Title: Time Will Tell

Author: Lindsey Yawn

Pairing: Harry/Ron

Rating: PG for right now

Warnings: This is slash, or yaoi, if you prefer. Violence to come, and fluff.

Archive: None, as of yet.

Notes: This is my very first Harry Potter fan fiction. I hope you enjoy. I don't know how many chapters this will be as of yet. //blah// indicates thoughts. I must give many thanks and credit to my wonderful Beta Reader, Moon's Eye for Beta-Reading this! So, Moon's Eye, if you are reading this now, thanks!

Time Will Tell

Chapter One: Nightmares and Comforts

Harry Potter was faced with the most terrifying experience of his life. Hermione Granger lay beside him, still as death. //She looks dead...// Harry thought, then quickly dismissed it from his mind. Voldemort had only hit her with the Cruciatus curse. She couldn't die from that, could she?

Could she?

Harry had another thing to worry about. Ron Weasley had just recently been hit with the Cruciatus curse, but was now back to his feet, and moving to stand in front of Harry.

"Ron!" Harry tugged at the back of his robes. "Ron! Stop it! Don't try to protect me! You're already hurt!"

Ron would not listen. He raised his wand.

"Ron, please..." Harry begged desperately, knowing Ron didn't stand a chance against Voldemort. "Please..."

"Let me do this, Harry." Ron replied to Harry's pleas. "I'm going to die protecting you!" His voice was shaky, but full of determination.

Harry still grasped Ron's robes, trying to pull him back, even though he knew it was futile.

Ron opened his mouth, but Voldemort beat him to the punch before he could say anything.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Ron was hit with a curse that could not be blocked...the curse that killed instantly...the curse that had killed Harry's parents...

Ron slumped backwards into Harry's arms, and Harry sank onto the ground, holding Ron and sobbing. "Ron...Ron...God, no...RON!!!" Harry was screaming Ron's name over and over before he even realized he was doing so.

He heard a cruel, evil laugh, and looked up just in time to see Voldemort's snakelike face turn to him, red eyes glowing.

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"NO!" Harry sat bolt upright in bed, sweaty and shaking; pain shot through his scar, and he struggled to breathe normally.

//It was only a nightmare...// He thought, heart racing. //It was only a nightmare. I'm safe at the Weasley's...Hermione is at home. Hermione is safe. Ron is in the bunk above me. Ron is safe.//

Harry heard the squeak of the mattress above his; proof that Ron was lying above him, sleeping. He was safe and sound.

He lay back down, taking slow breaths. He felt as if his forehead would burst open, his scar hurt so bad. //It was just a nightmare!!!//

Suddenly, he felt his mattress shift. Someone was sitting on the edge of it. "Harry?" A soft voice asked.

"Ron?" Harry squinted, barely making out the outline of Ron's body in the darkness.

"Yeah."

"How long have you been awake?"

"Well, I heard you scream." Ron answered sheepishly. "You had a nightmare, didn't you?"

Harry sighed. "Yes."

"It must have been bad."

Harry nodded, though he knew Ron probably couldn't see him. "It was really bad, Ron." He swallowed, finding his mouth to be oddly dry. "Voldemort...Voldemort hurt Hermione really bad, and...and..."

"And what, Harry?" Ron prodded.

"He killed you, Ron! He killed you! You died protecting me!" Harry's voice shook as he spoke, reliving the dream again in his mind.

"Harry," Ron said softly "It's okay. I'm right here." He reached out; his hand found Harry's face, and brushed lightly against his cheek. Harry shivered slightly at the touch.

"He killed you, Ron." Harry repeated. He let out a hiss of pain; surely his head would split in two any moment now.

"Scar hurt?"

"Yeah." Harry then felt Ron's fingers smooth over his scar, amazed at how Ron would know where it was in the darkness. The pain was lessening.

"Better?"

Harry nodded, causing Ron's fingers to move briefly, but it didn't matter. Ron placed them right back on his scar.

"What do you think will happen this year, Ron? What if Voldemort attacks again?"

"You've escaped him four times already in your life, Harry. You'll do it again. You'll get rid of the old git one day."

"I'm not so sure anymore..." Harry said doubtfully.

"I'll stand by you." Ron assured. "I'll stand by you and fight, too."

Harry grabbed Ron's pajama top and shook him once, lightly. "No, Ron! I won't have you putting yourself into danger all because of me!"

"It would be worth it." Ron replied, moving his hand and placing both on Harry's.

"Don't TALK like that! Just because I'm 'famous Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived'! Big deal! That doesn't matter, Ron! I will NOT let you get hurt! I WILL NOT!" Harry was breathing heavily now. "Don't say I'm worth dying over!"

"Harry, I wouldn't be willing to die for you because you're famous. You're my best friend. Even closer to me than Hermione. And I'd be willing to give up my life just so you could live. Just to know that you'd live and be happy."

"I wouldn't be happy without you, Ron. Not without you there with me." Harry felt heat rise to his cheeks, and wondered why he was saying all this. "You're my best friend, too. I don't want you to die."

"I don't want you to die, either." Ron replied. He removed his hands; Harry felt the bed shift again, and this time, he felt Ron's arms encircling him. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Harry." He said softly, face buried between Harry's neck and shoulder.

Harry found himself wrapping his own arms around his best friend and holding him like there was no tomorrow. "Ron..." he choked. And then, he couldn't stop the stream of tears that flowed down his cheeks, wetting the shoulder of Ron's pajamas.

Ron was crying as well, Harry could feel the wetness on the shoulder of his own pajamas.

Harry didn't know how long they sat there, holding one another, crying, and giving comfort. It was as if time no longer existed and all that mattered was the fact that Ron was HERE, holding him. Harry wished that Ron would never let go.

Finally, Ron lifted his head. "You should get some sleep Harry."

Harry drew in a slow, shaky breath. "You should, too."

Ron made no move to get up and climb back up to his bunk. Instead, he lay down right where he was, bringing Harry with him. "Maybe we'll both sleep better now."

Harry, feeling emotions for Ron that surprised him, wanted to tell him exactly how he felt, but could not put everything into words. He didn't know where to begin. How would you tell your best friend that you felt more for him than just friendship? How would you tell your best friend that you had somehow fallen in love with him?

He heard Ron yawn, and smiled softly. "Goodnight, Ron."

He then felt Ron's arm snake around him and his hand came to rest on Harry's side. "G'night, Harry."

Harry drifted off to sleep then, smiling. The rest of the night was nightmare free, and Harry stayed in Ron's embrace, not moving, his head resting on Ron's shoulder.

AN: So what do you think? Good? Bad? Want more? Don't want any more? Need feedback, please!