The Troubled Wizard (A Harry Potter Fan Fiction)

Chapter 12

"Hermione! So good to see you!" as soon as the young Gryffindor walked into the room, she was ambushed by one of Mrs. Weasley's famous hugs.

"It's good to see you too Mrs. Weasley!" She smiled brightly at her.

"Hey, Hermione."

"Ron!" the two shared a quick hug as Fred and George smirked at one another on the other side of the room. They knew all about ickle Ronykins' crush on the young miss Granger, and they were not about to let him live it down.

"How has your summer been?" she asked as they all walked into the living room and sat down.

He shrugged, "It's been good, I guess. I'm thinking about trying out for the Quidditch team in the next couple of years, so Fred George and I have been doing a lot of practice. What about you?"

"Well, I have been working through our summer homework. And I've almost finished. All I have left if my project for Charms. And my essay for Potions." She replied.

Ron's eyes went big, "We have an essay in Potions?!"

"Ronald Weasley, you told me you were already halfway through your summer homework!" his mother scolded.

He blushed, "Well I uh... I got my Herbology done..."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Honestly Ron, all we had to do for Herbology was draw a picture of a plant in the garden. Yes, we have a fifteen-thousand-word essay due at the beginning of the semester for Professor Snape."

"Bloody hell!" Ron collapsed against the sofa. "That git just wants to ruin our entire summer doesn't he!"

Hermione shrugged, "I don't think it'll be too bad. If you want, I can stop by another day and you Harry, and I can have a study session. I could help you both with your papers because I'm sure he hasn't started his either. Where is Harry by the way?"

Hermione glanced around the room and saw that everyone's smiles had fallen from their faces. "It's really serious, whatever's going on with Harry, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is..." Arthur said quietly.

They all looked to Molly as she let out a sigh. "Yesterday, we went to Harry's aunt and uncle's house to see if he would want to come to stay for the weekend. When we got there... we found out that he was being abused..."

"What...?" Hermione looked around the room, waiting for Harry to jump out and yell 'Gotcha!' as a part of some cruel and elaborate prank.

"I tried asking him about it last night..." Molly turned to Ron in surprise. "I know you told me to wait, but I just couldn't take it anymore you know? The not knowing part was eating me alive. When I asked him why he hadn't told me he'd been abused, he told me that he hadn't been. He said that he got all his injuries from falling down the stairs..."

Ginny had tears dripping from her eyes, "There's no way..."

Arthur shook his head, "We'll just have to let him know that he can trust us. Then maybe he will tell us what was really going on."

Molly looked over to Hermione who was sobbing, "Oh come here..."

Hermione ran over to her and buried herself in the hug. "How... how could I have missed it..."

"Shh... you shouldn't blame yourself..." she gently ran a hand through her hair.

"I'm... I'm supposed to... to be smart..." she sobbed, "And I couldn't even tell that one of my best friends was being abused..."

"We didn't notice either..." George said quietly. "We were all on the Quidditch team together, and we never picked up on what we're seeing."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"Harry has a high tolerance for pain," Fred answered. "Like crazy high. Wood said he had never seen anything like it. He could get hit over the head with a bludger and walk it off like nothing had happened."

"And not to mention the fact that he's always been so jumpy." George continued. "We just assumed that it was because any time he was around us, he was afraid we were going to pull a prank on him. But after a while, we noticed he was doing it even when we weren't around him."

"I saw some scars once..." they all turned to Ginny. "I... it after a Quidditch game last year. I had gone down to the locker room to look for Fred and George, but I accidentally walked in on Harry while he was changing. I didn't want him to know I had been watching him, so I ran off. But on his back... he had a ton of scars... I should have said something... but I didn't want to embarrass him..." Arthur held his arms out to her and held her as she cried.

"I should have picked up on his not eating much..." Ron murmured. "I mean, the guy's always been short. I just thought it was genetics you know? But then he wouldn't eat much during meals, and I never really picked up on it. I should have..."

Hermione wiped tears from her own eyes, "Last year... I noticed that he was wearing a glamor right after we got back from summer. It wasn't a very good one, so I could tell that he was hiding something. I didn't say anything though because I was afraid that if I pointed out I could see through the glamor, it would make him feel bad. It's a fairly advanced technique, so I wanted him to be proud of himself that he was able to 'fool' everyone. After a couple weeks it was gone so I didn't think about it again..."

"We've all failed him..." Arthur said quietly. "But now, we know what's going on. What we need to do is let Harry know that he can trust us with the rest of the truth." They all nodded and resolved themselves to earning Harry's trust. They could do this...

(A/N - Hey guys! Thanks for reading! I hope you're liking it. Man I'm tired of school lol.)