"You think I'm... but..." Harry stuttered. "I'm not gay!" he managed to yell, taking deep breaths between words. No wonder everyone had been acting so strangely in the corridors. He wrung his hands in dispair. The whole school... when had he told the whole school he was gay?
Ron looked confused, then angry. "What, is that just your idea of a good joke, then, announcing to the whole school that you're... you know... and then not really..." his voice trailed off. "We're here, trying to be good friends and be supportive and you come in yelling about how you are NOT gay.. like it's so..." Again he seemed to lose his emphisis at the end of the sentence. "It's not like it's such a big deal, though... being.. you know..."
Harry's eyes widened, an entirely new possibility lighting up in his head. "You're not... are you...?"
"No!" snapped Ron. He bit his lip. "George is," he added very quietly.
Hermione, who had been dangerously quiet as all this was going on, spoke up, her inquisitive nature getting the best of her once again. "Really? I had know idea. My parents have a friend who's homosexual. He's really very nice. So you see, it's not as bad as you think, Harry, it's just sort of hard for us to get used to, you know... adjust our thoughts a little. Might take some time, but--"
"--didn't hear what I said? I'm not gay! And I KNOW it's not a terrible thing, but it's also not me, and I don't know what you all think you heard or saw, but I was locked up in a bathroom for five hours this afternoon, and I NEVER SAID I WAS GAY!"
Hermione pursed her lips, a sure sign she was getting impatient. "I think it is very immature that we are just sitting here talking about who's 'gay' or not. Perhaps we should just drop it for a while; it's clearly making the situation uncomfortable."
"It's the subject at hand, Hermione," Ron said, sounding so much like Percy that it sent chills up and down Harry's spine. "I am hungry though; why don't we continue our conversation down in the Great Hall?" he added, perking up a bit.
Harry followed Hermione and Ron down the massive stone staircases nervously, catching prolonged glances from other students walking the halls. Their footsteps echoed against the walls of the castle, impossibly loud. When they entered the Great Hall, the whole room fell silent. Presumably, most of the students had been talking about him before he came in, and now it was surely the one thing on everyone's mind. He cringed, waiting for torrent of snide remarks and cruel jeers from the Slytherin table. A quiet negative-toned chatter emerged from the table, but it didn't seem directed at him, just about him. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw followed suit, though many of the more polite house members tried to change the subject. Gryffindor was dead silent, and the wizards and witches shifted their gazes when Harry sat down. The only sounds to be heard over the soft buzz of voices coming from the other three tables was the clink of forks on glass plates and the occasional request for more potatoes. Everything tasted sour to Harry.
He wondered if he could solve the problem by simply yelling: "I'm not gay!" at the crowd. In his heart he knew it would only make the problem worse, but it was difficult to tell himself that when all of these people were under an entirely false assumption.
Or was it false? The most shaking thing about this whole ordeal was the questions it brought up in his own mind. Was he really who he told himself he was; who he told everyone he was?
"I think I'll go back up to the common room, guys," he said bitterly, breaking the silence. "I'm not that hungry."
Ron looked confused, then angry. "What, is that just your idea of a good joke, then, announcing to the whole school that you're... you know... and then not really..." his voice trailed off. "We're here, trying to be good friends and be supportive and you come in yelling about how you are NOT gay.. like it's so..." Again he seemed to lose his emphisis at the end of the sentence. "It's not like it's such a big deal, though... being.. you know..."
Harry's eyes widened, an entirely new possibility lighting up in his head. "You're not... are you...?"
"No!" snapped Ron. He bit his lip. "George is," he added very quietly.
Hermione, who had been dangerously quiet as all this was going on, spoke up, her inquisitive nature getting the best of her once again. "Really? I had know idea. My parents have a friend who's homosexual. He's really very nice. So you see, it's not as bad as you think, Harry, it's just sort of hard for us to get used to, you know... adjust our thoughts a little. Might take some time, but--"
"--didn't hear what I said? I'm not gay! And I KNOW it's not a terrible thing, but it's also not me, and I don't know what you all think you heard or saw, but I was locked up in a bathroom for five hours this afternoon, and I NEVER SAID I WAS GAY!"
Hermione pursed her lips, a sure sign she was getting impatient. "I think it is very immature that we are just sitting here talking about who's 'gay' or not. Perhaps we should just drop it for a while; it's clearly making the situation uncomfortable."
"It's the subject at hand, Hermione," Ron said, sounding so much like Percy that it sent chills up and down Harry's spine. "I am hungry though; why don't we continue our conversation down in the Great Hall?" he added, perking up a bit.
Harry followed Hermione and Ron down the massive stone staircases nervously, catching prolonged glances from other students walking the halls. Their footsteps echoed against the walls of the castle, impossibly loud. When they entered the Great Hall, the whole room fell silent. Presumably, most of the students had been talking about him before he came in, and now it was surely the one thing on everyone's mind. He cringed, waiting for torrent of snide remarks and cruel jeers from the Slytherin table. A quiet negative-toned chatter emerged from the table, but it didn't seem directed at him, just about him. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw followed suit, though many of the more polite house members tried to change the subject. Gryffindor was dead silent, and the wizards and witches shifted their gazes when Harry sat down. The only sounds to be heard over the soft buzz of voices coming from the other three tables was the clink of forks on glass plates and the occasional request for more potatoes. Everything tasted sour to Harry.
He wondered if he could solve the problem by simply yelling: "I'm not gay!" at the crowd. In his heart he knew it would only make the problem worse, but it was difficult to tell himself that when all of these people were under an entirely false assumption.
Or was it false? The most shaking thing about this whole ordeal was the questions it brought up in his own mind. Was he really who he told himself he was; who he told everyone he was?
"I think I'll go back up to the common room, guys," he said bitterly, breaking the silence. "I'm not that hungry."