It's OK To Not Be Ok...Right?

60. Coming Clean

Ron and Luna were pacing the hallway. Draco had left about fifteen minutes ago to go down and help them. So what was taking them so long? Ron was feeling sick to his stomach. All he wanted to do was to run up to his room and down a few bottles before coming back down. Then he would be brave. Then, he would be able to save the day. Why was he so pathetic without his drink? And why did he not have a bottle in his book bag for emergencies? He cursed at himself and promised that he would fix that when he got back up to his dorm again. He hated that he needed the alcohol. He knew it was not healthy. He knew that if the others knew, they would be disgusted with him. But he needed it. He couldn't function without it.

It had started after Fred's memorial service. They had headed back to the house, where the marquee from Bill and Fleur's wedding was erected, and everyone ate trays of sandwiches and bowls of stew as well as a few glasses of Firewhiskey and Butterbeer. That was when George broke out the gin, saying it was Fred's favourite drink. A muggle invention where you add gin to lemonade. Tasted bloody great. Then Bill produced wine for everyone to try another muggle drink, and Charlie conjured up something called vodka. On its own, it was disgusting, but with sparkling apple juice or an energy drink Ginny liked called Red Bull, it tasted not bad. By the end of the night, Ron was as drunk as a skunk as they say. But he felt great. For the first time in months, he was happy and slept all night. He woke up the following morning with a hangover, yes, but he soon found the meaning of 'hair of the dog' as Charlie put it. Basically, it was that more alcohol brought the 'buzz' back and stopped the headache.

And this became how he coped. How he found himself not having to deal with the pain and the misery that came with losing someone he was so close to. And then there was the incredible feeling of guilt that he had. Guilt he could not get rid of even now while he was with Luna. Something he wasn't yet ready to open up about. But drinking once again helped him to forget his guilt.

"Ron!" Luna said, pulling him out of his own thoughts.

"What?" He asked, looking back at her. It was only then that he heard the shouting.

"Let us the fuck in Ron!" Ginny's muffled shouts could be heard.

"I can't remember which stone it is," Luna said trying them all.

"It's the one that is shaped like a diamond," Ron said pressing the right one on the wall. But nothing happened. "Shit!"

"What?" Hermione called through the wall.

"It won't work," Ron called back pressing it again. "I can't get it to open."

There was banging from the other side of the wall. "If this is a game Weasley," Blaise said banging on the door. "It's not fucking funny!"

"No seriously, we can't open the wall," Luna called back once again trying to open it.

"Aw fuck me they are coming!" Blaise screamed.

"Everyone out of my way!" Sloane called. She sounded further away than everyone else. Ron just had time to pull Luna out of the entryway and to the side before the wall blew apart! Large chunks of stone and rubble as well as large dust clouds filled the hallway, and Ron and Luna watched as Hermione, Blaise, Ginny, Sloane, and Draco jumped through with Harry randomly floating next to Sloane.

"Sloane they are coming!" Harry shouted clutching his ankle. Ron could now see the blood all over his hands and foot. He felt very sick.

Sloane turned around and cast another spell at the wall but very quietly. "Repario." The dust, rubble, and stone that had burst into the hallway seemed to seep back in on itself as the stone pieced itself together building the wall back up around them.

Just in time as the last piece of stone set itself into place, there was banging from the other side. "We need to move before that thing learns how to use the new toy that Ron so generously left them," Hermione stated.