Harry blinks at the puncture-wound as it bleeds, he had never seen that much blood before. It flowed like a river down on the stone, red and glistening. He looked at the destroyed diary that had suffered the same kind of wound as him.
To think that a snakebite could hurt so much.
He laid on the ground, his erratic breathing curiously evening out.
Harry felt calmer than he’d ever felt before, the pain was still throbbing, but it seemed like his mind grew duller with each throb.
Green eyes fluttered shut, not seeing the bird who had landed on the floor beside him.
The tears gifted by the weeping phoenix rolled of his much too pale skin.
The boy who once lived had no need of tears now.
Harry stayed quiet as the first years left the bathroom, they had spoken of how Cedric Diggory would bring glory to their house. He did not understand what that glory was, yet it seemed important.
“You can hide forever, but what is the fun with that?” Myrtle complained with a whine.
Harry frowned, before retreating to his home.
At least he thought it was his home.
The chamber was the place that he felt the most welcome, it’s where he appeared a month ago and he felt comfortable in the darkness. It was spacious and peaceful despite the great snake decomposing on the stone floor, the flesh had since long fallen off and Harry had seen many rats eating their fair share. He thought it a bit sad that it hadn’t become a ghost too because it would have been nice with some company down here.
Harry had a hard time figuring out what happened in the chamber when he first appeared, his memories of his last moments were a bit fuzzy.
But he knows that the basilisk had killed him just had he had killed it.
The only one he’d spoken to since his appearance was Myrtle, she had been ecstatic and begged for him to stay in the lavatory with her. He had denied her request. Harry had no interest in living among toilets.
A part of him wished to go to the Gryffindor tower where his friends were.
He wondered if they missed him.
Harry didn’t miss them.
Not really.
His feelings were a bit jumbled, unclear and foggy. Maybe he couldn’t truly feel anymore?
Harry wondered if that was such a bad thing.
Harry blinked at the familiar girl sitting on the floor.
Crying.
She looked old.
“I wish you were here Harry” She whimpered between sobs.
He frowned at her words, his name was Harry.
The once boy slowly got closer to the finely dressed girl who had looked very beautiful only hours ago.
A beauty that had been tarnished by anguish.
Harry reached his hand forward and grimaced as his hand went through the shoulder.
He had not counted on her shrieking at the contact.
“By Morgana” Hermione gasped out as she felt something shivering cold touch her skin. Big brown eyes searched for the offender and stilled at the luminescent being in front of her.
Harry opened his mouth to offer an apology but stopped himself, unsure if him speaking would frighten her further.
“H-Harry?”
The whisper of his name was barely audible.
“You’re here, you’re alive” Hermione breathed out, new tears filling her eyes.
Harry shrunk back and shook his head.
“I’m not” He whispered.
Hermione covered her mouth in comprehension.
“You’re a ghost”
Harry nodded hesitantly.
The girl hugged her knees and looked at Harry with sadness and confusion before breaking down again, weeping even more than before. This had not been Harry’s intention.
“I’m sorry” Harry murmured, ready to depart and leave the distressed girl alone.
“Don’t leave, p-please”
Hermione had come to see him every day since that night. She was much taller than him now and she had apparently been attending a ball, which explain her state of dress.
The matter of Ron explained her state of distress.
She came to the lavatory when she was able and seemed to enjoy his presence immensely despite looking sad every time.
“I haven’t told anyone about you yet”
Harry looked down.
“They will want to know Harry”
He shrugged.
“Is that a, yes?”
Harry gave her a small smile and a nod.
Hermione had told Dumbledore first, the headmaster had turned up the day after she had asked for permission. Harry had not shown himself though.
This was the fourth day that the headmaster of Hogwarts waltzed into the girl’s lavatory.
The old wizard said nothing.
He only conjured a chair and locked the door.
Harry’s curiosity grew as the old man started knitting.
“What are you knitting?” Harry asked lowly, hiding in the sink.
Albus Dumbledore stiffened at the familiar voice.
“Socks”
Harry smiled then.
Time went by like that.
Hermione would visit and speak about the students from the other schools and complain about Ron while Dumbledore would knit. The old man was not very good at knitting.
The old wizard was currently humming to a tune Harry could not recognize.
“How many socks are you going to knit?”
Dumbledore chuckled.
“As I told you before my boy, one can never have too many socks”
Harry left the sink and floated up the headmaster, showing himself for the first time.
Blue eyes twinkled momentarily but they quickly dimmed as they took in his appearance.
“I have many regrets, but my greatest is letting you down”
Harry shrugged while studying the almost done sock. It was orange.
“How long have you been here my boy?”
Harry squinted his eyes.
“I don’t know”
The old wizard nodded his head and gave Harry a rueful smile.
“Do you know why you are here?”
The once boy stilled at the question, not completely comprehending its meaning.
“Where else would I be?”
Hermione told him how someone named Viktor had saved her from the Black Lake, that he had been the first to do so. She had blushed when Harry had asked why she needed saving at all.
He did not understand why she would flush every time Viktor was mentioned.
“I’m thinking of telling Ron”
Harry frowned. “I thought you already did”
Hermione looked away, she looked guilty.
“W-we haven’t exactly been speaking much since second year and we fight every time we do”
Harry tilted his head. “Why?”
Brown eyes was suddenly filled with tears. They tended to do that quite often.
“We had nothing to gravitate us without you”
Ron was tall. Even taller than Hermione.
“It’s really you mate?”
Harry gave him a smile, he spoke the same way even though his voice had changed.
“H-how?”
Harry shrugged for he did not know.
It was nice to speak with his friends again even though they never visited at the same time. Ron had visited the lavatory the first couple of days but had then begged Harry to meet him somewhere else when a sixth-year prefect had caught Ron exiting one evening. She had screamed like a harpy at him according to Ron.
They decided to meet in an abandoned classroom where Ron would regularly talk about how quidditch was cancelled this year and that Gryffindor had lost the cup last year without Harry. The ginger would lament over how their current seeker was bloody useless.
Harry could admit that he missed flying, at least he think he did.
“Harry, I want you to meet two people” Albus Dumbledore said with a small smile, finally finishing the neon green sock.
“Who?”
“Friends of your father”
“Harry” The dark-haired man breathed out, he was looking at Harry with more sadness than the once boy would have though possible.
“You were friends of my father?”
The man who had said his name fell down to his knees, tears were flowing freely down his face. The other man behind him was holding onto the man on his knees who seemed to be on the brink on completely breaking down.
Harry wondered why he was so sad.
“We were” the still standing man whispered.
Harry smiled.
Everyone was sad one day.
A boy had died, a Hufflepuff who had been supposed to bring glory to his house.
Dumbledore said that Voldemort had returned.
People were scared.
Hermione had told him that she was going to leave Hogwarts for another school, she had sent a letter to her parents who had been horrified about what she had told them. She had mentioned everything since first year. They wanted her to come home.
Harry thinks that he was sad about seeing his friend go but he understood that she didn’t want to die even though it wasn’t that bad.
Ron had brought Ginny who had bawled for an hour after seeing Harry. She had not been able to say a word to him.
Sirius and Remus had come back after all the students had left for the summer, they told him that they would stay here for a while. That Dumbledore had given them permission to keep Harry company during the summer.
It was nice he supposed.
Remus didn’t speak too much, he more often than not looked sad while Sirius spoke about their many adventures with Harry’s dad.
Sirius would speak and then cry and then speak again.
His mood shifted all the time and Harry could not understand why.
So, he had asked one day.
Sirius had paled and then excused himself while Remus had looked defeated.
“Sirius made mistakes, your parents made him your godfather. He was supposed to protect and care for you. He failed and you died. It doesn’t help that his mind is broken from his years in Azkaban”
Yes, Harry remembered them telling him of how Sirius had been imprisoned despite being innocent and that he had escaped just weeks after hearing of Harry’s death.
Sirius had refused to believe that Harry no longer lived.
“So, he’s angry with me?”
Remus looked at Harry in confusion.
“For dying” Harry clarified.
The man paled and shook his head.
“Absolutely not, he’s angry at himself for not being here and protecting you”
Harry laughed at the foolish words.
“How could he have protected from a basilisk? Not even Fawkes could do that”
Remus stayed quiet and looked remorseful at Harry’s words.
“You don’t understand Moony”
“Of course, I do”
The dark-haired man pushed his friend, grey eyes burning with rage.
“It’s all my fault”
The normally calm man suddenly looked feral.
“Your fault? For merlin’s sake Sirius, you were in Azkaban. If anyone is at fault, then it’s me. He offered me the defence-position that year, but I refused because of my own insecurities. I thought Harry safe, having me around hadn’t seemed worth it”
Sirius was shaking his head.
“You couldn’t have known”
“No but yet I blame myself everyday for being a coward, we all failed him padfoot. Every grown-up in his life failed that boy”
Sirius was crying again.
“Not James and Lily”
Harry remained hidden as the two men comforted each other.
“My boy, I am sorry this happened to you”
The headmaster was visiting him again one evening, the old man looked pensive as he stared at Harry who were studying the newest broom. Sirius would buy him a broom every time a new one was released, no matter brand - he had four brooms now. They were spelled onto the wall outside the lavatory and so no one could remove them.
“Death is the next great adventure”
Harry looked at the no longer twinkling eyes.
“I wish you too could have greeted it properly”
“I am dead” Harry said, eyes blinking owlishly.
Dumbledore winced.
“You are dead, but you will never know death, you will forever remain a child at Hogwarts”
Harry did not see the problem with that.
He was home after all.