"Thank you," he said, his voice wavering. I couldn't even bring myself to look in his eyes, it was too hard.
"I mean, if it's something you still want..." I trailed off, picking at a spare thread on my shirt.
"Very much so," he said, sitting up. "I don't want anyone to be burdened by me anymore. I've lived my life and fought my fight. Now I want to go. I won't be able to repay you for the gift you're giving me."
I just nodded.
"So, I was thinking..." he trailed off, "You've been giving me some of that Sedation Serum before bed, right?"
"Yes," I said.
"What if you just gave me some of that- like normal. And then I would be relaxed and rather carefree. Then give me a super concentrated form of it. That would probably do the trick, wouldn't it?"
Considering that the Sedation Serum was developed as an alternative to the Draught of the Living Dead, it was almost certain this would work if it was concentrated enough. "Yes," I nodded. I couldn't help that my eyes began to fill with tears. It was inevitable.
"I know it will be hard," he told me. "And I'm so sorry I have to make you do this."
I just nodded again, I couldn't speak. My chest was so tight. I tried to take a deep breath, but it was hard. I had so many emotions running through me right now, I felt bombarded.
"I'm thinking next Tuesday," he told me.
"Next... Tuesday..." I repeated. That just seemed so soon! It was only a few days away. It then hit me: in just a week's time, I would be attending his funeral. It was too hard, and I wiped my eyes again.
"Lily will be home for a few days, there aren't any games. It's a holiday at the Ministry, James and Katrina won't be at work. I think Teddy and Victoire will be in England next week anyways. Al is always around when I ask him to be," he said. "Then all of the funeral arrangements can be made so that they can go back to work on Monday."
It was such a well thought out plan. He had put so much thought into this. It was heartbreaking at the same time it was so thoughtful. He really, all throughout this, was a very thoughtful person.
"Tuesday it is," I said, getting up. I needed to get something to wipe my eyes.
"Thank you," he said to me.
"Promise me something?" I asked, my voice wavering.
"Yes, nearly anything," he said, leaning forward.
I let out a watery chuckle, but then remembered the gravity of what I was about to ask him. "Spend your last few days well, with your children, preferably. When I talked to Al, he said he felt like he hadn't been good enough. Like you haven't anything to fight for anymore. He questioned why he isn't good enough. Don't let him feel like that, please."
He nodded. "I won't," he said. "I need to have Al around this weekend anyways. He's the Executor of my will and I need to go over some things with him. I will try and... repair the damage there."
"Thank you," I said.
"And I want to plan a perfect last day," he told me.
"Oh?" I asked. "What... what does this day include?"
"Don't laugh at me," he said. I nodded, solemnly. He took a deep breath. "Waking up early and watching the sunrise, spending the day with my family, and having a nice evening out. Then going to sleep and getting to see my wife again."
I nodded. "I think that can be arranged," I said. I wanted to make the end of his life as pleasant as possible.
Time began to pass at a very strange rate. It was impossibly slow, but Tuesday loomed before us. I knew that I should get started on the potion for Harry, so I collected the ingredients I needed and got going.
I made it like I would make a normal batch of his Sedation Serum, which I normally bottled when it turned a light red color. Today, however, was different. I would let the water evaporate off until it was a deep, deep mahogany. It would be very concentrated then.
As I completed making the potion, my hands shook as I stirred it. I had to keep stirring it because I couldn't let it burn, or I would have to do it all over again and I wasn't sure I would be able to. Just knowing that I had the power to create a potion this strong kind of freaked me out.
The door opened, and Al came in. He carried who I assumed to be Sylvia. She was curled up, head on his shoulder, so all I could really see was curly, black hair put into two pony tails. "Hey, Norah," he said.
"Hello," I said, and then started to freak out. Al was in Potions research, he probably knew every potion out there and I was making one that was probably illegal. I prayed he didn't come investigate what I had brewing.
"What are you brewing?" he asked, peering over my shoulder.
"Sedation serum," I said, stirring it and biting my lip. It hadn't gotten too dark, hopefully it was passable. He stuck his finger in it, and smelled the potion.
"Don't use that," he said, "it's over brewed."
"Oh, you're right.. brew another batch later..."
"Can you watch Sylvia?" he asked me. "I need to talk to Dad about a few things."
"Of course," I said. He handed her to me, and I immediately observed that she was both heavy and adorable. She had Al and Harry's green eyes, which made me very jealous. My brown eyes seemed so boring next to theirs. I put away the potion stuff, and took her outside.
~.~
Al's point of view:
Dad and I went into his office, getting ready to straighten everything out. I may have been nearing thirty, but this whole situation made me feel about twelve. I had no control over anything and wanted to cling to my father. It appeared all he wanted was to push me away, though.
"I think I would like to make sure Norah gets some money," Dad said. "I... she's done a lot for me. My quality of life has really gone up the last few weeks and that's all thanks to her. She's really fantastic, Al."
I was so glad that she and Dad had gotten along well. He did look better, since she had been here. He had a little color in his face, and his shirts only looked one size too large now, not two. He was also pleasant to be around now, which was such a change from how he had been the last few months. I owed Norah a lot and felt completely supportive of that. "Okay," I said. "I'm glad."
He smiled. "Good," he said. "Al... I think you know what to do with the rest of my stuff. I trust you. I really trust you... you'll do perfectly fine with it. Oh- but, I think I would like her to travel or at least do something fun with the money. Make sure she does that, okay? "
I nodded. "I told you, Dad, I'd do anything you needed me to."
"Then do one more thing for me, okay?" he asked. "Looking back on all my life, I'm glad I had someone to share it all with. Your mum was really special Al, and I can't wait to see her again. My advice is this; you and Norah are perfect for each other, I have seen the way you two look at each other. You two should share your lives together."
My face grew warm. I had often thought about Norah... I had fancied her a bit when we were at Hogwarts, but nothing had ever come out of it. "Maybe," I said. I wasn't sure what Norah wanted. She was single, but did she even want to date? And would she want to date me?
"She's a really great girl" he told me.
I nodded. "Yeah," I said. She had sort of just blown back into my life, and things had improved in the wake. She was beautiful and smart and if she could put up with Dad, I was pretty sure she would like me.
"I'm so proud of you, Al," he said. "Maybe I don't tell you enough. But I am so proud of all you've accomplished."
He was going to make me cry. I hated this, but it was something I really wanted to hear. I had always assumed that he was proud of me, but hearing it...
"I know it wasn't easy, growing up as your mother's and my child, there was a lot of pressure on you kids. But you all turned out so well. Look at you, Al. You've got a career that you love with a good job. Sylvia is amazing... you've handled yourself so well through your divorce. I don't know how you managed to pull that off without going mad. But you kept your head on tight the whole time and it's... you really did well. And I don't think I told you that often enough."
I wiped furiously at the tears in my eyes, but looked up and saw he had tears in his eyes too. I got up and gave him a hug. "Thank you, Dad," I said. Then, very quietly, I added "I'll miss you so much."
"I know," he said back. "I know... but I just want to be free from this illness. It's crippling to me, you know this isn't me; this is who the illness allows me to be. I'm not going to let it have me much longer. I want to be whole again. And I can't wait to see your Mum again..."
I smiled as I thought of Mum. I wondered what she would think of Norah, and decided she would probably approve. Norah had managed to get Dad, one of the most stubborn people over, to do what she wanted. Mum probably would have respected that.
"Did you bring Sylvia today?" he asked me.
"Yes," I said. "She's out with Norah."
We left his office, and I could see that Norah and Sylvia were out back, playing in the grass. I could see a look of sheer delight on Sylvia's face, and couldn't help but grin. I helped Dad out back.
"Hello!" Norah called, as she was in the middle of the field. She scooped Sylvia up and ran towards us.
~.~
Norah's Point of View:
I brought Sylvia back to them, figuring Al would want his daughter.
"Let me see my granddaughter," Harry said. I put Sylvia down and she walked towards his outstretched hand. "I'll leave you two kids alone; don't get into any trouble now."
"Dad!" Al said, blushing, which just made me laugh. I took it as a huge compliment that Harry wanted me to date his son.
"Have a good talk with your dad?" I asked once Harry had one inside.
"Yeah, actually, I did," he said. "The next few weeks are going to be terrible, aren't they?"
"Most likely," I admitted. It wasn't worth lying about. "I'm so sorry, Al."
He just nodded, and we went back inside.
~.~
I had to rebrew the super concentrated version of the Sedation Serum because Al had told me it was off and I'd thrown away the first batch because I didn't want him to be suspicious. I wasn't afraid anyone would suspect I had helped Harry do anything, since he was so sick anyways. His family knew their time was very limited.
I expected it would be harder the second time around, but I was wrong. The whole idea had sort of grown on me. Not in a good way, but I was starting to accept what I was doing. It made it a little easier, though I would never be comfortable with what I was doing.
We got his plans all set, and finally, Tuesday rolled around. I could hardly sleep the night before, knowing he was asleep one floor below. It would be his last night of sleep. Finally, after quite a few hours of tossing and turning, I got out of bed in favor of making him breakfast and getting it ready. We were going to watch the sun rise.
I made tea for him, and put it in a thermos to keep warm. I fried up some eggs and made egg sandwiches to take, and then put it all in a picnic basket. I went outside, even though it was still dark, and set up two chairs. I wanted this to be absolutely perfect.
By the time I returned to the house, he was awake and dressed, ready for his sun rise. I took his arm and led him to the chairs I'd set up in the back field, and then we waited.
It seemed like a long time waiting, but I knew time would pass strangely today. That was all right. I had prepared myself mentally as much as I could.
Finally, the sun rose over the trees, washing everything in a soft light. It was really beautiful. I had not anticipated thinking it was so beautiful, but it was.
He had a satisfied smile on his face. "It's one of those things, that, at least to me, that shows us how small we are," he said. "Do you know how many people are watching this sunrise?"
I was always terrible with numbers. "How many?"
"I've absolutely no idea. But I know it's a lot," he said.
I just looked at him and chuckled. That was definitely true.
"All right, that was brilliant. Now I'm ready to face the day," he said, stretching.
I nodded. And face the day, we would.
Author's Note: Only one more chapter, plus an epilogue! It's going by so fast. Thank you, as always, to my beta, potter-reading-coastie, for just being awesome and stuff. Sedation Serum is his creation, so thank you, Coastie :) So everyone, let me know what you think! Thank you so much.