Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Season 8—Round 8: Playing Cupid... Or Not

Team: Falmouth Falcons

Position: Chaser 1—Harry & Hermione

Prompts: [location] the Burrow, [emotion] worry

Word Count: 1130

People celebrated in the streets. Stores in Diagon Alley were reopening, better and brighter than ever. In the celebration of their victory, people were acting like the war never happened.

Hogwarts was a different matter. The students were all away for the summer, but several members of the Order of the Phoenix were staying in Hogsmeade. They worked to fix the destruction caused in the battle. As the castle was restored to its former glory, they were all reminded of what had happened.

Harry Potter went to the Burrow. He had nowhere else to go. Grimmauld Place was full of memories of Sirius and the war, and even if he wanted to find the Dursleys, he didn't know how.

The remaining Weasleys welcomed him into their home. George lived above Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and Bill stayed at Shell Cottage, but the house was still full with Charlie there. Despite that, it still felt empty.

Mr. Weasley was hardly ever home. He stayed late at work and left early in the morning. The others rarely saw him. Mrs. Weasley cooked meals every day, but they didn't eat all together. She brought food up to each of them. She seemed to take comfort in helping them.

Percy came over often. Since making up with his family, he tried to spend time with them. Mrs. Weasley hugged him tightly every time he came over, as if he would disappear. He sat with her for hours in near-silence. He didn't talk much. None of them did.

A few months after the war ended, Hermione visited the Burrow. She greeted Mrs. Weasley with a hug and went upstairs to the twins' old room, where Harry was staying. She opened the door to find him lying listlessly on the bed. The room was dark and the air was heavy.

She closed the door quietly and approached him. "How are you doing?" she asked quietly, though it was quite obvious.

Harry didn't move for a few seconds, and she started to wonder if he was asleep when he moved his shoulders in a shrug. Hermione sighed and shook her head. "Harry, sit up."

It took him even longer to respond than before, but he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. Now Hermione could see him fully. His hair was even worse than usual, matted and tangled. His nails were long and dirty. He looked like he hadn't been eating much of what Mrs Weasley had brought him.

"Hermione? Aren't you supposed to be in Australia?" His voice was raspy from disuse, and he sounded so different that Hermione almost forgot what he had asked.

"I found my parents, but I'm still looking up ways to reverse the Memory Charm. Unfortunately, Obliviate is a powerful spell. The only way I've found to reverse it is through Legilimency, which takes years to learn, let alone master..." She trailed off. "But that's not important right now. You look terrible, Harry."

His lips twisted into something that might have been a smile. "Thanks."

"I'm serious! You can't keep living like this. Have you even come out of this room at all in the past month?"

"Yes."

Hermione crossed her arms. "Did you talk to anyone? Did you go downstairs?"

"Didn't need to. There's a bathroom up here."

She sighed. "Harry, you have to get out of the house."

Harry shook his head. "I'm not ready."

"It's been months! If you don't try, you'll never be ready. Come downstairs with me."

"No. They'll be down there." Harry collapsed on the bed again. "I can't."

"No one's downstairs," Hermione said, remembering when she came in. "Mrs. Weasley might be in the kitchen, but we won't go there. Let's just go down the stairs for a minute."

"...okay," Harry responded finally. Hermione smiled internally.

He got up slowly, walking stiffly to the door. Hermione followed, leaving the door open to air out the room.

It took a long time to get to the stairs, and even longer to get down them. Harry kept looking around, as if something was going to jump out at him. She sat him down on the couch in the living room.

"Why are we here?" Harry asked.

"You needed to get out of that room. It's too dark in there, and it's really unhealthy to not go anywhere for months." She looked him up and down. "It's obvious how badly you're doing."

His eyes shifted to the side. "You can't help."

"Not if I don't know what's wrong," she said firmly. "Tell me."

He sighed. "I can't be what they want."

"What do you think they want?"

"They—everyone out there—want me to be a savior. The one who defeated Voldemort." Though she'd gotten used to hearing the name, Hermione still flinched. "I can't even—you said it yourself. I'm doing terribly."

"You're struggling," she said quietly. "It's okay to have trouble with it. You've been through a lot. You had V-Voldemort in your head. Just don't stop trying. You'll get through it."

He smiled a little, though he didn't look convinced. "Thanks, Hermione."

She smiled back. "It's what friends do."

He stood then, obviously ready to go upstairs. Hermione let him leave, thinking he would rather be alone again. She heard the door creak closed, then the sound of a window opening. She smiled. Harry really was trying.

It took her a few weeks, but Harry started spending time with the Weasleys again. He came out of his room for meals and played Quidditch with Ron, Ginny, and Charlie. Hermione sat in the grass below and watched them.

Harry had improved so much. He almost looked back to normal. He had his moments sometimes, when he would lock himself in his room for hours. Hermione hated when he did that, but she understood he needed time. Sometimes Ginny went in with him. Hermione didn't know what she did, but Harry usually came out sooner, not smiling, but not sad either.

Ron talked about Quidditch with Harry and played chess with him. When Harry was having trouble, he and Ron would sit and play chess for hours. It always calmed him down.

Eventually, Harry decided to go back to Grimmauld Place. His plan was to fix up the old house and make it livable. Hermione worried that the memories of Sirius and the Order would be too much for him, but with Ginny, Ron, and herself visiting, Harry wouldn't be alone. He was getting better every day.

He would be okay.