gryffindors and slytherins are a bad match
“Close your mouth, Weasley,” Potter says, and Ron feels his ears burn as his hand twitches for his wand. “I’m not here for a fight.”
“Unless you want one, of course,” he adds, tone mischievous. Ron wants to wipe the smug look off his face.
“You think I’m dumb enough to fall for this again?” He snaps, remembering the humiliation that was the first year. “What, feeling brave-”
Hermione cuts him off, stepping in front of the redhead. “Fighting between classmates is forbidden,” she reminds them, voice firm, and Ron stiffens as she looks back at him with a warning glance. “If you’re trying to provoke us, it won’t work.”
Ron feels his ears burn. It’s working on me, he thinks miserably.
Potter’s smirk falters slightly, his eyes narrowing as he looks at the both of them. “What’s this, Granger?” He says lightly, voice carrying a faintly mocking tone. Ron shivers, an uneasy feeling running down his spine. He’s not sure why, but he thinks the Slytherin is mad. “Defending your boyfriend, are you?”
The redhead shrinks behind Hermione when Potter’s eyes land on him.
“For your information, Potter , I don’t need to date Ron to defend him,” Hermione says coldly, expression not wavering. “If you have anything you want to say to him, then say it now. Otherwise, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t block the entrance to our common room.”
Potter exhales sharply. “I’m not sure Ron would appreciate that, would he? Afterall, it’s a secret between the two of us.” He emphasizes the word secret and the redhead groans silently, stuck between the two of them.
Hermione turns to him, furrowing her eyebrows as she tries to catch his gaze.
“We can talk,” He finally mutters, avoiding her eyes. “Besides, you were just saying how I needed to have a conversation with him, weren't you ‘Mione?”
“This isn’t what I meant and you know-“
The Slytherin steps forward, cutting her off. “See, Granger? No need to worry.”
He drapes his arm around the redhead’s shoulder, and he feels his stomach clench in anxiety. Ron tries to shrug him off but Potter tightens his grip, a clear unspoken warning. “Just a friendly chat between housemates.”
”Right, friendly,” the redhead forces out, tone lacking conviction. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be back before you know it.”
Hermione watches them go, narrowing her eyes at the casual touch. She bites her lip, expression souring when Ron doesn’t fight back and follows quietly.
Ron feels a pang of panic hit as he’s led further and further away from the common room.
He glances up at Potter, who's staring at him with an unreadable expression. “You’re not actually going to kill me, are you?” he says bravely, trying to keep his voice steady.
Potter barks out a laugh, the sound echoing in the empty corridor. “If I kill you, then who’s going to grant me my wish?” This close to him, Ron can see a small scratch that starts from his eyebrow, narrowly missing his eye. “Did you sneak out from the hospital wing?” He blurts out, heart pounding when he realizes what he said.
“Why?” The Slytherin asks, eyes crinkling in amusement. “Are you worried?”
Ron shrugs off his arm, frowning. “You could’ve just told me what you wanted back there,” he says instead, ignoring the question.
Potter doesn’t comment on the change of topic. “I thought you didn’t want people to know you went around making bets with me,” He finally says sourly. “We can go back if you want.”
The offer lingers in the air.
The redhead thinks back to Hermione’s questioning gaze and shakes his head. “We’re already here, aren’t we?” He says, tearing his eyes away from the bespectacled boy.
Potter watches as he moves away, grinning in amusement. “You do know what I’m going to ask, right?”
”If I knew that, then we wouldn’t be here then, would we?” He mutters, rolling his eyes. He watches Potter out of the corner of his eyes, swiping his hair out of his face.
“Surely you can’t be that daft, Weasley,” he yells out after him, a hint of something creeping into his voice. “Considering everything I’ve done for you this far-”
“Bloody hell,” Ron cries out, tired of the back and forth. The moonlight shines down on them and he blinks, swallowing down his protest when he sees the desperate look in Potter's eyes.
“Just tell me what you want, Harry.” He says quietly, heart pounding in his ears.
Potter sighs, staring at him with an emotion that the Gryffindor can’t place and that scares him. “Just go back, Ron. I don’t want it to be like this.”
Ron turns around and runs.