A Cup of Tea, Please

13 | A Friend for a Friend

Harry squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to somehow deafen himself. He knew Ron wasn't going to be happy, and he would find out in less than a few seconds.

"Listen! Before you say anything," Harry started, whipping around before Ron could even open his mouth, "Malfo— Draco has changed a lot, okay? He's not the stupid git you think he is. He knows all the shit he's done and——"

"Harry, mate, what are you on?" Ron asked calmly, though Harry could see the anger bubbling up inside of him, even all he could see was just his head. "Draco? What has he done to you? Since when are you on first name terms? Are you fucking insane?"

"He hasn't done anything to me, you just——"

"Oh that bloody git definitely has," Ron seethed, his face turning red. Harry started to hear a ticking timebomb counting down the seconds before his best friend would explode with rage. "There's no way that you, in your right mind, would——"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?" Harry yelled,
gripping onto the wooden spatula as if it were a weapon as he finally lost his temper. "I think that I would know if Draco laced my fucking drink with something. I'm not a vulnerable baby you have to look out for—I'm almost a grown man and even you aren't treating me like one."

"Fucking hell Harry," Ron said, shooting Harry a sidelong glance, "you're talking to Malfoy, thinking that it's all okay just because he said so. Where's your common sense?"

"Get out of my kitchen," Harry murmured, eyeing Ron with such intensity that it felt like he was trying to cast a hex without anything but his eyes. Though, he may as well be.

"It isn't your kitchen."

"Well it is now. Leave."

"Don't even try to talk to me again if you're valuing Malfoy over your best friend. Somebody who's hated your guts for years over somebody who's been by your side ever since the first day."

"The difference is that he's not the fucking same. He has no friends anymore and——"

"Karma."

"What?"

"He had what was coming to him."

Harry's fists were clenched so hard that his nails dug into his skin, but he didn't care. The pain paled in comparison to witnessing his best friend acting like this.

He wanted to punch Ron in the face for acting like such a twat, but there was little he could do without stepping into the Burrow and having the rest of the Weasleys see it.

"Get. Out."

Harry faced away from, who he used to consider, his best friend, not wanting to see his face again. It hurt to see Ron saying such senseless things. He knew Ron was better than this. What made him stoop so low?

The room fell silent. Harry turned to look at the fireplace but in place of Ron's head were radiant gold flames dancing happily. What a fucking idiot.

Harry peered down into the pot he'd originally been stirring but he felt like he was full already. His stomach twisted into a knot as he waved his wand over the pot and all the ingredients separated back into their original states, which he put in the fridge.

Even in bed, Harry felt his stomach twist into countless knots at the thought of being on horrible terms with Ron just because of Draco. A part of him wanted to write to Draco and cancel the day out tomorrow, but then he remembered that he didn't have Hedwig anymore and going through the hassle of buying another owl just for this would be futile.