WHEN FIRE DANCES WITH SILK || DRACO MALFOY x OC

Chapter Fifty-one - Ron falls hard for... Poisoned Mead?

Third-person POV

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Sienna burst into the Gryffindor boys dorm on the morning of Ron's birthday. He was sitting on his bed with a pile of presents.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROONIL!" she screamed, making the boys jump.

"Sienna!" said Harry.

"Hullo," she said back, chucking her present for Ron into his pile.

"Want one?" said Ron thickly, holding out a box of Chocolate Cauldrons.

"No thanks," said Harry, looking up.

Sienna shook her head.

"Malfoy's gone again!" said Harry. Sienna scoffed.

"What's got your wand in a knot?" asked Harry.

"Can't have done," said Ron, stuffing a second Cauldron into his mouth as he slid out of bed to get dressed.

"Nothing, Draco cheated on me at the beginning of the term remember?" she said.

"Right," Harry responded.

"Come on if you don't hurry up you'll have to Apparate on an empty-stomach...might make it easier, I suppose..." Ron looked thoughtfully at the box of Chocolate Cauldrons, then shrugged and helped himself to a third.

Harry tapped the map with his wand, muttered, "Mischief managed, and got dressed, thinking hard. There had to be an explanation for Malfoy's periodic disappearances, but he simply could not think what it could be. The best way of finding out would be to tail him, but even with the Invisibility Cloak this was an impractical idea; he had lessons, Quidditch practice, homework and Apparition; he could not follow Malfoy around school all day without his absence being remarked upon.

Sienna was thinking of the cold shoulder Draco had been giving her since the break. She'd stayed with Harry a lot now in hopes of getting a glimpse of Draco, seeing as they liked insulting each other.

"Ready?" he said to Ron. Sienna and Harry were halfway to the dormitory door when they realized that Ron had not moved, but was leaning on his bedpost, staring out of the rain-washed window with a strangely unfocused look on his face.

"Ron? Breakfast."

"I'm not hungry."

Harry stared at him. "I thought you just said —?"

"Well, all right, I'll come down with you," sighed Ron, "but I don't want to eat." Harry scrutinized him suspiciously.

"You've just eaten half a box of Chocolate Cauldrons, haven't you?"

"It's not that," Ron sighed again. "You...you wouldn't understand."

Sienna and Harry changed their looks. Ron? Skipping food? Made no sense.

"Fair enough," said Harry, albeit puzzled, as he turned to open the door.

"Harry!" said Ron suddenly.

"What?"

"Harry, I can't stand it!"

"You can't stand what?" asked Harry, now starting to feel definitely alarmed. Ron was rather pale and looked as though he was about to be sick.

"I can't stop thinking about her!" said Ron hoarsely. Harry gaped at him. He had not expected this and was not sure he wanted to hear it. Friends they might be, but if Ron started calling Lavender "Lav-Lav", he would have to put his foot down.