Chapter 22 - An Earnest Set-Up

Malfoy pushed Harry out of sight before calling to Crabbe. Only two meters away, Harry began to sweat under the robes. He was beginning to realize that he would have very limited time to find Ron and kill Nagini. Malfoy had just informed Crabbe that Ron was no longer in his cell and the grounds needed to be searched extensively. Harry heard more footsteps coming down the stairs, but was unable to see who they belonged to as he was yanked in the other direction. Turning soundlessly, he saw Snape motioning for him to follow.

Two rooms later, Snape turned to him and spoke promptly. "You'll need to work quickly. Weasley is already upstairs and Nagini has probably found him by now."
"Found him?" Harry didn't like the sound of that.
"Potter, you'll be so lucky to have Nagini distracted." Snape sneered. "As soon as it's over, get out immediately. We will align at the final battle."
Harry nodded in understanding. Snape pushed Harry out into the open foyer where only Malfoy remained.
"Well, don't just stand there Potter, get up there!" Malfoy shooed him away.

Harry ran up the stairs as fast as he could, passed the second floor and up to the third. The door immediately in front of him was open. He looked around quickly. Only one other door was open at the other end. All was silent. He glanced down to the first floor. Malfoy was waving his arms at him to move. He could see Snape rolling his eyes, pointing in the direction of the door farthest from him.

Harry decided to look in the room in front of him first.

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Malfoy slapped his hand to his forehead. "What an idiot."
"You would do the same." Snape said indifferently.
Malfoy huffed. "Great, now Weasel is really going to be dead."
"He was dead to begin with."
"But if Potter just goes there now, maybe h-"
"It's the only way, Draco. I told you this from the start."

Draco gazed up to the top floor, looking ready to head up there himself. Snape put a heavy hand on his shoulder. Draco never did have it in him to kill. Nor did he have it in him to protect himself from the Dark Lord's legilimency powers. Snape raised his wand to Draco's head, erasing the events that had just transpired.

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Ron no longer feared spiders. In fact, he loved them. What he would give to be up against the spiders in the Dark Forest right now.

Nagini striked.

Ron dove to right, away from the door. He quickly realized what a mistake that was. For Nagini did not mean to bite him, she meant to drive him deeper into the room…where she could bite him a lot easier.

Ron scrambled to his feet, knocking over a table in the process. A weak defensive move on his part. His mind was racing. After everything that he had been put through while in captivity, this was not the way he wanted to go. Being killed by a Death Eater he could handle. Death by snake wasn't too appealing.

Ron looked back to the knocked over table, ready to send a curse at Nagini.

She wasn't there.

Panicked, he eyes scanned the room while moving in the direction of his only exit.

Ron fell to the ground. He knew exactly what he had tripped over.

Where was Harry?

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Harry heard a crash. No doubt coming from the room at the other end of the landing. He ran out of the first room, taking quick notice that only Snape remained on the bottom floor. When he reached the doorway, he went numb, holding onto the edge of the molding to keep from swaying.

Nagini had in deed found Ron.

"Harry…" Ron said weakly, reaching a hand out toward him.

Harry winced, closing his eyes for a moment. The sight was unbearable. Ron's legs were halfway consumed as Nagini inched her mouth farther along. There was no way Harry could use the killing curse now, he would kill Ron right along with her. He dropped to his knees, taking Ron's outstretched hand.

"Kill it." Ron said.
Harry's voice was pained. "I'll kill you if I do that."
"I can feel the poison in my veins. I'm already dead." A tear slid down his cheek, but he actually smiled. "Do me a favor, don't let anyone see me half eaten. That would be embarrassing."
Tightening his lips, Harry stood up. "Ron, I'm so sorry."
"Do it."

Glaring at Nagini, who had been inching her way off of Ron since his arrival, extreme anger rose as he pointed his wand at her head.

"Avada Kevdavra!

Harry saw the green light shoot from the tip of his wand. He didn't watch the hit. He couldn't. It was his first time using the killing curse. He felt ill and fell to his knees once more. He didn't need to open his eyes to know what lye in front of him. There was no movement to hear. Tears were coming from his closed eyes. He wanted to scream.

He forced his eyes open. Ron laid wide-eyed and lifeless, blood seeping through his clothes from the wounds to his legs. Nagini was also unmoving, but Harry wasn't going to take any chances. Prying Ron's fingers from his wand, he drove it through the snake's head. The eyes flashed red for a fleeting moment and dissipated.

Shaking, Harry took out the wand and carefully pried open the mouth to get Ron fully out of Nagini's grasp. Suddenly, Snape's words came to mind.

You'll be so lucky to have Nagini distracted.

It was a set-up from the start.

Harry rose and walked out to the landing. Snape was still there, his back to him. He raised his wand, fully intending to cause harm. Snape turned his head and stared.

"You set me up." Harry said simply, a fury in his voice like there had never been before.
"Potter, you fool, leave now!" Snape demanded.

Snape immediately disapparated, leaving Harry staring at the empty foyer. Multiple popping sounds began to resonate throughout the house. Harry ran back into the room, knowing he had probably been seen. Grabbing Ron and his wand, he added to the popping sounds on the third floor of the Riddle House.

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Seconds. Minutes. Hours. They all passed agonizingly slow. It was the smell that finally broke Harry out of his daze. He had no idea how long he had been staring at the body of his best friend that he had laid on the couch in front of the fireplace, a pillow propped under his head. He had closed his eyelids. At first he looked like he was sleeping, but the color faded. Only the signature Weasley red remained the same.

He sent Hedwig with a barely legible note to Brooklyn that he wasn't even sure made sense.

All he knew was that he had killed his best friend. He was now guilty of the crime the Ministry was accusing him for. He deserved to rot in Azkaban for it. Hell, he was ready to turn himself in to the real Anders Tollen. But he couldn't do so much as move right then.

And just as he had at Hermione's funeral, he lost complete control of his emotions.

So many people were dead. So many because of their connection to him. Now one because of him. He had just come to terms with so many of the other deaths and had forgiven himself, but now…now it was all coming back. His parents, Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore, Mundungus, Hermione, Ron…who knows of the ones he didn't know of. It didn't matter. Anyone that died in this war was going to be indirectly or directly his fault.

If he did win the battle against Voldemort, he felt as though he had nothing left to live for. He will have fulfilled the prophecy, saved the wizarding world, there would be no use for him afterward. Even if there was, he wasn't going to be able to live with himself after everything.

Harry knew that people had entered the room. He didn't know who, or how many…he didn't really care. He was too caught up in his own miserable breakdown to even lift his head from the table he was crying on. Someone was trying to lift him up off of the floor, but he was an unmovable mass.

Multiple popping sounds began to resonate in the room, stirring the fresh memory of being of the third floor of the Riddle House. Horrid screams accompanied his continuing grief, no doubt of them being from a mother who had lost a child. He could only assume that all remaining Weasley's were there and probably the Order as well.

Another attempt was made at lifting him from his slumped over position on the table. Obviously there were several people trying this time seeing as they succeeded in dragging him away from the table before letting him go, where he returned to a crumpled mess on the floor.

Words were whispered into his ear, but he didn't comprehend them. His hand was taken by another, but he didn't grasp it. He barely felt a hand running over his forehead, through his hair. He knew who it was though and he forced his eyes to open.

Brooklyn leaned down, whispering in his ear again. "It's okay."
He shook his head, choking on his words as he whispered back. "I…k-killed Ron."
"I know." She tugged on his arm. "Come on, get up."

He complied. The room was full. Ron was covered with a sheet, blood stained where his legs were. Someone that was not Brooklyn was now holding onto him for dear life. There was a familiar scent, but he couldn't quite place it.

"I'm so sorry, Harry." It was Mrs. Weasley. "I'm so, so sorry."
He had no idea why she was apologizing after he had just killed her son. He attempted to speak, but she just shushed him, holding him like only a mother could.
"You did what you had to do." She said through her tears. "I'm glad you're alright."

A realization hit Harry after Mrs. Weasley let him go. She knew what he had been doing, where he was…

He glanced around the room, tears still falling from his eyes. Sympathy. That's what they're eyes were telling him. They all knew. Panic stricken, the unthinkable came to mind…

Had Snape and Malfoy's cover been blown?

"Ron should probably be moved." A male voice in the background said.

Standing shakily, Harry saw Moody was taking to Mr. Weasley, who was obviously distraught over the loss of his youngest son. Moody looked at Harry, his expression unreadable. He left with Mr. Weasley to take Ron to the morgue.

"Harry, I know the current situation is terrible," It was Professor McGonagoll. He knew the 'but' was coming. "But, we need you to answer some question for us so we can make the final preparations."
Still in a fog, he looked to her questioningly. "For a funeral?"
She hesitated. "No, Harry. For the final battle."
Harry slumped onto the now clean couch, clutching onto the pillow he put under Ron's head. He throat was scratchy. "I need some water."

Brooklyn appeared again, handing him a glass of water. She quickly disappeared into the background. He was pretty sure she left in the direction of the drawing room. He wished he could follow her.

"So, Harry, it's been awhile." It was Lupin. Harry almost smiled as he took a seat next to him on the couch. "Hear you stay in hiding just as well as I do." Harry shrugged. "I got bored too."

Harry was relaxing a bit, his clutch on the pillow loosening a bit.

"That and Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy helped out." Lupin nonchalantly added. Harry's gaze shot to him. "Why don't tell everyone here that I'm not mad when I say that."
Harry's mouth hung helplessly open.
"Please Harry. You won't endanger them. I promise."
Harry hung his head. "They're the reason I'm alive and Ron and Nagini are dead."
Whispering was going on in the background. Lupin continued. "And the Ministry incident the other day?"
"They told me what I needed from there. They had nothing to do with breaking in." Harry couldn't believe he was defending them.
Shacklebot stepped forward, kneeling in front of Harry. "Did they say anything else? Are there others?"
Harry felt as though he was on the brink of crying again. "Snape said that they would align with us in the final battle. They're the only two that I know of. They never mentioned anyone else."
"And your mark?"
A tear slid down his cheek. "There's been nothing since earlier today." He could feel his composure breaking. "I'm…I don't want to answer anymore questions."
Shacklebot nodded in understanding. "The time is closer than you think, Harry. I know you'll be ready."
Harry nodded. He didn't have a choice. He had to be ready.

The majority of people left. Fred, George and Ginny had left with Mrs. Weasley during his questioning. No doubt on there way to the morgue. Tonks and Lupin were the only ones who remained. He figured they probably wouldn't be leaving him alone tonight. Harry excused himself and went in the direction of the drawing room. Brooklyn was sitting at the desk, staring at the paper he had put in there much earlier that day. He put a hand on her shoulder and she immediately stood up, startled.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she put her arms around his neck, burying her head in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on hers.

"This wasn't exactly how I envisioned today going." He mumbled into her hair.
"I wish I could make this better for you." She said, looking up to him.
He turned his head to the side, ready to start crying again.
She turned his face back to her. "Just promise me you won't keep everything bottled up."
"I can't. It hit a little too hard this time."
"Why don't you go upstairs and I'll get Remus and Tonks settled somewhere."

She didn't wait for a reply as she basically pulled him to the staircase and walked him up to his room. He sat down on the bed and she kissed his forehead, suggesting a silencing charm before closing the door behind her. He took her up on the advice and immediately cast one. He turned to Hedwig, who was perched on the frame of the bed as usual, and petted her briefly.

He mourned Ron for the rest of the evening.