Chapter Three:

Ginny climbed the steps slowly, dragging her feet and frowning. She was carrying laundry upstairs, to the washing room. It was really Harry's job, but she had decided to help him out with his duties until he was settled in and accustomed to the job. Of course, Ron thought the idea was ridiculous, pointing out that Harry still got paid the same, whether Ginny helped or not. Although she disagreed with her brother, she was beginning to get tired of working. She wasn't used to it, and she wanted nothing more than to spend the remaining days of her summer vacation lounging around the house or shopping.

Her foot caught on the next step, twisted, and gave way. She reached out an arm, frantically trying to catch hold of the rail and spilling the basket of laundry onto the carpeted steps. She couldn't reach anything, and she felt herself falling backwards. She cried out in terror, slamming her eyes shut. Suddenly a strong hand gripped hers and held her firmly in place. She opened her eyes.

"Ron!" she exclaimed, surprised to see him.

He pulled her up the remaining two steps. "See? This is what happens when you start doing the servant's work. You overwork yourself."

Ginny pulled her hand from his and started collecting the clothes that were scattered along the top four steps. "Maybe I wouldn't overwork myself if you'd help out every now and then."

Ron sighed and helped her pick up the laundry. "You really need to be more careful, Ginny. Of everything."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what I mean."

Ginny frowned. "You still think Harry's evil?"

"Not evil!" Ron said, "Just… devious, somehow. I think he has more on his mind than his job."

"I should hope so! It's a pretty boring job, you know."

"I mean, I think he has an ulterior motive."

Ginny crossed her arms. "And that would be?"

"I don't know! To rob us? To get you in bed?"

Ginny laughed out loud. "Why would you think that?"

"Something he said in the alley made me wonder about him. He said he wouldn't help me, but he'd help you. I never could figure out what he meant by that."

Ginny looked down. "Actually… I saw him before you rescued me. I caught sight of him as those men were dragging me by. I didn't think he could see me though, since he was obviously blind."

"Well, he did see you apparently. I wonder what goes through that guy's head."

Ginny smiled. "Whatever it is, I think it's good. I don't think there's anything bad about him. Just give him a chance, Ron."

Ron shrugged. "All right, but if he ever does anything suspicious, I'm going straight to dad."

Ginny kissed his cheek. "And that's why you'll always be my brave knight."

Ron gave no response, but watched as she walked past him and down the hall. When she was out of sight, he reached up and rubbed his face, where her lips had pressed against his skin. What was it he felt? He couldn't decide that. He told himself he was just a normal big brother, but even his own self-delusions couldn't hold up forever in the face of a huge, blaring truth. But what was the truth?

He suddenly heard whistling coming from downstairs. He walked over to the railing and peered down, in time to see Harry casually strolling by with one hand in the pocket of his robes and the other holding a half-smoked cigarette. He was whistling, and seemed to be wandering around aimlessly, looking at various paintings and wall hangings.

Ron watched him for a while, elbows on the rail and his chin resting on his arms. Harry seemed oblivious. He really was a strange boy, Ron decided. He had little regard for rules, as he had been told repeatedly (by Ron) that smoking was not allowed in the house. He was small-framed and pale, almost sickly-looking, but seemed to be in perfect health. He was very curious too, looking and staring at everything. Ron blamed this on Harry's former state of blindness, which made sense. And then those eyes. Oh, those eyes. They were the color of the freshest, healthiest lawn of grass in a springtime field. The greenest green Ron had ever beheld.

Finally Harry's roving eyes drifted upward, where he spotted Ron. "Spying on me again?" he asked, walking up the stairs.

Ron didn't move himself from the comfortable position of leaning against the rail. "Yeah, this is the best possible thing I can do with my time – spy on a lazy servant."

"Apparently so. Every time I see you, you're staring at me. I'd almost think you were the one who spent your life blind."

Ron shrugged. "Why don't you get back to work? You lay around the house all day, smoking and giggling with Ginny. That's not what we pay you for."

Harry smiled. "Don't you mean to say, that's not what your father pays me for?"

Ron glared at him. "Look, you may have everyone else in the house thinking you're a saint, but you're not fooling me. I can see right through you!"

"Probably can by now, actually. You stare at me enough."

Ron reddened. "Are you aware of how annoying you are?"

Harry smiled again. "Sure am. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a bath, or do you want to watch me do that too?"

Ron's shade of red deepened. "Of course not!"

"I don't mind. I'm not ashamed of myself, especially now that I can actually see how impressive I am."

Ron's jaw dropped. He'd never seen someone so arrogant in his life, and a Half-blood at that!

Harry was grinning. "No? Maybe I'll ask Ginny then…"

Before Harry could even comprehend what had happened, Ron had lunged forward and shoved him roughly against the nearest wall, using his own body to pin Harry back while his hands held fist-fulls of Harry's robes. "You leave Ginny the hell alone! If you lay one fucking finger on her, I'll permanently blind you myself, when I gouge out your eyes!"

Harry seemed unfazed, returning Ron's glare with those emerald eyes that Ron found so unnerving. "You know, it's not that wise to reveal your weak spot so easily."

"What?"

"Your weak spot. It's Ginny. If you really think I'm a threat, you should be more careful about things like this." His mater-of-fact tone made the conversation suddenly seem very awkward.

"And…" Harry said, letting his voice trail as his right hand snaked between the two of them, moving toward Ron's crotch and resting there, "here's another obvious weak spot. You're about to stab me to death with that thing."

Ron jumped back so quickly that he almost lost his balance and fell. "You're insane!" he yelled.

"Hey, it's not my fault if you get turned on every time our bodies come into contact." Harry straightened out his robes. "And I'm assuming the same thing happens with Ginny. How long do you think it'll be before she notices?"

Ron was speechless. He just stared at Harry with a look of horror. Somehow, in the short time they'd been together, Harry had figured him out completely, even figured out things that Ron himself didn't realize. "You…. I…."

Harry grinned. "When you grow up on the streets blind, you have to learn quick how to be a good judge of character. You have to know who's dangerous, and who's not."

Ron nodded, slight comprehension edging it's way into his brain. "But still, you don't have to act like this! What is it that you really want from us?"

Harry looked at him curiously. "I want a place to stay, off the streets. What else would I want?"

"I don't know! But I know you want something! And I'll figure it out before long!"

"Right, right. Whatever you say," Harry said, walking away and waving his hand dismissively.

Ron frowned. He was back at square one. He wondered if he'd ever be able to figure out that boy. He knew Harry had some sort of secret. Perhaps a very dark one. Which made him a potential threat to their home. But, despite Ron's initial assumptions, he now couldn't make himself believe that Harry had bad intentions. He'd promised Ginny that he'd give Harry a chance, and he intended to keep that promise. But he also promised himself that he'd keep a watchful eye on Harry, and that he would protect Ginny from harm, no matter what the cost.

Author's Notes: Okay, now that I've read book five, you may want to be a little careful in reading further chapters if you haven't read it yourself. I don't plan on throwing in any spoilers (this is an AU fic, after all) but I can't promise that I won't throw anything in that doesn't relate to the events in book 5. This is just a precautionary warning. Also, for those who have read book 5, I hope the matter of Harry's blood status has been cleared up. As I suspected, he IS a Half-blood. Book 5 was quite clear on this.

Anyway, I want to discuss Harry's characterization in this story. This Harry is a different Harry from what we see in the books. He's a Harry who grew up on the mean streets, persecuted and spat on for being a Half-blood. Therefore, he's a bit edgier. Though, with his behavior in book 5, I doubt he's a whole lot edgier. ^^; This Harry is more cunning though, because he has a specific purpose (which will eventually be revealed) and didn't have close friends from the age of eleven. Ron and Ginny aren't TOO different though, I hope.

And to end this note, I want to clear up some things. A lot of people have been asking questions about Nobody's Girl, such as when I'm going to start writing the direct sequel to that story, or if Draco and Hermione will appear in this one. Here are my plans, for those of you who don't know. The first story was Nobody's Girl, as you all know. The second story is this one. The third story will be about Draco and Hermione again, five years down the road (and, as a matter of fact, I've already started work on it). The fourth story will go back in time, like a prequel and basically explain how this world turned out like it did (and feature James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Snape, etc.). The fifth, and last multi-chaptered one, will go back to where I left off in the third story and continue from there. I may write some one-shots here and there and in between, and I invite anyone else to contact me if they want to write one (or even a multi-chaptered one) taking place in this alternate universe. I'd really love to see what another author could do with this idea (because there are so many great ones out there). Just please be sure to contact me first. So, try to enjoy this story. I know a lot of you don't like slash or incest, but part of my purpose with this storyline is to make something that those who enjoy slash AND het can enjoy. So, bear with me. Also, as to Draco and Hermione appearing, well… you'll get your answer to that next chapter. And remember that I love long reviews pointing out what I did wrong, what I did right, and what you want to read in the future! It really does matter to me!