Runaway Fox
Chapter Seventeen: Wands and Chopsticks
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling.
* * * * * *
Hermione watched Ron with mounting concern and she was starting to get the feeling that Harry knew what was going on. The class let out and the Weasleys came out of the classroom before everyone else got out. They waited until Jennifer Scott came out. She immediately walked up to Ron and he gave her a hug. "Hi Ron! It's great to see you. You haven't been to the ranch in a while. Mom wants to come over. She was going to invite you over tomorrow, but I guess I can do that for her. Do you want to come over for dinner? Who are all these people?" asked Jenny after she noticed all the other people. Ron proceeded to introduced everyone the way he had been doing all day.
"You're Ron's parents?" asked Jenny in a surprised voice.
"Yes," said Mrs. Weasley proudly.
"Why is it such a surprise for you?" asked Ron.
"I always thought you came by spontaneous combustion," joked Jenny. Ron gave her a small glare. "So, he's your youngest son?" she asked.
"Yes, Ron is the youngest out of all our boys," said Mr. Weasley.
"Aww. He's the baby," said Jenny.
"Stop that, you're being as obnoxious as Simon," said Ron.
"Don't you dare insult me like that!" said Jenny in a shocked voice followed by a laugh.
"You're asking for a cursing," said Ron warningly. Jenny flashed him a smile. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"My family is here for a visit. I thought I'd show them around," answered Ron.
"Oh, why don't you show them the hedges that you and Simon crashed in when you were racing your broomsticks?" asked Jenny teasingly.
Only Mrs. Weasley had heard this story before, she didn't tell the others about it because she had clearly forgotten about it. Everyone had different looks on their faces. Hermione, Ginny, Percy, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had horrified looks on their faces. Harry had a surprised look on his face along with Bill and Charlie. Fred and George had smiles.
"Um…I don't think so, and now I'll have to silence you," said Ron simply. He took out a pen. Everyone else eyed it strangely. Why didn't he have a wand with him? He looked at it and flicked his wrist. The pen started to float in midair and glowed a white light. It lengthened and the metal of the pen started to fade away into wood. Ron caught it in his hand. It was now his wand.
"Wait…was that your wand the entire time?" asked Mr. Weasley incredulously. Ron merely nodded as he pointed it at Jenny.
Looking at her watch, she announced, "Wait…I have to go to my next class. Advance Care for Magical Creatures 225 – Dealing with Dragons! Gotta go! I'll call you all about dinner" Jennifer Scott gave a quick wave and apparated out.
"Oh well, I wasn't going to do anything anyway," said Ron with a shrug as he flicked his wrist again and changed his wand back to an unsuspecting pen. "It's Advance Transfiguration 218 – Working with Wands. It allows wizards to carry their wands out into the Muggle world unsuspectingly by changing the wands into different objects," he explained because of the amazed looks on their faces.
"That's incredible!" exclaimed Bill. "I mean what a useful spell. Can you turn your wand into something else?"
"I can change it into anything I want. I once changed it into a sword," answered Ron.
"What other kinds of transfiguration were you doing?" asked Mr. Weasley.
"Transfiguring people into inanimate objects like furniture and transfiguring animals into pixies. Loads of other stuff," replied Ron. He really didn't want to answer any of these questions. He had the reputation in his family of not doing anything really extraordinary, so he didn't quite welcome the attention. "Why don't I show you something else?" he suggested hurriedly. Everyone nodded as they followed him to the next place.
~*~
After the tour of Ellsinore and the avoidance of answering questions from Ron, they all went around Muggle San Francisco. They boarded a trolley that went down the street with a track and cable. Mr. Weasley was so excited and asked how it worked. Hermione noticed how smoothly Ron answered any of Mr. Weasley's questions. He was confident and carried himself with strength. Hermione watched as the sunlight seemed to glow even brighter around him. The thing that bothered her was that he didn't acted like he was a member of his own family. He was terribly formal. Not the kind of professional formal that Percy usually was, but the kind of formality that showed Ron didn't really belong and he was only getting on with them because he had to. She wanted to talk to him privately, but everyone wanted to talk to him.
Fred and George were having fun telling him about some of the new things that Weasleys' Wheeze had come up with. They were also telling him about how some of their own employees were getting tricked themselves. It was rather hazardous to work for Fred and George.
Bill asked Ron how many vaults he really at Gringotts, but Ron refused to disclose. He also said that he was using a Muggle bank to keep some of his money in for paying out his Muggle employees.
Charlie talked about Quidditch with Ron, Harry, Fred, and George. Ron didn't say much about his win in Paris during the World Cup. Harry didn't press him because he knew that Ron didn't really care all that much about it. "We should play a game while we're here," said Charlie.
"Yeah, it would be loads of fun," said Fred. He and George were still marveling at the large Quidditch field that Ellsinore had.
"Maybe, we could use your indoor one for it, Ron," said George.
"I'd really like to see that," said Bill.
"Why are we talking about Quidditch again?" asked Ginny in an exasperated tone.
"I haven't played Quidditch in two years," said Ron out of the blue.
Everyone froze. All eyes fell on Ron. No one could believe that Ron would ever stop playing Quidditch, but they knew from the look on his face that he was serious. Harry also betrayed a look of surprise. "I haven't played a real game since the Cup. I haven't any game since I was…" he trailed off as he made eye contact with Harry.
"Injuried," helped Harry. "Ron got injured. Right?" He looked at Ron. Everyone's eyes were still on Ron.
"Yes. It wasn't too bad. I wasn't able to get on a broomstick for weeks. I just stopped playing after that. I refused to renew my contract and let it lapse," supplemented Ron.
"But, you haven't played since then?" asked Mrs. Weasley in surprise. Her youngest son loved Quidditch very much.
"It's just a game, Mum. It wasn't something worth killing myself over," said Ron simply. He kept his hand in his pocket so that he wouldn't run it over his scar.
Ron looked at his O.W.L. scores with a look of devastation. He had studied for them, but not hard enough. He had studied with Harry, Hermione, Neville, Seamus, Dean, Lavander, and Parvati. His scores were even lower than Fred and George's. He couldn't believe it. He had froze right before the exam. His mother had yelled until her voice was hoarse and his father came home tired because of the chaos in the Ministry. Arthur Weasley just looked at his scores with disappointment and said nothing. It was worse than Molly's reaction. She didn't even bother to punish Ron or do anything else for that matter. She told him that it wouldn't make a difference.
For Ron, it was worse than anything his parents had said before. A Howler would have meant that his mother still had hope for him. Ron didn't think that they were too upset to do anything. No child could really tell what Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were thinking at the time.
Ron vowed to better the next time. The N.E.W.Ts were still coming and he was going to do much better and make up for the disastrous results of the O.W.Ls. He knew that he had to be smart. Everyone else in his family was smart. Two head boys in the family. Two of the most creative joke inventors. All he had to do was tap it.
Two years later, Ron received his test scores, but didn't care to open them. He spent days intercepting the owls before they could deliver directly to the house. He had spent his entire seventh year not sleeping much. That was what did him in during the tryouts with the Chudley Cannons. His reflexes were off completely. It was just easier to blame Harry. It was stupid, but easier. Ron spent at least two hours after lights out studying with his curtains drawn with a sound barrier spell and a light spell to study in near solitude. He never bother to open his test results. It wasn't as if anyone noticed right away; he burned them.
Later on it was announced that Hermione Granger had the top N.E.W.Ts for their entire class, which was inaccurate. Dumbledore knew better, but let it slide because Ron didn't bother to say anything. Ron managed to beat Hermione by three points, but he only found out when he met with Chancellor Chan in Ellsinore. He was happy that he didn't find out sooner because he didn't want to take Hermione's glory away from her even if it meant his parents not being happy with him again. Besides, he was long gone before anyone woke up that morning.
"Well…you're making broomsticks for Quidditch. That's very important," said Harry hurriedly as he filled the void of silence. Ron had his back turned to everyone and stood a good distance apart from all of them. There was a cold wind that blew. Hermione stepped into the gap to close the distance. She gently took Ron's arm, but he jerked away from her quickly. She gave him a startled look at first that he didn't even see.
"Um…I'm hungry," announced Fred.
"How can you say that right now?" asked Ginny.
"Because I am," answered Fred with a shrug.
"There's a restaurant that's nearby," said Ron softly, but his voice sounded much further away than he appeared to be. They followed him once more to a restaurant with Japanese kanji written all over it. It was a beautiful restaurant with fine lacquer furniture that seemed to pull them out of San Francisco and into Japan itself.
"Hello. How many?" asked the hostess.
"Eleven, please," answered Ron. The hostess lead them to a private room that was usually used for catering parties. Partly because that was the only room where the table was large enough and partly because she knew Ron. He was a regular customer.
The menus were placed in front of them. The only thing about the restaurant that didn't really make it authentic was the fact that the tables weren't small, so they were sitting in regular chairs as opposed to being on floor. "Um…I'm not so sure about this," said Fred as he looked at the menu.
"You were complaining about being hungry. Just pick something," said Percy.
"Would anyone like me to make some recommendations?" asked Ron with a slight smirk.
"Yes, please," answered George as he eyed the menu. Ron smiled as the waiter came in and he ordered for everyone. The waiter and another one came in with green tea and water glasses. Soon they served them miso soup with the spoons which no one had any problem using until the first course of fried fish with some udo noodles on the side came. Everyone else looked around to see that there wasn't any spoons, knives, and forks. There were chopsticks. Ron looked rather pleased with himself as he took the painted chopsticks and got some fried fish.
"How are we supposed to eat with these things? It's like eating with two wands" mumbled Fred as he looked at Ron who was doing it without any trouble.
"What?" asked Ron when he finished a bite. Hermione was sitting across from him and watched him do it. She mimicked his movements, but it was deceivingly easy. Ron started to laugh softly.
"Ron…now really," said Mrs. Weasley in a gentle tone.
"All right. I guess this is Chopsticks 101 – Basic Usage. Place the chopsticks between your middle and index fingers. Place them on top of each other. The bottom one doesn't move. Just the top one. Move it like a pencil," instructed Ron as he demonstrated by picking up a clump of noodles expertly.
"Ha! I got one! No…I lost it," said Charlie happily.
"Just remember, in Japan, China, Korea, and other places in Asia wizards are doing this, not just Muggles. It just takes practice," said Ron.
Everyone was now trying to use the chopsticks. Hermione managed to master it as well as Ron. She was watching him do it. It was good excuse. Ron looked like he was remembering something while he ate. True, the speech he had given on the chopsticks was the same one Mari had given him before.
"I can't believe you showed Ron that picture of Jessica," said Ginny with a laugh. "Harry, she looks like she's going to cry there. Ron. Ron," she called him.
"Uh? What?" asked Ron as he looked up.
"The picture that Harry showed you of Jessica," said Ginny.
"Oh? That? It was cute," said Ron with a smile.
"No, we have better pictures. It's just that Harry likes to keep that one because it was the first one. Here's a proper picture of your niece," said Ginny as she made Charlie pass it to him. The picture went by Mrs. Weasley as she handed it to him, she smiled. Ron looked at the picture of a very bright eyed Jessica Lily Potter smiling up at him. A smile came over his face. Later on they had green tea ice cream with some special mocchi dessert that everyone liked with some sweet sake.
~*~
Everyone separated after that. Harry decided that it would be better if he and Charlie stayed at the place that everyone else was at. He didn't mention Ron's house which was more than large enough to accommodate all of them. Ron wanted nothing more, but to be alone for a while.
"I'll go back to my hotel," said Hermione.
"Wait, you shouldn't be wondering around San Francisco by yourself waiting for a cab," said Mrs. Weasely with concern.
"I'll take her back before I head back home," said Ron calmly.
"Thank you," said Hermione.
"Good night everyone," said Ron.
"Yes…well, good night, son. Good night Hermione," said Mr. Weasley. He wanted his son to stay, but there was something that made him not ask. Mrs. Weasley gave Ron a hug and a kiss which he didn't return. He merely nodded when his siblings and Harry said good night to him. Hermione was more friendly to them and soon they both left.
"He's so different now," said Percy softly. Mrs. Weasley stared after them until they were out of sight. "What happened to him?" she asked out loud.
"It looks like something awful happened. He just seems so serious…but sad," observed Mr. Weasley. He exchanged a worried look with his wife.
"Did you find out anything, Harry? Where were you?" asked Ginny.
"I was at Ron's house. We talked for a while and I used one of his guest rooms. His house is huge. He didn't say much. We played wizards' chess. He beat every time," said Harry.
Ginny could tell right away that her husband was hiding something. She decided to ask him about it later and not in front of her parents and brothers.
~*~
Hermione and Ron walked together in an uncomfortable silence. She felt a lump in her throat. She was in love with someone who didn't love her back. And worst yet, she was starting to believe that he was incapable of loving anyone. The look on his face was unreadable. He looked untouchable. She shook her head.
"Are you still in love with me?" he asked her. Her head jerked up to look at him. They both stopped walking.
"You think it's so easy just to forget. I said I could love you no matter what. And I do. I love you even if you don't love me back," said Hermione.
They were standing close to a wall. Hermione was right next to it. Ron was three feet away from her, but he might as well have been miles away from her. He stepped towards her closing the gap between them. She backed away from him involuntarily. Her back was now to the wall, and he placed his hand on the wall and came close to her face. She could smell his cologne. It was like the ocean mixed along with his sweat. He was only inches from her face. His eyes were directly in line with hers, studying her.
Ron heard words like those before. The one difference was the words were coming from the person he had wanted to hear them from. And the other change was himself. He wasn't a romantic anymore. "I never thought you were capable of such foolishness, Hermione. I thought you were smart," he said coldly despite the extra warmth Hermione felt from the closeness of his body, she shuddered from the coldness in his manner.
"I am only ignorant. You won't tell me anything. You only said that you killed two people. Were they Mari and Marcus?" asked Hermione. She knew it had to be them. Simon said that they had died. They all looked like close friends.
"Yes," answered Ron after some silence. "If I'm capable of killing two of my closest friends, what makes you think I'm not capable of harming you and Harry?"
Hermione stood there thinking about what he had said. She knew how close she was to him. Her lips pressed against his in a firm kiss. She pulled away when she noticed that he was unresponsive to it. "If you didn't care at all, you wouldn't be thinking about it so much. There was something else that happened. Please tell me," she pleaded.
Ron's eyes were soft. Hermione's hand was on his face tracing along his jaw line gently. They were standing so close to each other in a public street where any passing person could see them. It didn't matter. Her hand was on his cheek, warming it to her touch even more so. He was having trouble pretending that the kiss didn't matter. He had to fight himself not to kiss her back.
"I want to tell you," he whispered as his self control dwindled. He pressed his forehead against hers. His eyes were blurring again. How long had it been since he cried? It was months. Why was he crying now? When he opened his eyes the tears were already coming down. Hermione gently wiped them way with her hand and kissed his cheek loving. His hand slipped down from the wall and fell dead at his side, but he kept himself close by. Her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer to her.
She was listening to his heart beat as she let her hands slip down his shoulders and go around his waist. He was like a child who had never been hugged. He seemed so lost. Ron was unaware of the fact that she was close to the scar on his skin. Hermione noticed as she slipped her hands under his jacket, but not under his shirt. She could feel it through his thin shirt. "Ron…what is that?" she asked.
"A symbol of what I've lost," he whispered. She didn't pull away from him, but with her left hand she slipped underneath his shirt. Her hand touched the scar, causing him to flinch as if he were in pain. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Her hand covered it. Ron felt as if her touch was warming and healing him. Hermione knew what she was feeling at that point.
The Aurors used the metal alloy they had discovered against the Death Eaters. Muggle borns and half Muggle were immune to its effects. The Death Eaters were purebloods and had no immunity to its effects. However, they used them as bullets in Muggle guns or as blades. Hermione herself had fired and killed some Death Eaters that way before they could use the Unforgivable Curses on innocent people. She knew how to fire a gun and had seen gun shot wounds. The scar under her fingers was a bullet scar. "Who shot you?" she asked softly.
"My friend," answered Ron. Hermione was staring to understand what Ron was talking about. For all the close calls Harry had, it was with people he knew were evil and he didn't trust them. The person who hurt Ron was someone he trusted. Ron pulled away from her and turned to wipe his tears away with his sleeve.
"Come on. Let's go to my hotel. You can stay there for tonight. You shouldn't be alone," said Hermione. They ducked into a corner and apparated back to her hotel. Ron was too tired to fight her. He had spent the whole practically lying to his parents and pretending that everything was fine.
Hermione waited in her room and dressed in her tank top and pajama bottoms. When Ron came out of the bathroom, she noticed that he had washed his face. She watched from behind as he took of his shirt. She could see that his muscles were defined in the back. When he turned she could see that his chest was perfect and his abs were in a tight six pack. She couldn't really tell that his arms were well define when he was in his clothes. She saw the bullet scar on his abdomen close to his liver. He stepped out of pants and kept his cotton boxers on. His body was lean as she expected. Hermione picked up his clothes and hung them up in the closet. He sat the edge of the bed rubbing his hand over his scar. "I'm just glad that no one can see it really as long as I stay dressed," he said simply.
Hermione pulled the sheets off on side of the bed. "Come on," she said gently. Ron climbed in and she tucked him in. She kissed him on the cheek after pulling some of his hair behind his ear. She never noticed how soft his hair was; it was like silk. She climbed into the other side of the bed after talking just one sheet out and pulling the rest of the comforters on them. "Good night, Ron. I love you," she said before turning off the lamp on her side.
Ron stared at her as she went to sleep. He said nothing. He only allowed himself to feel comforted.
AN: Yes, I was hungry when I wrote part of this. Nothing is going to happen here. Come on folks. There's still stuff to go through. It's not moving too fast. I know that, but you've been really patient. And people keep asking for Ron and Hermione moments. I thought it was more important to start rebuilding Ron's relationship with Harry and reintroducing him to his own family. Ron is pretty smart here, isn't he? I believe that he is more than capable, but he has to apply himself. And for Squin, no Armani tux, but a description of Ron's body to compensate. ^_^ Also, for your enjoyment I decided to post two chapter at the same time. ^_~
