Senseless

"No!"

It was everything they had expected and worse.

"No I won't allow it!"

They had both given up arguing with her and decided to leave it to Ron's father to attempt to calm his wife down after both Ginny and the twins had been chased from the room being told to mind their own business.

"It's too soon for both of you. No!"

Harry saw Hermione taking Ron's hand from behind his back. She had hidden in the hallway with the others and was giving Ron silent encouragement to stand his ground with his over-protective mother. She did everything she could to stay out of sight of the Weasley matriarch however, not wanting to be on the receiving end of the screech that had all but ruptured Ginny's eardrums when she had boldly stepped in on behalf of her boyfriend and her brother.

"You're not ready boys. Harry's only just come out of the hospital himself and you Ronnie..." Mrs Weasley was saying by way of an explanation to her previous declaration that the two of them were not moving out of the Burrow and into the nice little flat they had found in Diagon Alley when she was interrupted.

Well not interrupted so to speak. Ron simply folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow as if daring his mother to keep on going down that road of argument. It was a road that only led to broken crockery and a crying Mrs Weasley.

"...Ronnie dear you know I don't think you're incapable of looking after yourself, you know that don't you?"

Ron shrugged petulantly.

"You do!" Mrs Weasley snapped before being held on to by her husband, bravely fighting to keep mother and son from another of their apocalyptic rows.

It was incredible to see a mute engage in a shouting match but Ron was amazing at it. He was ten times more aggressive and dominant then he had ever been when he had the ability to shout. He would argue with everybody who gave him good reason, he'd even argued with Harry that day he'd finally made his breakthrough, and the twin's positively encouraged Ron to lose his rag simply because they enjoyed seeing their little brother fuming just as he did in the good old days. Mrs Weasley seemed to always be on the receiving end of Ron's wrath more and more now though. She was always over protective of her children, whether they were children or not anymore, and especially her two babies Ron and Ginny.

After almost losing Ron in the final battle and having to watch him being pitied, frustrated, patronised and practically made a magical martyr she had been positively fierce in her motherly instincts to keep him safe and happy. She would take enormous pride in everything he managed to achieve despite his injury but one thing she couldn't accept was his need for independence.

"I just want to be nearby for you Ron," Mrs Weasley tried to explain through her tears, "you and Harry, you've both been through so much and I don't think you should be alone so soon."

"Molly you heard the twins," Mr Weasley ventured bravely, "the boys will only be a few doors away from their shop and they'll pop in all the time, so will Bill and Fleur, they work right across the road in Gringotts don't they?"

"It's not the same!" Mrs Weasley barked as she wrenched her arm away from her husband's grip and turned to stare out of the kitchen window.

This was one thing Ron couldn't abide, people turning their back on him, is was just as rude as if somebody had plunged their fingers into their ears and closed their eyes while Harry had been trying to talk to them. Both Mr Weasley and Harry cringed in readiness while Hermione gave an involuntary squeal and gripped Ron's hand in hers even tighter than before while Ron flicked his wand and summoned a teacup from the sideboard into his waiting hand.

"Please don't smash anything Ronnie," Mrs Weasley sniffed, still with her back to her livid son, "I hate the sound of breaking china more than you'll ever know. It's the sound of my heart breaking over you dear and I can't bear it just now."

Ron was still standing with his arm raised, ready to hurl the teacup to the floor to get his mother to turn around, and seemed to be considering what to do. He let out a sigh and lowered the arm that clutched the teacup and twisted his fingers out from Hermione's vice like grip behind him. He set the cup down on the kitchen table and crossed the room to stand behind his mother who still had her back to him. Her shoulders were shaking now.

"I'm not ignoring you Ronnie, I promise, I just don't want you to see me like this," Mrs Weasley sniffed again.

Ron looked over his shoulder to Harry, Hermione and the twins and seemed to be pleading with them for the right thing to do in this situation. Ginny pushed her way past them all and nodded to her brother with Weasley determination. Ron nodded back and turned back to face his mother again. He tapped her on the shoulder and the older woman made herself turn around to face her son.

Harry frowned as he tried to read what Ron was saying to his mother from behind but he could only make out snippets. He was telling his mother something about kicking up a stink and that something would make no difference. Ginny smiled and nudged Harry with her elbow before filling in a couple of the blanks as she was at a better angle to him.

"Ron's pointing out that she'd still make this much of a fuss if he was in one piece and made of steel. He's telling her to stop using you and him and your conditions as the real reason she doesn't want you to leave home."

Fred shook his head at the bravery of his youngest brother while George looked greatly impressed. Hermione was smiling sadly and Ginny took Harry's hand with a smile before turning back to see Mrs Weasley and Ron hugging. Ron wiped his mother's tear streaked face with the sleeve of his sweatshirt before summoning the cup back into his hand from the table and handing it back to his mother.

Ron rubbed his knuckles on his chest, the sign for sorry, before telling his mother how frustrated she could get him and that he'd try to stop smashing stuff in order to make a point in future.

"You'll try?" Mrs Weasley gave a watery chuckle.

Ron laughed at this too and shrugged before putting his hand to his heart and then making a dropping motion with both hands followed by the splaying of his fingers. His mother laughed at this and Mr Weasley shook his head and looked to the heavens with a mumble.

"You're right Ronnie, you always did love breaking stuff!" Fred sneered from the doorway, "My toy broomstick ring any bells?"

Ron scowled over his shoulder at Fred and gave him the finger.

"Ronnie!" his mother exclaimed as she slapped her son gently on the arm while the twins laughed at getting their little brother into even more trouble.

Ron looked back at her and rolled his eyes before pointing at himself and stroking the underside of his chin with the back of his hand and gesturing over his shoulder to the small gathering behind him. Then he linked his hands to make a circular motion.

"Is that about us? What's he saying mum?" George demanded.

"He's telling me he's had enough of families for the time being," Molly chuckled as she wiped another tear from her eye and watched as Ron pointed at himself and then pinched both thumbs and forefingers together before drawing them apart as if he was tying a shoelace, "he needs some peace."

Harry sniggered at this. Despite being a mute now Ron was the noisiest person Harry had ever spent time with. It was all that fist banging and finger snapping to get attention when somebody wasn't looking his way.

Ron looked into his mother's bloodshot eyes, lowering his head to her level, and pointed at her chest, just where her heart would be and gave her a thumbs up.

"Yes dear, I'm fine, you still haven't broken it yet."

Ron feigned disappointment and mimed cursing under his breath. Mrs Weasley laughed loudly at that and slapped her son on the arm once again, harder but even more playfully than the last time. Ron grinned at her before his face became serious again and he gestured out the kitchen window and shook his head while shaking his hands downwards in front of his chest before pointing with determination at himself. His mother swallowed and nodded with equal determination before hugging him again.

The dispute was over. Harry and Ron were moving out that weekend. Ron had made his case pretty well for both of them with that last thing he had told his mother.

They can't hurt me.

"Hello Ron!"

Ron turned to look at Harry with a confused expression on his face before waving his hand in front of Jess' face and seeing no reaction.

Ron frowned while holding both hands in front of his stomach, fingers pointing upwards, and then tapping the side of his head with his thumb before pointing into his chest.

"How d'you know it's me?" Harry translated with a smile.

Jess gave a girlish chuckle before feeling for a chair at her side and patting the seat with her hand.

"Well I could say that I recognised your smell but I'd be lying, I'm not as good as that yet, but I did recognise you banging on the table top in the day room just now to get somebody's attention."

Ron smiled and signed something else to Jess that Harry speedily translated for him.

"I don't like being ignored."

Jess began to feel around for another chair as she spoke.

"It's funny talking to you like this Ron. It's nice though; your translator's got a kind voice. Here sit, both of you."

Ron looked at Harry's smug expression and rolled his eyes before the two of them took up seats on either side of Jess. Ron slid his hand over his other palm before making a gripping motion towards his chest with both hands before shaking his finger at Jess with a playful scowl. Harry laughed at this before translating.

"Harry's mine you can't have him!"

Jess laughed, a kind of donkey bray sounding laugh, and clutched her sides just as nurse Stour leaned into the room and cleared her throat.

"Sorry to interrupt the three of you but I understand you're still suffering from altitude sickness Ron. Are you sure you're alright to continue?"

Ron nodded and gestured through the wall to the day room.

"He's fine nurse Stour, he only felt bad in the day room, and it's passed now."

"Oh good," the woman smiled, "well I'll leave you to it."

Nurse Stour closed the door behind her and Ron turned back to face Jess who was frowning into the space between him and Harry. Ron twirled his index fingers and shrugged.

"What's up?" Harry translated.

"Nothing," Jess said with a thoughtful shrug, "I was just being nosey that's all. Are you feeling alright Ron?"

Ron nodded and smiled.

"Yeah he's fine Jess, really, the air's just a little thin up here and he gets a bit dizzy when we first arrive."

Jess fumbled in Ron's direction before finding his knee and giving it a pat.

"We could sit on the floor if you like, that's a bit lower."

Ron shook with silent laughter and Harry had to fight back his own in order to reassure Jess that he was not only better now but getting better still in her company. This made Jess seem delighted and they soon began to talk openly about anything and everything.

Some topics left Harry wishing he wasn't there at all. Jess had told them how her visions of the future were sometimes very painful, both physically and mentally, and that she was already fearful of the magical world because of all the awful things she had seen inside her own head. She had grown up during Voldemort's first reign of terror and had seen such atrocities in graphic detail that she would refuse to go to sleep and kept running away, hoping the visions wouldn't be able to find her.

As an adult during the second rise of Voldemort she was struck down by the visions again. She described murders and torture and the death of Albus Dumbledore to a tee. It made Harry shudder and Ron had put his hand on Harry's back for reassurance during the vivid description of Voldemort's return to power and Jess' tears over the dead boy and the bleeding boy tied to the headstone.

All these visions had left Jess with a crippling fear of all things magical. She refused to pick up a wand and couldn't bear to see somebody else wielding one anywhere near her. She told Ron and Harry about the night the Death Eaters had come to her remote family home and murdered her parents before dragging her away. They had discovered her 'sight' and wanted to exploit it for their own ends. They would torture her and near starve her before realising that she could never give in to the visions completely while she could see the wands, her anxiety even greater than her so called gift, and they blinded her so she wouldn't be distracted by the sight of wands anymore.

Ron did that silent internal whisper to himself that Harry knew was his friend swearing and he met Ron's eyes and shared the same expression of disgust and horror at the way Jess had been abused simply for a gift she didn't want.

"Aurors came for me and took me to St Mungo's but I wouldn't let them use magic on my eyes. I won't ever let anybody use magic near me let alone on me," Jess said calmly.

Harry assumed that she must have told this story so many times now that she was emotionally detached to it. Ron seemed to be thinking the same thing and was building himself up to do something. Harry saw Ron's apologetic glance in his direction before returning his focus upon Jess and starting to sign.

He shook his head and signed the letters D.E. before making a gripping and pulling motion away from his throat. Harry felt sick as he began to translate for his best friend in the world.

"It wasn't Death Eaters who took away my voice."

Ron still wasn't looking at Harry as he continued. He made a 'v' sign on the palm of his hand, pointed at the fourth finger on his left hand, tapped his index finger against his palm, made the shape of a letter 'D' using his thumb and forefinger on one hand and the index finger on the other, then he pointed at his index finger. Harry knew exactly what Ron was spelling and he tried to jump in and say it for Jess but Ron seemed to be determined to finish. Ron was slamming three fingers onto his open palm before pointing at his fourth finger again; he curled his index finger and hit it against his open palm before finishing with the shape of the letter 'T' being formed with both hands.

"It was Voldemort," Harry said before swallowing.

Jess gasped and Harry felt himself going green.

"He put my best friend under the Imperius curse and ordered him to kill me," Harry translated while Ron still didn't meet his eyes.

Jess had her hands clamped over her mouth now and Harry felt himself shaking involuntarily. Ron put two fingers to his forehead and moved them away and made the letter 'V' again while Harry began to translate the story he knew so horrifyingly well but had refused to remember from that awful day onwards.

"His name was the last thing I ever said. I'd never said it before and I can't say it again," Harry felt a chill running down his spine as Ron finally turned to meet his eyes and smiled, Harry finished the translation, "but lucky for me, I have a translator who isn't afraid of his name any more than I am so he can say it for me."

Harry's voice cracked as he spoke the last of Ron's words.

"He made your friend cut you?" Jess said sadly as she reached out for Ron's knee again.

Ron looked back at her and nodded. He flicked the tip of his nose with his thumb before making the same dropping motion he had made in his mother's kitchen earlier that morning.

"But I was lucky he broke it," Harry struggled on, "he was strong enough to break the curse just in time and he didn't kill me. He saved me."

Harry felt his eyes burning and wished that Ron and Jess would change the subject. He hated to see Ron talk about that awful day and it was killing him to have to be the one to recite the story to others.

Ron made a pinching motion away from his throat and gestured to Harry before shaking his head and pounding his fists upon his chest.

"He wishes his friend didn't keep blaming himself," Harry choked.

Jess frowned and turned her head vaguely in Harry's direction with a concerned frown.

"Are you alright Harry?" she asked as she felt in mid-air for his knee to pat as she had done with Ron, "You sound funny."

"I'm fine Jess," Harry said with an unnecessary smile, "really, I am."

Ron went on to explain to Jess that magic had saved his life and it was magic and wands that made his life easier to live without a voice. Jess understood what he was trying to tell her, that magic could and in the main was used for good, but still didn't think she would ever be able to be around people with wands.

"Not even people I trusted," she said sadly.

Ron and Harry said their goodbyes to Jess and the others at the clinic before nurse Stour had bounded over to them to enquire how their first day had gone. Harry noticed that Ron was rubbing his head and blinking, as if trying to clear his vision, and answered for both of them.

"It was great nurse Stour. It's nice to feel like we're actually helping people a bit."

"Oh no, you're helping more than just a bit," she beamed, "I've never heard Jess laugh so loudly and then talk so openly for such a long time."

Ron smiled at this and seemed to be over his second dizzy spell of the afternoon. Nurse Stour leaned in close and both Harry and Ron did the same with intrigued looks on their faces.

"Did Jess happen to talk about any of her visions to either of you?" Stour asked conspiratorially.

Ron and Harry leaned back again and shared a frown before shaking their heads.

"To be honest we didn't even think to ask her about them after she described the ones she had as a kid," Harry shrugged.

Ron hit his chest over his heart with a fist and extended index finger.

"Why?" Harry translated, "were we supposed to?"

The woman looked absolutely delighted and embraced the pair of them in one enormous hug.

"No. You did everything I expected of you and more. You listened to all of them. I knew I was right about you Ron."

Ron and Harry were blushing slightly when they were eventually released and Harry mumbled a goodbye before they left to make the long walk out to the border between the magic free area and the pick-up point for their wands where they could apparate back to London.

Ron answered the front door with a huge grin on his face and held his hands in front of him, wagging his fingers back and forth while Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes simultaneously and stepped inside the flat.

"Welcome to Chez Potter Weasley, or Weasley Potter, we haven't decided yet," Harry smiled as he gave Ginny a peck on the cheek.

"Yeah, yeah, Ron's already given us the big welcome thanks," Ginny said as she looked around the sparse living room.

Ron prodded Harry in the back as he passed and interlaced his fingers before making an 'o' shape with finger and thumb and holding it at the top of his other index finger with both eyebrows raised.

"That's not decided yet," Harry said firmly while Ron disappeared into another room nodding, "No it isn't!"

"So it's definitely going to be Weasley Potter then eh Hermione?" Ginny smirked while Harry scowled.

"Why do you Weasley's always get your own way?" Harry huffed while Ron emerged from the room carrying a box and wearing a wicked smile on his face, "P comes before W you know?"

Hermione shook her head as she sat down upon a smooshy beanbag type thing.

"You sound like a married couple," Hermione sighed as she sunk into the strange velvety marshmallow.

Ron shrugged and pointed at Harry while shaking his head and then pointing to his own left ring finger and laughing.

"Why do I have to buy the rings?" Harry protested while Ginny chuckled and heaved Hermione out of the bean bag that was threatening to engulf her entirely.

"What on earth is this thing anyway?" Hermione said as she looked back at the mound of upholstery.

"It's our sofa," Harry explained as he withdrew his wand, "we haven't got around to inflating it yet."

Harry flicked his wand at the lump, which filled out and firmed up into a three-seated sofa with quite an ugly pattern on it. Ron scowled at it and reached into the box he had carried into the living room to remove a large orange blanket and tossed it over the foul-looking sofa.

"It's one of mum's donations to the boys' independence," Ginny explained as Hermione took a chance and sat back down again.

"So has she been round to check up on you both yet then?" Hermione said as she bounced up and down gently on the rigid sofa, slightly impressed at how sturdy it now was.

Ron rolled his eyes to the stained ceiling and gave a tut before holding up his hand and splaying his fingers wide.

"Five times?" Ginny exclaimed with a laugh.

Ron nodded and pointed to the back of his wrist as if he was wearing a watch and drew a circle with his index finger.

"In an hour!" Hermione gasped.

Ron nodded again and Ginny shook her head and threw herself on the sofa beside Hermione.

"We're expecting her again any minute now," Harry chuckled.

Ron shoved the box he had dumped on the floor to one side and wandered over to Hermione to sit on the arm of the sofa beside her. She took his hand in hers and gave a squeeze before looking up at him and asking him how his and Harry's first day had gone.

Ron was being modest with his shrugged 'so-so' answer but Harry told them that he thought they'd done really well. Ron gave him a thankful smile and Harry knew that Ron didn't want to gush about a day in which he explained in depth to a total stranger exactly what Harry had been forced to do to him.

Ron twirled both his index fingers and shrugged before grazing his fist down the side of his upper arm and looking quizzically at Hermione.

"It's fine. Neville and I are still doing all the scummy work that nobody else wants to do but we're on the bottom rung of a very tall ladder so we can't expect anything else really can we?"

Ron's frown deepened and he pointed at Hermione and gave a thumbs up before moving his hand in a downward motion as if pushing down a heavy weight.

"No more than you do I think," Hermione said in response to Ron's statement that she looked tired, "Is it the travelling in and out of the non-magical area?"

Ron shook his head and shrugged before grinning amiably at her and getting up from the sofa and heading into the kitchen to make everyone some tea. Harry watched Hermione's eyes following him the whole way before she shared a concerned glance with Ginny who went straight to the point in her unsubtle Weasley way.

"What's up Harry?"

Harry moved out of Ron's earshot and crouched down to reassure both Ginny and Hermione that everything was fine.

"The clinic's just a bit high up that's all. The nurse warned us that some visitors suffer from altitude sickness when they first start coming but they grow accustomed to it soon enough."

"So Ron's just getting a bit groggy at work then?" Hermione frowned as she sat back in her seat.

"Just a bit dizzy that's all I swear," Harry smiled at her with a shrug, "the air's a little thin."

Mrs Weasley came by a further three times before Ginny wrestled her back home and told Harry and Ron that she would sit on her to keep her at the Burrow if needs be. This amused Ron greatly. Hermione helped Ron transfigure some furniture for his room and when Harry leaned in to ask Hermione if she was flooing home or wanted one of them to walk her to a safe apparition point he saw that the two of them were fast asleep on top of the covers on Ron's bed.

Harry grabbed one of the thick blankets from the boxes still strewn all over Ron's floor and spread it over them before extinguishing the candles and closing the door behind him.

He longed for the nights when Ginny would stay over with him but she was still adamant that they take things very slowly. Harry wondered if it was because she felt weird to be sleeping with her boyfriend under the same roof as her closest brother or if she was waiting for some kind of special occasion like his birthday or her birthday or Merlin's birthday.

Harry made a mental note to look up the date of Merlin's birthday.

Ron pointed at himself between the eyes and pushed his hands in a downward motion before pointing at the 'sapper'.

"Mind if I sit down?" Harry translated.

Ron frowned and waited. The sapper didn't meet his eyes or even acknowledge that anybody had spoken. Ron looked to Harry and shrugged. The two of them pulled up a chair each and sat opposite the brooding wizard.

Ron thought for a moment before glancing at Harry who gave him a nod of encouragement and he put two fingers to his forehead and moved them away to point at the sapper.

"What's your name?" Harry translated.

The sapper shifted in his seat and lowered his head even more. Ron sat up straight in his own seat and pointed at himself before curling his index finger and holding it against his open palm, pointing at his fourth finger, and then tapping two fingers flat against his palm.

"This is Ron," Harry said, "and I'm his translator, Harry."

Ron and Harry shared another uncomfortable glance before Harry shrugged and looked at a loss to suggest anything to try. Ron extended his hand for the sapper to shake but he squirmed away from it and hissed.

"Don't touch me!"

Ron quickly rubbed his knuckles against his chest in a panic.

"I'm sorry," Harry translated uneasily as he watched the sapper scrape his chair a little further away from the two of them.

Ron pointed at himself and banged his fists together while extending his index fingers on both hands and then pointing at the sapper.

"I just wanted to meet you."

"Why?" the sapper snarled, almost like a caged animal.

Ron thought about this for a second before pointing at his eye and then away from himself and towards the sapper.

"I wanted to check on you," Harry watched as Ron pointed both fingers at the sapper and then turned his thumbs up sadly, "to see if you were okay."

"Are you okay?" the sapper said in a barely audible growl.

Ron held both his hands at the side of his head and let them hover slightly before pointing at the sapper.

"I'm worried about you."

"You don't know me," the sapper grunted.

Ron looked annoyed now and waved his hand back and forth between the two of them.

"Tell me then," Harry said, with equal exasperation.

The sapper jumped up from his seat and stormed out of the room while muttering over his shoulder.

"Get him away from me before he falls down."

Ron and Harry stared at each other in shock before Harry finally broke the silence.

"Which one of us d'you think it was he didn't like?" Harry asked Ron.

Ron shrugged and then pointed at Harry and then put his hand to his armpit and laughed.

"I do not smell!" Harry tried to sound offended but he too was laughing now, "Right are we going to get another one in before we head home then?"

Ron nodded and got to his feet before sitting down again quickly. Harry instinctively reached out for his friend to steady him but Ron was smiling and shaking his head.

"You can't still be suffering from altitude sickness, you've been up here all day and it's been fine," Harry said while watching Ron getting up again.

Ron shrugged it off, saying he had got up too fast, and the two of them went to talk to a patient who was soon to be released back into the magical world.

The fire was crackling and the smell of the wood burning was comforting and felt safe. She could hear slow even breaths all around her, most of the others had gone to bed, the ones who remained in the day room were dozing off or mesmerised by the fire. Some would watch it in fear of the flames turning green and a magical invader bursting through, others would watch them just for something to do other than think about whatever frightened them about the darkness.

Jess never was frightened of the dark, darkness was her home, it was her security. The thing that frightened Jess was the flashes before her eyes that showed her all sorts of dreadful things happening to people. The flashes that reminded her what had taken the light from her eyes were what she dreaded to see. Those flashes that came just before an awful vision were always stirring in the shadows, threatening to come out.

Just like now.

Jess curled up into a ball as the vision assaulted her. She saw the red haired young man again. He was in some kind of trouble, some sort of distress but he wasn't calling for help or screaming or shouting in any kind of pain. But there must have been pain Jess thought. The red headed man had blood pouring from his nose and his eyes were rolling back in his head while a brilliant yellow light burst out of him and shot straight at Jess who started screaming and clutching her head. People were gripping her arms now and voices were trying to calm her down but all she saw was the yellow lightning surging from the bleeding young man and the bright white light that was swallowing him up from behind until there was nothing left but white light and yellow fork lightning.