He was right, that Marge lady made his aunt look like an innocent harmless kitten, even aliens shouldn't have the misfortune of abducting her. She didn't see her but her voice was more than enough to draw the picture, the air vibrated with her voice shooting orders at harry, carry this, clean that, bring this, take that, to say that it was nerve breaking is an understatement. She couldn't help but wonder how on earth harry could be that calm and composed dealing with her.
As if in an ironic twist of fate, she heard violent shouting downstairs, followed by hurried footsteps ascending the stairs, and the door flew open revealing a slightly disheveled and dangerously angry Harry. She flinched violently as he slammed the door shut with such force that she thought the walls of the room would didn't even seem to notice her, as he paced around the room kicking and groaning and swearing.
She just stood there trying to absorb the whole situation, not sure what to do.
"er, it would be stupid to ask if you are alright, wouldn't it," she said finally as calmly as she could manage.
It was true that he forgot that she was actually there, for his head snapped in her direction the moment she started to talk. The anger etched on his face haven't had the chance to dissolve yet, and seeing it directed at her made her blood run cold. She was scared, irrationally scared.
"S-sorry for that," he said, fractionally calmer.
Nada was relieved when his expression softened a bit as he started to talk. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak, she wouldn't have the chance anyway as they heard the clicking of high heeled angry footsteps ascending the stairs. Without much thinking, she quickly hid herself in the empty cramped corner between the wardrobe and the desk, spending so much time in the room had paid off apparently.
The door had flew open again, his livid aunt didn't step into the room mercifully.
"What are you playing at?" She shot at him "You will not ruin this again! I could barely patch things up with Vernon last time!"
"She called her a Bitch! She explicitly called your own sister a Bitch!" Harry said, his voice rough and harsh.
"I DON'T CARE!"
He snorted "Off course you don't, why would you.."
"No no no," she shook her head frantically as she entered the room and closed the door behind her, "I am not discussing this with you Boy! You will behave! You will behave or you won't step an inch out of this room for the rest of the summer! Not even for the bathroom," her eyes lingered for a moment on the floor, and was about to leave then added as an afterthought "might as well live like the criminals you enjoy mingling with, wasn't he a criminal?" She smirked "That ruddy godfather of yours?".
"Shut up," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I am not surprised that he blew himself up as well, after all he knew your good for nothing, drunk of a father" she continued, as if he said nothing.
"Shut up!" He said, Louder.
"You know, I can't blame Marge for calling her a bitch, hanging out with the likes of your father, drunk driving, and all" she pushed, enjoying taunting him.
At this he lunged at her violently, but stopped himself immediately before he could touch her "You know that this is a lie" he hissed at her, panting "no matter how much you keep saying this, you know that this is a lie. It doesn't change who she was, what -what she was capable of" he took a deep breath and continued more defiantly "and that the only thing that you are capable of is wiping your unnaturally white kitchen floor".
Her smirk fell, her eyes fixed on his, silence thick with the leashed ranting.
"You better behave" She said finally , and left.
Nada sat on the floor, breathing heavily, she was about to leave her hiding place several times but the reasonable voice inside her head kept her in line. She would make things worse, she knew it. But sitting there, and listening to all of this, was so wrong. So so wrong.
She has wondered before who were Harry's parents, and how did they die. She could deduce that it was an accident as they apparently died together, and although the conversation she just heard has answered a lot of questions, it raised more. She wasn't supposed to know this way, she wasn't supposed to know at all probably, therefore she didn't have the right to ask, to wonder even, but she couldn't help it.
Although she has heard that Harry's aunt left, she couldn't bring herself to get up from her position, somehow facing Harry after this was much more of a challenge than facing his aunt.
She noticed the shadow on the floor before she noticed his figure standing there. She looked at the towering figure and didn't say anything. She just scooted to the right so that she was leaning on the wall and her feet touched the desk. He sat wordlessly beside her drawing his knees to his chest and leaning on the side of the wardrobe. She rested her head on his shoulder and he rested his on her head. And somehow it fitted them, that cramped space between the desk and the wardrobe, that dirty corner of that shabby room, that small area of the house, the neighborhood, the world, the universe, fitted them perfectly and didn't feel small or cramped. In fact, both of them never have fitted in anywhere any better.
When she'd recall this moment later, she wouldn't know why she did it, or how did he comply wordlessly.
They sat in silence for a long time, each drowned in their own thoughts.
"That was a lie," he said finally, his voice raspy and rough "my parents weren't- weren't what she said they were,"
He didn't know why, but he felt that it was important to clear their names.
"I know," he felt her voice rather than heard it, "you have good blood,"
She couldn't see from the way they were sitting how he frowned at this "How do you mean?" He said.
"if you grew up here, and you turned up like this- it must have been in your blood, you have good blood, I mean- your parents must have been good people" she smiled and continued " Nanna used to tell me -wait I have to mentally translate this" the both laughed at this.
She then said as if solving a complicated equation "Good blood never get drained in vain"
"And what is that supposed to mean?" He asked, slightly amused.
"Well, I guess the same thing- but I like to put in Nanna's wiser phrasing"
He snorted "Grandmothers are meant to be wise, I suppose"
She smiled "yeah, I suppose- I miss her so much" she said almost to herself.
"Where is she?" Not really thinking about the question.
"Back home," she traced circles on her drawn up knees absently "she used to live with us-insisted to, after my mother passed, but she couldn't keep up with all the moving and settling"
"I hope you see her soon," he said.
"Yeah, me too" she said with a sigh.
She would talk more about her Nanna, she needed to, with someone who won't get so touchy and so guilty and so apologetic and so unbearable, with someone who is not her father. But she felt that given the current time and place all of it sounded so small.
"Harry," she said tenderly, her head still on his shoulder," Do you want to talk about it?"
She felt the steady movement of his chest stop for a second, then he inhaled deeply, sitting straighter which caused her to move as well, "You know," he said "what they say that talking helps?"
She turned her head to face him "mhmm?"
"It doesn't," he looked her in the eyes with solid and intense certainty "it doesn't help at all" she could hear raw despair in his voice.
She held his gaze for a long moment, the sun was setting and drowning the room in a serene orange glow, reducing the bars on the window to weak shadows on the tattered wooden floor. And although half of Harry's face was dimmed with a shadow, the sun rays reflected on the other half, illuminating his eyes. She realized how beautiful, very beautiful they were.
"Have anyone ever told you that your eyes are so beautiful," she said startling him.
Taken aback, he blushed deeply, and looked away immediately "erm, well they say that I have my mothers' eyes"
"Well, they are- beautiful" she said again with the same intensity, trying to look deeper in them as if she was watching a rare jewel on display.
Harry chuckled uncomfortably and muttered "erm, well. Thanks" he stood up stiffly from their cramped space "I-I should probably get going," he made a show of fixing his clothes "I will leave the front door open, once you make sure that we are all in the room leave"
She nodded and stood up as well.
Before he reached the door he stopped abruptly, "I am sorry," he said hesitantly "you probably had other things to do today, better than getting stuck here all day"
She smiled "Don't worry, nothing I couldn't catch up with later".
She has never appreciated the cool night breeze as she did the moment she set a foot out of that doomed house and broke in to a run. She couldn't stop the memories that replayed themselves quickly in her mind as she was leaving. The room, the cat-flap, their voices, and Harry. Harry serving dinner and standing in a corner waiting for more orders, Harry's eyes pleadingly asking her to leave before they notice her. Harry looking away, ashamed.
She knew that she had a lot of explaining to do to her dad, but she truly and sincerely appreciated the cool night breeze, like she never did before.
She took a deep breath as she opened the front door, not really settled on the scenario she'd sell to her dad. The truth is, she rarely did that and when she did, she was complete rubbish at it. All the thoughts about alternative scenarios were stopped abruptly however, when she saw him.
He stood in the middle of the hallway, apparently was on his way out, as he was fully dressed in a suite. But that wasn't what worried her, it was the look on his face that made her heart drop.
She understood, even before he pulled her violently in his embrace. She understood but it didn't sink in until he started muttering in her ear "I am sorry" he breathed heavily "I am so sorry Nada"
A sense of dejavu has washed over her, and everything went gradually darker, until she slumped in his embrace.
AN/ thank you for reading :) , I am still working on the rest of the chapters, that's why the intervals between updates will take more days. but don't worry I will NEVER abandon the story. I really appreciate your positive reviews and will be very grateful if you share with me more of your thoughts about the story.
Much Love xx