"That's not at all, don't be unkind
The problem's all in your mind."
- Jekyll & Hyde
"Look, Ron - "
"No, you look!" Ron exploded. "You can't love him! He's - he's a Slytherin! And - and - well."
"Spit it out, Ron," Harry growled.
"Well, you're - you're - "
"Ron, just say it. He's a guy and I'm a guy. By admitting I love him, I'm admitting that I'm gay. And that scares you. You're scared I'll hit on you. Well, don't worry, you're not my type!"
"You're damn right, I'm not your type. I'm straight! And I'm not the son of a dark wizard!"
"His parents and their decisions have nothing to do with us!"
"No, they don't, do they? They just decided to support You-Know-Who! And he's the reason you have no parents!"
Harry lost all control and slammed Ron up against the wall, his wand out and pointing at Ron's throat, 'cruciatus' on the tip of his tongue. He looked down at his wand and pulled away, frightened by what he had almost done. "Oh, go screw Hermione," he muttered as he turned and ran up to the astronomy tower.
He cried as he ran along the dark corridors and stairwells. He was out of breath by the time he reached the tower. He thought he could cry no more, but found water streaming down his cheeks again as he crumbled to the stone floor, and leaned against the window sill. The only difference was that these were tears of regret, not anger and sadness.
He heard the door open, but did not turn around. He did not care if it was Filch who would suggest a period of time in the Forbidden Forest as punishment for being out of bed after hours. However, instead of hearing Filch's gravely voice, he heard Draco's soft drawl. "They didn't take to kindly to us being together, did they?" he asked, resting a hand on Harry's heaving shoulder.
"Ron certainly didn't. Hermione doesn't know yet," he replied, viciously brushing his tears aside.
"Well, hey, don't worry about it. He'll come around."
With that, Draco knelt and pulled Harry away from the windowsill and into his arms. For several hours, Draco held Harry, consoling him. And for several hours, Harry cried against Draco's shoulder.
When Harry and Draco walked hand -in-hand into Potions, Ron yelled out, "Look, the fags are here!"
"Ignore him," Draco whispered as they took their seats.
It had been three weeks since Harry had told Ron and the rest of the school, and there was still no relent in the taunting. In fact, Ron seemed to be leading the taunts.
What was happening? Ron was trying to be his enemy, and Snape had relented in his usual "I hate Harry" campaign, and was trying to be his friend.
"Mister Potter, I am sure your desk is quite fascinating, but do please pay attention," Snape scolded him out of his reverie.
"He must be planning the nest time he's going to shag Malfoy," Ron said loud enough for the whole class to hear.
"Thank you for that assumption, Mister Weasely. However, next time kindly keep it to yourself. In the mean time please note that fifteen points will be taken for your serious lack of judgement, and another fifteen will be taken for your use of the word 'shag'."
Ron sneered.
"Wipe that sneer off your face, or it will be fifty points taken."
Ron's face dropped in horror as Snape walked away, his cloak billowing. He turned and glowered at Harry's back.
As Harry and Draco were leaving, they heard Hermione calling them. Draco spun around. "Come to do your boyfriend's bidding?" he asked curtly.
"No, I want to talk to the two of you. Alone. The charms hallway should be empty, let's go," she replied.
Harry and Draco were reluctant to follow, but they were curious as to what she wanted to say. Did she merely want to taunt them without a professor hearing, or did she want to apologize for Ron?
In the darkness of the Charms hallway, they saw Hermione spin around to face them. "Harry, do you really love him, or is this just a prank on everyone?" she asked.
"I - " Harry didn't know what to say. "Hermione, how could you think I don't? Do you really think I would put up with all this if I didn't?"
"That's what I thought. I just wasn't sure." She turned to Draco. "Malfoy, we've got our differences. Can we call a truce - for Harry's sake?" She extended her hand.
Malfoy stared into her eyes for a moment, then clasped her hand. "This doesn't mean a truce with Weasely, though," he specified before releasing her hand.
She nodded. "I understand." Then she turned and walked away.
Harry kissed Draco long and full. After they parted, he asked Draco, "What's Ron's problem? Why can't he understand? Love is love, no matter who it is you love. Why can't he see that?"
"Perhaps you don't understand him. You see, it's all in the mind. He doesn't want understand."
"Ron, you're being an close-minded bastard!"
"Anyone would think the fag was your boyfriend!"
"He can't be my boyfriend as he's a homosexual. And I'm rather ashamed you are my boyfriend!" Ron opened his mouth o speak, but Hermione cut him off. "No. This conversation has ended."
Hermione stormed out of the common room and ran into Harry in front of the Fat Lady's portrait. "He refuses to understand, Hermione. Just give it up," Harry said, seeing her expression.
"He has to. By making fun of you for being gay, he's doing exactly what Malfoy used to do to me."
"You're right, but so is Draco. Ron doesn't want to understand."
Someone suddenly bumped into Harry from behind. "Oh, I'm sorry," Harry heard Ron say. Startled, Harry turned around. "Oh, it's the queer," Ron sneered and stalked off.
"You see? I'm going to bed; I have the Quidditch match tomorrow."
" 'Night, Harry," Hermione called after him.
" 'Night."
"The hardest thing in the world to do is watch the one you love, love someone else."
- Proverb
Hermione went back up to the girls' dorm where Crookshanks was waiting for here. She sighed, "Crookshanks, I think it's time we took this little war game of theirs into our own hands.and paws."
The ginger cat looked up into Hermione's eyes and seemed to say, "Oh, yeah? And what are we going to do about it?"
"I want you to go into their dorm and bring me Ron's diary."
The cat blinked and jumped off the bed sauntering from the room as if to say, "I'm doing this as a special favor mind, and don't you forget it."
Not five minutes later, Crookshanks returned carrying a small leather-bound book in his mouth and dropped it in Hermione's lap. He nuzzled her arm before curling up on her pillow.
Hesitantly, Hermione opened the cover. She flipped through the tanned pages; most of the entries seemed to be written in black ink, but a few were in blue, then she came upon a series of entries written in red. Curious, she read one.
They say love only happens once, but if this is love, I'm not sure I want it to be happening now, let alone again.
Poor Ron. He was always hidden behind Harry's fame and Hermione's intellect. Hermione kept reading.
Hermione's wonderful - the best friend I'll ever have - but she just isn't who I love.
Hermione's breath ccaught in her throat. A tear rose to her eye as she fought to continue reading, unable to turn the page.
You see, I love him more than anything - have ever since we met.
Him! Hermione read that sentence over. Yes, it definitely said 'him,' but who could Ron mean?
His hair is always perfect, even if it never looks brushed. His glasses simply enhance the emerald in his eyes. And that scar that many people think should be covered with surgery - I love it.
Ron was talking about Harry! Quickly, Hermione skipped to the date three weeks previous, thinking it would reveal Ron's anger at not being the one Harry loved, that Ron never wanted to talk to him, that he simply wanted to make Harry's life a living hell - but she found very little of this.
Harry just told me he was gay, At first, I was delighted; I thought he was going to say he was in love with me. What a mistake that was. I was wrong, boy was I wrong. "Draco," he said. Not "Malfoy," but "Draco." Why could it not have been me? Well, if I can't have him, no one can.
So that was it? Ron was in love with Harry. He wasn't being mean because Harry was gay, but because he wanted Harry to break up with Draco, or vise verse.
"Herm?" she heard Ron ask from halfway across the room.
"Oh!" she started. She took a deep breath, forgetting about the diary, "What?"
Ron began walking toward her, as he said, "I was wondering if you would like to go to the Valentine Ball with me?" He was now a few steps from her, and could clearly see the forgotten journal on her lap. "Say, what's that?" he asked, snatching it from her fingers. He glanced down at the page. "Hermione, this is my journal."
"So it is."
"Why?"
"I wanted - needed - to know what had happened to pull your friendship form Harry's grasp."
"Well, now you know."
"Now I know."
Hermione's head slumped against her chest and she stared at her hands. There were a few moments of awkward silence before Hermione said, "I don't think we should go to the ball.together." She felt her courage break with her voice. Ron closed the diary and stood there, staring at the top of Hermione's head. He saw a tear drip onto her hand. She drew in a raspy breath. "You should go, now," she sobbed. Ron didn't move. "It would be easier for me if you would go - now."
Ron bent and softly kissed her hair. "I never meant to hurt you."
"That is your dream and therefore your reality. Please leave me to mine."
Ron quietly turned and left.
"You stand before me
Now we stare eye to eye
Before another second ticks away, one of us will die
You reach for your medal as I reach for mine
The sound of bullets flying through the air is followed by a cry"
- 3 Doors Down
Harry and Draco would be in the astronomy tower; Ron knew it.
And so did Hermione. She seemed to know, instinctively, that some heinous crime would be committed when Ron reached the astronomy tower, and saw Draco in Harry's arms. There had to be something she could do to stop it.
She ran to the astronomy tower.
When she arrived, Harry and Draco were kissing. Ron was watching; tears were streaming down his cheeks and dripping onto his robe, but he paid them no mind. Draco and Harry pulled away for air. Draco drew a deep, peaceful breath, and nuzzled Harry's shoulder.
"I love you, Draco," Harry murmured into his lover's blonde hair.
These four simple words sparked a fire in Ron's eyes. He drew his wand and pointed it at Draco before hissing, "Avada Kedavera." Hermione had no time to react.
Draco's hand, which had been resting on Harry's bicep, slid down his arm and nestled in the pit of Harry's elbow. Harry gasped, tears welling in his eyes. He cradled Draco's porcelain-perfect head to his chest, sobbing into his flaxen hair.
Several minutes passed in silence before Harry lowered Draco's body to the floor and kissed his cheek before rising, grasping his wand in his right hand and approached Ron.
"You know what I'm going to do?"
Ron nodded.
"Avada Kedavera."
A flash of green light and Ron slumped to the floor. Hermione, driven mad from the loss of Ron, drew her own wand. "Please, Herm. Please," Harry pleaded. But he was not pleading for his life. He was pleading for his death.
Hermione obliged, sobbing "Avada Kedavera." Harry too slumped to the floor.
Hermione looked around the room. Her two best friends were dead, and she had killed one. What kind of a life would she have, even if she didn't go to Azkaban, with the knowledge that she had murdered one of her friends? She turned her wand on herself, whispering those two fatal words, and she too slumped to the ground.
Two weeks from their graduation, four Hogwarts prefects died.
"But do we gain from all this?
Now, was it worth a life? no
We throw all of our hopes away
And set our dreams aside"
- 3 Doors Down
A/N: Just a repost to fix formatting and typing errors.
Sophie: Thank you very much. I don't usully have my characters curse unless there's a reason for it.
To the rest of my reviewers: Thank you very much. Your commentsare always apreciated!