Chapter Fifteen

It was the fourth day of the winter holidays when things took a turn for the worse. Harry had been heading into the kitchen for breakfast when something suddenly felt terribly wrong. All of his limbs seized up and a strange, hot feeling traveled from the base of his spine all the way up to his head. A pain viciously ripped through his shoulder and abdomen, causing him to cry out. Vision blurring up, Harry stumbled and tried to find something to brace himself against.

"H-Hermione," he called out, but his voice was so weak even he could barely hear it.

The room suddenly felt like it was tipping forward, and the next thing Harry knew, he was face down on the ground. He could feel hot blood dripping from his nose and pooling on the floor beneath him. Head swimming, Harry tried to move his arm to reach out for something, but all of the strength had drained from his body. He could barely keep his eyes open any longer.

"Oh my God! Harry!" someone screamed. Their voice sounded muffled, like he was listening to them from underneath water.

"Harry!"

"HARRY!"

The last thing Harry saw was several blurred forms rushing to his side.

xxxx

Healer Camden had decided to stop treatments. Harry's cancer had mutated unexpectedly and drastically, making all magical and muggle medicine ineffectual against it. According to Healer Camden, it most likely had something to do with the nature of the curse causing it. It'd spread to just about every organ in Harry's body and they were starting to shut down at a rapid rate. No one said it out loud, but at this point, they were basically waiting for Harry to die.

The next couple of days were spent in constant agony. In an attempt to help comfort him, Hermione had set up his radio beside his bed for him. It did nothing to cover up the sounds of his screaming, though. It felt like someone was stabbing fiery hot needles into every single bone in his body. He'd vomited a couple of times just from the pain. Most of the time he just prayed that it'd knock him unconscious so he didn't have to bear it any longer.

Pain potions did nothing to help. The cancer had rendered them completely useless. Not that he could keep anything down in the first place. The only thing he could do was suffer through it. Ron and Hermione remained diligently at his side, even if be was so delirious half the time he didn't even notice them in the room. They never left unless it was to go to the bathroom or get something to eat. Even then, they always ate their meals in the hospital wing. They did everything they could to help keep Harry comfortable, though there was nothing they could really do except keep him company. They usually struck up conversations in an attempt to distract him from the pain.

"Hey, Harry, look," Hermione announced cheerfully. "It's your NEWT results."

Harry peeled his eyes open and looked over at Hermione's blurry form. His vision had become so abysmal that even his glasses did nothing to help. He could just barely make out the shape of the envelope Hermione was holding, but he nodded his head in indication that she had his attention.

He didn't have high expecations for spectacular results. Just before winter break, Harry had approached McGonagall with the request to take his NEWTs early. The only reason she'd even considered it was due to the special circumstances. It'd taken some persuasion with the Wizarding Examination Authority, but considering who Harry was, they'd conceded to it.

No longer having the strength to keep his eyes open, Harry closed them and just listened to Hermione.

"Oh, not bad, Harry!" she said in a pleased voice. "Defence: O. Charms: E. Transfiguration: E. Herbology: O. Potions: E."

'Looks like I could have been an auror after all.'

"That' so not fair," Ron chuckled from beside him. "He took them five months early and still got better scores than I probably will."

Hermione giggled. "You know, that's not as surprising as it sounds, Ron."

A weak smile pulled at Harry's lips, the only sign of his amusement. He was enjoying listening to his friends talk to each other. Their voices were warm and comforting, which helped distract him from the pain. For a moment, he could almost pretend that things were normal again, because that's all he really wanted — for things to be normal. Just him and his friends together, as always.

The sound of their talking got farther and farther away as Harry slowly drifted off into a fitful slumber. He couldn't have been asleep for longer than fifteen minutes before he was violently woken up by a sharp pain tearing through his shoulder. He cried out loudly and gripped the sheets so hard that his hands started shaking. Hermione and Ron were at his side in an instant, placing their hands on his back to rub it soothingly.

"We're right here, Harry," Hermione said in a shaky voice. "Just breathe, it'll pass."

His friends were rendered helpless as they watched him writhe in agony. Harry curled up in a fetal position and balled the sheets in his hands, hot tears squeezing out of his eyes. The normal quiet of the hospital wing was broken by his screams, sounding pathetic even to his own ears. He started mentally begging for the pain to end. He just wanted it all to end.

The mattress dipped as Hermione slid onto the bed behind him. Her arm snaked around his waist and cradled him close to her chest. Her other hand carded through his hair as she whispered soft, soothing words into his ear. Ron sat on the other side of the bed, taking Harry's hand in his and allowing him to squeeze it as hard as he needed to.

Neither of them let go of him the entire night.

xxxxx

The boy and the dark figure stood staring at each other from across the empty, white space. There was no one else but them. The world had fallen away and they were all that remained.

The boy met the glowing red eyes of the figure opposite him. His first instinct was to be afraid. He saw death in those eyes.

His death.

But he wasn't afraid.

He opened his mouth and formed three silent words. Only the figure across from him was meant to know what he'd said.

Slowly, the figure started crumbling away, turning to dust and disappearing into the vast whiteness.

The boy turned and walked away.

Sucking in a deep breath, Harry opened his eyes and watched the dark ceiling swirl into view. His heart was fluttering quickly against his chest, but it wasn't out of fear from the dream. The feeling was much different from that. He could hear soft breathing from beside him, indicating that Ron and Hermione were still there. Like usual, they'd pushed the hospital beds together so they could sleep by Harry.

With an odd, urgent feeling, Harry sat up straight in the bed and looked around. His movements must have woken Ron and Hermione, because they immediately sat up next to him.

"Harry?" Ron said, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Want me to go get Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione asked, a light hand touching his shoulder.

Harry just shook his head and pushed the blankets off his body. Something in him was telling him he needed to hurry — that he needed to get somewhere.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, startled. "What are you doing?"

"I need to get to Gryffindor Tower," Harry replied.

Ron frowned. "Harry, you should stay here."

Harry shook his head again, a frantic feeling seizing his chest. "Please, I need to get to Gryffindor Tower."

As Harry stood from the bed, Ron and Hermione were at his sides in an instant. They grabbed hold of his arms to keep him steady and carefully helped him walk out of the hospital wing. Every step of the way was pure agony, but the only thing Harry could focus on was getting back to the tower. For some reason, it was extremely important that he made it there.

When they reached the portrait, Hermione muttered the password and guided Harry through the opening.

"What now, Harry?" Ron asked once they were in the common room.

"Up to the dorms," Harry replied hoarsely. "Take me to my bed."

They practically had to carry him up the stairs because he did not have strength to lift his legs. Fortunately, he was so light that it wasn't a problem. They gently guided him over to the bed and helped him get into it. Breathing heavily and heart pounding against his chest, Harry closed his eyes for a few moments. When he reopened them, he turned to look at Ron and Hermione.

They seemed to understand what he wanted, because they carefully slid into the bed on either side of him. They instantly locked hands with his and curled around his body. Their warmth pressing against him made Harry feel safe and secure. The feeling of urgency and panic slowly faded away. Everything felt right, now — he was home.

"It's alright, Harry," Hermione whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks. "It's alright."

"M'tired," Harry said in a fading voice.

"Go to sleep, mate," Ron replied in a choked voice. "We'll be here when you wake up."

But they knew he wouldn't wake up this time. Harry felt his breathing become shallow and his heart beat start to slow. He gripped his friends' hands and turned to look out the window. The sun was just coming up over the horizon, flooding the room with brilliant yellows and golds.

Harry took in one last breath.

It was beautiful.

Author's Note: Well, there you have it! It's done! I'd really like to thank PheonixFeather10, Shinan7, and IamMeWhoAreYou14 for always reviewing and being a constant source of encouragement! Thank you! And thanks to everyone who has read. I really hope you've enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.