DISCLAIMER: HARRY POTTER, characters, names, and all related indicia are trademarks of Warner Bros. © 2001.
***
"En - en - engaged?" Harry asked, praying that it wasn't true.
Ron looked at Harry with pity n his face. Ron knew that Harry had strong feeling for Hermione. It was love; there was nothing to doubt about that.
"I like Hermione a lot, Ron, but she is one of my best friends; she would never return those feelings."
That is all Harry had to say about it when he and Ron talked about Harry's feelings.
"Yes, engaged."
Hermione searched Harry's face for meaning. She was sure that he would have been okay with her news; it was Ron that she had been worried about.
"Well, congratulations, Hermione!" Ron said to break the silence.
"Yes, er, congrats, 'Mione," Harry said as he rose from his seat and gave her a supportive hug.
"Well, I have a big day working on my house tomorrow, so I'll have to be leaving you two," Harry said.
He didn't even wait for hugs. Harry disappeared with a quick pop and left Ron and Hermione at the table with puzzled looks.
The sound of someone weeping was all that could be heard throughout Harry's house that night.
Ron knew that Harry needed some time alone, so he convinced Hermione not to go after him. He told her that he would go see Harry in the morning. Seeming somewhat satisfied, Hermione had immediately paid for their dinner and left.
In the morning, Ron, true to his word, went to Harry's house. He looked all around the study, which was where the construction was, but Harry wasn't there. Ron looked in the kitchen, the dining room, the bathroom, and both bedrooms, but Harry was not in any of them. There was only one last place that he could be. . .the roof.
Ron apparated and landed on the roof. . .of a house one mile away.
"Well, that's just great. He's blocked it again," Ron said to himself.
This was obviously not the first time that Harry had used his power to shut out the world when he was upset. Just like when his godfather died, except now he knew more than just how to detach himself; he knew how to block them out with a very old and supreme type of magic.
Ron apparated back to Harry's and summoned a quill and parchment.
"Hopefully, he comes down soon," Ron said to himself.
He quickly wrote a note to Harry, convinced Hedwig to take it up to Harry, and left for Quidditch practice.
Harry loved portable cd players. They make things so convenient. He had been listening to the same song all morning.
Days swiftly come and go
I'm dreaming of her
She's seeing other guys
Emotions they stir
The sun is gone
The nights are long
And I am left while the tears fall
Did you think that I would cry,
On the phone?
Do you know what it feels like,
Being alone?
I'll find someone new
Swing, Swing, Swing from the
Tangles of
My heart is crushed by a former love
Can you help me find a way
To carry on again
Wish cast into the sky
I'm moving on
Sweet beginnings do arise
She knows I was wrong
The notes are old
They bend, they fold
And so do I to a new love.
Did you think that I would cry,
On the phone?
Do you know what it feels like,
Being alone?
I'll find someone new
Swing, Swing, Swing from the
Tangles of
My heart is crushed by a former love
Can you help me find a way
To carry on again
Bury me
You thought your problems were gone
Carry me
Away, away, away
Swing, Swing, Swing from the
Tangles of
My heart is crushed by a former love
Can you help me find a way
To carry on again
These people knew of his pain so he searched for hope in the lyrics.
Harry's heart had been ripped out and all he could do was block out the world and cry while he listened to music, but he remembered some very important words.
"There is no shame in what you are feeling, Harry," said Dumbledore's voice. "On the contrary. . .the fact that you can feel pain like this is your greatest strength. Harry, suffering like this proves you are still a man! This pain is part of being human. You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it."
These words always helped him remember that it was okay to hurt and let it out, but that didn't mean that he had to let everyone else know that he was hurting.
Just then he heard someone in his house.
"Ron," Harry thought quickly. "Pretty soon he'll realize that it's not worth his efforts and send Hedwig up with a note for me to come talk to him 'when I'm ready.'"
Pretty soon Harry saw Hedwig coming his way with a note. He untied it from her leg, ran his hand over her feathers and sent her back again.
Harry,
Remember you can come and talk to me when you're ready. Hermione was very upset when you left last night. She deserves an explanation.
your friend,
Ron
'That's nice to know that she's upset. I wonder if it's because I wasn't excited about her new fiancé,' Harry thought sarcastically.
Harry figured it was time to go back into the real world so he broke the apparation barrier and went into the study to work.
"The muggle way certainly send the easiest right now," Harry said to himself.
He picked up his tools and started working. He was so caught up in taking his emotions out on the study, that he didn't hear someone walk into his house and into the kitchen. In fact, he didn't notice anything until he could smell the food cooking.
"I must be really hungry if I can smell food," he said.
Harry walked into the dining room and then into the kitchen where he stopped dead in his tracks.
"Her - Her - Hermione," he stuttered out. "What are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? I am making dinner so that you and I can talk," she said, looking at him hopefully.
"Well I'm not hungry, so eat it yourself!" Harry said, and with that he ran out the door, grabbed his coat, and apparated to the Burrow.
"Harry, dear, I've been expecting you," Molly said. "Ron told me that you were on the roof again. Well, go on, eat some food."
"Thanks, Molly. I owe you one," Harry said while he sat down and loaded up his plate.
"That's right, you do," she said. "So tell me about her and how she broke your heart."
This was not exactly the conversation that Harry was imagining. He should've known this was coming, but he was a little preoccupied with other thoughts.
"Well, her name is --."
"I don't want to know her name," she said quickly.
"Anyway," he continued, "she is the most beautiful creature in the world. When she walks into a room, it brightens up, and her smile reflects the sun's beauty. Her eyes, he beautiful, brown eyes must have stardust in them because they twinkle every time I see her. They are so beautiful that I can't look into them too long for fear that I will forget about time itself. I feel like Romeo looking at Juliet every time I see her. 'Oh but if I were a glove upon that hand.'"
"Well, she sounds like an angel, but how did she break your heart?" Molly said eagerly but with sympathy.
"She never knew that I loved her. I waited too long to make my move and not its too late."
Harry felt himself tearing up.
"She didn't die, did she?" Molly asked.
"No, she is engaged to another man," Harry said while trying to hold back the tears.