Chapter two: Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift (love fool-Cardinals)
Harry's pants were feeling especially tight around the waist band as he left the great hall after dinner. He undid the first button in an effort to relieve some of the pressure. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten so much, but then again he had good reason to be so ravenous, he had worked up quite an appetite that day. A contrast to Ron who tended to eat like a pig at every meal, without any prompting at all, something that endeared him even more to Harry.
Harry had been exhausting himself all day by going into fits of giggles and hysterical laughter at random. He wasn't the only one either, Ron had been laughing just as hard, after all it was Ron's genius idea. Harry had to confess he was a little taken aback by the cleverness of Ron's plan, Harry didn't think the other boy had it in him to be so devious.
Harry collapsed against the wall in a fit of giggles again. A couple of passing Hufflepuffs gave him inquisitive looks. It was just too funny, Harry and Ron so rarely ever got one over on that snob Malfoy and now he was a laughing stock, at least for Ron and Harry.
They seemed to be the only ones in on the joke. Nobody else seemed to know just what was so funny. Even Hermione was left in the dark, something that had greatly annoyed her. They had tried to tell her several times but kept collapsing into fits of hysterical giggles rendering them both quite incapable of speech. When they had first joined her in the queue outside the transfiguration class, after breakfast that morning, she seemed to think they had both been hit by a very effective cheering charm.
The giggles had silently continued all through class that day. McGonagall kept glaring at them, they were constantly ducking behind their desks in order to allow some of the laughter to escape. Hermione kept asking them what was so funny but getting nothing shaking heads and more stifled giggles she soon gave up and became irritable. By the time the two of them burst out of the class room that morning they both felt like they had cracked at least two ribs in an effort to hide their laughter.
Harry face hurt from all the smiling he'd been doing, he wondered if Ron was suffering the same side affect? Harry thought about the flaming redhead's sexy smile, it made his heart skip a beat. Every time Ron had looked at Harry that day Harry felt as though all the air had gone out of the room. Not a good thing considering he needed all the air he could get just so he wouldn't pass out from the giggles.
Harry had started to notice just how handsome Ron had become when he was invited to stay at the burrow that summer. He had arrived just in time to have everybody celebrate his birthday with him. Well almost everyone, Sirius's absence cast a cloud over the entire affair. Harry still cried about him, about his dad and mum and about Cedric. His nightmares were becoming overcrowded with the dead people who had died because of him.
Harry's birthday cake had been a triple-decker double chocolate fudge masterpiece. He had taken an eternity to decide what to wish for, after all this was his first birthday cake. The candles were half melted when Hermione finally said just wish for whatever would make you the happiest. So he scrunched up his eyes and wished hard, I wish that before I die I can kiss the sweet lips of Ron Weasley. He blew out all 16 candles in one blow, he had never been happier in his life. This, he thought, was how all his birthdays should've been celebrated, not that rubbish with the Dursley's.
Harry thought about his wish, and decided then and there that he was going to come clean to Ron tonight. He couldn't stand the waiting and the uncertainty any longer. He had to know how Ron felt. Harry got a kind of rush from know in that he could very shortly be kissing the object of his affection. He started towards the Gryffindor common room.
Then the doubt entered his mind, what if Ron didn't want him? What if Ron wasn't even that way? More than the hurt he would feel if Ron rejected him Harry feared that he might ruin the friendship if Ron took things badly. Maybe, if it turned out that Ron wasn't interested, Harry could just turn it all into a joke. Pretend like he just wanted to see what Ron would say, and the expression on his face.
Harry quickly said the password to the fat lady (Nocturne) and climbed the steps to the dorm room before he lost his nerve.
He entered the room and found a very stressed out Ron rummaging through his trunks swearing under his breath. He had changed his robes, and Harry couldn't get over how good Ron looked. He was now dressed in a pair of tight fitting black jeans and a white dress shirt with a few buttons undone near the top. He found what he was looking for put it in his pocket stood up and started tucking in his shirt.
"Hand me that would you?" Ron asked pointing to a dress jacket hanging on the back of the door. Harry grabbed it and threw it to Ron, who was now fussing over his hair in front of the mirror.
"Ron, erm…could I talk to you about something" Harry nervously began. This was going to be a lot harder than he anticipated.
"Um, can it wait I'm already late for my date." Ron said while still trying to fix his hair. Harry was just admiring Ron's hair and how a few of the longer strands always seemed fall free so that they can dance in front of his face.
He was jerked out of his thoughts by the sudden bit of unexpected information. "You… you've got a date? What? With who?" Harry couldn't keep the shock out of his voice.
Ron frowned at Harry "You don't have to look so shocked. I know I'm not Mr. Handsome or anything but I'm not some Slytherin troll." Harry didn't need to be told that, Ron was already the star of all his wet dreams. "Now that you mention it I actually have a question to ask you" he quirked his eyebrows
"What?" Harry actually allowed got his hopes up a little.
"Well I was just wondering… if I could borrow your invisibility cloak, its just that I wanted to go for a walk around the lake and it's not exactly early." Ron was looking at Harry with a goofy expectant look on his face. Harry hesitated. "Pretty, pretty please with loads of cherries and chocolate frogs on top", Ron was pouting now his bottom lip jutting out.
Harry loved that bottom lip, he had named that bottom lip, he had fantasies about that bottom lip. About sucking it and biting it and having it bite and suck him. Harry could not refuse Ron. "Here take it." he rummaged through his trunk for a moment and handed the cloak to Ron. Harry hid his face as the tears started to well up behind his eyes.
"Thanks mate, I owe you one." Ron grinned walked towards the door turned winked cheekily back at Harry "don't wait up"
"Wait!" Harry couldn't stop himself he had to know what Ron's answer would be to the question burning in him. He had to know.
Ron paused at the door and checked his watch "I'm going to be late". He looked anxiously back up at Harry.
"I just wanted to ask you… who you are going on a date with." Harry had lost his nerve, the anxious looks Ron was giving him were doing nothing to add to his confidence.
"What?! Oh yeah" Ron blushed profusely. "Hermione, well ta" without further ado he left the dorm room.
Harry cursed and flung himself down on his bed. How could he have been so stupid? Of course Ron liked Hermione, of course Ron wasn't gay. Tears flowed down his cheeks only to be absorbed by his pillow. He thought about all those fantasies that would never be fulfilled, all the scenarios he had been thinking about that would never be played out. How could he have gone from being so happy and giggly to so miserable in such a short span of time?
He couldn't stand being in a dorm room full of Ron's stuff for one moment longer. Without any thought or consideration to the fact that it was after hours and he had no way of concealing himself he set off out of Gryffindor tower at a hurried pace. He was half running through the castle tears still streaming down his face when he bumped into something solid. He looked down at what he had just hit and was taken a back to find Malfoy sprawled on the ground glaring up at him.