Conjecture

by King Andro

Harry ferrets out a huge conspiracy that was responsible for war with the Dark Lord and comes up against his best friend as a consequence.

3. 3

[FONT=quot]"I wish it wouldn't sound so cliché, but," Harry said, exhaling, "told you so."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Harry, we have to stop seeing each other like this," Ron said in a sly tone, changing the subject. "Every time, there's at least one corpse involved. It bloody well creeps me out."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"While I appreciate your sense of humour," Harry responded, crossing the distance between the door and the bar in a few long strides, "we don't have much time."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"What do you mean?" Ron asked. "I thought you said the potion would take hours, maybe even a day to kill her."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"That's true," Harry said as he circled around the bar "but the Obliviators will be here in a matter of minutes."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]He then bent over and pulled up the barmaid's body before dragging her from behind the bar./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]She looked awful. Her skin was taking on a bluish tinge, he eyes were sunken and her blonde hair was matted, probably from all the alcohol that rained on her when their unknown assailant was thrashing the bar./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"So, what are you gonna do, interrogate her?" Ron asked./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Nope," Harry said as he laid her back down on the ground. He then produced the same wooden box that Ron saw earlier in the night. "She doesn't know anything."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Then why would they want to kill her?" Ron asked./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Oh. So you believe me now?" Harry asked, though his innocent facade was not so convincing. Again, Ron watched as Harry pulled out and engorged the wooden box with a flick of his wand, and watched it inflate until it was the size of a coffin. Opening the lid, Harry waited for the fine mist caused by the temperature difference to clear before reaching in and pulling out another body./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Well," Ron said trying to not to sound freaked out by what he was seeing, "faced with an attack from a total stranger which just happened in a bar Ashworth picked out, I'm kind of forced to. By the way, how the hell did you know?"/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"That is a question that can't be answered in a few minutes. Defrugo," Harry said, before jabbing his wand at the stiff frozen corpse that was laid where the barmaid laid half a minute ago./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Ron leaned over the bar to see the body unfreeze, and had to grab its edges in order not to fall down./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Sweet Merlin on a unicorn! Harry..."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Amazing, isn't it?"/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"How in the hell..."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"A hundred and sixty nine hours of hard work by three masters in transfiguration, that's how," Harry responded, circling around the bar and picking up the barmaid's body from the floor before depositing it in the box./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Ron just stared at the body that was lying behind the bar./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]It looked exactly like the barmaid. Down to the minute details of the peeling paint on her shirt, the small glass shards on her clothes and in her alcohol soaked hair, even the stains on her apron./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"I don't know all the details, of course," Harry added as he closed the lid and shrunk the wooden box, "but I know that it is an exact replica of her. And that's all you need to know."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Right," Ron said, blinking and gathering himself./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Ron?" Harry asked./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"I'm fine," Ron responded irritably./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"I know that, you pillock," Harry snapped back, before extending his hand. "Give me your wand."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"What? Why?" Ron asked, turning to look at his old friend in the eye./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Just give it to me. You can trust me now. Everything I told you was gonna happen already did."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Ron handed over his wand without a word. Harry took a moment to examine it, tapping it several times with his own wand, before he handed it back./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"What was that all about?"/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Preparing for the future," Harry said evasively, patting Ron on the back as the latter holstered his wand again./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Look, Ron," Harry said, bending down and taking his wooden box from the floor, "you might wanna take a rain check from work tomorrow."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Oh?"/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]He moved to the door and stared out into the dark street. Rain started pelting down on the windows./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Yeah. Call in sick, make something up," Harry said solemnly./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Ron blinked./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Why would I want to do that?"/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Just do it. Get up early, have a nice filling meal, do whatever you feel like. Enjoy yourself."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Ron looked at his as if he'd grown another head./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Trust me. Those would be luxuries you'll be missing in the few days that follow," Harry said./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Harry?"/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Yeah?"/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"You're starting to creep me out," Ron deadpanned. "Big time."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]A familiar digital beep reached Ron's ears./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Just remember," Harry said with a smile, "I haven't been wrong yet."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]And then without preamble or as much as a goodbye, he was out the door, vanishing into the rain and the darkness of night./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Ron sat back down and had another glass of Smirnoff, or at least what was in a bottle of Smirnoff. Despite being married to a muggleborn, he rarely had the chance to taste and explore muggle drinks and dishes, so he didn't really know what he was drinking./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]He had to let go of a murderer in the form of his best friend in order to catch people from some elusive organisation that didn't even have a name, hell bent on making money by starting civil wars./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]He didn't know who they were, why would they do that, or even how they operated. It was like swinging at shadows, fighting against these people, and he knew that without Harry, he couldn't even begin to understand them. But he was now a pawn in this great game of chess, praying that he could just make it to through to the other side of the board./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]His eyes snapped open as he woke up, and he immediately closed them, the sunlight that awoke him making his retinas burn./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]A goofy smile spread across his face as his memories from the previous night flooded back in his mind./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]He craned his neck to the side, only to find an empty pillow next to him./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]If he was honest with himself, which he could do in the confines of his mind, he found it a bit strange now. Hermione was never that kinky. Or that good. Or that willing. Not even on their honeymoon. /FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]A stray thought of some stranger under polijuice making love to him ran through his mind, before he remembered what happened before that./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]His smile promptly turned into a frown./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]He laid perfectly still, staring at the white ceiling as his mind tried to decide if it was just too convoluted to all be true and it was just a dream, or if it really happened./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Finally, he figured that his mind couldn't make up such a twisted scenario. But Harry seemed to be followed by twisted scenarios, even since before his birth, so this wasn't that strange when he put into account the happenings of their Hogwarts years./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]He couldn't help but wonder what Harry had planned for them to do. He said that he wouldn't get to experience some things for a few days, so he wondered if it was an ambush or a stakeout of some kind. If it was as boring as a stakeout, it probably wasn't a bad idea to treat himself as a king, just for this morning. Who knew what they would be doing./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]As he entered the small spotless kitchen, he found that Hermione had been kind enough to leave him some breakfast in the form of an omelette with a few bacon strips. It wasn't much, seeing as she had a phobia that he would turn out fat and lardy, but he compensated with making himself some fresh salad./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Digging in, he turned on the wireless and listened to the top ten songs for the month./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]It wasn't long before he was full to the brim, seeing how he never got out of the habit of eating as fast as he could, and after stashing the dishes in the sink and flooding them with tap water./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Sighing, he cast a nervous look at the fireplace. Taking a deep breath, he kneeled in front of it and tossed a pinch of floo powder in the flames./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Collins' Place," he said aloud before sticking his head in the now green flames./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]For a moment, he felt as if he was stuck inside the barrel of a muggle washing machine, before the sense of vertigo disappeared, his breakfast bubbling inside his stomach./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]He opened his eyes to see a small living room. Sunlight was streaming in through one window to the right, filtered by translucent drapes, illuminating a small couch and a small coffee table set upon bare parquet floor. Particles of dust flittered through the air, almost glowing in the strong morning sunlight./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Collins! You there?" Ron yelled, trying to get the smell of dust out of his nostrils./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]There was silence for several seconds, before the sound of bare feet slapping on wood approached from his left./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Collins came into view, dressed in only a pair of boxers, his shaved head shining under the sun's rays./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Something 'appened, boss?" he asked, his voice taking on a panicked note. On closer inspection, Ron saw white foam dribbling from the side of Collins face./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Toothpaste./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"No, no. Nothing of the sort. You're getting ready for work."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Yeah. Jus' brushing my teeth," Collins responded./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Yeah. Look, Can you tell Robards that I'm not coming in today?" Ron asked./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Sure. I'll tell 'im. Oi, you're no' ge'in' down with something, are you?" asked Collins./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"No, no. I'm fine. It's just that... I think I need a day off," Ron said, a shadow of his infamous blush appearing on his cheeks./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Is this about yesterday?" Collins pressed./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Yeah. I need some time to cool off," Ron said./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"You want to talk about it?" Collins asked. Just as Ron was about to agree, he saw the mocking grin on Collins' face./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Collins," Ron said, and the bald man raised an eyebrow. "Blow me."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]And with that he pulled his head out of the fire. The smokeless and heatless fire turned orange again, indicating that the floo call was over. Sighing, Ron sat down by the wireless and opened an outdated newspaper, turning to the humour and trivia section./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Hours passed as Ron amused himself with this and that. But he was restless. Something just didn't sit right with him. He half expected for Harry to make a Floo call, and kept glancing at the fireplace every ten minutes, even though he knew a floo call wouldn't come./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]That just wasn't Harry's style, from what he'd seen from last night./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Brushing a hand to his face, deep in thought, it suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't shaved this morning. Feeling like he was back in Hogwarts, he jumped at the excuse to occupy his mind and half ran, half marched to the bathroom./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]He could've done it with magic. A flick and two swishes would have had his face as smooth as a baby's behind. But it would be over in a second. And he was bored anyway./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]It took him several minutes just to find the razor and another two to clean it up properly. After applying shaving foam, he started slowly saving away the small hairs on his cheeks./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]But even this wasn't distracting enough./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Those would be luxuries you'll be missing in the few days that follow./FONT][FONT=quot/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]The memory came to him unbidden, out of the blue./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]He snorted. It almost sounded like he was going to Azkaban or something./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]The razor bit into his skin as his face turned almost as pale as the shaving foam on it. A small trickle of blood mixed with it, becoming pink as it dribbled down to the tip of his chin./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Azkaban. He was going to Azkaban./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]There was no ambush, there was no stakeout. It was Azkaban. It was Azkaban all along./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]He tried to think rationally. It made no sense whatsoever, but when he thought about it, since last night, since he broke through that door with his team, nothing made sense. There was no reason for him to go to Azkaban, not now, not ever. Yet the feeling of dread that rose within him, along with that feeling in his gut, as if someone conjured a brick inside his intestines told him otherwise./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]He was fucked. Well and truly fucked./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]The doorbell went off before he could consider the consequences of his revelation. As if in a dream, he walked out of the bathroom and opened the front door of his house./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]A pair of Aurors stood lined up beyond the threshold, their red robes flapping in the afternoon breeze./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]The younger one in the back, Theodore if he remembered correctly, drew his wand instantly, but an older Auror, Finley, stayed his hand./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"What happened to your face?" the younger one asked, his voice almost cracking, an accusatory tone to it that made Ron want to punch him in the face./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"I cut myself shaving," Ron responded after his mind settled back into his skull. He blinked and looked down. The razor was still in his hand, droplets of blood dripping down on the floor./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Is there a reason for the house call? I told Collins I wouldn't be coming today. Didn't he pass it on?" he asked, folding the razorblade and tossing it in the empty bowl nearby./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]He knew the answer before it came./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Yes he did," Finley said, "but that's not what we're here about."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Well, what is it then?" Ron asked./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Finley sighed./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Ronald Weasley, I'm placing you under arrest under the suspicion of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Please come in quietly," Finley said, his voice grave./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Is this a joke? Did Collins put you up to this?" Ron asked, though he didn't have the energy to act surprised or disbelieving./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"I'm afraid not sir," Finley said. Ron sighed and put his hands forward./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Go ahead then," he said./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]The younger Auror slapped a pair of manacles on his wrist with an eager vigour, grinning all the way. Finley blinked in surprise and shot the young wizard a dirty look./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"We will also need to confiscate your wand," Finley said./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Er, right. It's in the living room, right next to the wireless," Ron said./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"I'll get it," Theodore said, moving to step past Ron and into the house, and almost fell on his behind when Finley pulled him viciously by the robe./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"No," he said, "I'll get it. You stay here and guard the prisoner."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"And if he resists?" Theodore asked with a scowl on his face./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"He wont."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]There was a steely finality to Finley's voice as he stepped inside the house. Ron cast a look at Theodore's face. He didn't know the young man well, seeing as he was in A Division and Theodore was in D Division, and usually out patrolling Diagon Alley./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]But what he saw was smugness, hostility and anger. It looked like Theodore was completely convinced that Ron was guilty. And his eyes – those eyes were full of hatred. Hatred he hadn't seen since the day of Voldemort's defeat./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]A couple of seconds passed, and just as Ron was convinced that Theodore would pounce on him, Finley walked out with Ron's wand in his hand./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Let's go, gentlemen," he said and used his hand to goad Ron in front of him./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]Just as they passed the neatly trimmed shrubberies that adorned his front lawn, dozens of people swarmed to them, reporters with their quills scribbling and their cameras flashing./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Mr. Weasley, is it true? Did you kill Stacy Davis?"/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Mr. Finley, did Mr. Weasley put up a fight?"/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Was Harry Potter there to defend him?"/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Mr. Weasley-"/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Enough!"/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]The reporters cowed under the deep bellow that escaped Finley's mouth./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]"Mr. Weasley is onlysuspectedof doing that gruesome act, and I am certain that he didn't do it. A more thorough investigation is pending, and until that time it is complete, I advise you to stay put, and not jump to conclusions, like someformerreporters we all know. Thank you."/FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]And with that, Finley strode away, Ron quickly marching behind him. The reporters were silent, their quills scribbling on parchment, but the cameras kept flashing until they cleared the wards on Ron's home and disapparated./FONT]

[FONT=quot] /FONT]

[FONT=quot]That was it. If Azkaban didn't kill him, Ron was certain Hermione would./FONT/QUOTE]