When She Cries
A Harry Potter Fanfiction
By: Kassie Wilson
Chapter 11
The next morning Zac met them in the common room dressed in his uniform carrying his book bag. To Abby's confused look he said, "If I just sit here for a week and stew I'll never make more friends and I'll only get further behind in my classes. I want to go to class if for nothing else but something to do."
"Ok," Abby accepted his answer and winked linking her arm through his as they walked to breakfast. While they ate Abby happened upon a troubling thought. "Crap," she said under her breath.
"What?" Harry and Zac asked together turning toward her.
She looked up at both of them and swiveled her head a few times before asking, "Who do I sit with in class?"
"That's true; I make five, don't I?" Zac said with a quizzical look on his face. "We'll see how it works out. If it's a problem for any of us after classes we'll talk about it. Okay?"
She sighed and said, "Alright, I suppose."
Well, it did prove to be a problem. They headed off to Transfiguration and while Harry, Abby, Ron, and Hermione sat where they had on Monday and Zac sat behind them but he received one very snide comment about Americans from a Ravenclaw guy and got up moving to that corner seat in the back. Abby put her head in her hands and said, "That's what I meant."
The same thing happened in Charms at which point Harry stood up kissed Abby's forehead and she whispered, "Thank you baby," and moved shooting the Hufflepuff that had made Zac move a dirty look and Zac sat next to Abby. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "The girls all hate me, too."
"Ah, you stole the celebrity's heart," he chuckled.
"And you're just really intense competition for the guys, you handsome devil," Abby said with a grin.
"I don't know, the British accent was never really my thing," he said with mock thoughtfulness.
Abby laughed as Professor Flitwick walked in and class began. After Charms Abby kissed both her boys on the cheek then she and Hermione headed upstairs to Ancient Runes and all three boys headed out to Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures.
As the guys headed out across the grounds Zac decided it was a good time to have "the talk" with Harry that all best friends must have with their best friend's boyfriend. "So Harry," Zac started, throwing an arm around Harry's shoulders, "you and Abs seem to have gotten pretty serious pretty fast, what are your intentions, man?" His voice dripped with implications and Harry stopped walking. Zac's arm slipped from Harry's shoulders as Harry turned to look at him.
"I love her Zac, and I'm going to marry her one day. I only intend to make her happy for the rest of her life, whatever that means for us. I know you love her, and I'm the guy that could break her heart, which puts certain stigmas on our possible friendship, but I like you, Zac. You're a good guy and I would love to be your friend because if we don't get along then Abby and I won't make it. You and I both know that she'll choose you if we put her there."
"I do know that. I also know that she loves you, and I love her, so we're cool, because I wouldn't do that to her, and I know you wouldn't either." He extended a hand to Harry and smiled. Harry shook his hand firmly and smiled in return and they continued walking.
As Abby and Hermione headed up to Ancient Runes Abby asked, "So, have you had any progress with Ron?"
"No, he is so thick!" she steamed.
"Well dear, are you being a normal girl and dropping hints? Because he's a boy, and as much as we would love them to, they can't read our minds. Tell him how you feel, straight up," Abby advised.
"Yeah, maybe," Hermione mused as they walked into the classroom.
After class they headed to lunch and sat down with the guys to see them all nursing burns.
"Oh! What happened?" Abby exclaimed pulling Harry's hands into hers to examine them.
"Hagrid had us try to train Blast-Ended Skrewts," Harry whimpered.
"Oh honey," she cooed. She pouted trying not to laugh and asked, "Do you guys want to go to the hospital wing before Defense?"
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," he said pouting too.
She nodded and kissed him then turned to Zac. "How about you, sweetie? How are yours?"
He gently placed his upturned hands in hers where at least ten blisters were beginning to swell with fluid. "That guy's crazy," he said.
"Yeah, crazy definitely describes Hagrid a lot of the time," Hermione said laughing as she examined Ron's damaged hands.
They ate quickly and headed upstairs to the hospital wing where Madame Pomfrey slathered their hands in a gooey substance then wrapped them in gauze telling them that their hands should be right as rain by dinner.
"Harry, why don't you guys go on to class? Zac has to get his injection and it's sort of an intense thing. We'll probably be a little late," Abby told him.
"Alright, see you in a few," he said. He kissed her forehead and walked out with Ron and Hermione.
Abby and Zac assumed their positions from the previous day and Abby pulled up the back of his shirt for him seeing as his hands were disabled. His injection was no less painful than it had been the day before to watch or to receive. The only difference was that Madame Pomfrey could not inject the medicine in the same place as she had the day before so she moved up a vertebra. Though Zac was still just as nervous about the injection, the pain became less intense more quickly and the two were only a few minutes late to class.
"Good afternoon class, today we will be practicing the shield charm from your reading. There are 18 in this class, so, everyone up and get into groups of 3 while I move the desks." Everyone got up with their stuff and Professor Carroll waved her wand and moved the desks. "Alright, you'll be taking turns and one person will cast an attack for the other to shield. However, to prevent injury I will provide you with an attack spell to cast. I will come around and each person in the group will get a different attack spell."
Abby turned to Harry and said, "Why don't you go with Ron? Zac and I will work with Hermione, I wouldn't want to hurt you." She grinned and Harry mocked looking taken aback.
"Oh you think you could hurt me, do you?" he teased.
"I don't know, but I know if you accidentally hurt me you'd be all mopey and apologizing nonstop for weeks, and we don't need that. I love you, go." She kissed him and pushed him and Ron away to find a third who ended up being Dean Thomas.
Professor Carroll came and whispered a spell in everyone's ear. In Abby's she whispered, "Rictumsempra."
Abby nodded and tried to keep a straight face as she turned to Hermione and Zac. "Who's doing what first?"
"I'll take you on, gimme your best shot," Zac said pulling out his wand and grinning.
Abby laughed and squared off as she pulled out her wand. "You shield dear," she said with a smile. He squared off and Abby said, "One."
"Two," Zac countered.
"Three!" they said together and at the same time Abby shouted, "Rictumsempra!" as Zac shouted, "Protego!"
Zac's shield was kind of weak, probably a result of his sore hands, so her spell went right through it and he burst into fits of laughter because of the tickling spell. Abby put her hand over her mouth trying to hide her laughter at Zac rolling on the floor. She lowered her wand and Zac lay on the ground until he caught his breath and Abby offered him a hand to help him up. "You okay?"
"That was one hell of a tickling spell," he said impressed.
Abby smiled and asked, "Hermione, would you like to attack me?"
"Why I'd love to!" she giggled.
They both squared off and counted down then Hermione began to shout, "Confundo!" but Abby got out, "Protego!" first and her shield was big and thick and pulsated as if made of a solid wall of water. Abby was so stunned and unexpectedly tired she dropped her wand. The wall fell, water covering the floor as Abby reached out for Zac to catch herself. Professor Carroll was there next to her in just a second standing in front of her.
"Abby that was exactly what you think it was. You're going to be ok, just sit down. You're done for today. I'll see you tonight; make sure you eat a really good dinner, okay?"
Abby nodded and Zac led her to the nearest chair. She sat and put her head in her hands as tears leaked from her eyes. Zac grimaced as he lowered himself so he was eye level with her and pulled her hands away to look into her eyes. "Abby, sweetie, what's wrong?" he asked.
Harry and Hermione were there then, Harry next to Zac in front of her and Hermione to her side rubbing her back gently. "Abs? What happened?" Harry asked.
"I'm pretty sure she just used her water element accidentally and it knocked the wind out of her," Zac explained and Abby nodded.
"Ok, that's big, I get that, but honey, why are you crying?" Harry asked gently.
"I'm just overwhelmed that's never happened before and it physically knocked the wind out of me. I didn't know it would be like that, so draining," she sobbed.
"Zac, Hermione, you guys keep working, I'm done, I'll stay with her," Harry said.
They nodded, Zac squeezed her hand gently and they walked back to where they had been training. Harry moved into a chair next to Abby and wrapped his arms around her.
"It's okay honey, you're okay, and you'll get better. You just need to build your stamina," he said with a chuckle. Abby laughed softly as well and sat up to slap him playfully.
"Well I'm not building it like that," she said as she cleared her cheeks.
"Darn," he joked, "but Quidditch should help," he offered.
"Yeah, definitely," she agreed. "God I miss flying," she said softly.
"I know neither of us is going to be up for it tonight, but how about after dinner tomorrow we go flying, just you and me," he said quietly as he brushed her hair out of her eyes and down her back.
"I would love to," she said with a small smile. He smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Crap, I have to schedule tryouts, but we can work out this weekend if you want," he said.
"I would also love that," she said with a bigger grin. "Just you wait until you see what I run in."
Harry gulped and under his breath said, "Oh no."
Abby laughed and leaned into him. He held her until class was over and then they all headed out to Herbology.
During Herbology Abby began to get frustrated as she tried to figure out why a plant seemed to be bleeding from its very pores. "Ugh!" she exclaimed, "I don't do plants!"
Harry chuckled and said, "Well, I've got a friend who can help. Hey Neville!" he called down the greenhouse.
"Yeah Harry?" he asked as he came toward them.
"Abby is having some problems with Herbology," Harry told him and Abby pouted.
"Well, I could help, it's the only thing I'm good at," he said with a shy smile. "What's the problem?"
"Why is it bleeding?" Abby asked desperately.
"Well, it's not, it's more crying than it is bleeding, its photosynthetic process excretes a chemical that when the plant is satisfied is clear, but when it isn't its red."
"So, what do I do?" she asked.
"You have to massage the flower. Sounds wretched I know, but it's true." He proceeded to show her how and almost immediately the red became clear against the purple stalk.
"Wow, that's amazing..." Abby said amazed.
"I guess I've got a green thumb," Neville said with a nervous chuckle.
"My thumbs are black, and I've always had trouble with Herbology," Abby said sadly.
"Well I can help you, like I said, it's all I am good at," Neville offered.
"That would be so awesome Neville! We've got another essay due tomorrow, could we meet in the common room around 9?"
"Yeah, definitely, I'll see you tonight," he said before walking back to where he had been working.
At dinner Abby wasn't very hungry and, of course, her watchful protectors both noticed. "Abs, you need to eat babe, if you don't then tonight is going to be hell and you have an essay to write," Harry told her gently as he rubbed her back gently. She sighed and reached for the mashed potatoes and then the roast. She ate as much as she could which was probably less than Harry would have liked but it was all she could do. When she cleared her plate Harry made her drink a full goblet of milk and then said, "Ok, we both need to go. Come on honey, I'll walk you."
"See you guys later," Zac said catching Abby's hand. "Don't be nervous, you'll get the hang of it, I know it."
Abby smiled a little and walked off with Harry. What she didn't see was that when he had turned to catch her, the motion had agitated his injection site and he had to lay his head on his arms as he breathed through the pain while Harry and Abby walked out.
Outside of Lydia's office Abby turned and pressed her back to the wall facing Harry to tell him goodbye and he was very close as he leaned one hand on the wall almost pressing her against the wall. He smiled and said, "You're going to do great. Trust me, love." He kissed both sides of her neck, then her nose, then her lips.
"You too, you can keep him out Harry, I know it. Love you," she whispered.
"Thanks love, I'll see you in a couple of hours," he whispered hugging her tightly.
Abby walked into the class and Lydia was waiting for her at the front of the room. "Hi Abby," she said with a warm smile.
"Hi Lydia, how are you?" Abby asked, not being able to hold back the responding smile that crept to her lips.
"I'm awesome. Are you feeling better? I know that was a shock this morning, I remember the first time fire shot out of my wand when I didn't mean it to, scared the crap out of me and I was out for a good solid ten minutes. You were strong today Abby, it's a good omen for what we're about to get ourselves into."
"I am feeling better; I ate a good dinner just like you said. Harry made sure," Abby said rolling her eyes with a laugh.
"Good, this is going to be a lot of work, most especially learning to control your natural elemental magic as opposed to your innate magic by learning what to add to a spell as you say it to make it elemental and exactly how to do a spell that you don't want to be elemental. We won't be going out onto the grounds tonight, but once we get into fire and earth we'll have to. Do you have any questions so far?"
"A couple, where are you from in America, and if I have to use certain spells for elemental stuff, then what happened today?"
"I am from Nebraska, and some of your spells will always have an elemental component simply because your magic isn't your magic without being elemental, it's simply how you were made," she told her.
Abby nodded and set her bag on a table.
"This evening we will be working with your base element. We have to build your stamina before we cross to other elements. They're all in your blood but your base is most prominent and easiest to use. Understand?"
"Yep," Abby answered.
"Good. First we're going to keep practicing what we worked on today in class and see how long you can hold the shield, alright?"
Abby took a deep breath and nodded as Lydia waved her wand and the desks flew to the wall. Abby pulled her wand from her robes and moved backward.
"Square off dear, let's see what you've got," Lydia said with a challenging smirk.
They moved into positions and squared off.
"1, 2, 3, Protego!" Abby began.
As Abby got off her spell Lydia called out, "Confundo!"
A dome shaped wall of water spouted from Abby's wand in front of her. Lydia watched as Abby held her shield. She walked around surveying Abby's shield and form as water poured from Abby's wand strengthening the shield. For nearly two minutes Abby held her shield before her vision got blurry and she fell to the ground into Lydia's arms and water splashed around them.
Abby's eyes fluttered open a few seconds later and she took a deep breath. "Hey, up and at 'em sleepyhead. Here, the chocolate keeps your sugar up as your energy is sapped so much quicker," Lydia told her as she handed her a chunk of chocolate. Abby sat up and took it popping it into her mouth and letting it melt.
"I should really try and carboload on Wednesdays from now on shouldn't I?" Abby laughed.
"It wouldn't be a bad idea. Come on, up you go," Lydia said holding out a hand to help her. "Next we're going to add elemental Latin roots to the regular spell. If you say 'aqua protego' the volume of water will increase exponentially. There are other roots that we'll learn about later that allow you to draw water from other sources. Do you think you're ready to try again?" Abby nodded and Lydia said, "I'm not going to be providing any motivation this time, you can do it yourself. Go for it."
Abby took a deep breath and held up her wand. "Aqua protego!" she called. Soon she was encased in a sphere of water that thickened continuously. She lost it after 20 seconds and water rained down on her soaking her entirely. "Omigosh! It's cold!" Abby shouted.
Lydia laughed and threw Abby a towel. "Well, there's your shower for the evening," she giggled.
Abby mopped off her face and asked, "How do I stop that from happening?"
"If you can stay strong long enough to pull it back on your own it will pull back into your wand. Until then, you might want to think about bringing extra clothes to lessons. Sorry, I forgot. I've only seen a water element work once."
"It's cool, I'll get through it," Abby said frustrated.
"I know it's difficult, and you're going to be tired, but you're already a lot stronger than most elements I've worked with. Why don't we call it a night? Make sure you're getting enough sleep and eating well, we'll work longer next week. Have a good night Abby."
"Thanks Lydia. I'll see you in class," Abby said quietly as she handed the towel back.
Abby grabbed her bag and began to walk out the door. As she did Lydia gently squeezed her arm. Abby walked out of the room and checked her watch. She had only been in her lesson for an hour and she figured that Harry would still be in his but she took the route that led her past Dumbledore's office anyways. Her teeth chattered as she passed the large phoenix statue and found Harry stepping off the stairs. "Hey Abs, she let you out early on the first one, too?" he asked as she turned toward him. "Abby? Why are you all wet sweetie? You must be freezing."
"I couldn't h-hold ont-to the sp-spells long en-nough. Got s-soaked," she explained through her shivers.
"Come on honey, let's get you into some dry clothes," he said taking her bag and putting an arm around her as they continued up to Gryffindor tower. "Other than wet, how was your lesson?" he asked while they walked.
"I'm so tired, Harry. I tried not to show it, but I'm about to fall over," she said quietly.
Before she could protest, Harry whipped her up into his arms with way too much ease. "Well, you're about the weight of a feather, so I think I can prevent all this falling over business."
Abby would have fought but she was too exhausted. She wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thanks," she murmured.
"My pleasure," he said quietly and kissed her on the forehead.
Abby must have nodded off because the next thing she registered was Harry telling her to wake up. He began to set her on her feet and she held onto him until she was sure of her footing. "I'm going up to change and dry off, then can we take a nap until I have to meet with Neville?" she asked.
"Of course honey, just come on up when you're ready. Love you."
"Love you,too," she whispered. He kissed her lightly and put her bag over her shoulder.
Abby stumbled up the stairs and tossed her bag onto her bed. She grabbed a towel and a change of clothes and walked to the bathroom. She rolled her wet clothes up in a ball and changed into her dry clothes. She had grabbed a pair of black and purple Michigan Maelstroms sweats and a purple Maelstroms t-shirt. Abby brushed through her wet and tangled hair then wound it up into a messy bun. Once she was back to her dorm she put her clothes into the laundry hamper and pulled on her fuzzy purple socks. She grabbed her purple Maelstroms hoodie that matched her sweats and shirt and pulled it on as she walked down the stairs of the girl's dorms and up to Harry's dorm. Harry was waiting for her on his bed in a t-shirt and jeans. "Hey beautiful," he said with a smile. He stood and pulled back his covers as she smiled sleepily. Together they crawled into bed and she curled herself into his side as he gently massaged her scalp and held her tightly. Soon Abby was sleeping soundly and Harry watched as her face fell serene before he began to doze and settled his head above hers.
"Harry, Abby," they heard.
Harry awoke and did his best not to jostle Abby as he grabbed his glasses and Neville's face came into view. "Hey Neville, is it 9?"
"Yeah, I'll be downstairs when she's ready," he said quietly and walked out of the room.
Harry looked down as Abby buried her face deeper into his shoulder. He smiled and kissed her temple gently. "Abs," he whispered in her ear.
Abby rolled her face up into Harry's and giggled as his stubbly chin tickled her nose. Harry pulled away and Abby groaned and stretched then curled herself back into Harry. "I don't wanna wake up," she grumbled into his chest.
"I know baby, but as soon as your essay is done you can go back to sleep. I promise."
She groaned again and rolled onto her back. "Fine, are you coming down too?" she asked.
"I have an essay to write, too, love," he told her with a smile. He dipped his head to her ear and whispered, "And I wouldn't miss a minute with you." He laid a few light kisses on Abby's neck and she gasped and pushed him away.
"Now you behave, Mr. Potter. I won't have you distracting me from my studies," she told him seriously. She rolled out of the bed and stared him down with her hands on her hips.
He smirked and stood up in front of her wrapping his arms around her waist. "Sorry Abs, I just can't help myself when it comes to you. I just love kissing you," he told her quietly as he pressed his lips to hers briefly.
Her arms snaked around his neck and she lifted her lips to his ear. "I'll make the wait worth your while. Promise," she whispered before pressing her lips to his neck. She pulled back and winked then walked out of Harry's room with a little sway in her hips as she left. He smiled and shook his head as he grabbed his book, parchment, and ink.
Abby walked down the stairs and told Neville she would be down in just a second. She walked up to her dorm and while she was sorting out of her bag what she needed and what she didn't, she heard her name from a bed across the room. Her head snapped up and she swirled around, knowing the voice did not belong to Hermione. She saw Lavender Brown looking very guilty. "Yeah?" Abby responded.
"I just wanted to say I was sorry. I was never really that girl who liked Harry, or one of his loyal following but my friend Parvati always has, so I just took her side before even making a judgment for myself. I can see now that you two are the real deal and that you're not a bad person. Please forgive me."
"I forgive you Lavender, but if you had any hope of us being friends, lose that now. Anyone who so blindly judges someone is no friend of mine." Lavender nodded and Abby slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out of the dorm.
As the clock chimed midnight Abby was triumphantly placing her final period on her Herbology essay. "Thank you so much Neville! You were such a big help!"
"It was nothing," he said shyly.
"Seriously, you've been a lifesaver," she said wrapping him in a quick hug.
She pulled away to see that he was as red as a cherry. He promptly gathered his things and shuffled up the stairs mumbling something about being tired.
"You're going to give that guy a heart attack," Harry whispered as she turned back to him.
"What do you mean?" she laughed.
"You're just too beautiful to go about randomly hugging men without considering the affects you have on them," he said with a smile as she finished packing up her things.
She turned to face him and smiled. "And what effect is it that I have on them?"
"It's hypnotic," he whispered as he leaned in to kiss her. She giggled as his lips pressed to hers. He kissed her briefly then pulled away and cupped her face in his hand. "Now, what is all this about making the wait worth my while? We've been through this Abby," She gently put a finger to his lips.
"Don't. I'm not doing anything I don't want to, I just want to fall asleep in your arms tonight," she told him quietly.
"Abs, it's a school night. Why don't we wait for Friday night when we can sleep in as long as we want to on Saturday. We've had a really long week already, but we can make it one more night."
Abby's face fell and Harry wrapped her in his arms. "You know I want to, but we need real sleep tonight. I'm sorry, sweetie."
"It's ok, I'll just make Friday that much better," she told him smiling slyly.
Harry grinned and kissed her again. "Goodnight Abby, sleep well," he whispered.
"Night babe," she said softly. She put her bag on her shoulder and started away but Harry caught her by her hand.
She turned to him and he kissed her hand in a very gentlemanly fashion. "Dream of me?" he asked, his bright emerald eyes sparkling up at her.
She walked back to him winding a hand into his hair and whispered, "Every night sweetheart. You're the only man in my dreams."