Fic: a Different Kind of Friendship (HP/CSI:NY, gen)
Title: A Different Kind of Friendship
Author: loonie_lupin (ff. net)/nilitara (livejournal)
Fandom: HP, CSI :NY
Characters/pairing : Harry Potter, Adam Ross (friendship only)
Rating: PG
Summary: It had been a year to the day.
For: crossovers100
Prompt: 062. Spring.
Disclaimer: The characters are the property of their respective creator. I own nothing.
Prompt table
A Different Kind of Friendship - main entry
062. Spring.
Harry had never liked spring. Well, no, that wasn’t the truth. There was a time, a long while ago, when he had been a little kid, before knowing about magic, where the spring had been his favorite season, even if it was more of an elimination process. He knew his parents had died on Halloween, which made it hard to like the autumn, the winter had been dangerous for him because of the occasional night he had to spend outside and because of the Dursley not really caring about his cupboard being freezing, and during the summer, he had no school to escape his relative.
Then he had begun Hogwarts and things had changed, because of Voldemort always attacking in the spring. He didn’t know why but all the major happening had been during the spring: the Stone, the Chamber, the dementor’s attack - and alright, this one hadn’t been Voldemort but it still didn’t help breaking the streak - the third task of the Tournament, the trap at the Department of Mystery, the attack on the death eaters resulting in Dumbledore’s death and even the final battle. All of these had been during spring and most of them had either ended in tragedy or very nearly.
He usually didn’t think about it but it was spring right now, the beginning of May to be exact, and there was one thing he had promised himself he would do. He had taken the decision last year of beginning a tradition on the day of the anniversary of the final battle.
Harry arranged a small table in his bedroom and decorated in with a few candles of all sizes. He then went to his closet and took a box off the shelf. Opening it, he took out the pictures that filled it and watched all the faces with nostalgia. He had decided, before leaving England, to find photographs of all the people who had died in the war. He had kept them because he had wanted to remember them, he hadn’t wanted to forget all of those who had died in hero during these dangerous times. And now, he was going to honor their memory another way, by spreading the pictures on the table, a shrine dedicated to those who had sacrificed their life. It was simple but it meant the world to him, especially since he knew the wizarding world was going to forget all about these unsung heroes. They wanted a figure to hail and count on in the future - and they had chosen him - but they didn’t really care about all the other people who had lost their life in the fight, trying to stop Voldemort and Harry was disgusted by this.
He was still exposing the pictures, careful not to burn them with the candles, when Adam came in. The young man had no idea of what today was. Why would he? Harry had never talked about the last battle; Adam knew about him witnessing his former teacher’s death, but nothing else; there was no way for him to know it had been a year exactly today. So when he found Harry in his room, he was a bit surprised.
“What are you doing? Who are all those people?” He asked, always curious.
He had seen a few pictures of Harry’s friends and parents, in frames, around the apartment. However, there were a lot of people smiling at him from these photographs he had never seen before. He knew Harry must have had some other pictures but he had never actually dared asking to see them and Harry hadn’t considered showing him either.
"What are you doing? Who are all those people?" he eked, curious.
Harry turned to him and Adam was blown away by the sadness in his features. Of course, he knew Harry had lived a hard life up to now but it was very easy to forget sometimes. Harry liked to make people comfortable when he talked to them, Adam more than anyone else, so he tried not to show to many of his wounds but, in this moment, Adam had no problem seeing the young man who had been through way too much already.
“They are all the people who died fighting Voldemort,” Harry said, once again grateful he could discuss magic without repercussions with Adam.
If not, he would have had to find a story to tell and he would have hated it; they deserved to be known as the heroes they were and not the victims of some kind of accidents. At least, Adam would know them for all the good they did.
“It has been a year today that the last battle happened. Not all of them died that day but quite a lot of them did so I thought it would be the right time to commemorate their memory. People who chose to fight evil because they wanted their world to be free, people who died for their belief, for doing the right thing.”
He was getting emotional, he realized that, but he couldn’t help it. How many of these people who had lost their life had been close to him? How many had died because they had chosen to follow him? He knew he wasn’t responsible, knew they had made their choice, but would Colin have even been there that day if he had never been part of the DA?
“There are a lot of people,” Adam whispered, his normally cheerful attitude gone, partly because of the tragedy, partly out of respect for the fallen and Harry who was mourning. “Did you know all of them?”
Harry shook his head.
“No, not all of them. Some died before I was born or when I was just a baby. Most of them, though, were friends, or at least classmate. Do you want me to tell you about them? What they did, how they died?”
Adam really wanted to say yes. His innate curiosity was screaming at him to just answer yes at once, but he couldn’t help thinking about Harry and how hard it had to be for him and, for once, he was able to show restraint.
“You don’t have to. I know I’m curious and, to tell the truth, I’m dying to know…. Sorry, maybe not the right word to use right now. I didn’t mean. I mean, what I want to say is, you don’t have to if it’s too hard for you.”
Harry nodded and smiled. It was a sad, but genuine, smile because Adam was someone who could always make him smile. It was in his nature and Harry did love him for that, the same way he loved Ron for always saying the wrong things when in the same room than Hermione or Hermione for her running to the library at the strangest time. He loved them for their quirks that were so them it always made him smile.
“I know I don’t have to. But I want you to know about them and they deserve to be remembered for all the good they did for the world.”
So Harry spent hours talking, talking as he never had before, telling Adam everything he could remember about these smiling faces that had left this Earth way too soon. It was hard, sometimes more than others, going back to visit a past he wished he could forget at time, but knowing that, even given the opportunity, he would never take it because it wouldn’t be fair to those who had given their lives. And Adam listened and, force once, didn’t interrupt, didn’t answer or babble, just listened and, in the end, he asked if he could put a picture of his own.
And when he did, Harry recognize the picture of a young woman called Aiden Burn who had also died way too soon, fighting against the evil of the world.