Harry Potter and The Boy Who Had No Choice

A Good Start

Chapter Thirty-Five

Harry was pacing around his compartment, every passing minute feeling like an hour. Before today, he'd never really understood Ron's urge to stress-eat, but now, after ten chocolate frogs, he was starting to get the appeal.

The train rattled along the tracks, a view of an icy lake stretching outside the window. If Harry hadn't been so preoccupied by his thoughts, he might've appreciated the sight.

Over the break, Harry and Draco had agreed that it was time that the rest of the world knew of their relationship. It was exhausting to keep everything a secret. Harry had only one condition; before anyone else found out, he had to tell Ron. To Harry, it wouldn't feel right telling the rest of the world about his new boyfriend when his best friend had no clue.

Unfortunately, coming out to the rest of the wizarding world somehow seemed like a much less daunting task than coming out to Ron. So when Harry ran into Ron and Hermione at King's Cross as they boarded the train, he may have panicked and put on his invisibility cloak to avoid being seen before finding an empty compartment to hide in.

Some Gryffindor I am, Harry thought to himself as he stopped pacing to gloomily look out the window. The train had passed the frozen lake, and now they were moving through a mountain pass.

It wasn't as though Harry was scared Ron wouldn't accept the fact that he was into boys; after all, Ron had barely batted an eye when Ginny asked Luna to the ball. But the fact that Harry was dating Draco changed things. Ron hated the Slytherin with a fiery passion. Maybe it was because Ron had always been quick to hold a grudge, or maybe it was the way Draco had previously gone after his family, but there was no animosity lost between the blonde and the ginger.

Harry didn't hear the knock at the door at first, and by the time he registered it, he knew it was too late to hide under his Invisibility Cloak. He turned around, expecting to see that Ron or Hermione had found him, but luckily, he was greeted instead by Luna. He gave an unexpected wave and she stepped inside.

"Hello Harry," she said. The sound of chatter and laughter faded away as she shut the door behind her.

"Hey Luna." Harry sat down, hoping his smile was hiding his internal anxiety.

"Why are you hiding from your friends?" She sat down next to him, her magazine tucked under her arm.

"That obvious, huh?"

"I saw you pull out your Invisibility Cloak after you spotted them at the station," she explained. Her stare was inquisitive and piercing, and it was only a matter of time before Harry knew he had to give her some sort of answer.

"I have to tell them something. Well actually," he began to correct himself. "I have to tell Ron something. Something... important. And I'm..."

"Scared?" Luna finished for him. Harry nodded.

He shifted uncomfortably, the only sound in the compartment the rumble of the wheels against the train tracks. Luna seemed like she was considering something.

"Does this have to do with the fact that you and Draco are together?" Harry was so shocked he choked on air and started to cough violently. Luna patted his back until he was finished. Then, he stared up at her, blinking imploringly.

"How did you... I mean, did Draco...?"

"He didn't tell me anything." Luna shook her head. "I'm just observant. I'm good at seeing things others don't see, or things others refuse to see."

Harry folded his hands in his lap, thinking. Luna waited patiently for him to say something, but Harry couldn't seem to speak.

"You shouldn't be afraid of telling Ron." Luna said in a soft tone of voice.