Disclaimer: Own nothing

A/N: This is an AU, set in a non-magical world. There is cursing, sexual harassment (of the bad kind), lots of heartbreak, mentions of abuse, and lots of class differences (Rich/Poor). This is a Ron/Draco story, and they may be OOC. I did try to keep them true to form, but AU's are a little difficult to do that in. This is a strange style. It's done as sort of 6 one-shots into different parts of their relationship with each other, you'll just have to imagine the bits in between (if you want to write the bits in between be my guest, I'm not going to be pissed so long as you don't claim my little insane world), it just seems to work this way for me, so this is how it will be left. I warn you now, I do not like Harry, so he will probably not seem very nice to begin with, and his personality is more confrontational, like in the last few books.

Please enjoy and review.

Happily Ever After

Part 1

Ronald 'Ron' Wesley, and Harry James Potter had been friends for years-neither could say when their friendship started, whether it was before or after Harry's parents had come into a family inheritance and moved up into the upper class society. Neither knew and neither cared, though, on occasion, Ron did get a little jealous of Harry and all the things he had. Being the youngest son of six, the second youngest of seven, he seemed to own nothing of his own. He didn't blame his parents; he knew they did their best. But sometimes-just sometimes Ron wished he had something new and cool that Harry didn't have.

At the moment what he wished he had was a car--Harry had just been bought one for passing his driving test, and had been showing it off like a prat for a week. Ron was about ready to hit him for it. But as Harry was being kind enough to drive him to the hospital to visit his brother Charlie, he couldn't. As much as it might sooth his ruffled pride.

Harry pulled up in front of the doors of the hospital and stopped the car with a wide smile, turning to Ron. "Here we are--that'll be £6.50 for the taxi sir." he said.

"Shove off Harry." Ron rolled his eyes at his friend's bad attempt at a joke, opening the door.

Harry laughed. "Have fun Ron. Tell Charlie he needs to get a new job would you." he smiled.

"Will do Harry. Have fun at your party thingy." Ron said, getting out.

Harry's face fell. "I'll try. I just hope I don't end up getting stuck with the Ice Prince again." he shuddered. "I'll give you a buzz later and we'll do something tonight-kay?"

Ron smiled. "Sure thing Harry." he shut the door as Harry started the engine and waved him off before turning to enter the hospital. He was halfway across the lobby towards the nurse's station when he stopped, he couldn't exactly say why, but he did, his eyes fastened on a boy, about his own age, with shoulder length platinum blond hair, there was a cut in his face, beside his eye. He looked a little shocked.

Ron couldn't say what captured his attention about the boy, but it was well and truly caught. He heard a snatch of conversation as he and a nurse passed him.

"Would you like me to call a taxi Mr. Malfoy?" the nurse asked.

"My Parents aren't coming?" he asked, an almost lost quality in his voice.

"No, we couldn't contact them." the nurse smiled.

"Oh-yes… they have a function. No--it's aright, I'll walk." he said, a polite smile gracing his lips before he left the nurse and continued onwards towards the door. There was a faraway look in his eyes, something Ron had seen in his older brother Bills eyes the day he had been in his car accident. It was shock.

Ron was surprised they would let someone in such obvious shock just walk out of the hospital without anyone. Maybe it was some chivalrous part of him that made him turn back; maybe it was just his general caring nature. Ron never knew what made him turn round that day, but if he hadn't everything would have been very different.

So he turned, making a quick mental note to visit Charlie either later or tomorrow, and followed this Malfoy outside. He found him standing on the pavement outside, looking left and right, as if he didn't know what way to go. He started the walk left just as Ron started walking towards him. He caught him up easily.

"Hi." he said.

Grey eyes raked him up and down for a split second before they went back to staring ahead. "What do you want?" he asked.

Ron frowned. "You looked like you could use some company."

Malfoy shivered a little. "Well I don't."

Ron kept walking with him anyway. "Where are you headed?"

"Home."

"I figured that--but where is 'home'?"

"Why? Wanna rob something?" Malfoy asked scathingly.

Ron kept his cool, barely. "That wasn't my first idea, but I think I just might now." he shot back.

Malfoy turned calculating eyes on him. "Then why?"

Ron shrugged, deciding on honesty. "You look like you're in shock, or if not in shock, at least very close to it. I don't know why they even let you out of the hospital. Shock can be pretty dangerous."

"Really-and how would you know?" Malfoy said a little snootily.

"Because my brother went into shock a few years ago when he was in a car accident…" he trailed off when he saw Malfoy's shivering grow worse, and he didn't think it was because of the cold. "So-where'd you get the cut from?"

Malfoy stopped walking for a second and his eyes closed. "Crash on the motorway." he breathed, shuddering, and continuing walking.

"I'm guessing that's where your coat is?" he asked, starting to shrug off his own.

Malfoy nodded, his eyes looking far away, until he felt a coat draped around his shoulders. He blinked and looked up at this strange boy.

"You'll go into shock for real if you don't keep warm." Ron replied to his questioning look.

"Um… Thank you." Malfoy said a tinge of surprise in his voice.

"Don't mention it. I'm Ron Weasely by the way."

Malfoy studied him before finally saying. "Draco Malfoy."

Ron smiled.

They continued on in silence before Ron couldn't help but ask about the parents that would leave their child to walk home after a car crash.

"So how come no one came to pick you up?" he asked.

Malfoy looked at him, frowning. "They have a function." he said, quietly, that confused and lost quality slipping back into his tone.

"Oh." Ron said, he had been expecting more, but obviously Malfoy had no intentions of divulging more. "So where do you live?"

"Newton Road." Malfoy responded after a moment's hesitation.

Ron bit back a grimace, why did he always seem to end up meeting rich people. Harry lived a couple of streets away from that, in the bloody rich end of town. "Heh, I live in an estate not too far from there." he said instead, hating the fact that the word 'estate' seemed to invite everyone to think he was poor--which he was, technically, but he didn't want people to think that.

"Oh?" Malfoy said his tone one of mild disinterest.

"Um… so… yeah…" he trailed off, feeling like he had completely killed the conversation.

They walked on in continued silence. Ron cast glances at the other boy, studying him, wondering still. It wasn't until Malfoy stopped walking suddenly that Ron even realised they had already walked the whole way to Newton Road and were now standing at the end of a long drive. Ron glanced round, this was a quiet sort of road, all the houses set far back from the pathways, it looked almost deserted.

"We don't get much traffic." Malfoy said, by way of explanation though he had not asked a question.

"Oh." Ron looked up the driveway to what little he could see of the house. "This your house then?"

Malfoy looked up the driveway and back at Ron, his eyes calculating again, before he finally answered. "Yes."

Ron shrugged. "Right then, guess I'll go. Still don't think the hospital should have let you go though." he gave a small half smile. There was little else to say really, unless it was 'good meeting you' which he couldn't really say because really, they had hardly spoken. "Bye."

Malfoy's grey eyes studied him intently, as if trying to understand something unfathomable about him, before giving up. "Goodbye."

Ron gave an aborted kind of wave/salute with his hand before he headed back down the road and towards his estate. He didn't expect the other boy to say thank you, or to invite him up to the house. It just wasn't done. Beside's it would have just been weird. It wasn't until he was at the end of the road and turning the corner that he realised he hadn't got his coat back.

Damn!