Debut [Dated to Jan 5th]

[sixthhandlion]

"I have seen your dreams, Ronald Weasley, and I have seen your fears. All that you desire is possible, but all that you dread is also possible..."He was chilled to the bone, hair still wet from the pond and plastered to his forehead, still dripping in his face from where it hadn't had a chance to properly dry yet. He'd started shaking without

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[seek_to_end]

Whatever tension that was left in Harry relaxed when Hermione hugged Ron. He didn't know exactly how this would go, but he knew how it had, and that comforted him somehow. Knowing that, regardless of the circumstances, his friends would still find their way back to each other made him feel better than he had this entire year. There was still a lot of ground to cover, but Harry couldn't be bothered with worrying about it just then.

"It's.. hard to explain," he started, looking at Ron seriously, the relieved smile still clinging to his face. "But it's-- We've been transported to this island. Through magic, we think. And there's no way off. But it's okay because Bill's here and Sirius and Lupin and Luna. And it makes no sense at all but... we've been here for about a month and time's all funny. The point is, we've been waiting for you to show up." He snuck a glance at Hermione, having just spoken for her there without her permission. But he felt it was true and so it must be. They both missed Ron dearly, even if they avoided mentioning it too much. "We've both lived through you coming back, with the sword and the locket and everything, so we've been angry with you. I think we're done with that now."

[honestlyrubbish]

As soon as Ron's grip on her had released, Hermione's gaze began to settle on the ground again, keeping oddly focused on Ron's shoes and the amount of wear that the pair had clearly seen as of late. She took a step back, shuffled so that the three of them were equidistant again, allowing them to talk to one another as freely as they always had in the past years, each contributing an entirely different view to the whole. Although at the same time, Hermione had to admit that it was proving hard to put words to the emotions swirling around her just then, the slight knot in her stomach that told her this place wasn't okay for simply bringing about all of these people they cared for. Their place, their proper place, was back in the wizarding world where, even if the war was to end, there was still a lot to be done to pick the community up after the past few years. Ron being there didn't make it all better.

It did make it a great deal more bearable, however.

Taking a deep breath and thinking better of arguing against Harry's words, although her eyes rose just in time to meet his gaze, Hermione turned to face Ron, not quite able to keep constant eye contact with him while she worked through her own explanation. "Ron, we're currently on an island called... Tabula Rasa. The blank slate. So named because there appears to be no means of access that anyone has discovered yet to our homes as we knew them. In other words, people don't leave by choice, or if they do then they never seem to come back with that knowledge intact to inform the rest of us. People do disappear though, and frequently, at seemingly random intervals. The longest that anyone's been on the island is slightly over five years. Magic of many sorts seems to be suppressed here, including our own, but I don't think it's eliminated entirely, as this island also displays its own brand of magic at times. Food stores are replenished, there's a bookshelf with ever-changing contents, a clothing box you literally cannot dig your way to the bottom of, snow on what is otherwise a tropical island that lasts approximately a month before it melts suddenly away, and dinosaurs live just a few miles away from main camp. People seem to arrive from all sorts of worlds and times, even fictional works. Sirius and Remus in particular are from their own Hogwarts years."

After a pause and a thoughtful furrow of her brow, Hermione added. "Draco Malfoy is here as well."

[sixthhandlion]

It was a lot to take in: the bit that Harry had said about time, the fact that the two of them had somehow already held a conversation with him about his having destroyed the locket. Ron had half a mind to ask if they'd been using a time-turner like the two of them had during their third year. Though, if that were teh case, they probably wouldn't have had to wait on him, would they? He didn't really know how all that had worked anyway.

After years of knowing Hermione, Ron was just about used to the way she approached things. One simple question-- which Harry had done a pretty good job of answering, as far as Ron was concerned-- turned into a long and complicated explanation that Ron was barely able to follow. While she talked, he wasn't quite sure just where to start asking questions. That was, until she paused and Ron found himself able to zero in on one important detail.

"Malfoy? What hell d'you bring him here for?" Ron asked.

[seek_to_end]

Harry burst into a laugh at the question, unable to help himself or continue to cautiously bottle up the joy that was bubbling up inside his chest. They had needed Ron with them, for moments like these and more, and Harry thought their future on the island looked a lot easier with all of them together again.

"We didn't exactly have a choice," he explained through his amusement. "He showed up before either of us. It's not up to us who appears and who disappears, otherwise you would have shown up a while ago."

[honestlyrubbish]

How very typical that Ron had taken all of Hermione's words and thrown the majority of them over his shoulder, focusing only on that grudge that both of them still held against Draco Malfoy. She couldn't quite call it ridiculous, because Draco had caused a great deal of trouble for all of them, even before the threat of the Dark Lord held close to his throat like a sharpened blade, but it did feel somewhat foolish now after everything. Sighing, Hermione rubbed at her forehead with the back of her thumb, shaking her head almost imperceptibly.

"Or the rest of us would have left to return to you," she said quietly, lips pressing together before she glanced around, arms wrapping tightly around herself so that she could keep in as much warmth as possible. "Perhaps we should head to the hut now; Ron's still dripping wet."

[sixthhandlion]

Ron had been cold for so long now, it seemed, that he almost didn't notice that his fingers and ears were red and had gone numb.

"Probably a good idea," Ron said, "I think my fingers might be frozen 'round this thing," Ron said, holding up the sword to show them his hands. Though, to be fair, part of his hand hurting might've been because he'd gotten splinched again last time he'd apparated. He wasn't looking forward to waiting for those fingernails to grow back.