(no subject)
Ron Weasley, in his day-to-day, does not look frequently and fondly on his childhood nor does he stop to realize that he's still a child. In dreams, however, the Burrow and bright light and family all feature prominently. Right now, it's a hot summer day. Ron is seven and his sister is six and she's his very best friend and they're walking hand-in-hand through the orchard by their house. Ron has a bucket with him. They're looking for apples. He nearly cries when he falls out of a tree and the look that Ginny gives him is similar to the look she gives when he leaves her to get on the train.
He's eleven and he meets Harry Potter and likes him instantly. Some kid named Neville's lost his toad, and Hermione Granger comes and looks for it. The memory skews, though, and when she slides the door open she's a few years older and dressed very well and glossed up, and Ron's fourteen and it's like really seeing her for the first time. The train has somehow blurred and faded into the Great Hall, and he and Harry are dressed in red and gold and Ron feels like he's going to be sick. He always hated that part. Harry claps him on the shoulder before take-off and tells him he'll do fine.
His dad and brothers help him fix up the ghoul in the attic and they all get ready to lie for him and to force his mother to understand. Arthur looks like another childhood memory, almost, more well-rested than he's been in years, and he smiles faintly and his voice cracks when he pats his youngest boy on the back. Like Harry, he assures Ron that he'll be fine. Still, somehow, he doubts it.
Then the weird thing happens, and Ron simple appears somewhere unfamiliar, alone. He remembers, then, that he left them. He did that. He's not doing as well as he'd hoped, cracked and cowardly. "Hello?" He calls out and isn't sure if he's going to be answered. "Dad?" No, no... Where had he just been? With Harry. "Harry?!" There was more hesitation with, "Hermione?!"
"Anybody?"
He's eleven and he meets Harry Potter and likes him instantly. Some kid named Neville's lost his toad, and Hermione Granger comes and looks for it. The memory skews, though, and when she slides the door open she's a few years older and dressed very well and glossed up, and Ron's fourteen and it's like really seeing her for the first time. The train has somehow blurred and faded into the Great Hall, and he and Harry are dressed in red and gold and Ron feels like he's going to be sick. He always hated that part. Harry claps him on the shoulder before take-off and tells him he'll do fine.
His dad and brothers help him fix up the ghoul in the attic and they all get ready to lie for him and to force his mother to understand. Arthur looks like another childhood memory, almost, more well-rested than he's been in years, and he smiles faintly and his voice cracks when he pats his youngest boy on the back. Like Harry, he assures Ron that he'll be fine. Still, somehow, he doubts it.
Then the weird thing happens, and Ron simple appears somewhere unfamiliar, alone. He remembers, then, that he left them. He did that. He's not doing as well as he'd hoped, cracked and cowardly. "Hello?" He calls out and isn't sure if he's going to be answered. "Dad?" No, no... Where had he just been? With Harry. "Harry?!" There was more hesitation with, "Hermione?!"
"Anybody?"