About You, Ron Weasley.

Chapter Two

Chapter Two 

"Slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball." 

The feast had started;

Surrounded by delicious foods and desserts, Rue knew that her parents would reprimand her if she didn't at least have her fill of meat and vegetables before tucking into a slice of something sweeter. Thankfully, they came in separate servings, as Percy Weasley so graciously explained to her – with a hint of pity on his face for the first year.

"You should come over to the Burrow – you'll love mum's cooking – Ron can't get enough of it–" Percy tells her, and Rue perks up at the mention of food. He laughs, and looks at Ron. "Ronald, I think I've found your soulmate." The two exchange glances, and the two share laughter as Rue returns to her steak.

"When does the pudding arrive," Rue asks Percy. "Is there anything chocolate at the feast... I wonder if they have brownies... Or a nice treacle tart..." She trailed off, eyeing the table; as if waiting for the sweeter foods to appear.

"Soon," Percy reassures her, and Ron snorts quietly. "Shut up, Ronald." Percy's tugged into another conversation by Harry, who Rue leans closer to hear – though she doesn't have to – her senses are heightened – the full moon is this week, so it's not that alarming to her.

"Say, Percy. Who's that man that keeps looking over here?" He asks, and Percy looks over at the staff table, and back at Harry, a smile on his lips.

"That's Professor William Potter... I thought for a minute you two might be related – But, then I'd realized most of the Potter family were... You know... And Potter's quite a common last name, so– But, there were rumors, so don't be too shocked if people come up to you asking questions–" Percy rambles for a considerable amount of time. "He's quite a nice fellow. I heard he played Quidditch for a while back in the day, but then he quit because of an accident– He's older than Snape by a year, but he's still a teaching assistant. Hasn't gone after a promotion like Snape has... Says he doesn't need it, he's content where he is. Right fellow, if you ask me."

After the feast, Rue walked behind the group with Harry and Ron. "So, you might have an Uncle at Hogwarts? And everyone knew except for you?" Ron asks, stunned. "Why don't you go live with him, instead of your stupid Muggles? No offense," he looks over at Hermione and back to Harry, sympathetically, who shrugs it off.

"None taken," Harry mutters. "I don't know. Maybe Dumbledore or whoever put me there thinks it isn't safe to be with him... I wonder why..." He trailed off, and Rue nodded her head thoughtfully.

"Probably the Ministry's doing," she mutters.

"The what?" He asks, confused.

"The Ministry of Magic. They regulate magic, and wizards, and witches. All sorts of stuff. Dad went through them to find work – and Mum went through them to run the sanctuary. They're kind of... Terrible sometimes. But, they're also good. They protect our secrets from getting into the Muggle world."

"But, my aunt and uncle knew about magic." Harry spoke, frustrated. "They're Muggles," he notes quietly, annoyance now evident in his tone of voice; not to Rue, or Ron, or the other Gryffindors – but to his aunt and uncle. The Muggles he had to deal with on a day-to-day basis. The thing was, he didn't know the term for non-magical folk until a couple hours ago – possibly even a day or so. But, he didn't enjoy his aunt or his uncle. He didn't mind Muggles – he'd met quite a few nicer ones. But his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Dursley, and cousin Dudley gave him the thick of it.