The Boy Who Lived Next Door
Death
May 20th, 1998
Present Day
He hated lying to her. He tried to tell her the truth. He tried to tell her that he was a wizard, that he could be do magic. But she was sitting there before him with her brown hair blowing gently in the breeze, she was staring at him as if nothing else mattered, as if the brightest part of her day was sitting there talking to him. And he was realizing as he read her words, all she wanted was to know the truth about him.
He should've let her in. But he was scared. What if she ran away from him? What if she was scared of him? What if she never wanted to speak to him again? And so, out of fear of losing her, he never told her the complete truth. He never told her how much he cared and how much he worried about her. Maybe if he had, she could've protected herself in the end.
October 21st, 1994
Dear Journal,
Harry wrote me about a competition that's happening at his school. He said somehow, he was entered to compete, despite an age restriction! So now he has to. He seemed nervous in his letters. Harry said people have died in this competition.
What kind of school let its students compete if they could die??
Why can't he just have a normal school year?
He could die! Which is what that Voldemort guy wants anyway.
It's so unfair! Why does all of this happen to Harry?
It's not right. He deserves to be happy. I wish I could make him happy.
- Elle.
December 29th, 1994
Dear Journal,
Harry wrote me, telling me that he survived the first two challenges of the tournament. He said he was doing well. Harry didn't mention what the challenges were; and he didn't tell me what "well" meant. He could've lost an arm for all I know!
Harry wrote me about the ball that they had, for the tournament on Christmas. He mentioned a girl, named Cho, that he had wanted to ask to the ball. Harry said she was pretty.
And I wish she was mean and horrible and nasty so that I could hate her. I want to hate her because she's probably not a horrible girl, even though I hope she is. Harry wouldn't like a horrible girl.
Harry said he asked her to the ball but she was going with someone else, one of his opponents actually. Cho probably isn't horrible but she must be stupid to not agree to go to the ball with Harry. I mean, Harry's the most decent, funny, awkward, brave, loyal guy I've ever met. How can you do better than that?
I wish he didn't like her. Or at least, I wish he didn't tell me about it. Because now I know Harry doesn't care about me, like I care about him. He just sees me as a best friend and nothing more.
- Elle.
June 1st, 1995
Dear Journal,
I haven't heard from Harry in a while. I don't know what happened. I can barely concentrate in school since I'm exhausted. And I'm exhausted because I can't sleep without knowing whether or not he's dead. And the nightmares certainly aren't helping.
- Elle.
June 17th, 1995
Dear Journal,
Harry's home. Something happened to Harry at his school. And he won't tell me what. He's so different. His eyes aren't as bright and it's like everything has changed.
- Elle.
June 30th, 1995
Dear Journal,
I finally got Harry to tell me what happened.
"Hey." I said sitting down in the swing next to him.
He nodded as he trailed his feet in the dirt while he swung back and forth.
"What happened?" I asked quietly.
"Nothing." He shrugged.
"Harry, come on-"
"Nothing happened!" He yelled at me as he forcefully stood up from the swing, sending it slamming into one of the metal poles holding up the swing set. "Nothing happened!" He repeated.
"Why are you lying to me Harry?" I asked quietly, as I stayed on my swing. "I don't understand why you don't trust me."
He sighed and messed up his hair absentmindedly. "Its not that I don't trust you-"
"Then why don't you tell me what's wrong?"
"I can't-"
Catching Harry off guard, I propelled myself off my swing and tackled Harry to the ground. Straddling his waist, I held his face in my hands, making him look at me.
"People like knowing others can trust them, especially when that person is their best friend. Do you know what's it like to know that your best friend is hiding something from you? Do you know how much it hurts?"
I knew full well that Harry could, at any time, push me off of him and leave. I was just hoping he wouldn't.
Harry was quiet for a few minutes, as if he deciding whether or not to speak.
"Something happened during the last task. We had to make our way through a huge maze to the center where the tournament's trophy was. Of course there were obstacles in the maze to make it more difficult. Cedric, he was another competitor, and I got to the cup first, at the same time.
"We touched it at the same time and it took us-" He stopped and sighed. His green eyes bored into mine and I couldn't read the emotion in them. "It was a trap. Voldemort, you remember I told you about-"
"Of course." I interrupted. "How could I forget the name of person who wants you dead?"
"Yeah…" Harry nodded. "Well, Voldemort, he was waiting there for me. And he killed Cedric. Right in front of me."
"Oh Harry!" I cried and released my grip on him so that I could hug him. He returned the hug and buried his face in the crook of my neck.
But still he spoke and his warm breath tickled my skin. "We dueled- we fought and somehow I escaped. When I got out of the maze, with Cedric's body, nobody knew what happened at first. Everyone cheered but then…then the screams and the tears came…I can still hear them. I can still see Cedric's unseeing eyes staring up at me from where he lay on the ground. I keep dreaming about him. I told everyone what happened but they don't believe me…they don't believe that he's really alive.
"I believe you." I whispered.
"My friends believe me. The headmaster of my school, he believes me. Some do, but most don't. I'm afraid of what he'll do."
I wish I could help him. I wish I could keep him safe.
- Elle.
July 12, 1995
Dear Journal,
Something happened to Dudley and the Dursleys are blaming Harry. He can't get out of his house because they've locked him in his room. Harry said he was lucky they didn't kick him out.
- Elle.
August 11th, 1995
Dear Journal,
Harry's gone again. He didn't say goodbye this time. He just disappeared. I haven't heard from him yet. I hope he's okay.
- Elle.
He couldn't say goodbye that summer. Moody, Lupin, Shacklebolt, Tonks, Vance, Doge, Diggle, Jones and Podmore had come to escort him to the Order of the Phoenix HQ and they wouldn't let him say goodbye. And once he was at HQ, they wouldn't let him send letters.
He had figured that she'd find other ways to occupy her time. He was a fool who didn't know how much she cared.
Present Day
He hated lying to her. He tried to tell her the truth. He tried to tell her that he was a wizard, that he could be do magic. But she was sitting there before him with her brown hair blowing gently in the breeze, she was staring at him as if nothing else mattered, as if the brightest part of her day was sitting there talking to him. And he was realizing as he read her words, all she wanted was to know the truth about him.
He should've let her in. But he was scared. What if she ran away from him? What if she was scared of him? What if she never wanted to speak to him again? And so, out of fear of losing her, he never told her the complete truth. He never told her how much he cared and how much he worried about her. Maybe if he had, she could've protected herself in the end.
October 21st, 1994
Dear Journal,
Harry wrote me about a competition that's happening at his school. He said somehow, he was entered to compete, despite an age restriction! So now he has to. He seemed nervous in his letters. Harry said people have died in this competition.
What kind of school let its students compete if they could die??
Why can't he just have a normal school year?
He could die! Which is what that Voldemort guy wants anyway.
It's so unfair! Why does all of this happen to Harry?
It's not right. He deserves to be happy. I wish I could make him happy.
- Elle.
December 29th, 1994
Dear Journal,
Harry wrote me, telling me that he survived the first two challenges of the tournament. He said he was doing well. Harry didn't mention what the challenges were; and he didn't tell me what "well" meant. He could've lost an arm for all I know!
Harry wrote me about the ball that they had, for the tournament on Christmas. He mentioned a girl, named Cho, that he had wanted to ask to the ball. Harry said she was pretty.
And I wish she was mean and horrible and nasty so that I could hate her. I want to hate her because she's probably not a horrible girl, even though I hope she is. Harry wouldn't like a horrible girl.
Harry said he asked her to the ball but she was going with someone else, one of his opponents actually. Cho probably isn't horrible but she must be stupid to not agree to go to the ball with Harry. I mean, Harry's the most decent, funny, awkward, brave, loyal guy I've ever met. How can you do better than that?
I wish he didn't like her. Or at least, I wish he didn't tell me about it. Because now I know Harry doesn't care about me, like I care about him. He just sees me as a best friend and nothing more.
- Elle.
June 1st, 1995
Dear Journal,
I haven't heard from Harry in a while. I don't know what happened. I can barely concentrate in school since I'm exhausted. And I'm exhausted because I can't sleep without knowing whether or not he's dead. And the nightmares certainly aren't helping.
- Elle.
June 17th, 1995
Dear Journal,
Harry's home. Something happened to Harry at his school. And he won't tell me what. He's so different. His eyes aren't as bright and it's like everything has changed.
- Elle.
June 30th, 1995
Dear Journal,
I finally got Harry to tell me what happened.
"Hey." I said sitting down in the swing next to him.
He nodded as he trailed his feet in the dirt while he swung back and forth.
"What happened?" I asked quietly.
"Nothing." He shrugged.
"Harry, come on-"
"Nothing happened!" He yelled at me as he forcefully stood up from the swing, sending it slamming into one of the metal poles holding up the swing set. "Nothing happened!" He repeated.
"Why are you lying to me Harry?" I asked quietly, as I stayed on my swing. "I don't understand why you don't trust me."
He sighed and messed up his hair absentmindedly. "Its not that I don't trust you-"
"Then why don't you tell me what's wrong?"
"I can't-"
Catching Harry off guard, I propelled myself off my swing and tackled Harry to the ground. Straddling his waist, I held his face in my hands, making him look at me.
"People like knowing others can trust them, especially when that person is their best friend. Do you know what's it like to know that your best friend is hiding something from you? Do you know how much it hurts?"
I knew full well that Harry could, at any time, push me off of him and leave. I was just hoping he wouldn't.
Harry was quiet for a few minutes, as if he deciding whether or not to speak.
"Something happened during the last task. We had to make our way through a huge maze to the center where the tournament's trophy was. Of course there were obstacles in the maze to make it more difficult. Cedric, he was another competitor, and I got to the cup first, at the same time.
"We touched it at the same time and it took us-" He stopped and sighed. His green eyes bored into mine and I couldn't read the emotion in them. "It was a trap. Voldemort, you remember I told you about-"
"Of course." I interrupted. "How could I forget the name of person who wants you dead?"
"Yeah…" Harry nodded. "Well, Voldemort, he was waiting there for me. And he killed Cedric. Right in front of me."
"Oh Harry!" I cried and released my grip on him so that I could hug him. He returned the hug and buried his face in the crook of my neck.
But still he spoke and his warm breath tickled my skin. "We dueled- we fought and somehow I escaped. When I got out of the maze, with Cedric's body, nobody knew what happened at first. Everyone cheered but then…then the screams and the tears came…I can still hear them. I can still see Cedric's unseeing eyes staring up at me from where he lay on the ground. I keep dreaming about him. I told everyone what happened but they don't believe me…they don't believe that he's really alive.
"I believe you." I whispered.
"My friends believe me. The headmaster of my school, he believes me. Some do, but most don't. I'm afraid of what he'll do."
I wish I could help him. I wish I could keep him safe.
- Elle.
July 12, 1995
Dear Journal,
Something happened to Dudley and the Dursleys are blaming Harry. He can't get out of his house because they've locked him in his room. Harry said he was lucky they didn't kick him out.
- Elle.
August 11th, 1995
Dear Journal,
Harry's gone again. He didn't say goodbye this time. He just disappeared. I haven't heard from him yet. I hope he's okay.
- Elle.
He couldn't say goodbye that summer. Moody, Lupin, Shacklebolt, Tonks, Vance, Doge, Diggle, Jones and Podmore had come to escort him to the Order of the Phoenix HQ and they wouldn't let him say goodbye. And once he was at HQ, they wouldn't let him send letters.
He had figured that she'd find other ways to occupy her time. He was a fool who didn't know how much she cared.