Chapter 8
Back to Reality
(A/N: If you own the song In Joy and Sorrow by HIM from the Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights CD, play it while reading this chapter! It adds such a heart-wrenching effect. ):
Harry awoke in a cold sweat. He groped for his glasses on the end table. He quickly found them and slipped them on.
Had it been a dream?
No, it hadn't. Hedwig was gone.
He groaned. Harry had swallowed more than just his pride that night. Disgusted, he went out into the hall, towards the bathroom to brush his teeth. His hand froze on the doorknob. The sound of dripping water came from inside. A leaky faucet, perhaps? Suspiciously, he turned the knob.
Inside it was dark. He quickly flipped the switch, remembering the looming threat of his death. The shower curtain was drawn. Harry's heart started to hammer in his chest. He walked slowly, ever so slowly, towards the shower. His hand was shaking. His toothbrush lay forgotten on the counter.
He gripped the cold plastic of the blue shower curtain. It was now or never. In a single swift motion, he ripped it back.
What lay behind it caused his vision to shift, turn snowy, like a television screen. He stood in utter shock.
It was completely full, almost to the point of overflowing. The water was crimson with Aunt Petunia's blood. She lay stifling floating in the tub, naked, a rusty razor held in her right hand. A look of longing lay behind her glassy eyes, so frozen. Frozen forever. Her left hand gripped the rim of the tub. Harry noticed her wedding ring was gone.
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oh
girl, we are the same
we are young and lost and so afraid
there's no cure for the pain
no shelter from the rain
all
our prayers seem to fail
in joy and sorrow my home's in your
arms
in a world so hollow
it's breaking my heart
in joy
and sorrow my home's in your arms
in a world so hollow
it's
breaking my heart
oh girl, we are the same
we are strong
and blessed and so brave
with souls to be saved
and faith
regained
all our tears wiped away
in joy and sorrow my
home's in your arms
in a world so hollow
it's breaking my
heart
in joy and sorrow my home's in your arms
in a world so
hollow
it's breaking my heart...
in joy and sorrow my
home's in your arms
in a world so hollow
it's breaking my
heart
in joy and sorrow my home's in your arms
in a world so
hollow
it's breaking my heart
(in joy and sorrow) and my
home's in your arms
(in a world so hollow) and it's breaking my
heart
(in joy and sorrow) my home's in your arms
(in a world
so hollow) and it's breaking my heart
- HIM (His Infernal Majesty)
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Harry didn't know what to do. A kind of implosion was causing a sudden turmoil inside of him. His heart dropped into his stomach, his stomach onto the floor. And suddenly his dinner was all over the floor, too. He quickly grabbed a towel, thinking of wiping up the vomit, but then laid it over his Aunt's body instead.
All thoughts of Draco, of Voldemort, of the rest of the world, forgotten. Only her. Only the question Why.
He wanted to scream, curse God, and keep asking WHY. He wanted to weep for her, to drag his uncle and cousin in here and show them, THIS WAS YOUR FUCKING FAULT.
And eventually the tears did come, as he sat with his back against the wall. He put his face in his hands and wept, for the first time in maybe sixteen years. There would have been relief but no, no because she was dead. There were no spells to bring back the dead.
Harry cried himself to sleep, crouched against the wall, a pool of sick in front of him. It was the first light of dawn that woke him up a couple of hours later. When he opened his eyes, the first thing that came out of them was tears. A knock on the door made him jump.
"Is anyone in there?" came the voice of Dudley.
Harry didn't answer. When the door opened, he flung himself at Dudley, who grunted. Harry fell on top of him and punched him in the face, again and again, ignoring his cries, ignoring the snaps of possible bones shattering. And he didn't stop until Uncle Vernon came running down the hallway, shouting.
"POTTER! What the bloody hell are you doing? Get the hell of him!" he roared. But Harry wouldn't.
"Make me!" he screamed, not even bothering to hold back tears. His face was a bright red. The boulder that seemed to be lodged in his throat pained him.
And his uncle did. Vernon pulled Harry off Dudley, kicking and screaming. Harry spit in Dudley's face. Vernon gripped Harry's arms and whipped him around to face him. Harry spit in his face too. Vernon slapped him.
"Just what the fuck do you think you are doing, boy?" Uncle Vernon yelled, shaking him. Harry's head snapped back and forth. More tears fell.
"YOU BASTARDS!" Harry sobbed, choking. "SHE'S DEAD! SHE'S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU FUCKING DRUNK!"
Uncle Vernon went pale and began to stutter. "W-what are you talking about?"
"Go look for yourself!" Harry moaned, pointing shakily to the bathroom. Uncle Vernon released him, and Harry fell to the floor. Dudley, who was clutching a bloody nose, finally managed to get up and followed his father into the bathroom.
The first noises that could be heard were Dudley's screams, and Vernon's cries of, "Petunia! Petunia, what have you done!"
"Fuckā¦" Harry whispered, and went to get his things.
He was leaving.
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A/N: Okay, so the lyrics totally didn't match, but if you've ever heard the song you know why it goes with what happened. If you haven't ever heard HIM, they're awesome! Look them up!
