-Chapter 14-

"RONALD WEASLEY!"

Ron and Brooke whipped their heads around to stare at each other in surprise.

"What did you do now?" Brooke muttered as she stood to brush the grass off of her legs.

Ron rolled his eyes, "How should I know?" he muttered annoyed, "For all I know she got my OWL grades and realized she has another kid like Fred and George!"

Brooke laughed, wrapping an arm around one of Ron's, making him blush brightly.

"Trust me Ron you are much better than Fred and George!"

He just shrugged, too focused on her small arm wrapped around his to think much of their conversation.

Brooke took in a deep breath, staring up at the cloudy sky, "It is so nice that it is summer!"

"Yeah well wait until Hermione gets here and starts questioning you about your school work that you have yet to start yet!"

"Yeah but, for now it is nice!" she muttered, taking another deep breath. "We better hurry and get inside before your Mum comes out to kill you."

Ron sighed loudly, before heading up the porch steps.

It had only been a month into summer when both Remus and Sirius got called away on Order Duty. They had spent the majority of the summer doing pranks, eating out, and flying around, which was the best start to summer that Brooke had ever had. They chatted a lot about what happened in the Ministry, and even taught her some defensive spells she had never done or heard of before.

The wizarding word was still on a high when the newspaper outlets started printing that Voldemort was indeed back. Attacks that were still happening, became targets in the fight against You-Know-Who as the paper continued to call him. Remus and Sirius seemed to be fighting about what to tell Brooke and what to not, with Remus being the one not wanting to speak as openly, and Sirius being the one to want too. It was confusing and all at once very eye opening. Meetings were taking place all summer, sometimes 2 or 3 a week, which showed everyone just how serious things were getting.

Staying at the Weasley's was a nice change of things for Brooke. The twins always were making her laugh, Percy was on everyone about studying, Ginny was there to distract her from her own worries by telling her about her own, and Ron was….well just Ron.

"Now with Hermione here tomorrow, we will have to come up with some different sleeping plans, as Ginny's room won't be able to fit all of you." Mrs. Weasley was explaining.

"Brooke can sleep in our room Mum!" Fred howled with laughter as Mr. Weasley frowned at him.

Mrs. Weasley shook her head and tutted under her tongue, "Of course not Fred, she will just have to stay in Charlie's room." She nodded t herself, "I am sure you will enjoy having your own room rather than sharing with Ginny and Hermione!"

Brooke nodded in agreement, "Thanks Mrs. Weasley."

"Brooke has only been here for 2 weeks-"

"And already she is getting her own room!"

"Honestly Mum we have been here for 17 years-"

"And never got our own room!"

"Clearly Gred we know who the favorites are in here!"

Brooke almost chocked on her drink at Fred and George's antics, as Mrs. Weasley started to reprimand that two.

"Honestly anywhere is fine with me."

"Nonsense Brooke, Charlie's room is at the top of the house, you will enjoy the quietness of it." Mrs. Weasley said smiling brightly at her. "Besides Ron's room is right next door, so if you need something he is right there."

Brooke blushed at the comment, and her heart fluttered for some reason that she wasn't so sure of.

That's how it had been since….for a while now she supposed, a reason she hadn't given much thought too. I mean it was Ron, her best friend, someone she has loved and relied on for the past 4 years of her life. Hermione was constantly making comments about the two to the two, but she wasn't sure what she was trying to insinuate to her about it.

Ron gave her a wink across the table, rolling his eyes at as the twins started to cause mayhem.

Brooke smiled back, blushing again; she decided that she didn't need to look into how or what she feels about Ron, as long as he was there for her, that was all that mattered.

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BOOM

Charlie's room seemed to shake from the clatter of thunder that sounded outside. The room lit up moments later as the lightening colored across the sky.

Brooke sat up, yanking the covers around her as though it would protect her. She hated thunder storms, and when she was at the school she could cast a silencing charm around her bed, making her feel safe and free of the storm surrounding her. Here it shook the house, it seemed to groan every time the thunder raddled outside.

Hermione had been here for the last week, and the trio had caught up on everything they had missed. It also meant that Hermione was up in Ginny's room, and Brooke was up at the top of the house alone. Normally she loved to be alone, which is the main reason Mrs. Weasley liked to give her a room to herself, however right now she hated the thought.

Another particularly large clatter of thunder rattled the house, and it had Brooke jumping out of bed and throwing open the door.

The house was dark on the top floor; the only light was coming from the outside when the lightning lit the sky. Brooke was frozen in place, she didn't know where she was going, all she knew was that she couldn't be alone in that room any longer.

Her eyes drifted to Ron's door, and her heart beat skipped in her chest.

BOOM.

It was like her legs moved on her own account, but suddenly she was opening the door and closing it quietly.

She froze, what the heck was she doing in Ron's room. But then it came to her, Ron was always her protector, always the one she went running to when she needed help, without any other thought. He was the one who protected her from pesky reporters, the one who protected her from men that approached her, and the one who she always knew was there.

BOOM.

Brooke may have gone head to head against Voldemort multiple times, but she found herself diving into Ron's bed shaking.

"What the bloody hell!" Ron cursed, sitting up straight in confusion, "Brooke?"

She peaked out from under his covers smiling sheepishly. "He-Hey Ron."

He blinked at her in confusion, still half asleep and groggy.

BOOM.

The house shook, and Brooke clung to his body tightly. His arm wrapped around her automatically, pulling her close before Ron even knew what he was doing.

Brooke whined as she held onto his body.

Ron chuckled at her, still slightly stiff at closeness the two were. "Scared of a storm Brooke?"

She pinched his arm, "Shut up!"

"No really what will the Daily Prophet say about this!"

BOOM.

Brooke shook like a leaf as she buried her face into Ron's shoulder.

His arm tightened around her small body, and his heart beat sped up as he pulled her closer. What was he doing?! This was Brooke, his best friend, his heart shouldn't be skipping, he shouldn't feel short of breath, and he defiantly should not be feeling his insides heating up. He consciously shifted slightly so she wouldn't notice.

Silence descended around the two, the only sound was of the rain pounding on the metal roof, and the periods of thunder that rolled out across the sky. Both quiet, and trying desperately to relax under the new circumstances the two found themselves in.

"I hope you know I will kill you if you repeat this to anyone Ron!" Brooke finally joked, causing the two to laugh and finally relax.

Brooke snuggled herself closer, before eventually falling asleep peacefully, clearly content with her protection so close to Ron.

Ron however could not go to sleep, his mind was spinning with the fact of how close Brooke was to him, how perfectly she fit in the crock of his arm, and how nice her body felt slid up against his.

The thoughts racing through his head shouldn't be happening, and the fact that Brooke was right beside him felt like a dream. But it was Brooke his best friend, maybe he was just feeling this way because this was the first girl to come diving into his bed.

He nodded, telling himself that is exactly why he was feeling this way. With those thoughts in mind, he drifted back to sleep peacefully.

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Brooke woke feeling warm and safe, like she was in a cocoon of sorts. She snuggled deeper into the feeling of warmth, sighing contently once she got comfortable again.

A chuckle had her opening her eyes in confusion. She sat up when she realized her comfortable cocoon was really Ron.

His brown eyes sparkled as he stretched out, sitting up and revealing his shirtless chest.

Brooke felt her cheeks heat in embarrassment as the night came back to her, and she felt her cheeks redden even more.

"Sleep good?" Ron taunted with a smirk to his lips.

Brooke glared, swatting him with a pillow, "Ronald if you tell anybody about this-"

Ron grinned in glee, "What will you do, attack me with pillows?" he asked with a laugh.

Brooke grinned as she grabbed another pillow and started to attack him with it.

Soon the two were laughing as they tried to hit the other with a pillow, shouting in glee when they would succeed. Brooke managed to push Ron over and grinned in triumph as she stood above him with a pillow.

"This is where the end comes Ronald Weasley!"

Ron had other plans however as he grabbed her ankle, causing her to fall over on top of him.

The two broke into a fit of laughter.

"Come on Wonnie Kins, I am sure breakfast is ready!" Brooke teased as she started to stand.

Ron sucked in a breath as she slide across his leg and froze for a moment.

Brooke felt her face flush, and her insides do a twist as heat pooled in her belly at the feeling of Ron's clear hardness in his pants.

Ron felt mortified, and turned on all at the same time, and he would do anything for a black hole to swallow him whole at any moment now.

Brooke finally stood, her face bright red, and eyes not meeting his, "I err….I'm going to go change and then go down for….breakfast!" she muttered, walking backwards as she spoke before she bolted out of the room.

Ron hit his head back on the floor, groaning at his predicament. He just totally ruined his relationship with Brooke.

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Brooke closed her door tightly, leaning back against it breathing heavily. Her heart was still pounding, her stomach doing flips, and her insides felt tingly and hot.
She breathed in deeply, trying to catch her breath. Ron was…..well Ron was clearly turned on by the two of them fooling around…so was it just a typical guy response that was inevitable and didn't mean anything….or worse did it mean something. And if it did mean something what did it mean…Sure Hermione had been telling her for years that she and Ron had some connection that both were too blind to see. Brooke had always just laughed, I mean sure Ron was gorgeous, and he was the one she always relied on, but he was also her best friend.

At the same time she knew deep down Ron wasn't only her best friend. He was the guy she turned to every time she needed help with men, the press, the enemy, when she was scared, when she needed comfort, and undoubtedly the one that was always there. The one her heart beat uncontrollably when she saw him, the one who gave her butterflies when he smiled at her, and the one she was always most excited to see. She had acknowledged that she had a crush on Ron years ago…before she quickly pushed those thoughts and feelings aside…but now…now she had to acknowledge these feelings.

She sighed deeply, "What the hell am I going to do!" she whined to herself as she flopped onto her bed.