Title: Black and Deep Desires

By: Dr. Kim-chan

Harry (in the corner): Everybody hates me now…(pout)

Plushie: Dammit, who made my sweetie cry?

Me: I did, and look who's talking! Just last chapter you called him a backstabber! Besides, they're only mad at the Dream Sequence!Harry. Anyway, my reviewers must be reading my mind.

Lucius: How so? I thought only Professor Mills could do that.

Me: They're clambering for more Ron, and although we're nowhere near ready to go back to Lucius/Ron, we DO have to turn our attention to how Ron will settle this other matter; that determines whether he goes back. For one thing, it's not a girl, and for another he's gonna get some advice first.

Ron: Finally, some well-deserved popularity! I worked hard to get it, if I do say so myself.

Plushie: "If by 'work' you mean answering Lucius's every beck and call, including performing gratuitous acts even Draco wouldn't do in his wildest Harry-related fantasies, then yeah, you've pretty much sweated yourself out.

Ron: (turns red and brings out a flamethrower) Why you little—

Me: If you two don't start getting along I'll lock you in a dark closet with rabid Ron/Hermione shippers!

Ron and Plushie: (gulp) We'll be good.

Me: Good. And one more thing. For those Seamus/Dean fans, this chappie's for you. (clicks remote)

(Begin Chap. 24)

…Two weeks passed since the minor incident in the kitchens. Aside from that, things had been going along as usual…or at least, as normally as they could be, which wasn't much. The Aurors were now patrolling the grounds round-the-clock, fearing another slip-up. McGonagall was a little snippy towards both Dumbledore and her students, knowing with all her heart he was hiding something, and it made her more than uncomfortable. On a number of occasions at breakfast and dinner, she could be seen sitting by the other Heads of Houses discussing the matter with bent heads.

On the students' part, they were busy not only with the first onset of a real homework load, but also preparing for Professor Mills' test. Slytherin House had even more on their plate due to a circulating story that turned out to be true. In the middle of the night a couple weeks back, Draco had been admitted to the hospital ward and stayed there for a couple of days to recuperate from—well, whatever he was recuperating from. There was no explanation at all except for the vague description given by Blaise. And as you know, whatever goes on with Draco Malfoy invariably affects Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

The excitement barely stopped there. Speaking of these three, Harry had been garnering a lot of unwanted attention due to a sudden flood of newspaper reports calling him the Chosen One. It had been mostly girls from lower years, presenting him with gifts, flattery, and condolences. Hermione spent her time studying and figuring out what was wrong with McGonagall, her unofficial favorite teacher. As for Ron…

It was another unusually chilly night in the middle of September, and Ron was where he could almost always be found at this time of night: laying in his bed in the boys' dormitory, mulling over his predicament, sadly suppressing emotions he had never felt before. A vision of blue eyes the color of ice and just as cold appeared in his mind once more…long blond hair…a strong grip that could always push him down into a mattress…green eyes…

No, wait. He was describing Harry now.

Crap.

This had to be resolved now.

Where did his heart lay for either person? In Lucius' case it was fear and a longing to be protected and cared for, but in Harry's case he felt a strong responsibility to be the protector. With Harry's life in so much danger, he began to feel that he wasn't doing anything to help, not even on a personal level. At first Ron thought it would do him good to seek out the company of a girl. Horrible idea. Either the girls were afraid of him or he was afraid of them; he could never tell the difference. The only other solution he could come up with was to simply strengthen their own relationship—no! Friendship! He meant friendship! Where did that come from?

No, it didn't do any good to deny it anymore. This was why he forced himself to leave Lucius in the first place. Every once in a while Ron indulged himself in a brief fantasy, yet he always felt guilty when he did. The other side of himself that was in his fantasies—the seductive, aggressive Ronald Weasley—couldn't be unleashed and confuse Harry any more than he was now. Then again, what if this was exactly what he needed? But did Harry even love other boys, much less his best friend? Who's to say he didn't love Hermione (God forbid)?

But if that was the case, why did Harry want him to join the Quidditch team so badly? Why were Harry and Hermione always together, and yet Harry never took the opportunity? He certainly did with Cho.

It was probably a little selfish, but Ron needed to hear it from his own mouth. He wanted Harry to tell him that their friendship was important to him…and he also wanted to Harry to hear how important he was to him…not just to hear, but to see…to feel…he wanted him so badly…

His thoughts were broken by a crashing sound. Ducking behind the curtains of his four-poster bed, Ron had no chance of being immediately seen by Seamus and Dean (who seemed to have burst through the door). He probably wasn't going to be noticed at all, seeing as how the both of them were snogging the faces off of each other. It was sort of expected, but it was still a sight to see. Wait a minute—wasn't Dean dating his sister?

Keeping hidden, Ron blushed crimson and continued to watch as the two bestowed affection upon each other while making their way to Dean's bed. Pausing to catch a breath, they took turns shedding their heavy black school robes. Should Ron make himself known? He coughed discreetly. No response, as Seamus and Dean commenced to kissing, now tearing apart each other's shirts and ties. Ron shook his head, still embarrassed. They were totally oblivious to the world, in their own little love nest.

Becoming aroused, Seamus dared to brush his hand up against the other boy's crotch, successful in making him moan with desire. Up until now Seamus had been on top; now Dean used all his strength to turn him over. It was just that difficult—he didn't know how, but over the summer Seamus had gained two inches.

Dean was about to exact revenge for that 'innocent' little brush-up. He bent down and licked a small circle on the surface of the sandy-haired boy's neck, then bit down gently into his soft flesh. Seamus cried out, then uttered a long series of long groans, knowing that the spot he was chewing on would be bright purple by tomorrow.

More kissing ensued, but it was a different kind of kiss—a hesitant kind of kiss. Both boys knew they couldn't avoid the real fantasy any longer. Each one was waiting for the other to make the first move (and Seamus's didn't count. It was a playful touch). But there was something else prolonging the moment…

It wasn't so much that Dean was confused; he knew exactly what he wanted. But he had to at least give due to Ginny. She had been nothing more than a shield for his own desires. Why didn't he know three months ago—better yet, why was he so stupid as to choose a girl he barely knew over a close friend who pulled him into the boys' dormitory for a quick, frightened kiss? He could only find one bright spot in this situation: there was one night where Ginny asked—better yet, demanded—to be made into a woman two years earlier than was allowed legal, and Dean flatly denied her. His excuse was that he 'wanted things slow', but really it had gone too far. Personally it was a big turn-off when someone asked for it. Seamus sure didn't.

Speaking of which, without giving it conscious thought, Dean had stopped paying attention to his newfound lover entirely. However, he was abruptly brought back down to earth when someone's hand wandered where it shouldn't have been. Dean grinned and reached down for his zipper, beginning to gladly oblige. At this point Seamus's pupils were nearly dilated; he was so turned on. If friction didn't happen soon he would explode.

Ron sat transfixed, his eyes glued to the bed where the two teens were now getting very heated. He didn't want to admit it, not even to himself, but he was becoming jealous at the show of affection these two were sharing with each other. Now that he thought of it, he couldn't see himself doing anything like that with Lucius…

Wait. What'd he say? Lucius? No! He meant Harry! That damned Death Eater was seeping into his thoughts again. He had to wait until this thing with Harry felt right or wrong. But—still—he envisioned himself lying with Harry, waiting for the dark-haired young man to make him move…bang!

Speaking of making moves, Seamus and Dean had now fallen into a heap into the floor. It'd only be a matter of time until he really saw something he wouldn't want to see. Unfortunately for them, it was time to end this. Ron stood up and tiptoed towards the door, amazingly still not garnering any attention. He slipped out the door quietly, waited a few moments more, then re-entered the room.

He wasn't sure whether to continue to be embarrassed or to burst out laughing. The two boys were now lying on the floor, tense and stiff as rocks. Hurriedly they scrambled around for their clothes, soon becoming a blur of buttoning and zipping up and shocked faces.

"Sorry, was I interrupting?" Ron asked innocently, not meaning it in the least. Both blushed, but Dean in particular looked guilty. Everyone who was anyone at Hogwarts (except maybe for the first-years) knew Dean and Ginny had been dating.

"Ron, if you're going to beat me to a pulp because I ditched your sister, then get on with it," he mumbled.

"Um…I don't know what to say, actually…but while we're on that, would this have anything to do with what Professor Mills said that first day?"

Looking very relieved (yet at the same time confused), Dean nodded in earnest. "We'd been fighting like that all summer because I suddenly started avoiding Seamus at the end of fifth year. We had a bit of an incident when we…er…shared a kiss."

"When?" Ron asked in shock.

"Last March. It was a little awkward—only lasted for 'bout two minutes and it was in the dark. Then Dean started acting weird, and I thought he…I thought he hated me," Seamus said quietly, looking pained at the memory.

"Which, of course, wasn't true," Dean shot back defensively.

"Then why didn't you talk to me?"

"And I suppose you'd walk right up to an old friend who you just walked up to and snogged one night and act like nothing had happened. What was I supposed to say?"

"Weren't you two about to dirty up a few minutes ago? Now you're fighting again!" Ron said in exasperation. "And here I thought you two'd be able to help me with a problem of my own."

At this news, both boys' ears perked up. It was the usual custom that if anyone in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory had personal problems, the backup pair of shoulders-to-cry-on aside from your personal best friends would be those two.

"Love?"

Ron nodded.

"A boy?"

Another nod.

"Harry?"

Ron froze in mid-nod. Should he really trust this dilemma to the two most notorious matchmakers of Gryffindor House? Then again, would he also be so stupid as to not trust this dilemma to two boys who was responsible for eight successful match-ups, one being between a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin?

"Well…"

"Don't even try denying it. It's so obvious," Dean stated, rolling his eyes upward.

"Really?" Ron retorted. "Then by all means tell me why it's so obvious. Best friends can be close, can't they?"

"Ron, you stink at Quidditch."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"Well, at least you're better than Dean." (At this Dean made a face at Seamus.) "If you hate playing in front of people to the point where you can't tell the difference between a Quaffle and a Bludger, why'd you try out for the team in the first place?"

"Um…er…" the redhead stuttered. Seamus grinned devilishly.

"Make it easy on yourself and admit that you did it to be closer to him. I also remember two years ago during the Triwizard Tournament, the second trial at the lake?"

"What about it?"

"Harry, Viktor Krum, Diggory, and Fleur Delacour had to rescue who they would miss most; their treasure, right?"

"Yeah, and?"

"Krum had to save Hermione, Delacour had her little sister, and Diggory had Cho Chang. Who does that leave?"

After a minute more of stuttering, Ron gave up and shrugged his shoulders. "It couldn't be just some kind of stupid coincidence, could it?"

"Personally I think you two are destined. But just to be absolutely sure, we're gonna have an investigation. We—including you—will follow Harry around and watch his every move and take note of his reaction when you're around him or when you're mentioned," Dean said. "Then again, there is the possibility he might be interested in another person."

"Like who? Like my sister?" asked Ron, beginning to panic.

Seamus stuck out his tongue and shrugged. "That's a big doubt, and that's also where you come in. In fact, didn't Harry disappear just an hour ago? There's not even a Gryffindor Quidditch practice scheduled today. He may be meeting someone right now."

With a sigh, Ron got up and walked towards the door.

"I hope you two are right."

" 'Course we're right. We're Gryffindor's personal matchmakers."

Ron smiled and disappeared around the bend. A second later, he returned.

"One more thing, mates. The next time you barge into the dormitory, check to see if anyone else is in there."

(End Chap. 24)

Me (atop an enormous 'mountain' of wrinkled-up paper): Yes…yes…YES! HAH! I've conquered you, you damn writer's block! Schoolwork can get in the way, and other mortal matters can drown me, but I swear this fanfic shall not go down in obscurity! It'll be the most fabulous Lucius/Ron saga this world has ever seen! Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Ron: She's crazy, but then again so is the reviewer she hired to write this chapter. Agent Number Three, thanks for the juicy Seamus/Dean action. Our entire organization is forever indebted to you. Hope you and everyone else stay tuned for Chapter 25.