For the last few days Harry had been quarantined like a leper in the Hospital Wing of the school. During that time, no one had ever bothered explaining to him where he'd be spending his summer. At first he'd fantasized that he would be sent to stay with his Godfather Sirius. Too bad the man was still the number one fugitive in the entire country and hiding out Gods only know where. No, it seemed that Harry's presence wasn't welcome anywhere at the moment, so he had no idea what Dumbledore was intending to do with him. For obvious reasons the situation was less than ideal and Harry resented the fact that he was being kept in the dark... again.
There was a bright side however. For the entire length of time that he'd been kept in the Hospital Wing, Harry'd been meditating and building the foundations of what would become an extremely well-Occluded mind. After reading no less than five books on the subject, Harry'd decided that if he had to sit around then he might as well be constructive with his time. At the moment he was a captive audience, so he was thankful that the Occlumency books were as interesting as they were. There was also the fact that Harry in particular would get a lot out of this particular branch of magic.
In the past, whenever Hermione accused Harry of being both mercurial and broody he'd never been able to defend himself... He couldn't. He didn't have a single leg to stand on... His poor emotional control paired with a shite childhood wasn't doing him any favors in that regard, and as a result he'd never been what anyone would call the life of the party. Now that he'd read all of these Occlumency textbooks, Harry knew that there was actually something he could do about his lack of emotional maturity, and the prospect had him excited.
Hell, just a few days earlier, Harry saw for himself the benefits of attaining powerful Occlumency through Dumbledore… His Headmaster had used Occlumency to reign in a peak of anger so intense he'd never seen anything quite like it.
Wait... Seen?
Harry had a definite feeling of having SEEN Dumbledore's anger, and not just through the man's rather obvious facial features. Harry began to think that his magic was going to provide him a lot of information, if he could ever get control of it. There was also a more obvious and immediate reason why Harry needed better control of his emotions. He was currently broadcasting them out into the world through his magic, and affecting the people around him in negative ways… and he refused to allow this to continue…
Harry would not, could not allow his moodiness to infect the people around him like a black cloud all the damned time. With that thought in mind, Harry curled his feet under himself again and began the breathing practices recommended in all of the Occlumency books. He found himself centered with relative ease, after many, many failed attempts, and he began attempting to seek out his magical core...
"Harry?"
Cracking open his eyes, Harry saw that Hermione had come to visit him again. She was in on the secret regarding his magic, and didn't seem to be overly bothered by the intimate environment his magic created. Harry had always known that Hermione was down for a hug, so he went out of his way to make sure that's what his shroud felt like for her. As his friend sat down in the chair next to his bed, Harry projected what it felt like to receive a Hermione hug (legendary). While generating the emotion in his shroud, Harry was momentarily lost in the memory involved and a small wry grin spread upon his face.
Hermione arched an eyebrow at Harry's grin. "I don't think I like the thought that just went through your head, Mr Potter."
Grinning at his best friend, Harry had to concede that Hermione could see right through him like no one else he knew. "I just remembered that you were the very first person to ever hug me, and then I realized just how ironic this whole situation is… For the most part, I still find myself shying away from casual affection, and yet I'm invading absolutely everyone's personal space, to throw around big, unwelcome hugs."
In the end, Harry's joke was completely ignored in the face of something far more important. Hermione hadn't known until just that moment that she was the very first person to EVER hug Harry. She didn't actually intend to react so strongly to this new information, but the question spluttered out of her mouth unbidden. "Ever, Harry? your relatives never… in eleven years?"
After shrugging dismissively, Harry eased back against the bed's headboard and nodded a little more seriously. Truly, he couldn't even imagine any of the Dursleys trying to hug him, and the very idea of it gave him a case of the shivers.
At Harry's confirmation, Hermione collapsed into the chair next to his bed, completely blown away. She briefly thought about hugging her friend right then and there, but Harry was finally revealing some of his life to her, and she didn't want to scare him off. Without moving a muscle, she drew in a very deep, calming breath, counted to five, and then smiled at her friend as if his life wasn't completely heartbreaking. "I'm impressed you told me all that Harry. Is the Occlumency training helping you?"
"Well, no. I don't think there's a convenient magical solution that has me spilling my guts," Harry replied, while gazing up at the ceiling. But then he propped himself up using half a dozen stolen pillows and grinned aside at his most studious friend. "The truth is, I've been meditating like twelve hours a day for the last three days. I'm feeling pretty damn centered at the moment."
Both Harry and Hermione grinned at that because yeah, that would definitely do it.
"I do feel like I'll be good at this Occlumency stuff pretty soon though," Harry offered in an offhand manner. "Just before you entered the room, I was aiming to encounter my magical core. I think I felt it nearby." Shrugging his shoulders, Harry waved his hands noncommittally. "I guess when it comes to magic, I can say something vague like 'I felt it' and it might actually mean something huh."
"Not in Arithmancy though," Hermione countered, in an amused tone of voice.
"Hermione, back to what we were talking about before," Harry ventured. "I was thinking…"
"Go ahead," Hermione said, still acting nonchalant. She pulled out a book and settled it on her lap.
"Well I think I might adopt you as family, Hermione..." Harry wasn't looking over at Hermione right now because despite his casual tone he was feeling a little bit embarrassed. "My family sucks, so I'm going to steal you from yours."
"Okay then, I'm your sister. I demand full disclosure."
Harry arched an eyebrow in question.