Making a Start | F/Hr | Rated: PG
Title: Making a Start
Author: thesteppyone
Rating: PG
Word Count: 745
A/N: Warnings for major character death and angst. The two do generally go well together! lol
Originally written for the fwhg_ldws Round 2 Challenge 1
Making A Start
...
It had been three years since Ron had died, but still she refused to move on. Sometimes he thought he saw some flicker of hope and ambition for something she didn't have but wanted in her eyes, but the next minute he would see it flicker and die.
He knew the thing she didn't have but wanted was him. But that grief, that guilt, an infuriating belief that she was doing something heinous by moving on from loving the person she thought she would love forever was keeping her from him.
He had been there for her since Ron had died. Tried to help her to grieve, and tried to make her see that there was nothing she could have done to save him, been a shoulder to cry on when she could grieve in no other way, and he had desperately tried to make her smile.
That was what he did! He was Fred Weasley, he made a living out of making people laugh! Surely making someone smile was the easiest thing in the world?
Except it wasn't when it was his younger brother's girlfriend who had lost the centre of her world.
It was Christmas Eve and he had no idea why he was standing in front of his brother's grave, the snow falling around him, the wind sticking it to the back of his neck and his hair. He was cold and wet, but part of him was refusing to move, mainly because she hadn't turned up even though she had promised she would.
He hadn't meant to fall in love with Hermione, that hadn't been part of the plan; not that he had a plan as such. If he did have some sort of goal it was to help Hermione see there was a life to continue living. But then it had distorted to trying to show Hermione there was a life worth living which heavily involved him.
He had told her how he felt. Not his finest hour, and the reason he hasn't drunk Firewhiskey since, but he only half regretted it, because finally he could gauge if his hopes were just that, or whether they could actually grow into something real.
'How come you're out here?'
He spun around and skidded on the snow. Hands grabbed his waist and he managed to find his footing before looking down on Hermione's snow covered hair. He cleared his throat.
'Was just asking Ron if he hated me or not.'
'Ever with the dramatics!'
'Not really, brothers have issues when their siblings try and take their girlfriends off them.'
She stepped around him and knelt in front of the headstone.
'You'll get cold,' he said quietly, his now natural instinct of keeping her safe kicking in.
He watched as she leant forwards and kissed Ron's name on the hard stone. His stomach clenched; a part of him hating this obvious show of love for his brother and not him. He watched her stand and turn around to face him. Her eyes were filled with tears and her nose was red.
'He would never hate you,' she whispered, 'and he would want me to be happy.'
'That's all I've ever tried to do; to make you happy, to show you things would get easier and that someone will always love-.' He stopped talking and looked at the snow at his feet. 'I didn't mean to, you know? I never meant for this to become anything other than me being a shoulder you could cry on. I'd never do that to Ron.'
'If he was alive, of course you wouldn't. But he's not, Fred. He died and it's silly to not live when that's what he died for.'
He held his breath, not having a clue if, how or why things had changed.
He watched as she took a small step towards him, put her cold hands on his face and pressed her lips to his. He closed his eyes and didn't move, not wanting to give her reason to pull away.
She did though, as he knew she would.
'Hermione, I'm confused, what-?'
'It's a start. I can't promise anything except that I'll start living the way I want to as opposed to living in the past. His death was pointless if I don't.
He couldn't help but smile and she returned the gesture.
'How's that for 'pulling myself together and moving on'?'
He chuckled.
'It's a start, Hermione, it's a start.'
Author: thesteppyone
Rating: PG
Word Count: 745
A/N: Warnings for major character death and angst. The two do generally go well together! lol
Originally written for the fwhg_ldws Round 2 Challenge 1
Making A Start
...
It had been three years since Ron had died, but still she refused to move on. Sometimes he thought he saw some flicker of hope and ambition for something she didn't have but wanted in her eyes, but the next minute he would see it flicker and die.
He knew the thing she didn't have but wanted was him. But that grief, that guilt, an infuriating belief that she was doing something heinous by moving on from loving the person she thought she would love forever was keeping her from him.
He had been there for her since Ron had died. Tried to help her to grieve, and tried to make her see that there was nothing she could have done to save him, been a shoulder to cry on when she could grieve in no other way, and he had desperately tried to make her smile.
That was what he did! He was Fred Weasley, he made a living out of making people laugh! Surely making someone smile was the easiest thing in the world?
Except it wasn't when it was his younger brother's girlfriend who had lost the centre of her world.
It was Christmas Eve and he had no idea why he was standing in front of his brother's grave, the snow falling around him, the wind sticking it to the back of his neck and his hair. He was cold and wet, but part of him was refusing to move, mainly because she hadn't turned up even though she had promised she would.
He hadn't meant to fall in love with Hermione, that hadn't been part of the plan; not that he had a plan as such. If he did have some sort of goal it was to help Hermione see there was a life to continue living. But then it had distorted to trying to show Hermione there was a life worth living which heavily involved him.
He had told her how he felt. Not his finest hour, and the reason he hasn't drunk Firewhiskey since, but he only half regretted it, because finally he could gauge if his hopes were just that, or whether they could actually grow into something real.
'How come you're out here?'
He spun around and skidded on the snow. Hands grabbed his waist and he managed to find his footing before looking down on Hermione's snow covered hair. He cleared his throat.
'Was just asking Ron if he hated me or not.'
'Ever with the dramatics!'
'Not really, brothers have issues when their siblings try and take their girlfriends off them.'
She stepped around him and knelt in front of the headstone.
'You'll get cold,' he said quietly, his now natural instinct of keeping her safe kicking in.
He watched as she leant forwards and kissed Ron's name on the hard stone. His stomach clenched; a part of him hating this obvious show of love for his brother and not him. He watched her stand and turn around to face him. Her eyes were filled with tears and her nose was red.
'He would never hate you,' she whispered, 'and he would want me to be happy.'
'That's all I've ever tried to do; to make you happy, to show you things would get easier and that someone will always love-.' He stopped talking and looked at the snow at his feet. 'I didn't mean to, you know? I never meant for this to become anything other than me being a shoulder you could cry on. I'd never do that to Ron.'
'If he was alive, of course you wouldn't. But he's not, Fred. He died and it's silly to not live when that's what he died for.'
He held his breath, not having a clue if, how or why things had changed.
He watched as she took a small step towards him, put her cold hands on his face and pressed her lips to his. He closed his eyes and didn't move, not wanting to give her reason to pull away.
She did though, as he knew she would.
'Hermione, I'm confused, what-?'
'It's a start. I can't promise anything except that I'll start living the way I want to as opposed to living in the past. His death was pointless if I don't.
He couldn't help but smile and she returned the gesture.
'How's that for 'pulling myself together and moving on'?'
He chuckled.
'It's a start, Hermione, it's a start.'