Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters. We do not have any affiliation with them. J.K. Rowling owns everything.

Chapter 1

How's the Weather?

A/N: Well, hi. If your reading this, Thank You! We're new here (there's two of us) and we probably suck, but bear with us if the chapters are really short and we don't write well. Hopefully, it will get better. If it doesn't, flame us like crazy.

"I think it's going to rain soon," Ron said as he gazed out at the dreary countryside.

He, Harry, and Hermoine were on the Hogwarts Express, waiting to begin their seventh year at Hogwarts. The summer had been somewhat awkward, considering that Ron and Hermoine had brought their relationship to a new level, Ginny had spent most of her time out snogging with various boys, and Harry had been single ever since he and Cho had broken up at the end of last year.

"You're probably right, the forecast had called for thunderstorms this evening," Hermoine replied over her Daily Prophet. Her summer had been confusing. Instead of spending the last few weeks at Ron's like she and Harry usually do, she had stayed with her parents and they had dropped her off at the train station this morning. She had needed to get away from Ron for a while. So much had changed for her over the summer. She couldn't stand looking into Ron's eyes while she was secretly pining for Harry. She had started liking Harry about halfway through the summer. She and Ron had planned that she go and spend the last three weeks of summer vacation at Ron's, since all they had been able to do was have phone sex. They were planning to have their first time together when she arrived, but she had cancelled last minute, making up an excuse about having to spend time with her sick aunt.

Now, as she sat across from Ron, looking at him over her newspaper, she knew she couldn't keep this lie going. The summer was her safety zone. She could easily avoid spending time with Ron, but now that they were back at school, she figured she'd have to put up or shut up. It felt terrible admitting to herself that she was deliberately avoid spending time with Ron, after all, he was still her boyfriend. Though she desperately wanted to tell Harry how she felt, she could bear to break Ron's heart.

"Oh, hey, I think I see the castle up ahead!" Harry said a bit too loudly. It was painfully obvious that he wanted to break the silence. Hermoine figured she'd better pretend to be happy. Schoolwork was her main talent, and everyone knew she loved it. "Oh yeah, I see it too!" She chimed in, forcing herself to smile.

As Hermoine stepped off the platform and looked up at the castle looming before her, she couldn't help but feel anxious of what was to come.

Harry and Ron stepped into the dark, dusty seventh year boys dormitory. It was no different than the other dorms, except that each boy received a bookcase and some hooks above their beds.

"I guess we should start unpacking," Ron stated simply. He wasn't exactly in the mood to start a conversation. Actually, he just wanted to curl up in his bed. "Yeah, which bunk do you want?" Harry asked, "Since we're the first ones up here, we get first dibs."

"Uh, I guess that one in the corner by the window."

"Okay, I'll take the one next to it."

The boys plopped their suitcases on their new beds and began to unpack their things. Ron's suitcase was a mess; his clothes were wrinkled and some were rolled up into balls, and his other possessions were thrown on top of the mess of shirts and pants. He was never the best at organizing.

"Crap," Harry muttered.

"What?"

"I left my other trunk downstairs. I'll be right back," said Harry as he walked out of the room.

Ron sighed and fell back onto his clothes-laden bed. This was not how he expected his last year at Hogwarts to go. Originally, he had pictured himself easing through seventh year, with Hermoine at his side. "That could still happen," he though desperately. Though he knew it wasn't true. Nothing would ever be the same.

At the end of last year, everything was great. He and Hermoine were finally together, and he only had one more year to go. Before he'd left for home, Hermoine had given him a present. A cell phone. "Just dial this number with the buttons, and it'll show up on the screen," she explained, "this way, we'll always be in touch." Ron had taken this as a sign. It meant that he and Hermoine were finally serious about each other. He and Hermoine had started talking dirty to each other over the phone. Ron would lock himself in his room so no one would hear him. But, after about a month or so of doing this, something changed. It felt...wrong. Ron didn't understand at first, he thought maybe he had just lost his desire for Hermoine. But he soon realized that there was more to it than that. That he in fact was gay.

God, he hated admitting it to himself. Why did he have to be this way? No one he knew was. It sickened him when he desired another man. But he couldn't deny it to himself any longer.

"But what about Hermoine?" he thought, "don't you care about her feelings?" He couldn't imagine how she would react: angry, hurt, confused, all of the above? He couldn't think about it any more. All he knew was that he couldn't live this lie much longer.