Fears were a testy thing. Harry realised. He was not sure why he had agreed to overcome this certain fear, but Hermione was with him. That made it better. They stood outside the front door of the Dursleys' old house. They had moved out long ago.
Hermione grabbed his hand and squeezed it. The wind seemed to speed up. He squeezed her hand back.
"Harry, it's up to you. We'll do this together, or not at all. Those were your words after all." She managed to sound condescending and comforting at the same time.
"I know. It's just hard." Harry whispered. He was not completely ready to step into this house again. Hermione gave him a sad look. She knew pieces of what had happened in this prison.
They were going to face one fear at a time that had started in this house, Today, Harry was going to face the cupboard.
He took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob of the house. His hands shook and he could barely turn the knob. Hermione held his other hand and he opened the door.
The couch he wasn't allowed to sit on was covered in dust. The once-sparkling kitchen had lost its sparkle. The carpet was not clean and an urge from long ago out of fear made him want to clean it. Harry ignored this. It could be dirty. That was okay.
He faced the stairs. Well, more specifically, the cupboard. The door of it looked smaller than before. Harry let go of Hermione's hand and knelt down by the cupboard. He pressed his hand to the door. Tears escaped his eyes and he let them go. Just this once.
He moved his hand to the doorknob. This one was harder to turn. Just touching it brought back an array of unwanted memories. Harry pushed them away.
He heard a sob. Quickly turning around, he saw Hermione sinking to the floor. He started to move toward her, but she shook her head. He backed off, deciding to give her time. He could make her feel better later. Harry went back to the cupboard door. He opened it.
He recoiled. The tiny, beat-up mattress was still there. On the inside of the door, the little 'Harry's Room' sign was still there. It looked the same and he quickly shut the door. This was too much to handle. He crawled over to Hermione, who was sitting against the wall. Dried tears covered her face. Harry wiped them away and kissed her cheeks.
"You really lived here? For ten years?" She whispered, bewildered. He could only nod. She pulled him next to her and buried her face in his shoulder.
"Oh." This word was muffled. Harry rubbed her back. He was done with this place. They could find another way to confront his past.
"Let's go." He said, abruptly. They stood up and walked out the front door.
On the way back to a dark alley to apparate, they walked in silence.
It was over. This horrible journey was over.
Prompts:
overcoming a fear
"We'll do this together, or not at all."