Suppression

The Unexpected Visitor

It was just after midnight when Harry finally repaired each individual part of his new bike. He was tired and magically exhausted but the work was done, and now he had to focus on finding a way to rebuild the thing from scratch. He debated against waiting until the morning or staying up through the night to comb through his textbooks for any clue as to how to go about reassembling anything with magic. Inwardly, he knew the answer was a no-brainer. He'd much prefer to avoid sleeping at all costs.

With his mind made up, Harry retrieved his textbooks from previous year and set about reading them from front to back in order to find anything about the nature of magic and the mending charm.

By the time he combed through all of the books, the sun had risen and he had grown beyond tired. As determined as he was to find anything on fixing his bike, he was quickly losing the battle against the need for sleep. Eventually, he acquiesced to his body's demands and stumbled over to his bed, barely collapsing atop it before his eyes closed and sent him to the land of nightmares.
———
Later that day, Dudley noticed his cousin hadn't yet woken up but didn't hear any of the telltale screams from the boy's room. He opted to let his cousin sleep and tried in vain to fix himself a breakfast like Harry would. He wasn't nearly as good in the kitchen as Harry and fixed himself a bowl of cereal.

With his breakfast finished, Dudley debated whether or not to check on Harry before giving in and padding up the stairs to his cousin's room.

Silently, Dudley cracked the bedroom door open and glanced at his cousin's sleeping frame. When Harry showed no signs of fitfulness or distress, the boy breathed a sigh of relief and left the room. He secretly hoped Harry would be awake in time for lunch but didn't count on it. He made the decision to use his mother's money to order takeaway and give Harry a much needed day off.

Dudley retrieved his mother's money and left the house to Harry as he ambled over to his mate's house for the day. He silently wondered if Harry would have any nightmares while he was gone but brushed the thought away since his cousin looked as peaceful as ever before he left. Even so, the nagging thought that the nightmares would start after he left kept replaying in his mind.

Hours passed by and Dudley found it impossible to not be worried about Harry even as he and his friends kicked about at the park. His mates noticed his distress but he brushed them off, willing himself to not worry that his cousin was probably screaming his lungs out and lying in a pool of blood.

Eventually, the worry got to be too much for him and he bade his friends goodbye and rushed his way home, silently begging that Harry wasn't caught in a nightmare. His cousin was the best guy he knew, he admitted, and he wanted to help in any way he could. After all, Harry cooked and cleaned and did everything while he did nothing and lazed about. He felt guilty at this but shoved it back, focusing on getting home as quickly as possible.
———
A little after midday, a very frazzled witch arrived at the doorstep of 4 Privet Drive. This witch wasn't just anybody, she was Hermione Granger, brightest witch of her age, and former best friend to Harry Potter. She was beyond angry at the lack of response from the boy and needed some closure or confirmation that he did not want to be her friend anymore. She hoped to herself that the latter was not the case but prepared herself for the worst.

Hermione mustered her courage and rapped on the door before waiting for the answer. When none came, the girl tried once more only to be met with the same response. Groaning out in frustration, Hermione peeked into the side windows to find the house completely empty. Harry wasn't home, it appeared. The girl settled herself on the doorstep and waited for him to return, too angry and determined to go home and wait for another day.

As she sat, she considered the boy that was formerly her best friend. While she believed he was acting immature because of her rejection of him last year, she understood that he was still just a teenage boy who got his heart crushed by a girl. She knew if she was in his position, she likely would have done the same thing. That, however, didn't change the fact that she missed him.