"I'm sorry Harry!" Ron stressed as his angry friend advanced on him. If Ron didn't know better he'd say that Harry had murder dancing behind his eyes. "I only did what I thought had to be done. I wasn't trying to cause harm." The redhead looked close to tears because, unlike Harry, he did show his emotions a lot easier.
"Ron, do you have any idea what you did? Why did you lie in the first place and drag Hermione into this? I went to her first thing as it seemed she had altered the letter with all the things that had been added about her."
The redhead held up his hands almost in defense, but of course, Harry wouldn't hit him, right? "I wasn't thinking, honestly, I was too chicken to make the plan seem just my own. I might have tweaked the letter a little bit. Hermione is a clever witch, and you do not pay her enough attention sometimes."
"So you insulted me in my letter?" Harry asked.
"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't think you'd get mad about that. I thought it was funny . . . "
Harry rolled his eyes. Okay, so that part was kind of funny, but he was mad that the letter got sent in the first place. "Ron . . . listen, I thought you didn't want to play matchmaker in the first place? Why did you change your mind?" Harry seemed to be calming down, thank goodness.
"Because you moan in your sleep every night, because your eyes look dead sometimes, and because when Draco looks at you when he thinks nobody else is looking, his eyes look just like yours. Both of you are far too stubborn. Hiding behind stupid house names and rivalry. I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I'm not stupid."
"If you were gay I'd probably kiss you right now," Harry murmured.
Ron, loyal Ronald Weasley. He was hotheaded, but when push came to shove, he was there fighting for what should be right. Even if he didn't understand it. Harry's happiness was what mattered, and perhaps seeing the same pain in Draco's eyes that he saw in Harry's made the redhead feel sorry for the blonde as well. Harry couldn't possibly stay mad after hearing Ron say all that.
With a smirk, Ron leaned up and gave Harry a chaste kiss on the cheek. "I'm not gay though, but I do love you. Now, what are we going to do about that stubborn boy you like to call "The Blonde Sex God.""
"Ronald!" Harry blushed. "You have a funny way of showing you're straight."
"I'm comfortable enough with my sexuality to give my best friend a friendly kiss. You asked for it, after all. Now about this Sex God? By the way, really? Sex God?"
"Ugh . . . pervert, what made you call him that? How in the hell do I know what to do about Draco. He . . . said "we're not friends" and he also told me "these feelings can't be real," so now what?"
"You moaned it in your sleep once," Ron smirked.
"Sure you're not bi, Ron?" Harry couldn't help but tease.
"Very well, you got me," Ron laughed, and if he was joking, Harry couldn't tell.
"Ah! That's why you accepted me so easily!" Harry laughed and then slumped to the floor when he remembered the serious matters at hand.
"So about this Sex God?" Ron whispered. He sat down next to Harry and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "People may not think it of me, but I notice some things. I can't say whether Draco wants to snog your brains out or anything, but he is in pain, that's for sure. Every time he looks at you, the pain is unbearable. I mean, someone on the outside might not notice it, but I do, and Hermione does, and I'm sure you do, Harry."
"Yeah . . . but he won't admit he wants to be my friend."
"You've got to do something, eh? I sent that letter, which now I see was wrong of me to do, I thought it would get to him, I mean he's changed so much after his parents died and after this dream fiasco. For one thing, he stands up for people like he should, being a prefect. Of course, he can still be nasty about doing it, but he still does it. The way you treated him in this dream has got to him, I think and now he knows how it feels and wants it that much more, because . . . "
"You think he always wanted it?" Harry questioned.
"Yes I do," Ron said it so firmly, that Harry was amazed. Harry had thought so too, but hearing it from Ron, the same Ron who used to hate anything to do with the blonde, made everything feel more powerful.
"So if his parents are gone and he no longer has the fear of having to act one way to please his father, and his house is more or less behaving now, because of his temper whenever they do something to foul up his name as a prefect, why won't he come to me?"
"He's never had a real friend before, right? I'd imagine he's scared."
Ron did it again, though Harry had no idea he had done it again, and lucky for Ron, Harry probably wouldn't find out this time. Tired of seeing his friend so close to tears, but not able to cry, Ron finally used the item he had swiped from Harry. It was an odd thing indeed. A candy that was called "Emotion Explode Toffee." Ron had no idea if it would work, but at least if it didn't, then there would be no harm done, if it did work, then Harry would get rid of some of that emotion he was holding in.
He had given Harry the candy, with a "eww I hate this flavor, you eat it." and Harry took it and shrugged. He put it into his pocket much to Ron's disappointment. Though knowing Harry, Ron knew he wouldn't let the candy go to waste. Though now he felt worried. He had hoped Harry would eat it right away and get his emotions out in private.
Harry looked over at the empty desk that was Draco's. He was early to Potions class, so Draco and the other students hadn't arrived yet. After some thought, Harry reached into his pocket and took the toffee out.
He knew that Draco loved sweet things and felt a little thrill at leaving the candy for him. He wanted to see if Draco's eyes lit up when he saw someone left him a candy. So Harry left the candy for Draco and then after more thought, he left a note too, but made sure to give Draco the impression that another girl had left the candy.
Draco, here's some candy almost as sweet as you are. I wonder if this will taste as sweet as I imagine your lips tasting. Every girl at Hogwarts probably wonders the same thing.
With love,
Girl with a crush
Ron ran over to Harry and Hermione and sat down between them. He gave Harry a curious look, Harry just looked back, before shrugging off the strange look Ron was giving him.
"Hey mate, how are you feeling?" Ron asked.
"Fine," Harry answered.
"Just fine?"
"Uh . . . yeah, how am I supposed to feel?"
"What are you two blabbering about?" Hermione scolded, "Class is about to start."
Ron pouted, looking down at his hands. Harry rolled his eyes, misunderstanding why the redhead was pouting.
"Hey Ron, thanks for the candy, it came in handy," Harry whispered.
"W-what?" Ron stuttered.
Harry nodded toward Draco who had just sat down and discovered his note and the candy. Draco looked a little pleased with himself, obviously liking the fact that he had admirers. While Ron and Harry watched, Draco unwrapped the toffee and without even questioning its safety, he put it in his mouth.
"You gave it to Draco?" Ron asked, trying to sound normal, though he was panicking on the inside. It was hard telling how much Draco was keeping inside. He had just wanted Harry to be able to cry a little bit and get his emotions out, but in the privacy of their room.
The class started and for the next twenty minutes nothing unusual happened. Ron started to breathe again, assuming his brothers candy was a failure. He should have known better than to question the twins genius minds though.
Draco shot up quite suddenly, making those around him jump. He was shaking and poor Pansy almost got her head sliced off when the blonde suddenly swung around, swinging the knife he had been using to chop up his potions ingredients.
"I wish it could be easy, but it never will be!" Draco yelled at the top of his lungs. He was wobbly and seemed rather drunk. "You wish and if you believe..." The blonde had tears sticking to his eyelashes. "Oh, but then fate is cruel, you know? Fate lets you dream a perfect happy illusion and then, fuck it if fate doesn't decide to bite you in the arse."
"I miss my mum and dad, you know that! That bastard some of you would call master killed them all for his plan to make me cry alone," Draco shoved his knife close to Goyle's face. Goyle let out a girl-like squeak and backed away.
"They covered it up, all of it! VOLDEMORT killed my parents on a whim, but he was punishing me!" Draco laughed. It sounded crazy.
Everyone was too stunned to do anything. Only Ron understood why Draco was suddenly acting crazy.
"I just want to cry, is that so wrong? I want it to stop and I want arms around me. My mum's arms, or even HIS arms."
Harry was astonished until Ron slipped a package into his hand.
Emotion Explode Toffee . . . why Ron? Harry shook almost as if he had taken the candy instead.
"Thought you could use the release . . . you hold it in too much. I'm sorry," Ron lowered his eyes shamefully. "I wanted it to be in private, though."
To everybody's surprise except for Ron and Hermione's, Harry stood up and walked over to Draco. Everyone else was still in shock. Even Snape was frozen in place.
"Draco, you don't have to cry alone, you know?" Harry whispered to the blonde.
"Professor, I think it's safe to say Draco has been charmed, I'll take him to the nurse." Harry looked at Snape, his eyes almost daring the man to say something to stop them from leaving.
"Oh fine," Snape snapped. "Make sure Pomfry finds out who did it." You could see him figuring out in his head how many points he would be taking from someone as soon as he found out who was at fault. Everyone was still too stunned to even wonder why Harry was calling Draco by his first name.
Draco grasped Harry's hand, crying like a pitiful child. Harry held onto him as he led him out of the classroom. He didn't take him to the nurse, though. He went to the room of requirement.