A/N: Hello! My first fanfiction, but I hope it goes well. Updates might be far between, but I promise they'll get there eventually. I already have a good half of the story written... just have to connect the pieces. I won't be following the events of the books competely, so don't get confused if something shows up in the wrong order. I'm just picking and choosing the pieces that best fit my plot. The story is set around the time of HBP and DH. Reviews and critiques are welcome and I hope I won't be too horribly busy to update...
Enjoy!
The first time Beth saw him, she was Christmas shopping. His brilliant orange hair was what caught her eye, a bright flash of colour amidst all the whites and greys. He was towing a girl who was around the same age as him, and sporting the same flaming hair. She instantly hoped it was his sister. There was something about him, something that made her insides heat up and curl their toes in delight.
He looked safe.
Ron would have stopped dead in the street if Ginny hadn't been so insistently tugging on his arm. The girl in front of the grocery market was the most beautiful human being he had ever set eyes on, despite the fact that half of her face was hidden by a thick scarf.
The scarf was the only thing that looked warm about her, though. She wore only a thin jacket, open over a cardigan. Her hands were pulled up inside the sleeves of her coat, and the nose peeking out above the scarf was bright red with cold. Ron watched, entranced, as she picked through the fir-branch wreathes on display in front of the shop. Ginny gave an insistent yank on his arm, though, and he followed her reluctantly away.
The next time she saw him, Beth knew it was fate. She was crouched on the floor at the bottom of a bookshelf in the cramped used book store, her nose buried in a tale of magic and dragons. He burst through the door of the shop with a gang of kids with flaming hair, letting in a gust of frozen December air. She listened to his laughter and watched discreetly as he wrestled with an orange-haired brother, unable to drag her eyes away.
And then he looked at her.
It was like magnets.
Completely involuntarily, she stood and made her way towards him, winding carefully around towering piles of books. He disengaged from his siblings, his mouth hanging open slightly as he stumbled over to meet her.
Righting himself, his face flaming red up to the tips of his ears, he smiled at her.
"Hi," he said, extending his hand. "My name's Ron. Ron Weasley."
"Hi," she breathed. "Elizabeth Ricketts. But you can call me Beth," she smiled, and then placed her hand in his.
His hand was firm and calloused, but warm and strangely soft. Beth's own delicate fingers were engulfed by his, and she was filled with a feeling she had long forgotten.
Ron Weasley was safe, and Elizabeth Ricketts was home.