Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or any of the Potter-verse. Everything you recognise belongs to the magnificent Ms Rowling. I do, however own any characters you don't recognise.
A/N: Since I've had this chapter written since before I really decided to write this fic I'm gonna post it now. I didn't actually think about the cliffie when I wrote it, it was just an easy way to work into this chapter (that's not to say I don't enjoy cliffhangers though!). Last chapter was a filler, and now we actually start getting into the story. The next chapter will deal with some reactions, and then hopefully the one after that will reveal the reason for visitor.
The editing thing doesn't seem to be working completely for me, so let me know if there's any formatting mistakes etc. and I'll try and fix them.
Once again thanks to everyone who has read or reviewed this, it really does make me want to get it written and posted faster!
Fulfilling Prophecies
Chapter five
October 28th 2000
It was the last person he expected to see. The friend he had lost, not through death, but through a lack of communication and grief. But there he was, standing nervously in the sitting room, hair as red as ever but with an overall much harder and weary look than he had had before their last years at school. He had, thankfully, shown up wearing muggle clothes rather than wizarding robes which would have drawn too many more questions from the curious Allie.
Silence had fallen across the three people standing in the room, the tension forming thickly in the air. For his part, Harry was shocked and confused. He was finding it difficult to hide his reactions, despite his usual skill at hiding his emotions. His confusion seemed to have spread to Allie, because she was looking between the red-haired stranger and her black-haired friend with a frown on her face. Harry also saw the nervousness Ron was feeling, as well as a fear of something – he couldn't quite pick what.
Eventually Harry spoke, barely breaking the silence with his soft voice, "Allie, would you please give us some time alone? I get the feeling Ron has something he wants to talk about." Ron nodded his head slightly in agreement. Allie left the room after fixing Harry with a look that clearly said 'you'll be explaining all this later'. Harry simply tilted his head to the door and she rolled her eyes before leaving the two young men alone.
The silence continued even after they had privacy. Not wanting to be the first to speak since he didn't know how much Ron's feelings towards him had changed, Harry settled for sitting in an armchair while Ron remained standing awkwardly. As time moved on, Ron eventually perched himself on the edge of a couch opposite Harry.
Five minutes later, Harry gave up waiting. He pulled his wand from the holster that he always strapped to his forearm and, muttering a silencing charm, waved it in the direction of the door to prevent Allie from 'accidentally' overhearing any of their conversation. Their privacy ensured, he looked straight at Ron and spoke.
"What's up Ron? You've never been one for social calls before, not that I'm not glad to see you, but I've got to admit you've got me curious as to what's happening. Not to mention you're nervous as hell." Harry spoke in a light but serious voice, letting his friend know he wasn't going to yell at him, or act like anything but friends, and also to try and get him to relax slightly.
It seemed to work at least a little. Ron raised his eyes to meet Harry's face. "I … I really don't know how to say this," he began in a shaking voice, "but you've got to know that I'm sorry, so sorry about what I've done. I was such an idiot, not thinking clearly, and now it's you who is going to suffer. I'm so sorry Harry, please, just know that before I tell you anything else." He sounded desperate, and was starting to get slightly hysterical. Knowing he had to get Ron to talk about everything, but now absolutely dreading what he would ear, Harry reassured Ron that he understood he was sorry.
This seemed to calm Ron a little, and he began to speak in a soft hesitating voice. "For over two years I've been grieving, at first it was just for Hermione, and then later the war began to take its toll. I began to grieve for so many more people – after Sirius and Hermione, it was Ginny and Dad, as well as so many others in that last battle. You and I were no longer friends, I was angry at you, I still am in so many ways, but I also felt like you, too, were a casualty of the war. I lost you; you became everyone else's, their centrepiece, and their leader."
"And their pawn." Interjected Harry, he didn't even attempt to hide the bitterness in his voice.
"Well… yeah. I see that now more than I did then. But you became so different during the war." He held up his hands as Harry began to speak again, "I know, we all changed. But you changed most of all of us. Anyway, I'm kind of delaying the point here." He gave a sort of nervous chuckle which sounded more like a sob. "What I'm trying to say is that I lost everything in that war, but the two people I lost which hurt me most were 'Mione and Ginny. I … I blamed you for both their deaths, I still do." He added the last in a whisper before taking a deep breath, composing himself to start speaking again.
Harry, taking the opportunity, said "Hermione's death was my fault Ron. I know this. I live with that decision every day; it haunts my dreams all the time. I don't want to ever stop having to relive it, because if I do I will forget how dangerous I was, and still am, to those close to me. I understand you blaming me for her death, hell I'm glad you do, but Ginny… she was… I never could have stopped her from getting involved. Even if I had locked her inside the castle with everyone else, she would have found a way to be a part of it, risking her life along with everyone she cared about." He removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. "Do you know what she said to me once?" He paused as Ron shook his head. "It was only a couple of nights before the final battle. She asked me to take care of you 'if the worst happened'. She knew what might happen to her at any time, we all knew the reality of the war far too well. I promised her I would take care of you if she died, but when you pushed me away, when you attacked me over it, I couldn't do anything. I would have done anything to try to help you if you had only let me." He sighed, thinking of the times he had tried to talk to Ron, only to be ignored or attacked. "But I'll still honour that promise. If you give me the chance I will help you. I will talk, listen, whatever you need. And not just because of the promise I made to Gin, but also because you were my first friend, and you still are my best friend." Harry wiped half-formed tears from his eyes, noticing as he did so that Ron didn't even bother to wipe away his. He was just letting them fall as he muttered "I'm sorry" over and over.
Getting up from his seat, Harry moved to sit next to his red-haired friend. Putting his arms around him, he tried to comfort him the best he could, but he didn't seem to notice the arms or the soft reassurances that were given.
They had been sitting like this for a few minutes when there was a knock on the sitting room door. Harry noticed his friend's breath had evened out, and he was now asleep, but he didn't want to disturb him yet. So with as little movement as possible, he removed the silencing charm and said "come in. He watched Allie come in with a tray of tea and biscuits, her eyes widening slightly as she took in the scene. Her usually implacable friend was red around his green eyes, and the childhood friend she had heard about a few times was asleep in his arms, still crying quietly.
Placing a finger to his lips, Harry slowly stood up, laying the sleeping red-head gently on the couch. Once he had covered him with a blanket, Harry led Allie out of the room and into the small kitchen where they poured themselves cups of tea from the steaming pot.
Sipping at the hot drink, Harry could see his friend was about to ask him some questions. A moment later she fixed him with her steely blue eyes and spoke.
"What's wrong Harry? I know you better than most, at least I think I do, and I've never seen you this worried about anyone, or anything, before. Is there something wrong with your friend?" She spoke in a concern-filled voice, but her tone didn't allow him to back out of her questions.
The raven-haired twenty-year-old sighed. He couldn't just brush her questions off anymore. She had a right to know some of what was happening – he would have to tell her without actually telling her anything. And if what Ron still had to tell was as serious as it seemed to be, then he couldn't risk not telling her.
"It's not Ron who's got me so worried." He began as he placed a hand to his forehead, trying to stave of his headache a little longer. "I am worried about him, but I'm more worried about why he's here. The last time I saw him, about two years ago, he didn't want anything to do with me. He was angry with me, more than he had been before – I guess he'd had a chance to think more about all the things that happened to him, and others, because of me." Not letting Allie interrupt he continued speaking, trying to explain as best he could. "Anyway, I never expected Ron to show up, willingly, at my place. So there was obviously a reason for his visit. He hasn't told me yet what the reason is, but what he has said so far makes me very worried about what it could be." He trailed off there, not able to explain much better without giving away everything about his past and the wizarding world.
Allie looked confused yet sympathetic at his words, she let the silence stretch for a moment longer before asking, "But what could his reason be? What would make him come here in such a nervous state, and get you so worked up?"
Harry screwed up his eyes, running a hand through his hair as he thought. On the one hand, he wanted to tell his friend about what was happening, and the danger she might be in. On the other, he really didn't know how he could explain that he was a wizard, that he had killed people, and had been the reason for many other deaths as well. "There is a lot you don't know about me Allie. I'm much more than I appear to be, and I don't really know how to give you the answers you deserve right now." She looked about to protest at the way he was, once again, brushing her off. "I will tell you. But not now, I need to think about this before I explain. I also really need to speak with Ron first, before I begin to spout off my theories. So, how's this, I'll talk to Ron tomorrow sometime during the day, and then tomorrow evening you and I will sit down and have a big discussion."
She paused briefly to consider what he was saying, it seemed much more serious than what she had expected, but she was finally going to get the answers she wanted – she wasn't going to give up the chance. She nodded her head.
"Thank you, Allie." Harry spoke softly as she was leaving the kitchen.
"What for?" she asked, confusion evident in her voice.
"For understanding my need for time, it's more than I got from others." He sighed as he, too, began to leave the kitchen. "Have a good nights sleep, you'll need it."
