Oh goodie...I'm so glad some of you are being brave! I do appreciate it! Keep reading. Just a few more short little chapters like this and I'll be back to Irish Eyes. Let me know if you've read, would you? Reviews are wonderful!!

Ron's POV

I knew we were engaging in behavior that was taboo on quite a few levels. I'm not that thick. There was just something undeniable between us. Maybe it was just curiosity on my part. Maybe it was mainly loneliness on his part. Maybe it was fear mixed with worry on both our parts. All I knew was that I felt good when I went back in to his room. We'd easily slipped into a silent pattern of behavior without even trying. I knew when his light went out after a visit that I could return, that no words would be spoken, that we would be safe together. And I'm sure that most, if they knew, would say that he coerced me or forced me, but the truth is I was the one that started everything, not him. He was the hesitant one, oddly enough. How I became the aggressor I'll never know. I was still a virgin, for Merlin's sake. Sure Hermione and I snogged often and a couple times I was able to slip my hand under her shirt, but that along with the obvious jacking off I did, was the extent of my sexual experience.

During the day, our behavior was completely normal. When we talked, there were no innuendos or playful tones in our voices. When we looked at each other, there was no mischief or winks or anything like that, no 'knowing looks'. When our eyes met across the table during dinner or across the hall, there was just this instant and silent understanding between us. It only took one glance.

Did I think about constantly or fantasize being with him? Not really. It just wasn't like that. I had a girlfriend that I loved and wanted to be with and snogged every chance I got. I wasn't interested in men, oddly enough.

It wasn't until that light went out that my mind and body seemed to shift gears. I couldn't explain it then and I can't explain it now. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to visit him every night. Midnight was our time; our time to talk, to connect, to deal with our issues and fears and such the best we could. That just happened to be in each other's arms.

I think the biggest connection we found was that neither of us judged the other. I was so tired of all the comments from my mother or from my brother's. I knew what they said. I never claimed I was the smartest kid at Hogwarts, but I had a heart. So I wasn't the most charming or eloquent. I still had feelings. And often people forgot about that, whether because of my family's financial stature or my vocabulary or whatever it was.

Sirius never judged me. He accepted me for who I was. Not even Hermione and Harry did that really, not like I needed. And I didn't judge Sirius in turn. I'd heard the comments my parents had said about him in regards to how he'd lived and how he wanted to give Harry all the information he knew about Voldemort, but Sirius was an amazing man. He'd lived more than my parents had combined. So he was a little impulsive and quick to flourish his wand. He'd lived. He wasn't living right now. He was back in prison.

We understood each other as no other could for these reasons.

When I look back, it was as if we were leading two separate lives that never overlapped. We didn't let them. Somehow we knew they had to remain separate. Was it strange? To others I'm sure it would be. To us, it felt right and safe somehow. To us, it was as easy as breathing.

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