Author note: I would really appreciate it if you would leave a review!
Author note 2: I also kind of need a beta reader. Someone help me out?
Wooden floors, walls and windows sills.
Once Harry had opened the door, Ron looked up at Harry and said: "Hermione's missing."
It bothered Harry a bit that he only came here for Hermione so he answered: "She's here." And turned around to walk back to the living room. Ron didn't follow. So Harry stopped and turned around again. "You coming?" He asked. Ron looked at the ground. "I just wanted to know if she's ok. I'll go now." He started to back away to the door but Harry walked towards him and reached out to lock the door. Then he grabbed Ron by the arms and forced him to look up. "She's not okay, Ron. She's needs you. If you leave now I will make sure you never get to see her again." He almost spit the last words in his old friends' face. He felt the anger build up in his chest. It was ridiculous. He shouldn't have been the one to take care of Hermione. Ron took that upon him years ago, but he never called, or sent letters. Yes, he and Hermione didn't tell him what happened, but they were alone, and Ron had his family.
The redhead nodded. Harry let go of him and pushed him towards the living room. He had no idea what was going to happen. He knew Hermione was angry at Ron. But he didn't know how bad it was because she always said she had worse things to care about right now. And that was true. So how would she respond to him? Maybe he should stay here and let Ron go in alone. But then he remembered how Hermione punched Draco Malfoy in the face in their third year and decided it was safer to go with Ron.
Hermione was on the couch, reading a book. Her feet tucked under the pillow on the other side. Ron hesitated for a moment but then knocked on the wooden door separating the hall from the living room.
Hermione looked up and something changed in her eyes. Harry always noticed how Hermione's eyes seemed to light up when he entered the room. Like he was the one that made sure everything was alright, for her. Right now, her eyes did the same, but her body responded to it.
She dropped the book and lifted her arms slightly, like a baby waiting for his mother to pick him up.
Ron reached out and took her small, fragile hands in his and she pulled him to the ground. They locked in a silent embrace and just sat there. Harry decided everything was safe and that he should probably leave. But there was something in the sight of Ron and Hermione sitting there, that made him sit down in his chair and watch.
He realised that although everything was different, they shared the same life. And it was unhealthy for them to be apart.
By the time Harry had made dinner for the three of them, Ron had sat down on the other end of the couch, holding Hermione's hand and stroking it. They had talked all afternoon, and it didn't seem like they were ever going to let go of one another.
When Harry asked them to join him for dinner, Ron looked up at him for the first time again and his ears turned red. It was such a familiar thing that it made Harry smile a little.
"Thanks mate." He said. "Anytime." Harry answered and he knew that was it. They were good.
And from that moment on, Ron lived with them too.
And things started to change a lot with him being there.
Ron was used to a magical life, not a muggle life. And so Harry and Hermione got out their wands again. They were dusty, that's how long they hadn't used them. They did everything by hand, and maybe that was also part of the reason why Harry and Hermione seemed to have more trouble dealing with the past than Ron had. They had a life they could return to before the war. A simple life, a muggle life. While Ron was forced to live in the magical world, with his father working at the ministry, he was confronted with the war every day. He had no choice other than trying to live with it.
And for the first time, Harry and Hermione felt guilty for being so angry with Ron.
"It's not that bad, though." He told them one day. "People are trying to live on, you should see what they did to the ministry. Everything is a lot easier now."
They hadn't thought of it that way. But it should be nice. All the shops in Diagon Alley opening again, people finding work at the ministry. So they asked Ron all about what happened after they got home.
But they did not once mention Fred, or any of the others. And they never named Hogwarts.
After a few weeks Hermione asked Ron how his mother was. Because they were a little bit worried that Ron just showed up by himself, left everything behind and started living with them. "She's holding up really well. I told her I was going to live with Harry, she was okay with that."
Harry looked at Ron in surprise and felt guilty again. Ofcourse Ron cared about him, of course Ron worried about him. And of course he knew he needed him. Harry didn't know what to say so he nodded at Ron. "Ginny told me to go." Those five words struck Harry like lightening.
He wasn't surprised that Ginny encouraged Ron to look after him. But he was surprised by his own reaction to hearing her name.
He started hyperventilating and ran out of the room, upstairs, and locked himself into the bathroom, where he threw up in the sink.
"He had to know." Ron had told Hermione. And she had nodded in agreement.
In the following days, Ginny wasn't mentioned anymore. Until one day, Harry came home from grocery shopping and heard Ron talking in the kitchen. Hermione was in the living room so he asked her who he was talking to. It was Molly, so Harry stepped into the kitchen, nodded at Ron and started unpacking the groceries. Ron seemed a little uneasy and Harry found out why pretty soon.
"Why won't she see a healer then?" He heard him ask and he started listening more carefully.
"I get that but.." Molly seemed to be upset and Ron was trying to get a word in between her sentences but failed a few times before he raised his voice.
"Listen mom. It's her way of dealing with loss.. No, let me finish. It's her way of dealing with loss, but it's been two years. She needs help. Look at what happened to Hermione.. I.."
He could hear Mrs. Weasley's voice through the phone, and although he couldn't hear exactly what she said, he knew she was crying.
"Listen mum! Fred is dead! He's never coming back! She can't keep talking to George like he is Fred and she can't keep pretending he's alive!" Ron started shouting and Harry gave up on the groceries and put his palms on the counter.
Ron kept yelling and Mrs Weasley yelled even harder, so Ron stopped yelling and now only Mrs. Weasley was shouting. After a while she became quiet.
"I know she needs him." Ron said quietly and Harry looked up at him for the first time. He could see the struggle in his eyes. And he knew what was coming. He wanted to make a run for it but that wouldn't be right.
"Ok, I'll try. I'll see you soon." Ron said, not taking his eyes of off Harry's.
He hung up and took a few deep breaths.
"She needs to see you're alive." He just blurted out.
"Ron, I can't.." Harry started but he got cut off.
"Listen. You are the only one that can make a difference in my sisters life right now. If you don't do it, I will take her to the hospital and they will keep her there. Can you live with that?"
Ron was doing the same thing to Harry as he did to him. He tried to persuade Harry, and it was working.
Because although he hated Ron right now, he was right. They hadn't seen each other since the war, and Ginny was also a part of him that he had to learn how to live with.
"Pack your things, we're leaving tomorrow." Ron had said and went upstairs, Hermione following stood there for a while and then went to pack his suitcase.