I wasn't expecting them. Of all days, today was not one that I expected Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger to appear at my house. It's the day that got me. The 17th of May. It's the reason I lied. Of course I knew it was Harry Potter- the guy has a lightning shaped scar, for Christs' sake. The fact that Ron and Hermione were there just made it more obvious. I thought I was in a dream until I heard 'Aunt' Bella snarl that she wanted a 'girl-on-girl talk' with Hermione. I noticed my mother shoot me a warning glance the moment the words left her sisters mouth. Mother was the only one in the family to know my 'shameful' secret.
I noticed Hermione shooting me a scared look, her eyes wide with fright like a rabbit in the headlights, but then Aunt Bella caught on and slapped her around the face, shouting that "A mudblood like her shouldn't look at a pureblood like my nephew". I needed to leave the room then. I felt like the lowest of the low, like a traitor, but I knew that if I gave away my secret it'd only succeed in getting her hurt more. I knew she'd understand.
I only returned to the room when I heard Bellatrix scream.
I nearly had to leave to throw up after I saw the word 'mudblood' carved into Hermione's arm, but I was then struck by Dobby's presence. In the confusion of our ex-house elf apparating everywhere, Hermione ended up by my side, clutching my hand. My father saw us, and I saw his mouth open in shock. That was about four seconds before Dobby clutched her arm and apparated her away, as her sweet voice left behind the echo of an "I love you".
It was me they turned against then. Father was screaming about how ashamed the 'Dark Lord' would be, and Bellatrix was screeching that I was as good as dead to her. Mother stayed quiet, and I was glad she stayed out of the crossfire. But this day, was more than a confirmed sighting of Harry Potter. This day was my third anniversary of asking Hermione Granger to be my girlfriend. This was also the day that I received a scar on my left forearm reading 'traitor'.