HOLLY HEARS SOMEONE KNOCK at the door to the room she's sharing with Hermione, as she's running one of Fleur's brushes through her hair. Harry steps into the room, as she places the hairbrush down on the dresser, crossing her arms.
"I didn't mean to snap earlier, but I'm sorry for it," says Harry. Holly frowns at him, and he looks at her for a minute, hesitating to say something. Finally, he looks away, and he says to her, "I just—Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm the one that's meant to survive."
She can feel her stomach sinking.
"OK," she says, hoping he'll continue.
"Maybe if I die, everything will be sorted," he tells her. He sits down on her bed, an old camping one, so that Hermione can have the proper one, whilst she gets better. Holly sits down next to him. "I know it sounds mad, but I just — how many more people are going to die for me? Dobby's dead because of me, so's everyone else. My mum and dad are dead because of me—"
"No, they're not," says Holly, holding onto his hands. "They're dead because of an awful man. You weren't the one to cast the Killing Curse, you didn't put that knife in Dobby's chest. You can't blame yourself for that..." She frowns. "And if you're the one that dies... That doesn't mean you can't come back."
Harry looks at her oddly. "What do you mean?"
"I came back," says Holly. "If you die, I will personally talk to Death and get you back..."
"But that's because he said you were supposed to live a long life, what if—?"
"If I'm meant to live a long life, who do you think it's going to be with?"
Harry looks at Holly. She stays quiet, her eyes on him as he looks deep in thought, his brows beginning to furrow again.
"What was it like, to die?" he asks.
"I suppose, it doesn't feel like anything," she tells him. "One minute you're here, the next you're not. The afterlife is the strangest part, really, but you can't exactly predict it, because it changes for every person..." Holly smiles weakly. "Mine's Durmstrang."
"Does anything stay the same?"
"No," says Holly. "But you can sort of will things to happen... Once you get used to it there, anyway. The only rule is that you can't touch souls in the afterlife."
"Why not?"
"Because you'll be connected forever," says Holly. "So if you touch a soul that's dead and you come back, you'll be connected to them regardless... It'll be like part of your soul's dead, I guess..."
"Oh," he says.
"You can touch Death, though."
"That's comforting."
Holly rolls her eyes.
"Holly?"
"Hm?"
"If I die, you've got to keep on living... I don't want someone else to sacrifice their life for me. I don't want you to sacrifice yourself for me."
"I promise I'll move on," says Holly, even though she knows it's a lie. But she knows that this is affecting him, and if he believes her, then he'll be reassured... All she wants is for him to happy... As happy as he can right now. "I'll be fine." She smiles softly at him. "And, um, if you die, I will personally drag you out of the afterlife."
xix. The Light is Coming
Start from the beginning
