A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Here's the second chapter! Sorry for taking so long to update. Also, the point of views switch from Hermione to Ron with each chapter.

Secrets

Chapter II: I Trust You

". . .if you're not okay with it, I could go straight to Pegging and tell him that I'll be fine sleeping in my regular dorm this year," I say to Harry. "I really don't need a fancy dormitory. I can survive with what I've got. I mean, this is heaven compared to what I sleep in at home."

Harry sighs, puts his face in his hands, and shakes his head. "No Ron," he says. His voice is muffled against his palms. "You deserve to have that 'fancy dorm.' You worked hard to become Head Boy, and you should enjoy your benefits to the fullest."

Even through the seriousness of the conversation we're having, I can't help but feel a mixture of indignity and pride. "I didn't work that hard. . .I'm not Percy."

Harry looks up at me. "I wasn't accusing you of being like him."

We stay silent for a few minutes. I return to packing all my belongings in my trunk. Howard Pegging, our new Headmaster, told me that I didn't have to pack, and that the house elves would do it for me, but I want to have everything organized, or disorganized, the way I like it. Pegging is an alright man. Ever since Dumbledore's death last year, things have been crazy and sad at this castle. Even the Slytherins miss Dumbledore's wisdom.

Pegging isn't the great Headmaster that Dumbledore had been, but he is very fair and kind. I have faith in the man. Since Dumbledore's request was that if something were to happen to him, Pegging was to become Headmaster, I trust him. Dumbledore trusted him, after all.

I can feel the muscles tensing in my jaw as my next thought enters my head. I'm not like Percy. I say that every time someone comments on an achievement that I've made and happens to be an achievement that Percy also made. Percy died the same night Dumbledore died. I try to tell myself that Percy deserved it, but I can't. He was my brother. No matter how snobby and selfish he was. No matter what side of the war he was on. He was still my brother. I still cared about him when he turned evil.

I shake my head roughly. Percy wasn't evil. He was just stubborn. Wouldn't believe his own family. Thought he was right all the time. He just trusted the wrong people. I can't help but be ashamed of him. I didn't cry when I found out he died. I was having a hard time not crying, but I wouldn't. He deserved it.

No. He. Didn't!

I shake the thoughts of Dumbledore and Percy out of my head. I look at Harry and notice that he's been staring at me while I pack. He looks away when I catch him. Even though he acts like he doesn't mind that Hermione and I will be sharing a dorm and common room for this last year, I can tell he doesn't love the idea. He might not be killing himself over it, but I know that this must bother him a little at the very least. I can tell by the faraway look he gets in his eyes when we start talking about it.

We've been here at Hogwarts for a week now. I think he can tell something is strange about Hermione and me. We've (Hermione and I) have been acting as normally as we usually do around each other. At least as normal as we can be around each other. It's not that I think Harry heavily suspects something, but I think he knows something is out of place. When he asked me why I never answered the letters he sent me to the Burrow, I told him that I was sick. He told me that Ginny wrote back for me saying that I was at a Quidditch camp (which was what I had told her to tell Harry when she saw him at the start of term), and that was when he first must have picked up the strange vibe.

Sometimes he sort of looks at me and Hermione, opens his mouth to say something, but then he shakes his head and stays quiet. I know he must think something is weird. I don't know how he knows. Hermione and I have been pretty normal, like I said. Maybe we can't hide it. Maybe Harry isn't really noticing anything and I'm just being paranoid.

"Are you okay, Ron?" Harry asks me, looking at me as though I'm crazy.

I realize that I'm frowning. I've probably been making faces at my things for the past five minutes.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I say. I put my favorite Quidditch books in my trunk and close it. "There."

"Ready to go then?" Harry asks. He sounds cheerful and excited. And I think he genuinely feels that way. "I'm dying to see what this famous dorm looks like."

I grin. "Me too. But I need to get the key from McGonnagal first."

"Key?" Harry asks me. "Don't you just have a password like everyone else?"

I shrug. "Guess not."

As I walk around the dorm I've had for six years and take the rest of my things scattered around the floor, I can't help but feel a little sad. I pick up my broomstick polish from the floor, stand up, and look around. "I'm gonna miss this place. And you guys, you know?"

Harry nods. "It's not gonna be the same," then he says, "But it'll be better for you."

We talk and laugh about the old days for a few minutes, then there's a knock on the door.

"Ron? Are you in there?" It's Hermione's voice.

I open the door and let her in. She looks as pretty as always. She greets me with a smile and looks around the room.

"Oh, hi Harry!" she says, when she notices he's in here. "I thought you were out flying?"

He shakes his head. "Nah. I remembered Ron was moving out and decided to help."

"Though you really haven't helped that much." I tease. He rolls his eyes, but he's smiling.

"Well, it seems that you've gotten done anyway." she says, observing my overloaded trunk and empty side of the room. "I'm glad you didn't leave your chores to the elves."

Harry and I exchange a look.

"Did you finish packing yet?" I ask.

She nods. "Actually, I've already moved in. I just came here to give you your key. I picked mine up earlier and decided to do you a favor."

I smile at her. "Thanks," I say as she hands me a while envelope labeled Key.

She shrugs. "No problem. Just be sure to keep all your belongings separate from mine. I'll be out all day. I'm tutoring a group of first years, and I promised one of them a tour of the castle if he does well." she explains. "I expect to find everything exactly the way I left it."

I nod. "Don't worry."

"Did you already unpack everything?" Harry asks her.

She shakes her head. "No, but I left everything organized very neatly."

"Why don't you take advantage of today to settle in?" Harry questions. "It's Saturday. Can't you tutor them tomorrow?"

She raises an eyebrow at him. "Do you really expect me reschedule a tutoring session?"

Harry and I roll our eyes.

"I'll see you both later." she says. Before she leaves kisses Harry lightly on the lips and pats me on the shoulder. She closes the door behind her upon exiting, and Harry and I look at each other.

"What a nut." I say, shaking my head. "I still don't understand why anyone would voluntarily tutor a group of annoying brats." Even though I say this, I smile. It's Hermione's caring nature that makes me love her so much.

Harry sighs. "Yeah, but that's why I love her."

My eyes dart at his direction when he says this. For a second I thought he was reading my mind. Whenever I'm around Harry and Hermione, I feel that I can't think about Hermione because of this reason. Harry and I seem to have the same thoughts. The only difference is, he can say them aloud. Most of the time, when this happens, I feel that Harry can see right through me. I have always thought, and still think, that deep down Harry knows how I feel about Hermione. I don't know if he's fully aware or if he completely believes it, but I think he knows.

Whenever we talk about girls and my love life and Hermione's name comes up in the conversation, he sort of hesitates and then changes the subject. Sometimes I think he feels threatened by me. And hell, after what I did this summer, I don't blame him.

The dormitory door opens again, letting Seamus in. He looks around sadly and shakes his head.

"Can't believe you're moving out." he says with a whistle. "It's gonna be weird without you."

"Well, at least I won't have to deal with Neville's snoring anymore." I joke.

"Lucky you." Harry and Seamus say in unison.

"So are you excited about your new dorm?" Seamus asks me.

I nod.

"It's probably like it's own castle." he says. "The bathroom is probably huge, with a swimming pool for a tub. And the toilets are probably golden."

Harry and I smirk.

"Wow. . .golden toilets." I say, pretending to be awed.

He rolls his eyes. "And the common room is probably like twice as big as ours. And your bed is probably like a king's bed."

The three of us start speculating what the place will look like. We put all our wildest dreams into this dorm I'm going to have. Harry and I think that the bathroom will probably be life the prefect bathrooms.

"So Harry," Seamus says after we finish our speculation, "how do you feel about this pervert sharing a bed with your lady?"

He says it as a joke, but we don't find it funny. "We won't be sharing a bed." I say. "We'll each have our own."

"Yeah, but I'm so sure you'll abide by the rules," he mocks. "Actually, the rules don't really say that you can't do a little something, something in bed--"

"Cut it out." Harry snaps.

"Sorry pal." he says. "I'm just warning you. Ron may be your best friend, but he's a guy, and a guy is a guy no matter what. You guys know all we want is sex."

He thinks he's being funny and he's laughing. Harry and I look at each other. I can tell from the glint in his eyes that this thought has crossed his mind once or twice.

"Well maybe you'd screw Dean's girlfriend, but I doubt Ron would touch mine." Harry says. "Right Ron?"

It sounds like he's looking for serious reassurance. I look at Harry again, but look past his eyes and instead at the wall behind him. "Yeah." I say, in what I hope is a confident tone.

"Yeah right." says Seamus sarcastically. "You'd sleep with Hermione in a heartbeat. We all know you have wet dreams about her. We hear you moaning her name in your sleep all the time. . .Hermione, oh, Hermione! I love you Hermione! I want to kiss you Hermione. I want to touch you Hermione. Can I fuck you Hermione?"

For one horrifying second I thought he was being serious about me moaning in my sleep, but he started cracking up. Harry looked as though he was making an inhuman effort to control all his anger. His face was beet-red and his fists were clenched.

Seamus notices this after he finishes his laugh-fest and rolls his eyes. "Don't take it so seriously." he says. "Can't you take a joke?"

"No." Harry growls.

"That's not funny." I snap.

Harry and I leave the dorm with all my belongings. Harry slams the door shut.

(L)(A)(T)(E)R

The walk to my dormitory is seventeen minutes long from the Gryffindor common room. It's a pretty damn long walk. Especially if you happen to carrying around a heavy trunk. Harry and I don't talk the whole way there. He's still mad about what Seamus said. I think he's a little worried too. I don't blame him.

We reach a golden gargoyle with a keyhole in its throat.

"What a charming place to put a keyhole." Harry says, as I put my hand in the statue's mouth and twist the key. The gargoyle slides over and we step through the hole.

The first thing we see is the common room. There's two of everything. Two comfortable sofas by a warm fireplace, two desks with chairs, etc. There was also one work table. The room was not larger than the Gryffindor common room. It was much smaller. There were portraits all over the walls. The room seemed to be decorated specifically for Gryffindors. The carpet was red with gold designs all over it. It was a very cozy room.

There was a door leading to the bathroom on the far left side of the room.

"Let's go see it." I say excitedly. Harry follows. I open the door and am very pleased with what I see. It looks very much like the perfect bathroom. There is a pool as a tub, and the toilets do surprisingly have golden toilet seats. Harry and I snicker when we see that. The marble floor is pearly while and flawless. There is also a pentagon-shaped shower all the way in the back. The sinks are beautiful. There are fuzzy white carpets on the floor and portraits of mermaids and goblins on the walls.

"Lucky bastard," Harry says punching me on the arm.

I'm glad to see that he's lightening up. We go to the dormitory and see that there are two beds, unlike what Seamus thought. I see that Hermione has claimed the bed by the window. She has four boxes on top of her bed and her trunk at the foot of it. The beds are big, and they have curtains around them, which is good, because I don't want Hermione staring at me as I sleep.

The room is pretty normal, contrary to what I and everyone else thought. It seems as though everyone at Hogwarts thinks that the Head Boy/Girl quarters are good enough to serve for royalty. All there really is, is privacy, more space, and a nice bathroom.

I open up my trunk and start to unpack. "Kinda weird," I say.

"What's weird?"

"All this new space. . .my new dormitory." I tell him.

Harry hesitates. "Well, do you like it?"

I shrug. I don't want to make a big deal about it. I know Harry doesn't like the fact that Hemione's my roommate.

"You can be honest." He says. "I'm really not mad about the Hermione thing."

"Don't listen to Seamus," I mutter. "He's an asshole."

"I know." he says. "But I really am okay with you two sharing a dorm."

"Really?" I ask.

He laughs a little. "Of course! You guys are my best friends. I know you wouldn't do anything to betray me."

Guilt hits me with a pang as he says his last sentence. A little too late there, Harry. . .

"I know how you guys act around each other, and it isn't exactly flirty. I know how you treat each other and how you interact, and I'm not worried." he continues. "Besides, if I can't trust you with Hermione, who am I going to trust with her?"

He has a point.

"Besides," he says with a laugh, "even if you did try to hit on Hermione, she wouldn't let you. If I can trust Hermione for one thing other than being smart, it's being faithful."

More guilt hits me. Harry is so clueless. If only he knew.

"That's good to know." I say, rolling my eyes.

"I mean it." he tells me seriously. "I trust you guys."

(L)(A)(T)(E)R

Harry helped me unpack for about an hour, then he decided to go out and work on some Quidditch tactics. Ever since I had been named Quidditch captain Harry has been working extra hard to get better. I don't know why, but it feels like Harry and I have an unspoken competition going on.

It's eight thirty and Hermione finally comes. I'm in the dormitory unpacking the last of my things and putting them where they belong. Hermione comes in looking very happy.

"Had a good day?" I ask.

She smiles. "Professor McGonnagal noticed how much progress a few of her students were making and decided to comment on my tutoring sessions. And I finally got Oscar Rendall to prepare a perfect numbness potion."

"That's good." I say.

"So what do you think about this place?" she asks with a huge smile still on her face. "I think it's wonderful. There's lot's of room to do all the things I need to get done."

I nod. "Yeah, it's great."

It didn't come out very enthusiastic. Hermione looks at me with a frown. "Something wrong?" she asks.

I hadn't been in a very good mood ever since my talk with Harry. We spent the entire afternoon talking about Hermione. He kept reassuring me that he was okay with the idea and that he wasn't worried, but it seems to me like the reason he kept saying it over and over was to reassure himself.

"Harry and I talked today." I say.

She freezes. "Oh my God!" she says in a panicky voice. "You didn't tell him, did you? He didn't find out, did he? Oh my--"

"'Mione calm down!" I say, a little irritated. She always jumps to the same conclusion. "I didn't tell him."

"Oh." she says, turning a little pink. "Sorry."

"It's okay." I say. "It's just that he really trusts me."

She stays silent and sighs.

"He says, he'd trust me with his life. He says he wouldn't want any other guy to be your roommate." I say.

"Would you imagine it any other way?" she asks me quietly.

"No," I say. "It's just that I feel really bad about, you know."

She sighs again. "I feel bad about it too."

"Do you regret it?" I ask.

"Regret what?"

"Sleeping with me." I say.

She's silent. I don't know why I asked that. I have been curious about that ever since we did it. I just want to know if she just used me. She still hasn't said anything after five minutes.

"You don't have to answer that." I say.

She looks at me sadly. "Listen, it doesn't matter whether we regret or not. We did it and it happened already. All we have to do is act like everything is normal."

"But things aren't normal." I murmur.

She turns and looks at me swiftly. "Stop saying that." she says quickly. "It's almost like you don't want to try."

"Want to try what?" I ask.

"Hiding it!" she exclaims. "Do you want to tell Harry?"

I don't answer.

"Well?" she demands. "I need to know Ron!"

"I don't know." I snap. "You know, it feels like the only way to be able to act normal around Harry without trying is to tell him."

"If we tell him, there won't be a Harry for us to act normal around!" she says desperately. "He'd never forgive us. He'd hate us. Please Ron, just try."

I look at her. Her beautiful face is pleading.

I nod.

"Thank you, Ron." she says, and then hugs me. "We'll make it through, don't worry."

I wasn't listening to what she was saying to me at that moment. All I was aware of was that she was in my arms.