| Death Eater's love | Blairon |

Chapter XI

The Golden Trio met in the common room in the late afternoon. Harry took the sofa. Ronald and Hermione sat in the armchairs on either side of the furniture.

"How on earth did you manage to get an appointment with the nurse and a chat with McGonagall after literally ONE lesson with Zabini?" Harry asked. He stretched out like a cat on the couch and took its entire length.

"I told you - he said something he shouldn't have said." Ron, as if he was still standing in the library in front of the Slytherin, clenched his fists. Hermione shook her head.

"And you did something you shouldn't have done. You should't punch that jerk."

"You know I won't let them call you names, Herm. You are like a sister to me and I would never let anything bad happen to you. And certainly not because of that cocky bastard."

"Ron, I've managed to ignore them for so many years that their words really mean nothing to me anymore. But you mean a lot and I wouldn't want you to get in trouble because of such ill-considered actions." The boy smiled slightly.

"That's cute. Do I mean a lot to you too?" A question came from the direction of the couch.

"Not really, no." Hermione replied, so Harry dramatically grabbed his chest and gasped.

"Words can hurt, Hermione. An example of this is Ronald's facial condition." A grimace appeared on Ronald's face.  "Look at him, he looks almost as hurt as Malfoy when I grabbed the Golden Snitch right in front of him today."

"Very funny Pottah. Wait until my father hears out about this." Ron imitated Malfoy.

"Oh, I'm sure he will." Harry grinned and closed his eyes. Weasley only now noticed the dark circles under his eyes that stood out against his complexion.

It was evident that he was exhausted, but he tried to hide it.
The redhead knew that terrible nightmares plagued his friend. He had barely slept since the beginning of the year, and when he did, he woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. 

One night, when Ron opened his eyes, he noticed that the green-eyed boy was standing in the doorway with the invisibility cloak in his hand.

"Harry? What are you doing in the middle of the night?"

"Go back to sleep Ron, I need to check something." The blood drained from the boy's face and his fingers turned white from gripping the map.

"What? I-I won't sleep until you tell me what's going on." Gryffindor didn't want to let his friend leave the room. He looked downright terrified in the moonlight, and it made Ron's blood run cold.

"I had a dream about someone entering Hogwarts through a secret passage. Malfoy must be up to something, perhaps he knows about it. I saw him on the map." He unfolded the paper and handed it to the redhead.

Ronald doubted that his friend would ever overcome his paranoia and live a normal life. That he would be able to think, study or work like a teenager, and not as "The Chosen One".
That he would ever be able just to be Harry Potter and not That Harry Potter.

That night, Ron locked the door to prevent his roommate from leaving unnoticed and kept watch over him throughout the night.

He couldn't forget the look on Harry's face. And now he was lying on the couch in front of him, with a slight smile on his lips and closed eyes. He was looking like another person. Ronald preferred that smiling Harry much more than the other one.

Ronald knew he couldn't let anything hurt his friends physically or mentally because he felt their pain as much as they did themselves. And if he could take away all their negative feelings forever - he would do it. He would carry the burden on his shoulders to keep them safe.

So if staying close to the Slytherins, talking to them, and hitting them occasionally would keep the insulting words away from his friends - he will do anything in his power to be there. For them.