"There you go, mate. You alright?"
Harry cracked his eyes. "What... why?"
"Thought I'd check up on yeh. Why didn't yeh tell me that you needed help? I woulda come!"
Harry, still light-headed, said, "Don't... didn't want you to... see me like this."
Ron snorted. "You saw what came out of that Horcrux, Harry. You saw the worst in me, and you didn't turn away. You welcomed me back. I would never think less of you."
Harry opened his eyes and looked at him. "That wasn't you."
"It was a part of me. A small part of me that the Horcrux feed on, just like this is only a small part of you, Harry. The broken, screaming part... it's not the only part you, and I wouldn't judge you for it. You're trying to quit firewhiskey, aren't you?"
Harry's eyes watered, and he nodded, meekly.
"You silly twat... you coulda told me... anyone. Well, you got me. Let me call that kid, Joel."
"I talked to him," Harry mumbled.
"Really? He didn't offer to stay with you?"
"I can handle it myself," he growled.
"But you don't have to, Harry. We aren't going to judge you for it."
"I... want... pain..." Harry mumbled as he drifted off to sleep.
What seemed like hours later, he woke up by turning onto his side and upchucking some bile onto the floor. Ron sat with him on the bed and cleaned up the mess and his airways.
"Get it out, mate," he said and patted his back.
After a few more coughs, Harry turned back to collapse into his pillows. Ron cleaned him, again, and he nodded in thanks.
"Here, mate, drink," Ron said, and Harry felt the goblet against his lips.
It tasted weird, but his stomach settled at the first gulp down and he felt better. His mind didn't seem as foggy, and it wasn't spinning as much. He drank the whole thing and immediately fell asleep for a long time. His dreams were fuzzy. Not his usual nightmares, but sunny, happy times. Flying. Flying with Draco. He didn't want to wake up, but a dull ache brought him out of his blissful sleep. His head was killing him.
"Fucking hell," he said, aloud as his eyes opened.
"Harry? You awake?" Ron said, walking over to him. Harry saw that a chair was now in his room, and Ron must have been watching over him.
"You don't have to stay here," Harry said, groggily.
"Yea, I do. I called Joel. He gave you potions to take, and you need to eat food. It doesn't look like you can even get out of bed, so that means that you aren't going to make meals. Here, drink this. It's a Nutrient Potion."
Harry diligently swallowed it and then slowly ate some soup that Ron had made, too. Then he stared up at Ron, beady-eyed and wondered how long had he been there.
"You doing okay?" Ron asked.
"What... about your kids?" Harry said, ignoring his question.
"Hermione and Molly have them. They can handle me being gone a day or two, Harry. Don't worry. Hermione sends her love, and I didn't tell her what was wrong, just that you needed some company. She understands. We love you, mate, and we both want you to get... healthy."
Harry looked away. "I... just... needed to not feel."
Ron nodded. "I know, Harry, but you need to stop the drinking. I know it's going to hurt, but you can lean on us now, okay?"