Author's Note:
I felt bad about writing a cliffy, so here's the next installment. This is a slow chapter, but I'm not writing this in any standard format. Also, there seemed to be some confusion about what happened in the last chapter, so hopefully this clears it up.
There isn't a cliffy in this one either, so it's a good stopping point.
Disclaimer:
I don't have a beta. Anything weird is due to my scatterbrained attempt at writing and incomplete knowledge of the Harry Potter universe.
Looking Back
Chapter 4
"Yes," Harry agreed. "It does look quite tacky."
"Rather unattractive," added Bryce thoughtfully.
Hermione gawked at them. "It's a hole. And it's in the side of my bedroom. This is not funny."
Harry grinned. "On the contrary…"
"You shut your mouth," snapped Hermione, glaring at him. "I'll deal with you later." She turned to Bryce. "Why don't we head downstairs to talk? I have a few butterbeers in the fridge."
"That would be excellent, ma'am," said Bryce, smiling.
"It's just down the stairs, up the hall and last door on the left. If you don't mind, I want to have a word with Harry first," Hermione said.
"Not at all," Bryce said, and he swept away down the steps.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Hermione rounded on Harry and glared furiously at him. "Never do that again."
"What?" asked Harry, baffled.
"Never toss me aside like a useless child during a battle. Never." Hermione said angrily. "Now let's greet our guest." She spun on her heel and headed down the stairs, Harry following close behind.
Upon entering the kitchen, Hermione headed to the refrigerator and Harry sat at the table, opposite to Bryce. When all three were seated, Hermione began.
"So what brings you here?" asked Hermione, taking a sip of her drink.
"Briggs," said Bryce. "He wanted me to meet the other members of the Seven. Normally, I don't barge into peoples' houses, but the door was already open and I heard loud noises from inside. You understand, I hope."
"Of course," said Hermione, smiling. "We're quite grateful. I don't know what you did back there, but it was impressive. Two wands? I've never seen that. Are you foreign?"
Bryce smirked. "I have been around."
"Interesting," Hermione remarked. "You keep saying `the Seven.' You're referring to Briggs' project, I assume?"
"Correct."
"What do you think of it?" asked Hermione.
"The British Ministry is one of the most corrupt I have seen. Any change is a good change. It cannot get much worse. And I have seen their Auror department. It is pitiful. They are slow and uneducated in professional combat. I am helping here to share my knowledge and to obtain more knowledge from the other six and their trainers. The British government is of no importance to me," said Bryce.
Hermione raised both eyebrows. "I've never heard it put that way."
"No," said Bryce. Then he turned to Harry. "You do not speak much. Why?"
"Because I don't have anything to say," said Harry simply.
Bryce stared at him, then, after a moment, said, "Good man." He looked down at his watch. "I am very sorry, but I must be leaving now. It was a pleasure to meet both of you, and Hermione," he stood up and faced her, "be nice."
She glared at Harry. "I'll try."
Bryce smiled, shook his head, and with a spin and a pop he was gone.
Harry turned and looked quizzically at Hermione. "What did he mean?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "If you ever, ever pull such an idiotic, moronic stunt like that again, I will never speak to you again."
"What?" asked Harry frantically. "What do you mean? What did I do?"
"You cast a body-bind and threw your invisibility cloak on me during a fight. All because of your heroic tendencies, you gave up your element of surprise, gave away your position, and put yourself on the defensive. Not only that, you treated me like a child. I am perfectly capable of holding my own - we just fought side by side against Voldemort; you should know that. The only thing that saved you was dumb luck, or in other words, Bryce."
Harry stood up. "I didn't want you to get hurt. It's my job to protect you - that's what friends do. It has nothing to do with you being incapable. It has to do with me wanting to protect my friends. It's not heroics; it's decency."
"Decency? Are you daft? That's idiocy. You cut your chances of winning in half. And what about you? What do you think I would do if you died or got hurt? Well, I'd probably curse you for being you, but only shortly. You have no idea how it feels to be useless and watch someone you care about get hurt. It's terrible," ranted Hermione.
"Yes I do," said Harry gravely. "And at the time it was horrible, but had it not happened I wouldn't be here today."
"Don't even bring that up," Hermione shot back. "Dumbledore knew he was going to die, and he knew if you fought you were going to die. This was entirely different. We could have taken those five intruders easily if we were together. But you almost got yourself killed by halving the odds."
"And I would do it again," said Harry right back.
"Get out," said Hermione, standing up and pointing at the door. "I really don't want to talk to you right now."
"That was fast," said Harry.
"Well I'm not going to put up with you being insufferable. Come back when you've grown up."
"Fine," said Harry. "If that's what you want then let me get my trunk and I'll be out of your way."
"Fine," said Hermione, storming angrily out of the room.
Harry waited a moment, then headed up to his room and began throwing his clothes back into his trunk. He took all of his pictures and albums off the dresser and placed them on top, taking only one brief look at his picture of him and Hermione, then stuffing it down to the bottom. Looking around one last time, he slammed his trunk shut and dragged it loudly down the front steps.
As he went through the door and reached the end of the walkway, he heard Hermione's voice call out behind him.
"Harry, wait. Where are you going to stay?" asked Hermione, a small bit of concern discernable in her voice.
Without turning, Harry said, "I don't know."
"You're coming back, right?"
Harry paused. "I don't know."
"Harry…"
But her words were only heard by the empty space where he had been standing.
* *
It was only an hour later, but Hermione was already worried. She hadn't expected him to take her seriously. And she had no idea where he was or what he was going to do.
It was time to call Ron. She grabbed a handful of Floo powder and knelt by her fireplace, tossing it in. "The Burrow."
She stuck her head in the fire and looked around. In a few seconds, Ron appeared in the doorway n his pajamas. He looked surprised for a moment then walked over, kneeling beside Hermione.
"What brings you here?" he asked amusedly.
"Do you know where Harry is?" she asked.
"Right to business, I see," said Ron, grinning. "He was just here, but he left a moment ago. He had to get something of his. What went on over there? He looked pretty put out."
"We were just attacked a moment ago, and Harry put a body bind on me. He tried to take them out by himself, and I yelled at him after and told him to leave."
Ron's eyes widened. "Harry didn't mention any of that. Are you hurt?"
"No, but Harry almost was. Some guy showed up and helped him out. When he left I yelled at Harry and he left."
"Well you did tell him to leave," reminded Ron.
"I know!" said Hermione in frustration. "Did he tell you anything when he was there? I'm going to go look for him."
"No, he didn't tell me anything," Ron said. "He wasn't very talkative. But I really don't think you need to go looking for him. He's a grown man. He can handle himself."
The words came back with a bite. "Yeah," she said. "You're right. I'm just worried is all. He's been acting weird for the past week. Like a few hours ago, he tried explaining that he didn't care if he died, and that he didn't feel anything at all. That isn't Harry."
"He has lost a lot, Hermione," consoled Ron. "I can't even imagine what it would be like to graduate, finish the greatest battle in the history of magic, and have no one to go home to. He doesn't have anyone."
"Except us," corrected Hermione, feeling sicker with every word.
"Well, technically, me, since you just kicked him out," Ron said, grinning.
"Thanks a lot Ron. That really helps. I think I'll go cry now."
Ron shook his head. "I'm just joking, Hermione. He'll be back. Don't worry."
"I hope so," said Hermione. "I wasn't very nice."
Ron sighed. "Can you explain why you kicked him out again?"
"I told him that he was a complete prat for putting a body bind on me in the middle of a fight, and he said that he would do it again. I just… lost it, I guess. If he ever tries that again, I really don't know what I would do."
"So you got pissed off at him for doing his best to save your life. That's understandable," said Ron thoughtfully.
"He was saving my life and killing himself!" shouted Hermione. "And my life didn't need saving."
"Hey, don't get mad at me," said Ron, backing away. "But remind me to thank Harry. If you had gotten hurt I would have killed him with my bare hands."
"Don't you start, too," warned Hermione. "Look, I'm going to go now. I know Harry isn't in any trouble, but I'm still worried sick. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Alright, Hermione. But hey, wait. Where do you like to eat?" asked Ron suddenly.
Hermione tilted her head. "My favorite is Marios - it's a small Italian place in southern London. Why do you ask?"
"No reason," said Ron, smiling. "See you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you," said Hermione, and she pulled her head out of the fire.
Back in the Burrow, Ginny stepped out from behind the door frame. "That was smooth Ron, real smooth," she said. "Now let's go find Harry."
* *
To say Harry was merely confused would have been an understatement. He was walking down the road outside the Burrow with no idea what to do or where he was going. His visit to Ron's house had not been productive, and he couldn't think of a place to go where Hermione wouldn't find him. He did not want to speak to her.
It had been thirty minutes since he had left and he couldn't see the Burrow behind him anymore. He couldn't actually see anything anymore-anything except the long dirt road ahead of him and scattered trees on the side. If he remembered correctly, there was a town only a mile down after the bend.
Maybe he could find a bar and get hammered. That would solve his problems.
He cursed out loud. That would not solve his problems in the least. The last thing he needed was to be homeless and inebriated. No, he had to find a place to stay, maybe a hotel.
Ten minutes passed, in which Harry saw no cars, no people, no animals, and barely felt a gust of wind. But in the distance he could now see, if he squinted his eyes, a small town and a smokestack rising towards the sky.
Success.
He began to walk faster, but then heard another pair of footsteps in sync with his own. He turned around abruptly and saw none other than Luna Lovegood trailing behind him.
"Luna!" he said, relief washing over him. "What are you doing?"
"I was following you," she said airily.
"Thank Merlin," exclaimed Harry. "I have no idea where I am."
"That's nice," said Luna, smiling. "I know where you are."
Harry folded his hands and grinned. "You're a lifesaver. Do you know where the closest hotel is?"
Luna thought for a moment. "Yes."
Harry waited patiently. "Well? Where is it?"
"Just down the street. But why don't you stay at my place? I have a flat in the town at the bottom of the hill. I don't get very many visitors, so I don't mind."
"Luna," said Harry, shaking his head, "you're the best. Remind me to make this up to you."
"No problem, Harry. Anything for a friend."
"Yeah," said Harry. "Anything."
-->