A/N: I had a reviewer, tati1, express that the scene where Hermione wraps her arms around Harry wasn't quite believable. So, I've taken tati1's suggestion and changed a bit of that scene in the last chapter. Hermione is still hugging Harry, but Harry is giving a bit of an explanation for it as well.

I've also had some reviewers say that they think Harry is being too girly. I've been trying not to let that happen, but it seems it is. Basically, I've realized I'm not using the cannon Harry here; I'm more or less using the Harry from my previous series Somewhere I Belong and even Broken Dreams without really realizing it. I'm so used to that 'Harry', that it's hard to switch back. I really had Harry broken into a million pieces in both those stories, quite frankly. I'm not sure how this Harry is going to turn out, but try not to be too disappointed if he acts 'girly' in some scenes. I'll try not to, but I can't guarantee that I won't!

Thanks and enjoy, I hope.

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"What are you doing?"

Harry glanced up from his homework assignment and gave Ron a slight smile. "I'm trying to finish this essay," he mumbled, waving his hand towards the mass of books he had piled on the library table.

"But why are you in the library and not the common room? Wouldn't it be more comfortable?" he asked, sitting down in the chair opposite the raven-haired teen.

Shrugging, Harry put his quill to paper and finished jotting down a sentence before looking up again. "It was the noise in the common room that actually made me escape to the library. It's much quieter here, obviously."

"Ah, true. Are you coming up soon? I thought we could spend a little time together tonight," he said slyly, and Harry just shook his head at him, smiling. Since the Seamus fiasco in the common room nearly a week ago, Ron had started showing more attention to Harry, even in public. It had been hard at first, but Ron hadn't wanted to lose Harry over something so stupid. They wouldn't make out in front of everyone or anything, but they had gotten to the point where they wouldn't go out of their way to hide it either.

Harry was very happy about the change.

"I can't, I've got to finish this essay. It's due tomorrow, and you know Snape will kill me or force me to test some vile potion if I don't turn it in," he replied and continued writing.

Ron sighed and nodded in agreement. "Okay, so that's also true, but come on Harry!" he pulled on the smaller teen's arm and nearly made the ink smear across the paper. Harry whipped his arm out of Ron's grasp.

"RON!" he yelled, "You almost ruined my essay!"

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Ron yelled back.

Harry sighed. He hadn't meant to yell, it just sort of came out of him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insinuate that you had or anything. Don't be mad."

"I'm not mad. I just wish you'd come and spend some time with me. With us. Hermione misses you too, you know. I've tried to be more open with you this past week, and I know you've been busy, but it seems we've hardly seen you!" Ron propped his head up in his hands and stared longingly at his boyfriend with an impish grin. "Come upstairs?"

"And what do you propose we do?" asked Harry, grinning back.

"Oh, I don't know…we could go to our dorms and kick out the other guys for a bit," he said suggestively and Harry started laughing outright.

"And you want to do all this with Hermione too?" he asked. "I don't think she misses me that much, Ron."

Ron smacked him on the arm and started laughing along with him. "Uh, no. I don't think Hermione would appreciate that anyways."

Harry raised his brow and shrugged his shoulders. "You never know…" he trailed off, stifling a grin at the look on Ron's face.

"She would not! Merlin, that's just wrong." said Ron, still trying hard not to laugh. The two of them gathered Harry's things and left the library, joking all the while.

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Seamus angrily put the book back on the shelf where he'd grabbed it when he'd seen Harry sitting at the table doing his homework. He had seen the smaller teen working on his potion's essay and knew just which books he would need for it. He'd finished his own ages ago. His intention had been to help Harry with his work and maybe show the boy he could be more than just a friend. Unfortunately, that wasn't how things worked out.

He'd had a plan and Weasley had ruined it. The little prat kept showing up right when Seamus was about to make his move. It was like Weasley knew just what he was thinking and when to show up to ruin his moment with Harry. He tried to suppress the growl but it came forth any way. Madame Pince glared at him dangerously and he quickly snuck out the doors where the woman could no longer see him.

He knew he was going to have to up the ante if he had any chance of capturing Harry's attention before all hope was lost. Weasley and Harry were getting closer and closer with each passing day and he couldn't stand for it. Harry was supposed to be his. Not that prat, Weasley. Something had to be done, and he was the one who would do it. He had to break them up. It was the only way.

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Instead of going back to the Common Room, Harry and Ron ended up out by the lake. They wouldn't have long before curfew but Ron had wanted to have some time alone before they had to deal with everyone else. Although he'd been doing a better job at showing his feelings in front of people, he still preferred to have some time in private with Harry. Not everything had to be public.

Harry glanced down when he felt Ron's fingers interlace with his own. He looked back up to try and glimpse Ron's face, but he was purposefully keeping his attention on the rippling water. Harry grinned and gripped Ron's hand tighter. This was a new development. They'd never really held hands before. This was one of the things that Ron had been uncomfortable with at first. Showing any affection at all had been hard. It was just so strange for him to do it with Harry. Had it been a girl, he knew it wouldn't have been so awkward.

They walked in comfortable silence for a while. Harry was content to just stand there all night if he could do it with Ron. He was finally happy. It was still a little strange that he had found this happiness with his best friend of all people, but he wouldn't take it back for anything.

"We should get back inside," he told Ron with a squeeze of his fingers. He would have originally thought it would be an odd sensation to be holding hands with a guy. But it wasn't. He rather enjoyed the feel of Ron's strong fingers wrapped in his own.

"Yeah, we'd better before we get caught out late."

Harry agreed. Snape would be out patrolling soon and he definitely didn't want to get caught by him. They'd be scrubbing out cauldrons for weeks, especially since he was pretty sure by some of the blatant looks he got from the man that he didn't agree with his and Ron's relationship.

As they stepped into the school, the strap on Harry's bag started to slide down his shoulder. He slung it up higher and as he did his books somehow managed to fall out of his bag.

"Damn," he muttered and crouched down on the floor and started shoving all his school things back into it. It was then that he noticed his essay wasn't in his book where he'd put it when they'd left the library. "Ron, my essay," he looked up and glanced at his watch. "I think it's in the library. You go on ahead. There's no sense in the both of us getting caught out late."

"Harry, I don't care if we get caught. I'll come with you."

Harry shook his head, though it was nice that Ron was willing to potentially get in trouble just to come with him to get his essay. Not that Ron hadn't done the same type of thing in the past, but now it seemed just a little bit…nicer.

"Listen, Hermione will be wondering where we are. At least go let her know we're on our way back and not out doing something we shouldn't. And grab my invisibility cloak while you're at it."

Ron agreed with that and immediately took off down the hallway. Once he turned a corner and was out of sight, Harry headed for the library. He still couldn't believe he'd left his essay there. He'd been sure he'd put it in his Potion's book when they'd left.

The library was dark and he couldn't see Madame Pince anywhere when he first opened the doors. This was actually a good thing. He'd been worried she'd send him straight to Professor Snape if she caught him coming into the library after curfew. The table he'd been sitting at earlier was illuminated by a sliver of moonlight coming in through the window. Even from the doorway he could tell his essay wasn't there.

He went to search it anyway, just in case the damn thing was lying on the floor or had somehow gotten blown off the table and onto a chair when someone walked passed. No such luck, the essay was nowhere to be found around the table. He even tried Madame Pince's desk in the hope that she'd picked it up when she'd been cleaning up for the night. If she had, it wasn't on her desk, and all the drawers were magically locked. He couldn't open them, not even with his wand. He'd just have to come back tomorrow morning and ask her before classes started.

"Potter!"

Harry spun around, his heart racing in his chest, and accidentally dropped his bag on the floor once again that evening as the sound of his voice echoed in his ears. "Seamus! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" he said. He kept his hand against his chest as if that could slow it down. "What are you doing here?"

"I found this out in the hallway and saw you in here. I figured it was what you were looking for."

Harry nodded. He couldn't figure out how he had missed it on his way in, but guessed he had. "Thanks mate, I was really starting to worry that I'd have to write the thing again."

"Yeah, you were looking pretty stressed there for a minute when I first walked in," he said, handing Harry his essay. His fingers curled with Harry's and lingered there after he'd placed the papers in the smaller teen's hands. He glanced up at Finnegan's face and tried to pull his hand away. It had been nice when he and Ron held hands but this just felt wrong. He didn't like it. Everything Seamus had tried to do always felt wrong, Harry realized.

"I-I've got to go," he said and yanked his hand out of Seamus' grip. "We're going to get in trouble if we don't get back."

He hoped Finnegan had some sense of self preservation when it came to getting in trouble with the teachers, but he just glanced at the door and shrugged. "I saw Snape down towards the dungeons earlier. He won't be up this way for another thirty minutes yet."

Harry frowned. They'd walked passed the dungeons on their way back inside the castle and hadn't noticed Snape or Finnegan. It was slowly dawning on Harry that Finnegan had been following them. He and Ron must have just missed Snape. He felt a shiver go down his spine at the thought of Seamus watching them as they'd been walking around the lake and even following them around the castle. It was a bit frightening.

"Well, stay if you want to, but I'm going back to the tower," he knew he sounded a little harsh, but he didn't care. Seamus was really starting to bother him. But when the bigger teen wrapped his hands around his upper arms and slammed him against the wall he started to panic. "What are you-"

He was cut off as Seamus kissed him. Hard.

It was difficult, but he managed to twist his head away. "Seamus, stop!" he yelled, pushing against his chest to get him off. This was when having a smaller stature absolutely sucked. It wasn't long before Finnegan regained the upper-hand and he was pinned against the wall again with Seamus' body pressed firmly against his own. Just as he was being kissed again he heard a gasp coming from the door.

Suddenly he was able to push the bigger teen off of him and he saw Ron standing in the doorway. He knew this looked bad. "Ron, this isn't what it looks like," he said.

"Oh, I think it's exactly what it looks like," Ron said angrily. He was glaring daggers at both himself and Finnegan.

Harry gaped. "Ron!"

"Just stop, Harry! If you've wanted Finnegan all along why did you even act like you wanted me? This is the second time Harry! How many times do I have to catch you in the act before I figure it out, huh?" he said, his voice and face a picture of self depreciation. "I can't believe how stupid I've been."

"Ron, it's not like that, I swear!" he desperately didn't want to lose Ron. Especially not over this, he hadn't even done anything wrong. "You've got to believe me!"

"I've seen and heard enough," Ron's voice was defeated. "You deserve each other."

When he turned and walked away Harry nearly broke. He spun on Finnegan. "This is all your fault!" he yelled. Before he knew what was happening he had pulled back and punched the Irish bastard straight in the face. "Stay away from me, Finnegan! If you touch me again, I swear to you that you'll regret it," He'd never meant something more in his life.

By the time Harry got into the hallway, Ron was long gone. He sighed in defeat. The day that had started so wonderful had just turned to absolute shite. He heard a moan and turned back to see that Finnegan was starting to get up. Like a light turning on, Harry suddenly realized that this had been planned. The entire thing, from Harry's bag spontaneously spilling all of his belongings onto the floor to Finnegan's sudden appearance with his essay.

Seamus must have accio'd his essay when everything had fallen out of his bag and then come to his 'rescue' when he'd gone to look for it in the library. That's why he'd been following them. Probably looking for the perfect moment to make his move.

"Why are you doing this to me?" he asked when Finnegan finally made it to his feet, a trail of blood running from his nose down to his lip. "You've ruined everything. Why?" he asked, the confusion and pain coming through loud and clear in his eyes.

"You and Ron don't belong together, Harry. Don't you see that? You and I have always been meant for each other. Now that Ron's out of the picture you don't have to pretend anymore. We can be together."

Harry was stunned. "Finnegan," he said slowly, "I think you need help."

The narrowing of Seamus' eyes had Harry taking a step back. "I don't need help!" he spat. "I just need you. I love you!" The lust that suddenly appeared in Finnegan's eyes as he moved forward had Harry reacting.

Within the blink of an eye Harry had his wand out and pointed at Finnegan's chest. "Stay away from me, Seamus. I don't even like you, let alone love you! You're sick, Seamus. You need to get help."

Seamus looked like he might cry at Harry's words, but Harry couldn't find the strength to give a damn that he'd just hurt his feelings. He'd just destroyed everything that Harry had cared about. He'd brought this all on himself. "Stay away from me," he said once more before fleeing the library. He had to try to talk to Ron, to explain Finnegan's sick plan. He'd understand once he explained it all, but only if Ron's insecurities would let him.

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Seamus angrily wiped the blood off his face. He couldn't believe the way Harry had just treated him. They were supposed to be together, so why did he want to go back to Ron?

He stormed out of the library. All his attempts to sway Harry to his side had failed miserably. And if he couldn't have Harry, neither could Ron.

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When Harry got back to the Common Room it was mostly empty. All except their friends. He looked around but Ron wasn't in the room. He did spot Hermione though, and he knew then that he was in for it.

"What's going on?" she asked heatedly. "Were you really snogging with Seamus in the library?" she said it as if the library was holy and what they'd been doing was sacrilegious. Only she would think that way about the bloody library.

"No!" he yelled instantly.

"Then why is Ron so upset? He said he caught the two of you in a very compromising position, Harry. You can't exactly fake that type of thing you know," she said. Harry hadn't ever seen her look so upset with him. And that was saying something.

"That's not true! He kissed me and I certainly didn't return it."

"Why didn't you tell him to bugger off then?" asked Dean.

"It's kind of hard to do when he'd suctioned his mouth onto mine and had me pinned against the wall!" he said angrily. "Where's Ron?" he asked. He was done with the interrogation.

"He's upstairs," Neville told him.

Harry nodded to him and walked away from them. He couldn't believe his own friends didn't believe him. He couldn't believe his own boyfriend didn't believe him. Granted, he had been found in a pretty bad situation, but Ron should have just known. It should have been obvious that he hadn't even wanted it. Right?

"Ron?" he asked as he slowly opened the door.

"You know what Harry; you can just leave me alone. I'm going to bed."

Harry watched with dismay as Ron wouldn't even look at him and just climbed into bed before pulling the curtains shut tight. He felt his eyes tear up but roughly wiped them away when he heard the other boys come in behind him.

Without looking at his friends and without another glance in Ron's direction, Harry went to his bed and hurriedly starting changing into his pajamas. A sudden thud from behind him had him turning in curiosity. Neville had dropped a book on the floor, but no one was looking at the book, they were staring at him.

"What?" he asked self consciously. He knew he wasn't anything to look at, but he didn't think it was very nice of them to stare at him so openly.

"Harry…what the hell are those?" Dean asked angrily.

Harry sighed, wondering what they were talking about. What could he possibly have done wrong now? But then he finally followed their line of sight and realized what they were staring at with such avid fascination.

"You weren't kidding when you said he had you pinned against a wall, were you?" asked Neville heatedly.

His upper arms where Seamus had grabbed him and held him against the wall were now discolored and were bruising from the tight grip. Harry embarrassedly brought his arms up and tried to cover the signs of how he was hurt from his friends. Then he heard the curtains being pulled back and Ron's angry growl.

"I'm gonna kill him!" he hissed.

Harry just shook his head and angrily pulled on his pajama top. "Now your angry?" he asked. "It would have been more helpful when he was actually attacking me but you just walked away!"

It was obvious by the looks on all their faces, especially Ron's, that while Harry had been getting assaulted, Ron had just stood there and then left Harry to his own devices. He hadn't helped him at all.

"Harry…I-I didn't know. I'm so sorry. Oh, Merlin, I'm so sorry I left you with him," he said, his voice filled with utter anguish. "He didn't…" he trailed off, uncertain how to say what he needed to. "After I left you…did he do anything else?"

"No."

"Harry," Neville stepped up, clearly thinking Harry was lying. "If he did something –"

"He didn't do anything to me. I, on the other hand, punched him in the face," he said, his voice filled with malice. "And told him if he ever touched me again he'd regret it. I think he finally figured out that I don't want him at that point," he glared at Ron. "Too bad the person I do care about can't seem to figure that out."

"Harry," Ron tried to talk but Harry just couldn't deal with it at the moment.

"Look Ron, I just need some time, okay. Just leave me alone tonight and we can talk tomorrow. Tonight, I'm just so tired. Okay?"

Ron agreed reluctantly and even went so far as to follow Harry to his bed as if to make sure he made it there safely. When Harry gave him a slightly irritated, if not affectionate, look, Ron finally went to his own bed but kept the curtains open this time. He wouldn't fail Harry again. And he wanted to keep a look out for when Seamus came in. If the little bastard tried to hurt Harry again, he certainly would regret it. When he looked up, he saw that Neville and Dean had apparently had the same idea. None of them had any intention of letting Finnegan get anywhere near Harry.

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A/N: Okay, I'm terribly sorry for the delay. I had trouble writing this chapter and even now I'm not sure if I like it. Sorry!

Seamus is definitely a bastard in this chapter. And, I'm sure some of you were probably wanting to kick Ron's arse when he walked away and didn't believe Harry. But don't worry, Ron won't falter again. I don't think so, at least.

There is possibly only one chapter left. I'm not sure yet.

I hope Harry didn't seem as girly in this one. If he did, sorry, I can't seem to help it. It just sort of comes out that way, though I did try to make Harry more like himself in this chapter.

Please review.