Ron and Jack disembarked from their plane, both of them surprised at the effectiveness of muggle flight and quite glad to be on solid ground again. Jack hailed them a taxi and before long, they were across town standing in front of a large apartment building.
"Well, I thought we'd get down to it, so this is it." Said Jack fondly. Ron merely glared up at the building, unsure whether he was looking at Jack's office or his home.
"You mean, your office is here?" Asked Ron. "But surely the muggles have noticed what's going on?"
"Oh, no, no, this isn't my office, this is my home, you see, as it turns out, we couldn't actually book you a hotel, so you'll be staying with me, is that all right?" Sputtered Jack nervously. Ron opted not to let this minor annoyance ruin the novelty of his first visit to New York, so he smiled and Jack led the way inside. Ron had a brief moment of alarm when he realized he had no idea how a muggle elevator worked, but Jack assured him that they were not likely to plummet to the basement.
Inside Jack's apartment, Ron was greeted by a young woman wearing an apron and rubber gloves who was elbow-deep in a turkey when she looked up at Ron. Blushing slightly, she took off her gloves and rushed into the foyer.
"Hi, I'm Penelope, Jack's wife. Jack mentioned you'd be coming, so I thought I'd prepare a special dinner in your honor." She said, beaming widely and turning to continue her work.
"Oh, I'm Ron Weasley, and you didn't have to go to that trouble, I had about a million pretzels on the aeroplane." Said Ron, and though he was looking forward to a home-cooked meal, he had eaten a quite few more pretzels than Hermione would have allowed him. Penelope smiled and shook her head, pulling a large bit of organ matter from the inside of the turkey. Ron decided to leave her alone while she cooked, and so he joined Jack in the small living room adjacent to the kitchen.
"You're going to love this," cried Jack, "it's called television, perhaps you've seen it before?"
"Wow, I've seen them in muggle shops, but I've never gotten to look at one for longer than five minutes." Said Ron excitedly. And as Penelope rattled around in the kitchen, Jack provided Ron with a complete rundown of all the muggle sports on the television. Ron was rather bored with baseball, but when he saw an auto race, he nearly jumped out of his seat. With a booming laugh, Jack explained the rules of the sport, and he and Ron wiled away the evening talking about why quidditch was the best sport in the world.
Penelope's dinner could have put any Hogwarts feast to shame. Ron ate his fill and more, only to find additional courses in front of him as Jack and Penelope got up in turn to visit the kitchen.
"This is unbelievable, how do you cook so much without mag--" Ron broke off, giving a quizzical look to Jack, who smiled and nodded.
"Yes," said Jack, "Penelope knows all about the wizarding world, and I must say she took the news rather well back when we were to be married."
"Actually, Jack, I was terrified, and your mother... well, let's just say I was having second thoughts until I looked into your eyes on our wedding day, and then I knew I had nothing to worry about ever again." Penelope trailed off, blushing scarlet, and Ron cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"Well, I'm glad you went through with it, because your cooking is excellent, I bet you'd even give my mother a run for her money, and that's saying a lot." Ron grinned at Penelope, who blushed
"Ok Ron, now that we're stuffed to the gills, I thought we'd take you out and show you what a great city we've got here." Said Jack. Ron excitedly stood up, and the three of them left to tour the city and enjoy all the busy night spots. They were out until the early morning, and when they got back, Penelope was clearly exhausted. Ron bade the coupe good night and laid down on his sofa bed to reflect on everything he had seen. But he could not help thinking about what Hermione must be doing, and he dwelled at length on the happy couple he was staying with. Will I ever be in love like that, Ron thought to himself. He knew he loved Hermione, but his recent uncertainty coupled with the conversation he overheard left him feeling rather jealous of Jack and Penelope. Ron continued to pine for Hermione, occasionally scolding himself for his weakness, and he slipped off to sleep.
In the morning Jack, who was already fully dressed in a suit and tie, woke Ron and jovially exclaimed that he was going in to his office for a meeting, and that he would be returning after lunch to collect Ron and to take him to the newsroom. Ron drowsily nodded his understanding, and rolled over to continue his dream of winning the quidditch world cup on a two-man broom with Hermione.When he was finally rested, Ron awoke and slumped off to the bathroom. He found Penelope rattling around in the kitchen, and when she saw him she looked rather embarrassed again.
"Oh! Hi, Jack said you'd be sleeping in today. Well I'm just uh... I just, I lost my wedding ring!" Penelope fought back tears as she spoke, and Ron could not help feeling amusement at the look on her face.
"It's no big deal," said Ron, "when did you miss it?" Penelope indicated the sink, which she had apparently tried to disassemble, causing water and potato peels to be sprayed all over the kitchen. Ron laughed, which caused Penelope to break into savage tears, but she started to laugh as well, and once she calmed down, Ron assured her that he could make short work of finding her ring and putting her kitchen back together.
"Accio ring!" Yelled Ron, and with a loud metalling clang, a ring shot out of the loosened S-Bend and landed lightly in his hand. "There you are, no harm done, see?" He handed the ring to Penelope, and then turned to face the kitchen at large.
"I can't thank you enough, I've been worried sick all morning." Whispered Penelope, and she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.
"Reparo! Scourgify!" Ron yelled, and in one fluid motion, the fittings and brackets flew back under the sink and reattached themselves, and the potato peels and murky water vanished.
"Everything back to normal? Good." Said Ron, and he picked up his trail to the bathroom. When he emerged a half hour later, he found a huge amount of eggs, bacon, pancakes, and toast waiting for him on the table with a note: "Thanks a million for finding my ring. I've just gone to run some errands. Eat up, I'll be back in a bit. --Penelope"
Ron gorged himself on the steaming stacks of pancakes, and sure enough, Penelope returned with her arms full of bags. Ron jumped up to help her, and she giggled oddly as he did so.
"What's so funny?" Asked Ron, pretending to be annoyed.
"Oh nothing," said Penelope, and she quickly turned her back on him. "It's just, I can't remember the last time someone was so eager to help me carry bags."
"Well you can't have met very many decent people here, can you." Said Ron. He immediately wished he hadn't spoken those words, because before he knew it, Penelope was standing uncomfortably close to him, her eyes fixed intently on his.
"You're right, I haven't." Said Penelope simply. "I mean, my husband is wonderful, and I really haven't had a single worry since the day I married him. But he kind of, you know, takes me for granted. You know he's out of town more than he's at home, it's almost like he loves his job more than he loves..." Penelope broke off, her eyes watering once more, and Ron wondered vaguely whether she should seek medical treatment for overactive tear ducts. He did not, however, know what to say in response to Penelope's fears. He had known Jack barely longer than a week, and in his opinion, he was the last person to offer relationship advice.
"I-Uh... well, you know he loves you, all he could talk about the whole trip back was how much he wanted to see you," Ron lied quickly, hoping to stem the flow of tears in Penelope's eyes. "In fact, I bet he hated his whole trip to England, he told me he thought it was a waste of time since he could still do his job without leaving you alone so much." Penelope's face was unreadable, but her sobs subsided, and she looked back into Ron's eyes, trembling slightly.
"You don't have to lie to me, I'm a big girl. The truth is Jack never thinks about anything but his column anymore. But you... you're capable of so much love, I can tell. Even if you don't know it. I want to know you, I want to know everything." Penelope sounded determined to have a long conversation, and Ron, glancing at his watch, noticed it was still only 10:30 in the morning, hardly lunch time yet. Ron sighed, and she led him into the living room, and after she made a pot of coffee, she pelted Ron with questions about his past. Ron answered as truthfully as he could, but some things were too painful to recount to a total stranger. Penelope evidently sensed that he was guarding his thoughts about the war and the friends and family he lost, because her tone of voice changed suddenly back into a waivering whisper.
"I know all about the wizarding war that went on in England, Jack talked about it a lot back then. Were you, I mean, did you lose anyone you loved?" Ron stared up at the ceiling, unwilling to answer, but he was touched deeply by Penelope's interest. It was not juvenile curiosity that led her to ask him this, he knew, but neither was her motivation clear. After a long pause, Ron decided to answer now, assuming that the subject would remain open until he cooperated.
"Yes, I did. My brother Percy was killed by Voldemort's supporters when I was 17, and a year later my friend Neville was murdered by one of my old school mates. We suspect he did it on Voldemort's orders, but as they're both dead now it's hard to know. I wish I could have killed the bastard myself. I mean, why? WHY? The war was already over, Voldemort was fnished. There was no reason to kill someone like Neville... Neville was the kindest boy you'd ever have met, and he had already suffered so much... " By then Ron could feel warm tears trickling down his own face, and burning with sadness and embarrassment, he stood to leave. "I'm getting out of--"
"Shhh." Penelope whispered. She stood to face Ron, and standing on her toes, she dried his tears with a handkerchief. Before either of them knew what was happening, Ron had pulled Penelope into an embrace, and they kissed. It was the kind of kiss he had not shared with Hermione in a long time. It was short and innocent, not passionate, and Ron could taste the sadness on Penelope's lips. Coming to his senses, Ron broke away, and reminding himself of his flight a week before, he ran out of the apartment without looking back. But he soon realized he was ill-prepared to wander the streets of New York City by himself. After walking several blocks and turning several times, Ron considered himself thoroughly lost. Scanning the street ahead of him for a landmark, Ron failed to notice a pair of Muggles in dark clothes lurking just inside the alleyway to his left.
"Hey you, yeah you, get over here." Said one of the men, pointing a gun at Ron's heart. Panicking slightly, Ron moved quickly into the alley, visualizing the exactly location and position of his wand inside his pocket so that he could draw it without fumbling. "Now give us all your money, or you're dead!" Bellowed the other Muggle. Ron hesitated; he had neither any Muggle money nor very much gold, as he had not planned to venture into the city.
"I don't have any, you've got to believe me, I just went out for a walk, all my money is back in the apartment." Sputtered Ron, hoping he was convincing the Muggles that he was a poor robbery target.
"Well it's not your lucky day, is it?" Said the first man, and raising his gun again, he fired. Ron remembered only the sound of the gun and the sensation of hitting the pavement. He woke inside a hospital, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a concerned face grinning weakly down at him. Jack called for the healer, and after being administered several potions, Ron sat up.
"How did I... did you find me?" He asked Jack.
"Oh, no, luckily Penelope missed you after she finished the dishes this morning, and she went out to look for you. She called me at once and I had you brought to the hospital here. The healer says you'll be fine, you got shot with a firearm but it wasn't serious. Penelope's worried sick, she figures she was annoying you so you left to get some peace and quiet." Jack boomed a laugh and patted Ron on the back. "If you want to put off the interview for a few days it'll be fine with me, you can rest up a bit at my apartment and we can take care of business before the weekend." Jack said goodbye and excused himself. Ron could not help being angry at himself for the anguish he had probably caused Penelope. She had asked him a lot of personal questions, but he was hardly annoyed with her. Wincing as he lay back down, he decided to let her know why he left in such a hurry, and he dozed off again.
The next morning he was discharged from the hospital, and he found Penelope waiting for him in the lobby. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she smiled when she saw him.
"I was so worried, it was all my fault, I should have left you alone, I was just lonely, I didn't really mean to be so rude..." She said, her words spilling out the moment she opened her mouth.
"Don't worry," Said Ron, "it's the two blokes with the firearm I'd like to blame, not you. Really, I'm quite alright, I've been hurt much worse playing quidditch."
Penelope laughed and they made their way back to the apartment, where Penelope insisted on cooking Ron breakfast again, and following another round of pancakes and bacon, she sat opposite him at the table. She looked intently at him, as though she were trying to decide what to say, but Ron spoke before she got a chance.
"Look, what happened yesterday, it was my fault. I don't talk about those things very often, it's been hard, I haven't really had anyone to talk to most of the time."
"Who said it's anyone's fault?" Said Penelope.
"Well, it was. You see, my girlfriend and I don't see each other as often as we used to, and I have a feeling she's about to ditch me anyway. I just felt like you were someone I could sort of, get along with with. You really put me at ease, you know? But I can't, you can't, we both have our obligations, it was a moment of weakness, just a mistake..." Penelope clutched her heart as he finished, and she looked down at the table in sad reflection.
"I didn't think it was a mistake." She said. "You made me feel like I was worth more than a meal and a clean apartment. You made me feel like a person. Those things you told me... I can hardly imagine what it was like for you, and I was stupid to have felt sorry for myself. But... when I look into your eyes, I see that there's pain and worry in every day of your life, and I thought maybe I could be a part of you, even if it was only for a while. I'm so tired of being comfortable, I wanted to know what it was like to be with someone who doesn't wake up every day and barely remember the day before."
Ron felt extremely unnerved by Penelope's admissions, but he didn't have long to ponder them, as the sound of the door opening sounded throughout the apartment. Hastily wiping her face and fixing her apron on more tightly, Penelope rushed out of the kitchen to greet Jack, and Ron sat again, wondering what he was going to do next.