章 16: Hermione's Resolve
Hermione was beside herself with worry ever since Harry disappeared from the ball. She exhausted herself looking in all of the normal places but Harry was not to be found. After admitting defeat, she went back to her dorm and thought about the situation she was in and how to get out of it. She finally had an idea and took out a piece of parchment and began a letter. Once she was finished, she ran to the owlery to post it. She saw Hedwig and asked "Hey girl, would you like to take a letter for me?"
Hedwig looked at her for a moment before turning her back on her. Hermione thought 'Great, even his owl hates me now.' She managed to call down one of the school's owls and sent her letter off.
****
Hermione wasn't the only Gryffindor looking for Harry. There was a group led by the three female chasers of the Quidditch team who were desperate to talk to Harry. While they didn't publicly ridicule Harry, they were guilty of not standing up for him and they knew in his eyes; they were just as guilty as those who had been so horrible to him. It was obvious how Harry felt when the Weasley twins shared their confrontation with the other team members.
If that didn't open their eyes, the confrontation in McGonagall's classroom certainly did. The three girls had always thought of Harry as their little brother much like the twins did and for him to no longer want to associate with them was a hard pill to swallow. The team was very close and with the loss of Oliver, who graduated, and now Harry, who no longer trusted them, their 'family' was becoming fractured and dysfunctional.
****
Harry returned to the castle on the night before classes resumed. His mind was on other things and he made the mistake of arriving at Gryffindor tower much earlier that normal. As soon as he stepped through the portrait hole, he realized his mistake as all eyes locked in on him so he tried to hurry through and make his way up to his dorm room. Harry hadn't made it half way up the stairs before everyone's shock at seeing Harry cleared and they went into action. Angelina asked "Harry, may we speak to you?"
When he looked up, he saw the entire Quidditch team along with Neville, Ron, and Hermione along with a few others. He shot them a look of disdain before starting up the stairs. Katie blurted out "Harry, we're sorry for everything. We don't want you to leave or quit the Quidditch team. You're family to us."
Harry stopped dead in his tracks and turned around while shooting them a glare. He snorted "Family? Is that what you just said? That I'm family?"
George quietly said "Yeah Harry."
Harry sneered "And I thought the Dursleys were bad. At least they never pretended to like me before attacking me."
Angelina softly said "Harry, we said we're sorry. Please come back to us."
Harry sneered "Why? Why would I want to do anything with you people? What would I have to gain by it?"
Alicia pleaded "We were wrong Harry. Please accept our apology. It is bad enough that Ollie is gone. We can't lose you too."
Harry closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them, they could see the restrained fury he was holding back. He snapped out "I guess you should have thought about that before you made me an outcast."
He made eye contact with each one of them as he said "Of everyone in this school, you WERE the people I was closest too. You knew me better than anyone yet you still accused me of doing things YOU should know I would never do."
They winced as he stressed the words and hung their heads in shame as he said this. They thought he was done but never expected what came next. "It all boils down to trust and at this point, I can't trust any of you."
Hermione asked "You said you can't instead of you don't. Why can't you trust us?"
Harry sighed and thought that only Hermione would spot the difference. "It may have escaped your attention but I've had a Dark Lord after me for fourteen years. It's hard enough to deal with the frontal attack but it's even harder to deal with the threat from behind. This year has shown me that if I place my trust in someone who says they are my friend, I just may end up with a wand pointed at my back. Voldemort is a big enough threat without me having to worry about whether my friends are going to turn and run when things get bad."
They all gasped at his last statement as he turned and went up the stairs. He was glad there was no one in the dorm as he quickly changed and climbed into bed. Once the curtains were pulled, he charmed them silent and added one to keep anyone but him from opening them. He called for Dobby and said "It may be time to find me a new place to sleep. I think it would be easier on me if I didn't have to worry about running into them."
Dobby replied "Harry could always call the sword to him. It would let him in Godric's chambers."
"No, I don't think we can do that yet. They can't know that we know yet."
Down in the common room, the subdued group sat around on the couches talking about what had just happened. Almost all of them agreed that they had a lot to make up for with Harry and hopefully earn his trust one day. For now, all they could do was to try and support him as best they could. Angelina noticed Fred and George looking quite depressed which was usually against their nature. She asked "What's got you two so down?"
Fred answered "Well, Dad told us to fix things with Harry before the school term began. The problem is we haven't even seen Harry since the ball to try and now we are afraid that if we try, we may make things worse. With what happened in Ginny's first year, Dad is taking this as a mark against our family honor and is rather put out about the whole thing."
Hermione said "Your father is a very nice man. He wouldn't do anything too bad."
George grimaced. "Hermione, family honor is everything to Dad and he won't take this very well."
Hermione sadly nodded "I can understand that. My father is a decorated hero from the Falkland's conflict. The branch he served in places honor above everything. When he finds out about this, he won't be very happy with me."
...
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