In Love With A Redhead --- Ron Weasley

Chapter 19

Harry walked into the common room a few minutes later. I sat on the couch, still shocked from Ron's outburst.
"Where's Ron?" He asked.
"Well, h-he's not f-feeling well," I stammered.
"What is it? A headache?" Harry pondered.
"No, he's feeling a bit, um, overshadowed." I said slowly.
"Oh no. Not this again," Harry sighed, settling into the couch.
"It's worse than fourth year, though. Now he's going on about his family and even me." I admitted.
"Should I talk to him?" Harry asked.
"No, I'd let him cool down," I suggested.
Harry nodded, "Dumbledore wants to see me tomorrow night."
"Why?"
"I dunno, I'm hoping he'll tell me about his hand."
All of us had noticed Dumbledore's blackened hand during his welcome speech.
"Maybe. My bet is that it's something with Slughorn." I said.
"Why would you think that?"
"I've got a funny feeling about him. Alright, well, I'm off to bed, keep an eye on Ron."
"Liz, wait. Have you ever heard of this spell: Sectumsempra?" Harry asked. He pulled out his potions text book and pointed to a scribbled note on one of the pages.
"No. We need to figure out who that book belonged to. Give it here." I demanded.
"The bindings fragile," Harry shrugged, putting the book back in his bag.
I laughed, "Give it."
"Says here it's by the Half-Blood Prince," Ginny said as she walked by.
"I'm looking him up in the library," I told Harry. He wasn't listening though, and I saw him give Ginny a longing glance. "Hey, it won't last long, her and Dean."
"Yeah, well you should go on to bed," Harry sighed.
I nodded and waved goodnight.
In the morning Ron rushed through breakfast without a word. He sat on the other side of the room in potions.
"Can anyone name this potion?" Slughorn asked.
I raised my hand, "Yes Ms. Brookes?"
"It's Amortentia, the most powerful love potion." I answered.
"Would you like to tell us what you smell?" Slughorn asked.
I stepped towards the bubbling cauldron, "Old books, lavender soap, the air after it rains, and--and cinnamon," I stopped and glanced at Ron. I cleared my throat and stepped back.
"Wonderful," said Slughorn. He then went on to explain more about the potion.
"Why'd you hesitate with cinnamon?" Harry asked me as we left the classroom.
"That's what Ron always smells like," I told him.
"Really?" I heard a voice ask. I turned around to see Ron.
"Yes, really. Can we talk later?" I asked him.
"No, lots of homework." Ron said, rushing past.
I sighed and Harry patted my shoulder kindly. "He'll come around," he said.
Another day passed and Ron still said nothing to me.
Later that night Harry came back to the common room.
"So, what did Dumbledore want?" I asked him.
"He wants me to find out more about Tom Riddle from Slughorn. They were very close apparently. Riddle was interested in something called a Horcrux while he was at school. Dumbledore had me look through something called a Pensieve."
"I've read about those!" I exclaimed, "You can see memories in them."
Harry nodded. "I need to tell Ron. Is he in the dormitory?"
I nodded. Harry ran up the stairs and I continued reading my book.
In the morning Ron walked into breakfast in his quidditch uniform looking very pale.
"Ron you need to eat," I told him.
He sat down and scooped some eggs onto his plate.
"You might want to drink some of the juice," Harry told him.
"Why?" Ron asked.
Harry shrugged and shoved the bottle of Felix Felicis into his pocket.
"That's cheating!" I whisper-yelled.
Ron downed the drink and slammed the mug down on the table.
Lavender walked by, "Good luck today Ron." She put a hand on his shoulder.
"Uh, thanks," Ron said.
"Oh Ron, you look so dashing in your uniform. I know you'll play wonderfully," I said loudly.
Lavender glared at me and walked away. I felt my face turn bright red and Harry and Ron started laughing at me.
"What? She called Ron cute the other day," I defended. They just shook their heads at me and Ron got up to walk to the pitch.
"You could be expelled for using liquid luck," I scolded Harry.
"Only if I put it in," Harry smirked.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Harry handed me the bottle, "He just thinks you put it in!" I realized.
Harry nodded.
At the game Ron played wonderfully. Gryffindor won and Harry caught the snitch after an hour.
There was a huge celebration in the common room after the game. Everyone cheered for the players and drank butter beer.
"Great job Ginny," I told her.
"Thanks Liz. What's up with you and Ron?" She asked.
"Oh, he's in a bit of a mood," I said quietly, staring down into my cup.
"He'll come around," she told me.
"Funny, that's what Harry--" but as I was finishing my sentence I saw Lavender walk up to Ron.
She wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him and Ron looked confusedly at her. I was over there in a matter of seconds.
I pushed my way between the two of them and kissed Ron. He seemed absolutely shocked. I pulled away, "Good game."
I then stepped on Lavender's stupid foot and walked out of the crowd. Harry approached me and was dying with laughter.
"You saw what she was about to do!" I said, punching him lightly.
"You should talk to him tonight. Tell him that I didn't really put the potion in his drink. It'll boost his confidence," Harry suggested.
"That's a good idea. Where can I get him alone though?" I asked Harry.
"He's always hungry." Harry stated.
"Brilliant! I'll take him down to the kitchens. Let me just go speak to the house elves," I exclaimed.
I ran towards the portrait hole but was stopped by Cormac McLaggen.
"Saw you snogging Weasley. You could do so much better," he whined, gesturing to himself. "I'll be here when you realize what a low-life he is." McLaggen sneered.
"You are so right," I crooned. I brought a hand to his cheek. "But I guess I like a low-life." I pulled my hand away and slapped him. "Leave me alone."
"Owwwww," I heard McLaggen yell. I couldn't help but smile.
I found the tapestry with the fruit and tickled the pairs.
"Hello," a kind house elf greeted me. "Can I help you?"
"Yes please, may I speak to Dobby?" I asked. Dobby worked in the kitchens with a sad Winky. Dobby was making the most of his freedom.
"I'll go get him," the house elf replied, and bustled off.
"Ms. Brookes! How nice to see you!" Dobby greeted, shaking my hand. He was wearing two different socks and a striped tie.
"Good to see you too. Look, I need a favor," I started.
"Anything for a friend of Master Potter," Dobby nodded.
"Ron's been kind of down lately and I need a quiet spot to talk to him. The common room is crazy right now. Do you think you could make us some tea and biscuits? Maybe you could let us sit down here?" I asked.
"Of course! I'll get started now!" With that Dobby was gone.
I hurried back up to the common room and found Ron surrounded by a bunch of cheering students.
I grabbed his hand and dragged him to the kitchens.
"Liz where are we going? Lizzzzz? Tell me where we're going!" Ron questioned the whole way there.
Finally we arrived at the tapestry.
"Now you know how the silent treatment feels," I said.
Ron turned red. I tickled the fruit and Dobby was there to welcome us in. He greeted Ron and sent us to a small wooden table. There were two cups of tea, biscuits, cauldron cakes, and several different tarts.
"Thank you so much Dobby," I said graciously.
"Of course, of course," Dobby responded, trotting off.
I sat down in a chair and Ron sat across from me. We each sipped some tea and Ron started on a biscuit. I wasn't quite sure where to start.
I took a deep breath, "Harry didn't actually put Felix Felicis in your drink. How you played today was all you."
"Liz I appreciate the effort but I couldn't have done that," Ron shrugged.
"But you did! The vial is completely full." I argued.
"Really?" Ron asked, a glimmer in his eye.
"Yes, and I wanted to talk to you about the other night," I tried.
"That's fine, I'm fine now. I'm going to go. Lots of studying." Ron said, standing up.
"Sit down," I said firmly.
Ron slowly sat back down.
"Ronald you have no reason to feel overshadowed. In first year you played the best game of chess Dumbledore had ever seen. Not to mention you sacrificed yourself to save the stone. In second year you faced your greatest fear to save the school. You also drove a flying car. Harry and you figured out the chamber without me, that's pretty impressive." I stopped and Ron laughed. "In third year you got attacked by a giant black dog and dealt with the fact that your beloved pet was actually a cruel human. In fourth year you showed fierce loyalty to Harry, even though at first you were angry. You also asked out Fleur, which takes guts. Last year, you were Prefect! Which is amazing! You even survived being strangled by a brain, helped form the DA, and recovered from a rough start in quidditch. I know you'll go on to do something great. You're the one overshadowing us." I finally finished.
"Wow, Liz, just wow. Thanks," Ron stammered. He was bright red and smiling brightly.
"Oh, and I slapped Cormac." I said plainly.
"You what?" Ron yelled.
"He called you a low-life. He said that I would eventually come crawling to him. I told him I guess that I liked a low-life and then slapped him." I proudly stated.
Ron burst out laughing. I couldn't help but laugh with him.
We finished up the treats, thanked the house elves, and went back up to the common room. Everyone had mostly cleared out and Harry walked up to the two of us.
"Everything alright?" Harry asked.
I looked towards Ron, "Yep." He answered.
I hugged him tight and waved to Harry.
"Goodnight guys!"
"Night Liz."
~~~~~
A/N: Here's another chapter, hope you like it!
Thanks for reading! (: