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

Question and Answer

Time flew faster than the clock Kelly tossed out of the window every morning and before I knew it, it was May. I didn't know how it had happened, mostly by spending time with Kelly, Laura, and Ramsey and not thinking about certain people.

Especially on April Fools Day.


The library had regained its use to me, although I wasn't living there anymore. It was quiet, and peaceful, and nobody said a word about me down here. Even Laura and Kelly started coming down here with me, for their own reasons of course.


Kelly had become the rumoured school slag, although she didn't seem offended by the rumours. In fact, she was practically bored. "You would think they would come up with something more interesting than 'she got knocked up', you know? Why couldn't have I gotten pregnant by a Prince while carrying out our secret love affair when he came to tour the UK? Or how about me being impregnated on my last night together with my childhood friend and true love before he went off to war?" she said, her head in her hands and a disappointed look on her face.


As much as she complained though, there was no doubt about it that she was happy, for the most part. Lee had to be one of the most supportive and loving boyfriends I had ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on. He was at every single one of her appointments with a cheery disposition and a smile on his face. He didn't even mind when Kelly started to moon over Mr. Cavanaugh.


"Oh shut up you twit" Laura rolled her eyes and flipped the page in her Witch Weekly hidden in her Charms text book. "In both of those fantasies the baby-daddy ends up leaving, which leads me to believe that you have a horrible imagination. Lee is probably a wizard-god send, especially since he has to put up with you."


"I know that!" Kelly said, closing her text book. "And believe me, I don't know what I'd do without the boy. I'm just saying, if people are going to be talking about me, then I want it to be something worth hearing. I'm not the first girl to get preggo here and I'm definitely not the last. What I do want to be though, is memorable."


Laura leaned over the table and ruffled Kelly's mass of curls. "You want to be memorable?" Kelly nodded and adjusted her glasses. "Well then... I'm sure we can think of something, right Ace?"


"Don't you know it" I winked at Laura, but she didn't seem to be paying any attention to me anymore. Instead, she had caught sight of something over my shoulder and whatever it was caused her face to twist into a grimace.


Kelly and I both followed her gaze, only to end up looking at Ramsey Wood as he entered the library and made his way towards us.


"Hey guys!" Ramsey waved a hand at us in a friendly manner, causing Laura to give a growl and slam her book shut on her desk.


"And I thought I was the emotional one" Kelly whispered to me, examining Laura's stiff posture with weary eyes. I prodded Laura with the end of my wand. She barely looked at me as she bit the inside of her cheek and kept her eyes focused on the table.


"Be nice" I hissed, but Laura growled again before sending a sour look in Ramsey's direction, springing out of her seat, and leaving the library without another word.


Ramsey followed her with his eyes until the door closed behind her, and then proceeded to take her seat. "What's up with her?" he laughed, running a hand through his hair.


"I can't even begin to tell you" Kelly sighed, stretching awkwardly towards the table since her stomach created a good foot and a half between them. I nudged Kelly with my elbow and she rolled her eyes grudgingly.


"Don't nudge me, woman!" Kelly exclaimed. "There is something seriously up with that girl. Don't take offense to it, Rams. She's obviously not in her right mind."


"Kelly, stop being mean" I chastised, but Kelly pounded a fist on the table and hoisted herself (with much difficulty) out of her seat.


"I'm not going to take this!" she grunted slightly as she backed away from the table. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go sit in my room and eat a tub of... well a tub of something. You better be ready to apologize for picking on the pregnant girl when you get back!" And with that, she waddled away on her bloated feet with her hands awkwardly holding her back.


"Your friends are downright loons, are you aware?" Ramsey sighed as he reached across the table and began to flip through the closest book.


"Sadly, yes" I sighed. "Do you even have the faintest idea why Laura hates you so bloody much?" Ramsey merely shrugged and kept his eyes glued to the page. "None at all?"


"Nope" he said absently, reading each page with ridiculous speed or not at all.


I withheld a groan and put my head in my hands. "Well it's nice to know that one of my friends is so completely uncomplicated." I couldn't help but let a smile creep up onto my face as Ramsey closed the book and finally looked up at me.


And he looked at me for a while, his look of complete calm slowly furrowing his brow and twitching his upper lip. His eyes constantly scanned my face, searching for something that may or may not have been there. Finally, after several long and awkward minutes on my part, he sighed an agonized sigh and dropped his eyes back down to the table.


"Would you ever consider me to be a completely uncomplicated more-than-a-friend?" he asked quietly, refusing to look back up at me.


It was my turn to remain silent now, awkwardly looking at his gloomy face. I had already had my go with Ramsey and we had ended it on good terms. We had ended it because of George. But now George was out of the picture forever, whether I wanted it or not. Could I start it back up with him, knowing that he stood a fair chance?


No. Something in my gut just wouldn't let me force a simple 'maybe' from my lips.


"I think that's a paradox. More-than-friends are always complicated" I tried to lighten the air, but the damper made it impossible. Ramsey looked up at me, obviously trying to look unhurt by my words.


"Listen" I sighed, reaching a hand out and touching his. "In a perfect world, I would be able to say yes. You're handsome, charming, smart, funny, and caring. You play Quidditch. You're an amazing friend. You're perfect," I stopped and took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, you're not the perfect guy for me. I'd rather us stay friends then dive right back into our relationship and have it end horribly."


He sighed another one of those heartbreaking sighs and pulled his hand away from mine. He looked up at me, brown meeting green for a brief second, shook his head and chuckled. "I should have known better than even ask. I don't stand a chance in the world with a girl like you...." He stood up and ran a hand through his already tusseled brown hair.


"I don't think anyone does." His mouth turned up into something I couldn't describe- not a smile for sure. His lips pressed together, pushing themselves to one side of his face. For a moment, I thought he'd never leave. But then he did without even saying goodbye.


Ramsey, for such a smart boy, only had part of it down. I couldn't love anyone else, but it wasn't just because of George. It wasn't just that fact that if I had said yes, he would be just another person I'd have to worry about keeping alive.


Somehow, I think it was me. Something deep down inside, something that nobody would be able to touch. They were scars. Scars from everything I'd ever had to deal with, forming a protective barrier to ensure that I could never be hurt ever again. But they could only protect me from the people on the outside.


Every night, I managed to open up those scars one inch at a time as I relived scenes from the corridors, scenes from my cell, the eternal darkness of the potion I thought I'd never be able to crawl out of. The pain I had caused my dad, and Kelly, and Laura, and now Ramsey. The look on George's face that I'd rather jump in front of a bus than ever see again. Knowing that with one false move, they could all be dead. I had caused all of that. I had to carry that around for the rest of my life. Normal people didn't have to deal with everything I went through.


But I wasn't normal. I was simply broken, too damaged for anyone to ever want. But if that's what it took to keep my list of people to protect from growing any longer, I'd sacrifice it all again.

_________________________________________________________________________


"Hey Ace, could you pass the beans" Laura asked as she layed against a tree by the waterfront. We were all sitting out lazily in the sun, glad that these summer days were here to stay with us for the time being. Our little group had been shortened down to three again, Ramsey heading back to his group of Quidditch playing mates. It was a loss, but one that I could deal with. I couldn't stand to lose him any other way.


Kelly had her knees curled into her stomach, or as far as she could get them, with a textbook in her lap. She's be studying non-stop for her early exams that she was being forced to take, although at this point she looked as though she couldn't bear the thought of looking at another passage on poisons.


I did as Laura asked, passing her the entire carton. Quickly she shoved a handful of beans into her mouth and picked up the closest book to her, Herbology. She paled visibly and set it back down, looking back out onto the water.


"Something wrong?" I asked, and she nodded as she tried to force down a choking noise from her throat. "Are you okay?" she shook her head this time, finally letting a mild sob break through.


Maybe this little scene wasn't as perfect as I thought it was.


Kelly put down her book and turned towards us. "Tell us" she grimaced for no particular reason and shifted her position.


Laura looked quietly out onto the water. Without turning to face us, she wiped a tear from her cheek and said in a whisper, "Neville broke up with me."


Both Kelly and I reached forwards for her, but Kelly quickly winced and forced herself back down. "What happened hun?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at Kelly but she ignored my questioning looks.


"We were just talking, hanging out, doing what we normally do. We'd been dating for a while, right, so I figured it was time I met his parents and he met mine. Instead, he said I could meet his Gran because his parents were gone" she pushed her hair out of her face and bit her lip. "So I asked him where his parents were.


"He refused to tell me, and we got into a row. Instead he said that I should stop nosing about in his business and take what he gives me. I didn't get it. Why couldn't I meet his parents? And if they were dead, why wouldn't he have just told me?" Finally, she turned to us and attempted to keep her mouth straight.


"So, when he was in the loo, I tried to find something about his parents in his room. All I found was an old photo album with a picture of what I think was them when they were young, and a few empty Drooble's wrappers. He came out before I could put it away though....And then he broke up with me, just like that" she said in astonishment as if she couldn't believe what she was saying.


I went to go comfort her, say something that would make her feel better but wouldn't slam on Neville. She cut me off and continued chatting away gloomily. "Is it me? Is he embarrassed of me and that's why he doesn't want me to meet his parents. I mean, he NEVER talks about them, and we've been dating for almost a year! Friends for even longer! Why was it such a big secret? Does he not trust me?"


She finally broke down, her head resting on her arms, resting on her knees. Her shoulder shook with grief as I reached over and rubbed them.


"I know Laura, it hurts" I whispered, pressing my forehead to her hair. "But it's going to get better."


Kelly grunted oddly and shifted closer to us. "Laura, if he can't share with you something like that, he's probably not ready for the kind of relationship you're ready for. It's no one's fault. It's just part of life, I guess" she shrugged and joined in on the group hug slowly.


We all cried, although we attempted to hide it from the others. We stayed like this for what could have been hours, taking in the silent words from our friends embraces. These were my best friends, they shared everything with me, but I had to keep so much from them.


"Okay, enough feeling sorry for ourselves" Kelly sniffed and layed back on the grass. A permanent look of pain was plastered on her face as she tucked her red mass of hair behind her head. Laying her clasped hands on her stomach, she closed her eyes and the final tear rolled off her cheek and onto the grass.


"Kelly....is there something you want to tell us?" I asked, nudging Laura and shifting my eyes to Kelly. Laura shrugged and motioned to her stomach, mouthing 'pregnant thing?' with a curious look on her face.


Kelly's face twisted indescribably. "Yah yah, you guys are the best friends in the world" she waved a hand passively before place it back on her stomach and going still.


I chuckled, pushing myself off of the grass so I was crouched. "Thanks Kel, but I don't think that's what Ace meant" Laura chuckled and pulling into the same position that I was in. "Are you feeling okay?"


Kelly shrugged, scrunching up her nose. "Meh. I sort of went on an eating binge last night and may have tried some combinations I shouldn't have. I'm just suffering the consequences I guess" she said lazily. "That and I have a wicked case of heartburn. Dear mama, I think this is the last time I'll ever be pregnant." The redhead laughed, opening her eyes when she realised that we hadn't joined in with her.


"Okay, Kelly, I'm going to ask you some questions and you've got to answer completely honestly. Got it?" I asked cautiously, not wanting to jump to conclusions.


"Like the flue" she rolled her eyes.


"Is your stomach feel suddenly really tight and then releasing again?" I asked and she nodded.


"It's probably just Braxton-Hicks" Kelly said quickly, shutting her eyes again and biting her lip.


"It's definitely not. You're definitely making faces more and more often and Braxton-Hicks are regular. Does it feel like period cramps?" I continued to interrogate her. She shrugged again and I sprang up.


"Okay, what would you rate the pain when it first started?" Laura clearly wasn't getting what was going on because her eyes began to dart between us fast enough to give her a headache.


"Three" Kelly sighed, propping herself up on her elbows.


"And now?"


"Five hundred" she sighed.


I shook my head and placed my hands on my hips. "Fuck Kelly, you dimwit!" I sighed and pulled Laura to her feet. "Go pack a bag for Kelly, I'm taking her to the headmasters office."


"I swear, Ace, I'm pretty sure it's just Braxton Hicks" Kelly rolled her eyes again and forced herself to her feet. She gasped and doubled over.


"What's going on?!" Laura cried, stomping her foot.


"What's going on is that our dear darling Kelly is in labour."