"10 drabbles, 10 topics challenge" of HPFC forum. Prompt: Using an event- Christmas
The somberness of the holiday was going to kill him, he was sure of it.
After George had burst into tears over the sweater Mum gave him, Ron stood up and stalked out into the yard, not bothering with a robe or shoes. He stood in the snow and looked up at the waxing moon, breathing in the fresh air. Then he closed his eyes, still able to smell the scent of burning wood and fabric, and taste the soot on his tongue from when Bellatrix had burned down his home.
Hermione had explained to him the effects of PTSD. He shivered and grit his teeth as tears slipped from his closed eyes and cursed the war.
"Ron?" she asked him now, pulling a cloak over his shivering shoulders. He turned and gave her a grateful smile, one that stopped whatever words were on her tongue. "Oh, dear," she whispered, nestling herself into his side. "Ron, I'm…"
"Don't," he hissed, a strangled whisper that pierced the night air. "Don't. You'll only make it worse."
He didn't look down to see her pained eyes staring up at him. "Happy Christmas," he said eventually, and he heard her give a choked laugh.
"Happy Christmas."