Disclaimer:I don't own these characters.
His feet stepped smoothly over the cold stone steps. In the dark of the night, with a black cloak shadowing his face, his face was nearly hidden. But one that could see the expression of Ron Weasley would instantly know something was wrong. His face was sallow, thinner- there were dark circles under his eyes. And his blue eyes had a hardened look to them- a dangerous, determined, glint.
The young man paused at a sudden sound, no; it was only the wind rustling the leaves. Or was it? Narrowing his eyes, he did a full scan of the premises. Nothing. He should know; he had been training up to this for the last few months.
Slowly he faced the front door, noticing the lion's head on the heavy bronze knocker. Ron placed his fingers on the hard metal, feeling the relief of the coolness under his tingling skin. He wouldn't be using this, not tonight.
Ron reached for the doorknob, twisting it every so slightly. Locked. He smiled grimly. That was obvious. Pulling out his wand, he whispered the spell softly, and the lock clicked gently. This was almost too easy. It was a good thing he was the Secret Keeper, he though wryly.
He slipped inside the darkened room. As he stared across the familiar hall, something caught his eye. Peering curiously, he stepped towards it.
Hanging on the wall was a photo of Harry, Hermione, and him, back in the Hogwarts' days. Ron wasn't quite sure when the photo was taken, but it seemed to be in their early years. Their faces were full of joy, full of laughter; full of innocence…Ron felt something falter inside of him.
"No," he hissed at himself. "That was then. This is now." He tore his eyes off the picture, shaking the thoughts out of his mind. He was on a mission, and he couldn't be stopped now. He had been warned this might happen. Voldemort had warned him.
Against his will, memories starting spilling back into his mind…that first night…
"LET GO!" he pulled uselessly against the two death eaters holding him. "I'll never do it NEVER NEVER! I'd rather die first!" Ron looked up to find the Dark Lord chuckling.
"Ron Weasley…" he tapped his long white fingers. "Stop trying to play the hero you know you've never been."
"NO!" Ron lunged forward, just as the two death eaters let go. He fell onto the ground beneath the Dark Lord, hands and knees scraped. With a flick of his wand, Ron suddenly could not move. "ARRGHH!" he struggled against the invisible bonds uselessly.
"I know you've always wanted to be better, Ron," Voldemort whispered. "But you've always failed. First it was your brothers…then in was all Harry, Harry, Harry. It still is. I know you've drifted apart since Hogwarts…I have no idea why he asked you to be his Secret Keeper…"
"Because I'm his best mate!" Ron snarled.
Voldemort looked at him, almost pitifully. "Are you? You know he always wanted the attention, always stole the attention from you. He always got the better grades, was better at Quidditch, was the Tri-Wizard Champion, and got more girls. I believe your mother thought of him as a son."
Ron, with nothing to say, merely glared at Voldemort.
"I'm here to offer you a proposition, Ron." Voldemort looked at him thoughtfully. "It would be quite beneficial to you, if you would just listen."
Ron quietly stepped up the stairs, avoiding all the creaking spots. From experience, he knew just where to put his foot, so it would not make any noise.
"I'm not making any deals with you!" Ron spat viciously.
"Listen!" Voldemort cut in. "You do care about your muggle-loving family, don't you, Weasley? And what about your little friend, that muggle-born? I believe you two were making plans to get married?"
"You'd better not hurt them-"
"No, no," Voldemort said. "Nothing of that sort. I was just explaining how they are likely targets of my death eaters. If you take upon my deal, I will make sure they will never be harmed. In fact, you and your family would be honored above all others, you would have everything you needed, your father would not have a work another day in his life! Your mother would have all the luxuries she wanted! You would have my guaranteed protection. Isn't that what you've always wanted, Ron? You wanted fame, recognition?"
He had reached the top of the stairs now.
"You would be my top man, Ron. Your family would be able to live in peace, in safety. That is rather important, you know. Bad things happen all the time around here."
The death eaters behind him snickered. Ron noticed he had stopped struggling now. Why? Why was he listening? Was he actually attracted to this deal? But he couldn't be-
"I know what you're thinking," Voldemort said soothingly. "You know Harry doesn't mean much to you anymore-"
"That's not true!" Ron protested weakly. But when was the last time Ron had seen him without inferior to him?
"He's soooo special, isn't he?" Voldemort said. "The Chosen One! But we know better, don't we?"
Ron gritted his teeth, but said nothing.
"And what about your sister, Ginny? Don't you care about her? Do you want her to be hanging around him? Don't you want her to be protected?
"It's dangerous to be close to him. He's dangerous. It was his fault Sirius died, wasn't it? Do you want Ginny to be put in such a position?"
Ron now walked down the quiet hallway, silently, stealthily.
"Why don't you weigh your options now? On one side…power, honor, protection for your whole family, riches…and on the other, er…Harry Potter. The friend you haven't had a good conversation with in years."
"How do you know?" Ron blurted without thinking.
"I know things, Ron…I am the Dark Lord, after all. Just think boy! You know what you really want! What you wanted all these years, living in the shadow of Potter. Do you really want to live like this until you die Ron, protector of the Golden Boy? The boy who doesn't give a crap about you? I'm offering you a chance, Ron…use it to your advantage…"
He was reaching the end of the hallway, to the partially opened door at the end. Harry's bedroom.
"Who do you care more about, Ron? I know what you want. You know what you want. Now why don't you just admit it, so we can go on to some serious business."
Ron opened the door slowly, wincing as it creaked a little. He gripped his wand tightly, holding it at the ready.
"What's your choice, Ron? Just tell me…then everything will be all right. What do you chose? Just say it. Say it!"
"STOP!" Ron gasped. "OKAY!"
He pushed the door with all his might, and it swung open, crashing into the wall.
The figure in the bed sat up, blinking sleepily. "Ron? What are you doing?"
Harry peered up at his friend, confused.
Looking into those brilliant emerald green eyes, Ron felt his heart stop, his mind halt, and a sudden darkness everywhere. Suddenly he pictured the first time he saw those eyes, and was jolted backwards in time.
"Anyone sitting there?" he said, pointing to the seat next to Harry. "Everywhere else is full."
"Ron?" Harry asked. "What's wrong? Why are you wearing that?"
"Harry-" Ron felt a sudden burst of emotion, a sob rising in his chest- oh, memories coming, flooding his mind- he couldn't break his gaze into those eyes, trusting eyes…
All those times Harry was there for him, and he was there for Harry, all those obstacles, those fights, girl troubles, whining about Snape, sneaking around the school, going to the Ministry of Magic, summers at the Burrow…they were almost like brothers!
The truth hit him. They were brothers, brothers in the heart and soul.
"It was all a lie," Ron said simply, tears coursing down his hardened face.
Harry got up, worried. "What is it?" he reached a hand out.
Ron's training instincts came through. "GET DOWN!" he yelled harshly, voice still choked with tears.
Stunned, Harry quickly sat back down on his bed. "Ron?" he asked quietly.
Ron gripped his wand so hard it had cut through his hand. Blood trickled down, mingling with his tears as he tried to wipe them.
"I can't do this…I can't…" He broke into racking sobs.
DO IT! A voice came through his head. You know what you want!
"I don't want it anymore," Ron whispered.
It's now or NEVER! the voice hissed.
Suddenly a great energy gripped his body, overtaking him, overpowering his control, ripping through him like a wave, ripping him apart. DO IT! Ron screamed from the immense pain, the burning sensation slicing through every inch of his being-
Harry gasped as Ron shook with pain. Abruptly he stopped, and what Harry saw made him frightened, very frightened.
The red glint in his eye that made him seem maniacal all of a sudden, was very familiar.
Ron couldn't control his own movements, his own body. Nearly blinded by the pain, he watched himself raise his wand.
No, he though weakly. I'm sorry, Harry.
Then the words came out, with a voice that was not his own. The voice was roaring, triumphant-
AVADA KEDAVRA!
There was a sudden release of energy as Ron fell to the ground, gasping, as if he had been under water and just now had broken the surface.
The quiet night was broken by ragged sobs.
AN: PLEASE REVIEW! That's all I want from you! Hey that rhymes! Anyways, if you liked this story, and you like tearjerkers, please check out my other ones! They are mostly one-shots, so they won't take up that much time! I love my reviewers!