Alone

Chapter 13

"What do you want?" Jake asked coldly as Sirius and Remus stopped a few feet away from him.

"I," Sirius began then stopped. He didn't know what to say.

"I," he started again. "I'm sorry."

Jake raised an eyebrow.

"Is that all?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer, he turned and left.

"We're sorry, Harry. What more do you want from us?" Remus asked desperately.

Jake turned around and glared at both of them.

"Maybe sometimes sorry just isn't good enough. Do you two have any idea how betrayed I felt when none of my friends believed me? Do you? Sirius, you were framed for a crime you didn't commit before, couldn't you see that maybe it could've happened to me too? Out of all the people I decide to kill, why would I kill Percy? His family was like my family. Why would I kill him? It's been four years and you expect me just to forget everything and come rushing back to you with open arms? For four years, you all took the word of two known Death Eater's over my. Couldn't you have at least tried to find out the truth for yourself? But, noooo, take the word of Blaise and Pansy over my why don't you," Jake said angrily.

Sirius and Remus were both taken back by the angry manner of Jake. Yes, they both realized that he had a right to be angry and a right to never forgive them, but the seventeen-year-old Harry they knew would never have been this outspoken.

Maybe that's the problem; we were all so busy trying to fight Voldemort that we forgot to acknowledge the real Harry. We were so busy we forgot to get to know Harry and that's why we didn't believe him when he said he didn't do it. We didn't know enough about him to realize that he was innocent. We had all assumed that he had snapped under all the pressure the world had placed on him, when in reality he had already dealt with it, Remus thought sadly as he watched Jake control his temper.

"We know what we did was wrong, but please, Harry. Listen to us. We weren't thinking properly, I admit that. But you were acting all distant before the attack. And with all the pressure everybody was putting on you, we thought, maybe you'd snapped or something," Sirius said in a small voice.

Jake's facial expressions changed several times before settling on two. Anger and disbelief.

"You want to know why I was all distant before? Maybe because Ron and Hermione were so off in their own little world that they forgot about me. So I tried to give them as much privacy as I could. After all, it must've been hard for them to pursue a relationship with Voldemort looming over the horizon. Then you were always going off on missions and Remus was busy with schoolwork that I didn't want to disturb him. But what I don't get is why you even thought I was even capable of killing Percy. I mean, yeah, he was kind of snobby, but you don't see me killing every snobby person there is do you? He was like family. But now, I seriously wonder whether I had any family at all," Jake said softly before turning around and half ran, half walked up to the West Tower.

Sirius and Remus stared after him. They were about to run after his godson when a voice stopped them.

"Give him time," Derek said quietly, looking at the retreating back of his best friend. It hurt for him to see Jake in so much pain, but his friend needed space and time.

Sirius and Remus turned towards him. Derek looked at them. Anger flashed briefly through his eyes, before his usual cheerful twinkle settled back into his eyes.

"I'm not saying that what you did was right; in fact, what you did was down right stupid and horrible. As much as I wish Jake would never forgive you, I'll be lying if I said that. He needs time, but more importantly, he needs people to be there for him," Derek said with a sigh. He rubbed his hand over his face and looked sadly at the two older men.

"Can we go to your room or something, I think you need to know him as Jake Stevens and not as Harry Potter," he said quietly as Remus nodded and led the way to his quarters.

~~*~~

"You, Lucy my dear, are a witch," Voldemort said. Lucy stared at him.

"That's impossible," she blurted out suddenly. Voldemorts eyes darkened slightly and Lucy shrank back.

"Blaise, I trust you to inform Miss Campbell of her abilities before I come back in a week," he hissed before sweeping out of the room, his robes billowing out behind him.

Blaise closed his eyes and exhaled painfully. He hated Voldemort. He should've listened to Draco and went with him when he had the chance.

Opening his eyes, he scrutinized Lucy. Her black hair fell in messy waves around her shoulders and her hazel eyes stared back at his fearfully.

Exhaling again, Blaise sat on the bed. This was going to be a long week.

~~*~~

"Why did I come back?" Jake muttered, head in hands. He should never have. He hated it here. All it did was bring pain; pain he could've avoided and didn't have to suffer. Seeing so many familiar faces only brought hurt and anger to Jake. Hurt because of what they had done and anger because, he knew, he could never be apart of the world that his old friends were in.

It wasn't that his world wasn't good, it was. It wasn't that he didn't have great friends, he did. It was the memory of this world that haunted him. Always wondering what would have happened, if only he hadn't gone out for the run that morning. If only he had stayed with Hermione and Ron that morning. If only he had noticed that his wand was missing a few hours earlier. All of this could've been avoided.

But it wasn't.

And now Jake was stuck between two worlds, not quite apart of any and yet, not totally banished from both.

Banished from one world for a crime he didn't do and never quite fitting in the other because of the lies he had been forced to tell of his past, but most importantly, of what he was.

He wasn't a Muggle; he didn't belong in the Muggle world. But being exiled from the wizarding world had forced him to the position he was in now.

But the thing that Jake hated the most was the fact that he could never hate his old friends. No matter how much they had hurt him, he could never, ever hate them.

Strong dislike, maybe, but hate? No, never hate. He could never hate them.

Sighing, Jake stood up and looked through the window to the ground outside. It was a perfect day for flying.

~~*~~

After being settled reasonably comfortably in the large armchair by the fire, Derek sighed and looked at the two men.

They loved Jake, he could tell that much for their eyes and their behaviour towards him. This was what made it so hard to hate them. To hate the people that had cause Jake so much grief. To know that they still loved him made a big dent in 'reason I should hate the people that hurt my best friend' list that Derek had composed mentally.

"I don't know what Harry Potter was like, but I can tell you what Jake Stevens is like," Derek started. Sirius's head was in his hands and Remus looked sad. He motioned for Derek to continue.

"Jake does need time. He doesn't hate you. I can tell you that much. Dislike, yeah definitely, but not hate. He could never hate you. I can tell by the way he acts. The only reason he acts so cold is because he doesn't want to be hurt again and he's on his guard. If he hated you, he probably even wouldn't be here at the moment. He would probably have just sent a letter or something, asking how Lucy is," Derek explained.

Sirius seemed to brighten at the thought that his godson might not hate him.

"Jake isn't as warm and funny and nice to people he doesn't know. Hell, it took me more than three months to be friends with him and that was only because we were roomies. It took another ten months to get him to open up to me," Derek admitted sadly. It had indeed taken about five months for him to even become friends with Jake. He started telling Sirius and Remus of Jake's past four years.

~~Flashback Pt1~~

It was the first day of school and Jake hopped off the bus and started across the campus of his new school. Nervous? Yeah he was, but you couldn't tell by his face. Jake had taken a page out of Draco's book and learned to mask his feelings. All that showed in his face and eyes were confidence. Everything else was blank. Walking towards the building, Jake sighed inwardly. This was going to be a long day.

~~*~~

His first class was interesting. Jake never knew there were so many things involved in learning law. Sure, he had known it wasn't going to be easy, but he never expected it to be so complex. And it didn't really help when that guy, Derek what's-his-name kept on bugging him.

**Derek's PoV**

I had just stepped into class when I saw him. Of course, he wasn't hard to miss since practically everyone in the class was talking and looking at him. He had something that commanded other people's attention. It came naturally to him and I got a feeling he didn't like it. There was something unusual about him. A sort of aura around him that stopped any emotions he had from leaking out of him.

A mystery.

I grinned inwardly. I loved mysteries and I had a feeling that despite the cold exterior he had on, it was all a mask. I'm good at reading people you see.

Oh, this guy's acquaintance was something I was intent on meeting.

**Three Months Later**

"You're what?!" Jake exclaimed angrily. He glared at the receptionist behind the counter. She cowered slightly. When Jake Stevens got angry, it was a frightening sight.

Derek raised an eyebrow. This was the most emotion he had seen the guy show, since, well, ever. Derek was currently hiding in a shadow and looking at the pair arguing; well, to be more precise, Jake was shouting at the receptionist who was scared stiff.

"I-I'm s-sorry M-Mr. S-S-Stevens, but I'm a-afraid that you w-would have to move out. T-The Uni's knocking down you're dorm block to b-build a new lab," she repeated meekly, voice getting softer and softer as Jake's glare intensified.

"And how long do I have to move?" he asked sarcastically. The receptionist visibly paled and murmured something.

"Excuse me?" Jake asked in the same tone of voice.

"Three days," she said quietly as Jake threw his hands in the air.

"You expect me to find a place, get the bond money, move in, and sign the contract in three days?" he asked calmly, radiating anger and disbelief. The receptionist shrank back. She knew quiet anger was the most dangerous.

"Yes," she whispered, not meeting his eyes.

"And where, pray tell, am I going to find an apartment that quickly, even if I am going to board with someone?" he asked.

"I have a spare room," Derek found himself saying, stepping out of the shadows. The receptionist jumped as Jake turned around.

"And I was looking for a roomie anyway," he said, flashing a grin at the two of them. Jake stiffened.

"No thanks, I'll find somewhere that isn't infested by bugs," he said coldly. Derek wasn't in the least angry or hurt. He knew Jake didn't mean it. Like he said, he could read people as if they were an open book. Though Jake's book was written in another language and Derek had only begun to translate into English.

"There aren't any bugs at my apartment," Derek said with a wider grin. Jake glared at him.

"I meant you," he said before turning and walking away.

"The offer's still open if you need a place!" Derek called to his retreating back.

Derek left in a better mood than he had started with.

He was sure Jake wouldn't be able to find another place in three days, especially since he had classes for the next two. That left him with about a day and a half at the most and he still had to pack his stuff and everything.

Looks like I'm on my way to unravelling the mystery that's Jake Nicholas Stevens, Derek thought smugly. And on my way to finding a new friend, that's for sure

Derek knew, without a doubt, that Jake was the kind of guy that once you're friends, you're friends for life.

~~End of Flashback Pt 1~~