The Secret Between Us - Prt.2

Chapter Thirty - One

With a defeated sigh, Harry collapsed on the chair partially pulled out in the corner of the cafeteria. He rubbed his face quite violently as he tried to wrap his mind around the events that led to him being in a hospital (again). Part of him wondered, if all of this could've been avoided if he'd just stayed away from Malfoy, if he hadn't insisted on the snogging, the cuddling, and the little talks, maybe he wouldn't be here. Maybe he and Draco could've found some happiness with someone else, someone that made each other happier, and no disaster could arise.

Maybe.

Harry groaned, resting his head on the table as he thought (which he was really trying to avoid). He looked back up to the front of the room, where some food was being picked out by a family of three. The couple's daughter struggled to grab a slice of cheesecake. Her mother took the plate, and placed it on her tray. Harry smiled at the sight, and forced himself to think about what the hell to buy for Draco in order to stay on the positive side. Just a couple more hours and things would be alright.

Just a couple more hours, and he could finally get his happily ever after with the man of his dreams.

"May I sit?"

Harry's eyes snapped up to the woman in dark green, with hair tied in a sort of messy updo. He was certain he'd seen the woman somewhere, but wasn't sure where. "Sure," he mentioned as he pointed at the empty chair in front of him. She smiled brightly at him, a little too strained actually, as she sat down.

Zoe's hands were fiddling with an engagement ring in her hands. She chuckled nervously as it twirled around her fingers, then looked back up with her hazel eyes looking right at Harry. "This was my mum's," she muttered in hopes of easing the tension, her smile refusing to fade.

"It's a beautiful ring."

"Thanks."

Harry shook his head, returning her smile. "What happened?" Zoe tilted her head, with her brows raising slightly to show her confusion - and somehow, Harry recognized that look; he just didn't know from who. "To your mum, I mean. Are you here for her?"

"Oh, no," Zoe shook her head, and chuckled nervously. "No, my mum's a little too dead-" Harry could tell the venom in her words. "I'm here for my nephews. My brother's surrogate is giving birth today and I'm waiting on the news. How about you?"

"My children, I'm waiting for news on them."

"How many?"

"Three, two boys and a little girl."

"I'm sure everything will be alright," Zoe reassured as she let her ring slip and land near Harry's fingers. He picked it up, seeing an engraving inside the ring wich read: Prong's. Harry could feel all color drain from his face. Zoe cautiously took her ring back, but Harry's eyes stayed on the blank space were the ring had been. Surely that couldn't have been right; he must've read it wrong. Right? That couldn't be it.

Somehow, Harry managed to look back at Zoe, realizing where he'd seen her before. "You were at St Mungo's, you were-" Harry took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he tried his best to think. "...I saw you on the fifth floor."

"I was visiting a school friend," Zoe admitted with an innocent tone of voice. "I admit, you did look quite familiar."

"Where did you get that ring?"

"A gift. It was among my mum's possessions, and figured I'd take it to remember her by." Zoe looked back up, her eyes fluttering almost like Draco's did when he was planning something and was just itching to spell it out. It confused Harry, but it also made him all the more curious. "It was the only thing I managed to salvage before I was put under a rather unpleasant man's custody."