“It ain't fair: you died too young,
Like the story that had just begun,
But death tore the pages all away.
God knows how I miss you,
All the hell that I've been through,
Just knowin' no one could take your place.
An' sometimes I wonder,
Who you'd be today?”
Lyrics to “Who You’d Be Today” by Kenny Chesney
Chapter Thirteen- Kryptonite
Disclaimer: I own none of this. It all belongs to J.K. R. Thank you for letting my mind wander…
The next few days went by without any hint of trouble. Mrs. Weasley had tried to explain Aunt Petunia’s visits to Harry, but all she received in response was a shrug from him. Then she would sigh as someone changed the subject. The owls flew in regarding Ron and Hermione’s recent engagement and conversations often included the flavor of cake at the reception or how many people could fit in the Weasley’s backyard. The wedding would take place in just three weeks time on a Sunday and everyone hoped that nothing would go wrong.
Harry gave Sarah some of his old school books to read. Harry had disguised himself once again and took Sarah to Diagon Alley so she could get a wand. She would be learning a lot this summer. Harry would be teaching her Defense Against the Dark Arts while Hermione would help her with Charms and Transfiguration. Then Ron, Harry, and Hermione would work together to teach her the basics of everything else.
Things were going well, everyone had to agree. Sarah was able to do some basic magic after just a couple of days. Harry's mood had lightened up significantly. Hermione and Ron were acting as two almost newlyweds should act. They were nervous but at the same time, they were also exuberant. Everyone was also happy because family and friends would be coming back because of the upcoming wedding. Harry, however, was nervous because he hadn't seen most of these people in over a year and they still didn’t know of his return.
Just two weeks before the wedding, Sarah had been reflecting on a few things. Her thoughts were about her parents, her brother, and the many changes that had happened to her over the past couple of weeks. One day, when she and Harry were outside, Sarah was reading one of the books that Harry had given her. She had closed her eyes and was concentrating on her late brother. Harry noticed this and asked her what she had been thinking about.
"Oh, I was just thinking about Chris. I was wondering what he'd being doing today if he was still around. He always talked about leaving someday and how he'd go out and really do something. You know? I was thinking about how he never got that chance," Sarah replied.
"I'm sure that he would be doing something really great. He already did something amazing, though," Harry said.
"What's that?" asked Sarah.
"He took care of his little sister and helped her to be the great person that she is today," explained Harry.
"Of course, how could I forget? But still, I wish he could have met you. You guys would have been best friends," Sarah reflected.
They were quiet for a while after that. Harry understood what Sarah had said completely. He just nodded his head and she smiled. Sarah decided the change the subject.
“So, Mr. Potter, would you like to be my date to the wedding?" She beamed.
"Well...I don't know. There was this other girl..." Harry started, half laughing, but trying really hard to keep a poker face.
"Okay, fine. Be that way. Ron's got five brothers; I'll just ask one of them. Hmph," pouted Sarah.
"Good luck. Bill's married. Percy disowned his family. Fred and George are both have girlfriends, I think. That leaves Charlie and he's at least eight years older than you," Harry replied.
"That's okay, I like older men. But I'd rather go with you. I don't like blind dates too much," she teased.
"If I must," Harry replied almost sarcastically.
"I knew you would. You just can't resist my dazzling charm," Sarah grinned.
"You've caught me," he admitted.
"Ah, so I've found your Kryptonite, eh Clark ?"
"What?” Harry asked incredulously.
"Never mind," Sarah responded. Harry gave her a confusing look, but decided not to question further. She laughed at his ignorance but didn't explain. Sarah stuck her nose back into her text book and began reading again.
* * *
And so the days passed by with everyone in a joyful mood. The atmosphere at the Burrow was stressed because of the upcoming wedding, but it was a good kind of stress. Finally, a week and a half before the wedding, the rest of the Weasley family was expected to be coming at any moment. Fred and George were to be arriving around noon on that day and Charlie’s arrival was likely to occur later in the evening. Bill and Fleur would be coming on the next morning.
Everyone was doing what they usually do on any normal day. Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen making lunch. Mr. Weasley and Ron were at work. Hermione and Harry were helping Sarah with her lessons. Then Harry heard a slight rapping on the door and the sound of the door opening.
“Mum! We’re home!” Fred and George announced simultaneously.
Mrs. Weasley rushed out to greet them and Hermione followed suit. After hesitating, Harry went also along with Sarah. As he reached the front door, they saw Mrs. Weasley frantically hugging both men and Hermione also hugged them. Fred was telling his mother about their trip when he stopped mid sentence after catching sight of Harry.
“Is that you…Harry?” George blurted out.
“Yep, good to see you guys again,” said Harry.
“Well, gosh, Harry. What a pleasant surprise!” exclaimed Fred and then he and George started to finish each other’s sentences just like Harry had remembered that they used to do.
“We thought that you had died,”
“No offense,”
“But we’re glad you aren’t.”
“Dead, we mean,”
“Because that would be awful.”
“Terribly dreadful,”
“And horribly out of mood for a wedding.”
“So, when did you come back?” Fred asked.
“A little more than a month ago,” Harry said. He approached them both and shook their hands.
“Really? How come we didn’t know?” George queried.
“Er, no one else does either, so don’t feel left out,” Harry explained.
“Oh. And who is this lovely lady?” Fred inquired.
“This is Sarah. She’s a friend. Sarah, this is Fred,” he said pointing to the one on the left and then pointing to the red head on the right, he continued, “and this is George.”
“Charmed,” Fred said as he took her hand and kissed it in a very formal manner. George did the same. Sarah laughed quietly. George looked at Hermione.
“Unfortunately, our dates could not attend the celebration because they’re on holiday in the Caribbean, but they send their good intentions,” George informed.
“Well, that was very sweet of them. Tell them that I thank them,” replied Hermione.
“Alright, well enough talk. Lunch is almost ready. Come on everyone, into the kitchen. Get washed up,” Mrs. Weasley announced.
They all hurried into the kitchen for lunch. The conversation was light. Fred and George told everyone about the latest news at the joke shop. Harry informed the twins about where he had gone and realized the fact that he would have to tell his story about fifty other times over the course of the next two weeks. After lunch, they all went outside to play Quidditch, except Mrs. Weasley.
Sarah didn’t know how to ride a broom, so she just watched them. Hermione still played, although she didn’t like it. She was on Harry’s team and they played against Fred and George. Sarah watched in awe and realized that Harry was clearly the best flier out of the four. However, Harry’s abilities couldn’t match Fred and George’s outstanding teamwork and so he and Hermione lost. Hermione, who obviously was not a flier, took the blame. Harry assured her that he was just rusty and they’d get them next time. He could have sworn that he heard her say, “Yeah, when you’ve got Ron on your team.” Harry laughed at this.
Hermione, Fred, and George then went inside, but Harry and Sarah stayed out. Harry knew that Sarah would want to learn how to fly and he was right.
“Wow! That looked really fun! Can you show me how to fly? Please?” Sarah pleaded.
“Sure, let me just go and grab another broom out of the shed. Be right back!” Harry called as he ran to the shed.
Sarah looked around her. She couldn’t believe that she was going to learn how to fly. The entire situation seemed a bit surreal to her. Witches and wizards. Flying brooms and spells. She should have been used to it by now considering she herself was a witch, but the idea still astonished her. What surprised her the most was finally discovering a real and true friend, but she wasn’t quite sure about her feelings for Harry. It was in this contemplating state that Harry found her in when he returned. She was staring at the landscape around them and then she heard Harry approach. She turned and smiled at him.
“What?” Harry asked puzzled.
“Oh, nothing. I’m in a good mood,” responded Sarah.
“That’s good. Okay, so this is a broom,” Harry said as he held up an old Cleansweep.
“Really? I would have never guessed!” Sarah exclaimed sarcastically. Harry stuck out his tongue at her and she laughed. Harry put the broom on the ground next to Sarah.
“Okay, now I’ll teach you the way I was taught…er…actually that’s not a very good way to start off. Let’s try something easy. Put your hand over the broom and say UP!” Harry explained, remembering that he had to chase Malfoy in the air before he had even learned how to fly.
“UP!” Sarah cried and the broom rose into her hand at once. She grinned.
“Excellent! Now get on it and hover for a bit, like this,” he said as he pushed off from the ground on his Firebolt, hovered, and then came back down. Nervously, Sarah gently pushed herself from the ground.
“Look! I’m doing it! I’m doing it!” Sarah yelled, mocking a five-year old’s voice. Harry chuckled and signaled for her to come down.
“Okay, are you ready for something more challenging? If you can do this, you can have a cookie after dinner!” Harry teased back. Sarah nodded her head and Harry told her to follow his lead. They both pushed off the ground and Harry led the way. Sarah was doing very well and it was almost as if she had been flying for her whole life.
“Is this the best you can do, Superman? I thought that he was faster than a speeding bullet?” she shouted. They picked up the pace a bit and Sarah was gaining on Harry. Finally, she passed him and waved on her way by. Harry shook his head and added a bit more speed. He zoomed past Sarah and she muttered “show off.” They finally landed on the ground again.
“So, how did I do, Mr. Potter? Did I pass?” Sarah inquired.
“Pass? You’re a natural! Are you sure that you’ve never ridden a broom before?” Harry asked.
“I’m positive and thank you so much! I had so much fun! All of this is amazing,” Sarah remarked.
“All of what is ‘amazing’?” Harry asked curiously. Sarah smiled.
“Everything! All of the magic and flying and…” she broke off for a moment, flushed, and then she whispered, “and you.”
Harry blushed furiously; he didn’t know what to say. He stared at her with his mouth half open. The truth was that he didn’t know how he felt about Sarah. Was she just a friend? Or did he have hope for something more? And if he did have other feelings, would he want to risk their friendship? Then the hardest question of them all hit him”what about Ginny? In the end, he concluded, as harsh as it may seem that Ginny was dead and she was never coming back. She had told him so herself. He smiled down at Sarah, who was a couple inches shorter than him.
“Sarah, you are incredible, too.” Sarah beamed up at him. They were now very close to each other. Sarah could feel Harry moving even closer to her. She was as unsure as Harry was about her feelings, but she was scared that she’d mess things up between them.
“Harry! Sarah! Dinner!” called Mrs. Weasley suddenly. Sarah, who was quite frightened from the sudden shout, stumbled forward into Harry’s arms. Harry, who was unprepared to catch Sarah, fell backwards onto the grass. They were both laughing so hard that they forgot what had happened. Before they knew it, ten minutes had gone by. They were on the ground, lying next to each other, laughing, when Ron had run out to them.
“Are you guys mad? Mum’s about to send out a search party for you! Dinner’s been ready for fifteen minutes!” Ron bellowed from the other side of the clearing. Then Harry yelled back to him.
“Sorry, mate! We lost track of time! We’ll be right behind you!”
Still chuckling, Sarah and Harry followed Ron back to the Burrow where they had a lovely dinner in the backyard. After dinner, Charlie arrived and greeted everyone. Charlie was also surprised when he saw Harry standing behind Ron. He did a double take and then glided over to Harry to shake his hand.
“Harry! It’s so great to see you again! Alive and well I gather?”
“Of course. How are you doing?” Harry replied.
“Oh, me? I’m great!” responded Charlie. Then Harry introduced him to Sarah and they all went into the sitting room to chat. Sarah could feel her eyelids becoming heavier and heavier and she finally decided that it was time for bed. She headed upstairs, but what greeted her at the top of the stairs aroused her senses immediately.
There was something standing down the hall, but she couldn’t distinguish what that ‘something’ was from where she was standing. She moved a bit closer, carefully trying not to make any noises. She could now tell that the dark figure was in fact a man. Not sure what to do, Sarah grabbed her wand and was just about to speak when the floorboard creaked under her step. She stopped dead in her tracks and the man turned around quickly.
Sarah didn’t recognize him. He was somewhat tall, very pale, and had white blonde hair. He was dressed in all black robes and his wand was held out in front of him. Sarah didn’t know what to do; she could yell for help, but what if this man was someone that everyone knew? Then she would just look stupid. And so she just stood in front of the man, waiting. He wasn’t doing anything so she decided to find out who he was.
“This is stupid. Who are you? What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I could ask you the same questions,” he replied coldly.
“I asked first. Now go on, tell me who you are and what your business is in this house,” she demanded.
“Who I am is not important. What is important is if you know Potter and how you know him,” he said.
“Okay, if you’re here for Harry, I’ll go and get him then,” Sarah muttered. As she turned to go, the man grabbed her arm so tight that she could feel her circulation being cut off. “Get off of me!” she screamed. The man’s hand closed over her mouth and she struggled to break free.
“You’re not getting Potter. You’re not going anywhere,” he hissed. Sarah struggled frantically to loosen the man’s grip but her attempts were futile; he was stronger than her. She did, however, manage to knock over a vase in her efforts. The vase fell to the floor with a great crash and then Sarah heard the rustle of chairs moving from downstairs. The man held her tighter and then let her go with one of his hands. Sarah breathed a sigh of relief, but then she learned why he had let go. He promptly struck her hard in the face and she fell down to the floor in a heap.
“You stupid girl! I’ll be back for you!” he spat at her. And then turned and vanished with a pop. Sarah stayed on the floor as she heard people running up the stairs. She heard someone call her name, but she didn’t want to look up in case it was him again.
“Sarah? Sarah, are you alright? Can you hear me? Say something!” It was Harry. Slowly, Sarah started to pick herself up. She felt Harry supporting her as she stood. Though there was nothing wrong with her legs, she was still a bit shaken up.
“I”I’m okay,” she murmured. Harry put his arm around her reassuringly.
“Sarah, what happened?” Harry asked.
“There was a man and…and he attacked me! He said something about you and then I told him that I’d go get you, but he grabbed me. I can’t remember what happened after,” Sarah explained. A strange expression crossed Harry’s face after she said this. His eyes narrowed and hardened in concentration. Then he started to give orders.
“Hermione and Mrs. Weasley, help Sarah. Fred and George search upstairs for this man. Charlie and Mr. Weasley, you search downstairs. Ron and I will go outside. He’s probably long gone by now, but we can try finding him. What are you all waiting for? Go!” Harry ordered. He handed Sarah over to Hermione and ran down the stairs with Ron.
* * *
It was dark outside and there was a strange fog settling over the land. Harry could barely see three feet in front of him. They searched for about twenty minutes and then Ron told Harry that it was useless and that they should go back inside. When they arrived inside the house, they discovered that no one else had had any luck either. Harry was furious, but he didn’t say anything. Instead he headed upstairs to check on Sarah.
He found her in her bedroom talking to Hermione. He leaned against the door frame and looked at Sarah. She was holding a damp cloth to her face, but he could see her smile slightly as he walked into the room. Hermione hadn’t noticed; she was still talking.
“…he’s been through some rough times and he doesn’t want to go through it again. That’s all,” said Hermione. Hermione turned around to see what Sarah was looking at. “Oh, hi, Harry. Did you find anything?” she asked.
“No. There was no one. They must have Disapparated. Sarah, do you remember what the man looked like?”
“Um…well…he was dressed in black and he had very blonde hair. He was extremely pale, kind of thin, too. He was very interested in whom I was and he wanted to know if I knew you. But when I tried to get you, he wouldn’t let me,” she recollected. Harry thought for a moment.
“Harry…you don’t think it was Malfoy? It couldn’t be. Do you think?” Hermione wondered.
“I don’t think we should rule him out. After all, he does know that I haven’t fallen off the face of the Earth. We should look into it. Next time I get my hands on him, I’ll…” Harry started to say but then looked at Sarah and Hermione’s horrified expressions and stopped. Hermione made up an excuse to leave to give Harry and Sarah some time together.
Harry went over and sat next to Sarah on her bed. He reached up to her face and pulled her hand and the damp cloth away so he could see what she was hiding. A large black and blue bruise had formed on her cheek. Harry also saw that there were bruises on her arms from where the man had seized her. He looked into her eyes which still looked scared. He touched her face gently and held her hand to comfort her.
“Don’t worry, Sarah. I’ll get this guy. I swear,” Harry promised. Sarah looked up at him. She bit her lip and sighed.
“I just hope he doesn’t get you first,” she whispered not nearly loud enough for Harry to hear. Then she hugged him and knew that Harry understood her fear.
When It Seems Like All Is Lost by KateH
Chapter Notes: Sorry for the long wait!