Home Is You | l.s.

7

(Harry's point of view)

I threw open the door to the cabin and sighed loudly as I crossed the threshold. My roommate was currently gone, so I didn't need to worry about him. Thank God for that.

We'd just come from the makeshift training grounds just a little ways from the main building. They reassigned our positions. They grouped us into groups of about ten and gave us various assignments.

They tried to group us with others that looked like us, like recreating our regiments. They tried to separate me and the boy. I could see the panic in his eyes when they assigned him to another group. He gripped my sleeves and whimpered the word no, his wild eyes frantically scanning all around us.

I was astonished at how comfortable he was with me already, and that he found me safe. All I'd done was give him my jacket and sit with him during a meal. And this was the first word I'd heard him utter out loud consciously.

I pulled the shaking boy to my side and squeezed him gently. His grip on my clothes didn't loosen and I shushed him softly.

"Don't worry," I'd whispered, "I'm not letting them separate us."

I could see the hope and fear mixed in his eyes as he nodded softly up at me before cuddling under my arm.

That was before we were dismissed and left the grounds to go back to our cabins. One problem we had was that this boy didn't have a place to stay, and I wasn't leaving him to fend for himself.

I shoved my roommate's gear off the bottom bunk and onto the floor before turning to the boy trailing behind me. He cuddled down into my jacket and wrapped his arms unsurely around himself as he looked around the room with fearful eyes. It seemed like he was scared of all the things around him, like everything will eventually hurt him. It takes a lot of pain and suffering to get to that point, and I could only imagine what this boy has been through.

He shuffled his feet slowly as he explored the room and I sat down on the bottom bunk, watching him move around. After a few moments, he noticed me staring and turned to me blushing.

I smiled and patted the space next to me as I stood up. "You can sleep here for now. You look like you could use a good rest." He nodded softly and headed to the bed. He bent down to feel the bed and smiled when he felt the mattress sink beneath his fingers. He grinned up at me and I swear I felt my heart break. This boy was excited over a simple mattress, a thin, flimsy mattress that so many people would refuse to sleep on. But he was looking at it like it was the grandest thing in the whole world.

At that moment, the door burst open and my roommate stood in the doorway, staring at me with wide eyes and then the boy touching his bed. He looked confused and then angry, glaring hard at me as he crossed the room to his bed.

The boy whimpered as he advanced towards him and cowered backward, his back hitting the bed post. My roommate grabbed my jacket around his shoulders and pinned him to the wall, slamming his small body back against it. The blue eyed boy yelped and grabbed his side painfully, crouching down to the floor when he was released. I snapped into action as my roommate wound his fist back to hit him.

I surged forward and grabbed his fist, pulling it backward. His arm twisted and he yelled as I threw him backwards to the floor. He hit the ground with a thud and bounced back up to his feet seconds later. He lunged at me again and grabbed my shirt, pulling me forward. I grabbed his jacket and turned us around, forcing his body against the wall. He struggled against my grip before I pressed harder, angling my arm on his throat. He stopped thrashing and grabbed my arm, growling at me as he realized he wasn't getting loose.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He yelled at me. "He doesn't belong here! He can't stay here! He shouldn't be in here!"

I slammed his body against the wall again in rage as I leaned in close to his face. "That's not how you treat a comrade. He deserves as much respect as you and I. He's staying here with me. I don't give a damn what you have to say about it. Take a walk. And when you come back you can apologize to him," I growled and pushed off him.