CRUSHING DARKNESS (A Harry Potter Fanfiction)

Chapter 31

Harry's POV

"Harry dear, could you let Hermione in when she gets here?" Mrs Weasley called from the kitchen. It was the day after our little Quiditch game in the meadow and Hermione was supposed to be here any minute. Ginny, Ron, Abby, Vanessa and George were all still sleeping and Mr Weasley was at the ministry. I had woken up early only to find Mrs Weasley alone in the kitchen. She had been drinking a cup of tea and we had sat together and chatted. She was a really nice woman and I enjoyed her company so much. We had talked about every little thing from the front garden needing to be degnomed to the fact that Mr Weasley had found a good use for "the odd little device muggles use for toasting bread"

Right now, I was sitting at the scrubbed wooden table just watching Mrs Weasley peel carrots.

"Sure, Mrs Weasley," I smiled. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes, dear. I'm going to Diagon Alley for a while."

"Okay," I said and then added curiously."What are you peeling the carrots for?"

"Oh, I'll be making a carrot cake for dessert tonight so I figured I'd peel and slice the carrots right now to save time."

I absolutely love this woman, I thought. Everything she made was delicious. I remembered how when I used to come here in the summers, she would always feed me up to cover for the days of near-starvation I had endured at the Dursleys'

"I could peel them and cut them for you while you're gone," I grinned. To be honest, I just wanted to do something to make Mrs Weaseley's job easier and to let her know how much I appreciated her kindness.

But at that moment, tears started glistening in her eyes. Oh no, I thought and mentally smacked myself.

"Did I say something wrong?" I asked quickly. "I'm sorry, I won't peal them if you..."

"Oh no, dear," said Mrs Weasley. "It's not that. It's just that.... I can't believe you're so grown up now. When you came here for the first time you were twelve. You were so polite. You still are. You... you've done so much for everyone. You're just......too good, Harry. The kind of relationship I have with you.... I don't even have that with Ron or...or George...anymore."

Instinctively, I got up from the table and strode over to her. Wrapping my arms tightly around her, I started stroking her hair soothingly and patting her back."Mrs Weasley, I really love you." I think that pretty much summed up everything I wanted to tell her. Well, not everything since I wanted to tell her about Ron but we had decided against it.

"I love you too," she said, pulling away and holding my face in her hands. I guess to others this kind of treatment at this age would be embarrassing, but to me, it just seemed....right. I had never gotten this treatment when I was a kid and since I was getting it now from someone I loved like my mum, I saw no harm in it. Mrs Weasley kissed my forehead and I smiled as she said, "I'll be back soon, okay? Try not to destroy the kitchen, and if the others wake up, tell them I'll be back soon. There's tea in that pot if Hermione wants some."

And with that, she was gone and I was left in an empty kitchen. Sunlight filtered in through the windows and a cool breeze blew in. I made my way over to the carrots and carefully started peeling them. It wasn't that hard since I had done this sort of thing a lot for the Dursleys. The carrots were a deep red and were thin and long. With a smile, I remembered how aunt Petunia always complained about being tricked into buying the orange, short carrots that were cheap and did not taste well at all.

After I was done peeling them, I set to work cutting them. I cut them all into small red chunks and gathered them all in a basket. When I looked down at the counter, it was only to see that it was strewn with carrot peels. Sighing, I took out my wand and cleaned it. I guess I could have used magic to peel and cut the carrots too, but I had wanted to kill time and doing it the muggle way had been fun too.

There was a sudden knock at the door and I went to answer it. It was Hermione. Her bushy brown hair was blowing in the wind and she was wearing a thick winter coat. I realised that it was snowing outside.

"Hermione," I greeted, pulling her in for a hug.

She smiled hugely and said, "Where is everyone?"

"Sleeping," I told her. "Mrs Weasley is at Diagon Alley and Mr Weasley is at work."

"Oh, I'm glad they're all sleeping though," said Hermione, plopping down into a chair.

"You know you can't avoid them for long." I told her, pouring a cup of warm tea for her.

"I know, it's just...." she trailed off.

"You got my letter, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, it sounds like a great plan. When are we going to do it?"

"Today after lunch. The box of sweets is with George. I just hope it goes okay,"

"It will," she assured me, smiling. She seemed to be in a really good mood today. Knowing her, I had thought she would have a scowl on her face because she was stuck in the same house as Abby and Vanessa. Maybe the thought that we might be able to bring them down had calmed her.

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It was half an hour after lunch and Ginny, Hermione and I were outside Abby and Vanessa's room, listening closely as George talked to them. Abby and Vanessa had seemed unfazed by the fact that Hermione was here and had completely ignored her. Lunch had been pretty awkward to say the least. While Mrs Weasley attempted to start a conversation, Abby would interrupt and start taking about how amazing her country was and how she wanted to take Ron and George there. Hermione had sat silently and had finished her lunch in a rush.

"The Cannons are way better than the Harpies," Abby was saying in that singsong voice of hers.

"Totally," George agreed. "Have you been to any of their games?"

"Sadly, no," Vanessa sighed.

"You guys should go. Quiditch games here in England are amazing!" George said. "I've got tickets to the next game so I could take you!"

"That would be great!" Abby said, and I could picture the flirtatious smile on her face as she talked.

"Hey, what's that in your hand?" That was Vanessa for sure.

"Oh, this?" George asked, and I imagined him opening the box with the candies. "Muggle sweets. They aren't too bad once you start eating them."

"Really?" Abby asked. "I want to try one!"

"Sure," said George and then there was a rustling noise which I assumed was him giving her a candy.

"Hmm," said Abby after a pause." It's okay. Vanessa, you should try one too."

There was another long pause after which George said cautiously, "So what do you think?"

"This house is full of blood traitors," came Abby's voice. It was as if she were in a trance and was uttering her innermost feelings at the moment. The door opened at that moment and George peered out.

"They're all yours for the next seven minutes,"

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A/N

Thanks a bunch for reading! Please vote and comment :-) I'll try to update soon!