Title: Everything I've Ever Known
By: Rage's Slash
Chapter 9: Meetings
Ron made it back to the Gryffindor dorm with a large headache and little patience, walking straight towards the showers. There was plenty of time before his meeting with Percy at two and he decided that until the meeting at four with Dumbledore he would give Draco as much space as he needed.
He was worried about Draco. Something was off about his mannerism when he left the Hospital Wing. He began to undress when he realized that Draco must have been hiding something from him. Was it possible that Draco only saw his brother and his uncle in him? Anything was possible, life taught him that. He would be surprised if by the end of the year his other uncle wouldn't appear and be reviled to be the Orders front man or worse the Death Eaters front man. Did Draco regret even the idea of possibly being with Ron even before they were? Not that Ron had any intention of being with Draco in any other way than platonically for now. Ron began to imagine himself in Draco's position and began to think that he wouldn't have had a chance at survival had he been. He couldn't imagine what went through the other boys mind on a daily basis. He began to become angry at the thought and shut off the water. The thought of Draco living in a daily routine that included having to submit yourself to others for fear of your father made him sick. He hoped that Lucius never showed his face to him, if he ever did Ron knew he would show that his blood was as Black as night.
He grabbed a towel, wrapped it around his waist and walked back to his rooms only to be greeted by six prying eyes. Two quickly became covered at the sight of him, causing him to chuckle. He looked at Harry and Hermione who were sitting on Harry's bed and Seamus who was sitting on his own. He walked to his trunk, taking out a worn out pair of jeans and t-shirt, and got dressed quickly.
"It's safe Hermione." He said once he was done and walked to his bed to sit in the middle.
"How are you feeling Ron?" Seamus asked looking truly concerned.
"How am I supposed to feel, Seam? How would you feel if it was Blaise?" He moved to sit on his bed.
"I'm sorry, mate. I can only imagine what you're going through." Harry said, attempting to have a comforting smile that only turned to be a somber one.
"You don't know, you couldn't possibly know." He began to stare at the sheets at pick at its little imperfections, slowly making them grand holes that could threaten to consume him. "You weren't there last night; you didn't see the look in his eyes as he said each name of people that have…" His eyes began to blur but he continued to scratch the surface of something the needed to penetrate. "He… he's been forced to be with so many people."
"You don't mean?" Hermione asked as he felt his strength falling deep into the black hole he created in his sheets.
"Yes, I do." He whispered as he heard small gasps. "The pain he's been through all the while we assumed him to be a heartless bastard. The things he's done in order to survive…" His eyes stung with the threatening tears that dared him to not let fall. "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy." His refusal to blink was futile and he finally blinked, letting the one, two tears that formed to become a waterfall. It was as if the damn had broken, and the river was left to run free. He held his hands up to cover his face, hoping they could prove to be a temporary damn and hold back the tears that seemed to flow on their own will.
Hermione and Seamus were quickly by his side and he allowed them to hold him as the wretched sobs escaped from his chest. He leaned onto Seamus' chest as his breathing became shallow. All the while Harry sat there, watching the scene unfold before his eyes. He watched as Ron clung to Seamus and thought back to last night when he caught him in the tower. He knew he would have to tell Hermione, it would come out sooner or later that he had on occasion imagined himself with Seamus. His eyes shifted from Ron to Seamus then to Hermione. He knew he would never be a part of Seamus' life now that he was with Blaise, but he believed in honesty. He would tell Hermione when the time was appropriate. Not now. He stood and walked over to Ron's bed so that he was sitting in front of the trio.
"Ron," He whispered, afraid to disturb the moment too much. "At this point," Ron looked up to see Harry's hand coming to rest on his leg for support. "There is nothing you can do to change the past, but… what you can do is help shape the future. You can choose to be there for him. I know as well as anyone that when you're put through some form of constant hurt, isolation, pain or… something to this gravity," Ron sniffled as another tear trailed down his cheek. "There is always residual damage. You have to decide to be there for him. He needs someone to be there as he's tries to assimilate into what some might call a healthy, normal life." Harry finished, moving his thumb back and forth in a comforting motion on Ron's leg.
"He's right Ron." Hermione began, "there's no way you can prepare for this but Draco is going to need your help. He obviously trust you, if he didn't he wouldn't have told you all that he did last night."
"But I can't be the one to help him." Ron's voice cracked as he said it, knowing that maybe not now, but eventually Draco might begin to see his family members in him and it would only be a matter of time.
"Why not, Ron? Who better to help him than someone like you who cares for him unconditionally?" Seamus asked. At this Ron stood and walked to the windowsill. He gazed out onto the grounds, seeing the faces of his classmates walking carelessly around, as if what happened had no affect on anyone other than him.
"Percy." He simply said, as Seamus stood, walking over to Ron while crossing his arms.
"How is Percy a part of this?" He asked, his brows furrowing. He was the only one who knew what he and Percy spoke about over the summer.
"He's one of the people that hurt him." He heard a gasp, then another.
"What!" Seamus exclaimed. "Percy… but he knew how you felt… and…" Seamus stammered.
"Here lies the problem." Ron sighed. "And I'm meeting with him in an hour."
"Ron, do you really think that's a smart move?" Harry asked.
"No, not entirely but, I made the plans last night and there's really no turning back now."
"Have you told Draco?" Asked Seamus.
"No, and I don't plan to until I've met with him."
"Ron, I'm not sure that's a very wise decision." Hermione chimed in.
"Why?"
"Well think about it, Draco has always seemed to take care of himself. He's not exactly going to like the fact that someone he is just getting close to is beginning to fight his battles for him. He has grown to become self reliant. I may not know all of the details but if he was able to survive this long, he must have some sense of… I don't know... dignity in the matter. He has managed to go so many years without people knowing and until recently with Blaise and Professor Snape no one knew according to what we saw last night. He seemed fairly reluctant to tell them even after they knew that he was continuing this charade." She finished, causing Seamus to nod in agreement.
"Hermione's right you have to tell him. You do this and he may see it as betrayal." Seamus said.
"What makes you three the expert on Draco now? We all disliked him until this year."
"So that poses the question, what makes you the expert on Draco?" Hermione asked in a voice of reason. "We don't know and the fact is none of us do. We can only think of all the possibilities, lay them out and try to help you. We're only here because you care for him Ronald." She said softly.
"Fine, I'll tell him."
"Good where is he."
"In his dorms but he seemed like he needed some space earlier."
"Space or not Ronald, you will tell him and now." Hermione said sternly causing him to chuckle at her stubbornness. She truly acted like his mother.
"Fine," he turned to Harry, "Can I borrow your map?"
"Sure thing," he said, jumping off the bed and walking over to his trunk.
This was it; this was finally when he could tell Percy off, once and for all. Draco stood outside the room door starring at it. He'd been doing so for some time now and it was nearly one. There were many times when he held his injured but unslinged hand on the door knob but just couldn't turn it, backing away and breathing nervously. You can do this Draco. Freedom, this means being free from this life. He wondered if he'd ever be free. There was no way they'd ever be able to catch everyone, there had been so many and to be frankly honest he'd forgotten some names over the years. The only record he ever kept was hidden away in the Manor and he wouldn't go back there if his life depended on it. You can do this Draco. You need to do this.
He placed his hand on the door knob and looked at his watch; he had 10 seconds before it hit one p.m. exactly. There was no turning back now. He walked into the room and saw Percy Weasley gazing out an oversized window. When the door closed with a loud thud Percy's head looked down for a moment.
"Ah Draco, ever punctual." Draco could hear the mad smile in his voice.
"Ah Weasley, ever the insane." He said with a sneer attached to his lips.
"I'd be very careful if I were you Draco," Percy said turning around and walking towards him. "You wouldn't want to anger me before we've even begun."
"Nothing is going to begin here Weasley, I'm merely here to tell you that your contract is null and void." He did literally mean contract. Each person he'd slept with paid a certain amount to have Draco available to them, then an added fee each time they were with him.
"Well, unless I hear that from blondie Sr. I don't see how that can be true." He said with an airy voice. He sounded out right insane to Draco.
"It is true, so I suggest you leave before you get into too much trouble Percy." Percy smiled at his words and began to walk around Draco, as if sizing him up.
"This wouldn't have anything to do with our little Ronniekins now would it?" Draco spun his head to look back at Percy, his eyes slightly squinted. How could he know? "You see Draco, my little brother contacted me in the wee hours of the morning, asking me for a meeting." Percy stopped behind Draco and leaned into his ear. "And you'll never guess who it was about." He whispered in voice heavily drenched in malice.
"You're lying." Draco gritted his teeth. He wasn't sure what to believe now. Was it somehow possible that Ron simply didn't believe him? I've given him no reason to.
"Oh I wish I was." He began to walk around to face Draco. "You see, my sweet, I've suspected Ron's affection towards you for quite some time now. It wasn't till only this summer that he confirmed it for me." Percy had a sickening smile on as he began to walk back to the window. "Oh he came to me, his heart torn in two over whether or not he should even attempt to get with you; little did he know that a liking for blonds runs in the family. He will be so devastated when he finds out that two of us already had you before he did." Percy paused as he continued to look at the sky. "And you know what I did the moment I found out?" He looked back to Draco. "I fucked you that night."
"You're sick." Draco began to feel queasy.
"Oh you haven't seen the half of it." Percy began to walk back towards Draco.
"You stay far away from me Percy." Draco began to walk backwards and Percy matched his steps but only quicker. It wasn't long before Draco's head hit the wall with a loud thud and Percy came crashing on him.
"Or what? You're going to sick my little brother on me?" Percy held his arm to Draco's neck, effectively holding him there. Draco held his hands on Percy's arm in attempt to pull the muscled arm off his neck. "I'll tell you what is going to happen now." Percy's other hand firmly grabbed Draco's groin causing Draco to call out in pain. "I'm going to fuck you until you're screaming my name and remember that you belong to this side of the Weasleys and then… Well then I'm going to go meet with my poor broken hearted brother."
"There's only one problem." Draco gasped out.
"Oh really, what's that?"
"You can't take me on your own." Draco stomped on Percy's foot hard causing him to scream out in pain. Percy's reflexes kicked in and he immediately let go of Draco moving his hands to his foot.
"Nott!" Draco heard him scream as he went to pull out his wand.
"Expelliarmus!" Before Draco knew it he was disarmed and he was facing a wired Theodore Nott and an angry Percy Weasley. He began to walk backwards as they both were approaching him from either side. He was finally backed into the windowsill when he realized he was trapped. There was no way out.
Harry handed Ron the map who sat it on the bed, opening its many layers.
"I can't find him." Ron said, moving over for the others to see, the more eyes the better.
"There he is!" Seamus said. "There, he's on the third floor with…"
"Nott and Percy." Harry finished, he turned to look at Ron who was gone. They only saw a faint red blur running out the door.
Ron ran, faster than he'd ever run before. He thanked Merlin that he worked out regularly for Quidditch, if not he'd be a load of pudg with how much sweets he ate. He ran down the flights of stairs taking them two, three stairs at a time. The world around him seemed to blur and all he could do was keep running. He needed to get to Draco before they did anything to him. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if they did. If he hadn't owled Percy, he wouldn't be here and none of this would have happened. He just had to get to Draco before anything happened.
He reached the door and slammed into it with his hand on the knob, only to bounce back. He quickly began to kick the door down, his magical instincts abandoning him for brute force. The door flung open and he ran in.
He saw Percy crouched over Draco, his movements' fluid, and Nott holding a fighting Draco down.
"Get off Percy! Stop!" Draco cried, his voice seemed strained and cracked, as if he was constantly yelling.
He grabbed a chair and swung it at Percy from behind, hitting his back and head causing him to fall to the ground quickly. Nott looked up and saw the rage in his eyes. He let go of Draco and started to move backwards. The wooden chair split and he was left with a wooden stake. He didn't even look at Draco as he began to charge Nott. Nott reached a dead end, his back hitting the corner of the room's wall. Ron held the stake up, piercing Theodore's shoulder making him scream out and collapse to the floor.
In the time this was happening Draco fell off the table he was being held to and began to cover himself up, pulling his pants up and holding his shirt tight to him. Percy began to crawl to Draco, grabbing his foot. Draco began to scoot backwards, trying to kick Percy off. "Get off." He whimpered.
Ron looked back when he heard Draco. He stomped over and kicked Percy off of him.
"Don't you ever touch him again!" He yelled, his face red with a maddening look in his eyes. He would show Percy how Black his blood truly was.
"What's the matter Ronniekins," Percy coughed, "mad that I had your little boyfriend first?" Percy chuckled for a few moments before it was effectively stopped by Ron punching him smack dab in the mouth.
"You will never come anywhere near him again." Ron threatened and as he was about to turn towards Draco his brother spoke again.
"You're just like the rest of us Ron. Marlbarus would be so upset. He saw great promise in you."
"I am nothing like you."
"Oh but you are. The blond over there is proof of it." Percy chuckled again as blood came out of his mouth to cover his teeth. "And let me tell you, he is so sweet in the beginning, Merlin just begging for it like a little minx."
"Shut up!"
"And believe me Ron, he is defiantly your money's worth." Percy smiled manically.
"I said Shut Up!" Ron punched his 'brother' in the face once more, effectively knocking him out.
Ron stood there over his brother for a moment, breathing in and out, waiting for him to wake again. When it was clear that he wouldn't he wiped his bloody split knuckles on his shirt and turned to Draco. What he saw broke his heart again. There Draco was, cowered under a table, starring at him.
There were many thoughts coming back to Draco now, the many times Marlbarus and Percy had beaten him to a bloody pulp and left him there. He saw the same madness in their eyes that he just saw in Ron's not moments before. Ron had the same blood in him that they did, they were the same. He'd seen it before his eyes. But he cares for you, in a way they never could. The voice inside his head reminded him as Ron began to walk over to him. His eyes normal now, the tension gone from his shoulders, this was his Ron.
"Draco?" Ron whispered, slowly walking over to him. "Draco, are you ok?" Ron got down on the floor and crawled over to him. He saw Draco stare at him, as if he wasn't sure if he should go with him or not. "Draco, it's just me. I promise no one is going to hurt you now." He whispered to the broken boy.
Slowly Draco came out from under the table and into Ron's arms. Ron held him tight, hoping that he could indeed let no one ever hurt him again. Draco began to sob in his arms, his hair a mess, clothes torn, body shaking. Ron just held him tight, never wanting to let go.
And this was the scene Harry, Hermione and Seamus walked in on, trailed by Blaise and Professor Snape who they saw along the way. They stared at the two boys in the middle of a shattered room and hoped that all would turn out okay in the end.
A/N: Hey guys. I know I am a horrible person for updating once every few months but I made sure I had a load of chapters written before even thinking of starting to post again. My summer classes are over and over my next semester I'm taking less classes so hopefully that means less work load and I have more time to write. I love you guys and I'm so sorry. R/R please?