Summer Writing Series Challenge (July 21)
Challenge: Musical Week: Theme- Angst
Challenge Conditions: Using the daily theme, choose a scene or song from any musical you like (stage
or screen) and rework it using our favorite characters.
Title: He Lives in You
Word Count: 1,000
Another summer had gone by and once again the Great Hall of Hogwarts Witchcarft and Wizardry was crowded with
students.
Sitting at the Gryffindor table, Hermione Granger's concerned gaze rested on a raven-haired boy of sixteen, who sat across the table pushing his food around his plate. Harry Potter was listening halfheartedly to Seamus Finnegan, who was talking animatedly about his new girlfriend, Lavender Brown, and responded with occasional nods to show he was listening. Though Harry might have been able to convince his fellow Gryffindors, and even Ron, that he was fine, Hermione saw straight through his fake smiles and false cheeriness.
"Hey, Harry. Aren't you going to eat anything?" his red-headed best friend Ron Weasley asked brightly from beside him.
"Nah, I'm not really hungry. I ate too much sweets on the train," Harry said. Hermione knew this was a lie. She had been watching Harry the entire trip here, except for the first ten minutes she spent in the prefect carriage, and knew for a fact that he did not eat or buy any food on the Hogwarts Express.
Ron simply shrugged. "Whatever. All I know is I'm starving."
Hermione rolled her eyes and retorted, "You're always starving. Harry, Come take a walk with me," she pushed back her chair and stood up, motioning for Harry to follow her.
Curiously, Harry excused himself from the table, cutting Seamus off mid-sentence and followed Hermione out of the Great Hall.
"Where are we going?" he asked as Hermione took his hand and walked briskly into the night. Hermione simply kept on leading him by the hand until they reached the lake.
Sitting down on a patch of grass by the lake, she patted a spot on her right, "Here, sit."
Harry sat down on the slightly wet grass, looking confusedly at Hermione.
"I know you're still upset over Sirius's death," Hermione started without preamble, and continued before Harry could open his mouth, "And I know you're still getting nightmares. Why aren't you taking those Dreamless Potions Madam Pomfrey gave you?"
"Sometimes, when I wake up from a nightmare, I want to take it. So I won't dream of that shocked expression on his face when he fell through the veil anymore. But, then I'm scared that if I stop the nightmares, I'll forget him. I'm scared that one day, I'll wake up and find that I can't picture his face or hear his voice anymore. I'm afraid that if I forget get him, he'll truly be gone. So, if I keep dreaming about him, even if it hurts, at least I know that I still remember. That's why I don't take the Dreamless Potion," Harry trailed off.
"Oh, Harry, you don't have to be haunted by his death to remember him. Our loved ones never truly fade away. You'll never be able to forget Sirius, because he lives in here," Hermione said softly, pressing her hand on Harry's chest, where his heart was.
Hermione withdrew her hand and laid down on the grass, pulling Harry down with her. "Look up there, Harry. See those stars? Let me tell you something my father told me when I was a little girl. He said that all the good people of the past are up there, looking down at us, ready to help at our time of need. Sirius is up there, so are your parents. And they'll always be there, to guide you through life.
"Look over there," Hermione pointed to a group of stars. "See those stars? It the constellation Canis Major. And there, the brightest star is called Sirius, the Dog Star. Do you see it? The brightest star in the sky. And maybe, when Sirius gets up there, his star will be even brighter than the one he was named after."
Harry smiled at the Great Dog constellation. Everything seemed so right. For a moment, he could forget the prophesy, forget his destiny, and forget his pain. For a moment, he could just lay here without a care in the world. And it felt so natural, to have Hermione at his side with her hand in his. He felt oddly comforted by just being there, beside her.
"Harry?"
"Yeah?"
Hermione turned to her side facing Harry, "Always remember this, our loved ones never truly fade away, they will continue living inside each of us even after they leave this Earth. And they'll be watching over everything we see. And whenever you feel alone, know that they will be there to guide you, as will I."
"Thanks," he whispered back, "Thanks for being here for me, now."
~ * ~ * ~
Far away in a muggle research center, Dr. Brian Parker, Ph. D., stood underneath a large telescope studying the constellation, Canis Major. Zooming in further upon the constellation, his gaze fell upon the brightest star he'd ever seen.
"Lionel, hey, Lionel," he called out urgently to his secretary. When a slightly chubby stepped out onto the balcony, he said, "I want you to look through the database for a star with an apparent magnitude of maybe -1.6, located just north of Sirius."
"Yes, sir."
He returned two minutes later, "There's no record of such a star, Dr. Parker."
But the man wasn't listening, he was staring intently at the star. "Padfoot," he whispered.
"What was that, Dr. Parker?" Lionel asked, confusedly looking up at where his boss was staring at.
"Huh? Oh, I said Padfoot. I don't know, that name just popped into my head. It's as if the star was telling me its name," he said, frowning.
"Well, sir. There is no star by that name."
Shaking his head, Dr. Parker looked back into the telescope. "I know that. Lionel, I think we've found ourselves a new star in the constellation of Canis Major. I want a picture taken every ten minutes following its positions for the next 48 hours. I want its apparent and absolute magnitude, its distance from Earth…"
A new star was born.
A/N: This was They Live in You, and it's reprise, He Lives in You from the Lion King. My only claim to angst is that Sirius is dead. ;)