Harry were talking with Ryan and Roger about strategies and plans for their second game against Gryffindor. They had defeated Hufflepuff in their first game, although Cedric had caught the snitch, their strategy and teamwork as chasers were enough to make them win. Hermione Luna and Natalie were playing a magical board game while the boys were talking. Natalie was Luna's classmate and her friend from her year. Natalie had also become good friends with Harry and Hermione. The 6 of them were hanging out on the compartment of the train to go home for the holidays.
When they arrived at the station, Harry had assisted both Hermione and Luna while Ryan was assisting Natalie with her trunk. They stepped off the train and the three of them were saying their goodbyes to Natalie and Ryan who went to find their families in the station. Luna and Hermione said their goodbyes to Harry and both of them promised to go to the camp as much as possible and they went off to go to their family. Harry found his mum and dad who were talking to Scott, he went over to them and greeted the two of them the four of them flooed to Godric's inn and drove to their house. When they arrived Tippy had helped Scott and Harry put their trunks in their room. When Harry and Scott opened the door they were attacked with a hug by Rose.
"It's good to see you Rose, we miss you." Scott said and he kissed her cheek and handed her to Harry who also kissed her cheek and put her down. He went straight to his room. He didn't know what to feel anymore. It seems like he was more welcome and does belong to the family but he was feeling the contrary. He felt like an outsider now more than ever and the emotion he was feeling two weeks ago was starting to surface. So he dealt with it like he always do when this happened, he tried to suppressed it, he sat down in his bed, closed his eyes, sat upright and breathed slowly, he inhaled deeply through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. When he finally calmed down he stood up to get his journal to continue working on the phone's design.
James was going upstairs to go to Harry's room. The situation they were in was very tough. Before his sons had left for Hogwarts, Harry was getting close to them, he was starting to warm up towards them which made him and Lily very happy and when he was at Hogwarts he did sent them letters occasionally which they were very happy to receive and respond. They were also very happy when Scott sent them a letter informing them that he was sorted to Gryffindor, it was the safest house out of all the 4 that he could be sorted into. Everything was fine and much better. Although being at Hogwarts wasn't fully safe for Scott, it was the best school for him to go and he needs to be with other children in his age. It did made their minds at ease that Harry would be watching him to keep him safe. It made their jobs easier. Like when Scott went to the find his best friend Meredith when the troll infiltrated the castle, at least he had been scolded by Harry.
When his sons had arrived at the station, something was different with Harry. It was like the distrust, anger and bitterness that was present when they first reconciled was back again. He tried not to show it but he and Lily could feel it was there and they were at a loss at what to do. He reached Harry's room and he knocked the door three times. "Harry, dinner's almost ready, can you please go down in 10 minutes?" James said outside the door. "Okay" Harry replied and James left the door to go to their room.
Maybe they should go to a mind healer together or maybe they could confront him and let him express all the emotions he was feeling towards them. James wanted them to go to a mind healer but Lily was against that idea. Saying that it will make Harry distrust them more and that he would push them away further. Lily said that he needed to express all the anger that he had felt towards them. He believed that Lily was right, she was usually right at these kind of things. The only thing that was holding him back was his fear. He was afraid of the latter approach, of how much it will hurt. He knew he should just suck it up because the hurt that Harry felt all those years being ignored was much worse than they are about to feel.
Five days after Harry and Scott had arrived and things got more tense and awkward in the Potters. The five of them had finished their dinner together. Scott and Rose were making things lively in the table, cutting the tension and awkwardness that was present. Harry was quiet throughout the dinner and he ate fast to rush back to his room. Lily sighed when Harry rushed to his room, Scott looked at his mom and saw the sad expression on her face, and he looked down on his food pondering about the events that is happening. He had noticed that the friction between Harry and mum and dad was much worse than the one in the summer. When dad finished feeding Rose and left for her to clean up he looked to his mum and asked, "Are things going to be like before mum?" Lily looked towards Scott and she felt sorry for him for getting caught in the middle of it. "No, we just need to sort things out. I promise that it won't be like before, ever again." Lily answered to his son while stroking his hair.
When dinner was finished, Scott was squatting on the floor with Rose to play with her dolls. He wanted Rose to be unaware of the situation as much as possible. So he took rose to her room to play with her while Harry and his parents would discuss about their current situation. The last thing they needed was for him and Rose to be a distraction.
Harry was working on the phone's design on the study table in his room. He was focused solely on the work when suddenly Tippy popped in his room and bowed "Master Harry, Master James and Mistress Lily are calling for you in the living room" the house elf said, Harry nodded and said, "Tell them I'll be right there in a minute." he replied and the elf bowed lower and popped out of his room. He closed his notebook and put it on one of the hidden cabinets he had made. He stood before the door and sighed, he really didn't want to deal with them now, maybe sooner or later but not now. He wanted to deal with the emotions he was having personally. He opened the door and went outside the comfort and privacy of his room. He went downstairs and saw that his parents were sitting in the living room, he arrived at the foot of the stairs and he heard his mum say "Harry, can you please sit down?" Harry nodded as a reply and sat down at the chair in front of them. "What is this about? I feel like I did something wrong" Harry said casually with a smile. James smiled back and said "No, you're not in trouble."
Harry sat down and stared at the two of them to let them say what they wanted to talk about but he too was being stared at by them. "So what do you want to talk about?" Harry asked. "Say it Harry, Let it all go" Lily said
"Say what? Let what go?" Harry asked. "The emotions Harry. Your anger towards us. Say what you want to say to us. We won't hate you for it, nor feel bad about it." Lily answered. Harry was confused at first and he got what she was saying. Harry didn't comply and asked to go to his room but was denied every time at first but James and Lily were patient with him. Waiting for him to say it. Encouraging him to do it, "Go on Harry, and say it. Your hate and anger towards us that you've bottled up all those years." Lily said.
"Why?" Harry asked. "Why'd you do it?" tears forming in his eyes. Lily and James silently said "We don't know"
"You know how much it hurts for you to ignore me? All I wanted back then was just your acknowledgement and just a second of your time to look at me. You know how much it hurts to see other children being taken care of their own parents. That even though their parents are poor they still loved them. So why didn't you do it for me? Am I a piece of trash to you?" Harry asked while crying. James and Lily shook their heads and James extended his arm to pat Harry's shoulder but was swatted away by Harry.
"Don't touch me, you piece of shit. That's what the two of you are. You're pieces of shit. You think you can just enter my life like the last 8 years of my life didn't happened. Like the pain I had to carry every single day as kid. A KID! A kid who had to deal with it every fucking single day because HIS PARENTS WERE FUCKING PIECES OF SHIT!" Harry shouted and was now breathing heavily.
"I was okay without you then. I was fine being alone. Then you came into my life. A life where I was happy with Luna and Hermione. The two people who had never left me. People who truly loved me. And people I truly loved and deserved my love. What have you done? Huh? What have you done for me to love you? What have you done for you to deserve it? Do you even deserve it?" Harry said looking up, he was talking more to himself than his parents. Letting all the thoughts about the two of them go.
"We don't" Lily said, Harry flicked his head down to look at Lily. "We don't deserve you. We don't deserve your love, your forgiveness and you. I'm sorry." Lily said her hand reaching his. Harry swatted her hand away. "Fuck You! I fucking hate you. Why you did even had me? You should have let Voldemort kill me back then. Being dead was much better than being your son."
"Please, forgive us. We're sorry" Lily said crying, James was also crying, his body couldn't move as his mind was going overdrive, trying to imagine all the pain he had inflicted on his own son. HIS OWN SON. When Lily tried to hug Harry, he pushed her away, causing her to stumble but James caught her. "Fuck you." Harry said, "Please" James said, "Please forgive us" he said, also trying to hug him but was pushed away, he stumbled back but was able to balance himself, he tried again only to be pushed back but this time it was with lesser force and he balanced himself. He tried for the third time but this time a fist connected in his jaw. "I'm sorry Harry. Punch me and hurt me as you can. I'll do it if it will give us a chance for you to forgive us" James said, again trying to get close to him only for a second fist to connect to his other jaw. He stumbled back and was caught by Lily
Lily tried get close to him but was pushed, she was not hindered, determined to hug his son no matter how many times he will push them away. She successfully hugged him and James followed. Harry tried to push the two of them away. But their grip on him was strong. "Why? Why? "Why'd you do it?" Harry said while crying hysterically on the connecting point of their shoulder. His arms went around them and hugged the two of them. He didn't know why, he just felt like it. Lily and James were also crying hysterically while both of them kept saying "I don't know" and I'm sorry" alternately and randomly.
It was the day after the confrontation, Harry was in the camp waiting for Hermione, he had written her a letter saying he wants to talk to her and that he will be waiting at the camp. Harry had already written a letter to his parents saying that he needed some space and that he needs to be alone for now.
Hermione was in her bedroom changing, she had just taken a shower after she had woken up in the morning. When was finished changing, she immediately went downstairs to eat breakfast with her family. Her mum, dad and her younger brother were already at the table. She walk towards the table "Good morning" she greeted, she sat down on the table to eat with them. They were having their breakfast while watching the television when Hedwig arrived, perched on Hermione's shoulder, nuzzled her head against hers, took her leg in front of Hermione's face to show the letter. Hermione untied the parchment and Hedwig immediately went off to leave. Hermione read Harry's letter and was worried about him.
Andrea was looking at her daughter and saw that she was worried and she asked "Who is it from?" Louise asked, Hermione didn't bother looking up when she replied "It's from Harry" Andrea remembered him, the reason why Hermione was able to forgive them quickly, she was thankful that he entered their daughter's life when they were being stupid in the past and neglected Hermione. "Is he okay?" Andrea asked. "I don't know and I got to go" Hermione replied who quickly ate her breakfast and went upstairs. The three of them were looking at her with curiosity. A moment later she went downstairs again and went towards them.
"I'm sorry, I got to leave. Harry needs someone to talk to and is having a hard time. "Hermione said, she then kissed her mum, dad and brother on their cheeks "Bye" she said. "Stay safe" Andrea shouted when she quickly walked towards the door "Okay" Hermione replied and then left. When she was outside she quickly went for her bike and rode towards their camp.
Harry was sitting outside the tent, in front of the fire. The three of them had already cleared out all the bushes, mud, dirt and leaves that were in the camp. They had harvested all their weed which they were going to sell in the summer. Harry was staring at the fire, thinking about the events last night. He needed someone to talk to and there were only two people he can talk to, Luna and Hermione. Luna was not an option as of the moment as she lived far away. Hermione was the most sensible and viable option. She was the one who knew exactly what he had gone through and she was the one who had helped him go through it. His musings and thoughts were broken when bicycle running over snow can be heard. He looked at the source of the noise and he saw that Hermione had arrived. She placed her bike next to his "Hey Harry" she greeted and walked over to him "Everything alright babe?" she said while walking. Harry stood up and just smiled at her as a response.
Hermione reached at the fireplace and hugged him, she was surprised when Harry hugged her tight. He pulled back but didn't release her, he leaned his head towards hers and kissed her. When they broke off, the two smiled at each other and Harry said "I miss you" he said and leaned again to capture her lips with his. "We just saw each other 3 days ago." Hermione said with a smile on her face after they broke the second kiss. "Still" Harry replied and hugged her tightly again, which Hermione reciprocated. He then broke of the hug and led her inside the tent and they sat down at the love seat with Hermione on Harry's lap. Hermione was leaning her head at Harry's chest with their hands intertwined.
"So, what's bothering you?" Hermione asked looking at the hands that were intertwined with hers. "Nothing, I just missed you so much." Harry answered while kissing the back of her neck and her shoulder. "How long have we been together as a couple Harry?" Hermione asked, "About 6 months, why?" Harry replied, "And how long have we been together as friends?" Hermione continued asking, ignoring his question. "About 6 years. 6 beautiful and great years." Harry said, closing his eyes and held her hand tightly. Hermione, changed position so she can face him. "Do you really think that you can lie to me after 6 years of being my best friend?" Hermione asked incredulously. "No" Harry said with a smile and leaned to capture her lips with his. "I love you Hermione." Harry said while staring at her chocolate brown eyes that was so beautiful, after they broke off the kiss "I love you too." Hermione replied who was also staring at his green eyes and the rested her head at his shoulder, Harry stroked her hair and kissing the top of her head.
"Please tell me what's bothering you Harry." Hermione said. Harry sighed and closed his eyes to organize his thoughts. "Last night my parents and I were having a talk. You know that I had been feeling emotions that I couldn't understand right?" Harry asked and Hermione nodded and hummed as an answer.
"After I've arrived at our house the emotions started to surface again it's more frequent than when we were at Hogwarts and I was avoiding them throughout the holidays and they noticed it. So, they called me downstairs after Scott and Rose were asleep in their rooms last night. So I went downstairs and felt like I was in trouble. We sat there for like 10 minutes you know, not really saying anything. It was very awkward. "Harry stopped to inhale and then he exhaled. "Then my mum just said out of the blue 'to say it', 'to let it go'. I didn't knew what she was talking about at first then I realized what she meant."
"I started screaming at them Hermione, I told them demeaning, hateful words Hermione, I even punched my dad. And it felt so good. I knew I shouldn't have done that, that it was wrong to do that to them but doing that felt so good Hermione. Am I a terrible person Hermione?"
"No. Terrible people wouldn't have felt the way you're feeling right now." Hermione replied. "Yeah that's the thing. I'm not feeling guilty on what I did to them and it's scaring me Hermione. I mean they're my parents" Harry said.
"Yes and they abandoned you in your childhood Harry. You and me both have been abandoned by our parents and they're lucky that we didn't turned up terrible people who goes out harming people Harry. Also what we did to Luna's tormentors was much worse because we enjoyed it. Does it mean we're terrible people? No, because they deserved it and your parents and mine deserved to be treated like that. They're even lucky that we've given them a chance Harry." Hermione argued. Harry looked into her eyes to see if she truly meant it and that she wasn't lying. "Did you do that to your parents too sweetie?" Harry asked staring at her eyes. Hermione looked away and closed her eyes and answered "Yes, it was last year and the summer was about to end and I just exploded." Hermione said, resting her head on Harry shoulders.
"Why didn't you told me?" Harry asked.
"I wanted too. But you were dealing with something and I didn't want to bother you." Hermione answered
"Still, you should have told me. We're best friends Hermione." Harry argued, with his voice louder than usual.
"And what? Risk destroying our friendship because I need to feel better? No, I am not risking losing you because I can't lose you Harry. I love you so much for that to happen Harry." Hermione countered.
"But you could have been hurt Hermione. You know I can't lose you too." Harry said.
"I know. I won't do it again plus we've got Luna this time. Which made things greater for us." Hermione said smiling. She hummed in satisfaction when Harry kept stroking her hair.
"I love you Hermione. I don't know what would have happened if I didn't met you." Harry said.
"I love you too. To be honest before I met you I was thinking of terrible things to do to my parents and the children at the muggle school for doing all those terrible things…." Hermione said but was cut off by Harry "I did so too, you know." Harry interjected. "And you and I met and because of that all those thoughts stopped. We were able to distract ourselves from our terrible lives and escaped it." Hermione said, "And it made our lives less terrible and greater." Harry cut off.
"Yes it did." Hermione said and kiss him on the lips. Harry reciprocated her kiss. They broke off the kiss and cuddle together in the chair. "I think I should just stay here in the tent for a couple of days to you know think about what just happened and so that I wouldn't do something stupid." Harry said
"Yeah you should. We should probably invite Luna and we should shop for some food because the three of us are having a night out because we haven't done that in a long time." Hermione said. "Let's do that later, I want to hold you now." Harry replied.
After a while they stood. Harry wrote a letter to Luna saying that she should join them. The two of them went back to Hermione's house to get Crookshanks and some clothes. Then the two of them shopped some supplies and entertainment to stay in the camp. When Luna finally arrived the three laid down on the floor in front of the television to watch a movie they had already seen while playing a board game. The trio enjoyed each other's company and had slept at 3 in the morning.