Chapter 8:
Relay For Life
A/N: Okay, I don't know if there is a Relay for Life in England, but for this story's purposes, there is. Also, I've plotted my story out, chapter by chapter, and it looks like there's gonna be 25 chapters. Please don't give up on this yet; this story needs to be told!
Disclaimer: I don't own Relay for Life or Harry Potter.
The month of July passed without great occurrences. Matthew had two more chemo treatments, the first making him violently ill again and the second only making him tired and weak. He didn't bounce back to full health as he did previously; those two treatments left him weak and tired all month. Hermione knew that he hated the treatment, but he was very brave and didn't complain once. Jeremiah had come to be with him during both treatments, despite his clean bill of health. Harry and Hermione loved him and began thinking him as the son they had that was only nine years younger than they were.
One Thursday morning, a few days after Matthew's third chemo treatment, Hermione found several strands of Matthew's thick black hair on his pillow when she went upstairs to find his shoes. She picked it up gently as the tears filled her eyes. She sat on his little racecar bed for the longest time, holding his hair in her hand and crying, until Harry came into the room.
"'Mione, what's wrong?" He strode quickly across the room and sat beside her on their son's bed.
"H-His hair's falling out!" She wailed and dropped the small black hairs into Harry's outstretched hand. He closed his palm gently and rocked her softly to calm her down.
"Shh, `Mione, `Mione… You knew it had to happen eventually."
"I know, but, OH!"
She leaned into his shoulder and continued crying. He sighed. "I know, it's horrible, but at least he has a Thursday meeting today."
Hermione sighed and leaned away from her husband. "You're right. We need to go." Harry wiped her tears away with a brush of his thumb before hugging her tightly. "I love you, `Mione, and we're going to get through this together, as a family."
Hermione smiled and nodded. She placed her hand in Harry's upturned one and walked with him downstairs where Matthew was sitting listlessly at the table, staring at a box of cereal. He had been acting sickly ever since his chemo, and Hermione knew that he probably wouldn't feel up to par very often in the days to come.
"Come on, Matthew. Let's go."
Matthew continued to stare at the cereal box. "Matthew?" No response.
Harry walked over to the table and took the cereal box away from the table. Matthew looked up at him curiously. "Daddy?"
Harry was confused. "Why didn't you answer your mother?"
"I didn't know she talked."
"Are you okay?"
Matthew sighed. "My head feels all funny and I can't concen-conen-"
"Concentrate." Hermione helped him. "We'll ask Dr. Powers to take a look at you, but we really need to get going."
Matthew hopped off his chair and stood beside his mother, reaching up to take her hand. Hermione took his little hand and stroked the top of it softly with her fingers. Harry looked at his family for a moment before opening the door and leading his family back to their yellow SUV and heading once again to the hospital.
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When the Potters went into the meeting room, Matthew was surprised to see the adults as well as the kids there. He went to join the kids in the corner while his parents went to the table. Harry pulled out Hermione's chair for her and they joined the other parents and adult family members at the table.
"Good, you're here!" Dr. Regina said with a smile.
Harry smiled. "Sorry we're late. We were having some, er, difficulties getting Matthew's attention this morning. Do you know what could be causing him to have no focus, concentration, or attention?"
Dr. Regina smiled sadly and nodded. "Yes. It's a very common thing that chemo patients get that's called `chemo head.' We really don't know what causes it, but the chemo sometimes makes things fuzzy for the patients."
"Oh."
"Now, we've all gathered here today to discuss this year's Relay for Life." She paused for a moment as Harry and Hermione looked at her blankly. "Relay for Life is an event that celebrates life and raises money for cancer research. It lasts all night and is a walking event. We at the hospital always form a `cancer kids' team. Now, will everyone tell me if they would like to join the team and who would be joining?"
Missy Lyn's grandmother spoke up first. "Missy Lyn and I will be on the team." Dr. Regina wrote their name down and looked to the next man at the table, obviously Keith's dad.
"Count me and Diane in; Keith, too."
"All three of us would love to do it," said Harry.
"And me and Jeremiah and David will do it." Dr. Regina wrote. "David's my youngest son."
The last person at the table looked at Dr. Regina wearily. "I guess Ill do it with Jerrod."
Dr. Regina patted the lady's hand. "Listen, Jo; if it's too hard for you, you don't have to go…"
"No," the lady said abruptly. "I'll do it. This may be the last time…" Her voice trailed off leaving an awkward silence that was punctuated by Matthew and Missy Lyn's childish laughter from the corner.
"All right, then!" Dr. Regina broke the silence. "Counting Dr. Powers, that's 14 of us! Great! I'll be giving you fundraising information soon, but first we need to discuss lumineras."
"Lumineras are the greatest part of the night, in my opinion. They are paper bags that have names of survivors and victims, messages of hopes and thoughtful quotes. When it gets dark, the paper bags are placed over candles, and all the lights around the field are shut off for about half an hour. Everyone takes a memorial walk around the track before people are allowed to go see the lumineras and remember those who they've lost. It's very moving. Now, does anyone wish to purchase a luminera?" She distributed the packets and the meeting went on. After an hour or so, everyone began to leave. Harry and Hermione had stayed to talk to Dr. Regina, leaving Matthew and Jeremiah as the only two kids left. When they went to get Matthew, they found his little head drooped on Jeremiah's shoulder, fast asleep. Jeremiah was sitting very quietly, looking up only when Harry and Hermione came over.
"He's really tired, poor little guy," he whispered. "Go on and take him, and tell him I said goodbye." Harry nodded and took his sleeping son from Jeremiah's side.
"Thanks, Jeremiah."
"No problem. He's a good kid."
With those words, Jeremiah's eyes grew distant as they so often did.
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On the evening of the Relay for Life event, the cancer kid team arrived at the park that it was being held at in the late afternoon. Dr. Regina, dressed in a relay shirt and shorts, led all 13 participants to the camping site, where they set up a tent and some coolers, placing 5 sleeping bags in the corner in case the patients got too worn out and needed to rest. The team sat around and talked for a while as a live band played some relaxing and fun music. Jeremiah was wearing a huge sombrero over his black hair and chuckled when Matthew took it off his head.
"This is a cool hat!" Matthew said. He put it on his head; it was so big that it fell over his nose.
Jeremiah smiled. "It looks great on you, Matt. But I don't think you should wear it while we're walking, because you won't be able to see where you're going."
Matthew pushed the hat brim up and frowned. "Oh. `K, you win."
Jeremiah laughed and plucked the hat with his right hand and plopped it back where it was supposed to be. "I need to get over to the starting line."
"Can I come?"
"Oh, man, I'm sorry. The first lap is for survivors only." Matthew cast his eyes downward. "Hey, listen! Whenever you are able to walk that first lap, I'll be right there with you the whole time, every step of the way. Deal?"
Matthew nodded. "Go on, they're calling you."
Jeremiah walked to the starting line and all the cancer kids team lined up to watch him. When the starting gun went off, Jeremiah took a leap in front of all the other survivors and led the walk around the track. Dr. Regina groaned as she saw the huge sombrero, but grinned in spite of herself. Harry lifted Matthew up onto his shoulders so he could see properly. Jeremiah caught his eye and gave a huge thumbs up. Matthew began to clap.
"GO JEREMIAH!!!" The rest of the team cheered along with him until Jeremiah had crossed the finish line again. They all gave a huge shout and went to join Jeremiah and the other survivors. Matthew found Jeremiah in the throng and ran to him.
"That was so cool, Matt! I can't wait until I get to do it with you!"
Matthew smiled. "Won't be long."
Jeremiah ruffled his hair and picked him up, placing him on his shoulders. "Let's do this lap in rehearsal of the victory lap we'll have together!" He began to take off on a run, leaving Matthew to grip tightly to his neck. He ran all the way around the track before jumping and twirling over the finish line. Excited from his run, he began to laugh until he was breathless. Not knowing why, Matthew laughed, too. As they laughed, Jerrod came over to them.
"Hey, you two. Dr. P has some hotdogs and hamburgers cooked whenever you're ready to eat."
"Thanks, J-Man. Are you planning on walking a lot tonight?"
Jerrod smiled, a thing that Matthew had never seen. "Yeah. I probably won't be able to stay awake all night, but I have to be awake for the luminera ceremony."
Jeremiah nodded as his eyes glazed over. "Yeah. This year's ceremony is going to be really special for me." The three boys stood silently together for a moment before the adults of their team called for them to come eat. Once under the tent, Jeremiah sat between Jerrod and Matthew, all eating and talking merrily. The activities around them produced a party-like atmosphere and the excitement was everywhere. Jerrod even cracked a smile once or twice and joked around with Matthew. After eating, they got in a few more laps before Jerrod had to go rest. Matthew and Jeremiah continued to walk until the night fell and the loudspeaker announced that the luminera ceremony was about to start. Jeremiah picked Matthew up and carried him back to the tent.
"Listen, Matt. There's something I've got to do. Catch up with me in a but, okay?"
"'K." As Jeremiah walked towards the course, the lights went out and a faint glow arose from the lumineras. Matthew gasped at how pretty it all was when he felt someone touch his head. He turned to find both of his parents standing with him.
"Come on, Matthew. Let's take this walk together." The Potters joined hands and joined the other participants in walking silently around the track as those around them reminisced about people they had known. When everyone had completed the walk, people started to walk among the lumineras, searching for a family member, friend, or loved one's name. Matthew looked questioningly at his mother and she nodded.
"Go on; you can find Jeremiah. Your father and I are going to be walking around." Matthew nodded obediently and went off through the rows of lumineras, searching for Jeremiah among the throng. As he walked, he saw Jerrod and his parents standing in front of a luminera. His parents were crying silently, but Jerrod, Jerrod didn't look like himself. The light that shone on his face softened his features. For a moment you didn't realize that he was bald, sick, or dying. He looked peaceful and almost happy. And for the first time, Matthew saw hope shining in his eyes. Matthew thought that he looked like an angel.
Jerrod turned and saw Matthew watching him, mouth agape. He touched his parents gently on the arms and walked over to Matthew.
"Promise me you will never forget me."
Matthew nodded, not knowing what to say. He gave a little smile before running on down the row in search of Jeremiah. He passed a half dozen rows or more, each thinning out as he ran. Finally, on the last row, he found Jeremiah. He was kneeling on the ground in front of a solitary luminera, watching it as if he was scared it would up and fly away. Matthew walked carefully to him, not wanting to be a disturbance. As he walked, he accidentally kicked a stone, making Jeremiah's head pivot.
"Oh, I-I'm sorry…" Matthew began, but before he knew it, Jeremiah had wrapped him in a hug. He gave a sniffle and let him go, staring once again at the luminera.
"He was my best friend." Jeremiah's voice had become funny and high-pitched.
"Um, what does it say?"
Jeremiah tried to smile, but his face became a twisted mess. "I'll Never Forget You, Hero, Example, Friend. I Miss You Bunches And Can't Wait To See You In Heaven." Tears filled his eyes and he choked for a moment before continuing. "In Loving Memory of Isaac James Elliot."
"Oh," said Matthew. "He was your…" Everything made sense now, and Matthew chose to not finish his sentence. Isaac was to Jeremiah what Jeremiah was to him, but Isaac had died. Matthew's heart felt heavy as he realized how hurt Jeremiah must feel. Jeremiah cleared his throat and put his hand into his pocket. He pulled out a toy hotrod.
"He always wanted to get a car like this when he got into remission. He would always tell me about how he'd drive me around everywhere. He went away a year ago, and he never got the chance." His voice cracked again as fresh tears flowed. "I just hope he knows that I tried my hardest to make his car dreams come true." He took the car and placed it beside the luminera, touching it softly before pulling away his hand. "Rest in peace, Isaac." He turned to walk away, leaving Matthew where he sat. Matthew sat, transfixed at the glowing bag in front of him. Isaac, the same one who had given Jeremiah all his hope, had died of the same disease that Matthew was fighting. As the thoughts ran through his head, a part of his childish innocence was stripped away, leaving him with the cruel knowledge that people with leukemia died.
He stared at the luminera for a long time before Hermione came up behind him. "Matthew, babe? Are you okay?"
Matthew nodded.
"Are you tired?"
Matthew nodded again and Hermione gave a motherly smile. "I'll take you back to the tent and you can go to sleep." He reached up to link his arms around her neck and pretended to fall asleep as she carried him away; he didn't feel like talking. Hermione took him underneath the tent and placed him carefully in a sleeping bag that was beside the already sleeping Missy Lyn and Keith. She pulled off his little shoes before zipping up the bag and kissing him softly on the forehead. She stroked his hair for a moment before leaving the tent and going into the fresh night air.
Instead of sleeping, Matthew rolled over onto his back and looked at the soft starlight through the canopy of the tent. He tried to sleep, but every time that he closed his eyes, he saw Jeremiah's tears and Jerrod's glowing face; two things that tormented his brain until fatigue finally took over.
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