First of all, I am so sorry that this is once again a little late but I had a family emergency and haven't been home since Sunday. I started writing the minute I got back to get this up in time though. Since I'm back at school next week, I'm not sure how regular I will be able to update but I will still try for every week. I will not be abandoning this anyway, so even if it takes a while, it will keep being updated.
This is Part 2 of the last chapter, with Nate's POV and ending with Ron's. Since I had a lot of requests, I decided that I would have Ron discover a little bit about Nate's dream so I hope you the ending. Not much R/Hr interaction but it is heavily implied in this chapter. I promise to have more Romione in the next few though.
Pandassss: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it and thanks for reviewing. There's a little more Romione in this, at the end, but I promise more is coming up in the next few chapters.
atomika07: Thank you, it's amazing that this is your favourite R/Hr fic. Honestly, I was so delighted at seeing that so thank you so much for your review. Hopefully the end of this satisfies you with Nate thing.
Jo: Thanks so much, your reviews are always so nice and really encouraging. Hopefully you like this one.
Chavi: Aw thanks, I'm so happy that you think that's how they would react especially that you see why Hermione did what she did. Tried to put a little bit of jealousy in here, but it's not much sorry it just didn't fit, but more to come, hopefully. I really hope you like this and thanks for the amazing review and always, I think you get a screaming match in this anyway haha.
Betterflyflyaway: Thank you! That means so much! And he is, a little. This chapter helps too.
BesideMoonlight: Haha thank you for the review, hopefully you are enjoying the story.
Guest: Sorry that you didn't like it. Hopeful you enjoy the rest of the story more.
PF2724: Thank you so much, that review was lovely and it really made me smile. I'm so happy you like it. Since I got a lot of requests like yours I did allow Ron to have inkling in this chapter.
Daire: Aww thanks so much:) Glad you liked it and hopefully I can get it over soon too haha. You don't even want to know what my autocorrect brings up for your name :p
Chapter 20
Nate frowned a little as he noticed Harry Potter and Ron Weasley sitting at his desk when he arrived at work. They had their backs to him and so hadn't noticed his arrival. He wondered if this was going to be a regular occurrence and he hoped not. He was all for Hermione reconciling with them but, honestly, they didn't need to be in his space.
Hermione was in front of the room and pacing the length. She noticed him right away. He pointed to the pair at his desk, raising his eye brows to show his displeasure. His partner merely rolled her eyes at him and gestured for him to sit at her desk.
"Am I the first here?"
"Obviously." Ron muttered to him.
Hermione ignored him, "Yes, and I specifically told you all to be here five minutes ago."
Nate choose to remain silent rather than tell her that the team usually added on half an hour to the time that Hermione gave them for meetings. She liked to be prepared and often done that by telling them to be there early. Nate only turned up on time because she had made him feel guilty about it the last time.
"So, what's going on?" He asked eventually.
He saw Hermione exchange a look with the other two and bite down his irritation. He really hated to be ignored like this.
"I'm going to tell you all together." Hermione said finally.
"Hermione, it's me." He coaxed, "Come on, I won't tell them."
Ron shot him an annoyed look. What was this guy's problem?
"No, no, it's best to wait until everyone is here." Hermione said firmly, "I only want to explain this once."
Nate sat up a little straighter, her hesitant tone alerting him to the fact that maybe something serious had happened.
"Have you found something important?"
Hermione opened her mouth, probably on the brink of telling him, but the sound of footsteps rushing toward them drew her attention.
Nate turned and saw it was Beth. He inwardly groaned, he hadn't really been around her since their fight last week. He had wanted there to be a little more people around when he did see her. He was also sure that she would be able to tell that he told Hermione everything and she would kill him for that.
"Hi." She said suspiciously, looking towards Ron and Harry and ignoring Nate altogether.
"Beth," Hermione said, relieved, "Good. Do you know where everyone else is?"
Her question proved redundant when they heard they doors swish open once again, with the four absentees arriving simultaneously.
Hermione watched as they all took seats. He could tell that she was pissed. He only hoped to be able to avoid her anger for being on time.
They pulled up chairs in the space between Nate's desk and Hermione's. Beth sat next to Harry, obviously as far away from him as she could, while Jonathan and Ally sat next to him with Jake and Martin completing the row in between each side. It looked a little like a class facing a teacher, the whiteboard behind Hermione doing nothing to dissipate that illusion.
"You're here early." Jake sniped to him.
"On time." Nate corrected snottily.
Jake muttered something about "arse-licking" but Nate ignored him. Jake was always grouchy so early in the morning.
"So what's this about, Hermione?" Martin asked seriously, "You said there's been a development?"
"Yes but firstly," Hermione said waiting until she had everyone's attention, "8am means 8am. Make sure you're on time. One person out of six is not good enough. Sometimes I think you all forget that this is your job. I'm going to have to start recording when you are late."
Nate raised his eyebrows a little, Hermione was definitely on edge this morning and he had an idea about what it may have been. He was sure the presence of her ex-fiancé was making her nervous. Well, he really hoped that was all it was anyway.
His peers nodded, somewhat sheepishly. He knew they were regretting pissing her off now.
"So what happened?" Beth said interrupting Hermione's disappointed silence.
Hermione's face softened slightly as she ran a hand through her short hair.
"I-we think that we have figured it out." She said quietly. "We know who is doing this."
Her words shocked the room to the core, Ally and Jonathan even stopped snuggling into each other, thankfully, at her announcement. Nate shared a shocked look with Beth, forgetting their issues, while Jake and Martin kept their eyes fixed on Hermione.
Nate could barely register her words. For a moment, he panicked did he really want to know? He had this awful feeling in the pit of his stomach that he wouldn't like what she was about to say. But it could only be good, right? They would finally know. It would be something, actually something, to work from. So why was everyone so quiet?
"How?" Martin asked her immediately.
Ron cleared his throat and Nate almost jumped, he had forgotten their presence in the room.
"We were investigating an auror case and…came across the person." He looked at Hermione, "They just seemed to…fit."
"Who is it then?" Jake demanded immediately.
"Yeah, this is great." Jonathan nodded enthusiastically, "Now that we know…well, we could actually catch them."
Hermione nodded at their words but Nate could see her reluctance. His feeling of forbidding returned, they must know this person, right? It must be shocking.
"Well, don't keep us in suspense any longer." He joked half-heartedly.
Hermione met his eyes and he sent her a reassuring smile – encouraging her to get it over with.
"Sam Crossan." She almost whispered. "Or, as he prefers to go by…Ryan. Ryan Smith."
The silence was deafening. No one moved, no one even breathed. It took a few seconds for Nate to register her words. Surely not. No. No way. Ryan was one of them; he had been there and fought with them. He shared a bedroom with them and cooked meals for the team. He went on missions with Nate and Nate showed him photos of his family…no. It wasn't possible.
He hadn't noticed that his hands started to shake. What was Hermione doing? What was she saying? He looked up at her again and saw she was looking at her two boys. She was hiding it well but underneath he confident pose he could see her fear. Fear. The look on her face cast his mind back to his dream the night before and her pain. But Ryan had been there too, he was so desperate to find Kelly and Hermione. Was he supposed to think that man was a murderer? Their enemy. No, he was one of them.
"What are you talking about?" Ally said the first one to speak.
Nate looked at his friends and saw that they were all struggling with the same emotions as him. They were too shocked to speak although Jake looked like he was about to explode at any second.
He saw Hermione send a pleading look to Weasley before he stood and placed himself at her side. He cleared his throat,
"A woman was murdered in her home five years ago." He said, getting straight to the point. "They only found the body about a month ago and I have been investigating it. She had no family apart from her son. Sam Crossan."
Nate let this information digest. He had no idea where they were going with this. How was it relevant? But when he was about to interrupt, Hermione shook her head softly at him.
"When we tracked down the son," Ron went on, "It wasn't him. We got it out of him that he had swapped identities with Sam Crossan so that Crossan could get a job under this guy's credentials. It was really to get away with his mother's murder."
"Sorry to be rude," Jake said arrogantly, "But what does this have to do with our case?"
"Jake." Hermione said sternly.
"Don't worry about it, Hermione. I'm sure it's hard for him to keep up." Ron said patronisingly.
Nate resisted the urge to snicker at Jake. He was actually looking a little embarrassed. Of course, they would all pay for that later no doubt. Jake didn't take being bested well.
"Anyway," Ron went on, "The man's name was Ryan Smith. We worked out then that he had joined your department."
Nate began to feel uncomfortable. That couldn't be true, could it? He lived with the man for years, he would have known if he was a killer. Right?
"And so now you think that it's Ryan doing this?" Beth observed, "But how would that be possible? He's…he's dead."
"But we never found the body." Jonathan said unsurely.
Jake stood up suddenly, "I cannot believe we are even having this discussion! Are you kidding me? Listen, I don't really care what you and your auror buddies think that you worked out," He spat at Ron, "But, for Merlin's sake, think! Why would Ryan want to do this? He was one of us! Why would he want to hurt Hermione? Or Ally?"
"Listen, mate." Harry said, standing up, "I think that you should just calm down and listen for a few minutes."
Nate didn't pay much attention to Jake's response. His mind was whirling and he recalled his dream. How detached Ryan had been when they found Hermione. How he just stood there when Nate had rushed to her. But he had just been in shock, right? How he had shouted at her…he wouldn't relent. He had demanded information from her when she was clearly out of it. Nate's stomach dropped when he remembered his own frustration with Ryan's merciless approach. How had he not noticed? What had he been shouting about? Kelly. Ryan had been demanding to know where Kelly was because he had always had that ridiculous crush on her.
The pieces fell into place all too easily and Nate found himself struggling to see clearly. He had only cared about finding Kelly. He hadn't bothered about Hermione, even though she was in pain and so close to death. And when Hermione told him about Kelly…he had lost it. So, maybe he had loved Kelly or something, in his own way, and he had snapped.
Revenge. That's what it was about. That's what the note said, an eye for an eye. But could that really be it? Was the answer in front of their faces the whole time? Did he really blame Hermione for Kelly's death? How was he even alive?
"I can't believe that you are doing this!" Jake snarled at Hermione, advancing towards her. "This is so out of order, Hermione. You just want someone to blame…but this, this is not on! He was fucking one of us, dammit. And you are destroying his memory! How dare you?"
Nate was alarmed to see that Hermione had tears in her eyes but that was nothing to Ron's reaction. He shoved Jake in the chest lightly but angrily, pushing him backwards.
"Calm down. Now." He warned.
Jake threw his arm up to knock Ron away from him but he didn't try and approach Hermione again. His rage was evident to everyone in the room.
"Ryan had feelings for Kelly." Hermione went on bravely, "That night…when he found out that she was – that she was gone. He lost it. And we didn't hear from him again."
"Because he died trying to save her!" Jake shouted, "Don't try and destroy what he did, Hermione."
Ally pulled Jake down to sit beside her. She tried to calm him down.
"It does seem a little…unlikely." She admitted nervously.
"Actually," Harry began, "If you think about it with a clear head, which I realise is hard for you guys to do right now, it's the only option that does make sense. He blames Hermione for Kelly's death. So that explains why she's a target…and the note. And the others that were killed were the ones that were actually there the night she was killed."
Nate knew that Hermione must have told him this stuff and he was momentarily distracted by the idea of her having to explain that night to Ron and Harry. He knew that it would have been awful for her. Just like he knew that she would have glossed over a lot of those details.
Beth frowned, "What about Ellie Mathewson?"
"Kelly told me once," Hermione informed them, "That Ellie was the one who recommended her for the department. She told the board that Martin and Kelly would be essential because they were the aurors that had been investigating Williams to begin with."
"Ally did say that she recognised the man's voice." Martin pointed out.
Ally shook her head, "I don't know. It was familiar but I couldn't tell you if it was Ryan's."
For once, the silence between them was prickly and uncomfortable. They were waiting for Jake to lash out again. It wouldn't be the first time that Jake and Hermione fought but he could tell that both were only moments away from saying something that would completely destroy their relationship. They were just two completely different people that had rubbed each other the wrong way from the start. As a result, any disagreements between the pair tended to be a little sharper and a little more serious.
Nate could see Jake's point, of course. Ryan was a team member and they were supposed to be just that – a team. He knew how close Ryan and Jake were. Since Ryan had no partner for most of their mission, he had spent a lot of time working with Jake and Ally. They were very close. It wouldn't be easy to believe that Ryan was doing this. Nate certainly wouldn't believe it if anyone had ever told him that Beth or Hermione had betrayed them.
But that was the point. It was Hermione telling them this and it was her he trusted more than anyone else on the team (a lot more than Beth right now, anyway) so why shouldn't be believe her? And deep down, it didn't feel wrong that it would be Ryan. All the signs pointed to him after all.
"What do you think, Nate?"
Beth's voice disrupted his thoughts. She was staring at him, her eyes piercing and unrelenting as she waited for something.
Half a second too late he realised she was waiting for him to answer.
"I, er, I think that this is the first lead we've had in months…and we should look into it."
Hermione smiled gratefully at him but he was distracted by the fact that Beth still hadn't looked away. Was she waiting for something else?
Jake snorted, "Why doesn't that surprise me?"
"What?" Nate demanded, flaring up instantly.
Jake could be so bloody infuriating sometimes. Nate hated it when he acted like this. He became so patronising and there was no way to reason with him. There was no denying that the man had anger issues.
"You. Taking her side, as usual."
"Watch it, Jake." Marin warned from his chair. "That's enough."
Nate looked around the room again. He could see that this wasn't going to end well. Jonathan and Ally were standing behind Jake looking unsure. Ally was standing pretty close to Jake, ready to jump to his defence immediately. Beth had remained seated throughout the argument, unusually quiet and watching intently. Ron and Harry were flanking Hermione, their eyes fixed on Jake but not saying anything. Nate knew that they were taking in the argument. No doubt this was the first time that they had seen some tension between the group. While Jake and Hermione stood opposite each other, Nate realised he hovered somewhere in the middle.
The anger in the room was clear and, honestly, coming from all directions. Maybe this had been building up for a while. Maybe it wasn't even completely about Ryan but everything else that had been going on.
"No," Jake said loudly, "I am sick of this. Am we not allowed a say in this? You are perfectly fine with letting Ryan take the fall for this. And obviously I am acting rashly and unreasonably, that's what you'll say, right? But what if it was someone else? What if it was Kelly that was being accused, eh Hermione? Would you be so keen to keep an open mind then?"
Nate sucked in a breath as had everyone else in the room. Jake was about to take this too far, he was about to do something that couldn't be undone but Nate didn't know how to stop it. He could see the point he was trying to make. Unfortunately, so could everyone else.
"No." He continued ruthlessly, "You would say that Kelly would never do that…because she was your friend."
He looked almost apologetic as his piercing remarks echoed across the silence but his face hardened as he continued,
"Well, Ryan was my friend." His voice was gruff with emotion and anger, "And he would not do this! So enough! I am sick of the double standards here."
Hermione clenched her fists; the mention of Kelly had frozen her…as it always did. But instead of becoming emotional, or even looking hurt, she met Jake's glare face on. Nate noticed that Ron's hand had somehow ended up wound around hers. He didn't doubt that this was where her renewed strength came from.
"If you feel that way, you are welcome to leave." She said coldly, "Maybe there is double standards but that, Jake, is because there is a difference between us. Like it or not, I am your Department Head. I am in charge of this department and I will be deciding our next move. That will be investigating deeper into Ryan and treating him like a suspect."
"Sounds like you've already made up your mind to me." Jake pointed out bitterly.
Hermione nodded defiantly, "I have. But it's still just a feeling; based on a large amount of evidence, might I add. So we will gather proof and evidence. And if it turns out that Ryan is innocent, then of course we will honour his memory." She paused momentarily, "But until then, he is our prime suspect. And I am your boss, so you will treat me, and the rest of this team, with respect."
Nate actually winced for Jake, knowing that the elder man would not take Hermione's remark well. Sure enough, Jake looked like he was about to hit something. Or someone. But he didn't move. Nate hadn't really expected him to. Sure, Jake was hot-headed and furious right now but that was just because Jake was loyal. Even though he wouldn't admit it, Jake cared about the team which was why he was taking the news that someone had betrayed them so hard.
Betrayed. Nate hadn't really thought of it like that. It seemed so dramatic, so serious. But it was. It was so hard to imagine why someone who had lived with them, fought with them and talked with them would do this. Despite everything that they had gone through the one thing that Nate had always remained confident about was that they were a solid team. Strong. Tight. But now that was destroyed too. The cracks were beginning to show and he didn't know how to deal with it.
Looking around now, their standing positions seemed less frantic and a little more…deliberate. Thry revealed Jake, Ally and Jonathan on one side and facing Hermione, Ron, Harry and Nate. Martin and Beth in the middle – unsure of a side. Although Nate suspected that Beth's indecision had more to do with being torn between defending Hermione and remaining as far from Nate as she could rather than the Ryan situation.
"This is what he wants." Beth said suddenly, "Regardless of who it is, or isn't, we are playing right into his hands. We need to stick together. Arguing amongst ourselves will only give him an advantage. And he really doesn't need any help from us."
As much as he hated to admit it, Nate knew that Beth was right. Ryan had played the game well; he had them running in circles for weeks. Years really. And now there was this wall up with in the team. They needed to get their act together. He and Beth weren't speaking, Jake and Hermione's relations were getting worse and, as a whole, they were divided on this issue. Exactly as Ryan would want.
Nate felt like hitting something. He was furious at Ryan. In a matter of moments, Ryan had gone from being a close friend to complete evil in Nate's eyes. Perhaps if Ryan hadn't, supposedly, died that night Nate would have looked into how he was acting more. When they had found Hermione, Ryan had been so cold and unaffected. It had haunted Nate, and evidently still did, to see her like that. It was horrific seeing anyone, never mind his best friend and leader, so weak and vulnerable. Yet Ryan hadn't batted an eyelid.
Hindsight really was a wonderful thing. 20/20.
As he watched Hermione try to stay strong and lead them he realised that he felt complete hate towards Ryan. He had been there with him and saw her completely broken. Yet he was still torturing her. He was blaming her for something she blamed herself for far too much already.
"So what's the next step?" Martin asked quietly.
Nate felt sympathy for the man. It would be awful to be rehashing Kelly's death like this and he knew that her partner missed her very much. Hermione may have the worst scars from Kelly's death but he knew that it pained Martin just as much. He missed her just as much. It would be how Nate felt if it were Hermione who was gone. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened if he lost Beth.
Hermione looked thankful that Martin had distracted everyone from the argument.
"Ron and I are going to look into his past a bit more," Harry told them, "See what his peers thought, medical examinations and that kind of thing. To see how dangerous he could be."
"And how he got away with changing his identity." Ron frowned.
It was certainly something that needed to be addressed. Nate hadn't even thought much about Ryan's original crime. Regardless of what happened now, he was already a murderer. He had killed his own mother. The thought shook Nate to the core. It was just so wrong. And the Ministry had, unwittingly, protected him and offered him a place to hide.
"And we are going to go over his death." Hermione said. "We're going to have to build up a timeline of what happened after that night. Maybe look at some memories."
They nodded at her but Nate noticed that Jake looked unresponsive. His face was no longer furious but he seemed not to be listening. But Nate knew better, Jake was a strategist and he would be taking this all in.
"Also, I was thinking that we should be able to compare the traces of magic left behind." Hermione theorised, "If we can match them to Ryan…Then, when we find him. We'll be able to prove it."
She turned to Martin, "Could we do that?"
"Yes," He nodded, "It would be difficult but I think we could."
"Right, you, Jonathan and Beth can focus on that." She decided, "Do you know how long it would take?"
Jonathan shook his head while pursuing his lips, "Anything from a couple to days to weeks."
Hermione rubbed her temples but nodded nonetheless.
"Can I be excused?" Jake said, interrupting the planning.
Hermione started, "What?"
"I just – I really need a while to myself." He sighed, running his hand through his hair, "Sorry, I just…need to thin for a while."
Hermione stared at him for a while, evidently looking for something in his eyes. She must've found it for she nodded slowly. Jake looked almost thankful and Nate got the impression that he was beginning to wrap his head around the idea of Ryan betraying them. Nate could feel the room relax at Jake's calmer mood. In all honesty, Nate couldn't blame Jake. Ryan had been like a partner to Jake and Ally. He had no doubt that he would have reacted the same way if someone had accused Hermione of the same thing.
"You want to take a while too, Ally?" Hermione asked softly, her thoughts obviously in tune with Nate's.
Ally looked like she wanted to remain professional – to stay – but her emotions won in the end. She shakily nodded her head and joined Jake as they rushed out of the department.
"Do you think they'll be ok?" Beth asked softly.
It took a while for anyone to answer her,
"They will," Harry reassured her, "It's just hard…to find out that a friend would do that – betray you – like that."
Nate could only nod in agreement, not missing the knowing look the trio before him passed.
His heart swelled a little bit at the fact that Hermione clearly had been making some progress with Ron and Harry. A small glimmer of hope in the midst of this mess. He exchanged a smile with Beth as the trio, automatically, leaned into each other to plan. Maybe he would be able to keep his promise after all.
oo00OO00oo
Ron's eyes widened a little when he walked into the small staffroom and found someone else already there. He recognised the man as Nate and couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable around the guy.
He had met him a couple of times before and got the impression that Nate knew more than Ron would like him to know about him. He wasn't exactly relaxed around any of Hermione's workers but, for some reason, he felt even more wary around Hermione's partner.
"Is everyone out?" Nate asked from behind Ron.
Ron nodded as he went about making a cup of tea, hoping to do it quickly so that he could escape this situation.
"Yeah, um, Hermione went with Harry to speak with Reynolds. I'm supposed to be looking over Crossan's school records." Ron said, trying to fill the silence, "And Martin is working on the spell traces with Beth and that other guy, Jonathan right?."
Nate nodded as he moved a couple of files off a char and gestured for Ron to have the seat. Realising that it would be rude to leave after that, Ron reluctantly sat down.
"It's so weird to hear you call him that." The other man said quietly after a moment.
Ron nodded, realising he was speaking about Sam Crossan. He had noticed that Hermione always called him Ryan too, despite now knowing the truth.
"Must be hard," He offered, "Learning all that about him."
Nate chuckled humourlessly, "You can say that again. Doesn't help when Jake and Hermione are trying to rip shreds out of each other."
Ron was silent as he pondered Nate's words. There was certainly truth behind them. The argument earlier had gotten quite nasty and while Ron felt sure that his and Harry's presence wasn't helping, he couldn't make himself leave. It was still just so weird to see Hermione, all grown-up, as a Department Head. He couldn't deny that he was proud of her though when she put Jake in his place earlier. She reminded Ron of her younger self when she had put Jake in his place.
"I guess there were signs though, looking back."
Ron looked at Nate in surprise. He didn't know why the other person was sharing this with him, but maybe he just needed to get it out. He got the feeling, however, that Nate had a point in what he was about to say.
"Yeah?" Ron asked unsurely.
The subject certainly intrigued him. He had always wondered if you could tell that kind of thing. He supposed it started when he learned about Pettigrew when he was younger. He could never wrap his head around how someone who was supposed to be your best friend could betray you in such a way. Surely, these friendships had never been that strong to begin with yet everyone said differently.
"Like that night." Nate told him, sitting up straighter, "When you see someone so…hurt…you react. Right?"
Ron was a little lost but he was completely transfixed by Nate's words. He did know exactly what night Nate was referring to. Over the last few days, he had been hearing a lot about the night that Kelly died. He felt so helpless whenever it was mentioned, Hermione would just…freak out.
"And Kelly was hurt?" Ron prompted, after a few minutes of Nate thinking to himself.
Nate looked over at him and raised his eyebrows,
"Have you talked to her much about that night?"
Ron narrowed his eyes a little at the implication that Nate was making. He didn't care who this guy was to Hermione, he didn't need him butting into his business. But he held his tongue.
"I guess not. She wouldn't have wanted to talk about it with you."
Ron couldn't contain his retort,
"Wouldn't need to, would she? She has you." He said it sharply and knew that it sounded a little petty but he couldn't back down now.
He wouldn't admit it but her relationship with Nate bothered him. They were partners, obviously close, and anytime that Ron saw Hermione since her return he was nearly always there. Surely they didn't have to be around each other so much now that their mission was over, right?
To his surprise, Nate laughed a little,
"Not like that." He said, scrunching up his nose playfully.
The men became silent but before Ron could reply, Nate spoke again.
"I'm sure she hasn't told you because, well, she wouldn't want anyone to know." Nate continued quietly, "Kelly and Hermione were captured. Within the first two hours, Kelly was killed. That's what we can work out anyway. But Hermione…she was there for another seventeen hours."
Ron sucked in a breath. He hadn't expected that she had come home unscathed. He could see that. Her panic attacks, closed-off demeanour and small frame had made that abundantly clear. But hearing this, having this actually confirmed, was his worst nightmare. Because he had sworn to protect her from all of that, to keep her safe and to…to just stop all the hurt. His hands shook with anger and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, to keep his emotions under check.
Seventeen hours.
"She was tortured." Nate said, rather bluntly.
Ron had guessed that but the punch to his gut felt just as strong. For the millionth time he wondered why she did it. Why did she put herself in that position? But, for once, this wasn't an angry though. It was a painful one, a desperate plead to know why it was necessary. Hadn't she already suffered enough?
"It was…indescribable." Nate said, his voice breaking slightly, "I had never seen her so…weak, you know?"
He did. He knew all too well. He could hear that Nate cared for her though; in his voice and it made him feel better that he was there. Despite Ron's earlier…annoyance with the man, he was glad that she had someone with her that cared about her. To help her. And if it couldn't be he or Harry, then he supposed that Nate would have had to do. Maybe it explained their closeness too.
"But Ryan…it didn't faze him. It was unnatural. You don't – you can't see someone so…so scared and just not care." Nate went on, anger seeping into his tone. "But he just wanted Kelly. It's only now that I even realise. We thought we lost him that night so I was grieving. I didn't even think about what happened in that room again. Until last – this morning."
Ron nodded, too pained to do much else. He almost wished that he didn't know anything. It felt so personal for Nate to tell him that. Like he was intruding on her space. He knew that he wouldn't be able to maintain much anger around her now. All he would be able to think when he saw her was that she was scared and hurting…and he wasn't there.
Nate stood up, putting his own cup in the sink before walking towards the door. He stopped, with his hand on the handle to look at Ron. His gaze was piercing, protective of his friend.
"She wanted you." He revealed meaningfully, "She – she begged for you, actually…wanted to go home, of course. And I had to tell her no…but I promised that I'd make sure she got back. To home."
Nate exited the room, his point made clearly to Ron who could only stare at the closed door. He began to shake as he struggled to keep his emotions from taking over him. It was useless. His buried his head in his arms, lying across the table. For once, since this entire mess began, he allowed himself to break. His anger seemed to fade away but he was so frustrated. She had gone and left him, she had gotten herself hurt and scarred…she had called for him. He wasn't there.
When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse
And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone, but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I...
Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I...
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
Fix You by Coldplay