Star Cross'd Lovers
Rated R for mature themes, sexual situations, mild violence and language.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J K Rowling and that includes all the places and characters.
Chapter Four - Rays of Hope
About ten large, black Dementors had crowded in around him and all he could see was darkness. He felt their icy cold presence and their decaying hands pulling him towards them. The only thing Harry could think of was what would happen to Susan when his last breath of air was sucked from him and the Dementors had stolen his soul.
This is all my fault . . .
The bad thoughts didn't help him either; the Dementors savored it. A million thoughts raced through his head and he'd lost all track of time. So this must be what Sirius was going through. Sirius . . . Memories of his godfather came flooding back, all bad memories. The Dementors gave sickening screeches of joy.
He was a failure, he'd failed himself, but most importantly he'd failed Susan. The end was near as Harry felt as if each breath was being forced from his very lungs. Soon there would only be emptiness and sorrow. His short life was over.
All of a sudden Harry thought he could see a faint glow of light in front of his eyes.
So this must be death, he thought. The glow was surrounding him, warming him. No, it couldn't be death; he could just about make out the faint outline of the shops in the village of Hogsmede. The Dementors' touch had been so cold he would have sworn he was doomed to spend his death feeling this way.
The light brightened until it was a shinning silver colour. The colour Harry recognized to have come from a Patronus spell. Had his Patronus worked? With the little energy he had he strained his eyes for a glimpse of his stag Patronus. But it didn't come.
Instead he saw what looked like a large horse, too large to be a stag. But it wasn't a horse either; the only thing brighter than its coat was the shinning silver light surrounding it. It charged past the Dementors, making them soar aside, their screeches becoming shriller. Now the screeches sounded as if the Dementors were in pain and not as if they were delighted to be drawing a soul from a victim.
Harry was simply too weary to try to understand what was going on. The Dementors were fleeing – that was all he needed to know – and with that he fainted.
"Harry . . . Harry!" Had all this been a dream? Some wonderful dream turned into a nightmare? But he knew when he felt his body, drained of energy, barely able to move that the Dementors had been there. He opened his eyes slowly; the only sense connected to his body, and saw Susan looking down at him.
She was kneeling down and had rested his head on her knees. She was running a hand through his hair over and over, saying his name, waiting for him to recover. When his eyes finally opened she closed hers briefly in relief and smiled at him.
"Harry! Thank goodness! I was beginning to think you'd . . ." she kissed his forehead, ". . . you'd never come round."
Harry opened his tired eyes. Never before had he been this close to a Dementor, so horribly close to death. She was on the verge of tears as she helped him sit up.
"I'm alright now though", he said wearily. He recognized his surroundings; it was still quite dark but there was a faint light creeping through the sky as dawn approached. "What just happened?"
"Oh Harry it was awful! There were Dementors, loads of them. And they all came around you. Then they tried to kill you but I think they're gone now." Harry looked around. The air was warm again and the clouds were clearing. They were gone.
"Are you alright?" he asked, turning to look at her.
"I think so", she answered in the same tired voice as Harry's. The Dementors had such a huge effect on whoever was around them. "They made me remember some horrible times though." Harry knew this only too well.
"Why did they leave?" he asked, remembering the strange creature which had driven them away. "What was that horse?"
Susan's eyes lit up. "That wasn't a horse that was my Patronus. I conjured it while the Dementors were attacking you. I had to, you were going to die if I didn't."
"You conjured a Patronus?" Harry asked in pride and amazement.
"Yes, it was a corporeal Patronus too!" she said excitedly. "I just remembered everything you'd ever taught me and I did it. I would never have been able to do that if it hadn't been for your teaching in the DA last year." Now Harry really was proud of her. She'd saved his life and he couldn't help feeling embarrassed that he hadn't been able to help her.
"I'm so sorry!" he said, taking her hand. "I wasn't able to help you because every time I tried to remember Sirius it brought back bad memories for the Dementors to feed on. I was useless."
"No you weren't!" she said, stroking his hand. "The whole point of you teaching us that spell was so that we could protect ourselves and our friends. That was unexpected and you weren't ready. Don't worry – next time you'll be ready." Susan was right, it was unexpected. But what were the Dementors doing there anyway? Voldemort must have been giving them orders. They were on his side now after all. Suddenly Harry remembered to ask something.
"Susan?" She looked at him expectantly. "What form did your Patronus take?"
"The form of a unicorn", she said smiling. "We should go now though. If we don't get back to the castle soon they'll realize we've been out of Hogwarts all night and we'll get expelled for sure!" Harry quickly agreed and hoped they wouldn't get found out for casting a Patronus charm. They had cast it in a Wizarding area so they shouldn't get into trouble for it. No one would find out if they got back to the castle in time.
The motorbike sped off back to their school and Susan held tightly to him as she had done not so many hours ago. In all the confusion Harry had forgotten what they'd shared and couldn't help but smile to himself. She was definitely becoming very close to him. Surely they couldn't leave what had happened in the past. He cared about her too much now to forget about the strong feelings that had been surging through him.
Neither had said a word until they landed just outside a back door they could go through which would lead them safely to their Common Rooms. The only problem was Filch. No doubt he'd be prowling around looking for any students who were out of bed. They'd have to be careful on their way back. Harry told her this and she promised to be careful.
"Ummm, Susan?" Harry asked slowly. "When the Dementors were forcing you to remember your worst memories, what were you thinking about?" Harry remembered how she'd cried when the Dementors attacked him. "If you don't mind me asking that is."
"Not at all", she said softly. "I was remembering the time my Auntie was sick. Dark Wizards had attacked her and we all thought she was going to die. That was my worst memory."
"Then how did you manage to produce a Patronus?" Harry asked in bewilderment. "What memory was powerful enough to get rid if it?"
"Knowing that she was going to be ok", Susan answered, giving him a small smile. "And the happiness I felt when she recovered." Harry gently squeezed her hand in response and she smiled back at him lovingly. "We'd better get going."
"Wait!" Harry pulled her closer to him and kissed her softly on her lips. He was overjoyed when he felt her kissing back; she still had feelings for him. She felt disappointed when he pulled away but looked down to feel him placing something in her hand. "This is a two-way mirror", he explained. "I have another one. We can talk to each other through it. We'll talk later right?" He looked at her hopefully, they had so much to discuss about that night. Immediately she smiled at him and nodded. Then in his relief that she still wanted to see him he swiftly kissed her on the cheek and led her by the hand to the door.
When they were inside Harry let go and walked away to his own Common Room. He turned and waved at her as she left. She waved back with sadness, resisting the temptation to run back up to him, fling her arms around him and beg him to kiss her once more. Very soon though he turned a corner and was gone.
Harry hurried back to his Common Room, eager to get out of his slightly damp clothes and pretend to be sleeping. Hopefully no one had noticed his disappearance. Once he was in his pyjamas and safely in bed he sighed, thinking of Susan. He dreamed of her in the little time he had left to sleep, before Ron and the others awoke and it was time to start a new day.
Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews and please keep on reviewing! Next chapter up next week! Bye xxx