#harry potter preferences

Previous Chapters

Introduction/Author’s Note/Chapter 1: The Journey to The Burrow/Chapter 2: Hidden Letters/Chapter 3: Ron’s Return/ Chapter 4: Nighttime Conversations/Chapter 5: A Morning Surprise/Chapter 6: The Quidditch Match/ Chapter 7: Girl Talk/Chapter 8: Aphrodite’s Push/Chapter 9: Mistakes and Love Potions/Chapter 10: You Would Be Fine/Chapter 11: Spell It Out

Chapter 12: Long Overdue

Author’s Note: okay i know the gif is romione but just pretend it’s y/n okay? okay! enjoy this chapter!

This was it, you thought.

Ron was towering over you, his hands cradling your face so gently it was as if you were the most precious thing in the world to him. He licked his lips slowly, seductively, and leaned even closer. Now your lips were almost touching. If you would lean forward just the slightest inch, you would be kissing. But instead of doing that, you waited, your heart in your throat and your knees weak, for his next words.

These next words, you thought, are going to change everything. What he says next will be years worth of pent up desire and longing and finally he was going to tell you he loved-

“Nice dress,” he whispered.

You remained still, stunned.

Ron broke out into boyish laughter.

“Ronald!” you yelled, slapping his chest with the palm of your hand.

“Are you kidding me?” you demanded, equally hurt and embarrassed while also trying to suppress a laugh. This was him complimenting your cheesy shorts instead of kissing you in his room all over again.

Ron laughed a little more, before turning back to you and almost closing the gap. Almost closing it completely, but not quite.

“What were you expecting me to say, y/n?” he asked, his voice dropping an octave lower as his eyes searched yours. The atmosphere between your bodies quickly changed to something more serious.

You shrugged. “Dunno, something a bit more romantic than that,” you replied.

Ron put his fingers up to his chin and pretended to think. He was back to his goofy self and no matter how annoyed you were with his antics, you still found yourself madly in love with him, faults and all.

“Alright,” he said, drawing out the word. “How about this?” His hand dropped from his chin to your waist, pulling your body flesh against him. Your heart skipped a beat and you knew that if he kept this teasing up, you were going to have a heart attack.

“Would you have wanted me to say that I’ve dreamt about holding you every night since we danced together at the Yule Ball? That every time I see you with Bill I get crazy jealous because I wish you would want me as much as you wanted him?”

He looked like he had more to say so you stayed silent as he kept saying those words that made your heart melt.

“Or would you rather me have told you that every single time we took walks around the Great Lake together back at Hogwarts, I thought about kissing you? Every damn time. Would you have wanted me to tell you that I keep every single one of your letters in a box under my bed because  I miss you so fucking much in the summer that they are the only things that get me through?” he said, a little breathless, cheeks pink, and looking more vulnerable than you’ve ever seen him.

“Would you have wanted me to tell you how desperately I’m in love with you?” he finished.

It was dead silent between you, the only sounds the distant fireworks in the sky. Their vibrant colors reflected onto Ron’s skin, his face turning shades of blue and red as the fireworks erupted. In that moment, he was the most breathtaking thing you have ever seen.

“Yeah, I probably would have wanted something like that,” you joked quietly, flashing him a small grin. He returned it.

“C'mere,” he mumbled, lifting your chin with his fingers as he finally closed the distance between you.

Even despite the fireworks exploding in the night sky, you could have sworn sparks were flying.

You had been dreaming about this kiss for the longest time, and it was already exceeding your expectations. His lips were soft against yours, but his rhythm was passionate. As soon as you connected, he had parted his lips, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Your lips molded to his and parted as well. He pushed your back up against the tree, kissing you harder, more passionately. Standing on your tiptoes to wrap your arms around his neck, Merlin he was taller than you remembered, you pulled him in closer. He responded immedietly, tender hands finding their way to your hips and squeezing lightly. And you continued like that, mouths connected, hands roaming, finally sharing the kiss that you had both been wanting for years.

You don’t know how much time had passed, it could have been 5 minutes, or perhaps an hour, but at some point you had to come up for breath. Pulling away from him, you leaned your head back against the wood of the oak tree as you caught your breath. Your knees were so weak from the kiss that the only thing keeping you standing up was Ron’s strong arms holding you in place.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” Ron whispered, breathing heavy.

Giggling, you replied, “Probably not as long as I’ve wanted to.”

He leaned down next to your face and pressed a light kiss to your cheek. “I seriously doubt that,” he mumbled against your skin.

The fireworks continued filling the sky as you stood with Ron under the oak tree, leaning against one another like you were the only people in the world.

“Y/n,” he said, lifting his head to look you in the eyes. “I’m sorry that I’ve hurt you, I’m an idiot sometimes.”

Laughingly lightly, you nodded your head. “Yeah, you are.” He laughed too, kissing your forehead. Despite how happy and full of love you were in that moment, a question still nagged in the back of your brain like a parasite.

“Ron, why did you say what happened in your room was a mistake?” you asked, trying to keep your voice steady but the words ended up quivering anyways.

He shook his head, trying to find the correct words.

“I didn’t mean that you and I, us, was the mistake. I meant it was a mistake for me to act like that when I was drugged up on Love Potion. I wanted our first kiss to be romantic, I guess, and in that moment I wasn’t thinking clearly enough to tell you how I felt. I wanted you to know I loved you before we ever had our first kiss.”

You were taken aback by his words. Ron had always come off as a goofy and silly guy, you never knew he had this romantic side to him. This only made you fall deeper in love as you grabbed his face, dragging him down to meet your lips again.

The second kiss was just as magical as the first, gentle yet passionate and as soon as it was over you couldn’t help wanting more.

When the kiss ended, you stayed wrapped in each other’s arms.

“So what do you say,” he said, biting his bottom lip and swaying you slightly by the hips.

“What do you mean?” you asked, melting into his touch.

“Do you love me back?”

Now it was your turn to mess with him, just like he did with you.

“Hmm, I don’t know, I’ll have to think about that one,” you said, your voice sing-songy as you grinned at him.

Ron rolled his eyes and brought you back in for a another breathtaking kiss. When you broke apart, he looked at you again, the question still in his eyes.

You nodded, pulling him closer, your lips ghosting over his.

“I love you, Ron, I always have,” you whispered against his lips. The smile that spread across his face made every single emotion of this rollercoaster of a summer worth it. He kissed you again. By the end of the summer, your lips were going to be so swollen and chapped but you couldn’t really bring it upon yourself to care.

As the kiss deepened, Ron’s hands squeezed your hips again and you moaned in his mouth before you could think of stopping yourself. He froze immediately, and you winced, wishing you hadn’t been so eager so soon.

He didn’t miss a beat. “My room, tonight?” he whispered, holding you closer against him. So maybe he was equally as eager as you were…

You nodded, before replying, “Your bed is always open to me, right?”

He grinned, kissing you in response.

Your brain was so full of Ron and his lips and his hands that you forgot there was a party going on behind you. The fireworks had stopped a while ago and neither of you had even noticed.

But you noticed now when you heard loud, boisterous cheering. You and Ron froze as you looked towards the sound of the noise. From across the garden, Fred and George were jumping up and down, cheering, and high-fiving one another. Next to them stood Harry and Hermione who were both grinning.

“Bloody FINALLY!” Ginny shouted at you. Her shout brought the attention of Mr and Mrs Weasley to you and Ron. Mr Weasley gave his son a thumbs up while Mrs Weasley gave you a loving smile.

“We’re never going to hear the end of this, are we?” he asked you.

Smiling, you replied, “not likely.”

Ron grinned as the two of you walked back towards the crowd, hand in hand.

Previous Chapters

Introduction/Author’s Note/Chapter 1: The Journey to the Burrow /Chapter 2: Hidden Letters /Chapter 3: Ron’s Return/Chapter 4: Nighttime Conversations/ Chapter 5: A Morning Surprise/Chapter 6: The Quidditch Match /Chapter 7: Girl Talk/Chapter 8: Aphrodite’s Push/ Chapter 9: Mistakes and Love Potions/Chapter 10: You Would Be Fine

Chapter 11: Spell It Out

It was the night of Percy’s birthday party and you had successfully avoided Ron the entire day. It wasn’t difficult to do, considering the fact that everyone was so hectic and busy running around to complete Percy’s demanding orders. He was usually uptight, but the stress of his work friends and boss attending his party had him so wound up you were afraid he was going to snap in two.

Not ready to face Ron after your screaming match last night, you stuck by Hermione and Ginny’s side the entire day as everyone prepared for the party. You also avoided Bill too, just in case Ron was still jealous enough to make a scene. You didn’t want any more emotional outbursts for a while. You were a little worn out from those this summer.

Now you stood next to the large oak tree, you had come to call it your tree ever since you snuck out at night to sit by it, and observed the party. Wizards in capes and tunics milled about, mingling with one another while sipping the punch Mrs Weasley had made. A laugh bubbled out of you as you remembered the verbal whipping she had given Fred and George when the twins tried to spike the punch with their newest prank concoction.

“It’s a nice night, isn’t it?” A velvet voice asked you. Turning around, you were met with the smiling eyes of Penelope Clearwater, Percy’s girlfriend. You had seen her around school before she graduated, and she was really smart. She was top of her class in Ravenclaw, and her straight black hair framed her delicate features nicely. She was really pretty and you were surprised she was with someone as irritating as Percy.

“It’s wonderful,” you replied, turning back to admire the decorations of the night. Your muggle Christmas lights were a huge hit, and you watched as Ministry officials stepped closer to the bulbs to inspect them further. Everyone looked in awe of them. The night was perfect summer weather. It was warm enough that people could wear dresses but not too hot that those in long capes got too overheated.

You toyed with the hem of your dress absentmindedly. Since you hadn’t brought any fancy clothes with you from home, Ginny had lent you one of her dresses. Ginny hated wearing dresses, “How can I play Quidditch in a dress?” she used to complain to her mom, but Mrs Weasley still made or bought a couple of them for her. You were glad she did, because the white dress you were wearing right now was stunning. Although you were a little taller than Ginny, the dress fit like a glove. It had a delicate lace neckline with matching short sleeves and came down to right above your kneecaps. When you had walked out of Ginny’s closet to show her your outfit, she had grinned and said, “Ron doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

Sighing as your brain yet again wandered to the redheaded boy, you turned to Penelope to take your mind off of him. You chatted with her for a few minutes about her work, and she was surprisingly a lot more interesting than Percy made her out to be. She was intelligent and passionate about her work, and pretty soon you and her began talking like old friends.

“It was really nice of you to help Percy plan for this party,” she said, giving you a warm smile that almost made you forget all of your current boy troubles. “He appreciates it, even if he can’t find the words to tell you. I know he can be a bit uptight sometimes, but he’s really a good guy. I’m so thankful for him.”

When Penelope talked about Percy, her eyes lit up and her elegant smile grew.

“You must really love him, huh?” You asked her. Your heart ached because you knew what it was like to care for someone that much. At least Percy loved her back.

She nodded. “I wasn’t really expecting to. At first we were kind of in competition with one another, to see who would be the best Prefect. But then feelings developed, and everything changed.” She laughed to herself and said, “sometimes, love happens unexpectedly.”

“That’s what Mrs Weasley told me,” you commented, remembering your conversation in the kitchen.

Penelope raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow at you. “You get love advice often from your boyfriend’s mother?” she asked jokingly.

Not even bothering to hide your blush, you replied, “He’s not my boyfriend.” But oh Merlin, you wished he was.

“Really?” she asked, the moonlight illuminating her perfect features. “Huh, from the way you two acted back at Hogwarts, I would have thought you’d been in love for years.”

Only one of us, you thought.

After chatting with Penelope a little bit more, you both made your way back to the party when dessert was served. Ice cream, tarts, and chocolate cake greeted you when you walked up to the dessert table. Your brain was so distracted by all of the delicious food that you barely noticed Bill walking up next to you.

“Hi y/n,” he said as you spooned some ice cream into a bowl. You smiled politely at him as he made a bowl for himself.

“Hello,” you said, topping your dessert off with sprinkles and chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Mrs Weasley really made the best food of all time. You were going to miss her cooking when the summer was over. Thinking about the end of summer sent a pang of sadness throughout your body. Although the summer had been fun, it was winding to an end and your last year of Hogwarts would be soon. You were going to miss your friends and the Weasley family.

Bill followed you to an empty table and you both sat down, immediately digging into your ice cream. Neither of you spoke as the next few minutes were reserved for devouring the delicious food. After you had both finished, Bill looked up at you and chuckled.

“What?” you asked defensively. It seemed like he was laughing at you.

“You got a little something right there,” he said, motioning towards the corner of your mouth.

Embarrassed, you swiped at your mouth, but Bill kept chuckling.

“Here, I got it,” he said, reaching across the table to wipe the extra ice cream off your mouth with his napkin. He was so close you could smell that pine-needle scent on him. His eyes met yours and you tried to steady your breathing. This felt wrong, you thought. I want this to be somebody else.

“Thanks,” you replied, leaning back in your chair to put some space between you.

Bill nodded, folding the napkin casually before dropping it in his lap.

“You’re really over me, aren’t you?” He asked. At the same time the words left his lips, your eyes caught on the sight of a lanky ginger boy stealing ice cream from Harry’s bowl when his head was turned. Your stomach flipped at just the sight of Ron.

“Yeah, I am,” you responded, still not looking away from the boy you loved.

You heard Bill standing before you saw him getting up from the table.

“You should tell Ron,” he said.

“Tell him what?” you asked, forgetting how clever Bill was. He gave you a knowing smile before speaking again.

“If someone loved me as fiercely as you two love each other, I would sure as hell fight for it.”

And just like that, Bill walked away, towards a blonde girl you recognized as Fleur Delacour from the Triwizard tournament. You had no idea why she was attending Percy Weasley’s birthday party, but Bill introduced himself to her anyway.

With Bill gone, you were alone with your thoughts. Bill had said “as you two love each other,” implying that Ron felt the same way. Although you were almost certain Ron didn’t love you back, Bill’s words gave you a new sense of hope. A fire ignited in your heart as you looked back at Ron, who was joking and goofing around with Harry. That boy, however flawed and imperfect he was, was the one you loved. You couldn’t just give him up because you had one disagreement.

“I would sure as hell fight for it.”

Maybe that’s all you and Ron needed, just one of you to build the courage to fight for the other. It was there, standing under the stars and twinkling lights of the summer night, that you decided that person was going to be you. You weren’t going to sit around, crying for a boy to want you. Instead, you stood up and made your way over to Ron. You had held your love for him in your heart for so long, it was time to finally let it free and tell him.

As you walked across the grass yard towards him, Harry and Hermione saw you approaching and left. Bless them for being such good friends. Now Ron was alone and he looked up at you from across the sea of moving bodies and lights. His eyes met yours with a smile, and your heart threatened to beat out of your chest. He was looking at you differently, you realized. Maybe it was the dress that fit you so well, maybe it was the moonlight shining on your skin, or maybe it was just years of longing and desire building up to this very moment. Because as you walked towards him, Ron thought, “There’s my love.”

You weren’t aware of what Ron was thinking but you knew he was in a significantly different mood from the last time you spoke. By now, you were almost at Ron’s table, and he stood up quickly to greet you, knocking a couple spoons off the table in his haste.

“Hi,” you said shyly, tucking your hair behind your ear when you were a couple feet from him.

His eyes glanced up and down your figure and he before he could think, he blurted out, “You look beautiful.”

You couldn’t tell whose cheeks turned redder, yours or his. But in that moment you didn’t really care, all you cared about was coming over here to tell him the truth of how you felt.

“I have something to tell you,” you started. “I-”

An explosive BOOMricocheted into the night sky, cutting off your words. Everyone looked around them in surprise, and a second later another BOOMechoed, followed by a loud CRACKas fireworks were released into the sky.

“Welcome to Fred and George’s Magical Firework Extravaganza! Please enjoy the show!” you heard the twins voices magically project throughout the garden. At their words, more fireworks erupted in the sky, vibrant colors of blue and red painting the dark backdrop. They were so loud that you knew your chance to tell Ron that you loved him would have to wait until later, when it was quieter. In the meantime, you were going to enjoy the show.

Scooting next to Ron, you both leaned against the table together, your faces angled up to watch the sky. Firework after firework was released, each more intense than the last. Before you could even wonder what made their fireworks different from muggle fireworks, you received your answer.

One firework spiraled up into the air and exploded into a large green dragon. It swam through the stars before opening it’s mouth to breath fire. But instead of fire coming out, orange and red sparkly figures danced out of the beast’s mouth. At first you thought they were leprechauns, similar to the ones at the Quidditch World Cup show. But upon closer inspection, you started to recognize the figures.

“That’s us! That’s our family!” Ron said, his voice giddy with childlike excitement.

Leading the pack of orange figures made up of the firework trails and sparks was Fred and George, clad in the silly three piece suit that they had teased Percy about so relentlessly. Next came sparks in the shape of Mr and Mrs Weasley, walking hand and hand with one another. The rest of the family followed in age order; Bill, Charlie, Percy (who was wearing a large IT’S MY BIRTHDAY button), Ron, and then Ginny. After them followed Hermione, Harry, you, and Penelope. You laughed up at the firework version of yourself, beyond amazed at the magic it must have taken to make this special show.

Suddenly, you felt a pang of fear. The memory of Fred and George saying, “the fireworks are nonrefundable, we have to use them,” and “we thought you would have told Ron how you felt by the time of Percy’s party.” Oh no, you realized. You were too late. You closed your eyes and cringed as you thought about what was about to happen next.

As soon as you opened your eyes, you saw all the firework figures doing a line dance and kicking in time with one another. Everyone in the garden was laughing, clapping, and cheering for the show.

Then, pink firework hearts exploded into the sky. Here it comes, you thought.

In a giant red heart, the figures of Penelope and Percy emerged, holding hands and walking together. Laughter filled the garden as everyone enjoyed the cheesy display. Looking over at Percy, you were expecting him to be embarrassed by Fred and George’s show. Instead, he smiled wide, simply wrapping his arm around Penelope and planting a kiss on her cheek.

Next, Mr and Mrs Weasley emerged from the heart, waltzing with one another through the sky. People cheered and awed at their dance. You looked over at the real Mr and Mrs Weasley and your heart warmed as you saw Mr Weasley sweep up his wife in a goofy manner, beginning to waltz her through the garden just like in the sky.

Following them in the sky came Harry and Ginny. Everyone laughed when Ginny’s figure scooped Harry up bridal style and kissed him on the lips. Fake smoke erupted from Harry’s firework ears as he kissed her back. So I guess you and Ron weren’t the only ones the twins would tease about their love life. You glanced over at the real Ginny and Harry, laughing as you saw Ginny slapping her knees from laughing so hard. Harry stood next to her, his face as red as the fireworks.

After their figures left the sky, you knew what was coming.

“You don’t think they’re gonna…” Ron started, his voice sounding shocked.

“Yes, I think they are,” you responded, equally as stunned at Fred and George’s antics.

And then there you were. Yours and Ron’s firework figures were running through the heart together, your hair whipping behind you in a beautiful display of orange and red sparks. Your heart stopped when you saw Firework Ron turning to Firework y/n, dipping her low into a stereotypically cheesy pose, and kissing her. The garden erupted into even louder cheers and laughter. Fred and George were smiling and giving you double thumbs up from across the garden.

You couldn’t help it, you laughed along with them. It was so ridiculous, that everyone knew how you and Ron felt about each other all these years, everyone except the two of you. It took Fred and George literally having to spell it out in the summer night sky for you to realize that maybe Ron did feel the same way.

You turned from watching the sky to Ron, still laughing, and noticed he wasn’t looking at the fireworks. He was looking at you. He was looking at you like you were the most important thing in the summer night, nevermind the fact that there was a grand firework special going on behind him.

Before you knew what was happening, Ron had grabbed your hand and was dragging you towards the oak tree on the side of the house. Since everyone had gathered in the garden to watch the fireworks, the tree was well away from the others and it was significantly quieter. Your heart was beating so loud you were sure it was just as loud as the booms of the fireworks. The show continued in the sky as Ron led you to the tree, not releasing your hands until your back was pressed against the hard bark of the oak.

“Y/n,” he whispered, leaning closer and closer to you. His hands slipped out of yours as he reached up to cup the sides of your face.

“I have something to tell you,” he breathed, his eyes glancing from your lips to your eyes.

You held your breath, heart hammering against your ribcage, as you waited for the words you had been dying to hear for years.

Previous Chapters

Introduction/Author’s Note/Chapter 1: The Journey to the Burrow/Chapter 2: Hidden Letters /Chapter 3: Ron’s Return/Chapter 4: Nighttime Conversations/Chapter 5: A Morning Surprise /Chapter 6: The Quidditch Match/Chapter 7: Girl Talk/Chapter 8: Aphrodite’s Push  

Chapter 9: Mistakes and Love Potions

You barely got a wink of sleep that night. Every time you closed your eyes, you could see Ron’s eyes filled with regret. What had been the hottest moment in your entire life was punctuated by Ron wishing it hadn’t had happened. Maybe it shouldn’t have. Maybe you got carried away and he didn’t actually feel any attraction to you. His mind was probably cloudy from it being so late and you just throwing yourself at him in the middle of the night.

A bright light switched on which jostled you out of your thoughts. 

“Rise and shine,” Hermione sang, seeming very excited for so early in the morning.

“What time is it?” Ginny asked, her voice groggy and her hair a bird’s nest.

“About 8am,” Hermione replied, already folding her blankets and putting them away neatly. She always liked to wake up early. Maybe that’s why she always did so well in school. 

Ginny angrily threw a pillow at her as you buried your head back into your blankets with a groan. You didn’t want it to be morning. You didn’t want to have to walk downstairs and face Ron in the light of day. Again, his face flashed in your mind. Regret. 

Hermione threw the pillow back at Ginny, hitting her in the back of the head with surprising accuracy. “Get up, lazybones!”

After 20 minutes of bickering, Hermione had finally coaxed Ginny out of bed. Ginny’s room was a whirl of clothes as all three of you got dressed for the day. Your movements were delibertly slow, the thought of having to see Ron making you dread the journey downstairs. But soon enough, you couldn’t delay your inevitable fate anymore and the three of you headed downstairs for breakfast.

Usually the smell of Mrs Weasley’s famous bacon and eggs was a wonderful greeting in the morning, but this time your joy was dampened when you saw the back of Ron’s head sitting at the breakfast table. Pretty much everyone was awake and sitting around the long wooden table, except for Percy and Mr Weasley who were both working. 

“Good morning dears!” Mrs Weasley said, plopping a large egg with hash browns onto a plate before handing it to you. Thanking her, you took the plate and turned towards the table. Without making eye contact with anyone, you took the furthest seat from Ron, which happened to be right next to Bill.

“Morning y/n,” he said, giving you a closed lip smile as he chewed his breakfast.

Looking up at him, you smiled back politely. He was wearing a black button up shirt with the top three buttons undone. His pale chest contrasted greatly with the dark material, but he made it look good. His dark clothes, long hair, and dragon tooth earring made him look like a sexy vampire. No wonder you had such a big crush on him when you were younger.

“Morning,” you replied.

“I heard about your fall during Quidditch yesterday,” he said, trying to make casual breakfast conversation. Although you were usually chatty with the Weasleys, your heart was hurting too much to put much effort into talking today.

“Yeah, I did” was all you said.

“Reckon it was Fred or George’s fault, huh?” Bill asked with a wink. You laughed lightly but kept your eyes glued to your breakfast. Looking up at the others would only make you want to look at Ron. And if you looked at Ron, and if he looked back with the same eyes from last night….your heart sank at the very thought.

A breakfast roll sailed overhead but Bill caught it in one hand before taking a large bite out of it.

“Good throw,” he said to the twins, before turning his attention back to you. “Your cut looks like it’s healed up nicely,” he commented.

You nodded, “Yeah, Ron helped patch me up.”

Just saying his name sent an ache throughout you but you still avoided looking towards his end of the table.

But then you felt someone leaning closer to you, the smell of pine needles filling your nose. It was a pleasant smell, but not as nice as apples and cinnamon.

From under your lashes you looked up to see Bill closing the distant between you rather quickly. Your heart skipped a beat as he raised a hand to brush your hair away from your face.

“Yeah, looks like he did an alright job,” Bill said, lifting your hair to observe the healed bump on your forehead.

Second year y/n would have fainted in this moment. Bill Weasley, your first real crush, was leaning across a table to touch you? He was looking at you intently while brushing your hair away from your face? You should have been ecstatic. You should have been sweating from head to toe. But you weren’t. Instead, all you could think about is how you wished you were smelling apples and cinnamon instead of pine needles.

“Oi, mate, stop flirting with her or I’ll throw up my breakfast,” George replied. Laughs erupted from the table and your face burned red.

You couldn’t help yourself, your eyes glanced up and you immediately made eye contact with Ron. He was looking between you and Bill, an angry sort of look on his face. You knew he had problems with jealousy, being The Chosen One’s best friend came with those kinds of setbacks, but why was he jealous about this? He was the one who regretted everything from last night, not you. An anger boiled up in your stomach, the image of Ron’s regretful eyes playing on a loop in your head. Suddenly, you wanted to make him just as hurt as he had made you.

Turning back towards Bill, you put on your most charming smile. “I mean, you can flirt with me if you want to. Not that I’d mind,” you said, batting your eyelashes. You were half joking, but half wanting to piss off Ron.

Ginny chuckled as Bill’s cheeks took on a slightly warmer color. Fred and George faked puking into their cereal bowls. You looked at Ron and were pleased to see he looked absolutely furious. His knuckles were white from how hard he was gripping his fork.

“Maybe y/n took our missing Amortentia from last night,” Fred joked.

Your heart stopped as you turned to face the twins.

“Huh?” You asked.

Fred smiled before he launched into explanation.

“We had a couple boxes of chocolates with Amortentia drops in them in our room. We were planning on putting a few in Percy’s morning tea, but when we tried to find them they were gone. Based on your flirting this morning, maybe you had eaten a couple,” he said.

You shook your head, a feeling of dread starting to fill you stomach.

“I didn’t take them,” you responded. But you think you knew who did.

Ron cleared his throat uncomfortably before asking, “Were they in a blue box? With a little pink ribbon around it?”

Fred and George nodded their heads, every head at the table swerving to look at Ron.

Ron swallowed nervously. “Uh, I might’ve eaten them. Not on purpose though!” He promised, his face looking guiltier by the minute. “I was hungry when I was in your room the other night, so I took a couple of boxes. I didn’t know they had Amortentia in them.”

“Did you feel any different? Do anything different?” George asked, looking at Ron skeptically. Ron shook his head, and you knew he was trying his very best not to look at you.

Fred swore, which earned a disapproving glare from Mrs Weasley. “That means they’re defective. We’ll have to make a whole new batch before we can sell them at the shop.”

“Or maybe,” Hermione interjected, “You shouldn’t be selling love potions at all! They are one of the most dangerous potions, and it is clearly wrong to be selling them in the first place. Honestly, didn’t either of you pay attention in Potions class?” She looked distressed, obviously very upset that the twins didn’t recall the negative side effects of Amortentia that Professor Snape had taught.

“Psh,” Fred said, brushing her off with a wave of his hand as the conversation at the table changed. Everyone was talking about their plans for the day, full of ideas of playing Quidditch or Gobstones or maybe even taking a trip to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. Usually you would join the conversation, but your heart felt like it was cracking in half. The only reason Ron acted the way he did last night was because he was high off of love potion, he didn’t actually feel anything for you. He didn’t feel the same way you did, and you started to doubt if he ever will. Before tears could form in the corner of your eyes, Mrs Weasley made a statement that drew everyone’s attention.

“You will be doing nothing of the sort today. Today you’re all going to finish your summer Hogwarts homework,” she held her hand up sternly to stop Harry and Ron from protesting, “no if’s, and’s, or’s, or but’s!” Her tone let everyone know that her word was final.

Everyone around the table groaned, except for those who had already graduated and Hermione who clapped happily at the mention of school work.

For the rest of the day, you and Hermione sat at the dining table working hard while everyone else half-assed their homework. Ginny and Harry sat on the couch, distracting each other and joking, while occasionally picking up a quill to write. Ron sat alone leaning against a tree outside with his books open but a blank expression on his face. You sighed unhappily as your gaze wandered over to him for the millionth time that hour.

“Okay, what’s up,” Hermione said, surprising you by setting down her quill and closing her Transfiguration book.

“Nothing,” you lied, pretending to write an answer to your Divination homework. But your brain was too scrambled and your heart too heavy to get any real work done at the moment.

Hermione yanked your parchment out from under you to read your work.

“Hey!” You protested, but she started reading your answer aloud anyway.

“What does the moons transit into Venus this month mean for your love life?”  Hermione scoffed. “What a load of crap.”

You nodded. Usually your grades were pretty good, not as good as Hermione’s, but you were better at Divination. For some reason Professor Trelawney liked you and said you had an “inherently observant third eye.” But today, your third eye must have been squinting because most of your homework answers were a little ridiculous.

“You answered with, ‘Venus is just a big ball in the sky, therefore it knows nothing of love,’ ” Hermione gave you a wary look. “I hate Divination and even I know that’s not the correct answer.”

Shrugging, you grabbed the paper back from her and continued writing bullshit answers. The moon’s transit into Venus was supposed to bring abundant love and joy, but right now that felt like the worst prediction in the world. The only boy you cared about couldn’t even kiss you, even when he had taken love potion. What does that say about his feelings towards you?

“Y/n, tell me what’s wrong,” Hermione said, her voice almost as stern as Mrs Weasley’s. Something happened with Ron, didn’t it?,“

You had been holding in how you felt all day, and it was going to drive you mad. But just at the mention of his name, your emotional dam broke open. Before you could stop yourself, you gushed out everything that had happened last night to Hermione, your voice hitching towards the end when you recalled Ron looking at you with such regret in his eyes.

"Oh, honey,” Hermione said, wrapping her hands around yours. “That’s hard, but I think the best thing you could do is just talk to him about it.” At the moment, you didn’t really want to hear Hermione’s advice. She was always right, and right now you just wanted to wallow in your self-pity.

She patted your hand, and inclined her chin towards the window, where you could see Ron sitting outside with a puzzled expression on his face.

“He hasn’t written anything for the past 20 minutes, he’s probably just as confused and upset as you are. Either that or he just started his Potions homework. Either way, just go tell him how you feel, you’ll feel better,” she promised.

You nodded, thanking her for always giving you the most wise advice. Before you could lose your nerve to do so, you packed up your books and parchment and walked outside. Ron heard you approaching and set his quill in his book before shutting it and setting it beside him. The trunk of the large oak tree he leaned against was thick enough that he didn’t even have to move over as you plopped down next to him. The hard bark of the tree pressed into your back but it was comforting to feel something to keep you grounded as you started this tricky conversation.

“Hi,” you said, refusing to look at him. His face was turned towards you but you couldn’t bring yourself to turn towards him. If you did, you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself from kissing him.

“Hi,” he replied.

A long silence stretched out into the summer air before you both started talking at the same time.

“I wanted to talk to y-”

“We should probably t-”

Blushing, both of you stopped.

“You go first,” you said.

Ron nodded, his hands fiddling with the grass in front of him. He kept pulling at the roots, rolling the grass between his fingertips, and then pulling at the roots again. It was like he couldn’t keep his hands still, like he had to be doing something with them. You desperately wanted to reach over and grab his hands in yours, but before you could muster up the courage to do so, he began to speak.

“I wanted to apologize for last night,” he said. Your heart dropped. You came out here to tell him you had an amazing time and the only bad part was that you hadn’t had the courage to go further, to kiss him. Yet here he was, apologizing. Apologizing as if last night had been a mistake.

“I didn’t know I ate Fred and George’s Amortentia, so that’s probably why I was acting so…funny,” he said, trying to find the right word. His voice was low and he was talking fast, like he always did when he was nervous. “So, anyway, I just wanted to say I’m sorry, and it won’t happen again.”

Your breath caught in your throat.

“It won’t happen again?” You asked, desperately hoping that wasn’t true. You turned to look Ron in the eyes, and as soon as you did he looked away.

“It was a mistake,” he said, his adams apple bobbing up and down as he spoke.

“Oh,” was all you managed to say.

And then Ron was standing up. He was standing up, gathering his school things, and walking away. Before you could even register what had happened, he was gone. You watched his retreating figure enter the house as you felt a hot tear slip down your cheek.

A mistake.

The word repeated in your brain and you choked on a sob. All you wanted, all you ever wanted from him was full honesty. And he had given it to you. He didn’t want you, not in the same way you wanted him. You had to accept that. You had to.

So you gave yourself 15 minutes. 15 minutes to sit outside, cry, and let yourself be sad about how the boy you loved didn’t love you back. After those 15 minutes, you promised yourself, you would walk back into the Burrow and pretend nothing happened. You would pretend Ron hadn’t almost kissed you in the bathroom upstairs. You would pretend he hadn’t cuddled with you the night he first came back to the Burrow, and you would pretend he hadn’t touched you with such passion the night before. You would pretend you weren’t deeply, madly in love with him.

You would go back to being best friends, just best friends. And you had to be okay with that, or else you would lose him.

Previous Chapters

Introduction/Author’s Note/Chapter 1: The Journey to the Burrow/ Chapter 2: Hidden Letters/ Chapter 3: Ron’s Return/Chapter 4: Nighttime Conversations/Chapter 5: A Morning Surprise/Chapter 6: The Quidditch Match 

Chapter 7: Girl Talk

Lunch passed by in a whirl. Numerous freckled hands snatched sandwiches off plates and scarfed them down. Jokes were played on family members as messes were made on the wooden table. The atmosphere of the dinning table in the Burrow was as it always was: chaotic and wonderful. However, you had a hard time enjoying the usual festivities. Your mind, and heart, with both still upstairs with Ron in that tiny bathroom. You wished more than anything to be back there, leaning in to the one person you wanted more than anything.

You risked a glance at Ron. He was unusually silent, not bothering to jump in when the discussion turned towards Quidditch. His eyes met yours and your heart skipped a beat. His cheeks reddened as he looked away quickly. You couldn’t help but think that his thoughts were also focused on the same moment that had been replaying in your head.

“Y/n, do you want thirds?” Ginny asked from across the table. She had always been clever, and her steady look let you know she noticed your absent disposition. Her arched brow and knowing eyes told you that you needed to talk- soon. You shook your head to answer her question, despite how good the sandwiches were.

The rest of the day was spent doing chores. With most of the Weasley family home this summer, along with some additional guests, the house got messy very quickly.

“Couldn’t you just magic everything clean?” George grumbled at his mother when she gave the list of chores to the group.

Mrs. Weasley’s tone was as cold as ice. “Maybe if you children wouldn’t have dragged mud all over the house after your Quidditch game, I would be happy to use magic. But since you did bring the entire garden into this house, you will clean it yourselves!” Her narrowed glare lessened as she looked upon you and Hermione.

“Of course, I don’t blame you dears. You can rest while my children- yes Harry that includes you- clean the house,” she told you with a loving smile.

Despite the offer, Ginny forced you and Hermione to help her sweep and mop the floors. The twins were tasked with putting away all their joke items and Harry and Ron were outside degnoming the garden for the second time that week.

To lighten the mood, you ran upstairs to retrieve the muggle radio you brought from home. You spent a lot of your time listening to it while you were lonely, dancing around your room when you knew no one would be watching. Turning the dial to your favorite station, you placed the radio on the shelf so everyone could hear it. Then your chores begun.

Sweeping wasn’t so bad while you were doing it with your best friends. You joked and laughed the entire time, singing badly and off-key to your favorite songs. Ginny used her mop handle as a microphone to dramatically serenade Hermione. The twins even joined in on the fun by dancing next to you, feather dusters in hand. You threw your head back in a laugh as Ginny fell to her knees for her final solo.

This is what family is, you thought to yourself.

You didn’t notice when Ron stopped in from outside to grab water for him and Harry. You didn’t notice his gaze softened as he watched you dancing with his family. You didn’t notice his eyes dropping to the way your hips swayed to the music, and you didn’t hear Harry mumble, “Mate, you’re whipped,” to his friend.

                                                            …

The sun set as you completed your chores and you found yourself cornered after dinner.

“Sleepover. Tonight. My room. You, me, and Hermione” Ginny said with a tone that made it impossible to argue with her. Not that you wanted to argue that, you actually missed having sleepovers with your dorm mates.

You made your way over to Ron who was just finishing up washing the dishes. You tried to ignore the way his broad shoulder muscles moved beneath his thin cotton shirt. You also tried to ignore the freckles peeping out from behind his hairline. Everything about him made your head feel dizzy and you suddenly felt the need to chug a large glass of water to cool down.

“Hey,” you said gently, standing next to him and picking up a dish rag to help dry the plates.

“Hi,” he responded, his voice alone making butterflies erupt in your stomach.

The next ten minutes passed without either of you saying a word. You fell into the familiar comfortable silence that only best friends can experience with one another. The rhythm of him washing the plates, you drying them, and then them magically floating back into the cabinets felt good. Everything you did together always just felt right.

“So,” you said, speaking up once the dishes were done, “Hermione and I are sleeping over in Ginny’s room tonight.” You don’t know why you brought it up, maybe as just another excuse to stay around him for longer.

You were surprised by the grin that immediately spread across Ron’s face. “So I don’t have to sleep on the couch tonight? Wicked.”

Your smile subsided slightly. Ron didn’t assume you and him would share a bed again tonight like you did the night before. You were silly to have hoped that would become a regular occurrence. Confused thoughts swirled around you in a whirl as you tried to hide your disappointment.

You nodded, and as you turned to walk up to Ginny’s room, you felt Ron’s hand reach out to catch yours.

“Y/n- wait…” he began. You looked up to meet his eyes and your insides melted when you saw him looking at you differently. He looked at you with determination and absolute attention- the same way he looked at you earlier that day, when you thought he was going to kiss you.

“If you have nightmares tonight, you know where to find me. My bed is always open for you” he said with a cheeky smile. His smugness and arrogance took you back for a second. Fred and George must be getting to him. You blushed as you turned back up the stairs.

Was that an invitation? Or just a flirty joke that friends say to one another?

These questions filled your mind as you changed into pajamas and made your way to Ginny’s room. The moment you approached her doorway the door swung open and you were yanked inside. Ginny swiftly closed the door behind you to ensure privacy.

“Talk,” was all she said.

You blushed as you sat down on her worn blue carpeting. Hermione was sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed with a book in her hand. The redhead plopped onto the ground next to you, laying on her stomach as she propped herself up on her elbows. This was the usual procedure for girl talk back at Hogwarts- Ginny leaning in, eager to hear your gossip as Hermione pretended not to notice but eventually gave in and joined your discussions.

“About what?” you asked innocently. Ginny rolled her eyes as Hermione shut her book, her attention now focused on you. They were two of the smartest witches you ever met, and knowing you couldn’t fool them, you decided to come clean.

“I think Ron and I almost kissed,” you blurted out.

Hermione’s mouth hung open as Ginny exclaimed, “Shut up!”

You nodded at their reactions, closing your eyes for a brief moment to relive the moment.

“When? How?” Hermione asked, scooting closer to you.

“Upstairs, he was helping me clean my cut after the game and then I guess…we started leaning in. I don’t know if the kiss actually would have happened though- we were interrupted before I could tell what was going on” you explained.

Ginny’s eyebrows knit together with anger. “Who interrupted? I swear if it was Fred or George I’m gonna beat their-”

“You did, genius. Your voice carries throughout the entire house,” you said with a hint of humor, cutting her off.

“Oh,” she replied, her ears turning pink.

Hermione grinned at you, “well this is good! Maybe you didn’t kiss that time, but there will be other opportunities.”

You smiled at your friend’s optimism. As much as you loved your friends for supporting you and being interested in your love life, a part of you wanted to keep a part of the interaction between you and Ron to yourself. You wanted to keep a part of him close and secret to only you, so you switched the topic of conversation.

Turning to Ginny you asked, “So, how’s Harry?” You wiggled your eyebrows in a teasing manner. The question made her launch into a hilarious story about how she caught him staring at her during Quidditch and managed to knock him off his broom.

“That’s what boys get for not keeping their eyes to themselves, right y/n?” Ginny joked.

You laughed, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh please! You should have seen the way Ron oggled at you while you were dancing today! His eyes were practically glued to your arse. I almost would have told him to get a room, it was so intense,” Hermione said with a giggle.

You rolled your eyes, pretending this new information didn’t make your heart race. If he really watched you the same way you watch him, maybe this fantasy of yours wasn’t so far-fetched. Maybe, just maybe, he felt the same way.

The rest of your girls sleepover was filled with laughter and chatter as you talked into the wee hours of the morning. As Ginny and Hermione drifted off to sleep, you couldn’t help but wonder if Ron was in his room right now- waiting for you. Each time your eyes closed, all you could picture was Ron, leaning closer and closer and closer… You fell asleep to your imagination wondering what his lips would feel like against yours.

Previous Chapters

Introduction/Author’s Note/Chapter 1: The Journey to The Burrow/Chapter 2: Hidden Letters/Chapter 3: Ron’s Return/Chapter 4: Nighttime Conversations/Chapter 5: A Morning Surprise

Chapter 6: The Quidditch Match

You were greeted by a grinning Ron in the kitchen.

“I see your mood has changed,” you noted, gratefully taking the buttered toast he was offering you as you heard your stomach rubble loudly.

He nodded. “Fred and George talked to me,” he stated.

A bolt of terror ran up your spine. Talked to him? Talked to him about what? Surely they didn’t tell Ron how you felt about him? You knew they were pushing you towards confessing, but you never thought they would betray you like that.

“Oh?” you asked, trying to keep your voice neutral. You took a big bite of toast and chewed to keep your mind off of Ron’s next words, and your impending feeling of doom.

Ron nodded, his smile returning. “They said I can use the best Cleansweep Five we’ve got. Thank Merlin too, all our other brooms give me splinters.”

Relief washed over you like a great tide. They hadn’t ratted you out after all. You felt a twinge of guilt from believing the twins would go behind your back like that, you knew they wouldn’t.

After you finished your breakfast, you headed out to the field behind The Burrow. You were greeted by the sight of quidditch balls already laid out, goalposts standing ready, and redheaded boys fighting over brooms. Hermione and Ginny chatted pleasantly with one another to the side.

You walked over to them and offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry I was so uptight upstairs,” you said.

Ginny waved you off with the flick of a wrist, “We understand. Although we were quite hopeful seeing you in Ron’s bed,” she added with a wink.

Hermione gave you a hug with one arm and whispered, “We expect to hear all the details later.” You laughed, happy to have your girls back, and followed them to the others.

“I called this one!”

“No you didn’t, you great git, I did!”

“Yeah right, get your own!”

Laughing at the twins’ argument, you grabbed the shabbiest looking broom in the pile. It was no secret that you were the best Chaser on your house team so you thought taking the worst broom was a fair way to even out the match. Also, you weren’t in in the mood to fight tooth and nail with a ginger about a broomstick.

After the broomsticks were distributed to each player, George still grumbling about Fred taking his broom, the teams were determined. On one side: Fred, George, Ron, and Harry. On the other: you, Hermione, and Ginny. You were the chaser, Ginny the beater, and Hermione the Keeper. Much to Harry’s dismay, the group had opted out of the need of the seeker role and Snitch. Instead, you would just be playing to see how many points you could score through the goals.

“Shirts vs skins!” Fred and George shouted. “Isn’t that what the muggles do to keep track of their teammates, Harry?” They asked him, already yanking their shirts off their backs.

“I suppose,” Harry said, following their action.

You laughed, “Yeah, except nobody ever offers to be the skins.”

“Well if they looked as good as I do, they would,” Fred replied confidently, earning giggles from you and Hermione. Ginny, however, scoffed at his words.

You were so busy talking to Fred that when you turned your head, you noticed Ron had already taken his shirt off. Maybe you were imagining it, but you felt his gaze flick quickly to yours and then both of your cheeks reddening instantly. This had been the second time in 24 hours that you had seen your best friend with his shirt off and it still made your heart skip a beat and your head feel dizzy. Hopefully you could keep your eyes on the Quidditch match instead of him.

Before you knew it, the match had started.

You had grabbed the Quaffle once it was in the air, and were rushing towards the other team’s goalposts. You noticed your broom was a lot slower than yours at home, drifting slightly to the right as you propelled yourself forward, but that didn’t impede your skills at all. In fact, before long, the score was 50-10.

“That’s rubbish!” Harry shouted as you scored yet another goal. He was really getting into the spirit of Quidditch.

“The only thing that’s rubbish is your flying!” Ginny countered back with a wicked smirk.

Being here with your friends, playing Quidditch outside under the sun, wind whipping through your hair- it was everything you wished for and more. You recalled sitting all alone in the great big empty house of yours, your mind would often wander to wishing for something like this. A sense of community, friendship, and family. Right now, you couldn’t be happier.

“y/n, look out!”

You heard it too late. By the time your head turned in the direction of Ginny’s voice, the Weasley’s battered old bludger from their home Quidditch set had smacked into the side of your head. Falling from your broomstick, you really wished you hadn’t forgone the helmet offered to you before the match began.

The match abruptly ended as you hit the ground with a thud. Admittedly, you weren’t flying that high up, but the fall still stung. You felt a large welt on your forehead, and as you touched above your left eyebrow you were surprised to see blood.

“Ow,” you commented.

The first person to reach you was Ron, looking pale with worry.

“Y/n! Are you alright?” He asked, his voice quivering as his eyes flicked between your eyes and bloodied forehead.

You nodded, but the effort in doing so made you dizzy. You swayed a little from where you sat, and Ron wrapped a protective arm around your back to steady you. Despite being on the precipice of passing out, Ron’s palm being pressed flatly to your lower back made butterflies erupt in your stomach. So now you had that making your head spin too.

Concerned blue eyes stared intently at you and you tried your best to not notice how close Ron’s bare chest was to you. He was breathing heavily from the game and despite being sweaty from the heat, he still smelled like cinnamon and apples. His red hair was tousled from the wind and you wanted nothing more than to reach out and run your fingers through it.

“I’m alright, just a little fall,” you said, struggling to your feet. Ron kept his arm wrapped tightly around you to keep you from toppling over.

“Alright there, y/n?” Harry asked as the others came to join you. “I didn’t mean to hit that blunger so hard, I’m sorry.”

You waved him off with your hand. “S'all right, I’ve suffered from worst during Quidditch,” you replied. And it was true. Last year, you had broken your arm three times during the Quidditch season. Madame Pomfrey welcomed you as a regular visitor in the Hospital Wing. You had even managed to become quite good friends with her.

After a quick survey of the group, it was obvious everyone was beaten and tired. Two hours of Quidditch can do that to a person.

“I’ll take her upstairs and clean her cut. Will you lot make lunch? Or ask Mum too?” Ron asked. You were surprised by his taking charge, usually he was one to sit back and let Hermione make all the plans.

Everyone nodded and then embarked back to The Burrow.

“Despite my fall, we were winning,” you proclaimed as you entered the house. You, Hermione, and Ginny shared a satisfying smile at your victory.

“I call a rematch for tomorrow,” Harry insisted as he followed the twins into the kitchen.

Ron led you upstairs, his hand still planted firmly on your back, as you walked up the countless steps. After a couple levels, you had reached the tiny bathroom all the Weasley’s shared.

You entered it, followed by Ron. It was quite a tight fit. With both of you standing in it, backs facing the wall, your chests were almost pressed against one another. Ron still hadn’t put his shirt back on. You tried your best not to notice this fact.

He stepped closer to you, and your heart started beating so fast you felt there was a hummingbird trapped in your ribcage rather than an organ. Ron wrapped his arms around you, lifted you up, and set you on the bathroom counter. You blushed at the ease in which he did this. He really was quite strong. You remembered back in second year when he could barely push open the heavy common room door, now here he was lifting you onto counters as if you weighed nothing.

Ron searched above you in the mirror cabinet for some bandaids and ointment for your head. You waited patiently, taking advantage of his distracted attention to stare at him. He really looked good. He was biting his lip in concentration as he read different bottles to find the correct medicine, and his eyebrows were knitted together. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face and his freckles looked like constellations on his skin. In that moment, you swore he was the most handsome wizard you ever saw.

“Got it,” he said, his deep voice snapping you out of your fantasy. “Mum used to put this on our scrapes when we were little. It might sting a bit,” he warned you.

You nodded and shut your eyes as Ron wet a rag and turned to you. You felt him lean closer. Cinnamon and apple. His smell was intoxicating.

Ron lighted brushed your hair behind your ear. With a wet cloth, he dabbed the blood away. His touch felt so soft and gentle that you fought the urge to sigh and melt right into the arms. But that feeling quickly subsided as a new sensation of an intense burning reached your cut.

“Ow,” you muttered through gritted teeth as he continued applying the ointment.

“I know, sorry,” he replied, still concentrating.

You opened your eyes to sneak a glance at him. He was so close to you that if you moved forward a little bit, your noses would be touching. You snapped your eyes shut again, afraid that if you kept them open for a second longer, you wouldn’t be able to restrain yourself anymore. You were certain you would kiss him if he stayed that close to you.

The feeling of a dry fabric being pressed to your head brought you out of your thoughts as the stinging subsided. The bandaid Ron pressed gently to your forehead seemed to help because you didn’t feel dizzy anymore. Magic, it was great at healing.

Taking in a deep breath, you opened your eyes. Ron was still standing so close to you, both of his arms resting against the counter on either side of you. His eyes immediately met yours and you could swear that every sound in the world went quiet. The temperature in the bathroom seemed to increase as you were so close to one another. You couldn’t help yourself, your eyes slipped from his blue eyes to his lips. Merlin, you wanted to kiss him so badly.

Looking back up, you saw his gaze was focused on your mouth as well. His eyes met yours once again. Was he leaning in? He definitely looked like he was getting closer. Is this really happening?

“Lunch is ready!” Ginny’s voice traveled from downstairs to the bathroom like a shrill bullhorn. You felt as if a bucket of cold water was poured onto your head, that’s how quickly you jolted from the dream-like trance you were in.

Ron cleared his throat awkwardly, moving backwards to give you more space. The absence of his proximity made you feel colder, and you wished Ginny had called you a minute later.

“Shall we?” He asked, offering you a hand as you climbed down from the counter.

“Yeah, I’m starving,” you replied as you exited the bathroom and made your way downstairs. But you were more than just hungry for lunch. You had a hunger for whatever atmosphere donned upon you and Ron in that tiny bathroom. You were hungry for that feeling of being the only two in the world. It was in that moment that you realized how strongly you felt about Ron. How strongly you felt about your best friend. It was there, atop the rickety steps of The Burrow, that you vowed that this summer was the one where you would tell Ron Weasley that you were in love with him.

Previous Chapters

Introduction/Author’s Note/Chapter 1: The Journey to the Burrow/Chapter 2: Hidden Letters/Chapter 3: Ron’s Return/Chapter 4: Nighttime Conversations

Chapter 5: A Morning Surprise

That morning, you awoke to a surprised gasp.

You jolted upwards to look towards the sound, promptly smacking your head against Ron’s.

“Ow,” you both mumbled, fully awake now. With the nose injury from last night, and this today, Ron was going to be covered in bruises by the time the summer was over.

Your eyes settled upon a stunned looking Harry Potter standing in the doorway. His mouth was open, his eyes wide. Perhaps he wasn’t expecting to walk into his best friend’s room and see him cuddled up with a girl.

Words couldn’t form in your mouth to explain the inappropriate situation. How could you explain how you looked right now- hair disheveled, under the covers, with Ron’s arm still wrapped tightly around you.

As Ron was about to speak, Harry’s face broke out into a wide grin. Smirking he said, “well done, mate.”

“Well done? Well done for what?” You heard a familiar voice say from the hallway. Within seconds, Hermione’s head was peeking into the doorway.

“Oh my!” She exclaimed, throwing her hands up to her mouth in shock.

Harry chuckled as you heard even more footsteps approaching.

“What is it, Hermione?” you heard Ginny call before she, too, entered the small room, freezing when she saw you and Ron.

“Fred! George! Get in here!” she yelled, her lips forming into the same satisfied smile Harry wore.

“Oh please let’s just invite the whole family,” Ron said sarcastically. The room was already crowded with the 5 bodies in it, every eye strained upon you and Ron. But oddly enough, his arm was still wrapped protectively around your waist.

Soon, Fred and George apperated into the room, standing at the bottom of the bed.

“Would you look at that Georgie,” Fred said, nudging his brother in the side. “I believe you owe me 5 galleons.” George rolled his eyes and handed over the coins.

“You bet on us?” Ron asked. His face was growing red, but more from annoyance than embarrassment.

The twins nodded at the same time.

You made eye contact with Ginny and Hermione, who were both grinning, their eyes sparkling. They knew you’d had a crush on Ron for years, and they mistakenly thought you had confessed to him, leading to the sleeping together situation. Terrified that they would say how you felt about him, when in reality you hadn’t confessed anything at all, you spoke up.

“It’s not what it looks like,” you mumbled, really wishing it was what it looked like.

Ron glanced at you and then let his arm slip from your waist. You felt your body get colder as he moved away from you.

“Nothing happened, like it ever would,” Ron said, his voice dripping with dry sarcasm. You felt your heart drop as you processed his words.

“Like it ever would.” Does that mean he didn’t want anything to happen between you?

“So you can give him your money back,” Ron grumbled at Fred, getting out of bed and walking straight out the door. You heard his loud footsteps march downstairs to the kitchen. His angry attitude left an uncomfortable silence in the room.

You groaned, covering your face with your hands.

“I take it you didn’t tell him then?” Hermione asked, sitting on the side of the bed and soothingly brushing your hair with her fingers.

“No, I didn’t,” you replied.

“Tell him what?” Harry asked cluelessly.

Hermione and Ginny shared a look. “Boys,” they muttered together, shaking their heads at Harry’s oblivion.

The twins took it upon themselves to thoroughly explain the situation to Harry.

“You see, our friend y/n here is in love with Ron. Has been for quite a while, we reckon. So when we see the two of them canoodling together in bed in the morning, one gets to thinking that maybe some confessions were made,” Fred told him with a smug smirk.

Keeping your head in your hands, you didn’t look at Harry.  

“Well that’s perfect!” Harry blurted out, “Ron feels the same way!”

Your head shot up and you stared at him.

“He does?” you asked him. Of course you knew that Ron treated you different from his other friends, but you never wanted to jump to conclusions.

“Well I mean, yeah. He’s never outright said anything about it, but I can tell,” Harry explained.

You groaned again, the swell of hope in your chest quickly dying down. No offense to Harry, but sometimes his intuition wasn’t the best. You thought back to the countless times he was convinced Draco Malfoy had poisoned his morning pumpkin juice.

“I hate to break it to you lot, because you seemed quite excited barging in here this morning, but I’m positive he doesn’t feel the same way. Did you hear him? ‘Like it ever would.’ That means he doesn’t want anything to happen with us,” you huffed.

Ginny shook her head.

“No, it means he’s a stupid git who doesn’t know how to say what he’s feeling,” she said confidently.

You wanted to believe her. You really did. But if he felt the same way, he would’ve said something by now. Last night was the perfect opportunity, and he didn’t tell you anything. That was all the confirmation you needed that your feelings were one-sided.

Throwing your legs over the side of the bed, you stood up. Although you felt your heart break slightly, you couldn’t let this ruin your summer.

“Let’s just forget this happened, okay?” You said, looking each of them in the eye. “Please don’t mention it again, he’s already pissed off enough.”

Your friends nodded, but not without reluctance.

“Mum’s making eggs this morning, then we could play a game of Quidditch in the backyard,” Ginny offered. You thanked her silently for following your request.

“Sounds great, I brought my Firebolt,” Harry said.

And with that, the crowd change the topic of conversation to Quidditch. Their chat continued as everyone made their way to the kitchen.

Left alone upstairs, you changed out of your pajamas. You reached into your trunk to put on your favorite t-shirt. It was a vintage muggle band t-shirt that you used to listen to with your dad all the time, before travel got in the way and you barely saw him anymore. Ron, with the help of Mr. Weasley who knew the muggle world better than he did, searched high and low for this one specific shirt for your birthday last year. You loved the shirt and wore it all the time, Ron always was a great gift giver for you.

At the thought, you turned your attention to your new owl, who had just woken up. She was as adorable as when you first saw her. Friends get each other amazing gifts all the time, this doesn’t mean he’s in love with you, you tried to remind yourself.

“Good morning, Dite,” you said, rubbing her tiny head. She pecked your fingers affectionately, before flying over to the bed, where she sat down on Ron’s pillow.

“You saw all that, huh?” You asked. Even the owls saw your embarrassment from this morning.

She nodded her head and then fluttered over to the box of letters under his nightstand. She nudged the side of it with her beak.

“They don’t mean anything,” you told her. She didn’t understand. No one did. Ron, despite your best wishes, wasn’t in love with you. It was just a fact you needed to accept.

You cocked your head towards the door. “C'mon,” you said to Dite. She flew onto your shoulder and nuzzled into your neck.

“We have a Quidditch match to win.”

a/n: this is for a fem!reader but if anyone wants a male!reader for a certain character, send me an ask!

Harry

You become good friends with Hermione after she helps you study for a test. She invites you to come and sit with her at dinner, where you meet Harry for the first time. Obviously, you had heard of him before and you thought he was cute but you had never spoken until then. He was super awkward because he thought you were very pretty. You start spending more time with them and eventually Harry becomes more comfortable around you. One day, Hermione and Ron were off on their own, leaving you and Harry together. He tells you about his feelings for you and you confess you feel the same and ask him to be your boyfriend.

Ron

Ron noticed you first, sitting across from him in class during first year. Being at first shy and timid, he admired you from afar. But one day, after confessing his feelings to Harry, Harry slips some liquid luck into Ron’s drink, giving him the courage to ask you on a date. Of course, you say yes and eventually began dating.

Hermione

When you first saw Hermione, you knew you wanted to be her friend, but you were too shy to speak to her. In class, you were always impressed with her knowledge and wished to know more about her. Whenever you saw her across the room, your stomach would flip. Sometimes you would catch her looking at you and feel your cheeks heat up. Eventually, you realised it wasn’t that you wanted to be her friends, but her girlfriend. You had never thought about they fact that you could like girls, but it didn’t feel wrong. One day, you pluck up the courage to speak to her, complimenting her and making her laugh. You start to become good friends, and surprisingly, she makes the first move. She kisses you and when you kiss back, she asks you to be her girlfriend.

Fred

It started in 3rd year, when he watched you prank someone. From then on, he wanted you so badly. His way of flirting was to play harmless pranks and jokes on you and you would prank him back. You were so used to his jokes that when he kissed you, you thought it was another one of them. But he told you it wasn’t and that he was falling in love with you. After a while of convincing, eventually you believed him when he asked you to be his girlfriend.

George

George had quietly fancied you for a few months when Fred noticed the way he looked at you. Fred vowed to be George’s wingman and get you to fall in love with him, so Fred would often talk to you, telling you funny stories about George to make sure you knew the best bits of him. It didn’t take long for you to figure out what was going on. “Hey, Fred, can you be my wingman?” You asked. Fred seemed worried. “Why, who do you like?” He asked. “George.” 

It was such a special moment of my life when the wand chose me. I don’t think I’ll ever forget this moment. I don’t know how to use this wand right now. But that’s why I’m going to hogwarts, right?!!

-Colin Creevey