A/N: I apologize if it took a while to come up with the second chapter, I meant to post this during the weekend, but then a dear friend of mine was admitted to the hospital to be induced into labor to give birth to her first child. I was basically at the hospital with her ALL weekend to help her through the labor. My niece was born on Saturday :) and then the next day I celebrated my 26th birthday, so I've been busy.

This chapter takes place during Harri's third year, sometime before Crookshanks supposedly "kills" Scabbers (Peter Pettigrew) and Ron and Hermione fight over it.

Summary of Chapter: Harri finally tells Ron and Hermione about her sexual orientation. While Hermione is accepting of it, Ron struggles to understand it and is unsure what to think of this news. It takes a little bit of help from a powerful wizard for Ron to finally understand it.

Rated: T for references to sexuality, language

Chapter Two: Friends That Matter

Third Year

Well, she finally told them. She finally told her friends that she was bi, now all she had to do was wait to see their reactions. She expected them to be disgusted with her and start throwing insults at her the way she has heard from first-hand accounts of people coming out. It was a quiet Sunday in the Gryffindor common room with no one but the three of them, and Harri thought it was the right moment for her to finally tell them about her sexual orientation with no one around. So she finally did, and she looked up at her friends to see their reaction once she did.

Ron looked shocked, his eyes wide and gaping at her as if he could not believe what he just heard. Harri did not know what exactly that meant, and it honestly worried her a little bit, but then she looked to Hermione who only had a neutral look on her face. That look was rather peculiar to Harri, and she didn't understand it. That was not a reaction that she heard people having when she heard stories of people coming out.

"Well, it is about time that you finally told us," Hermione finally said, much to the shock of both Harri and Ron.

Harri was very shocked by Hermione's reaction. It was not the one she was expecting, but more importantly, she made it sound as if she knew all along. Apparently, Ron thought the same thing too.

"Wait a second, you knew about this?" Ron said. "How in the bloody hell did you know before she even told us? I didn't even know or notice anything!"

"I saw the way Harri looked at some of both of the boys and girls in our class," Hermione said as if it was the most simplest explanation. She then looks at Harri with a knowing look and smirks at her. "Couldn't take your eyes off of Cho Chang during the Quidditch match against Ravenclaw, could you, Harri?"

At this, Harri began to blush. She did not think that her crush on the Chinese Ravenclaw 4th year was that obvious. Then again, with Hermione, she was more observant than anyone else and probably could see things that most people couldn't.

"So…" Harri began, "does that mean that you are okay with me being…you know…?"

At this, Hermione gives Harri an exasperated look as if that was the most ridiculous thing in the world for her to ask.

"Harri, I do not see why is it that I shouldn't be okay with it," she said. "You are my best friend, I love you no matter who you love, regardless of what their gender is."

Hearing this made Harri's eyes start to get a little misty and Hermione got up from her chair to go hug her when she saw this.

"Oh, Harri! Please don't cry, I know it's hard to believe, but there are people out there who would love you for who you are no matter what."

"I know, I know, it's just…" Harri said as she held back her tears.

"Shh, it's okay, you don't have to say anything," Hermione said as she comforted her, "I understand."

The two girls held onto each other like this for a couple of minutes before they finally let go of each other.

"Thank you," Harri said to Hermione.

The two of them then looked at Ron, who had been quiet and stayed where he sat the whole time. He still looked quite shock at the news that his best friend was bi, but his eyes weren't wide anymore and his mouth wasn't gaping either. Harri wasn't sure if this meant a good or bad thing.

'Calm before the storm, maybe?' she thought. She hoped not.

"Ron, are you okay with this?" Harri asked him, bringing him out of his shock state if only for a moment.

There was a moment where Ron was silent, and Harri could see him take a deep breath before finally speaking.

"I…" he began, "I think I need some time to think about this. This news is a bit of a shock to me, and I need to think it over."

That little sense of hope that Harri began to feel that Ron would be accepting of her too was deflated. She began to feel anxiety creep on her, fearing the worst possible outcome of this situation, but she tried to remain positive about it. He only said that he would think about it, it meant there was still a chance for him that he could accept the fact that she was bi.

"Oh, um…yeah, sure, that—that's fine," Harri said. "Take as much time as you need."

Ron nodded before he grabbed his backpack.

"I think I am going to head to the library."

He then got up and left the common room. That anxiety that Harri felt earlier was coming back as she watched him leave. Did she make a mistake in telling the both of them about this?

"Don't worry, he is just shocked about it, is all," Hermione said, trying to comfort her. "Give him some time, I'm sure he'll come around."

Harri hope to Merlin that she was right.

It's been a little over a week since Harri first told Ron and Hermione about her sexual orientation, and Ron has not spoken to both Harri and Hermione since then. Harri was starting to get depressed, fearing that she had lost her best friend for coming out, and beginning to regret telling both him and Hermione about her sexuality.

"How can you say that, Harri?!" Hermione said to her when she voiced this one night in the girls dormitory. "If there is anyone who should be feeling regret, it's Ron! It's not your fault that he's so ignorant that he can't love and accept you for who you are."

Harri knew that Hermione only meant to make her feel better, but it didn't necessarily make her feel better. As much as she was grateful for Hermione accepting her, it was also Ron's acceptance that mattered the most because he was one of the very few people that was kind to her and one of the first few people she befriended when she first came into the Wizarding World. She feared that she had lost her best friend forever by coming out. She knew that other people who were like her or gay probably had it much worse than her (1) where everyone they loved ended up rejecting them after coming out, but still, the fact that it seemed as if Ron was rejecting her because of her sexual orientation hurt a lot more than she expected. Harri always prepared herself for the possibility of rejection from her friends, but to feel it now was almost too difficult to bear.

The whole school was beginning to notice the rift between the Golden Trio, and they began whispering to each other, trying to speculate what had happened between them. Luckily, as far as Harri knew, Ron had kept silent on the issue, even when she overheard her peers trying to press him for information. 'At least he has enough sense and courtesy to know I prefer to keep my sexual orientation private,' Harri thought.

One day, Harri was on her way to the Great Hall for lunch. When she got there, she could hear loud voices. It took her a moment to register that the voices belonged to Ron and Hermione, and she looked up to see them standing in the middle of the entrance of the Great Hall. People were starting to gather around the both of them, watching the two of them argue.

"You just don't get it, Hermione!" Ron said to her.

"What? What is it that I 'don't get'?" Hermione yelled, her voice nearly screeching. "It's been over a week since Harri told you, Ron, and you still haven't given her an answer! She is starting to think that you are rejecting her."

"I'm…I just…I just don't know what to think of it…"

"Of what? That Harri is the way she is? That she can't help how she feels or who she loves?"

"Hermione!"

At this point, Harri decided it was best to interrupt this fight before it got too out of hand and before the whole school started speculating even more about what was going on between the Golden Trio. She did not want to disclose to the whole school about her sexual orientation yet, and Hermione was getting really close to telling the whole school just that.

The whole corridor went silent when Harri shouted at Hermione, and everybody turned to her. They watched as Harri went down the stairs towards Ron and Hermione, watching with anticipation what will happen next.

Harri kept her eyes on Hermione the whole time as she walked towards them, not wanting to look Ron's way for fear she might see him look at her with disgust. Without warning, Harri grabbed Hermione's wrist and dragged her out of there.

"We need to talk."

Everybody watched the two girls leave, perplexed and wondering what it was the two girls were going to go talk about. After hearing the argument between Ron and Hermione, it only made them speculate more.

Harri dragged Hermione all the way to an empty corridor where they can get a little more privacy. Once she figured it safe and that no one had followed them, she then turned to Hermione, her anger coming in full force.

"What in the bloody hell do you think you were doing, Hermione?!" she said, gritting her teeth.

Hermione was taken aback by her anger, obviously not expecting this from her. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"What do I mean? What do I mean?" Harri said, her voice nearly raising. She tried remaining calm, though, as she took a couple of deep breaths, trying to make sure her voice doesn't rise so people will hear her. "Hermione, you nearly gave away to the entire school about what I told you and Ron over a week ago!"

"I'm sorry, Harri, I was just so angry at the way Ron was treating you. I had to say something…"

"I realize that, but you don't go yelling about it to him in front of everyone to hear!"

After snapping at her, Harri could see the hurt look on Hermione's face. This made Harri sigh in exasperation, realizing that she was letting her anger get carried away. She knew that Hermione meant well, and she was obviously going at it the wrong way to tell her why the way she did it was inappropriate.

"Look, I'm sorry, it's just…" Harri began a little more calmly now. "I am not ready to come out to the entire school. If I come out to the entire school, then everybody in the Wizarding World would know and right now, I am too scared to come out. Many people both in the Muggle World and the Wizarding World will not accept me for who I am, and I am not ready to handle that yet. I need to come out to them on my own terms. Can you understand that?"

Hermione looked like she was deep in thought and it took a moment before she finally nodded.

"I'm sorry, I should have known better," she finally said. "I just got so angry at seeing the way Ron was treating you that I didn't think of what the consequences would be for you by confronting him like that in front of everybody."

"It's okay, just be careful next time, please. Now, come on, let's get back to the Great Hall, I'm starving!"

Hermione scoffed at this. "You are starting to pick up Ron's eating habits."

This made Harri laugh, if only for a moment.

Harri decided to go see Hagrid after lunch, not only wanting to see Buckbeak but also wanting to talk to Hagrid. She was on her way through the courtyard when she was blocked by someone.

"Excuse me," she said, trying to get around them. But then they stepped in front of her again, completely blocking her way.

"Ah, what's the rush, Potter? Can't stop for a quick chat?" she heard the person say.

Harri recognized that the voice belonged to Draco Malfoy. Sure enough, when she looked up, she could see the platinum blond hair and the grey eyes, him smirking down at her. He has grown an inch taller over the summer, making Harri having to look up at him, much to her chagrin.

"Get out of my way, Malfoy!" Harri snapped. She was not in the mood to deal with him right now.

"That's not very friendly now, is it?" Malfoy said. "And I thought we were such good friends!"

"Say, what were your friends the mudblood and Weaselby arguing about in the Great Hall? Are you two no longer talking because of love life issues?"

"That is none of your business, Malfoy," Harri said, feeling herself getting irritated very quickly. "And stop calling Hermione that! Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to get to Hagrid's…"

But Malfoy would not let her leave.

"Come on, Potter, all I want to know who is the poor bloke that you seem to be so infatuated with," he said. "Are you perhaps in love with a Slytherin? Is that why Weaselby is so angry at you?"

"I am not in love with any of you slimy Slytherins. And even if I was, why would I tell you?"

"Come on, Potter, I just want to know who it is," Malfoy continued to press her. "Are you perhaps afraid to say who it is because it might be me?"

Harri scoffed at this. "Don't flatter yourself, Malfoy, it just makes you look more like an arrogant git than you already are."

This just made Malfoy smirk.

"Ah, but there must be something you love about my arrogance."

"In your dreams, Malfoy! Now, bugger off!"

She made to move around him, but he once again blocked her away.

"I won't let you leave until you tell me. Once you do, then I'll let you go visit that oaf."

At this point, Harri was getting really irritated and could feel herself itching her hand towards her wand. She was getting ready to take out her wand and hex him, but she never got a chance to when a voice interrupted them.

"Why don't you sod off, Malfoy?"

Harri turned around to see who had come to her defense and, to her surprise, saw that it was Ron.

"What's wrong, Weaselby? I just want to find out who the person is that she likes that you seem to disapprove of," Malfoy said.

"There is no one that she likes that I disapprove of!" Ron snapped. "Even if there was, it's none of your business. Now sod off; otherwise, I'll hex you."

"Alright, fine, I can see this isn't getting anywhere," Malfoy said, finally relenting. "But I'll find out who it is, one way or another."

Harri just gave him a look, wondering why he even cared to know. 'Probably just wanted to get under my skin, the slimy git,' she thought, brushing it off. Malfoy looked back at Harri then and lifted up her chin. Harri responded to this by smacking his hand away, indignant that he would dare even touch her. This only made him laugh, infuriating Harri even more, before he finally left.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked her once Malfoy was finally out of earshot.

"Yeah, I'm fine, he was just trying to annoy me, that's all," Harri responded.

There was a moment of a silence before Harri spoke up again.

"Thank you for that, but you didn't really have to do that. I know that you are mad at me still…"

"I'm not mad at you!" Ron interrupted her then he gave a look as if he was thinking about something. "Well, maybe I am a little bit, but it's not for the reasons that you think…"

At this, Harri looked up at him in surprise. "You mean that you aren't mad at me for coming out as…you know…?"

"I think I was at first, but it's a bit complicated really. I was a bit in a state of shock when you told me and Hermione about it, but you have to understand, Harri, that I never knew anyone who was attracted to…well…you know…"

Harri was grateful that Ron was tactful enough not to talk about her sexual orientation outloud in public for everyone to hear. He seemed to have more of an understanding that Harri would prefer to keep this quiet.

"I was always taught that in a relationship or marriage, it was always between a man and a woman, so I couldn't really quite understand why you identify that way, but then someone talked to me about it and I was able to understand it more," Ron continued. "But I think, more importantly, I was more mad at the fact that you never told us from the beginning. I felt as if you couldn't trust us enough with something as important as that, so I just want to know, why did you never tell us from the beginning?"

Harri shrugged her shoulders, unsure how to tell Ron this.

"I dunno…" she began. "I guess…I guess I was just scared. I wasn't sure how you would feel about me being…being who I am. Not many people would accept me for being b-I mean, for who I am…"

"Even in the Muggle World, there are people there who will condemn me or even worse kill me for who I am. I guess I never told you and Hermione until now is because…I was afraid that you would condemn me the same way my own aunt and uncle condemned me. I-I was afraid of losing the only friends that I had because the Wizarding World didn't seem that much different…"

"Well, at least I understand that bit now," Ron finally said after she was done explaining.

There was a silence between the two of them for a bit until Harri finally broke the silence.

"Sooo, are we still friends or…?" she asked, unsure if this interaction meant a good or bad thing. She mentally prepared for the worst, but was surprised by his response.

"You kidding?! You think I would abandon my best friend all because she is attracted to who she is attracted to, regardless of the gender? Granted, it would take me some time to understand it, but I think I would have come around, with a little of the pep talk I got."

This made Harri smile, feeling a sense of relief and a sense of happiness now knowing that Ron was able to understand and accept her. But then she thought of something that he said earlier.

"Who exactly talked to you about this?" she asked.

"Believe it or not, it was actually Professor Dumbledore who talked to me about it," Ron said.

"Dumbledore talked to you?" Harri said, surprised at this, knowing that Dumbledore told her last year about his sexual orientation. "What exactly did he say?"

"He didn't say much, just helped me see it from your perspective and helped me understand why you identify that way," Ron said. "A bit of a mystery, he seemed to know quite a lot on the issue, I wonder why that is…"

The way Ron talked about it made Harri think that Dumbledore didn't exactly tell Ron about his sexual orientation and he would have preferred to keep it private, from the way he was so secretive about it.

"I'm not sure either…" Harri responded with a bit of a knowing smile.

"Where you heading off to?" Ron asked, not seeming to notice it.

"Oh, I was heading to Hagrid's," Harri replied. "I wanted to see how he and Buckbeak were doing. Want to come with?"

"Sure, you know I am always up for seeing the ol' bloke!"

They then started heading out towards the castle grounds to Hagrid's. As they did, Dumbledore's words from last year started to ring true in her head: the friends who loved and accepted for who you are are the ones to hold on to. It may have took a little bit of time with Ron, but, just like always, he came around and remained loyal to her. She could not have asked for a better friend like both Ron and Hermione.

A/N: So there's the second one-shot! I hope I was able to bring out the depth of someone who is bi or anyone who identifies as queer or non-conforming gender identity as coming out. I decided to have Ron react a little more negatively because I always imagined Hermione being a little more accepting while Ron would take a little more time to understand and comprehend what it meant to him, but would eventually come around. The next couple of one-shots will most likely take place in fourth year.

(1) I will focus on the phrase "people have it worse" in a later one-shot as I find this phrase a bit invalidating in a mental health capacity, and mental health is also an LGBTQ issue, so I will address this in a later chapter

REMINDER: I DO NOT accept flames, but will accept constructive criticism. Also, still willing to accept people's own advice on how to better write out bi people's experiences.