You'll Be All Right

A/N: First R/L fanfiction ever, so please be nice and give constructive criticism. I thank Caina, my beta, for this story. Happy reading!

You'll Be All Right

By Ladie-A

(1/3)

The sun set in the late evening and the residence of the Burrow were engaged in the midst of supper; all except one young redheaded boy. Ordinarily, the allurement of food was all that was needed to distract Ronald Weasley. The more he attempted to concentrate on his half-empty plate of chops and steaming vegetables, the more he looked inquiringly at the only empty chair tucked in neatly and unnoticeably by the long brown furnished dinning table. It was rare to find an empty chair in the Burrow; a commonly known place owned by the Weasley family.

But this summer the Weasley's home had become some-what of a social gathering. With the regards of a series of events that occurred two weeks prior, the Burrow had also become a safe haven. Last summer, this would have been the last place any one would call safe but after Albus Dumbledore's death, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy, there was no place secure or dependable enough to withstand the powers of one evil man. The whole of Britain's Wizarding community felt that their only alternative was to return to their own homes and put on a brave front.

For young Ronald, everything in his life was going haywire. Everything was dreary. Nothing was right and certainly nothing was normal. It was in this gloomy time that every person he knew was instantaneously clinging to someone. It was noticeably showing in his family and friends.

The oldest son of the redheaded Weasley's, Bill, was refilling his flagon of pumpkin juice while skillfully maintaining his blue eyes pierced on his fiancé, Fleur Delacour, a French descendant witch. She was animatedly discussing the French war and its impact on the Wizarding world. Hermione Granger, one of his best friends, joined the discussion that had slowly turned into a heated debate. It was completely understandable since she lived for politics. From his view point and his lack in knowledge of the topic, he could not really tell who was winning the argument. But he would put his saved sickles on Hermione any day

Fleur's nostrils flared when Hermione laughed about a comment she gave. Bill quickly patted his fiancé's hand to try and calm her down. Ron silently congratulated his brother's intense concentration when he knew that Bill was terribly bored with the conversation. The determined attention may very well have to do with Fleur's beauty. It, no doubt, enticed almost every man in the room with the exception of Ron's other best friend, Harry Potter.

Fleur's veela-like appeal had always made Ron wonder about her motives but after her heart-warming declaration that she would stand by Bill's side no matter the claw-like scars across his face, it had made Ron and his mother absolute of the couple's future. Even in the midst of a waging war, Ron was glad that his brother Bill and his twin brother's Fred and George -who never questioned their futures as owners of a Joke Shop- found happiness.

But what lay ahead for him?

It had been the one question repeating in his mind after Dumbledore's funeral. Nothing was for certain now. Ron always had the impression that Harry, the chosen one, would somehow rise above the Dark Lord with the guidance of their headmaster. Now that he was dead, who was going to guide Harry?

He hadn't forgotten the pledge he and Hermione had made to Harry. It was practically written down in his fate the day he sat down in the same Hogwarts Express compartment as Harry, who later stuck up for him against a snobby rich Draco Malfoy. Ron would stick by Harry's side no matter what. But without direction, how would they be able to find the Horocruxes and ultimately defeat the Dark Lord?

Most importantly, if they miraculously made it through the war, what will he do with his future? He usually was the one to jump for joy at a cancellation of school but if he dropped out and had no education, how could he scrape by in life? What will Harry do? What about Hermione? And then there was the question of how he would tell his mother he was not planning to continue his schooling. He remembered clearly like any Chudley Cannon Quidditch game, that his mother was absolutely livid when Fred and George left in the middle of their seventh year. Her anger descended only because they knew what they wanted to do with their life. Ron didn't.

Frustrated, Ron placed his hands on either side of his face while his elbows remained on the table. He scanned the room mournfully. Every member of the Order, with the exception of a traitor, was here. Neville Longbottom, a same House and class peer, had also been invited to celebrate Bill and Fleur's last night before marriage. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their short days of happiness, all except him.

Ron's eyes fell upon the empty chair once more. That last empty seat had been reserved for a dotty, dirty blonde hair girl who always seemed to have a fixed surprised look. He had expected for her to show up, especially after he gave a personal invite while they sat in the same compartment on their way back home from Hogwarts. Had he come off too eager? It didn't make sense because Neville came. But why hadn't she?

Harry, who sat beside him, seemed to have noticed Ron's spaced expression. In hopes to get his attention, Harry waved his hand with an amused look on his darkened face. Ron very much missed the glow on his best friend's face that now had not only diminished but most likely was not going to return.

`Where've you been?' Harry asked abruptly when Ron fastened his eyes on him.

Ron didn't exactly like to entertain the idea of telling Harry that he was thinking about loony Luna Lovegood.

`You know what? I'd rather not know,' said Harry who looked put off by Ron's hesitation. Ron, relieved, paid no mind that Harry might still be curious. His attention went back to Neville, who sat three seats down, eating and chatting with his younger sister Ginny. He was wondering why Luna did not arrive with him. He made a mental note to ask Neville later when no one else was around.

+++++

Ron fell back against his sagging mattress and stared at the plain white ceiling. He had taken the liberty to excuse himself when supper was done. Everyone was still going on about the wedding tomorrow. His mother was determined to make his sister and Hermione try on their dresses over and over again and continuously ran back and forth from room to room. Fleur had also taken up a lot of his mother's time, demanding someone with experience to mend her wedding gown. The rest of the family had watched in amusement as his mother excitedly ran about, paying little attention to the twin's mischief. Arthur, his father, had felt a great relief that his wife was not fussing over his longer-than-usual absences. Ron secretly knew that his father was working out ways with the Minister about precautions and adjustments the community would have to go through.

Ron picked up the Quidditch Quirk magazine off his night table and began to flip through the pages. There was absolutely no point in re-reading a magazine he had memorized but it beat thinking about his life. There was an article describing the horrible defeat of the Cannons in last week's game. The words miserable and failure bulged out of the page as if to tell him this was what he was.

`Bloody hell,' mumbled Ron as he threw the magazine across the room. In that exact moment, Harry entered the room with a stern look plastered across his face. He said nothing as he sat on the extra bed in Ron's room. With his arms crossed, Harry gave him a scrutinizing look.

`What?' Ron peeved.

`Oh nothing except that you've been acting rather strangely,' Harry replied unaltered. He picked up the magazine near his foot that Ron had thrown and stared at the cover. `Cannon's lost again,' Harry stated.

`With all that's going on, I'm not surprised,' Ron said monotonously.

`And that is why you're acting…like this?' Harry questioned.

Ron hadn't the chance to answer because the door flung open, and a fuming Hermione entered the room. As though her anger had sparked fire, her hair was burnt crisp at the ends. She wore a pale pink chemise that had spots of black dust. Ron's eyes scanned upwards and found her face to be in the same condition. Her dark brown eyes emitted a cat-like quality as if she would pounce on somebody.

`What the bloody hell did you walk in?' Ron asked almost at once, `the fire place?'

`Very funny Ron,' she snapped. `You know, your sister is becoming absolutely appalling to live with!'

`I'm glad that you finally noticed,' Ron rolled his eyes. There was a time he would have not minded Hermione's behavior towards his sister but lately, he sensed Ginny's hostility and was growing concerned.

`Come off it,' Harry piped in, `Ginny can't be all that bad.'

`Says you, her boyfriend,' Hermione snorted, `if I didn't know any better I'd say she's been acting quite off since the funeral.' Ron noted Harry's immediate redness. It was considerably foolish of her to bring up the funeral. He could tell Harry was relatively uncomfortable and the room appeared to be closing in due to the climbing tension.

Hermione had caught on quickly because her face paled to some extent. `Oh Harry! I didn't mean…I didn't intend -'

`It's OK,' said Harry instantly.

Ron took this opportunity to leave. He really wasn't in the mood to be included in an emotionally tense moment. He stood up, while the two looked at anything but each other. They didn't seem to notice him walking out of the room and Ron breathed easy as he closed the door.

`What are you doing?'

Ron was startled and quickly turned to see Ginny staring at him suspiciously.

`I was about to go downstairs,' Ron said defiantly, `what are you doing here?' Ron took the chance to turn the tables around. He had a feeling that his sister was listening in on their conversation before he walked out.

`I wasn't doing anything for your information. I was going to inform you that Luna arrived,' Ginny replied. Ron couldn't help but grin inwardly. So he hadn't come off too eager. But when he noticed Ginny's smirk, his face paled.

`And why would you need to inform me?'

`Don't act like I didn't notice your goggling at the chair,' Ginny laughed. Ron could not help his face's temperature rising. Had he been that obvious?

Ron had always been, and still was for the most part, a very self-conscious boy who often worried about what other people thought of him. No matter how nice Luna was, or how accepted she was by Harry, Ron always felt that same tinge of embarrassment back in the Hogwarts train where he first met her. Luna, in his opinion, made it her life's mission to be eccentric. If it wasn't bad enough that she wore the strangest objects in the world, she spoke about the strangest things and had a knack of being brutally and embarrassingly honest. Like the time he over heard her commentary from the school's infirmary.

It made him chuckle, receiving a look from Ginny in the process. Quickly he coughed and dug his hands in his pant pockets. `Don't know what you're on about,' Ron denied. Ginny shook her head and walked back down the hall to her room. Ron looked back to the closed door of his room and made a decision not to go back in there.

He nearly ran down the hall and two flights of stairs before coming in eye-contact with Luna. She wore a royal blue cloak while holding on to her small luggage in one hand and the other a closed black umbrella. With her hair and cloak drenched, he wondered if she even bothered to use her umbrella.

Luna had just looked up to see Ron standing on the second to last step. She gave him a serene smile before removing her cloak and placing it on the coat hanger.

`Dreadful whether we've got, huh?' Ron attempted to strike up a conversation.

`I s'pose,' said Luna.

`So…you missed supper,' Ron continued. He couldn't beat around the bush; he had to know why she didn't show up earlier with Neville. All Neville had told him was Luna was caught up with family things. What things, he wondered. Ron knew it was not his business, but he needed to hear it from her.

`I'm sorry Ronald,' Luna said at once, `I know you're angry that I didn't make it.'

`No…I was just surprised you hadn't,' said Ron. He sat down on the step and placed his arms on his bent knees.

`Nobody has ever expected me before let alone invited me to their home,' Luna said. Once again, she was demonstrating her ability to speak awkward truths.

`Uh… so how are you keeping up? How's summer been so far?' Ron changed the topic quickly. He was growing uncomfortable. Luna had joined him and sat down on the step, not once looking at him.

`Summer's been OK although father has been very ill. It's been the reason why I had to stay behind,' Luna answered openly.

`Oh…that must be a drag. Whenever my father's sick, mum tends to make it a living hell for us, extra chores and all. And he's always the one to keep the family cheerful or `least my mum from nagging us.'

Ron looked sideways at her and in return, Luna clutched the collar of her dress shirt and stared off into the distance. Ron followed her gaze for a second and raised his eyebrow at the front door, where her eyes were fixed on. He took this as one of Luna's loony moments.

`You all right there?' Ron inquired.

Luna, who was still spaced, had whispered, `you shouldn't say things like that.'

`What?' Ron didn't understand. What had he said wrong? His forehead furrowed in thought. He was only trying to relate to her situation.

`If it isn't a Ravenclaw amongst us,' Fred announced with George in tow. They both wore their black dress robes and matching pair of black dress shoes and Ron assumed they were getting their share of mother's wedding frets.

`Hello Fred, George. Good evening,' Luna replied placidly, who snapped out of her daze.

`Good evening to you too Lovegood,' George stated.

`While you're here, would you like to test out our famous Patent Damp Dryer?' asked Fred as he pulled out two small black beans. `I guarantee it will leave you squeaky dry,' he handed it over to her. Luna looked down at the beans doltishly.

`Don't forget to let your family and friends know about it,' George added.

`Thank you. I don't often get things from people. I'll use it another time because I like the feeling of being soaked at the moment.'

Ron couldn't think of a time where the Burrow was this hot. His eyes were suddenly on anything but Luna as he gave a loud cough. The twins glanced over at him.

`For the last time Ron, we are not giving you any free stuff,' George, who interpreted his cough differently, said tirelessly.

Ron argued, `I didn't say any -'

`It's all right Ronald; I've brought something for you!' Luna said happily as she dug into her purse. She pulled out a miniature frame and handed it over to him. Ron turned the frame around and gave a croak. There behind the clear screen was a drawn picture of him in his Quidditch robes. It almost looked realistic and Ron gave a small smirk.

`You drew this?'

`Oh yes! I had a bit of time this morning. I know it isn't great. I'll understand if you don't want it,' Luna replied.

`No,' Ron said firmly, `I'll keep it and you draw very well.'

`You're just saying that to make me feel better.'

`No Luna, it's very well done. I could never draw like this if my life depended on it,' Ron insisted.

`Ronny got a gift from a girl,' Fred laughed, `I can't wait to tell every one.'

`Don't forget to put it on your night table seeing as this will be the only gift a girl will give you,' George added. Ron had almost forgotten the twins' presence and again, felt his face heating up. Luckily, his mother had interrupted before Ron could lash out.

`Fred! George!' their mother screeched from the second floor, `get over here at once! I'm not done adjusting your robes!'

`Oy!' exclaimed George and immediately Apparated out of sight. Fred followed suit just in time when their mother appeared at the top of the stairs. She absently forgot why she stood there at once when her eyes fell upon Luna.

`You must be Luna! Ron and Ginny told me all about you!' His mother called. `What happened dear? You've arrived so late. Are you hungry? Would you like something to drink?'

Luna opened and closed her mouth, not being able to find the right moment to answer any of his mother's questions.

`Mum please! Give the girl a chance to speak,' Ginny interrupted as she appeared next to her mom, `come upstairs Luna! I want to show you my dress! Mum finally bought me something nice.'

`Ginerva Molly Weasley!' their mother huffed.

`I'm only kidding mum,' Ginny quickly added.

`You better hope so,' said their mum, `don't forget to feed our guest,' she added before she headed back to the room she left Fleur in. Ginny gestured Luna briskly and she looked longingly at Ron before leaving him for his sister. He was alone and for the first time, he hadn't liked the idea at all. He looked down once more at the framed drawing. It made him smile unexpectedly as though Luna's gift was reassuring him everything was going to be all right.

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A/N: I sincerely apologize for the length of time I took to update. Fanfiction writing isn't my thing, so please bear with me. I promise I'll get better in time. I'd like to thank H_HrFan for being my beta.

(2/3)

The sun beamed through the thin curtains of the window in Ron's bedroom at the Burrow. No sooner had he snuggled against his pillow to block out the sunlight then he jumped at the sound of his bedroom door being slammed against the wall. Footsteps hurried to his bedside and a figure loomed in front of him. Before he had the opportunity to slur a few inappropriate words of annoyance, he received a sharp blow to his back.

“Wake up!' a girl's voice yelled. Ron raised his head up and the figure slowly came into focus; her bushy brown hair the first thing he noticed: Hermione.

“Blimey! Did you have to wake me up to reality?!” Ron moaned. “I was having an amazing dream that I was in a Hermione-free world.” He buried his face in his pillow once more.

“Care to wager your life on that remark?” Hermione responded scornfully.

`Wha -'

Ron's bed cover flung off as he turned his head to her statement. She gripped the cover tightly with her fist, challenging him with her eyes.

“Is it that time of the month again? Or do you just take great joy in waking me up?” Ron hissed, rising to her challenge.

Hermione's cheeks reddened as she angrily threw the cover in his face. “Next time I'll remind myself to not wake you up for the important events such as your brother's wedding. And in case you hadn't noticed, Ron, Harry woke up hours ago. You're the only insensitive git still sleeping as though there isn't anything to be done!” Hermione's voice escalated with each word and when she was through, her nostrils flared and her chest heaved.

For the most part, her speech left Ron gaping. It was one of those things Hermione seemed to always accomplish. He couldn't think of an argument where she hadn't left him baffled. He loathed her self-righteousness and often wondered why he bothered to argue at all. It was like an unexplained force, nagging at him to disagree or fight against everything she said. He often wondered if they would have ever been friends, let alone best-mates, had Harry not been around.

He did care about her, contrary to popular belief, but it seemed that there could never be peace between them verbally. He liked being heard and, unfortunately, so did she. Their arguments caused many to think that he had a soft spot for her. When, in his life, had he confessed he liked her in that way? Let alone, had an undying love for her. Could people not see their differences? Just the thought that even Harry had, on countless occasions, assumed there was something between them, aggravated him. The thought of it made him sit up immediately.

“While you're at it, remind yourself not to come barging into my room! You don't know what state I could be in!” he snapped as his hands glided over his body. Ron was generally a conservative dresser when sleeping since there were often guests at the Burrow, and although he was wearing a white t-shirt and shorts, his comeback caused a blush to rise in Hermione's cheeks. He tried not to imagine what state he might have been in and in the process, made himself blush as well.

Hermione brushed a strand of her hair back and looked toward the window. “Just make sure you clean up and head down,” she frowned. Ron could tell she had already regained her composure. He was still trying to think of Quidditch, pumpkin pie, loony Luna -anything to keep his thoughts from straying to what could have been. It took him almost five minutes to recover after Hermione finally left him alone.

+++++

Ron arrived downstairs twenty minutes later, fully dressed and combing down his wet ginger hair. He found that none of the Order members where there. They must have departed last night, he thought. His father was also absent, just as he expected. The only people who sat around the breakfast table were Ginny and Luna. He took note of the magazine they were both buried in, and headed over to the stove to pour a cup of hot tea.

After his first sip, he asked Ginny, “Where's mum?”

Ginny took a while to disconnect her gaze from the magazine to look up at him. “Off with Harry and Hermione,” she stated scornfully.

“Doing what?” Ron asked. He quickly glanced in Luna's direction but she appeared just as enthralled by the magazine, and hadn't yet looked up at him. He felt somewhat disappointed.

“Harry needs to get a pair of shoes to go with his dress robes. Hermione needs to meet up with her folks, they're coming to the wedding, and mum is running a few errands.”

“What about the rest?” Ron inquired.

Ginny gave an annoyed look before returning her attention to her readings. Her forehead scrunched. “Ron, if you woke up early like the rest of the family than you would know about everyone's whereabouts. Now leave me alone. I'm reading this new article on Muggle make-up.”

Ron bit his tongue to keep from arguing any further with his little sister. He made himself some toast, all the while purposely making a lot of noise in the kitchen. When he finally sat down across the table from them, Luna looked up. She stared directly into his eyes causing Ron to squirm. He wanted to eat but the look she gave made him very curious.

Before he had the chance to ask what the matter was, Luna spoke. “Who's your partner for the wedding?”

“What?” He exclaimed. Ginny took that moment to giggle. Her eyes darted from Ron to Luna, who still had her gaze transfixed on him.

“Your partner, you buffoon, for Bill's wedding ceremony,” Ginny replied.

“What are you guys talking about?” Ron asked. He seriously had no clue about what they were saying.

“The men, or should I say boys, will have to walk in with a partner, duh!”

“What? Why?” Ron cried out. He couldn't help but feel very small at the moment. He was literally oblivious to the goings-on of the wedding and he even felt very foolish for asking. He needed a partner? When was this said? He thought back to the last time his mother discussed the wedding to the family, but it was like a huge blur. Slowly, he forced himself to remember. And the images started to come together. He was sitting on the couch in the living room that evening thinking to himself about the war. No wonder he didn't remember anything his mother had said; he was still grieving Dumbledore's death. He tried his best not to think about it as he took a bite of his toast.

“You're kidding right?” Ginny responded skeptically. “You mean to tell me that you haven't heard a damn thing mum has said the past week?”

“Yeah, of course I did. But I don't remember me needing to get a partner.”

“Well, you do! It's tradition Ron! You will need to dance with a girl at the reception and everything.”

“So if it's tradition, who are you going with?” Ron asked haughtily. “Harry?”

Ginny quickly stared back down at her magazine as she got up, “I need to go get ready. Luna and I will be leaving soon.” Ron, in a confused state, watched Ginny walk out on him. For some reason he felt the need to throw his toast at her, but his stomach's growl pulled him to a halt.

He ate silently, aware that Luna was sitting across from him, watching him. Avoiding her eyes, he took cautious glances her way. This morning, she was wearing a light, almost see-through t-shirt. Her hair looked silvery in the sunlight streaming through the window. It gave him the greatest urge to dig his fingers into her hair. He wondered if it was as soft as it looked. But he had to hold himself back.

“So you have no partner?” Luna asked, breaking the long silence.

“Uh…yeah…who's Ginny going with anyway?” Ron replied.

“She's going with Neville. He's really nice. I almost wished he asked me first though.”

“Why Neville?!”

Luna raised her eyebrow at him, her smile never fading. It took him a second to realize his stupid outburst. Biting his tongue irritably, Ron couldn't believe he reacted that way. Neville was, as she said, a nice bloke. But he wished she hadn't added that little tidbit at the end.

“So…uh, why is Ginny going with Neville? Wouldn't Harry be taking her?” Ron inquired, uncertainly.

“No, he wouldn't be.”

“And what's that supposed to mean?” Ron questioned.

Luna shook her head sadly at Ron, “Didn't Harry tell you about the break-up? Anyway, that's the reason why Ginny said yes to Neville. And besides, Harry asked Hermione yesterday.”

If Ron wasn't completely blown by the first bit of news, the second half almost made him fall off his seat. His cup of tea already slid out of his fingers and spilled on the table. Luna stood up at once to get a cloth.

It wasn't until after they both cleaned up the mess, that Ron got his mind to re-process the information. Harry and Ginny were not dating. Ginny and Harry were not together. They were the opposite of together. Ron repeated the information in his mind over and over until it sank in. It explained so much. The past few weeks Harry had deliberately ignored any talk of Ginny but was able to play it off whenever Ginny was in the same room as him. As for Harry asking Hermione to be his partner at the wedding, he didn't know how to react. He was partly disappointed because Harry had gotten to her first but kind of relieved that Harry wasn't without a partner.

“A sickle for your thoughts?” Luna said.

Ron fastened his eyes to hers for a minute before replying, “I'm a bit shocked about this. I don't understand why Harry and Ginny broke up. They were so perfect and he was the only guy I trusted near my sister. I would have thought they'd last. Its—”

“—it's more complicated than that,” Luna interrupted.

“Oh yeah? How so?”

“I don't know the entire story exactly but Harry doesn't want anyone else put at risk,” Luna said in a hushed tone.

“Yeah, well, that's inevitable,” said Ron.

“I s'pose,” Luna replied in thought.

Ron watched her in silence for a minute. With her so close, Ron could smell the feminine fragrance she wore. It reminded him of the roses his mother grew in the garden and a small smile plastered across his face. Suddenly, he felt very aware of how close they sat. He couldn't explain the sudden heat increasing around him. His eyes lowered, that see-through shirt was beckoning him to touch her. Just take a hold of her arm, waist, anything.

Luna must have felt Ron's piercing eyes because her face slightly paled as she looked up at him. She took a hold of the magazine to shield her chest while Ron's cheeks turned crimson. He had to say something to stop himself from looking like a radish.

“I -uhh...would you like to be my partner?” Ron blurted. His breath hitched as he waited for an answer.

“Are you serious?” Luna asked doubtfully.

“Uhh...yes. Unless, you have a partner or something and if that's the case, my apologies—”

“Of course I'd love to go with you, Ronald,” Luna smiled serenely and started humming a very familiar tune. But Ron was so busy smiling back at her while trying to control his urge to raise his hand in a very boyish “score!” sort of way, that he didn't hear her breathe the words, “Weasley is my king.”

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