A Second Chance: Chapter Four:
Ron woke up early the next morning, before he took a quick shower, and dressed in a nice shirt and jeans.
He bounded out the door with an apple in his hand, feeling a little bit happier than he had the past two days.
But only a little bit.
Outside of the Burrow's main gate, Ron turned on the spot and arrived in the back of the Leaky Cauldron. After tapping the correct bricks on the wall in front of him, he watched as Diagon Alley appeared, excitement bubbling in the pit of his stomach.
He'd wanted to quit this job the day after he'd gotten it: He was never a guy who liked to sit in an office all day, and that was basically all his job entailed.
He made his way into the front office, and asked the receptionist there if he could see his boss. She winked at him, as she had often done while he'd worked there, and Ron rolled his eyes after she went to ask his boss.
She came out and gestured him into the office, so Ron headed inside.
He told his boss quickly that he was quitting, and the man hardly gave him a second glance.
"All right, get out of here," he said to Ron, and Ron left quickly, feeling free.
He headed to the ice cream shop across from Gringotts, and ordered a coffee, before sitting down outside.
It was a little cloudy that day, and Ron watched some fog climb higher into the sky in front of him. Realizing that quitting his job had only made him momentarily happy, Ron sighed. The weather fit his mood.
After finishing his coffee, he headed back to the Burrow, and spent the rest of the day lying on his bed, just thinking.
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A week later, Ron hadn't done much else but lay in his room. He'd come out to eat, use the bathroom, and fly a little around the orchard but that was about all.
The only eventful thing that had happened to Ron over the week had happened two days earlier. His mother had asked him to go to the laundry room and grab some extra napkins for lunch, when he'd accidentally knocked over the rubbish bin. Bending over, he set the bin upright and scooped some stray papers into the bin, when one of the papers caught his eye.
He picked it up and stood up straight, leaning into the light to look at it properly. He realized it was the paper Ginny had slipped into Harry's hand after Hermione left. His heart beating irregularly, Ron slowly unfolded the note.
It had, written in a tidy, cursive scrawl, the words:
Ginny,
I can't face him. Not now, not anytime soon. I'll owl later, thanks for everything,
Hermione
After reading it, Ron had sprinted downstairs and given his mom the napkins, before taking the steps two at a time up to his room, forgetting completely about food.
The note was under his pillow now, and Ron had taken it out often during the past two days to read it, over and over. He had it memorized.
But on Saturday morning, Ron woke up feeling more energetic, and tired of lying around.
He ate breakfast with all of his family, chatting somewhat animatedly, before helping Ginny with the dishes. He tried to tease Harry a little, and found that everything seemed to be all right between them, and then George played a short prank on him.
He left the house laughing hollowly, and apparated to Diagon Alley without pondering what he'd actually do there. He ended up standing in the middle of the street, shoppers hustling around him, before he went into the Owl Emporium and bought some treats for Pig, who had been delivering letters for Ginny for the past two years. When he came out, he was at a loss for things to do again, so he walked up and down the alley, listening to the sounds of care free people.
Wandering aimlessly grew boring after a little while, so Ron stopped outside Flourish and Blotts and stared in the shop window, looking at all the books. He admitted to himself that he'd been avoiding it because of her, and the fear that he'd run into her. But Ron knew he had to face his fears, so with a deep breath, he strode inside.
He hadn't been into Flourish and Blotts in at least 3 years, and he was overwhelmed by all the titles on so many shelves. A tall woman wearing deep purple robes asked him if he needed any help finding a book, but he told her no, he was just browsing.
She walked away smiling at the other customers, as Ron turned to his left and walked up a flight of stairs. He found himself staring at even more shelves, but Ron, because he wasn't a natural born book-lover, was still at a loss.
He was about to leave when he saw a flash of something brown and curly disappear behind a shelf at the other side of the balcony.
Ron felt his pulse quicken and rocked back and forth where he stood, wondering what he should do.
Face your fears, he told himself again, before adding, It might not even be her. But Ron was almost positive it was, knowing he'd probably recognize her anywhere.
He walked slowly down an aisle of leather bound books, before he peeked around the corner of the nearest shelf and saw her again.
Jumping back almost silently, he made sure she couldn't see him, and then peeked again.
She stood with her weight distributed evenly on both of her legs, a thick book held close to her face. Ron studied her fingers: They were longer now, as were her nails as well, and she had a thin, silver ring on her pinkie. Looking up, he found her hair had tamed immensely: It framed her face very prettily, and seemed to make her brown eyes sparkle. Her ears were pierced, something Ron wasn't sure if she'd had while at school with him, and she wore small silver hoops. Her lashes looked darker too, and her eyebrows thinner. Her wand was in her pocket and looking at her clothes for the first time, he saw she wore furry snow boots, dark jeans, and a grey coat.
He stopped breathing for a moment, but then he realized that was the worst thing he could do then.
He stepped back farther from the shelf, thankful that Hermione seemed to be enjoying her book, and took more deep breaths. He teetered on his large feet for a moment, unsure of what to do, but hatched a plan quickly.
He stuck his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, and started whistling to himself. He strode, confidently enough for the situation, into her aisle, and whistled less urgently when he saw that she didn't react. He pretended to be looking for a certain novel on the shelf, but he paid no attention to the titles. Instead, he peered at her out of the corner of his eye, still whistling.
Closer up now, he studied her nose, red from the cold, intently and before he could stop himself, his eyes moved down to her lips.
But Ron couldn't think about her lips then, remembering he was still recovering from being cheated on, and resentment rose up in him again.
He watched Hermione's eyes scan over her novel, and then he saw her wrinkle her nose at something written on the page.
She closed the book, looking scandalized, and was putting it back on the shelf, about to reach for another one, when she saw him staring at her.
At first she didn't recognize him, and smiled at him in a friendly manner, but then he heard her gasp as she turned back around.
Ron, realizing he was caught, turned his body completely in her direction.
They stared at each other for a moment, both growing red, Hermione in anger and Ron in embarrassment, until Hermione spoke.
"R- Ron?" she asked, though Ron thought she already knew the answer.
He nodded, and smiled cheekily at her. She opened her mouth again and again like a fish out of water, trying to think of something to say to him. Eventually she recovered from her shock and glared at him. Then she turned, and left him behind the bookshelf.
He watched as she sprinted down the stairs and back onto the main street.
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