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Meetings and Revelations

Hermione met him outside the superintendent's office. He had been leaning against the wall, staring moodily into his paper coffee cup. Last night had opened his eyes to the sheer will power that Harry had used to step back from a very frightening abyss. Ron had come close to losing Harry to suicide and had never even known it. Thank Merlin that Harry was so strong. He'd picked himself back up and gotten on with his life, something that Ron was determined to support in any way he could.

"How's your dad?" Ron asked, straightening up. Hermione smiled, looking at him closely and leaning in for their customary kiss good morning. She hugged him as well, something that told him she'd noticed his tension but was prepared to wait for him to tell her what was wrong.

"He's ok," she shrugged, "The doctors will be letting him go home by Thursday, and I thought I might have a try with the bone healing charms. If he wants."

Ron grinned; glad for the good news, and together they went to see superintendent Parker. The inspector they had originally dealt with had given the case to his superior to handle when it became apparent that there was some sort of serial bomber on the loose.

Superintendent Parker was a florid man with a very neat uniform, who sat stolidly behind his tidy desk. There was a small urn in the corner and this was used to offer them both tea before he settled down to the report in front of him.

"I have a copy of the list of witnesses and injured persons of course," he handed that straight to Ron, "However there's only nine people on it that were at both sites, and of those nine, one of them is of especial interest to me."

"Who might that be?" Hermione asked, leaning to look at the list.

"Professor Potter," Parker said clearly, and Ron looked up in shock. There was no way that Harry would endanger his daughter like that, and when Ron said that the superintendent leaned back with a smug look on his face.

"So it is true," he muttered, "You do know him."

"What?" Hermione shared a glance with Ron, and he tensed a little, ready to pull his wand if the superintendent said something he didn't like. He wasn't going to allow anyone to hurt Harry; his friend had been through enough.

"I've done some checking," Parker folded his arms on his desk calmly, "Young Professor Potter was in a right mess when he first came to Cambridge. There was a time when he was considered a suicide risk. However, whatever it was that happened to put him in such a state, he eventually got over and when he proved to be one of he smartest young men the University had seen for a while, every effort was made by the faculties he was studying under to keep him well occupied and steady."

"Harry said that the University was very good to him, especially in the first years, when he was so low," Ron confirmed, and Parker looked surprised at the interruption. Hermione was also surprised, but hid it so well that only Ron could have spotted it. It wasn't his story to tell though, so she'd have to ask Harry.

"Well, once he was steady," Parker re-crossed his arms, "Professor Potter became quite the tutor on campus. He got a lot of young men and women to pull their marks up to a reasonable standard, my own son included. He's generous with his time and efforts, not just to the Universities but to the local schools as well. We were all ready to support him in that ludicrous law suit young Miss Gardeners parents filed against him, not that he'd accept any help. This town has a lot of time for young Professor Potter, and with the new evidence that has come to light… well. I've taken the liberty of arranging for him to pop around this morning. As a courtesy you can sit in on the interview."

"When?" Ron was reduced to one-word questions, a dark sense of foreboding clouding his vision.

"He'll be here in ten minutes," Parker smiled, "I'll take you down to the interview rooms, shall I?"

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