"Okay, I primed it for you," Joshua said, turning to face Harry. His eyes widened and his face paled as he shouted, "Harry!"
Harry took another step back, except his heel did not meet any resistance, and his toe slipped on the slippery slope of the mountain, and he felt himself fall backward over the cliff. The sensation of weightlessness hit his stomach hard as he dropped, and all Harry could do was suck in a breath that got stuck in his throat.
However, the fear ended quickly when, just as many times before while chimney sweeping, his magic kicked in, and he came to a slow halt in the air, before he was lowered down gently on the most level area there was over the cliff of the mountain, a small patch of smooth rock surrounded by shrubs and sharp rocks.
"Oh, thank Merlin," Joshua said, breathing a sigh of relief as he looked over the edge of the cliff.
Despite the safe landing, Harry felt his breath return in another coughing fit, and he sank to his knees as the pain in his chest intensified. Joshua felt the panic in his chest return as he stared down at Harry, watching his friend struggle to pull air in. He needed to get his parents to help pull Harry to safety, but if he left Harry alone over the edge of the cliff in the condition he was in, they would not be rescuing Harry alive.
"Harry," Joshua called to him. "I'm going to throw your inhaler down. You have to catch it."
Harry lifted his head enough to look up at Joshua, but his coughing forced him to look back at the ground. Joshua bit his lip as he felt his chest hurt in sympathy pains. He didn't think Harry would be capable of even administering a dose himself, forget catching the inhaler if he threw it.
"Okay," Joshua said apprehensively, shoving the inhaler into his pocket. "Maybe not. I'm going to come down. I'll come to you."
"No," Harry choked out.
"I have to." Joshua carefully stepped over the narrow ledge, trying to find any kind of foothold on the slippery slope with his trainers. As he inched his way down, he found a small protruding space rock just over the ledge, barely wide enough for his fingers, and he clung to it with both hands as he allowed his feet to continue shuffling down the mountain.
Below him, the ground plummeted away, a dizzying drop into nothing but trees. If he slipped, there was no guarantee that he would land on the same ledge Harry was on. He could easily slip right past Harry. Joshua swallowed dryly as he panted, then, without looking at the height of the drop, he focused on getting to Harry and moved a hand down to a lower rock protrusion.
With every slide of his trainers, a cascade of rocks and pebbles tumbled down the mountainside, the noise echoing ominously in the silent park. He moved with agonizing slowness, his senses on high alert as he pressed himself against the cliff face, his muscles screaming in protest.
"Josh—" Harry tried to say, only to wheeze.
"Shh," Joshua said, unable to say much more. He whispered, "I'm coming. I'm trying."
Joshua reached down for another protrusion, grasping it tightly, then shimmied his body down a little further, his feet fighting small footholds. This was the scariest rock wall he had ever dared to climb, and if he had his way. It would be his last.
The mountain seemed to groan in protest at Joshua's choice of rock, then, the protrusion snapped.
"Ahh!" Joshua cried as he slid down the hill in a cascade of crumbling stones. He felt every cut and scrape of the sharp edges slice into him as he slammed down into the ledge next to Harry, his ankle catching and twisting in place, saving Joshua from falling any further, though at the cost of great pain.
"Oww!" Joshua cried out, reaching for his ankle as his face scrunched in pain.
"Joshua," Harry gasped.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Joshua said despite the tears rolling down his face. He hissed as he pulled himself over to the ledge Harry was on, biting back another yell as he hoisted his injured leg up with him. Joshua pulled the inhaler out of his pocket and held it up to Harry's mouth. "Here you go, bud."
Harry sucked in a puff of the medication, then another. His throat began to feel less inflamed and narrow, but his chest still hurt and ached worse than it had all week. He turned his head away from the inhaler, and Joshua put it back in his pocket, then dug around for the stone his father made him carry everywhere.
"Don't worry," Joshua said as his shaky and scratched up hands struggling to grasp the small stone. "I'll alert my dad, and he'll be able to find us in no time."
Joshua groaned as he yanked the stone out of his pocket, and at the same time, his shoulder cramped up and his hand spasmed slightly, jerking the stone from his grasp, and Joshua tried to catch it but it bounced away from his hand, skipping down the rock face as if gliding over smooth water, disappearing into the trees below.
"Oh no," Joshua muttered.
"Everything's packed up," Samuel announced as he walked back to his group from the car. "Just need the kids, the baby, and the wife."
"Oh, ha, ha," Tori said as she strapped Jemima in her carrier.
Samuel spotted Iris and Ruth at the playground and waved for them to come over to their table. While they raced each other back, he glanced down the path he had told the boys to venture down, but he did not see either right away.
"Tobias," Samuel asked, waiting until the older man turned his attention to him. "Have you seen the boys?"
"Not recently," Tobias said.
Samuel sighed as he walked to the start of the yellow marked path. He could see down quite a way, and he hoped the boys had not gone further than they were supposed to. Hopefully they were playing in the woods just off the trail. While he didn't like the idea, he'd much prefer it to the boys walking too far down the trail.
"Joshua!" Samuel yelled. "Come on, we're leaving!"
No one came running.
"Joshua!" Samuel tried again. "Harry! Don't make me come after you boys."
Still, neither child appeared.
Damn it, Samuel thought, they better be on this trail somewhere or so help me.
He felt tugging on his jacket and he glanced down at Esther, who was frantically moving her hands. He carefully pulled away from her as he took a few steps down the path, his hand reaching for the corresponding stone to Joshua's that he kept in his pocket.
"Not now, Esther," Samuel said.
Esther used one arm to cling to her father's arm, nearly lifting herself up off the ground. She used her free arm to sign to her father.
"I know where Joshua is," she said. "I know where he is."
"You do?" Samuel stopped walking and kneeled in front of his daughter. "Where is he?"
"Harry and Joshua fell off mountain."
"They fell off?" Samuel asked, his eyes wide as he signed back for confirmation. "Where?"
"Way up," Esther said before gesturing up the steep path. "Stuck. Harry sick. Hurt?"
"How do you know?" Samuel frowned. "Were you with them?"
"No. I saw it. Over there." Esther pointed at the picnic table she had been sitting under previously.
Samuel's eyebrows shot up as he considered what she had just told him but worry started to fill his chest and he patted Esther's back, touching his fingertips to his chin before moving his hand down and away from himself in a "thank you" sign.
"Go to your mother please," Samuel said. He stood up, following his daughter off the path and back toward the family. He looked over to see Iris and Ruth playing tag with each other around the picnic table. "Iris, Ruth, go to Tori. Severus!"
"What's going on?" Tori asked as Samuel ran over to Eileen and Severus who were walking back from the parking lot.
"Joshua and Harry are missing," Samuel said in a rushed voice. His stone was not working as it should as he kept tapping it, which meant Joshua's stone was not with him. "They went up the mountains."
"You let them go up the mountains?" Tori asked.
"No," Samuel said. He pointed down the low path that was easily visible from where they sat. "I wanted them to go down that path."
"Samuel!" Tori's hands flew up to her face. "Oh, my lord, no."
"I'm going to find them," Samuel reassured his wife. "Severus, I need you help."
Severus did not need to be asked twice. He ran after Samuel, running up the steep mountain path marked with red tags, taking the stairs two to three at a time.
The evening air brought a cold chill, and the wind blowing around them this high up on the mountain slope bit at their skin, and Harry shivered violently against Joshua. His jean jacket did little to keep him warm, and he felt like his fingers and toes were numb while the rest of his body felt like buckets of ice were being dumped over him. And on top of all that, his head really hurt.
"I'm really cold," Harry said.
"I know," Joshua said. He looked up and yelled, "Help! Can someone hear me! Help!"
Harry coughed again, then shivered more.
"Are we stuck here forever now?" he asked.
"No," Joshua said with a shake of his head. "Dad's coming. Probably yours too. I know they are. Here."
Joshua carefully pulled off his jacket, the movement disturbing his injured leg, and he bit back a hiss of pain while he laid the jacket over Harry, tucking it around him. He adjusted the younger boy against him, pulling him closer and wrapping his arms around him. He felt a surge of accidental magic course through him, and heat emitted from his arms and into Harry, and he smiled when Harry stopped shivering for a moment.
"There. Is that better?"
"What about you?"
"I'm not that cold," Joshua dismissed with a shrug. "I was getting kind of hot actually."
Harry blinked up at Joshua blearily, his eyes a bit glazed and his cheeks red. Joshua had seen that look before on his sisters, and he put a hand over Harry's forehead, and he felt heat radiate underneath his palm.
"You're burning up," Joshua said. "How long have you felt sick?"
"I don't know," Harry answered honestly. "I wasn't warm this morning."
As Harry closed his eyes, Joshua shook his shoulders.
"Stay awake, okay?" Joshua said. "Until we get help. Then you can sleep."
"I'm tired."
"I know."
The wind blew around them, and Joshua fought a shiver that sent goosebumps all over his body before he tried shouting as loud as he could once more, wondering where all the hikers and park goers had gone.
"Help! Somebody please! Help!"
Samuel and Severus paused to look over every edge as they climbed the mountain, making sure to check for any signs of a fall around the ledges and in the shrubbery below. So far, nothing, and at this rate, with all the curves and sharp turns the path took, it would take too long to find the boys, especially if one of them was injured.
"How high do you think they could have gotten?" Severus asked as they climbed up another flight of steps.
"I don't know," Samuel said honestly. "They've been gone over half an hour at this point."
"I can't imagine Harry's asthma would have allowed him to get very far." Severus glanced over the edge of the next slope, but nothing appeared disturbed in the landscape, and he did not see two little boys clinging for dear life on the side. He turned to stare up at the curvature in the mountain ahead of them. "This is taking too long."
"We haven't run into any muggles," Samuel said. "I've got an idea."
Samuel glanced around to be sure there were no other hikers on the path before he pulled out his wand.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A silver cheetah exploded from the tip of Samuel's wand and raced through the air before jogging up to Samuel and sitting before him, holding itself up regal, its tear-tracked eyes staring intently at its castor.
"Lead me to my son," Samuel commanded.
Without so much as a blink, the cheetah spun on its heels and ran up the slope with a flash of determination in its eyes. It's paws left no tracks in the dirt as it practically glided above the surface, flying through the wind, Samuel and Severus chasing after it.
"I'm really sorry, Harry," Joshua whispered as he shivered, teeth chattering. "I should have just did the low path like Dad wanted. I shouldn't have dragged you along."
Harry said nothing, his eyes closed. Joshua adjusted Harry against him, then rubbed his chest roughly.
"Wake up, Harry."
When Harry didn't respond, Joshua felt the tears welled in his eyes escape as he blinked repeatedly and sniffled. The wind blew once more, and Joshua tightened his arms around Harry as he shivered, the tremor racking his entire body. Every cut and bruise he had received from his fall stung with every muscle contraction, and his ankle throbbed with a dull, insistent pain. The tears on his cheek froze quickly in the wind, creating another irritation on his body, overwhelming the small child.
"Help!" Joshua screamed. "Someone, anyone, help!"
No response. Only the echoing silence of the mountains and the gnawing fear that perhaps they would never be found and this is where it would all end, simply because he had to hear whispers of trapped spirits, of which he had not heard a single one. And soon, he would become one of those trapped spirits, adding his own whispers of remorse and regret for tourists and hikers to listen to.
Joshua hugged Harry closely, trying to keep his pseudo little brother warm while trying to warm himself. A few stones crumbled and fell from above him, and he looked up.
A silver cheetah stared down at him, and Joshua smiled, his dry lips cracking and bleeding from the pull, and he used a hand to wipe tears away from his eyes.
"Joshua!" Samuel called out as he carefully stepped closer to the edge and looked over it, more stones crumbling under his weight.
"Dad!" Joshua cried out. "Down here!"
"Hold on, son, we're going to get you. Are you hurt?"
"I hurt my ankle, but Harry's worse. He's really warm and he won't wake up now."
"What happened?" Severus asked, fear laced in his voice. "Did he hit his head?"
"No, he had an asthma attack and he was just coughing a lot. He got his rescue inhaler, but I don't think it helped much."
"Okay," Severus said, stepping closer to the ledge. "We're coming down to get you."
"How do you plan on doing that?" Samuel asked, leaning a little closer to the edge, pushing down into the dirt to feel for give, and more stones crumbled under the weight, telling Samuel to back off.
"Well," Severus said, "I don't know about you, but I plan to just . . ."
Severus stepped over the cliff, startling Samuel, who started chuckling in relief when Severus simply hovered in the air.
"You know," Samuel said with a smirk, "I always forget how much dark magic you played around with in your emo years."
"Emo?" Severus sneered. "I was never emo."
"Uh huh. I'll tell that to your old dorm mates the next time I see them in prison to deny their appeals."
Severus carefully floated down to where Joshua and Harry were, and Joshua started crying as he neared them.
"I'm really sorry," Joshua said, "it's my fault, I pushed him too hard and now . . ."
Severus shushed Joshua as he lifted his son into his arms. He rubbed Harry's sternum gently and was relieved when Harry stirred and opened his eyes.
"Daddy," Harry said, blinking a bit dully.
"I've got you son. You'll be okay." Severus adjusted Harry so he could hold him against his hip, then he helped Joshua reposition himself so he lift him as well, and he slowly flew back up to the ledge of the mountain, where Samuel pulled his own son into his arms, squeezing him tightly against his chest.
"I'm sorry, Dad," Joshua said, crying into his father's neck.
"I know, I know," Samuel said. "But you're safe now. You're safe now."
The fathers carried their sons down the mountain back to their waiting family.
Later that night, Severus sat anxiously in one of the waiting room chairs at St. Mungo's. Eileen and Tobias sat in a corner side by side, and Tori and Samuel sat across from him, whispering quietly between themselves. Iris, Ruth, Esther, and Jemima were with Addie at Tori's house while Harry and Joshua were tended to by the team of healers who had rushed to their aid as soon as they had arrived. Healer Villin even made an appearance as he was Harry's and Joshua's primary doctor, and he assisted the other healers in checking over Harry.
This did not make Severus feel any better after thirty minutes passed with no news. Usually, magical healing was quick, but he figured the extent of hypothermia mixed with a severe asthma attack would require more time, even with magical healing.
Severus glanced over at Samuel and Tori, catching a bit of their conversation.
"You wouldn't happen to have a seer in your family ancestry, would you?" Samuel asked Tori.
"No," Tori said slowly, frowning at the odd question. "Why, do you?"
"No," Samuel said, then paused as he scrunched his face in thought, then shook his head. "No, I don't think so."
"Why do you ask?"
"I have to tell you about what Esther told me, before all this went down earlier."
Their muttering turned into indistinct background noise as Severus turned his attention toward his parents, who were having their own conversation as well, but he couldn't quite make out what they were discussing. Severus sighed before he stood up and started pacing, catching everyone's attention, but thankfully, no one said anything. Severus just couldn't keep sitting and doing nothing while his son was in some white, sterile exam room by himself, probably frightened. He walked the length of the room, a small private room for the family to sit together in, which was a kind touch on the healers' part.
The pacing did little to ease Severus's nerves and impatience, and when he thought he could take no more and was prepared to find Harry's room himself, Healer Villin stepped into the room, and Severus sighed with relief. Tori and Samuel stood up and walked over to the healer while Eileen and Tobias stood up.
"Joshua is perfectly fine," Healer Villin said to Tori and Samuel, who shared a smile at the news. "His ankle is broken, but it's nothing a modified skele-gro can't fix, and in a couple hours, he'll be good to go home."
"Thank you, Healer," Samuel said, shaking Healer Villin's hand.
"My pleasure."
"Harry?" Severus asked.
"Harry is stable," Healer Villin said, turning to face Severus. "We got is fever down with a potion and he is receiving warmed fluids intravenously."
Healer Villin paused for a moment, and he seemed to take a heavy breath before continuing.
"We ran a few tests. Some bloodwork, a few scans." Another pause, then, "We found a tumor . . . in his left lung."
"No," Severus said softly with a shake of his head.
Tori sucked in a breath as she raised her hands to cover her mouth, and Samuel's forehead creased with concern.
"We managed to perform a biopsy charm," Healer Villin continued, "and it's confirmed by three healers to be non-small cell lung cancer."
"No, no," Severus said once more, unable to even string any other words into a coherent sentence as he walked away from the doctor, putting his hands behind his head before he dropped them and kicked away a chair that was somehow in his path. A wave of nausea struck him as the word stirred up unease in his gut. Cancer . . . his son had cancer. His six-year-old son, who just earlier that day had been running around a park playing with the other kids. Why his kid?
"Severus," Samuel started to say, reaching out for his friend, but Severus jerked away, shaking his head repeatedly as he took in several deep breaths. He squatted down as if his knees couldn't support his weight anymore as he choked on a strangled sob.
"Sit down," Eileen said firmly as she pushed the chair Severus had kicked towards her son while Samuel managed to direct Severus to the chair this time, and Severus sat down and rested his hands on his knees, focusing on breathing, wondering if it would even be appropriate to start occluding. Tobias placed a hand on his son's shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze before he wrapped his arms around his wife as she wiped a few tears from under her eyes.
Healer Villin gave the family a moment before continuing.
"We caught it early. It's stage one, possibly early stage two. We'd have to do a bit more investigating to confirm but it does not appear to have spread yet. Unfortunately, even in the wizarding community, cancer has no quick or easy cure, if any. After a few more scans and diagnostics, we'll discuss surgical removal and . . ."
Severus growled under his breath as he leaned forward, elbows on his knees and his face in his hands as he lost the battle and allowed himself to cry for his son. Tori stood behind Severus's chair and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, resting her head against his while tears streamed down her own cheeks.
Healer Villin dismissed himself, promising to return after a few more labs were performed.
Samuel patted Severus's shoulder.
"We've got you, Severus," he said. "We're all here for you. And Harry."
I couldn't leave you all with such an awful cliffhanger the last chapter. So I hope this made up for that . . . well, maybe.