Meant To Be

Chapter 17

After the little scene with Ron and Hermione, Harry was a lot more careful when opening the door; checking the window to see who it was first. Luckily it seemed to be only a one-time thing as it did not happen again. Ron and Hermione came over almost every Saturday to see them and the other days Tom would come over.

Things by now were almost routine between Harry and Tom now. Neither of them felt the urge to kill the other, nor was there any hate or anger, they just were. It would be hard to describe it to an outsider, but to them it was natural, it made sense. They actually got along and were comfortable with each other enough to have an actual conversation without arguing and Harry no longer felt the urge to flee with Wynter every time Tom came over. Which was why when Tom stepped into the cottage and found no one there he felt a shiver of fear go down his spine.

He had knocked on the door as usual and expected to have the door open and see Harry's expectant face, but instead, there was no answer so he had let himself in. It wasn't breaking and entering because he didn't care and the door was unlocked, but as he looked around he could already tell that no one was there.

Harry can't go anywhere, so where is he? Tom thought as he started looking around the house. To town maybe, but he would be back by now.

He checked the kitchen, but it was empty, as was the bathroom. Panic started to grip him as he came up with nothing. It wasn't like him to lose his cool, but the thought of Harry and Wynter being gone made him feel something that he never felt before: fear.

"Harry?" he called out into the silence.

Tom quickly walked down the hallway checking the closet door as he went and tried to clear his mind. He hadn't done anything to anger Harry, so there was no reason for him to leave. Unless... Unwanted images of Harry and Wynter being dragged away flashed into his mind and he had to shake his head to focus. Who dared to take my family from me? he thought, fear and anger bubbling up inside him.

Wynter's room was just as empty as the rest of the house, the crib empty in the corner with her blankets and toys; the only comfort Tom had was that everything was still in its place, the people were missing. There was only one more room left and Tom opened the door to Harry's room with trepidation, hoping that Harry was in there with Wynter curled up by his side, but they weren't. They were gone. Gone!

Then miraculously he heard laughter.

It was distant but he heard it. Tom strained his ears to see if he could hear the sound again. There! he thought as he heard the unmistakable bubbly giggle and the deeper warm laugh again. Outside? He quickly made his way to the window and looked out.

There they were, sitting in the shade of a tree. Harry sat out on the grass next to a little wading pool where Wynter was splashing the water having what looked like the time of her life.

Relief swept through him and left Tom sagging against the window frame staring out at them as they played in the late afternoon sun. Wynter was wearing a light pink and purple polka-dot swimsuit with a skirt, pigtails on either side of her head splashing the water with both hands with the biggest smile he had ever seen. Her mother was holding her up securely against the side of the pool so she wouldn't slip or fall. Her bubbly laugh is contagious and he could feel himself smiling too.

Harry obviously couldn't help himself either because he let out a carefree laugh as he watched Wynter. He was wearing simple blue jeans and a red t-shirt with some sort of printed logo that was soaked with water. Jet black hair waved freely in the warm breeze and wild green eyes sparkled with joy.

Standing there watching him, Tom couldn't help but think of how beautiful Harry was at that moment. He felt his heart skip a beat (though he would never admit that it did) as Harry gave a breathtaking smile to Wynter as she looked up at him. Shaking his head to clear it, Tom stepped away from the window and back through the house and out the front door, since the little cottage didn't have a back door, and made his way around the back. He paused by the wall to watch the two of them.