I've always had a soft spot for these two, so here's a fic! Written for the 'Slash-tastic' challenge at HPFC forum.


Ron stared into the crackling fire. He loved doing it. It made the world just go away and the fire hypnotized him, captivating in his golden glow that made to see the world look much better and more mysterious. He remembered times when he was younger when he would just stare for two or three hours and little had changed since then, but now it was a great way to spend time when waiting for everyone to leave the Gryffindor common room, for him to meet Draco.

Draco. It was odd, his relationship with Draco. He remembered the day that it first started to change, the moment that they first started thinking that the other wasn't so bad, with crystal clarity.

"What are you doing here Weasley? I would think that you would need Granger to show you here," Ron heard Malfoy drawl behind him as he finished up the potion that he was brewing. Ron huffed as turned everything off and put his stuff away. Why this git, why now? Couldn't he have just a little bit of peace? He had barely gotten any since Harry and Hermione had realized their love for each other and had decided to snog whenever they saw each other, which was frankly very disgusting and made Ron want to puke. So he started hanging around Neville, but then Neville found love with Luna, and Ginny was with Dean, and Seamus was with Parvati. He was just about to resort to hanging around with Colin or Lavender even, but then those two decided to get together and frankly Ron wasn't sure how that had happened, and thought everything was a little to neat. The point was, all the friends that Ron had or even just people that he was on casual terms with was in a relationship and made him feel alternatively depressed that he wasn't and disgusted by all the snogging. Cue the want for peace and the hanging around the potions dungeons, as who would snog in the dungeons. The making of potions was Hermione finally rubbing off on him.

"Well, aren't you going to answer Weasley? Or McGonagall got your tongue?" Draco smirked as he repeated the age old joke of Hogwarts. Ron had never thought it was very funny, and the first and second years rarely ever got it. Ron just wanted to leave the dungeon and get away from Malfoy, but knowing Malfoy, he'd follow Ron until he answered. So Ron answered.

"Everyone is snogging and in love and happy and I just wanted to leave and not see them. I came down here because who would honestly snog here, and Slughorn doesn't seem to live down here like Snape did, and Hermione has rubbed off me enough that I decided to practice some new potions. What are you doing down here Malfoy?"

Draco seemed surprised by Ron's answer and the fact that Ron had said something honest and not sarcastic at all. "I know what you mean. Pansy and Blaise are together, plus Daphne and Theo now. Greg and Mil are together also, and Vince is with a seventh year girl, Joanie, though how those two got girlfriends is beyond me, because Mil and Joanie maybe ugly, they are not that ugly." Draco gave a slight chuckle and Ron couldn't help but give a small grin, though it went against his natural instincts.

"Well I have to go now Weasley. See you later though."

It was the strangest day of Ron's life, which was saying a lot, but for some reason, he didn't mind.

Ron was broken out of his reverie by a crashing sound. Looking up and turning around, he saw a fifth year Gryffindor girl, whose name he couldn't remember at the moment, who was clearly trying to sneak out without disturbing him. They looked at each other for a moment, but Ron said, "I won't tell if you won't." She nodded, Ron jumped off the couch and they both ran to the portrait hole without saying another word. They ran down a couple hallways together before she spilt off into a side one and Ron continued down the main until he got to the Room of Requirement. After walking past it three times, he quickly burst in to find Draco standing by a table with a roast beef, candles, and roses on it, holding two slim glasses full of butterbeer. "All I could get my hands on," he said by way of apology.

"It's okay. I love you, you know. I've loved you since I first saw that you brought a chocolate cake." It was the first time that either of them had ever said it to the other, but neither brought attention to it. Instead, all Draco said was, "I love you too."


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