Home
Albus Dumbledore
'Home', to Albus was always a painful word, it reminded him of Ariana and all those times before the family fell reminded him of the milk and cookies that they put out for Santa at Christmas, of the warm fire that always dances in the living room, of the warm smell in the kitchen, of the laughter that rang across the backyard as he, Aberforth and Ariana ran through the grass field, without a care in the world.
"Me? I see myself holding a thick pair of socks.", the lie had come easily, just like it did for all those years, it was the first thing that came to mind when Poppy asked it, as they brought the mirror in. He remembered how Ariana used to make socks with Mother, they were always warmer than the socks that were brought. Of course, he outgrown them, they were tossed carelessly aside.
He hadn't found them since.
Hermione Granger
To Hermione, 'home' is just that word you grow up with, the one you learn in kindergarden, the one you use almost every day. That was before she got her letter, after that, each summer had been different to the others. At first, it would seem that everything was perfect, but then it all changed. The loving family she'd once had was no more, it was broken by endless arguments and then, then dad got drunk, and started dating someone else, he lost his job.
Mum then found out on her third summer and they cancelled their trip to Fiji, she could never forget that day for as long as she lived, the screaming, the arguing and the fighting. She had been sent to Ron's for the summer as they were sorting out papers for divorce, she never told Harry and Ron, she had pretended to be happy as the year went on, she didn't get any letters form dad, only mum wrote to her after.
The summer after, she and mum was all alone, life was never the same afterwards,
As for her dad, she never heard from him after that horrible day.
Draco Malfoy
'Home', is just another word for Draco, another meaningless word that you just use every day. Well, it used to be, until that fateful day when the Dark Lord moved in.
'Home', used to be a place of warmth, of safety and love, it used to be place where you can say anything without the fear of your safety, it used to be a place where you don't have to fear for your life and the ones you love every day.
Now it is a place of darkness, a place where he can't move without being questioned, threatened, or tortured. It is a place without love, or comfort. As he lied in his massive four-post bed, he thought of the place it used to be, he remembered of the time before, well, this. He thought of warm milk before bed, and the snug tuck-ins from Mother, of her soft-as-music voice telling him stories, stories of long adventures across dangerous land, stories of big, scaly dragons and how they were defeated them.
Thinking back to those bedtime stories, he is now sure that Mother had been a Gryffindor.
Petunia Dursely (neé: Evans)
To Petunia, 'home' was a place she was despised, others were loved in their homes, but not her. Mother and Father favours that, freak, and she was thrown to the side like a piece of worthless trash. She had once tried to get their attention from Lily by doing better in class and offering to help whenever there were chores around the house.
It was given up long ago.
To them, nothing was enough no matter how much she tries to please them, to them, she simply wasn't 'special' enough, not like perfect Lily. So when she was married, her parents had just send a letter, telling her that they had to attend Lily's wedding at the same day, she was heartbroken.
After that, she never wrote to them again.
Dolores Umbridge
'Home' was a forgotten word to Dolores, to her, it was a place she despised, a place where she was ashamed of having such a family. Her father, was a man with less ambition than a badger, he works as a cleaner at the ministry, her mother was a filthy muggle and her brother was a squib.
It wasn't until her mother left the home with her brother then she realised how much she misses them, she remembers that her mother's favourite colour used to be pink, and how pretty she looks in it. So she took it on, even though she knew she looks hideous, to match that look, she used potion to make her voice high and girly, she knows that she looks ridiculous and many of her co-workers laugh behind her back. But she couldn't, she couldn't let that last shred of memory go.
Her brother turned up home after 15 years of their departure, reporting the death of her mother and handed something to her, it was a note, read:
Dear Dolores
By the time you read this, I will be gone from this world, don't be sorry for me, I've lived a long and hard life and should be moving on.
I hope you are well wherever you are, and I hope you have achieved your dream of becoming Minster that you had since the age of five. I just want you to know that I love you, I will always love you. Don't be afraid to show them who you really are and don't be afraid to do what you want.
Love
Mom
At the sight of this letter, she smiled, not a fake one that she plastered on her face all the time, a real smile from the depth of her heart.
Sirius Black
Sirius never knew the meaning of 'home', until that first summer which he spends in the home of his best mate, James, otherwise known as Prongs' house. In there, he felt welcome for the first time in his whole entire life. Before he came to know the word, it was always a steady reminder that he was different, he tried to fit in, once. But he realised it was never going to work and the sorting hat's decision just proves that, so he did the opposite, by showing how different he could be from the rest of them. He redecorated his room, towering Gryffindor lion covered up the Slytherin snake, red and gold replaced green and sliver. The family motto and Black family crest covered up with bits and pieces from the muggle magazines he buys every now and again.
His mother had been, of course, furious at his behaviour and almost busted through the roof when he told her that he told the house-elf to put an everlasting sticking charm on it. She had told him to get out and he did, quite happy to do so, that summer he took refuge at his best friend's house, and the summer after that, and all summer that came after.
The last time he ever saw his parents alive was at his brother's funeral. After that, all that is left of his mother was the screaming portrait in the hall of the Black House in London, it was never the same.
Percy Weasley
From his birth, Percy had been born into a loving family, with older sibling to care for him, and younger ones to care for. When he's got the Prefect badge, his family couldn't been happier. His mother supports him in whatever he did and often compare him to the twin brother he had and other members of his family.
All that changed in 1994, when he first started work, he messed up, big time. Voldemort controlled his boss and he had failed to recognise it. He was disgraced and unable to face his family, after so much hope had been placed on him.
He disowned his family, stepping out into the world without their support. He knew they were right, even after the truth came out. He just couldn't, couldn't face them.
When he did, it was too late.
Bellatrix Leastrange (neé: Black)
The meaning of 'home' was replaced long ago by 'power' and 'lust' in Bella's blackened and corrupted heart. The fire, which had been burning bright and warm, is now cold and dark like the flames of the ghost burning in the basement of the Black Manor. There were no warmth left, because the warmth had been extinguished long ago.
From the moment she was born, she was a weed in the picture perfect Black family, a sore that stuck out. No part of her was welcome, from her messy black hair, to her abnormally large feet. She was never perfect; she never tried to be perfect. Her mother had tried to dump the "proper manners" on to her, by forcing. Forcing to get through her tangled black hair, forcing to make her walk as if she was carrying eggs on her head, forcing to make her talk with a stupid accent all the time, forcing her to sit like a statue. But that was long ago, now her mother has two more daughters to worry about, two more perfect daughters in which can marry off to rich families, to gain allies for her father, was he ever in need of someone to speak up for him at the court.
Andromeda had disappointed them, by being sorted into Hufflepuff and marring a muggle-born. Her family disowned her. Cissy was perfect, perfect from her straight blond hair to her perfect posture; every inch of her was perfect, she was the rose, the crown jewel of the Black family. And Bella was just another weed waiting to be disowned, like her traitor of a sister.