Disclaimer and warnings in chapter 1.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Honor begets honor; trust begets trust; faith begets faith; and hope is the mainspring of life."
- Henry L. Stimson
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The warmth of the sun woke Ron the next morning. He slowly opened his
eyes, expecting to see that the sky had changed color, or that his
skin was now a lovely shade of green. He rolled out of bed,
feeling lighter than he had in days. Sitting on the edge of his bed,
he really *looked* around his room. His things seemed to vibrate with
color and life. A soft smile filled his eyes. ~Funny how one hour can
change the way your world looks.~ Even the cloth of his robes felt
different to him somehow, like every fiber was alive. He shivered,
trying to shake the creepy feeling.
Ron walked downstairs slowly, studying everything he saw. The magical
calendar, brightly proclaiming it to be a Saturday; the clock showing
him where is his family was; the horrid orange sofa his dad was so fond
of. How had he lived with these things for so long and never really
looked at them? He knitted his brows a bit as he sat down with a cup of
Earl Grey, wondering how someone as truly horrid as Malfoy could make
such a difference in his thinking. He exhaled deeply, letting his head
fall forward onto his folded arms. His mother touched his shoulder
gently, speaking softly, soothingly.
"Are you alright?" Her question surprised Ron, and he brought his
face up, turning toward her with a small smile playing on his lips.
"Yeah. In fact, I'm great. I think that I'm just far too trusting,
mum. But I think...I think that's okay." He nodded and met her eyes
steadily for a long moment. She quirked her eyebrows, and smiled back
at him.
"*I* don't see a problem with it," she said, and he laughed with her.
He finished his tea and stood, stretching. "Yeah. It's going to be
okay." He paused, grinning. "I'm going out for a bit, mum. I'll be
back later." He walked out the back door, looking around and up at
the sky. Marveling at how extraordinarily *blue* it was.
His mother stared after him, chuckling softly to herself. "Of course
that's okay Ron. Of course it is."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ron stood in front of Harry's door, not sure how he had gotten there.
A very large part of him was afraid to be standing here. But then he
remembered that, for some unfathomable reason, Harry liked Malfoy.
Well, at least respected him. And that was why he was standing in front
of his best friend's door, not knocking, but not leaving either. He
still couldn't help but wonder if Harry would understand. He thought
back to the day before, when he had suggested leaving his job, and the
way Harry had reacted. He lowered his eyes and turned to leave, not
wanting to deal with that again. The door opened behind him, however,
casting light over Ron's shoulder. He turned and found Harry standing
in the doorway staring at him.
"What are you doing, Ron?" he asked.
"I just. Well, I needed to talk to you. About. Stuff." Ron was having a
hard time articulating. Harry blinked at him.
"Why didn't you knock, then?" came the next, logical question. Ron
opened his mouth to speak, but Harry raised his hand and silenced
him. "Never mind. Come on in." He stepped aside, and Ron, after a
brief hesitation, moved past him and into the house. "Do you want
some coffee or tea or something?" he asked.
Ron nodded. "Coffee would be nice." He followed Harry into the
kitchen and leaned back against one of the counters. Sunlight poured
in from skylights, and large windows framed the spacious room. Ron
cast his eyes about, trying to absorb as much heat as he could. He
thought if he looked closely enough, he would have been able to see
each individual ray of sunlight bouncing around the room, filling it
with vibrant energy. He glanced at Harry and watched him bustle about,
putting things together and picking up. Neither spoke for several long
moments. Ron was just wondering how to bring up Malfoy, when Harry
spoke.
"I'm actually really glad you're here," he said. Ron felt the heavy
silence break like something tangible, falling at his feet in broken
shards. He exhaled, relieved.
"Why's that?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but feeling tense.
Harry handed Ron a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter
opposite him. "I've been meaning to talk to you. About yesterday." He
was staring into his cup. He looked as if he were trying to put the
little he had learned in divination class to good use. "When I went to
your office. I ended up being a real jerk to you. I wasn't really
feeling too good and I know that's no excuse for being an arse to my
best friend, but I just wanted to let you know that I am sorry." He
paused and looked up.
Ron was quite speechless. He dropped his jaw and blinked
enthusiastically, hoping that would be enough for his friend to know
that he accepted the apology. Harry just glanced at him and continued.
"Right well, I've been thinking about that since then. And. Well. I
realized that you can't stick with something that doesn't make you
happy. So maybe you should start looking for a new job or something.
And I'll be more then willing to help you look for one. There might
even be something at the ministry..." he trailed off, and looked up at
Ron.
Ron relaxed, and burst into a huge grin. "I was actually offered a job
last night. That's why I came over. I wanted to talk to you about it.
There are a few ... undesirable aspects to it." Harry raised one
eyebrow, and Ron took that as his cue to continue. "It's going to be
kind of like free lance crime fighting." The eyebrow stretched a little
further up Harry's forehead, and Ron laughed. Harry joined him, and
after a few minutes of companionable silence, he spoke.
"So, tell me about these 'undesirable aspects'," he said. Ron began
to chew on his bottom lip and hesitated before answering.
"Well, it'll be really dangerous. Fighting and stuff. Probably
nothing I haven't done before, with you though. I think. And I'll have
to be gone for most of it. It's not like a stay-at-home kind of job.
I'll be out, probably, months at a time. At least. If I don't die. And
I'll have to keep less-than pleasant company." He made a face, thinking
of dying and Malfoy. "But, I dunno, I think it would be more along the
lines of what I want. What will make me happy. I. I just don't know.
What do you think, Harry?"
Harry was silent for a moment, a look of quiet concentration on his
face. "Ron, I think if it will make you happy then you should do it.
I mean, honestly, I haven't heard you speak this avidly about
anything for months. I was starting to worry that we had lost the
real Ron. I think anything, even something as dangerous as this sounds,
is worth it if I get to see my best friend come out of it." He smiled
at Ron, who was rather taken aback at the amount of feeling Harry had
for him.
"Uh, thanks," he said, still trying to sort everything out in his
head. "That helps a lot, actually." His bottom lip went in between
his teeth again, unnoticed.
A racket at the nearest window startled him, and he looked out to
find a large brown barn owl hovering in front of him. Harry, also
startled, opened the window and let the bird in. It flew straight to
Ron, proudly showing off its leg. A small bit of parchment was rolled
up and tied to it. Ron's name was written on the letter in heavy,
scrawling letters, and he knew right away that it was from Malfoy. He
quickly looked up and found Harry staring at him questioningly.
"It's just something about this new job I'm looking at," Ron said
quickly, pocketing the note and letting the owl go. "Listen, Harry.
Thanks for everything, but I really should get going. I've got some
other stuff I need to get done today. But I'll talk to you later?"
Harry nodded and followed him to the door. "See you around then.
Good luck, I hope this works out for you!" he called, and Ron turned
at the bottom step and waved shortly. Harry smiled and closed the
door.
A ways down the street, Ron pulled the note from his pocket. It
looked like Malfoy had been in a hurry when he wrote it.
"Weasley,
Meet me by the lake down the street from The Leaky Cauldron. Right
now. I'll be waiting. Come alone. We'll see if you still have any
guts or not.
M."
Ron knew the lake; he remembered going there when he was younger to
watch the swans. He crumpled the paper into a tiny ball and
tossed it in the nearest trashcan. He wasn't too far from The Leaky
Cauldron, so he decided to enjoy the day some more and walk.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ron found Draco sitting on a bench near the edge of the water. He had
a cloak pulled tightly around his body, and a hood hiding his pale
hair. A tree nearby cast dark shadows over his still form. Ron walked
up and stood next to him. "Don't you have an eagle owl?" he asked.
Draco looked up at him. "That's kind of obvious, isn't it? I had to use
something more inconspicuous." He stood to leave.
"Whoa, where are you going?" Ron asked the retreating figure. Draco
paused and turned slightly.
"Are you coming or aren't you, Weasel? I didn't bring you here to sit
and chat, you know," he drawled snidely. Ron narrowed his eyes, but
caught up to walk alongside Draco. They were silent as they moved
around the lake, going away from the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley.
Finally, Draco spoke.
"So, I see you haven't changed your mind, Weasel. I'm rather
surprised. I figured you'd get cold feet."
Ron looked down at him. "What's that supposed to mean? Why wouldn't I
have come? I told you I would." Draco sneered at him.
"I'm just saying that you tend to be pretty impetuous." The sneer on
his face deepened, and Ron felt his cheeks flush with anger.
"Listen, you arrogant ass, I never go back on my word." Ron flushed
with anger. Random thoughts flitted through his mind. ~Why does he
keep assuming to know me? He doesn't know anything about Me.~
Draco led him into a small restaurant. There were only a few
customers, as the noon hour was almost over. "Okay, listen. You can
holler and shout all you want when we're alone, Weasley, but right
now I'm not even supposed to be alive. So if you could try and hold
your temper for just a bit..." Draco's voice was low and
condescending. Ron grabbed Draco's shirt and slammed him against a
wall.
"Go. To. Hell." He accented each word, trying to make his voice sound
menacing.
"That was uncalled for and childish, Weasel." Draco drawled. Ron let
go of his shirt, and Draco relaxed a bit.
Ron stepped back, and without any warning, punched Draco in the face
with every bit of strength and anger he could muster. He smiled
darkly when he heard Draco's nose break and saw blood blossom up and
onto the pale skin. He stepped back. Suddenly, Draco launched off of
the wall and tackled him. Ron doubled over as Draco collided into his
stomach. They crashed into an empty table, spilling silverware and
napkins across the floor.
Someone was yelling at them, but Ron didn't care because he found
himself sitting on Draco's chest. ~A very well toned chest...~ He was
punching the slight form repeatedly. Suddenly, to his great surprise,
Draco pushed him off. They stood facing each other. Draco shoved the
taller boy as hard as he could. Ron stumbled and ran into the wall; it
swung away from him and he nearly lost his balance. The door he had
fallen through swung shut in front of him, and then open again as Draco
came running through and pushed him again. Ron fell on his back. He
turned and found himself staring under a bathroom stall at a pair of
distinctly female legs.
"Whoa!" he said, and the woman screamed. Draco's eyes grew huge; he
turned and made a mad dash for the door. Ron jumped to his feet and
followed closely behind. ~Behind...he has a nice behind...don't think
about that!~ He noted the glares the two of them received from the few
people still in the diner, but brushed them off as he quickly followed
Draco through the back door of the restaurant.
They stumbled out into the alley and hit the far wall, sliding down
until they were sitting next to each other, their shoulders touching.
Ron shivered slightly at the contact. Draco wiped some blood from his
lips, and then smiled wryly.
"I sure hope you feel better for that, you ass." He was breathing
heavily, and began to mutter a healing spell for himself.
Ron was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and a small
smile on his lips. "Shhh..." he said, his smile growing the slightest
bit. Draco turned to him. Ron felt the warmth in his shoulder shift,
and his extremities tingled a bit.
"What?" he asked, sounding slightly annoyed. Ron opened his eyes and
looked straight ahead.
"I was memorizing the look on your face when I broke your nose. I'm
placing it on my list of moments of supreme joy. Right next to the
time you turned into The Amazing Bouncing Ferret." He sighed
contentedly.
Draco's eyes narrowed, and then he started to laugh. "Fuck you!" he
said, shaking with laughter. Ron suppressed laughter of his own.
"No," he said, shaking his head. He stood to leave, turning away from
Draco and speaking under his breath. "Not now." He began to walk
toward the street, still smiling. Draco raised an eyebrow and jumped
up after him.
"What was that?" he asked, catching up to Ron. The taller boy was
looking up and down the street, checking their path.
"Where are we going?" Ron asked, acting like he hadn't heard Draco's
question. Draco grabbed his sleeve.
"Hey, was that an offer, Weasley?" he drawled, his voice dripping
with sarcasm. Ron blushed but continued to ignore him.
"We have to get out of here before any authorities show up. I don't
fancy spending any time in a Muggle jail, thank you." He
began to walk swiftly in the direction they had started in before
their brief interruption.
Draco walked beside him, still smirking. He pulled the hood of his
robes back up over his head, covering the silver-white hair and
shrouding his face in shadow. He got a few odd stares as they moved
through the crowd; people unused to seeing others in hooded robes.
Ron glanced at him, then forward again. ~Why did I say that?~ he
wondered. ~...I wonder if he really would? GAH! Cut it out, Weasley!
Concentrate! This is *NOT* the time to be thinking about ... that.~
His rambling thoughts were cut off as Draco suddenly pushed him
through the twelve-foot brick wall next to them. "What!" he cried
in surprise. He looked behind him and saw Draco come through as well.
Then he looked forward and what he saw took his breath away.
They were standing in a small yard teeming with plant-life, despite the
fact that it was mid-November. Several large weeping willows provided
shade for overflowing flower gardens. Ron saw flowers of every color,
shape, and size. Thick vines crawled up the wall they had come through,
weaving intricate patterns over the rough bricks. White lilac bushes
were scattered around a small building directly in front of them. A
pleasant, earthy smell wrapped itself around Ron, and once again he
felt very *alive.* Like the air itself was charged with brilliant
energy. He could feel the magic of the garden in every breath he took,
a pure and perfect magic, the kind achievable only through the creation
of life.
"Where are we?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Draco smiled, a genuine smile. Ron thought. Draco spoke. "This is
Longbottom's garden. He sure does put a lot of energy in it. Come on."
Ron followed him toward the house, slowly stopping every few steps to
look at a flower or plant he had never seen before. He was leaned over
admiring a tiny red blossom when he heard muffled voices and a soft
laugh. Straightening, he turned and found Draco with his arms crossed
over his chest talking to a laughing Neville Longbottom. Neville
motioned to Ron to join them, so he picked his way gingerly down the
overgrown cobblestone path.
Neville took his hand in an enthusiastic shake. "Ron! It's so good to
see you!" he said, his voice warm.
Ron was slightly taken aback by the warmth of his reception. "Uh,
thanks, Neville. It's good to see you too." He smiled back. Neville
looked at the two of them for a moment, then nodded.
"Come on in. I've got all the things you asked for ready, Draco. I
just need to get them in a bag for you." He led them through the small,
tidy house and into a large greenhouse. Neville closed the door, and
Draco headed for a corner. Ron sighed and followed him, settling
himself on a planter across from the only chair in the entire room,
where Draco looked quite content.
"So, do you like being dead?" Ron asked, trying to make conversation.
Draco's lips twisted up into a tiny smile and he shrugged. "'Tis a
consummation devoutly to be wished."
Ron rolled his eyes. It seemed impossible to get any kind of straight
answer from Draco.
"You know what your problem is, Weasley?" Draco asked suddenly. Ron
only shook his head. "Your problem is that you will always be second
best. Everything about you screams it. I mean, you walk down the
street trying to look shorter than whomever you are with, for God's
sake. You, the tallest person known to man! When people look at you,
they see someone who is second best. You really need to just get over
it and relax a little. Enjoy your second best life. It'll add years to
your second best existence."
Ron racked his mind for something horrible to say in response. ~"Shut
up, Malfoy" is really too childish a remark. Maybe "go to hell, Malfoy"
would work better? Naw, that's just about as bad. How bout ... um ... ~
"Weasley?" His thoughts were interrupted again by Draco's annoying
drawl.
He looked up, irritated. "What?" he snapped.
Draco grinned at him. "If you would put the amount of energy into not
taking offense at what I just said that you are putting into trying to
think of something creative with which to insult me, you would already
be much, much more relaxed. It's all in your perspective. See, you even
expect yourself to be second best." Draco shook his head, clucking his
tongue. Ron just stared, at a complete loss for words.
~WHY do I think he's attractive?~
Before he could remark, Neville showed up beside them and handed Draco
a sack full of various green things. "There you go, Draco. Good luck
with it." He turned to Ron. "It was nice seeing you again, Ron. You'll
have to come back sometime and we can really talk. I've got company
right now, though, can't leave him waiting all alone!" He grinned and
waved and walked away.
~Something about that kid is way different,~ Ron thought as he stood
and walked with Draco back out to the garden. "So," he said out loud,
"what do we do now?" He didn't really want to leave so suddenly; being
in Neville's garden was very peaceful.
Draco turned to him. "Well, I have to take this right over to my
house." He held up the bad Neville had given him. "I suppose you should
see it, though. Better sooner than later. Come on." Draco walked
through the wall, and a very confused and irritated Ron followed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
TBC ^_^
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Honor begets honor; trust begets trust; faith begets faith; and hope is the mainspring of life."
- Henry L. Stimson
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The warmth of the sun woke Ron the next morning. He slowly opened his
eyes, expecting to see that the sky had changed color, or that his
skin was now a lovely shade of green. He rolled out of bed,
feeling lighter than he had in days. Sitting on the edge of his bed,
he really *looked* around his room. His things seemed to vibrate with
color and life. A soft smile filled his eyes. ~Funny how one hour can
change the way your world looks.~ Even the cloth of his robes felt
different to him somehow, like every fiber was alive. He shivered,
trying to shake the creepy feeling.
Ron walked downstairs slowly, studying everything he saw. The magical
calendar, brightly proclaiming it to be a Saturday; the clock showing
him where is his family was; the horrid orange sofa his dad was so fond
of. How had he lived with these things for so long and never really
looked at them? He knitted his brows a bit as he sat down with a cup of
Earl Grey, wondering how someone as truly horrid as Malfoy could make
such a difference in his thinking. He exhaled deeply, letting his head
fall forward onto his folded arms. His mother touched his shoulder
gently, speaking softly, soothingly.
"Are you alright?" Her question surprised Ron, and he brought his
face up, turning toward her with a small smile playing on his lips.
"Yeah. In fact, I'm great. I think that I'm just far too trusting,
mum. But I think...I think that's okay." He nodded and met her eyes
steadily for a long moment. She quirked her eyebrows, and smiled back
at him.
"*I* don't see a problem with it," she said, and he laughed with her.
He finished his tea and stood, stretching. "Yeah. It's going to be
okay." He paused, grinning. "I'm going out for a bit, mum. I'll be
back later." He walked out the back door, looking around and up at
the sky. Marveling at how extraordinarily *blue* it was.
His mother stared after him, chuckling softly to herself. "Of course
that's okay Ron. Of course it is."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ron stood in front of Harry's door, not sure how he had gotten there.
A very large part of him was afraid to be standing here. But then he
remembered that, for some unfathomable reason, Harry liked Malfoy.
Well, at least respected him. And that was why he was standing in front
of his best friend's door, not knocking, but not leaving either. He
still couldn't help but wonder if Harry would understand. He thought
back to the day before, when he had suggested leaving his job, and the
way Harry had reacted. He lowered his eyes and turned to leave, not
wanting to deal with that again. The door opened behind him, however,
casting light over Ron's shoulder. He turned and found Harry standing
in the doorway staring at him.
"What are you doing, Ron?" he asked.
"I just. Well, I needed to talk to you. About. Stuff." Ron was having a
hard time articulating. Harry blinked at him.
"Why didn't you knock, then?" came the next, logical question. Ron
opened his mouth to speak, but Harry raised his hand and silenced
him. "Never mind. Come on in." He stepped aside, and Ron, after a
brief hesitation, moved past him and into the house. "Do you want
some coffee or tea or something?" he asked.
Ron nodded. "Coffee would be nice." He followed Harry into the
kitchen and leaned back against one of the counters. Sunlight poured
in from skylights, and large windows framed the spacious room. Ron
cast his eyes about, trying to absorb as much heat as he could. He
thought if he looked closely enough, he would have been able to see
each individual ray of sunlight bouncing around the room, filling it
with vibrant energy. He glanced at Harry and watched him bustle about,
putting things together and picking up. Neither spoke for several long
moments. Ron was just wondering how to bring up Malfoy, when Harry
spoke.
"I'm actually really glad you're here," he said. Ron felt the heavy
silence break like something tangible, falling at his feet in broken
shards. He exhaled, relieved.
"Why's that?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but feeling tense.
Harry handed Ron a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter
opposite him. "I've been meaning to talk to you. About yesterday." He
was staring into his cup. He looked as if he were trying to put the
little he had learned in divination class to good use. "When I went to
your office. I ended up being a real jerk to you. I wasn't really
feeling too good and I know that's no excuse for being an arse to my
best friend, but I just wanted to let you know that I am sorry." He
paused and looked up.
Ron was quite speechless. He dropped his jaw and blinked
enthusiastically, hoping that would be enough for his friend to know
that he accepted the apology. Harry just glanced at him and continued.
"Right well, I've been thinking about that since then. And. Well. I
realized that you can't stick with something that doesn't make you
happy. So maybe you should start looking for a new job or something.
And I'll be more then willing to help you look for one. There might
even be something at the ministry..." he trailed off, and looked up at
Ron.
Ron relaxed, and burst into a huge grin. "I was actually offered a job
last night. That's why I came over. I wanted to talk to you about it.
There are a few ... undesirable aspects to it." Harry raised one
eyebrow, and Ron took that as his cue to continue. "It's going to be
kind of like free lance crime fighting." The eyebrow stretched a little
further up Harry's forehead, and Ron laughed. Harry joined him, and
after a few minutes of companionable silence, he spoke.
"So, tell me about these 'undesirable aspects'," he said. Ron began
to chew on his bottom lip and hesitated before answering.
"Well, it'll be really dangerous. Fighting and stuff. Probably
nothing I haven't done before, with you though. I think. And I'll have
to be gone for most of it. It's not like a stay-at-home kind of job.
I'll be out, probably, months at a time. At least. If I don't die. And
I'll have to keep less-than pleasant company." He made a face, thinking
of dying and Malfoy. "But, I dunno, I think it would be more along the
lines of what I want. What will make me happy. I. I just don't know.
What do you think, Harry?"
Harry was silent for a moment, a look of quiet concentration on his
face. "Ron, I think if it will make you happy then you should do it.
I mean, honestly, I haven't heard you speak this avidly about
anything for months. I was starting to worry that we had lost the
real Ron. I think anything, even something as dangerous as this sounds,
is worth it if I get to see my best friend come out of it." He smiled
at Ron, who was rather taken aback at the amount of feeling Harry had
for him.
"Uh, thanks," he said, still trying to sort everything out in his
head. "That helps a lot, actually." His bottom lip went in between
his teeth again, unnoticed.
A racket at the nearest window startled him, and he looked out to
find a large brown barn owl hovering in front of him. Harry, also
startled, opened the window and let the bird in. It flew straight to
Ron, proudly showing off its leg. A small bit of parchment was rolled
up and tied to it. Ron's name was written on the letter in heavy,
scrawling letters, and he knew right away that it was from Malfoy. He
quickly looked up and found Harry staring at him questioningly.
"It's just something about this new job I'm looking at," Ron said
quickly, pocketing the note and letting the owl go. "Listen, Harry.
Thanks for everything, but I really should get going. I've got some
other stuff I need to get done today. But I'll talk to you later?"
Harry nodded and followed him to the door. "See you around then.
Good luck, I hope this works out for you!" he called, and Ron turned
at the bottom step and waved shortly. Harry smiled and closed the
door.
A ways down the street, Ron pulled the note from his pocket. It
looked like Malfoy had been in a hurry when he wrote it.
"Weasley,
Meet me by the lake down the street from The Leaky Cauldron. Right
now. I'll be waiting. Come alone. We'll see if you still have any
guts or not.
M."
Ron knew the lake; he remembered going there when he was younger to
watch the swans. He crumpled the paper into a tiny ball and
tossed it in the nearest trashcan. He wasn't too far from The Leaky
Cauldron, so he decided to enjoy the day some more and walk.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ron found Draco sitting on a bench near the edge of the water. He had
a cloak pulled tightly around his body, and a hood hiding his pale
hair. A tree nearby cast dark shadows over his still form. Ron walked
up and stood next to him. "Don't you have an eagle owl?" he asked.
Draco looked up at him. "That's kind of obvious, isn't it? I had to use
something more inconspicuous." He stood to leave.
"Whoa, where are you going?" Ron asked the retreating figure. Draco
paused and turned slightly.
"Are you coming or aren't you, Weasel? I didn't bring you here to sit
and chat, you know," he drawled snidely. Ron narrowed his eyes, but
caught up to walk alongside Draco. They were silent as they moved
around the lake, going away from the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley.
Finally, Draco spoke.
"So, I see you haven't changed your mind, Weasel. I'm rather
surprised. I figured you'd get cold feet."
Ron looked down at him. "What's that supposed to mean? Why wouldn't I
have come? I told you I would." Draco sneered at him.
"I'm just saying that you tend to be pretty impetuous." The sneer on
his face deepened, and Ron felt his cheeks flush with anger.
"Listen, you arrogant ass, I never go back on my word." Ron flushed
with anger. Random thoughts flitted through his mind. ~Why does he
keep assuming to know me? He doesn't know anything about Me.~
Draco led him into a small restaurant. There were only a few
customers, as the noon hour was almost over. "Okay, listen. You can
holler and shout all you want when we're alone, Weasley, but right
now I'm not even supposed to be alive. So if you could try and hold
your temper for just a bit..." Draco's voice was low and
condescending. Ron grabbed Draco's shirt and slammed him against a
wall.
"Go. To. Hell." He accented each word, trying to make his voice sound
menacing.
"That was uncalled for and childish, Weasel." Draco drawled. Ron let
go of his shirt, and Draco relaxed a bit.
Ron stepped back, and without any warning, punched Draco in the face
with every bit of strength and anger he could muster. He smiled
darkly when he heard Draco's nose break and saw blood blossom up and
onto the pale skin. He stepped back. Suddenly, Draco launched off of
the wall and tackled him. Ron doubled over as Draco collided into his
stomach. They crashed into an empty table, spilling silverware and
napkins across the floor.
Someone was yelling at them, but Ron didn't care because he found
himself sitting on Draco's chest. ~A very well toned chest...~ He was
punching the slight form repeatedly. Suddenly, to his great surprise,
Draco pushed him off. They stood facing each other. Draco shoved the
taller boy as hard as he could. Ron stumbled and ran into the wall; it
swung away from him and he nearly lost his balance. The door he had
fallen through swung shut in front of him, and then open again as Draco
came running through and pushed him again. Ron fell on his back. He
turned and found himself staring under a bathroom stall at a pair of
distinctly female legs.
"Whoa!" he said, and the woman screamed. Draco's eyes grew huge; he
turned and made a mad dash for the door. Ron jumped to his feet and
followed closely behind. ~Behind...he has a nice behind...don't think
about that!~ He noted the glares the two of them received from the few
people still in the diner, but brushed them off as he quickly followed
Draco through the back door of the restaurant.
They stumbled out into the alley and hit the far wall, sliding down
until they were sitting next to each other, their shoulders touching.
Ron shivered slightly at the contact. Draco wiped some blood from his
lips, and then smiled wryly.
"I sure hope you feel better for that, you ass." He was breathing
heavily, and began to mutter a healing spell for himself.
Ron was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and a small
smile on his lips. "Shhh..." he said, his smile growing the slightest
bit. Draco turned to him. Ron felt the warmth in his shoulder shift,
and his extremities tingled a bit.
"What?" he asked, sounding slightly annoyed. Ron opened his eyes and
looked straight ahead.
"I was memorizing the look on your face when I broke your nose. I'm
placing it on my list of moments of supreme joy. Right next to the
time you turned into The Amazing Bouncing Ferret." He sighed
contentedly.
Draco's eyes narrowed, and then he started to laugh. "Fuck you!" he
said, shaking with laughter. Ron suppressed laughter of his own.
"No," he said, shaking his head. He stood to leave, turning away from
Draco and speaking under his breath. "Not now." He began to walk
toward the street, still smiling. Draco raised an eyebrow and jumped
up after him.
"What was that?" he asked, catching up to Ron. The taller boy was
looking up and down the street, checking their path.
"Where are we going?" Ron asked, acting like he hadn't heard Draco's
question. Draco grabbed his sleeve.
"Hey, was that an offer, Weasley?" he drawled, his voice dripping
with sarcasm. Ron blushed but continued to ignore him.
"We have to get out of here before any authorities show up. I don't
fancy spending any time in a Muggle jail, thank you." He
began to walk swiftly in the direction they had started in before
their brief interruption.
Draco walked beside him, still smirking. He pulled the hood of his
robes back up over his head, covering the silver-white hair and
shrouding his face in shadow. He got a few odd stares as they moved
through the crowd; people unused to seeing others in hooded robes.
Ron glanced at him, then forward again. ~Why did I say that?~ he
wondered. ~...I wonder if he really would? GAH! Cut it out, Weasley!
Concentrate! This is *NOT* the time to be thinking about ... that.~
His rambling thoughts were cut off as Draco suddenly pushed him
through the twelve-foot brick wall next to them. "What!" he cried
in surprise. He looked behind him and saw Draco come through as well.
Then he looked forward and what he saw took his breath away.
They were standing in a small yard teeming with plant-life, despite the
fact that it was mid-November. Several large weeping willows provided
shade for overflowing flower gardens. Ron saw flowers of every color,
shape, and size. Thick vines crawled up the wall they had come through,
weaving intricate patterns over the rough bricks. White lilac bushes
were scattered around a small building directly in front of them. A
pleasant, earthy smell wrapped itself around Ron, and once again he
felt very *alive.* Like the air itself was charged with brilliant
energy. He could feel the magic of the garden in every breath he took,
a pure and perfect magic, the kind achievable only through the creation
of life.
"Where are we?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Draco smiled, a genuine smile. Ron thought. Draco spoke. "This is
Longbottom's garden. He sure does put a lot of energy in it. Come on."
Ron followed him toward the house, slowly stopping every few steps to
look at a flower or plant he had never seen before. He was leaned over
admiring a tiny red blossom when he heard muffled voices and a soft
laugh. Straightening, he turned and found Draco with his arms crossed
over his chest talking to a laughing Neville Longbottom. Neville
motioned to Ron to join them, so he picked his way gingerly down the
overgrown cobblestone path.
Neville took his hand in an enthusiastic shake. "Ron! It's so good to
see you!" he said, his voice warm.
Ron was slightly taken aback by the warmth of his reception. "Uh,
thanks, Neville. It's good to see you too." He smiled back. Neville
looked at the two of them for a moment, then nodded.
"Come on in. I've got all the things you asked for ready, Draco. I
just need to get them in a bag for you." He led them through the small,
tidy house and into a large greenhouse. Neville closed the door, and
Draco headed for a corner. Ron sighed and followed him, settling
himself on a planter across from the only chair in the entire room,
where Draco looked quite content.
"So, do you like being dead?" Ron asked, trying to make conversation.
Draco's lips twisted up into a tiny smile and he shrugged. "'Tis a
consummation devoutly to be wished."
Ron rolled his eyes. It seemed impossible to get any kind of straight
answer from Draco.
"You know what your problem is, Weasley?" Draco asked suddenly. Ron
only shook his head. "Your problem is that you will always be second
best. Everything about you screams it. I mean, you walk down the
street trying to look shorter than whomever you are with, for God's
sake. You, the tallest person known to man! When people look at you,
they see someone who is second best. You really need to just get over
it and relax a little. Enjoy your second best life. It'll add years to
your second best existence."
Ron racked his mind for something horrible to say in response. ~"Shut
up, Malfoy" is really too childish a remark. Maybe "go to hell, Malfoy"
would work better? Naw, that's just about as bad. How bout ... um ... ~
"Weasley?" His thoughts were interrupted again by Draco's annoying
drawl.
He looked up, irritated. "What?" he snapped.
Draco grinned at him. "If you would put the amount of energy into not
taking offense at what I just said that you are putting into trying to
think of something creative with which to insult me, you would already
be much, much more relaxed. It's all in your perspective. See, you even
expect yourself to be second best." Draco shook his head, clucking his
tongue. Ron just stared, at a complete loss for words.
~WHY do I think he's attractive?~
Before he could remark, Neville showed up beside them and handed Draco
a sack full of various green things. "There you go, Draco. Good luck
with it." He turned to Ron. "It was nice seeing you again, Ron. You'll
have to come back sometime and we can really talk. I've got company
right now, though, can't leave him waiting all alone!" He grinned and
waved and walked away.
~Something about that kid is way different,~ Ron thought as he stood
and walked with Draco back out to the garden. "So," he said out loud,
"what do we do now?" He didn't really want to leave so suddenly; being
in Neville's garden was very peaceful.
Draco turned to him. "Well, I have to take this right over to my
house." He held up the bad Neville had given him. "I suppose you should
see it, though. Better sooner than later. Come on." Draco walked
through the wall, and a very confused and irritated Ron followed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
TBC ^_^