Disclaimer: Alas, I am not JK Rowling; therefore, I do not own Harry Potter.
Mel: Call you insane? Never! *tries to look innocent and fails spectacularly* And thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. I'll be sure to consider them. ;-)
jandl: Um…yes…that's totally what I was trying to do…*cough*
hpdancer92: S'ok. You're forgiven for not reviewing. This time.
Atlanta-avalon1.1: Hehe. If you liked that scene, just wait till I get to some of my major plot points. MWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Captain Oblivious: Oh dear…he won't be very happy when he wakes up, will he? I suppose I'll have to get some smelling salts…I should just keep some on hand for incidents like this.
Somuchtosay: Of course he looks good in pink…if you're into that :-P
Lara Potter: A magenta bow tie?!?! I deserve a magenta bow tie?!?!?!?!!? I feel so appreciated…*sniffle*
Ok…only a few weeks since I updated this time!! Not a whole month!! Aren't you all so happy?! :-D
I was a bit disappointed that no one commented on the Neville thing…but, alas, I suppose I can't have everything.
Alright…it's been about nine months since book five came out, and if you haven't read it yet, you probably aren't a big enough fan to be reading fan fiction. So, this is the chapter where Spoilers start.
Carpe Diem
Harry sat alone in the common room, everyone else having gone to bed already. As he sat, staring at the flames, all of the thoughts he had been trying so hard to avoid over the last month came crashing down on him.
Sirius. The image of Sirius falling through the veil, the expression on his face as he fell…Harry could remember it like it had only happened yesterday. He should. He had dreamt of it almost every night since. And the nights he didn't, his dreams were haunted by images of Cedric, or his parents.
So many people had suffered at the hands of Voldemort, and Harry had met many of them in the last month. It wasn't fair! Why did innocent people have to suffer like that?! They hadn't done anything wrong. Harry had spoken with both Frank and Alice Longbottom. Frank was so cheery…and Alice was so bubbly and innocent…
Mom…Dad… His parents…he had never known them as such. Now he knew them as teenagers, his own age. They, too, were happy, carefree, innocent…Harry felt a sudden stab of grief tinged with jealousy. He had never had that chance.
Remus. Poor Remus…his friends dead or traitors. No sooner had he regained a friend that he lost him again. In his own time, Harry's former professor was slowly dying, and they all knew it. He was slowly being worn down by his lycanthropy, and he had no one to help him. Of course, Harry, Ron, Hermione and the other Order members were there for him, but it wasn't the same.
Ron… They had been through so much together. Best friends since the day they had met, Ron had stood by him through everything. And because of Harry, he had experienced so much pain…
Hermione… Harry honestly didn't know his thoughts about Hermione. Once, he could have simply called her one of his best friends and left it at that, but now…he wasn't sure. He noticed he spent a rater lot of time thinking about her, and she could comfort him when no one else could…He'd do anything to make her smile. To keep her safe.
Harry looked down and squeezed his eyes close. He hadn't been able to protect her! When it came down to it, he hadn't been the one to keep her safe, and because he failed, someone else was lying in a hospital bed, unconscious. Thoughts of that horrible day drifted through his head. The day Voldemort had fallen. The day they had lost every shred of innocence they had left.
Harry spun around, looking for a sign, anything that might tell him where they were. He had to find them. He knew the penalty for failure, and that was not an option. Suddenly the silence was pierced by a shrill scream from the corridor on his left.
Hermione! He thought, frantically. He ran down the corridor as fast as his legs would carry him, searching for any sign of his friends. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he stopped in front of the only door that had light behind it. Throwing caution to the wind, he slammed the door open and saw—
"Harry? What are you still doing up?"
Harry's head snapped up at the sound of Hermione's voice. "I could ask you the same thing."
She smiled slightly and sat down next to him. "I couldn't sleep…bad dreams…"
Harry nodded. "I know what you mean. It's being here, with all of them. I can't help but think about everything…" He trailed off, not wanting to touch upon the subject. The truth was, since it happened, not once had they mentioned it.
They sat in silence for a while longer, simply taking comfort in the others' presence.
"Hermione?" Harry asked quietly.
"Yes Harry?" She said, just as quietly.
"Am I a bad son?"
Hermione started. She had not been expecting that. "Why would you think that, Harry?"
"Because…I miss my parents, Hermione. I've always wished that I could have had my parents, but…I miss Sirius more."
Hermione's heart contracted painfully. Poor Harry…he'd lost everyone he loved in his life. It was in that moment, as she looked at him, with his head still bowed and the firelight flickering on his face, that Hermione vowed he would never lose her, no matter what happened. She would be there for him, and nothing short of death could stop her.
"No Harry. You're not a bad son. You never knew your parents. You never knew what they were like. But you knew Sirius. You had a chance to love him before he was taken from you. No, you're not a bad son. You're human."
Harry smiled slightly, and the two lapsed back into a comfortable silence.
Neither of them noticed as a shocked Arabella Figg stumbled her way back to her dormitory.
~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: I had fully intended to write more for this chapter, but I thought that this would be a wonderful place to end it, don't you think? Well, actually you probably don't and I'm sure you're all cursing me now, but remember, anything happens to me the story stops altogether. :-P Now review.