Keeping Watch (B/F, R/Hr, PG)
Author: Willow_wand
Requestor: daysandweeks
Claim: Bill's feelings about Ron staying with him and Fleur instead of being out on the Horcrux hunt with his friends.
Rating: PG
Pairings (if any): Bill/Fleur, Ron/Hermione
Summary: Early on Christmas morning, Bill finds Ron awake and in need of some reassurance.
It was very early on Christmas morning when Bill awoke to a faint tapping noise. Careful not to rouse Fleur, he got out of bed and walked quietly to the bedroom window, thinking perhaps they’d had an owl. After a quick glance around, he thought he must have imagined the sound, as he couldn’t spot an owl anywhere.
The sky was a dark blue, sunrise still a couple hours away. A pale sliver of moon was peeking through a wispy veil of clouds. The ocean waves were glittering off in the distance. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Very peaceful.
For a moment, Bill stared out at the dark water. He and Fleur had decided to purchase the cottage after Bill had been attacked by Greyback. They’d still been unsure of what influence the moon would have on him, and they thought it best to choose a home in a secluded area. It worked out rather well in the end. He’d had no real negative results from the attack, and some nights he and Fleur could just sit in front of the fire, listening to the waves crash against the cliffs and forget for a while that there was a war raging elsewhere in the world.
Bill had just pulled back the covers to get into bed when he heard the tapping sound resume. This time he could tell the sound was coming from somewhere inside the cottage. He snatched his wand from the bedside table and silently opened his bedroom door.
The tapping had ceased by the time he stepped out onto the landing, but his attention was immediately drawn to a light flashing under the door of the bedroom Ron was currently staying in. He figured this was likely the source of the tapping noise and let out a sigh of relief. He’d been quite anxious over the past few weeks. The number of deaths and disappearances were steadily increasing as the war escalated, and Bill was worried about his family.
He watched as the light flickered rhythmically under the crack of the door, then made his way over and knocked lightly, deciding to check up on Ron.
“Come in,” Ron called through the door.
Bill opened the door, but remained standing in the doorway. Ron was sitting cross-legged on one of the single beds in the room, the wireless in front of him. His wand was lying beside him.
“I saw a light flickering under the door.”
“Oh, sorry,” Ron said sheepishly, holding up his Deluminator. “I didn’t think it would bother anyone.”
“Actually it was the tapping that bothered me,” Bill said, crossing the room and sitting down on the bed opposite of Ron’s. “What are you doing up? Couldn’t sleep?”
“I had this weird feeling,” Ron said awkwardly. “And, well, Potterwatch is going to be on in a bit anyway. I was trying to find it on the dial, but I reckon it isn’t on quite yet.” He held up his wand. “I’ve been trying it every once in a while.”
Bill nodded, although he knew by the persistent tapping earlier that Ron was trying more frequently than “once in a while.” Ron listened to that show every chance he got. Bill understood why; Ron was desperate for any news about Harry and Hermione.
“If anything happened to them, we’d have heard something,” Bill said.
Ron looked away from him, fiddling with the dial on the wireless. “I should have never run out on them.”
Bill frowned. “Why did you?”
He hadn’t asked Ron for the details surrounding why he left Harry and Hermione. Ron had shown up at Shell Cottage over a month ago, bleeding from having splinched a couple of his fingernails off. Bill had ushered him inside and had just been about to step back out to meet Harry and Hermione when Ron informed him that they had parted ways. He and Harry had had a falling out.
After all the trouble and worry Ron had put their mother through by leaving, after his insistence that he go and help Harry because of the severity of the mission Dumbledore had left to them, to show up alone after just a few months was just wrong. Bill was rather disappointed in him, but he hadn’t the heart to tell him off, or worse, to send him home to The Burrow to face Mum. Ron had looked so guilty and miserable.
Since then he’d hardly slept. On some nights Bill heard him pacing around his room. And even though his skin was practically hanging off his bones, Ron ate very little. Bill often had to assure Fleur that it was Ron’s anxiety and not her cooking that was putting him off.
“I told you,” Ron said quietly. “Harry and I had a row.”
“Must have been pretty bad for you to want to leave.”
“We both said some awful things.”
“Did you?”
“I said he didn’t have a plan, that he didn’t know what he was doing.” Ron grimaced. “And he said I thought the mission would be easy, that we’d be home by Christmas.”
Bill nodded and Ron continued, “The thing is, he’s right. I thought we’d have more to go on, I suppose. And I was frustrated and hungry and we didn’t know that was happening with anyone back home.”
“So you left,” Bill said.
“Doesn’t matter,” Ron said, shoving the Deluminator into his pocket. “They’re better off. I don’t even know why I was there.”
“I thought you were there because you believed in what Harry was trying to do,” Bill said.
“I was. I still do.”
“Then why-”
Ron scowled. “Look, Hermione knows everything, Harry’s the hero. What am I? All I’ve ever done is get in the way.”
“You can’t possibly mean that. Ron, Harry trusts you. Whatever this mission is that Dumbledore sent him on, he only told you and Hermione. That has to count for something.”
“Well it doesn’t matter now, does it?” Ron asked, reclining against his pillows. “I left.”
Ron closed his eyes wearily and put his hands over his face.
“There’s really no chance you’ll find them again?” Bill asked.
Ron shook his head. “I have no idea where they may have gone. I knew from the moment I Apparated right into that group of Snatchers that there was no chance of returning. And then there’s Hermione’s protective spells...”
Bill detected a trace of pride and regret in Ron’s voice at the mention of her name, but he remained silent, watching Ron squirm uncomfortably.
“She went after me,” Ron said, his ears flaming red, “the night I left.”
“And…”
“I Disapparated,” he said sadly. “She was yelling for me and crying. I hate it when she cries, but I was so angry and she… she wanted to stay… with him.”
Bill didn’t know what to say. Ron had never been very confident, not when Fred and George had taken every chance they got to take the mickey out of him. Bill had recognized Ron’s awkward attempts at wooing Hermione over the summer. From what he could tell, Hermione had seemed pretty receptive to the attention. It hadn’t occurred to him that Ron might still be insecure about how she felt about him. And, of course, that combined with his quick temper, had been a recipe for disaster.
“Well, it sounds to me like she wanted you there,” Bill said. “Obviously she knew you belonged there.”
“I messed up,” said Ron with a sigh.
“Yeah, you did.”
“I’d give anything to go back.”
Bill clapped him on the shoulder. “I know.”
Ron nodded and turned his attention back to the wireless. “I’ll block out the noise if you’d like. I didn’t mean to wake you and Fleur.”
“Are you kidding?” Bill laughed. “Nothing short of a herd of Hippogriffs trampling through our bedroom could wake her.”
Ron offered a weak smile.
“Happy Christmas, Little Brother,” Bill said. “Get some sleep, all right?”
“I will,” Ron said, “after Potterwatch. And Happy Christmas, Bill.”
Bill smiled back at Ron and made toward the door. As he shut it behind him he heard Ron mutter something and then there was a faint buzzing sound in his ears. Figuring Ron must have cast some sort of noise muffling spell, he turned and went back to his bedroom.
As Bill pulled back the covers and climbed into bed with his wife, he thought a bit more about Ron’s predicament. Perhaps Ron believed the situation hopeless, but Bill had more faith in his brother. He had a feeling that he’d meet up with Harry and Hermione again somehow. With that thought, Bill drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
Hours later he’d be woken by a panicked Fleur. Ron and his rucksack would both be gone, leaving behind only a bit of parchment with one word scrawled hastily in Ron’s messy handwriting. Thanks. And by Christmas night the wireless would be back in the sitting room once more as Bill clung to every word of Potterwatch hoping for an inkling that Ron had met his friends once again.
Requestor: daysandweeks
Claim: Bill's feelings about Ron staying with him and Fleur instead of being out on the Horcrux hunt with his friends.
Rating: PG
Pairings (if any): Bill/Fleur, Ron/Hermione
Summary: Early on Christmas morning, Bill finds Ron awake and in need of some reassurance.
It was very early on Christmas morning when Bill awoke to a faint tapping noise. Careful not to rouse Fleur, he got out of bed and walked quietly to the bedroom window, thinking perhaps they’d had an owl. After a quick glance around, he thought he must have imagined the sound, as he couldn’t spot an owl anywhere.
The sky was a dark blue, sunrise still a couple hours away. A pale sliver of moon was peeking through a wispy veil of clouds. The ocean waves were glittering off in the distance. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Very peaceful.
For a moment, Bill stared out at the dark water. He and Fleur had decided to purchase the cottage after Bill had been attacked by Greyback. They’d still been unsure of what influence the moon would have on him, and they thought it best to choose a home in a secluded area. It worked out rather well in the end. He’d had no real negative results from the attack, and some nights he and Fleur could just sit in front of the fire, listening to the waves crash against the cliffs and forget for a while that there was a war raging elsewhere in the world.
Bill had just pulled back the covers to get into bed when he heard the tapping sound resume. This time he could tell the sound was coming from somewhere inside the cottage. He snatched his wand from the bedside table and silently opened his bedroom door.
The tapping had ceased by the time he stepped out onto the landing, but his attention was immediately drawn to a light flashing under the door of the bedroom Ron was currently staying in. He figured this was likely the source of the tapping noise and let out a sigh of relief. He’d been quite anxious over the past few weeks. The number of deaths and disappearances were steadily increasing as the war escalated, and Bill was worried about his family.
He watched as the light flickered rhythmically under the crack of the door, then made his way over and knocked lightly, deciding to check up on Ron.
“Come in,” Ron called through the door.
Bill opened the door, but remained standing in the doorway. Ron was sitting cross-legged on one of the single beds in the room, the wireless in front of him. His wand was lying beside him.
“I saw a light flickering under the door.”
“Oh, sorry,” Ron said sheepishly, holding up his Deluminator. “I didn’t think it would bother anyone.”
“Actually it was the tapping that bothered me,” Bill said, crossing the room and sitting down on the bed opposite of Ron’s. “What are you doing up? Couldn’t sleep?”
“I had this weird feeling,” Ron said awkwardly. “And, well, Potterwatch is going to be on in a bit anyway. I was trying to find it on the dial, but I reckon it isn’t on quite yet.” He held up his wand. “I’ve been trying it every once in a while.”
Bill nodded, although he knew by the persistent tapping earlier that Ron was trying more frequently than “once in a while.” Ron listened to that show every chance he got. Bill understood why; Ron was desperate for any news about Harry and Hermione.
“If anything happened to them, we’d have heard something,” Bill said.
Ron looked away from him, fiddling with the dial on the wireless. “I should have never run out on them.”
Bill frowned. “Why did you?”
He hadn’t asked Ron for the details surrounding why he left Harry and Hermione. Ron had shown up at Shell Cottage over a month ago, bleeding from having splinched a couple of his fingernails off. Bill had ushered him inside and had just been about to step back out to meet Harry and Hermione when Ron informed him that they had parted ways. He and Harry had had a falling out.
After all the trouble and worry Ron had put their mother through by leaving, after his insistence that he go and help Harry because of the severity of the mission Dumbledore had left to them, to show up alone after just a few months was just wrong. Bill was rather disappointed in him, but he hadn’t the heart to tell him off, or worse, to send him home to The Burrow to face Mum. Ron had looked so guilty and miserable.
Since then he’d hardly slept. On some nights Bill heard him pacing around his room. And even though his skin was practically hanging off his bones, Ron ate very little. Bill often had to assure Fleur that it was Ron’s anxiety and not her cooking that was putting him off.
“I told you,” Ron said quietly. “Harry and I had a row.”
“Must have been pretty bad for you to want to leave.”
“We both said some awful things.”
“Did you?”
“I said he didn’t have a plan, that he didn’t know what he was doing.” Ron grimaced. “And he said I thought the mission would be easy, that we’d be home by Christmas.”
Bill nodded and Ron continued, “The thing is, he’s right. I thought we’d have more to go on, I suppose. And I was frustrated and hungry and we didn’t know that was happening with anyone back home.”
“So you left,” Bill said.
“Doesn’t matter,” Ron said, shoving the Deluminator into his pocket. “They’re better off. I don’t even know why I was there.”
“I thought you were there because you believed in what Harry was trying to do,” Bill said.
“I was. I still do.”
“Then why-”
Ron scowled. “Look, Hermione knows everything, Harry’s the hero. What am I? All I’ve ever done is get in the way.”
“You can’t possibly mean that. Ron, Harry trusts you. Whatever this mission is that Dumbledore sent him on, he only told you and Hermione. That has to count for something.”
“Well it doesn’t matter now, does it?” Ron asked, reclining against his pillows. “I left.”
Ron closed his eyes wearily and put his hands over his face.
“There’s really no chance you’ll find them again?” Bill asked.
Ron shook his head. “I have no idea where they may have gone. I knew from the moment I Apparated right into that group of Snatchers that there was no chance of returning. And then there’s Hermione’s protective spells...”
Bill detected a trace of pride and regret in Ron’s voice at the mention of her name, but he remained silent, watching Ron squirm uncomfortably.
“She went after me,” Ron said, his ears flaming red, “the night I left.”
“And…”
“I Disapparated,” he said sadly. “She was yelling for me and crying. I hate it when she cries, but I was so angry and she… she wanted to stay… with him.”
Bill didn’t know what to say. Ron had never been very confident, not when Fred and George had taken every chance they got to take the mickey out of him. Bill had recognized Ron’s awkward attempts at wooing Hermione over the summer. From what he could tell, Hermione had seemed pretty receptive to the attention. It hadn’t occurred to him that Ron might still be insecure about how she felt about him. And, of course, that combined with his quick temper, had been a recipe for disaster.
“Well, it sounds to me like she wanted you there,” Bill said. “Obviously she knew you belonged there.”
“I messed up,” said Ron with a sigh.
“Yeah, you did.”
“I’d give anything to go back.”
Bill clapped him on the shoulder. “I know.”
Ron nodded and turned his attention back to the wireless. “I’ll block out the noise if you’d like. I didn’t mean to wake you and Fleur.”
“Are you kidding?” Bill laughed. “Nothing short of a herd of Hippogriffs trampling through our bedroom could wake her.”
Ron offered a weak smile.
“Happy Christmas, Little Brother,” Bill said. “Get some sleep, all right?”
“I will,” Ron said, “after Potterwatch. And Happy Christmas, Bill.”
Bill smiled back at Ron and made toward the door. As he shut it behind him he heard Ron mutter something and then there was a faint buzzing sound in his ears. Figuring Ron must have cast some sort of noise muffling spell, he turned and went back to his bedroom.
As Bill pulled back the covers and climbed into bed with his wife, he thought a bit more about Ron’s predicament. Perhaps Ron believed the situation hopeless, but Bill had more faith in his brother. He had a feeling that he’d meet up with Harry and Hermione again somehow. With that thought, Bill drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
Hours later he’d be woken by a panicked Fleur. Ron and his rucksack would both be gone, leaving behind only a bit of parchment with one word scrawled hastily in Ron’s messy handwriting. Thanks. And by Christmas night the wireless would be back in the sitting room once more as Bill clung to every word of Potterwatch hoping for an inkling that Ron had met his friends once again.