Unofficial Portkey Archive

The Pride

by Jardyn39

Chapter 7 - One Honest Reason

A very red faced Ron shrugged himself away as soon as they Apparated and stumbled slightly. Ron's immaculate robes seemed to attract the dry light-brown dirt to them at once.

A moment later they had both drawn wands and distanced themselves.

Harry drew a little encouragement from the fact that a strong-willed wizard could never have been forced into a side-along Apparition, and they both knew this.

Ron looked around and sneered.

"What's the matter? Didn't you want Hermione to hear?"

Harry didn't answer but instead allowed Ron a moment to look around at his surroundings. He took a few steps to the side and climbed to the top of a low wide mound that raised them up only a couple of feet but it was enough to see over the long glass.

Ron followed, keeping his distance.

"Where is this place?"

"We're in one of the lion enclosures," replied Harry. "If you look carefully you can see the Reptile House over there behind the fencing. They grow the tall reeds over there to give the lions some privacy, so we shouldn't be disturbed too quickly. So, are you ready to answer some questions?"

Ron didn't answer.

"Was it you who gave that story about me and Susan to the Daily Prophet?"

Ron smiled and shrugged.

"That was cheap, Ron. Really cheap. I can't believe you thought it would keep me away from here. I assume you thought something happened between us in the past?"

"Hermione always thought so."

"So you decided to reinforce that notion. Very few people knew some of those dates, though. You should have known you'd be one of the first people I suspected. Why drag Ginny into it too?"

"That wasn't me, actually," said Ron. "The Prophet has a massive file of gossip about you they've been dying to use for ages."

Harry breathed out slowly, determined not to lose his temper.

"How did you know I'd done an interview with the Quibbler, anyway?"

"Easy. I found a note from Luna telling Susan all about it that last time I came here. She wrote how the Defence League would have to be taken seriously but I also knew they were poking around the Ministry. The last thing I needed was an expose on my activities."

"Well, I'm glad they didn't have to go to too much trouble. You do know that without your intervention those investigations would have come to nothing? They didn't have a shred of evidence."

Ron said nothing but his ears went slightly pink.

"Why are you even bothering to try and steal this place from Justin and Susan, Ron?"

"Look around you, Harry. They have no idea of its potential. This place is wasted on them."

"Hardly. They seem keen to really make a go of things."

"Harry, they live in a house that can repair itself and yet they are desperate to collect enough Muggle money to do repairs. I mean, all they'd need to do is perform the right restorative charm to get the place going again and that heap of a house would be as good as new!"

"I think Justin and Susan are more concerned about all the Muggle workers they employ around here. They can't use magic or the Muggles would realise something was up."

"Who needs them? A few house elves would be much cheaper."

"Well, you've certainly thought things through. I understand that the Muggle paperwork is all in order too."

Ron just smiled.

"How will you explain all this, though? I don't think you appreciate how popular those two have become. They are practically the poster couple for the Muggle Relations office. Won't people think it unjust that Justin suddenly loses his inheritance to you?"

"Me? Oh, no, Harry. That's not quite right."

"We know about the Muggle Doctor."

"I'm impressed," said Ron, but not sounding at all bothered. "However, it isn't the good Doctor who almost took this place. No, the records clearly show that one Harry James Potter was intended to get the deeds. It will be shown to have been a clumsy and obvious forgery, of course. The good Doctor will only then be expected to inherit. Then, due an ancient legal quirk, the poor old quack will discover that the inheritance passes on only with a small parcel of land. I only bought it for sentimental reasons, naturally," he added with mock sincerity.

Ron was grinning widely when he'd finished.

"I suppose the good Doctor will have to have an accident before all this is over?"

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic, Harry. No, a strong memory charm will do nicely."

"Which you already administered?"

"One can never be too careful, can one?"

"Is there any point in asking why?" asked Harry.

"Why? WHY?!!" shouted Ron, his voice provoking distant roars from the lions.

Ron fought to control himself, breathing deeply.

"It's always you, isn't it?" spat Ron. "Everything I do is compared to you, and I always come up short. I get promoted in record time and all I hear is Harry Potter turned down an even better job before I even started. I finally scrape together enough gold to rent a half-decent flat and then it's Harry's place is so much nicer. Even when I try to propose a toast at my own sister's wedding party! Oh, no. Harry's not here and we can't start without him and then there's the eternal favourite Why can't you be more like Harry? No, I'll never get tired of hearing that old one!"

Ron wiped his face with his sleeve.

Harry lowered his wand, an act of sheer contempt that showed in Ron's eyes at once.

"I'm not sure what's more laughable; your ramblings or the fact that I believe you. There's one thing I've never understood, Ron."

"What?"

"Hermione thinks all this started after the pair of us got trapped. I'm really not so sure about that, but I can't understand why you've never actually come out and asked me what happened. I'll bet you've never asked Hermione either, have you?"

"No, of course not."

"You've been punishing Hermione all this time and yet you've still no idea what she's supposed to have done."

"I know well enough," Ron answered in a low snarl.

"No, you've only supposed what happened. No-one but Hermione and I knew what really happened in there. I've never told anyone and I doubt she would, somehow. So, here I am and you're still afraid to ask me?"

Ron swore at him.

"Well, maybe you were right. Still, I'm going to tell you what happened anyway. That way you can have at least one honest reason to hate me. Certainly, it was the last time I remember being truly happy. You can hate me for that too, if you want."

"Happy? I thought you were surrounded by Death Eaters, or was that a lie as well?"

"You know we were. You must have watched them come and go the entire time. You remember, Hogwarts had been occupied for months before we found we had to get back in there again. I got through the forest okay, and I was about to cross the grounds to the castle when Hermione caught me up."

Harry smiled, remembering how angry he had been with her.

"We agreed to wait for you," said Ron with a touch of annoyance. "She just tore off as soon as she realised how many Death Eaters would be waiting for you in there. The hole in the wall just threw me back again. By the time I realised I'd forgotten the charm that could open the hole again she'd gone."

"Well, we made it into the castle," continued Harry, "but then things started to get a bit tricky. Somehow they knew we were hiding and they started to tear the place apart looking for us. Even Voldemort had a go, sending all manner of things down the secret passageways. We had the Marauder's Map and my Dad's invisibility cloak to help us while we searched, though.

"I remember wondering if Peeves would appear and give us away, but he seemed to have gone along with all the students.

"We eventually found what we were looking for in the Great Hall. It was nailed to one of the rafters above the sky illusion. That was a great place to hide anything and I think we stayed up there for two nights listening to the comings and goings in the hall below us.

"It always amazes me to think that we must have been sitting almost directly below one of the most powerful magical objects ever created the whole time we were at school."

"What did you do with the Talisman, Harry? I mean, after you used it to destroy the Horcuxes."

"Dumbledore didn't trust the Ministry to know where it was hidden, so if you don't mind I'd prefer to keep its new location a secret."

"Why didn't you use it against You-Know-Who? I saw when it turned Dolohov to dust."

"Yes, I remember being concerned for you at the time. The Talisman works by redirecting any spell against the castor, but you're not invincible. Killing curses can't be deflected and it kills indiscriminately."

"Why were you concerned for me?" asked Ron indignantly.

"You seemed to become a little obsessed after you saw the effect it could have. Sometimes you seemed to talk of little else."

"But a wizard with that Talisman could achieve anything. I'm sure that's why the Ministry expected you to assume power."

"No. I promised Hermione I'd never use it again and the Ministry had no idea I even had it. I'm not letting you have the Talisman, Ron. It's far more dangerous to the wearer than any attacker."

"I could handle it," said Ron defiantly. "Tell me where it is and I'll let Lord Justin keep his pile."

"No. I've got a feeling Justin and Susan wouldn't be too impressed if the price for them keeping their home is more death."

"More death? The Talisman is a defensive object."

"No, the name given to it is just a little ironic. There's really no point in discussing the finer points of the Talisman since I hope you never see it again. Where was I? Oh, yes. I was telling you about Hermione and me."

Ron looked around nervously.

"Where are the lions?"

"They were in the main compound over there," said Harry, pointing off to his right. "This area was empty yesterday, but they use it to separate the cats when they have to."

"Oh."

"So," said Harry, getting back to his reminiscences. "There we were up there hiding up in the rafters in the Great Hall and spending quite a lot of time wondering how we were going to escape since all the entrances were guarded. They'd collapsed all the tunnels too. I must admit I wanted to use the Talisman to get us out of there, but Hermione thought that would be a bad idea, because then Voldemort would know we had it.

"It's probably wrong to admit it, but really enjoyed myself those few days. I suppose the months of collecting the Horcruxes with no concrete idea how to destroy them was beginning to get me down.

"I was tired and stressed, and it was only a matter of time before I did something stupid. Part of me realised that was why she came after me. I didn't admit it at the time, but I was very glad she did.

"It took a long time to explore all the hiding spaces up there in the roofs. I've never seen such massive timbers, although it did take Hermione a little time to get used to the height.

"She used the time we had up there to calm me down and get me to re-focus on what really mattered. That had been impossible outside, what with all those constant interruptions. In the end I was almost reluctant to leave."

Ron had been pretending to be uninterested up to that point, but couldn't hide his curiosity.

"I'd come to realise that killing Voldemort wasn't the most important thing to me. That came as a bit of a shock, actually. I tried to explain it to Hermione, but then she became impatient for us to find a way out of there.

"She refused to wear the Talisman herself, of course, so we climbed up and made a hole through the roof. Once outside, we found our way along the parapets towards the towers where we found an old school broom wedged into one of the rainwater chutes.

"We managed to fly down to the ground safety, but it wouldn't carry us higher than a few feet and you could walk faster. Unfortunately we lost the cloak on the descent.

"I'm not sure when they discovered us, but we were out in the open when they attacked. We barely made it to the concealed opening in the boundary wall, but fortunately the Order was waiting to help once we got outside the school grounds. The Defence League charged in moments later too."

"I was there too," snarled Ron.

"Yes, but I didn't see you fighting. In fact, I didn't see you at all until it was all over."

"I attacked Dolohov," Ron reminded him.

"If you say so, but he didn't appear to be particularly impeded when he attacked me. A stray curse was reflected back against him by the Talisman, of course."

"Are you saying I was a coward?"

"You were afraid, Ron; but so were many people, including me. Fortunately, many people overcame that fear. In fact, you actually went one better."

"How do you make that out?"

"You managed to use my fear to your own ends. It was only shortly after that Ginny asked me what had happened. I didn't tell her, of course. She said the three of us were different after that, but none of us would talk about it.

"I know I felt differently and I could tell you knew that. I couldn't really tell about Hermione, though, so I backed off. You see, I-"

"No you didn't!" Ron practically shouted. "You two were inseparable after that. People may have been careful not to say anything around you, but it was all I heard. She was supposed to be going out with me."

"Well, quite a few relationships were put on hold, weren't they? I don't think anyone could have expected to find romance during those times," said Harry before adding with a smile, "Well, anyone except Ginny. I suppose she's the exception that proves the rule."

"You know? That's when I really got worried," admitted Ron. "You weren't bothered at all that she and Neville were together, were you?"

"Of course not. I'm glad we've remained friends, though."

"Well, you had to, didn't you?" said Ron nastily. "You needed to turn her against me!"

"No, Ron. You did that all by yourself with the way you treated Hermione. That, and the fact you could out-boast Percy. Anyway, you've skipped forward a little too far. We came through the fight with Voldemort somehow.

"That time, you didn't run, Ron. You saved me and you saved Hermione. I can't tell you how proud I was of you that day, Ron. No-one overcame more."

Ron scowled uneasily as Harry continued.

"That whole experience affected me far more than I cared to admit, of course. I felt so guilty about surviving when so many didn't.

"I couldn't settle to anything for ages and proper sleep was a long forgotten luxury. In the end there were only two places I felt comfortable: the Burrow and on Hermione's couch. Actually, that's not quite true. Those were the only places I managed to sleep."

"Yeah, that's right," breathed Ron. "I really couldn't believe it when I caught the pair of you."

"What are you talking about?"

"When I arrived at Hermione's place. I'd been on duty all night but I'd just had notice of my promotion so I went around to tell her straight away. There you were, sleeping on that damn couch. And where was my dear Hermione? Curled right up there beside you!"

"No, Ron. I always slept alone on the couch, although once or twice Hermione did fall asleep in that reading chair of hers."

"I went ballistic!" said Ron, a savage look etched into his face.

Harry looked at him in complete confusion. If he didn't know better he could have sworn Ron was telling the truth.

"I'd have woken, surely?"

"Yes, you did eventually. Mind you, you must be a very deep sleeper. Hermione was dancing around, begging me to keep quiet. You hadn't even opened your eyes before she stunned you. You know? I think that was the last decent bit of magic she's been able to perform."

Harry frowned. Could this actually be true?

"She stunned me?"

"Something like that, yes. Anyway, she became a lot more compliant after that."

"Compliant," Harry repeated, rotating his wand in his fingers. "I suppose your friendly advice about me becoming a burden to her came shortly after that?"

"The very next day, Harry," said Ron with a wide satisfied smile on his face.

Harry nodded slowly.

"Well, I've only myself to blame as far as Hermione is concerned," he said coolly. Ron tensed and raised his wand again, recognising the signs that Harry was close to striking.

"Now," said Harry. "You know I can't let you take Justin's inheritance away from him."

"He had no expectations of coming into this place."

"No, but everyone around here seems to be pleased with them and the efforts they are making to keep the place going."

"So what?" said Ron with a derisory laugh. "They're only Muggles."

Harry watched the smile on Ron's face for a long moment before asking his next question.

"Do you remember Twynford, Ron?"

Ron's smile vanished at once.

"Who?"

"Twynford. He and his family were caught a few days before the end."

"Oh, them," said Ron carefully.

"You told me at the time you let them go."

"Yes. He had two small children and we had nothing concrete on them. His wife was terrified about what would happen to the kids in the Ministry pens. There were all kinds of rumours going around about entire families being sent to Azkaban."

"At the trials he was identified as one of Voldemort's main informants at the Ministry," Harry reminded him.

"Nobody knew that at the time, though. Even you agreed I'd been right to release them and he hasn't been seen since, has he?"

"That's right," agreed Harry. "Kingsley thought it was the right thing to do, although he said at the time he would have kept hold of Twynford himself a little longer."

"I didn't know that," said Ron. "So, what about Twynford?"

"Susan said something to me yesterday that's been playing on my mind," said Harry. "She was offered a bribe to release someone."

"So?"

"Twynford offered you a bribe, didn't he?"

"He offered me a small gift, that's all. He said he was grateful for his childrens' sake."

"How much did you take?"

"Nothing! Not a single Knut, Harry!"

"I'm not referring to when he was released," Harry said. "They were all searched and anything of value was confiscated. I meant much later, when you tracked him down. You must have finished your Auror training."

"You've been in the sun too long, Harry."

"Twynford and his family probably never expected to come out of hiding, especially since he was convicted of collaborating in his absence. Having you track him down and blackmail him must have been quite a treat."

"That's a pretty serious allegation, Harry. If you repeat it without evidence then I'll be forced to sue."

"Okay, how about coerced? That sounds better, doesn't it? Kind of thing an Auror might do."

"Not really. Have you any actual evidence?"

"The problem was that Twynford misled you about the amount of gold he'd actually hidden away. It was considerably less than the amount he'd tried to bribe you with, so you resorted to threats."

"Rubbish."

"Twynford was genuinely scared for his family and he could see no future for any of them. What did you think he would do in those circumstances?"

"How should I know?" asked Ron.

"Well, he probably contacted the Ministry and brokered a deal. I know he is going to serve out his sentence and in return his family will be protected. His children will be reinstated on the Hogwarts register too."

Ron swallowed and appeared to be doing some quick thinking.

"I'd have known about any deal," he said finally.

"Well, actually Twynford used an intermediary. I brokered the deal with the Ministry on his behalf, but that was before I knew anything about your involvement with this place. I may have to alter the terms of that deal now."

"So, you've been busier than we're led to believe?"

"I couldn't very well turn them down. Twynford's family are blameless in all this and, after all, you were right about him."

"He was an informant!"

"He was too scared for his family not to provide Voldemort with whatever he demanded. Twynford even tried to get himself caught a long time before the end, you know? He signed and dated every document he copied and passed on. Anyway, he's agreed to spend a little time in Azkaban."

"Two years, wasn't it?"

"Yes, but he won't spend that long on the island," said Harry. "He was to be in hiding until your trial."

"My what?"

"Your trial, Ron. Twynford has agreed to give evidence against you."

"The Wizengamot won't convict me based upon the word of a convicted supporter of You-Know-Who!"

"We won't need to rely on just his evidence now. Twynford was obviously smart enough to realise that too. It was his idea, wasn't it? He probably said that although he couldn't give you cash, he could find a way for you to come into a great once-magical estate provided you weren't averse to a little forgery."

Ron didn't answer.

"I'd like to think you got cold feet at that point. I bet Twynford let you suggest making it look like I had forged the documents. Did you even ask if Twynford knew anyone who could do the actual forgery work?"

"Yes," Ron admitted. "But you're not entirely right. The documents will show you forged only one document, preventing me from inheriting."

Harry just laughed.

"Ron, you idiot. Twynford stitched you up nicely. The documents all point right to you not me. It was your name that came back from the Muggle Land Registry!"

"What? How did you know about Twynford anyway?"

"Well, I told you I brokered the deal but the link with this place was pure luck. In fact, if it wasn't for Hermione mis-remembering the name I'd have forgotten all about it.

"You see, I happened to visit the cottage they were hiding out in, and when I arrived the children were just ending their piano lesson. It was nice, sitting there listening as they finished up. The Twynfords were very proud of their children.

"Anyway, while they were showing the teacher out, the eldest child began quizzing me about Hogwarts as she would be going there with the new intake. She made a point of showing me the letter that had arrived a few days earlier.

"I only saw the envelope briefly, but it struck me at the time that it hadn't been addressed to Twynford.

"I asked Mrs Twynford about that a little later. She explained that they had been using his mother's maiden name for quite a while in the Muggle world. Do you remember what that name was?"

"I wouldn't know, would I?"

"No? You see, his mother was actually Muggle-born and their family came from Norfolk. The family name is Wirrell you see? The good Doctor Worrell probably never had anything to do with the land. He only had a similar surname. I'm guessing Twynford chose him at random so that eventually they would be the ones to make a claim on the Estate. From what Justin said earlier, they might even have a genuine claim on this place.

"So, d'you get it? You go to jail and they take the Estate. Nicely done, Ron!"

Ron swore.

"I was a bit slow putting it all together," admitted Harry. "I'd completely forgotten them telling me about the name they were using. Besides, Twynford isn't the only one to have come forward and seek a deal. Quite candidly, I'd have to agree that there is virtually no chance of you being convicted on Twynford's evidence alone."

Ron didn't look like he took that much comfort from this.

"Using Twynford to try and swindle Justin and Susan out of this place was a huge mistake, Ron. Monumentally stupid."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"I feel obligated," Harry said truthfully. "Your parents' support has meant more to me than I can ever repay and I think they have suffered quite enough. If you go now and stay away I can delay your trial indefinitely. Well, a public trial, anyway and that's only if I can get Twynford to drop any future claim on this place."

"Maybe that won't suit my plans," Ron said defiantly.

"Well, that's something else we need to have a chat about, isn't it? You have enjoyed a pretty rapid series of promotions."

"So?"

"So," Harry said carefully. "I think someone is waiting to collect on all the assistance rendered to you. Right now, I must admit I don't know who that could be."

"I owe nothing," said Ron. "If I did, I wouldn't tell you anything."

"As I said, we'll talk about that presently," Harry said calmly. "Now, I was going to tell you-"

"You think I've no choice but to co-operate," interrupted Ron, now looking a little agitated.

"I think you need time to see just how limited your choices are, Ron. For now I'll just say do as you like," said Harry. "I'll give you until midnight tonight. That will give you time to say goodbye to your parents, but after that if I ever hear of you making a reappearance in the magical world I'll hunt you down and arrest you. That's a promise.

"I'll give you one alternative. You can report to the Ministry voluntarily and then take your chances with the Wizengamot. Being as your job means you're supposed to be acting on the right side of the law, you can expect fairly harsh treatment. I'll make sure you have enough gold for your defence, but this has to be something you want to do. It won't be easy, but you'll eventually clear your debt."

"Have you forgotten which one of us is the Auror?" demanded Ron.

Harry just raised his eyebrows and Ron swore again.

"That's why that damn post wasn't available," Ron managed to say through gritted teeth. "You were working for the Ministry the whole time!"

"No, not all the time, and actually I'm not-" Harry began to say but stopped abruptly. "Ron! Don't move. Don't move a muscle."

"Why?" Ron began to demand, but froze the moment the lion walked out of the long grass.

Harry couldn't quite believe just how big the cat was when this close. It was the male too, and Harry expected him to be particularly territorial.

The lion looked back and forth between Harry and Ron as if deciding which one to fell first. Harry noticed a small shaved area on one leg and a fresh surgical wound. He guessed the male had been separated for a while to receive treatment.

"Disapparate away, Ron. Go now!"

"No," said Ron with a tremulous voice. "I'm not going to be responsible for killing you, despite everything."

"Ron," said Harry very quietly. "Talk more softly. He's getting agitated. Just go, will you?"

The lion turned and stared at Harry for a long moment with keen intelligent yellow eyes. His face was marked with several old battle scars. Harry looked right back at him and then took a single deliberate step forward.

The lion lurched forward towards Harry, but started at the loud Crack! made by Ron as he Disapparated away. Harry heard a distant scream die away.

"Alright, Caesar," said Harry in what he hoped was a non-threatening tone. "You're still the king around here. No contest."

Harry stepped backwards down off the low mound. Caesar moved towards him but stopped the moment the lion was standing on the top of the low mound of compacted ground.

The roar that followed was so loud it almost made Harry splinch himself as he Disapparated away.

-

AN: Ah, it looks like Ron won't find out what the one honest reason was, after all. Got it yet?

Almost done now. Next: Luna returns!