Icy Heart #wattys2017

Brave to Grave.

"Icy Peverell: Dead or Alive?"

"Is This the End of Icy?"

"Miraculously, Innocent Azkaban Escapee Survives Deadly Fall!"

It seemed as if Icy was the most famous witch in the world. Articles from practically every wizarding paper in existence littered the table beside Icy's bed. Romanians had written about it. Scotts had written about it. Hell, even the Americans had been obsessed with the gossip that had surrounded the girl since her tragic incident, six months before. Sirius Black, proven innocent at last, sat in a plastic chair beside her, holding her frail hand.

His innocence had been confirmed in June, after a long stay in Hungary, beginning when he was forced to flee the castle in February. Forced. As in, the person that he loved the most in the world had sacrificed her life for him, and his godson had practically booted him out of the country himself, to make her sacrifice worthwhile. Sirius had returned to Hogwarts in June, to see if Icy's comatose condition had changed, and to speak to Harry in person, and, miraculously, Peter had returned at the same time. 

Harry and his friends had caught Peter properly this time, finally proving Sirius's innocence, and sentencing the rat to the rest of his life behind bars. Now, Sirius sat beside his recently adopted daughter's bed in Saint Mungos, praying to the gods for another miracle.

The door opened, and out of habit, Sirius jumped up, ready to listen eagerly to another Healer's extensive plan to awaken Icy. However, a white clad, snobby, prat was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Harry Potter standing in the open door. 

"Hey, Padfoot," he said, entering the room and sitting on Icy's bed. "Any improvements?"

"Not yet," Sirius responded sombrely. "Her Healers keep telling me to talk to her, and that it's our only hope at this point. But I've heard their gossip. They don't believe she'll ever wake up. They're waiting for me to give up, and just say goodbye."

"Could I have a moment alone with her, Sirius?" asked Harry, clearly grief-stricken. This was the boy-who-lived... Or the boy-who-lived-when-his-parents-didn't. He'd experienced plenty of this in his life, but he'd been far too young to feel the pain he was feeling now. Harry had been practically unable to leave his bed all summer, dying to hear some news of improvement in Icy.

Sirius left the room, closing the door tightly behind him, and Harry took Icy's hand in his.

"I don't know if you can hear this, but I wanted to let you know that it's terrible cliche to be in a coma. Hermione has given me probably a thousand muggle books about this, and it seems that your story is one that has repeated itself hundreds of times in literature," he began, taking a cautious breath. "It seems as well, that typically these muggle damsels in distress only wake up after a kiss."

For a split second, Harry thought that he'd noticed Icy's mouth twitch, but he quickly assured himself that it was just a trick of the eye. "I'm tired of sitting around and waiting for you to wake up, Ice. There're much better things to do. The Quidditch World Cup is next week, for Merlin's sake. So I'm going to kiss you now, and maybe you'll just happen to wake up."

He leaned over her, and kissed her gently on the lips. Icy's body stayed still, and Harry's disappointment returned.

"You know that only wankers believe in Muggle fairytales, don't you, Potter?" said a weak, hoarse voice, and Harry spun around, his heart racing. 

"Icy? Did that... Did that really work?" Harry asked, practically glowing. His excitement was clear as day, he looked happier than a child on their first visit to Honeydukes.

"Merlin, no. I listened to your whole rant about my cliche coma. I was just waiting for the right moment to speak." Icy sat up, grinning. "I feel like I've died."

"You pretty much did, Ice. You scared the shit out me- out of us," Harry's face reddened, and he shifted away.

"I wasn't just faking this, you know? I began to wake up when I heard Sirius's speech about the Healers thinking I was going to stay dead. I couldn't just let them have that kind of satisfaction, and be right. Certainly I'm the one who should get that privilege."

"I've missed you, Icy," Harry laughed, "Merlin, Sirius! He's going to be ecstatic! I need to go find him- I should get one of your Healers as well."

"Just lay down with me for a moment first, will you, Harry?" she asked, suddenly gripping his hand with newfound energy. "These blankets are far too thin, I'm cold."

Harry's face reddened once more, but he obliged, crawling under her indeed thin blankets. "Stay with us this time, please Ice?"

"Until the very end," she said, resting her head on his chest, her smile growing. "Until the very end."

End of Book One