The Corresponding Emotion

"No begging."

"No begging." Ron's mouth felt dry, and he picked anxiously at the neck of his new shirt.

"Stop fidgeting." Malfoy swatted his hands away. "No fighting, no arguing. And no tales of woe or anything else. You need to make Potter think you haven't lost a wink of sleep over him and that you couldn't care less about his engagement."

Ron nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay."

"I'll come over after a few minutes, and that'll really make his day." Malfoy looked positively gleeful at the idea of springing this 'surprise' on Harry. Ron didn't know whether to find that amusing or a little bit sick. "Go on, then," he said, giving Ron a little shove out the door onto the boardwalk leading over the dunes and down to the beach.

I can do this, I can do this, Ron repeated mentally. His stomach filled with a mixture of anticipation and dread as he approached the spot on the beach where Harry and Jennifer were basking in the sun, completely oblivious to anything around them.

He took a deep breath and stepped up behind their beach chairs. "Hello!" he said brightly.

If he weren't so nervous, he would have found the way Harry yelped and nearly fell out of his chair highly amusing.

"Ron?" Harry croaked.

"Hello," Ron repeated, feeling quite foolish. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," said Jennifer, pulling her bag off the seat beside her, away from Harry. "Please, have a seat."

Ron looked at the offered chair for a moment, shrugged, and pulled up another from a few feet away so that he was facing the both of them. "So," he said, sitting down and getting comfortable, "you must be Jennifer."

"I am," she answered, giving him an unimpressed look.

"Let me get a good look at the girl who stole Harry's heart," he replied. It was hard to say that and keep a pleasant, conversational tone, but somehow he managed.

Harry blinked, and his mouth hung open very unattractively.

"I didn't steal anything that didn't want to be stolen," Jennifer said coolly.

"Ouch," Ron said with an exaggerated wince. "She's a smart one, Harry. Hermione would approve, I think."

"Look, Ron - " Harry began, looking between them with an uncomfortable sort of expression, but Ron cut him off midsentence.

"No, really, Harry, I didn't come here for a fight," Ron said, putting his hand briefly on Harry's arm before leaning back in his beach chair with what he hoped was a contented-sounding sigh. "I just wanted to make sure you hadn't been captured by some leftover Death Eaters and Imperio'd into anything not quite on or anything, but I can see you're just fine, and that's great. I'm glad you're having a marvellous time - you know, you deserve a little fun after years and years of boring war..." Ron made a vague gesture with one hand as if to say 'and everything else along with it'.

"Er..." said Harry.

"What?" Ron asked.

"It's just that you seem so... er... different."

Ron leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, dropping his voice a little. "You know... it's so odd. I think I'm going through some kind of phase or something. Hermione would probably know what to call it, I'll have to ask her. See... after I talked to you, I decided to get on a plane and get over here to get you back." He made a swooping 'flying' sort of gesture with one hand, complete with sound effects. "Because I told myself there's no way that everything we'd been through together, in school and in the war and all that would be just thrown away for nothing, you know? So I bought a ticket, got on a plane, made it over the big blue ocean - and then - " He paused dramatically, and then added, "The most incredible thing happened."

Harry blinked. "What?" he asked, leaning in a little.

"Everything went wrong."

"What happened?"

Ron shrugged. "Oh, I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say that nothing all went like I expected it to. I had time to do a lot of thinking, and I realised that we've all been living in the past, you know? This isn't school anymore, there's a whole world out there just waiting for us to grow up and explore it, and I think I was sort of hiding behind Harry Potter most of my life and not taking the steps I should have to do stuff on my own."

"Did Hermione tell you to say that?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Oh no, I've only talked to her briefly since I've been here," said Ron. "She was worried sick about you, since all she's heard from you is what she's read in the Daily Prophet. Along with Luna, Neville, Ginny, Mum and Dad, my brothers...."

Harry had the grace to look ashamed about that. "I didn't know what to say, really," he said, glancing quickly at Jennifer. The guilty, it's-all-my-fault expression that furrowed Harry's forehead made Ron feel a little bad about the act he was putting on, but he pressed on. So far, so good.

"No, it's okay, really," said Ron. "I'll let them know you're happy and in one piece. It'll save you the trouble of having to explain the same thing over and over again." He patted Harry on the knee before sitting back again. "This whole thing has been very educational, and it's really opened my eyes to things that I never would have realised before if you hadn't broken things off when you did."

"Realise things?" Harry asked. "What kind of things?"

But before Ron could reply, he heard Malfoy pipe up behind him, "There you are, Ron! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Harry stared at Malfoy for a moment, then rubbed his eyes hard as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Ma - Malfoy?" Harry stammered, his voice nearly a squeak.

"Hello, Potter," Malfoy said civilly, pulling a chair up beside Ron's and arranging a nearby umbrella to shade both him and Ron. "Having a relaxing holiday?" He turned to Jennifer, giving her a brilliant smile that displayed his perfectly white and even teeth. "I'm completely astounded as to how Potter managed to land someone as beautiful as you. You must be Jennifer."

"I am," she replied, blushing, and held out her hand for him to shake. When he took it and kissed her knuckles, she blushed even harder. Ron had to fight the urge to roll his eyes.

"Er," said Harry, making a rather alarming sputtering noise. "You - he - Ron?"

"Harry, are you all right?" asked Ron, peering at him.

"Yes, I'm fine," he replied. "It's just - you - Malfoy - "

"Draco was nice enough to give me a ride to the coast," Ron replied, surprised at how easy it was to call him Draco. "He's been incredibly helpful these last few days. I never would have thought it, but Draco's actually quite nice once you get to know him." Kill me now, he thought to himself.

Malfoy missed this entire exchange, as he had quickly drawn Jennifer into an animated conversation about the resort and its amenities. The whole time Malfoy had been talking to her to her, she hadn't glanced in Harry's direction even once, and Ron could tell the entire situation was about to make Harry's head explode.

"What is he doing in the States, anyway?" Harry asked, when it was clear that Jennifer and Malfoy were completely absorbed in their own conversation.

Ron stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Besides what we do together? You know... I'm not sure..."

"I need a drink," said Harry.

"That was bloody brilliant!" said Ron, as soon as they were out of earshot. "Did you see him? He totally didn't know what hit him!"

"Congratulations, Weasley, you managed to actually remember something I told you for a change," said Malfoy. "I told you it would work; I'm always right about this sort of thing."

Ron did a sort of ecstatic hop-skipping thing across the boardwalk that made Malfoy back up a few steps in alarm. "He was so shocked about you he couldn't think of anything to say. It totally blew his mind!"

"Don't get too full of Gryffindor cockiness yet," said Malfoy irritably. "This is only step one. You've still got dinner with him tonight, where you're going to pretend to be working out the details of your break-up. If you can keep your brain cells in line and don't do anything stupid, tomorrow he'll have forgotten all about her."

"Right, okay," said Ron, bringing himself back to earth. "I can do this."

"I'm thirsty," Malfoy said abruptly. "Wait here, I'll be back." And with that, he strolled off to a lemonade vendor a few yards away, not waiting for Ron to follow.

"He sure is grumpy," Ron mumbled to himself, plopping down on a nearby bench. "Who took a piss in his porridge this morning?"

"That's a good question, Weasley," said a voice Ron hadn't heard in a long time.

When he looked over to see Pansy Parkinson sitting at the other end of the bench, he nearly choked. "Parkinson?"

"Hello," she said, pulling an official-looking badge from the pocket of her summery, Muggle-style dress.

Wonder how many other Slytherins are lurking in the sand dunes, Ron thought to himself, as he peered at Parkinson's badge. It was embossed with the logo of the Ministry's Magical Law Enforcement Division. "What the sod have you got that for?"

"I need to talk to you about Draco," she said quietly, her voice full of concern.

Ron glanced over his shoulder at Malfoy, who was chatting up the pretty girl behind the lemonade cart. He turned back to Parkinson. "What about him?"

"The necklace," she said. "I assume you've seen it?"

"He was silly and didn't declare it," Ron chuckled. "Is it a large fine he'll have to pay?"

"If it was his necklace, it wouldn't be anything to worry about," said Parkinson. "But it isn't. It was his mother's, and she knows he stole it, and she wants it back. Very badly."

An ugly knot twisted itself up in Ron's stomach. "So... why don't you just arrest him, then?"

"I don't want to arrest him - but I can't just let this go. Narcissa Malfoy is making this very, very ugly, and there's no way to keep it out of the papers," she said. "But if Draco returns the necklace before she can press official charges, he can stay out of it. I've tried to get him to do it, and he's not having it, and while I've managed to delay her this long, I can't put her off forever. He's just not wanting to let go of it."

"Because of the resort," said Ron. "He wants to sell it to have enough cash to buy the property."

Parkinson nodded. "I see he's told you about his idea."

"Yeah, he did."

"I don't know why he's taken up with you, but I don't have time to figure it out right now. If he returns the necklace by tomorrow, she won't press charges. But if he keeps putting it off, I won't be able to help him anymore." She slipped her badge back into her pocket and pulled out a small slip of parchment with her handwriting on it. "I don't know why you two are so friendly lately, but maybe you can talk to him about the necklace? Here's how you can get in touch with me."

Ron tucked the slip of parchment into his pocket. "I'll try," he said.

By the time Malfoy returned with two large lemonades, Parkinson had slipped away.

On the way back through the hotel lobby, Malfoy said, "Tomorrow, I'm going to sell my necklace. I've found the perfect place for it, and I'm sure I'll get a good price." He looked around the elegant interior of the hotel with a smile on his face. "And then I'll be able to start on a place like this of my own."

Worth a try, thought Ron. "Look, Malfoy - why don't you let me sell the necklace for you?"

"You, Weasley?" Malfoy stopped mid-step in surprise. "What would I do that for?"

"Well..." said Ron, stalling for time while he thought of a reason. "Because... I am me, and you are...you, and..."

"Ah, yes. You've got that whole air of honesty going about you. Like you wouldn't dare be trying to run up the price as high as you possibly could."

"Er... something like that."

Malfoy laughed. "You're such a Gryffindor. But I think that's actually a good idea. If you take the necklace.... yes. You actually have good ideas once in a while, believe it or not."

"You know, a large part of this plan hinges on you actually coming out of the bathroom at some point in the evening," said Malfoy, his voice muffled by the closed bathroom door.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up, I'll be out in a minute," said Ron. He slipped the parchment with Parkinson's information on it into the pocket of his suit and straightened his tie. He'd never worn a Muggle suit before, and it felt strange, but Malfoy assured him that for dinner in the hotel's best restaurant, a jacket and tie were absolutely required. It almost felt like it did before his first Quidditch game; in the last hour or so he'd taken a piss twice, brushed his teeth four times, combed his hair seven times, retied his shoes three times, and paced back and forth so many times he thought there might be worn spots on the bathroom tiles.

Here goes nothing, he thought, and opened the door.

Malfoy scrutinised him. "I suppose that will do," he said, crossing the room to eye him more closely. "But I think you're going to need a little luck." He reached into his own pocket and pulled out the glittering necklace.

"Oh no," said Ron. "I'm not wearing that, no way."

"I insist," said Malfoy. "It's got some powerful magic engraved into the metal and charmed into the stones. Attraction magic. You saw the inscription, didn't you? And don't worry - Potter won't be able to see it. It's invisible, once it's on."

"But - that - "

Malfoy ignored Ron's protests, loosening Ron's tie and the top buttons of his shirt before Ron could swat him away. His fingers moved quickly over Ron's skin, brushing along the back of his neck as he fastened the clasp with a tiny click.

"There," Malfoy said softly. The tips of his fingers lingered briefly on the clasp before he did up Ron's shirt buttons and re-knotted his tie. "You'd think someone your age would know how to tie a tie properly."

"There's nothing wrong with the way I tie my tie!" Ron protested, but it wasn't as vehement a protest as he meant to make because he was distracted by the way the tip of Malfoy's tongue darted out between his lips as he concentrated on the tie.

"It's a travesty. And I can't tie with you standing like this. Turn around." He grasped Ron by the shoulders and turned him around so that he could reach around him and get a better angle to tie. "Now, let's review. Pretend for a moment that I'm Potter."

"And I'll be me," said Ron, trying to ignore the way that Malfoy's breath tickled the back of his neck.

Malfoy tugged the silken fabric into a neat knot and smoothed it down. "I'm thinking that I'm wishing I hadn't dumped you, and that I'm a complete and total idiot. A brainless, spineless, speccy -"

"Okay, okay, I get the idea," said Ron, swatting at Malfoy's hands.

Malfoy let go of Ron's tie and smoothed Ron's jacket over his shoulders. "And over dinner, it just hits me that this feels right. What are you going to say to me?"

The necklace felt like a heavy weight around Ron's neck. "I don't know," he said softly. "I don't know when to stop pretending and tell him that I..." He couldn't finish the sentence, because he didn't know how he could say what he wanted to say. He wasn't even sure what it was he wanted to say.

"That you love him and you want him back?" Malfoy said hoarsely.

"Yeah."

"You'll know when," said Malfoy. "And then you'll tell him, and then... that will be that." He paused, his hands stilling on Ron's shoulders. "Do you know what I am going to do to ensure your victory?"

"What?" asked Ron suspiciously.

"Jennifer."

"Jennifer?"

"She'll be feeling a bit... lonely. A little sad that her fiancé is having dinner with his ex-boyfriend, a little insecure... I will go to her and I will comfort her."

"Oh," said Ron. Somehow this didn't appeal to him as much as he thought it probably should. "Well, I wouldn't want you to do anything too unpleasant," he said, slipping away from Malfoy's hands.

"The sacrifices I make for you, Weasley," Malfoy said lightly.

Ron felt the corner of his mouth turn up as he fidgeted with his cuffs. "But what about your little problem?"

"I don't think that little problem will be much of a problem this evening," Malfoy said confidently. "So I'll find her, and talk to her a bit, and then -"

"Too much information, Malfoy," said Ron quickly, interrupting before Malfoy could go into details he realised he didn't really want to hear about.

Ron couldn't go into the restaurant right away. He stood out in the corridor for a few moments, taking deep breaths and trying to calm himself down. This was his one chance to set things right with Harry, and if he didn't do things just so, he could ruin everything. He hoped he'd know when to stop pretending. Malfoy had said he'd know, but while Malfoy seemed to have decent enough advice in general, he didn't know Harry.

He just had to know when to stop pretending and start being himself.

There was one thing he wasn't going to be able to do, though. No matter how good Malfoy's intentions were, Ron could not bring himself to wear the necklace. It seemed doubly wrong, somehow; wearing a stolen necklace to unknowingly influence Harry in whatever fashion, perhaps even like a love charm? It was too much like Hermione tricking the house elves with those hats for his comfort.

He slipped his fingers under the collar of his shirt, flicking the clasp loose, then slipped the necklace into his pocket before going to meet Harry.