in love with the fire | ron weasley x reader

home at last | three

As we approached Platform 9 3/4, my heart raced as if it were my first time walking through that wall. As if it were my first time going home.

Once we all made our way onto the platform, we all loaded our trunks onto the train.

"Y/N, you have everything, right?" Molly asked while embracing me. "If you forgot something write to me, please. I'll have it sent right away."

"I will, don't worry." Her hug was warm and safe. She's the closest thing to a mother I'll ever have.

"I can't wait to see you at Christmas, my dear. Now you run off, get on that train!" She held both sides of my face as she spoke then turned to embrace Ginny.

Molly was eventually satisfied with her goodbyes, and we boarded the train. Ginny ran off to find Dean Thomas while the four of us were lucky enough to have found a compartment to sit in.

I sat next to the window. Ron sat beside me, Harry in front of me, and Hermione beside him. Harry was deep into a rant about Draco supposedly being a Death Eater.

"So what was Draco doing with that weird-looking cabinet? And who were all those people? Don't you see? It was a ceremony. An initiation."

Hermione was visibly fed up with his accusations.

"Stop it, Harry. I know where you're going with this" She shook her head.

"It's happened. He's one of them."

Ron was visibly confused. "One of what?"

I turned to him to catch him up to speed on the topic. "Harry is under the impression that Draco Malfoy is now a Death Eater."

Ron looked visibly amused, now interested in the conversation. "You're barking. What would You-Know-Who want with a sod like Malfoy?

Harry was determined to make us see his point of view. "Well then what's he doing in Borgin & Burkes? Browsing for furniture?"

"It's a creepy shop, and he's a creepy bloke."

"Look, his father is a Death Eater. It only makes sense! Besides, Hermione saw it with her own eyes." Harry quickly turned the attention to Hermione.

"I told you, I don't know what I saw." Hermione was looking Harry dead in the eyes at this point.

"I say we change the topic." I placed my hands down firmly on my lap.

"I need to get some air." Harry then stood up and grabbed his robes and exited the compartment.

"I'd say that went well." Hermione and I both turned to look at Ron. I laughed, but Hermione scoffed lightly and turned back to her book.

Ron and I sat in silence for a moment before he finally spoke. "Reckon we'll have any new professors this year? Seems to happen quite often."

I was about to say no until I remembered Harry mentioning a former professor returning. "I believe we are. Harry mentioned this morning at breakfast that he and Dumbledore went to visit a man who was a professor at Hogwarts years ago, Horace Slughorn if I'm not mistaken. I believe he'll be teaching potions."

"Where was I when that conversation happened?"

"Asleep. Like usual."

"You should've woken me up!"

"And get the life smacked out of me by another pillow? I'd rather not."

Ron lightly nudged his shoulder into mine before circling back to the new professor topic.

"If this Professor Slughorn is going to be teaching potions, then what's Snape going to teach?"

Both of our faces fell, and at the same time, we spoke with dread in our voices.