Harry sat in silence as Ron, Ginny, and Hermione discussed Mother's Day. They were talking about what they would get their mums for the special day, seemingly oblivious to tears forming in Harry's eyes, and him just sitting picking at his food. So he sat, staring at his potatoes, trying to ignore his three best friends. Ron, however, finally noticed Harry's withdrawal.
"Hey, Harry, what are you getting your mum on Mother's Day?" He asked. Hermione and Ginny gasped, and Harry noticed Ron paling considerably, as if he had just realized what he had said. Harry swung his legs around the bench, got up, and bolted out of the hall, fighting tears harder than ever. He heard Ginny yelling behind him, seemingly at Ron, but didn't turn back. He ran for the place he always went when he got emotional…
Ginny couldn't believe Ron and said that. He knew Harry was an orphan, he knew he was sensitive about it.
"Ron, you prat!" She bellowed at him, and Ron looked at her in fear. "You know full well he hates that subject!" She saw McGonagall rise, but bugger her. She drew her wand, and Ron went from scared to terrified. "Nasus Battus!" She screamed, pointing her wand at him, and watching with satisfaction as several bats came out of his nose, signifying her trademark spell.
Ron yelled and batted at the bats, and he too got up and sprinted from the Hall. By that time McGonagall reached them.
"Miss Weasley! What is the meaning of this?" She asked.
Ginny looked McGonagall straight in the eyes, and said: "Ron asked Harry what he was giving his mum for Mother's Day."
The Professor looked shocked. "Miss Granger, is this true?" Hermione nodded shakily.
"Excuse me," McGonagall said, and she strode out, no doubt to look for Ron. Ginny looked at Hermione.
"I check Towers and then Lake, you check Dorm and Common Room for Harry." She said, and Hermione nodded, knowing those were the most likely detonations. They walked out of the hall together, and then went their separate ways.
Ginny decided to check the Astronomy Tower first, as Ravenclaw Tower was out and Gryffindor Tower was being checked by Hermione, and she couldn't see Harry going to any of the other ones. She reached the stairs, and climbed up slowly. When she reached the top, she stopped. She could hear the sounds of someone attempting to cry silently, the sniffles and shakes, so she knew Harry was there somewhere. She sent a muttered Patronus message to Hermione telling her that she got Harry, and walked towards the sound.
The sound was coming from a bench, but there was nobody there, so Ginny decided that Harry was probably under the cloak she wasn't supposed to know about. She sighed, knowing that to help Harry she would have to reveal her knowledge of it, but it was worth it. She walked towards the bench, and sure enough, when she reached out she felt a light fabric material in thin air. She grabbed and pulled, revealing a Harry who not only hadn't noticed her arrive, but had missed her pulling off the cloak.
He was lying in a fetal position, with a picture in his hand. Looking over his shoulder, she saw that the picture was his mum and dad. She sat next to him, and he finally noticed her arrival. He looked at her for a second and blushed slightly, and then looked at the bench, as if in shame.
"Sorry," he said. Ginny scowled.
"No," she said. "I'm the one who should be sorry. You have nothing to apologize for."
"Why do you need to apologize? It's not your fault." He asked. Ginny shrugged.
"I walked in on you. And it kind of is, we shouldn't have talked about that particular subject around you." Harry looked at her.
"It's not your fault," he repeated. She looked at her shoes, unsure of what to say. They sat like that for several moments, with him looking at her and her looking at her shoes.
"You know," she piped up suddenly. "You kind of do have parents and a family."
Harry raised an eyebrow. She muttered a charm he couldn't make out, and a picture appeared in her hand. Harry looked at it, and tears came into his eyes. He looked too choked up to speak, so Ginny nodded to show that she understood. She gave the photo to him, and to this day a photo of Molly and Arthur Weasley resides on his bedside table, next to pictures of his blood parents, wife, and children. He looks at them every night.
