice that? I thought I was being discreet."
"I pay attention... And I may have caught Amelia watching you with a grin before I noticed it."
"Uh-huh, just like you 'noticed' Tracey's bust?" Blaise teased.
"You were staring at Hermione's," Theo dug at the Italian.
"Let's not forget Neville looking at Hannah's bum," Harry cut in with a grin at the shy boy who flushed in embarrassment.
"Alright so we're all guilty," Neville grumbled quietly as the rest of them contained their laughter as best they could. Harry was warmed by the idea they shared an interest in the opposite sex and could loosely talk about their female friends, it made it easier to relate to them. Plus he rather liked the idea of being able to talk openly about girls and women. "But that still doesn't answer Blaise's question."
The amusement was slow to die down but Harry had to admit, they had gotten away from Blaise's question. What really was on his mind? "I don't even know where to start..."
"I'd say the beginning, but that's redundant. How about, what's worrying you?" Blaise prompted.
"Besides the fact that a raving mass murderer slashed the portrait to my common room in an attempt to kill me?"
"Yeah, well, besides that. We're friends, we're supposed to take care of each-other," the Italian continued softly.
"Most of the time," Neville added with an uneasy look towards the gathered Weasleys. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll come around eventually, or you'll tell them what's wrong and things will sort of go back to the way they were."
"That's just it, I'm not sure what I can tell them without sounding horribly vague or metaphoric," sighed Harry as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Try anyways?" Theo suggested. "Practice on us. If there's one thing about them that makes you think you can't be in their family, what is it?"
The concern of his intelligent friend was refreshing, and Harry honestly wondered what it really was about the Weasleys that made him reject them as a possible family. "Six boys, one girl, all at one point or another crammed into a house full of clutter, each of them vying for attention from their parents and each-other. Bill left the family to live on his own and so did Charlie, but from what I've gathered they wanted to get away from it all because it was too much and because their mother puts a lot of pressure on them, tries to take decisions out of their hands when she thiks she knows best. They're a family of kind, compassionate, and respectable people, even if they don't have much money. They've treated me right, given me a place to stay when I needed it a year ago but... I felt like I was intruding."
"Intruding? Did they make you uncomfortable?" Blaise asked as he turned over in his sleeping bag to stare at Harry directly.
"I'm… not entirely sure? Sort of? I felt like I was underfoot, that I was either forgotten or the center of attention. Two members of the family wouldn't let me out of their sight for more than an hour. Molly was always trying to mother me, trying too hard, and Ginny kinda creeped me out a little, always staring and rarely talking or knocking things over when I so much as looked at her. While all of this went on, my best mate got hidden in my shadow now and then, and that's when I wasn't speaking with Mr. Weasley and correcting some of his perceptions of muggles and other things," Harry explained in a quiet, rambling voice. "The twins I actually felt alright around when it was just us. In the end I think I just didn't feel like I belonged there."
"That's what I need, I think," Harry thought aloud. "Somewhere I belong, where I feel like I'm a member of the family and not a guest in someone else's home. Where I'm not the center of attention but I'm not forgotten either. Where I'm not someone's best friend or the bloody Boy-Who-Lived. Where I can sit and read a book for hours and be perfectly fine. Where I'm not worried over and mother every time I enter a parent's sights. I need a place where I can approach and be approached at ease, where I… A place where I can feel safe and be myself. That's what I want, or part of it at least; safety and the ability to be myself."
"No, you just want to be some broody git we know that keeps us up in the middle of the night," Theo finished for him, his wide grin lit up by Harry's candle.
The teens couldn't help but laugh as Harry thought it over. In the end he actually barked out a short laugh of his own and nodded. "You're not wrong," he chimed back amusedly. "I just want to be me, not whoever people want me to be."
"For what it's worth, you're an alright bloke, Harry," Neville spoke up as he looked over from his bed roll. "I know I wouldn't be nearly as confident as I am now without your help. You even got my gran to take me for a new wand in first year."
"I suppose you're not so bad for a broody git," Theo added cheekily.
"Definitely someone I never thought I'd get along with. But I'm glad I took the chance to get to know you," Blaise concluded with a soft smile.
"Thanks you lot, you're not a complete bunch of prats either, and I like you well enough to keep you around," Harry responded with a laugh as three pillows quickly hit him and retreated. As they all shared a small laugh Harry looked to Blaise, curiosity on his face. "Why didn't your mum make an offer?"
"Ah, was wondering when that might come up. Short version: Too much fame in one place to cause a mess," Blaise said succinctly.
"And the long version?"
"She would be honored to take a friend of mine in," Blaise said immediately with a smile. His face fell into a more thoughtful expression as he continued. "But she spends enough time worrying about me that she doesn't want to chance worrying about both of us. She will anyways if she ever gets to know you like we're getting to know each-other right now, but she'd prefer it's just her and I right now. I've had seven fathers, I only remember six of them. Mom and I, we're all the other has, you know? We're close. Besides, she might get jealous of you spending time with her only son."
They all shared a small chuckle at that. "Thanks, I just thought I'd ask," Harry stated. "I'm glad you're so close with your mother though."
"No problem. I figured you might." Blaise looked to Theo. "What about you? Do you endorse your family's offer?"
"Officially, we'd love to have Harry in the family," Theo began in a bright tone. "Unofficially," he continued more bleakly, "my father and uncle were Death Eaters. They weren't quite as fanatical as some but they definitely support the pureblood agenda. My dad did it at my mother's behest for the most part but he was part of the cause. We don't run exclusively in the same crowd as Malfoy but we're close enough to them for there to be trouble if you did join us. My family are good people regardless of that, I really, truly believe that. We may hold to our traditions and customs as purebloods but it is part of who we are… Mum and my uncle just wanted to take it a step farther and pushed my father into it. I know for a fact my little sister is the most innocent, bright girl you'll ever meet. But my family's not somewhere I think you would fit in very well, not with my uncle and mother being a little bitter and probably wanting to convert you to some more pureblood leanings. I'm sorry, Harry, but I don't think you'd enjoy being part of my family even if I love and enjoy my time with them."
The pained expression that Harry could make out by the candlelight was enough for him. Theo regretted having to speak of his family in such a way. What was more, he regretted having to turn Harry away toward another family. Without a second thought the green-eyed wizard reached across the gap between their bags and pat them both in the shoulders.
"Thanks, both of you. It's the thought that counts." Harry looked over to Neville, his eyebrow raised curiously. "You and your gran?"
"The Longbottom family has stood by the Potters for a long time. Your mum and mine were best friends in school and went on to become each of our godmother's," Neville explained deliberately. "Gran's tough, she's smart and she's powerful... She's honestly wanted to take care of you ever since she heard I met you on the Hogwarts express considering my mum is your godmother, despite... Anyways, she'd love to have you, I would too, honestly. It might even work out but you never know, right? I mean, I'm not trying to reel you in or push you away, I'm just-"
"I get it, Nev," Harry assured him quickly as he clapped the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I've got plenty of time to decide, but it's good to know I have options and which ones will or won't work out."
There was a hum of agreement from everyone as they laid there quietly, each of them wrapped up in their own thoughts until Blaise broke the ice.
"Speaking of options, who would you snog first given the chance? Daphne or Susan?"
"I will kill you, Zabini," Harry growled playfully as he tried to swat the boy.
There they were, four boys, sleepless as could be with their heads together in the great hall, each of them laughing and sharing in a quiet discussion. Whatever their house, their origin, their future, each of them shared a bit of themselves as they poked and prodded, teased and joked, discussed and debated what was ahead of them. Each of them found something more that night, each of them gave a bit of themselves over that they never expected to until finally they gave into time.
It was sweet dreams that greeted them as they said their goodbyes with Whispers in the Night.