Hello folks, sorry about the longer amount of time it took for me to update the next chapter. I've been pretty busy and it took me longer to plan out how I wanted this chapter to go. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the continuation of my first Harry Potter fanfic Disillusioned.
His triumphant figure carried himself with an air of cooled exultance, striding out from the Grand Chamber to the personal offices set in the converging halls of the Ministry for the Lords of each house. His elderly estate manager Jacques Van Rijn had commissioned for an extra large office to be built for him under the claim that he was the Lord of two Noble and Most Ancient houses and thus required the additional grandeur out of respect to his position. A bit pretentious in his opinion however this is what he got for handing the reins into the hands of his estate manager and his old fashioned way of thinking. They never quite saw eye to eye but Jacques had done his job taking care of the estate and its finances well over the years, Harry would be loath to part with him and his expertise.
A crowd of ministry interns and employees celebrating the news caught sight of Harry, surging towards him and clamoring for his attention. Some shouted their thanks and congratulations, others for autographs. The heightened noise attracted visitors who had yet to hear the results of the vote and once they saw who was at the center of the commotion they too joined in. He received hearty slaps to the back and people reached forward to shake his hand, making him slightly uncomfortable since this was the most he had had been touched by different hands in a very long time. Chants of "Potter, Potter, POTTER" echoed off the walls as the exuberance of the large group reached its peak. People were acting as if they had won the war all over again. Managing a modest smile once he finally broke free and giving a nod in the direction of the crowd, he swiftly turned on his heel to slip away.
Unbeknownst to him as he finally made his escape, a pale-blond haired aristocratic man and his handsome dark-skinned companion had been un-amusedly watching the whole spectacle.
"Still a big self-righteous twat isn't he?"
Draco dryly chuckled. "You don't even know half of it." Lightly clapping Blaise on the shoulder the ex-Death Eaters exited the Ministry to go grab a round of drinks.
Approaching the golden-knobbed doors to his office Harry threw his arms forward and swung the doors open entering but caught them before opening all the way to firmly slam the doors shut after him. Leaning heavily against the doors, he started to sink to the floor tiredly giving up the facade he'd put on for those people. Between appearing in front of the full public eye amidst the troubling controversy rocking the wizarding world and socially interacting beyond his limits, he felt his energy sapped clean. Then it clicked- there was firewhiskey in here. Pathetically reaching to the side table conveniently placed next to the door he was pleased to see Kreacher came in earlier and had taken the liberty of filling a glassful for his troubled master. Throwing back the glass, he took a long swig and warmth flooded his system. Only one glass though, he reminded himself.
"Harry!"
He froze. Diagonally across the room seated by the shiny mahogany bookcases were none other than Ron and Hermione. His emerald eyes snapped shut and he pinched the bridge of his nose. Oh Merlin, I'm going to need the whole bottle.
Wholly unprepared for coming face to face with this inevitable reunion caused him to choke on the firewhisky, loudly coughing as a red-faced Ron stormed over from the other side of the room and halted right in front of him. His old friend swung his arm back and his fist connected directly against Harry's nose.
"YOU SELFISH, SELF-ABSORBED SNOT!" Ron bellowed angrily trying to shrug Hermione off his back as she desperately tried restraining him from taking a second hit at Harry.
"Ronald stop! Stop it" She shrieked. What had gotten into him?! Realizing he wouldn't listen she kicked him in the calf causing him to yell an expletive and quickly flicked her wand to put the furious ginger into a body-bind spell. He let out a feeble grunt as he fell unceremoniously to the floor immobilized but no less angrier. "We came to talk to Harry, not pick fights and re-open old wounds!"
"I was beginning to wonder" Harry muttered, wiping blood dripping from his nose. Didn't hurt too badly. He helped himself to a generous mouthful of alcohol. Put on guard and feeling cornered, he surveyed the situation warily. Hermione was as beautiful as ever, her facial features were refined and her clothing style elegant. Aging had been a blessing on her and she carried herself in a straight-backed, dignified manner. Ron had a cropped haircut and a brown scar on his left cheek, he appeared the oldest out of the trio but had gained a ruggedness about him that wasn't there when he'd last seen him. The youngest Weasley boy worked as an auror yet despite that he'd developed a round beer gut hanging over his belt. "So…. how have you both been doing?"
"How have you both been doing?" Hermione said in a soft, steely voice. Her expression hardened and lips pursed into a flat out scowl. Her volume rose to an alarming pitch. "After all this time when we see each other for the first time in seven years after you fled and left nothing more than a tiny note briefly explaining why you're leaving for good and then not bothering to contact us while we were worried sick for you. After you never sent a word to the Weasley's who treated you as one of their own from the get-go. After you abandoned Ginny and shattered her heart to pieces, you didn't think of all our friends and people who fought with us against Voldemort and how they dealt with their trauma? The three of us were best friends, now you just decided to casually waltz back into everyone's lives in the middle of all this crazy pureblood mess?!"
"Well honestly Hermione-" He paused, thinking over his option of words carefully then made up his mind in a less than well thought out manner. Not having much to respond with he simply blurted it out. Being a social recluse tends to do that to a person. "I didn't expect to see you here. You sort of caught me off guard really."
She let out a loud sob and flung herself on him.
"I missed you so much" His old friend cried into his neck, cutting off his breathing by wrapping him into an air-tight embrace. In addition, she observed his longer hair that maintained its usual unruly style and how age reflected on his face thinking about the moments when she wondered how alike Harry would appear in comparison to his father, James. She pecked a friendly kiss on his cheek. "I'm still quite mad at you but I'm so happy to see you!"
Meanwhile, the quick turnover of emotions pouring from his bushy-haired friend registered slowly in his mind before he snapped to attention and returned the hug. They stood like this for a minute, Hermione was beside herself continuing to cry and holding on for dear life as Harry teared up a little. Clear salty drops of water drip-dropped onto the patterned indigo blouse clinging to the womans' body. He knew he'd been unfair not only the way he chose to say farewell but to also abruptly leave them in the wake of social unrest. That impromptu exit had probably left Ron and Hermione facing the mercy of the limelight, gossip, and rebuilding efforts..
Her hands shifted and he detected no texture of a ring on her finger. Perhaps she'd left it at home or his prediction on the odd coupling of his two best friends ran its course. A cough interrupted the moment and they stepped apart to glower down at Ron for how he'd behaved tactlessly earlier.
"'Mione, could you get me out of this? I think I've about calmed down now."
Upon performing the reverse spell Ron breathed a sigh transitioning to a squat to stand up. However, she still sent him a nasty glare and to remind him that she meant business she gave a small kick in his calf.
"Ouch! Blimey Hermione, you've had your sadistic fun alright?!"
"You would think that for someone who is beyond his rookie years as an auror, you'd have developed a tougher skin."
"Bugger off," Ron retorted. The bushy-haired woman raised her eyebrows challengingly but refrained from saying anything else.
"Harry listen-"
"After you decked me on the nose? Sure why not." He sarcastically replied.
"Mate, I'm sorry I shouldn't have acted like an idiotic prat I just-" The youngest Weasley brother sighed, glancing at his feet. "Well you've just got to understand it's like 'Mione said, you just upped and left us! We woke up that morning to mum hollering like a banshee, your note in her grip. You never responded to the letters we sent you over the year. Blimey, we only ever heard of you that one time in the newspapers when the news broke out that you became a lord. You didn't respond to anyone else either, half of your old Quidditch team have kids now that they've wanted you to meet for ages."
"I had to leave." Words spilled from his mouth. Might as well get to the main point. Although he'd denied it, this moment had been destined to come around someday. "I couldn't take it anymore. Everything just quieted down once the war was done and caught up to me. I wasn't prepared for the aftermath, honestly after finding out I'd have to sacrifice myself to Voldemort I didn't even have a plan for the future beyond that. People would not leave me be, I was barely existing by the time I ran off, you all saw how I appeared, how I was at that point-"
All that he had wanted to so badly say these past seven years was tumbling out. There were times when he would be meandering around the property of the manor imagining a scenario of him explaining to Ron and Hermione, the Weasleys, and everyone why he made his abrupt decision. He'd memorized the lengthy list of reasons and justifications for why he did what he did, why he deserved a break from solving the issues affecting their world. Why these reasons exempted him from being branded as a coward, why he didn't seek professional help because it would be admitting that Voldemort broke his spirit somehow, and that everyone was better off without him sucking all the air out of the room. There had been people who were killed or hurt just for associating with him, he refused to have this harmful effect he caused his friends and family to continue when the wizarding community was trying to return to normal.
"Stop, please tell us everything but Harry I think we all need to pause for a moment, take a deep breath, and sit down."
Looping her arm through Harry and Ron's arms she led them to the collection of cushy armchairs by the bookcase where Ron and her were before Harry came in. Arranging the hem of his expensive black robes before seating himself, he caught Ron scanning his clothing.
"So you're a real deal lord now? Living in a mansion with house elves and everything? Like the Malfoys?"
"Technically. Why do you ask?" Harry replied a teensy defensively, still a bit miffed about the punch.
"Nothing wrong with it, it just seems so unlike you to play into those old school pureblood rules. You never used to care for such hoity-toity things back then, guess I'm trying to see how much you've changed." Ron earnestly said, an almost apologetic look on his face, though Harry sensed there was something more to his inquiry.
"Well you'll be interested to know that I have not changed a lot since we last saw each other. My circumstances and social status have changed, but I am not going to be leaving both of you under the impression that I have transformed into a Malfoy 2.0 just because I inherited a home and some money."
"Some money?! Give me a break mate, you got both the Potter and Black fortunes combined, the Blacks were always a rich pureblood family, but everyone knows your dad's parents were loaded.'' Ron said breathlessly. Harry glanced at Hermione questioningly, wondering why the ginger was focused on the subject of his inheritance and not pursuing questions about what the three of them had been up to over the period of separation. "Every girl and woman wants to be Mrs. Harry Potter, a lot of those pureblood families and well-to-do halfbloods would gladly snog both your feet if it meant you marrying one of their daughters."
"That's news to me." He quipped, unsure about breaking the news that he was now promised to someone. He had been back in the British wizarding community no less than two hours before he got ambushed by one of those said pureblood families looking to get one of their daughters married off.
"Harry's marriage prospects aside," Attempting to steer the conversation away from Harry's money and clearing her throat. "We have so much to discuss, why don't we just start with a brief summarization of what we have been doing."
Seeing the pointed looks from his two friends he knew he was expected to start.
"After I fled the Burrow I took up residency in Twelve Grimmauld Place for a few months. Kreacher, who still works for me got in touch with the Black family's estate manager and put the Black lordship into order, then shortly after that I secured my birthright to the Potter lordship and its estates. As soon I was able to, I moved from Grimmauld to my ancestral home called Potter Manor where I have spent my solitary days. The only people I really see are Kreacher, my estate manager, my butler, occasionally my gardeners, and rarely I indulge in a walk to town to buy chocolate frogs."
"You traded us up for the hired staff?"
"No Ronald, you misinterpreted it" Hermione said, starting to lose a little patience.
"Ron, I'm going to say this now so we have this part cleared up and not left to careless interpretations. I would never trade Hermione and you for anyone. My path to healing was something no witch or wizard could help me with, I needed to do this by myself. Quite frankly, I have been the cause for many peoples pain and misery. I did not wish to continue that trend, everyone was trying to heal and put themselves back together after the war and I was a broken, traumatized mess. I could barely function, I knew it would hurt you all but it had to be done. I was grateful for the support from both of you, but you had your trauma to cope with that I did not have the strength to lend support to."
Hermione reached over and grasped his hand. "Harry, we all dove headfirst into our individual coping methods after the war. While the healthiness of those methods are up for debate, I'm sorry I could not be there at all times for Ron and you, that all three of us could not be there for each other. Maybe, we could start supporting one another again."
Harry's insides clenched. Although he'd been doing good so far after coming out of isolation for so long, things were moving too fast. The bombarding attention from the public when he arrived, playing around the political intrigues and getting tied up into a betrothal, and having reunions were almost overwhelming him. He would admit that seeing Ron and Hermione was not as bad as he originally anticipated but he could not go from isolation back to the way things used to be so fast.
"I do not have a straight answer for that yet Hermione. You have to understand that I have spent the last seven years alone surrounded by a select few. I can't just jump from ten to eighty. This retreat wasn't just to not cause anyone further harm but truthfully I desperately wanted out. I wanted to be alone, to have space, even if it meant being terrorized by the demons of my past. Even if it meant that I had to face the nightmares each night, I would still be able to have a peace of mind supported by solitude and not being around people or things that reminded me of the war. I could wander around my property or take a stroll to the local town and not have to worry about being hassled by the public everywhere I go. I do not intend to hurt you further, however that night when I fled was the most exciting, exhilarating feeling I had felt. Once I moved into the countryside my mind felt it had been freed and could absorb the fresh air, see less humans, the comforts of nature, and the refuge Potter Manor provided has been a major factor in healing me. I am in a significantly better state of mind then when I first was, but I'm still not whole."
Ron and Hermione stared at him, processing the slew of information quietly. A pin could have dropped and been heard, he was slightly worried he'd said too much too soon.
"Well, I shared a ton about how I've been doing, how's your marriage by the way? Any children yet?" He probed.
Not the best question to be asked, but the reaction it procured steered the burden of all the talking and attention away from him. Ron stiffened considerably and Hermione looked as if someone sucker punched her gut, face reddening with embarrassment.
"We divorced five years ago."
His assumptions were correct then. Now he wondered how they were in the same room without trying to rip each other apart, remembering how hostile they'd been when Ron dated Lavender Brown and Hermione Viktor Krum.
"Aye mate we divorced, but I'd say the decision to end our marriage was rather one-sided if you ask me."
"Oh Ron." Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed deeply. "Let's not take a trip down that lane, it's not an appropriate moment for it."
So Hermione dumped Ron, he'd place high bets on her not wanting to put up with his alcoholism anymore was the catalyst.
"So you are a ministry employee still?"
"I am. I earned promotions over my career and I got myself working directly under Kingsley. He had offered me the position years ago, but I wanted to prove my mettle and work my way to the top. I love my job, it's been deeply rewarding."
"But of course," Ron droned, carelessly interrupting their witch friend. "Also has to have a spotless reputation, having an alcoholic for a husband can be kind of a stain you know-"
"Ronald Weasley! Enough of your snide commentary, it's becoming unbearable that a grown man holds onto petty grudges and cannot sit quietly for one second to listen to his best friend finally telling his side of the story."
The room was becoming more tense with the rehashing of hurt and aging unsettled grudges that had long since evolved into bitterness. Second point in the win column for Harry, that's two correct guesses in a row. He'd always known their relationship would eventually come undone, the ginger and brunette were too unalike, though he had not foreseen it ending on very resentful terms. Channeling his Lord Potter facade, he raised his voice to break through the bickering or, in Ron's case, trying to talk over Hermione while she tried to have the dramatic topic of their falling out tabled.
"Ron and Hermione, I hope you both did not make all that effort to sneak into the Wizengamot and then break into my personal office just so I could have a front seat to witness you have another row."
Their voices silenced. Ron was flustered and still looked like he was about to snap out another comment but didn't say anything else. Hermione appeared annoyed to have been called out since it was Ron throwing most of the verbal punches but stayed quiet nonetheless.
"As I was saying, I'm working for Kingsley. It's so much and requires me to work overtime, so I don't have much going on in my personal life at the moment." A ferocious scowl formed on Ron's features as she said this, sarcastically muttering oh don't we all know that. She continued, not skipping a beat. "I try to go out with some of the old Hogwarts crowd for dinner and drinks every now and then. I have afternoon tea every Sunday with Hagrid, so I'm always caught up on the latest news at Hogwarts and I visit Professor McGonagall in the headmasters office occasionally."
"Right then that's my cue." Ron cleared his throat. "After you left, it took me two years before I stepped up and got sober after my stint as an alcoholic. As you know, we're officially divorced, so there's no need to get into that matter. I tested for my N.E.W.T.S. after many horrendous months of non-stop studying, thought my brain would fall out of my head any second by the time I began the tests. I passed and signed up for auror training and now, here I am as an auror at last."
"Congrats mate," Harry reached over and clapped his shoulder. "That's huge, I'm sure the auror department is lucky to have you. Hermione and you have done well for yourselves."
"Thanks Harry." At last, Ron managed a smile. "I try to make arrangements with the old DA gang for social outings but like Hermione I'm awfully busy a lot."
"So Hermione am I right in guessing that it was you who organized the protest before the vote?"
"Yes, it was me. Though I do wish that the people who joined my protest were not shouting as much vitriol rhetoric like the pureblood supporters were, Ron got the brunt of the vicious insults. Ginny was by my side too, so I suppose that helped a little."
"What is the deal between you two anyway?" Ron inquired. "First you ice her out for a few years, then you become all buddy-buddy again, then you distanced yourself for a while from her, now you guys are being friendly acquaintances. Then you insisted she not come with us into the Wizengamot."
"Come now Ron you know the ups and downs Ginny and I have had over the years. I want to give her another chance, so that's why I invited her to join me in the protest today. I stand by that I told her not to come because us popping in on Harry unexpectedly would be enough to throw him off guard but to have his ex-girlfriend who violated the details of his private life seeing him would be too much."
"Come on 'Mione, she changed alright? I know she played the part of a spoiled prat but she's past that phase."
"Ginny did what to my private life?" Harry asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.
"Oh no." Hermione said exasperatedly.
"I not only went into isolation, I also never read or hear much news from outside the walls of Potter Manor. What is this about Ginny exposing my private life?"
Ron shot Hermione a look, she rolled her eyes in response. "The way Ginny has conducted herself over the years is a long, entirely different story for another time. But Harry should know as is his right-" She returned Ron's look at him. "When you were gone, Ginny collaborated with an editor of Witch Weekly on an exclusive interview about your relationship with her. She gave out extensive personal details about your life and proclaimed herself to be the heartbroken true love of Harry Potter, who abandoned her to a pit of misery and loneliness, how she is despairingly waiting for the day you'd return. She really played up the tragic damsel in distress routine."
"She did love him though," Ron piped up in his younger sister's defense. He fully acknowledged his sister wronged Harry by exposing him like that to the public to gather more fame, which she may have taken up after watching how he conducted himself after the war. He'd been embarrassed and for once found himself feeling grateful that Harry was long gone so he wouldn't be witness to this disgrace.
"She may have and granted she was very distraught, but she had no business dishing out private details about you or your relationship with her just because both of you were in a short-lived relationship together." Hermione's voice rose with the fervor of her irritation as she recounted the story. "It was just appalling to see a close, trusted friend of ours just go all Rita Skeeter. The way she spoke about your relationship, she made it sound like you were going to present an engagement ring to her any day."
"But she's changed now" Ron repeated, noting the contempt Hermione obliviously still held for Ginny despite her trying to get past it and allow Ginny to make amends. "She badly wanted to come with us to see you after you pretended not to see us in the crowd. By the way, what was bloody ignoring us like that all about?"
"I was on a personal mission, that was the one thing on my mind. I decided last night, as you can imagine I didn't know what level the paparazzi chaos upon my arrival would be like and wanted to sidestep it. Seeing all of you in the crowds came as a surprise, but I knew I had to move on because Malfoy and Blaise were there and I didn't want them to spring one on me."
"Oh yes, the entitled little ponce came strutting in just before you came, acting like he owned the place. Malfoy voted alongside the rest of his pureblood blokes in arms didn't he Hermione?"
"He did." She said evenly, stiffening her upright posture.
"Oh what? Does darling Draco get sympathy?" Ron found the pressure point and was delving deeper, uncomfortability taking over Hermione. Harry didn't want to be the cause of a second row between them and decided he would think of his own theories in the library this evening. Ron continued to press this, seeming to enjoy Hermione being the one in the hot seat. "He is a venomous snake, the snake is better than an alcoholic right?"
"Ron, I do not condone the choices Malfoy makes but you're not exactly an angel either, can we please get back to the discussion?" She sent a pleading look at Harry for backup, he couldn't agree more he too thought that Ron had poked enough barbs into Hermione. He'd tried to be patient and understanding, recognizing that there was more to the Ron/Hermione saga then they were letting on and he was content with gradually learning about that. Speaking of which, he was maxed at his limits and thought it would be a good time to return before the conversation took a deeper downward spiral.
He finished off his glass of firewhiskey and set it by his feet.
"I better get going, I've got some matters to attend to at home." Hermione and Ron shot to their feet in synchronization. He held up his hands to reassure them. "I'm not making a run for it, neither will this be the last you see of me. Please try to see it from my perspective that I came here for a purpose and it's been fulfilled. The events of this day tired me out, and I could use some rest."
"Rest? You've been resting for seven years now!" Ron exclaimed, looking rather indignant and upset at this statement. "Harry, you can't keep this up forever mate. All these years you've been living it up in your manor hiding yourself from the outside world, the rest of us regular folk here have had to toil in the ditches to solve real world problems that you have made zero effort to help with! We didn't get any rest, you've had more than enough time hiding behind the curtains."
"Oh yes!" Harry snarled, his patience forgotten, annoyed that Ron conveniently forgot everything he just told them. "Because it's been a picnic, "living it up" in my manor terrified to see Voldemort standing in my bedroom over the corpses of the people I care about. Hardly ever getting sleep and having a nightmare marathon of seeing the faces of those who died because of me every night, crawling into a cramped space while having a panic attack and not leaving for hours until my butler is forced to bring me back to my senses, and that's just the easier part of it!"
"Oh your butler? Does he wait on you hand and foot during bath time?" Ron snapped back mockingly in an exaggerated Queen's English accent. "Does he feed you peeled grapes as you lay on your couch moaning about how bad you've got it?"
"For your information Weasley. That loyal butler, Laurits, has been the sole reason I made it this far in my recovery. Without him, I would still be an empty, traumatized shell in bed all day but he has been my biggest supporter since leaving this all behind. So watch what you say about him." At this point, Hermione had begun pouring herself a full glass of firewhiskey by the doors, not taking her eyes off them. "Also, for someone who is really giving himself a pat on the back, you haven't exactly been doing a good job at holding the line against those pureblood bigots in power. I swung the votes today in our favor, otherwise muggleborns like Hermione would probably be receiving notices that they are being forced from their jobs tomorrow."
"Oh of course, because the great Harry Potter decided to grace us with his presence after hanging our lot out to dry for seven years then to swoop in to dramatically save the day once again!"
"You sound just like Malfoy making those conceited insults."
The youngest Weasley boy had been going back-and-forth between anger and restrained calm for the trio's meeting, then years of pent up emotions that couldn't be contained any longer exploded. Harry had hoped that Ron would take the Malfoy comparison as a joke, a segue out of their shouting match. Instead, Hermione who'd started taking big sips of firewhiskey nearly dropped her glass at the mention of Malfoy's name. Ron's face contorted into absolute fury.
"Never, mention that slimy git's name in comparison to mine ever again."
"Then quit acting like him."
"If the both of you are finished having a go at each other-" Hermione began before Ron shouted over her, wanting to make sure Harry heard every minute detail of what he'd been wanting to say to his face.
"Fine." Ron spat.
"Ron this is not the way I wanted this to go. I sat down with Hermione and you so that we could come to an understanding. You have so far shown that you don't want to listen or understand, you have proven that you want to use this as an opportunity to use Hermione and me as punching bags for pent up emotions and insecurities you've been carrying all this time."
"Well I want you to understand Potter, is how you've been away but have yet to know the depth of what it was like for Hermione and I in your absence. There was speculation going on as to why you suddenly disappeared. A bunch of people seemed to think that we were such piss-poor friends to you that we were part of the reason you ran off. Now we were the ones who could barely step into public without being mobbed and having an angry mob demanding to know where you went and what we had to do with it. Mum was heartbroken and I can bet you haven't seen Teddy. The rest of my family were very hurt too. Ginny was beside herself, you didn't even have the decency to break up with her to her face. You weren't there to support me through the lowest points of my life, my rehabilitation or when the girl of my dreams divorced me. Then, you randomly come back out of the blue and ignore your friends until we practically jump this meeting on you. I expected some degree of remorse or apology for severing ties with us, but you didn't don't even seem to look guilty at all for the pain you caused."
"You're right. I don't look guilty because I don't feel guilty." He said sharply. "Perhaps I should. Yet, I told you the details of my suffering not to be pitied or to excuse my decisions but in order for you to understand why I made the decision that I did."
"Oh Merlin Harry, not everything can just be explained away by the bloody war!" Ron cut in, still on the edge. Harry tried to ignore it and plowed on.
"I also did this in the hopes that maybe someday both of you would find it in your heart to pardon me, because I have acted selfishly. Yes I acknowledge that. It was selfish for me to think only of my well-being when I retreated into seclusion leaving you behind. I should have explained myself entirely, maybe even asked you to join me. It was selfish to never respond to your letters, I should have written back and invited you for dinner. It was selfish to not participate in the rebuilding efforts, I should have been at the frontline to promote hope and increase the strength of the rebuilding approach. I did none of those things that perhaps I should've."
"Harry-" Hermione tried to hug him, any earlier agitation towards him evaporated and heartstrings pulled at the sight of him in distress. He gently caught her opened arms and pushed them to her chest. He didn't permit her to hug him, but hugging her instead, knowing what he'd say next.
"Don't give me sympathy yet Hermione." He rested his chin on her thin shoulder, catching a rosy scented shampoo in her waves. It reminded him of the rose beds at the manor. "All my life, I followed the heavily weighted expectations and extremely difficult trials life threw at me. I was scrupulously selfless and tried to always be the hero when it mattered most. When it ended, the rebuild was the next big mountain to climb. Everyone expected me to dedicate my life to it, why shouldn't I? To them, I was the selfless boy who sacrificed his life to save the wizarding world. No one bothered to think that maybe I needed a reprieve from this all. Maybe, it does not always have to be me at the forefront of a battle. Maybe, the teenage boy who literally walked him himself straight into the jaws of death rebelling against any sense of self-preservation needed time off. So for once I wanted to make the selfish decision, I wanted to do something only for myself, as I pleased, when I pleased. I wanted to make my own decision over what direction my life would take, not follow the one everyone including the two of you expected me to. I'm not going to apologize for the decisions I made, because I do not regret my actions. However, I am sorry that I don't feel the remorse that I should." He strained his ears to hear the whisper Hermione directed to him. She forgave him. It was time to bury the hatchet. He was confronted by the opposite from Ron.
"Blimey Hermione, I know what you're whispering in his ear. I don't forgive him. It's only the poor Chosen One who gets special treatment while the rest of us peasants aren't allowed to get some rest for our suffering too."
"Suffer? I have suffered horribly, but I've never used it so people can throw a pity party over me nor do I think that I am the only one who has suffered." Brimming with unbridled anger, Harry threw a blow beneath the belt, sick of Ron peppering him with backhanded comments and insults. Hermione watched the argument, unsure of whether to stop them or let them duke it out. "Besides, you seemed quite fine to me. Fine enough to go prancing around the world on book tours to tout what you'd gone through for fame and glory."
Ron lunged at Harry and barely stopped himself when Hermione threw herself in between them.
"THAT'S ENOUGH. No physical fighting. Get this out of your system, say whatever you have to say to each other no matter how hurtful but no violence. We've had our fair share of that."
"You've always stuck up for him." Ron refocused his rage on Hermione.
"He is our best friend, why shouldn't I? Just because you cannot move on and make an attempt to patch things back together doesn't mean I am going to follow suit!" When did Ron become so overcome with this blindness? She anguishly thought. Her words fell on deaf ears.
"You've always picked him over me, no matter how close we were." Ron stated defiantly, sticking his pointer finger at Harry.
Harry sensed the climax of this quarrel was about to spring itself upon them. Their surprise meeting began with hopes of amends and understanding, but apparently would end in the flames of bitter emotions and resentment. Personally, he was at the stage where he wanted to leave now that his head began pounding with a headache from all this overstimulation.
"That's not true and you know it. I always stuck up for him when the going got tough. I am a loyal person to the people I love." Hermione said fiercely, ready to go tiger mode on her ex-husband. Why is it that whenever the three of them got into quarrels, she was usually the one in the middle of it? It's maddening! "How dare you insinuate such a thing. I was so in love with you at one point in my life and would have done anything for you. Merlin, I married you when you asked me despite how young we were!"
"Thank you for reminding me that the perfect Hermione Granger allowed me to enter a blessed union with her, then again that was all anyone could say after we wed was how lucky I was to bind myself to the brightest witch of our age." Ron harshly laughed. "Merlin, if I had a galleon for every time a person said that I would be a rich man."
"Guys, let's call this quits right now." Harry suggested, praying they'd both agree. He was ready for this to be over, maybe there was a chance to salvage this murky situation. "At this point, we're not getting anywhere with butting heads against each other. I get that there is still more to discuss but let us not part on such poor terms."
"Fine." They said in unison. Ron clamped his lips together and muttered that he had auror patrol and stormed from the office. Hermione sighed and finished off her firewhisky, slumping in the armchair next to Harry's.
"Hermione," Harry took her glass and refilled it, putting it in her lap. "When on Earth did Ron become so temperamental and easily pushed to fits of anger? He was never that bad."
"There is much that you do not know Harry, we discussed the basics of what has been happening since you've been gone so you don't have a view of the full picture yet."
"Would you be up for filling me in?"
Hermione turned and nodded. "Why don't we pick up where we left off tomorrow? You look like you need a cup of tea and rest."
Bless Hermione and her considerate tendencies, he thought appreciatively. "It has worn me down. There is a teahouse in the village right by where I live where we can discreetly talk. I am not ready to open the manor to visitors."
"You can owl me the location, don't feel bad about not inviting me to your home, I understand so take your time." She stood and they briefly hugged good-bye. "Be well Harry."
That concludes chapter four. I struggled a little more with this chapter because I was worried that the focus on arguing would be too much of a drag so I hope I balanced it well since I've been working on adding on more dialogue to the chapters. there is definitely going to be some Weasley bashing in this story as you can tell. I know true some of the readers Ron's angry and at time childish attitude throughout this segment of the chapter may seem dramatic, but all I can say is that The more I build on the story the more you will understand why. Please, leave me a review!
