The next day, a barn owl delivered a note to Ron. He opened it and his face split into a grin. Harry looked over at it. It read,

Sorry about your eye. I hope you forgive me. For everything. If you do, meet me on the seventh floor at nine by the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.

Elodie Dirdel

Ron continued to stare at the note and smile. But Harry was worried. After what he had seen, this could not end well.

"Er… Ron?" Harry asked nervously.

"Huh?"

"D- don't go tonight."

"Why not?" Ron asked. "I want to talk to her."

"Because… last night when I fell over, I saw Elodie and Voldemort." He paused for a moment. "She's his daughter." He added quickly.

"That's not true." Ron said defiantly.

"I swear to you. It is. I'm so sorry mate."

"No…" Ron said, scowling at him. "You're not. You just can't bear to see me happy, can you?" he accused. "You never wanted us together in the first place. I can't believe you would stoop this low!" he stood up and stomped off.

"FINE! We'll see who's right when your sorry ass is dead!" Harry shouted after his friend.

"Men…" Ginny mumbled, rolling her eyes.

Ron walked out of the portrait hole at eight thirty. He was aloud to be out until nine so when he and Elodie were done talking he would have to be careful sneaking back. He sort of wished that he could've asked Harry to borrow the Marauder's map. But with what Harry said this morning, he didn't want to talk to him at all. When he got up to the seventh floor, he saw Elodie waiting for him, a sweet smile on her face.

"Hey you…" Elodie said, smiling even wider.

"Hi…" Ron smiled back.

Elodie took his hands and blushed. "I was afraid- I thought you wouldn't come." She put one of her hands on his bruised eye and looked up at him.

Ron shut his eyes, savoring the softness of her touch. With a sigh, he opened them again. "Nothing could keep me away. But Elodie…Why did you avoid me for so long?"

Elodie hesitated then spoke, "That doesn't matter now. Just as long as we're together. I love you Ron." She whispered, getting closer to him.

They were three inches apart when they heard footsteps drawing closer.

"Filch!" Ron whispered urgently. "Damn! Where are we going to go? Think Ron think! Shit!" He looked around for a moment until his eyes rested on the tapestry of trolls in tutus. "That's it! Just a second." We need a place to hide. We need a place to hide. We need a place to hide. Ron thought, walking back and forth three times across the blank stretch of wall.

"Ron…" Elodie said confused, looking at the wall. When Ron turned he saw what he had hoped to see, a door. He opened it, shoved Elodie in, and locked the door behind them. The room was small. Barely two feet were between them.

"Funny…"Elodie giggled. "I figured it would be something… roomier."

Ron laughed for a moment but then his face was serious again. "Elodie, please tell me. W-Why were you avoiding me?" He pleaded, looking at her with sadness in his face.

"Because… I…I was afraid." She stammered. "I really do love you though. You do believe me, don't you?"

Ron leaned into her. "Of course I do. I love you too." Then he kissed her sweetly on the mouth.

"But you can't…" she protested, though her voice was muffled.

Elodie reached up and put her hands in Ron's hair. Ron slid his hands on her waist and the kiss intensified. Elodie placed her hands on Ron's chest and slid them up and down his body, feeling all the muscles stretched taught over it. Ron's hands crept up her torso until they came to rest on the outsides of her shoulders. He then leaned more into her and his mouth raked the curve of her neck and left shoulder. Elodie backed into the wall and both of them slid down the wall, still connected. She wrapped her legs tightly around Ron's back and kissed his Adam's apple. Ron kept kissing her neck and jerked up the bottom of her pants leg. Slowly, he messaged her leg with his left hand while holding her arm with his right. Elodie felt the top of her sleeve drop, exposing bare shoulder and panicked. But it was too late. Ron looked and received a shock. On the back of her left shoulder was the tattoo of a skull with a snake tongue. Ron stood up and backed away as far as he could.

"Harry was right. Ginny was right. Everyone… was right." He whispered. "I can't believe it." He opened the door and ran out as fast as he could. Elodie was left there on the floor and started to cry as the door slammed.

Ron wasn't even paying attention to where he was going and thanked God when he made it to the fat lady's portrait without meeting Filch.

"Password…" the lady said expectantly.

"Ch-Chinese Fireball." he panted, sprinting into the opening in the wall as the painting swung forward.

"Where were you?" a snide voice asked as he crossed the common room. He turned to see Ginny sitting on the couch. He shook his head and continued on his way to the stairs leading to the dormitories.

Ron's head felt heavy. He was so tired but not enough to sleep. Tonight had been to horrible to be true. He hoped that Harry was asleep. He didn't want to hear the lectures that he was sure to get if Harry were awake.

"Ron, are you alright?" Harry asked as Ron walked into the dormitory white-faced.

He shook his head again but answered anyways, "I saw the most beautiful thing… that turned out to be the most terrible. You were right." He said, throwing himself onto his bed and lying flat on his stomach and burying his head in a pillow.

Harry didn't pursue the subject and for that Ron was thankful. He felt wretched enough already. He didn't sleep at all that night. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He knew that the horrible thoughts that ran through his head now would intensify by one hundred fold if he slept. Ron really wanted to forget about her. But it would never happen, at least not if his mind kept bringing her up. I loved her. I loved her. How could she be so evil? How could I be so stupid? I still love her.

Flashes of memory played like a movie in his head. On the bridge, by the lake, in that closet… his heart sank at the very thought of it. Elodie's voice also haunted him all night. "I really do love you though…" Had that all been a lie. Of course, what else? He had been used and he had let it happen. Ron felt sick with himself. She just wanted to get close enough to Harry. She had almost gotten away with it too and it was because of him. Will there ever be a time when I can be truly happy?