Thanks for all the reviews!
Hopefully, all questions will be answered.
Just not in this chapter...
anyway, on to the story!
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Chapter 7
Things Change
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Harry gently pulled Will into his arms.
Hot tears poured down her cheeks as she pressed her face into his chest.
"I'm sorry," she whispered hoarsly after several moments.
"For what?" he asked. "Crying? Don't worry, I've done my share too."
She brought a hand up to dry her eyes, but he caught it and eased it back down.
She felt his thumb on her face, brushing away the tears.
It felt odd to be so close to him.
Odd to be so close to anyone, in fact.
For reasons she couldn't explain, she leaned away from him.
"What's wrong?" he asked, slightly hurt.
"It's...well, um...look, I dunno." Will rested her head on her folded knees.
She felt his hands on her shoulders and felt the strange urge to fall back into his arms.
"I hate you," she whispered, sighing.
"What?!?" he froze. "Why?"
"Not really," she wrapped her arms around her legs. "I want to, but I don't."
"Why do you want to hate me?" Harry asked, still confused and shocked.
Will closed her eyes. "Because I'm good at not feeling. I learned to let life go by. I just watch."
"So, what does that have to do with me?" he asked. He let one hand trace down her back and a shiver ran down her spine.
"That's why," she whispered, trying to stop shivering. "You make me feel everything."
He leaned up close enough to whisper in her ear. "Sometimes, it's better to feel. Even when it hurts."
She turned her head and looked into his eyes.
"I won't hurt you," he breathed.
She turned away, not wanting to see his face, but after a moment, she relaxed against him.
And how can the world want me to change?
He hugged her to him.
"I guess you're right," she whispered.
"How do you feel now?" he asked.
She closed her eyes, and let herself relax. "Warm."
He laughed, and wrapped his arms farther around her.
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment.
"I've never actually told anyone that before," Will whispered. "At least, not all of it."
"No wonder it hurts so much," he commented. "You have to let it out. Let it go. It wasn't your fault, you know."
She took a deep breath, concentrating on the warmth of his skin touching hers. "I know. It's just...I mean, it was hard to deal with my mother, and harder to deal with Chayse, but...watching your friends die...knowing you could stop it. Whether it was the right thing to do or not, it leaves its mark."
She felt his fingers trace the scars on her shoulder.
"Trust me. I know," he muttered.
For the briefest of moments, his fingers flew to his forehead, but quickly moved back to her skin.
On her shoulder, his fingers were cool and smooth, relieving.
Will shuddered, and his hand jerked back.
"Sorry," he whispered. "I don't want to hurt you."
"No, no," she insisted. "Actually, it feels pretty good."
After a moment's hesitation, his hand returned.
There was a moment of quiet before Will whispered, "Who did you lose?"
Harry froze for a moment, but quickly recovered.
"Who didn't I lose would be the better question," he said.
He shook his head slowly, and in a strangely unconnected voice, continued. "My mother and father, when I was a baby. My godfather, Sirius, when I was 15. The greatest wizard the world has ever seen, and almost a father to me, last year. "
He just stopped abruptly, pressing his fingers into her scar. Will winced slightly, but hoped he didn't notice.
He finally finished, "And my best friend, about 4 months ago."
They're the ones that stay the same.
They sat in silence for a moment, Harry's fingers digging more and more forcefully into Will's scar.
It began to shoot pain up her arm and she was about to shrug away, when there was a flash of brilliant pink that they both jerked away from.
"Ahhh," she gasped, half from the pain, half from the surprise.
They blinked at each other, blinded.
"I'm so sorry!" Harry managed between heavy breaths. "I don't know what got into me! I was just looking at your scar and something just...I just...I don't know! I'm sorry!"
Will brought a hand up to touch the throbbing scar.
She ran it over her shoulder, feeling for the familiar rough patch.
"Harry," she breathed.
He looked down at her hand.
As she moved it from her shoulder, he could see that the skin on her shoulder was smooth, pink, and cool.
All that was left of the scar was a very faint pink outline of the Seal of Phobos.
Her eyes were lost, confused as she looked up at him. "How did you do that?"
He stared disbelievingly at his hands. "I-I...I don't know. What was the pink light? Magic doesn't flash like that."
"The Heart," Will whispered, bringing it out to float in front of her.
She stared at it for a moment, then gestured at it. "Touch the Heart," she whispered.
He hesitantly reached up and placed two fingers on the floating pink orb.
It instantly glowed brighter, easily lighting the tower, even in the darkness.
"It reacts to you." Will whispered.
They don't know me.
Harry pulled his hand away and the Heart dimmed back to its normal level.
"Touch it again," Will prompted.
He did, this time pressing his palm to it.
It surged brighter, then returned to normal again when he removed his hand.
"Strange," Will whispered.
She looked up, startled at how close he was.
"Very..." she breathed. "Very strange."
His eyes never left hers as he leaned gently toward her.
Their lips met in a soft, innocent kiss.
After a moment, she pulled away, just far enough to pull his face into focus.
They sat that way for a few seconds, foreheads touching, light glinting in each other's eyes.
His eyebrow tickled her as he arched it up and she laughed gently.
"I thought you said you didn't like feeling," he whispered. "If we're similar in any way, you have to be feeling this."
She laughed quietly again, and he brought a hand up to the side of her face.
"Things change. Sometimes it's better to feel, as I recall," she breathed.
"A very wise thing to say," he whispered, laughing.
She grinned at him as he leaned toward her again.
'Cause I'm not here.
And right as she closed her eyes, she saw it.
"Duck!" she screamed, throwing herself onto him. They scuttered backwards, falling flat.
She flung an arm up, sending a pink shield of energy cascading over them.
Harry stared, wide-eyed, as a deadly-looking dagger, crackling with magic, grazed off the shield she had just pulled into place.
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sooo...who do you think it is?????
review, review, review.
A/N: wow, this is a long scene...this is the second chapter on the tower and the next one is still a continuation! But it's my favorite scene. The next chapter is when everything changes.
