A/N: This chapter has been beta read by Super MKatR. Thank you so much!

Chapter 9 – Screams In The Tower

About an hour later, Harry was entering in his dorm still with his mind thinking about everything he had learned with the headmaster. He was so distracted that he did not notice where he was going until he bumped with someone who was walking out the door.

Ron was bringing Scabbers in a cage, which hit the ground and opened with the impact. The frightened rat scurried away down the stairs. The boys tried to reach him, but they could not see the rat anywhere in the common room.

'I'm sorry.' Harry murmured. 'I was distracted.'

'You've been very distracted lately.'

Harry frowned. 'What? What do you mean?'

'What you heard me! You've been so distracted lately that you even forget to say some important things to your supposed best friend.'

'Ah. Ron, about Gin… I was going to tell, I just…'

'Ahh, so she's Gin for you?' Ron interrupted. 'When did you become so intimate with my sister, Potter?'

Harry thought the question was strange. 'Maybe during all time I was stuck in the hospital wing, where you didn't even care to show up.'

'As far as I know you had great company.'

'Fantastic company, thank you very much!'

The next thing Harry saw was Ron's fist coming in his direction. If he did not have so much experience in heading off Dudley's punches, he would have gained a beautiful broken nose.

'ARE YOU CRAZY? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?' Harry yelled.

'CRAZY ARE YOU, POTTER, IF YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFAME MY SISTER AND I'LL LET YOU WALK FREE WITH THAT.'

At this time, everybody in the common room was paying attention to the boys' exchange.

'DEFAME? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?'

'NOW YOU'LL PRETEND THAT YOU DIDN'T TELL TO THE WHOLE SCHOOL THAT GINNY IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND.'

'WHAT? WHAT FOOLISHNESS IS THAT? WHO TOLD YOU THAT?'

'EVERYBODY, MALFOY WAS SAYING…'

'MALFOY? THIS ENTIRE CIRCUS BECAUSE OF A LIE FROM MALFOY?'

Ron was taken by surprise by the question, but someone interrupted. Percy Weasley was entering, determined, in the common room with his prefect badge shining on his chest and Hermione was coming behind him.

'What is this uproar?' Ron's older brother asked. 'The whole castle can probably hear your yelling!'

'Ron has been hearing some Slytherin gossip and is showing he's really stupid for believing in them.' Harry commented without looking away from his friend.

'Ron, I told you!' Hermione interceded. 'Of course it was a lie from Malfoy. Harry's eleven, for Merlin's sake, and he was stuck in a hospital bed, why would he invent something like that?'

'I don't want to know!' Percy interrupted with an authoritarian voice. 'Either of you head up to your dorm now, or I'll deduct twenty points from each one.'

Ron cast a dirty glance to his brother and climbed the stair, stamping his feet. Harry found the eyes of Hermione, who was gazing at him with a look of "I told you so".

'I'll fix this.' Harry mumbled to her as he trailed behind Ron.

'Ginny's my friend and nothing more!' Harry proclaimed when he entered in the boys' dormitory. 'I thought you knew me better than believe I would say a stupidity thing like that to anyone.'

You thought?' Ron snapped. 'I didn't even know that you knew my sister until I found out she was stuck in that infirmary with you!'

'I was unconscious, Ron! I'm sorry for that little trammel that prevented me from telling you.'

'Why didn't you tell me before?'

'Because I didn't know what to say… I'm sorry, you're right. It's just that… Listen… Ginny is just my friend. I don't know what Malfoy said, but whatever it is, it's a lie. But Ginny's different…'

Ron raised an eyebrow at that. 'Different, how?'

'Until all this happen we only had spoken by letters. 'Harry tried to explain. 'I don't know why, but it always seemed easy to tell her things. I think it's because she's always so kind and joyful. We became good friends quickly.'

'You didn't need to hide it from me.'

Harry could hear hurt in Ron's voice, so he tried to be the most honest possible with his friend. 'I know that, you're right. I should have told you in the beginning. But I was, I don't know, ashamed and then I didn't know how to start the matter. You are practically the first friend I ever had, Ron, it wasn't my intention to upset you.'

'Right.' Ron said with seriousness. 'You have to make up for it.'

'How?' Harry asked, hopeful.

'By moving your ass to help me finding that idiot rat, now.'

Harry smiled, relieved. 'You're the boss.'

Sunday morning, the Weasley family, rather those currently residing at the Burrow, were enjoying a big breakfast. Apparently, Molly Weasley had not learned yet to adapt her culinary talents to feed only a few people at once.

Ginny was busy piling eggs, sausages and toasts in the plate when a familiar white owl landed on an edged of the table. 'Hedwig!' She stood up in a second and Arthur watched the scene with interest. Ginny was loosening the letters with ease while speaking to the owl with tranquillity. 'How are you doing, girl? Are you hungry? You arrived right in time, I've here a special piece of bacon for you.'

Curiously, the owl hooted as if she was answering.

'How is he doing, girl? Are you taking care of him?'

The owl answered with a serious glance.

'Yes, yes, I know you take care, I'm just asking… Oh, there are two letters.' Ginny looked up to her parents. 'One is for you, mum.'

Molly was surprised. 'For me?'

'Yes, here take it.'

Molly opened the letter with curiosity and began reading it while Ginny was pampering the white owl and offering her treats. While her mother was reading the letter, Arthur noticed how his wife's face passed from curious to emotional.

Dear Mrs Weasley,

I feel I should thank you for everything you have done for me. I knew by Professor Dumbledore that after my accident you were very concerned about my safety. It was very kind of you, thank you for it.

However, more than anything, I want to thank you for allowing Ginny to stay with me for all this time. I already thanked Madam Pomfrey in person and I also thanked the headmaster. It meant a lot to me.

It would have been awful to stay stuck in the hospital wing alone for so long and Ginny was amazing for sacrificing all her free time just so I wouldn't die of boredom.

I reckon I even healed faster because of her.

Once again, thank you for everything.

Harry Potter

'Oh, so sweet… And to think of all energy I spend to teach my children the same kind of politeness this boy has.' Molly said, while giving the letter to Arthur read it too.

'Harry is polite all on his own.' Ginny calmly remarked. 'Those muggles didn't teach him anything. Unless cleaning and cooking counts for you, but they only did it so they can exploit him.'

Her parents seemed dazed.

'They make a child cook for them?' Molly seemed horrified with that possibility. Ginny's mother never liked the idea of children close to stoves.

'Yes, rather frequently. Not that Harry complains. He isn't the type who complains about things done to him, no matter how unfair.'

Ginny waited until she was in the privacy of her bedroom to open her own letter. She did not feel comfortable reading a letter from Harry in front of her parents.

Harry's letters were somehow always exciting. They could be so funny that she could not stop laughing. Though often times, they left her worried or sad or contained information not to be shared. Hedwig showed up on the windowsill. Ginny smiled. She suspected the owl enjoyed her company as much as Ginny enjoyed hers.

Ginny opened her letter.

Dear Gin,

I know you already had enough of me for a long while and you'll think I'm an annoying guy who doesn't leave you alone, but I couldn't stop writing until I said something I didn't have the opportunity to say in person.

Thank you very much.

It was amazing to have you with me for all these days. You saved me from a fatal boredom and absolute depression that I would have suffered if I had been locked alone in that infirmary all that time. You're an angel.

You're right. Ron was angry, but not because he's a slug's head as you said, instead it was because of a few nasty comments from Malfoy. It wasn't pleasant, but we fixed the things. We're fine now! I mean, kind of, we still have to find Scabbers. The rat's gone and we can't find anywhere. It's better that rat to show up soon or Ron will have an attack. After half an hour searching, he was already whimpering and saying Mrs Norris devoured him.

Anyway… I had an interesting talk with Professor Dumbledore after I left the hospital wing. He explained that he knows Snape tried to pass over the dog with three heads and Snape did it under his orders. He also asked us to keep it a secret and not to involve more in that issue for our own security. I agreed, of course. As if I was going to say no to Merlin's younger brother.

He also explained me some things quite interesting about wandless magic. He didn't say much, but he gave me a head start. I promise I'll explain better in the next letter.

With caring,

Harry

P.S. According to Ron, the dog from the third corridor is called Fluffy and belongs to Hagrid. Hagrid let it slip to him right after the game. (Really, Fluffy? Only Hagrid…)

A/N: Hi! We finally saw Ron's reaction. What do you think?

The next chapter is called Christmas Requests.

scrappy8: Thank you!