A New Beginning (Harry & Hermione from "Harry Potter")

The Dungeon

Weeks had passed. Ron's anger towards Harry and Hermione had started to fade away and was replaced with longing instead. He was still hurt that they had left him out, but he felt both of their absence so much.

Malfoys didn't give much food. They opened the dungeon once a day, threw a loaf of bread at them and closed the door. Ron had lost lots of weight, but he would never give information to Malfoys about where Harry was. In fact, he didn't have any idea about it either as he knew they would have already moved from the last place he had left them.

He was not alone in the dungeon as Luna, Ollivander, and Griphook were also inside, but he barely talked to them. He was playing with the deluminator instead. A murmuring sound came out of it every time he opened it, but he couldn't figure out what it was saying.

"What is the thing you play with all the time? I mean, the light thing," asked Luna all of a sudden. Ron turned around.

"It's a deluminator. Dumbledore left it to me after he died. I always thought it was just used to collect and spread light whenever I needed, but it's trying to tell me something, I don't know."

"As far as I hear, it is saying 'Hogwarts.'"

"What? How do you understand what it says?" Ron asked, baffled.

"Maybe you are not ready to understand what it says, that's a guess," Luna answered. Ron had no idea what she meant as he was hearing only a meaningless whisper.

"Maybe it is trying to say that you will find whatever you are trying to find at Hogwarts," Luna continued, "but I don't think you should go there until you can hear what the deluminator is saying."

Ron decided to change the topic. He was dying to talk to someone about what he had been keeping inside for weeks.

"Luna, can I talk to you about something?" Ron asked, making sure Ollivander and Griphook did not hear him.

"To me? Sure," said Luna, also lowering her voice. She seemed bewildered.

"You asked me why I argued with Harry and Hermione a few weeks ago, do you remember?"

"Yes, and you said nothing, so I didn't ask more about it."

"I didn't want to talk about it back then, but as I miss them so much, I feel like I have done something wrong. I mean, I feel right but also wrong. It's complicated."

"What is it?" wondered Luna. She wanted to listen.

"Well, I got angry with them because they were leaving me out of everything they did as I was injured. They said they were trying to speed up my healing process, but I felt like 'the useless and stupid friend of Harry Potter' and-"

"You couldn't stand being there because you felt as if they did not need you anymore, and you didn't care about leaving them in the middle of nowhere?"

"Well yeah, thanks for judging me," mumbled Ron. Maybe I made a mistake by talking to her about this, he thought.

"No, I was not trying to judge you! If you felt like I was, I'm really sorry. I was just trying to understand what went through your mind at that moment. Was I right?"

"Actually, yeah, you were quite right."

"Well, if you ask me, I think you have a little bit of an inferiority complex. You compare yourself to Harry and Hermione all the time and feel like they both are better than you are. I mean, why don't you try to explore your own capabilities?" asked Luna.

"Well, there is one more reason why I left them," said Ron. Then, he became silent. He hesitated to tell her more.

"What is it?" asked Luna. "I mean, if you want to tell me-"

"I think there was something going on between them," said Ron all of a sudden.

"You mean romantically?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "I was always afraid of him and her getting together at some point."

"Did you like her? Was that the reason?" asked Luna.

"No, of course not! We fight all the time, and I just don't look at her that way. Our relationship is really similar to me and Ginny's. I mean, I feel like she is from my family, just like Harry. I just thought if they got together at some point, then I would always be out. They are both brilliant and clever, and I'm like 'the useless side-kick.'"

"Why would you be side-kick if both Harry and Hermione are brilliant? You are also brilliant, I mean look at you. You have been fighting with You-Know-Who for... How many years exactly?"

"Seven to be precise, just beside Harry and Hermione," Ron said, looking embarrassed.

"You are Harry's family, he confides in you. All these years, you have been fighting side-by-side. Is this your definition of useless?" asked Luna.

"Well, if you put it that way..."

"People mock me all the time, I mean even you did at some point, didn't you? Because I'm different than the others. But this doesn't bother me at all, I like who I am. I think you should feel the same about yourself. Love yourself and don't think about the others. Focus on who you really are," said Luna. Ron couldn't believe how mature she sounded. She understood what he felt perfectly well, which was shocking because no one ever did.

"I can't believe I left them behind. Now, look where I'm stuck at! I don't even know if they are alive or not!" Ron said anxiously.

"I believe your roads will cross again. This is not an obstacle the three of you can't get over. I have seen you all, you are quite good friends to each other," said Luna.

"I hope you are right," said Ron, thinking about his best friends and hoping that they were still somewhere out there.