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

All too familiar

"Bart!" I called, forcing myself off of the couch and stretched my arms above my head. "Bart, where are you?" I walked towards the kitchen where his water and food bowls were, only to find them untouched since I had refilled them this morning.

"Dad, have you seen Bart anywhere?" I called back to the living room.

"Nope, not since last night" Dad entered the kitchen and opened the fridge. He pulled out a jug of orange juice and set it on the table. He glanced at the clock behind him, furrowed his brows, and continued to grab a glass.

"Waiting for something?" I asked and dad merely shrugged.

"Alastair was supposed to be here two hours ago" Dad shrugged, pouring his juice and putting it back into the fridge. "I suppose he's just got caught up in something."

I flicked through my memory. Today was the 27th of July, and Harry's birthday was the 31st. I didn't have anything to worry about, not for another four days.

But Alastair was almost never late. When he said he'd be somewhere, he'd get there or die trying.

"Is there something troubling you, Ace?" Dad walked back into the living room and I followed, shaking my head.

"No, just thinking about where Bart could be... I think I'll just go check my room" I lied and walked away from him.

"Bart?" I called, opening my door and flicking on the light. "Bart?" With a sigh, I flopped down on my bed. Bart was like a cat, sometimes, in the meaning that he would only be found when he wanted to be found.

And then I was hit by a sudden breeze, suddenly taking into account partially open window on my left wall. The space was just large enough for Bart to fit through, just large enough for my heart to jump into my chest and begin to beat at a thousand kilometres an hour.

"Bart?" I called again, somewhat desperately as I sat up and slowly walked towards the window to shut it. What if Bart had gotten out? He wouldn't be able to survive on his own in Louisiana. There were snakes and alligators and birds of prey...I had to go and look for him. I would not lose Bart too. It was my responsibility to take care of him and I had managed to lose him.

Sniffling, I opened my jumper drawer to find the maroon one that Bart and I loved so much. I found it at the very bottom, balled into a giant mess. When I picked it up, the unnatural squeak of a sweater emitted from the center.

"No" I whispered, unfolding it frantically only to find the heart-stopping bright green fluff ball asleep in the middle.

"BART!" the gasp was loud enough to startle him awake. "Bart, you sneaky little devil, don't you ever scare me like that again, okay!" I hugged him to my chest, although he managed to scramble away to my bed. He looked up at me with those large eyes of his as I slipped on George's sweater.

"Come on you" I place him on my shoulder and went back into the living room.

"Look who I found-" I said, stopped my sentence when I saw the distressed look on my dad's face. "Dad, are you alright?"

"Just worried is all" he laid back on the couch with a cold-pack on his head. "Alastair mentioned he was going on a mission with the order today. I'm sure he's just gotten caught up."

The words tumbled from my mouth before I could stop them. "But he isn't moving Harry for another few days, right?"

Dad didn't answer. "Right?" I asked again.

"We aren't daft, Ace. We knew you were hiding under the window" he closed his eyes. "Now, I'm going to take a nap. We'll talk more about this later."