Chapter 4
Confessions of Sorrows
The Burrow
Current Day
As soon as Dumbledore finished telling people of Harry's true feelings, the room was plunged into silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence; it was a silence of memory. "Since he was a year old to his eleventh year he lived in a world that hated him, a world that wanting nothing to do with him, or who he could be or who he would become. A world that was cruel to him and uncaring. He was emotionally and," he pauses here wondering how many of those here know this next part, "physically abused," he finishes with a sad tone in his voice.
As everyone hears this the room takes a collective gasp. Dumbledore watches the reactions of those in the room and is shocked to learn very few really did know this. Ron and Hermione seem to be the only ones not surprised by this news. "I see not many of you knew about this small fact," Dumbledore observes.
"Some of us suspected," Minerva says with a small whisper. After hearing her say this a few heads nod in agreement, thou most of the heads belong to the Weasley family and a few of the other Professors. "But we never knew for sure," she finishes sounding ashamed of missing something so big.
"Don't worry," Dumbledore tells her with a small smile of his own. "He didn't want anyone to know," he continues.
"Why not," Molly asks wondering why she never knew, why he never told her.
"He didn't want to be that much more un-normal," Hermione says with a small sigh.
"He thought he deserved it for causing his parents deaths," Ron adds on with a small croak.
"WHAT," most of the people shouted in shock.
Hermione looks over at Ron and raises an eyebrow in question and Ron nods in return, "his Aunt," she starts to say as everyone looks away from Ron to her. "Told him as a child his parents where on the way to the orphanage to drop him off when they couldn't," she continues to say to them as she sits down in the closest empty chair which happens to be next to her parents, her mother quickly encloses her daughter in a hug as they listen to the horror their friend, son, brother, uncle, grandson went through. "He was told they weren't able to do it, they couldn't leave him there," she says as the tears start to fall once again. "So they went and got drunk so they could try it again. On the way back they got in a car crash, killing them and scaring him, this is how they explained his lightening scar. They then continued to taunt him by saying they got landed with him and that they should finish what his parents had started," she finishes.
"Those evil people," Flitwick says in his shrill voice.
"Imagine what he was thinking when Hagrid showed up," Ron says to them smiling for the first time in what feels forever.
Hermione snorts at this comment, "he couldn't believe what he was hearing let alone seeing. He refused to believe he was a Wizard, but," she pauses as she tries to think about how he explained it too her. "He once told me he couldn't help but trust Hagrid, it felt as though he was familiar, even family, though he couldn't remember ever meeting him," she says.
"From what he told us, he received his first letter to Hogwarts shortly after going to the zoo for the first time," Ron continues the story as he realizes Hermione is having difficulty. "I gather this is where he first realized he could talk to snakes, he accidentally set one free and got his cousin stuck behind the glass," he says with a shrug not really knowing what Harry had said.
"I remember that," Fred says. "He told us," he says pointing to George and himself, "about it one time when we were taunting him about the fact he didn't have a sense of humor," Fred informs them.
"We laughed ourselves to sleep that night," George finishes.
"He recalled that story to us," David says to the group, "he said though he paid dearly for that event it was still a great source of humor to him," he says looking at his wife, Alexandra. "I didn't even think about how he paid for it," he whispers to her with horror in his eyes.
"How could anyone harm such a sweet young man," Molly asks shocked by this information shared with them, information she didn't even suspect. "What kind of friend does that make me for not noticing," she cries into her husbands embrace.
"I am afraid that is a question we have found no answer to," Dumbledore says to her and the rest of those gathered here. After a moment of silence, and when no one else made any movement to comment Dumbledore decided it was time for him to continue with the history of the one person who they all wish were here with them, but can't be. "When he first arrived into the world of magic he was, for lack of any better words, assaulted by his fame," he says as everyone chuckles at the understatement of this comment. "He never believed he should be famous, he never felt worthy of it and he didn't really want it anyway," he continues. "Everyone or most everyone knows what occurred during his time at Hogwarts, though his summers are still a mystery, he never once talked about how he alone was able to do things. He refused to take credit for anything; he always blushed furiously and said it was only luck, luck that he has such great friends. He credited everything to the two of you," he says looking pointedly at Hermione and Ron.
"Harry never wanted the two of you to be put into those positions; he never wanted anyone else to be harmed because of him. He always did everything he could to protect others, even if he didn't know them, but especially if he knew them," Dumbledore pauses as a small laugh can be heard at this point. "He was so young to carry such a burden, to carry such knowledge," he pauses here as the full meaning comes to him, the meaning of the Prophecy and what has occurred. "Those closest to him remember the drastic changes in him after his fifth year. No one knows what occurred that summer, not even his Secret Keeper," he says with a smile at the truth of this statement. "However, everyone here knows about his sixth year," he reminds everyone knowingly. He knows there are people here who still are unable to believe what happened that year, just as there are some who are very ashamed for their actions and choices. However, everyone here knows Harry never held anything against them and was in fact glad it happened only to him rather than to others.
"Yes," Professor McGonagall agrees, "there is a lot that happened that year I still regret to this very day, I know there are a lot of people who feel the same way," she says and surprisingly a lot of people nod in agreement with her assumption.
"Yes," Hermione says in agreement as the very first mistake came to mind, "Ron and I telling him on the train about us getting together over the summer holiday," she whispers.
"He took it better than I thought he would," Ron admits still surprised after all these years, "even though I now know why he did it," he tells the room as he gets shocked looks from everyone but Dumbledore.
"What do you mean," Hermione says knowing exactly what he is talking about.
"I mean," Ron says with a sad voice, "I asked him about it not too long ago and he told me the reason," Ron says in answer.
"Well," Hermione asks impatiently as her mind goes back to the day she and Ron broke their news to their best friend.