Just Old Friends

Chapter 9: Ron

It was lunch when Harry finally awoke. His body ached with grief but he couldn't bear to cry anymore. He had cried last night for hours, long after Hermione had left, he still cried. He heard a clicking sound outside his door and turned to look.

A man he hadn't seen moved into the room; his right leg clicked as it connected with the floor. His head was covered in a black cloak but in his hand was a bag and Harry could see that within were chocolate frogs.

"Ron?"

"Good to see you, mate!"

The man pulled his cloak down and he smiled warmly at his friend. His pale green eyes were shinning with happiness and his lips twitched upwards. Hermione had been right the only thing that had changed about Ron was his leg otherwise he didn't look a day older than their last meeting.

He sat down on the chair next to Harry's bed and Harry couldn't help but look at the man's leg. Ron chuckled and lifted his trouser leg up a bit.

"It's Moody's old leg, said that somebody should have it since Moody wasn't going to be walking around anymore."

Harry laughed he was still using the same old jokes. He caught a frog that was thrown at him and opened the wrapper looking inside at it. He took a bite and it was heaven; he'd forgotten how much he missed these.

"You haven't had dinner yet, you shouldn't be eating those. And that goes for you too, Ronald Weasley."

Both men chucked and looked up at Hermione. She had her hands on her hips and wore a scowl just like those years prior when she had caught them doing something they shouldn't. The three broke into laughter as she moved into the room.

She sat on the edge of the bed and handed around pasta in small containers, each contained sweet corn, peas and pieces of ham.

"Ron please say she isn't yours, because I want her to come live with me when I get out; I need somebody who can cook."

Ron raised his eyebrow at his friend and looked at Hermione.

"Sorry mate, she's mine; you'll just have to move in with us."

Harry laughed thinking that they were joking but when he caught their eyes he had to ask.

"Do you mean that?"

"Of course we do. Ron is right, you're moving in with us. You need somebody to take care of you and it isn't like you have a house. And that's final."

Harry stared at them and was about to speak up when that Bulcas fella came running into the room

"Granger! Emergency! There's been an attack in Essex, we've been sent. The muggles and the Auror's will be in soon."

Hermione was up and out the door within seconds. Ron just picked up another chocolate frog and put it in his mouth.

"Aren't you going to go see what's happened?"

"No point, it's my day off I'll find out tomorrow when I go back in."

"Oh, do you do any field work yet?"

Ron looked up smiling.

"Not supposed to, but come on, I'm Ron Weasley; everybody knows I've been out in the field since I was eleven. Even though you did most of the work, just the fact I was there means that I know how to deal with situations. They make sure I go out with a qualified Auror but I've faced as much as most of them, more even than some."

Harry nodded at his friend.

"Is Tonks still about?"

"Tonks! Yes only her surname isn't Tonks anymore, it's Lupin."

Harry's eyes bulged.

"You mean she and ... they got ..."

"Yep, Remus and Tonks got married about... oh eight months ago. She's already with child. It's kind of scary really, because he keeps saying he's old enough to be a granddad and yet he's having his first child."

Harry nodded and looked slyly at his mate.

"So when is Hermione going to be with child?"

"Not bloody soon I can tell you, unless she's got somebody else on the go, we're not like that. Or should I say, she isn't like that. Wants to wait until we're married and she's been refusing to marry me until you wake up and can be there. So it's about bloody time you get out of here so we can have the wedding!"

Harry laughed so hard he chocked on the chocolate frog he was eating. He couldn't believe they hadn't gotten married. He knew that she was still using Granger but thought it was just because she was use to it, but this really was something else.

"So Hermione told me that she filled you in on everything, need to know anything else?"

Harry looked up at Ron and could see that even though it had sounded lightly put he was already finding it hard. Knowing that he didn't want to hear Ron's side just yet, he thought of something to ask him.

"How's Bill? Was he found?"

"Hermione didn't tell you, now that is weird. Well when we questioned the Death Eaters we had caught they all told us where they had been keeping the prisoners. It was like Tonks had said, Kingsley was dead and so was Fleur we found their bodies."

"Remember that morning when Fred told us that Tonks had escaped, do you remember what Luna said?"

Harry sat there trying to remember he remembered telling her he loved her and that she said the same back, asking her to marry him but what had she said when Fred had turned up. He shook his head.

"She said and this is a direct quote 'Bills alive, he's badly injured but you'll find him before its too late, although he'll never be whole again.' She said that on the day of the battle, she even told us that Charlie would be the one to find him."

Harry just nodded at him.

"It was three days after the battle and we went to the hide out, it was horrible Harry there were rats everywhere and it smelled just yuck. We went down to the dungeons and found Kingsley and Fleur was in the old library."

"Charlie went up to the attic and yelled for us. Snape and Remus ran up and I hobbled. Still getting use to the leg then you see. Well there was Bill chained to the wall. We got him down and he was alright nothing physically wrong with him."

Harry looked at his friend there was something in his face and Harry knew what was coming.

"He was emotionally injured wasn't he Ron? He knew that Fleur was dead, knew what the Death Eaters had done to her."

"Yes. He's a bit better but he'll never be his old self again it's sad really."

They sat there quiet for a little while just eating the chocolate. Harry had had enough and spoke up.

"Who won the last Quidditch season? Was it the Falcons?"

"No actually the Cannons won! We really won the season and the Falcons came in third. Puddlemore did well, you know Wood's team they came second."

"Wood is he still playing then? What happened to him?"

"Oh Dumbledore didn't have him arrested, couldn't have if he wanted to. He took to our side, took a curse for the Creevey brothers, broke his arm at the same time. Well when he healed he was offered the coaching job in Puddlemore United and he's been coaching two years, as well as playing Keeper."

Their conversation for the afternoon stayed light, and before Harry knew it Hermione was back, he looked at his watch it was six o'clock and time for them to leave. With a bid goodnight Harry watched them leave arm in arm.