Ron was suspicious.

He had been for weeks, really, and whether or not Harry noticed it was debatable, but Ron noticed a severe lack of of anything from Harry. At breakfast he was on two seperate planets, occasionally shifting back to theirs, but spending most of his time lingering on a seperate force across the Great Hall. And Ron had decided to think of it as a force and not a person because he had a pretty good idea who the damn (ferret) person was.

The suspicion had started out soft, without him really knowing what it was about, and been cranked up high and crackling that day in the hallway when Ron was just walking. And then he had glanced across the crowd and seen--well he thought he might be imagining it, at first--Malfoy and Harry, deep in conversation and heading toward him.

Ron had just stopped, because he was wondering what the hell Malfoy and Harry could be discussing in such a civil manner, and stood there, his tongue moving around uncomfortably in his mouth. And then they practically bumped into him.

Malfoy had the good decency (uncharacteristic decency, anyway) to fiddle with his hairline, shielding his face from Ron with his hand, keeping the whites of his eyes away from Ron.

And Harry had just looked politely surprised, as if he was deep in conversation with Malfoy all the time--(and they were standing so close to each other, Ron noted with horror, Malfoy's hipbone brushing Harry's thigh) and so Ron had just nodded at Harry and gone on his merry way. And that had been the filling point for the suspicion. If he got anymore suspicious, it would be proven, and then it wouldn't be suspicion, it would be knowledge, and Ron had no idea if he wanted this knowledge or not--but now that he thought about it, really probably not.

So Ron ignored the hot gaze aimed at his table during Potions, although he sometimes just scooted away from Harry as much as he could until the hot gaze was mostly just warm and the prickles on his neck had subsided.

And then he walked in on them. Talking, not doing anything much else, in an empty classroom that Ron was scouting for him and Hermione, actually. He opened the door so gently that neither of them noticed.

Their dialogue was muted--he'd have to open the door farther to hear, and he wasn't doing that--but the way they were looking at each other was very serious and thoughtful, like they were colleagues, or something. It was amusing, or it would have been if Ron didn't notice Malfoy sitting half in Harry's lap, and Harry's voice lower than Ron had certainly ever heard it, and Malfoy's pale eyes were dark with the shadows of the room and something else. Something that looked a hell of a lot like, well, Lavender. Last year. When Ron was about to snog her.

Ron wanted to close the door and pretend he hadn't seen it, but he knew he couldn't. He'd be awkward around Harry and then it would come out much uglier than if he made Harry tell him. So Ron closed the door gently as possible, stepped back, and opened it. Loudly.

Then he flipped the light switch on and feigned excellent surprise at the sight of Harry looking like a startled deer and Malfoy just smirking at him. Because Malfoy was smart enough to realize Ron had been suspicious for a while. He'd wanted him to find out.

Ron thought that was either kind, or, knowing Malfoy, straight out diabolical, but he just looked at Harry half-expectantly.

Harry hopped off the desk and motioned that Ron follow him out the door.

"What's up, Harry?" Ron said in a very blithe manner. Harry took a second and really looked at him.

"Oh, you knew," Harry said softly, leaning against the classroom door. "You knew. That's why you've got that stupid look on your face. You wanted to catch me at it. Well, Ron, I've got nothing to apologize for."

"I never said you did, mate, although I'd like an explanation for your insanity."

"Ah," Harry said. "Well. I don't really have one."

"What the hell are you two talking about that requires an empty classroom?" Ron said, using his height advantage on Harry and advancing on him slightly.

Harry just looked up at him. "Things," Harry said, making it perfectly clear that Ron didn't have any power here.

"What things?" Ron demanded. "What could you and Malfoy possibly be doing together?"

Harry smiled at Ron as if he'd been waiting for that question. "This."

And he leaned forward, grabbed fistfuls of Ron's shirt, pulled him down slightly and planted one on Ron.

Oh.

Okay, then.