Winter of Sadness
by: Electric Angel
The ground outside Hogwarts was covered in a blanket of white snow. It was the prettiest time of year. Winter. Shivering under a large maple tree was Harry, staring blankly at the pond. There was mother duck sitting beside the pond, with four of her baby ducklings wandering around in the snow. One of them waddled up to Harry and crawled onto his shoe. Harry laughed and picked it up. It was sort of a light yellow color. It wandered around in his hand, then lay down to take a nap. Harry smiled and tucked it into his jacket. He didn't want the poor thing to freeze. It was twenty-five below. A tear trickled softly down his cheek and it froze mid-way down. He got up and took a yellow rose out of his jacket. He walked over to the pond to a spot marked with a sapphire. It shone brightly, surrounded by snow. He placed the rose beside it, another tear fell down his face. It dropped into the snow. He started to sob and ran back to the tree. He covered his face with the hood of his jacket. Tears began to stream down his face. How could he have lost her? He stood up and hurried back to the Gryffindor dorm and sat on his bed, after giving the Fat Lady the password. He set the duckling on his pillow and took of his jacket. The ducking made an attempt to quack, and Hedwig flew into Harry's bed. She made herself comfortable at the other end of the bed than the baby duck was on, apparently jealous. He stroked Hedwig's feathers and peeked at the clock through the curtains. It was dinnertime. Someone should be bringing his food soon. Almost immediately, Hagrid stepped in, carrying a tray of food. "Harry, are yeh here? I've brought yeh some food ter eat." he said. "I'm here." Harry said, getting the food. Hagrid noticed that Harry was as pale as ever, if not paler. Harry grabbed the tray and went back into his bed. On it were two rolls, some salad, a large slice of meat, a Chocolate Frog, a sandwich, and two milk boxes. Obviously Hagrid had snuck into the kitchen to get the extra food because he thought Harry needed more. He opened the milk and took a sip. He took a bite of the roll and sliced some of the meat. He ate three pieces and took a few bites of the sandwich. He stuffed the Chocolate Frog in his mouth and then threw the rest into the garbage can beside his bed. He tossed the tray onto Ron Weasley's bed. Ron always took the tray back to the dining room for him, since he never went out. Harry had been excused from classes and been given a pass to be on the school grounds and not in class because of the tragic event. Remembering the duck and Hedwig, he retrieved some of the meat for Hedwig and some of the bread from the sandwich for the duck from the trash can. The birds gobbled it up quickly. Harry heard a "Mrorw!" and a thump. Crookshanks, the cat Hermione used to own, but was now Harry's, leaped up onto the bed. He stroked it's back and fell asleep.