Break it Up (Ron Weasley)

6. A Restless Night

My eyes burst open and I scanned the room, trying to figure out where I was. It was unfamiliar. And unbearably cold.

I pulled my legs into my chest as the memories from the night before flooded into my head and I was reminded of the plan. And the reason I was sleeping on a rather uncomfortable couch.

I shivered and my teeth chattered against each other. The room must've been below freezing. I sat up to look at Ron and Harry who were warm, snuggled up under their covers.

I looked around and thought about my options. I could continue to lay here and try to fall back asleep in the Arctic Tundra, I could get up and go back to my room and ruin the plan, or I could try and find a blanket.

Try and find a blanket it is.

I stood up and trudged around the room, my eyes still adjusting to the fact that I was awake.

Suddenly, my foot hit something hard, and I leaned over in pain.

"Ow," I winced.

Ron sat up immediately. He rubbed his eyes. "Y/n? What's wrong?"

Geez, this boy slept through all of Slughorn's lectures and was all of a sudden a light sleeper when I stubbed my toe at 2 in the morning?

"Sorry," I whispered. "I can't see."

"What are you doing up?" he asked, his voice raspy from having just woken up.

"I'm freezing," I stated, folding my arms across my chest and shivering more.

"Oh," he said. He moved over to the opposite side of his bed. "Here," he remarked, patting the new space he had created.

I raised an eyebrow in hesitation, but I was so cold, and the bed looked so warm. I impulsively slid under the covers and felt myself slowly beginning to warm up.

"Good night," Ron said again, rolling over to face the other way. I pulled the covers up and faced away from him on my side. Then, without issue, my eyes closed, and I drifted off to sleep.

*

"Oh my god. You guys have to be joking."

I awoke to Harry standing over me with a look of disgust on his face.

Ron rolled over and rubbed his eyes. "What?" he asked, then turned to see me. "She was up making noise in the middle of the night because she was cold," he said. His voice was raspy again.

I sat up and climbed out of bed. "I was freezing," I told Harry who still didn't buy it.

"Whatever," Harry said, looking at the clock. "It's almost time for breakfast. Get ready for your first performance!" he jeered.

Ron sat up and looked at me. "You look perfect," he sneered, looking me up and down. "Like you had a rough night."

I rolled my eyes. "You're disgusting." I made my way over to the mirror to look at myself. My hair was a mess and my eyes had huge bags under them. I definitely looked the part.

"Ready, love?" Ron teased.

He got up and rubbed the back of his neck while yawning. My stomach churned. Putting myself on public display like this was not something I was used to.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go now," I said, making my way over to the door. I looked around the room to see if I needed to bring anything but quickly remembered I came over with nothing.

"See you at breakfast," Ron said with a wink as I slipped out the door.

I stepped out in Ron's clothes and instantly, almost as if on cue, everyone's heads turned to look at me.

My cheeks burned as I looked down at the floor and made my way through the crowd. This was by far the most embarrassing thing I've ever done willingly.

"Damn," I heard someone say from afar.

I finally left the Gryffindor dorms and made my way back to my room. Thankfully, most of the Hufflepuffs left early for breakfast, so no one was there to gawk at me.

I arrived back at my room and shut the door, sighing heavily once it was closed. I was alone. Finally.

I changed out of Ron's clothes and put on my robes. I also ran a brush through my hair to get rid of the "rough" look Ron had pointed out this morning.

I headed downstairs to the Great Hall for breakfast. When I stepped through the doorway, the room that was normally full of chattering students fell silent. I felt thousands of eyes staring at me.

I pretended not to notice and kept my gaze on the floor as I made my way over to the Hufflepuff table where Cedric was seated.

Shoot. Cedric.

He was one of the pairs of eyes on me and smiled when I approached his end of the table. I sat across from him.

"Hey y/n," he said shyly.

This was weird. We've never really had an argument. Not that this was an argument. It was more just me storming out and not saying anything.

"Listen, I am so, so, sorry about-" he began apologizing.

"It's okay," I interrupted before I was forced to relive the trauma that was Cedric's surprise party last night.

His face softened a little. "You are the best, y/n," he said smiling. "Oh and also, you probably already know this, but, I have a girlfriend."

I had to act like those words hadn't just stabbed me and ripped apart my heart. I tried my best to smile at his comment, but I felt the phoniness seeping through my facial expressions. "Oh!" I exclaimed. "That's so great. I'm happy for you, Ced."

He puffed out his chest a little like he was proud. I sank down in my seat.

"Enough about me though," he remarked, leaning closer to me across the table. "What's up with you and Weasley?"

I choked on my drink at his words. I was so busy focusing on leaving his room this morning that I forgot I would actually have to lie to my best friend.

"What about him?" I asked, remembering Ron's advice about denying. It was working. Cedric was most definitely interested.

"I mean what about you leaving his room this morning?" Cedric jeered, smirking at my flustered expression. I just grinned back. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Cedric laughed and quickly moved on to talking about the party that was supposed to be happening at the Slytherin Common Room later this week. But my mind couldn't move on from Cedric and Hermione.