Sorry this chapter is so short. I really didn't have a lot to work with, as the majority of this chapter is spent away from Harry. However, I did want to let it be known that Ron was angry more out of feeling betrayed than of thinking that Harry wanted more fame. That is part of it, and will be explored, but initially, it's because of the feeling of betrayal.

Chapter 95: Betrayed

There was no applause. No cheers. Harry sat there, looking dumbstruck as angry mumbles started to fill the Great Hall.

Up at the top table, Professor McGonagall had got to her feet and swept past Ludo Bagman and Professor Karkaroff to whisper urgently to Professor Dumbledore, who bent his ear toward her, frowning slightly.

Harry turned to Hermione and I. "I didn't put my name in," Harry said blankly. "You know I didn't."

Hermione and I could do nothing but stare.

"Harry Potter!" he called again. "Harry! Up here, if you please!"

"Go on," Hermione whispered, giving Harry a slight push.

Harry got to his feet, trod on the hem of his robes, and stumbled slightly. He set off up the gap between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. He disappeared through the door.

The instant the door closed, the hall erupted in a mix of anger, ("WHAT THE FUCK! HE'S ONLY 14! HARRY POTTER GETS TO DO EVERYTHING!") astonishment ("This can't be happening, he's way too young"), and admiration. The admiration coming from the Gryffindors.

"THAT FUCKING WANKER, HE DID IT!" cheered Seamus as he high fived Dean.

"I can't believe it! Harry really pulled it off! My boy Harry!" yelled Fred.

"PARTY IN THE COMMON ROOM!" yelled Lee Jordan foolishly, in front of teachers and everything.

Hermione looked at me wide eyed. I had no idea what to say. It was like my voice had been stolen.

"Ron?" she whispered. "Ron, what do we..."

I just shook my head slowly. I vaguely hears when Dumbledore quickly dismissed us to our houses.

I got up and didn't even realize I was walking until I heard a very annoying voice come from behind me.

"Scarface just had to have the glory again this year, didn't he Weasel?" said Malfoy.

I turned around quickly, fists clenched. "Fuck off, Malfoy!"

"So how did he do it, Weasley?" asked Malfoy, sneering. "Your pathetic brothers got stumped by the aging line, so how the hell did he pull it off?"

"Harry didn't do anything." I said, not even sure of my own words.

"Come on, Ron." I heard Hermione say from behind me, her hand tugging at my arm.

Malfoy's eyebrows raised. "Ohhhh, so it looks like he didn't tell you how he did it huh? Wow, that's surprising. I thought you two lovers were supposed to be best mates."

"HE IS MY BEST MATE!" I yelled.

"Is he really? Why wouldn't he tell you how he entered his name so you could blindly follow behind him and do the same? He doesn't need those galleons, he doesn't need any glory. Funny he left his apparent best mate out the loop. Knowing you and your family don't have two Knuts to rub together. What a lovely conversation you two will be having tonight."

Malfoy and his friends laughed and then walked off, leaving me there to mull over his words.

He couldn't have. Harry would have never done that. He would have told me how, he would have. We didn't keep secrets from each other. Of course he would have told me.

Would he?

"Ron, you know that-"

"He couldn't have." I mumbled. "He wouldn't have."

"Exactly what I was about to say to-"

"But his name was in there, Hermione." I said, my temper starting to show. "You heard it, Hermione. It wasn't a mistake."

Hermione looked devastated at me. "Oh Ron, you can't possibly believe he would enter that thing!"

"Why wouldn't he? When my brother asked him the other day, he didn't say yes or no, you were there! Fuck, Hermione!" I said, feeling my cheeks grow hot."

"Ron, please!"

"He didn't tell me, Hermione, he didn't tell me a thing!"

I stormed up the stairs. I could hear Hermione's feet hurrying behind me, her calling my name. I didn't want to stop and be bothered by anything she had to say.

Harry, how could he? I didn't want to believe it, I really didn't. But how could I not? He would never answer for certain when people would ask, he did indeed seem just as interested as I was. If I knew a way around that ruddy goblet I damn well would have told him. So why didn't he tell me?

When I reached the common room, I was bombarded by people asking me left and right what Harry had done. All I could do was shrug. How could I answer the question when I didn't know myself?

"Ron? Are you okay?" asked Ginny, coming up to me. The look on her face told me that she wouldn't buy it if I said I was fine.

"I don't know." I said truthfully. "I mean...how did this happen?"

"I don't know what to think either." said Ginny. "I'm just so worried about him. I can only imagine what they are telling him. I hope they say he can't compete."

"Yeah." I said dismissively.

"Ron! Can we please just talk!" said Hermione, finally catching up with me.

"I don't want to talk about it, Mione."

"Wait, talk about what?"

"Malfoy said some things downstairs to Ron, about Harry." explained Hermione. "Come on, Ron, maybe we should wait for Harry. He will straighten this all out."

"What did Malfoy say? What did-"

"I don't want to, Hermione. I just want to go to bed."

"Oh no you don't, Ronald Weasley! You're just gonna go up there and sulk about things and really believe that Harry did this on his own!"

Ginny gasped. "Ron, you wouldn't!"

"Well, what the bloody hell am I supposed to think when his name got pulled out of that fucking thing, Gin?!" I snapped. "What if he really did?!"

The Fat Lady's friend Violet came into an empty portrait to announce that Harry was going to be able to participate. The common room erupted with even louder cheers. Fred and George ran off to Merlin knew where.

I didn't want to hear any more. I ran up to my dorm and laid down on my bed.

How could he? Did he really? My head felt like 1,000 pounds of pressure had been applied to it.

I laid up there sulking for at least an hour. The dorm door opened and in stepped Harry, the same lost look on his face as he had when I last saw him.

"Where've you been?" Harry said.

"Oh hello," I said, without thinking I forced a grin as I looked at the Gryffindor banner tied around him. Harry struggled to take it off.

"So," I said, when Harry had finally removed the banner and thrown it into a corner. "Congratulations."

"What do you mean, congratulations?" said Harry, staring at me, as if he were confused by my words.

"Well, no one else got across the Age Line. Not even Fred and George. What did you use, the Invisibility Cloak?" I asked.

"The Invisibility Cloak wouldn't have got me over that line," said Harry slowly.

"Oh right," I agreed, nodding. "I thought you might've told me if it was the cloak...because it would've covered both of us, wouldn't it? But you found another way, did you?"

"Listen," said Harry, "I didn't put my name in that goblet. Someone else must've done it."

I raised his eyebrows. For some reason, I couldn't believe him.

"What would they do that for?" I asked.

"I dunno," said Harry.

"It's okay, you know, you can tell me the truth," I said, trying to reassure him. To remind him who his best mate was. "If you don't want everyone else to know, fine, but I don't know why you're bothering to lie, you didn't get into trouble for it, did you? That friend of the Fat Lady's, that Violet, she's already told us all Dumbledore's letting you enter. A thousand Galleons prize money, eh? And you don't have to do end-of-year tests either."

"I didn't put my name in that goblet!" shouted Harry.

"Yeah, okay," I said, skeptically. "Only you said this morning you'd have done it last night, and no one would've seen you. I'm not stupid, you know."

"You're doing a really good impression of it," Harry snapped.

My forced grin quickly disappeared "Yeah? You want to get to bed, Harry. I expect you'll need to be up early tomorrow for a photo-call or something."

I pulled the curtain shut around my bed. My best mate. My own best mate wouldn't even tell me. I felt a tear I didn't know was there sliding down my cheek, the room being so silent, I heard it crash onto my pillow.

I had never felt so betrayed.