It was a short lived celebration when Harry was cleared of all charges after the dementor attack. He spent a day smiling and laughing cheerfully with the Weasleys, Hermione, Sirius, and Lupin. Eating wonderful meals and sipping on a few butterbeers.
The following day, however, had begun rather strangely. When he awoke, Ron was already dressed, and had glanced at him before quickly exiting the room. Harry felt confused, but for the moment decided not to dwell on it. But as the morning carried on, it seemed that wherever Harry was, Ron had a reason to not be there.
"Are you two fighting?" Hermione asked Harry when she noticed this too.
"I don't think so," Harry replied, looking over his school list which had arrived earlier.
"Hm," Hermione said, frowning, "Well…let's go find Mrs. Weasley. She said we were to go to Diagon Alley this afternoon."
They left Harry and Ron's room, toptoeing past the portrait of Sirius's mother. Fred and George joined them, also asking Harry about Ron's odd behavior.
"I dunno," Harry said with a frustrated sigh, "But I'm going to ask him about it."
The traipsed through the living room, and opened the door to the dining room, where Harry had stopped. Hermione walked right into him.
Ron was sitting at the table next to Sirius, who had a hand on his shoulder. Ron was leaning forward with his hands covering his face. Lupin was there as well, standing just behind Ron, his palms turned upward as though he had been interrupted mid sentence. When Ron had heard the door open he had given a loud sniff and looked up, then paled when he saw the group that had tried to enter.
Remus was the first to speak, in a calm tone he said simply,
"Could you four give us a minute, please?"
"What…" Harry stammered, "Ron, are you okay? What's wrong?"
"A minute, please," Lupin repeated, moving around the table and closer to the group, "I believe Molly is waiting for you just outside by the car. Why don't you go there?"
"What's going on?" Harry asked again, his stomach clenching as he looked back at Ron, who's eyes were very red, streaks of moisture lined his face, "Is he in trouble, or something?"
"Harry," Sirius said suddenly in a gruff tone Harry rarely used, "Do as Lupin says."
Hermione gently tugged on the back of Harry's shirt. "Let's go," she whispered.
"What the hell was that about?" Fred asked as they shut the door and headed down the hall.
"No idea," George said, sounding mildly concerned, "You think they caught him doing something?"
"They wouldn't punish him in private," Harry mused.
"Maybe they would to avoid mum," Fred pointed out, "That'd explain his sneaking around. I wonder what he did. Something bad enough to get both of them involved."
Hermione and Harry exchanged a concerned look. Some of what Fred made since. But if it was that, what could Ron had possibly done so badly that would make him that upset he had been caught? What could he have done that he had to keep secret from Harry?
They all met Mrs. Weasley and Ginny at the town car they borrowed from the Ministry.
"Well let's get going," Mrs. Weasley said breathlessly, "Where's Ron?"
"In the kitchen with Lupin and Sirius," Fred replied, "They kicked us out."
Mrs. Weasley frowned, then the door opened and Lupin walked out. His expression gave away nothing as he spoke,
"Molly, go ahead and take this lot." He gestured around. "Ron is going to stay here for a while, we have something to discuss. I would be pleased to take him to Diagon Alley myself later, with your permission."
"Oh," Mrs. Weasley replied, looking very confused, "Well…no need, Remus. I will just grab his things for him. Is he alright?"
"He's fine," Lupin assured her, "Just needs a bit of a chat."
"What happened?" Harry demanded firmly, "Did he do something?"
"Harry," Lupin said calmly, "You needn't worry yourself. Let Sirius and I handle it."
Harry was unconvinced, but had no choice but to do with the others to Diagon Alley. He, Fred, George, and Ginny spent much time musing about what could have possibly happened, or what was bothering Ron so much that he could not even spend the day with them. Or what reason Lupin and Sirius had to be keeping Ron under their wing, seemingly protecting him, even shunning Harry away.
When they returned later that afternoon to Grimmauld Place, Lupin and Sirius were sitting back at the kitchen table with mugs of tea. Ron, nowhere to be seen. Harry did not speak to either of them, simply carried his things up to his room, where he found Ron sitting cross legged on his bed, his head propped in one hand, as he gazed out tge window, barely looking up when Harry entered. Harry shut the door firmly and deposited his books onto the floor.
"Tell me what's going on," he demanded.
Ron didn't look over, but said in a quiet voice,
"I can't."
"Why not?" Harry asked. He wanted to be angry. But when he really looked at Ron, and saw his eyes rimmed with red, the wetness on his face, the drained look, almost like he'd given up, Harry decided that anger was not what he could feel. He was concerned. "Ron, are you…in trouble? Did something happen?"
Ron brought his other hand to his head and rubbed his temples as he sighed. His body shook for a moment and then he inhaled deeply, as though he was trying very hard to hold himself together. He dropped his hands and said shakingly,
"I told them…" He closed his mouth then shook his head, "I told them I would tell you. When I was ready. When I can. And that's all I can promise you…" He finally looked over, and said in a pleading tone, "And I really need that to be okay with you for right now."
Harry stood for a moment. He wanted to shake Ron. To make him say more. But he knew, deep down, that if Ron wanted to say anything else, if he could, he would have. Ron rarely kept anything from Harry. They spoke about pretty much everything. And this, whatever it was that he was holding into, was clearly very difficult for him.
"Okay," he finally said, "Just…are you going to be okay? Are you in trouble?"
Ron gave a noncommittal shrug. Harry sighed, and there was a knock at the door. Ron took a deep breath and swiped at his eyes. Harry opened the door and the twins glanced around carefully, as if sussing out the ambiance of the room. Fred looked curiously at Harry, who gave a very slight shake of his head. But it was George who seemed to pick up on something quicker than his twin, and placed a hand on Ron's shoulder, saying,
"Exploding snap, anyone?"
Agreeing, glad to have a distraction, both Harry and Ron followed them out and down the stairs.
Harry saw that Ron was trying very hard to play off that everything was fine. But he noticed that Ron was laughing less than usual, his smile was forced, and most noticeable, he was barely eating. Lupin and Sirius were giving no indication or hint as to what was going on, despite low murmurs to each other on occasion. Mrs. Weasley kept frowning and feeling Ron's head. Fred had seemed to shrug it off, but George was being slightly more attentive to his little brother, including him on conversation or trying to press a butterbeer or a sweet in his direction.
After a somewhat quiet dinner, Harry saw Sirius bustling around the kitchen, and he took his chance. He went into the kitchen, offering to help, and shut the door.
"What's going on?" He asked, firmly but quietly, hoping his voice wouldn't carry.
"Harry," Sirius said with a sigh, "Look." He put down the tea towel in his hands onto the counter and looked at Harry. "It isn't my place to say. And, truth be told, it isn't your place to press about it."
Harry stared at him, taken aback.
"He's my best friend," Harry said, "Something is seriously wrong. And you're all keeping it from me. You're keeping a secret for him…"
"Yes, he's your best friend," Sirius whispered firmly as voices carried into the kitchen, "And he is struggling, very strongly, very deeply with something. Something that could ultimately really hurt him. And yes, I'm sorry that I'm keeping that secret from you but it was only by chance that Remus and I happened to find out about it, but…" Sirius raised his hands in defeat, "We did. And we helped him as much as we could. And now it is up to him, and only him, to help himself now."
"Is he in trouble?" Harry asked desperately, "Can you at least tell me that? Did he do something…illegal?"
"Harry," Sirius sighed, placing a hand firmly on Harry's shoulder, "He'll talk to you about it when he chooses. Just be a friend. And sometimes being a friend means letting him keep his secrets, and not pushing him to divulge them."
"Did you let my dad have secrets?" Harry asked curiously, "I mean…secrets he never told you, but you knew he had?"
"A few," Sirius said with a nod, "And some he ended up telling me, and some he did not. Let Ron have this one. And if he tells you, we can talk about it, okay? He's struggling, and he needs to know you're there, no matter what."