Deception.
Harry awoke with a start, jerking up in bed, cold sweat dripping down his back. A glance at the clock showed it was just after two in the morning. Not that Harry was surprised by the middle of the night wake-up, as it was a habit. Barely a night went past when he didn't suffer from nightmares so bad that they woke him up. Virtually every night he found himself in the same situation - gasping for air in the middle of the night as images of his dead best friend swam in front of his eyes.
"What do you want from me, Ron?" he whispered to the empty bedroom, even though he knew it wasn't Ron who was haunting him, it was his own conscience.
Already able to tell he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep straight away, Harry flicked on the lamp beside his bed. He then propped himself up against the headboard, and considered the question he'd been avoiding for longer than he cared to remember. How much longer could he live with the guilt?
It had been five years since he'd discovered the truth about what had happened the day Ron had died, and who exactly had killed him. And while at the time, he felt he'd done the right thing in keeping Ginny's secret, the lies were starting to weigh on his conscience. With each passing week he was finding it harder and harder to keep quiet about what he knew about Ginny, and the guilt was starting to affect every aspect of his life.
As an Auror, Harry was duty bound to uphold the law and catch the criminals. However, every-time he arrested someone, or witnessed justice being done in the courts, he hated himself for harbouring a killer. In his heart he knew that Ginny should have been held accountable for her actions, and by keeping quiet, he himself was guilty of crimes no Auror should even contemplate committing.
His guilt was also affecting his relationship with the Weasleys. Whenever he saw them he felt so bad for not telling them the truth about Ron. And even though he knew the truth would devastate them, he couldn't help but thinking that they still deserved it, no matter how painful it was. Was it really doing them any good to be totally oblivious as to how their son had died, and what role their daughter had played in it?
And as for Ginny herself, Harry avoided her like the plague, but when they did see each other things were incredibly strained. To Harry's eyes Ginny had merely gotten on with her life once the threat of being found out had passed, and if she was remorseful over what had happened, she hid it well from Harry. Although to be fair, Harry didn't know what Ginny was like behind closed doors and for all he knew, but he doubted it, she could also be troubled by nightmares and spent most of her nights awake, pondering on her mistakes.
Harry's love life was another area that had been affected by the burden he was carrying. He had tried dating, but whenever it looked as though things were going to get serious, he panicked and ended things. While Harry wanted love, he knew he also wanted honesty, and as long as he was hiding Ginny's secret, he could never be truly honest with anyone. And if that was the case, how was he ever supposed to maintain a relationship?
With so much on his mind, and the lack of sleep, Harry's health was also starting to deteriorate. He'd lost a lot of weight, he was easily distracted at work, and several times lately his mind had gone blank while trying to arrest a suspect. Fortunately, no crimianls had gotten away as Harry hadn't been on his own at the time, but he knew his superiors eyes were on him, and if he wasn't careful he would lose his job.
"Maybe it's what I deserve," he muttered.
The only problem was, Harry knew that if he lost his job, he really wouldn't have anything to live for. Without his job, he would just let the guilt eat away at him, and before he knew it, he would be joining Ron in the afterlife. But wasn't he in danger of doing just that anyway?
Harry knew he couldn't carry on the way he had been, and deep down he knew what the answer was. All night he allowed himself to really think about what needed to be done. What should have been done five years ago. However, before he made his final decision, there was someone he wanted to talk to. Someone's advice he wanted to get.
Even though he'd been awake most of the night, Harry still rose from his bed early, and he forced himself to wait until a reasonable hour before he left the house and popped into the office. At work he broke the rules to find an address for personal reasons, and with it in his possession he headed off to see his ex-girlfriend.
Harry hadn't seen Hermione since just after he'd decided to keep Ginny's secret. Once Ginny had signed the divorce papers, and he'd promised to keep quiet, Harry had met with Hermione and informed her of what was happening. He still didn't know if Hermione approved of his decision to allow Ginny to get away with killing Ron, but she did thank him for his help in the divorce. And she'd also made it clear that as far as she was concerned, that meeting was their last. She'd moved on, and she had no place in her life for Harry. Not that Harry could blame her in the slightest, and if he hadn't been in such a mess, he would have respected her wishes and would have stayed well away and allowed her to live her life with Draco in peace.
Before he could change his mind, Harry apparated to the house Hermione shared with her now husband, and not giving himself a chance to chicken out, he virtually ran up the garden path and banged on the front door. After a few minutes the door opened, and Harry's words stuck in his throat as he was confronted with a pregnant Hermione. She wasn't huge, and he doubted she was about to go into labour anytime soon, but she had a distinct baby bump.
"Harry." Hermione's tone was neutral, although her shocked expression revealed how unexpected his visit, and his dishevelled appearance, was.
"I'm sorry to bother you Hermione, but I really need to talk to you."
Hermione considered Harry's words for a couple of minutes, before she opened the door wider and invited Harry inside. She then led Harry through the house and into a large, bright kitchen, where Draco was sitting at the kitchen table.
"What is he doing here?" the blond demanded, jumping to his feet the second he saw Harry.
"He needs to talk to me apparently," Hermione said, sitting down and urging both Harry and Draco to join her. "Although, I really don't know what we could have to say to each other."
"It's about Ginny," Harry admitted as he tentatively took a seat. Draco had also sat down, but Harry was guessing that he would be on his feet in an instant if something was said he didn't approve of.
"Just why would we want to discuss that bitch?" Draco snarled, his jaw tensing at the mere mention of his ex-wife.
"I'm not sure I can do it any-more," Harry confessed in a broken voice.
"Do what?" Hermione asked.
"Cover for her," Harry replied. "At the time, I was convinced I was doing the right thing. I was sure I was protecting the Weasleys, not her. I kept her secret to stop the truth hurting the family."
"So what's changed?" Hermione questioned, wondering if whatever it was had something to do with how downtrodden and beaten Harry was looking these days. "All that pain is still waiting for the Weasleys if you tell the truth."
"I know," Harry whispered. "But lying is breaking me. I can hardly look the Weasleys in the eye any-more. I avoid them as much as I can, as it's too painful to be around them and know the truth. And I can barely function at work. I'm meant to uphold the law, but the fact I've covered for a murderer eats at me daily. I can't live with the guilt."
"What do you want me to do about that?" Hermione asked in confusion. "I can't take away your guilt, Harry. You made the decision to cover for Ginny."
"Do you never feel guilty?" Harry asked. "Do you never feel bad for knowing the truth, and knowing that justice hasn't been done?"
"Don't you pin this on us, Potter," Draco warned in a low, menacing voice. "Our consciences are clear. We turned Hermione's memories over to an Auror. It's not our fault, he chose not to act upon them."
"Is that really how you see things?" Harry asked Hermione. "Is it really that black and white for you?"
"Of course it's not," Hermione replied quietly. "Every day I wonder if we did the right thing. But Draco is right, we gave the memories to you, and you chose to suppress them. True, we could have gone to the Ministry with a second set, but to be honest, all we really wanted was to be free. You helped us achieve that Harry, so I didn't really think it was fair to go to the Ministry with more memories and get you into trouble."
"Trouble or not, I think I have to follow my conscience," Harry admitted with a sigh. "This lying is sending me to an early grave. I need to do the right thing."
"Just make sure you do the right thing by Hermione," Draco ordered. "Spin whatever tale you want for the Ministry, but do not get my wife into trouble. I promise you Potter, I will make you pay if you drag Hermione into this mess."
"I promise neither of you will get in trouble," Harry vowed. "As you said, you gave the memories to an Auror. You expected justice to be done. I perverted that justice, and I'm the one who needs to pay the price."
"You'll lose your job," Hermione pointed out. "I'm not saying don't do the right thing, Harry, but don't let Ginny destroy your life."
"Hermione's right," Draco reluctantly agreed. "That devious little cow has caused enough problems for enough people, don't let her bring you down as well, Potter."
"I can't bring her to justice and avoid my part in proceedings," Harry argued. "Like it or not, I'm guilty of perverting the course of justice. Not to mention covering for a killer. I deserve everything that's coming my way."
"No Harry, you don't," Hermione said gently. "You were just trying to protect the people you love. Given your job, it probably wasn't the wisest of moves, but your heart was in the right place."
"Maybe it was, but now my heart is laden down with guilt," Harry replied. "I need to put things right. I need to get justice for Ron."
"Then do it the Slytherin way," Draco suggested as an idea came to him. "Do you still have Hermione's original memories?"
"Yes," Harry answered with a nod.
"Find a way to slip them into someone else's investigation," Draco ordered. "When they're viewed, someone will realise what they are. You can then claim that they must have accidentally gotten mixed up with another case."
"But the memories aren't crystal clear," Harry pointed out. "It took me quite a while to see what I needed to see. And I'm not sure anyone who doesn't know Ginny, would spot her in the memories."
"The memories don't have to be crystal clear, all they have to do is grab the interest of another Auror," Draco pointed out. "You can even tell them most of the truth. That Hermione gave you the memories, but before you could view them they were dropped and tainted. You can even explain how you tried to have them cleaned up, but they weren't clear enough for you to then see anything. Just whet someone else's appetite, Potter. What would you do if something like this fell into your lap?"
"I'd push to try and find an answer," Harry admitted. "But then won't they question why I didn't try harder to view the memories? It'll look like I just gave up."
"It'll look like you couldn't bring yourself to keep viewing your best friend's death," Hermione said. "It's an option, Harry, and it's one that might just save your career."
"Not to mention your relationship with the Weasleys," Draco added. "This way, you're not the one who turns their murderous daughter into the authorities."
"Ginny will tell everyone that I knew the truth," Harry pointed out.
"I'm sure you can make sure you talk to her before she's interviewed," Draco replied with an unconcerned shrug. As far as he was concerned, they'd been more help than Harry deserved and he wasn't going to solve every little problem for him. "Explain that you had nothing to do with the memories ending up in another investigation. Hell, even promise to do everything you can to help her. Use your brains, Potter, and she needs never to know that you orchestrated the entire thing."
Sensing that he'd received all the help he was going to get from the Malfoys, Harry thanked them for their time, congratulated them on the baby, and headed home to think. He was now convinced that the truth had to come out, but he was torn over how to achieve it. Did he just do the easy thing and admit the truth to his superiors? Of course it would mean losing his job, and maybe even his freedom. Not to mention the criminal record he'd get for his trouble. Or did he do as Draco suggest, and get creative with the truth? Did he appease his conscience by outing Ginny as a killer, but still keep his own life in the process?
In the end, Harry contemplated the matter for nearly a month before deciding that Ginny had destroyed enough lives without adding his to the mix. So taking on board Draco's suggestion, he did exactly as the former Slytherin had suggested and accidentally mixed Hermione's memories into an ongoing investigation by another set of Aurors.
From there on, things ran pretty much as Draco had predicted. His colleagues interests were piqued, and they fully understood why Harry hadn't been able to bring himself to constantly study the foggy memories. It did take them quite a while to pick out the vital bit of evidence in the memories, especially as they had their initial investigation to contend with as well, but eventually Ginny's role in Ron's death was exposed to the world.
Harry even managed to speak to Ginny as Draco suggested, and convince her that he had nothing to do with her exposure. And whether it was the guilt over what she'd done, or just her being considerate and not wanting to take anyone else down with her, Ginny never mentioned the fact Harry had known she'd killed Ron.
Of course the truth devastated the Weasleys, but they never blamed Harry for the turn of events.
And as for Harry, while he felt slightly guilty for exposing Ginny while protecting himself, the guilt he felt over covering for Ron's killer eased. He began to sleep again at night, his health improved and he once again began to feel as though he was a decent person and had a right to be an Auror. It may have taken him longer than it should have, but he'd brought Ron's killer to justice and he felt as though his friend could finally rest in peace.