If You Love Her (Ron Weasley)

Nineteen.

It didn't take long to get back into the swing of the routine of a school day after the Christmas holidays, and it quickly felt as though we had never been away from the place. Seeing the same faces, going to the same classes, revising the same topics. It was all very mundane. 

Of course, there was the weekly DA meetings which managed to keep life exciting for some of us, but even that wasn't quite enough to rid me of my increasing anxiety, as our exams crept ever closer. It felt like the days were flying by in the blink of an eye. 

I hadn't managed to get any alone time with Ron since the night we got back to school and we had exchanged gifts, although part of me felt it was probably a good thing. I was getting in too deep and it was a dangerous game, especially with a war brewing, he was too important and too close to the chaos for somebody like me. 

Still, I couldn't help but smile whenever I caught a glimpse of the poppy charm settled on my chest, the all-too familiar butterflies bursting into life whenever I remembered that night in the common room. 

Walking down to breakfast this particular morning, I was late, and the atmosphere in the Hall was frosty and uncomfortable. It felt as though everyone had received some terrible news, all at once, and I needed to know what was going on. 

"You all look as though someone's died," I chuckled as I sat down at the empty space between Dean and Neville, both of whom were leaning in opposite directions, Dean scanning Seamus' newspaper, whilst Neville was staring, wide-eyed at Hermione's edition of the Daily Prophet.

Nobody spoke, and I frowned, leaning closer to Neville, and as soon as my eyes landed on the front page, I understood. 

I felt Neville fumble for my hand beneath the table, and I allowed him to grasp it immediately, noting how clammy he was and how violently he was trembling. His face was pale and he looked utterly terrified. 

Because there she was. 

Bellatrix fucking Lestrange. 

The bitch who had ruined my best friends life. Tortured two of the best people the Wizarding community had ever known, and left their son without parents. I felt sick. 

The front page stated that she had escaped from Azkaban, along with numerous other of You-Know-Who's other followers, and whilst Sirius Black was being blamed my stomach sank. It felt like the most concrete proof so far that You-Know-Who was indeed back and at large. 

"Are you okay?" I muttered into Neville's ear, and he shook his head subtly. 

"Want to leave?" I asked, and he nodded, still staring at the paper. It didn't appear anybody else had noticed that Neville was so deeply impacted by the news, as everyone was too engrossed in reading the articles to look around. 

I stood up from the table, and Neville slowly followed. 

You may be thinking at this point in my story that my feelings for Ron Weasley is the most defining thing in my life, but it isn't. It wasn't before my fifth year, and it wasn't in the years which followed. There is more to me than being a love interest, more to me than being someone's inspiration. I am, first and foremost, a daughter. A sister. A friend. I am Neville Longbottom's best friend. And I never, ever lost sight of that. 

As we sat on the stairs, alone and afraid, I had never felt more needed. I had never felt more important. He trembled in my arms, and I let him. He held my hands, and I held his as though they were the most important hands in my world, because they were. 

He had always expressed his fears that such a thing would happen, and I had always told him that it never could, because one's nightmares simply did not come true. It was ludicrous to imagine that You-Know-Who's most loyal followers could ever escape from the most secure prison in the world. 

I assured him it wasn't something he needed to worry about. 

And now, here we sat. It was his reality. The people who ruined his entire life were out in the world, free and able to do as they pleased.

As much as I would tell him they wouldn't bother coming after him, I was scared for him. I would never, ever let him know that, of course. But I was terrified that they would make it their mission to come after the son of the Auror couple they had destroyed, to complete the set. And I was beside myself with fear that I simply wouldn't be enough to protect them. 

"Are you okay?" We had been sat for almost half an hour before Neville spoke, and his words broke my heart. How was this incredible boy possibly thinking of me before himself at a time like this?

"I just want you to be okay, Nev," I shook my head, and he wrapped an arm around my waist, allowing me to lean against him. I breathed in his scent, aware of how it was the most familiar thing in my life, it made me feel happy and safe and secure.

"I'm okay, so long as I've got you, and Dean," He said, and I looked at him, wondering if he would mention my brother, "and Seamus,"

I breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that although my older brother had been the world's biggest twat over the past few months, he was still important to people, he still mattered. I knew he would eventually come around, and I only prayed everyone would still care for him when he did.

"You've got me until my last breath," I promised.

"I hope that's a long time to come," Neville smiled, although it was a sad smile. 

"How are you feeling?" I asked, and Neville's face fell, a serious expression taking over. 

"I feel sick," He said, bluntly. "But I feel motivated, I can't explain it," 

"Please don't go looking for revenge," I half laughed, half warned, and he smiled down at me. 

"If it comes to me, I can't promise you I won't take the opportunity," He joked, although I knew for a fact if Bellatrix Lestrange appeared before us at the bottom of this staircase, he would waste no time in avenging his Mother and Father, and I couldn't promise I would make much of an effort to stop him. 

In fact, I would rather enjoy standing by his side, holding his hand, whilst he inflicted the most insufferable pain imaginable on one of the most horrific, evil witches to grace the face of the earth. 

After all, he was my Nev, and I was his Aoife. And he would have my heart and my hand until the end.