Chapter 8 - Renovations
The outside of her house was perfect. Looking at it, you would never connect it with the shack that was there last year. Next Spring she would add flower boxes to the windows like her mother did. It always made the house look so warm and welcoming. Yes, it definitely did not match the décor of her surrounding, but neither did she, and it felt right. She was a big proponent of going with your gut and this house felt like home.
"Well, Ron, we did it. We are ready to start on the inside and just in time; Christmas is just around the corner and we are supposed to get a snow storm soon."
Ron smiled, staring proudly at his work. "I never would have thought I could do any of the stuff that we did. I can't wait to start on the inside."
Sophie fixed her eyes on him. 'Opportunity,' she thought.
"Why don't we go inside and have some hot chocolate? We can discuss our plan of attack."
"Sure."
Together they entered. "I thought you only had tea."
"I am a very complex person, Mr. Weasley. Tea, hot chocolate, juices, even the occasional cider. I am just full of surprises."
He gave a laugh. She was such an odd character. It was a thought that had come across his mind from the first day he started to work with her and only grew with each passing day.
"Tell me Ron, how are your classes going?" she asked.
"Good, I guess. I have been having a much better time of it this year than in the past. I am actually surprised at how much I have been able to accomplish."
"And to what do you attribute this sudden change?"
"Well….to tell the truth….you."
"Me?"
"Well yes, this job and working all the time…I like the responsibly. I like earning my way…feeling like an adult, doing things for myself. I sent my mum some of the money I had earned, you know, and she sent it back. She told me to have fun. I finally have money and truth be told I haven't really spent much of it."
"Why do you think that is?"
"I don't know……Fred and George came into some money this summer. I guess they got an investor in their joke shop. Anyway, they have been so busy studying business and preparing for to open their place that they've become all serious. They grew up suddenly. I don't know if I don't feel like that, like suddenly I am not a silly kid buying chocolate frogs anymore. Like I'm more."
"Ah yes, the infamous Weasley twins. They have been rather quiet this year."
Ron nodded. "They're like different people. You know they bought me new dress robes…Ginny too. I didn't ask for them, they just did it. Odd thing is I could tell they liked doing it for me."
"Okay so the money has been helpful. What else?"
He thought for a moment. "Well…I don't know… I guess I like having people come over to me and telling me what a great job I was doing and how wonderful the place looked. I guess I liked the attention."
"Lacked attention in the past then?"
"Well, not really, it was just not the type of attention that I wanted. I was one of the Weasley brood. Bill was the coolest, Charlie the bravest, Percy the smartest, the twins the funniest. Even Ginny stood out because she was the only girl. I was never special. Then here I become best friends with the school brain and the hero of the Wizarding world. It's hard not to fell like the comic relief…like the side kick."
"Interesting," Sophie said slowly.
She had a strange look in her eye and it made him nervous. Ron looked at her questioningly. "What do you mean, interesting?"
She shrugged. "Well, I just find your perception of yourself fascinating. Your father often spoke of you and your misadventures at this school. The idea that you feel like you are in the shadow of your siblings does not correspond with the image I have of a boy stealing his parent's car and flying it into a tree on the first day of school in his second year. That was your idea wasn't it."
"Well…yeah-"
"I also recall that you are the one who sacrificed his own well being for the sake of others in his first year during a highly unusual game of chess. That hardly sounds like the work of a comic relief."
"Well, no, I suppose not."
"No. I suppose not either. Your father doesn't think of you as ordinary. Harry sees you as a partner in crime and not a sidekick and I would venture to guess that Miss Granger thinks you are pretty special as well."
At this he blushed. She pressed forward. "Yes, Ron it would seem to me that the only person keeping you in the shadows is yourself."
He stopped and looked at her. She was smiling as she continued.
"I gave you some pretty challenging work. Especially for one with no experience. You handled it perfectly as I knew you would. That is why I pay you so much. You do not lack brains or ability, just confidence." She paused to put a hand on his shoulder. "Confidence is a powerful tool. It can make a mediocre man magnificent. Lack of it can make a great man never realize his potential, and you have potential. I would also venture to guess that this lack of confidence has caused you to sit back and let something you want slip out of your hands." He looked up at her. 'My, what an unusual shade of red,' she thought.
"You know?" His eyes widened.
She couldn't help but smile. "It never ceases to amaze me how teenagers never think we know exactly what they are up to. I was once your age too you know. I had crushes and was terrified to act on them." She smiled at her own admission. 'Not much has changed, huh, Sophie.'
"It's Hermione," he admitted.
"I see."
"We were always just friends, buddies. I didn't even like her in the beginning; she was such a brain. Then it all changed. All of a sudden she was a girl and a cute one at that. She went to the Yule ball last year with Viktor Krum, the Quidditch player. I went bonkers. I was insane and I didn't know why. Then I knew why and I didn't know what to do about it. We never really talked about it."
"Why not?"
"I am not so sure it's a good idea. What if we don't get along? What if we fight and end up not talking anymore? What if she thinks I am not smart enough for her? What if she just doesn't feel the same way?"
Sophie cocked her head to the side as she considered him; he seemed so young right now. A warm smile inched across her face. "What if she's your soul mate?"
"My what?" Ron said in the tone he usually reserved for Percy. "You can't be serious."
"I know, what a thing to say -- soul mate. The one that makes you complete and all. What is thinking?" Sophie smiled at his wide confused eyes and continued, "Hermione is more studious than you. So what. Some of the best relationships I know are between people who are completely different. They have enough in common to be friends but are different enough to keep things interesting. Good relationships evolve and grow as you do. Good relationships have people learning from one another. Can you think of anything you have given Hermione over the years that she did not have before she knew you?"
It was something he hadn't thought of before. "I….well… I guess we have fun. She was always all about work, but then she started having fun." He smiled as a thought came to him. "One day she even popped Malfoy right in the mouth. It was bloody brilliant...I guess she loosened up."
"And was she still as studious as ever?"
"Yes."
"So you were able to add something to her life and she did not become something different."
"Yes."
"I go back to my original statement. Interesting."
"Yes, quite interesting." He squinted at her. "So what should I do?"
"Whatever feels right. Don't rush into anything but don't fight your feelings either. Love is as natural as sunlight. You just have to remember to let it in."
He seemed to come to a resolution. "Thanks."
"Anytime."
"I better run. I have a practical class to get to."
"How are those coming?"
"Great but they are working us hard. You would think we were in combat training."
He rushed out the door.
Sophie sat and watched him out the window until he disappeared. She then looked down at her empty cup. "You know," she said aloud, "for someone who constantly has people over for a glass of something, I seldom got to actually drink anything."
