Harry climbed up the stairs to the boys' dorms later that night feeling exhausted and apprehensive. He slowly pushed the door open, peeked inside, and saw that all three boys had drawn their curtains and were asleep. He sighed and went to his own bed, pulled back the hangings--
--and found something that smelled remarkably like dragon dung spread over his bed, mashed into the sheets, and a note on top that said "The Fag Sleeps Here."
Growling, Harry took a cloak and his only unsoiled pillow and went down to the common room, curling up on one of the sofas. He fell asleep quickly.
"Harry, Harry, wake up!"
Harry woke to see Hermione standing above him, and that the fire had gone out. "'Mione...?"
"I heard about what they were going to do. I tried to get them to change their minds, but they wouldn't, oh Harry, I'm so sorry--"
''Mione, it's not your fault."
"It is, Harry. I... I broke up with him in Potions yesterday--I told him I didn't want to date a closed-minded person--but he isn't, Harry, he just doesn't like Ma--Draco."
"I know, 'Mione." Harry sat up and patted to sofa next to him. "Dragon dung... I ought to talk to Gred and Forge... I mean, Fred and George."
"Harry, don't, please--"
"I'm not going to prank him, I just figure that they're a lot more serious than they let on, and they know a lot more about people than they let on. They're in their... which year?"
"Seventh," Hermione whispered.
"Thanks, 'Mione. You're the greatest." Harry stood and headed for the stairs to the boys dorms, this time passing the sixth year dorms and pushing open the next door.
He slipped inside, tugged open a curtain, and was relieved to see red hair. He shook the twin gently, not sure if it were Fred or George. "Um... George... Fred..."
"Right the first time," a sleepy voice said. "What do you want, Harry? It's the middle of the night.
To Harry's surprise, there was another body in the bed, and this one sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Harry... how nice to see you." Fred smiled at him, a lopsided, tired grin. "What did you need?"
"Well, a place to sleep would be nice, but I came for advice."
George shook his head. "Ickle Ronnikins
"Doesn't much like--" Fred took over, seamlessly.
"Draco Malfoy," they finished together.
Harry rolled his eyes. "I knew that much," he said. "What I want to know is--hey!"
The twins had grabbed him and pulled him onto the bed, and one of them was now casting Silencing Charms on the curtains. He sat cross-legged at the foot, looking rather violated.
"Sorry, Harry," Fred said, "but we
"Couldn't have you waking up Lee and the rest," George finished. "Listen, if you want
"Advice on Ron, we suggest
"Waiting him out, letting him cool down,
"And then talking to him
"Civilized-like, you know. Now, as for"A place to sleep, there's
"Usually an extra bed in the
"Seventh-year dorm," Fred completed, grinning. "Don't worry, it's
"Nothing like that, we
"Most certainly aren't shagging, we just think
"The beds are too big for
"One person, and we've
"Shared a bed all our
"Lives, so we just
"Share one here, too." George grinned, his face looking like the mirror image of Fred's.
"So you'd let me sleep in here?" Harry asked.
Fred nodded. "Yup, we can't have
"The Boy who Lived
"Sleeping on a couch
"In the common room
"When we could
"Do something about it."
Harry nodded. "Thanks a lot, guys, I owe you one."
"But there's two of us," the twins said at the same time.
Harry rolled his eyes. "All right, I owe you two. Happy?"
"Extremely. Now get out of our bed, Harry."
= = =
"He put dragon dung on your bed? I wouldn't stand for that," Draco said over breakfast the next morning.
"I've got a bed. There's an extra in the seventh-year room, so I sleep in there." Harry sighed. "It's been a month, and nothing's changed. Hermione, Fred, George, and you are my only supporters on this."
"So much so that you're forced to sit at the Slytherin table with your enemy, the evil, bad, mean Draco Malfoy, which only makes your predicament worse. You ought to talk to Dumbledore."
"I won't complain. He's my best friend; I ought to be able to deal with him."
"You mean," Draco said, reaching for the marmalade, "that he ought to be able to deal with you."
"Yeah," Harry said, sighing, "that's what I mean."
= = =
Mr. Ronald Weasley
Please report to Professor McGonagall's office immediately after breakfast.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
= = =
Messrs. Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter,
Please report to Professor McGonagall's office immediately after breakfast.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
= = =
Miss Hermione Granger
Please report to Professor McGonagall's office immediately after breakfast.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
= = =
Hermione ventured into McGonagall's office, knowing what she'd see--Ron ignoring Harry ignoring Ron glaring at Draco glaring at Ron ignoring Hermione attempting to ignore all of them.
"Good, now that we're all here..."
Dumbledore, who was sitting at McGonagall's desk, smiled at the foursome. "I was told that a certain boy has been harassing a certain other boy about his relationship with a certain other boy."
Harry turned to Draco. "Draco," he said, sighing.
Draco pointedly ignored him. "Go on, Headmaster.""It seems, Harry, that you found dragon dung on your bed?"
"Yeah," Harry said. "'Mione told me she tried to stop them, and I assume 'them' is Ron, Seamus, and maybe Neville." He turned and flashed a grateful smile at Hermione. "I've been sleeping in the seventh year dorms, thanks to Fred and George."
"What?!?" Ron jumped up, red in the face. "My own brothers have taken your side over--"
"Mister Weasley, calm yourself."
Ron glared at Hermione and Harry before dropping into his seat. Dumbledore cleared his throat. "It seems to me, Mister Weasley, that you simply dislike Mister Potter's choice of partners, as opposed to his sexual orientation."
"Are you kidding me? He's shagging Draco Malfoy! How can I not dislike the fact that my best friend is shagging our worst enemy?"
"We aren't shagging, Ron," came Draco's voice, at the same time Harry said, softly, "Best friend?"