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chapter twenty one | needing you
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Stella Mason found out where Harry had gone fairly quickly. The lot was going back to the Burrow for a much needed Christmas holiday. Hermione would not be joining Stella and the two boys as she promised her parents she would spend the holiday with them.
The three were in their compartment with the Granger using the loo. Harry disclosed to his friends what he heard when he followed Snape and Draco when they left Slughorn's party a few days before. Stella was a little mad that Harry ditched her to eavesdrop on the two but with the obsession he's had with Draco since the start of term, she honestly wasn't surprised that it didn't cross Harry's mind that he had a date to get back to. He had bigger things on his mind, he always did.
"Unbreakable Vow," Ron muttered in thought, "you're sure that's what Snape said?"
"Positive, why?"
"Well, it's just you can't break an Unbreakable Vow."
Stella's shoulders sank at Ron's explanation, she took over, "Harry, an Unbreakable Vow is a bond between two wizards that make a deal that cannot be broken under any circumstances. My father used to warn me about them. They're incredibly serious and shouldn't be used unless it's absolutely dire."
Just then, Lavender Brown stood in front of their compartment door, breathing on it to make a heart with her and Ron's initials in it. She then mouthed 'I miss you' before, rather reluctantly, walking away.
"Lovely," Harry commented once the girl was gone. Stella just stared ahead, thinking about how bizarre the whole thing was.
Ron leaned closer to the two on the opposite seat, "all she wants to do is snog me. My lips are getting chapped. Look!"
"We'll take your word for it," the Potter boy leaned away, the girl next to him doing the same.
Hermione then returned to the compartment, however, not coming inside. Because there in front of her was the artwork Lavender left behind. She made brief eye contact with Stella before she whisked herself away from the doors, not looking back.
"So, what happens to you," Harry asked after things settled down, "what happens when you break an Unbreakable Vow?"
Ron and Stella exchanged a wary look before the former responded, "you die."
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There was something happening at the Burrow. Order members were present and there was something they weren't telling Stella, she was sure of it. Whenever she walked in a room, the conversations seemed to dim and decrease in volume, or stop all together. It wasn't until Christmas Eve she decided she had enough. She marched downstairs to give everyone at the breakfast table a piece of her mind and no one was going to stand in her way and stop her.
"Okay, I've had enough of the secrecy," the girl called out as she made her way to the kitchen, "what is going on around here?"
She trailed off as she looked at the sight in front of her. There, in all his glory, was Rowland Mason. It had been a year since she had seen him, heard from him, and there he was. Bruises here and there with terribly noticeable bags under his eyes. However, even with their time apart, he doesn't appear to look at her any different.
"Dad..."
The others in the room watched the scene in front of them. The room consisted of Harry, Ron, the rest of the Weasley family, Lupin and Tonks. Now plus, not one, but two Mason's.
"Hello, Stella," the man greeted his daughter, looking down at his copy of the Daily Prophet. The man had been without news for a year, he had to catch up to what he missed.
The greeting was something Stella should've been used to, but it still hurt her. She had never been separated from her father for a year before, ever. So for him to brush her off like she was nothing hurt her deeply.
The Mason stood there, not knowing what to do. She didn't advance toward him and hug her father. He didn't like much affection since his wife died. She opened her mouth a couple times, trying to figure out what to say—something, anything to say to the man. Her father. Her dad. But she couldn't think of anything. Not liking the eyes that were clearly on her, filled with pity and sadness for her, her eyes stung as she left the room quickly. The man didn't acknowledge her as she took her leave. He didn't acknowledge anything she did—he never did.
Everyone couldn't believe what they had just witnessed. The lot knew Rowland was a cold fellow, but they thought after a year of being away from his daughter, his only child, he would at least show some sort of indication that he missed her, or even thought of her while he was away. The adults and teens in the room snapped their heads to Harry Potter, who clutched his bracelet clad wrist, as he marched out of the room. Everyone knew where he was going and didn't question it. Breakfast was silent after that.
Harry Potter found Stella Mason on her bed in the room she usually shared with Ginny. The boy felt the bracelet start to pulse a couple moments after the girl left the room, but he was already going to check on her after what he had witnessed. Stella had told him about her relationship back in fifth year but he didn't think it was as bad as he just observed. He approached her bed slowly and quietly, his footsteps could be heard creaking the floorboard. He sat next to her figure as she sat criss-crossed, holding a picture of her mother with her that her father took in the flower field all those years ago, when everything was right.
"You know," the teary eyed girl spoke, her voice thick with sadness and tears, "I don't know why I thought this time would be different. Every time he sent me away to Hogwarts it was the same. Every time he picked me up at the end of term was the same. It's always the same, and I thought after a year, the longest we've ever been apart, would he be different," she shook her head as her lip quivered, "I spent all that time worrying about him. Putting myself in a panic for him. And I have to wonder... did he even think about me," she finally looked up at Harry, almost like she was pleading for an actual answer, "did he even wonder what I was doing? Who I was with? If he even cared at all..."
Harry could only watch helplessly as the girl he absolutely adored break in front of him. She was so strong all of the time, and she finally broke. Because of the man who should have been elated to see her, when in reality, he seemed like he didn't give a damn about her.
"I want my mum, Harry," she sobbed, the picture foggy as she tried to look at it through her tears, "I just want my mum."
The Boy Who Lived didn't hesitate to bring the girl into a tight embrace. Her head resting on his shoulder and he wrapped both arms around her. It wasn't the most comfortable position for both of them, but it provided enough comfort that they didn't mind. Her tears soaked his t-shirt but he paid no mind. His hand stroking her arm up and down as a warm reassurance that he was there for her. He will always be there for her, in any way she wanted him to be.
