| Firecrab
Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: melbourne
Posts: 887
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Chapter Six
“She’s been lying there the whole day Ron, we have to do something”
“What can we do? We can’t bring him back; we can’t get him to change his mind if she can’t”
“She’s not eating, she’s not sleeping, she’s not talking, and it’s not healthy for her to be like this”
“Don’t you think I don’t know that – bloody great Christmas this has been watching her slowly start killing herself over him”
“She’ll come round won’t she – I don’t think your mum could take it if – or Harry knowing that by trying to save her…” she stopped talking and went back into the room to sit on the floor and watch Ginny blink away the hours.
“Ginny you have to listen to me sweetheart” She began “He’s going to be fine and he’s going to come back to you. Don’t give up like this or your going to hurt yourself, he wouldn’t want that, he’s trying not to hurt you by leaving he doesn’t want you to punish yourself for something that won’t happen”
Hermione reached up to stroke her cheek but she rolled over to face the other way. Hermione sighed at her futile attempt to get through to her but stayed sitting on the floor watching her. If she was crying, or screaming or throwing things it would be something she could understand she could sooth her rage, but she was calm not angry. She was lying there, like she’d just given up on living like she knew he was going to die and she was intent on joining him when he did.
***
Harry sat watching the flames, he could hear them downstairs, it was Christmas day and they wouldn’t go home to there families but were searching for him. He was right there, he was waiting to be discovered but he knew it wouldn’t happen until he was already gone. He wanted the flames to turn green, for her to walk out and ask what he was doing here when he was supposed to be at the burrow with them to celebrate Christmas not hiding in a hotel room wallowing in sorrow he couldn’t fix. He rubbed his forehead and stood up. He checked his backpack one last time, the sword, the locket, the diary had been returned to Lucius Malfoy who’d probably thrown it out with the rubbish when he saw the hole and not bothered to tell Voldemort about its destruction.
The one question that bothered him so much about the Horcrux was the identity of the seventh, they hadn’t been able to find any evidence that it even existed only that he knew seven was the most powerful number in magic so it would have been his motive to make a seventh after talking to Slughorn about it. He’d tried to figure the puzzle out when he realised what he was missing. Dumbledore had told him years ago and he’d forgotten it,
‘He transferred some of his own powers onto you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I’m sure…’
‘Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?’
‘It certainly seems so.’
They were linked. Horcruxes were made when murders of importance to the psychopath took place; his own murder was that of importance. He was the Horcrux, he was the only link that kept Voldemort alive so when he died the piece of soul that was slowly turning his blood sour would die with him, and he’d save the world to lose his own life and to lose Ginny. He would have to give himself up when the time came, he’d get the other Horcruxes, he’d kill Nagini and then he’d hand himself over to die. It had to be by Voldemort’s hand he faced death one last time and it would be.
His thoughts were interrupted when Tom came in with a tray of food and a newspaper “Happy Christmas Mr Potter”
“Happy Christmas to you too Tom”
Harry looked over the paper, his face was still on it along with Ginny’s and Tom told him it had been that way for the past week.
“Has there been anything about Percy?”
“His body’s gone missing from the morgue; I thought you would have known?”
“No – Are there any leads on who took it or whether he walked out himself?”
“His parents were the last visitors”
“They wouldn’t take him” Harry shook his head “I know the Weasley’s they’re not going to do something like that which means that it wasn’t him”
“You think what then?”
“That who ever was killed in front of those witnesses was not Percy Weasley, just someone that looked like him and it was more then likely one of them that killed him – Percy would never ask her where me and my friends were, he’d know she would never tell him so there’d be no point in trying”
“You’re a smart young man”
“Auror in training for now” he tried not to think about his impending death negatively but couldn’t help it, “How can someone prepare for death Tom?”
“Why are you asking me questions like that?”
Harry smiled “I want to hear what you think, should I be scared of it?”
“Everybody is, but I reckon if you know it’s coming enjoy what’s left of life, you’ve got nothing to lose”
“He’s scared of death, he’s tried to avoid it for years and Merlins beard he’s gotten good at it, so good he managed to kill one of two people who could stop him” Harry stared into the flames “He killed Dumbledore and now he’s finally going to get me”
“What do you mean Mr Potter?”
“You can call me Harry Tom” he kept his eyes on the flames, her red hair, the way her eyes blazed as she ran to hug him and he kissed her for the first time instead.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m going to die Tom” he stared deeper, “I’m going to kill him, but I have to die too”
“You always have choice Harry”
“Not me Tom, I never have a choice, I have a destiny and it sucks” he smirked prodding a log with the poker, “I’m the chosen one” He looked up from the fire as if sudden inspiration had struck,
“You know his name is Tom too” the man looked at him worriedly “Tom Marvolo Riddle that’s where he got his name from, I am Lord -” he knew not to say his name or be tracked down, “It’s made up from the letters of his name, he told me in my second year down in the chamber of secrets when we was trying to drain the life out of Miss Weasley” he would have to say her name aloud at some point, he’d have to build up to it so it didn’t hurt so much.
Tom kept quiet not sure how to reply,
“In first year of course he told me that I was weak because I was able to love instead of strive for power, third year, well third year wasn’t so bad I gained a family member, fourth year he rose from a floating soul sucking the life out of unicorns, to using my blood to gain a body and killed my friend in front of me” he took a breath, remembering it all.
“Fifth year his most loyal follower took away one of the last links to my parents, Sirius Black, that family member I told you about before and kept trying to posses me, sixth year - sixth year he finally killed off Dumbledore with the aid of Severus Snape his right hand mad man, then I discovered that I could love someone so much but I wouldn’t be able to be with her and now seventh year and I’m alone, I’m going to die and I’m telling Tom the barman of the leaky Cauldron about my short life”
He laughed agonizingly to himself, the smile on his face the only way he could come to terms with it, it was either laugh or cry right?
“I don’t know what to say Mr Potter”
“Harry, Tom, its Harry” he smiled “You don’t have to say anything and you don’t have to do anything; you can go if you want, I’ll be leaving tomorrow so I’ll settle the bill now if you like – I won’t be having breakfast”
“No bill” Tom waved his hand,
“The least I can do is pay you for putting yourself at risk like this”
“No bill Harry” he patted Harry’s shoulder tentatively,
“Thank you Tom, I’m sorry you had to listen”
“You had to tell someone” Tom walked to the door “I’ll tell people about you, you mark my words, they’ll know about the real Harry Potter”
“It’s not a big deal Tom, its just death” he grinned and went back to watching the flames as the door closed.
Not a big deal, it’s just death and then he can’t hurt me or anyone else anymore.
‘He can’t hurt Ginny and neither can you’ The little voice inside his head laughing at him
‘See, death solves all life’s problems’
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RIP JD Salinger |