Harry Potter and Destiny's Arrow

Jake realized shortly after leaving the dormitory that his plan was not entirely well-thought out since he was still in his pajamas. So he hunkered down in the Room of Requirement waiting for the sun to rise. Around six, he checked the map and was glad to see Ron and Harry in the common room and Hermione standing outside of Katie's door. When he thought of Katie, he felt a slight twinge of guilt; he had promised that he'd been extra careful. But it's my mom... He threw the cloak on over his pajamas and left the Room, frequently checking the map. As he approached the Gryffindor common room, he noted that the four of them were heading toward Dumbledore's office. Probably wondering where I've been... He mumbled the password and as the Fat Lady's portrait swung open, her eyes fluttered open and she muttered, "Who's there?" before falling back asleep. Once in the boys' dormitory, he quickly shucked off his pajamas and dressed warmly in jeans, boots, two T-shirts, and a particularly thick sweater. He grabbed his backpack and quickly wrapped himself in Harry's cloak as he heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Did you hear about that American? You know, what's-his-name? Jack?" one third year was saying to another.

"Hear what?" the second boy asked.

Jake paused on the stairs, wondering what rumor was spreading about him. "His mum is the American Minister of Magic." Jake groaned inwardly and hurried down the stairs. He needed to get to Hogsmeade and then to London before word spread.

On the third floor, he located the statue of the One-Eyed Witch and entered the secret passageway. According to the map, he'd come out in the basement of Honeydukes. His plan after getting there was a little fuzzy at this point. The trip to Hogsmeade was uneventful. As soon as he exited Honeydukes, he ducked into an alley and pulled off the cloak.

"Mischief managed," he uttered. The map was as blank as Malfoy's conscience. Jake grinned at this. Or as blank as Snape's compassion...or as blank as... He stood there for a long moment, trying to come up with another one. Hello...we need to get to London, remember? He shook his head and stuffed the map and cloak into his backpack. As he turned to head back to the main street, a sudden chill came over him. He glanced up to look into a faceless black cloak. Before he could turn or run, he felt the happiness leak out of him. Dementors...

"Expecto patronum," a voice shouted at the other end of the alley. The dementor turned its attention from him and Jake took the opportunity to escape. He rounded the corner.

"Going somewhere?" a tall dark-haired woman asked.

"Yeah, I'm late for an appointment," Jake said flippantly. He tried to move around the woman but she blocked his way.

"You're rather rude," the woman said. Jake noticed her heavy lidded eyes.

"Yeah, well, you know what they say about Americans. If you'll excuse me..."

"You're not going anywhere," the woman said. She raised her wand. She muttered something and Jake's world went black.

*****************************************

His eyes fluttered open. He tried to sit up, but his chest ached something fierce, and he flopped back down on the pillows. A quick glance around confirmed his initial suspicion that he was in the infirmary. The glance also indicated that he wasn't alone. The chair next to his bed was occupied by a redhead.

"G-ginny?" he croaked out.

Her eyes popped open. "Jake? You're OK then?" she asked with a sigh.

"I feel like I've been run over by a hippogriff, but other than that, I'm fine."

She grabbed a cup and pitcher off the bedside table. Filling the cup, she handed it to him. "Well, you sound as if you've drunk a bottle of Firewhisky. Drink this," she commanded.

Jake was in no mood to argue and, besides which, he was thirsty. He took the glass and downed it in one gulp. Handing it to her with a slight smile, he said, "More please."

While she refilled the cup, he asked why she was here with him.

"It was my turn to watch you," she replied simply, giving him a now full cup.

He drank this one as well. "Your turn?"

Ginny sat back down. "We've been taking turns for the last three days...me, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Katie. It just so happens that it's my turn now."

"Three days?" he repeated.

She nodded. "You got hit with some kind of..."

"Miss Weasley, that's quite enough," Madam Pomfrey said loudly.

As she shooed Ginny out of the infirmary, the redheaded girl turned. "I'll go tell the others then. And bring them back."

*************************************

After Madame Pomfrey had poked and prodded at him for what seemed like an eternity, she finally allowed him to settle back on the pillows. "Your friends can visit for ten minutes," she said sternly. She walked away from his bed and the door to the infirmary flew open. Soon, he was surrounded by Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. In the babble of questions that soon enveloped him, Jake looked up to find Katie hanging back.

"Could you guys give us a minute?" he asked quietly, his gaze never wavering. An instant later, they'd vanished, leaving Katie and Jake alone in the infirmary.

"Katie, I'm..."

"What in the bloody hell were you thinking? You knew you were in danger. That's the whole reason you're here. And then your mum is attacked. You knew that they'd be looking for you. And you go off to do what, I'm not exactly sure. Dumbledore told you that they'd take you to see your mum in a few days. But no, you have to go and throw a spanner in the works. Why the bloody hell couldn't you wait, you great big git?"

Jake had opened his mouth several times during this rant, but she wouldn't allow him to get a word in edgewise. When she finally stopped speaking, he could see that she was close to tears.

"Katie, I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"D'you know how frightened I was?" she said, turning her back to him. "Hermione shows up in front of my room that morning, asking if I've seen you. She was the one who told me about your mum, not you."

Jake threw back the covers and slowly climbed out of bed. Katie was still yammering on about what a 'great big bloody git' he was. Coming up behind her, he wrapped one arm around her shoulders. "Katie, I'm sorry," he repeated softly in her ear.

She sagged against him for a moment. Quickly composing herself, she spun around. "Get back into bed before Madame Pomfrey comes in here, brassed off."

Seeing that she was only inches from him, Jake did what any red-blooded American boy would do in that situation. He kissed her. For the briefest instant, she kissed him back. Suddenly, she sprang back. "Are you daft?" she said, storming out of the infirmary.

Jake took a step toward the door of the infirmary. "Mr. Willig, what are you doing? Get back in bed!" Madame Pomfrey shouted. She turned to the four teenagers goggling at Jake from the now-open door. "And you. Out! All of you!"

********************************************

Jake slowly made his way to the Fat Lady's Portrait. "Wronski Feint," he said. This is what happens when your Head Girl is also on the Quidditch team...

The Fat Lady looked up, startled. "It's nice to see you up and about," she said, recovering quickly and swinging open.

"It's nice to be up and about," he responded as he climbed through the portrait hole. Hermione was curled up in an armchair, pretending to read, but really watching Ron as he and Harry played a game of Wizard's Chess. Jake walked over to the board and said, "Knight to E7."

As Harry's knight demolished Ron's bishop, Ron protested. "That's not fair. I'm playing you, Harry, not Jake." As he spoke, the three of them realized that Jake was indeed standing in the Gryffindor common room. Hermione rose up and hugged him. He gasped and she drew back.

"Did I hurt you?" she asked worriedly. Before he could answer, she plowed ahead. "I can't believe that Madam Pomfrey allowed you to leave. You haven't left without permission, have you? Because if you have..." Her run-on sentence was interrupted by Ron's hand over her mouth.

"Glad to have you back, mate," Ron said with a grin.

Jake sat in the armchair that Hermione had been occupying. "Glad to be back." He glanced at Hermione, whose mouth was no longer covered by Ron's hand. "Madam Pomfrey got so sick of my whining that she let me go. 'Against her better judgment,' she said."

The three of them sat on the couch across from Jake. "Have you guys, uh, seen Katie, um, lately?" he asked quietly.

They looked at each other and finally Harry spoke. "Yeah, around. At meals and in the hallways."

"She never came back to the infirmary," he admitted.

"That's because you kissed her, you prat," Ginny said as she plopped down next to Harry.

Jake turned red. "Well, she was...I was...she was right there."

"She was also incredibly brassed off at you," Ginny retorted. "I mean, she was the one who saw..."

Hermione interrupted. "Maybe it's best if we start at the beginning..." She took a deep breath and started to explain how Ron and Harry told her that Jake was missing.

****************************************

~Flashback~

Hermione made a fist and knocked gently on the door. Ron had gotten the bright idea that Jake might have gone to Katie after his altercation with Dumbledore. Part of her hoped that Jake was here while the other part of her hoped that, if he were, he and Katie were fully clothed. There was no answer so she knocked louder.

"What the hell..." she heard from the other side of the door. It was a decidedly female voice.

A moment later, the door opened and Katie stood there in her dressing gown. And I thought my hair looked a mess in the morning... Hermione shook her head. She was here because of Jake. "Um, sorry to wake you, but I was just wondering if you'd seen Jake...um...lately."

"No," came the sleepy reply.

"Well, all right then," Hermione said, turning to go.

"Why would you think that Jake was here?" Katie asked, suddenly awake and suspicious.

"Well, erm, it's just that..."

"Hermione," Katie said sternly. The younger girl felt her resistance crumble and she soon blurted out the whole story of Jake's mother and what had happened last night. As she spoke, Katie's face grew more and more pale. "So no one's seen him since last night?" the Head Girl finally asked.

Hermione shook her head. Katie leaned heavily against the doorframe. "Stupid American macho..." she mumbled. "Well, then, I reckon we need to find him. Give me five minutes and I'll meet the three of you in the common room," Katie said, hurrying back into her room and shutting the door behind him.

True to her word, Katie was dressed and in the common room within five minutes. "How are we going to find him?" she asked the others.

"What about the map?" Hermione said rashly.

"Hermione!" Ron snapped.

"What map?" Katie asked.

The other two looked at Harry. "Well, you see, I kind of, have a map that shows the location of everyone on grounds."

"Well, then, what are you waiting for?" Katie barked. Harry turned and ran up the stairs. "What are you two looking at?" she said to Ron and Hermione, who were currently staring at her with their mouths open.

"You're Head Girl..." Ron said.

"You're breaking school rules..." Hermione added.

Katie shrugged. "Some rules are worth breaking." Before she could elaborate, Harry ran back down the staircase. "It's gone. The cloak too," he said, rather breathlessly.

Katie held up her hand. "I don't even want to know what this cloak is. Obviously, Jake is going to try to get off grounds. So let's split up and start looking for him."

*********************************************

~Present~

Jake gaped at Hermione. "Katie really said that?"

The brown-haired girl nodded. "She really cares about you."

"Then why is she so angry at me?" Jake asked.

"I think I know the answer to that one," Ginny said.

********************************************

~Flashback~

Ginny was walking in the third floor corridor when she could have sworn she felt someone walk by her. Problem was, there was no one else in the corridor. Regardless of what her eyes were telling her, she turned the corner and stopped, peeking back. A moment later, the statue of the One-Eyed Witch was moving. Ginny waited five minutes and entered the secret passageway. Harry might need some help...

As she popped her head through the trapdoor in the basement of Honeydukes, she still saw no one. Out on the street, she looked left and then right, having no idea which way Harry had gone. On an instinct, she went left and, as she passed an alleyway, she was surprised to see Jake. He waved his wand over a piece of parchment and stuffed it and a cloth into his backpack. He stood there for a moment, staring into outer space before shaking himself and setting off in the opposite direction. He didn't get but a few steps before Ginny spotted the Dementor. She felt suddenly cold and knew she needed to do something to help Jake.

Whipping out her wand, she concentrated on a happy memory of her whole family at the Burrow and shouted, "Expecto patronum." A moment later, her patronus--a large serpent--attacked the dementor. While the two creatures battled, Ginny noticed that Jake was now being detained by a tall, dark-haired woman. The woman and Jake had words and Ginny realized...That's Bellatrix LeStrange... LeStrange pulled her wand and a large blue spark arced toward Jake.

"Impedimenta," a new voice called from the other end of the alley. Some, but not all, of the blue arc hit Jake in the chest and he fell to the ground. Ginny ran toward him. A loud 'POP' made her stop. Looking up, she saw LeStrange had disapparated. Paying the other person in the alleyway no mind, Ginny reached Jake.

"He's still breathing." Ginny glanced up to find Tonks standing over them.

"Tonks!"

"This wouldn't happen to be Jacob Willig, would it?" Tonks asked with a smile.

Tonks and two other Aurors moved Jake back to Hogwarts. Ginny accompanied them. Jake looked awfully pale, but Tonks had assured the younger girl that he'd recover fully. Once they stepped into the castle proper, Ginny decided to go find the others and tell them that Jake was going to the infirmary. A gasp made her reconsider her plans.

Katie was standing in the corridor. At the sight of Jake being borne into the castle, the color drained from her face. Ginny glanced at Katie and then back to Jake. Merlin, he looks dead... She rushed over to the older girl. "He's alive, Katie. The Aurors say he's going to be all right," she assured.

****************************************

~Present~

"Now do you see why she's angry?" Ginny finished.

Jake blinked quickly, trying to mask the tears he felt building up there. They'd brought him back and Katie had thought he...died. How in the world am I going to make this right?

*******************************************

Jake sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, pushing food around on his plate and trying not to stare at Katie. He hadn't slept at all the night before; every time he'd close his eyes and drift off, he'd have the most horrible dreams about Katie being dead. She was currently at the other end of the table, sitting with her friends. She looked down the table to find Jake staring at her and she glared at him.

"Hi, Jake." He turned to find Parvati standing behind him, slightly to the left.

"Hi, Parvati."

"Is this seat taken?" she asked as she sat down next to him.

"Um, no."

"I just wanted you to know that I've always thought you were a great guy."

Jake goggled at her. Parvati Patil never even seemed aware that he existed.

She interpreted his silence as a reason to continue. "And I was wondering if maybe we could go to Hogsmeade sometime?"

"He already has a girlfriend, Parvati," Hermione said as she sat down, wedging herself between her roommate and Jake.

Parvati glanced down the table at Katie and sniffed. "I heard that they were through."

"Well, you heard wrong," Hermione snapped. "Now if you'll excuse us..."

Parvati stomped off. Jake turned to Hermione. He supposed he should thank her, but... "Is that really what they're saying...that Katie and I are through?"

Hermione shrugged and poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice. "They know that you've had a fight."

"This always happens," he replied.

"What always happens?" Harry asked as he and Ron sat across the table from them.

"People find out who I am and things get...weird."

Harry glanced at Hermione with a puzzled look on his face and she replied, "Parvati just hit on him."

"Hit on him?" Ron asked.

"It's American slang. Means that she tried to ask him out."

"Oh," Ron said as he began stuffing sausages in his mouth.

"Hermione, no one our age says 'hit on,'" Jake explained with a small smile.

As the four of them talked, a small fluffy owl barreled into the Great Hall. The owl zoomed crazily over all four tables. Finally, it spiraled down toward the Gryffindor table.

"Bloody hell! That's Pig," Ron said.

Automatically, Hermione admonished him for swearing while looking up to see what Pig was going to deliver. Surprisingly, the small owl headed for the other end of the table, where it dropped a piece of parchment into Katie's cereal bowl. Jake pointedly looked anywhere but Katie while the other three pairs of eyes swiveled from Katie to Jake.

"Jake, you know anything about why my owl is delivering something to the Head Girl?" Ron asked.

Jake shrugged. "Sorry I borrowed your owl." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Katie had fished the parchment out of the milk and quickly performed a drying charm on it. She opened it and, suddenly, folded it back up, stuffed it in her bag, and left the Great Hall.

"Maybe she's just going somewhere more private to read it," Hermione suggested sympathetically.

The sandy--haired boy placed his face in his hands, remembering every word of the letter he'd written to Katie in the middle of the night.

*******************************

Katie,

I know that you're still incredibly angry with me, but I hope that you will at least read this letter before tossing it in the trash. I just want to say again how very sorry I am. You're probably asking me if I even know why I'm sorry. The answer is, yes. I'm sorry that I didn't come to you and tell you about my mom myself, that you had to find out I'd run off from Hermione, that I broke my promise to you...Ginny told me that you were the one to see me when they brought me back to the castle. And I'm real sorry that you had to see that. I keep thinking about if our places had been switched and it was you that they'd brought in...and I can't imagine what that must have been like for you.

I guess I didn't realize that your feelings for me might be as--it had taken a lot of erasing charms before he'd finally settled on a word he was comfortable using--strong as mine are for you. Let's just say that, because of my mom, I'm not really used to being someone who's liked for himself. When I ran off to try and get to the hospital, I didn't really think about the effects of that on Hermione, or Ron, or Harry, or, most especially, you.

The sun is finally starting to rise so I guess I need to wrap up this letter and get ready for class. They're letting me go see my mom tonight. Dumbledore says I'm allowed to take one person with me. I can't imagine asking anyone but you. I also can't imagine you saying yes right now, but a guy can hope. Anyway, if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I'd like for us to go to St. Mungo's together. We're leaving at 6.

Jake

*****************************************

5:30 found Jake standing in the middle of boys' dormitory, trying to decide which sweater to wear. He finally settled on the red one with the green stripe, one of his mother's favorites. It's not like she's gonna be awake to see it... He shrugged to no one in particular and loosened his tie. He undid the buttons to his shirt and pulled it off, throwing it carelessly on the bed. A sniff confirmed that he needed to change his T shirt. He stripped it off, intending to perform a quick cleaning charm. He placed the shirt on Dean's bed and, as he picked up his wand, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," he shouted. Neville had taken to doing this weird knocking thing. Jake had a sneaking suspicion that he may have walked in on Ron and Hermione, but hadn't bothered to ask. He quickly performed the charm and then turned around, "Well, Nev, what's up?"

But it wasn't Neville standing in the doorway to the 6^th Year Boys' Dormitory.

"K-katie, what are you doing here?" Jake said, holding his T shirt in both hands.

Her eyes raked down his body. The look on her face set off a war in his blood stream with some of it wanting to go to his face and make him blush and the rest of it wanting to go to his groin. Katie must have realized that she was staring because her own face flushed and her eyes quickly shot up to meet his own.

"I-I got your letter," she finally said.

"I know. I was in the Great Hall," he said as he pulled his T shirt over his head. He wasn't exactly sure what had just gone on here, but he was positive he wanted to see that look again under more favorable circumstances.

"I meant I read it."

Jake, who was bending to pick up the sweater from his trunk, quickly straightened up, grimacing as pain shot through his chest. He sat heavily on his bed and Katie sat next to him.

"Are you all right?" she asked concerned.

He nodded and waved his hand. Like I want to talk about how I'm doing... "You read it?" he prompted.

"Yes."

For Houdini's sake, woman... "And?" he said, almost afraid to ask.

"I'd like to come with you," she said, smiling shyly. "If you still want me to..."

"Of course I want you to," he blurted out. He felt his face grow warm and, for an instant, felt a pang of sympathy for Ron. He reached out to take Katie's hand in his own. "Katie, I'm sorry. I promise that I won't..."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she interrupted. She ducked her head and became very interested in her shoes. "Oliver always did and I hated it."

Jake frowned slightly at the mention of Wood's name. He wanted to press her for information on these broken promises, but knew that now was not the time. "How about this then? I promise that I will let Harry, or Hermione, or Ron, or...you...know if I'm going to do something bone-headed."

She looked back up at him and laughed. "I reckon that'd be all right." They laughed together for a minute, holding hands, sitting on his bed before Katie's expression turned to serious. "I want you to know that my feelings for you are...strong."

Jake again felt his face redden. "Oh."

Rather than elaborating on her statement, Katie leaned forward and brushed her lips against Jake's cheek. As they lingered there, he turned his head to capture her lips with his. As he kissed her, she made that delightful sigh in the back of her throat. Her tongue slipped into his own mouth and her free hand moved up to grab his T shirt and pull him closer to her. Closer...closer...Suddenly, Jake was on his back on the bed with Katie sprawled over him. His hands came to rest on her back, tracing lazy circles on her sweater while they kissed. She pulled back to look at him and he saw that same look she'd worn earlier in the evening. Her own hands slipped underneath his T shirt.

Neither of them heard the door open. "I'm...s-so...sorry," Neville stuttered. Katie leapt up off of Jake as Neville turned and left, slamming the door behind him.

*****************************************************

Katie slipped out of the 6^th Year Boys' Dormitory, promising to meet him at 6 in front of Dumbledore's office. Jake retrieved his sweater from his trunk and pulled it over his head. He glanced in the mirror, running a hand through his hair. Shoving his wand in his pocket, he made his way down the staircase. In the common room, he found Harry, Ron, and Hermione waiting for him, all of them were grinning madly.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Neville just came down here, muttering to himself about the Head Girl being up in our dormitory," Harry replied.

Jake shrugged, trying to look nonchalant.

"Well, did you two make up then?" Hermione demanded.

He gave up being nonchalant and broke into a grin. "Yeah. She's coming to St. Mungo's with me."

"Come on then, we'll walk you to Dumbledore's," Ron said, slapping Jake on the back.

The four of them walked to Dumbledore's office, talking about nothing really. Ron was telling an off-color joke involving a Veela, a toad, and Minister Fudge. Hermione tried to look disapproving, but soon gave up, laughing with the boys. For a few short moments, Jake almost forgot why they were heading to the Headmaster's office. When they reached their destination, Katie was standing in front of the entrance, pacing.

"Hey," Jake said quietly. A part of him still couldn't believe that she had...strong feelings for him and that she'd looked at him like she...wanted him.

"Hi," she replied just as quietly.

"We'll see you later, mate," Harry said as he ushered his two friends back down the corridor.

"Sugar quills," Jake whispered and the entrance to Dumbledore's office opened. He held out his hand for Katie and together they stepped onto the first step and rode the spiral staircase up. Waiting for them was Dumbledore, McGonagall, Tonks, and a tall black man with a gold earring.

"Ah! Mr. Willig," Dumbledore greeted. "And Miss Bell," he said, turning to Katie.

"Headmaster, Professor McGonagall," Jake returned the greeting. McGonagall was giving him the evil eye. She's probably still pissed that I insulted the Headmaster. Speaking of which, I should apologize... "Um, Professor Dumbledore. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for..."

The older wizard held up his hand. "It has been forgotten, Mr. Willig." He turned to the other two people in the room. "This is Nymphadora Tonks. I believe you've made her acquaintance already; however, at the time, you were unconscious. And this is Kingsley Shacklebolt. They're going to escort you to St. Mungo's."

Jake shook Tonks' hand with his free one. "Thanks for...you know...saving me."

"It's my job," she said with a smile.

"Mr. Shacklebolt," Jake said, extending his hand to the other Auror.

Kingsley shook it, saying nothing.

Dumbledore clapped his hands, garnering everyone's attention. "You four will travel by Floo. We've locked the network so no one will be able to get on while you're traveling. Kingsley will go first, followed by Miss Bell, Mr. Willig, and Nymphadora will travel last."

*******************************************

Jake stumbled out of the fireplace into Katie's embrace. "That was wild," he said, shaking soot out of his hair.

"You've never traveled by Floo before?" she asked.

"It's unsecure," he replied, stepping out of the way to allow Tonks to exit the fireplace. "Robert never allowed it."

"Robert?"

"Robert Brina," said a new voice. "President Willig's chief of staff." They turned to find a tall, dark-haired man striding toward them. He stopped in front of Jake. "What did you think you were doing, Jacob?"

"Trying to get to mom," Jake replied.

"Do you have any idea how much danger you..."

"I don't need a lecture. Not from you," Jake said angrily. "If you'd been doing your job..."

Katie interrupted. "Jake, why don't you go and see your mom?"

He looked at Robert for a long moment, shaking his head in disgust.

"Jake," Katie urged.

"Fine," he said sharply.

"Tonks and I will take you to the fourth floor." These were the first words Shacklebolt had uttered since meeting Jake.

*********************************************

Jake stood in the doorway of his mother's room for a long moment, bracing himself. I am not going to break down, I am not going to break down, I am not going to... She looked so pale, just laying there in the hospital bed. Her sandy-colored hair was spread out over her pillow. And her hazel eyes were shut. Jake walked over and sat on the edge of her bed. He took her hand in his.

"Hi, Mom," he said. "I don't know if you can hear me. But I just want to say that I want you to wake up. I want to see you and tell you all about Hogwarts. All about my friends." He cleared his throat. "Actually, there's someone I want you to meet." He glanced back toward the doorway to find Katie standing there. He motioned for her to come in. "Mom, this is Katie, Katie Bell. She's my...girlfriend, I guess." She had come to stand behind him and squeezed his shoulder at this description.

"Hello, Mrs. Willig," she said in an uncertain voice.

"I know that Robert..." he grimaced at this. "Probably told you that I got myself into some trouble a few days ago. But I'm OK. I was just trying to get to you. But I promise..." Another squeeze on his shoulder. "I promise to let someone know if I'm going to be an idiot. So please don't worry about me." He swallowed a hard, dry lump that was forming in the back of his throat. However, as soon as he managed to push it down, another one formed. "Mom, I really need you here. You're all I have. If anything happens to you..." His voice trailed off, unable to finish that horrible thought. He blinked rapidly, trying to staunch the hot tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes. I will not break down, I will not break down... He wiped fiercely at his eyes and stood. Stooping, he gave his mother a kiss on the forehead. "Wake up soon, Mom." He paused for a second. "Love ya more."

*******************************************

Jake was silent on the walk back to the fireplace. He was silent as he waited for Shacklebolt to Floo to Hogwarts. He was silent once they'd returned to Dumbledore's office, only nodding in response to the Headmaster's 'Good night.' He was silent as he and Katie walked back to the Gryffindor dormitory. Right before they rounded the corner that would lead them to the corridor on which the dormitory was situated, Katie stopped. Because she grabbed his hand before she did, he had no choice but to stop as well.

"Say something."

He shrugged. He knew that if he opened his mouth, he'd lose it and Katie would see him dissolve into a puddle of tears. And I'm sure that Oliver Wood never sobbed to her...

"Jake," she said gently, turning him to look at her. Gazing into her blue eyes, he felt the dam he'd built crack ever so slightly.

He shook his head and attempted to take his hand back. However, all those years of throwing and catching a Quaffle had left Katie Bell fairly strong. She held onto his hand.

"I know you're upset. Why don't you say something?"

Another shake. Because if I do, I won't be able to stop.

Abruptly, she dropped his hand. "Fine. I'm going to bed," she said.

Watching her turn to leave, he felt the crack widen and finally burst open. "Don't go," he said, his voice breaking. "Please."

Four steps later, she was there with her arms around him. He buried his face in the crook of her neck. "I don't know what I'll do if she dies. She's all I've got left. My dad is dead. I don't have anyone else," he gasped out as the hot tears spilled out of his eyes. She stood there, patting his back and murmuring 'Shh' and 'There, there' into his hair. A few moments later, he finally got control of himself and disentangled himself from Katie's embrace. Looking down at the floor, he apologized.

"What?" she asked, startled.

"For being such a...nutjob...falling apart like that."

"Jake," she said, putting a finger under his chin and tilting his head up. He still wouldn't meet her gaze, afraid of what he'd see there. Why would she want a sissy like me when she used to go out with Oliver Wood? "You've nothing to apologize for."

"R-really?" he asked, finally meeting her eyes. He was surprised to see, not the pity and disgust he'd expected, but compassion and affection.

She kissed him briefly on the mouth. "Really." Grabbing his hand, she tugged him back in the direction they'd come.

"The dorm is the other way," Jake said, thoroughly confused.

"I know. But I'm famished." She looked thoughtfully at him. "And I expect you are too." To his immense surprise, he was hungry. "Let's go down to the kitchens."

Jake's mouth dropped open. "Don't look so scandalized, Willig. I'm Head Girl, not a robot."

"What's a robot?" he asked as she pulled him down the corridor.