Title - Getting Away 5/14

Author - Lena

Pairing - Harry/Ron, Harry/various OC's (slash and het), Ron/OC (slash)

Rating - this chapter - PG

Feedback - [email protected]

For warnings, disclaimers, etc. please see chapter 0/14

Chapter Five - Being Bi

“Muggles go to meetings, you know.” She said.

“Meetings?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, to help them sort things out. I could take you to one, if you like.” She said.

“You’ve been to one?” Harry asked

“Not for a while, but they can be helpful.” She said.

“How come we don’t have meetings? Why do the Muggles?” Harry asked.

“Well, Muggles don’t have magic to help with a lot of problems, now, do they? And our world is much smaller, so I guess there’s not much a demand for group therapy.” She said.

“Group therapy?” Harry asked.

“You grew up with Muggles.” She said.

“Yeah, but I just don’t see Uncle Vernon sitting around in a group talking about his problems.” Harry said.

“Well, that’s true. So, do you want to go?” She said.

“Do I have to say anything?” Harry said.

“Not if you do not want to.” She said.

“Well…” Harry hesitated.

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to go back, but they are nice people.” She said.

“Well…okay.” Harry said.

*****

They Apparated to the Ministry of Magic, then took the Tube to the meeting. It was held in a large two-story facility that had many different meetings going on.

Harry said, “This is huge!”

“Well, this is London, Harry!” Sheridan grinned at him.

“What is this place?” Harry asked.

“They hold events and meetings especially for the GLBT community.” She said.

“The GL…B…what?” Harry asked, very confused.

“Oh, Harry, really. G-L-B-T. Gay. Lesbian. Bisexual. Transgender.” She laughed teasingly at him.

“Oh.” They walked into the building and Harry followed Sheridan up some stairs to a room. The door was open and she walked in, as Harry hesitated, then continued behind her.

A couple of people said hello to Sheridan and she returned the greeting. She found them seats near the door. Harry looked around wondering what to do or say.

A man came up to Sheridan and said, “Wow, Sheridan. You haven’t been here in a while.”

She shook his hand and said, “Yeah, I know. I brought a friend with me tonight. Steven, this is Harry. Harry, Steven.”

Harry shook Steven’s hand and said, “Nice to meet you.”

Steven said, “Nice to meet you too, Harry. Welcome!”

Everyone settled into their chairs and Steven began the meeting by passing around a clipboard. When it got to Harry, he saw that he had to write his first name and age. He past the clipboard to Sheridan when he finished.

Steven began, “Does anyone have anything they need to talk about?”

Everyone was quiet for a moment, then a man across from Harry spoke up. “Um, I’m still having problems with my dad.”

Steven turned to him. “Well, Denny, he probably is never going to accept your relationship with a man.”

“Well, no, but why does he have to be so nasty to me?” Denny asked.

The discussion went on from there on how Denny could handle his dad and Harry was glad that the Weasleys had been okay with Ron, so he hardly thought they would have a problem with himself.

Then a girl began talking about her conflict with being bisexual. Harry’s ears perked. She talking about how it was confusing and that she did not understand why she could not make up her mind on which gender she liked. She said her gay friends thought she was just in denial and her straight friends didn’t get it.

Steven said, “You mean they think you are a lesbian and you are just in denial?“

“Yes.“ The girl said.

“That’s a common thought, but you can’t help who you like, Susanne. If you like men and women, then you do. Why should you make a choice just to make other people comfortable? It should be up to the person you are involved with.” Steven explained.

“Yeah.” She said quietly. Then she continued, “But I am still confused about it.”

“That is probably going to take time, but we’ll help you here.” Steven said.

Susanne smiled, “Thank you.”

Steven turned towards Harry and said, “Well, Harry, it is nice you are here. Is there something you need to talk about?”

Harry jolted to attention. “Oh. Um. I…I…well…” Part of him wanted to ask questions or ask them what they thought of his situation with Ron, but he was speechless with nervousness.

Steven said, “It’s okay, Harry. When’s the first time you realized you may be bisexual?”

That opened the floodgates. Harry told the story of how his friend Ron has always had feelings for him, but he didn’t think he had the same feelings for him until recently. “But I don’t understand it, because I love women. I love being with women, but every once in a while a guy comes along that I have these feelings for them and it doesn’t make any sense. They are intense feelings. So intense that I can’t think sometimes. I don’t like it, really, but I think I want to be with Ron.”

“Why aren’t you with him then?” Steven asked.

“Because I’m a git.” Harry moaned.

Steven chuckled, then said, “No, you are not.”

“Well, I introduced him to someone and now he is with him and living in the States. I didn’t realize it really until I would see them together and he stayed there and that I really love Ron and I…I am jealous. And those feelings…frighten me. But I want him.” Harry admitted.

It was really the first time Harry had said that he wanted to be with Ron and that he loved him, in more than just his best mate. He had told Sheridan, Bill and Charlie things, but he was vehement this time. He meant it. He loved Ron.

“Well, Harry. Hopefully things will work out. In the meantime, why don’t you meet other people?” Steven asked.

Harry glanced sideways at Sheridan. “I am.”

*****

After the meeting, Harry and Sheridan said their good byes and left. Sheridan asked, ‘So, Harry, was it okay?”

“It was great. I really like those people. I felt comfortable talking to them, I guess because we all have similar problems.” Harry said happily.

“I told you, you’d like it.” She said.

“Thank you for taking me. I’d like to go again some time.” Harry grabbed her hand and swung it happily in his.

“They have them every other Tuesday, so yeah, we can go again.” She said.

Harry grinned and asked, “Do you want to stop and get a drink?”

“Yes, I’d like that.” She said.

“I don’t know London that well. Do you know of a place?” Harry asked.

“Yes. There’s a friendly place around the corner.” They walked quickly around the block and entered a small bar, that had wood and brick around the older building surrounding it.

They chose two seats at a tiny table by the window. Harry went up to the bar and ordered two drinks for them. He waited until they were ready, then paid for the drinks. He returned to the table and handed Sheridan hers.

He took a seat and a sip of his drink. Harry grabbed her hand and held it, while he drank out of his glass with his other hand.

Harry felt Sheridan stiffen, so he looked up at her. She was looking across the room. “Is everything okay?”

She shook his hand away and said, “That girl over there.”

Harry looked in the direction Sheridan was looking. He saw a red-headed girl talking and laughing with a group of women. Harry spluttered his drink down his shirt. “What? What about that girl?” He turned and looked at Sheridan.

She was still staring at the girl. “I went out with her once. God, I liked her. But I guess she didn’t like me well enough. She doesn‘t like girls like that, I guess.”

Harry stared at her open-mouthed. His head was spinning. “Why? What? I mean…”

Sheridan looked at Harry. “What’s wrong, Harry?”

“That’s Ron’s sister!”

Sheridan looked horrified. “What? Ginny?”

Harry nodded. “I didn’t know that about her.”

Sheridan shook her head, “No. She’s not. I think she was curious and that’s annoying, because I really did like her. It gives the rest of us a bad name.”

“A bad name?”

“Yeah, the curious ones. You know, just in it for fun and games, and not really bisexual.”

“But how can you tell? Maybe she was just confused.”

“Harry…she wasn’t confused. Anyway, don’t worry about it. It was a few years ago and she was young. Even though I didn’t like it, I understand when people are young and finding their way in the world, sometimes they do things like that. Does she have a boyfriend?”

“Not at the moment. But she always seems to be dating.”

“Boys?”

“Yes…boys.”

Sheridan sighed. She gulped the rest of her drink.

Harry said, “Let’s go find somewhere else to go.”

Sheridan shook her head, threw some money on the table and they left. Ginny never saw them.

*****

Sheridan and Harry walked down the street, not saying anything. Sheridan finally said, “Let’s go somewhere loud and fun.”

Harry smiled, “Sure. Where to?”

Sheridan smiled broadly, grabbed Harry’s hand and ran down the street.

They turned a few corners until they reached a nightclub with a long line in front. It was a Muggle club, of course. Harry stopped at the end of the line, but Sheridan pulled him to the front. She winked at the bouncing and he let her in. Harry noted that she seemed to know everyone, Muggle and wizard.

They weaved their way across the room and sat at a small table. The waiter came over and took their order. Sheridan tapped her fingers to the beat of the music.

“Do you want to dance?”

Sheridan shook her head, “I’m fine.”

Harry wasn’t so sure but left it alone. He sipped his drink. He sat there and thought for a long while. He was glad he went to the meeting with Sheridan and he planned to go to more. He hoped he could finally feel happy with himself. He hoped things would work out with Ron. Or at least become comfortable again. He had a lot of hope that night.

Harry looked down at his drink. He had a lot of despair, but inside of that was hope. Maybe things wouldn’t work out quite the way he now thought they should, and it could take time, but he had time now that Voldemort was gone and he’d always had hope.

Harry jolted to attention when a fit young man walk by him. He looked over at Sheridan, who wasn’t paying attention. Harry felt it right then. When he looked at Sheridan, he left warmth, good feelings, and love. When he looked back at the man who was now standing at the bar ordering a drink, a jolt shot to his groin and his heart swelled. Intensity. Passion. Different than love.

He sat there and wondered what it was that he felt when he looked at Ron.