AUTHOR's NOTES:

Cookies get passed out to Strykker, Cat 15, and ReflectionsofReality – and even though Reflections "went over the ins and outs" of the sex scene for me, I swear I did not tell him who it was, he really did guess… I guess he just knows me that well… *grin* and he also gets *Hugs* for the last minute beta.

Let's get right to the story shall we… we can chat afterwards.

=== (Re-cap of last cliffhanger)

"Draco, next time we do this, I think I should be on top." Harry said, grinning slyly at his companion.

"What makes you think there is going to be a next time?" cut in a male voice.

Harry stared blankly at Draco as it began to register in his mind that the words hadn't come from Draco's mouth. The voice was very familiar, it sounded almost like… but no, it couldn't be.

====

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CHAPTER 7: What? No Cuddling??

Harry's breath caught in his throat as he saw a tall lanky teenager emerge from the shadows, his red hair shining brightly in the dim candlelight. He watched in horror as his best friend walked over and draped an arm around Draco's shoulder.

"Ron??… I don't understand?" said Harry, his voice trembling slightly.

"Why does that not surprise me?" said Ron condescendingly as he stared back at him coldly. "If it wasn't for me and Mione' you would never understand anything. I sometimes wonder how you even manage to get your shoes on the right feet in the morning. But I guess I shouldn't complain, if you weren't so thick it would have made our plan much more difficult to execute."

"What plan? Ron…what? I… "

"Our little plan… Mine and Draco's. You see, Draco has wanted to shag you rotten you for the longest time. I decided that since his birthday is coming up, that I should let him have a little fun. So I concocted this little plan to lure you here, so he could get what he wanted and I could watch." He grinned at the Slytherin and licked his lips provocatively before turning his attention back to the brunette. "And of course, I had a good bit of fun myself. You should have seen the look on your face when I walked in on you in the boy's lavatory. I even gave you a chance to redeem yourself, but of course you fucked that up. You couldn't even tell me the truth."

Harry just sat there staring blankly at his friend… or rather, the person he thought was his friend. His mind wondered back over the events of the past few days as he tried to piece together the situation that he was currently faced with. It was true, Ron had started the argument between him and Draco that caused this chain of events to occur… but he still could not believe that his friend would have, or even could have, manipulated him like this... Then his eyes drifted back to the blonde and the evil smirk that had settled on his face… Malfoy… Malfoy!!

Harry couldn't believe how stupid he had been. He had actually begun to fancy him. He had even fantasized about the bloody wanker! But that was all over now. Now he just stared at him in contempt.

"But Ron… I thought you were-"

"What? Your friend? What would you even know about being someone's friend? Things change Potter. You changed."

"Me?" Harry squeaked

"Yes, YOU! You are so wrapped up in feeling sorry for yourself. 'Oh poor me, You-Know-Who killed my parents. Poor Me! Everyone in the bloody world follows my every move!!' Bullocks to that! You've been whining non-stop for the past six years!" said Ron through gritted teeth, as his face became redder and redder with every word that venomously poured out of his mouth.

"But Ron-"

"SHUT UP!" he screamed as he crossed the room to stand right above Harry, staring down at him with an icy glare. "I don't want to hear it… You want to talk about friends? You never hang out with me anymore! You've hardly even spoken to me at all this year! You didn't even tell me you were gay! You sure as hell didn't have any problems telling Hermione did you? I knew you fucking told her when she started asking me all those questions at dinner, but I couldn't say anything because that would have spoiled our little surprise," Ron said as he began to walk closer to Harry.

"Ron, I-"

Ron lifted his hand and slapped Harry hard across the face. "I thought I told you to Shut Up! Do you know what it's like to be ignored, Potter? To have your best friend turn his back on you? Did you think I was just going to sit there in the shadows and hope that you would remember I was there?" he chucked sarcastically "I guess not. You're the bloody boy-who-lived, the savior of the Wizarding world. Well, FUCK YOU POTTER! I don't need you anymore. I have Draco now, and he loves me."

"Love You?" asked Draco with a chuckle as an evil grin spread across his face. "You actually think I love you?? You really shouldn't assume things Weasley."

The redhead turned back and looked into the eyes of the blonde in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't remember ever telling you that I loved you, as a matter of fact I don't believe I ever even expressed any interest in you at all."

Ron just stared back at Draco as if he was speaking a foreign language.

"But… but all those nights we spent together in the Astronomy Tower…" he mumbled

"Oh, poor Weasley… Did you really think that meant anything to me? I never wanted you. Who would want you?" the blonde said casually, "I wanted Potter. You were just a tool I used to help me get what I wanted. I never actually had any intention of buggering you, but you spread your legs so eagerly, just like the cheap little whore that you are, and I decided why not you crush you as well and kill two birds with one stone. You made it so easy for me."

Tears began to well up in the redhead's eyes at he stared back at the blonde as a sense of realization began to set in.

"And did you honestly think this scheme was your idea? You're such a git, you fell right into the palm of my hand even easier than your little friend over there," he said gesturing towards Harry, he then covered his mouth with his hand in a mock gasp of concern "Or should I say ex-friend?"

Harry stared at the scene unfolding in front of him with a sick fascination. He had already come to terms with himself on the subject of Malfoy. He felt stupid for allowing himself to trust the blonde, but blamed it on raging hormones. Ron, on the other hand, had completely betrayed him. He had conspired with his enemy, actually plotted against him, and then he had even gone so far as to slap him! Part of him really wanted to feel sorry for Ron, but the anger he felt towards him overpowered that so far that he almost enjoying watching Malfoy rips his heart out.

"Well, it's been a blast," the blond uttered nonchalantly as he collected his wand and cloak, "but I need to go and get my beauty sleep. And I'm sure the two of you would like to have a little heart-to-heart. So I will take my leave now."

Both boys watched in silence as he slipped his cloak over his head and disappeared, only the sound of his footsteps indicating his departure as he walked across the room and back up the staircase. Harry's gaze shifted to the teary-eyed redhead standing in front of him, his eyes narrowing in disgust as he put his hands firmly on the table and pushed himself up, suddenly realizing that he was still completely nude.

He quickly retrieved his jeans and slipped them on commando style, leaving the thong were it lay.

"Harry… I'm so sorry" Ron whimpered as hesitantly took a step towards the disgruntled brunette.

"Don't!" responded Harry bluntly as he picked up his Invisibility cloak and wrapped it around his shoulders as he turned to leave. He had no intention whatsoever of having the 'heart-to-heart' that Malfoy had suggested. He would be doing well if he managed to make it back to the Gryffindor dormitory without strangling his ex-friend. He was ready for his night to be over.

He felt a hand land delicately on his shoulder as he heard Ron say his name again in a desperate plea. Harry swung around and slammed his fist into the redhead's face with all his strength as a sickening crunching sound filled the empty space.

"FUCK YOU RON!!" he snarled. He reached up and unfastened the collar that was still around his neck and hurled it at Ron who had fallen to the floor. "Here, why don't you keep this as a token of your 'love'. Stay the fuck away from me!"

Ron watched silently as Harry pulled his cloak over his head and disappeared the same as Malfoy had done. He felt salty tears streamed down his face and mingling with the trail of blood that was coming out of his nose. A cry of anguish escaped from his lips as he pulled his knees into his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around his legs, tucking himself into a ball. He rocked slightly back and forth as more gut wrenching sobs followed, echoing loudly off the stone walls of the dungeon.

~Finite~

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AUTHOR's NOTES:

Well… that's it… the story is over… I'm gonna wait a week or two for reviews, (Hopefully all you Ron fans out there will forgive me…. eventually.) Then I'm gonna post my final author's notes – and I'm actually gonna respond to reviews and answer questions… so if there's anything you wanna know, just ask.

Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter… I wanted to wait until after the Holidays were over to post, and then I got kinda *distracted*…. I met someone... yes, Jaded Eros now has a boyfriend... and he has been occupying a good portion of my spare time lately. (It's a Long Distance Relationship which I would like to make "not long distance", but that takes time – I *heart* him) – I'm just hoping that all my nice little twisted evil stories don't turn into fluff now… but who knows, some of you could probably use a nice little piece of fluff after reading this.

Also, I generally don't respond to individual reviews, because I find it an annoying thing to wade through when reading other people's stories, but…

To: Severa Septima Snape – I think that was the best review I have ever gotten. I hope you were able to finally stop drooling, and that was exactly the reaction I was going for.