Blue Eyes and Freckles | Ron Weasley x Reader

Chapter 7 "The Nightmare"

You were still stunned, so you couldn't move. You heard another body hit the ground and out of the corner of your eye you saw Malfoy's bleach blonde head fly across the corridor. You could no longer see him, but you heard shuffling which you knew meant that he was now on his feet. Just barely, you could see the tainted red hair that you knew only belonged to one Ronald Weasley. Your heart leaped when you saw it, but you quickly remembered the situation at hand. Then, it hit you. You felt like your brain had been stunned along with your body. You could no longer form solid thoughts and everything began fading from view. The last thing you saw was a purple flash of light before you gave in to the darkness enveloping your body.
    You woke up in a field. Soon, you recognized it as the land around the lake in front of the school. As you turned, you could see the whole school behind you. The grass was so very soft, like the hair of a cat, and you got the sudden urge to lay down in it. The sky was blue; it was a perfect day. You took a deep breath as a feeling of peace and ease washed over you. Suddenly, that peace and ease was gone. You were being suffocated. You weren't sure, however, what it was that was cutting off your air. Frantically, you searched around until you felt a weight on top of you. There was Draco Malfoy, sitting atop of you as you lay, hands around your neck. He was squeezing as hard as he could with a sinister grin on his face. You opened your mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Your ears picked up the sound of footsteps running towards you. It was what appeared to be a lion. The lion bared his teeth and roared ferociously, causing Draco to scramble away.
    "Y/n." The lion said. "Y/n"
    You gasped as your eyes shot open. You were in your dorm room and you were no longer in your full-body bind. You were lying in your bed, someone sitting next to you. On top of that, you were also staring into the ocean blue eyes of Ron Weasley. Again, you were hit with a wave of realization of the events that took place, even harder than the last time due to the extremity of your dream. However, you did not pass out. You were too stunned to do anything other than sit up.
    "Hey, lay down." He said. "You've had a rough night."
    "What time is it?" You asked.
    "11"
    You laid back down. You were worried that it would be some wild hour of the night and felt guilty for him waiting for you.
    "I'll go now," He started. "I, um, just wanted to make sure you were okay before I left."
    He stood to leave, but you grabbed his arm from where you lay.
    "No."
    "What?"
    "Stay. Please."
    You looked at him with sad eyes. Your heart felt heavy for some reason and you knew that the only thing that would make you feel better was his presence. You still had deep bruises from being pinned down by Draco and you knew that having Ron with you was the best distraction from the pain.
    "Are you sure?"
    You nodded. He stood again.
    "Where are you going?" You asked.
    "To the bed next to yours? You have an empty dormitory, you know." He smiled at you and you nearly melted.
    "Could you sleep in here tonight?" You opened the covers as an invitation.
    You could tell he was turning red, even in the dark. He thought a moment before answering.
    "Ok."
    He slid in, his body heat warming you instantly. You were very thankful that you both fit into the small dormitory bed, even if it was just barely. You were also thankful that you had the dormitory to yourself, and decided that for now on, you would be more appreciative of it.
    He laid on his back and you rested your head atop his chest. His rhythmic breaths put you to sleep almost instantly.

    You awoke to rain hitting the window. Ron had tucked you under his arm and his body traced yours. You were struck with a major headache as you tried to remember how he had gotten there. You remembered your dream, but there was nothing before that. All you remember was waking up in your bed and asking Ron to stay.
    As you struggled to grasp the memory of the previous night, Ron stirred into consciousness. His eyes fluttered open and he looked around for a moment before locking his eyes with yours and smiling.
    "Dreadful morning, isn't it?" He asked, rather groggily.
    "I suppose." You agreed and sat up. "What happened last night?"
    "What do you mean?" Ron looked confused.
    "I know something horrible happened, but I can't remember what it was."
    Starting with his following you to the library, he retold the story of the night before with a good amount of detail, and as he did, it all came back to you and a wave of disgust engulfed you. He said that he had seen Draco trying to make a move on you while you were clearly trying to resist as best you could. He had shot incantations at him, blasting him backward, causing you to fall. As you were unconscious, he continued to battle Draco until Ron used a blinding spell on him, forcing Draco to cower away. Ron had picked you up and carried you back to the common room. There, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny had been sitting, waiting for the two of you to return from the library. Obviously, you unconscious in Ron's arms was not what they expected your return to be like. They had all come up to your dorm with Ron to help get you into bed as quietly as possible. By this point, Ron had to tell them what happened so they knew how to help. When they were finished, they all waited for Ron by the door, but Ron told them that he wanted to wait until you were awake in case you needed anything. About a half an hour later you woke up, and you remembered everything past that.
    "...Wow." You said under your breath.
    "Yeah." Ron agreed. "I told them not to pester you about it, so whenever you are ready to go to breakfast we can. And if you don't think you can handle class and people today, you don't have to." He added quickly.
    You thought for a moment. Your brain was still a little foggy and the thought of being near a wand horrified you, but you didn't want Ron to think you could be weakened by anything.
    "I think I can do it." You hoped he wouldn't be able to hear the shakiness in your voice.
    "Okay. Shall we, then?"
    The two of you got up from the bed and walked down to the common room. Everyone was waiting for you when you arrived. Ginny was sitting curled up against Harry on the couch in front of the fire place and Hermione was staring rather blankly into the smoldered wood. It was shocking to not see her head in a book. Ginny was the first to notice you.
    "Y/n! You're awake!" She jumped up to give you a hug. You felt two other sets of arms around you and you realized that Harry and Hermione had joined in.
    "Hey guys." They were all looking at you with sad eyes. "Ready for breakfast?" You asked to shift the mood.
    The group of you began your walk to the Great Hall. You walked practically glued to Ron's side. At breakfast you made sure to sit directly next to him. The twins came up to you to check in, which you were surprised about. You knew them as such humorous people; it was weird to see them remotely serious.
    "I'm gonna murder him, I will." Fred told you.
    "Y/n, just say the word and he's gone. We'll make it look like a suicide." George said.
    "We're masters of not being caught." Fred added.
    You reassured them that there was no need to murder anyone and you explained that you didn't want to cause more trouble than has already been caused. They stalked off, giving Malfoy the death stare across the hall. You turned to look at him— huge mistake. He was grinning at you. The same sinister grin he had plastered on his face in your dream.
    Suddenly, you weren't hungry anymore. You tugged at Ron's sleeve to signal that you wanted to leave. Harry realized that you were trying to leave and offered to take Ron's place since he hadn't finished eating yet. Ron looked at you to let you choose.
    You knew that Harry would never do anything to harm you and only offered because he noticed his best friend hadn't finished eating yet, but your stomach couldn't help but drop at the thought of being alone with another boy who wasn't Ron. It felt as if there was a cage around your throat as your eyes began to water. You gave Ron a look that showed him your answer without you having to vocalize it.
    "No, I can take her." He said.
    You mouthed 'thank you' to him and he nodded.

    You made it through the next few days successfully without crying. You still had a slight fear of anyone pointing a wand at you, but you could get over it without making a scene. As for Ron, however, you desperately needed him by your side at all times. You had gotten better at letting him leave you while you were in groups of people, but you had difficulty being alone with people. It was incredibly strange to be so dependent on one person because you had never been this way in your whole life.
    You had grown up with both of your parents constantly working and you'd stayed home alone since the age of 7. You had always been able to fend for yourself and knew if you were thrown out in to the world at any given moment, you would do just fine. But you didn't feel that way anymore. When Ron was gone, you felt like a part of you was missing. Being able to locate him gave you a sense of ease and it was the only time you didn't feel on edge.
    He didn't seem to mind either. He followed you gladly everywhere you went, even if you didn't ask. You would always catch him gazing at you while doing homework, eating, and even walking. It made the both of you blush, but you never really talked about it. Occasionally, your hands would brush up against each other. Every time it happened, your heart did about a million backflips and you felt yourself getting increasingly dizzy and your face would flame up.
    The only time you and Ron were separated for long periods of time was as you slept. Ron hadn't come back since the night of the incident and you couldn't help but hope he would. You longed for his touch as the nights dragged on, especially when you woke up, sweating, from a nightmare about Draco. Yet you still hadn't cried.

    One evening, back in the common room after dinner, Harry announced that him and Ginny were dating. Hermione squealed with joy and you couldn't help but smile yourself. Ron looked conflicted for a minute and then congratulated him, patting him on the back as he did.
    "You're not mad?" Harry asked, shocked.
    "No mate, honestly. But if you hurt her I hurt you." Ron responded seriously.
    Ginny laughed. "He's only joking." She kissed Harry on the cheek.
    "No I'm not!" Ron said, angry he wasn't being taken seriously.
    A few minutes later Hermione pulled you to the side.
    "Are you dating Ron? You can tell me. I just want to know, I won't tell anyone else." She asked.
    Felt your heart drop as you answered, "No."
    "Why not?" She asked, puzzled.
    "I don't know. I don't think he likes me like that." You were mad that Hermione had ruined your happy mood.
    "Y/n, of course he does. He wants to spend every waking minute with you, haven't you noticed?" She looked at you like you were insane.
    "I think he just feels bad." You looked longingly past her shoulder at Ron who was laughing with Harry and Ginny.
    Then, he turned his attention toward you and Hermione's conversation. Your eyes locked for a split second and you looked down quickly, embarrassed.
    "Maybe a little, but he would never do what he's doing for you for me, and I've been one of his best friends since he was 11."
    Maybe he did like you.
    "I'm sure he'll ask you out eventually." She reassured you. "Just give him time, he's shy."
    With this new idea planted in your head, you couldn't wait for that day to come.