“I never had no one
I could count on
I've been let down so many times
I was tired of hurtin'
So tired of searchin'
'Til you walked into my life”
Lyrics to “My Best Friend” by Tim McGraw
Disclaimer: I own none of this. It all belongs to J.K. R. Thank you for letting my mind wander…
Chapter 17- Love
Harry was in the emergency room with Sarah when Chris swiftly pushed through the doors. Harry’s head shot up and his eyes landed on Chris talking to the Healer. As soon as he could, he arrived next to Michelle’s side and listened closely to their conversation.
“…used a Slow Death Curse. I should have seen the signs before. You need to let me perform the counter-curse,” Chris begged. At this point, Harry entered the discussion.
“Absolutely not. I’m still not sure if I trust you. How do I know that you aren’t just going to kill her? No, tell us what it is and Michelle will do it.”
“Harry, I don’t think you understand how vital this is. I don’t know when Malfoy put that curse on her and it only lasts for twenty-four hours,” Chris explained.
“What happens after the time’s up?”
“Sarah dies. Game over. Now the counter-curse takes a while to learn and I already know it. So please, for Sarah’s sake, let me help. I’m begging you to trust me a little here.”
Harry considered him for a minute. Was he willing to risk Sarah’s life trusting him? But, he had no other solutions or plans which made Chris’ counter-curse the only answer. Harry sighed.
“Fine. Go ahead, but if she is harmed in any way, you’ll have me to answer to. Is that clear?” Harry almost shouted. A smile appeared on Chris’ face.
“Crystal clear, my friend.”
Walking quickly over to Sarah’s side, Harry felt Chris at his heels. Chris pushed up his sleeves on the cloak which he had forgotten to take off and pulled out his wand. It was the first time that Harry had actually seen him with it out. He approximated that it was about fourteen inches and it had a small inscription at the tip which Harry couldn’t read. Chris pointed his wand at Sarah’s heart and started muttering under his breath. Then he closed his eyes and said the only word that Harry could clearly understand.
“Vivamrevenio! ” A faint blue glow escaped the tip of Chris’ wand and started to cover Sarah’s body quickly. Harry couldn’t remember ever seeing magic of this kind before. It completely consumed Sarah in its midst. Glancing at Chris, Harry noticed that he was in complete concentration now as if he knew that if he even for a second thought of anything else but the spell, something would go wrong. Harry stepped away so that he wouldn’t be in the way. Michelle grabbed his arm.
“Who is this guy?” she asked worriedly. Staring at Chris, Harry shook his head.
“I wish I knew.”
Harry watched the scene before him unfold. Michelle stood by him in awe and the other Healers had also stopped what they were doing to watch Chris. The glow started to turn white before their eyes and Harry suddenly felt sick.
The realization that Dumbledore was dead hit him. The locket was clutched in his hand. Ginny was crying next to him. A little man in black was speaking in front of the crowd. Then he heard screams.
The place where Dumbledore's body had been placed suddenly erupted into bright white flames. White smoke smothered his view and then they were gone as soon as they had come. In the place of the body was a brilliant white, marble tomb.
"Mr. Potter?" A distant voice was calling him. Harry blinked once remembering where he was. The flashback triggered by the white glow of Chris' spell had taken over his mind. Michelle had grabbed onto his arm and was shaking him.
"What?" Harry replied quickly. Michelle pointed over to Sarah and Harry smiled. Sarah was holding onto Chris' arm and her eyes finally showed signs of life. Harry glided over to her and held onto her other hand. Chris looked tired and worn out. The Healers rushed over to Sarah's side and started to check her for a normal pulse and heartbeat.
"Good morning, sunshine," Sarah croaked as she looked up at Harry. Harry grinned and pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. Happy to see that Sarah was alright, he looked up at Chris intending to thank him. However, Chris wasn't standing across from him anymore. Harry looked around the room, but Chris was nowhere to be found.
Turning to Michelle, Harry asked, "Where did Chris go? He was just standing there." Michelle shrugged--she was too busy to worry about where Chris was.
"Mr. Potter, would you mind stepping out of the room for a while? We have to run some tests." Michelle said distractedly.
"Okay."
Harry walked through the door to the hallway with his hands in his pockets and his head down. Since the flashback, he couldn't get the image of Dumbledore's tomb out of his head. Hearing footsteps at the other end of the hallway, Harry turned around. It was Chris. Harry changed directions and tried to catch up with him. Chris must have sensed his presence because he turned around abruptly as Harry approached.
"What do you want, Potter?"
"Er, I just wanted to thank you, I guess," Harry replied.
"That's nice. Are you done?" Chris spat. Harry didn't know what to say; he thought that he was doing the right thing by thanking him. Chris rolled his eyes.
"Look, I know that you don't like me so why don't you just leave me alone?" Chris looked horrible. The spell that he had just completed must have drained most of his energy because years of hardships and pain showed on his face at the moment. Harry wondered if he would see a similar picture of himself if he looked in the mirror at that minute.
"Fine," he shot back at him as he turned on his heel and headed toward the other end of the hallway leaving Chris in his dust. He entered the waiting room through the double doors and immediately his mood lifted when he saw his two best friends talking to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Hermione ran up to him and hugged him fiercely.
"How is she, Harry?" she asked him when she released him from her grip.
"Sarah's going to be just fine," Harry reassured them.
"That's great! Mum told me something about Sarah's brother. What's the story behind that?" Ron queried.
"We shouldn't talk about that here. I'll explain everything when we get back to the Burrow, I promise."
Hermione nodded and she placed her head on Ron's shoulder. Harry sat down in one of the chairs and tilted his head back in hopes that he could rest his eyes for a few minutes.
* * *
Chris slammed down the coffee pot, frustrated that there wasn't any left. He leaned on the counter of the hospital's break room to which he had ignored the "Employees Only" sign. He wandered out of the room and down the hallway where he spotted an empty gurney. Looking around, he saw no one so he decided to lie down for a while on the gurney. He had forgotten how much energy that particular spell would consume. After all, he was restoring Sarah's life.
It felt like seconds after he closed his eyes that he felt himself being shaken awake.
"Just five more minutes, Kelly," he moaned, but the person didn't stop. Finally, he reluctantly opened his eyes and found himself staring into the eyes of Sarah. He jumped up and hugged her, grateful that she was walking again. Then Chris suddenly pushed her to arm's length to get a better look at her.
"Wait...what are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be in bed or something?"
"Probably, but I needed to get out of that room. It was boring me."
"Oh, so much for Potter's 'security' he told me he was going to put near your room before I left," Chris sighed. He thought that nobody would be allowed to go in or out of the room without special permission.
"What security?" asked Sarah incredulously.
"Exactly," Chris said. Sarah laughed at him. Chris looked away from her as if in deep thought. Sarah knew better that they were both thinking the same thing.
"What happened?" she inquired. Chris turned around, perplexed by her question.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what happened to us? We're not kids anymore, Chris. When did that happen?" she observed as she sat down next to him on the gurney.
"I think right about the time you stopped needing your big brother to protect you and when I started needing my little sister to be there for me. Sound good?"
"That's about right. Although from what the Healers have told me, you did some protecting tonight. Is that true?" Sarah asked.
"That's what I hear," he replied. Sarah smiled widely.
"Well, I thank you, kind sir," she giggled. Then, Sarah rested her head on his shoulder and they just sat there. The picture they created was perfect: a long awaited reunion of brother and sister.
* * *
After talking to Ron and Hermione for a while, Harry decided that he wanted to go and check on Sarah. However, when he reached her room, Sarah wasn't there. He saw Michelle in the hallway and asked her where Sarah went. She told him that Sarah asked to go for a walk down the hallway. Harry thanked her and headed toward the direction in which Michelle had pointed.
Halfway down the hallway, he found Sarah sitting with Chris on a hospital gurney.
"Sarah, shouldn't you be resting?" Harry asked. Sarah's eyes shot up to him.
"Nice to see you, too."
"That's not what I meant. You were nearly dead an hour ago. I just want you to get better," Harry said sharply.
"Harry, it's fine. I'm fine," she reassured.
"Did Chris drag you out of there?" Harry accused.
Sarah glared at him and then said, "No, Harry, I came out her so I could get out of there. Do you know how dull that room can be?"
"I think I have an idea."
"C'mon man what's your problem?" Chris added.
"What's my problem?" Harry exploded.
"Well that seems to be the question of the moment." Sarah stepped between them again after Chris said this. She didn't have a good feeling about what would come next.
"Look, Harry, just lay off of him, alright? We're all tired. Now, Chris and I decided that we're going to go back to Massachusetts for a while to settle things with Bob and Andrea. Also, I need to decide whether I'm going back to college. Do you want to come with us?" Sarah explained. Harry was surprised by her current decision. Of course he knew that she would have to go back some time but he never guessed that it would be so soon. He was already in a bad mood and this just made it worse. He would have been glad to go if it were only he and Sarah going. Harry glared at Chris.
“Is this just a sudden decision? ‘Oh, I’m awake now, let’s go to Massachusetts!’” Harry mocked. Sarah frowned.
“No…well, yes. Chris mentioned that he wanted to tell Bob and Andrea that he was alright. So I thought that it would be a good opportunity to tell them that I’m a witch and that I doubt that I’ll be going back to school. If you come, we could take a ride to Old Orchard Beach in Maine. It’s really nice there in the summer.”
Chris added, “Yeah Harry, you could really use a tan.” Then Sarah shot him a look that Chris read very clearly as “not helping.” He stayed quiet for a while after that. Harry had no idea why he was so upset by this trip. Maybe it was because Sarah was just severely injured or that she had said it without a second thought like she was telling him what the weather would be like tomorrow. Perhaps the most likely reason why he was angry was that she was going with Chris, a man he clearly didn’t trust and who he disliked with a passion.
“Sarah, I don’t think that it’s a good time to go now. I think it would be better if you just stayed here,” he suggested and then added, “for the time being.”
“Why did I know that you’d have a problem with me going?” Sarah said, getting angry now.
“It’s not that I have a problem with you going. It’s that I have a problem with who you’re going with,” Harry clarified matter-of-factly. Chris sat back down on the gurney apparently amused with the fight that he was witnessing before his eyes.
“Well is that all?” she said sarcastically. “If you don’t like my brother then why don’t you just say so next time, Harry?”
Harry shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head. He replied, “Okay then. I really don’t like your brother. Happy now?”
“You don’t even know him,” Sarah argued.
“Neither do you.”
“Give me one reason not to like my brother. God, why am I even having this stupid conversation?”
“You see, Sarah, I have this philosophy about trusting Death Eaters. I don’t do it,” Harry explained. Sarah put her hands on her hips and gritted her teeth.
“He’s not a Death Eater, Harry. He’s my brother and I’m going with him because that’s what sisters do. Now are you coming with us or not?”
“No, but don’t expect me to be here when you get back either,” Harry spat. A tear fell from Sarah’s eye and she swatted it away as quickly as it had come.
“Don’t expect me to come back then,” she said and with that she turned on her heel and walked back toward her room. Chris got up quickly and pulled the collar of Harry’s shirt toward him so that they saw each other eye to eye.
“She might not come back, but I will. I’ll teach you something about hurting my sister, Potter,” he muttered.
“I’m so scared,” Harry retorted sarcastically as he pushed Chris away from him. Chris let go finally and chased after his sister. Harry stomped toward the door to the waiting room. Nineteen years of hate, misfortune, and grief were weighing down his mind as he pushed through the double doors. It was hopeless to try and change his feelings which were threatening to burst through his skull at any moment now.
Sarah was going to be on her way to her home and he wasn’t going to stop her. If he had ever really loved her, he sure didn’t know now. If the gaping hole in his heart had ever been repaired, he already felt the stitches holding on the patch being torn out one by one. Why Sarah finds the need to trust Chris, Harry didn’t know. However, he didn’t care at the moment because his anger had once again got the best of him. He trudged over to Ron and Hermione. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley must have been elsewhere.
“I’m going away for a while,” he announced. He had told Sarah that he wouldn’t be here and he was determined to keep his promise. Hermione looked up for the magazine she was reading.
“Where are you going?” she asked worriedly.
“I don’t know yet,” he answered.
“Well, how long are you going to be gone?” Ron questioned.
“I don’t know that either. I’ll owl you when I get there and tell you everything,” Harry replied. Hermione shook her head disapprovingly but she sat down. She knew that something had happened yet she didn’t say anything. Harry remembered that this was why he loved her. Ron, however, didn’t just let it go.
“You can’t do this again, Harry. I swear I’ll find you this time and then kill you myself. And if you’re already dead, I’ll kill your ghost,” Ron threatened, but Harry seemed not to hear him. He gave Hermione a hug and then shook Ron’s hand impatiently trying to get away.
“I won’t be away long, trust me. Send my best wishes to your parents, Ron.” And with that, Harry made his way to the elevator so he could go to the exit. When he got outside, Harry Apparated to the Burrow to gather his things. When he approached the house, though, he felt that something was out of place. The door was ajar and he heard the sound of humming coming from the living room. Pulling his wand out, Harry snuck into the house and peeked around the wall to where the noise was coming from. On the couch sat a young woman with blonde curls who was dressed in a bright blue blouse and jeans. She was singing to herself and looked like she was having a good time. Harry raised his wand and showed himself.
“Who are you?” he asked loudly. The woman looked up startled and she stood up quickly. She didn’t look dangerous, but Harry knew all too well that looks can be deceiving.
“Who are you?” she pointed to him.
“I’m”hey, wait, I asked you first,” Harry demanded. The woman giggled.
“I’m Kelly. And you’re Harry Potter. There, now we know each other. Do you know where Chris is? Because if you hurt him, I’ll hurt you,” Kelly said getting right down to business. Harry knew that she was a Death Eater at this point. However, he didn’t think she was here to hurt him.
“Why are you asking me? I could care less. You should be asking Sarah,” Harry stated.
“I don’t like her. We don’t get along well,” she informed Harry.
“You don’t even know her,” Harry shot back. Kelly shrugged.
“You don’t know Chris either, yet you still seem to hate him. I guess we’ve got something in common then don’t we? Now tell me where he is.”
“Did you know that he claims not to be a Death Eater anymore? He says that he’s good now and that he doesn’t need you all anymore. He doesn’t want to go back,” Harry explained, hoping that Kelly would just leave after she heard this. She didn’t budge, though.
“You’re a liar. Chris would never leave us. He’d never leave me. He told me that he loved me and that he was coming back no matter what. He told me so this morning, but when I offered to go with him, he refused. Chris always did try to play the hero act. That’s why he left though isn’t it? He figured out what the Death Eaters were all about and now he didn’t want any part of it,” Kelly thought out loud. Harry listened to her as she went on and he truly didn’t know what to say.
“What did you mean when you said ‘the hero act’?” Harry asked incredulously.
“Didn’t Chris tell you why he joined the stupid Death Eaters in the first place?” Kelly wondered. Harry thought for a moment.
“No, I don’t recall him telling me that…”
“He joined to protect Sarah from the same fate. So he would have time to figure something out to save her from becoming a Death Eater herself. I remember Chris trying everything in his power to convince Voldemort that she would be useless to him, but the Dark Lord wanted his revenge on their parents for not joining him. Chris made a deal with him that he would join at an early age if only he would wait until Sarah was seventeen. Then Sarah would have to either join or be killed. Voldemort agreed of course and he waited. Well then you know the rest of the story about how you killed him and he never got the chance to enlist Sarah. So, Harry, you see Chris was only trying to play the hero and I hated that. He was too worried about Sarah to be concerned with me. That’s why Sarah is nothing to me.”
Harry was lost in his own thoughts, confused and alone. Kelly stared at him waiting for a response which Harry was reluctant to give. He had no idea what Chris had done for Sarah and now he didn’t know what to think.
“I’m such an idiot,” he said finally. Kelly laughed, but when Harry looked at her, he could see that the smile didn’t reach her eyes. He knew where she was coming from all too well.
“Do you have any idea where we can find those two gits that we’re hopelessly in love with?” Kelly made Harry laugh at last. Harry didn’t know if it was love that he felt with Sarah, but it sure was something strong. He knew that he’d be making a huge mistake if he didn’t go after her and Harry was done with making foolish mistakes. He was sure of it. He had let Ginny get away, but he wasn’t going to let Sarah go without a fight. The thought that he was having a conversation with a Death Eater didn’t even occur to him in his haste.
“I might have an idea. They could still be at the hospital. We might catch them if we hurry. Let’s go!” Harry ran out the front door with Kelly at his heels and he Apparated to St. Mungo’s with a “crack!” When he arrived in front of the hospital, he was relieved to see Kelly appear within a few seconds after him. Taking her hand, Harry led Kelly into the hospital and toward the room in which Sarah was staying in. Harry remembered the feelings of hate that he felt on his way out of the building earlier and suddenly realized that he felt entirely different. His mind was filled with hope and desire instead of angst and despair. Nothing could stop him now, except of course Sarah being gone already, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.
As he peeked into Sarah’s temporary room, Harry saw Chris in the chair next to her bed dozing off to sleep. Sarah was awake and she was reading a book. Harry opened the door and pulled Kelly in behind him. Chris’ head shot up the moment the door creaked rather loudly. Sarah raised an eyebrow at Kelly.
“Well, Harry I see you’ve replaced me rather quickly. Come to show her off, have you?” Sarah snarled. Chris laughed at her when he realized who the woman with Harry was. He jumped up to meet her. Weaving his fingers into hers, he softly kissed the lips of the blonde-haired witch. By this point, Sarah was completely confused.
“She’s his girlfriend, not mine,” Harry said. Sarah mouthed an “oh” and then she went back to her reading. Harry glanced at Chris and Kelly only to see them whispering excitedly to each other. He then crossed the room and took the book out of Sarah’s hands.
“Hey! I was reading that, sir!” she protested.
“Ouch. Now you’re calling me ‘sir?’”
“I thought you weren’t ever coming after me? Do you think that you can just walk in and out and expect me to drop everything to be with you? Like my book for example. I was at a very good part. The prince was just about to sweep in at the very last moment…”
“Not the point, Sarah,” Harry said to stop her before she forgot what she was going to say.
“Yes, I know that. Harry, I like you a lot but I also love Christopher. Now, why did you come back?”
“I came back because I can’t lose you, too. You mean too much to me, Sarah,” Harry replied hesitantly. Again, Sarah shook her head.
“Harry, what are you trying to tell me?” she prompted already thinking that she knew what Harry was going to say. Nothing could have prepared her for what Harry said next. He showed a side that Sarah had never seen before. An emotional side, an open Harry.
“Sarah, you mean the world to me. You’re funny, quirky, and clumsy sometimes but I can’t take my eyes off of you even when you think you look your worst. And I think I love you.”
“Oh, and he really, really missed you!” Kelly added from across the room as she gave Harry a thumb’s up. Harry smiled at her and then looked back to Sarah, who had tears in her eyes.
“What’s wrong? Is it something I said?” Harry asked anxiously.
“It was everything you said! I love you, too, Harry!” Sarah said and it caused Harry to blush furiously. He was very aware of Chris’ and Kelly’s presence in the room and he wanted so much to scoop Sarah up in his arms. However, not only was her brother there, but she was also lying in a hospital bed. It was not one of his better ideas so he decided against it. Instead he just leaned down to her level and they shared a quick, but passionate kiss. It was enough; they were together again and that’s all that mattered. Sarah pulled away and looked up to Harry with wide eyes.
“Harry, can you do something for me?” she asked.
“Anything.”
“Just don’t leave me like that again. I don’t think I could bear it.”
“I’ll always be here, Sarah. Always,” he said. “So, when do we leave for Massachusetts?” Harry put on his best smile for her.
“Um…the day after tomorrow. What do you think Chris?” she asked her brother.
“Sounds good to me! Kelly’s coming, too, alright?”
“Great! We’re going to have so much fun!” Sarah exclaimed.
“Don’t I get to go, too, Christopher?” a voice snarled from across the room. Harry’s head snapped around to glare at the face and twisted smile of none other than Draco Malfoy.