Warnings: slight homosexualness, fluffy content, and a dead-sexy Draco (didn't want anyone to have a heartattack or something).
Chapter 10 - Safe and Secure
Harry confronted Cho that Monday when he saw her at school. He told her that he had seen her with Diggory. She did not even try to deny it. To her credit, she was forthcoming with the truth, and Harry could not have stayed mad with her if he had been in the first place. She managed to hold her tears until the end where he told her that they were finished. Then the dams broke loose. Harry stood there awkwardly as he always had. One would think with as much as she had cried all over him that he would have known what to do to comfort her, but he still had no idea. He patted her shoulder slightly hesitantly.
Cho tried apologizing. She tried bedroom eyes. She tried guiliting him into taking her back. She tried everything short of begging. Cho Chang did not beg for anything. She was far too proud for that. In the end, her temper flared at Harry, who yelled back and she ran off to find Diggory who would soothe her rumpled feathers and coddle her. Harry did not have the time, energy, or will to put up with her nonsense. He sought out Ron, who smiled at him and everything was all right.
Exams came and went. Harry knew he would have to repeat Chemistry next year, but it did not bother him. He had a good feeling that he had passed everything else. Chemistry would not be so bad, and he would have Ron for company. He and Ron had agreed to take things slow. They could admit now that they had more than friendly feelings for one another. They would have the occasional snog session here and there. Things had not progressed beyond that. Neither of them were bothered, though. Harry was content to have Ron to chase away his problems, and Ron was content to help. They agreed that they had all the time in the world to get into everything else, and to try the things in Sirius's book. They often spent their afternoons looking at it, which would lead to more snogging.
Harry had not said anything to his parents about the change in his relationship with Ron, though he suspected they already knew. Sirius and Remus had not said anything to them. His parents were just overly perceptive, and it seemed like they had all of their attention focused on him. He wished they would get off his back and onto Chloe's. She was the one sneaking out, acting strange, getting thinner and thinner, and mouthing off at every turn. He supposed they were waiting for him to have another fit.
Strangely enough, since he and Ron had become closer, his nightmares had decreased, and he had not had a fit since the day he fell in his room. The cut he had recieved had been in the shape of a ligtening bolt, and had started to scar over. Harry groaned every time he saw it. There was something familiar and unwelcome about the injury. He felt like it was something he had been missing but had not missed.
Summer was soon upon them. Before they knew it, May had turned into June, which in turn had become July. Harry sat with Ron and Hermione in front of an ice cream shop while they waited for Ginny to finish putting in her job application at the video store across the street. Harry was lapping happily at a vanilla cone. The cream slipped down his throat in a cold line. He smiled, making little happy noises. He absolutely loved ice cream.
Harry knew that Ron was watching him. He could feel the other's eyes on him. Harry opened his eyes slightly, peering at Ron through his ebony lashes. Sure enough, Ron was watching as his tongue devoured the white cream. He smirked a bit. Slowly this time, his tongue ran up the side of his scoop, drawing out the whole process, until he got to the very top. His pink lips closed delicately around the swirl at the top. Harry pulled away from the ice cream, a smile of satisfaction on his lips. His tongue ran over his lips to collect the ice cream there and he smiled, adding a little moan of pleasure for the sake of his show. He looked over at Ron, who had been in the middle of saying something to Hermione, but was now watching Harry with a slack mouth and smoldering eyes. Harry smiled at him. He lowered his eyes coyly.
Hermione cleared her throat. Ron looked down at the table. His ears burned deep scarlet. Harry simply smiled at Hermione.
"Why didn't you get any ice cream, Hermione," he asked, acting as if he had not just made passionate mouth-love to his ice cream. "You love that tutti-frutti rubbish they serve here. I think this is the first time we've been here that you actually haven't had anything."
"I'm not in an ice cream mood," Hermione said on a shrug. For the past two days, she had been very picky about what she ate. She had also began talking less and less, and when she did speak, it was in an odd voice, as if her tongue was a bit on the swollen side. Then, as she said something to Ron, Harry saw it.
If he had not been looking for it, he would have completely missed it. He was sure Hermione wanted everyone to miss it. It was clear, afterall. It all fell into place for Harry. Chloe had had the same food restrictions when she had gotten her's done. Now, Chole was believeable. She loved body piercings. But Hermione? Still, he was sure of what he had seen.
"When'd you get your tongue pierced, Hermione," Harry asked.
"I... well..." Hermione gave a flustered huff. "If you must know, I got it done a few days before the concert. Why are you looking at me like your eyes are going to pop out of your head, Ron?"
"It's just... You! You got your tongue pierced... You! Hermione! That's it... You're just not Hermione... Who are you and what have you done with Hermione?"
Hermione rolled her eyes at him. Ron continued to look at her as though she had just sprouted a third arm from her forehead and had told him she was marrying Bigfoot. Harry laughed at the pair of them. Everyone had always thought Ron and Hermione would have ended up a couple and became another Mr. and Mrs. Wealsey, Harry included. But now he could see that they would only be friends and that was what they both wanted. Ron put a hand on Harry's knee, coaxing a smile from Harry. He knew that there was no other person in the world for him but Ron. He would not have had it any other way.
"You two look rather happy," she said. "I'm assuming you two are good for one another?"
Harry smiled over at Ron, who returned the smile. "Yeah," said Ron. "We're pretty happy. I didn't see it coming at all, you know. I always thought you'd be in my life, Harry, but I didn't know it'd be like this."
"Me either. I dunno... It just kind of seems natural, doesn't it?"
"I swear," Hermione sighed. "You two... You don't notice something until it slaps you in the face, do you? I mean, really! It was pretty obvious... Ginny and I have known for ages."
"Talk about blind," Ginny said, coming to stand beside Hermione. "Fred and George noticed it first. You two just compliment each other so well."
Ron pulled a look of pure dread at his sister's words. "Great... are they going to take the mickey out of me about this?"
"Doubtful," said Ginny. "They had bets going on how long it would take you two to get your heads out of each other's asses. Actually, I don't think they'll blame you. George had a thing for Harry there for a bit. Remember that, Harry?"
Harry remembered it all right. It had been a year ago, while the twins were still in school. George had started spending more and more time with Harry. They ate lunch together, George walked Harry to class, and they even met for lunch a few times. George, who absolutely did not drink coffee under any circumstances, had taken to hanging out in the coffee shop and waiting for Harry to get off work. They had passed the time with pleasant conversation. After work, George would drive Harry home, or sometimes they had walked. Harry never supected it was anything other than George being friendly. Now, though, he saw it for what it was.
"I didn't even realize," he said, looking at the three at the table with him. He did not mention that now, he realized that he had had a little crush on George. It did not apply to Fred, however. Fred was a good friend to Harry, but nothing else. There was just something about George.
"Well, hind-sight's twenty-twenty, you know," said Ginny, shrugging. "Hermione, we've still got that book signing to go to, remember?"
"Oh. I completely forgot! Sorry, guys... Can you get home all right?"
"Yeah," said Ron. "But you didn't tell us about any book signing. Who is it?"
Hermione looked up at Ginny. "You wouldn't know him. Ready, Hermione?"
"Yeah."
Hermione threw her apologies to Harry and Ron over her shoulder as Ginny tugged her towards the car. They watched her drive away, finishing up their ice cream. There was something very strange about Hermione lately... Harry just couldn't put his finger on it.
"Ready," Ron asked as Harry finished eating the waffle cone and was licking the stickiness from his fingers.
"Mmhmm." They threw away their trash, then headed on their way.
The two walked together in the midsummer's dusk. They chatted easily about nothing in particular. Harry eased his fingers into lacing with Ron's, who gave his hand a small squeeze. It seemed that there were only the two of them in the world. That there was no one and nothing else, and nothing mattered but the two of them.
All too soon, they reached Harry's drive. James's car was gone, and on the curb, was parked a shiny silver sports car that suspiciously looked as if it belonged to Draco Malfoy. Harry puzzled over this.
"Isn't that..." Ron looked down at Harry.
"It looks like it..."
"But it can't be..."
"Let's just see..."
Harry led Ron inside. The living room was dark, as was the kitchen. Lily had left her laptop in it's usual place on the kitchen table and a note labeled 'Harry and Chole' beside it. Harry picked it up and scanned quickly over her explination that James had a company function that they had to attend and Jason was staying with Grandma Potter. She had left them money for food as they would not be home until the next night. Apparently, the function was to be a long one. Harry passed the note to Ron as something on his mother's laptop screen caught his attention.
A wave of alarmed deja vu swept over Harry as he took in the image before him. Lily had a webpage pulled up on some topic she was writing about. At the top of the page, outlined in a glowing, sinister emerald, was a symbol that made his heart jump into his Adam's apple and beat furiously. A skull, stark white, stared at him with its empty eye sockets, a serpent coming out of its mouth and wrapped around it, its red eyes boring into Harry's. 'The Dark Mark,' breathed a voice in his head.
Harry had not even realized that he was backing away from the computer until he fell backwards over the rubbish bin. His eyes remained locked on the screen. The malevolent image continued to stare at him. Harry could hear the sinister laughter again, loud and ringing. Panic consumed him. He closed his eyes as it took him over.
When he was aware of himself again, he was still on the kitchen floor, and in Ron's arms, sobbing against his chest. Ron was holding onto him tight and pressing his lips to Harry's forehead, whispering little words of comfort to Harry. Harry buried his face against Ron's neck. He was shaking and confused and he could not stop crying. He was not sure why the picture had caused him to freak out and pitch a spaz -- for he was sure that was what had just happened -- but he knew that it was that picture that left a dark, foreboding feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Chole came downstairs then, standing in the doorway of the kitchen and staring. She was wearing a skirt, socks and her little gauze bra that left nothing at all to the imagination. Her lipstick was smudged and smeared around her lips, and her hair was a royal mess. Draco Malfoy came to stand beside her as she gawked. He leaned back against the doorframe, and Harry hated to admit it, but he was very attractive, standing there like that. His hair, usually so neat and orderly, was beginning to fall into his face at places. He was shirtless, his arms crossed over his chest. Harry could see the curve of every muscle on his lithe, pale frame. Malfoy's pants were unbuttoned, revealing the waistband of his black silk boxers. He looked down his nose at the two on the floor, his kiss-bruised lips pulled back into a smirk.
"Potter and Weaslby, hmm?"
"Mind your own business, Malfoy," Harry said, cutting Ron off before he could agrue. He did not have the paitence to listen to Ron argue with him. He did not even have the paitence to argue with Malfoy himself. He just wished that he had been correct in assuming that once summer had started, he would not have had to see Malfoy again until September.
Malfoy smirked some more, then left the doorway for the stairs, leading Chloe along behind him by her hand. Harry really did not like the fact that Malfoy and Chloe were obviously seeing one another, for the mere fact that Chloe was his little sister. He thought he ought to warn her that she might get her heart broken. He thought he might do it later when he had the energy to hold his head up properly. Chloe may have been rotten to him, but she was still family and he did not want to see her hurt, especially by someone like Malfoy.
"Cor..." Ron said, looking at the doorway that was now empty.
"I know... Can we go up to my room?"
"Yeah."
Ron looped one arm around Harry's back, the other under Harry's knees. Standing, he picked Harry up and started for the stairs. Harry protested that he was far to heavy for Ron, but the redhead would hear none of it. He went on up the stairs, not faltering under Harry's weight, and into Harry's room where he carefully deposited Harry onto the bed with the gentlest of movements. He ignored Harry's protest as he removed the darkhaired teen's shoes. Ron threw the shoes over by the window, sent his own to join them, then crawled up to lay beside Harry.
He gathered Harry into his arms and pulled him against his chest. Suddenly, nothing else mattered anymore. He was once more in that special world, and it was just him and Ron. Harry smiled up at Ron. His breath caught as he looked at him. The golden light threw in by the fading sun silhouetted Ron in its glow, making his hair shine like the firey mane of a lion. He was awed by the absolute beauty of it.
Harry placed a kiss on the underside of Ron's jaw before he snuggled against him and closed his eyes. He knew he would be fine. He would make it through the night undisturbed by nightmares. Ron would protect him. He fell asleep in Ron's arms, feeling safe and secure.
Author's Response
emurez: Yup, not everyone is a fan of slash, but... I am, heeheehee. I hope it won't spoil the whole story for you. If you want, you can close your eyes and keep telling yourself "It's Ginny Weasley, it's Ginny Weasley, it's Ginny Weasley, damnit!"
Jemma Blackwell: Heeheehee, glad you're still there. I'd miss you if you weren't. Yes, go Ron! gets one of those foamy finger things (wow... that sounded kinda dirty... or was it just me?)