Title: A Simple Plan

Author: Romie

Fandom: HP

Pairing: Harry/Ron

Rating: G

Disclaimer:  I don't own the boys, Rowling does.  Warner Bros claims they do.

Warning: This story features a same-sex romantic pairing.  It's not even remotely explicit, and if you're the sort of person who can flame it . . . well, frankly, I'm a bit terrified.

Notes: This was written in Atlanta as part of a challenge.  Four of us who were there - me, Smeg, Ailei, and Khirsah, decided to write page-long stories, each beginning with and ending with the same lines.  It was further decreed that the pairing would be Harry/Ron, mostly because they knew I avoid it like the plague and they like to see me squirm.  I think it turned out pretty well, though.

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It should have been a simple plan.  Preferably one founded in cunning and a flair for detail, the sort of plan Hermione forever harped on.  Unfortunately, Harry and Ron had never been ones for planning, which explained how they found themselves sitting in the moat, wearing matching three piece suits.

 

"Bollocks," said Ron for the third time.  It had not become any more helpful as the minutes progressed, but as the whole quandary was Harry's fault to being with, the black-haired boy supposed it would be overly callous to yell at Ron, who was really being a good sport, all things considered.

 

"You were right," said Harry.

 

"Yes."  His boyfriend looked as though he couldn't decide whether to be amused or angry as all hell, which probably explained the lack of verbosity.

 

"The broom was not meant to hold two people."

 

"Yes."

 

"Even if it is a Firebolt, and even if we were only going a short distance."

 

"Yes."

 

"And we should have left earlier and avoided this entire situation."

 

"Yes."

 

"I'm sorry."

 

Ron was silent, eyes wandering over the horizon, weighing the pinks thrown off by the setting sun.  The boys, (also known as Harry,) had decided at the last minute that a brilliant addition to their report on the muggle banking system would be to dress as bankers while presenting.  This had involved a run to the Hogsmeade costume shop, and then back to change - which had actually gone off quite well until Harry had become obsessed with giving Ron's tie a proper Windsor knot.  Once they'd finished dressing, they'd realized there was no time to walk the miles of corridor to the classroom.  Thinking quickly, Harry had grabbed his broomstick.  The rest was history, or at least would be to the various frogs whose lily pads they'd disturbed.

 

Pulling themselves together as best they could, the boys waded out of the moat and trudged across the grounds, shoes squelching.  No conversation accompanied their 5 minute walk through miles of corridor, each boy lost in his own thoughts.  Good marks in Muggle Studies were important to Ron, which was the very reason Harry has wanted to improve their chances.  He felt like pond scum, and not just because of the algae in his socks.

 

Sighing deeply, prepared for a dressing down, Harry started to climb the ladder to Professor Crumpet's office; he paused at the weight of a hand on his shoulder.  Turning, he found Ron looking at him with a half-smile.

 

"Hey, they're just marks."  Harry smiled back, and kissed the hand gently.  Together, they climbed the ladder to the dim, stifling tower room.