It's OK Not To Be OK (But I Promise, I'm Trying)

Chapter 24

Disclaimer: not mine

The start of the semester came as a relief to most of Gryffindor tower. The week between Christmas and New Years had been fraught with tension, as the Golden Trio was once more at odds. Ron had sulked around the tower, while Harry and Hermione had spent most of their time with Neville and Ginny, in the common room or the DA lounge.

In the lounge, they were joined by many members of the group, the older of whom knew what was going on with Ron, and supported Harry and Hermione completely. Most of them had heard at least some of the youngest Weasley male's comments.

Somewhat of a surprise was the inclusion of Viktor. He had asked Harry if he could join them during the day, since he had very little homework, and wanted to spend some more time in Hogwarts, getting to know his new friends - after all, that's what the whole tournament was about. Harry mentally grinned at that statement, reminded of Hermione's reasoning for accepting the date with Viktor in the first place.

Not much studying took place in the lounge, other than the fifth and seventh years; Harry was even able to convince Hermione to lay aside the books for a few days. Instead, they just spent time together, talking and playing games. Gobstones and Exploding Snap were the most popular, though there were a few chess matches as well - the pairings were significantly more even than whenever Ron played someone.

The tenseness had culminated in one major blowout in the common room on New Years Eve, where Hermione had yelled at Ron that if he hadn't liked her date, he should have asked her out before anyone else had the chance.

Ron hadn't had a response to that, and after a moment, Hermione had run up to the girls' dorms. Ginny had given Harry's hand a squeeze, before she followed her friend. Harry had led Ron up to their own dorm, seeing all of their roommates in the common room at that time. A quick glance at Neville confirmed that he would keep Dean and Seamus from interrupting.

Once in their dorm room, Harry locked the door and faced his friend. He took a moment to make sure that when he spoke, it would be calm and collected. "Ron, you're my best mate, but if you don't start thinking before you speak, we're going to have some serious problems."

Ron opened his mouth to talk, but Harry held up one hand, shaking his head. "Ron, you grew up in a very protected environment. You learned early on that Slytherins were bad, and Gryffindors were good. You see the world in black and white, and while that's not necessarily bad, the world doesn't really work that way. Everyone has shades of gray, even you. I'm glad that you've managed to keep yourself in check at DA meetings, around the Slytherins, but you haven't really made an effort to include them or talk with them. Not everyone in that house is a Malfoy."

Ron didn't try and speak this time; his face was turning red, but he seemed to be listening to what his friend was saying.

Harry sighed. "Ron, Viktor is a good friend. Hermione's right. The whole point of this tournament was to foster international cooperation; it's all about making new friends. So let's talk about what's really bothering you." He sat down on his bed, and gestured for Ron to sit down as well. He did so, looking decidedly uncomfortable. "Why didn't you ask Hermione to the ball?"

Ron's head jerked, and he adopted a deer in headlights expression. "Wha -" he trailed off, so Harry leaned forward.

"Ron, it's plain as day to everyone except the two of you. You fancy Hermione. So why didn't you ask her?"

Ron looked down, thinking. Finally, he spoke, his voice quiet and contemplative. "I wasn't sure how. I mean, you asked Ginny in this elaborate gesture, and Neville asked Susan, and I just didn't know what to do. I... I like her, Harry. A lot. But now she's with Krum..."