A/N: Something very, very short I felt like writing after watching Deathly Hallows Pt 2 for the third time. It's not the greatest piece but I just needed to get it off my chest and share it with you guys. Bear with me! Fear not though, I do plan on writing the next chapter of Planetarium this weekend! ^_^
Family
'Your parents are DEAD! You have NO family!'
In the aftermath of his final confrontation with Voldemort, after he'd snapped the Elder Wand and as he stood with his two best friends on what was left of the stony bridge, Harry's tired mind recalled what Ron had shouted at him that night at the tent. He wasn't even sure why he'd just remembered that now but, for some reason, he felt that he needed to address the issue.
'Ron,' he said, his voice still sounding a little rough, 'you were wrong about something.'
'Was I?' the ginger haired young man asked.
'Yes,' Harry replied.
He let go of Hermione's hand and, stepping in front of them, he looked first at her, then at Ron and said:
'You said I had no family…'
'That wasn't me!' Ron hurried to explain, 'it was the locket, it made me…'
'I know the way the locket affected us,' Harry interrupted him; 'I also know it affected you more than anyone else.'
'That's right,' Ron agreed wholeheartedly, 'I would have never said that if…'
'I know you wouldn't have,' Harry stopped him again, 'you just didn't want to hurt me but, with the locket...'
'Harry, wait…' Hermione intervened for the first time.
'What I'm trying to say is this,' Harry continued, purposely ignoring her, 'you were wrong, Ron: I do have a family. Even if you don't think so, I think I've always seen you two as the siblings I never had and I felt very grateful your mother considered me as another child of her own.'
Hearing this, neither Ron nor Hermione were able to speak.
'To me,' Harry carried on, 'you are MY family.'
'Harry…' Hermione finally managed to say.
'And that's how I understood what you two were going through,' Harry concluded.
Ron still didn't trust himself to talk but, making a visible effort, he said:
'I know that, now. And I'm sorry I…'
'I'm sorry too,' Harry said looking at him in the eye, 'I shouldn't have shouted at you and I shouldn't have told you to leave. I just…it just hurt me to think that you didn't see me as the brother I saw in you.'
'But I do!' Ron exclaimed, 'you ARE family!'
'That's right,' a teary Hermione agreed, 'Harry, you're not alone. You've never been alone, I trust you know that.'
'I do,' Harry assured her, 'I do,' he repeated.
'Come here,' Hermione ordered pulling him into her arms, 'you too,' she added glancing at Ron.
The three of them fused into a hug that made them feel home. Their friendship had been severely tested but, after everything they had been through ever since that day in their first year when together they tackled a fully grown mountain troll, the three had formed a bond that transcended any others.
They WERE a family.
It was as simple as that.
THE END.