It's Nice To Have A Friend

2) The Girl That Ran Away From Her Own Wedding

Hermione looked right into the eyes of her former friend, who's cheeks were tearstained, and her eyes deeply red. She must have been crying for hours. The color in her eyes was a stark contrast to the spotless white dress.

"Oh my god... what happened?" Hermione asked immediately, knowing that it couldn't be good. That they hadn't talked for seven years wasn't important right now.

"Can I please come in?" Alice's voice was shaky, and she knew that she was about to collapse if she wouldn't sit down soon.

Hermione nodded, took a step aside for her to come in, and grabbed her arm to help her to the couch. The other three pair of eyes looked in disbelief at the woman in the wedding dress, not sure their eyes were showing the truth.

"Are you seeing what I am seeing? Is that Alice Smith in a wedding dress?" Fred leaned over and whispered to Mary, who was just as in shock as he was.

When Alice sat down, Hermione immediately flooded her with thousand of questions.

"What happened to you? Why are you in a wedding dress? Are you supposed to get married? Why aren't you at your wedding?" She rambled, needing to make sense of this confusion situation.

"Give her some room to breathe." Mary said, seeing that she was overwhelmed.

"I had nowhere else to go." Alice said quietly, looking down at her trembling hands to ground herself. It didn't work.

"I know I haven't been the best friend over the last few years... but please don't throw me out, I can't go back." She said desperately, looking directly at Mary, who couldn't help but feel sorry for her, no matter the past.

FP scoffed, and all eyes turned his way.

"Why's that? Your romance with Prince Charming is not as Charming as you thought it would be? Was your wedding ring not as big a diamond as you expected?" He spat, his eyes burning with fire as he looked at his ex-girlfriend.

"FP!" Hermione exclaimed, immediately locking eyes with him, telling him to cool it.

"What?" FP shrugged nonchalantly.

"Let her do her story." Mary said, knowing perfectly well that things had to be more complicated than they seemed.

"FP is right... I shouldn't have come. I'm sorry, I'll be out of your hair." Alice sniffed and dried her tears, before standing up and wanting to make her way towards the door.

"Hold on! You just said you have nowhere to go. If you're going, I want to know you're safe." Fred immediately held her back by taking her shoulders in his hands, and guided her back to the chair.

Those words instantly made Alice cry, knowing that she didn't deserve for any of them to care, and yet they weren't letting her go unless she had someplace safe to be. She didn't, which is why she broke down in tears.

"Hey, sssh. We're here. Let me make you some tea." Hermione comforted her sweetly, soothing her hair over and over again as she let her former friend cry.

The silence was thick, while the only sound in the living room were Alice's sniffs and the whistle of the kettle. When she returned with a mug with hot tea, Alice felt a little better. It was time to tell what she was doing here, and why.

"I couldn't marry Hal." She confessed, her voice quiet and fragile.

"I was alone at the church, everything was silent. It was the loudest silence I've ever heard." She gazed into the mug and followed the movement of the water with her eyes to avoid having to look at her friends.