It hurts when you're gone (Ron Weasley Fanfic)

Chapter 12- Back to Hogwarts

September 1st arrived late this year.

Mum came to leave me at platform 9 and three-quarters. Dad said he couldn't manage.As I pulled my trunk into the carriage, I heard mum sniff. I looked up quickly to see that she had fished out her handkerchief and was crying softly. 'Mum..please don't..everything will be alright..' I said, and put my arms around her. She patted my head in a motherly way and said in a choked voice, 'Of course Y/N, of course..But promise me one thing.'

She was not crying any more. 'Promise me that you won't get provoked no matter what rumours you hear. Promise me you'll keep calm. Don't ever let go of your courage- only use it properly, when the time demands. Promise?'

I looked into her eyes and said, 'I promise, mum. Look, you've got someone wanting to meet you.' I'd seen Mrs. Weasley coming over to mum with an incredulous look on her face. Mum turned around quickly and for a moment they both stood still. But suddenly their guard dissolved and both the women were hugging each other, laughing and talking.

I smiled at their joyful reunion, but I didn't expect Mrs. Weasley to hug me as well. She held me at arm's length and told my mum, 'What a fine girl you've got..Ron told me all about you, love. And Ginny won't stop telling me about your adventures together.' I smiled for the first time in weeks as I said 'But where are they now?'

'I expect Ginny and Harry are in a compartment already-oh there she is!' Ginny waved to me, leaning out of a window. 'And Hermione and Ron; well I don't know if you know, but they've been made Prefects!' Mrs. Weasley smiled broadly and allowed mum to congratulate her.

'Prefects?' I stuttered. My mum gave me a warning look as she bade Molly goodbye. She turned towards me, her eyes blazing. 'I don't care if you haven't been made a Prefect, Y/N. Infact, it's better you haven't.'

The train hooted loudly. I jumped into the carriage as mum said, 'Don't forget we always love you!' The train started to chug past slowly. 'Stay strong and stay safe!!' she shouted, as the train rushed past her. I waved goodbye until we turned a corner.

I pulled my trunk along wearily, wondering where I'd seen Ginny poke her head out. Malfoy came swaggering in my way, with those 2 nitwits Crabbe and Goyle.

'Oh, but if it isn't the Weasel's girlfriend! Is it true then? Does he stink so much you can't stand it? The filthy blood-traitor..' He'd leaned closer to me, leering in the most annoying way. 'Shove off, Malfoy' I said, mustering as much contempt I could and pushing him out of my way. Malfoy jeered mockingly as I left, 'I heard your dad is making big waves at the Ministry? Tell him to keep his head down or he'll drown!' He chuckled loudly and I felt my face flush as I walked off.

Dad making big waves..

Mum crying on the platform..

Secrecy and lying..

I want to give Fudge a piece of my mind. Let me go..

We won't be here forever. Don't succumb..

Stay strong...

Promise me you'll keep calm..

Don't get provoked..

Infact it's better you haven't been made a prefect..

All these thoughts kept whirling around in my head and they made me dizzy with worry and anxiety. I couldn't let anything happen to dad. Of course Malfoy was just making fun of the present situation. I had to keep a level head like mum said. But no, why was she hiding things from me? What was wrong?? I stumbled forwards without really looking anywhere.

And then I saw the back of his head- his red tousled hair, heard that familiar laugh; the one I'd been wanting to hear for months. Without thinking twice, I rushed forwards and put my arms around his lanky frame and breathed in his smell- of his shirt, of his hair, the smell of comfort I'd longed for so long. I felt his hands inch past mine and his fingers intertwined with my trembling ones. He pulled me forwards, in front of his face and smiled in a reassuring way. I bit my lips to stop the tears from coming, but he must have noticed I was disturbed. Ron pulled me closer into a hug full of warmth, his head on top of mine, slowly carressing my hair.

I finally felt happy, I finally felt home.

There were no secrets to be kept with Ron.

He finally prised my hands off him and looked at me. 'You alright, Y/N?' But the question was just a formality, I knew. His eyes had already probed me, already understood what was wrong. I nodded meaningfully and said, 'You didn't tell me you were made a Prefect.'

'Of course I wanted to! But it was too late I figured..' he faltered. 'I need to go patrol the corridors right now.'

I shrugged off-handedly and said, 'Come back soon!' as he waved back, sprinting towards the front of the train.

When I opened the door, Ginny leapt at me, laughing into my hair and saying my name repeatedly. I was happy to see her too and hugged her tight. Harry sat a little away from her and only returned my 'Hi' half-heartedly.

'Harry.'

I said his name softly. He looked away from the window and glanced at me. I knew what was bothering him.

'The Daily Prophet and The Ministry are nuts, okay? And if you can let them get you down, how can you be a true Gryffindor? Courage, Harry. We'll make it through. Everyone will know. Soon. My family will always support you and Dumbledore. Infact-' Here I stopped, not letting on the fact I had only recently realized. Dad was compromising his position in the Ministry to make others realize the situation. Tears sprang up to my eyes but they were quelled when I saw Harry smile.

I suppose my family supporting him would give him some satisfaction after being called all sorts of names by the Ministry. Before I knew it, he'd hugged me briefly and said 'You don't know how much that means to me, Y/N.. And we should be happy that our friends were made Prefects, and not us.' He whispered the last line and let go, grinning. He'd read my mind. Perhaps he felt the same way.

The rest of the journey we were all restless, until Ron and Hermione joined us. Hermione beamed at me and we both started to talk about our vacation and the things we did in general. I was so glad to see that my fears were unfounded- Ron and Hermione were not together. I even felt ashamed for having thought so. Ginny introduced me to Luna Lovegood. I did find her a little weird at first, but she's so sweetly innocent that she had me hooked on to her talk. I could feel Hermione fidgeting; she obviously didn't like what Luna was saying. She often gasped audibly and tried to contradict her, at which Ginny and I would burst into silent giggles.

But the familiar feeling of absorbing knowledge crept into every vein of my body as we got into the carts taking us to Hogwarts. Nothing can oust knowledge. Only ignorance brings fear.