The snow was an injustice to Alice, to her memory. The children running through the snow, getting the frozen water on their suits and dresses, were making light of the situation. Elijah’s suit was rumpled from the early morning brooding he’d been doing and his eyes were hard, watching his Nanny as she conversed with his tutor about him. She was concerned, everyone was, but she usually talked to him about it. Rarely did she seek out others for advice. She’d grown close to Micah over the last few months, though. Elijah shouldn’t have been surprised, not really, but he was a little hurt.
Everyone was there but Elijah couldn’t help but feel resentful of their presence. They’d come out to support him, they all had, but he didn’t feel supported. In fact, Elijah felt more isolated than ever. The suit was rubbing painfully against his body, the cold was bringing the blood to his cheeks and his tears had frozen underneath his eyes. No one had come to reassure him, to tell him it was okay to cry. They’d left him, content to play and socialise as if it were one of Marina’s Christmas balls. They were making a mockery of it all and it was infuriating Elijah more and more as he stood watching them.
Elijah looked up upon feeling hands on his shoulders and he met the silvery gaze of his cousin, the one person that seemed to genuinely care for his wellbeing at present. Elijah allowed himself to lose composure and he sank into Harry. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes, whispering incoherencies to himself. He felt Harry’s gloved hand go to his face and he opened his eyes again to find the elder boy crouched in front of him. Elijah sniffled and he fell against Harry, not caring about the fact that they were supposed to stay composed, not caring about the fact that they weren’t supposed to be friends.
Harry tipped forward, his knees ploughing down into the snow. Now he was kneeling, clutching Elijah to him and allowing the nine-year-old to cry into his shoulder. Every twenty-five seconds or so, Harry would place a kiss on Elijah’s temple, murmuring words he hoped would reassure the broken boy. But nothing seemed to console him and the tears seemed to forever flow. He couldn’t stop, no matter how many kisses Harry placed on his head, no matter how warm it was inside Harry’s coat which he’d opened up and brought Elijah into.
Elijah could hear Harry’s heartbeat. It was melodic, beautiful, as if it was playing a song especially for him.
Harry felt a hand on his chest and he opened his coat up a little bit so he could see the tiny nine-year-old huddled inside. Harry realised instantaneously that Elijah was counting his heartbeats and he couldn’t help but smile at the innocent boy. The Krum heir would not relax though. His eyes were wide and unseeing as they stared into space, directed by chance at the inside pocket of his coat. Harry didn’t know how to console the boy, how to make him feel a little better. He’d been inconsolable while crying. What was he like while comatose?
“Hey...doe eyes...,” Harry put finger underneath Elijah’s chin and nudged his head upwards so he’d look at him, “You need to look at me Eli otherwise this won’t sink in,” Elijah hesitantly lifted his lifeless eyes to meet Harry’s and the elder boy was momentarily shocked by the sight of them. He had never seen his cousin look so dead before, “Elijah I love you. I’m here for you, not so your mother can make a farce of it all. As amusing as that would be I care about how you’re feeling. This...this isn’t good. You look like death warmed up.”
Elijah managed a smile even it was for Harry’s sake. The smile died though and tears dripped down his cheeks. “Don’t leave me, Harry...,” He cried, throwing himself at the elder boy, “Please..,” he breathed, “Please don’t leave me...I...I beg of you Harry...I can’t do this...please..”
Harry shushed the boy, combing his fingers through the dark locks that sat atop Elijah’s head. He rested his cheek against his head after and wrapped his arms tighter around the boy. Harry rubbed Elijah’s back. Harry was at a loss and a quick look up told him that no one seemed to care. The Andersons were wrapped up in their anguish and his parents were too busy chasing his brothers to care about anything else. Stefan Krum was flirting with his Aunt Iskra from what Harry could see and his wife looked less than pleased. No one seemed to care about the fact that it was a funeral. Even Marina was nowhere to be seen, no doubt playing the hostess.
“I’m not going anywhere, beauty,” Harry whispered, “I promise you that. I won’t leave unless you want me to.”
Elijah sniffled again and Harry slowly got to his feet, bringing Elijah up with him. He supported the boy in his arms and placed one more kiss on his head before setting him down on the ground. Harry ruffled his hair and took Elijah’s hand. He wrapped his coat tight around himself and the two young men made their way to the doors of the church. Elijah stopped, his eyes falling upon Mira, and Harry stopped mid-step. He looked down at Elijah and frowned. What was the boy doing?
“Elijah?” He questioned.
“She looks like her...” was the answer he received.
by 
