Summary:
Ron Weasley has always been left out, and the times he's been
included he was always in the background. He needs an escape, and the
perfect escape has been sneering at him for the past 6 years. The
maliciously beautiful and manipulative Draco Malfoy will be the one
to bring Ron out of his blind stupor, and Ron realizes that maybe
having a simple life in the background wasn't such a bad idea after
all.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I own the plot... but all
the characters, places, creatures, and items belong to J.K. Rowling,
and the lyrics belong to Brian Molko.
Notes: Give credit to
Placebo for this fanfic, because their songs definitely inspired me
to write it. :)
"Ron?"
Ron looked up from his plate to meet his sister's eyes. He couldn't talk, as his mouth was full of mashed potatoes, but he raised his eyebrows in what he hoped was a questioning look.
"What's going on with you and Harry and Hermione?" Ginny asked tentatively. "I mean, you're not sitting with them and you look kind of... mad."
He swallowed angrily, which he didn't know was possible. "It's really not your business, Ginny," he sneered.
"Well, I was just worried my brother's bed temper is going to lose him his only friends, that's all!" she said, her cheeks reddening.
"I have other friends!" Ron snapped, completely missing Ginny's point.
"Not friends like Harry and Hermione!"
"It's not my fault Harry's a backstabbing attention-starved little prat! You know he used his crazy 'everybody hates me' tactic to try to convince me he should be able to go out with Hermione?" Ron's voice was rising with every word and people were started to look at him.
"You kind of have to cut him a break, Ron."
"NO! He knew I liked her! He doesn't even understand why I'm mad!"
"Ron."
"Go away, Ginny," Ron grumbled angrily. He concentrated on his plate, red faced and fuming, until he heard her sigh and retreat. Realizing the argument had ended, people started to go back to their own conversations.
Minutes later, he still felt eyes on him. He looked up to meet Harry and Hermione's gaze. Hermione was biting her lip, and Harry looked angry. Ron glared at them, feeling the heat coming back to his face, and looked away.
He was so angry he couldn't even finish his chicken, which was slightly depressing because he loved chicken.
He stood up and left the Great Hall, passing some people in the corridors. He didn't notice any of them until he saw Malfoy. He was walking by himself, head down and arms folded. Suddenly Ron felt even angrier and passionate, feelings which he vented by shoving Malfoy to the ground.
"What's your problem, Weasley?" Malfoy said angrily, standing up.
"Don't be a prat, Malfoy."
"I'm the prat? You just pushed me for no reason!"
"I know you were about to say something about what happened at dinner just now," Ron said, Malfoy's feigned ignorance making him angrier.
Malfoy raised an eyebrow. Ron hated when he did that, it made him feel stupid. "Weasley, I wasn't even there. I haven't been in the Great Hall since breakfast."
"Oh," Ron said, feeling even stupider.
"What'd you do, jump on the table and strip?" Malfoy asked, smirking. "Or did you flip out on Potter and Granger. Both would be equally entertaining."
Malfoy was mocking him. 'Just walk away,' he told himself, and started to leave.
"How does it feel to have no friends?" Malfoy said quietly, but Ron heard him so clearly it was painful. Somehow, it had more of an effect on him when Malfoy said it then when Ginny did.
"I don't know, Malfoy, you tell me," Ron said, mentally patting himself on the back for his comeback.
Malfoy scowled, obviously pissed his comment didn't have as much of an effect as he would've liked. Ron realized he loved having this kind of influence on Malfoy's mood, even without Harry and Hermione there.
"Oh please, Weasley. Back to the 'let's assume nobody likes poor old Malfoy' tactic? Please tell me you can do better."
"I would, but that would mean I'd be better at slinging words than you, wouldn't it? You always make fun of me for the same reasons."
Instead of the defensive glare Ron expected, Malfoy did some variation of a half-smile Ron had never seen on him before.
"You know Weasley, you're a lot more fun with Potter and Granger weighing you down. I guess without them you don't have to be the designated stupid sidekick," Malfoy said.
Before Ron could reply, Malfoy had already left, leaving Ron alone in the corridor.
It was late at night, and Ron was the only one left in the common room. He was sitting in one of the armchairs by the fire, huddled in a blanket and watching the flames flickering.
'What if he wasn't lying? Was I always the stupid one? The clumsy sidekick, like the ones in all my comics?' Ron thought vehemently, the fire reflecting in his eyes making him look murderous. 'What if Harry and Hermione only kept me around because I made them look better by comparison? Maybe I am better off without them...'
He stayed like that, mulling things over in his head, getting angrier and angrier at Harry and Hermione with every crackle the fire made. By the time the fire burned out, he felt like his friendship with them had burned out too.
When he finally went upstairs and glanced at Harry's sleeping form, he didn't feel guilty about their fight at all. He laid down in his bed and relived every time Harry had used him, thought lowly of him, and fought with him. Each time they had come around and each time Ron had forgiven him. But this wasn't unknowingly participating in the Triwizard Tournament; this was knowingly taking the one person Ron had ever really felt something for.
The next morning, Ron caught Malfoy outside the Great Hall. "Can I talk to you?" he asked quietly.
Malfoy raised an eyebrow, and Crabbe and Goyle looked more confused than usual. After a moment, Malfoy waved a hand and Crabbe and Goyle went into the Hall.
"What?"
"Walk with me," Ron said, starting to walk away. Malfoy followed, and Ron couldn't help but smile a little. They walked in silence until they were out of earshot from everyone. "What did you mean?" Ron finally said.
"What? About what?"
"What you said last night."
"What?"
"I think we should lay off the whats."
"Wha-"
"Last night you said... that I was more fun without Harry and Hermione. That I wasn't stupid without them," Ron said, finally getting out what he was trying to say and realizing how dumb it sounded outside his head.
"I wasn't serious, Weasley."
"But I was thinking about it, and you were right. I was always the clumsy sidekick with them, and when I fought with you last night, I felt liberated somehow. Like I could keep up the comeback game and not hit you."
Malfoy was staring at him, looking taken aback. Ron stared back, suddenly feeling embarrassed. He supposed it was because he sounded really stupid. He waited for the trademark snide remark.
"Wow, Weasley," 'here it comes.' "I never thought you'd actually admit Potter and Granger were the worst things that ever happened to you. Although, that's not saying much, since nothing much happened to you before Potter came along."
Ron ignored the last remark. "So I really am better off without them?"
"I don't see why you need me to tell you that," Malfoy replied. Ron noticed Malfoy started picking at the cuffs of his sleeves. "That's not to say that you're better than you were. You're still poor and annoying, you know."
With one last look of contempt, Malfoy walked away. Ron decided that it was a lot harder to get anything nice out of him than he thought. But for some reason, he still wanted to try.
He didn't know why he wanted to talk to Malfoy, he realized as he took his seat next to Seamus at the breakfast table. As he ate, he kept involuntarily looking at Malfoy across the hall. He felt weird, and he couldn't stop thinking about what Malfoy had said to him the night before. And he couldn't get the expression he had out of his head. It was the closest thing to a smile he'd ever seen on Malfoy. It was really different, and surprised all the anger out of Ron. He wanted it to happen again, and he couldn't explain why, no matter how much he tried.
He wondered why Malfoy was so jittery. He kept glancing around and hadn't touched his food. Ron thought of him picking at the cuffs of his sleeves, and wondered if that was some sort of nervous habit. He'd never noticed it before. His thoughts went back to the first day back, when Malfoy was stark white and staring at nothing.
'Something must be up with him,' he decided.
He made a mental note to consult Hermione on this, as she'd be able to figure it out better than anyone. Then he realized he wasn't speaking to her, and was brought down from his good mood. He sighed; he was doing such a good job not thinking about them, too. Thinking about Malfoy distracted him from thinking about Harry and Hermione.
Malfoy looked at him just then, and Ron caught his eye. He held his gaze, and any and all thoughts of Harry and Hermione were pushed to the back of his head. He realized that Malfoy didn't have his trademark sneer on his face. In fact, he didn't have much of an expression at all. He was just staring, and Ron was sure he looked the same way.
It was three weeks before Ron got the chance to talk to Malfoy again.
"What do you want, Weasley?" he said, but it wasn't annoyed so much as questioning.
Ron watched him stupidly, as if Malfoy had just slapped him. He realized he really didn't have the slightest clue as to what he wanted. They stared at each other, both of them trying to figure out why Ron had pulled Malfoy aside. After a minute, Malfoy dropped his gaze and left.
Transfiguration went by slowly; even McGonagall's voice seemed to be going in slow motion. All Ron could think about was Malfoy. He wondered if maybe he was talking to him so much because he seemed to be the only person who would talk to him. He thought that maybe he was trying to use Malfoy as a filler for Harry and Hermione's absence. Everyone's absence, actually, as even Ginny was on their side. Everyone kept telling him he was being irrational, and maybe he was, but he couldn't help being so angry and jealous.
Somehow, the more the thought about it, the more it seemed like Malfoy was the only person who'd understand where he was coming from. Being fed up with Harry's special treatment and having everyone gang up on him all the time.
That evening, Ron found it was a lot easier to concentrate on his homework without Harry and Hermione around. Whether it was that Harry wasn't distracting him, or knowing Hermione wasn't there to help him that made it easier to work he didn't know, but he zipped through his Potions assignment within twenty minutes. He was working diligently, and by eight o'clock he was bored and doodling.
"Ron?" he heard. He looked up to see Hermione standing in front of his table looking anxious.
"Can I help you?" he said dully.
"Ron, I..." she started. Ron felt a knot in his stomach form upon seeing the tears shining in her eyes. "I don't want you to be mad at me, or Harry. We... I miss you. Harry's still mad at you, but he doesn't understand... I know why you'd be mad and I'm very sorry but I hope that we can still be friends," she said this all very quickly. "Of course, I understand if you still want to keep hating me."
Ron stared at her, contemplating whether to forgive her or not. He was still mad, and heartbroken, but he wasn't about to say so with her crying and begging him for forgiveness.
"Bugger..." he muttered. "Alright, Hermione."
"Really?" she said, smiling through her tears.
"Yeah, why not... not like you really did anything wrong, right?" he said. "But don't expect me to start gal palling with you when Harry's around."
"Ok," she said, and started to turn around. She paused, and turned back to him. "Ron, have you finished your homework?"
"What?"
"You're sitting there doodling when you should be doing Professor Snape's assignment," she said matter-of-factly. It astounded Ron how she could skip the uncomfortable 'on good terms but still awkward' phase of being friends again and go right to the homework badgering.
"I've already done it," he said simply. He smirked at her look of complete and utter shock.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I've done it all already," he said before she could ask him about any other assignments. "I've... er... had a lot of time on my hands."
"Right," she smiled warmly. "Well, I'm off to bed! Good night, Ron!" she said brightly, and kissed the top of his head before bounding up the stairs to the girl's dormitory.
Ron was surprised to find that he didn't turn red. In fact, the kiss didn't even phase him like it would've a few weeks ago. He sighed, shoved everything back into his school bag, and went upstairs. He fell asleep to Neville's snores, pleased with himself. He got one of his friends back without even trying. He decided that he liked the feeling of not being the one to ask for forgiveness, and that if Harry wanted his friendship back then he'd have to be the one licking Ron's shoes for a change.
The next morning, he walked into the Great Hall for breakfast only to see Hermione sitting with Harry. She waved to him, but he just scowled.
'Of course,' he thought icily as Harry smirked at him. 'Doesn't look like I'll be spending much time with her after all.'
Ron stood by the door to an empty classroom, waiting for Malfoy. He knew he'd turn up, alone, because he knew that Malfoy hadn't been going to dinner lately. Sure enough, the pale boy came along, head down and biting his lip. He didn't even see Ron, and when he grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the classroom, Malfoy gave a small yelp of surprise. Ron smiled, deciding that Malfoy should be caught off his guard more often.
"Weasley! What-"Malfoy started, but Ron cut him off.
"Just shut up, Malfoy, for once," Ron said.
"Don't tell me to shut up!" Malfoy said defensively, a pink tinge appearing in his cheeks.
"Fine, don't shut up. Just listen to me."
Malfoy leaned against the wall of the classroom and folded his arms. "Ok. Talk."
"I'm friends with Hermione again. She apologized last night and I forgave her, but I hardly got to talk to her today because Harry's always there and I didn't forgive him. I mean, if he wants to be my friend he's going to be the one begging not me. It's frustrating, you know? Like, I doubt he'll come crawling to me because of his ego. I feel like you're the only one who knows what I'm talking about. Your frustration with Harry... I mean, it's weird. I hate you so much but I feel like we're kindred spirits or something. At first I thought I was only talking to you because I was using you as a filler for them since you were the only person who'd talk to me, even if it was all snide comments. But now that I have Hermione back, kind of, I still like... want to talk to you," Ron rattled on in one breath, stammering and tripping over his words.
"Weasley, what are you talking about?" Malfoy said, clearly not understanding a word Ron said.
"I can't explain it," Ron muttered. He bit his lip and looked at Malfoy, who was staring at him looking confused. He sighed and walked up to him.
It was as if it was in slow motion. Ron put his hand on Malfoy's face and brushed his hair away from his eyes. He didn't even know what he was doing, he felt like he couldn't control himself as he leant down and pressed his lips against Malfoy's. He felt the other boy tense up out of shock, and then slowly relax and lean into the kiss.
Ron felt high and light-headed, feelings he'd only had twice before in his life. When he'd won Gryffindor the final match in fifth year, and when Fleur Delacour kissed his cheek after the second task in fourth year.
They'd only been kissing for about ten seconds, though, before Malfoy's hands were on Ron's chest pushing him away.
"What the fuck are you trying to pull, Weasley?" he spat, his cheeks pink and his eyes cold. He glared at Ron for a few seconds, then yanked the door open and left, slamming the door behind him.
"What was I trying to pull?" Ron asked the empty classroom.
He'd just kissed Draco Malfoy. He kissed Draco Malfoy... and loved every second of it. He didn't know why he did it. It felt weird admitting he liked it, even to himself, like it shouldn't have happened. He knew he was completely crazy to have done it, possibly even delusional, but Malfoy had kissed him back.
He kissed him back and then got mad about it as if Ron had broken some ancient law of the universe. 'That bi-polar little prick!' Ron thought angrily. 'He's probably off crying to Snape that I molested him or something!'
Ron growled and kicked the wall, sending a wave of pain through his foot.
"F-FUCK!" he cried out, grabbing his foot.
A/N- R/R please! Tell me what you think, it'll motivate me.
