Breaking Point - A Drabble by BananaCarrot-five

The rain was coming down, and the sky seemed to drown in tears. The clouds covered the sky, dark and menacing, hiding the light from above. And yet, the two figures standing thirty feet away from each other didn't move, let alone speak. Finally, after what seemed like forever, one turned to face the other, and emerald green met chestnut brown.

Twelve hours earlier

Harry and Hermione were in the tent, alone. Ron had left them a few weeks ago, and the general morale between the two was rapidly deteriorating. It took three weeks of this to boil over in the one day that both of them would, in passing years, never mention to anybody.

Harry was making them breakfast, and spotted Hermione out of the corner of his eye grabbing her coat.

"What's the coat for?" Harry asked, prodding at the eggs to keep them from burning.

"It's going to rain today, on and off, if the clouds have anything to say on it."

"Mhmm. Breakfast is almost ready. Come and have a seat," Harry responded, plating their food.

Hermione sat down, looking dejected. Even the sight of Harry's food didn't wipe the look off her face.

"What's going on, Hermione?" Harry asked, rubbing her hand to comfort her.

"I miss Ron. He should be here with us," she replied quietly.

Harry's face hardened as he thought about Ron. "He left. He didn't think this was important enough. Fine by me."

"Harry, you don't mean that," Hermione replied, her eyes slightly widening. "Please, tell me you don't mean that!"

"Why should I? We still have this," he gestured to the locket, "to destroy, and he left because we hadn't figured out how to destroy it. He lost his spine. And he abandoned us. He abandoned you."

Hermione jumped up and glared at Harry. "Ron was scared. We are all. That doesn't mean you get to hate him over it!"

Harry gave Hermione a hard look. "Are you scared?"

Hermione simply nodded. In response, Harry took a deep breath, grunted, and stood up.

"Maybe you should leave, too, then, being scared and all."

The silence that followed only lasted for a few seconds as Hermione became defensive.

"And you aren't? God, Harry! Weren't you the one who stood in the face of danger, accepting this and following in what Dumbledore started? You are a hypocrite if you think you can do this alone! Maybe being the Boy-Who-Lived has finally gone to your head!"

Harry stopped at the entrance to the tent, and without turning around, spoke in a voice that was soft but in a tone that was firm.

"How dare you think that I care about my fame! I never thought that my best friend would stoop so low. You disgust me."

Harry exited the tent and started walking. He ignored Hermione's cries to return, and set his sights on the nearby village a few miles away.

Six hours earlier

Hermione had made the trek to the village as well, and in her haste to clean up after breakfast she forgot to grab her coat. She did, however, grab her bag. The village had several shops and many of its residents were out and about.

She had spotted Harry several times, but his expertise in avoiding people kept her away from him for most of the day. She had stopped in several places to buy some goods and food, as well as some cleaning supplies. After her purchases, she saw that the sky had darkened just that little bit more.

The storms were, as predicted, on and off. Hermione skillfully avoided the bursts of rain for most of the day, even though she had fished her umbrella from her bag, but that was until it was close to sunset and the skies were looking like another surprise shower was about to hit them. She saw Harry walking ahead of her, around a hundred feet. She started running towards him, ignorant of the weather at the sight of her friend.

"Harry!" Hermione cried out. The sky looked like it was going to open up any minute. Harry stood ahead of her, about thirty feet, but simply stopped moving at the call of his name. Hermione felt the raindrops starting to fall and fumbled with her umbrella before opening it and shoving it above her head. She was about to step forward to cover Harry as well but stayed still in her place, afraid to get closer to him in fear that he would just run away again.

The heavens above opened, and the rain poured down in buckets. Hermione was under her umbrella; Harry was in the rain. Neither spoke, neither moved. All that could be heard was the falling rain and the occasional thunderclap. Hermione steadied her breathing before sighing and threw the umbrella away from her, letting herself get soaked as well. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Harry turned around.

Hermione dropped her arms to her side, on the verge of tears, looking at Harry. Harry stood for a few moments before walking forward ten steps, stopping at the halfway point between them.

Hermione understood what he wanted and reciprocated, taking the ten steps to meet him in the middle. When she got there, Harry pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry, I know you didn't mean that, and I'm sorry I ignored you," Harry stated, holding onto her tightly.

"I'm sorry for saying it, I didn't mean it. I never did. I was angry. I'm sorry," Hermione stated.

"Let's agree to never do that again, please?" Harry asked, pulling back.

"Agreed," Hermione started but put her hand up. "And maybe, let's keep out of the rain if there is a next time?"

"Won't ever happen again," Harry stated firmly.

By this point, both were soaked to the bone from the rain. Gently, Harry guided Hermione down the street, leaving behind the umbrella as it filled up like a bowl in the pouring rain.

The Houses Competition, Round 5

House: Ravenclaw

Class: Charms

Category: Drabble

Prompt: [First line]: "The rain was coming down, and the sky seemed to drown in tears"

Word Count: 998