By the time darkness falls, Ron’s fairly certain she’s not coming home tonight.
Dad prods the fire with the poker, then settles back in his chair, twisting a bit of wire around a spool. He’s deconstructing some muggle machine for parts, hoping to use them in the radio he’s been repairing.
“You should go to bed, Ron.”
“I’ll wait up.” Ron says, pulling his feet up on the sofa. “She would wait up for me.”
Smiling tightly, Dad nods. Ron rests his chin on one knee.
“Dad?” Ron asks quietly.
“Hm?”
“What was Mum like when you met her? When you got married?”
“Oh.” Dad laughs, his eyebrows jumping. “She was… she was quite the firecracker.”
Ron wrinkles his nose.
“When we met at Hogwarts, she was the biggest voice in every class. The loudest laugh, the first quips, the fastest answers.” Dad says fondly. “I quite disliked her at first.”
“What changed?” Ron asks, thinking of his immediate dislike for Hermione, and Harry’s for Draco.
“I reluctantly admitted that she is very funny.” Dad says, setting his spool of wire down, looking at Ron. “And that it felt like sunshine on my face anytime she’d laugh at one of my jokes. I tutored her all through Charms class, every year from second.”
“You tutored Mum?” Ron says with a disbelieving scoff. Not because he doesn’t think Dad is capable, but because the idea of Molly Prewett sitting still long enough to have Dad teach her anything is ludicrous.
“That I did.” Dad smiles, leaning back in his chair. “She couldn’t stand our Charms professor, and skipped three quarters of the classes.”
“ Mum skived off class?” Ron laughs.
“Don’t tell her I told you.” Dad chuckles.
Ron snickers, staring into the glowing embers lighting the room.
There’s a squeak on the stairs, and Ron leans forward in his chair to see who’s coming down.
“Luna?” Dad calls over his shoulder.
The footsteps pause, then grow closer until Luna is lit by the dying fire.
“Good evening.” She says vaguely.
“Ginny left ten minutes ago for your house.” Dad says. “You must’ve passed her in the dark without knowing.”
“Oh.” Luna says, looking back. “I’ll just be going, then.”
“Goodnight.” Dad says easily, picking up his wire again.
The backdoor shuts quietly.
“How’d you know Ginny left?” Ron asks. Dad nods at the clock on the wall, where Ginny’s hand is pointed at travelling .
“I also know they’re seeing each other.” Dad adds in a whisper. Ron pretends to not be surprised, but he must not do a good job of it. “I think they make a lovely pair.”
“Yeah.” Ron says. He settles back against the sofa, smiling.
“Your mother used to sneak into the boys’ dorm.” Dad says.
“Ew, Dad!”
“No no no,” Dad laughs. “Not at night, during the day. She would leave jokes. She put a fart cushion under my pillow once.”
