CHAPTER THREE: Break From The Burrow
Walking up the wooden stairs of the Weasley home, Harry felt a bit better after his conversation with Hermione. She was right, he should have talked to her or Ron about it sooner, but he had gotten so good over the years at keeping whatever was bothering him locked up inside, that it was a hard habit to break. More than anything he was glad she didn't resent him for what he was feeling.
When he reached the second floor the sound of water running told him Ron was still in the shower – but that was fine. He wasn't in as much of a rush to turn in as ten minutes ago.
The door to Ginny's room was shut, but he could see light coming through the bottom crack of her door. Feeling somewhat confident after his talk with Hermione he made up his mind to pay her a visit.
Hoping she wasn't in bed yet, he knocked gently on her door.
After a moment, a voice said, "come in,"
At her invitation, he opened the door and walked in. She was seated at her desk wearing a nightgown, writing in some book that looked like a journal.
He had come to her room to talk to her about what she had overheard, so he really shouldn't have been thinking about how much she had changed from the skinny, redhead girl he had first met at the train station seven years ago. He had never been interested in anything more than friendship from her, but that didn't make him blind the fact that she had done a lot of growing up over the years – made all the more apparent by the slim, blue nightgown she was wearing.
"Oh, it's you," she said, closing the maroon book and placing it in a desk drawer.
She didn't sound angry to see him. "I wanted to say goodnight," he lied.
"Goodnight," she said to him.
Harry pushed his glasses back up his nose. A nervous habit he had developed over the years. "Lupin said you heard the argument Hermione and I had today at Sirius'," he began.
"Some of it," she said, retrieving the dressing gown from the back of the chair and putting it over top of her nightgown.
"I didn't mean for what I said to come out like that," he said, deciding to take Lupin's advice.
"You don't have to coddle me," she said, showing the first sign of anger since inviting him into her room. "You're two best friends fell in love and you felt left out. And you thought who better to understand you then me, the girl who's been left out of everything her entire life,"
She was so dead on with her words that Harry was left stunned. She didn't sound bitter but that wasn't going to help him out of the mess he had created.
"You don't have to apologize for something I knew all along," she said, not meeting his gaze.
He didn't know what to say to that. He had been expecting to face the infamous Weasley temper upon entering her room, and all she had done was in a calm and rational voice say she knew they had never really been friends to begin with.
"Harry, it's late," she said, when he continued to stand there without saying a word.
He searched her face for some sort of emotion but there was nothing. It was like what she had overheard him saying in the heat of an argument truly had had no affect on her.
After a quick goodnight, he left her room and trudged up a second set of stairs to Ron's room, trying to figure out why it bothered him so much that she didn't seem to care.
When Ron and Hermione came down for breakfast the next morning, Harry was already sitting there, waiting for them. He had come to a decision last night, and before either one of them were seated, he told them he planned on spending the last few days of holidays at Sirius'.
"Why?" Ron asked. "I know he's your godfather and all, but we only have four days left of goofing around and doing nothing before we go back to the grueling halls of Hogwarts. Not all of us live for school," he said, shooting a meaningful look in Hermione's direction.
She pretended to ignore it. She was more concerned about figuring out if Harry's decision had anything to do with what had happened the other day then to get caught up in another row with Ron about school.
"I just want to spend some time with Sirius," he told the both of them. "This is his first summer free and all the time I've spent with him has been helping him set up his new house,"
He interpreted Hermione's expression and tried to tell her without words that his staying with Sirius had nothing to do what they had talked about last night. She seemed to understand because she finally looked away with a brief nod.
"Morning," said Ginny, appearing at the kitchen doorway. "What's going on?" She asked, taking in the three of the sitting at the table but no one eating.
"Harry's going to stay with Sirius for the rest of the week," Ron announced.
Harry's gaze caught Ginny's briefly before both turned away at the same instant. She appeared surprised, but that was all he could get just by looking at her.
She was part of the reason he was leaving and he had a feeling she knew that. Even though she didn't appear to have been hurt by his words, he still had trouble looking her in the eye. He had tossed and turned for a good hour last night trying to figure out when he had stopped seeing her as Ron's sister and accepting her as a friend. For a friend, he certainly hadn't treated her very well. But then again, last night she had made it clear that she had never thought they were anything more than acquaintances, pushed together because of the budding romance between Ron and Hermione.
It confused him to no end why he cared about what she thought. That was the other reason he needed to get away from the Burrow. He needed a chance to clear his head, and with only Sirius around it would be a lot easier to accomplish then in a house full of seven people.
With the news of his departure out of the way, they proceeded to eat breakfast in relative silence until Mrs. Weasley came in from the garden. When she found out Harry was leaving, she made a huge fuss about finishing his laundry before he left. Harry tried to tell her not to worry about it, but like all the other Weasley's once she set her mind on something there was no changing it.
Excusing himself from the breakfast table, Harry went up to pack, all to aware that Ginny's eyes were on him as he left.
It was the dead of night when Harry was awakened from his peaceful slumber. He was lying on his back on Sirius' couch, with a copy of Quidditch Monthly open on his lap, and his glasses hanging half way off his face. When he fixed them he saw the reason for his waking up standing directly in front of him.
He nearly jumped off the couch, seeing Ginny stepping out of the fireplace.
"Sorry, I didn't know you'd be asleep," she said, brushing soot off herself.
Harry looked at his watch. It was nearly eleven thirty. "What are you doing here?" He hoped he didn't sound too rude.
"We're going to Diagon Alley tomorrow," she said.
"Ok," said Harry, sitting up and straightening his clothes. That still didn't explain why she had come. Ron or Hermione could have told him.
"I just thought you'd like to come with us," she told him. "We'll be at Flourish and Blotts for eight o'clock, if you decide to come,"
She left after that, using the fireplace to get back to The Burrow.
He was wide-awake now, and though he had been confused by her arrival initially, he now knew why she had come. For the past four days he had spent the majority of his time keeping away from The Burrow. He had met with Ron and Hermione several times, but most of their meetings had occurred outside of the Weasley home. He wasn't avoiding The Burrow, he just felt more comfortable if he didn't have to be there any longer then necessary.
It was him who had needed the break from the Weasley's – actually, it was more like from just one Weasley in particular.
The last week of his holidays had been surprisingly good. With most of Sirius' work at the ministry done, he had been able to spend more time with Harry now then he had the previous weeks of the summer. Harry thought he had done a pretty good job of hiding from his godfather his reasons for leaving The Burrow, whether Sirius actually believed it was because he wanted to spend more time with him remained to be seen. But after their talk the previous week, Sirius had not once asked him about his premonition about Voldermort. It was still there, of course, but Harry had made a point of burying it deep inside him and not letting it rule him anymore. For now, he had the attitude that what would come, would come. He just needed to make sure he was prepared when it happened. He had faith that Dumbledore would make sure that he was.
He figured it wouldn't be a big deal if he met up with everyone at Diagon Alley tomorrow. He was going to have to have to get his school supplies anyways. And if Ginny had come all the way to Sirius' just to invite him, then he shouldn't be worried about being around her.
Even with that thought in mind, he slept a lot less soundly when he fell back asleep the second time, knowing tomorrow would be his first day back at Hogwarts.