Disclaimer: Nope not mine, no money is being made.
Chapter 11
Ron and Harry entered the Great Hall and discussed their plans for the up coming practice. They got to their usual seats and Ron started piling up food once again. Ron of course had another big plate full. Four pork chops, potato salad, beef casserole, chicken wings, fish sticks and chicken nuggets all mashed up on one plate.
Hermione looked revolted but Harry didn't even take notice this time. Instead while Ron was piling up his dinner plate, Harry continued talking about his seeker strategy for the up coming match against Ravenclaw.
"Would you two stop talking about Quidditch for once in your life?" said Hermione irritably.
Ron and Harry stared at her for a moment and than continued talking about Quidditch once again.
"Ergh! Has it ever occurred to you that Quidditch is not the only thing in this world worth talking about?" asked Hermione, sounding oddly frustrated.
"Well than that settles it Harry, I'm afraid Hermione has finally persuaded me to give up Quidditch. From this day onward I Ron Weasley will no longer associate myself with Quidditch. I will resign my post right away and begin my new life as a dashing librarian. No book will go un dusted on my watch I can assure you" said Ron sarcastically and getting nice round of applauds from the Gryffindor's for his little mock speech.
"HA HA Ron, you know that's not what I meant" said Hermione looking flustered
"Fine, all right we'll give up talking about Quidditch. Happy?" said Harry.
The rest of the dinner went by rather quickly and as soon as Ron finished his second helping, Hermione told them that she was going back up to the library to get some more work done.
"Figures" said Ron loudly so Hermione could hear.
"Excuse me?" said Hermione angrily.
"Well it's typical for you to go rushing off to the library every chance you get. You're mad" said Ron.
"Well excuse me for wanting to get some real work done around here Ron" said Hermione acidly.
"Come off of it Hermione, come out and watch us practise, it'll be fun. You were in the library already today doing work and knowing you, you should be close to finished by now" said Ron frowning.
"Well if you didn't notice Ronald, we have a rather large pile of assignments to start and it's better to get them out of the way now before we get more and get bogged down" said Hermione heatedly.
"You are such a bookworm Hermione" said Ron. Hermione didn't look pleased with his comment.
"Well maybe if you weren't out getting 'friendly' with Lavender earlier than I might have gone to see you practice!" yelled Hermione, turning very red.
Ron was now gaping at Hermione with his mouth hanging open. He was about to say something to her but never had the chance.
Hermione never waited to hear a response from Ron or anyone else because she got up from the Gryffindor table and ran as fast as she could out of the Great Hall.
Ron was left awestruck and by the looks of things so were half the students in the Great Hall.
"What the hell?" muttered Dean
"What's gotten into her? And what did she mean by getting friendly with Ron?" asked Seamus.
Lavender looked very red and shook her head as if to tell Seamus that it was nothing.
"Well now you've done it, way to go Ron" said Ginny hotly.
"Me?! What do you mean me? I didn't do anything" said Ron
"I have to agree with Ron here Ginny, Hermione has been really off today since Potions" said Harry who looked like he was calming down after Hermione's outburst.
Ginny rolled her eyes and muttered "boys"
"Well I suppose someone should go talk to her but we can't be the ones. Harry, Ron and I have Quidditch practice and we're going to be late as it is. Alicia is going to have our heads. Besides I wouldn't suggest my brainless oaf of a brother Ron go up and talk to her anyway" said Ginny.
"Ha Ha, very funny Gin. You're a real riot" said Ron.
"Well come on lets go up, grab our brooms and head out to the field" said Harry finishing up his least bit of pudding.
"Ok" said Ron and Ginny.
"Do you think we'll need our wands?" asked Harry as he was changing into his Quidditch robes.
"Its only practice mate" said Ron putting on his boots.
"Yeah you're right" said Harry laughing.
"Ready?" asked Ron.
"Yup, lets go" replied Harry, patting Ron on the back and setting off to meet Ginny in the common room.
Ron and Harry met Ginny already waiting for them in the common room and by the looks of it she was there waiting longer than she would have hoped for. She looked displeased.
"What took you guys so long?" asked Ginny.
"Nag nag nag" said Ron as he grinned and Harry shook his head.
"Did you talk to Hermione?" asked Harry.
"No, she wasn't in her dormitory so she's probably in the library" said Ginny.
"Oh well, lets go than. I'll have a talk with her after practice is over and maybe I can repair the damage" said Harry.
Ron, Harry and Ginny were now outdoors and heading toward the pitch to meet their fellow Gryffindor teammates.
"How long do you suppose, Alicia will keep us there tonight?" asked Ron, looking up at the dark sky.
"I don't know probably until tomorrow morning. You know Alicia, she's adopted Angelina's good side and old habbits" said Ginny laughing.
Harry too was laughing at Ginny's joke but Ron was not. Ron didn't like to be reminded of a so-called tomorrow as if it was going to be a brand-new day.
"Lighten up Ron. I'm sure Hermione will snap out of her mood and talk to you again" said Harry trying to cheer up Ron.
Ron wasn't thinking about Hermione before but he was now since Harry brought her up. Ron had about a million questions in his mind. What did Hermione mean back there in the Great Hall? Why did she get so upset with him all of a sudden? What did she mean she would have gone to see him practice if he wasn't getting 'friendly' with Lavender? It didn't make sense to Ron at all.
"Girls" Ron said to himself.
Ron, Harry and Ginny arrived at the pitch five minutes later only to be told off by Alicia.
"You three are late. And this weather is not looking too good at all. I want to get in as much practice as we can" said Alicia harshly.
"Yeah yeah yeah" said Harry as he mounted his Firebolt and took off into the air.
"Hey where's Natalie? I don't see her here" said Ginny talking about her fellow fifth year Chaser.
"I don't know where the hell she is and I haven't seen her in days" said Alicia irritably. "You're her friend, do you know where she is?"
"I haven't seen her since breakfast and she hasn't been attending her lessons in days. She's pretty behind in her studies and I'm starting to get worried about her" said Ginny grimly.
"I'll have to see what's going on with her I suppose. Well what are you two waiting for. Get up in the air and I'll explain everything" snapped Alicia.
Ron and Ginny groaned and mounted their brooms to join the rest of the team already in the air. Ginny had a new Cleansweep this year for making the Gryffindor team as Chaser. It was bought for her by Fred and George as a gift and it was the same model as Ron's.
The team spent about 15 minutes warming up by doing flying drills around obstacles and Quaffle throwing practices before getting to the real practice itself.
"All right you know what to do. We're going to try Ron and Ginny's new strategy. Now get to your positions" commanded Alicia.
Ron and Harry looked at each other and grinned. It was strange that since Oliver Wood left the team, every Gryffindor Quidditch captain after Wood was as strict as he was. It was like whoever held the captaincy suddenly turned into Wood.
"You two, GET TO YOUR POSITIONS NOW!" shouted Alicia.
Ron and Harry high-fived each other and quickly flew off to their positions. Ron, the keeper of the team flew toward the goal area while Harry flew to the centre of the pitch where he waited for the whistle and the snitch to be released.
The practice seemed to be going really well. Ron was stopping 85% of the shots and Ginny seemed to be the only chaser on the team who could score on him. Harry was doing really well at first but as practice continued, the wind made it increasingly difficult for him to find and get a hold of the snitch. The blowing snow made visibility poor. The beater's Jack Sloper and Andrew kirke were still on the team but both hadn't improved much since they replaced Fred and George last year. They were as clumsy as before and bludgers seem to still frighten them.
It was now 8:30 p.m. and the weather conditions were now getting worst. The wind was blowing hard, snow was blocking visibility and the night sky was getting darker. Ron saw Harry and Ginny fly over to Alicia and the three had some kind of a discussion. A minute later Alicia blew her whistle (which was barely heard) and signalled the end of the practice.
Jack Sloper flew over to Ron and told him he was glad that practise had stopped.
"It was a good thing too. The weather's getting rubbish" Ron said to Jack.
The team landed in the centre of the pitch and helped put the extra Quaffle's and the two bludgers back into the case. The wind had gotten so strong now they had to shout just to be heard.
"Wait where's the snitch!" yelled Ginny.
"I couldn't find it!" shouted Harry over the wind.
"We have to find it. McGonagall said she would put us all in detention if we lost another snitch!" shouted Alicia.
"Ok ok I'll see if I can find it!" shouted Harry and he took off into the air on his Firebolt.
Ron, Ginny and the rest of the team were going to help too but as soon as Ron mounted his Cleansweep, a ferocious gust of wind blew past and knocked Ron off. Ron wasn't too high up in the air but still took a hard fall.
"Are you all right?!" shouted Ginny pulling her brother up.
"I'm fine! But we have to tell Harry to get back down on the ground. It's too dangerous!" shouted Ron and again he mounted his broom, lifted off the ground and flew away in search of Harry.
Moments later Ron was joined by Ginny, Jack, and Andrew to help search for Harry.
"Where's Alicia?!" shouted Ron.
"She's searching the ground just in case Harry comes back down!" shouted Ginny.
"How do we know if Harry will make it back down?!" shouted Ron.
"Alicia said she would shoot red sparks into the sky to signal us if Harry came down" shouted Ginny.
The four of them flew off and they decided it was best to stay close together and decided that it was too dangerous to split up. Ron, Ginny, Jack and Andrew flew all over the pitch trying to find Harry but it was no use. It was too dark now and Ron had left his wand back in the dormitories. Luckily Ginny, Jack and Andrew had theirs.
"Lumos" shouted Ginny, Jack and Andrew. But they still couldn't find him even though they searched all over the pitch. Than again, it was too hard to see with the strong wind carrying the snow. Even with some light it wasn't a huge help searching for Harry.
About 20 minutes into the search, Harry was still not yet found and Ron was growing extremely worried minute by minute. He was afraid his best friend might be in serious trouble. The cold was not helping matters either. All four of them stopped when Andrew signalled wanted to say something.
"We have to go back and get inside!" shouted Andrew still having the wind to contend with.
"No, we have to find Harry! We don't know if he's down yet! There's no signal from Alicia!" yelled Ron, clutching his broom with all his strength.
"Ron, we're going to freeze!" shouted Andrew.
"I said NO! We have to keep looking! Harry could die if he's not found!" shouted Ron, his temper rising.
"Ron, we're going to die if we don't get indoors!" yelled Jack.
"THAN GO, BUT I'M STAYING!" yelled Ron angrily.
"Ron! Please!" shouted Ginny. Ron could tell she didn't want to give up either but the look on her face told Ron that Ginny was freezing and was struggling to hold on to her broom.
Ron was in serious conflict over this. Deep down inside he knew he had to get indoors soon or else freeze, another side told him to keep going and fight through the cold. All he knew was that he couldn't leave his best friend in this weather.
Ron didn't have to make the decision on wether to keep searching or head indoors because moments later everyone could see red sparks shoot into the sky. But the signal was further away than Ron thought it should have been. The red signal in the sky actually looked like it was emanating from a distance the castle should have been in.
"Look. That's Alicia's signal. That must mean Harry's back!" shouted Ron almost joyfully.
"Lets go!" shouted Ginny.
"Everyone stay close to each other and don't separate. Hold on tight! It looks like that signal is coming from the castle!" shouted Ron.
As Ron, Ginny, Jack and Andrew flew off toward the red signal the wind became more and more strong. This was making it extremely difficult to keep control of the broom as the winds kept pushing them in separate directions. There was a moment where Ron actually got separated from the rest of the group when a gust of wind blew him off course. He very nearly fell off but managed to regain his balance. Ron was now starting to really get scared and felt lost; his gloves were not working as well now and his hands were starting to really freeze, not to mention the rest of him. All of a sudden he saw three dark figures heading his way, all holding lit wands.
"Ron are you ok?!" shouted Ginny.
Ron was glad to see them but was angry that they didn't keep going for the signal and tried to look for him instead.
"I'm fine lets keep flying!" shouted Ron.
Twenty minutes later, after fighting against ferocious winds, the cold and the blowing snow they finally made it back down to the ground where the signal came from. Ron was right, the signal did come from the castle.
Ron, Ginny, Jack and Andrew made their way over to Alicia and she waved for them to all go inside.
All of them went inside the castle, stopped and didn't go any further past the Entrance Hall. They were all shivering from the cold and Ron felt as though moving another step would cost him all his energy. He was exhausted and felt like lying down.
When they all got back inside the castle Alicia was the first to speak "What in bloody blazes took you so long?!" screeched Alicia. "I sent up the signal for about twenty minutes!"
"The winds were against us coming back" said Ginny shivering
"Yeah it was brutal" said Jack also shivering. As a matter of fact, they were all shivering.
"Well where's Harry? Is he all right?" said Ron shaking his head and brushing the snow away from it.
Alicia didn't respond.
"Well where is he?" said Ron impatiently.
"He's not in the castle" said Alicia worriedly
"Well where is he than?" asked Ron quickly.
"He didn't come down" said Alicia bowing her head.
"WHAT?! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN?" shouted Ron. His fear came rushing back to him.
"I mean, I went straight to the castle entrance as soon as you guys took off to look. He never came down. I was hoping you guys found him" said Alicia fearfully.
"WHAT?! WHY DID YOU CALL US BACK THAN?" yelled Ron, who was very irate.
"WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO? I COULDN'T JUST LET YOU GUYS STAY AND FREEZE!" returned Alicia.
Ginny, Jack and Andrew were all terrified. Seamus, Dean and Neville all came toward the group and joined them.
"What's going on guys?" said Dean smiling "thought we heard shouting."
"I can't believe this is happening" said Ron ignoring Dean. He was so sure that had Harry made it back ok or else the signal wouldn't have gone up. Now that Ron knew Harry was still out there, it made him feel incredibility scared. There was no question that he had to go back out and continue to look for his best friend. Ron took a deep breath, mustered every ounce of strength he could and decided to take action.
"I have to back out there immediately" said Ron, quickly making a motion to go back out the door.
"No Ron, are you crazy?! You can't go back out there. You'll freeze!" shouted Alicia grabbing Ron's cloak.
"I HAVE TO FIND HARRY!" barked Ron.
"LOOK AT YOURSELF, YOU"RE SHIVERING! YOU- " yelled Alicia.
"Wait what do you mean find Harry?" said Seamus cutting in.
Ron violently shrugged off Alicia's grip and told Seamus, Dean and Neville the entire story of how Harry went after the snitch in the storm but didn't come back down.
"Oh Merlin, he's still not still . . . " said Dean with his mouth open.
"I can't stay, I have to go back out there now" said Ron impatiently, moving toward the door again.
"Wait!" said Dean
"What?!" roared Ron.
"Wait for me, I'm going to" said Dean
"Yeah, me too" said Neville
"Count me in to mate" said Seamus.
"NO! Its way too dangerous" said Ron.
"Listen Ron. Harry is our friend too. Besides we can't just sit by while he's out there, we want to help too. He would do the same thing if it were any of us" said Neville. Dean and Seamus nodded in agreement.
Ron felt a wave of gratitude toward his fellow Gryffindor roommates but just couldn't express it at the moment. It didn't feel like the right time to do so, not with Harry still out there in the storm.
"Ok, hurry up and get ready" said Ron patting Neville on the back.
"Just sit tight and try to warm up while we go up and get our brooms ok?" said Seamus.
"Yeah ok and bring me my wand and an extra pair of gloves too " said Ron.
Ron sat on the floor with his face buried in his hands while waiting for Dean, Seamus and Neville to return from their dormitories. Ginny, Alicia, Jack and Andrew did not dare go near Ron and try to talk him out of going back out in the storm.
"Right, lets go and here are your gloves and your wand" said Dean about two minutes later as Seamus and Neville joined him at the door.
"Right, thanks" said Ron getting up off the floor and moving toward to the door.
"Shouldn't we inform the professors?" said Neville nervously.
Ron thought about this for a second, but he shook his head and said "no there's no time. I should have earlier but it's too late now. Ginny and the others will while we go search."
"Ron wait" said Ginny.
"WHAT IS IT NOW?!" shouted Ron impatiently.
"I'm going too" said Ginny defiantly.
"So am I" said Alicia while Jack and Andrew nodded.
Ron had no time to object or even think about it. He was determined to find his best friend and was acting on impulse. He simply nodded as he made his way out the door and down the stone steps. The weather had very mysteriously gotten much better compared to when Ron, Ginny, Alicia, Jack and Andrew were outside before. The wind seemed to have died down a little and visibility also cleared a bit for which Ron was grateful for. The cold however remained but Ron didn't seem to care. Time was being wasted and Ron didn't want to lose anymore. He had to very quickly, organize everybody and explain the plan.
"All right first things first, light your wands" said Ron quickly.
"Lumos" everybody said and all eight wands ignited.
"We have to search all over the grounds for Harry. He could be anywhere and not just the Quidditch pitch. The wind could have carried him anywhere. We'll split up in groups. Dean, you and I will search the Quidditch pitch and the North end of the grounds. Seamus and Neville will search the South grounds, Ginny and Alicia will search the East end of the grounds, while Jack and Andrew will search the West end. If you find Harry or need anything, remember to shoot red sparks into the sky and green sparks for a false alarm. All right lets go" commanded Ron. They all nodded in agreement, kicked off the ground and flew into the air.
Ron and Dean flew very quickly and headed over to the North end and the pitch.
"All right lets start looking," said Ron and Dean nodded.
Ron and Dean searched every inch of the Quidditch pitch and Harry still did not turn up, there was no sign of him at all. Ron refused to give up and maintained that Harry was going to be all right. The search was taking longer than Ron had hoped for and it was beginning to look like Harry was not at that area. No red sparks had been shot into the sky either which made Ron even more worried.
"It's no use mate. We've scoured the grounds, searched all over the pitch and the North side" said Dean hopelessly.
"We've got to find him" said Ron breathlessly
"Lets go help Ginny and Alicia than" said Dean. "Help them cover more of the East grounds."
Ron nodded in agreement and they flew toward the East end.
"What are you guys doing here?" said Ginny as the two showed up at her and Alicia's end of the grounds.
"He's not at the north side or the pitch" said Dean.
"Well Harry's not on this side either" said Ginny fearfully.
"Well lets all four of us search the East area again than, just to make sure" said Ron.
Ten minutes later, Ron had seen the one thing that was as good as finding Harry. Red sparks had been shot into the air from the West end of the grounds.
"Its coming from Jack and Andrew's end" said Alicia.
"Come on lets Hurry" was all Ron could say.
Moments later Ron, Ginny, Dean, Alicia, Seamus and Neville had arrived to where the signalled had emanated from and there he was, Jack and Andrew had found Harry.
Ginny and Alicia were close to tears while Neville looked very frightened. Ron got off his broom and rushed over to Harry.
"Is he all right? Where did you two find him?" said Ron looking at Harry's unconscious and very blue face.
"Well it looks as though he's still got a pulse and is breathing, but barely" said Andrew shivering, "we found him buried over there" Jack pointed to a spot near the lake. Ron looked over at the spot where Jack had pointed to but didn't waste any time investigating.
"We've got to get him to the hospital wing now!" said Ron.
"Neville, grab the Firebolt and give it here. Seamus grab Harry's feet and help me drag him onto the broom. I'll fly the Firebolt because it can support the two of us better than my Cleansweep. Seamus I need you to fly on the right side of me and help me support Harry. I'll set the speed and you match it. You guys follow us back to the castle" said Ron, in a mad rush.
Ron and Seamus flew off toward the castle followed closely by Ginny, Alicia, Dean, Neville, Jack and Andrew.
When they had all touched down at the entrance on the castle, Alicia conjured up a stretcher and Harry was placed upon it. He was still unconscious.
"Quick we have to get him up to Madam Pomfrey" said Ron.
It didn't take long for them to get Harry into the hospital wing and when they entered it carrying a stretcher with Harry on it, Madam Pomfrey shrieked in horror.
"What ha ha happened to Potter?!" yelled Madam Pomfrey shaking.
Ron couldn't answer her because the look on Harry's face terrified him. "Please ma'am we'll explain later" said Ginny shaking.
Madam Pomfrey went to work on Harry right away while nurses scrambled to take a look at the rest of the eight.
Ron was numb, shivering, freezing, ached all over and not to mention extremely exhausted. But he flat out refused to be treated while nurses insisted on taking a look at him. He silently prayed and hoped that his best friend was going to make it and wake up soon. The waiting was killing him. As the others were getting treated, Ron felt a hand touch his shoulder and he looked up.
"Mr Weasley, may I have a word with you privately, please?"
It was Professor Dumbledore. He looked tired and had that look on his face that Ron had never witnessed before. It was a look of melancholy.
"Yes Professor" said Ron and he stepped outside the room and into the hall with the Headmaster.
"I would like to know what happened tonight Mr Weasley" said Professor Dumbledore.
Ron told Professor Dumbledore everything that had happened during the practice, the weather conditions during practice, what led up to the search, the search and finally where and how Harry was found.
Dumbledore nodded and placed an arm on Ron's shoulder.
"You did a very brave and noble thing Mr Weasley. You and your friends" said Dumbledore.
Ron nodded and sank his head down to look at the ground sadly. For the first time in years he felt tears building in his eyes. Than someone had just entered into the hallway of the hospital wing, it was Hermione. Apparently she had just heard the news and had come up to see if everyone was all right.
Ron stared at her and he could tell she was crying from the amount of tears that were coming down from her eyes.
She quickly ran toward Ron and wrapped her arms around him. Ron felt too weak to even return a hug.
"Oh Ron!" she said crying into his chest. "What on earth happened?"
Ron couldn't bare to tell the story again. He gently pushed her off of him and requested that Professor Dumbledore tell her what he told him earlier.
Ron couldn't hold back the tears any longer as he turned around and went back inside the waiting area.
Ron's entire body was shaking ferociously now and it was likely he had developed hypothermia. He didn't mention it to the nurses however. His mind was still entirely on Harry.
Most Gryffindor's had now come into the hospital wing hallway just to see if what they heard was true. They weren't allowed into the room obviously. Luna Lovegood, who also showed up was the only non Gryffindor there. Thankfully Luna did not see Ron as he was in no mood to think about or talk to her. Lavender however did see him and came running up to talk.
"Ron! Oh my gosh you look terrible. What happened?" asked Lavender tearfully placing a hand on his face. "You're burning up."
Ron was now feeling incredibility dizzy and it felt like his head was now spinning out of control.
"What time is it?" he asked, absent mindedly slurring his words.
Lavender looked at her watch and replied "it's 11:30 why?"
"No reason" said Ron absent minded, staggering and looking like his legs was going to give out on him.
"Excuse me Lavender" said Ron wiping the sweat off his forehead and staggering into the hospital room to check on Harry.
Madam Pomfrey was now talking to Professor Dumbledore with a very sad and grim look on her face. "Why is she crying?" thought Ron feeling dumfounded. His vision was very blurry and the dizziness had gotten worst.
Ron also noticed Ginny, Hermione and Alicia crying too. Seamus, Dean and Neville all had their faces planted in their hands.
Ron tried to walk normally but ended up staggering very violently over to Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey "W-w-what's going on here, what happened?" asked Ron slurring his speech.
"I'm sorry Ronald. We were unable to do anything for him" Dumbledore said gravely.
Ron blinked a few times and had to process everything Dumbledore had just told him.
"No" said Ron weakly. "No" he said again, shaking his head, his lip trembling.
"I am sorry Ronald but . . . "
Ron backed away from Dumbledore very quickly and was now feeling a tremendous amount of pain shoot all over his body. The dizziness was extreme, his shivering was uncontrollable and the heat was unbearable. Everything Ron was seeing in the room started spinning out of control and Ron couldn't take it anymore. It was too much for him to handle and it overwhelmed him.
Ron closed his eyes and collapsed onto the floor.
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February 2
"Ron wake up, we're gonna be late for breakfast, it's 8:30"
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A/N: Thanks very much for all of your reviews. It really made my day.
Did you actually think I was going to keep Harry dead? Didn't think so.
I was going to do something a bit different to answer the whole "where was everyone at 11:30" but this idea came to me out of the blue and I decided that it added a little flavor to the story. So I went with it.
I know it's a bit sad but I also tried to make it suspenseful(not to sure I succeeded though). I like a little diversity in a story and IMO this is the kind of story where anything CAN and WILL happen without making it OOC and totally unbelievable. Than again this is not a typical story. It's a story about making mistakes and learning from them. Like I said before, I want Ron to learn some things from this experience, which probably means he will more than likely have to go through a few row's and challenges that will test him physically and mentally. At the same time he's going to have loads of fun. (I am not without a heart) :-)
Even though this is supposed to be a Romance story I know I haven't been putting much in it as regards to R/Hr. I can say that some Romance stuff is on its way very soon, very very soon.
But I guess I have to explain a few things:
A lot of fics I read have R/Hr pairing up right off the bat and making it feel like there was no real build up to it besides tension and a few outbursts. The really fluffy fics too have no real build up besides making it really cute. Not that I don't like/love fics like these, I do, in fact its 85% of the R/Hr stories I read :-). It's just that I wanted to do it a little different and didn't want to rush into it. I wanted to make an attempt and try to build Ron's character further making their relationship more special than it already is in cannon (if that's possible).
It's like JK built her brilliant magical castle that is R/Hr and I'm just adding to it with decorations and other forms of interior design (lol).
Oh well that's all I have to say, Thanks again guys for reviewing, really appreciated it.
Have a nice week!
Take Care!
Chapter 11
Ron and Harry entered the Great Hall and discussed their plans for the up coming practice. They got to their usual seats and Ron started piling up food once again. Ron of course had another big plate full. Four pork chops, potato salad, beef casserole, chicken wings, fish sticks and chicken nuggets all mashed up on one plate.
Hermione looked revolted but Harry didn't even take notice this time. Instead while Ron was piling up his dinner plate, Harry continued talking about his seeker strategy for the up coming match against Ravenclaw.
"Would you two stop talking about Quidditch for once in your life?" said Hermione irritably.
Ron and Harry stared at her for a moment and than continued talking about Quidditch once again.
"Ergh! Has it ever occurred to you that Quidditch is not the only thing in this world worth talking about?" asked Hermione, sounding oddly frustrated.
"Well than that settles it Harry, I'm afraid Hermione has finally persuaded me to give up Quidditch. From this day onward I Ron Weasley will no longer associate myself with Quidditch. I will resign my post right away and begin my new life as a dashing librarian. No book will go un dusted on my watch I can assure you" said Ron sarcastically and getting nice round of applauds from the Gryffindor's for his little mock speech.
"HA HA Ron, you know that's not what I meant" said Hermione looking flustered
"Fine, all right we'll give up talking about Quidditch. Happy?" said Harry.
The rest of the dinner went by rather quickly and as soon as Ron finished his second helping, Hermione told them that she was going back up to the library to get some more work done.
"Figures" said Ron loudly so Hermione could hear.
"Excuse me?" said Hermione angrily.
"Well it's typical for you to go rushing off to the library every chance you get. You're mad" said Ron.
"Well excuse me for wanting to get some real work done around here Ron" said Hermione acidly.
"Come off of it Hermione, come out and watch us practise, it'll be fun. You were in the library already today doing work and knowing you, you should be close to finished by now" said Ron frowning.
"Well if you didn't notice Ronald, we have a rather large pile of assignments to start and it's better to get them out of the way now before we get more and get bogged down" said Hermione heatedly.
"You are such a bookworm Hermione" said Ron. Hermione didn't look pleased with his comment.
"Well maybe if you weren't out getting 'friendly' with Lavender earlier than I might have gone to see you practice!" yelled Hermione, turning very red.
Ron was now gaping at Hermione with his mouth hanging open. He was about to say something to her but never had the chance.
Hermione never waited to hear a response from Ron or anyone else because she got up from the Gryffindor table and ran as fast as she could out of the Great Hall.
Ron was left awestruck and by the looks of things so were half the students in the Great Hall.
"What the hell?" muttered Dean
"What's gotten into her? And what did she mean by getting friendly with Ron?" asked Seamus.
Lavender looked very red and shook her head as if to tell Seamus that it was nothing.
"Well now you've done it, way to go Ron" said Ginny hotly.
"Me?! What do you mean me? I didn't do anything" said Ron
"I have to agree with Ron here Ginny, Hermione has been really off today since Potions" said Harry who looked like he was calming down after Hermione's outburst.
Ginny rolled her eyes and muttered "boys"
"Well I suppose someone should go talk to her but we can't be the ones. Harry, Ron and I have Quidditch practice and we're going to be late as it is. Alicia is going to have our heads. Besides I wouldn't suggest my brainless oaf of a brother Ron go up and talk to her anyway" said Ginny.
"Ha Ha, very funny Gin. You're a real riot" said Ron.
"Well come on lets go up, grab our brooms and head out to the field" said Harry finishing up his least bit of pudding.
"Ok" said Ron and Ginny.
"Do you think we'll need our wands?" asked Harry as he was changing into his Quidditch robes.
"Its only practice mate" said Ron putting on his boots.
"Yeah you're right" said Harry laughing.
"Ready?" asked Ron.
"Yup, lets go" replied Harry, patting Ron on the back and setting off to meet Ginny in the common room.
Ron and Harry met Ginny already waiting for them in the common room and by the looks of it she was there waiting longer than she would have hoped for. She looked displeased.
"What took you guys so long?" asked Ginny.
"Nag nag nag" said Ron as he grinned and Harry shook his head.
"Did you talk to Hermione?" asked Harry.
"No, she wasn't in her dormitory so she's probably in the library" said Ginny.
"Oh well, lets go than. I'll have a talk with her after practice is over and maybe I can repair the damage" said Harry.
Ron, Harry and Ginny were now outdoors and heading toward the pitch to meet their fellow Gryffindor teammates.
"How long do you suppose, Alicia will keep us there tonight?" asked Ron, looking up at the dark sky.
"I don't know probably until tomorrow morning. You know Alicia, she's adopted Angelina's good side and old habbits" said Ginny laughing.
Harry too was laughing at Ginny's joke but Ron was not. Ron didn't like to be reminded of a so-called tomorrow as if it was going to be a brand-new day.
"Lighten up Ron. I'm sure Hermione will snap out of her mood and talk to you again" said Harry trying to cheer up Ron.
Ron wasn't thinking about Hermione before but he was now since Harry brought her up. Ron had about a million questions in his mind. What did Hermione mean back there in the Great Hall? Why did she get so upset with him all of a sudden? What did she mean she would have gone to see him practice if he wasn't getting 'friendly' with Lavender? It didn't make sense to Ron at all.
"Girls" Ron said to himself.
Ron, Harry and Ginny arrived at the pitch five minutes later only to be told off by Alicia.
"You three are late. And this weather is not looking too good at all. I want to get in as much practice as we can" said Alicia harshly.
"Yeah yeah yeah" said Harry as he mounted his Firebolt and took off into the air.
"Hey where's Natalie? I don't see her here" said Ginny talking about her fellow fifth year Chaser.
"I don't know where the hell she is and I haven't seen her in days" said Alicia irritably. "You're her friend, do you know where she is?"
"I haven't seen her since breakfast and she hasn't been attending her lessons in days. She's pretty behind in her studies and I'm starting to get worried about her" said Ginny grimly.
"I'll have to see what's going on with her I suppose. Well what are you two waiting for. Get up in the air and I'll explain everything" snapped Alicia.
Ron and Ginny groaned and mounted their brooms to join the rest of the team already in the air. Ginny had a new Cleansweep this year for making the Gryffindor team as Chaser. It was bought for her by Fred and George as a gift and it was the same model as Ron's.
The team spent about 15 minutes warming up by doing flying drills around obstacles and Quaffle throwing practices before getting to the real practice itself.
"All right you know what to do. We're going to try Ron and Ginny's new strategy. Now get to your positions" commanded Alicia.
Ron and Harry looked at each other and grinned. It was strange that since Oliver Wood left the team, every Gryffindor Quidditch captain after Wood was as strict as he was. It was like whoever held the captaincy suddenly turned into Wood.
"You two, GET TO YOUR POSITIONS NOW!" shouted Alicia.
Ron and Harry high-fived each other and quickly flew off to their positions. Ron, the keeper of the team flew toward the goal area while Harry flew to the centre of the pitch where he waited for the whistle and the snitch to be released.
The practice seemed to be going really well. Ron was stopping 85% of the shots and Ginny seemed to be the only chaser on the team who could score on him. Harry was doing really well at first but as practice continued, the wind made it increasingly difficult for him to find and get a hold of the snitch. The blowing snow made visibility poor. The beater's Jack Sloper and Andrew kirke were still on the team but both hadn't improved much since they replaced Fred and George last year. They were as clumsy as before and bludgers seem to still frighten them.
It was now 8:30 p.m. and the weather conditions were now getting worst. The wind was blowing hard, snow was blocking visibility and the night sky was getting darker. Ron saw Harry and Ginny fly over to Alicia and the three had some kind of a discussion. A minute later Alicia blew her whistle (which was barely heard) and signalled the end of the practice.
Jack Sloper flew over to Ron and told him he was glad that practise had stopped.
"It was a good thing too. The weather's getting rubbish" Ron said to Jack.
The team landed in the centre of the pitch and helped put the extra Quaffle's and the two bludgers back into the case. The wind had gotten so strong now they had to shout just to be heard.
"Wait where's the snitch!" yelled Ginny.
"I couldn't find it!" shouted Harry over the wind.
"We have to find it. McGonagall said she would put us all in detention if we lost another snitch!" shouted Alicia.
"Ok ok I'll see if I can find it!" shouted Harry and he took off into the air on his Firebolt.
Ron, Ginny and the rest of the team were going to help too but as soon as Ron mounted his Cleansweep, a ferocious gust of wind blew past and knocked Ron off. Ron wasn't too high up in the air but still took a hard fall.
"Are you all right?!" shouted Ginny pulling her brother up.
"I'm fine! But we have to tell Harry to get back down on the ground. It's too dangerous!" shouted Ron and again he mounted his broom, lifted off the ground and flew away in search of Harry.
Moments later Ron was joined by Ginny, Jack, and Andrew to help search for Harry.
"Where's Alicia?!" shouted Ron.
"She's searching the ground just in case Harry comes back down!" shouted Ginny.
"How do we know if Harry will make it back down?!" shouted Ron.
"Alicia said she would shoot red sparks into the sky to signal us if Harry came down" shouted Ginny.
The four of them flew off and they decided it was best to stay close together and decided that it was too dangerous to split up. Ron, Ginny, Jack and Andrew flew all over the pitch trying to find Harry but it was no use. It was too dark now and Ron had left his wand back in the dormitories. Luckily Ginny, Jack and Andrew had theirs.
"Lumos" shouted Ginny, Jack and Andrew. But they still couldn't find him even though they searched all over the pitch. Than again, it was too hard to see with the strong wind carrying the snow. Even with some light it wasn't a huge help searching for Harry.
About 20 minutes into the search, Harry was still not yet found and Ron was growing extremely worried minute by minute. He was afraid his best friend might be in serious trouble. The cold was not helping matters either. All four of them stopped when Andrew signalled wanted to say something.
"We have to go back and get inside!" shouted Andrew still having the wind to contend with.
"No, we have to find Harry! We don't know if he's down yet! There's no signal from Alicia!" yelled Ron, clutching his broom with all his strength.
"Ron, we're going to freeze!" shouted Andrew.
"I said NO! We have to keep looking! Harry could die if he's not found!" shouted Ron, his temper rising.
"Ron, we're going to die if we don't get indoors!" yelled Jack.
"THAN GO, BUT I'M STAYING!" yelled Ron angrily.
"Ron! Please!" shouted Ginny. Ron could tell she didn't want to give up either but the look on her face told Ron that Ginny was freezing and was struggling to hold on to her broom.
Ron was in serious conflict over this. Deep down inside he knew he had to get indoors soon or else freeze, another side told him to keep going and fight through the cold. All he knew was that he couldn't leave his best friend in this weather.
Ron didn't have to make the decision on wether to keep searching or head indoors because moments later everyone could see red sparks shoot into the sky. But the signal was further away than Ron thought it should have been. The red signal in the sky actually looked like it was emanating from a distance the castle should have been in.
"Look. That's Alicia's signal. That must mean Harry's back!" shouted Ron almost joyfully.
"Lets go!" shouted Ginny.
"Everyone stay close to each other and don't separate. Hold on tight! It looks like that signal is coming from the castle!" shouted Ron.
As Ron, Ginny, Jack and Andrew flew off toward the red signal the wind became more and more strong. This was making it extremely difficult to keep control of the broom as the winds kept pushing them in separate directions. There was a moment where Ron actually got separated from the rest of the group when a gust of wind blew him off course. He very nearly fell off but managed to regain his balance. Ron was now starting to really get scared and felt lost; his gloves were not working as well now and his hands were starting to really freeze, not to mention the rest of him. All of a sudden he saw three dark figures heading his way, all holding lit wands.
"Ron are you ok?!" shouted Ginny.
Ron was glad to see them but was angry that they didn't keep going for the signal and tried to look for him instead.
"I'm fine lets keep flying!" shouted Ron.
Twenty minutes later, after fighting against ferocious winds, the cold and the blowing snow they finally made it back down to the ground where the signal came from. Ron was right, the signal did come from the castle.
Ron, Ginny, Jack and Andrew made their way over to Alicia and she waved for them to all go inside.
All of them went inside the castle, stopped and didn't go any further past the Entrance Hall. They were all shivering from the cold and Ron felt as though moving another step would cost him all his energy. He was exhausted and felt like lying down.
When they all got back inside the castle Alicia was the first to speak "What in bloody blazes took you so long?!" screeched Alicia. "I sent up the signal for about twenty minutes!"
"The winds were against us coming back" said Ginny shivering
"Yeah it was brutal" said Jack also shivering. As a matter of fact, they were all shivering.
"Well where's Harry? Is he all right?" said Ron shaking his head and brushing the snow away from it.
Alicia didn't respond.
"Well where is he?" said Ron impatiently.
"He's not in the castle" said Alicia worriedly
"Well where is he than?" asked Ron quickly.
"He didn't come down" said Alicia bowing her head.
"WHAT?! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN?" shouted Ron. His fear came rushing back to him.
"I mean, I went straight to the castle entrance as soon as you guys took off to look. He never came down. I was hoping you guys found him" said Alicia fearfully.
"WHAT?! WHY DID YOU CALL US BACK THAN?" yelled Ron, who was very irate.
"WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO? I COULDN'T JUST LET YOU GUYS STAY AND FREEZE!" returned Alicia.
Ginny, Jack and Andrew were all terrified. Seamus, Dean and Neville all came toward the group and joined them.
"What's going on guys?" said Dean smiling "thought we heard shouting."
"I can't believe this is happening" said Ron ignoring Dean. He was so sure that had Harry made it back ok or else the signal wouldn't have gone up. Now that Ron knew Harry was still out there, it made him feel incredibility scared. There was no question that he had to go back out and continue to look for his best friend. Ron took a deep breath, mustered every ounce of strength he could and decided to take action.
"I have to back out there immediately" said Ron, quickly making a motion to go back out the door.
"No Ron, are you crazy?! You can't go back out there. You'll freeze!" shouted Alicia grabbing Ron's cloak.
"I HAVE TO FIND HARRY!" barked Ron.
"LOOK AT YOURSELF, YOU"RE SHIVERING! YOU- " yelled Alicia.
"Wait what do you mean find Harry?" said Seamus cutting in.
Ron violently shrugged off Alicia's grip and told Seamus, Dean and Neville the entire story of how Harry went after the snitch in the storm but didn't come back down.
"Oh Merlin, he's still not still . . . " said Dean with his mouth open.
"I can't stay, I have to go back out there now" said Ron impatiently, moving toward the door again.
"Wait!" said Dean
"What?!" roared Ron.
"Wait for me, I'm going to" said Dean
"Yeah, me too" said Neville
"Count me in to mate" said Seamus.
"NO! Its way too dangerous" said Ron.
"Listen Ron. Harry is our friend too. Besides we can't just sit by while he's out there, we want to help too. He would do the same thing if it were any of us" said Neville. Dean and Seamus nodded in agreement.
Ron felt a wave of gratitude toward his fellow Gryffindor roommates but just couldn't express it at the moment. It didn't feel like the right time to do so, not with Harry still out there in the storm.
"Ok, hurry up and get ready" said Ron patting Neville on the back.
"Just sit tight and try to warm up while we go up and get our brooms ok?" said Seamus.
"Yeah ok and bring me my wand and an extra pair of gloves too " said Ron.
Ron sat on the floor with his face buried in his hands while waiting for Dean, Seamus and Neville to return from their dormitories. Ginny, Alicia, Jack and Andrew did not dare go near Ron and try to talk him out of going back out in the storm.
"Right, lets go and here are your gloves and your wand" said Dean about two minutes later as Seamus and Neville joined him at the door.
"Right, thanks" said Ron getting up off the floor and moving toward to the door.
"Shouldn't we inform the professors?" said Neville nervously.
Ron thought about this for a second, but he shook his head and said "no there's no time. I should have earlier but it's too late now. Ginny and the others will while we go search."
"Ron wait" said Ginny.
"WHAT IS IT NOW?!" shouted Ron impatiently.
"I'm going too" said Ginny defiantly.
"So am I" said Alicia while Jack and Andrew nodded.
Ron had no time to object or even think about it. He was determined to find his best friend and was acting on impulse. He simply nodded as he made his way out the door and down the stone steps. The weather had very mysteriously gotten much better compared to when Ron, Ginny, Alicia, Jack and Andrew were outside before. The wind seemed to have died down a little and visibility also cleared a bit for which Ron was grateful for. The cold however remained but Ron didn't seem to care. Time was being wasted and Ron didn't want to lose anymore. He had to very quickly, organize everybody and explain the plan.
"All right first things first, light your wands" said Ron quickly.
"Lumos" everybody said and all eight wands ignited.
"We have to search all over the grounds for Harry. He could be anywhere and not just the Quidditch pitch. The wind could have carried him anywhere. We'll split up in groups. Dean, you and I will search the Quidditch pitch and the North end of the grounds. Seamus and Neville will search the South grounds, Ginny and Alicia will search the East end of the grounds, while Jack and Andrew will search the West end. If you find Harry or need anything, remember to shoot red sparks into the sky and green sparks for a false alarm. All right lets go" commanded Ron. They all nodded in agreement, kicked off the ground and flew into the air.
Ron and Dean flew very quickly and headed over to the North end and the pitch.
"All right lets start looking," said Ron and Dean nodded.
Ron and Dean searched every inch of the Quidditch pitch and Harry still did not turn up, there was no sign of him at all. Ron refused to give up and maintained that Harry was going to be all right. The search was taking longer than Ron had hoped for and it was beginning to look like Harry was not at that area. No red sparks had been shot into the sky either which made Ron even more worried.
"It's no use mate. We've scoured the grounds, searched all over the pitch and the North side" said Dean hopelessly.
"We've got to find him" said Ron breathlessly
"Lets go help Ginny and Alicia than" said Dean. "Help them cover more of the East grounds."
Ron nodded in agreement and they flew toward the East end.
"What are you guys doing here?" said Ginny as the two showed up at her and Alicia's end of the grounds.
"He's not at the north side or the pitch" said Dean.
"Well Harry's not on this side either" said Ginny fearfully.
"Well lets all four of us search the East area again than, just to make sure" said Ron.
Ten minutes later, Ron had seen the one thing that was as good as finding Harry. Red sparks had been shot into the air from the West end of the grounds.
"Its coming from Jack and Andrew's end" said Alicia.
"Come on lets Hurry" was all Ron could say.
Moments later Ron, Ginny, Dean, Alicia, Seamus and Neville had arrived to where the signalled had emanated from and there he was, Jack and Andrew had found Harry.
Ginny and Alicia were close to tears while Neville looked very frightened. Ron got off his broom and rushed over to Harry.
"Is he all right? Where did you two find him?" said Ron looking at Harry's unconscious and very blue face.
"Well it looks as though he's still got a pulse and is breathing, but barely" said Andrew shivering, "we found him buried over there" Jack pointed to a spot near the lake. Ron looked over at the spot where Jack had pointed to but didn't waste any time investigating.
"We've got to get him to the hospital wing now!" said Ron.
"Neville, grab the Firebolt and give it here. Seamus grab Harry's feet and help me drag him onto the broom. I'll fly the Firebolt because it can support the two of us better than my Cleansweep. Seamus I need you to fly on the right side of me and help me support Harry. I'll set the speed and you match it. You guys follow us back to the castle" said Ron, in a mad rush.
Ron and Seamus flew off toward the castle followed closely by Ginny, Alicia, Dean, Neville, Jack and Andrew.
When they had all touched down at the entrance on the castle, Alicia conjured up a stretcher and Harry was placed upon it. He was still unconscious.
"Quick we have to get him up to Madam Pomfrey" said Ron.
It didn't take long for them to get Harry into the hospital wing and when they entered it carrying a stretcher with Harry on it, Madam Pomfrey shrieked in horror.
"What ha ha happened to Potter?!" yelled Madam Pomfrey shaking.
Ron couldn't answer her because the look on Harry's face terrified him. "Please ma'am we'll explain later" said Ginny shaking.
Madam Pomfrey went to work on Harry right away while nurses scrambled to take a look at the rest of the eight.
Ron was numb, shivering, freezing, ached all over and not to mention extremely exhausted. But he flat out refused to be treated while nurses insisted on taking a look at him. He silently prayed and hoped that his best friend was going to make it and wake up soon. The waiting was killing him. As the others were getting treated, Ron felt a hand touch his shoulder and he looked up.
"Mr Weasley, may I have a word with you privately, please?"
It was Professor Dumbledore. He looked tired and had that look on his face that Ron had never witnessed before. It was a look of melancholy.
"Yes Professor" said Ron and he stepped outside the room and into the hall with the Headmaster.
"I would like to know what happened tonight Mr Weasley" said Professor Dumbledore.
Ron told Professor Dumbledore everything that had happened during the practice, the weather conditions during practice, what led up to the search, the search and finally where and how Harry was found.
Dumbledore nodded and placed an arm on Ron's shoulder.
"You did a very brave and noble thing Mr Weasley. You and your friends" said Dumbledore.
Ron nodded and sank his head down to look at the ground sadly. For the first time in years he felt tears building in his eyes. Than someone had just entered into the hallway of the hospital wing, it was Hermione. Apparently she had just heard the news and had come up to see if everyone was all right.
Ron stared at her and he could tell she was crying from the amount of tears that were coming down from her eyes.
She quickly ran toward Ron and wrapped her arms around him. Ron felt too weak to even return a hug.
"Oh Ron!" she said crying into his chest. "What on earth happened?"
Ron couldn't bare to tell the story again. He gently pushed her off of him and requested that Professor Dumbledore tell her what he told him earlier.
Ron couldn't hold back the tears any longer as he turned around and went back inside the waiting area.
Ron's entire body was shaking ferociously now and it was likely he had developed hypothermia. He didn't mention it to the nurses however. His mind was still entirely on Harry.
Most Gryffindor's had now come into the hospital wing hallway just to see if what they heard was true. They weren't allowed into the room obviously. Luna Lovegood, who also showed up was the only non Gryffindor there. Thankfully Luna did not see Ron as he was in no mood to think about or talk to her. Lavender however did see him and came running up to talk.
"Ron! Oh my gosh you look terrible. What happened?" asked Lavender tearfully placing a hand on his face. "You're burning up."
Ron was now feeling incredibility dizzy and it felt like his head was now spinning out of control.
"What time is it?" he asked, absent mindedly slurring his words.
Lavender looked at her watch and replied "it's 11:30 why?"
"No reason" said Ron absent minded, staggering and looking like his legs was going to give out on him.
"Excuse me Lavender" said Ron wiping the sweat off his forehead and staggering into the hospital room to check on Harry.
Madam Pomfrey was now talking to Professor Dumbledore with a very sad and grim look on her face. "Why is she crying?" thought Ron feeling dumfounded. His vision was very blurry and the dizziness had gotten worst.
Ron also noticed Ginny, Hermione and Alicia crying too. Seamus, Dean and Neville all had their faces planted in their hands.
Ron tried to walk normally but ended up staggering very violently over to Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey "W-w-what's going on here, what happened?" asked Ron slurring his speech.
"I'm sorry Ronald. We were unable to do anything for him" Dumbledore said gravely.
Ron blinked a few times and had to process everything Dumbledore had just told him.
"No" said Ron weakly. "No" he said again, shaking his head, his lip trembling.
"I am sorry Ronald but . . . "
Ron backed away from Dumbledore very quickly and was now feeling a tremendous amount of pain shoot all over his body. The dizziness was extreme, his shivering was uncontrollable and the heat was unbearable. Everything Ron was seeing in the room started spinning out of control and Ron couldn't take it anymore. It was too much for him to handle and it overwhelmed him.
Ron closed his eyes and collapsed onto the floor.
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February 2
"Ron wake up, we're gonna be late for breakfast, it's 8:30"
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A/N: Thanks very much for all of your reviews. It really made my day.
Did you actually think I was going to keep Harry dead? Didn't think so.
I was going to do something a bit different to answer the whole "where was everyone at 11:30" but this idea came to me out of the blue and I decided that it added a little flavor to the story. So I went with it.
I know it's a bit sad but I also tried to make it suspenseful(not to sure I succeeded though). I like a little diversity in a story and IMO this is the kind of story where anything CAN and WILL happen without making it OOC and totally unbelievable. Than again this is not a typical story. It's a story about making mistakes and learning from them. Like I said before, I want Ron to learn some things from this experience, which probably means he will more than likely have to go through a few row's and challenges that will test him physically and mentally. At the same time he's going to have loads of fun. (I am not without a heart) :-)
Even though this is supposed to be a Romance story I know I haven't been putting much in it as regards to R/Hr. I can say that some Romance stuff is on its way very soon, very very soon.
But I guess I have to explain a few things:
A lot of fics I read have R/Hr pairing up right off the bat and making it feel like there was no real build up to it besides tension and a few outbursts. The really fluffy fics too have no real build up besides making it really cute. Not that I don't like/love fics like these, I do, in fact its 85% of the R/Hr stories I read :-). It's just that I wanted to do it a little different and didn't want to rush into it. I wanted to make an attempt and try to build Ron's character further making their relationship more special than it already is in cannon (if that's possible).
It's like JK built her brilliant magical castle that is R/Hr and I'm just adding to it with decorations and other forms of interior design (lol).
Oh well that's all I have to say, Thanks again guys for reviewing, really appreciated it.
Have a nice week!
Take Care!