Talk To Me

by facelesswriting

While finishing their education, the 8th years are picking up the pieces of their lives, but Harry's world is still crashing down around his ears. As he spirals apart, even the most unlikely people are banding together to keep him sane, but will he ever recover? And will he ever find his voice again? (TW for self-harm, panic attacks, and depression)

21. Chapter 21

21- Harry POV

The air always made me feel free. I wasn't trapped on a broom - I was soaring. That day in first year, catching Neville's Remembrall, ripped a hole in my chest that could never be stitched up.

The same as my war wounds.

Even here my mind was preoccupied. I screamed.

I couldn't hear myself. The wind was ripping away the sound as soon as it left my mouth, but it had felt good. I screamed again.

For a second, I felt Lupin's arms around me as he pulled me back from following Sirius into the void. I wished he hadn't, and the feeling was gone, but as soon as it was, I wished it back. It wouldn't come, and I screamed.

I distracted myself in ways I couldn't in class. Keeping my body in the air became my only priority while I tried riskier and riskier moves. Somewhere along the way I wondered why keeping my body in the air was so important.

So I stopped.

The Killing Curse was easy, like falling asleep. This wasn't. I could feel the impact. Like worn paper, even after I'd blacked out, I felt my bones crinkle and crush.