Unshed Tears
Chapter 41

AN:
I apologize.
As I stated in the last part of the ANs of chapter 40, I went to college.
I put all of my works in progress on a floppy to transfer them once I set up my (new) laptop.
My laptop did not work for a week, then I had a load of homework, then I had to write an essay (on an

essay... /groans/), and then I finally was going to get my floppies out and load my pretty writing onto my

laptop.
My laptop...
Doesn't have a floppy drive.
I had half of the 41st chapter on it.
So as I write these ANs I'm glaring angrily at the case containing the floppies I have... or at least I would if

I could find them in the mess that is my dorm room...
NOT that it matters.
Anyway I don't own Harry Potter and ect.
Oh yeah... I currently don't have a spell check so the spelling my be worse than usual... scary isn't it?

Please don't hurt me?
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"Finally awake are you? Its about time," the nurse stopped at Harry's bed and took out her wand, talking so fast it was surprising that she didn't choke on her own tongue. "Don't you think you've been here enough without getting hit in the head with a bludger? Follow my wand dear... good... now remember these five words, Hippogriff, Broom, Potion, Wand, and Merlin. Now I want you to repeat them back to me... good good, well dear does your head hurt? Of course it does, I'm afraid I couldn't give you anything for the pain until you woke up since we weren't sure how your head was. Well just drink this and you'll feel as right as rain. No getting out of bed mind you. You've had a nasty shock. If you need anything just tell Miss Granger, I'm sure she'll be happy to assist you." And the nurse bustled back to her office with that final command.

"Harry, how are you?" Hermione asked her dark-haired friend after Madam Pomfrey closed her door to her office.

"Why are you always the one who is here when I wake up?" Harry asked slightly bitterly and turned his head away from her.

Hermione pretended not to hear what he said and went on, "You've been here for two days now and everyone is terribly worried."

Harry stiffened at her words and turned back towards the young girl sitting at his bedside. He looked blankly at her and asked, "If everyone is so worried about me then why aren't they here?"

Hermione started for a moment before quickly saying, "Ron has Dividation with Neville and Ginny is in Care of Magical Creatures. Its my free period. We've all been here in turns since Madam Pomfrey absolutely refused to have us all in here at once and went on about how we were in here enough already and she should have thrown us out long before when we did get out of the hospital wing."

"Yeah... right..." Harry said and turned away from Hermione again.

"Harry, look at me," Hermione demanded of her friend. Harry resalutely ignored her. Hermione repeated herself, "Harry, look at me."

"Just leave," Harry said quietly still staring at the wall blankly.

"I will not," Hermione replied sharply. "I'm not going leave you here alone to stew in whatever is making you so disagreeable today."

"Its called a head-injury," Harry replied scathingly.

"No, its called you being a general git," Hermione retorted lightly. "Seriously Harry, why are you in such a bad mood? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Harry replied shortly.

"Turn to my me and say that," Hermione said softly.

Harry slowly turned for the fourth time in nearly five minutes and said slowly without rising his eyes to Hermione's which were staring at him intensely, "Nothing is bothering me."

"Look at me when you say that," Hermione commanded.

"Leave me alone," Harry replied sighing deeply and turned back trying to pretend that Hermione was gone. He wanted to be alone. He needed to be alone. He couldn't cry in front of anyone. And right now he needed to cry so badly it hurt.

"Tell me why," Hermione said.

"No," Harry replied.

"Fine, I'll just stay here until you ask me why or Ron and Neville come here and I go to Arithmancy, but they are even less likely to leave you alone, they'll be telling you about all of the stupid trouble they got into when Malfoy was acting like a royal git," Hermione said heatedly and took out her copy of The Daily Prophet, shook it angrily, and started to read the front page.

Harry was awarded two minutes of angry paper rustling and increasing pain from unshed tears for his efforts. At the end of the two minutes Hermione let out a gasp that she quickly snuffed out and turned the page rapidly.

Harry quickly looked at Hermione and panickly choked out, "What?"

"Nothing, its nothing," Hermione said quickly refusing to look at Harry.

"What is it?" Harry pressed. "Is it about... about what you found out about me?"

Hermione blinked twice then realized what Harry was talking about, "Oh no... nothing about that..."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Then he realized that it must be related to him somehow otherwise she wouldn't have tried to cover it up like she had in fourth year when Rita Skeeter had written that he was mentally unstable right before the third task...

The pain grew bigger.

"What's it about then?" Harry asked.

"Nothing," Hermione insisted.

"Its connected to me isn't it?" Harry asked.

"No... no of course not," she insisted looking at the paper as if making sure that Harry's name wasn't in the article.

"I'm bound to find out," Harry said employing the tactic he used in fourth year. "Please tell me."

"Fine," Hermione heaved knowing she was beat. "An elementry school in Surrey was attacked by Death Eaters yesterday. A group of children playing in the playground were attacked but Aurors responded quickly and no one was killed and it was only a small group of kids there since they had off school. They suffered the Crucatius curse and a couple of other nasty hexes. But they'll be fine."

"In Surrey," Harry said dully.

"Yes," Hermione confirmed still not looking at him.

"It was the local elementry school wasn't it?" Harry asked.

Hermione glanced down at the artical quick and said, "Yes."

"Voldemort's orders I bet," Harry said analytically. "He wants to strike at my heart and since he can't get to my relatives he attacks my old school. Where I grew up. They were safe by the stupid blood wards that made me live with them in the first place. Well at least it did some good... no one died."

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked timidly.

"Hermione can you leave me alone now?" Harry asked tiredly. "I really want to be alone now."

"Alright," Hermione agreed softly, standing up and gathering her books up in her bag. "Ron and Neville will be here in a half an hour. I'm going to the library to study."

"Bye," Harry said as Hermione left the hospital wing.

He was alone now and tried to release the pain he felt inside him; he tried to cry.

He couldn't cry even when he was alone now.

His tears were left unshed as the pain from their containment grew.

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AN:

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