CHAPTER 9: - Ron’s Discovery
Ginny felt Hermione shaking her awake the next morning as she tried to recall last night’s dream. She and Draco had met near a babbling brook in a very green, secluded valley. He often chose this setting for them. They lay near the water in each other’s arms, talking as long as they possibly could. The mornings always annoyed Ginny, even though she knew each day was getting her closer to the real thing. She threw off the covers and jumped out of bed. “Oooooooh!” Ginny yawned.
Hermione looked at her as she yawned. “How can you be tired? Each time I woke you were sleeping like a log. I was jealous. It’s so quiet here that it always takes me a few nights to get used to it.”
Ginny smirked. “Quiet? It isn’t quiet! Have you not heard Ronald banging on the ceiling with that broomstick of his? Been trying to shut the ghoul up for years now without success. I think you can’t sleep because you know he’s right above you.”
“Rubbish!” Hermione blushed. “I sleep just fine at school and I’m in the same tower as he is. Not quite as close, mind you, but almost.”
“Mmmhmm.” Ginny wasn’t buying it. She knew Hermione lay awake last night thinking of Ron, wishing she could change places with Harry and help Ron combat his problems of fighting the ghoul in the attic. She suppressed a giggle and they traipsed down the stairs to breakfast.
Though money was tight, Ginny’s mum and dad tried very hard to make the galleons stretch to provide hearty, wholesome meals three times a day. Today was no exception. They sat down to a table full of eggs, bacon, toast, kippers, oatmeal, orange and pumpkin juices and hot coffee.
“Tuck in, you lot.” Mrs. Weasley’s smile brightened up the kitchen and they all began to dish up the wonderful food, talking all the while. After their stomachs felt less empty Mr. Weasley began to ask Hermione about her summer holiday in Greece. She told them about different myths of the ancient Greeks, the abundance of olive trees, the fresh octopus served at the various restaurants and then she remembered the souvenirs.
“Oh! I almost forgot your souvenirs. I need to run up to Ginny’s room and get them.”
“I’ll go,” said Ron. “I need Dad to take my registration paper in for my Apparition test anyway. Gotta grab it from my room.”
“Excellent! They’re in a blue drawstring bag. I think I left it on Ginny’s vanity.”
Ron disappeared and they all began talking again as Ginny gathered up her plate and placed it in the sink. She glanced out the window at the beautiful day; vaguely listening to a conversation about a dream Harry had last night. Ginny suddenly froze with fear. Dream!
She tore up the stairs to her room, knowing what she was going to find before she reached the entrance. Ginny stood in the doorway watching Ron. Time suddenly stood still. He was standing by the vanity with the drawer wide open…clutching the blue drawstring bag with one hand. The other hand held a gleaming silver prefects’ badge with an S and a serpent engraved upon it.
Ginny began to speak, “Ron, I”
“Shut up!” His yell was a whisper, but it was a yell just the same. “You lied to me. Lied, Ginny! I’ve given you every opportunity to tell me and you just stood there and…and… Malfoy? What in bloody hell is the matter with you?”
She shut the door behind her and stepped toward him. “You have to understand something first.”
“Oh I understand perfectly. If I hadn’t been so thick all this time…I trusted you!” His face showed that of one who had been betrayed. Her stomach sickened. She could think of no way to explain this. Nothing she said would take away the anger and frustration Ron must be feeling.
Several seconds of uncomfortable silence followed. It felt like an eternity before he spoke again. “Explain. Now.”
Ginny took a breath and sat down slowly on the bed. “We’ve been together for awhile,”
“But Malfoy?”
“Ronald, will you let me finish? Then you can say what you will.”
Ron looked at his feet and she took it as a sign to continue.
“Like I said, we’ve been together for awhile. Early Spring, to be exact. It started pretty innocently – I met him coming into the Quidditch Pitch after practice one day. He made a snide comment and I had him backed into a corner. I can’t really explain how it evolved from there, but it did. I found myself wanting to see him in the corridors…trying to out-do each other’s childish remarks. Eventually we were making civil conversation. One thing lead to another and then it just happened. I know it’s difficult for you to understand and that’s one reason I didn’t say anything before. But there isn’t anything you can do about it, Ron. I’m sorry to be so blunt, but I care about him. I care about him more than I could possibly ever describe and he cares about me every bit as much.” She paused. “And before you say anything else…I trust him, too. I’d trust him with my life. that is how sure I am.”
Ginny took another breath and stared at the badge still in Ron’s open hand. She knew the conversation wasn’t over, but she let him have a moment to process what she’d told him.
He crossed the room and got on his knees directly in front of her. “Ginny,” he looked her in the eyes, “aside from the fact that you’re fraternizing with the enemy, have you even given a second thought to your safety? Our safety? Our cause? His father is a Death Eater!” Ron leapt up and began to pace to the other side of the room, yet again. She could see the denial setting in. “No, no, no – you are much smarter than this. You have a motive or something. What is it? Why are you doing this?”
Ginny stood up. She could feel the anger radiating to the tips of her hair. Her face felt hot and it took every ounce of willpower to refrain from screaming at her favorite brother. “Ron, I do not have a motive and you know it! I’m sorry that I kept it from you. I’m sorry that I’m this huge disappointment to you now, but you’re just going to have to learn to live with it. Draco doesn’t want to be like his father. He might not believe in everything that we do, but he sees the goodness in me. I see the goodness in him. He doesn’t want to become a killer. He just wants to live a life without all of that. He wants to live a life with me! And you know as well as I do that no one can find out about this right now or else we could both be killed. Please, please Ron. You must keep this a secret for me.”
“A secret?!” His voice had grown hoarse from the intense whispering and he began to raise it to a normal tone. Ginny tried to hush him so that the others wouldn’t get suspicious. She knew they were probably still scratching their heads at her hasty departure from the kitchen.
“A secret?” He spoke more softly this time. “Ginny, I don’t even know how the whole of Hogwarts hasn’t caught on by now. Start using your head and tell the prat to bugger off before you get yourself hurt. I mean, even if Malfoy doesn’t say anything - what about the other Slytherins? They’re bound to know something’s going on and one of them could tell their parents. If it gets back to You-Know-Who…”
He stopped talking and gave a sigh. The devastation on his face was more than she could bear. Ginny had never seen Ron so upset with her. She’d always looked up to him, constantly following him around. He was protective of her and made sure she was never lost in the shuffle of the brothers. She was absolutely miserable with guilt and didn’t know how she was going to make it up to him.
Ron stared at his feet again and his shoulders relaxed. She knew he couldn’t forgive her right away. She only hoped in time that things could be normal again. If only he could promise her he would keep it a secret. If he could just pretend to be the loving brother he always was.
“Ron…I’m so sorry. I know I’ve hurt you and that’s the last thing I wanted to do. It wasn’t like I went looking for this. And you know I’d never go to such risks if I didn’t truly feel the way I do about him. But right now…no one can know, yet.”
“Ginny, you know I can’t say anything. I can’t say anything because I have no choice but to keep it from people. Mum and Dad are liable to…”
“Mum and Dad won’t care--”
“They will! You know after they get over the shock they’ll forbid you to see him. What will the other members of the Order say if Arthur and Molly Weasley’s daughter is dating the son of a Death Eater? The Malfoys already do everything in their power to disgrace us. How do you think Mum and Dad’ll feel when their friends stop trusting them because of their daughter’s mistakes?”
Ginny hadn’t thought of what kind of damage it could do to her parents. She didn’t want that. But what if it wasn’t that way at all? What if this set an example to others that it was possible to change? That everyone had some goodness in them if they were only given a chance…a way to look inside themselves to find it.
“Ron, I love you. You’re my favorite brother and you always have been. I know this isn’t the most ideal situation for me, or Draco for that matter. And we’re both aware of it. He’s tried several times to call it off for fear of something happening to me and I won’t let him. I won’t leave him. You have to understand that this is my choice. I will do everything I can to keep it from ruining our family, but Ron - I have to try to be with him. I can’t give up yet. I just can’t. Imagine if…well just imagine if Hermione ran off with Viktor because you didn’t tell her how you truly felt about her. How would you feel?”
“What did you say?” Ron’s ears were pinker than she’d ever seen them.
“Like I said…you’re my favorite brother. I know you better than you know yourself. And I wish you’d stop worrying about me and start concentrating on your own relationships. The whole bloody world would have to be blind to not see how much you fancy Hermione.”
“Er…yeah. Um…” She saw him wrestling with denial again and then apparently crack under pressure. He slowly razed his gaze and spoke somewhat worriedly. “Do you think she feels the same way?”
She grinned slightly. “Of course, I do.” Ginny was glad the conversation softened a bit. “But you need to get your arse in gear. This is the last year for you guys and you won’t have nearly as many opportunities if you wait until N.E.W.T.s are behind you.”
Ron smiled somewhat. He took in another deep sigh and gently laid the prefects’ badge into Ginny’s hand. He looked as though he was struggling with what he was about to say. “I don’t like this. Not at all. But I’m going to trust you on this,” he said. “You’d better be careful and I pray to all that is holy that it works out. I don’t want to lose you, Ginny.”
She hugged him hard. Strangely enough she was more than glad that he found out. It had been smothering her for weeks and now she felt somewhat free. At least she’d have someone to confide in, whether he liked it or not.
“But, Harry’s gonna have a fit when he finds out…” his voice trailed off.
Ginny ignored his last comment. “I promise I’ll be careful. And not that you want to hear it, but so will Draco. He has more at risk than I do, anyway.”
“No kidding,” said Ron. “If he hurts you he’ll risk having my foot up his--“
“Okay, okay! I’ll settle for this ending on a relatively civil note, if you please.”
Ron started for the door and he turned to look at her. “Look, I have every intention of telling Hermione how I feel. Just…when the time’s right. Don’t worry.” And he exited the door, still pink and babbling to himself.
Ginny placed the badge further back in the drawer and shut it carefully. She knew she’d have to tell Draco and she began running the conversation back through her head very quickly. He wouldn’t like it, but she couldn’t keep this from him. It was time to keep honesty open between Draco and Ron. That said, she struggled with the thought of telling Ron about her dreams. But she couldn’t seem to get herself to do so…
Ginny felt Hermione shaking her awake the next morning as she tried to recall last night’s dream. She and Draco had met near a babbling brook in a very green, secluded valley. He often chose this setting for them. They lay near the water in each other’s arms, talking as long as they possibly could. The mornings always annoyed Ginny, even though she knew each day was getting her closer to the real thing. She threw off the covers and jumped out of bed. “Oooooooh!” Ginny yawned.
Hermione looked at her as she yawned. “How can you be tired? Each time I woke you were sleeping like a log. I was jealous. It’s so quiet here that it always takes me a few nights to get used to it.”
Ginny smirked. “Quiet? It isn’t quiet! Have you not heard Ronald banging on the ceiling with that broomstick of his? Been trying to shut the ghoul up for years now without success. I think you can’t sleep because you know he’s right above you.”
“Rubbish!” Hermione blushed. “I sleep just fine at school and I’m in the same tower as he is. Not quite as close, mind you, but almost.”
“Mmmhmm.” Ginny wasn’t buying it. She knew Hermione lay awake last night thinking of Ron, wishing she could change places with Harry and help Ron combat his problems of fighting the ghoul in the attic. She suppressed a giggle and they traipsed down the stairs to breakfast.
Though money was tight, Ginny’s mum and dad tried very hard to make the galleons stretch to provide hearty, wholesome meals three times a day. Today was no exception. They sat down to a table full of eggs, bacon, toast, kippers, oatmeal, orange and pumpkin juices and hot coffee.
“Tuck in, you lot.” Mrs. Weasley’s smile brightened up the kitchen and they all began to dish up the wonderful food, talking all the while. After their stomachs felt less empty Mr. Weasley began to ask Hermione about her summer holiday in Greece. She told them about different myths of the ancient Greeks, the abundance of olive trees, the fresh octopus served at the various restaurants and then she remembered the souvenirs.
“Oh! I almost forgot your souvenirs. I need to run up to Ginny’s room and get them.”
“I’ll go,” said Ron. “I need Dad to take my registration paper in for my Apparition test anyway. Gotta grab it from my room.”
“Excellent! They’re in a blue drawstring bag. I think I left it on Ginny’s vanity.”
Ron disappeared and they all began talking again as Ginny gathered up her plate and placed it in the sink. She glanced out the window at the beautiful day; vaguely listening to a conversation about a dream Harry had last night. Ginny suddenly froze with fear. Dream!
She tore up the stairs to her room, knowing what she was going to find before she reached the entrance. Ginny stood in the doorway watching Ron. Time suddenly stood still. He was standing by the vanity with the drawer wide open…clutching the blue drawstring bag with one hand. The other hand held a gleaming silver prefects’ badge with an S and a serpent engraved upon it.
Ginny began to speak, “Ron, I”
“Shut up!” His yell was a whisper, but it was a yell just the same. “You lied to me. Lied, Ginny! I’ve given you every opportunity to tell me and you just stood there and…and… Malfoy? What in bloody hell is the matter with you?”
She shut the door behind her and stepped toward him. “You have to understand something first.”
“Oh I understand perfectly. If I hadn’t been so thick all this time…I trusted you!” His face showed that of one who had been betrayed. Her stomach sickened. She could think of no way to explain this. Nothing she said would take away the anger and frustration Ron must be feeling.
Several seconds of uncomfortable silence followed. It felt like an eternity before he spoke again. “Explain. Now.”
Ginny took a breath and sat down slowly on the bed. “We’ve been together for awhile,”
“But Malfoy?”
“Ronald, will you let me finish? Then you can say what you will.”
Ron looked at his feet and she took it as a sign to continue.
“Like I said, we’ve been together for awhile. Early Spring, to be exact. It started pretty innocently – I met him coming into the Quidditch Pitch after practice one day. He made a snide comment and I had him backed into a corner. I can’t really explain how it evolved from there, but it did. I found myself wanting to see him in the corridors…trying to out-do each other’s childish remarks. Eventually we were making civil conversation. One thing lead to another and then it just happened. I know it’s difficult for you to understand and that’s one reason I didn’t say anything before. But there isn’t anything you can do about it, Ron. I’m sorry to be so blunt, but I care about him. I care about him more than I could possibly ever describe and he cares about me every bit as much.” She paused. “And before you say anything else…I trust him, too. I’d trust him with my life. that is how sure I am.”
Ginny took another breath and stared at the badge still in Ron’s open hand. She knew the conversation wasn’t over, but she let him have a moment to process what she’d told him.
He crossed the room and got on his knees directly in front of her. “Ginny,” he looked her in the eyes, “aside from the fact that you’re fraternizing with the enemy, have you even given a second thought to your safety? Our safety? Our cause? His father is a Death Eater!” Ron leapt up and began to pace to the other side of the room, yet again. She could see the denial setting in. “No, no, no – you are much smarter than this. You have a motive or something. What is it? Why are you doing this?”
Ginny stood up. She could feel the anger radiating to the tips of her hair. Her face felt hot and it took every ounce of willpower to refrain from screaming at her favorite brother. “Ron, I do not have a motive and you know it! I’m sorry that I kept it from you. I’m sorry that I’m this huge disappointment to you now, but you’re just going to have to learn to live with it. Draco doesn’t want to be like his father. He might not believe in everything that we do, but he sees the goodness in me. I see the goodness in him. He doesn’t want to become a killer. He just wants to live a life without all of that. He wants to live a life with me! And you know as well as I do that no one can find out about this right now or else we could both be killed. Please, please Ron. You must keep this a secret for me.”
“A secret?!” His voice had grown hoarse from the intense whispering and he began to raise it to a normal tone. Ginny tried to hush him so that the others wouldn’t get suspicious. She knew they were probably still scratching their heads at her hasty departure from the kitchen.
“A secret?” He spoke more softly this time. “Ginny, I don’t even know how the whole of Hogwarts hasn’t caught on by now. Start using your head and tell the prat to bugger off before you get yourself hurt. I mean, even if Malfoy doesn’t say anything - what about the other Slytherins? They’re bound to know something’s going on and one of them could tell their parents. If it gets back to You-Know-Who…”
He stopped talking and gave a sigh. The devastation on his face was more than she could bear. Ginny had never seen Ron so upset with her. She’d always looked up to him, constantly following him around. He was protective of her and made sure she was never lost in the shuffle of the brothers. She was absolutely miserable with guilt and didn’t know how she was going to make it up to him.
Ron stared at his feet again and his shoulders relaxed. She knew he couldn’t forgive her right away. She only hoped in time that things could be normal again. If only he could promise her he would keep it a secret. If he could just pretend to be the loving brother he always was.
“Ron…I’m so sorry. I know I’ve hurt you and that’s the last thing I wanted to do. It wasn’t like I went looking for this. And you know I’d never go to such risks if I didn’t truly feel the way I do about him. But right now…no one can know, yet.”
“Ginny, you know I can’t say anything. I can’t say anything because I have no choice but to keep it from people. Mum and Dad are liable to…”
“Mum and Dad won’t care--”
“They will! You know after they get over the shock they’ll forbid you to see him. What will the other members of the Order say if Arthur and Molly Weasley’s daughter is dating the son of a Death Eater? The Malfoys already do everything in their power to disgrace us. How do you think Mum and Dad’ll feel when their friends stop trusting them because of their daughter’s mistakes?”
Ginny hadn’t thought of what kind of damage it could do to her parents. She didn’t want that. But what if it wasn’t that way at all? What if this set an example to others that it was possible to change? That everyone had some goodness in them if they were only given a chance…a way to look inside themselves to find it.
“Ron, I love you. You’re my favorite brother and you always have been. I know this isn’t the most ideal situation for me, or Draco for that matter. And we’re both aware of it. He’s tried several times to call it off for fear of something happening to me and I won’t let him. I won’t leave him. You have to understand that this is my choice. I will do everything I can to keep it from ruining our family, but Ron - I have to try to be with him. I can’t give up yet. I just can’t. Imagine if…well just imagine if Hermione ran off with Viktor because you didn’t tell her how you truly felt about her. How would you feel?”
“What did you say?” Ron’s ears were pinker than she’d ever seen them.
“Like I said…you’re my favorite brother. I know you better than you know yourself. And I wish you’d stop worrying about me and start concentrating on your own relationships. The whole bloody world would have to be blind to not see how much you fancy Hermione.”
“Er…yeah. Um…” She saw him wrestling with denial again and then apparently crack under pressure. He slowly razed his gaze and spoke somewhat worriedly. “Do you think she feels the same way?”
She grinned slightly. “Of course, I do.” Ginny was glad the conversation softened a bit. “But you need to get your arse in gear. This is the last year for you guys and you won’t have nearly as many opportunities if you wait until N.E.W.T.s are behind you.”
Ron smiled somewhat. He took in another deep sigh and gently laid the prefects’ badge into Ginny’s hand. He looked as though he was struggling with what he was about to say. “I don’t like this. Not at all. But I’m going to trust you on this,” he said. “You’d better be careful and I pray to all that is holy that it works out. I don’t want to lose you, Ginny.”
She hugged him hard. Strangely enough she was more than glad that he found out. It had been smothering her for weeks and now she felt somewhat free. At least she’d have someone to confide in, whether he liked it or not.
“But, Harry’s gonna have a fit when he finds out…” his voice trailed off.
Ginny ignored his last comment. “I promise I’ll be careful. And not that you want to hear it, but so will Draco. He has more at risk than I do, anyway.”
“No kidding,” said Ron. “If he hurts you he’ll risk having my foot up his--“
“Okay, okay! I’ll settle for this ending on a relatively civil note, if you please.”
Ron started for the door and he turned to look at her. “Look, I have every intention of telling Hermione how I feel. Just…when the time’s right. Don’t worry.” And he exited the door, still pink and babbling to himself.
Ginny placed the badge further back in the drawer and shut it carefully. She knew she’d have to tell Draco and she began running the conversation back through her head very quickly. He wouldn’t like it, but she couldn’t keep this from him. It was time to keep honesty open between Draco and Ron. That said, she struggled with the thought of telling Ron about her dreams. But she couldn’t seem to get herself to do so…
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