Capítulo 68: Chapter 68 - Weasley's Struggles & A Small Victory I
The exchange with Molly and Arthur went better than expected. Ron could still feel a hint of anger in their voices, but it seemed they were trying to make the best out of the situation.
While Arthur couldn't agree on whether to be proud of his son or angry. Molly was only interested in seeing her grandkids who had come a few years earlier than she expected.
Ron just shrugged. He was a grown-up now and had enough money and brains to take responsibility. Ignoring Amelia and Fleur was against his morals, no matter how fucked up their "relationships" had been over the past year or so.
No more fooling around from now on.
####
Before he knew it, he returned to the school on the last day of the holiday. He and Daphne went together, but she maintained her distance from him at his advice.
Ron only had one goal going forward. No, two goals.
The first was to clear the OWLs with a good score. The second was to silently wait for June 18th. Of course, in between all that he had a major task of coming clean with Hermione. It wasn't going to be easy, he knew it. From the moment he saw Hermione back in the school he started feeling anxious.
Although not much had happened between them, he still didn't want to break his good friend's heart. Having known her since their first year, she was close to him. Besides, knowing her insecurities, he feared it might make Hermione lose her trust in people.
"Ron! Where have you been? I missed you so much!"
It was Lavender who ran after him as soon as he arrived back at the school. He avoided her, but as the weeks went by, her chase only intensified, and she began to camp out in places to catch him off guard.
Ron stopped in his tracks this time. He looked left and right first to make sure nobody was around them. Then, he looked at Lavender.
The eager girl had nothing but lust, or rather insane infatuation, in her expression.
"Lavender, you're really starting to get on my nerves. I just... I can't do this anymore, alright? So, please, just stop following me around and... jumping on me like that." Ron tried to soften his voice a bit, knowing how harsh it sounded. "I mean, you snuck into the house that time, and I didn't say anything. You barged into the boys' dorm, and I let it go. But, seriously, I don't want any of this anymore. We've got OWLs coming up, and I need to focus on them. You should probably do the same."
He really wanted to do good in OWLs now. If he wanted to have a happy future with Fleur and also keep little Edgar safe, he needed power that only the Ministry could grant him.
Lavender's face fell. Her excited look changed into something sullen, eyes teared up. "W-Why are you angry, Ron? Did I do something wrong?"
Everything.
Of course, he didn't say that. He continued in a gentle tone. "Lavender, look, we can still be friends, alright? But just friends—nothing more than that. No snogging, no holding hands, none of that stuff. Not now, not ever—that's where I draw the line, got it?"
"W-Why?" She asked.
"Because we're not mindless, horny students anymore. We're grown-ups now, and we've got to think about our future. I really hope you can understand that." He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder and turned to go. "Good luck with the OWLs."
Of course, Lavender cried there. But Ron didn't look back. He felt bad like he was a scum. But it was better to end it now than regret it later. Thankfully, he didn't have to worry about the Patil twins since the two girls had on their own declared that it was just a 'fling' and nothing serious.
With Lavender taken care of, he quickly returned to the Gryffindor dorms.
Dinner had already been served, and even the common room was mostly deserted since the fifth years were preparing for their OWLs and the seventh years were preparing for their NEWTs.
Soon enough, he went into the dorm room and found Harry, Seamus, Dean, and Neville sitting at their tables, studying. He, too, changed his clothes and sat down at his bedside table.
"Hey, Ron." Harry waved at him. "Where were you?"
"Just took a stroll. What're you burying your nose in this time?"
"Herbology," Harry replied.
"Ugh, it's gotta be Neville teaching again, hasn't it?" Ron grumbled as he flipped open his own book. "I've got Herbology, Astronomy, and History of Magic all breathing down my neck, mate."
Normally, he would have added Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, and DADA to that list as well. But, ever since he drank that strange potion, he never found trouble in those four subjects.
"Maybe Hermione can help," Harry suggested.
"Yeah." Ron didn't continue that conversation. When Hermione was mentioned it usually made him fall into what-if thoughts.
Should I tell Harry? He wondered. He trusted his best friend enough and knew Harry would never tell it to anyone. But, on second thought, he stopped himself. There was a possibility that the Dark Lord or Dumbledore might see through Harry's memories.
It would put everyone's life in danger.
As the night went on and the time approached for the night's curfew, other than Harry and Ron, everyone went to sleep. Of course, both boys had different reasons keeping them up other than just studies.
"You've changed," Harry muttered.
Ron sighed and looked at his buddy, joking. "It's called depression, mate."
Harry smiled and glanced at Ron. "What happened out there? The papers didn't give much other than that you were ambushed and won. How did you fight ten of them?"
"I'm just lucky, I guess," Ron muttered and moved away his gaze. "But I found some clues."
Suddenly, Ron stood up and walked around the bed to Harry's desk. There, he picked up the quill and wrote in Harry's notebook. 'Start preparing. It's very close.'. But he didn't tell the exact date or what it was.
Harry nodded silently and erased the written words with the wave of his wand. "Where are you going?"
"To get some snacks," Ron replied and walked out of his dorm room.
Feeling a little suffocated in the Common Room, he went out and headed upstairs. It was his usual training room that he used to use. Still the same as ever, the targets were hanging around the walls and ceiling.
Better continue the training. He thought and took off his sweater and shirt to save them from his sweat. Then, he grabbed his wand and began the usual routine. Leaping around, shooting spells at the targets. The goal was always to increase efficiency. To keep the arm as steady as possible while attacking.
For almost an hour he spent himself until exhaustion. Once too tired, he walked to the side and stood leaning against a desk, conjuring water for himself.
Knock! Knock!
"Hi, Ron."
Ron looked at the door. "Hey, Luna. Are they still bullying you?"
Smiling like always, Luna skipped into the large classroom. She wasn't in school uniform, however, but rather a common, beige-colored shirt dress with a sweater over it. Her hair had a lot of colorful clips in them, and thankfully, she had shoes on.
"No, they don't bully anymore. What are you doing?" She asked as she approached him.
"The usual training."
All of a sudden, Luna reached him and warmly hugged him. Her slender arms wrapped around his bare chest and hugged him tightly. A moment later, she stepped back as if nothing had happened.
"W-What was that for?" Ron asked.
Luna shrugged. "I just felt like you needed it."
Ron scratched his head embarrassingly. "Is it that obvious?"
"You look troubled."
"Ah, it's a mess of my own making. Don't worry about it," Ron replied and sized her up, trying to figure out what she'd come out for at this hour. No bag in sight, so probably out chasing after her imaginary creatures again.
The silence broke between them all of a sudden.
Ron wondered if he should address the thing between them. Maybe clarify that there were no romantic feelings involved.
But before he could speak, Luna voiced, looking up at his face. "Can we do it again?"
"Do what?"
In a rare show, Luna looked down, as if hiding a blush. "The thing… Without clothes."
Ah, dammit. Ron tried to hide his reluctance.
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