Suppression

Need

"You can take the bed, I'll take the chair," Harry whispered as the nervousness of sharing a bed with Hermione rose furiously in him. They were in a relationship and had corresponded through letters for the past two weeks, but this was a step above from where they were. He wasn't quite sure she'd be ready for that and didn't want to pressure her.

"No, we both can fit easily." Hermione's tone brooked no room for argument. "I'll take the first shower," she added before leaving Harry to his own thoughts.

Any nervousness he had about sharing a bed with her was thrown away by her declaration. If she wasn't nervous about it, then he had no reason to be. He was about to settle into the chair when a stifled sob caught his ear. He was out of his chair in a flash before bursting through the door to find Hermione huddled up and sobbing. His heart ached for her and, before she could protest, he approached her and lifted her into his arms bridal style. Her arms automatically wound their way around his neck and she buried her face in his chest.

"I'm sorr..." she was interrupted by a firm look from Harry.

"You don't apologize, you don't ever have to apologize." He carried her and sat down on the bed with her still in his arms. She shifted her position so her legs were on either side of his waist and hid her face in his neck.

"Hermione, you don't have to do this, but I'll listen if you want to talk about it." He didn't know what else he could say to her. Maybe there was nothing he could do except listen as she hopefully told him what happened.

"My mum was outside in her garden when it happened," Hermione started before sucking in a deep breath. "My father was in the kitchen and I was upstairs. Then the door blew open and they just came in. I ran downstairs and I—I found them holding my mum and dad under the cruciatus." Her sobs returned in full force as Harry rubbed her back soothingly and pressed his kisses to the side of her head. "They just laughed, Harry. JUST LAUGHED WHILE MY PARENTS WERE SCREAMING. I tried to stun them and I got one of them before they disarmed me and held me under the cruciatus as well."

Despite the boiling rage in his heart, Harry forced himself to remain calm for Hermione. It was a good sign that she was talking about the incident and he didn't want to scare her anymore than she already was. He pulled her tighter against him and wordlessly urged her to continue on.

"It must have been a couple of seconds but it felt like hours," Hermione shivered, "I've never felt pain like that before. When my mum and dad pleaded for them to stop, they just turned and killed them. Just like that." She clutched her arms around his neck tighter, almost choking him. Her breaths were coming out ragged against his neck and he knew she was reliving the moment over in her head. "I felt so...cold. It was like everything slowed down and I could hear and FEEL everything. I don't know how I stood up but I disarmed them wandlessly before they scattered around the house. Harry, I—I hunted every last one of them down and killed them. I've never felt so angry before, it was like I was possessed."

Her reaction was eerily similar to his, Harry knew. He felt exactly the same when Vernon and Dudley were executed right in front of him. The bitter cold that filled him turned into rage and it led him to kill Macnair and his friends. A younger, less mature, him would have felt regret at his actions but they had murdered his family. He was no longer that same boy. They deserved what they got. Just like the people who murdered Hermione's parents.

Gently, Harry pried Hermione's arms from around his neck and pushed her back to stare into her deep chocolate eyes. His breath caught at the amount of pain and sorrow hidden beneath them but he recovered easily. "Hermione, look at me, you did nothing wrong. They deserved to die, all of them. I'm just glad you're safe." He kissed her forehead and let her snuggle back into him.