The Boy Who Lived Next Door
The Truth...Sort of
May 16th, 1998
Present Day
He remembered clearly how worried he was about her. A supposed mass-murderer was on the loose; he didn't want her out on the streets alone. But of course, she stayed hidden in the shadows that night, to make sure that he was safe.
When he read her words, his heart beat painfully in his chest. He never knew it started then. She liked him or at least, she was beginning to. And of course, he ruined it. He pushed her away in the end. He should've been able to save her.September 3rd, 1993
Dear Journal,
Harry sent me a letter almost as soon he got to school. He had been with his friends, Ron (and his family) and Hermione since he left. He said that one of the new teachers had been a friend of his parents. I'm happy for Harry. Maybe this new teacher will be able to tell Harry about his parents. Even though he never mentions it, I know he misses them. I know he wishes he knew what they were like.
- Elle.
December 6th, 1993
Dear Journal,
Letters from Harry come about once a month, give or take a few days. I know he's busy. I know he doesn't have time to write letters to me every day.
In the letter from October, he said that people were patrolling the perimeters of the school because Sirius Black was seen near his school.
I hope Harry stays safe. I need Harry to stay safe. He has to come home.
- Elle.
February 18th, 1994
Dear Journal,
I'm so scared for Harry. His letters have been vague and cryptic. His last one said that Sirius Black wanted to kill him! But he didn't say anything else! I don't know what's going on. I don't know if he's alright. I'm worried. That boy is driving me crazy. I never knew I could be this afraid for anyone in my life.
- Elle.
May 30th, 1994
Dear Journal,
Harry has written once in a while, to tell me he's okay. I want to know what's going on. I want to know what he's not telling me! We friends, best friends even. But I know he's keeping something huge from me. I want to know.
- Elle.
June 8th, 1994
Dear Journal,
Harry's home. I'm getting answers.
I heard the sound of car doors shutting in the driveway of the house next door. I ran outside and tackled Harry to the ground with a hug. His relatives didn't notice.
"You're alright. You're alright. You're alright," I repeated joyfully as I hugged him tightly. I pulled away and slapped him on the chest. "Don't scare me again Harry Potter! What the hell happened at your school? And what about Sirius Black wanting-"
Harry's hand found my mouth, covering it and keeping me from speaking. "Not here." He mumbled as he pulled me toward the park.
Once we were on the swings, he was quiet.
"Well? What's going on? What aren't you telling me?" I asked impatiently.
Harry sighed. "It's complicated, Elle…I don't know how to explain it and I don't…I don't want to scare you away."
"Harry!" I said, horrified. "No matter what's going on, you can tell me anything. You're my best friend." I gently grabbed his hand, hoping to reassure him. "What's going on? You're making me worry, Harry. I want to know."
He looked into my eyes and held my hand more tightly in his. Harry took a deep breath. "Elle…I'm a…" He shut his eyes, blocking those gorgeous emerald orbs from my view. "I'm a…" He whispered, as if he was sharing a deep, dark secret. Harry sighed and pulled his hand from my grasp. "My parents didn't die in a car crash." He said finally as he
"What?" I asked, utterly confused, "Then how-"
"They were murdered." He said, refusing to look at me.
"Harry…I'm so sorry-"
"No, don't be. I didn't want to tell you because then you'd look at me like that. Like everyone else does."
I said nothing, knowing he would continue.
"The…man who murdered them…people call him…Voldemort. For years, he gathered…followers and they became like a…like a…"
"Like a cult?" I supplied.
"Yeah...yeah, like a cult." He nodded in agreement. "If you didn't join him, he killed you. My parents wouldn't join him. So he…he killed them. And he…he tried to kill me too but I…I survived and that's how I got my scar."
"How does Sirius Black fit into this?" I asked as I dragged my feet in the dirt beneath the swing set.
"Sirius Black knew my parents," Harry replied. Finally he brought his eyes to meet mine and grabbed the hand he had rejected before. He spoke with more confidence now. "He was my father's best friend."
"No…" I muttered, aghast.
"And everyone thought…everyone still thinks that Sirius betrayed my father and my mother to…Voldemort. Everyone thinks he also murdered twelve other people and another one of my parents' friends, Peter Pettigrew." Harry hissed the name.
"When Sirius escaped from prison, everyone thought that he was coming to kill me. But he wasn't. Sirius is innocent and it was Peter who betrayed my parents. Sirius came to my school because he found out that Peter was hiding there. Sirius came to kill Peter for what he did. Instead, Peter escaped because I insisted that he be sent to jail instead. Everyone thinks that Sirius is still guilty so he has to stay on the run…but Elle," he held my hand tighter, as if to comfort himself with the embrace. "The worst part is, is that Sirius is my godfather. He's my family. And he even offered me a place to stay, once he's cleared."
"Harry, I'm sorry about your parents and Sirius." I whispered, pulling him into a hug. "But I know that Sirius will be cleared and you then you can go stay with him. That'll be great. Harry…I'm so happy for you. I know things will work out for you. You'll be happy. I know it."
He nodded and held me closer to him, however the movement caused us to fall off the swing we were precariously placed on.
We broke out into giggles as we lay side by side in the dirt.
"There's a bunny." I said a moment later, pointing to a cloud in the sky. Harry laughed.
"I see a…duck." He muttered.
"How?
"There's the beak." Harry pointed out.
"Those are definitely bunny ears!" I protested.
"No way!"
"You're so weird, Harry." I laughed, reaching over to shove him.
"I don't see a bunny." He mumbled, fighting to keep the smile off his face, which caused a smile to spread across mine.
"Things are going to be different, aren't they?" I asked as I turned over onto my side and propped my head up on my elbow, facing Harry.
"What do you mean?"
"When you go to live with Sirius…you won't live on Privet Drive anymore…things will be completely different. And I'm sure you'll forget about me-"
"No." He interrupted adamantly. "No. I will never forget you. No matter where I move to or where I go I will not forget you. I'd think you would forget me more easily than I ever could. I mean…you go to school nearby and so do all your friends and I am not the easiest person to contact when I'm at school. I would think-"
"Well then maybe you shouldn't think," I joked. "Because I doubt that I could ever forget you. I don't want to." I whispered. I leaned closer to him and his eyes searched my face questioningly. "Harry, I…I…I definitely see a bunny." I said pulling back quickly as I chickened out of telling him how I felt.
Harry looked at me through a mask of black hair that fell into his eyes. His eyes were narrowed and he looked at me as if he knew something was wrong.
"Harry?" I said quietly, realizing he'd left one part out of his story.
"Yes?" He asked as I gently reached out with my fingers and moved the hair out of his face.
"What about…Voldemort? What happened to him?"
"Some people think he's dead…some people hope he is. But he's alive. I'm sure of it. And-"
"And he wants to kill you." I said, closing my eyes at the terrible thought.
"He won't." Harry said. "I'll be fine."
"I hope." I whispered.
I can't believe it. Harry's parents were murdered. And someone, this Voldemort (what the hell kind of name is that?) wants to kill Harry. But at least he finally has family, even if it is a wrongly-convicted murderer on the lamb. Something's better than nothing I guess.
I'm such a chicken. I wish I had told him.
- Elle.
June 20th, 1994
Dear Journal,
Harry appeared at my window last night. Luckily, I'm on the ground floor. We went for a walk in the park.
Just like last summer, Harry held my hand protectively, while I was hoping desperately that he didn't notice how sweaty my hands were from the contact.
He had a nightmare. Voldemort murdered someone else in his dream. Harry said that, in his dream, Voldemort was plotting how to "come alive again." I figured it was a metaphor. Because, even if this Voldemort is dead, he can't come alive again. You can only die once. It's not like someone can have seven lives.
- Elle.
August 20th, 1994
Dear Journal,
Harry and I spent almost every day together. We didn't speak of Voldemort again but every now and then, I'd see him put his fingers to the scar on his forehead in pain. I didn't ask what was wrong, knowing he wouldn't tell me.
I know Harry told me about his parents, and his godfather, and Voldemort but I still feel like Harry's not telling me everything. I feel like he doesn't trust me.
I've been having nightmares, since Harry told that someone wants him dead, that someone has already tried to kill him! In every nightmare, I wake up crying out his name because I dream that he dies.
I hope that Harry has a calm, safe year since he has left again. He said goodbye this time.
"Elle!" I looked up from the book I had to read for school as I heard my name being called. I knew it was Harry, since no one else called me that.
He came dashing through my bedroom door. How he got into my house, I didn't know since the front door was locked.
"I'm leaving." He said. "My friends are here, picking me up, and of course the Dursleys don't like anyone, especially them, so I've got to go as soon as possible."
He pulled me up off my bed and into a hug before I even blink.
I hugged him back tightly, not wanting to let go.
"Promise me you'll be safe Harry."
"I swear I will," He promised into my hair.
I felt safe in that moment, in Harry's arms. I almost forgot, for just a moment, that someone wanted him dead. I almost forgot that I could lose him.
"You better be back here next summer. I'll…I'll kill you myself if you leave me here alone." I joked, trying to lighten the mood but failing horribly.
He smiled at me. "As if I could survive without these summers with you."
"Harry! Come on! We've got to leave!" I heard a boy's voice yell from the house next door.
"That'll be Ron." He said, letting go of me. "I'll see you next summer." He said before kissing my forehead and leaving out of the door.
Harry kissed me! Ok, so it was on the forehead. But something is better than nothing! Maybe he likes me back. Harry knows just how to make me like him more every day.
When I watched him leave, I couldn’t help but feel that something horrible was going to happen and that Harry and I would never be the same again.
I think I'm falling for him.
- Elle.
Present Day
He remembered clearly how worried he was about her. A supposed mass-murderer was on the loose; he didn't want her out on the streets alone. But of course, she stayed hidden in the shadows that night, to make sure that he was safe.
When he read her words, his heart beat painfully in his chest. He never knew it started then. She liked him or at least, she was beginning to. And of course, he ruined it. He pushed her away in the end. He should've been able to save her.September 3rd, 1993
Dear Journal,
Harry sent me a letter almost as soon he got to school. He had been with his friends, Ron (and his family) and Hermione since he left. He said that one of the new teachers had been a friend of his parents. I'm happy for Harry. Maybe this new teacher will be able to tell Harry about his parents. Even though he never mentions it, I know he misses them. I know he wishes he knew what they were like.
- Elle.
December 6th, 1993
Dear Journal,
Letters from Harry come about once a month, give or take a few days. I know he's busy. I know he doesn't have time to write letters to me every day.
In the letter from October, he said that people were patrolling the perimeters of the school because Sirius Black was seen near his school.
I hope Harry stays safe. I need Harry to stay safe. He has to come home.
- Elle.
February 18th, 1994
Dear Journal,
I'm so scared for Harry. His letters have been vague and cryptic. His last one said that Sirius Black wanted to kill him! But he didn't say anything else! I don't know what's going on. I don't know if he's alright. I'm worried. That boy is driving me crazy. I never knew I could be this afraid for anyone in my life.
- Elle.
May 30th, 1994
Dear Journal,
Harry has written once in a while, to tell me he's okay. I want to know what's going on. I want to know what he's not telling me! We friends, best friends even. But I know he's keeping something huge from me. I want to know.
- Elle.
June 8th, 1994
Dear Journal,
Harry's home. I'm getting answers.
I heard the sound of car doors shutting in the driveway of the house next door. I ran outside and tackled Harry to the ground with a hug. His relatives didn't notice.
"You're alright. You're alright. You're alright," I repeated joyfully as I hugged him tightly. I pulled away and slapped him on the chest. "Don't scare me again Harry Potter! What the hell happened at your school? And what about Sirius Black wanting-"
Harry's hand found my mouth, covering it and keeping me from speaking. "Not here." He mumbled as he pulled me toward the park.
Once we were on the swings, he was quiet.
"Well? What's going on? What aren't you telling me?" I asked impatiently.
Harry sighed. "It's complicated, Elle…I don't know how to explain it and I don't…I don't want to scare you away."
"Harry!" I said, horrified. "No matter what's going on, you can tell me anything. You're my best friend." I gently grabbed his hand, hoping to reassure him. "What's going on? You're making me worry, Harry. I want to know."
He looked into my eyes and held my hand more tightly in his. Harry took a deep breath. "Elle…I'm a…" He shut his eyes, blocking those gorgeous emerald orbs from my view. "I'm a…" He whispered, as if he was sharing a deep, dark secret. Harry sighed and pulled his hand from my grasp. "My parents didn't die in a car crash." He said finally as he
"What?" I asked, utterly confused, "Then how-"
"They were murdered." He said, refusing to look at me.
"Harry…I'm so sorry-"
"No, don't be. I didn't want to tell you because then you'd look at me like that. Like everyone else does."
I said nothing, knowing he would continue.
"The…man who murdered them…people call him…Voldemort. For years, he gathered…followers and they became like a…like a…"
"Like a cult?" I supplied.
"Yeah...yeah, like a cult." He nodded in agreement. "If you didn't join him, he killed you. My parents wouldn't join him. So he…he killed them. And he…he tried to kill me too but I…I survived and that's how I got my scar."
"How does Sirius Black fit into this?" I asked as I dragged my feet in the dirt beneath the swing set.
"Sirius Black knew my parents," Harry replied. Finally he brought his eyes to meet mine and grabbed the hand he had rejected before. He spoke with more confidence now. "He was my father's best friend."
"No…" I muttered, aghast.
"And everyone thought…everyone still thinks that Sirius betrayed my father and my mother to…Voldemort. Everyone thinks he also murdered twelve other people and another one of my parents' friends, Peter Pettigrew." Harry hissed the name.
"When Sirius escaped from prison, everyone thought that he was coming to kill me. But he wasn't. Sirius is innocent and it was Peter who betrayed my parents. Sirius came to my school because he found out that Peter was hiding there. Sirius came to kill Peter for what he did. Instead, Peter escaped because I insisted that he be sent to jail instead. Everyone thinks that Sirius is still guilty so he has to stay on the run…but Elle," he held my hand tighter, as if to comfort himself with the embrace. "The worst part is, is that Sirius is my godfather. He's my family. And he even offered me a place to stay, once he's cleared."
"Harry, I'm sorry about your parents and Sirius." I whispered, pulling him into a hug. "But I know that Sirius will be cleared and you then you can go stay with him. That'll be great. Harry…I'm so happy for you. I know things will work out for you. You'll be happy. I know it."
He nodded and held me closer to him, however the movement caused us to fall off the swing we were precariously placed on.
We broke out into giggles as we lay side by side in the dirt.
"There's a bunny." I said a moment later, pointing to a cloud in the sky. Harry laughed.
"I see a…duck." He muttered.
"How?
"There's the beak." Harry pointed out.
"Those are definitely bunny ears!" I protested.
"No way!"
"You're so weird, Harry." I laughed, reaching over to shove him.
"I don't see a bunny." He mumbled, fighting to keep the smile off his face, which caused a smile to spread across mine.
"Things are going to be different, aren't they?" I asked as I turned over onto my side and propped my head up on my elbow, facing Harry.
"What do you mean?"
"When you go to live with Sirius…you won't live on Privet Drive anymore…things will be completely different. And I'm sure you'll forget about me-"
"No." He interrupted adamantly. "No. I will never forget you. No matter where I move to or where I go I will not forget you. I'd think you would forget me more easily than I ever could. I mean…you go to school nearby and so do all your friends and I am not the easiest person to contact when I'm at school. I would think-"
"Well then maybe you shouldn't think," I joked. "Because I doubt that I could ever forget you. I don't want to." I whispered. I leaned closer to him and his eyes searched my face questioningly. "Harry, I…I…I definitely see a bunny." I said pulling back quickly as I chickened out of telling him how I felt.
Harry looked at me through a mask of black hair that fell into his eyes. His eyes were narrowed and he looked at me as if he knew something was wrong.
"Harry?" I said quietly, realizing he'd left one part out of his story.
"Yes?" He asked as I gently reached out with my fingers and moved the hair out of his face.
"What about…Voldemort? What happened to him?"
"Some people think he's dead…some people hope he is. But he's alive. I'm sure of it. And-"
"And he wants to kill you." I said, closing my eyes at the terrible thought.
"He won't." Harry said. "I'll be fine."
"I hope." I whispered.
I can't believe it. Harry's parents were murdered. And someone, this Voldemort (what the hell kind of name is that?) wants to kill Harry. But at least he finally has family, even if it is a wrongly-convicted murderer on the lamb. Something's better than nothing I guess.
I'm such a chicken. I wish I had told him.
- Elle.
June 20th, 1994
Dear Journal,
Harry appeared at my window last night. Luckily, I'm on the ground floor. We went for a walk in the park.
Just like last summer, Harry held my hand protectively, while I was hoping desperately that he didn't notice how sweaty my hands were from the contact.
He had a nightmare. Voldemort murdered someone else in his dream. Harry said that, in his dream, Voldemort was plotting how to "come alive again." I figured it was a metaphor. Because, even if this Voldemort is dead, he can't come alive again. You can only die once. It's not like someone can have seven lives.
- Elle.
August 20th, 1994
Dear Journal,
Harry and I spent almost every day together. We didn't speak of Voldemort again but every now and then, I'd see him put his fingers to the scar on his forehead in pain. I didn't ask what was wrong, knowing he wouldn't tell me.
I know Harry told me about his parents, and his godfather, and Voldemort but I still feel like Harry's not telling me everything. I feel like he doesn't trust me.
I've been having nightmares, since Harry told that someone wants him dead, that someone has already tried to kill him! In every nightmare, I wake up crying out his name because I dream that he dies.
I hope that Harry has a calm, safe year since he has left again. He said goodbye this time.
"Elle!" I looked up from the book I had to read for school as I heard my name being called. I knew it was Harry, since no one else called me that.
He came dashing through my bedroom door. How he got into my house, I didn't know since the front door was locked.
"I'm leaving." He said. "My friends are here, picking me up, and of course the Dursleys don't like anyone, especially them, so I've got to go as soon as possible."
He pulled me up off my bed and into a hug before I even blink.
I hugged him back tightly, not wanting to let go.
"Promise me you'll be safe Harry."
"I swear I will," He promised into my hair.
I felt safe in that moment, in Harry's arms. I almost forgot, for just a moment, that someone wanted him dead. I almost forgot that I could lose him.
"You better be back here next summer. I'll…I'll kill you myself if you leave me here alone." I joked, trying to lighten the mood but failing horribly.
He smiled at me. "As if I could survive without these summers with you."
"Harry! Come on! We've got to leave!" I heard a boy's voice yell from the house next door.
"That'll be Ron." He said, letting go of me. "I'll see you next summer." He said before kissing my forehead and leaving out of the door.
Harry kissed me! Ok, so it was on the forehead. But something is better than nothing! Maybe he likes me back. Harry knows just how to make me like him more every day.
When I watched him leave, I couldn’t help but feel that something horrible was going to happen and that Harry and I would never be the same again.
I think I'm falling for him.
- Elle.