DOORWAYS || MARAUDERS ERA

ϟ35: SURPRISING THE HELL OUT OF THE REDHEADϟ

"I don't think you should stay awake for so long."

Harry turned around to find Rhea standing with two cups of coffee in her hands.

"Give me a break," Harry groaned. "It's not easy to fall asleep especially after I've seen how my parents were killed."

It had been almost a day since Harry, Hermione and Rhea went to Godric's Hollow. They'd barely managed to escape Voldemort.

Unbeknownst to them, there was a taboo on Voldemort's name, but since Ron had made it compulsory to call him 'You-Know-Who' over the first few months of the run, it had become a habit.

Ron was another person whose name they didn't speak of, mainly because it hurt too much to even talk about him.

Harry nodded, not looking at her. "After Nagini called her wretched master, I saw... a vision. You-Know-Who came to my house. He saw my dad playing with me, making colourful smokes erupt from his wand..." Harry smiled nostalgically. "And then my mother came to take me... to sleep maybe, I don't know."

Rhea shuddered. "I'm so sorry, Harry..."

There was silence for a while.

"You know," Harry said suddenly. "I always used to feel pretty bitter about the fact that Remus and Sirius thought the other was the traitor. I mean, I can never imagine myself ever mistrusting you, Hermione... or him." he was referring to Ron.

Rhea said nothing. After all, what could she tell him?

"But now," Harry took a deep breath. "I realize... war can turn even the best of friends against each other. It is gradual, twisted... just like a hocrux. A war, just like a hocrux, can manipulate people, create mistrust. And mistrust is like gravity—all it needs is a little force to push it."

Rhea eyed the hocrux hanging off her chest, and glared at it, willing it to break into shards.

Harry sighed. "I know he didn't mean all those things he said—at least, not entirely. But I'm sick and tired of him always feeling like I'm going to steal 'Mione. Can't he have a little trust?"

Rhea shook her head sadly. "The answer is in the little speech you gave earlier: war can turn the best of friends against each other."

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Rhea woke up much, much later than usual. From the harsh sunlight beaming through the window in her room, it was clear it was already afternoon.

Getting up with a jerk, she flung herself to the bathroom and took a hasty shower. After that she picked out some casual clothes from her closet and put them on. Brushing her hair with much winces and flinches as she untangled the knots, she tied it into a ponytail and went downstairs to eat something.

"Good afternoon, Aunt Mia," Rhea yawned widely, taking her seat lazily and pulling some Yorkshire pudding towards her.

"Good afternoon, Re," Aunt Mia replied and dropped a hasty kiss on Rhea's forehead. "Did you have a good sleep?"

"Surprisingly yes," Rhea answered her as she shoveled some food into her mouth.

Aunt Mia hummed and went about cleaning the vessels with her hands. Rhea felt that the house was much too quiet, so she asked Aunt Mia, "Aunt Mia? Where are the boys?"