Chapter 11 - Home Sweet Home

Rain fell heavily in the dark dead city.

He could still remember, back when all this started, getting drenched in the car before the roof would come over their heads. Their hunts and camping in the mud. Seeing the ripples created as he fished in a lake.

"So this is farewell."

He turned his gaze from the dark skies to his friends, his brothers. Their faces were heavy with defeat, the knowledge that no matter what they did, they would lose something, weighing them down more than 10 years of darkness ever could.

He ascended the steps, feet heavy, legs shaking.

"No turning back now…"

He stopped. With one last burst of inner strength, he straightened his back, and turned to his family.

Sorrow overtook him for a moment, the memory of his father haunting him one last time.

How tragic, that their last words were to be the same. Did he also feel the pain that would crush his chest at any moment? Did he feel determination to protect those he loved, burning through his veins, just like he did at this very moment?

"Walk tall, my friends…"

He turned back, ascending the steps, footing sure and steady. At his back his friends prepared to fight, as he heard the demons in the darkness.

As he saw the usurper in the throne, grinning cruelly, he felt nothing.

Nothing, but the rain.

His body startled awake, spasming muscles sending jolts of pain through his body. Tears fell from his eyes as he laid back, one arm covering his face.

Not going running today. He thought as a groan passed his lips as he tried to get up. Forcing himself out of bed he went through his morning routine as fast as he could, and he was soon heading for the great hall for a quick bite.

Homework had completely escaped his mind, and now he had to rush to finish all of it. What kind of cruel person assigns homework on new years holiday? The kind that became Hogwarts professors evidently. He grabbed toast to munch on as he took a seat at the great hall, his mind wandering to the past few days.

Most of his time during the break had been spent playing the guitar. Or trying to. Somehow, he had forgotten how to play the song, only vaguely remembering some chords. It was frustrating, to have 'remembered' something, just to forget it again. He kept trying though, and slowly but surely, some parts came back to him.

When he'd become too frustrated, he would simply step out and wander the castle. With the empty halls, an opportunity arose; One he grasped immediately. As this was an ancient construction, it was obvious there were secret parts to it. He took it as his mission to find as many as he could.

So far, he hadn't uncovered anything too secret, just hard to access. Like doors hidden by tapestries that led to other abandoned rooms. Seriously, the castle was enormous, and way more abandoned than one would think.

He did find the entrance to the kitchen, which was hidden by a portrait of food. It had been incredibly satisfying for him to deduce where it was. He truly felt like Sherlock Holmes, or Hercule Poirot, as he passed the painting, and noted it was the only one he'd ever seen that depicted food. Only fruit. So he started investigating it.

What wasn't so satisfying, was how the passage opened. He'd been checking all over the painting, putting his hands everywhere as he tried to find a switch or something. His hands had glided over a pear, that promptly grew a mouth and started giggling. And then a handle appeared.

He'd never been more disturbed in his life.

Other than that, he'd found a bunch of hidden passages that led to otherwise inaccessible areas. One led to some wooden scaffolding near the ceiling. Another led to the top of one of the towers, where his vision distorted to see a giant stone wall covered in graffiti, overlooking a village.

He never went there again.

Taking a drink to wash down the toast he had finished eating, Nathan lazed about on the table, procrastinating on going to the library. Absent-mindedly, he reached into his bag and retrieved his sketchbook.

The break proved to be a good opportunity to simply sit down at a whim and start sketching. And with his exploration there were even more places to draw, or draw from.

Most of his landscape drawings made him cringe, he noted, as he quickly turned the pages, stopping on a drawing of a bird.

It was the same bird that had visited him that same night where he first played that song. The swallow, like an animal already knowing it would be given food at a certain house, seemed to always fly into the classroom when he knew Nathan was there.

How he knew, Nathan had no clue. But he appreciated the company.

Finally gathering his courage, Nathan got up with a sigh, dropping his sketchbook back in his bag as he dragged his feet out of the doors.

Entering the library, he greeted the librarian, and went to his usual table. Pulling his things out, he started the mind numbing task, hoping it wouldn't take long.

He concentrated as hard as he could, but getting distracted was inevitable. Every so often he would find himself reading the same sentence over and over, so he simply leaned back and rested for 5 minutes. Or more, he wasn't really counting.

His brain truly seemed to not want to focus, as it pondered on everything but the homework. Food, school, the tournament. His… Friends? Acquaintances? Classmates? All he knew was that he found himself missing them more than he thought he would. Maybe that's what mattered.

But out of all of them, Hermione was the one he missed the most.. Who would've thought I would miss knitting? But here he was, wishing he would arrive at the common room to see her waiting for him with a warm smile and gentle eyes.

Gazing forlornly at the parchment at his table, his mind went to the letter he had sent her earlier in the week. It had been an equally strange and saddening experience.

He wrote a simple letter, wishing her an early happy new year, asking how she and her parents were. He had also taken the opportunity to ask if she knew of any books about playing the guitar or something similar.

With a missive in hand, he went to the owlery. Unsure of how this was supposed to go, he asked out loud for help delivering a message, and one of the birds had flown down and landed in front of him. He made his request and the bird simply nodded, and offered one of its legs. At this point he was sure there was something wrong with magical birds.

After tying the letter to its leg, he watched it fly into the horizon, saddened that this time the bird had accepted his letter.

Her reply came swiftly the next day, the owl landing on the table when he was at breakfast. It promptly flew off after some pats to its head and some bacon.

In the letter she wished him a happy new year, and talked about how happy she was being able to spend time with her family, and how much she usually misses them during the year. He felt jealousy bubbling up in his chest, before being promptly snuffed out, as Hermione asked how he was doing in the very next sentence. A nice warmth suffused his whole body.

And the indignant-cute-way of writing about how he'd completely ignored her request to write about himself made him snicker, imagining how she would look like saying that to him instead of writing it.

She also wrote about not knowing any specific books about guitars, but that she would look for him. She also reassured him she wasn't going out of her way to find the book for him, as she was already planning on going to a bookstore. The warmth expanded.

Turning back to the homework, Nathan forced himself to focus, already tired of working on it. No matter how much he tried or studied, magic did not become easier for him.

The theoretical part, while easier than the practical, offered its own set of obstacles. Complicated and unclear in some parts, it took him a long time to grasp the basics. It didn't help that his brain kept contradicting the information. Reading the text, and then popping a thought that didn't feel like his own.

It was honestly maddening. Even more so when madam Pomfrey still didn't have any answers.

Finishing his work, Nathan tiredly put his things away, and dragged himself out of the library, not before wishing farewell to the librarian.

He could hear a faint noise coming from below. As he approached the great hall, a cacophony of voices assaulted his ears, making it louder than it had been in days. He turned the corner and understood why. The students were back from the break.

The tables were completely full, and he could find no seats. A hand waving in the air caught his attention. It was Neville waving him over. He approached slowly, wary of eating somewhere far from his usual seat, and in the middle of the table.

The boy's smile grew as Nathan reached him. "Hey mate. Saved you a spot." He thanked Neville and sat down, immediately piling his plate with food.

"What happened to you?" Pausing mid grab of a chicken breast, Nathan turned to his classmate, seeing the worried look in his eyes. Looking down at himself, he finally noticed the wrinkled shirt and spots of ink.

"Forgot to do homework." He answered with a sheepish smile, and Neville laughed with a hint of sympathy. "How was your break?"

"It was nice. My plants were doing well!" Neville started enthusiastically. "I also got into a new chapter in that book I showed you. It's about aquatic plants and their effects!"

"Any new physic's defying plant?" Even if he asked he wasn't sure he was ready for the answer.

Thankfully, the taller boy just looked confused. "I… Don't think so?."

Dinner continued with innocuous conversation. Desert came and went, and it was time to head to the dorms.

"Hem hem."

Startling a little from the sound, and quickly turned around. Hermione was standing there, arms crossed, and an irritated expression on her face.

"Uh, Hi?" Confusion laced his voice as he tried to think what he had done wrong this time.

"That's all you have to say?" Her annoyance with him was clear to hear. "How about telling me how you've been?"

"Sorry, I just didnt wanna swamp you with letters." He answered, hands in his pockets out of nervousness.

A sigh was her response, as he watched her expression turn downcast. "I was worried about you, you know?"

Warmth spread through his body, and he felt awkward standing in front of her. He took his hands from his pocket and spread them wide by his sides. "As you can see…" He turned in his spot. "Haven't died yet." He finished with a lame grin, hoping she would as more.

"Really?" Her eyebrows raised in disbelief as she stepped closer. "What's this then?" She pulled his tie, raising it so he could see the ink spot.

"Hehe. That…" Her piercing gaze told him exactly what would happen if he lied. "I was finishing homework earlier."

Letting go of the tie, her finger poked him in the chest. "I should've known you were going to forget about it." Stepping back, her hands raised to rub her eyes. "Why do all my friends give so little importance to studying." She asked herself dramatically.

"Hey, I just forgot about it." He started, stepping closer to the girl and pulling her hands from her face. "And it's all done, so no need to fret." He reassured her with a grin, but all she answered with was a huff.

Seeing as most of the students were already gone, they started their walk back to the dorm, talking about what they had done during their break and other things. He felt jealousy reappear as the girl talked about her time with her parents, but warmth quickly overtook it as he saw how happy and radiant she looked.

They entered the common room to find it full of students, clearly taking the time to catch up before classes started back up.

The girl stopped and suddenly turned to him. "Wait here, I'll be right back." And rushed up the stairs.

A little confused, Nathan leaned against the wall to his left. He didn't have to wait long before she emerged from the stairs.

"Here!" She was offering him a square package. He took it, even more confused, looking at her questioningly. "Open it!" She said enthusiastically with a smile.

He ripped the paper around it, revealing the cover of a book. An acoustic guitar covered most of it, with the words 'Learn to play the guitar' written on the top. He looked at Hermione with a dumbfounded expression, which only made her smile widen.

"The worker at the bookstore said it was the best one for beginners." She started enthusiastically, but then her smile turned into a frown. "Now that I think about it I should've asked if you were a beginner. This might have been a complete waste then, I'm-."

Nathan stopped her rambling with a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You didn't need to buy it for me." He said trying to speak through the emotion choking him. "Thank you…" His hand squeezed her arm as he expressed his sincerity.

She stood frozen in her spot, gazed transfixed in his eyes and soft smile. Before she lunged and squeezed him with all she had in a hug. Chuckling, with difficulty, he hugged back, basking in the warmth of the moment.

The girl stepped back after some time, expression still strange. "I'll be waiting for the day you'll play a song for me." She said, voice as soft as her eyes.

"Is this how you want me to repay you?" Her answer was a nod. "Then I'll start reading it now!" His enthusiasm made her giggle, disappointment and relief filling him when she broke her intense stare.

"I guess I'll also have an early night." She leaned forwards and embraced him once more, short and sweet this time. "Good night, Nate." She said after letting go, and then languidly walking up the stairs.

Nathan watched her go, then turned to the book in his hands after she disappeared, feeling warmth suffuse his being once more. After some moments he broke his reverie and slowly walked to the stairs.

Harry was sitting with his friend, Ron, on a table close to the stairs. And he was looking at him with a weird expression.

"What?"

"Nothing." The boy said, shaking his head and face becoming pensieve. Nathan shrugged and went upstairs to the dorm.

Nathan dropped his things on his bed as he passed it, toeing off his boots by its foot, before grabbing his pajamas and heading for the bathroom.

His reflection still mocked him, always bringing his attention to it like a beacon. Slight bags, tired eyes. The same as always. The ink splattered clothes only completed the look.

It didn't aggravate him that much this time, as he gazed disdainfully at himself only for some moments before ignoring the reflection completely. In no time he was sitting on his bed, preparing to lie down.

His gaze fell to the book on his nightstand, and he felt a little lighter as he smiled softly as he thought of his friend.

He plopped down backwards and pulled the curtains closed. He closed his eyes with no hesitation, and fell asleep instantly.