A/N: My sincerest and biggest apologies for lack of updates these past weeks. I will have more free time now, so updates will be more frequent once more.

Chapter 23 - It's time to act, only one thing left for me (I need to wake up from my flawless dream)

It was such a surreal feeling. Looking at Earth from the moon, feeling the sun with no atmosphere in between them.

The dust on the surface felt just like the sand on the beach his mother had taken him to that one time.

"Got this feeling," He turned to the woman beside him, taking more of his attention than anything in the environment ever could. "Think you and I'd make a pretty good team."

"I think so too…"

Her smile was warmer than the sun, and the red glow in her eyes more blinding. It was all he could focus on. All he could see. Red.

Red…

Red…..

….

His eyes focused back on reality, the red light coming from all around him.

"Haha…HAHAHAHAH!" He couldn't stop his mirth from escaping,—not that he wanted to—feeling completely in control of himself once more, in spite of his insane laugh and lack of body parts to control.

"I had some fun, after all."

He turned his eyes to see the thing that stood over him, blocking the lights that reminded him of her (Everything reminded him of her)

"You know, you could prove an interesting construct."

His answer was a grin, full of teeth and blood, with all the lucidity he had gained back.

"Whatever, choom. Like I give a shit."

SPLAT

Nathan awoke with the sudden jerk backwards of his head and the absolute agony he could feel across his entire face. He could do nothing, not even scream or cry, as he was paralyzed by the pain.

What felt like ages passed before the burning receded slightly, enough to let him rush to the bathroom that was thankfully empty.

He ignored the mirror with all he had, leaving his head submerged in the chilling water longer than was healthy, and turning his gaze away when he submerged for air.

Nathan still saw the hole in place of his face by the corner of his eyes.

"Looking sharp, handsome!" Nathan said as he approached Harry by the front door. His friend was a ball of anxiety, but he still managed to smile and try to smack Nathan. "You ready for this?"

The smile dropped from his face as he fidgeted with the hems of the unfamiliar blazer he wore. "Not really…" His gaze was faraway as his words trailed off.

A light punch to his shoulder was all Nathan needed to bring the boy back to reality, albeit with a frown on his face. Nathan smirked back. "Nah, you got this!" His words were full of confidence as he brought his fist out in front. It took only a single moment for Harry's frown to go back to a smile as they fist bumped. Nathan watched the boy step out of the house, front door closing ominously behind him.

The group of teens that gathered to say their goodbyes got dispersed as Molly ushered them back to their chores. Nathan took the opportunity to vanish into the house, losing himself in the paths he hadn't bothered memorizing.

That's how he found Sirius, pacing frantically around a dark and dusty room.

"You, uh, okay?" Nathan tentatively asked, still a little unsure around the man.

"Just fine!" Sirius' voice was louder than necessary, and his eyes held a hint of craziness as they turned to him. "Just Padfoot wanting to play and making me restless!"

Nathan chose to ignore the strange reasoning, already having a good clue as to what had the man walking in circles. "He'll be okay. Besides," He stopped as he looked around the room, seeing the painting of an enormous family tree on the wall. "Worrying ourselves isn't gonna help."

The weary man fell heavily on a nearby chair, the old wood creaking dangerously with the weight. "It's either this or drinking myself to a black out."

"Huh." Nathan still had his eyes glued to the artwork, admiring the details and the style. Dozens of drawing ideas flitted through his mind. "Maybe we can do something else then."

He turned to look at Sirius raising his head from his hands, the unhinged glint in his eyes replaced with curiosity.

"What do you have in mind?"

"You know what? I should've thought of doing this much earlier!" Sirius exclaimed exuberantly as he took a swig of cold butterbeer. Nathan stepped back from the wall to stand beside him, admiring their work.

A massive graffiti/painting took up the entirety of the wall. Even being far from finished it was already a thing to marvel at; the colors and the shapes popped from the stale and gloomy atmosphere surrounding it. Even with parts missing the three animals seemed almost alive, with the flowers that surrounded them almost blooming from the wall.

A sideways glance revealed an emotional Sirius, barely holding himself together. He had felt the man's emotions rolling off him in waves when they had settled with a design. What had started off as a simple distraction ended as a very personal project that had Nathan pouring every ounce of his artistic skill into.

And with the way Sirius' hand shook as they brought the glass bottle to his lips, Nathan couldn't have been prouder of his work.

Like he had learned the man was prone to do, Sirius bounced back from his emotional moment, toothy grin on his face as he turned to Nathan.

"Don't know what's more shocking; That you can paint this well, or that I can!" His eyes kept darting to the art piece, even as he offered a drink to Nathan.

"Meh, I dabble." Nathan said awkwardly, absentmindedly accepting the bottle. He was sure he wouldn't ever not feel strange when people praised his art. Too late he realized the mistake he made while distracted, as he choked when the drink hit his tongue.

"I still don't understand how you don't like butterbeer!" Sirius asked as he laughed, stepping closer, one hand taking back the glass, the other thumping Nathan in the back with affection.

"Sirius?" Came a voice nearby, right before Harry appeared from a corner. "What are you doing here?" The kid stopped in his tracks, eyes widening in amazement as he gazed upon the wall.

"Hey, pup!" Sirius rushed to his godson, jostling his butterbeer as he engulfed his godson in a hug. "How was the trial? Was everything settled?"

"Yeah," Harry answered distractedly, not taking his eyes off the wall. "What is this?"

"I had to distract Sirius before he died of worry." Nathan explained while turning back to the wall, adding more paint.

"Honestly, the most fun I've had in years!" Even if Nathan knew the bar was low, it still made him happy that he could bring some joy to the man's dreary world. "I might have to do this to the rest of the house!"

"You did this?" Harry asked with shock, stepping closer to the painting, his eyes glued to the stag in the middle.

"Yeah!" Sirius barked out the response with a laugh, one arm bringing his godson closer. "The kid has enough talent for the both of us!"

Nathan's shoulders tensed as he focused harder on his work, trying to hide the redness overtaking his face.

"So, how did the hearing actually go?" For a man that had been severely mentally tortured, his mind still worked very well as he brought back the question Harry hadn't answered. "Tell me the details."

The sigh that came from Harry was all the answer Nathan needed. "Pretty bad honestly."

It was truly ludicrous how utterly shit the whole situation Harry was describing had been. Moving the appointment to earlier without notifying him. Barely letting him talk. No one to defend him. It didn't surprise Nathan in the slightest that the ministry was like this. But it didn't stop how mad he was that they were willing to act like this against a 15 year old kid!

"Then Dumbledore appeared."

Ringing in his ears, Sand in his eyes. Nathan turned to look at Harry in spite of himself.

"He was the only reason things didn't go bad for me." There was no happiness in Harry's voice, only confusion. "But he didn't even look at me! He-he just, ignored me!"

"Why?"

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"Well, I must be getting along. Good day to you all."

With speed belying his age,

Dumbledore turned on his heel and left the dark dungeon,

eyes not once acknowledging Harry.

Harry felt all his elation leave him.

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Nathan would have crumpled to the floor with how heavily the vision suddenly hit him. But he couldn't. Not when he was overwhelmed by the horrible feeling of his heart breaking like stained glass as he looked at Harry's eyes; lost and afraid and abandoned, looking so much like when he had first visited him, in what felt like a lifetime past.

"Doesn't matter." Nathan felt the words come out of his mouth as numbness faded from his muscles, but the white noise in his eyes and ears remained. "What matters is that he did his part."

Godson and godfather looked at him, one with an indecipherable expression, the other not looking any better.

"C'mon, choom," Nathan's lips turned into the most reassuring smile they could form, even as he ignored his slip of tongue. "I need your help painting the stag."

He watched Harry look at him weirdly for a moment, before taking a deep breath and approaching the wall, eyes looking a little less sad and head held a little higher. As the boy stepped beside him, Nathan vowed to himself that he would find a way to take the world off his shoulders.

His hand with the pencil moved on its own as his mind wandered, his eyes staring past the piece of paper. Blue painted the dark in the room, the floating flame being the only thing in the room beside his thoughts. Uncharacteristic anger kept his mind running enough to keep him from sleeping, which was a good thing in his book, even if the lack of focus on his sketching was annoying.

With a heavy sigh, and even heavier hands dragging through his face, Nathan got up, stumbling his way to open the door-

To see Hermione in front of him.

"Oh," With her face imitating a fish, Hermione stood with one fist raised. "um…"

"Everything okay?" Nathan asked with as much energy as he could muster.

"Yes, it's nothing, just" Hermione stumbled through the words, eyes averted to the ground.

Silently, Nathan stepped back, leaving the door open. Hermione entered with a soft smile, dropping heavily to his bed. Closing the door softly, Nathan fell to the bed beside her.

"Your drawings are as good as ever." Hermione complimented him as she skimmed through his open notebook.

"Had a lot of opportunity to practice." The words fell bitter from his lips, burning them as he leaned back and closed his eyes.

Ruffling paper was the only sound breaking the uncomfortable silence. Still, he didn't say anything, waiting for the girl beside him.

Nathan's eyes opened to fall on her figure. From his position he could perfectly see some of the details he had missed. Locks of her hair that looked more red than brown, and others more golden. Her short but thick lashes, looking more like drawings on the canvas of her skin. How her brown eyes looked in the blue light-

Nathan would have died of embarrassment from being caught staring if it weren't for the look in her eyes.

"I-" Hermione opened and closed her mouth, but no words came. She turned her face away, staring into the floating ball of warmth. "I feel horrible."

Instinct made Nathan raise his hand towards hers. Fear made him bring it back down to the mattress. He sat back up as he waited for her to continue.

"You were right, I should've talked to Harry more." Her words were a whisper, but nothing could've hidden her regret in the quiet room.

This time Nathan didn't stop himself from grasping her hand and squeezing softly. No response came from the girl that wouldn't look at him. His slightly trembling hand landed with care on her chin, turning her to face him.

A single tear escaped from her eyes, breaking the dam as she flung herself at Nathan.

"I was so worried, and I wanted to talk to him so much, but Dumbledore said we shouldn't, that it would put him in danger so I trusted him! Then I came here and learned about the order, and then I had to trust them to protect him!" He felt more than heard the words muffled by his shirt that tumbled out of her mouth.

"I trusted all of them, but Harry almost died," Her voice cracked and Nathan felt his heart break as he held her a little tighter. "And he was almost expelled and lost his magic, and both times they were almost too late!"

Nathan felt her go limp in his body as she stopped talking, sobbing even harder. It was a horrible feeling, to listen as her voice broke while she shook and shook on his chest, while he could do nothing but listen.

Long minutes passed before her cries turned to sniffles. With the most gentle hands he would ever have, Nathan cradled her face, bringing her up to face him. His still trembling thumb caressed her cheeks lovingly, drying her tears and doing all they could to bring her some comfort.

"Hermione," Nathan felt his breath catch at the raw emotion in her eyes. He collected his thoughts as best he could, wetting his lips before continuing. "It-it was terrifying with the dementors. And the hearing today could've ended just as badly."

More pain entered her gaze, and he hurried to continue. "But the worst didn't happen!" Nathan said with as much conviction as he could, trying to convince the both of them. "Harry is alive and okay, and he wasn't expelled or sent to prison."

Hermione closed her eyes, body sagging with no strength. But he knew she was still listening. "You weren't wrong to trust them to do their part. It's not your fault that they messed up." Nathan went as close as he dared, as if the proximity would make the words stick easier. "You're a good friend, and Harry knows that!"

Shuddering breaths left Hermione as she calmed down, still with her eyes closed. He absentmindedly caressed her arms where his hands lay, doing all he could to help.

Some more deep breaths and she opened her eyes, bloodshot and red rimmed, but much less pained than before. Nathan let his hands fall to her own, squeezing softly. She squeezed back, a brittle smile on her red face.

"C'mon, let's go to bed." Nathan said as he got up, gently pulling her with him. One hand opened his door while the other still held hers. He turned back to her, looking deep in her eyes. "If you need anything else, please, don't hesitate in coming back."

A dull nod and a soft smile was her response, before she closed the gap between them, enveloping him in her warm embrace, one hand around his waist and the other delicately carding through his hair. He held her tight as tears came to his eyes at how tenderly she held him.

"Thank you." Came the soft words to his ears, before even softer lips ghosted through his cheek for a long moment. They disentangled and he watched her go, vanishing behind a door.

Nathan closed his door, striding lifelessly across the room and letting himself fall to his bed. A whirlpool of emotions raged in him, making a mess of his mind, and finally exhausting him enough for sleep to claim him.