A Moonlight Stroll With Erick
Chapter 3
It was just another story printed on the second page
Underneath the Tiger's football score
It said he was only eighteen, a boy about my age
They found him face down on the bedroom floor
There'll be services on Friday at the Lawrence Funeral Home
Then out on Mooresville Highway, they'll lay him 'neath a stone...
The next morning, when Harry got up, he immediately, almost instinctively, went to go check Erick's bed, to see if he was okay.
"Erick?" Harry asked. "Wake up. Time to go eat breakfast."
"Oh yes you are. It's going to be sausages, pancakes, pumpkin juice, eggs, ham, hashbrowns, and stuff like that." Harry answered, pulling open the curtains, pulling off his blankets, throwing him some of his robes.
"Ugh. Fine." Erick nastily answered. He got up, put on his robes, pulled on some shoes, and pushed pass Harry down into the Common Room, where he waited for Harry.
"C'mon. Let's go." He said. He went out the portrait hole.
At breakfast, Erick stole Harry from Hermione and Ron. He couldn't sit near them, he was afraid Erick might start yelling at him or them.
"Meet me tonight in the Quidditch Pitch, okay?" Erick said.
That day, Harry landed himself in detention with Snape for the next day. It turned out that he had 'stupidly and idiotically' added wormbush instead of toadstool to his Death Draught, and Snape, who had a grudge against Harry, had given him a detention. That afternoon, Harry worked on practicing a Summoning charm, a Banishing spell, and the Disarming spell. He mastered the disarming spell, but by the time he was done, he still needed major improvement on the banishing spell. When it was six o'clock, Harry got his wand, put on some jeans and an old tee-shirt of Dudely's, and headed out to the Quidditch field. He met a very anxious Erick there.
"You're late!" He said.
"You never gave me a time, exactly." Harry answered.
"Whatever. Let's just wait here until it gets dark.
They waited until dark, and when the moon came out, Erick stood up and said to get up. He led Harry to the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, when he stopped.
"I gotta tell you something." Erick said.
"What?" Harry asked.
"I've only been mad because I think I'm depressed." Erick answered.
"Why?"
"My mom and dad died in an arson fire. I'm the only one that survived. Later on my brother was stabbed to death, and my sister committed suicide by starving herself. I came here because someone's trying to kill me-they tried to send me some poison or something through the mail." Erick said.
"That's horrible." Harry said. "I may not have had siblings, but I do know what it's like to lose a family. And to have someone trying to kill you." Harry said.
"That's why I wanted to talk to you. You see, lately I've been considering-but decided against- committing suicide." Erick said.
"You're sure about this?" Harry asked.
"I'm probably going to change my mind later on, but, for now, yes, I'm sure." Erick answered.
"Take care of yourself, okay?" Harry said. He knew now was the time to stop enquiring him.
"I will. Thanks for your help."
"You're welcome." Harry answered.
That night, as Harry was lying in bed, he thought about his own life. Back when he'd been about six or seven, he'd seriously thought about it as well. But something had told him not to; to hold on. And then he'd come to this wonderful place, after 10 years of hell and torture at the Dursely's. But would this be true for Erick as well?