"Gregory?" On his haunches the silhouette of the person peered over Gregory, and poked him. "Hay Greg wake up mate."
Gregory groaned he didn't want to wake up yet, after an all nighter studying for his Muggle Studies test he wanted to rest. "Give me another hour," he bawled.
"Get up you lazy sod." The figure continued to poke him, slightly harder then before.
Gregory opened his exhausted eyes annoyed that someone was trying to pull him out of his fluffy bed prematurely. "What the hells wrong with you? Can't you see that I'm trying to sleep?" Though his eyes were open he was having trouble focusing them, everything was undefined.
"Well if that's how you feel, I'll just go back to being dead." The words were harsh but the tone was light hearted.
Realizing that he was not tired because he had been studying for a test, that he was not in the Slytherin dormitory; that in fact he was in the Forbidden Forest trying to resurrect his dead friend, Gregory attempted to sit up but he was gently pushed back down.
"Don't get up, ya look bloody awful." The owner of the voice put a hand on Gregory's own.
"Vince, 's'that you?" Gregory could only see the dark shape of the person in front of him.
"What, I look different from the last time that you saw me?"
"Vince!" Gregory grabbed onto Vincent's shoulders and pulled him down, holding him tightly. "Don't leave me again."
They laid there on the dirty floor holding each other, both crying silently, happy to see each other. Vincent broke the silence, whispering into Gregory's ear, "Would you really want me to stay, like this?"
Gregory knew that he couldn't ask Vincent to stay in the living realm in the half state that he was in, even though he really wanted him too stay. "What am I supposed to do without ya?"
"I dunno, live on. Find someone else, have kids or something. Just try and live a happy life. Live it for both of us." Vincent knew that he was spewing out clichés, but it really was how he felt.
"But I've never found anyone else-"
"Hush up, you'll find someone else, or I'll come back and haunt you." Vincent pushed himself off of Gregory. "Okay we need to get you back to Hogwarts, what the hell happened to you 'neways?"
"Well I thought you might be okay-"
"So you're delusional too."
"-so I went back to that one room to look for you but it was too dark to see inside, so I ran inside looking, but then I started to breathe in the ash, everything went black. Only reason I am still alive is that Draco saved me.
Surprised that Draco actually gave a damn, "Really?"
"Yeah, guess he dose care about us. 'Neways woke up on a stretcher in the Great Hall. Found out Potter might have the stone that brings dead blokes back to life, begged him to to tell me where it was, and I guess that I found it."
"You begged, Potter? And he believed you? How'd ya manage that?"
"Errumm, told him about us...you ain't mad are you?"
"What do I care, I'm dead. Okay we have to get you back to Hogwarts; I think that ash might make you blind if you don't get proper treatment." Vincent helped Gregory to his feet letting his injured friend put the majority of his weight on himself. "Can you see anything?"
Gregory blinked stupidly, "Not really, everything's too blurry to make out."
"Well then, I'll be your eyes and one of your legs." Vincent moved forward catching Gregory off guard. "Sorry. You ready to go?"
Gregory nodded, "Yeah." And they were off.
Both boys made their way through the forest; Vincent wasn't experienced in the Forbidden Forest having only been there a limited number of times in his years at Hogwarts. Still he felt like the way that he was leading them was the right way. The boys were quiet for the whole of the walk, each knowing that every step was taking them closer to their immediate departure. The trees began to thin out and Gregory seemed to get heavier.
"Dude you tired or something?"
"Kinda, yeah, why?"
"'Cause you're getting sorta heavy."
"Sorry." Gregory took back some of his weight; he had been putting more weight on Vincent in a desperate attempt to prolong their time together.
Moments later they reached the border that separated chaotic forest from the well kept grounds, the ruined Hogwarts still bustling with activity. "Can you make it back to the Great Hall?"
"Think so, I can still make out shapes."
They stood for a moment leaning on each other listening to one another's heart beat.
"You know I can't go in there with you." Vincent carefully stopped supporting Gregory, making sure his friend didn't collapse.
"Yeah."Gregory turned to face Vincent; he could only make out the general shape of Vincent's face.
"Come on Greg," Vincent brushed his thumb on Gregory's filthy face. Vincent leaned in and met Gregory's lips, for one last kiss. "Good bye, Greg." Vincent turned.
Gregory grabbed Vincent's shoulder, "Wait, I don't have the stone I can'-"
Vincent brushed Gregory's hand off of his shoulder, grabbed it, and then returned to the forest. Weeping again Gregory turned the stone in his hand, and then threw it back into the forest.
"Good bye..." Gregory stumbled toward the school.