Together we howl (Complete)

Part 33

Harry's POV

Growing up at the Dursleys, I had witnessed a lot of things that in my opinion, made absolutely no sense. For example, the phrase 'First impressions last", is something I heard from Uncle Vernon when drilling it into Dudley's mind since a child. I find the phrase to be unrealistic and from experience, completely untrue.

My first impression of Hermione was most definitely not a good one, she was arrogant, and snobbish and made you feel rather low about yourself. My first thought was to stay clear of her, which I had done successfully until the troll incident occurred. Despite it being traumatic and life-threatening, it was one of the best things that could have happened to me because that brought me closer to Hermione, showing the real her, the caring, funny, intelligent and determined young girl who hid behind her wild hair and a bossy attitude.

Hermione had been the only person to stick by me through thick and thin, despite the whole school turning against me or all the life-threatening situations we ended up in, her loyalty never wavered. I had never known what it was like to have a sibling, then, of course, the second year came around and I suddenly had a sibling bond with two girls, one being Ron's little sister which once again, released this jealousy that he can't seem to shake.

When Ron and Hermione started dating, I was happy for them but extremely protective of her. Of course, this was something that was bound to happen because anyone could see they had fancied each other for many years beforehand, so when it finally became official, no one was all that surprised. The arguments that occurred between them weren't something that I necessarily worried about because they spent the last seven years bickering, but then again, these arguments were nothing like I'd ever seen. They were angrier, more aggressive and more personal than they ever were and Hermione was always the one to get hurt in the end.

When we found out that Ron was cheating on her, there was this overprotective rage that built up inside me and after she stormed out, I made sure to hex him but not to the point of permanent damage, no matter how desperately I wanted to do so. When Hermione and Ginny decided to move away, my heart broke and I felt as if two parts of me were leaving forever. Did I resent them for leaving? Most definitely not. Was I even angrier at Ron for pushing them to the point of leaving the country? Yes, I was but I also knew, that this was something that would help them grow and for them to find themselves.

Of course, I visited and spent quite a lot of time there, and seeing them in their new environment was an eye-opener for me. Yes, I had a lot of responsibility in England but ever since the war, I had felt trapped and pushed in all these different directions that I quite frankly, don't want to be in.

As the little get-together at the Burrow was taking place, I couldn't help but think about all the times I had spent my holidays there whenever I was able to escape the Dursleys. I always felt at home and I remember feeling immense relief whenever I would walk through the doors, knowing that I was able to finally relax and enjoy the holidays the correct way. However, I also realised that I was never able to truly be myself, especially around Ron and Mrs Weasley, who was quite judgemental and stubborn when it came to their beliefs. So, seeing the way they were behaving towards their daughter, Hermione and their guests, quite frankly disgusted me. It made me see their true selves and it somewhat caught me off guard how angry, vile and bitter they truly could be.

As we port-keyed back to the pack house, my decision was finalised. I will be moving into one of the Potter properties that I found when requesting a full list of everything I've inherited. Potter townhouse wasn't overly large, nor was it box sized, it allowed many guests to stay but it also didn't make you feel as if you had to have a map just to navigate around the home. The amazing thing is, it's only a five-minute walk from the pack house to mine and is heavily warded. I'm sure Hermione and Ginny would be supportive of my decision but the fact that I'm leaving behind the chance to complete the Auror training will most likely concern them, knowing that I had always wanted to follow my father's career path.