Meet Me At The Black Lake ; Ron Weasley

chapter 11

The snow had melted, and spring had officially begun. The grass was greener, the buds were sprouting, and magical creatures were roaming the fields and the forests. New friends, new boyfriend, grades slowly climbing, things were going great for Willow. Spring is the season of rebirth and renewal, and she hoped that this could be the official birth of a beautiful time for her. Oh, how wrong she was.

* * *

"Can I open my eyes yet? You're taking forever," Willow groaned.

"Not yet! They're almost done, don't worry," Ron said, brushing the last layer of dark green nail polish on Willow's pinky.

They had been sat in this position for almost an hour. Ron sat behind her, arms wrapped around her shoulders, carefully painting her nails. He wouldn't let her peek, it was going to be a surprise.

"I am regretting this more and more every second," Willow teased.

"You'll love it, it's a beautiful piece of art" Ron said, reaching for a black nail art pen that Willow's aunt had given her years ago.

"I'm not so sure about that. Whatever, it'll all be worth it since I get to paint your nails after," Ron didn't take much convincing, in fact he agreed to let Willow paint his nails the second she agreed to let him do hers.

"Yeah, yeah," Ron said, focused on writing small letters on each of Willow's nails.

The two sat in comfortable silence while Ron finished up.

"Okay, they're done, you can open your eyes," Ron leaned back, admiring his work.

Willow immediately opened her eyes and lifted her hands up in front of her.

They were forest green, and spelled out "I love Ron W ♡".

Willow burst out laughing, and so did Ron.

"They're definitely something..." Willow said, still laughing.

"How dare you insult my art like that! You're gonna pay for this..." Ron said, faking anger. He pushed Willow down on the floor, locking her in so she couldn't move.

"Heyyy," Willow stretched, wiggling around to get free.

Ron leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Happiness and calm filled the room.

"Okay, my turn to paint yours now," Willow said, pushing Ron off of her, and pulling out the colours, ready to make a "beautiful work of art" of her own.

* * *

"You're so special," Blaise said, attempting to braid Luna's long blonde hair.  They sat on a big rock in the forest, Luna was turning Blaise into a nature lover. 

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" Luna said, but the blush on her cheeks meant she already knew.

"Oh, shut up.  You know it's a compliment.  You're the most interesting and beautiful girl I've ever seen," Blaise whispered the last part in her ear, making her cheeks grow even redder.

Luna pulled her hair over her shoulder, making Blaise stop braiding it.  She turned around, and kissed him deeply.  He leaned into the kiss, caressing her cheeks.

"I really like you, Blaise," Luna said once they pulled away.

"I really like you too, Lovegood," Blaise said, and pulled her in again, never wanting to let go.

* * *

Pansy was trying very hard to make Willow jealous. If she was trying to be subtle, it definitely wasn't working. The second she noticed Willow in the hall, she would shove her mouth onto Draco's. It was honestly kind of disgusting. No matter how hard she tried, Pansy could never succeed in making Willow jealous, since no part of her wanted to be with Draco. At all.

"God, can they get a room?" Ron said, rolling his eyes. He and Willow were in the three broomsticks, drinking butterbeer, and Pansy and Draco were at it again at another table.

"I know, right," Willow agreed, sipping hers.

The two carried random conversation until their cups were drained, then got ready to head back to the castle.

"She must be getting paid or something to be dating Weasley. I bet she doesn't like him at all," Pansy said from her table. It didn't look like Ron had heard, but Willow sure had, and she wasn't having it.

Knowing full well that Draco and Pansy were both watching, she wrapped her arms around Ron's neck and kissed him passionately. It took him by surprise, but he kissed back right away. Everyone in the room could feel the butterflies.

Once they pulled away, Willow could see a look of shock and disgust on Pansy's face. She smiled to herself slightly, glad to prove her wrong. Show her that she was happy. She was surprised to see a fire in Draco's eyes. Anger. Jealousy..?

She shrugged it off, not wanting to spend another second looking at her ex-boyfriend and best friend, and the two left the pub.

* * *

It was after dark when Willow got the feeling. It was just a slight tingle at the back of her neck, but it got her attention. Something bad was happening.

She slowly left her bed, pulling on a hoodie and stepping into her shoes. She tiptoed out of the room and down the hall. She didn't know what she was looking for, but she felt her legs leading the way. She eventually reached the seventh floor, left corridor. The room of requirement. The doors opened quietly, letting her in. She was a bit confused, since it's usually harder to get in, but she supposed it was a different case today.

Willow walked through the doors to find a duelling room.

Ron and Draco were standing a few feet away from each other, wands out, in duelling stances. They were throwing random spells at each other, but it was obvious Draco was winning. Ron had holes in his shirt, bruises on his face, and dishevelled hair. Draco looked good as new. Besides the look of pure hatred on his face, although that was quite a normal look for him.

"Flipendo!" Ron shouted, flicking his wand harshly. Draco blocked it.

"Stupify!" Draco cried, and Ron dropped to the floor, unconcious.

"Petrificus totalus!" Willow came to her senses and pulled her wand out on Draco. He barely glanced at her before freezing and falling to the floor, unmoving. Only his eyes were darting around, looking at Willow in horror.

She shoved her wand in her pocket and ran over to Ron, dropping to her knees beside him.

"Ron? Wake up," she said, shaking him. Anger rushed through her veins, she stared Draco dead in the eye, furious.

"What the fuck is your problem? I don't know if you're jealous, or just picking fights as always. Frankly, I don't care. But I won't have you going around and fighting my boyfriend. You have no right to be jealous. If you wanted me, you should have treated me right while you had me," Willow said, tears of frustration filling her eyes. She knew he couldn't reply, but he could hear her.

"Willow?" she snapped her head around. Ron was opening his eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" she stroked his hair comfortingly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What happened?"

"I should be asking you the same thing. How did you get here? Why did you come and duel Draco?" Willow had so many questions.

"I'm sorry. I found a note on my bed from him that said he wanted to duel. See who the best man for you was. I couldn't resist, I went," Ron looked away, ashamed.

"You're so stupid. You moron. You're such a fucking idiot-" she was cut off by Ron's lips on hers. Suddenly, nothing was wrong. Draco wasn't petrified on the floor next to them. The anxiety and frustration faded, and she felt safe. Always safe with Ron.

   Willow sent one last dirty look to Draco, then pulled Ron up and rushed out of the room.  Leaving Draco immobile on the floor.