A Little Ride
Ron arrived at 2 in the afternoon on Sunday in a 1950's sky blue Ford truck. "You like it Harry? I actually pieced it back together this summer. Hermione's been teaching me how to drive it when she's not busy studying." Ron started up the engine before turning it off—allowing it to hum a little. Ron parked perfectly in the front drive beside Uncle Vernon car and proceeded into the house to get Harry's belongings. He waived at the Dursley's who watched him from the kitchen carefully before acknowledging him.
"There's something different about you, Ron but I can't place my finger on it." Harry said while carrying his trunk down the stairs with Ron.
"Oh, I've grown a couple of inches over the summer and I'm starting to grow a couple of hairs on my chin. You can barely see them because they look blond." Ron said and unhooked the back of the truck bed. They pushed the trunk onto the truck and went back inside for more of Harry's things.
"No, there's something different about you that's not physical." Ron blushed and ignored the comment by filling his arms with Hedwig and books of Harry's.
"I'm sorry about not writing you a lot this summer. Hermione and I haven't been helping with the…" Ron looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Well you know who. They said something about everything becoming to dangerous. I've just been practicing quidditch and working on the car."
"Well I haven't written to you or Hermione this summer except for now so I can't complain." Harry packed up all of his drawings of La Tundra and his art supplies and placed them carefully in the front seat.
"What's wrong Harry?" Ron said as he made is fourth trip down to the truck.
"I'll tell you when we get some distance from this house." Harry replied. Ron, eager to her what was bothering Harry through all of his clothes in a bag and tossed them in the back of the trunk.
He watched his friend sit restlessly in his seat for a few minutes before attempting to talk to him. It was very much unlike him to be so quiet. So Ron interrupted the silence with, "My driving is a lot better these days, eh. Hermione's a really good teacher. I think she'll be able to get her license soon if she really goes after them."
"That'll be cool." Harry said. Harry just remembered to buckle his seatbelt so he quickly fastened them and looked out of the window.
Ron watched him out of the corner of his eye for a few more minutes before asking, "What's wrong Harry?"
"I've dreamt of her every night since I've left school." Harry sighed and continued to look out of the window.
"Who, Cho?" Ron said.
Harry slowly shook his head and pulled out a drawing of his dream girl and showed Ron. He almost ran off the road from looking too hard.
"She's gorgeous but who is she?" Ron said while jerking the car back onto the road, barely missing a street sign.
Harry looked longingly at the picture and held it tightly between her fingers. "I'm not sure but I think her name is La Tundra. She's all I think about. I've never met her but I'm sure that I'm in love with her."
"Love, Harry but you don't even know her." Ron said with a hesitant look on his face. He didn't want to hurt his friend's feelings but he sounded so out of character.
Harry just continued to look at the picture and seemed to be lost in thought. "Ron, then what is love. How does it feel? How do I know what's real and what isn't?"
Ron didn't reply to Harry's questions until an hour later. They left the city miles behind them but they were still five hours away. He wished that he enchanted the car to fly but he didn't want to get kicked out of school. "If you are in love with someone means that you would do anything for them whether they loved you back or not. It something intangible that you just know about yourself. No matter what happens between the two of you you'll always have each other's back." Ron said and fell silent.
An hour pasted before Harry said, "In every dream she's arguing with him. Something about she doesn't want me to go somewhere but I can't remember what she's talking about. She's crying in every dream and my heart aches to even think about watching the tears fall from her eyes."
"Maybe it's a memory." Ron said as he turned sharply around a corner.
"I don't think it's one of Tom Riddle's memories. He is so full of hate and self ambition. I just can't see him in love with someone."
Ron said, "Then who Harry?" and pulled sharply around another corner.
"That was a stop sign, Ron."
"I paused."
"It felt like you speed up a little faster."
"Well maybe I did."
"You're lucky no one was around to see that."
Ron chuckled, "I know."
"I don't know anything more that what I just told you." Harry said and put away his pictures. "I love her, Ron with everything that's inside of me."
"I understand Harry. I know how you feel." They were passing through another city by this time. Ron was driving a little bit fast but no one stopped them. Every town seemed to blend in together after awhile. All the building seem flat and endless like a giant's bed. The colors of the buildings rarely strayed from red, blue, black, and white—adding to the illusion of a continuous flat surface. The farmlands they passed through copied each other exactly. There were horses, cows and fields of vegetables like corn and wheat. They all had red barns, with white two story houses in the background.
They were cruising from town to town in silence when Ron saw a girl walking with long, thick, frizzy brown hair. "Harry, what is it like to live with muggles."
"Boring. Our world is much better and exciting."
"I was wondering what life would be like without all the drama that we go through." Ron said.
Harry looked at his friend with a look of confused interest. "It doesn't matter what world you live in, you will always face difficulties. Why do you ask?" Harry said and turned his entire body around.
"Sometimes I feel think would be better if we didn't know magic—maybe if we lived in a world without magic the world would be a better place."
"Magic or no magic bad people are everywhere and ready to hurt anybody that gets in their way."
"We'll be home soon Harry, don't worry. I know it's getting late." Ron said.
Harry had rolled down the window and was putting his hand against the wind. He made his hand move like a fish through the air—back and forth, up and down. His hand cupped the air ushering it into the truck and sending a little chill down his spine. "I love her, Ron. I'm sure of it. All I can think about is protecting her and holding her close."
"What if she doesn't exist, Harry?" Ron said sadly.
"I know she's more than a dream. She's in danger and I'll be there to help protect her and do whatever I can do for her." Silence fell again between the boys as the sun set and burst into colors.
"That's the turn to my house Harry. We'll be there in a minute." Ron said as he point in the direction of the road without a sign near it.
