Harry Potter and the Desideratum Crusade [Harmione]

41. Finding a Locket

The silence in the room was broken only by the occasional sniff from Hermione.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"She took several spells in the fight. They think that the last one was too much for her. Neville's being patched up, he's taking it pretty hard, poor blighter. His great aunt and uncle are coming to look after him." Mr. Weasley said.

Mr. Weasley glanced behind him and then back towards the solemn teens.

"I need to go. Molly's arrived and she wants to go see Neville."

After he was gone, Harry untangled himself from Hermione's sobbing embrace and leaned against the fireplace, staring into the grate, but not really seeing. He had told Neville that she would be okay, comforted him, but it had been a lie. It was because of him that Neville had lost his grandmother. He slammed his fist against the fireplace, ignoring the pain as the rough rock dug into his hand. He hit it again as he thought about how he was going to face Neville, and again as he realized that Voldemort wasn't going to quit until he attacked and killed everyone he knew.

"Harry!" Hermione cried as she grabbed his arm. He turned to look at her, and she could see the anger and pain in his eyes.

"It's my fault," he said as he pulled away and sat at the table.

He pounded the table with his fists, wincing in pain as the cuts on his hand made contact with the hard surface. He stared at the patterns his blood made on the table.

"If Voldemort hadn't got that information from me—"

"He would have found it elsewhere," Hermione finished. "You can't blame yourself for this."

She sat down beside him and gently took his hand in hers, turning it over and gently cleaning the cut with the cloth Luna handed her.

"He's evil, Harry, with no remorse for his actions. You didn't create that, he did. We're just trying to stop it."

Harry didn't say anything more; he just nodded. The room was silent as the three friends watched him try to deal with the added grief.

"I'm going to take a shower. Will you be okay?" Hermione asked quietly after a moment.

Harry nodded again, just wanting to get away and be alone for a bit.

"I think I'll go up to the library, find something to read," he said as he suddenly stood up.

"We'll come with you, mate," Ron said.

Harry turned and forced a smile. "I'll be okay, I just want to think a bit," he said as he left.

He entered the library and aimlessly scanned the books on the shelf. He pulled a few down and took them to the chair in front of the fire. He sat and stared at the flickering flames, willing himself to feel nothing. Hermione found him there when she came down.

"Harry, you can't blame yourself for this," she said.

"I promised him," Harry said.

"Promised him what?" Hermione asked.

"I promised him that she'd be okay," he said.

"Harry, you couldn't have known," Hermione said as she hugged him.

Harry didn't return her hug, even though it felt good to be comforted. He felt like he should be punished for lying to Neville. They sat together, quiet, each trying to figure out what they should do next. Hermione leaned her head on Harry's shoulder, trying to get him to open up to her. She was worried that he was going to pull back from her again.