I hear the quiet swishing of bed curtains opening and the steady sounds of the wooden floor of our dorm creaking beneath someone's feet. I don't know why these near silent sounds awake me, as they never had before, but all the same, I am stirred from my sleep. I crack one tired eye open and observe my surroundings.

All I see is Ron getting out of bed. As there is no danger, I assume Ron is just going to the bathroom and start to drift off to sleep again. Sometime later, it occurs to me that I never heard the creaking that usually accompanies the opening of the bathroom door. I open my eyes again and look over to my boyfriend's bed. He is still gone. Maybe I missed the creaking? How much time had passed?

My curiosity outweighs my desire to stay warm in my comfortable bed, so I get up and scan my surroundings. The bathroom door is unlocked. Maybe Ron forgot to switch the lock to reflect its being in use? I open the bathroom door slowly, in case Ron is indeed in the bathroom, and just slightly to check to be certain, and sure enough, the lights are off. That means that there is only a few more place he could have gone. My curiosity has been awakened, so I go to investigate. I go down to the Common Room, but Ron isn't there either. I sit down to think. He must have left Gryffindor Tower, meaning he was meeting someone, and he hadn't told me.

My heart begins to race as adrenaline pumps through my veins.

He is my boyfriend. He wouldn't do that to me. He wouldn't cheat on me. We love each other. He couldn't possibly be cheating. He must have just gotten hungry. Yes, that was entirely possible. He just went down to the kitchens. But he would have told me if that's where he was going to go. No he wouldn't. He would have let me sleep. But he doesn't like to wander the castle alone. Would he have told me or not? I don't know!

My thoughts race through my mind and I feel the panic overwhelming me.

I put my head in my hands as the possibilities hit me. 'Who could he be with?' I stand up quickly, suddenly too overwhelmed and anxious to remain sitting, and almost run back to the 6th year boys' dorm. All my other roommates are present and happily sleeping.

So Ron isn't with one of them. That leaves the 7th years, since Ron told me he wasn't interested in any other House, unless he had been misleading me then too, and the 6th year girls.

The thought of Ron with a girl almost causes me to dry heave and cry out, but I shake it off and continue my speculation as I go back to the Gryffindor Common Room and sit down on the couch nearest the dying fire. It is there that I make up my mind. I am going to wait here until Ron returns.

I wait less and less patiently as two hours crawl by. Still, there is no sign of Ron. I stand up and walk towards the portrait hole, just as it begins to open. I freeze and pray the person coming through the entrance is Ron and not McGonagall checking in on everyone. As the portrait hole opens wider, it seems at first that my prayers have been answered. Ron is indeed the person coming through the door.

As relief washes over me, I begin to notice details that are out of place for a late night trip to the kitchens. He has a goofy smile on his face. It was one I immediately recognized, since I had been the one to put it on his face once before. I know immediately what that smile means, and I feel my heart shatter as tears build up in my eyes. Ron had been off buggering someone else. He had cheated. Ron quickly scans the Common Room, as if to make sure no one had seen him come in. As soon as his eyes land on my frozen form, his smile disappears and he begins to stammer.

"Hi, Harry, I-uh, well, I-"

His obvious needs to deny what he did bring my shock to an end, and I feel my walls come right up around me. Perfect. I can be cold now.

"Don't. I know what you were doing, and I don't want to hear what lies and excuses you can come up with."

Ron runs to me and tries to grab my arm. "Harry, please, just hear me out. I-"

I easily duck under his arm and walk towards the portrait hole. "No, Ron. I don't want to hear it. I'm done with this relationship. You cheated. I won't forgive that."

Ron tries one last-ditch effort. "Harry,"

I turn around and scream, "Leave me alone!" Just as I say it, two things happen. One, many of my fellow Gryffindors come out of their rooms to see what all the yelling was about, and two the portrait hole opens again, and Hermione walks in. She quickly assesses what is happening, and begins to laugh. I feel the entire fabric of my world crashing around me. I was right. Ron had been cheating on me, and not with just anyone, with my best friend. I turn and run from Gryffindor Tower. I run until I reach the Room of Requirement, where I find my refuge. There I request a huge bonfire and every letter, note, and picture of Ron and me. I burn them all and cry myself to sleep that night.