Darker
AN: Sorry it's been a while, guys. Was doing a rewrite for one of the serious books I write, and that took me the better part of a year.
Retching sounds into a toilet. The world had gone dark, but he sensed it spinning anyway.
A creaking sound as the bathroom door opened.
"Harry? You all right?"
"No."
More retching.
And more.
It finally stopped.
"I…I don't want to ask this…"
A terrible pause that seemed to go on forever.
"…but…but the bloke said 9 out of 10."
"I guess..."
"Isn't that what—"
"I don't know, Ron."
"Mate…she says it all the time."
No answer.
"Right?"
"I think other people say it, too. She can't be the only one."
"Hair so dark you can't tell if it's brown or black."
No answer.
"A big nose."
Still no answer.
"Wears green all the time."
Nothing.
"You told me you've seen her Patronus before, but you never told me what it is. So what is it, Harry?"
Still nothing.
"Who do you think it is instead? Since it can't possibly be her, who the fucking hell do you think it is? Any leads?"
There was no answer.
"If it's not her—if you're so damn certain it's not her, why are you puking your guts out in a bathroom right now?"
There was just no answer. None at all. Not to any of it. Because with the answers came so many more questions; questions with answers that he couldn't fathom. He didn't want to. He hadn't been staring into the abyss, no, but he'd stood beside it. No, there wasn't anything wrong. The way all three of his kids constantly looked at their mother the same way you might look at a pile of C4. No problems at all. James never letting either of his parents touch him anymore. Clear skies. Albus' nightmares, the worst of which only seemed to be when she was in the house. Not a cloud on the horizon. Delphi never really listening to Harry, only to his wife. Everything was fine.
This whole time, two whole decades standing right beside that abyss with his head turned away, smiling like a fucking idiot. But now, someone had grabbed him and faced him towards it at last. Someone had even given him a torchlight—or a wand with Lumos casting if you prefer—so he could stare clearly into that dark hole…and see all the pale, eyeless monstrosities that had been there all along.
"Harry. It's her, isn't it?"
A long terrible pause. Then finally:
"Yeah. I think it is."
God help them.