Now to a dreaming Ron...
He was walking down a corridor at Hogwarts. He felt as happy as could be. Everything had lined up in his life. He looked left. Standing next to him was the most amazing young lady he had ever laid eyes on. Her bushy brown hair boucning as they walked. His hand in hers. There was Harry on his other side. They were walking and talking about the adventures they'd had in their other years. They were all great friends, everything still clicked. Nothing had changed when he had asked Hermione out. He couldn't remember asking her out, but he knew it was great.
They came to another hall where Hermione would turn to go to Arithmancy or Runes, he wasn't sure.
He turned to Harry, "Hey, I'm going to walk Hermione to her class, okay? Save me my seat."
Harry got a puzzled look on his face. "Ron, you're supposed to go to class with me this time. Don't you remember?"
Ron began to feel uncomfortable. Something in Harry's voice wasn't right.
"Come on Harry, she's my girl. You know how it is." He pleaded with his friend.
The look on Harry's face changed. He was starting to look angry. "You said this wasn't going to happen Ron. You said nothing was going to change when you starting dating her."
"Ron," came Hermione's voice. She sounded like she was getting irritated. "Come on, I don't want to be late."
Ron turned to her. She had her hands on her hips and was tapping her foot impatiently.
Confusion started to creep in on Ron. What's going on, we were fine a minute ago, everything was great. What happened.
"Ron!" came harry's voice through his thoughts.
"Ron!" was Hermione, she sounded angry.
He felt helpless, there was a fog over his mind. Everything was wrong.
Ron woke with a start. He sat straight up. The fog from the dream world was still swimming around in his mind. He looked around. It had to be the early hours of the morning.
He laid back down on his pillow. Staring up to the ceiling. He had been having alot of these weird dreams. They always involved him and Hermione going out, finally. But it always ended up going south. It always ended with the loss of Harry or Hermione's friendship. He had awoken tonight before it got really bad.
The healer at St. Mungo's said things like this might happen. He had heard the nurse tell his parents that thoughts scarred deeper than physical wounds.
He tried to shake the feelings still lingering over from the dream. He was getting sleepier. A sleep he didn't want. He fought, it was fruitless. Not getting enough sleep lately had taken it's toll. His mum had been working he and Ginny sore everyday the result being he was an easy target for whatever dream came next.
Ron's last thought before he fell back into sleep was his mother. He couldn't tell her, she had enough worries these days. It was his struggle.
And he drifted off...
***
It was another bright and sun shiny day at the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley, could be heard cleaning as usual. It was almost lunch and she was thinking on what to prepare.
Ron came in from outside. His hands were dirty, his shirt was sweat stained and he looked exhausted.
He headed for a chair at the table and plopped down.
"Mum, it's way too hot to be de-gnoming the garden," he whined. "Come on, Mum.We've got the rest of the summer."
"Ron, we're short a few hands this summer, so we all are having to do a little more." she said to him over his whining.
Just then Ginny came in and got herself a chair.
"Mum, it's hot. Can't you give us a break?" she hadn't heard Ron's attempt to skive off work.
"I've told you and your brother both already," she said pointedly, "less help means more work."
So far this summer the twins had been booked at their joke shop in Diagon Alley. They were doing well enough that they had moved out of the Burrow and into a flat in Diagon Alley. A source of endless worry for Molly. With all that was going on in the wizarding world right now, she now had to worry about Bill, Charlie, and the twins. Arthur was working longer hours at the Ministry of Magic due to the amount of information being put together for the war effort against Voldemort.. Percy was still not talking to them. It was wearing her down.
"I thought less people in the Burrow would mean less mess." said Ron, giving up for the fourth day now in a conversation he knew he would lose.
"Mum, I'm going upstairs until lunch is ready." Ginny said as she got up from the table and headed for the stairs. She stopped at the base and turned to her mother. "Have you heard from Dumbledore?" She asked, "Do you know when Harry and Hermione will be coming?"
"Not yet, Ginny. I assure you, you will be the first to know." Her mother said to her.
"Oi, mum?" said Ron. "Any owls come in today?" he asked, but knew better. Had an owl come he would have seen it from the yard.
"No, dear." Molly heard a tinge of let down before Ron finished speaking. "Why don't you write to her and see how she's doing." She smiled at him and turned back to the kitchen.
Ron lowered his head after the news and headed for his room.
"Maybe I will write to her," he thought. "Just see how she's doing, tell her how I feel." He shook his head, "Yeah, right. I wouldn't know how." So far this summer had been lousy, and it had only just begun. He knew that Harry was never at the Burrow before the end of July. Somehow, the trouble of having Fred and George around was seeming less important than the distraction they often provided. His thoughts continued to drift. The sound of Ginny's door closing brought him around. "I'll go talk to Ginny, maybe she can help me sort this out."
He approached her door and listened. No particular sound coming from in there. So he knocked.
"What?" he heard her call lazily.
"Hey, Ginny. Can I come in?" he called.
"Yeah, hold on a second." she said back. Less than a minute later she said, "Ok".
Ron opened her door and saw her at her desk, she was putting the lid back on her ink and putting her quill in a cup.
She turned to face him.
"What's up brother dear?" she asked playfully. "Mum cracking the whip again?"
"No." He answered. The thought of talking to Ginny about his feelings was getting difficult. "Uhh, never mind." He turned to head back out her door.
"Why haven't you talked to her about it Ron?" Ginny asked plainly, like she had asked about the weather.
"What?" he said slowly, turning back around. She couldn't possibly know about the dreams he had been having.
"I said, why haven't you told Hermione how you feel? Why haven't you asked her out?" she said still as calmly as could be. "She'd say yes, you know."
That's what scares me the most, Ron thought to himself. Ron debated in his mind if he really wanted to talk about this. It was easier just carrying the weight of dreams and fears around with him. Sure it made terrible company, but at least he wasn't exposed. He could always deny it.
Ginny continued to stare at him.
Ron could feel his sister's gaze on him. She is your sister Ron. She already knows more than you do. All right he told himself. Let's see where this goes, and he moved over to sit on her bed.
"I know, Ginny." he started. Staring down at his hands. "I actually know she would say yes. But..." he paused, lost in his normal thought of it all.
"But, what?" she asked. Suprised that he knew.
Her calmness about a source of distress for him was almost unnerving. She didn't understand. She didn't know the battle in his heart and mind. How could she know that his biggest fear was losing Hermione or Harry as a friend was what kept him from taking their realtionship further.
"I don't know if it's worth taking the risk. That's what." He said it. It was out there. Out of his reach now that he had spoken it aloud. Memories of his dreams darkening his mood.
There was a long pause. Ginny had expected to counsel her brother on how Hermione really did fancy him, how he had just been to thick to see it. She was looking forward to giving him a hard time. But something was way wrong here. She was at a loss. "That's a tough break Ron." She didn't like seeing him like this and she couldn't think of anything to say. She had noticed a difference in him since the Ministry of Magic. Something about the haunted look in her eyes was too familiar. She hated it.
"Listen Ginny, I've really got to talk to someone about the dreams I've been having." He started to shake a little.
Ginny noticed.
Ron spent the rest of the afternoon in Ginny's room. He told her all about his nightmares. All of his fears about losing Harry or losing Hermione. Tears were a large part of their conversation.
Ginny hated to see her brother go through this. She could feel for where he was at and what he was going through.
Outside of Ginny's room, Molly fought with all her strength to keep from throwing open the door and holding her son. She had come up the stairs almost an hour earlier with laundry. When she arrived at Ginny's room she paused. She could hear Ginny sobbing softly. She couldn't help but listen. All that she heard broke her heart. She could understand his heart ache. She was not prepared for what he said next.
Ginny reached over and pulled her brother to her. She held him for a while. Then he pulled back.
Ron pulled himself together. Cleared his throat and looked at Ginny. He had a painful determination on his face, as though he was being forced to do something that was tearing him apart.
"Ginny, I need you to help me with something." More tears, like silent rivers flowed down both cheeks.
"Anything Ron," she answered. "Anything."
"Help me get over her." his words hung in the air, they clung to time and made it stop. "So it can never happen."
"Ron," Ginny couldn't bear it. "You don't want that."
"No, Ginny." he said, lost and distant. "I don't want that. But it's what I'm going to do. I'm not going to lose them."
"Ron, please," she pleaded with him. "Don't. You could never lose Harry as a friend, I don't think you would ever lose Hermione either," she continued.
"You can help me, or I'll figure it out on my own Ginny." his reply was stern. Stronger than he had intended.
Ginny winced.
"No, Ron." she said apprehensively. "I'll help you, you're my brother. I love you, what wouldn't I do to help you?"
Molly set the laundry down in front of Ginny's door and headed back downstairs. She lost the desire to clean any more for the rest of the week. She gave her children time to deal with their own.
***
He was walking down a corridor at Hogwarts. He felt as happy as could be. Everything had lined up in his life. He looked left. Standing next to him was the most amazing young lady he had ever laid eyes on. Her bushy brown hair boucning as they walked. His hand in hers. There was Harry on his other side. They were walking and talking about the adventures they'd had in their other years. They were all great friends, everything still clicked. Nothing had changed when he had asked Hermione out. He couldn't remember asking her out, but he knew it was great.
They came to another hall where Hermione would turn to go to Arithmancy or Runes, he wasn't sure.
He turned to Harry, "Hey, I'm going to walk Hermione to her class, okay? Save me my seat."
Harry got a puzzled look on his face. "Ron, you're supposed to go to class with me this time. Don't you remember?"
Ron began to feel uncomfortable. Something in Harry's voice wasn't right.
"Come on Harry, she's my girl. You know how it is." He pleaded with his friend.
The look on Harry's face changed. He was starting to look angry. "You said this wasn't going to happen Ron. You said nothing was going to change when you starting dating her."
"Ron," came Hermione's voice. She sounded like she was getting irritated. "Come on, I don't want to be late."
Ron turned to her. She had her hands on her hips and was tapping her foot impatiently.
Confusion started to creep in on Ron. What's going on, we were fine a minute ago, everything was great. What happened.
"Ron!" came harry's voice through his thoughts.
"Ron!" was Hermione, she sounded angry.
He felt helpless, there was a fog over his mind. Everything was wrong.
Ron woke with a start. He sat straight up. The fog from the dream world was still swimming around in his mind. He looked around. It had to be the early hours of the morning.
He laid back down on his pillow. Staring up to the ceiling. He had been having alot of these weird dreams. They always involved him and Hermione going out, finally. But it always ended up going south. It always ended with the loss of Harry or Hermione's friendship. He had awoken tonight before it got really bad.
The healer at St. Mungo's said things like this might happen. He had heard the nurse tell his parents that thoughts scarred deeper than physical wounds.
He tried to shake the feelings still lingering over from the dream. He was getting sleepier. A sleep he didn't want. He fought, it was fruitless. Not getting enough sleep lately had taken it's toll. His mum had been working he and Ginny sore everyday the result being he was an easy target for whatever dream came next.
Ron's last thought before he fell back into sleep was his mother. He couldn't tell her, she had enough worries these days. It was his struggle.
And he drifted off...
***
It was another bright and sun shiny day at the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley, could be heard cleaning as usual. It was almost lunch and she was thinking on what to prepare.
Ron came in from outside. His hands were dirty, his shirt was sweat stained and he looked exhausted.
He headed for a chair at the table and plopped down.
"Mum, it's way too hot to be de-gnoming the garden," he whined. "Come on, Mum.We've got the rest of the summer."
"Ron, we're short a few hands this summer, so we all are having to do a little more." she said to him over his whining.
Just then Ginny came in and got herself a chair.
"Mum, it's hot. Can't you give us a break?" she hadn't heard Ron's attempt to skive off work.
"I've told you and your brother both already," she said pointedly, "less help means more work."
So far this summer the twins had been booked at their joke shop in Diagon Alley. They were doing well enough that they had moved out of the Burrow and into a flat in Diagon Alley. A source of endless worry for Molly. With all that was going on in the wizarding world right now, she now had to worry about Bill, Charlie, and the twins. Arthur was working longer hours at the Ministry of Magic due to the amount of information being put together for the war effort against Voldemort.. Percy was still not talking to them. It was wearing her down.
"I thought less people in the Burrow would mean less mess." said Ron, giving up for the fourth day now in a conversation he knew he would lose.
"Mum, I'm going upstairs until lunch is ready." Ginny said as she got up from the table and headed for the stairs. She stopped at the base and turned to her mother. "Have you heard from Dumbledore?" She asked, "Do you know when Harry and Hermione will be coming?"
"Not yet, Ginny. I assure you, you will be the first to know." Her mother said to her.
"Oi, mum?" said Ron. "Any owls come in today?" he asked, but knew better. Had an owl come he would have seen it from the yard.
"No, dear." Molly heard a tinge of let down before Ron finished speaking. "Why don't you write to her and see how she's doing." She smiled at him and turned back to the kitchen.
Ron lowered his head after the news and headed for his room.
"Maybe I will write to her," he thought. "Just see how she's doing, tell her how I feel." He shook his head, "Yeah, right. I wouldn't know how." So far this summer had been lousy, and it had only just begun. He knew that Harry was never at the Burrow before the end of July. Somehow, the trouble of having Fred and George around was seeming less important than the distraction they often provided. His thoughts continued to drift. The sound of Ginny's door closing brought him around. "I'll go talk to Ginny, maybe she can help me sort this out."
He approached her door and listened. No particular sound coming from in there. So he knocked.
"What?" he heard her call lazily.
"Hey, Ginny. Can I come in?" he called.
"Yeah, hold on a second." she said back. Less than a minute later she said, "Ok".
Ron opened her door and saw her at her desk, she was putting the lid back on her ink and putting her quill in a cup.
She turned to face him.
"What's up brother dear?" she asked playfully. "Mum cracking the whip again?"
"No." He answered. The thought of talking to Ginny about his feelings was getting difficult. "Uhh, never mind." He turned to head back out her door.
"Why haven't you talked to her about it Ron?" Ginny asked plainly, like she had asked about the weather.
"What?" he said slowly, turning back around. She couldn't possibly know about the dreams he had been having.
"I said, why haven't you told Hermione how you feel? Why haven't you asked her out?" she said still as calmly as could be. "She'd say yes, you know."
That's what scares me the most, Ron thought to himself. Ron debated in his mind if he really wanted to talk about this. It was easier just carrying the weight of dreams and fears around with him. Sure it made terrible company, but at least he wasn't exposed. He could always deny it.
Ginny continued to stare at him.
Ron could feel his sister's gaze on him. She is your sister Ron. She already knows more than you do. All right he told himself. Let's see where this goes, and he moved over to sit on her bed.
"I know, Ginny." he started. Staring down at his hands. "I actually know she would say yes. But..." he paused, lost in his normal thought of it all.
"But, what?" she asked. Suprised that he knew.
Her calmness about a source of distress for him was almost unnerving. She didn't understand. She didn't know the battle in his heart and mind. How could she know that his biggest fear was losing Hermione or Harry as a friend was what kept him from taking their realtionship further.
"I don't know if it's worth taking the risk. That's what." He said it. It was out there. Out of his reach now that he had spoken it aloud. Memories of his dreams darkening his mood.
There was a long pause. Ginny had expected to counsel her brother on how Hermione really did fancy him, how he had just been to thick to see it. She was looking forward to giving him a hard time. But something was way wrong here. She was at a loss. "That's a tough break Ron." She didn't like seeing him like this and she couldn't think of anything to say. She had noticed a difference in him since the Ministry of Magic. Something about the haunted look in her eyes was too familiar. She hated it.
"Listen Ginny, I've really got to talk to someone about the dreams I've been having." He started to shake a little.
Ginny noticed.
Ron spent the rest of the afternoon in Ginny's room. He told her all about his nightmares. All of his fears about losing Harry or losing Hermione. Tears were a large part of their conversation.
Ginny hated to see her brother go through this. She could feel for where he was at and what he was going through.
Outside of Ginny's room, Molly fought with all her strength to keep from throwing open the door and holding her son. She had come up the stairs almost an hour earlier with laundry. When she arrived at Ginny's room she paused. She could hear Ginny sobbing softly. She couldn't help but listen. All that she heard broke her heart. She could understand his heart ache. She was not prepared for what he said next.
Ginny reached over and pulled her brother to her. She held him for a while. Then he pulled back.
Ron pulled himself together. Cleared his throat and looked at Ginny. He had a painful determination on his face, as though he was being forced to do something that was tearing him apart.
"Ginny, I need you to help me with something." More tears, like silent rivers flowed down both cheeks.
"Anything Ron," she answered. "Anything."
"Help me get over her." his words hung in the air, they clung to time and made it stop. "So it can never happen."
"Ron," Ginny couldn't bear it. "You don't want that."
"No, Ginny." he said, lost and distant. "I don't want that. But it's what I'm going to do. I'm not going to lose them."
"Ron, please," she pleaded with him. "Don't. You could never lose Harry as a friend, I don't think you would ever lose Hermione either," she continued.
"You can help me, or I'll figure it out on my own Ginny." his reply was stern. Stronger than he had intended.
Ginny winced.
"No, Ron." she said apprehensively. "I'll help you, you're my brother. I love you, what wouldn't I do to help you?"
Molly set the laundry down in front of Ginny's door and headed back downstairs. She lost the desire to clean any more for the rest of the week. She gave her children time to deal with their own.
***