Sweet and Compassionate

CandiceMarie

Rating: G
Genres: Romance, Humor
Relationships: Ron & Luna
Book: Ron & Luna, Books 1 - 5
Published: 25/12/2004
Last Updated: 25/12/2004
Status: completed

What happens when Ronald accidentally sees Luna make a snowman that strangely resembles a certain red-headed Gryffindor Keeper? Come find out! ^.^ No angst today, because it's Christmas season :D

Chapters

1. untitled

1. untitled

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned hereafter. They belong to the incredible JK Rowling. I am not making a single cent out of this. I wish I did, and was.

[A/N: Well, because I do so love Ron/Luna, and because I believe Luna is the greatest female character since Hermione, I made this teeny ficlet. I do hope you like it. And, yes, the non-existent word you will read later in the story IS made-up]

Sweet and Compassionate

It was a brilliant, snowy Saturday at Hogwarts. Not so much snow that nobody was allowed on the grounds, yet not too little snow that the grounds could still be seen. All over the magical school, smiles could be seen from faces of all shapes and sizes. Even Draco Malfoy was smiling, er, sneering, at a nearby tree with Crabbe and Goyle.

But there was one person whose frown was very obvious indeed. He was muttering angrily, as he crossed the grounds, hunched over and trying very hard not to talk to anybody. His flaming red hair was very prominent among the sea of white snow.

`Lousy Ginny,' he was muttering. He screwed up his face, and said in a most unflattering squeak, that oddly enough, sounded a lot like Ginny Weasley's voice, ` “You couldn't be sweet and compassionate even if it means Chudley Cannons winning, Ron.” '

The red-headed boy stopped in front of a large tree, quite covered from the castle and its students, went a quarter-way around it, and sat down. `I can't be sweet and compassionate? I can, too, be sweet and compassionate. Lousy Ginny, thinking she knows everything. Who really needs another Hermione?'

Ron continued to grumble angrily to himself for several more minutes.

He stopped immediately, however, when he heard snowy footsteps approach. Unwilling to talk to anyone at the moment, he slowly moved to hide behind the tree, and peaked carefully once the footsteps had stopped. Using only his left eye, Ron saw the back of a girl with dirty blonde, shoulder-length hair. She had her hands on her waist and was carrying a medium-sized black bag.

`Perfect,' he heard her say. `This'll do nicely for my King.'

Ron wondered what on earth she was on about. He had recognized the voice, and it belonged to Luna Lovegood. But Ron was used to calling her Loony Lovegood, because that was what she was: loony. She believed in things even witches didn't. What a mad old bat, he thought inconsiderately, even though Luna was not old, and was certainly not a bat.

Momentarily forgetting about Ginny's harsh comments about him, Ron proceeded to watch Luna Lovegood. She had just kneeled over on the snow, and was beginning to gather them with her hands, humming to herself. She was making a rather large snowball, probably fifty times larger than a normal-sized snowball, give or take. When Ron finally realized what Luna was doing (`A snowman! Of course!' ), he clapped a hand to his forehead rather loudly and painfully, and fell over.

He saw Luna turn around, alarmed, and almost look at his direction.

`Hello?' she said. `Is anybody there?'

Rubbing his forehead as quietly as he could, he didn't want her to think he was spying on her, Ron did not answer.

Luna continued to look for the source of the noise, gathering even more snow for the base of the snowman at the same time.

Moments after she had shrugged and focused all of her attention to her snowman, Ron noiselessly got back to his position. He didn't know why, but Luna Lovegood making a snowman, and humming Weasley Is Our King, was rather nice to look at. There was something about how content she looked, and happy, even though she was alone, that made Ron want to see her continue more and more.

Not too long after that, a couple of first year Hufflepuff girls chased each other near Luna and her snowman, which was now half finished. It was only missing the head, face, and clothes.

As one of the Hufflepuffs chased the other, she failed to notice the tip of a rock sticking out from under the snow. She tripped on it and grazed her leg on a bigger one.

`Ouch!' she cried, and tears began to run down her cheeks. Her friend quickly ran to her side, and called for help. Luna didn't take long as she, like Ron, saw the whole thing.

`Oh, dear,' she said dreamily. `That must be painful.'

The little girl nodded tearfully.

`Can you please help us?' her friend asked Luna.

`Of course I will. We should hurry, though, an exposed wound attracts a lot of Brown Phylimunchers,' she said almost matter-of-factly.

`What are Brown Phylomongers?' the little girl asked, scared, as Ron rolled his eyes. He failed to notice himself smiling.

`Why, Brown Phylimunchers are these tiny things you can't see with your naked eye. They like to eat and infect open wounds like yours. My father told me they loved the taste of blood,' she told the girls, shrugging absentmindedly.

`Oh, no!' said one of them.

`Don't worry. It's still a little too soon, and once Madam Pomfrey's done with you, you won't even see a scar. So, those tiny things won't have anything for lunch today,' Luna assured the wounded Hufflepuff.

Ron watched Luna and the two girls walked away. He would have helped them, but he would have been too embarrassed if Luna found out he had been there all along. She might think he liked her, or something to that effect. Ron also would have left for the castle, but he wanted to see if Luna would come back and finish her snowman. It's wasn't too shabby, he admitted.

Ron only had to wait for ten minutes before he heard Luna's footsteps again. As per usual, she was humming. He watched her make the snowman's head, and then take out its eyes from the black bag she had left on the snow. Ron couldn't make out what it was, but it wasn't the normal black-colored eyes a person would normally see on a snowman. It was blue in color. Luna then put its carrot nose in the middle of the snowy head, and then made its mouth, both of which looked normal. After that, she put on a familiar-looking scarf around it, and a maroon bonnet on its head, finishing off with a bunch of tiny pebbles she had put near its carrot nose. It resembled freckles.

`Hmmm,' she said. `It's missing something.'

Ron looked at the funny-looking snowman, from its maroon bonnet, to its blue eyes, to its freckly-like pebbles, and finally to its red and gold scarf. Read and gold? Gryffindor colors! Hang on…

`Oh, I know,' said Luna. `Why, Ronald, you are missing your lovely Weasley-hair trademark,' she told the snowman delightfully.

Ron's jaw dropped to the floor.

She rummaged in her black bag for a bit, and then took out red strings of yarn.

`We can't let you stand there all bald now, can we?' she said fondly. `Mmmm, perfect,' she added, as she put the “Ron hair” under the maroon bonnet.

Ron felt like laughing, and a little creeped out. But not too much. He felt like laughing a lot more, as she watched her survey her creation.

`I think you look splendid, Ronald,' Luna informed the man of snow in her vague voice. `What do you think, Ronald?' she asked, looking at the real Ron's direction.

The real Ron fell backwards again. He slowly got up, and embarrassedly came out of “hiding”.

`You knew I was here?' he asked the Ravenclaw 6th year.

`Oh yes,' she said distantly, but nodding fervently as well. `For quite some time now, too. I saw you sit behind my favorite tree, but you looked so cross and busy whispering angry threats that,' she sighed, `I just didn't want to disturb you.'

Ron was at a loss for words. He couldn't really figure out why he was finding it so hard to tell Luna how crazy she was.

`You're really funny,' he said finally, laughing a little.

`Am I? Not many people have told me that. In fact, nobody has,' she admitted, shrugging. `So, how do you like my snowRonald?'

Ron laughed again, quite unsure why.

`It's very… unique,' he said truthfully. `What did you use for my, er, its eyes?'

`Blue stones I stole from my fish bowl. Billy didn't really need them. He has plenty more, anyway.'

`Billy?'

`My fish. My dad gave him to me on my birthday,' said Luna simply.

`Er, right. How's the Hufflepuff girl you helped?' Ron asked her. For some reason, he actually enjoyed talking to Loon… Luna.

`Wouldn't know,' she said distractedly, fixing snowRonald's nose. `Madam Pomfrey said it wasn't that deep, so she made me go away. She's probably all right now.'

`Ah,' was all he managed to say.

Ron stared as Luna packed up her things.

`You know, Luna, that was really sweet of you to help them. Kind of… what's the word? Compassionate?' Ron thought aloud.

`You think I'm sweet and compassionate?' she asked him, almost normally.

He thought back to what Ginny said about him, `You couldn't be sweet and compassionate even if it means Chudley Cannons winning, Ron', and looked at Luna, who was already both those things without even trying.

`Yeah, Luna, I do,' he told her honestly.

`Well, it looks like my King is happy enough here,' she said, patting her snow-Ronald. `Come on, Ronald, it's almost lunchtime. You must be hungry.'

Luna started to walk back to Hogwarts, with Ron staring after her.

This was surely someone he should spend a lot more time with, he thought. Who knows, maybe in time, she would teach him her ways and maybe, just maybe, with her help, he'll learn to be sweet and compassionate… just like her.

~~~

[A/N: I wanted to name Luna's fish Bilius, but I would have had to include an explanation… so I decided not to name it Ron's middle name.

Remember, kids, there are no such things as Phylimunchers ^.^ ]

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