Daisy sat up abruptly on her bed, as the effects of her Sleeping Draught wore off, pulling her out from the deep slumber. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and leaned against her pillow for a while, letting a wave of dizziness pass. She then wondered how long she had been asleep; and if Chris was awake yet. The curtain beside her was drawn now” and Daisy wondered why.
“Daisy?” called a voice and Daisy looked up to see Carla at the door.
“Hi...”
“Hey,” Carla replied, coming in. She noticed Daisy's eyes move towards the curtain that separated her and Chris and she seemed to understand. “Chris woke up a half hour ago.”
“Oh. How's he?”
Carla gave her a scrutinising glance and bit her lip, as if she were wondering if she should go on. Then she finally said, “Frankly, he's sorta miserable. He's been asking for his mother. The Aurors have gone to get her, but it will take time for her to come. She's a little busy with his father's funeral arrangements.”
Daisy felt a pang of pity for Chris. “Is he alone in there?”
“I'm afraid he is,” shrugged Carla. “He won't speak to anybody, though. He's very disturbed.”
“Can I try?”
Carla thought about what Daisy had said and stood up. “That's not a bad idea. I'll just ask Tudor.”
After a few minutes, Healer Tudor was beside Daisy and she was gently detaching the IV tube so that the catheter was open. She then shut its lid and said to Daisy, “I wouldn't have allowed this if your IV wasn't about to be changed, so I want you to be quick, all right? Don't overexert yourself for him. It's only going to keep you here longer.”
“Okay,” said Daisy. As soon as Healer Tudor left, she leapt to her feet from the bed and crashed on to the floor as her feet failed to support her. “OW!”
Carla rushed to her side and helped her up. Daisy had been in bed for so long that her legs were not used to walking. But with Carla's help, she walked slowly to the other side of the curtain and entered Chris's part of the ward.
He was lounging on his bed, his face hidden behind the newspaper he was reading. Carla walked away then, leaving Daisy to hold on to the curtain and take a chair beside him. He did not look up from the newspaper, even with all the noise that Daisy made as she sat down weakly. Then she took a deep breath. “Chris?”
He did not put the paper down. Daisy looked at him, willing him to just look at her once. She wanted to be there for him and help him” just the way he had helped and supported her all the time. If he would just talk...
Five minutes passed and he hadn't budged. Daisy wondered if he had, perhaps fallen asleep, but just then the newspaper moved an inch and she could feel a pair of very bloodshot eyes on her. She felt a lump form in her throat and spoke again. “I love you, Chris. Please talk to me...”
He finally put down the newspaper and she was left to look right at him. His face was pale and there were dark circles around his eyes, which were puffy and red. His cheeks were also tear-stained. He had done a lot of crying for being awake only a few minutes.
“Hey...” said Daisy, putting her hand on his. He didn't even twitch his hand in response. Instead, he just stared at her, looking helpless and on the verge of another round of tears.
A dull abdominal pain was beginning to bother Daisy now, but she didn't care. She just wanted to be there for Chris. But he had been so wonderful on those days. He always knew what to do or say. Daisy searched her mind desperately, trying to think about what to say. Hell, why was she so horrible at consoling people? She squeezed his hand. “Will you talk to me?”
He finally took a deep, shuddering breath and asked her the last question that she had expected (or wanted) him to ask. “Did you attack me at Andrew's place?”
She bit her lip. It was best not to lie. “Yes,” she whispered. “But””
He preferred not to wait for the explanation. “Was I your attacker?”
No point lying. “Yes, but””
“Did I kill Parvati Potter under your Imperius Curse?”
What is this” a bloody interrogation? “Yes, but””
“Did you get back with me just so you could use me?”
Bloody hell. Lie! Lie now! “N”No!”
Chris's stern gaze turned soft and he sighed, tears beginning to well in his eyes. Daisy breathed hard and fought back her own tears as she kissed his hand. He was hurting bad. She felt guilty about lying to him but really, did it matter? She loved him now...
Suddenly, a distant voice sounded in her head. It was Chris's voice and it said words that she couldn't ever remember him say to her. “Look, squeeze my hand tight. It will ease the pain. Do it.”
Tears were freely falling down Chris's face now and he seemed to be doing all he could from breaking down completely. Daisy bent over with great difficulty and kissed his wet cheek. She then whispered into his ear, “Squeeze my hand tight. It will ease the pain.”
He did not squeeze her hand. Instead he placed his palm on her cheek and caressed it slowly. “I l”love y”you.”
She nodded. “I know that. I love you too.”
He sat up, wiping away some of the tears and gestured for her to sit beside him on the bed. He did not have any needles or tubes running through him, so he was free to move. Daisy smiled and got up from her chair, taking her place next to him. He pulled her towards him, hugged her and took deep breaths to try and stop crying. She just wrapped her arms around him and patted his back slowly as he shook with tears. Finally, he was able to adequately control himself, so he pulled away from her and rested his head on her shoulder. She lay her chin on his soft blonde hair. “I heard about what happened at your place last night... I”I'm sorry about your dad... And Rebecca.”
“You know what, I still can't believe that Becks did all of this.” He sniffed and swallowed. “And my dad didn't deserve it. He wasn't involved even a little bit in the entire case. He had barely an idea about it.”
“I know...”
“I should have persuaded Mum and Dad to leave right after my birthday. This is all my fault. I””
“No!” Daisy said, frowning. “It's not your fault, okay?”
Chris was going to say something else, when Carla came in. “Daisy? The Aurors want to talk to you.”
Daisy looked up at her. “Okay. I'll come. She got up and Carla came up to her to help her to her bed. Just as she was about to leave, she felt Chris's hand holding on to hers.
He smiled at her wanly. “Thanks, Daisy.”
She shrugged her shoulders, bewildered at this. “For what?”
“For not being one of those to hoodwink me. You may have attacked me on that day, but you were blackmailed. I forgive you for it.” He left her hand and she began to walk slowly with Carla's support.
She felt a shiver run down her spine as she remembered what else she had had to go through because she had refused to attack Chris. But then, he believed that she hadn't used him like the others when in fact, she had done the very thing. Suddenly, she stopped walking. This was wrong. She had to tell him. She turned around. “Chris”?”
“Hmm?”
She hesitated. “T”Take care.”
He smiled. “Sure I will. You take more care, okay?”
Daisy nodded, guilt twisting her insides as she walked away with Carla. They reached her bed and Carla tucked her in, before going to call the Aurors. In the meantime, Healer Tudor came and put her back on IV. Then Daisy leaned back against her pillow and shut her eyes for a while, until she heard someone approach her. When she opened them again, Ginny was standing in front of her with a smile on her face. “How are you?”
“I'm fine,” replied Daisy, adjusting her covers.
Ginny took a stool next to her and took a deep breath. She beckoned to someone at the door and Harry also came in and stood silently behind Ginny as she spoke again, “We have come to talk to you about an episode of your physical abuse that has been confessed to us by Shaun McCall. I believe he assaulted and threatened to rape you following a blackmail that didn't move you?”
Daisy suppressed a gasp. How did they know about that? The humiliation and pain that she had gone through on the day when Shaun had physically abused her came rushing back. She had tried to forget about it a hundred times, but there was no use...
“I” I don't want to talk about it,” Daisy said, her throat constricting painfully.
Ginny nodded understandingly. “I know you don't want to talk about it. But we're charging Shaun for assault and we want a statement from you. That will make the case stronger and he won't be able to escape the lifetime imprisonment.”
“I”” Daisy sighed. “Okay...”
Ginny nodded encouragingly. “So... Just tell me in short. It's enough for us. We know what happened already, but we need some of the words from your mouth.”
Daisy pulled on the bedcovers and said, “Well... It was a few hours before Andrew died. Rebecca chucked the usual blackmail at me first. She realised that I had raised your suspicions about her and she wanted me to erase them by attacking Chris. I refused to get scared with her blackmail, so she took me to meet Shaun.”
“You went with her willingly?” Ginny asked.
“Well, I had to, or she and Shaun would have come barging in my house and Ryan was there at that time.”
Ginny wrote something in a notebook and nodded for Daisy to go on. “What happened then?”
“I refused to comply with them again and Shaun assaulted me. He...” Daisy felt a lump in her throat, as the pain of his slap came alive again. It had been so agonising and humiliating. She swallowed. “He slapped me.”
“Then?” Ginny asked gently, laying a hand on Daisy's shoulder.
“He kissed me...” Daisy's voice broke and tears began to fill her eyes. She sniffled and continued, “I” I bit h”him and got him off b” but he knelt down on my knees. T” Then he pulled on m” my shirt so that the b” button popped off. He was about to r” rape me, but I agreed to comply... I wouldn't h” have, if he...” Daisy buried her face in her hands, sniffling and shaking.
“We know, Daisy,” Ginny said, patting Daisy's shoulder. “Shaun will be imprisoned for life, now.”
Daisy wiped her face and looked up. “He deserves it.”
“But why didn't you tell us about the blackmail and abuse earlier on?” Ginny asked.
“I was scared...” Daisy replied. “But will you promise me something, Ginny?”
“What is it?” Ginny asked.
Daisy took a deep breath. “Please don't tell Chris about this incident. He'll get very upset.”
“We won't,” Ginny promised Daisy. “In fact, we're going to talk to him now and since you're telling us not to, we won't tell him about this abuse, okay?”
“Thanks.”
“Never mind,” Ginny said, smiling. “And... One more thing.”
“What?”
“Do you know anything about how Andrew died?”
Daisy sighed. “He committed suicide.”
“Why?!”
“Andrew and I had books about the Gem, but the information was wrong. It said that the person with the Gem had to kill seven people to get all those powers. So Andrew committed suicide as a last, desperate attempt to stop Shaun and Rebecca.”
There was silence. Daisy smiled wanly at the Aurors. “I'm very proud of Andrew for trying, you know. And actually, he had written a ‘D’ on a piece of paper that I'm sure you might have found,” she giggled now. “That fool wanted you to know that I was aware of what was happening, but I guess he ended up convincing you that I was the culprit. And Rebecca used these ‘I want Harry Potter’ chits to divert you people from the real case. He even wrote one of those...” Daisy rubbed her temples. “I really wish he hadn't died...”
Ginny came forward and hugged Daisy. “Hey... None of this will ever happen to you again. It's going to be all right.”
Daisy chuckled. “All this had better not happen again! Once is enough.”
Ginny grinned. “Well... I guess we have to go...” She stood up and Harry followed suit. “Take care!” She said again, as she walked over to the other side of the curtain and Harry followed her, grinning at Daisy before disappearing behind the curtain.
***
Chris snuggled into his bed, smiling as he remembered how Daisy had consoled him a few minutes ago. He really loved her a lot and was very glad that they were together, no matter what. Presently, he could hear Daisy's and Ginny's voices as they spoke on the other side, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Daisy's voice sounded shaky, and Chris wondered why. Several times, he was tempted to go over and look at what was going on, but he decided not to.
Finally, they seemed to stop talking. Then they were approaching footsteps and in a minute, Ginny and Harry were standing before Chris. Harry held his hand for Chris to shake. Ginny came forward and hugged him. “Hi, Chris.”
“Hey,” Chris replied, returning the handshake and then the hug.
Both the Aurors took their seats next to his bed and Harry pulled out a silver box. On it was a cursive engraving:
London Killings: Potter/McCall
Harry spoke up. “We're really sorry about your father, Chris.”
Chris felt the familiar sense of grief weighing down on his stomach. He swallowed. “Harry... It was the fire that killed Dad, right? I mean...” he hesitated, but he just noticed Harry and Ginny exchange a glance on time. His eyes widened. “Please” please tell me the truth... I want to know.”
Harry sighed and looked at Ginny. Then he handed the silver box to Chris. “Look, you have been more involved in the case than you're aware of. So, I guess you have every right to know everything. I'm giving you this box” when you open it, you'll find that it contains the recording of my interrogation of Shaun. I think you must listen to it.”
Chris took the box and looked at Harry. “Who killed my dad?” Then when he looked at Ginny's face, it struck him like a bolt of lightning. “It was me, wasn't it?” He felt sick.
Ginny scratched her eye and said, “Look Chris, you””
“Did I kill my Dad?” Chris asked, his voice barely a whisper.
Ginny looked at Harry and bit her lip. Then she took a deep breath. “You cast the Killing Curse on him... But Rebecca had you under her control.”
Chris felt his mind freeze as a horrible sensation hit the pit of his stomach. He felt nauseated and horrified. Ginny sighed at the look on his face. “Chris...”
“C” Can I be alone for a while...?”
Ginny and Harry stood up awkwardly. “Of course... See you.” Both of them walked out rather quickly, leaving Chris alone in his side of the ward.
He sank into his pillows, pulling his blanket over his face and hearing his own breaths. A feeling of guilt slid sickeningly down his stomach. He hated Rebecca for what she had done and made him and Daisy do along with her.
Half an hour passed. Chris's mother came to see him in the meantime and he pretended to be asleep. He didn't want to talk to her right now. All the same, he felt sorry for her when he opened his eyes the slightest and saw her seated helplessly next to him, caressing his forehead. At last, when he didn't respond to her and wake up at all, she left and told Carla to call her back in when he woke up again.
Chris hid under the blankets again when a bewildered Carla came to see if he was really sleeping. When she walked away, Chris surfaced, swiping at the stream of tears that had fallen down his cheek. He lay like that for another hour. Then he got terribly hungry and gobbled up two apples and a banana from the fruit basket on his bedside table. Just then, he noticed the recording that Harry had handed to him.
He opened the box and pulled out a silver sphere. Now what was he supposed to do? Squeeze it? Deciding that he might as well give it a try, he squeezed the sphere. A voice spoke up.
“Interrogation of Shaun McCall by Harry Potter.”
Then Chris heard the story he had been craving to hear. He felt his anger build when he heard Shaun speak devotedly about killing everyone and blackmailing Daisy. He realised that Rebecca had told him the truth and felt something squelchy sink into his guts when Shaun spoke about threatening Daisy into Imperiusing Chris. Then Shaun said something else that pushed Chris over the edge.
Daisy pretended to still love Chris and got back with him on the eve of Parvati Potter's death. Once she was with him, she Imperiused him and got him to drink Polyjuice Potion with Ginny Weasley's hair in it. Then she sent him to the house, where Hermione Granger mistook him for Ginny Weasley and broke the secret to him. The next day, Chris killed Parvati Potter.
The interrogation went on, but Chris was just paying enough attention to take in the details. When the recording ended, Chris was out of his mind with anger. What had Daisy told them when they had gotten together the day before Parvati had died?
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For being so silly. I love you.”
It was a lie. Daisy had lied that day. She had not loved him. Rebecca was right. Daisy had used him so well.
He felt sick now. Shaking uncontrollably, he got into his blankets. Just then, his mother came back. This time he couldn't pretend to be asleep.
Melanie walked in with a stressed-looking smile on her face. “Hey, sleepyhead,” she said as she sat on his bed and planted a kiss on his forehead. Then she frowned. “You are clammy, dear.” She felt Chris's forehead and cheeks. “Do you feel unwell?”
“I'm okay, Mum,” Chris mumbled, turning away from her to hide the tears that were threatning to fall.
Melanie sighed. He felt her hand on his hair, fondling through them. “I spoke to that red haired friend of yours... It's not your fault, darling. It could have happened to anyone. I'm sure Kevin is not mad at you.”
Chris did not respond. He just stubbornly kept his back to her. He could feel a wave of nausea surfacing inside him and he sat up on his bed in preparation to use the bathroom.
“Chris?” Melanie asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. “What's wrong, dear?”
Chris shook his head and stood up at that moment, to get to the bathroom again. He started to walk towards it quickly” it was just a few paces away; but even then, he was too late. He had doubled over and thrown up all over the floor before he could open the door. His vision blurred with dizziness and he swayed on the spot.
“Chris...!” His mother supported him to the loo and rubbed his back as he violently retched and belched out the remainder of his food into the basin. He was shaking again at the end of it; and not to mention very dizzy. His head had begun to throb and his whole body ached dully. He felt as though someone had given him a thousand blows all over his body.
He remained bent over, a few dry heaves racking through his sore body. Finally, he rinsed out his mouth weakly and clutched his mother's hand for support. She put an arm around him and took him to his bed slowly. Then as he was tucked in, Melanie went out again to call the Healer.
Chris shut his eyes to block out the dizziness and after a few minutes, someone was feeling his forehead. He opened his eyes again as Healer Tudor took his pulse. “What did you eat?” she asked, glancing at her watch.
“Fruits,” replied Chris weakly. “Two apples and a banana.”
Healer Tudor pulled down his blanket and put her hand under his gown, palpating his abdomen. “Where does it hurt?” She pressured several spots, but Chris couldn't say which place hurt more.
When he had drawn his blankets back, the Healer checked him for pallor and cyanosis. Finally she said, “I think this must have been indigestion because of all the trauma you’ve gone through. You take rest while we wait for the test results, okay?”
Chris nodded as Healer Tudor loaded a syringe with Sleeping Drought and pricked him, putting him back into a deep sleep. But before the potion could block out any of his thoughts, he could only think of one thing. Daisy would never be forgiven. He hated her for what she had done.
***
Harry parked the car in his garage and got off. Then he rushed out and rang the doorbell. Naina's nanny, Mrs Mark answered it. “Oh, you're home, Mr Potter! Well, I'm afraid Naina's still asleep.”
“Oh, hasn't she woken up at all?” Harry asked, as he pulled off his coat and loosened his tie. He checked his watch. It was nine in the morning.
“No,” Mrs Mark said.
“Fine, then I'll take care of her today. You can go home,” said Harry.
The nanny shrugged. “Okay, Mr Potter,” she said and collected her coat and handbag before leaving. Once she had shut the door behind her, Harry slumped onto the couch and removed his tie. He then went into his room, where Naina was sleeping in her cradle.
Harry put his watch and wallet into his wardrobe drawer. Then drawing out some fresh clothes, he picked up his towel and went into the en suite for a shower. By the time he was out of his shower, Naina was waking up, moaning in her cradle. Harry grinned to himself as he dried his hair with the towel. He then put the towel to dry and went over to the cradle.
Naina was sleepily sucking her thumb as she looked up at him from her cradle. Harry gently took her thumb out of her mouth. “Good morning, Princess!”
“Daddy!” Naina said happily, as she let Harry pick her up. He took her to the bathroom and brushed her teeth for her. Then he ran a warm bath for her as she played in the room for a while.
When Harry had put enough bubble bath in the tub, he went back and got Naina. She giggled and splashed water while Harry bathed her. He hadn’t ever given Naina a bath until Parvati’s death. Now, Naina never let her nanny bathe her because she enjoyed Harry’s baths so much. Harry sadly wished Parvati had been there to see him and Naina like this, as he lathered Naina’s hair with her favourite shampoo.
After bathing Naina, Harry dressed her and sat her on a highchair at the dining table before throwing on an apron and making pancakes. He made two tiny ones for Naina and a few larger ones for himself. He then poured some maple syrup and put a dollop of butter on both their pancakes before carrying the plates to the dining table. He set Naina’s plate before her along with a glass of milk and sat beside her with his plate. They were halfway through their late breakfast, when someone rang the doorbell.
Harry got it, to see Ginny standing outside. He took her to the dining table. “Will you have pancakes?”
“No, thanks, I’m stuffed,” Ginny replied. Then she looked at Naina. “Hi, sweetheart!”
Naina giggled. “Hi Dinny!”
Ginny grinned at the little girl. “Oh Harry, she’s so pretty!”
“Isn’t she?” Harry said proudly. Indeed, Naina was getting prettier everyday. She still had the sharp, Indian facial features which made her look remarkably like Parvati. Her hair was thick, straight and black. It was beginning to reach her shoulders and there was a fringe covering her forehead which Ginny had cut for her. Her eyes were pretty too: they looked exactly like Harry’s and were lined by thick, black eyelashes. The dimples on her cheeks were more prominent now.
“Well,” said Ginny, grinning naughtily. “Thank God, she didn’t inherit anything from you. I can’t imagine how she’d look after growing up, then.”
“Hey! She’s got my eyes!”
“Well, they were your mother’s…”
Harry made a face. “Whatever.”
“Just kidding…” said Ginny, nudging Harry’s side. “You’re handsome.”
Harry chuckled as he finished his pancakes. “Oh, shut up.”
“Really,” said Ginny, making an angelic face.
Harry winked. “Okay, if you say so… But there’s an important matter we need to discuss, I think.”
“What?”
“Remember our one-month trial relationship?”
Ginny smiled. “Yes.”
“And… what do you think…?”
Her smile turned into a grin. “You wanna know?”
“Yeah.”
“Then go make me a pancake.”
Harry shrugged and went into his kitchen. Just as he had thrown on his apron and turned, he saw Ginny at the doorway. She gave him a naughty grin before walking towards him and placing both her hands on his shoulder. Then she pulled him down and placed her lips on his.
***
Hermione rubbed her temples and sighed as she browsed through a patient’s case file. She couldn’t help wondering what Ron would say” if he was ready to work their marriage further or not. What would she do if he disagreed to do it? How would she get over him? Whom would the children stay with?
“You can stop torturing yourself there, Hermione,” said a voice and Hermione looked up to see Ron at the doorway. “Can I come in?” he asked.
“Ron!” said Hermione, waving at a chair. “Why didn’t you just call me”?”
“Look, Hermione,” Ron interrupted. “I need to talk to you right now. And I figured the ER wasn’t private enough.”
“But””
Ron interrupted her again. “Will you listen to what I have to say?”
Hermione took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”
Ron grinned as he stood up. Then he crossed over her desk so that he was right beside her. Finally, he went down on one knee and took her hand. “Hermione, will you marry me… Again?”
Hermione stared at him, shocked. Of all the things she had expected him to say, this was the last thing. Then all of a sudden, she broke into giggles. “Oh” Oh Ron!”
“I’m waiting for an answer,” said Ron.
“O”Okay,” said Hermione, stopping her giggles with difficulty. “Of course I’ll marry you again, Ron” if that’s allowed.”
“Yeah, I think it is…” said Ron, as he got up. “Or, we could have a second honeymoon.”
Hermione smiled. “I opt for the second honeymoon.”
“Great,” said Ron happily. “Now, I think I’ll just go back, or the Trainee in charge will kill me.”
He had reached the door, when Hermione spoke. “Ron?”
He turned. “Yeah?”
“Are you weak?”
Ron raised an eyebrow. “Not anymore. Why?”
Hermione just chuckled before getting up from her chair and walking towards him. “I love you.” And then she leapt onto him, wrapping her legs around his hips while he chuckled and caught her. She just heard him whisper one thing before they kissed.
“I love you too.”
Killer Instincts by Ginny Weasley Potter
Chapter Notes: Hey all!
Second last submission here! I'm wrapping up this story in just another installment after this one. It feels weird to let go of this one, now that I've been writing it for three and a half years, not to mention all the planning six months before I started writing the story! :) :'(
Anyway, I'm planning a sequel to this one... I'll let you guys know what the sequel is gonna be about, after I post the Epilogue so that I don't spoil anything here. ;)
But guys, please review! I've got no response for the last two chapters and that's kinda saddening.
This one if for my third new roomie, Amu. :)
Chapter Endnotes:
Ooh, so what happens to Daisy/Chris now? ;)