Destiny Reversed

Chapter 6 Shadows

"Okay."

Still, when he found himself standing in front of her door, his fist remained suspended over the barrier, in the process of knocking. Instinct took over, and he put his ear against the door, wishing he had a pair of Extendable Ears on him. As hard as he tried, Harry couldn't hear anything; but he didn't really know Violet –he had no way of knowing whether or not his was a good sign.

Either way, he still had to wake her up, so he gently turned the knob, prepared for whatever he may face in there.

The room was dead silent. The lump under the covers indicated that Violet was still sleeping, but it unnerved him that he couldn't hear her breathing. Harry shook his head; he'd roomed with four snoring boys for the past six years. It was more than likely that his sense of a normal breathing pattern became incredibly distorted because of Ron and Neville in particular.

Ron. He winced at the thought of his best mate. He'd never wanted them to accompany him, to willingly walk with him towards certain death; yet Harry felt their absence most profoundly –it didn't feel right not to have them here. It was hard to accept that the two people who would never abandon him weren't here, not to laugh at his mistakes or spur him to research. No matter how hard he'd tried to push them away, they stuck to him. Harry smiled.

Like fungus.

"Er –Violet? Wake up." Harry poked the lump.

No response.

"C'mon, breakfast's up." Frustrated, Harry unraveled the blanket's layers to reveal a mass of auburn hair.

"Wake up!"

He frowned; there hadn't been a single reaction. By now, Harry had half a mind to just let her sleep, but considering how she'd holed herself in her room for the past week, he knew it was time to reappear.

Harry hated not knowing. All he knew was that she was reacting violently to whatever traumatic experience she'd seen that day at the graveyard –but he didn't know what. But he of all people knew what it was like to dwell on the past, to regret and mourn until he'd become so self-involved that he forgot what he was missing.

He didn't know her, but he felt obligated to give her a reality check. After all, Ginny had told it to him straight during that really low time in his life, when he had believed that Voldemort was possessing him; he'll always love her for that ability to know exactly what a person needed. Ginny had known that he didn't want pity, sympathetic apologies, or something to soften the blow. No, she had known exactly what Harry had needed –something that he himself hadn't even been able to see.

It was an innate feeling, built into him despite the years at the Dursleys, despite the loneliness. She wasn't real; she wasn't really his sister, but he felt compelled to try nevertheless. Moving closer to the lump, Harry panicked briefly, fearing that she'd died. But as he inspected her closer, he realized with a sigh of relief that her skin was still warm, that she was indeed breathing, if just very quietly.

Surveying her room carefully, he tried to look for something that would help get her attention. Quidditch posters adorned the walls, from the Tornados to Hogwarts' own Gryffindor house team. Intrigued by that particular poster against his will, Harry found himself moving closer to the red and gold picture.

Harry saw himself zooming around the picture, scarlet robes billowing out behind him and eyes narrowed in concentration as he chased after the snitch. As Poster Harry flew to the front, he caught a glimpse of the "C" embroidered on his robes. Apparently, the fact that he was captain had not changed here. Poster Harry caught the snitch with a triumphant grin before letting it ago again, giving it a good few seconds head start, and tearing after it. He examined the rest of the poster to find some familiar faces. Katie Bell was attempting to score on Ron, who deftly saved the first shot, but missed the second one, scored by –