ࡱ> kmjs O_jbjb kkO[] d ffffffff,fffff:fff:::f^ffBf::B$iɷv"Third One's the Charm" By Anlia Chapter 1: Prologue (Disclaimer located at bottom. This is, hopefully, a well-known scene among Harry Potter fans. I thought it was one of the most significant in "Goblet of Fire" since the friendship of the trio, Harry, Ron and Hermione is one of the things I love most about J.K. Rowlings' books. The following fic doesn't take place during Goblet of Fire but after. I wanted to lead up to it in some way. ~ ~ These symbols equal Ron's thoughts ^^ This also symbolizes Ron's thoughts, but differently, like the voice of Ron's conscious or his more innermost thoughts. The rest, of course, is dialogue :-) ~Not gonna look, I'm not gonna look....~ Ron's mantra was slowly annoying even him, seeing as how it had been running around in his head for, well, since the last time he had done what he wasn't going to do. ~Why should I? Doesn't matter, I don't care and I'm going to sleep, end of story and good night~ As if to emphasis this, Ron turned over with a hmph, facing the other side of his bed where his bed curtains weren't open slightly, of course facing..... ~Aaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhh~ Even his silent scream of frustration didn't help Ron's keyed up state. He turned over once, then twice. He punched his pillows and readjusted his covers pausing only when he heard Dean groan and mumble sleepily into his pillow. "Give it a rest, will ya Weasley? Go check if you're worried....." Ron scowled and folded his arms. ~Doesn't know what he's talking about, still asleep and, er, dreaming probably....~ ^He's your best friend^ Ron shook his head. ~Not listening you know!!~ The red-headed boy closed his eyes for a moment pondering on his sanity and how stable it was if he was having an argument with himself. The second voice, popping up every so often for the past few hours refused to let up. ^You're worried^ Ron snorted into his pillow. Mad, howling mad, mad as starkers.....him worried. ~Why should I be worried, he's the Great Harry Potter, true blue hero extraordinaire?~ Ron turned back toward Harry's bed. ~Prat....that, that Prat can take care of himself. Doesn't need me tagging al-~ The youngest Weasley brother cut that thought off as quickly as possible. It hurt. ^You know why it hurts?^ ~Go Away!!~ The voice, however, wouldn't. It circled him, taunted him. Surprisingly, the longer Ron listened to it, the more it began to resemble Percy. Ron could almost see his brother's horned-rimmed glasses being pushed up his nose, the gesture was a little too familiar to someone else. Ron put his pillow over his head. Harry, Percy....who gave a bloody..... ^You do^ ~Do not!~ ^Why is his bed still empty?^ For Ron was looking out again through the curtains again. Sure enough, Harry's bed was untouched. The small knot of anxiety tightened in his stomach. ~None of my business. Let the oh, so wonderful Triwizard Champion fend for himself. Already has Hermione on his side~ ^Do you really know how foolish, not to mention unconvincing you sound?^ ~Not my problem anymore, never was..... rotten, spoiled rotten to the core, that, that, uh, well....that git!~ ^You've seen how down he looks. You know he didn't put his name in that Goblet, you had to have been blind to have missed the look of shock on his face, or what's been happening to him lately. Do you think he wants that? Besides, Hermione believes him.^ Ron rolled his eyes. ~Ooooh, Hermione the Perfect Student believes the Boy Who Lived and Has Everything, well, that makes everything all better doesn't it?~ Even in Ron's thoughts the adjectives were capitalized. The voice was now looking sternly at him in his mind's eye. ^Why are you upset Ron, exactly?^ ~Exactly, Exactly?!!! Well......~ Ron grit his teeth. "Shut up Percy..." he whispered, barely audible. Neville, not too far away, snorted and mumbled something of his own before drifting off again. Ron, however, caught it. "Worth twelve of you....Malfoy" Actually, the last word was Mmmffmph but Ron knew what he said. He'd been there. Something twitched in the red-head's face when the same thought he had had those years ago returned. About how typical it had been for Harry. Grinding his teeth, Ron finally turned to face Harry's vacant bed. ~Disgusting goody-goody, sucking up to everyone.~ His thoughts didn't quite match the far-away look in his eyes. Percy a.k.a Ron's conscious wasn't letting up. ^It's nearly one in the morning^ The guilt he been feeling evaporated. What had been anxiety turned into full-blown concern. ~Bloody hell, where is he?~ Percy began ticking off the possibilities and none of them were very positive. Ron liked the real Percy better than this one, at least his real brother was slightly optimistic. ~His scar's been hurting. He told me, back, er, back before the whole, stupid Goblet thing. That usually means, uh, Someone, that _Particular_ Someone might be around.~ Ron still couldn't say the name, though Hermione was getting closer to it. Harry let it drop regularly. ~Harry wasn't afraid of anything, not even of Vol-~ Ron squinted up his brown eyes. ~Voldem-m-mort~ Thinking the name didn't help Ron. Dammit, where was he? ~He's not afraid, he's the perfect Mr. Potter.~ ^He's your friend.^ ~Once more, Percy, thank you so much. I don't want to go looking for him.~ ^Yes you do. He's not afraid of, er, You-Know-Who, but who's to say that's a good thing?^ Ron let out a miniscule sigh. ~We're not friends anymore, remember?~ Percy glared at him again and Ron could feel his resolve weakening. ^Ok, tomorrow you can be the one to tell Hermione that you knew Harry hadn't come up to his bed all night and when she asks, after bursting into tears since no one can locate him...^ Ron's chest tightened involuntarily, making him lose his train of thought. Percy looked slightly peeved at the loss of attention. Ron thought the situation was getting a little ridiculous. ~No peace, none from Mr. Perfect Potter or Mr. Perfect Percy~ ^_AS_ I was saying.....How will you explain it to _her_?^ That did it. Heaven deliver him from Fluffy, Aragog, Basilisks, even You-Know-Who, but facing Hermione's wrath, or worse, emotional outbursts, without an effective counter-argument was something that made Ron Weasley, hapless adventurer ~Not to mention sidekick~ Ron thought sourly, do, well...whatever had to be done. Percy looked rather smug. "Bugger off" Ron whispered, irritated. His older brother disappeared from his subconscious quicker than Ron would have thought, perhaps because he became distracted when he recognized a voice coming from the commons room. Ron paused on the tower stairs, feeling a rather odd emotion rise up. Before Percy could pop up and say "Relief", Ron continued his way down. Harry's whispering became more urgent and Ron sheepishly realized that he wasn't being too quiet in his descent. He paused at the foot of the stairs, startled by the look of pure fury on Harry's face as the green-eyed boy stood and glared at him, hands balled into fists at his sides. Ron had only seen that look a few times, the worst right before he had attacked his godfather, Sirius Black, before realizing that the man had not betrayed his parents. That had been a terrible night. Ron, along with Hermione, had believed that Sirius would kill Harry without a second thought and he, although the pain from his broken leg had been excruciating when he tried, was unable to do anything to really stop him. Those memories, even of his own words to Black as he helped Hermione hold his best friend back, shook him. A year ago he would never have believed Harry could look at him with such hatred. Silence. Ron thought it strange that he had suddenly thought of Sirius Black. They both, admittedly, had had a lot in common. Once. Something about the way Harry was standing in front of the fire made Ron unconsciously look around the commons room. Maybe he just wanted to break that gaze. Funny, how he didn't feel angry, since it seemed that was all he _had_ felt since hearing Harry's name being announced for the Tournament. But now....somehow his reasons for being angry didn't seem that important anymore. That fleeting thought of Sirius Black, his face gaunt and eyes haunted from too many regrets made him look back at Harry who, if possible, looked even more furious than before. There wasn't anyone in the common room so Ron spoke before he thought. ^Or maybe you don't know what else to say?^ ~Stuff it Percy! Not now!!~ "Who were you talking to?" "What's that got to do with you? What are you doing here at this time of night?" Ron blinked, that forgotten anger quickly remembered. ~What am I? Why...the nerve of that little....I, well~ "I just wondered where you..." He trailed off. ~Wondered where you were, what had happened, if everything was okay, if you were okay......~ "Nothing, I'm going back to bed." Ron felt unsatisfied by the casual remark, however. The voice in his head changed instantaneously from Percy to Molly Weasley, her voice sounding just like it did whenever he was getting a lecture. ~_No_ consideration. _No_ thought that I might have been worried sick, oh no, the Great and Wonderful Harry Potter doesn't abide by the rules, doesn't do things the normal way. He expects lowly little peons like Ron Weasley to grovel at his feet and then weep with delight when they realize that his too good to be true self turns out to be safe and sound. Please forgive me for _Bothering_ to care.~ Ron was suddenly very sorry he had gone looking for Harry. He was sorry for whatever impulse had made him worry about the other boy in the first place. He looked at Harry and something twinged in him. He could see hurt as well in the other's pale face. But he didn't care, right? "Just thought you'd come nosing around, did you?" Harry wasn't even bothering to whisper anymore. His voice bounced off the commons room walls. "Sorry about that" Ron muttered, feeling anything but. "Should've realized you didn't want to be disturbed. I'll let you get on with practicing for your next interview in peace." The words sounded lame, tired and old even to him. He'd used that same take on the situation ever since it had come about. It was getting more difficult since he knew from the beginning that Harry detested the attention. Looking up, Ron was startled. Not as much, perhaps, as Harry seemed to detest him at the moment. The young wizard had picked up one of the Creevey brothers' revision failures of "Potter REALLY Stinks" badges and threw it at him as hard as he could. Ron was too astounded to think about dodging, even when the badge bounced off of his forehead painfully. The red-headed boy was too surprised to react to the throbbing bump that was already on his head from the blow. Harry was much stronger than he looked. "There you go" Harry was breathing heavily and looking nothing like himself. "Something for you to wear on Tuesday. You might even have a scar now, if you're lucky...That's what you want, isn't it?" Ron had to stop himself from walking across the room, not to throw a punch, which was what Harry seemed to be expecting, but to shake some sense into Potter whose agitation bordered on something else. Harry saved him any trouble by storming past him, not meeting his eyes. Ron stood stock-still, not really sure of what to do. Harry's words bounced around in his already much-abused head. A scar....what you've always wanted, isn't it...isn't it....isn't it?! Ron slowly made his way to an armchair by the fire and wrapped his arms around his long legs, warding off the growing chill of the room. Harry had gone upstairs, finally. ~Isn't it.....Isn't it Ron?~ The voice in his head wasn't Percy or Molly...or even his own anymore. It was Harry. ~Some friend, yeah...some friend. You've got everything, I've got nothing. I wear the glasses, but you're the one who's blind, right Ron? Since when did I ever think you were just another Weasley? When did I ever mention anything about you not having money, or throw it in your face because I do? When did I try and take attention from you?~ Ron tried to stop the jumbled thoughts from continuing at this point, but they kept coming, in no real coherent order. The youngest Weasley brother thought back to last year again, when he'd seen Black slashing through his curtains. When everyone had crowded around him for days afterwards, hearing his story (which, he could admit now, grew gradually more impressive each time he told it) Harry had always just stood aside. Not seeming to mind or even consider something wrong with the attention Ron was getting. Not even when it had been _him_ that Black had been after. Hermione, however, had gotten annoyed with Ron's excited take on that situation, but that was just him and her, it had always been that way since he'd known her. Another odd emotion flashed through Ron and, as quickly as it had come, it was gone. Harry had seemed almost relieved that Ron had taken some of his limelight, never envious or resentful. Ron continued to stare into the dying embers. Gradually, his thoughts quieted down, even if his emotions were still in a whirl. Ron had never been very good at sorting those out anyway. Besides, this was...well....this whole situation was stupid. He had spent _far_ too much time worrying about it. He could find other friends, ones that weren't as difficult to be around as Mr. Harry Potter. ~Or as much fun. Or as good as Quidditch, or as willing to let you share everything they have, even if...come on Ronnie 'ol boy, admit it, it isn't that much? Or who have an invisibility cloak and good ideas as to how to use it? Or who laughs at your jokes? Or who plays chess with you even though they know that you'll beat them just because it's something you enjoy...Or...~ Ron clapped his hands over his ears and shook his head to clear it. ~All right, all right!! I get the point, sheesh! What part of the Quidditch field did that come from?~ The red-head's eyes felt heavy and Ron could feel himself drifting off as his thoughts quieted down again. He thought he heard another door open and some soft footsteps come into the commons room but he was too tired to tell. He closed his eyes still at a loss as to what to do, or what should be done about... well, about anything at all. Gradually a rainy field came into focus. Made sense actually, he dreamed about Quidditch on a regular basis. This particular match looked very familiar, however. It was raining pretty hard. He was looking up watching Harry search for the Snitch when several screams and a rustle of fear went through the crowd. A huge crowd of Dementors swept onto the field, there had to be at least a hundred. He heard Hermione jump up from beside him with an anxious cry, saw Dumbledore charge out onto the field and suddenly his memory was jostled horribly. ~Harry!!~ Ron looked up to see the black-haired boy wobble on his broomstick, lose his grip and with a face that was whiter than a sheet, tumble off. Everyone screamed as Harry fell, unconscious. Ron hadn't even realized what he was doing when he took off for the field in some kind of crazy attempt to try and catch his friend. There was no way to get there in time, Hermione was right behind him but there was nothing they could do. Dumbledore slowed Harry's descent until he was on the ground, safe, but he still looked ghastly. Hermione was crying. Ron realized that he himself wasn't breathing as they both fought tooth and nail to get to their friend. Harry was white as a sheet. Dumbledore looked quite intimidating and nothing like the kindly headmaster who loved to sing some silly old school song as he stood over him. The Dementors seemed to clear out but neither Ron nor Hermione were paying much attention. Harry just lay there. He looked dead. His glasses were askew and his scar showed up plainly on his pale skin. Ron grasped Harry's shoulders, and hoisted him up to a sitting position with Hermione's help. This part didn't seem familiar anymore but he didn't care. The crowd had quieted down and given the trio some room but Harry wasn't reviving. ~Chocolate...~ Ron remembered something and began looking around desperately. Hermione glanced at him with a question in her eyes. "Help me, 'Mione, he needs chocolate, remember what Professor Lupin did?" Hermione nodded and ran off. The sky was getting darker, now and instead of the Quidditch fans that had been standing there before, Ron and Harry were again surrounded by the Dementors. Ron tried to ignore them as he shook Harry lightly, although he was growing increasingly terrified. "Come on, Harry! What is the matter with you! Wake up, bloody hel-" Ron's anxious voice was cut off by the headmaster, who's blue eyes no longer twinkled as he looked down at him. "I'm sorry Ronald Weasley." Ron blinked at the full, formal name. "It's too late...." Dumbledore looked sad and aged when he said the last three words. Ron gulped and felt something sting at the back of his eyes. He wanted to kick himself for his childishness. ~This isn't real....this isn't the way it happened!!~ He felt something heavy land on his shoulder and turned to see a grinning, ecstatic-looking Snape. "Don't worry Weasley, you can always make new friends...." "NO!!!" Ron jerked awake, shivering in the cold commons room. He was sweating despite of his shivers. ~Nightmare, it was only....~ "Ron? Are you all right?" Ron glanced to his left. Hermione was looking at him with wide eyes from where she sat in one of the other chairs. Ron felt his ears burn when he realized he was in his too-small pajamas, the ones that made him look like he was ten instead of fourteen. The grey light coming in let both know that it was early dawn. Ron shook off his embarrassment, still feeling rather sick from his dream. "Nightmare?" Hermione looked sympathetic. There was something about her face, something softer in it, that Ron didn't recollect seeing before. "Yeah...." Ron wiped his forehead, closing his eyes for a moment. "Worried about Harry?" Ron jerked his head up at that. He wanted to deny everything and push what had happened the night before, along with that stupid dream, right out the window. The memory of Dumbledore's saddened eyes, Snape's comment....but especially of Harry laying there, white and still, silenced the red-headed boy. "Yeah...." Hermione's eyes filled with tears and Ron felt very uncomfortable for a second. "Me too....Ron, I have a terrible feeling about all of this. Why don't you two just make up, please? Can't you at least try?" Ron was too tired to argue effectively. "Tried.....but last night we had another row and now it looks like things are worse than before." Hermione remained silent, looking rather crestfallen. Ron could see that she didn't really know what to say, ~for a change~ and raised his eyebrow. "I dreamt about those &*%^# Dementors again" "Ron!!" Ron was too tired to look sheepish as well. "What? You know for a fact that's what they are. It was that match, y'know... where Harry...." Hermione paled. They could both remember plainly. "Herm, do you know what the first challenge is going to be?" She shook her head. "No. Ron, I hate this...this whole Tournament thing. I really do, its caused nothing but problems between everything and everyone, especially you and Ha-" "I don't see a way out, Hermione" Ron's remorse was dissipating long with the cold grey light that was giving in to morning. "He doesn't see anything wrong with the situation so neither do I." Hermione stood up, hands on hips. "Ronald Weasley" She paused puzzled when the red-head winced, but continued on. "You need to grow up" "Me!! What about....." "Yes, yes, what about Harry. You both need something, that's for certain and until you both figure out what that is I'm not interfering any more." "Hermione....." "I mean it Ron!!" Hermione's eyes were bright with tears again. "I'm sorry about your dream, but talk it over with Harry because I have enough of my own of those. If you have to wait until something terrible happens on Tuesday, then fine but it will be your own fault if you do" Hermione stormed upstairs leaving a stony-faced Ron standing rather awkwardly by the fireplace once more. ~Great, first Harry, now Hermione.... setting a new record there Weasley, how many friends to alienate in the shortest amount of time. Just terrific.~ ^Feeling guilty are you? Still gonna watch the first task, or second.....how about the third? You know, someday you might look back at this and laugh, hopefully with your friends^ Percy's voice didn't sound too convinced, matching Ron's confused emotions almost perfectly. ~Scary~ "Gerroff Percy" Ron growled, and stomped upstairs to salvage some ounce of sleep. Just a few comments. I only recently got into the Harry Potter Fandom but now I wonder how I could have passed it by for as long as I did. As you can probably tell, my favorite character is Harry (ok, so it's not so obvious from this chapter, but he is) with Ron as a very close second. Hermione is growing on me after writing her as well. I wanted to thank some people for their inspiration. Kaly, whose fics I just adore, Tealin, for her unbelievable art that made me finally take the plunge and gave me some great ideas for a fic and finally the wonderful, amazing J.K. Rowling who gave my imagination a much needed boost with her magical characters and stories and who has inspired so many others. All copyrights go directly to her and Scholastic. I have also made no profit from this fic, (except enjoying meself sommat :) ) This is a first chapter of what is appearing to be a rather long story, like most of my fics. I loved this chapter, even though at first glance it will probably appear like it doesn't fit in with the story I'm going to try and tell. Hopefully, later on it will. Also, with this fic the problem is, as with others written after events taking place in GoF, is that Ms. Rowling has not yet released "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" so my fic will probably be blown out of the water, credibility wise, when it comes out. All I can say is thank goodness. That's okay by me, since all fan-fic, I believe is simply a statement of what the author would like his or her favorite characters developments to be in specific situations. To make a long story short, (for once) it should not be taken too seriously. I mainly wanted to write a story about the everlasting quality of friendship and the things that make life worth living. I also get to try and get inside the character's heads, one of my favorite things, as well as explore the relationships of the different characters in the story, whether brother to brother, friend to friend, budding romance or even seeing yourself in someone else. (That last one I leave you to figure out) Comments are always welcome. 1 Conversation taken from Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Scholastic Press. New York, NY. 2000. Pgs. 335-336. }^_N_O_CJ 6B*CJB*CJ!"67d R S k l & ' $!"67d R S k l & ' 9 :   ! " . / MNef()rs=45tu$%  qr?@(cde 9 :   ! " . / MNef()rs=45tu$%  qr?@(cdZ[UVXY  !Z[UVXY  !!p"q"""m#n##$$$)%*%r%%%%%%%,&-&&&+','N'O''''(())F*G***\+]+,,,,U-V---\.]...//00 1111A2B222344446X6Y6Q7R777x8y8J9K9::v;w;\<]<<e!!p"q"""m#n##$$$)%*%r%%%%%%%,&-&&&+','N'O'''''(())F*G***\+]+,,,,U-V---\.]...//00 11111A2B222344446X6Y6Q7R777x8y8J9K9::v;w;\<]<<<<<v=w=>>>>??H@I@AAAABBCCCCDDDDDDEEEE@FAFFFFMGNGGGWHXHHHHHIII;IRRRRR&SiSTTlTmTUUe<v=w=>>>>??H@I@AAAABBCCCCDDDDDDEEEEE@FAFFFFMGNGGGWHXHHHHHIII;IRRRRR&SiSTTlTmTUUUUVVwVxVyVzVW WWWvYYYZUUUVVwVxVyVzVW WWWvYYYZZ[[\\\^^^^O_ZZ[[\\\^^^^O_ / =!"#$% [0@0NormalCJ OJQJmH <A@<Default Paragraph FontO[!          lf %# F& -y4H<BHNUO[xn D \   O_@ !'1<EK=RZO_ACDEGHIKLMNP<UO_BFJO ?G_bN[Q[ LQQ[Thomas J. 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