"Yeah, I saw his face, all right, ha ha! That was one of the funniest things I've ever-Ow! Hey! What was that for, Hermione!" Ron said, as Hermione hit him on the head with her school books.
"Oh, honestly, Ronald," she said, as the trio walked to the common room. Neither Hermione, nore Ron, noticed that Harry was crying. Neither of them noticed he was sad. Neither of them noticed the scars. Neither of them noticed.
"I'm scared for you!"
Memories. They were running through his head as he drifted toward the bottom.
"Harry, I love you..."
Everything seemed to be fading.
"Why are you doing this to yourself?"
He was going numb.
"Can you even feel me anymore?"
Harry hated this memory. Those words echoed in his head.
"Can you even feel me anymore?"
"Can you even feel me anymore?"
"Can you even feel me anymore?"
"Can you even..."
"Harry, can you even feel me anymore?" Hermione asked. Harry looked at her. "Harry..."
He looked down at his own feet. His eyes kept darting around the common room, as if trying to follow some unseeable being. Hermione could tell he was thinking about something important.
"Harry, look at me." He did. "I...I don't know you anymore. You're never around, and...when you are...when you are you seem...empty."
Harry looked back into her eyes. They were filling with tears. He couldn't stand this anymore. He couldn't stand his life. It was tearing him apart. He loved them both! How could he possibly leave one?
Harry stood up and ran quickly to the boys dormitory.
Hermione stared after him as he entered. She looked down at her books.
Harry kept falling. Falling into darkness. Falling into the unknown. Falling into more memories.
Sobbing.
"Ron..." Harry said quietly.
Sobbing.
It was growing louder.
Meanwhile, in the dormitory, Harry ran to Ron's bed. Ron was sitting, his hands on his chin, and reading a book. When Harry reached the end of his bed, he broke down, crying. Ron looked down at Harry, surprised. "Harry...what's...?" he trailed off.
Harry's eyes met his. Ron stared, bewildered. Ron's own eyes started filling with tears. He slid off of the bed, landing next to Harry.
"Ron, I-I...I j-j...I just c-ca...can't..I-I can't d-do this anymo-ore..." Harry sobbed. His crying was uncontrollable. Ron pulled Harry to his chest in a warm, compassionate hug. "Harry...I love you," he said, tears dripping down his face.
"Ron...I c-can't! I...Hermione and I...and you..." Harry babbled, tears still streaming down his face.
Ron lifted one finger to Harry's lips, and Harry fell silent. There they sat, tears falling from both of their faces. Ron removed his finger, and craned his head in for a swift, passionate kiss.
Harry felt Ron's tongue penetrate his lips. He started to moan loudly as he tried to speak.
"Ron.." Harry said into Ron's mouth, "Ron...I..."
Harry was overwhelmed by passion.
Ron broke the intense kiss, and looked deeply into Harry's eyes.
They both sat there staring into each other's souls. Harry leaned forward and laid his head on Ron's stomach.
"Ron...what I meant to say was...I love you...so much," Harry managed to say, his eyes red from crying.
Ron leaned forward and placed his head on Harry's. They stayed in that position for what seemed an eternity, and for once, Harry was at peace.
Oh how Harry wished he could go back to that time. That was before it happened-before this endless sadness. He wasn't going to last much longer. He was slipping...slipping away.
"Avaadaaa-"
Harry's breath caught.
"Avada Kedavra!" screamed the shrill, cold voice, echoing off of the hard stone walls of the Great Hall.
Harry looked behind him. "Ginny? GINNY!" he screamed.
Ginny's lifeless body lay behind him. He ran to her side and dropped to his knees.
"Ginny...no...Ginny, you can't be dead! Oh God, Ginny!"
Meanwhile, the rest of the school continued to fight off Voldemort's followers, not even noticing that Ginny was gone.
"Ginny? Why? It wasn't supposed to be like this! Oh, God! Oh, God, Oh, God, no!"
"...no!"
Harry's morbid existence was coming to an end as one last memory flashed into his mind.
"Harry?"
"Harry?" he heard Ron say.
"Harry? What's happened? What are you...? Oh my God, Harry.." Ron said, surprised.
Harry was laying in a pool of blood-his own blood. Ron looked on in horror.
He rushed to Harry's side, kneeling by him. He looked into Harry's eyes. They were glazed over. "Oh, my God," Ron said again, "Shit, Harry!"
"R-r..." Harry's voice trailed off. He tried to reach up to touch Ron, but he was paralyzed.
"R-Ron...I-I'm so s-sorry..."
"No, don't say that!" Ron said, panicking.
"Ron..." Harry said.
There was silence.
Harry felt Ron's lips touch his own.
"Harry, I love you," Ron said, holding on to Harry. Harry's blank eyes filled with tears.
"I love-"
Ron felt Harry's body go cold. "Harry...HARRY!"
"Happy birthday, Harry!" Ron beamed.
It had been two years since that night. Ever since then, Harry's life seemed to get increasingly worse. Dumbledore was dead. Snape had killed him, and returned to Voldemort's side. Hogwarts had closed, along with most everything else in the Wizarding world. Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved into Grimmauld place, in which the Order still meets. Today was Harry's seventeenth birthday, but it was not a happy day, by any standards.
Ron shoved a present in front of Harry on the kitchen table. Harry was busy trying to create a new spell, and had been frustrated with it for hours.
"Ron, now is NOT the time to be giving me presents!" Harry said angrily, "Don't you read the paper? Voldemort killed 70 muggles this morning-with ONE spell! When I have to fight him, I'd rather be well trained, and not have been spending my time with BIRTHDAY PRESENTS!"
Ron stared at Harry. "Fine." He sulked off.
Harry didn't really want to be mean to Ron, but there were more important things than birthday presents right now.
Later that night, Harry lay in bed, deep in thought.
'So...what if I could-'
Harry's thought trailed off as there was a knock at the door.
"Come in!" he yelled. Ron entered the room. He looked half-asleep.
"Um...Ron? Are you okay?" Harry asked.
"Yeah...I was just...thinking. You know...about two years ago." Ron said, sitting on the bed at Harry's feet.
"Ron, we discussed this already...It was a long time ago-I'm not like that anymore. I'm a completely different person!" Harry said, quickly.
"Yeah, but...I just...Harry...I'm scared. I-I'm scared that you'll do it again. That you'll try to...you know," Ron whispered.
"It isn't going to happen! It's okay, Ron..." Harry comforted him. He pulled Ron in for a deep kiss.
When Harry finally pulled away, he said, "Ron, I love you. Everything is all right. Go back to bed."
Ron obliged, and left, closing the door behind him.
Harry once again fell into deep thought, and drifted off to sleep.
Harry awoke, from having had a bad dream. He sat bolt upright, rubbing his eyes and searching for his glasses. Just about the time he found them, he heard voices, coming from downstairs. He listened closely.
"You must kill him! Don't you remember your vow? KILL HIM!" said a man in a fierce whisper, "You heard Lord Voldemort! Do you remember what he said he would do if you don't complete this task? I can tell by your eyes, you do. Sirius, you must kill him!"
Harry gasped. ' Sirius? It surely couldn't be the same Sirius, but then, who else could it be?' Harry thought. The memory of Sirius dying flashed in his mind. He went over the memory again and again, trying to think of some theory in which Sirius could still be alive.
"The veil!" Harry remembered. He thought about how expicitly Sirius had touched it. His eyes widened. "The veil is a portkey!"
The stairs began to creak. He was out of time. There was no way he could escape this most horrible fate. "Wait a second...The invisibility cloak!"
Harry ran to his wardrobe and pulled out a long, regal cloak. He pulled it over his head quickly.
Suddenly, the door flew open, and two men entered. One was Sirius, the second man was none other than Lucius Malfoy. Harry stared on in disbelief. He quickly made his way out of the room, and into the hallway as the men made a desperate attempt to find him.
Harry ran to both Ron and Hermione's rooms and woke them up. Soon after, they were all crammed under the cloak.
Lucius and Sirius both entered the hallway. Lucius studied the ground. Suddenly three pairs of feet dashed across the hall and down the staircase. "THERE!" yelled Lucius in a high, shrill voice.
Harry was breathing heavily, as were Ron and Hermione. Hermione looked over her shoulder, just as a flash of blue light hit her in the face. She fell to the floor, writhing and screaming. Harry and Ron screeched to a hault, and threw off the cloak. Harry went forward, picking Hermione up, as her body convulsed. Ron had stepped in front of them and fought off various spells from Lucius and Sirius.
When Harry had gathered Hermione up in his arms, Ron turned and ran behind them into the cold night air, neither of them bothering to pick up the invisibility cloak.
In the house, Lucius stared at the cloak. He turned to Sirius, laughing histerically. He pointed to the cloak. "Follow them."