A/N: Wow. This story is slowly coming to a close. It's weird to think that after working on it for so long. Thank you everyone that has reviewed, favourited, read, and anything else! It all means so much. So, here's a brand-spanking-new chapter! Let me know what you think! The song used in this chapter is On The Brightside" by Christofer Drew (Never Shout Never).
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Two weeks. It had only been two weeks since he returned to Hogwarts and Ron already felt like he was drowning.
At first, everything was great. Ron and Draco would meet in that same classroom and strum on the guitar and kiss here and there. But by the end of the first week, Ron felt like he was already piled up in homework. He and Draco would work on it together but it was becoming difficult to carry everything around at once. Ron could tell it was hard on the blonde, too.
It wasn't just that, as much as the red head hated to admit it. Social interactions were becoming hard as well. Only Harry knew about the two of them – Ron still couldn't suck it up and tell Hermione yet. The train ride back to Hogwarts was terrible. The red head desperately wanted to sit next to Draco, but he couldn't. It was torture.
Class wasn't much easier. Keeping up this image of hate was starting to drain Ron. If two measly weeks were too much for him, how could Ron put up with this all year? Ron didn't even know how Draco was feeling. He had been too nervous, oddly, to ask the blonde. He didn't want to stress Draco out or even worry him. It felt like there was a lot of unnecessary stress floating around and Ron didn't know what to do with it.
It was currently a free period before dinner. Ron was supposed to be studying but he couldn't focus for more than five seconds. Instead, the red head chose to wander near the lake a bit. It was still nice and warm out. He figured he might as well enjoy it while he can. So Ron walked. He would walk to a certain point, turn around, walk back from where he came, and do it all over again. Ron did this for a bit, letting his thoughts carry his feet.
As Ron was taking his short route back to the castle, almost getting ready to turn around and start again, something made the red head look up from the ground. He saw another figure a distance away standing by the lake, just looking out across the water. Ron didn't even have to be close to recognize who it was. The brilliant blonde hair was a dead giveaway.
Ron quickly but quietly moved towards the blonde, a wide smile on the red head's face. There was no one else around except for them. He had always wanted to do this. He wanted to give him a hug outside the comfort of his bedroom or that damned classroom. This was his chance, and Ron wasn't going to pass it up.
He was only a few steps away. Somehow the blonde hadn't noticed Ron approaching. Ron noticed how lost and distraught he looked. It made his smile falter for a second. Ron took his few last steps before jumping and attacking Draco with a hug. Draco let out a yelp as he almost toppled over.
Draco widely looked around him, his eyes connecting with Ron's before Ron latched himself onto the blonde again. It was an odd sight, if anyone had been walking by. It looked like Ron was trying to suffocate poor Draco in a death hug. Draco just awkwardly stood there, sort of patting the red head's back with a confused expression. The hug only last about five seconds before Ron let go. He was blushing madly as he looked away from Draco and out across the lake.
"Hi." Ron mumbled. Draco broke his confused expression and gave the red head a soft smile.
"Hey. You terrified me." The blonde replied with a laugh. Ron blushed as he tried to hide his smile. He kept his eyes on the lake.
"Sorry, just felt like giving you a hug." The red head sheepishly shot back. This only made Draco smile more. The two stood together for a little bit, looking out across the lake. It was quiet for a long time. Or, at least it felt like a long time to Draco. He decided to say something before the silence crushed him.
"So, what're you doing down here?" Draco slowly said. He looked at Ron, who was now looking straight at him. The red head just stared for a moment before looking away. He shuffled his feet in the dirt.
"Just… thinking. What about you?" Ron quietly replied. He looked back up at Draco, his eyes wide and curious. Draco blushed slightly.
"Just thinking."
"About what?"
"A lot of things." Draco cautiously replied. His thoughts weren't exactly coming together at the moment and he really didn't feel like blurting out random things. Ron raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of things?" Ron quickly responded. Draco sighed as he looked away from the red head. His melting thoughts were slowly starting to harden as the words he wanted to say calmly came to him. Draco looked back at Ron but avoided eye contact.
"It's… difficult, you know?"
"Yes, since I have no idea what you're talking about." Ron shot back. Draco let out a dry laugh as his nerves slowly vanished.
"No, I don't mean that. I mean school and life and everything in between. It's hard. I'm tired of going to school and pretending I'm still an asshole and then having to treat you like crap." Draco slowly said. He wanted what he was saying to sink into Ron's mind. He loved Ron dearly, but sometimes the red head could be a bit thick. He chanced another look at the other teen. Ron had this look of determination on his face. It almost made Draco die of laughter.
"I know it's hard. I'm tired of it, too. But it's either pretending or exposing ourselves to the world. Don't know about you, but neither of those sound very good to me." Ron blubbered. He didn't mean for it to sound so blunt, but how else could he put it? There weren't very many options for these two until they left school for good. Draco sighed, looking out at the lake again.
"I know that we don't have much of a choice. Have you ever thought of actually... you know… being open about everything?" The blonde slowly said again. He wasn't sure how Ron would react to this question, so he said it slowly. The gears started to turn as Ron processed the question.
"I don't know… I have thought about it a few times. It scares me, though. I know that it would be us against the Wizarding world. I don't know. It's just a terrifying thought to me." Ron replied, turning towards Draco and giving him a smile that did not fit the conversation topic. Draco tried to give the red head a smile back but he felt it get swallowed up by his fears.
"I know it's hard. But we really don't have to put up an act or anything. From now on, we'll just avoid talking to each other around friends and crap. Just until we figure out what to do." Draco mumbled as he leaned towards Ron, reaching up and cupping that freckled face. He tried giving the other teen another smile. It just looked sad and pathetic to Ron.
Before Ron could ask Draco what he meant, the blonde leaned in and kissed Ron right on the check just below his eye. It was soft and light and Ron probably would have thought he had imagined it if his eyes had been closed. It lasted only a second. In a blink of an eye, Draco pulled away and turned on his heel as he started to walk back towards the castle. Ron blinked a few times and he cupped his own face as a slight blush appeared.
The bell rang for dinner.
000
"He wants you to come with me."
Harry just about chocked on his food as Ron pulled away from him a bit. Harry was thankful that he came to breakfast earlier than usual; not many people came early. He punched himself in the chest as he tried to breathe again, Ron just giving him an odd look.
"He wants me to do what?" Harry exclaimed as his face turned red. Ron just raised an eyebrow.
"Um, Draco? He said he wanted you to come with me to the classroom after breakfast. Got some free time, remember? He told me last night. What in bloody hell has gotten into you?" Ron slowly said as Harry's face went from bright red to normal and then to bright red again.
"Next time you have something like that to say, don't creepily sneak up on me while I'm eating and whisper in a low voice in my ear. It sounds… wrong." Harry tried to calmly say. Ron just kept his confused face on before he realized exactly what his best friend meant. Both of them had bright faces now.
"Ok, I'm going to pretend this didn't happen. Rewind. Come to the classroom with me after breakfast." The red head said in a rush of words. Harry's face started to return to its normal colour again as he nodded his head.
"Ok, yeah, sure. Did he say why, exactly?"
"No. Well, kind of. He said he had something for you, but he wouldn't say anymore." Ron sighed in response. He plopped down next to Harry as he grabbed a piece of toast. Harry just raised an eyebrow at his friend.
"Well, now I'm curious." Harry said as Ron inhaled his toast.
"Then let's go. It's killing me to know as well." Ron replied rather loudly. Harry pushed his dishes away from him as he stood up from the table. Ron quickly followed him. Harry gave his best mate an odd look before waving his arms towards the Great Hall doors.
"Lead the way, mate"
000
Ron casually walked through the classroom door as harry stumbled after him. Draco sat on the table across from the door, his guitar held tightly in his lap, looking so nervous it even made Ron sweat.
"Hey, Potter."
"Hi." Harry replied in a stiff way. What could Ron expect? It's not like they would run and give each other a giant hug. That'd just be weird and Ron wanted to be the only one to hug Draco. He quickly erased that thought from his mind as harry awkwardly cleared his throat.
"So, what did you have for Harry?" Ron asked as he sat down on the table next to the blonde. Draco's face went slightly red. The red head noticed Draco loosen his grip on the guitar but tighten again. Harry sat down in a chair near the two as he waited for Draco to speak.
"I… wanted to show you what Ron and I first bonded over. You're an important person to Ron, so you're going to be an important person to me." Draco said in a blur. Harry raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth to speak, but Draco cut him off as he started to play his guitar and sing.
"I met a man of two feet tall. You're only as tall I met a man of twelve feet tall. You're only as tall I am a man of six feet tall Cause I'm only as tall
This man was quite ambitious
In a world that is so vicious
To us all, I said hi
As he replied, he said
Listen to these words that I have lived by my whole life.
As your heart will let you be
And you're only as small
As the world will make you seem.
And when the going gets rough
And you feel like you may fall
Just look on the bright side
You're roughly six feet tall.
He towered like a giant
In a world that was defiant of his height.
I said hi as he replied, he said Listen to these words that I have dreaded my whole life.
As your heart will let you be
And you're only as small
As the world will make you seem.
And when the going gets rough
And you feel like you may fall
Just look on the bright side
You're roughly six feet tall.
Just looking for some answers
In a world that answers none
Of them at all.
I'll say hi
But not reply to the letters that you write
Because I found some piece of mind.
As my heart will let me be
And I'm only as small
As the world will make me seem.
When the going gets rough
And I feel like I may fall
I'll look on the bright side
I'm roughly six feet tall."
The last note of the guitar and Draco's voice echoed in the silent room Ron was bewildered. Each song he heard from Draco, he didn't think the blonde could get any better. But somehow, he does. Harry just sat there and stared the two of them. It made Draco nervous.
"I didn't know you could play guitar." Harry suddenly said. And like that, all the awkwardness that Draco had been feeling was washed away. He felt, in some small way, that this would be a new beginning.
"Uh, yeah. Learned a while back."
"I see why Ron's so smitten with you now." Harry said as he stood up from his chair and stretched. Ron's face went redder than his hair as Draco tried to hold back a laugh. Harry now stood in front of the two, a small grin on his face.
"I'm very glad you let me hear that." Harry said. Draco smiled a bit.
"No problem, scar boy." Draco replied with a laugh. Harry pouted at him. Ron just giggled – not giggled, that's not manly – at the two.
"Well, I need to go change before class starts." Ron suddenly announced. Harry nodded and moved to leave with his friend.
"Harry, I need to talk to you for a second." Draco quickly said. Ron stumbled as he turned to look at the blonde. Harry raised an eyebrow. Ron just nodded.
"Ok, see you two later." Ron loudly said as he gave Draco a smile, turned on his heel, and walked out of the classroom. Harry turned back to the blonde with an eyebrow raised. He felt like he was doing that a lot today.
"So…?" He trialed. Draco let out a heavy sigh as he motioned for the other teen to sit down.
"I need to ask you a few things…"
000
Ron slowly walked down the halls, taking his time getting back o the Common Room to change. He really wanted to know what Draco was talking to Harry about. But, at the same time, he felt like it wasn't his place to know. After all, up until a short time ago they were enemies, too. Ron should give them a little space to talk about things or whatever. He sighed, stopping at a window.
The weather was so gloomy. It matched how Ron was feeling at the moment. He couldn't stop thinking about what Draco said the other day. Wanting to expose themselves and all. For some reason, the thought depressed him. It wasn't that he was sad to be with the blonde. He was sad thinking about what could happen. Thinking about all the horrible, horrible things that could happen to them, to Draco…
"Something that matter, Ron?"
The red head nearly jumped out of his skin. He hadn't heard that voice in a long time. Ron twisted his head around as his eyes met Luna Lovegood's. She had a sweet smile on her face, her eyes full of curiosity. To be honest, she still gave Ron the creeps sometimes. Like how she could sneak up on him without making any noise.
"No… no, not really." Ron faltered. He wasn't sure why Luna, of all people, was asking him what was wrong. They didn't normally talk. Not like they ever really had the chance to. Luna let her smile fall just a little bit.
"Are you sure? You look awfully down for nothing being wrong."
Ron felt his eye twitch. Now he remembered why he didn't normally talk to her. Luna's honestly, for some reason, irked him to no end. He was a little jealous of how she could just be so damn honest. But sometimes the things she had to say could be hurtful. He didn't like that aspect of it.
"Yeah, everything's fine, Luna." Ron mumbled as he turned back towards the window, hoping that she would just walk away.
"You know, I saw you with him the other day."
Ron's hear froze. Every muscle in his body was on fire. His body was screaming at him to run. Had she really seen him with Draco? She couldn't have. There wasn't anyone around, Ron was sure of it. He glanced back at Luna and gave a shaky laugh.
"Wh-what're you talking about?"
"With Malfoy. You two were down by the lake, talking. It looked pretty serious, considering neither of you were really smiling. And then Malfoy kissed you, on the cheek. And I thought, 'Well, that's a little odd' and decided to ask you about it." Luna replied in her dream-like voice. Ron couldn't grasp a single word that she was saying. All he could focus on was the fact that she knew. He quickly came up with an excuse.
"Luna, surely you're mistaken."
"No, I know what I saw. And, judging by your reaction, I reckon I'm correct." She responded so fast it made Ron's head spin. He kept trying to find more excuses, more explanations. He couldn't find any. They'd been caught and it's only been three weeks into the school year. Ron let his shoulders slump forward in defeat.
"Fine."
"So, are you two dating?" Luna asked so bluntly. Ron felt his face redden a bit.
"…Yes." He replied through gritted teeth. Luna's smile came back.
"What were you two talking about?"
"… About telling people that we're… together." Ron slowly replied. Luna's smile went away again as she tilted her head to the side a bit.
"What did you two decide?" She quietly asked. Ron let out a sigh. He was at a loss for words, but at the same time there was so much he wanted to say. So, he took a deep breath and let it go.
He told her about all his fear of telling people, the friends they both could lose, and the trouble that Draco would be in. The hardships and bullying they would have to go through, how other people in the Wizarding World would treat them. How he didn't want Draco to end up leaving him through all of this for some odd reason and how he felt like he was just complaining. And Luna just stood there and listened. She didn't interrupt him a single time. She just nodded her head from time to time. When Ron was finished, it felt like the weight of the world had been lifted. It was quiet for a moment before Luna spoke.
"Even though you two love each other very much, it still sounds like there is a lot to talk about." Luna quietly said in that voice she always seemed to have. Ron blinked a few times. Her response was so simple, but it made complete sense. How could he have been so stupid?
Because I'm Ron Wesley, that's why. Ron thought to himself as he gave the blonde girl a sad smile. She gave him one of her calming smiles in response.
"Thank you." Ron mumbled.
"You better run off before the bell rings." Luna said out of nowhere. Ron's eyes widened as he realized just how long they had been standing there. He smiled at her as he turned from her and started to jog down the hall towards the Common Rooms.
All Luna could do was watch him with a smile.
000
"Do you think this is a good idea?"
"I think you're completely mental." Harry replied with a laugh. Draco pouted. Harry just laughed more.
"You're terribly mean."
"Like you're one to talk. I do think it's mental, but it'll work. Somehow I know it'll work." The brunette slowly said. Draco blinked a few times before sighing and turning away from the other teen. A hint of a smile was on his face as he spoke.
"I really hope that it does." He quietly said. Harry raised an eyebrow at him.
"You're only pretending to call a truce, right?" Harry asked rather loudly. Draco wiped the smile off his face as he looked back at Harry. The bell rang just as Draco looked at him.
"Sure."
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I feel like there could be more done, but I know there can't before the final chapter. I'm so sorry for the late update! I hope that everyone enjoyed it!