*Chapter 41*: Chapter 41
Walk the Shadows – Chapter 41
By jharad17
Disclaimer: Not mine. I imagine I'll get over it.
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Saturday, Aug. 31
I feel better today than yesterday, and yesterday was better than the day before. Yesterday, though, I got to go flying, sort of. Sort of, because I was only on the bloody broom for five minutes before all the blood rushed to my head or something, and I almost fell off. This time, Snape saved me from falling to my death.
He's kind of always doing that.
Remus, much to Snape's disgust, came to visit after dinner last night, now that the danger of the full moon is over. He was real apologetic about almost eating Severus, and about sending me to Dumbledore the other night, saying his wolf senses should have told him something was wrong with the Headmaster. But I told him -- nicely, too -- to just shut up already, that he was no more at fault about it than me or Snape is. And I even said it without getting all angry or upset or feeling stupid.
That's progress, right?
He asked again about the DA, if I wanted to get it going again, and I'm still not sure about that. It'd be good to have all the older kids, especially, all trained up to fight in the war . . . but it's so damned depressing, when I think of it that way. I'd still like to think we can just have school to learn stuff we'll need for our own betterment, not because there's a lunatic out there who will try and kill us before any of us have a chance to grow up or marry or have kids of our own. Not that I'll ever have a chance like that, anyway, but for all the others, I think they should have a chance to live, first.
So, Hermione and Ron are supposed to be coming here this afternoon, skipping the Hogwarts Express experience to be here a day early and talk to Snape about . . . things.
I asked him . . . or, rather, I agreed to his request to do that for me. I think . . . I think he's right, that I'm not really up for discussing this summer with anyone, not even them. I just hope Ron isn't a total prat with Snape, especially when he tells them about being made my guardian. I know Hermione won't be. I mean, she's got a real level head on her, but Ron… Well, let's just say that he inherited the famous Weasley temper in spades. Though I don't know any other members of the Weasley clan who actually have that temper, so maybe it's a sixth child thing . . .
Anyway, when I agreed to his suggestion, Snape asked if I wanted to be present for The Talk, and I said I didn't know. I mean, I don't want to hear all that stuff, even, and I don't want my friends looking at me like I'm some sort of fre… Oops, I said I wouldn't use that word about myself anymore. Good thing Snape doesn't read this . . . you don't, right?
But anyway, I don't want their pity or anything stupid like that. I couldn't take it. Not from them. But maybe if they get the story, they can leave it alone, or, or chew on it, or process it or whatever it is people do with information like that, during their own time, and then, when I see them again, they can act like normal around me.
I just hope I can act like normal around them.
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Harry felt almost back to normal on Saturday. Seemed his magical core wasn't going to devour him from the inside after all. He smirked. He'd have to ask Hermione if that junk was true, or if Snape had been making it up, just so Harry would eat more.
Though he felt loads better, he hadn't been outside Snape's rooms since the disaster at the Ministry, except for the few minutes of flying he and Snape had done yesterday, and Snape had been with him the whole time. He just wasn't . . . up for that. He was too worried about meeting people in the hallways, especially the Headmaster. Oh, sure, he knew in his head that Dumbledore hadn't been in control, when he had captured Harry and planned to put him in some special cell where he could use him and stuff, but that was his head. In his gut . . . well, in his gut, he was still unwilling to actually see Dumbledore again. Not for a while, anyway.
He still had no idea how he was going to go back to classes on Monday.
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