Chapter 10

Ron had shrugged when Derek was sorted into Slytherin. Derek's whole family had been in Slytherin, so it wasn't surprising. Ron didn't even feel that bad about it. Slytherins might have a point he thought, thinking about how Gryffindor's Heroes had turned against him. So he ambled over to the Slytherin table and sat next to Derek. Malfoy looked at Ron in bemusement but said nothing. The other Slytherins glared at Ron... Derek felt anxious, and hoped his House wasn't going to fight with Ron. Ron just glared back.

"What?" Ron said sharply, "I'm a pure-blood aren't I?"

"Blood-traitor more like," sneered a Slytherin boy with spiked black hair.

"Do you see me at the Gryffindor table?" Ron retorted. "Some backstabbing Heroes they turned out to be. I reckon you lot might be onto something." The table buzzed with talk. The Slytherins were flabbergasted. A Weasley turning to the dark side? That was totally unexpected. And pretty cool they thought. One of them wondered aloud if Ron would be given permission to change his House allegiance. Derek joined in excitedly. He was thrilled that they seemed to be accepting Ron.

Only Draco looked troubled, his jaw clenched tightly. His look of bemusement had vanished when Ron made the comment about Pure-Bloods. Draco had been feeling ashamed lately that he had ever held onto his family's wretched beliefs, and watching Ron turn the other way made his blood run cold. This wasn't right thought Draco.

After the fight with Alex, Ron had spent almost week in the infirmary as his tentacles slowly shrank. And when he got let out on Friday afternoon, he was livid. They had attacked him for no good reason. He knew Alex was reaching for her wand. Ron was just defending himself.

Ron was so angry that he pushed a suit of armour down the stairs just to hear it clatter and clank all the way down to the bottom floor of the castle. As he turned a corner he saw Derek and felt slightly better. Derek had come to say hello to Ron every day while he was in the infirmary.

Occasionally some of the Slytherin girls had come in and cooed at Ron-which had been very pleasant. But it didn't feel quite as good as when Derek visited. Derek appeared besotted with Ron, and Ron was starting to really like it. It felt nice to be appreciated for a change.

So Ron tried hard to smile after he had just sent an eight hundred year old suit of armour crashing down the stairs. He liked Derek, but could tell that he was a bit sensitive. Ron didn't want to upset Derek, so he did his best to calm down.

"It's alright," said Derek. "You don't have to hold it in around me. Come with me, I want to show you something that might help... if... if you're willing to give it a go." Derek looked extremely anxious, and his ears were turning pink. "But only... only if you want to." he stammered. "You don't have to... I just thought... We need a private spot to talk for a bit, so I can tell you what it is."

"How about that empty classroom then? That's just storage now." Said Ron.

In fact, it was the very room in which Harry had found the mirror of Erised. Ron put a locking spell on the door so they wouldn't be interrupted.

"Alright. What's this about then?" Asked Ron as gently as possible. Derek looked like he was about to cry.

"I... I like you a lot Ron... I mean I like, like you." Derek said, "I have since the Hogwarts Express." He continued, blushing furiously.

Ron didn't say anything. His eyes just widened in surprise as light dawned on him. So that was why Derek seemed so fond of Ron. Well Ron had never been particularly fussed about people who were into that sort of thing, so he just smiled a bit and looked non-committal

"I... I just wanted to know if... if you thought it would ever be possible for you to like me back?" Finished Derek.

Ron didn't answer right away. He felt a bit uncomfortable-that really wasn't his thing thought Ron. But was that entirely true? He remembered feeling a bit jealous of Hermione hanging out with Krum at first when Ron wanted to be Krum's friend. Did that mean anything? Or was it just because Viktor was a great seeker?

Ron didn't know one way or the other, but he didn't care. He'd seen Hermione snogging that American girl more than once. What the hell, if she could be with a girl, maybe Ron could try it with a boy. He didn't know if he'd like it or not, but Derek would be easy to turn down if Ron didn't. Derek was clearly in love with Ron, or at least in serious crush mode, and he would do anything to please Ron it seemed. That would show Hermione that she wasn't the only one who could play that game.

"Look," began Ron, all of a sudden he felt his stomach flip anxiously. He didn't want to say this wrong. "I don't know if I'm into it or not okay. But... I'm willing to try a bit, and see if I like it. If I don't, I'm going to stop you. But if I do stop you, that doesn't mean I don't like you alright!? I'll still like you anyway."

Derek looked somewhat relieved, but he was really anxious for Ron to discover if he was into being with another boy as soon as possible. He looked around the locked old classroom which was now storage space.

"If you want, I could show you something right now...?" Derek queried with raised eyebrows and a little nervous smile.

Ron suddenly felt more confident than he had thought he would and he grinned at Derek and replied.

"All right then you wanker... Show me what you've got."