~*Chapter Thirteen*~ - Home
It was late in July; almost August in fact, when they had finished this quest, and no sight was welcomer to Ron's eyes than the sight of his own front door.
"It's nice to be home," Ron said decisively as he, Harry, and Hermione sat around his kitchen table, talking comfortably. It was just like old times back in the Gryffindor Common Room, they hadn't sat together as a trio in over four years. Hermione smiled; she hadn't seen her home for a long time, but it was worth it to stay here among her comrades for a while longer, laughing and reminiscing. They recalled events long past and told stories that they thought had been buried among their memories forever.
"Oh, Harry!" Ron cried suddenly, a gleeful grin spreading across his boyish features. All three had recovered from their bouts fairly well; there were no lasting marks. Even Ron no longer mentioned the Memormetuo Curse. "Harry, did you know that we got a letter from Remus Lupin while on our trip to get you?"
Harry looked up quickly, surprised. "Really? What did it say?"
"Just a good luck message, but did you know that he's living with Sirius of all people?!"
Hermione laughed. "I bet there's more to it than we know, Ron." This remark, especially coming from Hermione, was a surprise in itself, and caused the entire trio to laugh heartily.
After the laughter died down a bit, Hermione again turned to Harry, a more pressing question in her eyes. "What are you going to do now, Harry? I mean, now that the Death Eaters are no longer a threat to you or us anymore."
Harry's smile disappeared, replaced by one of uncertainty. "I'm not sure; I might just head home…" He glanced at his watch about then and saw that it was quite late in night, almost midnight in fact, and stood. "And I really hate to do this, but I need to be getting home anyways…I've been away too long." He glanced at Hermione and Ron for a moment, though his eyes lingered on Ron's bewildered expression for a few moments longer, then he quietly left the room, heading for the room where he had slept. The bed was still unmade from the night they made love; Ron hadn't made it in his haste to find Harry the next morning. Resignedly, he began to gather his things, his brow furrowed.
Ron watched him go into the room with bewilderment, and suddenly jumped and yelped when he felt Hermione elbow him solidly in the ribs. He whirled his head to face her, and saw that she was giving him a deadly look the clearly said, "You had better not let him leave, Ronald Weasley, or I'll see to it that you get some sense knocked into you."
"What was that for?" He asked; he saw no harm in asking just in case. She gasped in exasperation and rolled her brown eyes, then grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Oh my God you are both so THICK! March yourself in there and stop him before he leaves! You and I both know that you don't want him to!"
Feeling rather embarrassed, Ron stood from his chair and slowly made his way towards Harry's room. He leaned against the doorway, much in the same fashion as he had done the night Harry was taken, and looked upon Harry, who almost had everything packed up. He walked up behind the raven-haired young man, stood in front of a box that Harry was blindly putting things in, and began to take them out as quickly as Harry was putting them in.
"Ron, what on Earth are you doing?" Harry asked, half irritated, half amused. Ron grinned crookedly and put his arms around Harry, drawing him into a loose but warm embrace.
"Harry, what on Earth do you think you're doing?" Ron repeated, still smiling. Harry chuckled, a few strands of raven hair falling across his forehead. "You weren't packing, were you? Thinking you were going to get out of here without getting through me, were you? Well, you thought wrong."
Harry's vivid jade eyes lit up considerably, and he laughed. "I was going to head home…but it seems that I'm already home, doesn't it?"
Ron grinned.
"Whatever gave you the impression that it wasn't your home, Harry?"
~*Owari*~
