I'll Catch You (A Harry Potter Fan Fiction)

Dear Acelynne

"KELLY!" Laura Pierce burst into the sixth year girls dormitory, her hair in complete disarry and a faint line of sweat on her brow, both caused by the frantic run up the stairs. She bit her lip and slammed the door behind her before diving towards her trunk.


"What?" Kelly sighed, looking up from the latest copy of 'Which Broomstick?' and narrowed her eyes at her best friend, who was only barely visible at this point from underneath her clothes.


"I need an outfit, and I need it stat" she mumbled as she emptied her trunk of all of its clothes and began to riffle through them. She gave an agonized sigh as she picked up each piece, held it up to her body, and tossed it to the side.


"In case you didn't notice, outfits are sort of required at school" Kelly said dryly and lulled her head back onto the pillow. She began to massage her temples and shut her eyes tightly, trying to block out the faint light coming in through the window. She loved her friends and was usually willing to help them with everything, but lately she just wasn't feeling well. Constant nausea, headaches, and fatigue seemed to plague her, but that could just be from the amount of studying she had been doing. Or so she hoped.


"Very funny Kelly, now help me out here! The Hogsmead trip is tomorrow and I want to look extra cute for Neville" Laura decided that her clothes weren't going to be good enough for this trip and moved onto Kelly's trunk, reeking the same havoc as she did with her own clothes.


"And who said that you could borrow my clothes?" Kelly asked, rather irritably, as she pushed herself off of the mattress and went to kneel beside her trunk.


Laura stopped and looked at her friend, dumbfounded. "You never have a problem when I borrow your clothes without asking, just like I don't have a problem when you borrow mine" she said softly, trying not to let the hurt slip into her voice. The truth was, lately she had been feeling left out by her friends. Sure, she had Neville now but it felt as if her friends had been slipping away from her. Kelly was sick, although she didn't want to admit it. She was the strong one in the group and letting a 'little cold' get her down was just as bad as surrendering to a Slytherin. And Laura didn't even want to get started on Ace.


"I'm sorry" Kelly ran a hand through her hair and began to pick through her own clothes. "I didn't mean to snap at you" she gave her friend a one armed hug before reaching farther into her trunk and pulling out an empty bottle of her scent-changing potion that Ace had given her in fourth year. The thought of fourth year made her smile, it had been a great year. The thought of Ace made her have blink tears out of her eyes much like she had to do every time she saw her, which wasn't very often.


"It's okay" Laura shrugging and picked up a red sweater from the depths of Kelly's trunk. "Why do you have a red sweater in your trunk? We both know that red is not your colour" she said teasingly. "Must be a bugger that you're in Gryffindor."


"Tell me about it" Kelly shook her head and took the sweater from Laura's hands. "I think its Ace's..... I wore it to a Quidditch game a few months ago." She stopped for a moment, turning her head so she was facing Ace's trunk. "Well it seems like there's nothing in here. How about we go and check Ace's trunk? I doubt that she'd mind."


Laura hesitantly glanced at Acelynne's trunk and bit the inside of her cheek. "Of course she wouldn't" Laura said, more to herself than to Kelly. Together they walked over to Acelynne's trunk, leaving the mess from both of their trunks strewn across the floor.


Opening the trunk, Laura let out a sigh of relief. She wasn't sure why she felt so nervous about going through Ace's stuff; she used to do it practically every day. It felt as if they weren't even friends anymore, but is wasn't as if Kelly and Laura didn't try.

For a whole month they spent their time in the library with Ace. For the next month they spent every day trying to get Ace out of the library. When they made the decision to respect Ace's wishes and let her study, it was as if Ace had forgotten about them. She was gone in the morning before they woke up, never came down for meals, and came back into the dorm long after they had fallen asleep. They had a class with her each (Herbology with Laura and Charms with Kelly) and in those classes she sat at the back, took her notes quietly, and was out as soon as the bell rung.


"How about that purple dress that Ace has? The one she wore on her date with Ramsey?" Kelly suggested, taking the clothes out of the trunk more carefully than she did her own.


Laura cocked her head to the side, trying to remember what the dress looked like before answering. "I think I'll need to see it" she said finally, reaching her hands into the trunk and creating a mess in her search.


"Laura!" Kelly said, taking out each piece that she unfolded and refolding it on the floor.


"I was going to fix it all when I found the dress!" Laura squealed. "And now I have." She pulled out the dress, stood up, and held it up to her frame. As the skirt unfolded itself, six letters tumbled out and floated to the floor.


"I think I'll wear it" Laura said in finality, looking in her mirror and twirling in a circle.


Kelly didn't respond. She was too busy staring at the letters on the floor, her brow furrow in frustration as her eyes skimmed over them. "What do you think?" Laura asked, looking at Kelly and following her gaze down to the letters.


"Kelly!" she gasped, grabbing the letters and holding them to her chest. "Do you really think we should be reading Ace's post?!"


The redhead bit her lip and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "In normal circumstances, no I don't think we should be reading her post. But do you really think we're in a normal circumstance? There's obviously something else going on with Ace."


"Don't you think she'd ask for our help if there was something going on?" Laura said, placing the dress on her bed before returning to Ace's trunk and sitting beside Kelly.


Laura, you know just as well as I do that something is not right with her. I think as her best friends that it's our responsibility to figure out what's going on!" Kelly grabbed the letters from Laura and tucked them into the front of her shirt.


"But it's wrong! Ace deserves her privacy!" Laura tried to keep her voice down as she reached forward and tried to take the letters back. Kelly jumped to her feet and raced to the door, taking the letters with her.


"Not if her privacy is the one thing that's going to kill her!" Kelly said, leaning against the doorframe, waving the letters under her nose.


"Don't you think you're being a bit dramatic?" Laura sighed and stood up. "How about this? Let's go find Hermione and get her to decide for us" the words tumbled from her mouth, a quick solution for their problem. Hermione would be totally against reading Ace's post.


"Fine" Kelly huffed and quickly stepped up the stairs and into Hermione's dormitory, Laura following quickly behind, neither of the girls noticing the slight raise in Ace's mattress.


Hermione was alone, sitting on her bed and reading from her Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook, her eyes skimming rapidly down the page before flipping it violently and jumping it to the next. Kelly knocked on the doorframe, causing Hermione to jump.


"We need your expert decision making skills" Kelly said boldly, walking into the room and sitting on the bed beside Hermione, who looked rather relieved for having a distraction.


"Well I was studying...." she bit her lip before breaking out into a wide smile, "but for you two? I think I can afford to take a little break."


Laura laughed from the doorframe and ran into the room, springing up onto the bed (knocking the books off in the process), and wrapping her thin arms around Hermione's neck. "Good, because we need a mediator and who else is more level-headed than you?" Hermione laughed before returning the hug and positioning herself so she could speak to both of the girls at once.


"No one. Now what's the problem?" she crossed her legs and straightened her back, like a professional.


"So I was looking for an outfit, and couldn't find anything to wear in my trunk, nor Kelly's, so we decided to go through Ace's trunk-ˮ Laura started.


"And inside the trunk we found six letters that we didn't even know that she had-ˮ Kelly pulled the letters out and sat them in the middle of the bed.


"Along with an adorable dress-ˮ the blonde jumped in.


"Not the point, Laura" Kelly snapped suddenly, shooting a pointed look at her.


"What is the point?" Hermione asked innocently, pulling her hair to one of her shoulders.


"Don't you think Ace has been acting strange lately? We know she wants to be a healer and maybe the workload is getting to her, but I have a feeling that that isn't the whole story" Kelly took her glasses off and cleaned the lenses on her shirt. "And I feel that by reading her post, we may get some insight on what really is going on with her."


"And I feel that it's a major invasion of her privacy. We should just go talk to her and find out what's wrong, firsthand" Laura cut back in, glaring at the letters on the bed before turning her gaze to Hermione.


Hermione furrowed her brow and glanced down at the letters. "I get where both of you are coming from. Laura, you're right. Ace does deserve her privacy and as her friends, we shouldn't be going through her private post.


"But how are we supposed to talk to her? I'm in all of her classes and she hasn't said three words to anyone, let alone me. I think that if we try and talk to her, it might upset her even more and she may not speak at all." She shook her head and ran a hand through her frizzing hair.


"Does that mean?" Kelly said, excitement dripping into her voice.


Laura sighed sadly, shook her head, and moved over to the next bed. She crossed her arms tightly and turned towards the wall, adamant not to have anything to do with the letters.


"It means that we're going to read Ace's post" Hermione said sadly and grabbed the earliest one.


_____________________________________________________________________



OCTOBER

Dear Acelynne,

School must be keeping you really busy, yah? Seeing as your last letter was approximately two lines long. Not that I'm trying to guilt you though, I'm glad that you're so focused on your work. If I had as much drive as you when I was your age, I could be the Minister of Magic by now. Maybe not the Minister exactly, but we'd have it good.


Anyways, remember what I said about taking a break every once in a while? Well I think that if you've haven't done it by now, it might be a good time to take one. Have a day off, let Laura and Kelly talk you into having some fun. It's what they seem to do best.


Other than that I hope that you don't have a complete breakdown from the amount of work they're giving you and if you do, you have a million people that are there to pick you right back up again, your dear old dad included.

Love,
Dad


*****

My semi-long distance but ever adored girlfriend,

Ace, I'm sorry to hear that you won't be joining Fred and I down at the Hogshead on Halloween. Is it just because of all of the work they're giving you, or are you just feeling a bit run down? If it's the latter, I'd feel loads better if you went to the Hospital Wing.


But for now, let's forget about the boring stuff. If we can't get together this month, then maybe the next Hogsmead visit? If I do have to wait that long to see you, love, we might have to do a bit more than snogging to hold me over until the next time we get together. You're still coming home for Christmas, right? I mean, Bart really misses you. He sits in front of this picture that I framed of us and makes this real pathetic whimpering noise. Is it possible to have a depressed pygmy puff?


To be honest he isn't the only one who's missing you, but you already know that. I love you and I miss you and even if I got to be with you tomorrow, it wouldn't be soon enough for my liking.

Your semi-long distance but ever adoring boyfriend,
George


PS: Hey Ace, it's Fred. Don't worry, I still miss you and your boyfriend is still as big of a pansy as ever. He's also not lying about Bart though, that little bugger is positively pathetic. It's nothing that a little cake can't fix. Angelina say's hi.

The coolest ginger you know,
Fred






NOVEMBER:

Dear Acelynne,

I haven't heard from you in almost a month in a half and I'm starting to worry about you. I understand that you want to do well on your NEWTs and good grades in class but I can't help but think that it might be wearing yourself out a tad.


How can I put this in terms that you'll understand? Schoolwork is like chocolate. If you eat/work all the time, then you begin to get sluggish and exhausted. If you feel like you're taking on too much at one time then maybe you should go and get help from some of the Professors, they are there to help you after all.


Of course, perhaps you've been using all of your spare time to terrorize the school with Kelly and Laura and in that case, excuse your dad for being a sod and ignore the top two paragraphs of this letter.


Now, I think right now would be a good time to wrap up this letter. I love you so much and I'm so very proud of you for being so dedicated to your school work. I just hope that you're not too busy to write your poor, aging dad a letter or two before Christmas? The house feels empty without you.

Love,
Dad

*****


My non-responsive yet completely loved girlfriend,

Ace, how are you doing? I'm not asking you this in a casual way, love, I'm being quite serious about this. I get working hard to achieve your dreams, hell do you think Fred and I blew up all of those dung bombs because we liked it? (Okay, well, yeah but we were also doing it for our future) But if you're working yourself sick then maybe you should slow down, take a sabbatical of sorts.


I'm also to understand through my contacts at Hogwarts that you won't be having another Hogsmead trip until before Christmas. Truth is, love, Fred and I are going away on a business trip the week before so we can be back in time to celebrate it with you. You are still coming back for Christmas, right? I mean, it's not like I'd know, seeing as you haven't written back me or your dad.


Not that I blame you, darlin, I'm sure you're at the top of your class with all of the work that you're doing. Maybe one day you'll be a famous healer and I'll be your gorgeous trophy husband. If you do, then you'll have earned it. And as for me... I don't mind being just a pretty face.


Anyways, I'm going to start coming to a close with my letter, seeing as it's probably boring you, being the complete intellectual that you are. I love you more than what should be humanly possible and I miss you even more than that. So does Bart, who has taken to stealing our picture, hiding it in his bed, and sleeping next to it. You may think I'm joking, but I'm actually not.

Your over-responsive and obviously completely loving boyfriend,
George

PS: Hey Ace, it's Fred. I think I'm actually starting to miss you more due to your lack of letters but if this was a 'Who Misses Acelynne More?' competition, then I think that Bart would win. George really wasn't joking about the picture thing. It's a bit creepy, but adorable at the same time. But since I'm not a pansy like your boyfriend, I don't really think anything is adorable so it's mostly creepy.


Listen to George and your dad, Ace. If you overwork yourself then all of that hard work will be for nothing when you crash. Mum, Dad, Lee, and Angelina say hi.

El Ginger Fantastico,
Fred





DECEMBER:

Dear Acelynne,

I understand working hard, I really do but this is getting plain ridiculous. You're not responding to my letters or to George's letters so I had no choice when I contacted the school to ensure that you were alive. Would you like to know what they said?


They said that you work extremely hard; every waking minute of the day is spent studying. You take extensive notes, even when it's not needed. Your essays are impeccable, your potions are perfect. But that's not all that they said. They also say that you don't speak in class unless you are called on, that you don't go out of your way to socialize with students. That you've pretty much taken up residence in the library and have become a hermit.


This is where I draw the line. You need to find a middle ground Acelynne, and you won't have this fantastic future you dream about if you kill yourself on the way to get it!I'm demanding that you come home for Christmas, even if you have told the Professors that you are planning on stay at the school over the break. If I have to fly there myself and get you, I will. You are taking a break, no questions asked.


I'm sorry if this makes you angry, but I'm doing this because I love you, sweetheart.

Love,
Dad

*****

My speechless but favourite girlfriend,

Ace, let's cut to the chase here. You haven't written to you father or I in months and if I didn't know better, I'd think that you've dropped straight off of the face of the earth. It's obvious that you're quite literally killing yourself with the amount of work that you're doing and we're not going to stand by and watch you self-destruct.


That is why I am sitting in a cramped room over top of a pub in Wales, writing to you to let you know that I'm going to be at 9 ¾ to pick you up. If you're not there then your dad will be going to the school to get you. He is certainly not joking about that. In fact, I believe I'll be going with him.


Everyone is worried about you, Ace. Mum, Dad, Fred, Angelina, Lee, me.... We're all worried that you're going to have a complete breakdown, and you're only a quarter way through studying for your NEWTs. Especially your dad. He may not seem like it, but he's worried sick. Literally. He hasn't been sleeping or getting any rest. We all love you so much, I love you so much, and we don't want to see you sick.

Your talkative but favourite boyfriend,
George

PS: Ace, its Fred. You need to listen to George and your dad. If you're not going to it for your dad or your extremely devoted boyfriend or anyone else for that matter, do it for yourself. This could be harming your chances of having a future, and it could be harming your health.


Don't be mad at George or your dad either, okay? They're doing this because they love you so much it's impossible. I honestly think that they'd jump in front of a stampede of rabies-ridden hippogriffs carrying death eaters, for you, and wouldn't doubt it either.


Everyone says hey, everyone misses you, and everyone hopes to see you at Christmas.

The self proclaimed mediator,
Fred

_________________________________________________________________


Laura stood up from the bed and paced towards the door, a look of triumph on her face as Hermione set the letters aside. "I told you so" she said and leaned against the wall, scowling at the other two girls.


"What do you mean?" Kelly asked, looking up from the papers and pushing her hair out of her face.


"Those letters just proved my point. Ace has just gone over-board on studying, even her dad, George, and Fred think so. If there was really anything wrong, she would have told them. She would have told us!" Laura walked over to the bed and snatched the letters up. "Now I'm going to go put these back where I found them and forget that this ever happened. I suggest that you two do the same."


Kelly looked down at the mattress underneath her, shame clouding her face, but Hermione's expression turned to one of defiance. "No Laura. The fact that she hasn't written back to George or her dad is a sign that things are far worse than we thought" she shook her head and walked towards the door.


"What are you doing?" Kelly asked, pushing up from the bed and biting her lip.


"Going to find Ace" Hermione said.


"And what if she doesn't want to tell you?" Laura chimed in.


"Then I'll have to go to the Headmaster. He'd know what to do" Hermione responded sadly and walked out of the room.


"WAIT!" Laura yelled after her, causing her to stop and turn around. "I want to go put the letters back first. Then I'll go with you." Laura ran down the stairs and threw the door open to their room, unsure of who closed it in the first place.


That question was answered immediately at the sight of Acelynne, sitting in her bed with the curtains wide open. She was scribbling down something on a piece of parchment, her eyes unblinking as she went from one side of the page to the next.


Laura gasped and tucked the letters into the back of her skirt. "Guys..." she called hesitantly, taking a step into the room.


"Stop wasting time Laura!" Kelly called, walking into the room and stopping dead in her track at the sight of Ace. "Oh."


"What?" Hermione came in last, closing the door behind her when she saw what the other two had seen. "Oh my."


"Exactly" Laura smirked and took a step closer to the bed. "Hey Ace."


Acelynne looked up, her face void of any and all emotion. She looked the girls over, as if she hadn't notice they had entered the room a minute before, and said "Hey" before going back to her work.


Those few moments in which she looked up burned an image into each of their brains. Acelynne had lost at least fifteen pounds of much needed weight, leaving the hollows of her cheeks and under her eyes dark. Her arms and legs were spindly, every one of her joints pronounced. The shine had gone from her hair and eyes and her fingernails looked brittle. It would be nice to say that she looked like the walking dead.


"Holy hell" Kelly whispered, taking a hesitant step forwards.


"You can say that again" Laura said, blinking back a sudden wave of tears.


"Holy hell" Kelly repeated.


Hermione had yet to speak since Acelynne looked up, but she took no time at all to march over to the foot of her bed and close the book she was copying from. Acelynne stared at the suddenly empty space on her bed before looking upwards with a blank face.


"Yes?" she asked, staring unblinkingly at the faces of the three girls in front of her.


"What's going on Ace?" Hermione said firmly, sitting down on the edge of the bed with her hands in her lap.


"What do you mean?" Ace replied, her voice as robotic as can be.


Kelly and Laura took simultaneous steps forward until they were also at the foot of the bed. "You've been sort of distant lately" Laura squeaked, slightly off-put by the fact that Acelynne had yet to blink since they walked into the room.


"Sort of?" Kelly scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "We haven't seen you in weeks."


Acelynne peeled her eyes away from the girls and looked out the window. "I've been studying" she replied emptily. "And I still need to study." Her hand went into her bag, without taking her eyes away from the window, and pulled out a potions text book.


"No. Ace, you need to talk to us. Is there something else going on?" Hermione took that book away from her too and placed it underneath the bed.


"Nothing is going on. I just need to study." Kelly and Laura exchanged concerned looks, their eyes flitting back to the statuesque girl on the bed. Laura wasn't the only one with tears in her eyes now, for each of them was as glassy-eyed as the next.


The three girls walked around the bed and positioned themselves in front of the window, blocking off Acelynne's view. Hermione cleared her throat before she spoke. "We know that you told the Professors that you're staying back for the Christmas break."


Acelynne blinked for what seemed like the first time in minutes. "How?" Her eyes focused on the girls, although not for long. Every ten seconds or so they circled the room, but it didn't appear as if they took anything in.


"We also know that you're not writing back to George or your Dad" Kelly pushed her glasses up her nose and bit her lip, looking down at the floor self consciously. Laura nodded her head before looking right and wiping the tears out of her eyes in an inconspicuous manner.


"How?" Ace asked again, unable to show any sign of emotion.


"We read your post" Hermione said, matter-of-factly. Her voice also held an undertone of regret, as if she had betrayed her friend but not matter how much she tried to hide it, it didn't work.


"Oh." Acelynne looked down before reaching her hand into her bag and pulling out another book. "Why would you do that?" she asked, not sounding curious in the least.


Kelly reached forward, grabbed the book, and tossed it onto her bed. "Because we care about you!" her voice rose as she spoke.


"And we don't want to see you getting hurt" Laura cut in, pushing her hair out of her face.


"And that's why you should tell us what's really going on with you" Hermione finished.


Acelynne stared at the girls with blank eyes before answering. "Nothing's going on with me. I'm just studying" she shrugged.


"But it's obvious that you're not just studying!" Kelly yelled, tossing her hands up into the air in defeat.


"What we do is studying! What Hermione does is study! What you're doing is obsessing" Laura put bluntly. "And I think your obsessing about studying to take your mind off of something that's obviously bothering you."


"Is it about George?" Kelly asked, and Ace shook her head. "Is it about your dad?" Ace shook her head again. "Are you having those dreams again?" Ace shook her head a third time before grabbing her bag and hoisting it up to her chest.


"There's nothing wrong" Acelynne said and pushed herself off of her bed.


"Are you sure?" Hermione persisted and walked into her path. "Because if you're in trouble or scared or....." she shook her head and looked up at the ceiling. "We're going to be here for you. Always."


Something flashed over Acelynne's face for the briefest second, so quickly that it might not have even been there in the first place. But as soon as it came, it went and Acelynne hoisted her bag up onto her shoulder.


"I'm fine. Everything's fine" she said, almost to herself, as she walked past Hermione and headed out the door.


"Where are you going!?" Kelly called after her.


"Library" her voice came from down the steps, so faintly that you had to strain yourself to hear it.


Hermione gave a great sigh and threw herself onto the bed, covering her eyes with her hands. Kelly and Laura sat beside her, their brows furrowed and faces stricken with grief.


"Do you think that helped?" Laura mumbled as she bit her thumb nail.


"We'll have to see" Hermione said, removing her hands and focused her eyes on the ceiling. "But I'm guessing that it didn't."