Harry jumped off the last step before the staircase had ceased turning and strode down the corridor with the faint rasping sound of the moving gargoyle fading into the distance. His steps were long and purposeful, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his uniform, and he refused to slow his harried steps until he had put plenty of distance between him and Dumbledore's office.
A few minutes later, he glanced over his shoulder and finally slowed his pace, his breath coming in deeply through his nose and his chest felt strangely tight, yet he didn't think it had anything to do with his impromptu jog.
Voldemort continues to set store by the prophecy. He will continue to hunt you…
Dumbledore's voice rang in his ears一echoes of his lesson and their latest fray into Tom Riddle's past filling him with an odd mixture of dread and, somehow, hope. His footsteps fell heavy against the stone and his shoulders slouched under the weight of all they had discussed, yet Harry felt like he could clearly see for the first time. Truly see. It was as if there had been a fog clouding his vision for all of these years, and now, the mist was finally ripped away to be replaced with the blinding truth.
Yes, either he or Voldemort were destined to die at the other's hand. But not because it was fate or destiny. It hadn't been written in the stars eons ago by creatures who saw him just as a name, not as a living and breathing soul. It was because he had chosen this path, as did Riddle, and he would continue on this path until the prophecy was fulfilled. He would hunt down each horcrux with Dumbledore, slowly tearing away his tethers to immortality until he was nothing but a man一a mere mortal.
A mortal with exceptional skills, a dangerous temper, and an uncontrollable cruelty that spreads faster than a plague.
Quicker than a flash of lightning, the familiar panic gripped his heart and his footsteps slowed even more until he came to a stop in the middle of an empty corridor.
Seven horcruxes… Merlin's beard…, Harry thought.
Hopelessness crept in, as did the vast impossibility of the task that was now so neatly laid out before him. Forcing one foot to step in front of the other, Harry continued on his path back to the Gryffindor common room and though every inch of him was screaming to let his feet wander throughout the quiet castle along with his thoughts, he bit back the urge and struggled along the direct route to the tower. Even though Dumbledore could vouch for why he was out of bed after hours, it wasn't worth the confrontation. Though, he did purposefully miss a secret passage that would have cut off a few minutes from his time. He just couldn't help it. He loved the castle best at night.
Hogwarts was his home any time of day, but at night, no one was around. No first years were there to point him out amongst the crowd to their friends. No students were there to whisper conspicuously about his past. No teachers were there, casting their particular watchful eyes over him. No one was there to wonder if he really was the Chosen One. After hours, sure he might risk a detention or two, but he didn't risk adding to the pressure mounted on his shoulders and the constant worry nagging away was slightly reduced in the silence and solitude.
Much too soon for his liking, Harry reached the last staircase leading to the Fat Lady and found that he had accidentally gone too far and passed her. He sheepishly turned back around and came to a stop before her.
"Tapeworm," Harry said blankly.
The Fat Lady peered down at him speculatively. "Mr. Potter. What were you doing after curfew this time?"
"I'm not breaking any rules. I was with Dumbledore," Harry explained, much too exhausted to come up with a lie while also not seeing any particular use for one. It seemed like plenty of people already knew or guessed that he was meeting with Dumbledore. What was one more?
"Were you now?" she replied, her eyes gleaming with fresh gossip. "Quite late for a friendly chat, isn't it?"
"Are you going to let me in or not?" Harry asked with a scowl.
Her eyes narrowed but she swung forward to reveal the portrait hole nonetheless, muttering curses about rude children all the while. But Harry didn't mind; he ducked his head and pulled the portrait closed with a satisfying thud.
Just his luck, the common room wasn't yet empty, even that late at night一or more accurately, that early in the morning一and the group of students' heads snapped up at the sound. A few visibly flinched in surprise, and their prying, curious eyes didn't leave his when they recognized him. He assumed that they were fifth years getting an early start on OWL exams, or perhaps any other younger student that had waited until the last minute to finish their homework. Either way, he didn't recognize them and flashed what he hoped was an innocent and friendly smile before hurrying up the staircase to the boy's dormitory.
Once he was halfway up the steps, he let out a sigh and slowly climbed the rest of the way up to the sixth door, feeling the exhaustion set in in fresh, rolling waves. He reached for the handle and pushed it open as silently as he could, hoping to Merlin that at least the rest of his dorm mates were asleep. He did not want to fight off any more inquisitive glances or comments and he was certainly not in the mood to explain everything that he had learned to Ron considering he was still processing it himself.
But of course, the moment the door opened and their silencing charm was temporarily released, a bout of loud laughter erupted from the other end of the dormitory. Harry let the door shut, not bothering to hide the sound considering the boisterous noise hid it plenty well on its own. He could make out Ron's snort and Neville's gleeful laugh, even with the center fireplace blocking his view. He slowly walked around the room to see the rest of the boys crowded on Seamus and Dean's beds, trash littering the floor and an open box of candy strewn between them.
Harry watched them for a moment as they laughed easily without a care in the world and the mist returned in a shimmering sheen between him and his friends. He could see what lay in his future as clearly as the scene before him and he knew that whatever happened, it would end in one of two possibilities. Yet they were free to do whatever they pleased; their futures were blissfully empty of expectations or heavy burdens of responsibility. They were not marked to be constantly hunted by the most dangerous wizard in the country and they were not prophesied to hunt him down the same way. They were just carefree kids. Even when Harry eventually told Ron of everything he had learned, he would be free to turn a blind eye and choose the safer route. No sooner had the thought bloomed in his mind that Harry knew there was no way that he actually would, but the fact remained that he was free to choose anyways with no retributions.
"Oi! Harry!" Ron called gleefully, cutting through his reverie. "When did you get back?"
He was beaming widely and his cheeks were tinged with mirth, but Harry could see his eyes roving over him for a sign of what had happened.
Harry blinked in surprise and stuttered as he struggled with a response. "J一Just a minute ago. What are you doing?"
Thankfully, Ron accepted his abrupt change of conversation without comment and scooted forward to the edge of the bed, gesturing down at the box of candies.
"Testing out the newest batch of Bertie Bott's!" he said excitedly.
"My Mum sent me it," Seamus added eagerly. "It's a mystery box. All the colors are random so you have no idea what you're going to get."
Neville smiled up at him. "Want to try one?"
Harry forced a smile in return and shook his head. "No thanks."
"Ah, don't be a twat," Seamus said disappointedly with all the tact that a sixteen-year-old Irish wizard could muster. "Just have one." He picked one at random and tossed it to Harry who caught it in a fist.
Harry shared a glance with Ron who's smile had slipped as he noticed Harry's somber expression. Ron uncrossed his legs and interceded. "Give it here, Harry. I want one more before heading to bed anyways."
Harry took a deep breath and let the air rush out of his lungs soothingly. "No, that's okay. I'm not too tired anyways," he said. And that was true. No part of his body felt like sleeping and he knew that he would just lie awake, tossing and turning, weighing this new information over and over again in his mind, most likely getting nowhere. So instead, he popped the candy into his mouth and dragged a desk chair over to sit between the two beds.
The other four boys stared at his face eagerly, waiting for a sign of what the flavor was. Harry chewed and swallowed, enjoying that the attention had nothing to do with the scar on his forehead.
"Well? What flavor did you get?" Dean demanded.
"Tastes like a fish of some sort," Harry said with a small smile.
Neville burst into a fresh bout of laughter at Harry's mild response with Dean and Seamus chortling too before tossing him another.
Harry chewed again and nodded happily, mumbling "Peppermint," to the wider audience before he had swallowed.
Ron grabbed a candy at random and barely chewed before swallowing hard and breaking into a scowl. His brows furrowed and his lips were pressed together. He seemed on the verge of growling like a wild animal and Harry wouldn't be surprised if steam actually blew out of his ears. Then, as quickly as it came, it disappeared to be replaced with a blank expression.
Dean roared with laughter and Seamus clapped loudly as he rocked backwards on his bed. Harry just looked at them each bewilderedly.
Through his own chuckles, Neville managed an explanation. "Some of the candies bring out an emotion for a few seconds. We were hoping you would get one of those without us warning you."
That certainly did explain their expecting looks earlier. Before Harry could respond, Neville grabbed a candy and a moment later, he jumped nearly a foot off the bed in surprise, his eyes wide in shock.
Harry couldn't help the grin that broke across his face and the rest of the room broke into wild bouts of mirth. Ron slapped Neville on the back good-naturedly as he settled back down and his state of shock was replaced with red cheeked laughter.
Suddenly, Harry was in desperate need of one of those candies. To not have to worry about your own emotions seemed like heaven. He eagerly reached for another just as Dean did, but both of them just got normal flavors一well, as normal as fried egg and onion could be. The night wore on and the box gradually emptied as the boys took their turns at the candy while the rest waited and hoped for a show. Ron ate one that brought him on the verge of tears for a moment. Dean's eyes widened in fear for another moment, then rolled in disgust the next. Seamus was as startled as Neville and Neville went through a quick bout of utter confusion.
Harry ate one that sent his heart rate skyrocketing and panic clenched at his chest with a newfound strength, but it released Harry from its grasp a moment later.
"What was that?" Seamus asked as they were all peering at his reaction curiously.
"That must have been an emotion one. His eyes were as wide as galleons," Dean commented, his head cocked to the side curiously.
Harry smiled and the honest reply came easily, "That was definitely a 'panic' one."
They all stared at him blankly before bursting into laughter. Neville was laying on his back with a hand clutching his stomach and Dean was wiping tears from the corners of his eyes muttering something incomprehensible. Their good cheer must have been contagious because suddenly, Harry couldn't help but join in and all five of them were laughing until their stomachs hurt.
"Do another one. Maybe you'll get fear and blink at us," Ron said with tears in his eyes. He held out the nearly empty box to Harry and he obliged happily.
Harry chewed slowly and the moment he swallowed a peaceful sensation ran down his spine like a waterfall. Every part of his body felt perfectly at ease and he felt his mouth open on its own accord to let out a sigh. His shoulders slumped and the tension in his back eased. But then, like a bucket of water crashing over his head, he was awakened from his euphoric oblivion and shaken back into reality.
They erupted back into laughter once more at his expression and Dean coughed out, "That must have been the 'peaceful' one. You should have seen your face, Harry!"
Harry grinned, but didn't join in in their laughter this time. All he thought of was the similar sensation taking over him with the Imperius Curse. But when Seamus ate a candy and growled at Dean while barring nonexistent fangs, his unease was long forgotten and replaced by ringing amusement.
Only when the box was empty with tons of candy wrappers carpeting the floor did the boys head off to bed. Harry's head hit the pillow and he yanked the sheets over his chest with the last traces of a smile glued to his features as he drifted off to sleep.
I hope you liked the first short story! Let me know if you see any typos or have any suggestions or story ideas. Any review is greatly appreciated!
Until next time ❤️