"Love is blind; friendship closes its eyes."
Unknown
Ron awoke groggily, wondering dimly where the fading figure that was Harry was going.
'He's acting very suspicious,' a voice interjected softly, so as not to break Ron from his hazy slump.
'Yeah,' he agreed, yawning.
'You should kill him before he comes after you.'
Ron blinked slowly. '…What?'
The voices were conspicuously silent.
Ron sighed and fell back into his pillow. Some things were better left until tomorrow.
¤
When he awoke that morning to find Harry's bed still empty, Ron shrugged. There was nothing he could do about it and besides, he wanted breakfast! His stomach rumbled in agreement. Groggy still, Ron pulled on some robes and headed out.
Upon entering the Great Hall he immediately saw Harry. It was a relief that now he didn't have to worry overly much. Harry wasn't missing, at least. Instead the other boy was hunched over a plate of fruit and mashing up his cantaloupe rather violently.
While normally Ron would have been hesitant about approaching him when he was in such a mood -- and considering his reaction the last time they'd tried to 'talk' here, that wasn't unwarranted -- after yesterday's conversation he felt a little more confident.
It still didn't stop him from quailing a little from Harry's emotion-ridden stare when he sat down across from him. Luckily, a small smile from Harry a moment later served to put him more at ease.
"Morning," Ron said, pulling a platter of sausages his way. Harry had gone back to poking at the soggy mess of melon.
"Morning," Harry murmured back. Ron could see dark bruises under his eyes, and remembered he hadn't stayed awake long enough to find out when Harry got back from wherever he'd been. It also raised the question of how he'd been able to disappear like that. Hermione had drilled into both of them that you couldn't Apparate at Hogwarts.
Now, Ron wasn't the brightest wand in the shop, but he enough tact to know not to ask Harry anything about his departure when he was in such a mood.
Instead he asked, "Rough night?" It seemed a safe and expected question. Harry only nodded, finally scooping up his mush and taking a bite. Ron sighed and looked around for the eggs.
¤
Harry really didn't feel like eating anything, but under Ron's inquiring gaze he did his best.
He knew he should be happy with Tom's acceptance of him. But that also left him between a rock and a hard place.
Would he betray the Light side?
The simplest answer was yes. He'd already promised Tom his eternal love, and that meant being by his side. Going Dark seemed more appetizing as time went on.
Even now he was starting to grate under Dumbledore's hawk-like gaze. The man hadn't stopped watching him from the moment he'd stepped into the room, observing his every move as if to measure him.
'You'll be so disappointed with those measurements, old man.'
His demeanor had changed much from what it had been at the beginning of the year, in this time. Harry had learned and seen much that he hadn't before.
Dumbledore's Golden Boy had been destroyed somewhere along the line. He could now see the many maneuvers the aged wizard had employed to shape his life. His mentor was gone, replaced by a master of manipulation. Harry could leave with no regrets on that factor.
What he would be repentant for was the betrayal of his friends. Harry glanced at Ron, taking in his freckled friend's frowning face. They'd only just recovered from the last blow to their friendship. He hated to think how Ron might react to even his reasons for going Dark, let alone the side he was going to.
There was Remus, whom Harry couldn't bear to think of. The werewolf had always been adamantly for the Light, supporting Dumbledore's decisions; especially when it came to Harry's protection. Adding that to the fact that werewolves were natural enemies of the vampires - though he didn't know if it was the same for Ancients - Remus would hate him. Harry dreaded the day when he found out of his new allegiances, for the day would come all too soon.
Harry's thoughts were disrupted by a prickling at the back of his neck signaling someone besides Dumbledore was staring at him.
He looked up to see a bushy head glaring at him from halfway across the Gryffindor table. She'd come in with neither he nor Ron noticing. He felt his eyebrows shoot up when she glared at him harder. Harry had nothing against Hermione; in fact, he'd been planning to talk to her sometime this week and apologize for yelling.
But the way she was glaring at him made him feel as if he'd committed some atrocity much greater than simply yelling at her. Her gaze shifted to Ron and glared at him too. By this time he'd noticed Harry was distracted by something and looked too. The shocked look on his face convinced him Ron didn't know why she was glaring at them either. He leaned closer to the red-head.
"Did you and Hermione have a fight or something?"
Ron shook his head, still staring back at the glaring girl, "No! I haven't talked to her since before I went to see you in the library yesterday." Then a look of horror came over his face, "I was supposed to meet her down by the lake yesterday! I forgot," he groaned.
Harry blinked and glanced back at Hermione, his own troubles forgotten for the moment.
Then Hermione stood up and stalked out of the Hall with the air of an offended cat.
"Hermione, wait!" Ron called after her, but she either didn't hear or listen. With one quick apologetic look to Harry, Ron jumped up and ran after her.
Harry simply stared at the doorway they'd left through, melon-filled spoon still in midair. Then he shrugged and turned back to his plate and his brooding.
He'd been sick of being mediator between them before, and he wasn't about to start again.
¤
"Hermione!…Hermione!" Ron finally caught up her halfway up the staircase. She didn't stop so he grabbed her arm, trying to slow her. Hermione jerked at his touch, finally spinning to face him.
"What do you want, Ronald?" her scorching tone shocked Ron, making him release his hold.
"I-I just wanted to talk to you."
"Why would you want to talk to me, now you've got Harry Potter again?"
Ron flushed, his ears and face turning horribly red. "It's not like that! I just wanted t-to apologize to him, and we got to talking again after such a long time - I didn't mean to ignore you or anything! I just got distracted."
Hermione looked at him balefully, her eyes full of frustration, "In case you haven't noticed Ron, it's him who should be apologizing to us!"
"But he did-" Ron sputtered.
She interrupted, "Can't you see it? The mood swings, irrationality, reclusiveness, sneaking off at all times, the general creepiness… Ron, Harry's going Dark!"
In the time that she was talking, a small crowd had gathered, unnoticed by either. They listened to the juicy gossip intently.
"Uh, Hermione, I think that's going a bit overboard-"
"No it's not!" she said shrilly, "It all fits! He has issues: he got mad at us just for not telling him we're dating! I can barely believe it myself."
"I told you, he already said he was sorry-"
"Ron, you're defending him! Doesn't it matter to you that he's growing to be evil?!" She stared at him challengingly.
Ron gaped at her in unadulterated shock.
How could she be doing this? Did she realize that by asking this she was forcing him to pick between Harry and her?
One look at her expectant expression told him she did, and she anticipated him being on her side. Ron's jaw clenched and his fists tightened.
Hermione was his girlfriend and he liked her a lot, if not loved her. But here she was compelling him to choose her and his best friend! Harry, who had been the first person to offer him a hand of friendship before even glancing at his brothers. Harry, who had always been there to calm him when he got into a rage. Harry, who had accepted his comradeship back twice when Ron thought he'd lost it forever.
And she was making him choose.
"No," he ground out.
"What?" she asked, as if she couldn't be sure she heard him correctly.
"No," Ron said again, "I don't care if Harry's Dark or going there. I'm his friend and I'll stick with him!" There was defiance in his voice now, daring her to try coercing him away from his choice. How could she do this to him, the both of them?! Harry was her friend too. They'd just had a fight, was all.
Ron didn't see the hand coming his way until it cracked against his cheek, sending him reeling. The voices clamored in his head to eradicate the disturbance, but he shook them away.
"I can't believe you! He's going to drag you down, Ron... Then where will you be?" Hermione swung her bag over her shoulder. "Consider this… thing of ours over!"
She spun away, only now noticing their audience. Her eyes widened and got suspiciously watery for a moment, but she wiped them with her sleeve then shoved her way through the crowd.
Ron pressed a hand to his cheek, trying to relieve the stinging and hide his own tears. It wasn't working.
She had forced him to choose.
So he'd made the decision.
¤
The gossip mill at Hogwarts was the fastest in the world. By lunchtime everyone in the castle knew of Ron and Hermione's confrontation over Harry, and their subsequent breakup.
Ron was quiet through the entire day, sitting next to Harry without conversing at all. Harry let it be. If what the gossips said were true, Ron had defended him against some rare irrationality on Hermione's part.
It was after a lunch full of pointing and whispering that Ron finally deadlocked his gaze onto Harry's.
"I want to know what's going on. I want to know where you went last night," said Ron, uncharacteristically firm.
Harry felt his throat go dry and his palms start to sweat.
"I want to know why I had to say those things to her!" Ron stared at him, face determined. It was all Harry could do to nod, still feeling frozen from shock.
"A-After."
Ron acquiesced, looking down at his macaroni.
How was Harry going to explain this?
¤
Harry knew things had to be said. After the rumors of what Ron had said to Hermione, he wasn't sure what to say. What could he say? The exact wording had been lost amongst the chitchat, but Ron not caring if he was going Dark? Harry found that hard to swallow. Ron had always been the most narrow-minded of their group, immediately categorizing people into Light and Dark, and Dark as Evil personified. How was he supposed to believe such a sudden turnaround?
Then again, Ron had been acting strange recently, much like himself. He hadn't been as…uppity? Loud? Irrational? None of those words quite seemed to fit. He'd changed from the Ron Harry'd known last year though. He was calmer, at least.
Then it all came back to what Harry was going to tell him.
He didn't think, "I'm an immortal vampire who went back in time, met my sire and fell in love with Tom Riddle who is now Voldemort. Oh, and I'm working with him," would go over well.
Still, keeping secrets from Ron would be hard. He truly wanted to trust his friend. He just didn't think the other boy would understand. Harry knew that from anyone else's point of view, he probably came across as an evil traitor.
Maybe Harry would tell him of his time travel, possibly a friendship with Tom?
A rejection from Ron would hurt dreadfully. After him, what was keeping Harry here? Hermione had made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. Even the pang of regret that filled him couldn't spur him to try mending bridges with her now.
As for Dumbledore, Harry couldn't help but feel increasingly wary of the old man. He hadn't tried to approach Harry since the last literal blow-up of his office, but he felt the man watching him constantly. Harry had the unpleasant feeling he was planning something.
Even with all this intrigue, Hogwarts was still his home. She had kept him safe as she possibly could and done her best to make him happy. It would be with much anguish that he would leave her.
Once again, Harry's decisions all rode on someone else. After this, there would be no turning back.
¤
They skipped out on Potions, but Harry was sure he wouldn't get more than a slap on the wrist from Slughorn. He was the Chosen One after all, and the ugly man's new favorite. Ron was 'the sidekick' whom would probably also get off scot-free.
Harry was silent as he led the way to the Room of Requirement, where he knew they wouldn't be interrupted. Ron followed, his gangly frame easily keeping up with Harry's strides.
His heart started to flutter when they came to the wall. There would be no lies this time, just…admissions.
A door appeared and Harry opened it, revealing a cozy sitting room. Ron at once fell into a squishy armchair, watching him expectantly. Harry sat down in a more ginger fashion, fidgeting nervously. He didn't know here to begin.
"I-I'm sorry you had to go through that, Ron," he started weakly, but Ron dismissed the apology with a jerk of his head.
"Don't say that. It wasn't your fault! Hermione's just being…difficult," he muttered. Awkward silence hung for a moment.
"So, are you going to tell me anything, or are we just going to sit here?" Ron asked finally.
Harry felt glad he'd left Letalis back in the dorm. She probably wouldn't have taken well to his tone.
"I'll tell you, just…you've got to promise not to butt in until I'm finished. Don't say anything." Harry knew that if he was interrupted at any point, he probably couldn't bring himself to start again.
As if realizing just how grave this matter was, Ron nodded, his blue eyes hard.
Harry opened his mouth to speak but nothing came to mind. He didn't know where to start…
But before he realized it, his mouth was working of its own accord.
"When I was ten, I met a man in the park on Magnolia Crescent. He told me his name was Noir. It…was much later that he told me he was a vampire…" and so his tale spun, the words pouring out liberally. Harry had never felt quite so free. He'd never told anyone, not even Tom of the details of his childhood. The account moved on to his turning, which seemed so long ago. Then somehow he moved on to his journey through time, the word melded together until he wasn't even aware that he was telling Ron everything.
Ron, for his part, only sat gaping. He didn't speak, his expression changed often, but Harry didn't notice. His words tumbled over one another as he got up and paced. Harry didn't become aware of every detail he spilled, from his experience in seeing Tom's scarred skin in the bathroom, to the first time he's realized his love for the future enemy. Luckily, some unconscious part of his mind thought it best not to go into graphic detail of he and Tom's relationship. It felt good, telling the truth to someone who wasn't already a part of it.
By the time he came to the Hogsmeade episode he was back on the couch, clawed fingers gouging the cushions and causing the stuffing to come out.
"And last night, I went to him and he accepted me back, Ron. He still loves me…" Harry seemed to sag in on himself, "I…I don't know what side I'm on anymore…"
Finally, Harry snapped out of whatever daze had been holding him. He hurriedly slapped a hand to his mouth.
'Oh, FUCK.'
¤
Ron sat, stunned at Harry's forthright honesty. The other boy had blown him away. When he'd asked, Ron had never expected this…
How could he? All the information was rushing at him.
Harry was a gay, immortal, time traveling, Dark vampire who was in love with the Dark Lord.
Ron felt the effects of unfounded rage and nausea at the situation rise within him. Of all people…Voldemort?
But he quickly pushed it down, trying to get a grip on the circumstances. Yes, he was angry at Harry; but, he realized with a start, it was for not telling him sooner. His mind was spinning with all the implications and calculations, keeping the voices silent as they too worked at the problem.
Ron peered at Harry. The other male was huddling on the couch as if trying to disappear. He started in awareness of Harry's violently shaking frame.
It took him several moments to realize it was in fear of Ron's continued silence.
"Harry…" he paused. Ron wasn't much for talking. He couldn't think of an eloquent way of putting his feelings in words.
At last Harry glanced up from his lap. His eyes flickered from green to gold, showing just how distressed he was. Ron gasped in surprise when he saw them, but quickly tried to regain his composure.
"Really, V-Voldemort?" he forced himself to say the name, "I would have imagined you settling with someone less…scaly."
Harry let out a choked half-laugh, half-sob as Ron broke the tension with a joke. This continued crying apparently wasn't doing much for his masculinity.
Ron heaved himself out of his chair, ignoring the ache from being still so long. He sat on the couch next to Harry as close as he dared, wary despite himself.
"You know, I told Hermione that I didn't care if you were going Dark."
Harry jerked up, stunned.
"I told her I'd stick with you no matter what, and she hit me for it," he rubbed his cheek in remembrance before turning to Harry, "I guess I do care but…I'll stay on your side even if you are with…Voldemort." Ron couldn't stop his shudder at both the thought and the name. He was taken aback for a moment when Harry suddenly threw his arms around his shoulders. After a moment, Ron patted his back awkwardly.
"Thanks, Ron," Harry pulled away, sensing his discomfort. "So you're really okay with it all? I mean…everything?"
Ron smiled, "As long as you don't put any moves on me, I'll be fine, Harry."
They shared an easy laugh for the first time in a long while.
¤
Harry sighed in relief and joy. Ron had accepted him, so that was one problem over with…
He was completely unaware of the owl winging its way across the countryside toward him.
¤
Harry,
I can't think of the right way to say this. Perhaps there is no right way…but I have to tell you, because I owe it to you, cub. I know you will hate me for this, because it is against Dumbledore's cause.
I'm leaving the Light. For many years what the Headmaster is doing has sickened me. When I heard of Lily and James' deaths, I rejected my place as beta in Fenrir Grayback's werewolf pack to be with you, but Dumbledore kept me away. I realized it would be too dangerous for me to raise you, but the man would not even let me visit you. This is one thing among many of his atrocities, but I won't bother to list them, for I know you will not read them.
Moony has been tearing at me for years, and each transformation grows worse, even with the Wolfsbane. He wants to be with his pack, and so do I. By joining Fenrir, and You-Know-Who's side, I'm fighting for change. You-Know-Who has promised equal rights to Dark creatures, including werewolves when he takes over the Ministry. I cannot help but bring myself to believe him. Once again, I'm sorry. I never meant to betray you.
Much Love,
Uncle Moony
A/N: Say thanks once again to EmpyrealFantasy! She's the only reason this is already out.
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