THAT SUMMER, Chapter 11
By Reija Linn
Harry
My lessons were progressing well. I could now speak all three of the Unforgivable Curses, though I prayed to all Gods there might be that I would never have to use them on a human being. Not even a Death Eater. Not even Peter Pettigrew.
Voldemort himself... well, he wasn't really a human being, in my regard.
I had also mastered several difficult curses and counter-curses from Akasha's writings, and went through all of them with Azhame that evening - I could tell, behind his usual crankiness, he was proud of my progress, and not as concerned about leading me in front of the Pharaoh as he claimed to be. Though it was, after a time, getting annoying to master a powerful and trying spell just to be rebuffed about the 'way I held my wand', or 'that terrible expression on my face' - but then, I could bear that, and I knew then already that I would miss Azhame when my lessons were to come to an end - and that end was creeping closer and closer, I had planned, after that letter from Dumbledore, to return to England the end of August, which left me with only three more weeks to go.
I was also feeling uneasy about this for other reasons than the natural nervousness I felt when imagining opposing Voldemort - though I knew of the danger, and by no way dismissed it, I had, after all, faced him before. And for some reason, it seemed to be my destiny to fight him.
But what about Bill? Would he come with me, as he had said? And did I want him to risk his own life, too? Could I bare to loose him, as I had lost Ron?
This I was pondering on as I made my way back to Bill's apartment. Bill had come to mean so much to me... more than... more than anyone who was still alive, at least in a certain way - the love I felt for Sirius, for example, was quite different - he was as a father to me. But Bill...
These thoughts had been with me for so long, yet I had never realized... I had never *wanted* to go into what they meant. Had felt comfort at the thought that we were friends, close friends, but just that. And it had been not even two months since Ron had... had died. I could not be healing that fast? I didn't want to heal that fast!
Why was it then that I no longer saw the pain-stricken face of the moment he had died when I thought of him, but that of the smiling Ron of my dreams?
And why was it I could not bear the thought of living without Bill again, ever?
Why was it so natural to share a bed with Bill, though there were other options, though I was no longer tormented by nightmares?
How could he be so fascinating to me?
A light shower of rain had started to fall as I walked the dark streets of the wizard part of town, that was lit only by flame torches on every wall, but I had not felt rain on my skin in all the time I had been here in Egypt, it felt comforting, somehow, perhaps only because it was so rare, and because of the knowledge that people here cherished it so much...
I decided against Apparition, and walked on, undisturbed, pondering all this, as I passed a group of street kids cuddling together in a dark niche. Most of them shied away from me, as I would from any stranger that late at night, especially since this was a wizard neighbourhood, and most people *would* Apparate at this time. One of them, who did not shy, but looked at me with the large, dark eyes of a child that has seen much pain and that has aged beyond it's years, I recognised as the girl who had once brought me a message from Azhame.
I gave her some of the copper coins that were local currency, and she thanked me with a small bow. I had learned by now that the street children were part of Shezra's group of spies, and would often get payment from her in form of food or clothing, and shelter when it was very cold, but still, my heart felt uneasiness by the sight of these kids out here in the night. That girl, who could not be more than eleven, was one of the oldest, except for another girl who had stayed in the niche, tall and very thin, who was holding a small infant in her arms. Her own? She was, perhaps, fourteen.
Gods, when I had been that age, I'd had a relatively sheltered life at Hogwarts, with enough to eat, a warm place to sleep, and looking back, so much luxury... even during my stay with the Dursleys, I'd at least had some food and a bed, clothes, though they were cut together from old rag's or three sizes too large...
The girl considered me for a moment, that was when I noticed I had not moved a step since giving the coins to her.
"Master 'Arry most kind," she finally smiled, and bowed shortly again. Could one still smile while living through so much pain?
"Why do you have to live like this?" I noticed only then that I had spoken aloud. The girl merely grinned some more.
"Oh, we not have to, sir. We choose."
One could actually *choose* such a life? "Why?"
"Oh, some have no parent, like I. We not wants to live at orphanage - they steals your shoes there, while you sleep. Some like Ezra - she with baby. It from her own father, and she choose not live there anymore. And it not very bad. Shezra take good care of us. We take good care of us, too. Most important - not be alone. Never alone. We never alone."
I nodded, dumbly. This attitude - this life, this fire, in one that lead such an existence...
"Be sure never be alone, Master 'Arry. Alone is more bad than everything else."
With that, she left me to join the other kids again, and as I walked on, I noticed she shared the coins I had given her with everyone, giving the girl with the baby - Ezra - some extra.
Never alone...
Would I be alone again when all this was over and I lived?
I'd have Sirius, my old friends from school... but would Bill leave me to return to Egypt, while I remained in England?
Wasn't that how it was supposed to be?
Why, then, was I feeling so uneasy about it? Why, then, did I wish for something that was simply impossible?
When I finally arrived at our flat - and when had it become *our* flat anyway, this was *Bill's* flat! - I was soaked, and it was late. Way past midnight, when I usually returned. I unlocked the door quietly, not wanting to wake Bill in case he was already asleep - which he should have been, he had to get up early for work the next day.
Of course, he was not. Sometimes, when I returned from my lessons, he was already in bed, reading, or just lying there, but he had always been awake.
And so he was that day.
"You're late, today," he said, smiling, though there were dark circles beneath his eyes. Had he been worrying about me?
"Yeah. I had some things to think about - about the lessons, things like that. I got carried away, and walked by foot. I'm sorry. I hope you... you didn't worry?"
"No." He sat up in bed, bare-chested as he always slept. "Well. Yes," he admitted, still smiling. "Little longer, and I would have went to search for you. Sorry."
This confused me. "Sorry? What for? I'm the one who has to apologise..."
"Just don't want to give you the feeling you're watched, or anything. After all, you're a grown-up and all. And I'm not... not usually the controlling type. It's just..."
Of course. After everything that had happened, of course he would be concerned if I stayed out that long, with everything closed, and without notice. I could have hit myself hard, then, and I guess I actually blushed.
"... makes me feel like a jealous wife." He was grinning, though I couldn't help but think that it looked a little strained... and though it was but a joke, it hit close to home.
"Ba. I'm all wet. Dripping on your carpet." Bill shrugged, which let a strand of unbound red hair fall loosely down his shoulder - I quickly started disrobing before he could catch me staring.
Gosh, we were *friends*. And this was Bill, Ron's older brother, for heaven's sake. Why then, did he seem so beautiful and sexy to me? And why now, of all times - I had seen him naked plenty of times before...
Long, red hair, falling loosely over broad shoulders... a smooth chest, a slender waist, bronzed by the Egyptian sun... beautiful hazel eyes, sparkling at me with amusement...
... Never alone...
"Hey Harry."
A voice, so soft, tender, caring...
"Everything all right with you?"
"Yeah." Damn, I was blushing again!
I was infinitely gratefull when I could finally turn off the light, thus fleeing his image, this image that had brought upon such foreign thoughts in me, such forbidden thoughts...
But the image would not leave me, and when I scooped down between the covers and into Bill's arms, I could not but notice how wonderfully warm his body felt against my own, clammy skin, how soft and smooth it was...
... How his hair smelled, of sand and wind and fire and the woods in England after a shower of rain...
... How right his hand felt on my bare back, holding me in an embrace that was soft and strong at the same time...
... How his breath tickled my cheek, warm as Autumn wind...
... How he felt like home...
'... Never alone...'
"Did you just say something, Harry?" Whispered, in this soft, sexy voice...
"No. Night, Bill."
"Night, Harry..."
... I think...
By Reija Linn
Harry
My lessons were progressing well. I could now speak all three of the Unforgivable Curses, though I prayed to all Gods there might be that I would never have to use them on a human being. Not even a Death Eater. Not even Peter Pettigrew.
Voldemort himself... well, he wasn't really a human being, in my regard.
I had also mastered several difficult curses and counter-curses from Akasha's writings, and went through all of them with Azhame that evening - I could tell, behind his usual crankiness, he was proud of my progress, and not as concerned about leading me in front of the Pharaoh as he claimed to be. Though it was, after a time, getting annoying to master a powerful and trying spell just to be rebuffed about the 'way I held my wand', or 'that terrible expression on my face' - but then, I could bear that, and I knew then already that I would miss Azhame when my lessons were to come to an end - and that end was creeping closer and closer, I had planned, after that letter from Dumbledore, to return to England the end of August, which left me with only three more weeks to go.
I was also feeling uneasy about this for other reasons than the natural nervousness I felt when imagining opposing Voldemort - though I knew of the danger, and by no way dismissed it, I had, after all, faced him before. And for some reason, it seemed to be my destiny to fight him.
But what about Bill? Would he come with me, as he had said? And did I want him to risk his own life, too? Could I bare to loose him, as I had lost Ron?
This I was pondering on as I made my way back to Bill's apartment. Bill had come to mean so much to me... more than... more than anyone who was still alive, at least in a certain way - the love I felt for Sirius, for example, was quite different - he was as a father to me. But Bill...
These thoughts had been with me for so long, yet I had never realized... I had never *wanted* to go into what they meant. Had felt comfort at the thought that we were friends, close friends, but just that. And it had been not even two months since Ron had... had died. I could not be healing that fast? I didn't want to heal that fast!
Why was it then that I no longer saw the pain-stricken face of the moment he had died when I thought of him, but that of the smiling Ron of my dreams?
And why was it I could not bear the thought of living without Bill again, ever?
Why was it so natural to share a bed with Bill, though there were other options, though I was no longer tormented by nightmares?
How could he be so fascinating to me?
A light shower of rain had started to fall as I walked the dark streets of the wizard part of town, that was lit only by flame torches on every wall, but I had not felt rain on my skin in all the time I had been here in Egypt, it felt comforting, somehow, perhaps only because it was so rare, and because of the knowledge that people here cherished it so much...
I decided against Apparition, and walked on, undisturbed, pondering all this, as I passed a group of street kids cuddling together in a dark niche. Most of them shied away from me, as I would from any stranger that late at night, especially since this was a wizard neighbourhood, and most people *would* Apparate at this time. One of them, who did not shy, but looked at me with the large, dark eyes of a child that has seen much pain and that has aged beyond it's years, I recognised as the girl who had once brought me a message from Azhame.
I gave her some of the copper coins that were local currency, and she thanked me with a small bow. I had learned by now that the street children were part of Shezra's group of spies, and would often get payment from her in form of food or clothing, and shelter when it was very cold, but still, my heart felt uneasiness by the sight of these kids out here in the night. That girl, who could not be more than eleven, was one of the oldest, except for another girl who had stayed in the niche, tall and very thin, who was holding a small infant in her arms. Her own? She was, perhaps, fourteen.
Gods, when I had been that age, I'd had a relatively sheltered life at Hogwarts, with enough to eat, a warm place to sleep, and looking back, so much luxury... even during my stay with the Dursleys, I'd at least had some food and a bed, clothes, though they were cut together from old rag's or three sizes too large...
The girl considered me for a moment, that was when I noticed I had not moved a step since giving the coins to her.
"Master 'Arry most kind," she finally smiled, and bowed shortly again. Could one still smile while living through so much pain?
"Why do you have to live like this?" I noticed only then that I had spoken aloud. The girl merely grinned some more.
"Oh, we not have to, sir. We choose."
One could actually *choose* such a life? "Why?"
"Oh, some have no parent, like I. We not wants to live at orphanage - they steals your shoes there, while you sleep. Some like Ezra - she with baby. It from her own father, and she choose not live there anymore. And it not very bad. Shezra take good care of us. We take good care of us, too. Most important - not be alone. Never alone. We never alone."
I nodded, dumbly. This attitude - this life, this fire, in one that lead such an existence...
"Be sure never be alone, Master 'Arry. Alone is more bad than everything else."
With that, she left me to join the other kids again, and as I walked on, I noticed she shared the coins I had given her with everyone, giving the girl with the baby - Ezra - some extra.
Never alone...
Would I be alone again when all this was over and I lived?
I'd have Sirius, my old friends from school... but would Bill leave me to return to Egypt, while I remained in England?
Wasn't that how it was supposed to be?
Why, then, was I feeling so uneasy about it? Why, then, did I wish for something that was simply impossible?
When I finally arrived at our flat - and when had it become *our* flat anyway, this was *Bill's* flat! - I was soaked, and it was late. Way past midnight, when I usually returned. I unlocked the door quietly, not wanting to wake Bill in case he was already asleep - which he should have been, he had to get up early for work the next day.
Of course, he was not. Sometimes, when I returned from my lessons, he was already in bed, reading, or just lying there, but he had always been awake.
And so he was that day.
"You're late, today," he said, smiling, though there were dark circles beneath his eyes. Had he been worrying about me?
"Yeah. I had some things to think about - about the lessons, things like that. I got carried away, and walked by foot. I'm sorry. I hope you... you didn't worry?"
"No." He sat up in bed, bare-chested as he always slept. "Well. Yes," he admitted, still smiling. "Little longer, and I would have went to search for you. Sorry."
This confused me. "Sorry? What for? I'm the one who has to apologise..."
"Just don't want to give you the feeling you're watched, or anything. After all, you're a grown-up and all. And I'm not... not usually the controlling type. It's just..."
Of course. After everything that had happened, of course he would be concerned if I stayed out that long, with everything closed, and without notice. I could have hit myself hard, then, and I guess I actually blushed.
"... makes me feel like a jealous wife." He was grinning, though I couldn't help but think that it looked a little strained... and though it was but a joke, it hit close to home.
"Ba. I'm all wet. Dripping on your carpet." Bill shrugged, which let a strand of unbound red hair fall loosely down his shoulder - I quickly started disrobing before he could catch me staring.
Gosh, we were *friends*. And this was Bill, Ron's older brother, for heaven's sake. Why then, did he seem so beautiful and sexy to me? And why now, of all times - I had seen him naked plenty of times before...
Long, red hair, falling loosely over broad shoulders... a smooth chest, a slender waist, bronzed by the Egyptian sun... beautiful hazel eyes, sparkling at me with amusement...
... Never alone...
"Hey Harry."
A voice, so soft, tender, caring...
"Everything all right with you?"
"Yeah." Damn, I was blushing again!
I was infinitely gratefull when I could finally turn off the light, thus fleeing his image, this image that had brought upon such foreign thoughts in me, such forbidden thoughts...
But the image would not leave me, and when I scooped down between the covers and into Bill's arms, I could not but notice how wonderfully warm his body felt against my own, clammy skin, how soft and smooth it was...
... How his hair smelled, of sand and wind and fire and the woods in England after a shower of rain...
... How right his hand felt on my bare back, holding me in an embrace that was soft and strong at the same time...
... How his breath tickled my cheek, warm as Autumn wind...
... How he felt like home...
'... Never alone...'
"Did you just say something, Harry?" Whispered, in this soft, sexy voice...
"No. Night, Bill."
"Night, Harry..."
... I think...