“Would you catch me if I fall
Out of what I fell in
Don't be surprised if I collapse down at your feet again
I don't want to run away from this
I know that I just don't need this”
Lyrics to “Somewhere in Between” by Lifehouse
Disclaimer- I own none of this. It all belongs to J.K. R. Thank you for letting my mind wander…
Chapter 5- Truth
Harry didn’t eat much. The food was delicious, but the weight of everything was becoming almost unbearable. He knew that some of it would be lifted in just a little while, but he was so close to his breaking point. How was he going to explain things to Sarah? She was a Muggle“clearly, she would not believe him. She would probably take him to the hospital and tell them that he was insane. He could always modify her memory, however, but he would hate to do that. He ate about half of his meal, and put his fork down. He looked at Andrea and thanked her.
“The spaghetti was great and you are a wonderful cook! It filled me right up. Thank you so much!” Harry lied. He had not had a real meal in days, but he had lost his appetite.
“You are very welcome, James. You can come over here any time you like“we’d love to have you.”
Andrea was pleased. Harry smiled at her and Sarah, picking up on the hint, decided that she had had enough, also.
“Mom, that was great! I’m full too. I think I’ll take James out for some coffee at that little shop down the street. They have good coffee there and then I’ll take him back to the inn, okay?” Sarah asked.
“That’s fine with me as long as it’s okay with James,” Bob replied.
“That’ll be fine, I’m a little tired anyway. I’ll go get my coat.”
Harry walked out of the room, and reappeared with his jacket in hand.
“Okay, well, we better get going, the coffee shop closes at nine. C’mon,” Sarah said.
“You’re right. Thanks for having me; I had a fantastic time. Nice meeting you, Andrea,” Harry stated as Sarah pulled him out the door.
“Not at all, James. You are welcome here any time. Have fun you two and don’t stay out too late,” Bob responded. Harry waved and then closed the door behind him.
Harry followed Sarah to her car and got inside. They drove in silence for a while and then he saw a lake. Sarah stopped the car and got out and Harry did the same. She started to walk for a while around the lake. Harry followed her wondering where they were going. A couple of big rocks came into view and Sarah headed toward them. Finally, she stopped. She turned around, as if to make sure that Harry was still there, and then sat down on one of the rocks. Harry sat on the other one. Sarah looked up at him and spoke for the first time since they left.
“This is my favorite spot to come to. It’s quiet and nobody ever comes here. I don’t think anyone appreciates its beauty. I assure you that it is very safe. You can trust me.”
She looked up at the sky and Harry did, too. There were more stars than he had ever seen. He looked out at the lake. It reminded him of the lake at Hogwarts. The only difference was that he was sure that this lake did not have many magical creatures living in it. He took a deep breath. Finally, he decided that it was time to tell her the truth.
“Okay, well, first of all, my name is not James Evans. My name is Harry Potter and I’m a bit, well, different than many people. I don’t normally look like this, either. I changed my appearance to blend in more”” Sarah interrupted Harry.
“Alright, so what do you look like and why did you change your name?”
“I’m getting there. I usually wear these,” he took out his glasses, then popped out his contact lenses and put his glasses on, “but my eyes made me stand out more, so I got brown tinted contact lenses. I grew my hair longer in order to hide this.”
He pulled up his hair to reveal his scar.
“I see. That’s an odd looking scar. Okay, continue,” Sarah looked at him with a questionable look in her eyes.
“This is going to be hard to explain, so please, no interruptions until after I finish telling you, and keep an open mind. I am a wizard. I went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and started going there when I was eleven years old. For seventeen long years, I lived with my aunt and uncle who treated me horribly. My parents died when I was a baby because they were murdered. They were murdered by the most feared and evil dark wizard of all time, Lord Voldemort. He tried to kill me after he murdered my parents, but failed. My mother had died to save me, and she left a protection on me that Voldemort hadn’t seen. He gave me this scar, and it connected us. He was believed to have died that night, but everyone was wrong. They were very wrong.
“Eleven years later, Voldemort started to come back. He was reduced down to something a little more than nothing, however. In my third year at Hogwarts, I met my godfather, Sirius Black. He was my father’s best friend. He was a convicted prisoner sent to the wizard’s prison, Azkaban, for murdering a crowd of people, but he was innocent. Another one of my father’s friends, Peter Pettigrew, framed him for the murders and also faked his own death. Pettigrew was a traitor. He had told Voldemort where my parents were hiding and he is the reason that they are dead. Sirius escaped from Azkaban, found me, and he and Remus Lupin, another one of my father’s friends, told me the truth. I helped Sirius elude a most unpleasant ordeal and was successful. Unfortunately, Pettigrew had escaped, too, and we had no way to prove Sirius innocent, so he was on the run.
“During this time, Voldemort was planning his return. In my fourth year at Hogwarts, I witnessed him come back. I got away again, but when I told everyone about Voldemort, no one believed me. The only people who believed me were my friends and my headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore started up an organization called The Order of the Phoenix, again. The Order had been around during the first war, and was set up to stop Voldemort and his followers, called Death Eaters. Voldemort had regained his powers again and was after me.”
Harry went on to explain everything about the Horcruxes and his love for Ginny Weasely. He told about how he didn’t go back to Hogwarts in his seventh year in order to track down the Horcruxes. He also explained how Dumbledore died. Finally, he got the end of his story and had a hard time finishing.
“After Dumbledore died, I told Ginny that I couldn’t see her anymore. If Voldemort found out, he would use her to get to me. I couldn’t let her die. After I had come back from destroying the Horcruxes, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I couldn’t stand to be away from Ginny any longer and she felt the same way, so we got back together. Two weeks later, she was kidnapped. Voldemort had finally caught on that I was stronger when she was with me. I went after her and discovered that Voldemort had tortured her. I found her lying on the ground in chains. It was horrible. I called to her, but she didn’t answer. I was more scared than any other time in my life.
“Just then, Voldemort appeared and started laughing at me. I stood up and faced him and for the first time, I didn’t run. I never even thought about getting away. He had taken so much from me and now he was mortal. I fought him and killed him for good. He wouldn’t leave without bringing more pain into my life, though. When the Order showed up, we brought Ginny to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I was in bad shape, but refused to see any healers until I found out if Ginny was all right. She died that night. When she died, a part of me died with her. I had lost everything. Now, an empty space has been growing inside of me. I died with Ginny that night and that’s why I left. I have lost hope of everything.” Harry had finished. He was starting to cry. He looked at Sarah and she had tears in her eyes, also. She broke the silence.
“I believe you. Harry, I want to help you regain hope. I now believe that this is why we met. I would like to help you live again. You have had a very hard life, and right now, I think that it is best that you have someone who understands you and will be there for you. I want to be that person. You can trust me.” Sarah whispered. His story had a great effect on her. She would look at life in a different way and do everything in her power to help him. She only hoped that she could help him more than he could help her.
“I know, but I don’t think this will ever leave me alone. I left everyone who I loved behind. They have no idea where I am and I feel like I’ve only hurt them more. There is no way things are going to get better. The Death Eaters are still out there, and there is no doubt that they’re looking for me. If I had stayed, my friends still would have been in danger. I couldn’t let that happen anymore,” Harry frowned. He was being honest and danger was definitely still out there.
“Sometimes, running away from who you are will just make things worse. You can’t expect to stay away forever. If your friends care enough about you, they will come looking for you. Someone will find you and your past will catch up with you. You can’t run forever. I hope that I can understand everything and help you have a break from your life. You really deserve it, Harry, it sounds to me like you’re a hero, but right now, you are blaming yourself for everything. You are in pain and trying to ignore it. That’s what is happening, Harry, you are hurting. You just need someone to bandage your wounds. I am going to help you, but I think we should go now, it is getting late. I’m going to give you my cell phone number so you can reach me at any time.”
She pulled out a pen and a piece of paper and wrote down something, then handed it to him. She continued, “I’m going back to college on Sunday night, but I’ll be home every weekend. If you need me, just call me. Okay, let’s get you back to the inn.”
She started to walk, but Harry held her back.
“Wait a minute; I need to tell you something. I think that I’m now starting to believe that there is a reason that we met. Thank you.”
That was all he said and he walked away leaving Sarah standing there, staring after him. She smiled and then ran to catch up with him. Harry was unlike anyone she had ever known.