Oliver Wood's POV
Harriet was unraveling, and most people didn't see it.
Not Hermione - too busy cross-referencing magical creature fur samples with hex defense guides.
Not Ron - too furious over the rat to realize anything else.
Not the professors - caught in lesson plans and Dementor patrol updates.
But I saw it.
I saw it in the way her hands trembled after every class.
In the way she stared too long at the fire when she thought no one was watching.
In how she clutched her bag tighter every time someone mentioned Sirius Black.
Even now, across the common room, I could see the weight she carried like it was stitched into her shoulders.
She was on the couch, legs folded beneath her, the compatibility form still half-filled in on the cushion beside her. She wasn't even pretending to finish it.
I crossed the room quietly and sat beside her.
She didn't flinch. Didn't speak.
Just leaned her head against my arm.
I waited.
Finally, she whispered, "I don't know if I can hold it all."
I looked down at her - at the shadows under her eyes, the way her fingers twisted the edge of her sleeve.
"You don't have to."
She shook her head. "Yes, I do. The Patronus. The contract. Black. The dreams. Ron. Hermione. I feel like if I stop holding any of it, everything will fall apart."
I reached over, brushing a knuckle gently against her cheek. "Then let me hold part of it for you."
She turned her face slightly, just enough to look at me. "Even if I break under it?"
"I'll catch what breaks," I said softly. "And we'll build something stronger."
Her throat worked around a silent breath. Then she nodded.
We didn't speak after that.
I stayed with her on the couch, one arm looped around her waist beneath the blanket someone had tossed over her earlier, and we listened to the fire crackle while the castle murmured around us.
But even with her in my arms...
I felt the shift.
Something was coming.
Something that had teeth.
And this time, I wasn't sure if I could catch her in time.
YOU ARE READING
In Ink and Inheritance (Book 1)
FanfictionThird year at Hogwarts was meant to be simple - classes, Quidditch, and maybe a little breathing room after everything she's already survived. But nothing about Harriet Potter's life is simple. While the wizarding world whispers about escaped prison...
