Jared- so glad to see you again! smooch :-D
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Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
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As soon as Dumbledore said "one", everyone disappeared, and headed toward 12 Grimmauld Place in a whirlwind of color and sound, stopping only when they reached the basement kitchen.
The first thing Ron felt once he had reached the basement kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place was someone giving him a bone-crushing hug.
"Oh my! Ron!" Hermione sobbed. "You're OK! Oh, I've missed you!"
"I've missed you a lot, mum," said Ron.
Hermione, who hadn't yet noticed Ron's black eye, then turned to Harry and gave him a hug too.
"Oh, Harry, I've missed you so much! I've been so worried!"
Ron turned to his sisters. "Hey, Jamie, Aphrodite." He grinned.
Jamie and Aphrodite both looked as though they'd burst into tears. They both said Ron's name, and then rushed to him, and both embraced him in a hug.
"I've missed you two so much!" said Ron. They broke apart. "Where's Kelsey?"
"I'm right here."
Jamie and Aphrodite moved aside, and Ron saw Kelsey standing next to the table, her hand resting on one of the chairs. Kelsey grinned.
"Hey," she said.
Ron didn't respond, instead, he took a few steps toward Kelsey, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her on the lips. He help his lips to hers, savoring the moment. It was as though they were the only ones in the room. It was only when someone cleared their throat that they broke apart. Ron and Kelsey looked around the kitchen, and saw that everyone was smiling at them. Kelsey blushed, and Ron grinned in an embarrassed sort of way.
"There is no need to be embarrassed about showing affection for someone you care about," said Dumbledore. Everyone laughed. "Now that the two love birds are done," -more laughter- "Ron, as you understand, you have missed nearly two months of school."
Ron nodded.
"And you will most likely fail your OWLs since you weren't at school for that period of time."
Ron hung his head.
"Which is why," said Dumbledore, slightly more cheerfully, "I will be placing a charm on you, which will put all lessons missed into your mind." Ron looked at the headmaster and grinned. "Come here."
Ron walked over to the headmaster, who put his wand to the top of Ron's head and muttered something. Ron's eyes closed for a moment, and then opened once more. "There now," said Dumbledore.
"Thank you, Professor!"
Dumbledore merely grinned. "Now, I can imagine you are most tired. You are welcome to go up to bed. You don't have to be around the boring old adults."
Everyone laughed again, and Ron looked pointedly at Kelsey, and the both of them headed up the stairs. Neville made to go after them, but Harry held out his arm to stop him.
"Neville-"
"But...what if they start having sex?"
"They won't," said Moody. Harry and Neville and everyone else looked at him. Moody was clearly using his magical eye to follow Ron an Kelsey.
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Ron and Kelsey were silent all the way up the stairs. In fact, they walked in silence until they reached Ron's room, on the second floor. Ron opened the door, let Kelsey walk in, and then he shut the door after himself. He walked right over to his bed, and flopped down onto it and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Glad to be back?" said Kelsey, laying down beside Ron on the bed.
"Are you kidding? I'm ecstatic! I've missed everyone so much that it hurt!" said Ron. But he didn't tell Kelsey about how the Death Eaters had tortured him. He didn't want to have to looked at her horrified expression when he told her. "But I missed you most of all." Ron turned his face toward Kelsey's and kissed her. "I love you Kelsey."
"I love you too, Ron."
Ron kissed the top of her head, and put his arm around the back of Kelsey's shoulders. Kelsey cuddled up to him, and a few minutes later, they fell asleep in each other's arms.
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One week later, Ron returned to school on the Hogwarts Express. It had been a tearful good bye, for Hermione had shed a few tears, and Ron even noticed a tear in Harry's eyes.
On the Hogwarts Express, Ron and Kelsey had a compartment to themselves, although it didn't seem like it. People kept coming to Ron's and Kelsey's compartment (with the exception of the Slytherins), saying hi, and saying how glad they were that Ron was ok, and how good it was to have him back. However, Ron and Kelsey were finally all alone by the time the lunch trolley arrived.
"Anything off the trolley, dears?" said the lady.
Ron pulled two galleons out of his robes. In one of the pockets he had searched, he found his wand. Dumbledore had given him his wand, as well as Harry's wand to Harry, before they had arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place. Ron held up the two gold coins.
"What can I get for this?"
Ron came back into the compartment with four pumpkin pasties, two bottles of Butterbeer, and other assorted sweets.
"Thanks," said Kelsey, when Ron handed Kelsey her share of the food.
"No problem." Ron took a large bit of his pumpkin pasty. After being starved by the Death Eaters, he had not forgotten what it was like to by constantly hungry.
Ron and Kelsey spent the rest of the trip to Hogwarts arguing enjoyably about Quidditch. Ron favored the Puddlemere United team, while Kelsey favored the Chudley Cannons. During the time in which they argued about which team was better and why, they played a game of Exploding Snap, and a few games of Wizard's Chess. All in all, the rest of the trip went by quite quickly.
When the train pulled into the Hogsmeade Station, Ron and Kelsey went over to where the carriages were waiting. They got one to themselves, and as soon as they had sat down in it, it was off, bumping and swaying, toward the castle.
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The next three months went by quickly. Everyone was studying for their OWLs, at least all the fifth years were. Occasionally a fifth year would break down completely and say that they were too stupid to take the exams, and that they wanted to go home and never have to deal with anything like this again (this happened with Sandy Franklin, a Hufflepuff; Michael Gellar, who was a Gryffindor; and two Ravenclaws, Ronda Sterling, and Kevin Washburn). These people were sent to the hospital wing, where they were given a Calming Draught by Madame Pomfrey, and they returned to their classes, nice and calm, and as though they hadn't done anything out of the ordinary.
Inga Waters had drawn up study schedules for all the fifth year Gryffindors, and Kelsey and Ron were very grateful. Study schedules were very useful, and Ron and Kelsey had used theirs to study as much as was possible. Of course, they couldn't study all the time, or their brains would likely rot, so they took an evening off a week to just hang around, talking, and sometimes, hugging and kissing.
With two weeks to go of school, the OWL exams were taken by the fifth years. Ron thought he had done reasonably well in all of his subject, even Potions, which was surprising considering the teacher hated him. The only subject Ron didn't think he did so well in was Divination, but, he reasoned, Divination wasn't likely to help him anyway in his future career (he hoped to be an Auror, just like his dad). Another reason, the teacher, Professor Trelawney was an old fraud. Everyone thought so, even Ron's own parents.
Finally it was the last day of school. Everyone was boarding the Hogwarts Express, talking excitedly with their friends. Ron and Kelsey got a compartment with Greg Lustave and Inga Waters, and all four spent quite a while discussing how they think they did on their OWLs, and how either glad or anxious each one was to find out their scores. Greg kept saying how much he wished that they had received their scores before they had left for home for the summer until finally Inga and Kelsey asked Greg, somewhat kindly, to be quiet or they would hex him. Greg fell silent instantly.
Ron, Kelsey, Greg, and Inga all bought some pumpkin pasties and Butterbeer when the witch with the lunch trolley arrived, and while they were eating, they discussed what each one was doing for the summer. Greg was going to be going to Sweden with Inga, and Ron and Kelsey were just going to stay in Engalnd and hang out.
Soon, everyone changed back into their Muggle clothes, and then sat back down into their seats as the train slowed down, and then stopped. After it stopped, Ron helped Kelsey get her trunk down from the luggage rack, and after he got his own trunk down, he and Kelsey set off down the carriage and down the steps and onto Platform 9 3/4. They were greeting lovingly by their parents, with many hugs and kisses, and then they set off home, back to Godric's Hollow.
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I know this chapter seemed a bit rushed, but I'm in a hurry to start my new story. I'll post it at the same time that I post the next, and last, chapter of this story.
One more chapter after this, folks! Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!!