Thank you to 'Spinning Round in a Carousel' for the great beta job!
It is the familiarity of the objects surrounding her that soothe her.
The last forty-eight hours since the defeat of Voldemort have been blindingly bright, warm and incredibly cloudless, it felt wrong somehow. And finally this morning, she peeked out of the window in her and Ginny's bedroom, and she saw it, the light drizzle of rain and the fog that she has been waiting for. Despite the very early hour - dawn barely breaking out on the horizon - she got up and dressed, and silently made her way outside.
She has taken more showers in the last two days than she did for the last two weeks, yet the rain is the more cleansing than any of them.
She finds herself in the middle of the yard between the house and the shed, inhaling the deep sent of the wet earth, allowing it to engulf her, awaking her body and soul. She closes her eyes and opens her arms, she feels light, so light that she thinks she could fly. She welcomes the feeling and lets it drown her. She doesn't remember how long it's been since she's felt so at peace with herself, with the world. She forces her brain to imprint the delightful feeling on her brain, for she knows they still have many dark days ahead of them despite the end of the war.
Soon, the rain becomes heavier and she knows that she has to find shelter. She throws one quick look at the Burrow – still asleep – before turning around and walking slowly towards the shed.
As soon as she closes the door and throws a Lumos, she realises that she has been shaking. Where it's from the cold or the intensity of her emotions, she isn't quite sure. Closing her eyes once more, she releases a shaky breath as she leans again the worktable in the middle of the room. Her hands caress the hard wood, dust floating eerily from under her fingertips. The place looks abandoned. Yet, as she takes a deep breath once again, she smells it. That heart twisting smell of earth and dust that knocks the air out of her lungs because of the familiarity of it. It is all that she knew while surviving the war, all she smelled during those cold winter months when it was just Harry and her. She can barely contain the heavy lump in her throat and the tears in her eyes.
She forces herself to look around. Muggle objects are pilled on the shelves everywhere she looks. Once again, it is the familiarity of the objects surrounding her that soothe her. She forgot how much she missed this part of her life during the past months. She knows where she wants to go next. Australia rings painfully loudly in her brain. She allows herself to take another deep breath and swallow the tears.
She is a different person. The war has changed her. Ron's different too. Lately, when she looks into his eyes, she doesn't see the light that she's been seeing almost all her life. His eyes, once bright blue are now dim, filled with sorrow, guilt and the horrors of the war. They've barely spoke to each other these past few days. He hasn't mentioned their kiss, yet he holds her hand tightly whenever he can.
So, where do they go from here?
She is lost in her thoughts. The sound of shed's door being opened startles her.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Ron's voice is hoarse and his gaze still lightless.
"It's okay," she whispers softly, noticing for the first time the light sun rays peeking through the shed's walls. It seems like the day will not be as sombre as she expected.
He walks agonizingly slowly towards her.
"I saw you outside."
She raises an eyebrow in question, silently asking him to explain.
"In the rain. You looked -" he creases his lips, seeming to be looking for the right choice of words, "happy," he finishes, the word an almost painful whisper.
She opens her mouth to reply but he is faster.
"I want to feel like that too," he says, grabbing her hand firmly as his words still resonate within the thin walls of the room.
All a sudden, she is astonished by the light that she sees in his eyes. It's small but it's there, and it's blissfully blinding. She feels lightheaded. They are different, but they grew up with each other. She knows him and he, her.
They will deal with the future together.