This might seem far more emotional than other stuff you're used to from me, but I promise this doesn't mean I'm done writing. This was just an idea in my head. There's a lot more to come from me! Hope you enjoy.
It was often said that outliving your loved ones is a greater punishment than death itself. Never was it more true for anyone than for one Ronald Bilius Weasley. Now one hundred and four years old, he had seen everyone he'd grown up with pass away. His parents were long gone, and they were followed eventually by his oldest siblings and their respective spouses.
Charlie was the first of the legendary Weasley offspring of the late twentieth century to go. Bill was next, followed by Percy, and then George. Each death was as difficult to handle as the next, but Ron found himself particularly relieved that Percy's now adult and middle-aged grandson owned the Burrow. As long as he had something to say about it, there would always be a Weasley in the Burrow.
However, when his sister Ginny died, Ron could feel something inside him break. He was the last of the seven children of Molly and Arthur Weasley from then onwards. He felt numb that day, and the very next day was worse – Harry Potter, the saviour of the wizarding world, one of the greatest aurors to ever live, a figurehead for progress, and his lifelong best friend suffered a fatal heart attack.
Speaking at his funeral was damn near impossible. How can someone do justice to someone like Harry? Was it even possible? Ron certainly tried his best, but never felt like he did his friend justice. He and his wife were now the last surviving veterans of the battle of Hogwarts, but it didn't matter. They just missed their friend.
Ron had always dearly hoped that his wife's death be a peaceful one, but alas, the universe disagreed. A grief-stricken Hermione Granger passed away exactly a year after Harry himself, and Ronald Weasley was now alone.
The last man alive who directly remembered fighting Voldemort. The last man alive who watched the rise and fall of a tyrant. The last man alive to study under the now mythical Albus Dumbledore's Hogwarts. Strangely though, the death of his wife, the love of his life didn't break him like everyone else's deaths did.
On the contrary in fact. He was the last of that generation, and he would do them proud in the mortal world. His wife's death strengthened his resolve. She always gave him strength, even now.
A few days after Hermione's funeral, Ron received a knock on his door, and he answered immediately, and the faces of his visitors brought a now rare smile to his face.
"Hi dad"
It was Rose and Hugo. He knew why they were there, and as much as he appreciated it, he knew that what he was about to do simply wasn't for them. Their generation was a happier one than his own, and they should be allowed to live on separately. Old as they now were, they still had time in this life.
"Are you sure you can do this alone?" asked Hugo.
"I promise you, I know I can", said Ron. Old or not, he carried himself with the fervour of a man fifty years his junior.
His children smiled, knowing that their father was still every bit as tough as he ever was.
It was only ten minutes after they'd left that he began. The last great adventure of Ronald Weasley.
He knew exactly where he'd start. It was an obvious no brainer.
Destination, deliberation, determination. The words of Twycross had stayed with him for over eighty years, and they'd never failed him since he passed his test. Sure enough, he found himself in the field overlooking his childhood home.
"Ginny? You can fly?" Ron asked, shocked.
Ginny turned around, looking at her brother in shock.
"Ron! You weren't meant- Please don't tell mum!" she replied desperately.
Ron grinned.
"Not a word. But you're joining the Quidditch team when you're old enough", said Ron.
Ginny breathed a sigh of relief.
"I promise"
His beloved sister had been gone for a few years now, and she'd been elderly and frail, far more so than either her husband or Ron himself for years more, but Ron had never forgotten the rebellious, vivacious young woman she was. There was no one left to remember anyway. He allowed himself a small smile before he apparated to his next destination.
The sound of children laughing and parents groaning was the next thing he experienced, and nothing had changed since he once worked there. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was more popular than ever.
"How much for this?" Ron asked.
"Five Galleons", said Fred.
"How much for me?" asked Ron.
"Five Galleons" George repeated.
Ron frowned.
"I'm your brother…" he said.
Fred and George looked at each other.
"Ten galleons"
Ron hadn't forgotten his older twin brothers' ability to brighten up anyone's day at a moment's notice. Who could possibly forget those two, even when their lives were forcibly separated so early? This time though, he couldn't laugh. There was only the next destination.
He didn't apparate directly near Shell Cottage – only to the beach, at a spot near it where the cottage could be seen. Nevertheless, this spot was particularly important to him.
"Ron, I knew I'd find you out here. You've got to stop beating yourself up over this", said Bill.
"How can I? Bill this is literally the worst thing I've ever done" Ron replied.
"I can't say I know the details, but I know you'd never do that on your own. You could've been confounded or something, I don't know, but it doesn't matter. If you can't forgive yourself, how do you expect Harry or Hermione to?" Bill asked.
"I don't expect them to", said Ron.
"Then why try to go back to them?" Bill asked.
Those eight words were the catalyst for Ron to start the last true redemption he needed to finally, as Hermione had always begged him, grow up. Bill was also right. Ron knew he'd never abandon them without an outside influence. The locket was more powerful than any of them had realized. Harry forgave him instantly. Hermione… took some time, but she would always forgive him too. It was just as well, because Ron had a lot of forgiving to do with Hermione in return.
There were now just two more places left in Ron's final tribute to the people who shaped him. The arrival to the first one was a simple one – he apparated to platform nine and three quarters, which at that time was deserted. He couldn't exactly apparate onto the Hogwarts express, but this was good enough.
"Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one"
Neither Harry nor Ron ever forgot the first words Hermione ever said to them. It was so unlike most of the other things she'd said over the years, and ultimately so insignificant, but still too difficult to forget. She was the bossy know-it-all, trying to make friends, Harry was the lonely kid with too much money and too few friends and he, Ron, was the kid with badly wrapped sandwiches and dirt on his nose.
But remembering Hermione again forced other memories into his head. One in particular raised its not-so-ugly head.
"Ron, where are we?" Hermione asked. Ron had apparated her to a location which she didn't have prior knowledge about.
"Forest of Dean. This is the spot I arrived at when I apparated to before I got Harry out of the lake", said Ron.
Hermione's face softened.
"Ron… what's on your mind? I thought you'd forgiven yourself", said Hermione.
"I have, don't worry. I mean you were in tears when I told you what actually happened, how could I not?" asked Ron.
Hermione nodded, already looking rather emotional.
"Look, I'm here because… how do I say this? Okay, so we've made a lot of mistakes with each other over the years, right?" Ron asked.
"Yes", Hermione replied.
"We're here because this is where I corrected my biggest mistake, and I want to make sure I don't make an even bigger one", said Ron.
"Bigger one?" Hermione asked.
"The biggest mistake I'd ever make would be not telling you what I'm about to tell you… but I'm sort of afraid of fucking it up", said Ron.
Hermione put her hand on his shoulder.
"Just say it. Don't be afraid, it's just me", she said softly. Ron took one look into her eyes and knew that he was ready.
"Alright... Hermione, I've known for a while what you really mean to me, and as soon as I figured it out, I knew what I wanted, and that was always a life with you. I still want that now, and there won't be a day where I don't want it. Whether you're yelling at me for leaving my jacket on the floor or surprising me with Quidditch tickets, I want it all…" said Ron, who had bent down to one knee. Hermione was already in tears, but knew what was about to come.
"Yes! You don't have to ask, yes!"
Ron nearly fainted.
Ron never visited the forest of Dean again. He wanted those two moments in his life to stand on their own. The day he returned to Harry and Hermione, and the day he asked Hermione to marry him. This tribute to his fallen loved ones was important, but some moments were too significant and ultimately, too beautiful to do anything but leave them as they were.
There was one final destination he had in mind, and Ron knew he could apparate there, but something stopped him. He wanted to go to the muggle side of King's cross. He was old and withering, but he had enough strength to walk there on his own two feet. And so he did. He watched the muggle train station materialize in front of him. He hadn't been there in years. So much had changed.
The muggle trains now hovered, and they were propelled by magnetic gravity manipulation, or so that was what Hermione explained to him. Muggles wouldn't put tickets into machines, but they'd have their wrists scanned. In spite of how everything had changed, everything was still the same. Britain never forgot its roots, muggle or magical, and Ron was grateful for it. The old brickwork of King's cross was the same. The station's structure was the same.
It allowed him to find what was ultimately the spot where the most significant event of his life occurred. He even recognized where his own two, eleven year old feet stood at the time. This was where he met Harry Potter. And with him, he met the love of his life, helped defeat the most powerful dark wizard ever known, and they stayed friends for the rest of their lives.
To this day he remembered how it all happened.
"Excuse me! I was wondering… could… could you tell me how-" Harry stuttered.
"How to get onto the platform? Not to worry dear, it's Ron's first time as well!" said Mrs. Weasley.
"Thank you Harry" Ron whispered to himself.
He was finally at peace, when he headed towards a bench, shaking with the exertion on his extremely aged muscles.
A young man nearby noticed him struggling, and came to his aid.
"Easy there sir, are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine", said Ron, smiling appreciatively at the man.
"Are you sure? You look exhausted, I could call you a cab to take you home if you need?" he offered.
"I am home", said Ron.
The young man was alarmed, and it was obvious in the way he looked at Ron, but Ron simply had a smile on his face as the mortal world around him went dark for one last time.
Ron set out on his last adventure alone, and yet through every step of the way, he felt that Hermione and Harry were with him, as ever. It wasn't his last adventure. It was their last adventure.
But it wasn't the end. Ron opened his eyes moments later, and again found himself in King's cross, but this time everything looked immaculately clean, but far older. It took Ron a moment before it dawned on him. Harry had told him what happened when he died (the first time), and he realized that it was the same for him. Looking at his hands, he noticed how much younger they looked. He then looked at his arms and saw that they were muscular and toned again, as they were during his late Hogwarts days or the early days of the Horcrux hunt.
He knew that someone significant in his life would be waiting for him based on what Harry said, and he looked around, expecting to see a young, smiling, beautiful Hermione.
But she wasn't there. Instead, waiting for him was none other than Harry himself. Harry as he was when he was seventeen. He didn't find himself disappointed that it wasn't Hermione. He'd probably have burst into tears.
"I never thought you'd be the one to outlive us all", he said, showing the trademark grin he'd known so well and yet hadn't seen in years.
"Harry… so I'm-" Ron started.
"Yep. You're dead. But you outlived every single one of us. I'm surprised, you were meant to be the reckless one", said Harry, laughing. Ron noted just how happy he looked. He hadn't seen Harry that happy in decades. Death was apparently a liberating experience for him.
"You're one to talk", Ron shot back, grinning at him just like he would have if they were the two troublemakers they were at Hogwarts.
"Point taken. So… we were watching you on that… adventure of yours. Hermione and Ginny actually couldn't handle it, they were bawling their eyes out. Nearly burst into tears myself", said Harry.
"You guys were watching?" Ron asked.
"You really think we wouldn't have?" Harry asked, wryly.
"Yeah, true enough. So… not that I'm disappointed to see you mate, but how come Hermione wasn't the one who showed up here?" asked Ron.
"I'm surprised myself, but let's be honest here. Even at your bloody wedding, she was the third wheel between us", said Harry, laughing again, and Ron laughed with him, even though he knew a part of that was true.
Hermione was the love of his life, and Ron chose to spend his life with her, day by day. But ultimately, Harry was the one who had the greatest impact on who Ron was and Ron's life. In a similar manner to how Dumbledore was for Harry when he was seventeen. At least… out of all the people who'd died, Dumbledore was the one who'd affected him the most. Obviously it'd otherwise be himself or Hermione, but they were still alive.
He knew that this didn't mean Harry was more important than Hermione to him, nor did it mean Hermione was more important than Harry. In fact, it just made Ron more anxious to see everyone else, his other friends, his family, and Hermione, the love of his life, and now, death.
"So… where's the train that takes us on?" asked Ron.
"You have a choice you know", said Harry, sarcastically.
Ron raised an eyebrow and stared at Harry for a moment before they both buckled and burst out laughing.
"Come on, follow me", said Harry.
As he did in life, Ron followed Harry to his next adventure.