Alone

Chapter one

Everyday it was the same. Get up, have shower, eat then go to work. Jake yawned. He ran his hand through his hair again and proceeded down stairs to his kitchen. That has been his ritual for almost four years now and he liked it that way. It was predictable, no surprises. Jake yawned again.

"Hey Jakie boy," Jake's housemate, Derek Thompson called.

"Shut up," Jake replied good naturally before pouring himself some coffee. Derek grinned and started his own breakfast.

"Come on Jakie boy, we're gonna be late for work if you don't move your fat arse," Derek drawled sarcastically. Jake glared at his best friend.

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled and crammed a piece of toast into his mouth.

Half an hour later the two men were on their way to work.

***

"B-but how can this be?" Ron asked his eyes wide. Albus Dumbledore looked almost apologetic.

"You mean to say that Draco Malfoy was right all this time?" Hermione asked. Dumbledore nodded sadly.

"Yes I'm afraid so. Yesterday the Ministry caught Jonathan Dales. He confused to everything. Harry Potter is innocent."

***

"Ah Jake you're here. I have a new client for you," Jake's boss told him as soon as he entered the building. Jake raised an eyebrow.

"But I haven't finished Toder's case," Jake argued, highly suspicious of why his usually sadistic boss was so normal and happy. His boss glared at him over his glasses then transferred his gaze to Derek.

"Derek you take Jake's client. Jake follow me." Without waiting for a reply Jake's boss turned on his heel and walked through the corridors. Jake raised an eyebrow at Derek when just shrugged at him. Jake's blue eyes sparkled mischievously as he followed his boss into his office.

***

"We have to get him back!" Ron exclaimed loudly, pacing back and forth in Dumbledore's office.

"Yes, but will he come back?" Dumbledore asked softly.

"He has to. You-Know-Who is about to attack. He has to come back!" Hermione said almost pleadingly.

"Oh don't me that shit Granger. He has to reason to come back, after you all deserted him like that! For god's sake you were his best friends, yet you took the word of a death eater over Potter's," Draco added calmly. Hermione didn't say anything. Draco was right and she knew it.

"But he has to come back. He has to," Ron repeated. Draco snorted cruelly.

"Why should he. He doesn't owe you anything, at least not anymore, not after how you treated him," the blond man retorted. Ron glared at him, his face almost as red as his hair.

***

Jake fell with a groan on to the sofa that night.

"What's wrong Jakie boy?" Derek asked, taking a sip of his beer.

"I have to word with that smart arse, up himself Baxter that's what!" Jake exclaimed gloomily, not even bothering to tell Derek to screw himself for calling him Jakie boy.

"So that's why he was in such a bad mood when I saw him today," Derek mused softly. Jake just grunted and didn't say anything.

***

"How could you?" Ron asked, as a few tears slid down his face. Harry stared at his best friend. He had never seen him cry before.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"You worthless bastard! After all I've done for you, been there for you, how could you do this?" Ron screamed, throwing himself at his surprised at best friend. Hermione and Ginny held him back as Harry looked from one face to another. Sirius wasn't looking at him, but his body language screamed shame and disappointment. Remus was glaring at him as was the whole hall. Dumbledore wouldn't even look at him. Ron was sobbing still tying to hit Harry and Hermione was looking at him with venom. Ginny was crying as she hung desperately on to Ron.

"What did I do?" Harry asked, still bewildered that after he had gone for a walk around the lake, the school's attitude towards him had changed so much.

No one answered him for that moment a pair of hands clamped them around his shoulder, forcing his arms behind his back.

"Harry Potter, you are here by under arrest by the order of the Ministry of Magic for killing Percy Weasley. Do you have anything to say?" the auror asked him. Harry nearly fainted with shock there.

"I didn't kill anybody!" he cried, hoping that at least his best friends would believe him, but no. They glared at him.

"I was out walking!" he argued. The auror looked sceptically at him.

"We have two witnesses that claim to have seen you kill Mr. Weasley. Do you have any last words?" the auror asked again. Harry pressed his lips into a straight line.

"No, not even my best friends believe me. What's the use of telling everyone the truth if nobody believes me?" he asked bitterly. There was no answer as another auror went up to Dumbledore to check something. Harry raised his head and saw Draco Malfoy walking towards him.

"Well Potter, I always thought there might have been something dark in you," he sneered loudly. Harry didn't reply, he didn't even have the energy to glare. Not that he cared about what anyone said to him to anymore. Draco cocked his head to one side and looked intently at the black-haired boy. Looking around and seeing that nobody was watching, Draco slipped something into Harry's pocket.

"I believe you're innocent," he whispered in the surprised Harry Potter's ear. Harry looked at him in disbelief.

"Port key, activated for ten seconds," Draco mouthed as he sauntered back to the Slytherin table.

Harry had been given a second chance and he took it.

***

Jake woke up to find that he was covered in a cold sweat. The sheets on his bed were all tangled up and his blankets were on the ground. Drawing in a shaky breath, Jake buried his face in his hands.

Four bloody years, it's been four years. Why start now? He thought gloomily as his eyes focused on the clock face. Three in the morning. It was too early to sleep again, but somehow Jake got the feeling he wasn't about to fall asleep again.

***

"What do you mean he's bloody innocent?" Sirius exclaimed at Dumbledore.

"Sirius calm down. I'm afraid, we've all been wrong. Harry was innocent, he didn't not kill Percy as Blaise and Pansy said he had. I should've believed him," Dumbledore mumbled as he slumped into his chair. Sirius meanwhile looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown.

"My goddamn godson was fucking innocent and none of us fucking believed him! Why do I think this isn't good?" he shouted, burying his face in his hands. Remus moved towards him and held him comfortingly. Draco meanwhile looked bored.

"Well at least he didn't go to Azkaban," he stated calmly, while inspecting his nails. The Order of the Phoenix turned to look at the cynical blond.

"Yes but have you realised that if Harry decides to take revenge there's nothing we can do. He is powerful dam it and all you can do is sit there at file your nails!" Ron shouted. Draco looked up, his grey eyes flashing with anger.

"I didn't do anything Weasley? If it wasn't for me, Potter would be rotting in his cell right about now!" Draco shouted back.

"What do you mean by you doing something?" Dumbledore asked, before Ron could shout again.

"I gave him a portkey when I went up to talk to him. It took him to muggle LA," Draco replied, his mask of indifference back in place. Ron gaped.

"You did what?" he asked weakly.

"Well since you weren't gonna do anything except give Potter a very bad headache, I decided to give him a portkey. I believed he was innocent from the start and since none of his friends and family believed him, I had to take things into my own hands," Draco said accusingly, looking at Harry's friends. The room flinched when they heard what Draco said.

"Do you know where he is Draco?" Dumbledore asked. Draco shrugged.

"I may," he answered. "Or I may not."

"Damn it Malfoy, stop toying with us! Tell me where Harry is," Sirius shouted. Draco looked at him.

"Where should I? All you want is for him to come back and kill Voldemort. If it wasn't for that, you wouldn't bother looking for him. And besides, he might not come."

"That is why you're going Draco," Dumbledore said into the silenced room.