Chapter Text
“Can you believe this,'Mione? It's been 15 years, but still, they are getting all the credit for something they did with the help of others. But no one got any fucking credits. The Potters have to steal even after they're fucking dead!” Ron shouted, placing a weekly wizard magazine in front of him. Hermione, who sat beside him on the couch, pressed her lips into a thin line.
Harry stopped dead on track when he heard Ron badmouthing his parents. He didn't even believe his ears. His friend—his best friend—his first ever friend—is talking rubbish about his parents behind his back. And that too with one of his other best friends. He stood at the end of the steps in shock.
“Ron, you know that it's not their fault that everyone is giving them credit." Hermione spoke slowly. She doesn't want to fume her boyfriend any further.
“It is Hermione! It is their fucking fault! Yes, I agree; they defeated one of the most powerful wizards of all time. But they got help from everyone. My parents helped them find a horcrux. Dumbledore, Blacks, Lupins, Longbottoms—hell, even Snape helped them. But all the people and papers have been talking only about how the Potters defeated the Dark Lord. As if they did it on their own. It's frustrating, ‘Mione, that no one gets enough credit for what they did. Wherever I go, all I hear is, 'Potters this, Potters that. And look, there's Harry Potter, son of the Potters'. It's all getting on my nerves.” Ron rubbed his face with his palm.
Hermione sat quietly, rubbing his shoulders. That made Harry's blood boil. She didn't even try to defend his parents for him. Even though Ron is her boyfriend, she's his friend too. He's already hurting from Ron's words. And Hermione's silence made it worse. As if she's silently agreeing to whatever her boyfriend is saying. He gripped the railings tightly to control his anger.
“Your parents are Muggles. So, you don't know how it feels." Hermione opened her mouth to protest, and Ron cut her off by shaking his head and continuing, “I know they would have helped them if they're wizards. And I'm certain they won't even get any credit for that,” Ron said, closing his eyes and leaning back against the couch.
Harry waited for Hermione to say something—say anything—to defend his parents. To say they're not credit stealer. To say they would hate all the praise if they're here. Alive. He looked at her, hopefully. He hoped at least one of his friends was on his side. He hoped at least one of his friends was not jealous of him. But Hermione's words made it worse.
“I think so,” Hermione mumbled in a small voice. Harry looked at her, horrified. No words can express how hurt he felt at that moment. He felt lonely, even though he's standing in The Burrow, where there are people constantly surrounding him. He felt no one was there for him. He felt utterly, truly, lonely at that moment. A tear started to fill his eyes. He rubbed his eyes to stop it from falling, and he walked out of the burrow quickly.
“Harry?” Hermione's eyes widened when she saw Harry storming out of the room. Harry stopped for a second near the doorway when he heard Hermione's voice. He doesn't want to pretend he didn't hear anything. Ron looked up, slightly shocked too. “Did you hear anything?” Hermione's voice was so small, as if she were afraid of Harry hearing what they talked about. Harry turned to look at their shocked expression and gave them a sarcastic smile.
“Just enough to know how much you guys hate my parents." Harry maintained eye contact with Ron when he said that, and saw Ron's eyes widen a little. He turned back and stormed off after that.
“Harry! Harry! Wait!” Harry heard Ron's voice. He ignored him and started to walk faster. Ron caught up with him and caught his wrist to stop him. Harry struggled to set him free from Ron's grip. But he's stronger than Harry. And Harry is weaker than usual with what happened last month. He gave up and looked dead in Ron's eyes.
“What? Do you want to defend yourself? Do you want to say you didn't mean what you said?” Harry asked in a fuming rage. Ron took his hands to himself, shaking his head.
“No, what I said is true. So I'm not taking it back,” he replied nonchalantly. Harry was flabbergasted. His stomach started to churn. He didn't expect Ron to accept it in front of him without any remorse.
“What?” The shock was evident in Harry's face.
“What? That's the truth. Your parents stole every credit for themselves. Defeater of the Dark Lord? The Potters! Destroyer of the Horcrux? The Potters! War heroes? The Potters! As if we don't exist! If the Weasleys and all others didn't help them, there would be no Potters, defeaters of the dark lord, to begin with. Of course I blame them!” Ron shouted in anger. Harry opened and closed his mouth due to pure shock. It's starting to get worse. He can feel it. He doesn't want to lose his friend over a fight. At the same time, he won't sit and watch someone badmouth his parents. They don't deserve it. They didn't die saving the wizarding world, only to hear this.
“They didn't ask for it! It's not their fault. You don't have to blame them for something they don't even do. In fact, they would despise it if they were here." Harry's face starts to turn red with anger. He fisted his hand on his sides, controlling the urge to break his friend's nose.
“Exactly! They're dead, Harry! They're no more. Still, everyone is praising them. It's been 15 fucking years. My parents are alive. No one gives them a second glance when we walk in the diagon alley. On the other hand, you're getting all the fucking attention. When I walk with you, I feel like I won't even exist with the attention you're getting. Not only your parents are war heroes, mine too. But they don't get anything. I don't get anything. It's like we're not credited enough for our contribution. We deserve more. We deserve more fucking recognition!” Ron shouted.
Harry felt lost for words. He felt a pang in his chest. His throat dried up when he heard how his friend felt about him. Yes, they deserve more credit. Yes, they deserve it. But his friend's blaming it on his parents made him hurt. It's not their fault. They didn't ask for any of it to happen. They didn't want the war. They didn't want to die in it. And they didn't want all the credit. His heart dropped at how much his friend hates his parents and still pretends to be his friend.
“You're jealous!” Harry said. He doesn't want to point it out. But he can't control his emotions right now. Everything is too overwhelming for him now. So, he doesn't think twice before pointing out Ron's insecurity.
“If stating the facts means being jealous, then I'm jealous. And I never thought I would say this, but I'm saying it now. I regret seeing you on the train. I regret being friends with you. You should be friends with Malfoy. You're just like him. Snobbish, cruel, and a git,” Ron poked Harry's chest hard with every word. Harry's heart pained more with every word than the pain caused by Ron's poking.
“I regret it, too. I should've never met you,” Harry spat, taking a step back. He saw Hermione standing at the door, watching their conversation, when he turned to walk. She was biting her lips hesitatingly. He was more angry with her. She didn't even defend him. He shot her a glare, shaking his head, and started to walk out.
Harry walked through the fields around the burrow. He sat on the ground when his legs gave up. He hugged his knees tightly, burying his head in his legs. His tears started to flow out. He left the burrow in the evening. And now, the sun had already set, and it was pitch black around him. Harry doesn't feel like going back. He doesn't feel at home anymore at the burrow.
All the words Ron had said started to sink slowly into his mind. He doesn't know Ron felt like that around him. It's not Harry's fault. It's not his parents fault. And with how low Ron talked about him, his thoughts about him made his heart shatter into more pieces. The pieces that once Ron guled them together and healed them for him were again shattered by the same person.
After his parents deaths, Sirius was wrongly accused of being the Dark Lord's helper. They sent him to the Azkaban. Harry was sent to his aunt's house, where he was continuously abused, both physically and mentally, starved, hated, and bullied. They always made him feel like he didn't matter. They never loved him. They never cared for him. They made Harry feel like death was better than living with them. They made 7-year-old Harry come to the conclusion that no one would ever love him. They treated garbage better than they treated him. Hell, would be an understatement if Harry compared his life he lived there.
Until, one day, Hagrid came to his rescue. He saved him from the devils and brought him to the wizarding world, where he's devoted. That's because of what his parents did to save it. Sirius was proved innocent when Harry went to Hogwarts for his first year. Soon after, Sirius took Harry into his care. Harry felt loved when he was with Sirius. He made sure Harry felt comfortable. He did everything for this boy.
Even fate hated how he treated Harry, it seems. Fate doesn't want Harry to be happier. It wants him to suffer. It wants him to remember how he's unworthy of love. It wants him to remember what's his place. So it decided to take only the thing Harry cherished, cared, and loved. It took Sirius away from him.
Sirius died during Harry's fifth-year summer break. If he said it was the most devastating day of his life, that would be an understatement. Harry lost the only parental figure he ever had in his life. He was with Sirius for only four summer breaks. And he lost him in his fifth. Harry has never felt so lost like this before in his life. It would've been easy if only Hagrid didn't rescue him, show him a world that was unthinkable for him, and get a person only to lose them in the end. If only he'd stayed at Dursley's, he wouldn't have gone through this heartbreak. Maybe they would abuse him, but that would be better than this. His physical pain never hurt him as much as his heartbreak.
Harry started to think maybe what Dursley's said was true. He doesn't deserve to be loved by anyone. He doesn't deserve to live. He's just a waste of space and air. Ron's words now make it even worse.
Molly persuaded Harry to stay with them after Sirius' death last month. Harry didn't want to impose himself on them. So he kept on refusing her offer. Until last week. She visited Grimmauld Place and dragged him to the burrow. He has been staying since last week. Now, with how Ron spoke, he felt foreign here.
If he thinks from Ron's place, he can see where he's coming from. His parents shadowed Ron's parents’ limelight. He knows for a fact that they don't even know that because they're dead. He knew if they were here, they would hate all the praise. It's not their fault. But Ron's head is filled with too much jealousy and rage. He can't even realise what he's saying. But that doesn't hurt Harry any less. After all, he was in the process of mourning his Godfather. And Ron's words added more pain. His other best friend doesn't even try to defend him, which makes it even worse. He felt he spent all these years being their friend only to end up as a person who's no more than a stranger to them.
It all started to overwhelm him. His head started to hurt. His glasses, which were between his head and knee, started to give him physical pain. An unexpected sob left his mouth. His face was drenched with tears. He took out his glass and wiped his face with his sleeve. He stood up and made up his mind. He doesn't want to stay here anymore. He doesn't want to be with a friend who thinks so lowly of him.
He started to walk towards the burrow. He saw Hermione and Ron still sitting on the couch. Hermione looked up at him with concern on her face. Ron only had a scowl on his face when Harry walked inside. They didn't say a word to him. He didn't even acknowledge either of them and started to walk inside. He went to Ron's room, which he was sharing. And gather his things. He grabbed Hedwig and walked out.
Neither Ron nor Hermione said a thing when they spotted him walk out with his things. That's it. It's the end. It's the end of their friendship. That thought made him want to scream. To let out a sob. But he doesn't want to break down in front of someone who doesn't even care about him. So he suppressed his sobs and walked out. He doesn't even want to use their floo network. So he walked out. As far as his legs take him. As far as he can be from them. Alas, he can't be that far from Ron, as his summer breaks are over today and he has to be there for his sixth year in Hogwarts tomorrow. Ron would always be near him, even if Harry didn't want him to be near him.