Harry sat with Hermione by the fire in the common room. Ron was stuck in the corner with Lavender and not looking too happy about it.

“What’s wrong Harry, you’ve been quiet for a while now?” Hermione asked in a soft voice.

“I don’t know Hermione, I’ve got this terrible feeling that something bad is going to happen, may have already happened.”

“Is it the same as last year, when you were picking up on Voldermort’s feelings” she whispered fearfully.

“No this is different it’s not Voldermort, it’s someone else” said Harry. He sat there brooding for a moment trying to work out what these feelings could mean, when a mental picture of Sarina entered his mind. “Where’s Sarina?” he asked suddenly.

“I don’t know” Hermione replied. “The last I saw of her she was heading out the portrait hole but that was hours ago. Come to think of it I haven’t seen her come back” she added.

Harry stood up suddenly his heart beating fast. “It’s Sarina” he yelled. “Something has happened to her, I…….” He turned towards the portrait hole instinctively to find Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall standing there with sombre looks. Harry’s leg’s gave out on him and he collapsed into the chair.

Tears sprang to his eyes as he looked at the two teachers standing before him. “What’s happened to Sarina?” he choked.

McGonagall looked at him in surprise but Dumbledore didn’t flinch. “We need you to come with us Harry” said Dumbledore quietly.

Harry nodded and walked over to Dumbledore and they left through the portrait hole, walked down the corridor heading towards the hospital wing. Dumbledore had to support Harry because on two occasions he had almost collapsed to the floor. They stood out side the doors to the hospital wing, before they entered Dumbledore spoke for the first time since leaving the common room.

“Harry” he spoke quietly. “Sarina was hit with the killing curse.” Harry made a choking sound and pulled his arm out of Dumbledore’s grasp.

“I don’t want to go in there” he screamed.

Dumbledore grabbed hold of Harry again. “Look at me” he ordered. Harry looked into Dumbledore’s eyes with tears running down his face. “She is still alive, it seems her attacker really didn’t have it in them to perform the curse properly. But……..” he faltered for a moment.

“What is it?” Harry asked urgently.

“She is in a coma Harry, she might still be alive but she may never awaken either.”

Harry felt his hopes dash, for one shining second there he thought everything was going to be alright. He slumped against the wall was it ever going to stop.

“Do we know who it was that attacked her” mumbled Harry.

“No we don’t she was found in the dungeons. Professor Snape was walking down to his office when he found her” said Dumbledore.

“Can I go in and see her?” sobbed Harry.

“Yes of course” said Dumbledore and he pushed open the doors.

Harry walked into the room and looked over to the bed Sarina was lying in. Hers was the only bed being occupied, he walked over and sat down in the chair beside the bed he took her hand in his and looked at her beautiful face and he broke down crying uncontrollably.

Madam Pomfrey came and stood beside Dumbledore watching Harry crying over Sarina’s body.

“Let him stay as long as he likes” whispered Dumbledore to the Matron. “I will place extra security on the wing just as a precaution.”

She nodded to him and with one last look at Harry and Sarina they left the room.

Harry spent the night beside Sarina’s bed never letting go of her hand and telling her how much he loved her and how sorry he was for not believing her. He made promises to her that night and hoped against hope that she would wake so that he could fulfil them.

Harry awoke to someone shaking him lightly he looked up to see Hermione and Ron standing there with worried expressions on their faces.

“Oh Harry we’re so sorry” Hermione whispered with tears in her eyes.

Harry nodded he didn’t trust himself to speak at the moment. He leaned back in his chair rubbing his eyes and trying to stretch his back, he couldn’t remember falling asleep. He looked at Sarina she was still the same, lying in a peaceful slumber he looked away swallowing against the lump in his throat.

“Are you okay Harry?” Ron asked concern in his voice. “Is there anything we can get you?”

Harry laughed bitterly. “Can you get Sarina to wake up?” Ron looked at his feet and shook his head. “Then there’s nothing you can get for me is there” he snapped.

Ron and Hermione recoiled in shock at Harry’s outburst. They looked at each other and then back at Harry.

“I’m sorry” mumbled Harry. “It’s been a long night and I shouldn’t be taking it out on you, I know you’re only trying to help.”

“That’s okay Harry, we understand” Hermione said.

Professor McGonagall walked in the room and headed over to the bed. “Weasley, Granger classes are about to start I suggest you get to them” she said gently. “Harry, Professor Dumbledore has allowed you the day off today but you will return to the common room by curfew tonight and go back to classes tomorrow” she added.

Harry was about to argue but thought better of it, it was good of Dumbledore to give him the day off, so he simply nodded at Professor McGonagall. The others left the room and he turned back to Sarina, took her hand in his and began to talk to her.

Much later he looked at his watch and noticed that it was eight thirty. He stood up from his chair and leaned over and gave her a kiss on the lips and whispered “I’ll be back tomorrow.” He left the room and headed back to the common room, he was so caught up in his own thoughts he did not notice that someone was skulking in the shadows.

Draco Malfoy waited for Harry to pass and then he stepped out of the shadows and slipped into the hospital wing. He hid himself in the corner behind a cupboard and did not emerge until Madam Pomfrey had done her final check on the patient and then retired for the night. He sat in the chair beside the bed and looked at the girl lying in the bed, he choked back a sob he was the reason she was here this was all his fault, he took her hand and held it tenderly in his.

“I’m so sorry to have done this to you” he whispered. “But I had no choice, you see they were going to kill me if I didn’t, god even that sounds so lame.” He groaned inwardly and bowed his head. “You don’t know what it’s like having to grow up in that mansion, everyone thinking that I’m some spoiled brat but I only behave that way because that’s the way I have been told to act. My domineering father always telling me to follow his orders and no other way would do and if I ever defied him I would be punished most severely. The beatings that I have endured and being locked away for weeks at a time, my father always told me that it would make me a stronger person in the end and my mother would never stand up to him, she would take pity on me but she would never stop his abuse. All those years of strutting around the school carrying on as though I was better than everybody else was just an act, one my father orchestrated for me.” He sighed and looked over at the window for a moment it felt good to be getting this off his chest, even if she couldn’t hear him. “Now I’ve gotten myself way in over my head and I don’t know how to get myself out of it. I wanted a little piece of the glory show my father that I can accomplish things without his help and make him proud of me but I don’t know whether I can do it anymore. What I have been asked to do is truly horrible and I can’t talk to anyone about it but I think it would be alright to tell you.” He stood up and then bent down and whispered in her ear the mission he had been given, he collapsed back in the chair with a tear rolling down his cheek and he looked at her with sorrow in his eyes. “I should have been nicer to you I really wanted to get to know you but I had to keep face in front of my peers. I always regretted hitting you last year but I had to go along with the others and I guess I was feeling hurt and angry that it was Potter that you wanted and look where that has gotten you. If you hadn’t gone off chasing him and given me half a chance things could have been so different” he was ranting now he knew that but he didn’t care. He had wanted her since the first time he had clapped eyes on her on the train. There was something different, something special about her and even though they had clashed over the past year and a half he still wanted her. He decided he better leave and stood up from the chair and was about to walk out when he stopped and looked at her again, he probably would never get the chance again. He bent over her and brushed his lips against hers, kissing her ever so softly and then he strode over to the door and let himself out.

He made his way back to the Slytherin common room and sat down on one of the leather chairs in front of the fire, he’d had no intentions of ever going back to the hospital to see her again he had said what he wanted to say and that was supposed to be that. But the memory of his lips against hers had awoken something inside him, he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes remembering the feel of her soft lips, he would go back tomorrow night.

Over the next week Sarina had two visitor’s claiming their undying love for her. Harry came and visited her during the day and Draco came to her in the cover of night. But she was oblivious to their visits and to their voices, she was far away standing on a secluded beach looking out at the crystal blue water and feeling the warmth of the sun on her face and a light breeze playing in her hair. She had been standing on this beach for how long she did not know, time did not seem to matter here she felt at peace with the world she was content. She could sense the sea beckoning to her, whispering for her to come into the water, she sighed she could just wade into the water and let it take her away but something held her back.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it, so peaceful” said a voice from beside her.

Sarina jumped with fright and noticed that a woman had appeared beside her, Sarina guessed that she was probably in her fifties, she had blonde hair and blue eyes. Just like mine Sarina thought.

“Sorry to startle you Sarina” she said softly.

She knows my name and then Sarina remembered seeing pictures of her at her aunt’s house. “You’re my grandmother, Allirah” gasped Sarina.

“Very good Sarina” she smiled.

“But aren’t you…er….uh….”

“Dead” her grandmother finished for her. “Yes my body has died but my spirit lives on.”
“Then am I……is that why I can see you?” Sarina asked.

“No you are not, you are somewhere in the middle Sarina. You are hovering between life on Earth and the Afterlife. It seems that you are undecided and that is why you are here and that is why I have been sent to you” said Allirah seriously.

“And why have you been sent to me?”

“To guide you on the right path” Aliirah said gently. “You are not ready to leave Earth just yet Sarina and we are not ready to take you.”

“But then why am I here?” Sarina asked puzzled. “If I’m not supposed to die just yet, then what am I doing here.”

“Like I said it is not your time to go, but for some reason you have lost the will to fight and so you have come to this place so that I could talk to you and show you that there is still much left for you to do in your life - important things.”

“What things?”

Her grandmother smiled at her. “Now Sarina I can’t go giving away all life’s secrets. If you knew what was going to happen to you everyday then life would have no meaning. You have to trust me when I say that there is nothing for you here as yet but everything for you back on Earth.”

“But this place is so perfect and my life back there hasn’t been real great for me these past few months, so why would I want to go back?”

“I take it you are speaking of Harry” stated her grandmother.

“Yes, how did you know?”

“I know a lot of things” said Allirah mischeviously. “The boy loves you Sarina surely you must know that.”

“Well I don’t know, we’re not speaking to each other at the moment. He broke my heart when he showed that he didn’t trust me. I didn’t know that being in love with someone could cause just as much heartache as it does happiness. These past two months have been the lonliest and most miserable I have ever felt, I just want the ache in my heart to stop” she cried.

“Then I suggest you have a look at this” her grandmother said quietly. A bowl appeared in her hands and she bent down and scooped up some water into it. She then waved her hand over the water and a picture of Harry sitting beside Sarina while she lay in her hospital bed. He was holding her hand and he had tears running down his face as he whispered to her how much he loved her. Sarina watched him for a few moments and felt the pain in her heart lessen.

Allirah waved her hand again and the water cleared, she turned to Sarina smiling. “He sits by your side everyday talking to you and praying that you will come back to him” she placed a hand on Sarina’s cheek. “He loves you so very much Sarina, you are very lucky, many people search their whole lifetime to find the kind of love that you and Harry share. Go back to your life Sarina and embrace it” she said as tear rolled down her cheek.

Sarina turned and looked out at the water again, it was true when she and Harry were together she was blissfully happy and she knew that there was no-one else in the world for her. She shivered when she remembered the times they had spent together, his soft kisses, his strong embrace and the way his eyes lit up when he saw her. They were soul mates, they were destined to be together so what was she doing standing here, it was time to go back. She turned to her grandmother with a smile on her face.

“I’m ready to go back now and be with the one I love” whispered Sarina.

“You have made the right choice not only for you but for the rest of the world” said Allirah smiling.

“What do you mean, the rest of the world?”

Her grandmother patted her on the shoulder. “Do not ask questions that cannot be answered.”

Sarina opened her mouth to argue but then closed it again she knew it was no good her grandmother was not going to elaborate. So instead she asked something else “I don’t know whether you can answer me this but I was wondering I have now been hit with a deadly curse three times in the past year, am I going to be able to take anymore?”

“You are strong Sarina, stronger than you think and when you join Harry again you will both become a formidable force. To answer your question there has been no damage, but I would try to stay out of the way of any more curses in the future” she chuckled.

Sarina looked at her and laughed as well.

“It is time for you to go back now, it has been a real pleasure having this little chat with you Sarina, you look so much like your mother and share so many of her qualities” said Allirah.

Sarina moved forwards and embraced her grandmother and felt the tears spill down her face as she held her tightly. “Thank you for showing me the way” she whispered. “I wish we could have had more time together.”

“In the future when the time is right we will see each other again” her grandmother sobbed. She held her at arms length and looked at her granddaughter. “Are you ready?”

“Yes I am ready”

“Then close your eyes and think of the one you are going back to.”

Sarina closed her eyes and thought of Harry and only Harry. She could feel her grandmother’s fingers start to slip from hers but before she let go entirely a voice whispered in her ear;

“The one you thought to be an enemy will redeem himself and eventually become a friend.”

And then she was falling faster and faster but she kept her eyes closed and her thoughts still on the one she loved. Then when she thought that she was going to keep falling, it stopped and she could feel herself lying on something soft and there was a voice talking in the distance and someone was holding her hand. The pressure was soft and warm and the touch held so much love and promise. The voice was becoming clearer and she could make out the words they were saying.

“Sarina you are the love of my life, without you my life has no meaning. Please come back to me Sarina and I promise I will never again doubt you and the love we share.” She felt Harry raise her hand and place a kiss there.

Then she heard another voice “it’s time to go back to your dormitory Potter, it’s almost nine.”

No she thought I don’t want him to go. She tried to open her eyes but they felt so heavy. She concentrated with all her might and gave his hand a gentle squeeze praying that he would feel it. She squeezed again a little harder this time.

“Hey she just squeezed my hand” said Harry excitedly.

“I think you’re just hoping that she squeezed your hand Potter, it’s all in your mind” said the Matron.

“No she did really, come on Sarina do it again – please” pleaded Harry.

Sarina concentrated again and with all the strength that she had she squeezed his hand again.

“See that, did you see it” yelled Harry.

“Oh my goodness, I will go and fetch the Headmaster” and she heard the Madam Pomfrey rush off.

“Come on Sarina, open your eyes.”

I’m trying she thought as she fought against the heaviness of her lids. A moan of frustration escaped her lips and she felt her eyes roll behind her lids and then unexpectedly her lids flickered open and she blinked a few times against the light and she turned her head slightly to see Harry sitting there with a huge smile on his face and tears in his eyes.

“Thank god you’re alright” he sobbed.

“There’s no need to cry about it” she croaked giving him a weak smile.

The door to the hospital wing opened and Professor’s Dumbledore, McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey entered the room and walked over to her bed.

“Well Miss Taylor you do like giving us a scare don’t you” said Dumbledore.

“Oh you know just keeping the hospital on their toes, make sure their doing a good job” replied Sarina.

“It’s good to see you’ve got a sense of humour” Dumbledore chuckled. Then he added in a serious note “how are you feeling?”

“I feel fine just a little drained but other than that I’m okay really” she said wearily, knowing what was coming.

“Well then if you are up to it, I need to ask you……”

“I don’t remember anything” she said interrupting him. “The last thing I can recall is leaving the common room and waking up here in the hospital wing.”

Dumbledore gave her a penetrating look and she stared back at him unblinkingly and then he looked away and sighed “okay Sarina we’ll leave it there for tonight let you get some rest. But if you do remember anything please let me know straight away.”

“Thank you sir” and she turned back and looked at Harry.

“Come on Potter” barked Professor McGonagall.

Sarina tore her eyes away from Harry and looked pleadingly at Dumbledore. He smiled and nodded his understanding.

“Harry may stay.”

Sarina smiled at him and nodded her head in thanks. Dumbledore gently pushed the two protesting women from the room. Once they had left the room Harry turned towards Sarina with a look of remorse on his face “Sarina I….”

“You don’t need to say anything I heard everything you said while I was, shall we say sleeping” she smiled. “It’s all water under the bridge now after what has taken place. I realise what the important things are in life and you Harry are a very important part of my life.”

“I love you Sarina and from now on I am not letting you out of my sight” he said seriously. He stood up from his chair and bent over her brushing his lips against hers.

He pulled away from her and smiled down at her, she was so beautiful and she was his and he felt his heart explode with happiness. She moved over in the bed and gestured for him to lie beside her. He got into the bed and wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to him, she laid her head in the crook of his arm and they spent the next couple of hours talking and they only stopped when Harry finally fell asleep. She smiled as she watched him sleep this is the way it should always be she thought.

She lay awake for another couple of hours after lying in a coma for a week she wasn’t really tired. She lay there remembering her meeting with her grandmother and all the things she had told her and all things she hadn’t, she couldn’t believe that she had seriously considered leaving this life behind as she listened to Harry’s deep breathing beside her. One thought kept coming back to her, the last thing her grandmother had said;
The one you thought to be an enemy will redeem himself and eventually become a friend. She had a shrewd idea who this might be but she wasn’t entirely sure so for now she wouldn’t say anything to anyone until she was absolutely positive.

In the Headmaster’s office Professor Dumbledore sat speaking with Professor McGonagall, when all of a sudden he stopped talking and looked around the room alert. Professor McGonagall confused also looked around the room trying to see what it was that Dumbledore was looking for.

“What is it?” she whispered.

“Have you noticed how much brighter it is in here” he said. “And it’s not as cold as it was before the air has gotten warmer.”

“Now that you mention it, I can see the difference” said Professor McGonagall. “Do you know what it is?”

Professor Dumbledore leaned back in his chair a broad smile on his face. “It means my dear Minerva that they have found their way back to each other.”

Draco made his way towards the hospital wing it was two thirty in the morning he didn’t usually visit this late but he had fallen asleep early because of the late nights he had been spending with Sarina. He eased open the doors to the hospital wing and crept quietly to her bed but halfway there he stopped, he felt the bottom drop out of his stomach at the sight before him. There on the bed lay Sarina and Potter snuggled up to each other. He couldn’t believe that Potter had the audacity to get into her bed when she lie in a coma, he watched for a few moments with narrowed eyes and saw to his astonishment Sarina move. She was snuggling in closer to Potter and he heard her murmur his name. So she had awaken and she had chosen to go back to him. He had been hoping that it was he she would awake to find beside her bed and that she would take one look at him and realise that he was the one she loved. He had been playing that fantasy in his head for days now but it was not to be as he looked at the couple. With a heavy heart he retreated out of the room and headed back to his dormitory. He had hoped that she was his salvation out of this mess but it looks as though his path was set and he would have to proceed with his other mission.