Unbroken

Wednesday, Week 1 (2)

Hermione POV

The leftover pasta that Harry prepared last night was stunning. He was always a brilliant cook but unfortunately it was because of his work for his relatives. They were nothing short of slave drivers and it still surprises me that Harry turned out how he did. In a way, I feel somewhat thankful for them because his cooking is amazing. That, however, doesn't mitigate the feeling of me wanting to hex them to hell.

Other than the food, the conversation with Harry after we finished eating was light and fun. It was...normal and I felt like we slipped back into our peaceful routine. The keyword there is 'felt' because now I'm not too sure we're in that routine again. I noticed a scar on his right inner forearm that looks suspiciously like a snake bite and I asked him about it to which he lied right to my face. Now, we were locked in a confrontation.

"That scar looks familiar to me, Harry, that's why I'm asking." He cocks his head with raised eyebrows at me and I wonder why he looks so surprised that I find the mark familiar. He seems like he knows something and I intend to find out what it is.

"Why...does it look familiar?" He asks me in a low voice. It is barely audible but I hear him and it sounds anxious, like he's expecting something dangerous to happen.

"I don't know, it just... does." I glance at the snake bite and my mind feels like I should know something about it. I try desperately to find out where it's from or where I saw it first but my mind draws a blank. It's not like I outright can't remember, it's that it feels like there's a gap or blanket over the memory of the bite. I know I know the scar, I just can't remember when he got it.

He remains completely silent with me and I swear I hear his heart pounding against his chest the same way I hear the blood rush through my veins. Instinctively, I step closer to him and take his larger forearm into my small hand. I can feel it tense up within my clutches and I see the veins popping out of it but the bite is what becomes glued to the front of my mind.

"Herm..." his voice is hoarse, like stepping on gravel, and I can tell something is seriously wrong. There's something he doesn't want me to find out about the bite.

"Where did you get it?" I ask him sharply. I expect him to realize that I'm in no mood for him to lie to me.

"Random death eater conjured a snake," he answers. Clearly he didn't get my unspoken message.

"Stop." I pull his arm to my chest and touch the scar. "Lying." My eyes are intense and I glare daggers at him. "To." I feel my magic rolling off my body in heavy waves.
"Me." I push him backwards with strength I didn't know I possessed.

He is silent afterwards and I can tell he's battling himself to tell me the truth. I barely stop myself from pressing on further and resolve to let him tell me. I know he'll come through and do the right thing. He always does.

"Okay, I'll tell you," he whispers to me. He takes a long pause afterwards and I can hear the soft sounds of his breathing while he works up the courage. "I...got it during the hunt."

My entire body goes on autopilot at the revelation and my world feels completely shattered. He was hiding things from me about the hunt after he and Ron promised that they helped me remember everything. My heart shatters at the betrayal and I see terrible tears in his eyes while my own stream down my face. If he kept this from me, then what other things did he keep?

"You lied," I tell him after an eternity passes between us. I can't stop myself from the searing flame of betrayal that soaks into my hurt and burns it to a crisp.

"I..." he tries to explain but nothing comes out and he ends up standing there with his mouth open.

"You didn't think it was important that I know about this particular detail? Tell me," I charge up to meet him face to face and push him back, "what else have you been hiding?"

"It's just...it happened on Christmas Eve, and I" he draws a deep gasp, "was healed the next morning. It was nothing of consequence and Ron was with us the whole night."

"Of no consequence?" My magic flares up again and the plates and glasses shatter behind us, sending a shard right into Harry's shoulder. My anger immediately dissipates.

He grits his teeth in pain and I know he's resisting the urge to scream. Wordlessly, immediately, I help him remove the shattered glass and peel off his shirt. I mutter a quick healing spell before he could and the wound closes up, leaving only blood in its place. He vanishes it immediately.

"I'm sorry," I apologize lowly as my anger at him returns. He brushes off the apology like nothing and looks at me a moment longer. He grabs my shoulders with both of his large, rough, hands.

"Listen, I told Ron not to tell you about it because I didn't want you to worry. It was such a meaningless detail especially since it did nothing to stop me—us—from winning," he earnestly declares to me with pleading eyes.

Against my better wishes, I relent at his eyes' assault. I still am curious if there was anything else he felt was 'of no consequence' and I'm still annoyed that he didn't share everything that happened during the hunt. I don't know if I can trust him again but I'm willing to try because I believe he had good reasons.

"I'm still hurt that you didn't think to share everything with me, Harry." His hands are still on my shoulders and he pulls me into a tight embrace. I realize he's shirtless again but it doesn't bother me because I can hear his heartbeat loud and clear and it comforts me. "Did anything else happen that you or Ron didn't tell me about?"

"No. It's just this and, to be honest, we should have told you," his hands come down to rub my back, "but it was honestly not a big deal to either of us. A lot of what happened during the hunt was either meaningless because we hid out in that tent or not worth remembering."

I know he's being honest, I really do. But a nagging part of me wants to believe that he's not being entirely truthful with me. I can't explain why this is settling over me.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I don't want you to think you can't trust me. Ron knows just as much as I do except he's done everything he can to repress those memories. Truth be told, I've tried to do the same so please don't blame us or feel like we're lying, 'Mione."

I give in to his demands immediately because there is something in his voice that stifles my heart. It sounds so pained and sorrowful that I can't help but feel guilty that I'm forcing him to relive the memories of the hunt. In some ways, I am thankful that I lost my memories of the hunt because it means I would never have to endure that trauma.

"Okay, Harry. I forgive you." He pushes me back gently and offers a toothy smile, a genuine smile that I'm not too certain I have seen in a while.

"Thank you, Hermione."