This one is told from Harry's POV.
Silence – THBP, Ch15, p285 (he was spending a lot of time with his mouth shut tight.) Set straight after Ch14.
Harry was just getting changed for bed when Ron came bursting into the dormitory. He had a self-satisfied smirk on his face, but his expression changed to one of anger when he saw Harry.
"Bloody hell!" He exclaimed loudly. "Look at my arms! Can you believe what she did to me?"
Harry looked at Ron's arms and saw that they were covered in scratches, some of which looked quite deep. He noticed that he also had a few scratches on his neck. Harry, determined to stay neutral throughout this oncoming battle, managed not to laugh, but couldn't bring himself to say anything consoling. "Hmm," he said after a while.
"They've only just stopped bleeding!" Harry turned away from Ron's angry face and continued dressing silently. He had plenty he wanted to say, but he didn't trust himself to stay calm. He really was determined to stay neutral, even though he thought Ron had just made the biggest mistake of his life. The idiot.
"Well?"
Harry looked back round at Ron, who was now sitting on his bed and looking at Harry expectantly. Harry blinked at him. "Well what?" He replied.
Ron rolled his eyes. "Aren't you going to say anything? About me and Lavender?"
Harry really didn't want to go into what he thought about him and Lavender. "Like what?" He asked, deciding that sounding stupid was the safest bet.
"Anything!" Ron sounded very frustrated. "What do you think of her?"
Harry definitely wasn't answering that. He stayed silent, and went back to putting his clothes in his trunk.
"Congratulations would do," grumbled Ron. Harry looked back round at Ron, who was know glaring at nothing in particular. Harry knew Ron wasn't angry with him – and if he really thought he was doing the right thing with Lavender he wouldn't be asking for Harry's approval. Ron was confused. But Harry sure as hell wasn't about to make things easier for him, best friend or not. Ron could figure this one out alone.
"You're still bleeding a bit by your elbow," Harry said, instead of addressing the problem. He just wanted to go to bed and hope that everything would be back to normal in the morning.
Ron awkwardly twisted his arm round to grasp his elbow and used the hem of his t-shirt to stop the blood. "I can't believe she set birds on me!" He exclaimed again.
"You don't think that maybe…" Harry stopped himself before he finished the sentence. As it was, that had been an involuntary reflex.
It had been enough to make Ron glare at him though. "What? You think I deserved it?"
Harry kept his mouth firmly shut. He was staying silent on this subject. Ron could figure it out alone.
His silence just made Ron angrier. "I haven't done anything wrong!" He said angrily, standing up. "And I thought you'd be happy for me, but obviously that's asking –"
"Ron, shut up!" Harry couldn't help himself. He'd sworn not to say anything, but the look of righteous anger on Ron's face was too much. He really thought he was in the right. Harry had to say something.
"Look, I really, really don't want to talk about this again, but here it is. You're my best friend, and if you really like Lavender then that's great, and I am happy for you."
Ron was looking a lot happier now. The smirk was making a return. But Harry wasn't done.
"But Hermione's my best friend too," he said, looking Ron right in the eye. He had the good grace to look away. "And you made her cry."
Ron stared at the floor for a second, and then looked back at Harry. He opened his mouth but shut it quickly, obviously unable to think of anything to say. Harry didn't want to give him a chance to get his wits together.
"But like I said, I don't want to talk about it. I'm going to bed. Good night."
And with that he climbed onto his four-poster and started pulling the curtains shut.
"'Night," Ron managed quietly, sitting back down his bed and staring at the wall as the velvet hangings hid him from view.
And that, Harry decided, was really it. He wasn't going to say another word.