Disclaimer all characters, settings, etc, are the copyright of JK Rowling and Bloomsbury Publishing
Chapter five, last goodbye?
I had to rub the tears from my eyes, I was fourteen years old, I should stronger than this and not be crying, but for some reason I did not try to hide it as the tears ran down my cheeks and dripped from my chin, I so wanted to see my friend I would have done almost anything.
"I would go with you even if I was afraid," I said a little defiantly.
Not knowing what I was supposed to be afraid of might have helped boost my courage a little, had I known he was talking about disapparating I might have had a little hesitation. I remembered reading about the deeds that these people had done when my age and it gave me a bit more courage, if they could face danger to save the world then I could face it to see my friend. If Mr Weasley could take me to my friend I would go no matter what.
Mr Weasley beckoned me over to him, "We have to be outside, for what we must do," he told me.
I followed him through the house to the front door, "It was unlocked when I arrived," I blurted out to him.
"Well we will see to it that we lock it this time," he said, a gentleness in his voice; he waved his wand at the door.
"Right Andrew if you will just grab my arm and hang on tight, and no matter what happens don't let go," he instructed.
I did as he told me and took hold of his arm, he need never have told me not to let go, I was suddenly and violently squeezed through some small tight place, I could not see where, it was all just a blur and my grip on Mr Weasley tightened involuntarily.
A few seconds later and I vaguely recognised where we had ended the strange journey, we were in a slightly run down part of London, though I am not sure where. Mr Weasley led me to a large shop window, then he spoke to a tailor's dummy that looked like it had seen its best days go by a long time ago. At first I began to think him mad then I remembered that just a short while ago I had been talking to a picture, so I stood and waited.
"Ok just take my arm again and we will go in," his smile was reassuring, but still I prepared myself for another awful journey. I need not have, we just walked forward through the glass window as though it was not there.
Once inside I was amazed at the things I saw, there were several people queuing at a nurses station, all of them seemed to have some drastic malformation to some part of their body, at least that's how it seemed to me. Mr Weasley led me past the queue and on down a long spotlessly clean corridor. I saw several strange sights that I won't even try to describe because even though I saw them I could not believe my own eyes.
We turned left half way along the corridor, and then walked up a flight of stairs into another corridor. Half way along that corridor Mr Weasley stopped.
"This is Hermione's room, would you like me to come in with you?" he said in his quiet voice.
I blinked back a tear and nodded, together we walked into a spotless room, just one bed was placed mid way along the wall. There looking deathly pale lay Mrs Potter.
I rushed forward eager to talk to her, but then I slowed 'be careful she may be asleep' I told myself. I reduced my speed to a crawl as I neared her bed, the tears still running down my face.
"Hello dear, what a nice surprise, how did you get in, oh I see, hello Ron dear, how are you?" Mrs Potter's voice was weak but just as pleasant as it had been before. I found myself crying more, the tears flowed freely down my cheeks, I blushed when she noticed.
"You should never be ashamed to cry dear, my Harry cried several times and I have seen Ron there, cry more than once," Mrs Potter gave me a weak smile as she spoke.
"But I am so ashamed of the way we treated you, the names we called you, if I had known…" I stopped mid apology.
She had a tear in her eye as she shushed at me, "You were just a child then. Now you are becoming a young man, we can all be cruel as children. Now you shush with the apologies and tell me what you thought of the book."
"Well first," I looked at Mr Weasley, "first I thought it was one of the best written books I ever read, I was fascinated by the stories of the things you all did. I think you are all so brave. Then I felt so sad for you, losing the one you loved so much," I could say no more as the reality of where we were and why suddenly struck me.
"I'm going to be losing you so soon after I got to know you aren't I? I should tell you I have come to love you, just as I loved my Grandmother." again I started to shed tears and my hands shook.
I felt Mr Weasley move close, "We never lose our friends fully, not as long as we remember them in our hearts," he told me.
"It's ok for you magic people you have pictures that talk to you, you are able to remember them that way, I will not have that and I am afraid my memory will fade just as it did when my friend Sue died," I was a little angry but did not know with who or why, it all just seemed so unfair.
"You have not forgotten your friend, you have just placed the memory away in the back of your mind," Mrs Potter said gasping for breath a little.
"I wanted you to teach me magic, on my way home the other night I could not resist trying to cast a spell. You should have seen the look I got from a cat as I pointed a stick at it," I suddenly found my attempts at magic silly and I chuckled.
"You have to be born with it. Magic isn't something you can learn. Magic folk then have to go to a school to learn how to control and develop it," Mr Weasley told me.
"How do you know if someone is magic?" I asked.
"Well there is a special book and every time someone magic is born, their name is magically entered. Then when they reach eleven they get a letter from the school they are to attend," Mr Weasley looked down at me; the smile on his face was warm yet full of sorrow.
I looked again at my dear friend and the tears once more ran down my cheeks. I knew it was almost over, I knew it was time to say goodbye. I lifted her frail hand and I gently kissed it.
"I have to go now, I am so pleased to have known a great lady like you, I wont forget you, I promise," I told her.
She smiled then held out her other hand to her friend Ron. "I will be with my Harry soon, I think he's getting impatient with the waiting, I can hear him calling me; I want you to give my wand to Andy when I have gone. I want him to have something to remember me by," she said.
She lay back and smiled her eyes slowly closed, the smile remained on her face.
I heard a sob from beside me and looked at Mr Weasley, he was crying,
I knew then my friend was gone.
We left the room together. Mr Weasley told me he was now the last of what had once been a huge family, "I still have my children and grandchildren and my nieces and nephews but all my brothers and now my sisters are all gone,"
He reached out his hand and offered me Mrs Potter's wand I took it from him, then when I held it by the handle, I asked him the time and something odd happened at home at that precise moment.