Happiness Is an Angry Weasley

For the first time in my life, I was afraid.

After Weasley walked away, I was sure he'd never speak to me again. Much less kiss me again.

That had been damn good.

Anyway, I had grown quite attached to the blasted Weasel and I didn't intend on losing him just because he was confused.

I was pleasantly surprised, after all those negative thoughts, to see him walking towards me with a confident air about him. And some sort of bag in his hand.

"Weasley, I-"

"Shut up, Malfoy. Follow me."

He was so damn confident I couldn't help but follow him.

We walked through the halls and out of the front door out onto the grounds. My eyes widened in surprise when he plunged into the Forbidden Forest. There was no way in hell I was going in there.

"Weasley, you're mad," I said, my shock at the idea of going in there evident in my voice.

He turned to me and smiled. That bloody smile would've convinced me to dye my hair brown and pretend to be Granger's brother.

I followed him in and realized we were on a trail, which was somewhat comforting. We had walked for about five minutes in silence when he stopped suddenly and announced we had arrived.

I looked around and didn't notice anything interesting until Weasley moved forward and I was allowed through a gap in the trees. In front of us was a small clearing where the grass was short in patches and filled with various wild flowers. It was nothing spectacular, just a clearing in the middle of a very thick forest, which I suppose gave it a bit of a quaint feel.

Weasley was looking at me to gauge my reaction and I shrugged. "Wicked?" I tried. He rolled his eyes and walked to a particularly large patch of the shorter grass and sat down on the ground.

I walked up and gave him a look that told him how I felt about sitting on the ground. "Afraid to get your robes dirty?" he asked innocently.

Yes, I am actually. These are very expensive robes and if they are messed up my father will murder me.

My father.

Fuck him.

Bloody hell, Weasley certainly turns me into a veritable fountain of curse words.

I sat down quickly and eyed the bag in Weasley's hand curiously. He pulled out a few containers that were opaque enough that I couldn't tell what was inside them. I realized what was going on when he pulled out dishes and bottles of butterbeer.

"Have you just taken me out on a picnic, Weasley?" I said, my eyebrow raised skeptically. His ears turned red and I realized that had been the plan.

"Oh, well. Wonderful," I said, feigning excitement. He shook his head and a small smile appeared on his lips.

"Can you ever just take something for face value and be happy with it?" he asked, opening up the containers to help himself to food. He had nicked it from the kitchens and was not going to let it go to waste, even if I was being an arse.

Completely ignoring what he said in favor of seeing what food he had brought, my eyes brightened happily. My favorite food!

"Brilliant, shepherd's pie," I said, and began putting some on my plate.

We sat there silently for a few minutes, both eating and contemplating the current situation.

Why had Weasley brought me here? To impress me? The view wasn't that great, and the food was the same food I'd had nearly every day for seven years.

Then it hit me. He was trying to impress me! Just by showing he cared about me a bit.

I looked up at him then in a whole new light. He had stolen food from the kitchen, snuck into the Forbidden Forest, and braved my cynicism and insults just to try to show me that he had decided to not completely dislike me.

"Thanks, Ron," I said quickly and quietly. I wanted him to know I appreciated it, but I wouldn't go overboard. I am still a Malfoy.

I looked up from my plate and saw him smiling at me. I knew my face was slightly flushed from embarrassment at the small amount of emotion I had shown him. It was something I wasn't used to. I both liked and disliked it at the same time.

We ate in silence and when we were finished, cleaned up the mess together and stood. I didn't know what was supposed to happen next. Do we talk about liking each other? Do we kiss? Do I tell him to owl me?

He answered the question for me by taking my hand and beginning to walk back. Not for the first time in the past couple of hours, I was utterly shocked.

We walked together comfortably, though there was a bit of tension in the air from the unsaid things we were both thinking.

"I'd like to give it a try," Ron said. I looked at him curiously. "Us, I mean," he clarified. His ears were red. He was serious.

"We'll have to keep it secret," I said, watching to see if that hurt him. He just nodded. He knew as well as I did that a relationship between the two of us was something that couldn't happen in public. At least not with the current situation outside of Hogwarts grounds.

I stopped abruptly and he looked at me questioningly. "This is mad," I said, completely seriously. He laughed and I grinned, the first real grin I think I've ever done.

"I suppose it is," he said. I leaned in then to kiss him, having wanted to do so again since we stopped the night before.

It was much different than the one from last night. It was tentative, shy, almost as though we were asking each other with our actions if this was alright.

Hell no, it's not alright. And I know it isn't. But I want it to be.

I kissed him a little harder and cupped his cheek with my free hand. It may not be right, but I'm going to bloody well enjoy it while it lasts.

We parted after a moment, both of us slightly out of breath, and exchanged nervous smiles.

Damn it, why does he do this to me? I've never felt this way before and I don't like not being in control.

We continued walking, the tension now lifted so the air was clear.

We stopped right at the edge of the woods and looked at each other. We both knew we had to resume our usual act the moment we left the safety of the woods.

He squeezed my hand, and then let go. When we walked out of the forest that day, I was happier than I had ever been.

And as confused and frustrated as the whole thing left me, I wanted more.

-------------------------

Pansy Parkinson was a nosy witch. She knew it. The whole population of the school knew it. She just liked to know what was going on, and if that meant asking everyone for everything they knew and exchanging her own information for it, then so be it.

So when Pansy witnessed two people who supposedly hated each other exiting the Forbidden Forest together, she knew she had some wonderful gossip to bargain with.

"How much did Lucius Malfoy say he'd pay me for information on his son's indiscretions?" she asked herself, curiously.

Afterall, a father has to keep an eye out for his son. If that meant being sneaky to find out when he needed to appropriately punish his son, then Lucius Malfoy was willing to do whatever it took.

Pansy smiled to herself and walked to the Owlery with a new skip in her step. She had been eyeing a new set of dress robes in Hogsmeade, and this information would definitely get her the money she needed.