Disclaimer: I am just a mere visitor in the sublime world constructed by the brilliant mind that is J.K Rowling. Anything that rings a bell is hers.

Chapter 63

KY's POV

Fifteen and a half years. A hundred and eighty six months. Five thousand and five hundred and eighty days. Hours in the thousands, seconds in the millions…moment's infinite…yet this moment that lay before us unprecedented. One unprecedented moment that almost scattered the others into the realm of forgotten memories. Almost.

I stared into his midnight blue eyes. Those eyes that were the sky to me, which I looked up to, physically and metaphorically. Yet today it was just physically. I had been on the receiving end of his look of disappointment a thousand times and more, yet I never wielded the look. I never thought I ever would need to. Yet here we stood, at opposite ends of Nonno's office, I frozen at the door and him at the fireplace.

There was no excited run up to a warm hug that swept me off my feet. There was no ear to ear smile, laughter like bubbles effervescent. Slowly, so very slowly my hero was peeled of his armour…my rose coloured glasses dimmed and Linus Thornton stood small before my eyes.

I looked down, the soft footsteps of Mi, Ron and Harry behind me. The room was silent, the steps it took to reach the fireplace echoing loud in the emptiness.

A small part of me nudged my face, pushed me to look at my brothers, the bigger stubborn part pulled my chin to the floor and glued my eyes to the pattern on the tiles. I reached the fireplace and lifted my hands, feeling every grain of floo powder run over my fingertips and concentrated solely on that and not the ache at the pit of my heart,

"St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries."

"Miss Thornton."

"Healer Atticus."

"It's Adrian. Healer Atticus is my father." I nodded at the man, who sat across the table from me. He was young, mid twenties with tousled black hair and bright blue eyes. He sat with his legs crossed on his lazy boy…yes…he had a lazy boy…at his office desk. He wore a pair of shorts that ended at his knees and a long sleeve shirt that had stains all down the front. Agnes would have run out of the room, screaming at his appearance. Mi would have barely contained her disdained expression. I, however, felt right at home. He had his elbows on the table, supporting his face as he stared me down.

"You're beautiful."

"Thanks." The statement didn't make me feel awkward, I didn't feel threatened, he looked like he was just stating an observation, proclaiming a diagnosis.

"It wasn't really a compliment. It'll get in the way you know, that pretty face." He sighed and looked out the window and then turned back to me, "This sucks."

"It's OK. This is more for them, than for me. I already know…that she's gone."

He leaned forward, "That's why it sucks. I like you, most of my patients absolutely suck but you, I like."

"I've spoken like three sentences to you. And most of your patients are ten year olds." Atticus was a healer that specialised in diagnosing squibs.

He shrugged, "So? I could tell everything about you from the time I greeted you."

"You're one of those 'all the answers are in front of you, you just have to look for them' people."

"No…I read your files." He smiled, "You would have been a fucking legend."

Would have. That's nice.

"Look, the thing is, you're a rare case. I mostly just diagnose squibs, so they never had magic to begin with, a heavily researched topic that wield fruitless results. In your case you consumed a very intoxicating drug. Your grandfather said they had their reasons, and I suppose you must have been on death's door for them to have turned to Vikadel for help. How you even managed to find any is beyond me, but then again your grandfather is Albus Dumbledore. According to these test results it'll take about three months for the Vikadel to leave your system but by then what little magic you have left would be obliterated."

Obliterated, he really knew how to pick his words. "I have some left?"

"Yeah. It's why you were still able to brew a potion after the consumption of the root, the amount of magic needed to do so is low in comparison to spell casting. The thing is, there's no antidote for the Vikadel."

That was strange, even though I didn't brew the potion perfectly, I was still able to and someone without magic wouldn't accomplish that.

"So, there's nothing you can do."

He sighed, "Well honestly, there is. There are about ten things I can do."

"But none of it will work."

"Exactly. And let's not delay the inevitable." He looked out the window, "It's strange, I actually want to try to help you, but the thing is…it just won't work in the end. I don't do failure."

I nodded, now they all could just get off my back. I stood, "Thanks for fitting me in your schedule."

"Don't mention it." He sighed, "Fuck. I've never felt this bad before. I lost a patient at two today, and it didn't affect me as much as this."

At least he understood that my losing my magic was worse than death. I turned and walked to the door,

"You're young, you can…you can go be a muggle. Being a muggle is fun."

I turned to him, "Seriously? You're being serious."

"I'm trying to make you feel better."

"You're doing a shit job. Just stick to being the top healer in Britain, screw the bedside manners. If I wanted nice, I would have went and saw Miss Grunt."

He laughed and looked down at the papers, shaking his head and muttering to himself, "Fucking legend."

I closed the door behind me and looked up at the faces that waited for me in the passageway, I tossed the Healer's letter to Linus and walked straight for the fireplace, the tears that spilled down my cheeks sizzled in the green flames…it was official…she was gone. Nothing I didn't know. Nothing I didn't expect. Nothing. Just nothing.

It was uncomfortable, this rock. It was huge and uncomfortable, but I liked it. I didn't feel like being comfortable…of being comforted. I heard a twig break but didn't tear my eyes away from the glowing moon.

"Harry has been looking everywhere for you."

"I know." I knew he would be…I just didn't feel like talking to him right now. I couldn't deal with his determination right now. I know Harry, even if Atticus said my magic is practically gone, he will still try, he wasn't afraid of wasting his time trying.

"If you wanted to talk to me, you could have just asked, you know."

I heard the soft tap of her feet on wood, I enjoyed climbing up this big rock, Mi on the other hand would not, hence the conjuring of a ladder I presume. Her shadow fell over my face as she stood over me, but it vanished as she lay down next to me.

"I was afraid that you wouldn't catch on."

"You weren't on the map and you were definitely in Hogwarts, there's only one place you could be. Getting in was the problem. It would be an impasse, wouldn't it? I knew to think "I want to go somewhere where I can be alone." Yet if you were in here thinking that it should never let me in. And it didn't. Harry, Ron and I paced outside that door for fifteen minutes until we tried to take it in turns."

"And it only let you through. It's strange isn't it, this room knows your hearts desires more than you do. And here I thought I wanted to be alone." I guess what I really wanted was to talk to my best friend. "Is Harry upset?"

"He is, but I don't think it's because of you choosing to talk to me. I think he's just upset at the whole situation. Have you ever been to this place?"

"No. The room just came up with it; I wasn't really imagining anything in particular."

We were quiet for a while, taking in the scenery that surrounded this large rock. The outskirts of the room was lined by trees, the centre clearing housed this large grey rock and the moon shone down from above us.

"It's beautiful."

"What would you do?"

She was silent for a moment, I don't think she was thinking though, I know Mi and she had already thought this through thoroughly.

"When I was eleven and I found out what I really am…it was such a relief. I wasn't weird… I was special. It also dawned on me that I was horribly behind everybody else; I mean eleven years is quite a bit to be behind on. So I swore to myself that I would be the absolute best witch I could possibly be. I'd top the year, I would settle for no less than hundred percent and by doing so I would be the best. And then I met Harry…and we fought together to keep the philosophers stone safe and Ky…Ky I was so afraid. I tried to be strong, you know, because I didn't want to be this scared little girl. And then Harry looked at me, with his unwavering determination and bravery. This eleven year old boy who was in this beautiful world for no longer than I was, who suffered so much of pain. He looked me in the eye and told me he would protect the stone. That he would fight off Snape, who was about a hundred years ahead of us in magical ability and he would make sure it doesn't get in the wrong hands. And it was impossible. It was impossible to believe that he would be able to do any of those things, impossible that he does any of the things he does year in and year out, yet every single time…every single time he looks at me and says he can do it, I have not a fibre of doubt in my body that he can. And I knew, I just knew that I would follow him wherever he would lead. I never felt like that about anybody else before…until you came around. Just when I thought the only person I was trailing behind was Harry, and then you appear with your insane knack for spells and ability to just thrive without putting in much effort, and I was waiting to feel jealous. I was waiting to feel envy. To feel threatened because I wouldn't be the best, but you looked at me, with these eyes that just saw me. Saw all of me and just accepted it all. And all I felt…was that I had found a sister. Someone who I didn't have to follow, or lead, but just walk along beside me. The thing is, we haven't been walking, the two of us. We've been running. Just surpassing all of our peers and pushing each other forward. The way I see it, we're not doing the sprints anymore. We're doing the hurdles, and I would slow down to a standstill Ky, I would slow down to just lying here on this rock, I would slow down…so we can just keep walking together."

I was so tired of these stupid tears, all I seem to do is cry these days. But what Mi just told me…it more than touched my heart, it grabbed a hold of it and it did something it wasn't supposed to do. It lit that flame that I thought had gone out. That I wanted to stomp out…that self consuming flame of hope…the very reason why I couldn't be with Harry now. The reason why I wanted to be away from him because I know what Mi means…when he looks you in the eye and says he can do this and to wholeheartedly believe he can. He wouldn't just light that flame of hope…he would set my soul on fire with it.

"What if I can't jump it…this hurdle?"

"Have you not been listening to me? It's not about you having to jump the hurdle on your own, I'll be right beside you, and Harry ahead showing us the right way like only he can," She giggled through her tears, "And Ron right behind us cheering you on."

"Hey! I resent that statement!" I sat up off the rock and turned around, Ron's red head popping up from the edge as he climbed up, it seemed that my hearts desires changed yet again without my knowledge and the room allowed more people in, "Not that I wouldn't be cheering you on."

I felt warm hands circle my waist and turned around, Harry snuck his legs on either side of me as he sat behind me, I looked up, into his emerald green eyes, and I knew it was over, I knew fighting it was a lost cause, "I will get your magic back, Ky."

And just like that he lit it…the flame of hope that that set my soul on fire…and I knew just like Mi did, that I would follow him anywhere and believe that he would do the impossible like only he could.

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Kalina