The Boy I Love -HEDRIC (2)

74.(HC) the option one

HARRY

XLVII

Finally on Friday afternoon he perceived a slight movement.

"I wouldn't read that book if I were you."

He pushed it aside, staying seated so as not to scare her away. "Why?" Harry spoke calmly. "Hello." 

"It doesn't end well. I've read it,” replied the woman at the other end. "A million years ago."

"But it's interesting."

At that distance he could catch the small grin in the painting. 

Fidgeting in his place, Harry hesitated to move closer. His line of vision wasn't that terrible, despite the fact that with his glasses he couldn't see her perfectly.

"Thanks for the advice. Is there any that you recommend?"

“You must be aware that this is not a book club."

Harry covered his lapse of frustration by sinking onto a cushion.

And he sighed, letting his annoyance pass and restraining himself from being sarcastic.

"Where is Harry?" she asked then, sounding kinder. "What happened to him? I haven't been able to find out much with the other paintings. Nobody tells them anything because they are so gossipy, although that doesn't always stop them from knowing everything."

Suddenly Harry felt sorry for her, because it became clear that:

1.She had a clear preference for that Harry and she cared about him.

2.It had been his fault, something Harry didn't have the courage to confess to her.  

"An accident. Cedric took him to the hospital wing to be treated."

"Will he recover?"

"Yes, they discharged him today. A few more check ups and you'll see him again."

"I heard something about it…"

He hated that he had been responsible for all of this.

Putting him at risk… In this exposure situation…

"My name is Heidi," she introduced herself. "Heidi Helena. Nice to meet you."

"Nice name."

"It rhymes more than Harry Potter…" She laughed delicately. "I'm not used to being that grumpy, but I don't usually talk to living people either. They are full of surprises."

He remembered when he attended Nearly Headless Nick's party and how much the world of ghosts was not at all what he had expected. 

It was less boring, in a creepy way.  

XLVIII

Heidi mentioned a couple of recommendations.

Harry realized that she was an old lady, not because she had been over thirty when she died, but because she had lived in her portrait for so long. 

Before Dumbledore, even. 

His school textbooks had been written before his parents were born, some dating back to the 1800s, but the books she'd ordered him to take off the shelfs had numbers he didn't even understand.

XLIX

Harry promised to read at least her favorite.

He had time, so why not?

She kept him company in a silence that began awkwardly and became strangely comforting. She would ask him if there was any phrase that he particularly enjoyed and ask him to read it to her. They talked about the characters, the plot and Harry implored her to tell him what was next.