Jigsaw

CHAPTER 11

Harry sat quietly in the darkened apartment his hands gripping the arms of the chair as he stared at the closed front door, waiting. He’d heard the car pull up downstairs and now he listened to the soft pad of his best friends footsteps up the stairs. There was a jangle of keys in the lock along with a whisper of magic before the door opened and the unsuspecting red head stepped inside. Harry braced himself as he watched his best friend reach for the light switch, illuminating the apartment instantly.

“Harry!” Ron looked stunned to see his friend and went to run over and see how he was doing, but Harry quickly raised his wand and aimed it squarely at Ron’s chest, making the wizard come to a complete halt in the middle of the lounge. “Harry what’s wrong, where have you been for the past four days?” Ron looked cautiously from Harry’s wand to his best friends expressionless face. “Harry?” Ron tried again wondering if his friend had been stupefied.

“You knew didn’t you?” Harry voice was cold an unfeeling as he addressed his best friend. Harry had had a lot of time to think and finally he’d worked it out.

“I…No Harry….You’ve got to understand.” Ron stumbled over his words and attempted to move over to where Harry sat but Harry was quicker and lifted his wand higher with more determination. Ron stopped again and looked guiltily at Harry’s wand.

“No don’t try and lie Ron, you’ll only make things worse. Instead let me tell you what you did and see if I get it right.” Harry raised a smooth eyebrow at Ron the boy’s wand unwavering. “The Auror’s and the ministry have been looking for Snape for years haven’t they? They knew back when the war had just ended, and when Snape disappeared, that the only way they were going to ever have a chance of finding him was to release Draco, because Draco Malfoy was the closet thing Snape had left to family. You knew Draco was dealing in dark arts, and you knew he’d had a hand in Voldemort’s grand plan like his father but the ministry let him go in the hopes he’d lead them to a much bigger prize. What’s it worth to you Ron? A million Galleons? A new promotion perhaps?” Ron went to reply but was quickly cut off as Harry continued. “No on second thoughts I don’t want to know what it’s worth because it’ll only serve to make me think less of you. The Auror’s have been watching Malfoy for sometime haven’t they hoping he’d slip up but you had a better plan. You decided to just to wait until I wanted to find him, because undoubtedly I’d succeed where an army of ministry fools had so far failed. Then you’d wait till I told you where I’d found him and you’d run back to your boss and tell him all that you knew.” Harry paused and watched as Ron worried his lip, his gaze falling from Harry’s to stare at the floor. Ron’s expression told Harry far more than his words would ever. “What gave it away was the way you reacted to me telling you about the hedge. You weren’t concerned for my welfare you were just shocked that I’d found something the Auror’s had failed to find in eight years. How could you Ron?” Harry shook his head watching as a single tear slipped down Ron’s face.

“I needed the money. Hermione’s not going to stay around without stability Harry, I just thought the money would make it easier on us.” Ron looked up through teary eyes to where Harry was still sitting stoically in his armchair, his wand still aimed at Ron.

“I could have given you any amount of money Ron, anything you needed I would have given you.” Harry glared at Ron who threw his hands up in the air in exasperation.

“That’s just it Harry! It would never have been MY money! Money I had earned! Not given to me like I was some charity case.” Ron was angry now his face going red despite the tears still streaming down his cheeks. Harry shook his head unmoved by his best friends dramatics.

“So rather than accepting charity from your best friend, you’d rather have sold me out!” Harry looked pointedly at Ron who shook his head vehemently.

“It wasn’t like that. Snape’s a bastard Harry, you might have seen him doing all that heroic stuff for our side but it’s the stuff you didn’t see him doing when he was with Voldemort! The ministry have got a file on him a hundred pages long Harry! His magical signature was found on no less than 80 innocent muggle bodies, and there’s not telling how many more wizards he’d bumped off in his time. You can sugar coat him all you like he is, and always will be a death eater!” Ron was shouting now and Harry could feel his own anger beginning to boil beneath the surface where he’d tried very hard over the past hour to keep it in check.

“People make mistakes in their lives Ron, some worse than others but you can’t condemn a wizard for life just because of those mistakes. You weren’t there when I faced him, you weren’t by my side telling me everything would be okay even as you held my life in your hands, and you didn’t hold me as I bled to death in grass.” Harry shook his head unable now to stop the shaking as he remembered the snippets of images of the night he’d faced Voldemort for the last time. “You can point the finger all you like Ron but it won’t change my mind. I forgave him his mistakes a long time ago, perhaps you should think about doing the same.” Harry stood up abruptly from the chair, tucking his wand back inside his coat pocket, where his trunk and other things were already shrunken and stowed away.

“Where are you going? Did you find him?” Ron looked positively scared as Harry pushed past him and over to the still open door of the apartment. Harry paused, and huffed a contemptible laugh back at his terrified friend.

“As if I’d tell you that Ron.” Harry glanced over Ron’s appearance for a moment before he shook his in disgust of what his friend had become. “I’m going away because I can’t stand being in this world where you value some peoples lives over others. What gives you the right to decide between one wizards fate over your own. Snape’s paid his dues Ron, it’s time to let it go. I should have left a long time ago.” With that Harry swept out of the apartment the door slamming behind him even as Ron began calling out to him desperate for him to stay. Harry paid it no attention and as he reached the bottom set of steps he closed his eyes and apperated away, a simple track covering charm ensuring no one could follow him.

TBC>>>>>>>>>>>>>