Even after the phone had stopped ringing, Harry could still hear it reverberating against his eardrums. Ron had finally found out, he was sure of it. He knew he shouldn't have ignored Ron's call, but the thought of having Ron tell him off as Ginny had done was something he wasn't quite ready for. If Ginny could say all of the things she had, he could only imagine what Ron would say.
He stared at the now silent phone, his mood declining just as rapidly as it had risen.
Hayley frowned as she gazed at Harry. The change that had come over him was striking.
"Harry?"
Harry felt the usual knot forming in his stomach, and he found he was no longer hungry.
His plate floated over to the sink, where it washed itself,, thanks to a flick of Hayley's wand. She kept gazing at him, her concern becoming more and more pronounced.
"Maybe I should go," she whispered, tucking her wand back into her pocket. "I don't want to cause any more trouble for you, Harry."
She turned to leave, but seeing the look on Harry's face kept her from taking a step further.
Harry's face was somewhat pale, and he was staring at the phone, his eyes half closed. She could tell that he was afraid.
He jumped as the phone rang again, a piercing, long sound. Harry didn't have to look at the caller ID to know who it was. He knew he should answer and just get it over with, that it would be much easier in the end, but he just couldn't do it. What if Ron wouldn't listen either? He knew how protective Ron was of Ginny. Thinking about how he had reacted when she and Dean had fought made him sick.
Ron had called three more times, but each time Harry had decided to answer, he would become unnerved at the last minute.
Hayley had tried to make him feel better, but it hadn't worked. Around one that afternoon, she decided to go get some things to make lunch.
"All right," he had said, though he was much too anxious to eat.
Hayley had just walked outside when the silhouette of a figure made her gasp and stop short. The figure was tall, redheaded, and male. He had just Apparated onto Harry's lawn. When they locked eyes, Hayley could see the pure fury in them. She knew with complete certainty that this was Ron.
"Harry," Hayley called from the doorway. "I think, I think you might want to come out here."
Ron paused a few yards away from Hayley. He stared at her, shock and anger plainly clear in his expression.
Behind her, Hayley heard footsteps, and she didn't have to turn around to see that Harry was coming. Harry froze in the doorway. The anxiety that had taken hold of him had become unbearable.
Ignoring his shaking hands, he stepped around Hayley and made his way onto the lawn, stopping a few feet from his best friend.
"She was right, then," Ron whispered, not looking at Harry. "You _are—"
"Please, Ron," Harry pleaded. "Please, just listen to me! It's not what you think, I swear! Hayley and I are just—"
"Just friends, yeah, Ginny said you'd say something like that."
Ron's tone was horribly accusing, which didn't make Harry feel any better.
"That explains why you didn't answer when I called."
"I, I'd wanted to," Harry protested. "I, I just thought..."
"Thought what?"
"I thought you wouldn't give me a chance to explain."
"Explain what? By the looks of it, Ginny was right."
What Harry had feared was actually happening. He knew Ron too well—seeing the look in his eye told Harry that he wouldn't be easily persuaded.
"She only came over because I asked her to," Harry said, though his words had done nothing to change Ron's expression. "I tried to explain to Ginny that Hayley and I weren't anything serious, but she didn't listen."
"Why didn't you just tell me about this earlier, Harry, instead of acting like you guys had fixed things?"
"Because I knew you wouldn't understand!" Harry cried with frustration. "And I never told you we'd fixed things!" His hands were trembling even more now.
Ron sighed. "I knew letting my sister date my best friend was a mistake," he muttered. "I should have known this would happen from the beginning."
"Ron—"
"Harry, come off it, will you? I came here to talk to you, to hopefully prove her wrong. I told her that it didn't sound like you, that you would never do that to her—"
"And I didn't!" Harry shouted indignantly.
Anger had joined Harry's desperation to prove to Ron that he had told Ginny the truth. If Ron had initially believed that he wouldn't cheat on Ginny, then why did he think so now?
"Then why do I see you with a girl, Harry?" Ron demanded, anger radiating off him as if it was tangible.
"I _told you," Harry said angrily, enunciating every word. "She came over to talk, that was it."
Harry was suddenly too angry to feel anything else. Why wasn't anyone believing him?
"All right, Harry," Ron said, sounding resigned. "I've heard enough."
Harry's anger had faded as quickly as it had come; it was replaced by incredulity. _You should have expected this, _though, he thought. He was almost angry at himself for thinking that he could actually make Ron see his side. Ginny's words echoed through his mind once again. Your parents... they'd be ashamed of y... you probably laughed at us behind our backs... you could have anything you wanted, while we had to get everything secondhand...
He gazed at his furious best friend, feeling defeated. He knew that there was no way he could make him understand, even if he drank an entire vial of Veritaserum.
"So, that's it, then?" Ron asked. He was looking everywhere else but at Harry. "You're not going to say anything else?"
"What more do you want from me, Ron?" Harry's voice was back to being little more than a whisper. "I've told you the truth. There's not much else I can say."
"Well, then, if that's all," he took out his wand. "I'm leaving."
Harry made no move to stop him. The only thing Harry did was take a few steps back.
"See you on Monday," Ron muttered, before he vanished with a loud _pop.
Harry stood there for a long while, staring vacantly at his hands. Hayley's voice barely registered with him.
"Harry, I, I really think I should go."
Slowly, Harry lifted his gaze so that he was looking at Hayley. She hated seeing him look so sad, but she couldn't stay knowing that he was going through all of this because of her.
Harry was shaking his head slowly, as if she was speaking in a language that he couldn't comprehend.
"No." The word barely made it past his lips. "No, Hayley, please... not you, too."
Seeing Harry so upset tore Hayley apart, but she knew that if she stayed, it was bound to make things worse.
"I'll come back," she whispered, crossing the distance between them and placing her hand on his shoulder. "I promise."
Harry nodded, but he still looked unconvinced. He trudged toward the house, keeping his gaze downward. He stood in the doorway and glanced at Hayley. He barely heard her say that she would check up on him; he barely saw her as she departed.
As he went inside and closed the door, he felt all of the day's emotions crash on top of him all at once. Tears slid silently down his face as he locked the door and dragged himself into his bedroom. An overwhelming sense of loneliness pressed in on him, making him feel as if he was carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders.
Ginny hated him, Ron was furious with him, and Hayley had left. Hermione was bound to be angry with him, too. In a matter of hours, he had lost everyone he could possibly care about. As he collapsed onto his bed, his body quivering with the sobs he had held back for hours, he wondered how it had all come to this, and if it could possibly get any worse.