The Difference in Reality [A Harry Potter Fanfiction]

Year 4: Chapter 7

All throughout November, Willow did her best to take her mind off her conflicted heart. She practiced soccer and quidditch nonstop. She threw herself into countless hours of studying. She played with her creatures, and she even devoted more hours to homework sessions (more like copy-and-paste essay sessions) with her out-of-house friend group. Even that didn't do the trick, so she hung out with Harry more in those ensuing weeks than she ever had in the whole time she'd known him. She'd forgotten what it was like to talk with him, the both of them care-free, forgetting that their fates were slowly attempting to destroy them. Willow refused to tease Harry about being the Chosen One and didn't bring up the Tournament even once; she just wanted the both of them to enjoy some golden hours together before everything went to rubbish.

Once, after a hangout session with Oliver and Cypress, Willow and Harry stole a newly crafted bottle of Bully's Bane from the Slytherin's potions workshop. They headed to the dungeons and snuck into the Slytherin common room while everyone else was at dinner. After planting the explosive, they ran for their lives and plugged their ears. Moments later, they heard a massive BOOM! that shook the corridors. Willow and Harry stopped near a possible escape route and laughed their butts off.

"Did we seriously just explode the Slytherin common room?" Harry wheezed.

"Not only did we do that, but we flooded it," Willow chortled.

"Do you have any idea what's in the Lake?"

"I don't want to know, but I guess the Slytherins will be able to confirm or deny the myths now that the merpeople are moving into their common room."

"Willow! You didn't enforce the door?"

Willow smirked mischievously. "Why would I do that when I could see the Slytherins suft down the dungeon corridors?"

Harry shook his head. "You're bloody mad."

"So I've been told." Willow adjusted her body to settle in for the tense wait. When she looked up again, she found Harry staring at her eyes. "What? Do I have a lightning scar on my forehead?"

"No, but I can tell you've been spending more hours busying yourself than sleeping. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I told you, I'm fine. I'm always fine."

"Rubbish. I can hear you wake up screaming through the nearly soundproof walls."

"Then you're not sleeping much either, hypocrite," Willow shot back playfully, though her eyes lost their glimmer.

"Willow. Don't do this with me. You don't give me an inch of breathing room when I brush you off, so I'm reciprocating the act. I did use that word correctly, right?"

"Reciprocating? You don't know how to use that word?" Willow snorted.

"Don't change the subject." Willow rolled her eyes, and Harry crossed his arms. "You blew me off last time you mentioned your brother. We've got at least twenty minutes until the Slytherins return. Is there really a better time to tell me what's giving you nightmares?"

Willow stiffened. "No, but I'd rather you not see me differently."

"I lost someone too, Willow. I hardly think I'd see you much differently."

She sighed. There was no escaping this now. She owed Harry this much, after blowing him off so many times. Willow took a deep breath and shakily let it out. She recounted her story to Harry in the quickest, most painless version she could possibly provide. The torture was over within 60 seconds, but it felt like 60 hours to Willow. How else could reliving the worst moment of her life feel? As soon as it was over, Willow averted her eyes, forcing calm breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth. Her heart raced. She waited in a tense silence for Harry to respond.