Chapter 3

Six months passed, and gradually most of the Gryffindors forgot about the girl named Elizabeth. Only Harry, Ron and Hermione remembered, or even cared about her and her condition anymore.

One night, Dumbledore beckoned the three of them into his office. Once the three children had settled themselves comfortably in the three chintz armchairs Dumbledore conjured with a flick of his wand, Dumbledore looked up at them all; Harry suddenly realized that he was wearing his traveling cloak.

"You remember, I'm sure, the girl we had in Gryffindor many months ago who was diagnosed with brain cancer?" Ron let out a long slow sigh, while Hermione pressed her fingers and whispered "Elizabeth." Harry, however, pushed himself to the edge of his seat.

"Is she okay? Is she..." he couldn't say it. Dumbledore looked seriously at the three friends before slowly shaking his head.

There was a sudden whoosh-all three of them had let out sighs of relief at the same time. Dumbledore smiled grimly.

"Yes," he said. "She is okay-for the moment. But her condition has worsened. The tumor in her brain has grown and taken over both Elizabeth's ears. She has recently lost hearing-in both ears.

There was a long pause in which the three friends tried to digest this. It was Hermione who finally broke the silence by saying timidly "Um, Professor...if Elizabeth is deaf in both ears now...does that mean she can't sing anymore?"

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "You are a smart girl, Hermione." he said quietly. "Yes, Elizabeth is unable to sing anymore, and I must say, she is quite devastated." Something clicked in Harry's head.

"Professor..." he said slowly. "Have you been visiting Elizabeth? Does she remember you? Does she..." Harry's barrage of questions was interrupted by Dumbledore, who had held up a hand to make him stop.

"I have not been visiting her yet. I have, however, been in contact with the doctors and nurses at the Muggle hospital where Miss Elizabeth currently resides. I have merely told them I am an old friend of Elizabeth, and would like periodic updates on her condition. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other, stunned and slightly confused. But before they could ask another question, Dumbledore had seized all three of them by the arm, and before they knew it, they felt like they were being squeezed through a tube.

Harry shook his head to clear his head of that uncomfortable feeling. He had a feeling that they had just Apparated. He looked around.

They were in a hospital. The walls and floor were a bright, clean white and the air smelled of disinfectant. Doctors and nurses in white lab coats were rushing around, yelling things in that secret code language doctors always seemed to have. Ron was standing next to Harry, looking bemused, while Hermione was on his other side, massaging her wrist where Dumbledore had grabbed it. Dumbledore was looking down the hall.

"Yes." he said quietly. "Yes, I think we have to go this way." And he set off down the hall abruptly, with Harry, Ron and Hermione following.

They stopped in front of a door marked 306. Dumbledore nodded slowly, his silver beard swishing, and pushed the door open.

It was a single room, with only one patient inside. A chair was set at an angle to the bed, as if there was a frequent visitor there that was only taking a break. Bags of fluid hung suspended inches belong the ceiling. Long, snakelike tubes traveled from the bags, connecting the bags with the girl on the bed. The girl's short locks of blond hair swirled around her on the bed, framing her pale face. It was Elizabeth.

Her long eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes. Her piercing blue eyes opened wide at the sight of the four of them. She pushed herself up in bed with trembling hands.

"Harry?" she whispered with awe, as if she couldn't believe her eyes. Harry merely nodded. She beckoned him closer with a shaking hand. He positioned himself awkwardly on the edge of her bed. She raised her hand weakly and felt him, as if she needed to make sure he was solid.

"I was...starting to think...you were a dream." she whispered hoarsely. "Forgive me.' Realizing in the nick of time that she couldn't hear him if he spoke, Harry conveyed his answer by encircling his arms around her. She looked up at him and he smiled.

"Um...we'll just...leave you two alone." Hermione said quickly, seizing Ron and dragging him, protesting, out the door. Dumbledore gave a cheery wave and followed them out the door, the folds of his silvery cloak swishing.

Harry looked back at Elizabeth and realized that she was crying. She saw the look of concern on his face and quietly explained.

"All I want to do is sing." she told him. "I remember singing as a distant dream, a memory. Something that I once did, and will never do again. My life is not complete without singing. In fact, before this, I was seriously considering killing myself. I mean, I'm going to die anyway."

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but Elizabeth stopped him.

"Don't protest; it's true. I have brain cancer and I'm going to die. Anyway, I was planning on killing myself. But now that you and Ron and Hermione are here, I realize that I at least have something to live for. You guys. And I promise you I will fight for as long as I can so that I can be near you just a little bit longer."

The tears now sliding down Harry's own face became a cascade; bending over, Harry put an arm around Elizabeth's shoulder and kissed her passionately, thinking only about how much he loved her, and yet, how little time they had left to spend together.

A/N: Since I can't bear to leave a story unfinished, I'm continuing w/ this story even though you people haven't been reviewing! I have gotten ONE review. ONE. That's pathetic. It doesn't take much to click on that little purplish button and review. Even if its only a few words. I'm having a bit of a writer's block w/ my other three stories at the moment so it may be awhile before I update those. Happy Halloween and review!