Chapter Twenty-Six
Two things: If you haven't read Save Yourself, my Pansy/Draco story (Yes, it's Pansy/Draco, don't have a heart attack... some people actually *LIKE* it :o) ), get your butt over there and read it. http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=651671 Please? Second thing... the website I'm working on with a few people, http:/www.angelfire.com/wizard/hpfanfic0/ , has been updated. It's a collection of stories from ff.net sorted by ship; if you find your story there and don't want it on there (we tend to lose track of the people we contact and ask if it's ok to post their stories, sorry), email us and tell us you'd like us to take it down. If you DO want your story up there and it's not, email us at hpfanfiction2002@hotmail.com and ask us to put it up there -- we definitely will.
Aimée
-----
Whispering.
Blackness still surrounded me, like a black velvet blanket I couldn't squirm my way out of. I tried desperately to strain my ears to hear what was going on, but all I heard was whispering. There were three voices I could hear – all distinguished and different, all too familiar for comfort. What I couldn't hear, however, it the words they were saying.
Where was I?
I strained my mind to remember the very last thing that had happened to me, but it was a futile struggle; I couldn't remember a thing past who I was. I tried to open my eyes and surprised even myself as I succeeded. It was then my memories slowly seeped back into my mind, allowing me to remember exactly what had happened.
I was surrounded by light blue walls, the one directly in front of me displaying a rather simple picture of a sort of flower – a lily, I believe. It was perhaps three seconds after that realization had made its way into my mind when a sudden outburst made me wince in pain.
"Harry!"
In an instant, the three people I had heard before rushed to my side, each starring wide-eyed down at me. Draco was to my left, his pale face even paler than I remembered it. His grip was tight on the bars surrounded the bed I was in, reminding me all together too much of a crib.
Dad was at the foot of the bed, his normally cool composure completely shot. His eyes, while not puffy, were red and blood-shot, as if he had recently been crying—something I had rarely, if ever, seen him do.
Mum was by far the worst, however; she was to my right and her amber eyes were puffy, red, and there were still tears streaming down her cheeks. She had been the one to say my name, noticing I had opened my eyes after what I learned to have been more than six weeks.
"…Mum?"
My throat was dry from lack of liquid and my tongue was—believe it or not—stiff, making talking very hard, but I still managed to utter that single word.
"Harry, dear," she whispered, reaching out with one of her cool hands to touch my cheek, "It's so good to have you back."
I slowly turned to face Draco, still extremely confused over what had happened and why I was there. He met my gaze with his own eyes watering, awakening the possibility he thought I was going to die in my mind.
"What… happened?" I asked, taking a deep breath in between the words. He shook his head and sighed, not willing to allow his tears to spill out of his eyes—something talking would have achieved.
"You've been out for six weeks," Dad said suddenly, his voice stable. "A lot has happened since then… we need to talk to you, son, but we need you to get better first, ok?"
Before I could respond, a white-coated doctor came tumbling into what I now knew to be a hospital room—probably at St. Mungo's—with a clipboard in hand.
"Harry Snape?" he asked, looking over his horn-rimmed spectacles to take a quick glance at me.
"Yes," I croaked, my voice scratchy.
"How're you feeling?" he asked, writing some things down on his clipboard.
"Like shit," I said, not quite caring that Mum and Dad were right next to me, "How am I supposed to feel?"
"Like shit," he agreed, smiling. "Do you know why you're here?"
I searched my mind, trying to come up with a possible explanation. "Quidditch accident?"
A brief glance from Mum to Dad told me exactly how wrong I was.
"No, Harry, you're here because you were struck with the… err…" The doctor paused and leafed through his notes.
"You were hit by the Killing Curse," said Mum quietly, not giving the doctor a chance to answer me, "Yet… you're still…"
With a choked sob, she turned to Dad, who immediately engulfed her in his arms. "Harry, I'll be outside with your Mum… Call if you need anything."
I watched them go, a lost feeling coming over me. I turned back towards Draco, who was still clutching my bed rails hard enough to turn his knuckles white.
"The Killing Curse?" I asked hoarsely, "Tell me she was kidding."
Draco sighed and shook his head, still refusing to talk. The doctor cleared his throat, bringing my attention back to him.
"I could give you something, if you wish, to make you sleep—or would you rather I wait a bit and have a nurse give you something later on?" He eyed Draco, who glared back at him with the skill only a Malfoy could acquire.
"No thanks," I shook my head best I could, "I'll wait."
With a curt nod and a few quick steps, Draco and I were left alone in the blue room, the only light coming from a window to my right.
"Why were you all here?" I asked quietly, "If it's been six weeks."
He shrugged, "You—your mother and I have been here all the time, just about. Professor Snape came in a few hours ago to… well… I don't know whether or not I should be the one telling you this."
I gave him a curious look, "Go on, I don't remember what happened and I'd really like to know."
He sighed, "He came back to give us the verdict on your trial."
My eyes widened, "Trial? For what?"
Draco cringed, tightening his fists around the bar again, "I don't want to be the one to tell you this, Harry…"
"Tell me, God damn it!" I exclaimed, trying to sit up but nearly fainting with the pain that particular activity brought.
Draco signed, closing his eyes and looking at me with such an intense sorrow I nearly broke down right then and there, even though I had not a clue what had happened.
"Harry… your brother's dead."
Everything's so blurry
And everyone's so fake
And everybody's so empty
And everything is so messed up
Pre-occupied without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl
You could be my someone
You could be my sea
You know that i'll protect you
From all of the obscene
I wonder what you're doing
Imagine where you are
There's oceans in between us
But that's not very far
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
When you shoved it in my face
Explain again to me
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
When you shoved it my face
Everyone is changing
There's no one left that's real
To make up your ending
And let me know just how you feel
Cause I am lost without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl
You could be my someone
You could be my sea
You know that I will save you
From all of the unclean
I wonder what your doing
I wonder where you are
There's oceans in between us
But that's not very far
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
When you shoved it in my face
Explain again to me
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
When you shoved it my face
Nobody told me what you thought
Nobody told me what to say
Everyone showed you where to turn
Told you where to runaway
Nobody told you where to hide
Nobody told you what to say
Everyone showed you where to turn
Showed you where to runaway
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
When you shoved it in my face
Explain again to me
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
When you shoved it my face
Explain again to me
You take it all
You take it all away...
Explain again to me
You take it all away
Explain again to me
Take it all away
Explain again...*
*Puddles of Mudd, Blurry
[*snort* long song]
Belle: Ethan tried to kill Harry? Didn't work, apparently. I didn't take too long this time, I think... Less than a week, even? Wow. I'm getting better at this whole "updating" thing. Thanks for the review! :o)
Cat Samwise: You unnumb yet? I swear, Harry's ok! Or going to be, at least. Ethan, on the other hand, is six feet under currently. Lovely, isn't it? I LIKED Ethan too... Hmm. Needed a set up for the rest of the story, 'tis all.
coriander: Nah, I didn't kill Harry. He's not dead, don't worry. LOL, no, Snape isn't going to kill Draco - he has no known reason to. Yet. :o)
Dickens: Shush, you. I told you Harry was gonna get AKed =Þ Heh.
Exis: Thank you! Yes, I love having readers on the edge... Makes for interesting death threats.
gwen: Apparently, the spell DID rebound... I'm not saying anything else though. *zips mouth* Why would Cassandra sue for child support? It's Ethan's kid! Heh. I don't know who's worse off - Ethan or Cassandra.
Hana: Wow, thank you! He's not dead, don't worry. Ethan is though... Heh. There's a reason the Drinking Game's up there... More or less an AU to an AU, if that makes any sense. A little cookie that really didn't happen, but I felt the need to write a bloody drinking game, so *bam*. There's a reason Harry survived, and I'm hoping you read Least Likely of All, else you may not understand it. Rambling is good :o) You're "one of those fanfic people on the official site"? Sorry? Didn't understand that one. Thanks again!
Hippy Flower(In trouble with V: Nah, Harry can't die... he's the bloody Boy Who Lived.
Innomen Toast Crunch: Of course he lived, he's HARRY for God's sake! All questions will be answered soon enough, I promise you. Cute screen name :o)
Joycelene: Ethan isn't going to Azkaban... he's six feet under. Harry's not dead either, but things WILL heat up soon enough... Trust me on that.
Kiwi: Harry didn't die, don't throttle me! LOL. Yes, of course Murphey's Law, but that's not what happens... Things do get quite disrupted anyway. :o)
Klee: You should know me well enough to know I didn't kill Harry! Hell, you know what happens AFTER this, remember? I need some sort of set up, anyway. Yes, nice catch with the words... it takes *years* from his life. You should know how, too. :o)
lunar_scythe: And here's your next chapter. Harry's alive, don't worry - the whole "nekked Harry and Draco" thing will come later... after enough angst to fill an entire story. :o)
lynn: No, Harry isn't dead - Ethan is. :o) Thanks for the review, heh.
yiota: Hmm... well, if I said they applied, then I can't very well amend that, but I CAN say something along the lines of that little tidbit occurred between the time Harry was told and Ethan and Cassandra got married... I suppose? There were quite a few months in between, if I remember correctly. *shrug* I'm going out of my way to contradict the ending to LLOA, so I dunno. :o)
Thanks to everyone who reviewed - they are *MUCH* appreciated!
Two things: If you haven't read Save Yourself, my Pansy/Draco story (Yes, it's Pansy/Draco, don't have a heart attack... some people actually *LIKE* it :o) ), get your butt over there and read it. http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=651671 Please? Second thing... the website I'm working on with a few people, http:/www.angelfire.com/wizard/hpfanfic0/ , has been updated. It's a collection of stories from ff.net sorted by ship; if you find your story there and don't want it on there (we tend to lose track of the people we contact and ask if it's ok to post their stories, sorry), email us and tell us you'd like us to take it down. If you DO want your story up there and it's not, email us at hpfanfiction2002@hotmail.com and ask us to put it up there -- we definitely will.
Aimée
-----
Whispering.
Blackness still surrounded me, like a black velvet blanket I couldn't squirm my way out of. I tried desperately to strain my ears to hear what was going on, but all I heard was whispering. There were three voices I could hear – all distinguished and different, all too familiar for comfort. What I couldn't hear, however, it the words they were saying.
Where was I?
I strained my mind to remember the very last thing that had happened to me, but it was a futile struggle; I couldn't remember a thing past who I was. I tried to open my eyes and surprised even myself as I succeeded. It was then my memories slowly seeped back into my mind, allowing me to remember exactly what had happened.
I was surrounded by light blue walls, the one directly in front of me displaying a rather simple picture of a sort of flower – a lily, I believe. It was perhaps three seconds after that realization had made its way into my mind when a sudden outburst made me wince in pain.
"Harry!"
In an instant, the three people I had heard before rushed to my side, each starring wide-eyed down at me. Draco was to my left, his pale face even paler than I remembered it. His grip was tight on the bars surrounded the bed I was in, reminding me all together too much of a crib.
Dad was at the foot of the bed, his normally cool composure completely shot. His eyes, while not puffy, were red and blood-shot, as if he had recently been crying—something I had rarely, if ever, seen him do.
Mum was by far the worst, however; she was to my right and her amber eyes were puffy, red, and there were still tears streaming down her cheeks. She had been the one to say my name, noticing I had opened my eyes after what I learned to have been more than six weeks.
"…Mum?"
My throat was dry from lack of liquid and my tongue was—believe it or not—stiff, making talking very hard, but I still managed to utter that single word.
"Harry, dear," she whispered, reaching out with one of her cool hands to touch my cheek, "It's so good to have you back."
I slowly turned to face Draco, still extremely confused over what had happened and why I was there. He met my gaze with his own eyes watering, awakening the possibility he thought I was going to die in my mind.
"What… happened?" I asked, taking a deep breath in between the words. He shook his head and sighed, not willing to allow his tears to spill out of his eyes—something talking would have achieved.
"You've been out for six weeks," Dad said suddenly, his voice stable. "A lot has happened since then… we need to talk to you, son, but we need you to get better first, ok?"
Before I could respond, a white-coated doctor came tumbling into what I now knew to be a hospital room—probably at St. Mungo's—with a clipboard in hand.
"Harry Snape?" he asked, looking over his horn-rimmed spectacles to take a quick glance at me.
"Yes," I croaked, my voice scratchy.
"How're you feeling?" he asked, writing some things down on his clipboard.
"Like shit," I said, not quite caring that Mum and Dad were right next to me, "How am I supposed to feel?"
"Like shit," he agreed, smiling. "Do you know why you're here?"
I searched my mind, trying to come up with a possible explanation. "Quidditch accident?"
A brief glance from Mum to Dad told me exactly how wrong I was.
"No, Harry, you're here because you were struck with the… err…" The doctor paused and leafed through his notes.
"You were hit by the Killing Curse," said Mum quietly, not giving the doctor a chance to answer me, "Yet… you're still…"
With a choked sob, she turned to Dad, who immediately engulfed her in his arms. "Harry, I'll be outside with your Mum… Call if you need anything."
I watched them go, a lost feeling coming over me. I turned back towards Draco, who was still clutching my bed rails hard enough to turn his knuckles white.
"The Killing Curse?" I asked hoarsely, "Tell me she was kidding."
Draco sighed and shook his head, still refusing to talk. The doctor cleared his throat, bringing my attention back to him.
"I could give you something, if you wish, to make you sleep—or would you rather I wait a bit and have a nurse give you something later on?" He eyed Draco, who glared back at him with the skill only a Malfoy could acquire.
"No thanks," I shook my head best I could, "I'll wait."
With a curt nod and a few quick steps, Draco and I were left alone in the blue room, the only light coming from a window to my right.
"Why were you all here?" I asked quietly, "If it's been six weeks."
He shrugged, "You—your mother and I have been here all the time, just about. Professor Snape came in a few hours ago to… well… I don't know whether or not I should be the one telling you this."
I gave him a curious look, "Go on, I don't remember what happened and I'd really like to know."
He sighed, "He came back to give us the verdict on your trial."
My eyes widened, "Trial? For what?"
Draco cringed, tightening his fists around the bar again, "I don't want to be the one to tell you this, Harry…"
"Tell me, God damn it!" I exclaimed, trying to sit up but nearly fainting with the pain that particular activity brought.
Draco signed, closing his eyes and looking at me with such an intense sorrow I nearly broke down right then and there, even though I had not a clue what had happened.
"Harry… your brother's dead."
Everything's so blurry
And everyone's so fake
And everybody's so empty
And everything is so messed up
Pre-occupied without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl
You could be my someone
You could be my sea
You know that i'll protect you
From all of the obscene
I wonder what you're doing
Imagine where you are
There's oceans in between us
But that's not very far
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
When you shoved it in my face
Explain again to me
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
When you shoved it my face
Everyone is changing
There's no one left that's real
To make up your ending
And let me know just how you feel
Cause I am lost without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl
You could be my someone
You could be my sea
You know that I will save you
From all of the unclean
I wonder what your doing
I wonder where you are
There's oceans in between us
But that's not very far
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
When you shoved it in my face
Explain again to me
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
When you shoved it my face
Nobody told me what you thought
Nobody told me what to say
Everyone showed you where to turn
Told you where to runaway
Nobody told you where to hide
Nobody told you what to say
Everyone showed you where to turn
Showed you where to runaway
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
When you shoved it in my face
Explain again to me
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
When you shoved it my face
Explain again to me
You take it all
You take it all away...
Explain again to me
You take it all away
Explain again to me
Take it all away
Explain again...*
*Puddles of Mudd, Blurry
[*snort* long song]
Belle: Ethan tried to kill Harry? Didn't work, apparently. I didn't take too long this time, I think... Less than a week, even? Wow. I'm getting better at this whole "updating" thing. Thanks for the review! :o)
Cat Samwise: You unnumb yet? I swear, Harry's ok! Or going to be, at least. Ethan, on the other hand, is six feet under currently. Lovely, isn't it? I LIKED Ethan too... Hmm. Needed a set up for the rest of the story, 'tis all.
coriander: Nah, I didn't kill Harry. He's not dead, don't worry. LOL, no, Snape isn't going to kill Draco - he has no known reason to. Yet. :o)
Dickens: Shush, you. I told you Harry was gonna get AKed =Þ Heh.
Exis: Thank you! Yes, I love having readers on the edge... Makes for interesting death threats.
gwen: Apparently, the spell DID rebound... I'm not saying anything else though. *zips mouth* Why would Cassandra sue for child support? It's Ethan's kid! Heh. I don't know who's worse off - Ethan or Cassandra.
Hana: Wow, thank you! He's not dead, don't worry. Ethan is though... Heh. There's a reason the Drinking Game's up there... More or less an AU to an AU, if that makes any sense. A little cookie that really didn't happen, but I felt the need to write a bloody drinking game, so *bam*. There's a reason Harry survived, and I'm hoping you read Least Likely of All, else you may not understand it. Rambling is good :o) You're "one of those fanfic people on the official site"? Sorry? Didn't understand that one. Thanks again!
Hippy Flower(In trouble with V: Nah, Harry can't die... he's the bloody Boy Who Lived.
Innomen Toast Crunch: Of course he lived, he's HARRY for God's sake! All questions will be answered soon enough, I promise you. Cute screen name :o)
Joycelene: Ethan isn't going to Azkaban... he's six feet under. Harry's not dead either, but things WILL heat up soon enough... Trust me on that.
Kiwi: Harry didn't die, don't throttle me! LOL. Yes, of course Murphey's Law, but that's not what happens... Things do get quite disrupted anyway. :o)
Klee: You should know me well enough to know I didn't kill Harry! Hell, you know what happens AFTER this, remember? I need some sort of set up, anyway. Yes, nice catch with the words... it takes *years* from his life. You should know how, too. :o)
lunar_scythe: And here's your next chapter. Harry's alive, don't worry - the whole "nekked Harry and Draco" thing will come later... after enough angst to fill an entire story. :o)
lynn: No, Harry isn't dead - Ethan is. :o) Thanks for the review, heh.
yiota: Hmm... well, if I said they applied, then I can't very well amend that, but I CAN say something along the lines of that little tidbit occurred between the time Harry was told and Ethan and Cassandra got married... I suppose? There were quite a few months in between, if I remember correctly. *shrug* I'm going out of my way to contradict the ending to LLOA, so I dunno. :o)
Thanks to everyone who reviewed - they are *MUCH* appreciated!