Denial.

Waking never changed for Harry: one moment asleep, the next awake. He never did have the luxury of waking slowly.

He stared at the wall across the room, his body still under the covers. His arms stayed firmly wrapped around his pillow, his knees curled slightly and the blankets pulled up to his chin, his fingers clutching the fabric. His posture almost as if he were circling something.

Yet he couldn't figure out why he had woken. No one had entered his room. Nothing had been moved. Tony hadn't changed something during the middle of the night- Jarvis would have woken Harry to inform him.

So what could possibly be wrong?

Then it struck him: he rarely slept on his side.

He released the fabric and tossed the covers off him. He blinked at the bed before smiling softly. Angitia hadn't slept with him in years. She either stayed up high in the rafters and beams or stayed under his bed in case she needed to protect him. She had only slept with him when he had first found her or if she grew too cold.

Reaching out, he went to draw his finger down her scales. His hand froze as the pad of his finger connected to her body.

Her body temperature…

He scrambled out of bed, his hands flailing at his sides.

What to do? He had to do something. What? What? What?

He picked her up. Her body hung limply. Her head didn't raise. She didn't hiss to calm him. She didn't move.

She didn't move.

No.

No.

"No."

He gently placed her on the mattress. He placed the blankets over her, to keep her warm.

He needed to eat. She needed to rest. When he came back, she would be warm. She would be hungry. She would be moving.

Food. He had to find food.

Stumbling out of his room, he walked blindly to the common area so he could grab something from the kitchen. He ran into the walls a few times. He couldn't really see where he walked, his hands trembling by his sides. His mouth seemed dry and he needed something to loosen the knot in his stomach.

Sleeping. That's all. She slept. She went into a hibernation sleep.

Snakes did that, right?

That's all she was doing. She would wake.

She had to.

He opened cabinets blindly, hands reaching, grasping for anything.

He took out salt, pancake mix, hot chocolate, honey, goldfish, ramen and rosemary.

He placed them on the counter.

He opened the fridge and pulled out milk, orange juice, jelly, eggs, bacon and lettuce.

He set them next to the other ingredients.

Sleeping, that's all.

He grabbed a large bowl.

He dropped it onto the granite surface.

He dumped a little of everything into it.

He found a spoon.

He mixed everything together.

He had to eat.

"Harry?"

No. No, no, no.

The spoon clattered to the floor, soon followed by Harry. His knees buckled and his legs gave out. He couldn't see, his vision too blurry. His fingers dug into his scalp.

"No. No, no, no."

"What's wrong?"

"No."

"Harry?"

"No!"

He pushed the hands away from him and surged to his feet, swaying at the sudden movement.

"She can't be," he muttered. "She can't. She can't. She wouldn't leave me."

"What's going on?"

"She can't be." His feet and brain finally reacted and he raced back to his room.

"Harry!"

She couldn't be. She couldn't.

He fought with the doorknob, his hands slipping. The door banged against the wall when he gave up and slammed his shoulder into it, breaking the wood. He stumbled before he caught himself. He yanked the covers off the bed, throwing it to the corner of the room.

She hadn't moved.

She wouldn't move.

No.

Harry fell to his knees.

"Get up," he whispered. "Angitia, wake up. Wake up. Please. Please."

She didn't.

Tears spilled down his cheeks and his head fell to the mattress. He gripped the sheet, his fingers inches from her unresponsive body.

She could still wake up.

"Wake up."

She wouldn't.

"Please."

He never noticed the others behind him.

Anger

The warmth seeping through the mug evaporated long ago. Instead, the coffee turned cold and stale, the light brown liquid swishing towards the ring of the ceramic cup. He moved the mug around in his hands, his eyes fixated on the swirling concoction.

Time meant nothing. The numbers on the microwave blurred together so Harry couldn't know how long he had sat. That didn't matter.

His fingers gripped the cup until his knuckles turned white.

Nothing could be the same.

He should have known Angitia hadn't been feeling well. He should have known why she started to become lethargic, why she had slept more.

But he had assumed everything was fine.

He threw the cup, the glass shattering against the wall and the coffee staining the floor and the front of his shirt.

If he hadn't been distracted, he would have noticed.

If he hadn't been worried about himself, he would have seen the signs.

If he hadn't been constantly trying to find a purpose, he would have known.

"Harry!"

He jumped from his seat, glaring at the man daring to interrupt him. Tony stood at the doorway, his eyes wide and his chest heaving as he must have run to Harry.

Damn Jarvis.

"Hey," Tony spoke softly, slowly, eyes never leaving Harry's, "you've been ignoring me these last few days. Not cool, Harry. You should make it up to me. How about a sparring match? Fun for both of us, right? I know that I'll whip your ass again and I need my daily fight - which you've been slacking off and it's high -"

The man's mouth continued to open and close, but no words actually came forth. Tony's lips pulled down once he realized he couldn't speak.

Harry raised a shaking hand and pointed out of the room.

His throat felt tied off and he could hardly breath, his vision slowly blackening.

His stomach clenched his intestines together, making it difficult to stand.

His teeth fused together that his jaw ached, words impossible to form.

Energy flew around him, the microwave screamed for attention, the lights surged over and over again and Jarvis was attempting to speak but his words were mangled.

She was gone.

He buried his hands in his hair, tugging at the strands over and over again.

Why? What had caused her to leave? Why couldn't she stay?

A shot glass slammed into the fridge, the high shatter making a grin spread across his cheeks. The howling microwave had his eyes shining.

Cabinets slammed open and closed, plates, silverware and anything else hiding in them shot out, running into whatever stood in front of it, the missiles missing the two men.

He tugged at his strands, any emotion playing on his face washed away until he watched without any sort of tells of how he felt. His hands fell to his sides, his hair being thrown about by the unnatural wind.

"What's going on?"

That voice.

"Jarvis could only say the kitchen."

He knew those voices.

"All the lights are going off and -"

He didn't want them anywhere near him.

Tony's erratic breathing no longer came from over exerting himself. The man's eyes had widened as he stared out the kitchen door, frantically shaking his head at the two people who entered.

"Oh." She wrapped her arms around her stomach and cocked her hip while she stared at the kitchen. "You'll need to fix the room, Stark."

Clint grabbed her arm and began to back away, "We found out why the lights were going crazy and why Jarvis isn't responding. Everything will go back to -"

She sighed and pried his hand off. "We're all sorry she died, Harry."

Clint shook his head.

When the petite woman took a step forward, Harry's attention focused on her solely, the other two fading slowly away. His mouth parted and a shaky breath sent cool air over his tongue, down his throat and into his lungs. He matched her step with his own, his hands clenched tightly.

"She was getting old. It was her time."

"At least you had time with her. Maybe now you'll understand what it's like to -" the words cut off on a strangled gasp when Harry whirled around to face Clint.

"What?"

Clint had a hand over his mouth as he shook his head. The man took a step back, his eyes pleading at Harry.

For what?

Forgiveness?

Understanding?

That the man didn't mean what he said?

That he spoke without thinking like he always did?

That he hadn't meant to speak the words aloud?

Harry waited for the soothing hiss to come and tell him to calm down.

It never did.

"What. Did you. Say?"

It never would again.

A burst of accidental magic escaped him and caused all the lights to burst, sending them into darkness for a second before the emergency lights flashed on, coating them all in red.

"I'll understand now? You know what it's like to wake up with her next to you, completely still? To hold her in your hands as you would a floppy toy?" Clint was thrown into the air, slamming against the wall and slid down to the coffee stained floor. "To know that you could have done something to help, but never noticed?"

Everything went still.

His shoulders slumped.

Then he stared at Clint, his lips pulled down into a frown. Coffee stained the man's pants and his eyes were slightly glazed over due to pain.

Without another word, Harry walked out of the room.

Bargaining

*Remus*

"Bring her back."

"I can't."

"You have a time-turner. Bring her back."

"I don't have one. I can't."

"Then get one."

"I can't."

"Stop saying you can't! Where are they? Tell me where I can find one!"

"I can't."

"Stop it!"

"Harry, you know that -"

"Stop. Stop it. I want her back. I'll give you anything if you just get me that time-turner! Please. I can't… I can't…"

"You can. She wouldn't want you to -."

"You don't know that! She wouldn't want to leave me."

"Harry."

"Please… I've never asked you for anything but this."

"I can't. I'm s-"

"No!

Bargaining

*Severus*

"I'll never ask you to travel with Sirius again."

"You've never asked me to travel with the mutt to begin with. However, there's no potion that -"

"There has to be!"

"There isn't."

"There has to be! Something that will bring her back. Something that will send me back to save her."

"Potter, there is -"

"Why won't you help me? What do you want? I'll leave you alone. I won't bother you again. I won't darken your door again. Just. Bring. Her. Back!"

"I'll be back in a few days. Stop and think, Potter."

"I am! I want her back!"

"Think."

Bargaining

*Sirius*

"I'll prank Severus. I'll go back to the Wizarding world. I'll play nice with whoever you want me to."

"…"

"What do you want? I know you have knowledge from your family that could help me. Why won't you help me?"

"…"

"Why won't you answer me? Damnit! What do you want?"

"…"

"Why are you just staring at me. I'm not crazy!"

"…"

"Why won't anybody help?"

"…"

"Why are you crying? Damnit all!"

Bargaining

*Tony*

"You brought an AI to life."

"While I'm brilliant to create Jarvis, I can't bring Angitia back to life."

"You can! You have the reactor. You brought yourself back to life!"

"I wasn't dead, Harry."

"You were close."

"But I didn't stop breathing. It's been ten days."

"So? All we have to do is restart her heart, right? That's all we have to do."

"She would be brain dead, Harry. She wouldn't understand you. She wouldn't be able to move. She wouldn't be able to eat."

"Stop."

"She wouldn't be able to speak to you. She wouldn't recognize you."

"Stop it!"

"She wouldn't be who you remember."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Do you want an image, Harry? Do you want a shadow of who you remember? Do you want her to suffer more than she did?"

"No! I just… I want her. I want her back."

"I know."

"If I started talking to Natalia again, if I forgave her, would Angitia come back? I'd do that. I'd do anything to bring her back. Why doesn't that count for anything? What do I have to do? Tell me. Please."

"Harry…"

"I want her back."

"..."

"I want her back."

Depression

He didn't see anything clearly. He saw shapes moving around, sometimes they ignored him, sometimes they stopped in front of him before moving on, other times they sat beside him.

He couldn't hear anything except for muffled noises. Words - if they were words - never registered and he never knew what anyone said.

He didn't move. He didn't have to.

If he closed his eyes, he could pretend she was still there with him. He could feel her weight around him, hear her hiss in his ear and feel her cool scales against his fingers.

But then he opened his eyes and he couldn't tell where he was.

When it was.

What happened around him didn't matter.

None of it mattered.

A hand on his shoulder pulled him to his feet. Someone lead him… somewhere.

It didn't matter where.

A soft hiss sounded and everything became crystal clear.

Tony, Remus, Sirius, Severus and... Phil stood in the training area Harry and Tony used. In between Sirius and Tony was a cage, an annoyed hiss coming from within.

"Release me! Release me!"

Harry stumbled back, his legs failing him and he crumpled to the floor. He couldn't look away from the cage where he saw a dark, round head and a tongue lashing out.

"Why am I in here?"

Why? Why?

A sob escaped Harry, his hands coming to cover his eyes.

They didn't…

He couldn't…

They brought him another snake?

No… he couldn't replace her.

Not ever.

Tears slipped through his fingers and his shoulders shook as sob after sob escaped from him. He curled his knees to his chest and buried his face in his legs.

Arms wrapped around him and he flinched back.

"Harry."

The word speared through him and without another thought, he relaxed and continued to cry into the man's shirt. Fingers ran through his hair and words he no longer understood washed over him.

He never noticed when the others left, feeling safe and secure in Phil's arms.

Acceptance

Harry sat cross-legged and stared at the snake coiled in front of him.

Its main body was white with large, black bands encircling its body. Its head was black and its black eyes locked on Harry.

He had yet to speak to it.

"If you move, I'll bite."

Harry didn't move.

"Stay still."

Harry didn't move.

"I move, you stay still."

Harry still didn't move.

Slowly uncoiling itself from it's tight ball, it began to slither forward, tongue flickering out. "Too big. Not food. Staying still. Not threat. What is it? Moves. Not food. Still. No hiding place. What is it? Not normal."

Without any prompting, his lips curled into a smile as the creature sidled closer.

A Blue Krait, if he recalled correctly. Extremely poisonous.

"Climbing thing?"

"No. I'm not a climbing thing." He hadn't meant to respond.

The snake froze.

"You speak."

"I do."

"You're not food."

"No."

"You're not a threat?"

"No."

"…" The Krait didn't move, body poised as if to strike.

"Hungry?"

"Yes. Food. Now. Where?"

Harry pulled a pen from his pocket and placed it to the side, waving his hand once it lay on the floor. A rat took the place of the pen. The whiskers trembled and the nose twitched. By the time it noticed the snake, it was too late.

Watching in fascination as the snake ate it's meal, Harry wondered what to do.

Minutes passed slowly as the snake finished swallowing the rat. He lowered his head and continued to stare at Harry. "You feed me?"

"I did."

"I'll keep you."

Harry choked, his hand coming to rub the pain in his chest that he couldn't reach to relieve.

"Why hurt?"

Harry looked up and was surprised to find the snake's head inches from his hand and chest.

"Here. Pain. Why? I hurt the pain to make it go away?"

"No. I'll be fine."

"But… pain."

Harry reached out and stroked the snake's head.

"I'll be fine."

Prompt: Angitia's Death

Time: After deciding to stay at Avenger's Tower - three months later, roughly, and ends about 4-6 months after that.

Who: Me because apparently I have to torture myself…

This was my thought process: Man, Angitia's old. Wait a second... snakes die, too. Crap, how old is she? CRAP, over 20. CRAP that means she has to die soon. Mommy tried to reason that she's his familiar and that familiars are said to live as long as the wizard - or according to other peeps - but then I countered: familiars were never mentioned in the HP books that I remember (and I couldn't find it on the wikia when I looked) and, if familiars are a part of the magical world anyway, he didn't know the magic to perform that bond with Angitia. Anyway... yeah... there you go.

So this is all I have written so far and now there will be long breaks between each new scene. Like I said, if you have any more ideas for me to write, let me know. :)