~Reviews are always appreciated, especially since this is my first R/Hr fic!~
Ron
"Son," Dad said, poking his head into my room. "I'm going to leave to get Hermione in a minute."
"I'm coming," I said without thinking. Dad raised his eyebrows. "She's my friend, Dad. I want to make sure she gets here alright." That was the truth. I do want to make sure she is okay. I feel the same way about Harry. Okay, maybe not the exact same way, because I know Harry at least could take care of himself.
I haven't seen either of my best friends in two weeks. I wrote to both of them, but it just isn't the same as seeing them in person. Hermione is coming here to the Burrow, and then we're going somewhere else for the rest of summer. A safe house, my parents said. Fred, George, Ginny and I have all tried to get more information out of them, but they haven't said a word. 'Whatever is necessary for you four to know will be explained to you.' That was a joke. George said that he thinks we're going into hiding from You-Know-Who. I have a feeling he's right.
Now, my dad shook his head at me. "I'm sorry, Ron. There is no easy way for you to get there. The Floo network is being watched, and you can't Apparate yet. I'm going alone. Trust me, it will be a lot easier with fewer people to worry about." He must have noticed the worry on my face because he smiled at me. "I'll take care of her, Ron. Don't worry. I will make sure she gets here in one piece."
"I could take care of her just as well as you could," I mumbled as Dad went to say goodbye to Mum. I flopped down on my bed in defeat. When Ginny came into my room a few minutes later, she looked surprised to see me.
"What are you doing here?"
Has she gone mental? "This is my room, Gin." She sighed.
"I know, but I thought you would have gone with Dad to get Hermione. You've certainly been worrying about her an awful lot lately."
I felt anger flare up inside me. "You think I don't know that? You think I like being stuck here, useless, wondering if Dad and Hermione are okay? Don't you think I would rather be there, helping her as much as I can?" I took a breath. "What are you doing in here, anyways?"
Ginny crossed her arms and glared indignantly at me. "I came to borrow Pigwidgeon. I have a letter for him to send, and it's rather urgent." Normally, I wouldn't care about letting her use Pig, but I wasn't really in a generous mood at the moment.
"No, I don't think you will. Whoever it is you're writing to can just wait for their letter." Ginny just shook her head angrily.
"You know what Ron? I should Bat-Bogey the shit out of you, but I won't since you're obviously pining for Hermione."
I felt my ears turn bright red. I wanted to yell at her, what right did she have to draw conclusions about me? Instead, I just growled, "Watch your language when talking to me, Gin." She looked like she was about to retort when we heard Mum's happy voice float up from downstairs.
"Ronald, Ginny, dears! Come downstairs, Hermione's here!" I felt a smile fly onto my face as I shot up excitedly. Ginny put her hands on her hips and smirked.
"I knew it! Look who's all excited to see his girlfriend." I elbowed her as I made my way down the stairs to the kitchen. I still felt my ears burning from anger. Stupid Ginny and her stupid ideas. What does she know, anyway? Hermione was just my good friend, that's all. Of course I'm excited to see her, because she's a good friend. We're close. We're close, good friends.
I shook the thoughts from my head as I approached the kitchen. Dad came out, and when he saw me, said, "One piece, as promised." The smile he gave me was a tad too smug for my liking. It was as if Dad knew something I didn't. I tried to ignore the idea when I entered the small kitchen. She sat at the table talking to Mum, but stood when she saw me, smiling.
"All right, Hermione?" I walked towards her. I stopped when I reached her, suddenly unsure of what to do.
"Well enough, Ron, and you?" She started shifting her weight from foot to foot.
"Good," I answered simply. "I was a little worried about you, to be honest." I inwardly cringed when I heard that come out of my mouth. Git! What were you thinking? She's going to think you're bloody pathetic!
"Oh." She smiled a bit. "Well I'm here now, and I'm fine."
I smiled at her and nodded. I stood awkwardly, undecided on whether or not to pull her into a hug. What's the matter with you? It's only Hermione! Thankfully, Mum's voice broke the moment. I had forgotten she was there. "Ronnie, why don't you take Hermione's trunk up to Ginny's room? We'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon, but it can stay there in the meantime. We don't need to lose it among the clutter of the house."
"Right! Er, I'll just do that, then." I backed up, and stumbled on the trunk. Hermione unsuccessfully tried to hide a chuckle. I felt my ears turning red again, only this time from embarrassment. Damn it! Why couldn't I do anything right all of a sudden? I picked up the trunk and turned to take it upstairs. That's when I saw Ginny standing in the doorway.
"You know, you're really lucky Fred and George didn't see that exchange." She was talking low so only I could hear. "I can practically hear them taking the piss out of you about your girlfriend." She smirked triumphantly.
"Piss off, Ginny." I tried to be as menacing as I could manage at the moment, but she only shrugged and entered the kitchen. I practically ran up the stairs to put the trunk away, ignoring Ginny's voice brightly welcoming Hermione. I flew into my room and slammed the door behind me, intending to stay there until dinner.