Chapter 30
--Y/Ns POV---
I make my way to the great hall; I feel a lot better than I did yesterday. When I reach my destination, I notice that Hermione, Ron, and Harry are missing from the Gryffindor table. I only find it odd because Ron is not there, he is always hungry, and never misses a meal. I assume that he is just sleeping, Hermione may just be studying, and Harry may be practicing Quidditch.
As the day passes, I do not see any member of the trio in any of my classes, during breaks, or in between classes. They are nowhere to be seen. It seems I am the only person who has noticed the absence of the three Gryffindors. It is only when I am in the final class of the day that I am made aware of what is going on.
Professor Dumbledore rarely makes an appearance in a classroom, and when he does it is never for a pleasant reason. So, it only makes sense that when I am pulled from my final class of the day by the headmaster, I panic. Every possibility of what could have occurred rushes through my head.
“Y/N, have you spoken to either Ronald, Hermione, or Harry in a couple of days?”
“Only surrounding class work sir, and only with Hermione. May I ask what is wrong?” The old man motions for me to follow him, as he begins to explain what is going on.
“The three of them decided to take matters into their hand, I assume you are aware the mirror of Erised is on school grounds?”
“I am sir, I came across it a few weeks back.”
“Well, they also discovered what was hidden and on the third floor that was supposed to be out of bounds to all students. They risked their lives because they believed someone was trying to steal the item that was being protected. Thankfully all three are okay Ronald was injured, and Hermione is safe. However, your brother is ok, but not conscious. He faced great harm that even I believed was not existent anymore; Voldemort.” This was a lot of information to process.
My brother was harmed. Not just harmed but by the same monster who killed our parents. The monster who most fear to even say the name of. The same monster who was supposed to be dead. The thoughts rushing through my head cause me to stop moving, to freeze. Once the headmaster senses that I have stopped, he does the same. I can see he understands that this is a lot for me to comprehend.
“Why do you not fear his name like everyone else?” it is the only question I can manage to find the words to ask. I see a faint smile appear on the man’s face.
“I used to teach him before he was Voldemort. I saw a bright future for him. I always knew he was going to be powerful. I remember him as a boy, not yet blinded by evil.” I have no idea what the monster looks like, but knowing he used to be a student, roaming the same halls I do feels wrong. Dumbledore said he remembers him as a boy. In my mind, I see the term boy as equal to youth, the word youth then implies that a person is innocent. He is far from that. “Would you like to see Harry? He is in the hospital wing. From what I am aware you too are not on the best terms, but I also know you care deeply for him.”
“Of course, I do sir, he is my twin brother after all.” with that he leads me to a set of doors I was in just a couple of days ago, only this time it was not me who was harmed. But the person who means most to me. When the doors open, I notice Ron on the other side of the room as Harry, but Ron is awake and talking to Hermione. When Hermione spots me, she rushes over and pulls me into an embrace.
She whispers ‘thank you’ into my ear repeatedly, until they no longer sound like real words. Dumbledore excuses himself, knowing we will need a few moments to calm down. Ron looks at me and Hermione confused as to why she is hugging me, I too am confused.
“As much as I don’t mind, why are you thanking me? I didn’t help.” The only reaction I got from the bushy-haired girl was a look asking, ‘are you serious?’ I saw no reason for her behaviour towards me, mainly because I was not fully aware of what had occurred when the three took ‘matters into their own hands’. I was almost too scared to ask what they had put their lives in danger over.
“You gave me the information on Nicholas Flamel and the philosophers stone, you gave us the knowledge we did not already have! You helped us by telling us what we were looking for, even if you did not fully know yourself.” I think for a moment, what Hermione had said was not a lie, I had provided the words, but I did not help by risking my life. I did not help by saving others. I feel like it wasn’t real, I barely contributed. I push the feelings asides and chose to focus on getting Harry back to consciousness.
---time skip [a/n: I forgot how long harry was out for, so I just assumed 3 days made sense] ---
After days of attending classes, and then going directly to the hospital wing to wait for Harry to wake, I am exhausted. Not to mention today is the final night at Hogwarts for the school year, so I have also had to pack all my items and sneak into the Gryffindor tower to do the same for Harry. I have already given my address to Draco, so we can write, however, I also had to tell him that I may not be able to receive many letters nor write back due to my controlling Aunt, Uncle, and cousin.
I made my way to the all too familiar sterile infirmary, however, when I arrived, Harry was sitting up talking to the headmaster. Presumably filling him in on all the key details he has missed. When Professor Dumbledore spots me he says goodbye to Harry and nods to me as he exits the room, leaving my twin and me in comfortable silence.
“I am sorry.” The words are quiet when they come out of Harry’s mouth, but I hear them.
“It’s ok, I understand why you may have thought all the things you did, Slytherin does not have the best reputation in the school.” I slowly approach him, for the past three days I have sat beside him, but today is different. Harry is awake and is aware that I am here.
“Not just for that, but for ignoring you. I pushed you away when we said we would always be a support for one another. I betrayed you.” I now understood what he meant. Instead of telling him, it was okay, I just hugged him tighter than I ever have. I missed him. I wait patiently for Harry to be ready to leave, for him to have the all-clear to go to dinner. When we leave, we walk as fast as we can to the Great Hall, so we do not miss too much. I walk to the Slytherin table as Ron and Hermione run to my brother. Draco and Carter spot me, and smile; glad I can be there.
We sit through the entire dinner, speeches, and plot twist with who one the house cup, I knew it was biased. There was no way Professor Dumbledore did not know I helped with finding information. But I don’t mind right now, I am glad things are starting to go back to normal. I am sad it all ends tomorrow, I don’t want to go back to sharing a cupboard with my twin, pretending I am normal, and worst of all being treated like I am a lesser being compared to everyone else. I don’t want to not be able to communicate with Draco and Carter, who even though I live near I won’t be able to see due to my aunt and uncle hating magic.
I feel a sinking feeling in my stomach knowing I will have to go all break without seeing them, I know that I will miss them, but I chose to put telling them about these feelings on hold and enjoy the last night. I don’t need to bother them, once summer is over, Harry and I will return to school, and everything can be good again. I hope next year won’t be as emotional and Harry and I can be better at talking to each other.
---time skip to morning---
I knew that today would be hard, many people are miserable. Hogwarts has become like a home with a safe family to many, me included. I never knew that I could feel this safe, that I felt as if I could have a future away from my biological family in Privet Drive.
I had rushed to get ready for the day, as I headed to meet Carter in the Great Hall for breakfast. I knew that after breakfast, Draco and I were planning on meeting in the library. This would allow us to have a private moment, where I can give him muggle book recommendations and he can sigh, pretending he isn’t interested in my suggestions. When I arrived, we talked for a while, Carter soon joined us as we sat silently in the corner of the library. We discussed plans, hopes, and everything we could before leaving. The time flew, and soon it was time for us to all leave to go on the Hogwarts express.
We all moved sluggishly towards the station as we had all agreed we would sit with other friends on the journey back. This would be our final good by before returning to school in the late season of summer. As we arrived, I hugged Carter as she bordered first, then subtly did the same to Draco as there were others around. He entered before me, I paused, I’m not ready. Not ready to leave school. My new paradise. My safe haven. My new home. But I knew it was for the best. I took the steps onto the train and exited the grounds of Hogwarts. I knew I would be back soon, but it wouldn’t be soon enough.