A few days later, breakfast came with another surprise. It was enough that Harry seriously considered skipping the meal, and might have if it weren't for his walks with Snape. The morning exercise, no matter how leisurely done, left him starving afterwards. Coffee was hardly a substitute for real food.

Ron Weasley, the traitor, had hardly said a word to Harry since his declaration the year previous. Harry had felt his friend's absence sharply when they'd first returned on the train, but was now almost use to ignoring that Ron had ever been in the group. His other friends had no qualms over forgetting him. Ron, apparently, felt this absence as well. The redhead approached the space where Harry and his friends were eating. There was room for him to sit away from them, but instead he walked right up to them and stood just beyond Seamus. Harry looked at him suspiciously.

"Weasley," He greeted coldly. The others looked up curiously, but turned away from the newcomer just as quick. Even Ginny refused to acknowledge her brother.

"Potter," Ron replied. "I heard you and Neville were dating."

Harry nodded slowly, very aware of Neville's hold on his hand. "Yeah, we are."

Ron hesitated. "I…I'm happy for you." He said, shifting nervously. He paused. "Harry, I want to apologize for what I said last year. I'm a dolt, you know that. Can we be friends again?"

Harry was understandably surprised by the declaration, and had no idea of how to respond. He looked at his friends, but they each refused to meet his eye. The message was clear; this was his decision to make. Floundering, Harry looked up at the Head Table, desperately seeking out Snape. Onyx eyes bored into him from across the room, and he breathed a little easier. The memory of their discussion about this exact situation recurred to him, and he clung to the man's words. They weren't anything Hermione hadn't said, but Snape was an unbiased party. Then, flashes of the dream that had followed Snape's advice burned into Harry's mind. He unconsciously squeezed Neville's hand, reminding himself that he hadn't really done the horrible things he'd dreamed about, that that wasn't who he was.

The Wizarding Savior turned back to his would-be friend. Ron was sneering in disgust at his and Neville's clasped hands. It was this look, which the redhead immediately cleared from his face upon realizing Harry had returned his attention to him, that made the decision for him. He wouldn't become the cruelty he'd glimpsed in his dream, and he wouldn't turn his back on who he was. Nor would he pretend that part of him didn't exist, even for a moment.

"No," Harry said clearly. Ron gaped at him. "I'm sorry, Ron. I don't want to be your enemy, but I can't be friends with you either. You hate a part of me that I can't change, wouldn't even if I could. That means that, in essence, you hate me, just for being who I am. I appreciate and accept your apology, but I won't follow you down the road of hatred, or let myself be close to it. If you can ever let go of your prejudice, you're welcome to be my friend again, but until you've truly accepted that homosexuality is not the bad thing you think it is, we can't be friends. I'm sorry."

The redhead scowled angrily. "Your loss, Fairy. Get bent."

Harry actually let himself chuckle as the taller boy stormed back down the table. "Already am," He called, making his friends chuckle as well. He turned back to his true friends a little bashfully. "Alright?"

"Absolutely," They each agreed.

Hermione touched his other hand, the one not in Neville's grip. "That was very adult of you, Harry. You handled it perfectly, and you did it on your own. I'm proud of you."

Harry smiled, hiding a twinge of guilt. Technically, he'd had help from the most unexpected source, but he could hardly say that. Extracting his hand and automatically swiping the sweat on his robes, he hugged his best friend. Even if he had had help, something he wasn't entirely sure was something he should actually feel guilt for, he was still proud of himself. It would have been too easy to fall back into old habits with his first friend, and he'd felt the desire to do so gnaw at him even as he'd refused. It was harder than any of his friends would ever know, to turn Ron away, but he'd done it anyway. That was something to be proud of.

-Break-

Later that day, as he and Neville were leaving Charms, the nervous Gryffindor pulled Harry to a stop with their clasped hands. Harry turned to him curiously.

"What's up? We're going to be late to Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Neville hesitated visibly. "I-I know, I just, I wanted to say something about this morning. I didn't really speak up earlier, because I was afraid to."

Harry frowned. "Okay," He said slowly. Had Neville disagreed with his handling of the situation?

"I…I wanted to say," Neville began apprehensively, not looking at him. "I-I'm proud of you, too, Harry. I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you."

The Wizarding Savior slumped in relief. "Oh, well…thanks, Neville, I appr-" He was cut off by an unexpected kiss, and he pulled away when his boyfriend tried to deepen it. "Neville!" He paused, glancing around, as the taller boy stared at him with deep hurt. "I-I'm sorry. I just…I'm not comfortable kissing in front of people."

Neville brightened, but still looked to be holding something back.

"Get it out," Harry urged with a sigh.

"I-it's just, um…is the cheek okay?" The boy asked hesitantly.

After a moment's thought, Harry nodded, not seeing the harm. Neville immediately placed a swift, wet kiss under his eye. The Wizarding Savior fought the urge to wipe the uncomfortable feel of saliva off his cheekbone, and turned instead to resume walking down the corridor. They made it to Defense just before Achesan closed the door, and Harry was somewhat grateful when they parted to find their seats. His was at the front of the room, with Hermione, but Neville had chosen a seat near the back, where he wouldn't be noticed. Thankfully, Achesan had announced at the start of term that these would be their assigned seats for the year, so the clingy Gryffindor wasn't able to move closer, as he had in their other classes.