Chapter 4- The Park

Arriving at the park, which wasn't more than a few of blocks away, the trio sat down at a picnic table under the shade of a large oak tree. Harry sat across from them, his attention turned towards the sounds of kids and their families playing on one of the climbing frames a short distance away. He seemed intent on completely ignoring them if possible, his jaw firmly set in anger. He was acting worse than he did last summer, when Harry felt everyone was keeping him in the dark about what was happening in their world. Hermione and Ron knew they would have to be patient.

"So Happy Birthday, mate. How's it feel to be sixteen now?" asked Ron.

"Alright, I guess," was Harry's response.

"Harry, would you like some lunch? We brought you a sandwich and some crisps if you'd like some?" Hermione asked, rummaging through her knapsack to pull out all of their lunch items.

Harry finally looked at them and his face softened slightly. At the mention of food there was a longing in his eyes that he couldn't hide.

"Go ahead mate, help yourself," said Ron.

Harry finally nodded and grabbed the sandwich nearest to him and began to peel back the wrapper. He took a large bite and looked as though he was thoroughly enjoying it. "Thanks," he muttered.

Hermione passed out the bottles of lemonade and was about to grab a sandwich for herself, when Ron picked up the last two. Thinking he was going to eat both hers and his own she opened her mouth to protest, but then realized what his true intent was.

"Here you go mate," Ron said, handing him the other two sandwiches and all the bags of crisps. "Hermione and I ate on the way over to your house. We brought you some extra, just in case."

Hermione smiled at Ron in admiration for his little white lie. It was easy to see how much he cared for their small friend. They were both going to go hungry this afternoon, but that didn't seem to matter just now.

"But I can't eat all of this," Harry protested through a mouthful of food.

"That's alright," said Hermione, catching on to what Ron was doing. "You can save some for later."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely," she replied.

Harry nodded and continued to munch solemnly, pausing only to take sip of lemonade now and then. Hermione and Ron sipped their own lemonades and talked about what was going on at the Burrow this summer, hoping to fill the void. Hermione talked about her family as well, and how she had decided to stay at the Burrow while they were abroad. Harry merely nodded to the things they said while he listened. The longer they talked the more comfortable he seemed. Harry even smirked at something funny that Ron said the twins had done, looking more like himself and less like the angry teenager they had brought with them.

Finally having a chance to study Harry up close, Hermione was certain something was wrong at the Dursleys. There was just something off about Harry. His face, which was mostly hidden by his long messy black hair, seemed thinner than normal. She realized that Ron had probably caught this as well and it had prompted him to offer Harry the rest of their food. And if she looked closely, there appeared to be a bruise fading on his left cheek, which hinted at how bad things may have gotten at home.

He was wearing a pair of baggy jeans and had on a grey hooded sweatshirt, despite the warm temperature outside. He was sweating slightly, and beads were forming on his forehead, dampening the hair that lay against it. And for some reason, Harry had cut holes into seam of each sleeve, through which he had stuck his thumbs through so that the worn and slightly soiled cuffs covered most of his hands. From what she could see of them his hands they looked quite rough, possibly from all of the chores the Dursleys undoubtedly made him do.

"Aren't you hot?" Hermione had inquired at one point. He merely shook his head in response.

"Nope."

"But you're getting all sweaty," Hermione insisted, crinkling her nose up in distaste.

"I'm fine."

After a short while Harry had finished eating one and a half sandwiches and a bag of crisps, looking thoroughly satisfied, and had set aside the rest of his food for later. Hermione hesitantly began what she knew was going to be a difficult conversation. As much as she would rather just give him their gifts and eat the cake, she knew that Harry's welfare was more important. And if they gave him the presents now, he might try to leave right away. It was better to wait, she decided, and see what they could pull out of Harry first.

"We've told you all about us, so now it's your turn Harry. How has your summer been?"

"Fine."

"What have you been up to?" she asked.

"Nothing much," he replied, looking towards the playground again.

"Have you gotten any of your homework done?"

"Not really."

"Why?"

"Too busy."

"Doing what?" asked Ron.

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know," Harry continued in his monotone voice.

Growing irritated with their friend, Ron asked, "Are they making you do chores?"

Harry nodded slowly. "Yeah. They always do."

"Do they let you do anything else?" he asked. Harry shrugged, not really replying to the question. "How are they otherwise? Are they making you go on any crazy diets with your cousin?"

"No."

"Then how come you're so thin?" Hermione asked now.

"I'm not!" Harry protested, looking surprised by her observation.

"Yes, you are. You've lost weight. We can tell," she replied.

"So."

"So, we're worried about you, mate," said Ron, looking obviously uncomfortable that he was having this conversation with his friend. "We just want to know you're okay."

Harry sighed before responding. "I guess I'm just not eating well or something."

"How come? Are you thinking about Sirius?" Hermione pushed.

Harry eyes suddenly flashed with anger. "I'm just not hungry, okay!" Harry shouted.

Hermione was taken aback. She really hadn't expected him to react like this. She had thought he might be sad after everything that had happened, but she had not anticipated such raw anger. "Harry we just want to help you," she said softly, hoping to calm him.

"Well I don't need your help. So just leave me alone," said Harry rising to his feet and checking the time on his watch. "Thanks for the food and all, but I think I will be going."

"But we brought you presents too!" Hermione exclaimed, hoping to keep Harry here for a little while longer. It was obvious that he wasn't going to be very forthcoming about anything right now.

"Sorry, but I gotta go," he said turning to walk away. "You can give them to me later."

"This conversation is not over Harry!" shouted Ron, jumping to his feet now too.

Harry turned back looking incredulous. "Yes, it is. I need to get home. I really shouldn't have been gone this long."

"Why?"

"No reason. I've just got stuff to do," Harry responded quickly.

"Is there something wrong? Did we get you in trouble?" Ron asked.

"Does it matter?" Harry scoffed.

"Yes, especially if they are going to lock you up in that blasted cupboard or something!"

"What?" Hermione asked, inhaling sharply. She had never heard about his before. Why had she not heard about this before?

"You shut up about that Ron!" Harry shouted, coming around the table to face him.

"NO! I'm not keeping quiet about it any longer. It's obvious that there is more going on at the Dursleys than you've told me!" Ron shouted. "You promised me that you would tell me if something was wrong."

Harry looked exasperated. "There's nothing wrong! Just leave me alone!"

"Nothing wrong? Then what's with the bruise on your cheek?" Ron asked, pointing to Harry's face.

Harry's hand flew to his left cheek, covering the offending mark. Clearly he had not realized that it was still there. "It's nothing. Dudley and I had a row the other day."

"I don't believe you."

"So don't. I don't care!" Harry shouted.

"What cupboard?" Hermione asked, still thinking back to what Ron said.

Harry looked at Hermione and then toward Ron and pleaded with him. "Don't."

"If you won't tell us what is really going on, I'm going to tell her everything!" Ron threatened.

Harry just shook his head, looking very much like a wild animal ready to spring at any moment. "Don't do it."

"Tell us what's wrong! Are they hurting you?" Ron pleaded.

"No!"

Ron turned back to Hermione, who was still seated at the table and said, "The cupboard under the stairs was Harry's bedroom until he came to Hogwarts. They would lock-"

Ron didn't finish his sentence because Harry suddenly launched himself at Ron, his fist connecting with his face. "You son of a bitch!" he screamed as they both fell the ground. "I trusted you!"

"Harry! Stop!" Hermione yelled, jumping up from her seat. She wanted to pry the two apart, but she also trusted Ron to handle the situation.

Ron wrestled Harry as best he could trying to avoid the punches and slaps Harry was throwing at him. Some of the families near by watched the fight in alarm, but no one did anything to break it up. Being much taller and heavier than Harry gave Ron an advantage and he soon got the upper hand. He pinned Harry beneath him and grabbed his wrists to prevent him from hurting Ron or himself. Harry winced as if in pain as he struggled to get free and Hermione wondered what had pained him so much considering Ron had been as gentle as he could with him.

"What's wrong with you?" Ron shouted, spittle flying into Harry's face. "Why do you put up with it?"

"Let go of me!" Harry yelled, wincing once more.

"They starve you! Make you do endless chores! Lock you up in your bedroom and put bars on your window! Feed you cold cans of soup through a cat flap in your door! They belittle you constantly! Why do you put up with it?" Ron yelled. "Who knows what else they've done to you!"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked feeling thoroughly horrified now. She hadn't known about any of this. Why had Ron kept these secrets from her?

"The twins and I rescued Harry before second year. Had to rip the bars off the window just to get to him," Ron answered quickly, still trying to wrestle Harry beneath him.

"Just shut up!" Harry screamed up at him, still looking furious as he struggled.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hermione asked Harry, tears forming in her eyes from the knowledge that her friend had suffered so much more than she had expected.

"He made me promise not to tell anyone," Ron explained. "I wanted to but- OOF!"

Harry had finally managed to get a hand loose and had punched Ron in the stomach. He tried to twist out of his friends grasp, and nearly managed to escape before Ron caught the hem of his sweatshirt. In their struggle, Harry's sweatshirt and the green t-shirt underneath had ridden up his torso revealing bruises at various stages of healing.

Hermione gasped in horror realizing what that meant and sank back onto the picnic bench. Ron caught sight of it as well. There was a moment when Ron and Harry stared at one another searchingly, not moving a single muscle. Then slowly Harry stood up, looking intent on backing away. Realizing this, Ron reacted quickly and proceeded to rip the sweatshirt off his friend's body completely before he could escape. What they found was even worse. Unable to control herself, Hermione began to cry softly. Harry was so dumbfounded by their discovery that he stood there motionlessly, looking quite numb.

Left only his green t-shirt, Harry was left vulnerable to their scrutiny. He was thin, so very thin. And along with the various bruises running up down his arms, there were a series of neat little cuts on the inside of both his wrists and forearms. Some looked raw and fresh, where as others had already begun to scab over.

Ron grabbed Harry's hands and pulled him towards him, studying the cuts carefully. Realizing that he had nothing left to hide, Harry didn't even protest or fight back. He just stood there, shaking slightly, staring down at his own arms as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing either. All the fight seemed to have left him.

"Harry, who did this to you?" Ron asked, looking at those precise little incisions in horror.

Harry looked away and Hermione realized that they must have been self-inflicted. "Ron, I think…"

"Did you do this?" Ron continued, ignoring Hermione completely. Harry didn't say anything as he gently pulled his hands back from Ron.

"But why?" Ron whispered with tears in his eyes.

Harry just shook his head sadly and tried to back away again.

"You wouldn't understand…"

In one swift motion, Ron reached out and roughly pulled Harry towards him into an embrace. He held him tightly, his arms wrapped around Harry's frail frame, whispering something in his ear that Hermione couldn't hear. She just watched helplessly, marvelling at how close they seemed. She wanted to go to them and hug them both as well, but she felt that it would somehow be an intrusion. So she watched instead.

Harry sagged against Ron for a moment, listening to whatever Ron was saying. But then he began shaking his head again and gently pushed Ron away. Backing up a few feet, he grabbed his discarded sweatshirt and quickly put it back on. He continued to back away, looking haunted and very scared. His eyes were filled with tears now too.

"Harry?" Hermione called after him, rising to her feet to follow him.

"Just… just leave me alone," he said softly.

Harry turned away from them and began to walk back to Privet Drive. Hermione tried to follow, but Ron grabbed her wrist to hold her back.

"He's upset. Just let him go, Hermione," he said. "We have the information we need to get him out of there."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, surprised by how well Ron was handling the whole situation. He had really matured over the years. There were so many things she wanted to say to him, to ask him, but in the end curiosity won out.

"What did you say to him?" she asked, wanting to know the sweet words Ron had whispered in Harry's hear.

Ron looked away. "It doesn't matter…"

A/N: That was a very angsty chapter wasn't it? Poor Harry. We'll see more of Harry and the Dursleys in the next chapter. Thank you for reading and reviewing.