Disclaimer - I own very few things and Harry Potter is (obviously) NOT one among them, no matter how much I wish it did.
Quilldragon23746 and 1LoveHP, thank you so much for betaing.
I dedicate this story to my three best friends, who bare me, no matter how I am.
Don't forget to check out the AN at the end.
Before you begin the story, let me warn you, Ron has gone - all carzy in 'love'. He might be a little OOC.
Enjoying a peaceful afternoon, which he rarely gets now-a-days, Harry came out of the library, where Hermione had dragged him for some 'light' reading. As he headed back to the common room, he thought of Ron's current whereabouts.
As it was the last day before their Christmas holidays commenced, most of the students of Hogwarts had taken advantage of their last Hogsmeade weekend, and had their merry way to the snowy town.
Harry, for some reason had no wish of going to the village this time. He just wanted to sit in front of the crackling fire and saok in all the warmth.
'Maybe Ron must have...' Harry's train of thoughts broke, as the Fat Lady said "Password?" In her usual not-so-interested tone. Muttering the password, he just hoped to find the common room deserted.
But, as soon as he walked through the portrait hole, he found Ron, staring dreamily at the floor.
"Hey Ron! What's going on?" Said Harry, walking over to sit on the armchair behind Ron.
Ron, who now almost resembled Trelawney, did not respond and continued to google the empty floor, as if he alone was able to see something there.
As Harry eyed Ron and waited for a response, he noticed that he was holding something. It was an empty butterbeer mug.
"Hey!..." Harry voice echoed around the (almost) deserted common room. "Where did you get that from?!"he aksed, now wishing he had one too.
Looking up at his friend and ignoring his question (which, by the way, sounded more like an accusation) Ron said, pointing towards the floor "Look Harry..."
Harry gazed at the floor where Ron was pointing. But, he couldn't see anything (or anyone). There was clearly nothing on the floor.
After a pause, Ron continued "Look at the pieces of my broken heart."
'Oh God, he's hallucinating!' Harry thought, panic edging its way up his spine. And yet, all that came out of his mouth was "Er..."
Sitting next to him and throwing an arm around Ron's shoulder, Harry waved his other hand in front of his face. "Earth to Ron" he snapped.
'This is going to a long day' thought Harry wearily, as the only reply he got was the bleary blinking of Ron's eyes.
After a few minutes of silence, when Harry thought Ron had no plans of talking anymore and had dozed off, there was a muffled sob.
Bewildered, Harry looked at Ron, whose eyes were now filled with tears, shining in the firelight. "Are you seriously crying Ron?" Asked Harry, incredulously trying his best to not to laugh.
The moment the words left Harry's mouth, he saw Ron's lips twitch.
"Bloodly hell, Harry, stop laughing!" He said, shuddering, more with anger now, than disappointment. Fuming, he wiped his tears and said "Why do you even bother and call me your best friend?!" He wanted to say something more, but was concentrating hard and trying his best not to cry. "Go away!" He finished hiccuping.
Feeling a little guilty now, Harry said "Alright! Sorry. Now please tell me what happened. I'm listening."
Rubbing a hand over his face, Ron said "Do you know what Lavender told me today?"
Sighing, Harry thought 'Obviously, no Ron', but pretended to look eager.
Looking at the floor again, Ron stuttered "S-She... she said that she didnt l-l-Iike..."
Assuming where this conversation was heading, Harry patted his friend's shoulder and said "Hey! It's OK Ron. You still got me...and...Hermione too."
"WHAT?!" Sanpped Ron. He had now completely ceased weeping (Thank Merlin), but looked a little puzzled to Harry.
Then, all of a sudden, Ron yelled "NO! NO!" As if he had an unexpected insight into Harry's assumption.
"Not that Harry. She still like me...loves me, but..." He broke off again.
Harry, who was now super annoyed and confused, thought 'For Godric's sake Ron! Get it done with!' But, yet again, he only asked "Then? What did she say?"
'No wait, please don't bother answering it Ron. I really don't care' Thought Harry. But, he couldn't really tell it out loud, now could he? So he patiently waited for Ron's reply.
Tears started pooling in Ron's orbs again, as he said "Yesterday, I asked Lav about things she liked and disliked...and...and today she gave me a list of it."
Having no clue what Ron was talking about, Harry said "Er...What?"
Little annoyed by the lack of attention and interest of his friend, Ron repeated himself, "A list, Harry. Of things she likes and disliked. So that I can understand her better."
Harry had a placid expression on his face and was now debating between two options. He could say that he had something important to do and could storm out of the room. Or, he could just sit here and pretend to be interested in Ron's silly stories. He was mentally hitting himself for comming to the common room (and missing a chance of going to Hogsmeade) in the first place, and to bottle it all up, he had to go and ask what was bothering Ron. He ought to have known...it had to be something related to Lavender.
Ron was so held up in his thoughts, that he did not even realise that Harry was not taking heed. So he continued "She likes divination, reading, shopping, gossiping... and...and she said that she doesn't like...quidditch, butterbeer, chocolate and chicken."
'Where is Hermione when I need her the most' was all what Harry was thinking.
"I mean, she likes Divination, and...and not chocolate and chicken!! How? How Harry?!" Asked Ron.
Harry was not prepared for this. So when Ron looked up a him, nothing came out of his mouth except "Er..."
Even before he thought about things to say, to calm his friend down, Ron threw himself at Harry and started weeping.
Helpless and trying his best to hide his mirth, Harry patted Ron back and said "Its OK Ron, loosen up, relax. It's just chicken and..."
Ron pulled himself back, so that he could see Harry's eyes, only to spat back "It's not just chicken, Harry. It's CHICKEN." Stunned by Ron's words and expression, Harry was on the edge of his 'mirth control line', and was trying hard to keep a straight face.
Hugging Harry again, Ron said "What should I do now Harry? How will I live without..."
It was exactly at this moment when Hermione walked through the portrait hole and saw one of her best friends crying on the other's shoulder. 'Of all the timmings, she had to come now, didn't she?' Thought Harry, as he continues to coo Ron, who didn't even notice her presense.
Harry knew that expression on Hermione's face, she was confused and she had turned a little shade of red.
Harry wanted to explain, and he tried too. But,... that expression on her face clearly read 'Don't Harry.' Sighing deeply, she even mounted "I don't want to know." Before heading straight to the girl dormitories.
'Why is always have to be me..' thought Harry with a pout face, as Ron continued to mumble something into his robes.
Author's Note - First of all, thank you for taking some time and reading my story. Each like or a comment helps me a lot to continue writing, so please let me know if you like it or not.P.S - Do check out my other stories 'The Award' and 'The Speacial Trick'.