word count: 1142
"Dennis?"
Dennis shakes his head. He doesn't want to see Harry Potter right now. It's almost funny, and under ordinary circumstances, he might have laughed because hadn't he bought into his brother's fascination with the Boy Who Lived? Now, seeing those green eyes and that messy hair makes Dennis wish the floor would split beneath his feet and swallow him whole.
But there's no walking away from this, no escaping it. Harry has already seen him, and he's getting closer and closer, and there is nothing Dennis can do.
"Hey," Harry says, and it's so tense and awkward because it isn't like they're actually friends, like they meet up and chat every weekend over drinks and good food. He's just the boy his brother had been obsessed with, and Dennis knows why Harry is here.
…
"What would I do without you?" Colin asks, grinning as he and Dennis set up their camp for the night.
"You'd probably be dead." Dennis smiles sweetly.
Colin tries not to look amused, but Dennis can see the way the corners of his brother's lips twitch as he fights a smile. "Can you just shut up and help?"
And so Dennis does. Sometimes he likes to pretend that he and Colin are just camping. They've been on this trail for over a week now, and it's almost like when their dad would take them hiking. If he pretends hard enough, maybe he can make it into a reality.
…
He doesn't like the Snatchers. Then again, no one in their right mind would. He and Dennis stay quiet and hidden, too terrified to make even the smallest move. All it would take is one inopportune twitch, and they would be given away.
Dennis watches as one approaches their hiding spot, sniffing the air, probably smelling the remains of the fire. "Can't be too far," the Snatcher says to one of his buddies. "Could have sworn I felt something. Let's go."
"Wait for me!" one of the others calls, hurrying along before he can get left behind.
Dennis and Colin stay as they are for several moments longer because they know there's always a chance one could stay behind to keep watch. Only when they're sure the coast is clear does Colin stand, exhaling heavily.
Dennis doesn't move. He just remains there, crouched and hidden and crying. He's tired of this. It isn't a game anymore, and no amount of his imagination can make it feel okay again. Why are they still going? Why don't they give up? Sometimes he thinks death would be kinder than this life of fear, always running, always looking over their shoulders and waiting for the next big attack.
Colin crouches beside him, making soft shushing sounds. "Hey. Hey, it's gonna be okay," he says. "We're gonna be okay."
…
Dennis fixes his gaze upon his plate of food he had been eating moments earlier when he could still distract himself from the noise around him, when he had still believed Colin would come through those doors. He sets the knife down. "Hello, Harry," he says because it's the polite thing to do.
Colin had promised they would be okay. How many nights had he pushed Dennis through? Dennis would have given up months ago without his brother.
Harry takes a seat, gesturing at Dennis' plate. "I've always hated turnips," he says.
Dennis doesn't know if he can handle the small talk, but he doesn't want to be rude. He just nods, though turnips are his favorite, and he isn't actually agreeing.
This can't be easy for Harry. Dennis has to remind himself of that. The older boy looks exhausted, and it's like he's aged at least a decade since Dennis had last seen him. Difficult as it may be, he needs to be patient.
"How'd it happen?"
…
"I'm in love," Dennis says as he and Colin peer over the ledge of the cliff. It's a beautiful sight, all green and blue and brown, a natural paradise. "Can we just stay here forever?"
Colin laughs. "When this is all over, maybe we can come back here and camp properly," he suggests.
"You really think this is going to end, don't you?"
"You know Harry's gonna be brilliant," Colin says, nodding.
Colin will never stop believing in his hero. Sometimes it makes Dennis sad, but if it helps his brother keep going, who is Dennis to judge? Even when the newspaper called Harry a traitor and spoke of how dangerous he and his friends are, Colin had remained faithful. "Just you wait. This war will be over before you know it."
…
"Colin, come on. We're supposed to evacuate."
But he can see it in his brother's eyes. Colin has no intention of leaving, even though he isn't old enough to fight.
"You have nothing to prove to Harry," Dennis insists, gripping his brother's hand.
Colin shakes his head. "It isn't about Harry anymore," he says, his voice barely above a whisper. "I… Dennis, I have to fight. After everything we saw… The world is so beautiful, isn't it?"
He doesn't know how his brother can still speak of beauty when they had seen so much pain and destruction while running.
But that's Colin. Against all odds, Colin always saw the beauty in everything. Maybe that's why his camera means the world to him; one shot, and he can find something beautiful, some glimmer of hope in all the ugly.
"I wish you'd come with me," Dennis says quietly.
Colin smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "I know."
"Promise you'll come back," Dennis says. "We still have to go camping."
They both know how dangerous it is to make promises. So, when Colin says, "I'll love you." instead and turns away, Dennis understands, even if it's like a stab in the heart. He whispers it back, but Colin has already disappeared into the crowd.
…
"He was brave," Harry says, and Dennis just nods because he doesn't know what to say. "He shouldn't have been there."
Dennis wants to yell and rage, to tell Harry that it's all his fault. But it isn't. Colin would have fought, even if Harry hadn't been involved at all. That's just who he was, until the very end. "That's what I told him," Dennis says with a sad, soft laugh. "But Colin wouldn't have missed it for the world."
He will never understand how his brother could have walked away from him like that, when they had so much planned, so many memories left to make. Dennis wants to be angry, but he can't be. Not really. If his brother could see beauty everywhere, why shouldn't Dennis try?
This is all Dennis can do. He will hold his head high, feel the pain, but stand tall and continue to find the good in the world.