Chapter Four 
Best friends or nothing

Hermione had arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place a fews days prior her bouncing curls fluttering behind as she fluttered in ready to lecture Bronwyn about her lack of school work over the summer. Only for the older girl to be surprised to see that Bronwyn had actually completed her work and was willingly opening a book up for the first time probably ever. 

Bronwyn had been a little bit preemptive in regards to Hermione coming to visit, the two girls had been in a bit of a rocky friendship for a while up to this point. The pair weren't much alike when they first met and if she was being honest she couldn't really tell at what point the two even became kind of friends. Heck Bronwyn had made the other girl cry multiple times during their friendship just because she could. Yet Hermione still stuck around, she still saw something redeemable in the younger girl. And Bronwyn pondered whether it was a good thing or some sort of hero complex in the way that Hermione thought she could fix Bronwyn. Whatever it was, she was thankful to have the muggle born witch keeping her company. Hermione, it turned out, was much easier to be around than her other family members. She gave Bronwyn the space she needed to work out her own emotions and desires but also pushed her to do just small things. She had given the younger girl the upmost support upon hearing of her difficulties. Having explained that it was something she had known her cousin to have gone through at a similar time, that it was okay for her mental health to not be perfect. But that there was something Bronwyn could do about it, if she felt as though she needed it. And perhaps Bronwyn came to realise as the two bonded over different things they had barely talked about before, maybe she had found a better friend in Hermione than she thought she originally had. Without Harry, who in reality was the main glue to their group, he was the reason the two girls were around it was unusual and Bronwyn did wonder how they would do with a whole week of just the two of them.  It would turn out really well. 

But that would be over soon, because today was the day that they went to collect Harry. Today was the day Harry Potter was being escorted by the team of wizards, which frequented the dining room downstairs, from Surrey over to London. And Bronwyn wasn't sure she was ready for her best friend to be there. Harry and Bronwyn had barely repaired their friendship before heading home from the summer at the end of their fourth year. The Triwizard Tournament having torn them apart in more ways than one, and it had been hard to repair it before breaking up from school. Communication over the summer had been difficult, letters had been checked by her parents so no information was being leaked. And even when Bronwyn was in the mood to send letters to her friend, she had struggled getting the words down onto paper. And often it lead to Harrys many letters going unanswered or poorly answered to the point where she should just not have responded. And she knew this would not settle well with the boy who lived. Not in the slightest. 

Bronwyn felt for Harry, truly she did, she knew his home life over the summer was anything but nice. It was abusive at best. And she felt like there were so many options of where else he could be moved to ensure he had a better environment. But she also knew it was not something she could personally fix. But she knew her best friend, he almost expected her to do so. He had hinted time and time again that he should just come and live with her family over the holidays and not return to his muggle aunt and uncle. Yet Bronwyn, she could not bring herself to agree to it, she could not bring herself to pass this desire over to her parents. Knowing her mother would agree instantly, taking a much better liking to Harry to her some days, Bronwyn couldn't do it. She felt as thought she had to fight for her parents attention enough as it was yet alone with having the only person in existence who was known to survive the killing curse. She lived enough in his shadow at school, she couldn't do it at her home either. Call her selfish, because she knew that was what she was, but she couldn't bring herself to do any thing else. Selfish little Bronwyn. 

The front door would resound with a bang as it was forced open, the sound of multiple voices entering the hall. As it became clear that the team had returned and with them the boy of the hour. The boy of the last decade. The boy who upon looking at his two female best friends stood on the stairs looked as though he would rather be anywhere else but around them. Bronwyn resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him, knowing he had a right to be upset and angry at them both he after all had no clue how long they had been together, nor what was going on. And as he pushed up and away from the girls Bronwyn had very little desire to follow after him, she really didn't see a point to it the pair would just argue anyways. But Hermione dragged her on and she knew that she had to follow. Hermione was quick to throw herself at Harry launching the youngest member of their friendship group into a hug.

"Oh Harry! We've missed you. Are you angry with us? I bet you are."

"Hermione let him breathe." Bronwyn spoke not allowing Harry to answer the oldest friends question she reluctantly went to hug the boy. Physical contact was a difficult thing for Bronwyn at the moment, she really did not like the idea of physical contact. But she knew that not bringing the boy into a hug, a thing she had been doing since they were 11, that would just bring up more suspicion. And that was the last thing they needed right now. 

"Come inside here." Hermione dragged Harry into the room the three teenaged girls had been sharing for the last week, not really allowing either of her two friends to answer but it wasn't that important in the moment. Bronwyn took a seat upon her own bed, instantly reaching out towards the Navy blanket she had placed upon there when making it that morning. She watched on as the two others took seats elsewhere on the other beds, Harry sitting upon Ginny's bed something the two girls would be hearing so much about that night. 

"Sorry our letters have been a bit naff Harry. We were told not to write to you if we could, but if we were that they would be intercepted and therefore had to keep everything completely under the rug." Hermione tried to explain for the both of them, something Bronwyn was happy for. She wasn't sure where she was going to start explaining herself in order to avoid argument. She would allow Hermione to take the front seat for as long as needed to ensure it would avoid arguments breaking out. 

"Yeah Dumbledores orders mate. He wasn't happy when I first responded and then changed the order slightly." Bronwyn added on, hoping that Harry wouldn't question any of the thing the pair were saying, she didn't want him to know she had been struggling over the summer. Hermione she knew she could trust with it, yet something about her first friend didn't give her that same feeling. However they were met by an awkward silence. Bronwyn wanted to kick herself knowing that in reality there was no way that Harry was going to fall for those excuses. No chance. 

"Right." His voice was clearly sarcastic, clearly unbothered and as he tried to hold eye contact with either of his supposed best friends he easily struggled to do so. Bronwyn's head remained downcast focused upon her blanket, Hermione was looking at him but not in a manner to make any real eye contact with her. And he pondered just how this had happened. He had noticed his two friends seemed different to the people he left behind at the beginning of the summer. He just wasn't sure as to what extent. 

"I don't know what else to say about it. Dumbledore has been directing everything that goes on here from wherever he lives outside of Hogwarts. He told us you had to return this summer to Surrey." Bronwyn responded knowing that she would be more blunt but it was probably for the best. Harry wanted to get out his frustration and Bronwyn was going to let him. If he wanted to get angry at her it didn't matter, he had spent most of their fourth year angry at her. What was a couple more months or years in retrospect. 

"Yeah sure, just for me to be attacked by Dementors. He thought it would be safer huh? Yeah real safe." Harry spat out and it was clear his anger was turning to be directed at his friends rather than at the source. But Bronwyn couldn't find it in herself to overly care. It should have made her sad, it was clearly making Hermione sad yet Bronwyn felt numb. 

"He was angry when he found out." Hermione tried to get the tense attitude in the atmosphere to reduce, just a little bit, though it was having very little effect.

"Yeah, so why was he keeping me in the dark?" Harry remained angry and Bronwyn didn't have an answer for that one, and she was sure Hermione didn't either. The room fell into silence as Harry waited upon an answer looking at the pair of them with disbelief at their silence. "You guys never asked?"

"He's barely been here really Harry, and he has had more important things to deal with than an audience with me." Bronwyn replied but she knew her words were not enough. Harry didn't really want an actual answer he didn't want something plausible to counteract his words nor feelings. He wanted to vent out his anger and it didn't exactly matter who it was directed towards. 

"So I get to spend the summer with the Dursleys whilst you two are here?"

"Hermione has only been here a couple days Harry. Things aren't all that sunny around here either. It's not the same as back in Surrey but there's very little we could tell you otherwise here." Bronwyn tried to fight her own case but knew it was a losing battle. 

"You've still been here!" Harry exclaimed his anger not dimming, the silence continuing to hang over the room each time there was a pause in conversation. "What's been going on then?"

"I've stated there's little we could tell you and I mean it. We're not privy to the meetings Harry. There's a little bit of information we know but that's all. You might have more luck than any of us do if you asked."

"Some of the Order are following known Death Eaters like Lucius Malfoy." Hermione started waiting a moment to see how Harry responded to that information. "They're also guarding something." She continued.

"What's this Order everyone keeps talking about?" Harry questioned and Bronwyn almost wished that he had been there from the beginning. Her social battery was completely drained from this short interaction and she was desperate to head over towards her library for a little bit of peace and calm. 

"The Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore started it last time to fight you-know-who. He only reorganised it after last term." Hermione explained and Bronwyn was happy she did so, in truth she had been incredibly uninterested in what was going on downstairs and the twice weekly meetings. Therefore, having paid little interest in what was going on, she couldn't really tell the boy anything which would answer his questions not at this moment that is. And she was sure it was not going to change. 

"You can come down now, the meetings over." The voice of Bronwyn's mother stopped any further discussion coming from the teens sat in the bedroom and Bronwyn was happy to hear it. She waited for the other two to stand first and make it to the door before very slowly getting up from her own bed. She lingered behind them further to the point where they had both stopped noticing the lack of the third member to their trio. 

"Bronwyn are you not coming?" Hermione gently prodded knowing that Bronwyn's appetite had been a struggle recently. To the point where it was starting to concern her family, but it looked as though that wasn't going to change anytime soon. 

"I'm not really feeling it right now. Can you tell mum I'm sorry." Bronwyn responded before making a move to sit back down upon her bed, one hand reaching for the blanket and the other to the book upon her bedside table. 

"Of course, I'll come find you later yeah?" Hermione looked worried but at the nod she got in response she reluctantly left the room, dragging Harry along wit her. 

"What's got into Ron recently?" Harry's voice carried through the door and Bronwyn felt herself shudder a little at the nickname he used for her. Harry had used it since they were eleven and he had heard Fred and George call her that, laughing along with the older boys at the idea that Bronwyn wasn't really a girly girl. And despite her older brothers having dropped the nickname almost completely over the years, Harry had not.