AN: Had to post today instead of tomorrow because I'll be out of town all weekend starting on Friday. Enjoy!
I still remember falling in love with you. Like the first drop of rain falling silently in the ocean- ra. Anik
Ellie was nudged awake by a Healer who had come in to check on Harry. She looked over at Bella who was curled up in the chair on the other side of Harry's bed and smiled.
"You have a little spitfire on your hands," the woman said as she started waving her wand over Harry's body with complicated motions.
Ellie snorted. "Don't I know it," she replied.
"Showed up at the help desk and refused to leave until someone told her where her dad's room was," the Healer said with a chuckle before her face morphed into a thoughtful expression. "Hang about. I don't mean to be nosy, but Mr. Potter just turned twenty. That would've made him a father at thirteen or fourteen?"
"He's not really her dad," Ellie explained, "Isabella never knew her father so I guess she's just compensating for having never known him. We've been staying with Harry a while due to certain circumstances and I guess she's grown to care for him more than I realized."
The thought scared her, honestly. On one hand, she was glad Isabella was getting that experience of having a father figure around, even if Harry didn't realize what he was doing or if he thought of Isabella as his own. Her heart sank at the inevitable goodbyes that they would all share when Ellie and Isabella had to go back to their old life.
Isabella would be devastated. Even more so than Ellie herself would be.
Ellie's old life now seemed like a distant memory, one in which she had no longer even felt a part of, if she were being honest with herself. How could she even go back to her boring and mundane life after everything that had happened since she had been kidnapped?
How could she go back to the way it used to be when Harry was right in front of her?
She'd already concluded that she'd never be able to forget him and neither would Isabella. Would they be doomed to carry on as strangers? Harry had mentioned they could stay in touch once everything went back to normal, but Ellie wasn't going to hold on to the hope. He was a busy man after all.
"His wounds are healing quite nicely," the Healer said before turning to Ellie, "May I ask what your relationship is to him? Are you two married?"
"Oh, no. Nothing like that," Ellie replied.
The Healer frowned. "No one but family is supposed to be in his room. If you're not family, then who are you?"
"They are under his protection and are exactly where they're supposed to be, Healer Johnson," a voice said from the doorway making them both look towards the new arrival.
Auror Robards was standing in the doorway looking at Harry with carefully disguised worry.
"My apologies, Auror Robards," Healer Johnson said, "I did not know. We can't be too careful when it comes to Mr. Potter."
Robards nodded before entering the room to stand at the foot of Harry's bed.
"How is he?"
"He's lucky to be alive," Johnson said, "Technically, he did die last night."
"What?" Ellie yelped as she ripped her gaze away from Harry's face to stare at the Healer.
"His heart stopped twice," Johnson said as she stared down at Harry sympathetically, "The poor boy had extensive damage done to his body. It took us hours just to stabilize him."
"He's going to pull through though?" Robards asked as he eyed Harry with unease.
"After hearing everything he's been through I would count on it," Johnson said with a laugh, "A wall isn't going to take out Harry Potter if two Killing Curses can't."
Robards and Ellie both let out sighs of relief.
"He'll be up and about in no time, although, it will still take time for him to recover even after he leaves here. He should be taking it easy for the next month," the Healer said turning a glare to Robards as if she thought he would try to get Harry to come back to work the minute he left the hospital."
"Understood," Robards said with a nod.
"When will he wake up?" Isabella asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes with a frown at having been roused from her sleep by the adults conversing.
"That's all up to your dad now, child," Johnson said with a knowing smile.
Isabella stared back at the Healer unashamedly. Ellie noticed Robards looked like he wanted to comment, but said nothing.
"At any rate, the man is exhausted and has been running himself ragged. This will be a chance for him to actually take it easy and rest since he really has no choice," Johnson said with a grin. "And with that, I'll take my leave. I need to tend to my other patients. Call me if there is any change."
After Healer Johnson left, a thick and uncomfortable silence spread throughout the room. Robards was no doubt thinking of what the Healer had said about Harry being Isabella's dad.
Ellie looked at Isabella, only to find her staring Robards down.
"You wouldn't really do that would you?" Isabella asked with a hint of fear in her voice.
Robards stared at her daughter as Ellie asked, "Do what Bella?"
Isabella pointed her finger at Robards before she spoke, "He is thinking about removing us from Harry's house and placing us with someone else just because you love Harry."
"I do not love Harry!" Ellie very nearly shouted.
"Keep telling yourself that, Mum," Isabella said as she focused back on Robards.
Robards' eyes were wide with surprise and amazement. "So, you can read people's minds?"
Isabella nodded.
"Is this true?" Ellie asked as a pit of dread started to form in her stomach.
Robards sighed before he spoke. "Listen, being on this task force is important to Harry. Ever since his wife died, he's been lost. I know everyone just thinks of me as a grouchy old git, but I notice all of my Aurors and what they go through, and I'm not unsympathetic toward their issues."
"What does that have to do with placing us somewhere else?" Ellie asked heatedly. "You're the one that ordered us to live with Harry in the first place!"
"I... I may have misunderstood exactly how badly Harry was coping," Robards replied. "I should have known issues would arise between the two of you; romantic issues, I mean. If you two have developed feelings for each other, then that would place him too close to this case on a personal level so the only options would be to remove him from the case, or remove you from his house. Which option do you think he'd pick?"
The pit of dread that had started to form in her stomach now sat heavy like a stone. He had never wanted them there in the first place, and even though they got along well enough, and Harry had even admitted that he cared for them, Ellie could see that it would be no contest for Harry to choose.
"I can see you already know the answer," Robards said sympathetically, "Ellie, I'm not thinking of doing this out of spite or for any other reasons than what I just stated. I'm looking out for Harry. I want you to know that."
"Yeah, well, there's no romance involved anyways," Ellie said dejectedly, "He knows I fancy him and has made it quite clear that nothing will come of it."
"And you'd rather still stay, knowing the hurt that will cause you?" Robards asked.
Did she? Did she really want to stay knowing that every single day she would face the hurt of never being quite enough for Harry? She had always had doubts about them becoming anything more, but their talk in the nursery had left her feeling hopeful for something happening in the future when all this was finally over.
Now, all those old doubts just came rushing back. It wasn't like they were meant to stay. They would have to say goodbye one day, why not just a little sooner than intended?
"Mum, please stop," Isabella said as her daughter grabbed her hand.
Ellie looked at Isabella and smiled.
"I'd rather have him in my life as a good friend than not at all," Ellie responded, "I'm not a hormonal teenager, Mr. Robards, and neither is Harry. If things have to be kept at a professional level, then that's fine and I will learn to live with it."
Robards eyed her inquisitively before he nodded, "Well said, Miss Robinson. Anyway, I should head in to work. When he wakes, let him know I stopped by.
"I will, Mr. Robards." Ellie replied as Robards exited the room.
"Thank God," Harry croaked as Robards' footsteps receded down the hall, "I thought he'd never leave."
"Harry!" both Ellie and Isabella exclaimed at the same time causing Harry to let out a wheezy chuckle before he coughed with a grimace.
"Damn! That hurts!" Harry said.
"How are you feeling?" Ellie asked as she fixed him with a worried frown, "Do I need to call the Healer?
"I feel like I got run over by the Knight Bus," Harry replied as he gingerly shifted his position.
"What's the Knight Bus?" Isabella asked
"A nightmare, that's what it is," Harry said. "It's a triple decker bus that slings you all over the place."
"Hold up," Ellie said, "How long have you been awake?"
Harry looked at her with his piercing stare and replied, "Long enough."
Ellie frowned. "You weren't supposed to hear all that."
"What, so you're the only one that can pretend to be asleep on hospital beds and listen in on private conversations?" Harry asked with a grin that was more of a grimace as he winced in pain.
Ellie was brought back to the time when she had awoken after her rescue to eavesdrop on his and Ron's conversation. She was still a bit miffed, but knew she couldn't be mad. She had done the same thing after all and she didn't like to think of herself as a hypocrite.
"Ellie, are you okay?"
"Wha... oh, yeah," Ellie said as she hastily, and angrily, wiped away the tears that started to form. She scolded herself for showing so much emotion in front of him.
Harry frowned. "Ellie, I know we've talked about everything, and what might and might not happen, but I don't ever want you to feel like you have to water yourself down for my sake. You shouldn't hide your emotions. You couldn't ever push me away by showing emotion."
"It's not for your sake, but for mine," Ellie said.
Harry looked at her sadly and nodded.
The Healer chose that moment to bustle back in where she stopped to stare at the three, eyes wide in shock.
"You're awake!" the Healer exclaimed.
"You sound surprised," Ellie said as she fixed the woman with a glare.
Ellie heard Bella gasp beside her but ignored her as she continued to stare down the Healer.
"We, uh, actually didn't think you would ever wake up, Mr. Potter," the woman said uneasily. "We didn't want to say anything because we didn't know for sure, but you were showing very low brain activity after we released the pressure on your brain."
The revelation angered Ellie immensely. How dare they not let them know.
Ellie gripped the sheets on Harry's bed in her fists to steady her hands as she spoke up, "And you didn't feel like that is something we deserved to know?"
She knew she was being rude. She knew everyone in the room could hear the anger in her voice. She found it hard to care about her attitude when they kept something of this magnitude from them; from her.
"Mum," Bella said, almost warningly.
Again, she ignored her daughter as she continued her tirade. "Your patient could've never woken up and you didn't even bother to let his family know? You were just content to wait and see? What kind of backwards arse professionalism is that? He had a waiting room full of people worried about his health and you gave us the bare minimum!"
By the end of her speech, Ellie was yelling. She took a breath, ready to berate the Healer some more until she felt a hand close over her fist which caused her to pause and look down.
Harry was looking up at her with a smile as he grasped her hand in a surprisingly strong grip for one who had just been on the brink of death, and Ellie felt all the anger she was feeling rapidly vanish.
She fell back into her seat still clutching Harry's hand and sighed. "I'm sorry. I let my anger get the better of me."
"That's quite alright, dear," the Healer said with an understanding smile. "I'm sure the past twenty-four hours have been extremely grating on the nerves. You aren't the first person to yell at me and you definitely won't be the last."
"Still, I'm not usually like that," Ellie said, now feeling guilty and slightly childish at her outburst.
"I've been working at this establishment for over thirty years and have met all kinds of patients and their families," the woman said as she took out her wand to begin her checkup of Harry. "I've had to tell families that their loved one would not recover from what ails them. I've had to tell families that their loved one has passed on. Getting yelled at and cursed comes with the job. People react adversely to news of this nature and it's completely understandable. When it comes to matters of the heart, people say anything in the heat of the moment."
"Matters of the heart?" Ellie questioned.
The Healer nodded with a small smile but said nothing more as she continued her examination, leaving Ellie to think over her words.
Was that how someone in love reacted? Was she mad at the staff, or was she mad at herself for caring too much?
She looked down at Harry and was surprised to see his eyes had closed. She shifted her hand slightly, and when he didn't wake, realized he had fallen back asleep.
"He has full brain activity and function," the Healer said.
"That's good," Isabella said.
"Indeed," the Healer said, "he'll be in and out of sleep for a day or two. We have him on a lot of potions. I or another Healer will be in to check on him over the next day or two."
"Thank you," Ellie said quietly.
The Healer nodded once more and exited, leaving her and Isabella to look after a sleeping Harry.
"You've got it bad," Isabella said with a giggle.
Ellie was about to deny it immediately but knew there was no point, not with her daughter at least.
"I guess I do, don't I?"
The truth was, the more she thought about her love for Harry, the more that it felt right. She was tired of fighting and hiding it. Even if he didn't feel the same, she would never regret loving him. Not after everything he had done for her and Isabella and after getting to know the man he was. She didn't know everything about him, and she might never know everything, but what she was given was enough for now.
Here and now, she would fight tooth and nail to keep Harry in her life. She would not be saying goodbye to him. Not now, or ever. She might never have him in the way that she really wanted him, but what she had told Harry's boss was still true. It was better to have him in her life as a friend than to not have him in her life at all. She wouldn't be allowing her or Isabella's heart to break over the goodbyes that she had once thought would inevitably come to pass.
She wouldn't accept anything less.
Ellie was awakened by the sound of a door opening as several people rushed in, talking in hurried whispers, before the door closed behind them.
Ellie looked up bleary-eyed from her position in the chair where she had fallen asleep, to see Ron, Hermione, George, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley crowded around the bed.
"We've found the runaway," Arthur said with a twinkle in his eye as he looked at Isabella asleep on the other side of Harry.
"I told them when we all met that she had the heart of a troublemaker," George replied proudly.
"I distinctly remember you saying prankster," Ellie replied.
"Same thing," George replied with a wave of his hand.
Ron and Hermione were staring down at Harry with sad but hopeful expressions. Ellie could feel eyes on her and looked to Mrs. Weasley who was staring right at her with the ghost of a smile on her face. At least, Ellie thought it was a smile. It could've been a grimace.
Ellie moved to get up but was pulled back down and it was then that she saw why Mrs. Weasley was staring at her so intently. She was still clutching Harry's hand. She must have fallen asleep that way.
"Shit!"
She jerked her hand out of his like it was made of fire and looked down in embarrassment as she tried to hide the blush creeping onto her cheeks.
"Has there been any change?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
She didn't sound mad, but then again, maybe Mrs. Weasley was just good at hiding her emotions. Even though she saw the woman two times a week, she still didn't know the woman all that well.
"He woke up earlier this morning," Ellie started. "Robards came in to check on him and we talked. After Robards left, Harry was gracious enough to let me know he had been awake the whole time."
Ron chuckled before saying, "Yeah, I would see why he would fake being asleep. No one wants to talk to Robards that early in the morning."
"I also yelled at the Healer that came in this morning," Ellie said sheepishly.
"Why ever would you do that?" Hermione asked.
Ellie looked at all of them as they waited for her to patiently explain. How would they react to the fact that the boy they all loved might not have woken up?
"When the Healer came in this morning, she seemed extremely surprised that Harry was awake and voiced said surprise to me. She then told me that the staff didn't think he would ever wake up as his brain function was extremely low."
Ellie paused as some of her previous anger tried to resurface but she reigned it in as best she could. "I was just so angry that they didn't tell us, and I snapped."
She looked down at Harry's sleeping form with a smile before turning to the rest, saying, "I apologized for my outburst, and we talked for a little bit after that. Harry fell back asleep as we talked, and she said he'd be in and out of it for a few days."
"I'm so sorry, Ellie," Ron said
"For what?" Ellie asked with a frown. "You didn't do this to him."
Ron rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, trying to figure out how best to reply to her, when Hermione interjected, "We knew."
"You knew?" Ellie asked in confusion.
"The Healer person told them last night about Harry's odds," A quiet voice said, "They knew he probably wouldn't wake up."
Ellie looked down at her daughter who was still in the same position but with her eyes open and alert. She turned back to Ron, Hermione, and the others with a frown.
"You knew?" Ellie asked, her voice laced with betrayal, hurt, and even a little anger, "You knew and you didn't tell me?"
"What good would it have done?" Ron asked.
"It's not about the good or bad it would have done," Ellie said heatedly. "It's about being my friend and letting me know about the person I... about our friend."
"Ellie, you were barely holding it together," Hermione said, "We didn't want to add to the stress."
"I was fine!" Ellie snapped.
"The armrests you were abusing would say otherwise," Ron said.
Ellie tried to think back to the previous night, but it had all mostly been a blur. She remembered the panic in Ron's voice when the silver animal had told them Harry was here which had then set off her own panic as they traveled. She remembered arriving and sitting in the waiting room for hours. She even remembered talking with Olivia. The only feelings that came up from last night, though, were of numbness, as if she couldn't quite figure out what to feel.
She slumped back in her seat with a sigh, all her emotions now spent as she rubbed her hand to her temple.
"I'm sorry. It's been a long night."
If there had been any question as to how Ellie felt about Harry before, it was long gone now. After talking about him like she had in front of the whole Weasley clan, and after the way she had acted over the past twelve hours or so, she'd be surprised if they all didn't know she was hopelessly in love with the man.
A long night indeed.
Everyone but Mrs. Weasley had left shortly after to go to work. Harry woke up just long enough to have lunch and for Ellie and Mrs. Weasley to fawn over him before he fell back asleep. They filled the morning and part of the afternoon talking about random topics. Throughout the day, Ellie couldn't help but feel like Mrs. Weasley had something on her mind. She kept looking towards her with a thoughtful expression whenever Ellie would resituate Harry's pillows or dampen his forehead with a cloth.
There wasn't much else to do and Ellie felt pretty useless.
Mrs. Weasley continued to knit, Isabella would read or color, and Ellie would sit down for ten minutes, huff in annoyance, get up to do something for Harry, and then repeat the process all over again.
After an hour straight of not being able to sit still, Mrs. Weasley finally spoke up. "What seems to be troubling you dear?"
"I don't know," Ellie said as she threw herself in the chair by Harry's bed. "How do you stay so calm in situations like these? I'm climbing up the wall, half out of boredom, and half out a fear that something bad will happen."
Mrs. Weasley smiled as she continued to knit. "It's something you get used to when you've lived through two wars, had seven children, and have a son who is best friends with the most accident-prone boy I've ever met. I swear that boy has been hurt more than anyone else I know."
"Ron told me he has his own bed in the hospital ward at Hogwarts. Plaque and everything," Ellie said.
"That wouldn't surprise me one bit," Mrs. Weasley said with a laugh. "That's not the only thing bothering you though, is it?"
A lot of things bothered Ellie; half of which she didn't really feel comfortable sharing, least of all, to Mrs. Weasley; the mother-in-law of the man she was in love with.
"You might as well talk to her about it. She already knows. Everyone does," Isabella said off-handedly, not even looking up from her book.
Ellie gulped. "Everyone?" she asked.
"If you referring to being in love with Harry, then yes, everyone knows," Mrs. Weasley said with a small laugh.
Great! She might as well have been wearing a shirt that says "I love Harry Potter" on it.
"How long have you known?"
"Since his birthday," Mrs. Weasley replied. "All one has to do is look at the way you look at him."
"And you're not mad?"
"Why on earth would I be?"
"I don't know," Ellie all but mumbled. "I just thought since Ginny was your daughter and was Harry's wife, you'd feel like I was trying to steal him or something."
"I met Harry at King's Cross when he was eleven years old," Mrs. Weasley said with a fond smile, as if remembering the event vividly. "He was such a lost little boy, wearing clothes four sizes too big for him. Come to find out, his life up to that point hadn't been the best."
"Yeah. Ron told me about his sorry excuse for a family," Ellie said.
Mrs. Weasley nodded before she continued, saying, "It only got worse after that. He found a home in Hogwarts and made friends of course, but the person who killed his parents was still after him and starting with his fourth year until the end of the war, he watched as many people died in front of him; some of whom he cared for a great deal.
"Harry said the people he cares about always end up being taken from him."
"Indeed," she said. "The thing is, I've seen Harry happy before, but still, there was always something lurking underneath the surface; a sense of pain and longing for a different life maybe, I don't know. Whatever it was, it kept him from being truly happy."
It made sense. She had seen Harry smile on several occasions, some even reaching his eyes, but she didn't get the feeling that he was truly happy. It was like he wasn't really living, only just surviving.
"All of that changed with Ginny," Mrs. Weasley said. "I know I'm not his real mother but I'm as good as and to see how he was and how he acted when his heart was full and truly happy made me equal parts happy that he got to experience that, and equal parts sad that it took so long for him to find it."
"I don't mean to sound rude, but I don't quite get where this is going," Ellie said.
Mrs. Weasley laughed brightly before saying, "I guess I did let myself get carried away from the main topic, didn't I?"
Mrs. Weasley, for the first time since they started conversing, put down what looked like a sky-blue jumper with black 'I' emblazoned on the front, and looked right at her. "You're a wonderful woman, Ellie. I can see it in everything you do. Not only have you raised Isabella by yourself, but you also went through a traumatic experience and came through on the other side without letting it harden you. I see you put Isabella's and even Harry's needs above your own. Even if I had some reservations about the growing fondness you have for my son, which I don't by the way, I wouldn't say anything."
Ellie was humbled by Mrs. Weasley's words. In a way, she reminded her of her own mother in the way that they knew just what to say to make one feel better.
"Why wouldn't you?"
"How he was with Ginny and that true happiness I mentioned," Mrs. Weasley said softly. "I want him to have that again. His whole life has been a battle and it shouldn't have been. If he can find what he had with Ginny, but with you, then who am I, or anyone to question it?"
"And you think I can give him that?" Ellie asked doubtfully.
Mrs. Weasley looked from her, to Isabella, and back to her with a smile.
"I don't think. I know."
Harry awoke to the sound of laughter.
At first, he couldn't remember where he was as he tried to make out the voices through his sleepy state. As he was brought further into consciousness, he could finally make out the people talking and laughing.
"So, you mean to tell me that Ron and Harry stole Arthur's flying car and flew it all the way to Scotland?" Ellie's disbelieving voice asked.
There was a laugh, and then Mrs. Weasley's voice answered. "Not only that, but then they crashed it into the Whomping Willow."
Harry could hear Mrs. Weasley, Ellie, and Isabella laughing as she recounted his and Ron's epic arrival at Hogwarts during their second year. Harry was still trying to get a sense of his surroundings when a hand grasped his and squeezed lightly.
Laughing internally, Harry squeezed back and was rewarded almost immediately with a shriek from Ellie as she toppled out of her chair and hit the floor with a thud.
"Ow!" Ellie moaned as she gingerly got to her feet, rubbing her bum where she had landed on it.
"What was all that about?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Oh, Harry's been awake for the past five minutes and wanted to scare Mum," Isabella said with a giggle.
Ellie deposited herself into the chair she had abruptly vacated, before turning to Harry and saying, "I swear if you weren't already crippled, I would beat you. The hospital staff would probably frown at that though, so instead, I'll convince them to feed you the worst food they have in this place."
"You wouldn't dare!" Harry said in horror as his eyes shot open.
Ellie smirked before saying, "Try me."
He turned towards Mrs. Weasley pleadingly who laughed. "You're the one that got yourself into this mess, dear."
He turned to Isabella who was trying to hide the fact that she was giggling. "You wouldn't let her do that to me, would you? I mean, that food is basically poison. I could die!"
"After hearing how many times you have almost died, I think you'll be fine," Ellie said as Harry turned back to her.
"I'll do anything not to have to eat that slop," Harry said as he pleaded with Ellie.
Her eyes twinkled with laughter and mirth, and Harry couldn't take his eyes off hers. He had never seen anything more beautiful.
"Anything?"
Harry nodded frantically as Mrs. Weasley and Isabella watched on, laughing.
"Take Isabella to the cinema."
"That's it?"
"That's it," Ellie said with a smile.
"Hold up, how did I get rewarded for this?" Isabella asked
All the adults laughed as Ellie replied. "I should be reprimanding you for sneaking out of Mrs. Weasley's house. I haven't forgotten, you know."
"You what?" Harry asked.
Isabella grinned, not even remotely sorry as she explained. "I might have snuck out of Mrs. Weasley's house after writing her a letter telling her where I'd be, and then I might have snuck up here to see you, but they don't allow anyone but family into your room so I might have, probably, more than likely told them you were my dad so I could get in here."
Harry guffawed loudly as he stared at the soon to be seven-year-old as she grinned. "George has been a bad influence on you."
All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door, and everyone turned as the Healer walked in.
"Ah! You're awake," the Healer exclaimed.
"Still trying to decide if that's a good thing," Harry deadpanned.
"Oh, stop it!" Ellie chided as she slapped his shoulder.
"See what I mean?" Harry asked. "These people are abusing your patient."
"I'm sure you've done something to thoroughly deserve it," the Healer said with a laugh. Ellie stuck her tongue out at him as the Healer continued. "I need to do some check-ups on you. Could two of you leave the room to give me room to work, please?"
Harry watched as Ellie made to stand up, but Mrs. Weasley had already grabbed Isabella's hand and was moving toward the door. "We'll go raid the visitor's tearoom. I'm sure we can find some chocolate cake there."
He laughed at the look of anticipation in Isabella's eyes as she was led out of the room by Mrs. Weasley, leaving him, Ellie, and the Healer.
"I'm Healer Hughes and I'll be looking over you today," the dark-haired woman said as she began waving her wand over his body.
When she was done, she asked him to remove the blanket so she could check out his legs.
Blushing slightly at the fact that all he was wearing was a thin hospital gown, he removed the blanket as the Healer began stretching and poking his sore legs.
Ellie had turned her head to give him a modicum of privacy, but he could see her peeking at him out of the corner of her eye. He didn't know whether he liked it or if it just added to his embarrassment.
Once Healer Hughes was done torturing him, she said, "All your bones have healed quite nicely and there has been no more swelling on your brain so that's good. Your legs will be sore for quite some time and it will take some time to get back the mobility that you used to have."
"So, he's going to make a full recovery?" Ellie asked, finally turning back to face them.
"Very much so," Healer Hughes said. "I'm going to advise you to make use of a cane for the time being, Mr. Potter, until your legs get used to walking again. You'll be in discomfort for a week or so until you've adjusted. Also, while you will make a full recovery, you might still ache from time to time, particularly when it's cold."
"Lovely," Harry muttered.
"Don't complain," Ellie said, "You could be dead."
"The young lady is right, Mr. Potter," Hughes said, "You were very lucky. And now, I'll take my leave. If you need anything else just page us."
Healer Hughes exited the room, leaving Ellie and him alone.
Anxiety started forming in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't explain. Looking at Ellie, he held equal parts fear and longing at being alone with her as she sank back into her chair and looked out the charmed window. He took this time to study Ellie as she looked out over the Burrow countryside.
She had bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. Her hair was a mess; probably from sleeping half on/half off of his hospital bed for the past two days. Come to think of it, Harry wasn't sure if she had even left his side since he had been attacked. Knowing her, she probably hadn't, which meant she was probably due for a shower.
Through all of this, however, she sported a tired smile.
As Harry once again drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but think that her smile, tinged with tiredness as it was, was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
Ellie sat in her chair as she stared out the window at the gently sloping hills surrounding the Burrow. It really was a beautiful place.
She could sense Harry fighting off sleep and smiled as she felt his eyes on her. Mrs. Weasley came back with Isabella minutes later, the latter of which had a piece of chocolate cake and was grinning from ear to ear.
She turned around and saw Harry had finally succumbed to sleep.
"We need to go home," Ellie said to her daughter. "Mrs. Weasley, could you stay up here with Harry while Isabella and I go home, shower, and get a change of clothes?"
"Of course, dear,"
She gathered up Isabella and went back to the main floor of the hospital where they traveled by Floo back to Harry's house.
She took a quick shower and then dressed while Isabella took her bath. She packed an overnight bag for her and Isabella just in case they didn't come home tomorrow. Ellie made her way down the hallway and to her surprise, saw that the door to the nursery was ajar, so she slipped inside.
Looking around, Ellie couldn't help but feel a sense of loss, as if she herself had been the one to lose everything that Harry had.
How would she feel if she lost both Harry and Isabella on the same day? Not good that's for sure.
She was about to turn around and leave when a familiar object caught her eye from the top of a dresser.
She crossed the room and picked up the Picture Frame Pensieve that she had gifted him for his birthday. She caught the image of all of them on his birthday before it changed to show him, Ron, and Hermione when they were considerably younger. She smiled at seeing a younger Harry and his friends. At least in this photo he seemed happy.
The picture changed again to a Harry closer in age to what he was now. He was twirling around a very attractive, short, yet athletic looking redhead in a dance.
"This is Ginny!" she thought. Ellie had never actually seen a picture of her before. As she watched Harry dance Ginny around, and both of them laughing like they didn't have a care in the world, Ellie felt an innate sense of longing. If only He would look at her like that.
The picture once again changed to almost the exact same scene with almost identical people. The man had messy jet-black hair and glasses, and the woman was also a red head and very beautiful. Looking closer though, this woman was quite a bit taller than Ginny and it was only when Ellie saw the emerald, green eyes that she surmised these were Harry's parents.
The scene changed again to a picture of two men in their late thirties. Both looked rather ragged yet happy. One had soft brown hair with scars on his face and one had long black hair. His features were somewhat sunken, and yet Ellie could tell he had been rather attractive when he was younger. Ellie didn't know who these two people were, but they must have been important to Harry to be in his picture frame.
The scene changed once more and all the air left Ellie's lungs, leaving her speechless.
In it, she and Harry were sitting on the couch. Her arm was wrapped around his with her face hidden in his chest as he laughed. Isabella had fallen asleep on the floor. This was the night they had all watched a scary movie together.
Ellie watched as the picture version of her slowly looked towards the telly, before quickly hiding her face again causing Harry to laugh.
Was this moment really one Harry wanted to remember forever?
"Mum, are you ready?" Isabella's voice called from the doorway, tearing her from her thoughts as she ripped her gaze from the picture frame and toward her daughter.
Ellie smiled. "Yeah, let's get out of here."
She placed the picture frame back on the dresser and exited the room, closing the door behind her. Harry deserved so much more than what life had given him.
She only hoped that life would allow her to fill in for everything that he was missing.