In The Fight To Survive (Golden Trio Era) {4}

Echoes

CW- Contains Nauseating Descriptions (siriusly felt a little sick writing the first quarter)

The next day Hermione asked Harry to go on watch while she came with a plan for their trip to Godric's Hollow in three days time. Harry was too happy to argue that he should be involved in the planning process, as he took his place outside, at the front of tent. He messed around with his snitch for a bit, remembering how his Dad had done the same as a pathetic attempt to impress his mum. Harry thinks back to first ever Quidditch match, it felt like a lifetime ago. He remembered being so nervous before, how the thought of eating the delicious fry up the house elves prepared made him nauseous.

Mikayla knew him better than anyone else, somehow knowing that back then there was nothing he hated more than dry-heaving. It came from when the Dursleys used to starve him whenever he had a stomach bug, it always hurt him, heaving as only scalding bile came out, leaving his throat scorched afterwards. Her words burned into his brain, "I suppose your stomach will be empty so you can't puke." Thinking back to it now, Harry felt he should've realised what she was going through with her eating disorder back then.

He was just a stupid eleven year-old kid, who had just made his first few friends, and he didn't know any better. Harry couldn't help but still wish that he could've found out earlier and figured out a way to help Mikayla, even if it is just half as much as she has helped him. Harry shook his head, banishing the intrusive thoughts of 'if onlys' that flooded his mind at the reminder of all the pain his best friend, his sister, has gone through. He redirected his thoughts back to his first quidditch game. He couldn't fight back the smile as a memory popped into his head of his friends sat on the top row holding a 'Potter for President' sign that had colour-changing lettering and a cool drawing of a lion.

If he really tried, he could still hear Mikayla's screams at Hooch when Flint block his first dive for the snitch. Harry shivered when Quirrell was brought to mind, he had tried to killed him during that game by jinxing his broom. It felt like he was riding one of those mechanical bulls that were at the petting zoo they went to during his year six school tour. Although he held on longer to the bucking broom than that bloody bull. But even that reminder couldn't tarnish the sheer joy and slight embarrassment he felt as he remembered that day.

The image of Hermione setting Snape's cloak on fire was enough to just bring a smile to his face. How he regained control of his broom, dived towards the ground, surfing his broom inches above the ground. How he leaned a little too far forward, losing his balance and tumbling to the ground while almost swallowing the snitch. How the scratchy wings felt as they continue to flutter as if they were trying to fly down into his stomach. How his stomach lurched as he heaved to combat the snitches eagerness to go down his throat. Spitting out the snitch into his hands, and holding it up to reveal he had caught it. Hearing Lee Jordan announce Gryffindor's victory as enough to made his nausea disappear, as he beamed with joy.

Harry's eyes widened in realisation, "how could I be so stupid?" He whispered to himself as he grabbed his snitch from the air in front of him, placing the cold metal against his cracked lips. He closed his eyes as he silently pray that Dumbledore had in fact hidden something in the snitch, because if not he was just giving the snitch a kiss and even he doesn't love Quidditch that much. He broke the contact with his lips, opening his eyes as a scratching noise fills his ears. He watched as the words 'I open at the close' scrawled in Dumbledore's handwriting appeared on the snitch. Harry broke into a smile as he rushed back inside the tent to tell Hermione about his discovery.

"Here you are, Mum." Mikayla voiced as she set down a cup of tea in front of Molly. They were sat in the Sun room watching as another few inches of snow fell, sharing a handful of half conversations because Mikayla was too stressed to power through a full one. She felt terrible for not being able to entertain Molly, she had came to keep Mikayla company while the rest of the Order went to fight Death Eaters. A fifteen year-old Half-blood Ravenclaw witch from Dorset named Julie Parkes was their target. She refused to return to Hogwarts after Dumbledore's death, wanting to protect her Muggle mother from dark wizards after her father went into hiding.