The Talk

1. The Talk

Written in response to Striders Father/Son story challenge.

http://www.silverwhisps.com/fanficarchive/viewstory.php?sid=329

Soap. That’s what she always smelled like. Soap. Like she just got out of the shower. She could be sweaty and she’d still smell of soap. Clean and fresh. God he loved how she smelled.

He, on the other hand, never felt so self-conscious about how he smelled. He showered twice a day in the summer. Once before noon (which is about what time he woke up at the Burrow) and once again in the evening. He would often steal a sniff under his arms to make sure he wasn’t offensive.

He stared out of his bedroom window, waiting patiently. Harry was snoring away in the extra bed, completely oblivious to Ron’s anxiety. His hair was damp from the shower, and warm water trickled down his back, tickling him. He waited. Waited. Wondering if she had been unable to get out of the house tonight.

Finally he saw it. Sparks from a wand, an off-white color, kind of golden. He smiled and held up his wand, flashing it twice. Ok. I’m coming.

He turned and snuck past Harry, avoiding all the creaky floor boards on his way out. He opened the door and found the hall empty. So far, so good. He didn’t expect anything different. He never made noise when he was leaving.

He was at the kitchen door when someone spoke, scaring him into yelping like a little girl.

“Ron.”

He spun, horrified to see his father sitting at the table, watching him with a look on his face that could only be described as profound disappointment.

“Dad? What are you doing up at this time of night?”

“I could ask you the same thing, young man,” Arthur said, not harshly, but…disappointed. So damn disappointed.

“What’s the matter?”

“Send her a signal. Tell her you won’t be coming tonight.”

He knows! Ron thought, panicked. He was in deep trouble. He could see it. How did he find out?

“Yeah, okay.”

Ron opened the back door and held up his wand. He sent up some red sparks, the signal they’d agreed to use if they couldn’t make it. Luna had had to use it only once. She sent back a green signal, she understood, and he thought he could feel her leaving, disappointed.

Ron sat down at the table where Arthur was drinking a cup of juice. He poured Ron a cup and slid it over to him.

“I’m disappointed in you Ron.”

“Huh?”

Arthur tapped his glass with one finger, looking pinched about his eyes. “Perhaps I should offer you some Firewhiskey instead,” Arthur said, not shouting but anger was beginning to tinge his words. “You seem to think you’re man enough for it.”

Ron only stared at the cup. He didn’t know what to say.

“Look at me Ron. Children stare at the table when talking to their fathers. Men look one another in the eye. That is what you fancy yourself to be, isn’t it? A man?”

“Is that what we’re doing?” Ron said, his own words heating up in anger. “Talking? I rather thought you were scolding me. How did you find out about Luna and me?”

“Bill was taking Fleur to the pond. They caught you and Luna having sex.”

“And he told you?” Ron said indignantly.

“Yes, he did, and rightly so.”

“What do you think he was going there with Fleur to do?”

“Bill and Fleur are adults! You and Luna are sixteen years old!”

“You’re going to wake up the house.”

“No I won’t. I have a privacy charm on the kitchen.”

Arthur drained his glass and sat back, rubbing his temples. He stared at Ron. “How long has this been going on?”

“Since the third night back from school,” Ron said, staring his father in the eye. Like a man ought to.

“I assume you’re using some kind of contraception?”

Arthur sighed heavily when Ron’s eyebrows shot up. He hadn’t thought of that. He’d assumed Luna was doing some kind of charm work to keep herself from getting pregnant. She was a smart girl, that’s why she was in Ravenclaw, after all.

“You haven’t been taking any potions?”

“I assume she has.”

“Oh, Ron,” Arthur said, shaking his head. “You assumed she was being responsible? What if she assumed the same thing?”

“She knows not to assume I’d think of it!” Ron said, aware that he was putting himself down, but fairly so. “Boys never think of it!”

“I thought of it!” Arthur said.

“So you were doing the same things at my age?” Ron said, feeling as if he’d gotten in a good stab on his father.

“When I was your age, I was not having sex. I thought about it, as all sixteen year old boys do, but I knew I was too young. I didn’t start having sex until I was twenty years old, and I was working at the Ministry, living on my own, as a responsible adult.”

“Times have changed since you were sixteen,” Ron said.

“No, Ron, they haven’t. Times never truly change. There’s always a war, abuse, injustice, struggles and victories, sadness and happiness. The world never changes, and neither, really, do the people in it. The same challenges that face you faced me. Only I had the sense not to make the mistake you’re making now.”

“Luna and I are not a mistake, and I resent you saying that!”

“You’re going to resent a lot of things that I have to say. You’re wrong son. You and Luna both are wrong. You’re rushing into adulthood much too fast.”

“I’m so much different from you…are you sure I’m not adopted? Perhaps I take after my real father-”

“Shut up!” Arthur said in an angry bark, sitting forward and actually scaring Ron. His words stung deep. Ron could never recall a time when Arthur had ever told him to shut up. And he’d never spoken to him with such venom in his voice. “You’re going to listen to me boy. You and Luna may be sixteen, you may have adult feelings, but you are not adults. Not by any stretch. You’re teenagers! You haven’t begun to understand the consequences of your actions. Your mother and I have worked too hard, sacrificed too much to raise you right. For you to do this…it disheartens me son.”

Ron didn’t know what to say. He knew he was as angry as his father was, but he wasn’t sure he had a right to be. His father was right. He and Luna were perhaps too young, but it was too late now, the deed had been done.

“If she gets pregnant what then?”

“We’ll raise the baby.”

“Oh, I see. So you’ll drop out of Hogwarts before you can take your N.E.W.Ts and you’ll get married?”

“Yes!” Ron said hotly.

“Then what? Where will you live? You won’t live here, that’s for certain. I mean, if you’re a married man with a wife and child on the way, you’ll have to find your own place.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

“And you’ll pay for this new place how? I’m sorry to disappoint you, but sex and love don’t pass for Galleons in the real world.”

“I’ll get a job.”

“Not at the Ministry you won’t. You can’t get a foot in that place without a proper education, and that means graduation from Hogwarts. Perhaps you’ll work for Fred and George? I’m sure they’d give you a job as a stock clerk. So, you’ll work as a stock boy, pay the rent and bills and you’ll take care of your wife and child. All that’s very well and good, but you know what son? While you’re being a man, your friends are off being teenagers. They’re at school, where they should be, getting a proper education. They’re single, as they should be, not tied down with a spouse and a child. You can fight me on this Ron. You can rage against me if you want, but the truth of the matter is, you are not ready for the consequences sex can bring. I thought I did a better job teaching you that. I’m as disappointed in myself as I am in you.”

Arthur sat back, looking old for the first time that Ron could remember.

“I want you to go upstairs. Go to bed.”

“I suppose you’re not going to allow me out of your sight? And I suppose I’ll get a good talking to from Mum?”

“Your mother doesn’t know, and I have no intentions of telling her. After tonight, you can do whatever you want. I can only guide you I can’t force my will upon you. I was young once, and there’s one thing that I remember about youth: young people will find a way to do what they want, no matter how hard their parents fight them on it. Just remember something son, for me.”

“What?” Ron asked, getting to his feet, relieved that he wouldn’t be grounded for the rest of the summer.

“Put your future ahead of your lust. Not just for your sake, but for Luna. She’s a good girl. One day, when you’re both older, she’d make a good wife for you, but not now son. Not now.”




Ron went into his room. Harry wasn’t snoring anymore, thank God, but he was chewing at something non-existent, which was just as annoying. Ron had assumed that Harry had been with a girl already, Cho perhaps, or maybe Hermione, since they’d started going out. Had he crossed a line that Harry hadn’t?

Ron lay back on his bed, staring at the ceiling in misery. I’m disappointed in you Ron…Shut up!...Put your future ahead of your lust….I’m disappointed in you…disappointed in you…

Arthur’s words rang through his head. His father had never said that to him before. He’d never given his father reason. At first he’d been angry with his father, but as the night wore on, he found he was angry with himself.

He and Luna had taken terrible risks, all out of curiosity, without thinking through the consequences. He’d let his dick think for him, and that, he realized, was a foolish thing for him to do. He’d thought sixteen was old enough. Now he thought maybe he was wrong.

She’s a good girl. One day, when you’re both older, she’d make a good wife for you, but not now son. Not now.

Not now…

He imagined himself working in a menial job because he’d had to drop out of school. He imagined having to depend up on Fred and George for a living. It would really be them supporting his wife and child, not him. And he imagined the shame in his mother’s face. In his family's face, if he got Luna pregnant at sixteen.

He remembered the disappointment in his father's eyes, and it hurt him so bad that tears sprang up and leaked down the sides of his face. He felt like a child again, and he wanted to run to his father’s room, fall down on his knees and beg his forgiveness. He’d do anything to undo his mistakes, if it would just erase the disappointment he’d seen in his father’s face.

Ron fell asleep to dreams of shame as he had to tell his family that Luna was pregnant. At sixteen.

Sixteen….





Ron snuck out of the house only a couple of hours later, when the sun was just beginning to heat the day. He flew over to the Lovegood’s and found Luna in the garden, pulling up weeds. She smiled and came to him, putting her arms around his neck. He held her, enjoying the scent of her, the feel of her, and he felt a sense of loss because he’d decided to shut the door on one aspect of their relationship that brought him the most satisfaction.

“What happened last night?” Luna asked, leading him to the shade of a tree. It was already beginning to feel hot in direct sunlight.

“My father caught me,” Ron said. He told her what his father had told him, and she listened quietly.

“Well, I’m not pregnant. I’ve been taking contraceptive potions and using Charms. We’ve been very responsible.”

“No, you’ve been responsible,” Ron said. “I’ve been a git.”

“Don’t say that, Ronald,” Luna said, looking upset.

“Luna…we can’t anymore. Not until we’re older.”

“You just want to stop?” Luna asked, her brows disappearing into her blond hair. “After we’ve experienced it, you want to give it up?”

“Temporarily, yes. Until we’re older, out of Hogwarts at least.”

“You’re talking about years, Ronald,” Luna said. Ron had a sinking feeling in his stomach. She wasn’t taking this as well as he’d hoped. Would she break it off with him and date someone else? Someone who would be willing to give her what she wanted? Or did she love him enough to stand by him on this decision?

“But Dad is right.”

“Yes, we’re young, and if he’d caught us before we started it would have made sense, but we’ve already been together. It doesn’t make sense to stop now. Especially when you know I’m being cautious.”

“But if you forget your potion even one time,” Ron said, “just once we could end up with a baby on our hands.”

Luna sank against the tree, looking deflated and disappointed. “But you’ve awoken needs in me Ronald. You have those needs too.”

“And they can be satisfied. Just not with sex. Not until we’re older and we can handle the consequences. Luna, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Then help me on this, support me on it. I can’t stand the idea of Dad being really disappointed in me. If you’d seen the look in his eyes last night, you’d know why I have to do this. I don’t want to ruin what I have with you, but I can’t ruin what I have with Dad either. Please?”

Luna touched his cheek, trying to calm him, and his fears. “Alright, love. We’ll wait until we’re older.”

“Thank you,” he said, relieved. “Maybe it won’t be as bad as we think, waiting. We can make it work.”

“I’m willing to try,” she said.

He held her close and kissed her. In a few seconds they were devouring one another, breathless with need. He wanted to pull her behind the tree, rip off her knickers and thrust into her with wild abandon, hear her whimper and moan his name, feel her clench him tightly inside her body and scream as they came together-

Ron pulled back, picturing the disappointment in his father’s eyes.

“I think I should go,” Ron said breathlessly.

“Right,” Luna said, looking disappointed, and flushed.

“This will get easier with time,” he said, sounding not at all convinced, but determined to walk away without giving in.

“Sure,” she said, but she didn’t sound convinced either. She gave him a chaste peck good-bye and then walked, rather strangely as if her knees were about to give ‘way, into her house. Ron mounted his broom, rather uncomfortably, and flew home, running straight for to the loo for a very, very cold shower.

When he came down from the shower it was to the smell of breakfast and happy voices, but Ron found he could barely stand the idea of facing his father. He found Harry, Hermione, Ginny, his parents, and Bill sitting around the table, talking and filling their plates with food.

Bill was looking everywhere but at him, but instead of anger, Ron felt a rush of affection for his brother. Bill had cared enough about him to tell on him. Ron never would have believed he’d ever be grateful to be ratted out by someone, but as he’d thought of what it would be like to learn he would be a father at his age…. Bill may well have spared him from that.

“Bill,” Ron said, sitting down next to him.

“Good morning, Ron,” Bill said, a little too cheerfully. He took a gulp of pumpkin juice and choked. Ron patted him on the back.

“Thank you, Bill.”

Bill looked at him then, relieved not to find anger in Ron’s eyes.

“Just looking out for you, little brother,” he said.

“Yeah, I know.”

Arthur was watching Ron and Bill, stirring his coffee. Harry was looking between the three of them, frowning, and Ron knew that he’d be questioned later, until Harry had wrung every last word of his conversation with Arthur out of him, but this time, Ron thought he’d keep it in the family. This was something to be kept between a father and his son.

“Dad? May…May I have a word with you?”

“Of course. Molly, excuse us.”

Molly looked ready to object, but something in Arthur’s voice brooked no argument. She merely nodded and watched him leave out the back door with Ron. They leaned on the back yard fence, well away from the house.

“I thought about what you said last night,” Ron began, “and you were right, about all of it. I went to Luna’s house this morning. She and I have agreed to stop having sex.”

Arthur looked relieved, but he didn’t speak.

“I want you to know something though, Dad, about why Luna and I started…you know...”

Arthur waited with a neutral expression on his face.

“A lot of it was fear, at least for me. With the stuff that’s going on, with this war coming, I was honestly afraid that if I didn’t take advantage of the chance now something could happen and I’d never know what it was like to love someone, be with them, like…like you do with mum, or Bill with Fleur. Harry, Hermione and I are on the frontline of a war with Voldemort, just like you are in the Order, and I…well it doesn’t matter anyway. I was wrong. I realize that now.”

Arthur’s coolness melted. He gave Ron a warm smile and pulled him into a tight hug, patting him on the back as he did Bill and Charlie when he saw them. Patting him on the back like he was a man.

“I’m proud of you son.”

“Really?” Ron asked, trying to swallow over the lump that suddenly arose in his throat. He could see his father meant it, in his eyes, and that was worth more to Ron than anything else in the world. His father wasn’t disappointed in him anymore.

“Really.”