Chapter 8
Defining Self Worth
The Borrow
Current Day
"Your, Student in many things, Love Harry," Dumbledore finishes as he softly closes the book and looks up at the stunned room, more importantly a very stunned Hermione.
"Grandmother, Grandfather," Ginny asks after a moment of silence.
"Yes, well," Dumbledore says with a shrug, "he was right about the fact they don't know," he says honestly.
"Well, obviously they were teachers of his," Alexandra says thinking about it.
"Why do you say that," David asks his wife.
"Your student," she repeats to him and he nods his head in agreement.
"The problem with that logic," Ron says understanding where they are coming from, "is the fact Harry thought everyone was his teacher, he felt he could learn something from everyone," he tells them.
"Let me get this straight," Hermione finally speaks up, though everyone can hear the shock and tears in her voice. "He pushed us away to protect us," she summarizes.
"Yes," Dumbledore says with a sad yet knowing nod.
"Didn't he know I would be furious as hell with him," she asks looking right at Dumbledore.
"Yes, he knew," Dumbledore agreed with her, "however he was willing to give it his best," he says before she could ask her next question.
"Didn't he realize what we needed the most was his friendship," Ron asks causing everyone to look over at him in surprise, they expected Hermione's reaction but they never figured Ron would react the same, well, close to the same.
"No," Dumbledore says to him. "He figured the only reason you ever got into trouble was because you became his friend, the only reason your life was in danger was once again because of him," Dumbledore says honestly.
"Him having no one love him as a child would cause him to feel unworthy," Alexandra says quietly speaking her thoughts out loud yet it is as though reading from a book.
"Unworthy," Ginny says shocked.
"It is a classic out come from abuse," Alexandra says looking over at Ginny. "You see, he wasn't shown any affection from the Dursleys, in fact all they showed him was pain and suffering," she pauses as she looks over at her daughter, "isn't that right dear," she asks.
"Yes," Hermione says in agreement, "they always called him a freak and I remember him once telling me he didn't know his real name until he entered primary school," she says sadly.
Alexandra nods her head sadly, "so why would he believe his friendship was as important to you as yours was to him," she asks.
"He still should have known," Molly says in a sobbing kind of whisper.
"Maybe he did," Dumbledore says, "just maybe there was another reason he was trying to separate them from him," he pauses, "a reason he didn't fully believe in but wasn't going to pull the others with him if it turned out to be true," he says to her.
"His three weeks," Hermione says looking at Dumbledore hoping she isn't right.
"His three weeks," Dumbledore confirms her worst fear.
"What are you talking about," Minerva asks the two of them.
"It was around the time Hermione and I broke up," Ron says to her.
"Christmas," she asks and both Hermione and Ron nod their head in agreement. Minerva pales at what she remembered happening that Christmas.
After a few moments of silence, "well, are you going to enlighten us poor simple folk who don't know these things," Severus Snape growls out in annoyance.
"Hermione and I had just had the biggest fight of our relationship; in fact it was the finale fight. I new at the time we could never be friends ever again and I had destroyed not just one important friendship, but through the course of our dating had already destroyed my first friendship," Ron says as he starts on the story. "That is one day I am glad I don't have to relive, I mean you," he says pointing at Hermione, "Shouted 'I don't care.'"