𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐘𝐍 ⦊ 𝘩. 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 ✓ {editing}

― 26 | WAR'S SACRIFICES

I have to walk away. I have to walk away. I have to walk away, he affirmed. But his feet remained planted, and as he watched her slip down to the floor, knees pulled to her chest, his fingers began to tremble. Her body was violently shaking now, and her hand reached up to clutch the golden snitch around her neck, knuckles slowly turning white. Her breaths were struggled pants.

She was panicking.

And Harry couldn't watch it any longer.

Not caring how much it was going to soon hurt, he rushed to her side, the cloak slipping off his shoulders and pooling at his feet. "Lyn," he exhaled, cupping her face in his hands; her skin felt ice cold. "Lyn, you need to breathe."

Her eyes reached up to meet his. "I — I — I can't—" she gasped.

"Yes. Yes, you can." He caressed her cheek with his thumb. "Come on, Lyn. In — out — in — out."

She followed his lead, and after a few more cycles, her breath finally began to steady. Her body, however, did not still, and with a sudden tremble, a whimper escaped her lips. The tears that had welled inside her finally spilt and her fingers grasped at the front of his shirt as she cried uncontrollably into his chest.

Harry blinked rapidly, then wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him. He tried to speak words of comfort but found none, so pressed a chaste kiss to her temple instead before resting the side of his head against hers. He closed his eyes as she continued to weep, one hand buried in her hair and the other rubbing soothing circles on the small of her back.

"Harry, I — I — I can't do this anymore," Edelyn spluttered after a long while, choking back a sob; Harry pulled away just enough to look down at her. Her face was streaked with tears, and there were teeth marks in her swollen lip.

"Yes. Yes, you can, Lyn." He rested his forehead against hers and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You're the strongest person I know. You can survive this."

Her eyes drifted up to meet his. "What if I don't want to?"

"Lyn..." He furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't — Don't say that." Cheeks aching, he pulled her close to him and allowed her to bury her face in the crook of his neck; he could feel her tears prickle his skin.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "It just...It hurts." Her voice cracked and Harry felt her body quiver. "Remus and Tonks just had Teddy," she spluttered. "He's going to have to grow up without parents, and you know what that's like. It's — it's cruel. And — and — and then Fred — Fred's—" A sob escaped her lips. "I just want it to end." Her voice had died into a whisper. I just want it all to end."

"I know," Harry said, stroking her hair as she broke into tears once more. "I know." And as he held her in his arms, his eyes flickered to the battered gold watch he had received on his seventeenth birthday. Dread washed over him; over half the hour allotted by Voldemort for his surrender had elapsed.

Just two more minutes, he said to himself. Just two more minutes.

And so, as her small body melted into his as she surrendered to grief, Harry closed his eyes and counted in his head: ten...forty-six...seventy-eight...ninety-nine...one-twenty. Then, with every muscle in his body — every fibre, every cell — screaming in protest, Harry did what he knew he had to do: he dropped his arms from around her and pulled away.

"Lyn." Emerald green met gunmetal blue through a veil of mist. "Lyn, I — I'm going to the forest tonight."

She blinked at him and tugged at her sodden sleeves. "W-What?"

Harry swallowed thickly and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm the last Horcrux," he explained, eyes fixed on her knees, which were rested to the side. And as he gazed down at them, he suddenly came to the realization that he couldn't remember if he had ever touched them before; if the skin of his palms had ever grazed the skin of her knees. He took a shaky breath and continued, "I have to be killed in order for Voldemort to truly be killed. And it's like you said: you want it to end. This...Well, this is how it can end. There's no other way."