Prompt: "Why do you keep lying to me?" from THC fanfiction competition.
oOo
She's fed up.
Harry keeps hiding secrets and that isn't right.
They're meant to be best friends. So when Ron has to save Harry with a flying car because his so-called family put bars on his window, was she just supposed to accept that? It wasn't normal. None of Harry's life was normal, she knew that. But… there had to be something she could do to help. Otherwise, were they truly friends?
So that's why, when Ron goes to get something from the trolley, on their journey to school for the new year, Hermione sits next to Harry with a fierce, determined look on her face and punches him, lightly, in the arm.
"Why do you keep lying to me?"
She watches as Harry rubs his arm, wincing in pain, but there's a deep frown on her friend's face and she folds her arms across her chest with an expression that's not one to be messed with.
"I've never lied to you, 'Mione?" He replies, confusion written in his voice.
Okay. She thinks. Maybe a different approach is going to be better. She sighs softly and places a supportive hand on his shoulder.
"You never told me about your family, Harry," she explains gently. "How can I help you, how can I be your best friend if there's stuff I don't know about? Bars, Harry. Bars."
There's silence for a few moments before he sniffs and she watches as he loses composure and brings her into the tightest hug she's ever been given, his face hiding into her neck. Her heart aches, as she feels the tears dropping against her skin. She returns the hug, hugging him just as tight.
"I'm sorry," he murmurs, after what seems like a long while of them sitting like that. "I wanted to tell you, I didn't want you to stop being friends with me if you knew the truth about the "Boy who lived". I didn't have a proper room until the Durselys thought someone would find out and that terrified me," his voice is shaky and it's like once he starts, he can't stop. "My Hogwarts letter was addressed to 'The cupboard under the stairs.' They've never liked me, Dudley's bullied me for as long as I can remember, and they lied about my… my parents."
Hermione's world turns upside down as she listens to her best friend. She can't believe it and she tries to speak, her mouth opening, but no sound comes out of her mouth. She pulled away from Harry so that her hands were on his shoulders and he could see her. She doesn't wipe away the tears that escape her.
It's at that moment that she decides to do everything in her power to help him leave that house. Help him have the life he deserves, no matter what anyone else says. It's a pretty big decision to make at twelve years old, but she knows what's right and she needs Harry to know what's right too.
"Oh, Harry," she says as she finds her voice again, she says soothingly, "It's going to be okay. I promise."