ZARIA

Chapter 13

Kei

"Dumbledore reckons You-Know-Who's getting stronger again as well?" Ron whispered. Everything Harry had seen in the Pensive, nearly everything Dumbledore had told and shown him afterward, he had now shared with Ron and Hermione- and, of course, with Sirius, to whom Harry had sent an owl the moment he had left Dumbledore's office. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat up late in the common room once again that night, talking it all over until Harry's mind was reeling, until he understood what Dumbledore had meant about a head becoming so full of thoughts that it would have been a relief to siphon them out." (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, chapter 31, J. K. Rowling)

Ren listened as Kei read the story, his head on the pillow and his eyes half-lidded, telling him that the boy was close to falling asleep. Ren was fighting it, though, just like he did every night when Kei had the time to put him to bed.

Kei knew that Ren was old enough to go to bed alone and more than old enough to read the fantasy series by himself; after all, reading seemed to be the only thing the child ever did, but for some reason, Ren still insisted on Kei doing it, at least when it came to 'Harry Potter'.

It all started when Jessica left. Ren had been devastated at the time, refusing to speak, let alone do anything else, completely isolating himself from everyone, and Kei felt at the end of his tether.

Then, a few weeks later, an idea came to mind, so he went into the boy's room, a book in his hand that night. He dragged a chair to the bed where the boy had been lying with his back, turned to the room, and sat down, starting to read the first book in the fantasy series.

Kei could hear sheets rustling after a while, telling him that Ren had turned toward him, but he paid it no mind and just read. He read until the boy's quiet snores reached his ears before putting the book on the bedside table and leaving. He did the same the following night, and the one after it, and slowly but surely, his Ren returned to him. He was different, more serious, and not as quick to smile, but he was back, which was more than Kei could have wished.

In the following years, the bedtime routine continued, not as often as Kei wished due to his increasingly successful career and the heavy workload it brought, but Ren seemed to be okay with it.

He knew that the boy could have just picked up the books and read them by himself, which would have been much quicker, but for some reason, Ren refused to do so, a fact that made something warm spread through Kei's chest every time he thought about it.

"Sirius was sending daily owls now. Like Hermione, he seemed to want to concentrate on getting Harry through the last task before they concerned themselves with anything else. He reminded Harry in every letter that whatever might be going on outside the walls of Hogwarts was not Harry's responsibility, nor was it within his power to influence it...." (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, chapter 31, J. K. Rowling)

Kei's voice trailed off as he realized that Ren's eyes had closed, his breathing now even and deep, telling him that the boy had fallen asleep.

He closed the book and put it in its usual place at the bedside table before standing up from the chair and stepping closer to the bed.

He drew the blanket over his son's shoulders, tucking him in tightly since nights here, at the lake, tended to be quite cold this time of the year.

Kei caressed Ren's face for a moment, smiling at him as he did so and all the while wondering for how long he would be able to do that before Ren felt too old to cuddle and already mourning the day before he slowly backed out of the room and closed the door.

He stood in the small hallway, unsure what to do now. It was still too early for bed, yet the thought of going to the small living room where he could hear Zaria watching the TV made him reconsider that notion.