Saving Him, Saving Her
"Ronald Weasley!"
Ron groaned and briefly thought of not turning to face Professor McGonagall, the head of Gryffindor House, Transfiguration teacher and Deputy Headmistress. He knew exactly why she was calling for him. He hexed Draco Malfoy a few hours ago. It was a good one in his view; Malfoy's skin still had to be pricking from it.
Malfoy had been making fun of him, taunting him like he normally did. Gryffindor had won the first Quidditch game of the year, under the leadership of Seeker Harry Potter. While the star of the match had been Harry, (as it normally was before Umbridge suspended him last year), Ron had done a good job being Keeper. However, Malfoy had to point out some of the mistakes Ron had made during the game. After all the hard work the youngest Weasley boy had put in that game, he snapped and hexed Malfoy right there.
Knowing full well the price he would pay if he kept walking, he turned to face McGonagall. "Yes, Professor?" he grunted out.
The stern teacher looked down at Ron, frowning. Her eyes flashed in anger. "Professor Snape has informed me of your actions against Mr. Malfoy. What do you have to say for yourself?"
The red head stood to his full height, looking his teacher in the eye. "Professor, Malfoy was making fun of my performance in the Quidditch match."
"That does not give you the right to curse him!" said McGonagall, her eyes narrowing. "I am very disappointed in you. I expected better from you, you're a perfect!" She sighed. "I'm going to have to give you detention, Mr. Weasley."
Ron nearly cursed out loud, but remembered who was in front of him and instead, did it silently. "What about Malfoy?" he gritted out. If he had to get detention, at least he could suffer along with Malfoy.
"Professor Snape is dealing with him," responded McGonagall curtly.
Ron stared at the Professor in astonishment. "But…but Professor! Snape won't do anything to Malfoy!"
"That's Professor Snape to you, Mr. Weasley," corrected the deputy Headmistress reprovingly. "And Mr. Malfoy is under his control. He will do as he sees fit." Ron tightened his fists at hearing that. McGonagall eyed him. "You will report to my office after supper. I have an idea as to what your detention will be. I shall hope you will learn a lesson from it." She walked away, her posture as stiff as she was stern. Ron could not believe the injustice of it all! He got detention while Malfoy got away scot free! And to think this was suppose to be a week of celebrating!
____________
"Well, she has a point, Ron," said Hermione Granger as she dipped her quill in her inkwell. The red head had related the events to his two friends, Harry and Hermione. Both were writing an essay for their potions class. Since Ron did not take potions anymore, he was sitting in the floor, looking over his other homework.
However, hearing Hermione's comment caused him to kick his astronomy book. "What'd you mean she has a point?" he asked angrily.
His bushy haired friend gave him a disgusted look. "Well, she was right in that you shouldn't have cursed Malfoy! Maybe he deserves it and all, but honestly, Ron, cursing him does nothing, but get you in trouble! You should ignore him," she said in a very superior tone of voice. "Besides, you are a perfect. You really should have known better."
Ron scowled and reached for his book. Hermione had no idea what it was like for him being made fun of by Malfoy. Easy for her to say to ignore him. What right did she have to tell him how to behave?
"Ron! Are you listening?" asked Hermione in a very offended tone.
"No," grumbled Ron. "What're you babbling on about then?"
Hermione sighed. "I said you pay too much attention to what other people think of you. That's your problem. You are too concerned with what others think. If you stop doing that, you wouldn't get into trouble like this."
Ron stared at his friend in repulsed shock. "That is not why!" he retorted.
Hermione huffed. "Well, then I guess you know better than me then." She packed up her things and swung her bag over her shoulder. "I'll see you two in the Great Hall later then."
Ron gathered his things and plopped them on the table with Harry. "I can't believe her!"
Harry said nothing. He continued writing his essay, not looking at his best friend.
"What was I supposed to do? Just stand around and let Malfoy insult me? When has ignoring ever worked? It hasn't worked with you or Hermione so what's the point?"
"Ron," spoke up Harry quietly, "just drop it."
The red head looked at his friend curiously. He thought he had an ally in Harry. After everything he did last year in Umbridge's class and his extreme dislike of Malfoy as well, he figured that Harry would support him. "What? You mean you agree with her?"
Harry sighed. He put down his quill and leaned against his chair. "Look. I agree that Malfoy is a jerk. I would have cursed him, too, if I had the chance, but Hermione is right in that cursing him just gets you in trouble. We both know that Snape would never punish Malfoy. It's not worth getting in trouble for." Now he started gathering his things in his bag. "Besides, I think she does have a point. You do care too much what others think."
Harry got up, said he would meet him downstairs and left a dumbfounded Ron to his thoughts. When the Boy Who Lived left the common room, Ron shoved his books and papers to the floor in frustration. Even Harry believed he cared too much about what people thought. How could his best friend think that?
Ron did not go to supper. He stayed in the common room fuming until it was time to go to McGonagall's office. He left before Harry and Hermione came back.
____________
Not long afterwards, Ron knocked on the door to McGonagall's office. He received permission to come in and opened the door. The Professor sat behind her desk. Two chairs stood in front of it, one chair had feet hanging down, indicating someone else was here other than him and the Professor.
"Sit down, Mr. Weasley," instructed McGonagall, curtly.
Ron did as he was told, rather reluctantly. He cast a sideways glance at the person next to him and felt his eyes widen. It was Luna Lovegood. She stared forward, seemingly unaware of her surroundings. Ron had a brief wondering of what the Ravenclaw girl was doing here. The youngest Weasley boy was here for detention. Surely, she could not here for the same reason? Would she not talk to her own head of house for that? However, before Ron could keep up his train of thoughts, McGonagall brought him back to reality.
"Now, Mr. Weasley," began the Transfiguration Professor, "It seems to me that you pay too much attention to what others think of you."
Ron snorted. His teacher's eyes widened in rebuke. "Hermione mentioned something like that," muttered Ron, lowering his eyes and hoping his punishment would not be increased do to his actions.
McGonagall nodded. "As I was saying, you seem to pay too much attention to what others think of you. Not only that, but I have observed that you care too much about what you have compared to others.
"Take Mr. Potter for instance. I remember very well the episode back in your fourth year when you refused to talk to your friend when he found himself in the Tournament. While I agree both of you were at fault," she added when she saw Ron open his month to respond, "that does not mean one should not be in the wrong. Therefore, your detention will be spending time with Miss Lovegood in hopes that these faults of yours will be corrected somewhat."
At the mention of his detention being with Luna, Ron sat up straight in his chair. "WHAT? I'm going to do what?"
"Spend time with Miss Lovegood, Mr. Weasley," repeated McGonagall, nodding her head once. Luna appeared not to have noticed Ron's reaction. "I have it from Professor Flitwick that Luna is quite adapt in not caring about what others think or what others have so therefore I believe she may be a good influence on you."
Ron sat speechless. His month slacked a bit in an O shape, his eyes, wide and staring straight in front of him. His detention was spending time with Luna? He was not sure which could be more outrageous, spending time with Luna or the fact that his detention consisted of it?
McGonagall stood up and walked to the door, opening it and indicating that the two of them should follow her. Luna pounced out of her chair, almost hopping out of the room. Ron got up, still stunned. He followed the two women out.
The deputy Headmistress led them to an empty classroom. "This will be where the two of you will meet after supper each night for two hours." McGonagall turned to Luna. "Miss Lovegood, you will report to me after the two hours of Mr. Weasley's progress, is that understood?"
Luna nodded. "Of course, Professor," she said, very cheerfully.
"Is that understood, Mr. Weasley?"
Ron sighed. "Yes, Professor," he muttered.
"Good," said the teacher. "You will start tomorrow."
____________
When Harry and Hermione asked (tentatively, of course, since he had blown up on them when he last saw them) what his detention was, Ron said he had to spruce up some old classrooms for awhile. They bought it. Ron was not about to tell them his real detention: spending time with Luna Lovegood. He still did not understand why he had to do it. Besides, telling Hermione what McGonagall said would merely validate her and Ron did not want that at all!
For once in his life, Ron found himself hoping that the day would never end, that his Charms class would go on forever, however, it seemed to him that the day flew by and he found himself finishing up the cake he was having for desert. Sighing as he put down his fork and took one last drink of pumpkin juice, he said bye to Harry and Hermione and left to the classroom where Luna waited (he saw her walk out several minutes ago).
Ron took his time to get to the classroom, hoping (however slim it was) that, like with his classes, time would speed up and by the time he got to the classroom, the two hours would be up. In spite of this, Ron arrived at his destination in roughly five minutes.
Resigning himself to his fate, the red head opened the door and went into the room.
As he expected, Luna was already there. She sat on top of the desk, reading the Quibbler like always, her wand tucked away behind her ear. She dressed in plain jeans and a red shirt, wearing a butterbeer cap necklace around her neck and radish earrings in her ears.
In other words, typical Luna fashion.
The Ravenclaw blond looked up at hearing the door open. She smiled serenely as if Ron had just come in of his own free will and not forced here via a detention. "Hello, Ronald!"
The red head forced a smile. "Hi," he said uncertainly.
Luna slid off the desk, putting her magazine on the desk. "Well, what should we do? We have two hours."
Ron shrugged. "I don't know," he responded, wondering why she was asking. "You're supposed to decide that, right?"
She nodded her head. "Yes, but I would like to know what you would like to do. It's important to think of what others think." She smiled. Ron found himself taken aback. He guessed that was a lesson for him.
Ron racked his brain, thinking of something to do. Finally, he thought of something. At the very least, it would make the time he spent here endurable. "What about a chess game?"
Luna smiled and pulled a chess set from behind the desk. Again, he felt taken aback. Had she expected his answer? Why? And how?
For the next two hours, Ron and Luna just sat and played chess. The only talking they did was in relation to the game. Ron won, but was surprised at how good Luna was. She did not beat him in the games that they played, but he was sure that if she kept at it, she might very well do so. This disturbed him a bit; after all, chess was the one thing he received praise for.
All in all, it was not the detention he expected.
____________
Ron found it hard to believe that he actually was looking forward to detention. Yes, he did not like the fact that he was with Luna, but spending two hours playing chess was a lot better than he expected.
It was the third day of Ron's detention. During their third game of chess, Luna spoke up, "You're very good at chess, Ronald."
Glumly, he moved a castle and took Luna's bishop. "Yeah. It's the only thing I'm good at."
"That's not true," she said, frowning. "You're good at Quidditch. Remember? You won Gryffindor the Cup last year."
The red head sighed. "That was luck. I'm not as good as Wood was. I can make do until Harry can catch the Snitch."
Luna used her queen to take Ron's knight. "I think you're a very good Keeper."
He frowned. "Why?"
She smiled serenely. "Because you are."
Ron moved his queen two squares to the right. "Checkmate." They restored their pieces back to their places, but Luna's words of his Quidditch ability echoed in Ron's head throughout the rest of their session and the rest of the day.
____________
It had been a week since Ron started his detention. McGonagall had stopped him after his Transfiguration class and told him that Luna said he was making good progress. The youngest Weasley boy had blushed a bit. For some reason, the crazy Ravenclaw's words affected him. It was the first time someone had spoke positive of him before. Perhaps that was the reason?
He still had not told Harry and Hermione what he was really doing in the two hours after supper. They were quite surprised at how long McGonagall was keeping Ron in his detention. Likely that no teacher had ever kept a student in a detention for this long.
"How much longer is she going to keep you cleaning classrooms?" asked Harry as he cut into his roast chicken.
"I don't know," replied Ron, poking at his Yorkshine pudding and avoiding the eyes of his two best friends. "I reckon she wants me to clean the whole castle!"
"Perhaps you should talk to her, Ron?" suggested Hermione as she finished taking a sip of her pumpkin juice. "Maybe she'll give you a timetable?"
Ron shrugged, said he might do that and continued poking at his pudding, hoping for a new subject. Sure enough, Hermione brought up the latest round of Potions homework she and Harry had for the night and Ron was left along for the rest of the meal.
____________
Luna talked about her father during their fifth game. "He brought home an egg from a Heliopath the other day. One of his reporters found it and brought it to the office. It was very hot, of course; you know, Heliopaths are creatures of flame. I don't know when it'll hatch..."
Ron was not paying too much attention to Luna. He focused on the game. Luna had put him in a tough spot.
"What about your dad? Does he bring you things?"
Ron looked up. "Huh?"
She smiled serenely again. It was as if she was not annoyed by him not playing attention to her. "Does your dad bring anything home with him?"
"Oh." Ron shrugged. "Not really. It's mostly Muggle stuff he gets from his office. He's fascinated by them."
Luna nodded and watched him as he continued to plot his move. Again, he was thinking too much that he missed another question of Luna's. "Why don't you tell me about your family? What's your family like?"
Ron started. "Huh?" Luna laughed a bit and repeated her question. He stared at her, quite unsure how to respond.. Ron loved his family, he really did, but he did not like talking about them much. He had his famous brothers, Bill and Charlie, his uptight brother, Percy, and the prankster twins, Fred and George. He always felt that he could not compare to them, to their great achievements (regardless of how stupid Percy was). So Ron muttered that he did not want to talk about his family.
This earned a frown from Luna. "Why? Why don't you like talking about your family? You have such a big one. Surely, you must enjoy it?"
He felt his ears grow hot, quite sure they were red. "I just don't," he whispered.
The blond was quiet for a bit as Ron finally made his move and brought his knight three squares forward and one square to the right, right in front of one of Luna's pawns. Then she spoke, "If you have problems with your family, then you should talk about them. It always helps to talk to someone about it."
Ron bit his lip. Only Harry and Hermione knew about how he felt about his family. No one else did. However, Luna had had such kind words for him. She thought he was good at Quidditch when he did not even think he was. Taking a deep breath, he made a decision. "It's just that all my brothers have done great things and I can't get any attention. It doesn't matter what I do, it'll be no big deal because Bill, Charlie or Percy have done it before me. I'm not as funny as Fred and George are so I get ignored. I would like people to see me other than a Weasley, other than a brother to Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred or George." He sighed. "Is that too much to ask?"
Luna listened. It really was the best thing about her, listening was. No one had done this before. Not even Harry or Hermione. Ron liked that, that someone finally was listening to his tales of woe and actually tried to help him.
"I don't think you need to worry about such things," she said finally.
Ron raised an eyebrow. "What? What do you mean?"
"Well," she said, "you already have gained attention with playing chess and Quidditch. Everyone in Ravenclaw talked about the year before I came to Hogwarts, how you and your friends beat a series of obstacles to save the Philosopher's Stone. And everyone was thrilled with your performance at the Cup game." She smiled, her eyes widening so much, they appeared to be popping. "You are very important. You just need to realize it. Besides," she added, "you really shouldn't worry about such things. Things like that attract Higamu, which prevents your Khu from developing."
Ron shuddered a bit. "What's a High-ga-mew? And a Kay-hew?"
Adopting a very Hermione look (without the look of superiority), Luna explained that a Higamu was a creature that fed off a person's jealously. Higamu would create more of what the person was jealous about inside the person in order to eat more jealously. The Khu happened to be a creature that lived inside of a person and kept emotions in check. With the additional jealously, the Khu cannot control a person's emotions, starts to fade away, which leaves the person emotional and unreasonable.
Ron twitched very visibly. "I don't like that."
Luna moved her bishop forward two squares. "It's not fun, of course. Daddy says it's very much like Dementors, only worse because with jealously, you may end up harming people."
The youngest Weasley boy nodded solemnly. While he did not believe in High-ga-mews or Kay-hews, Luna's stories caused him to think. He made a decision right there. He would learn to control his jealously. He thought back to when he was jealous of Harry getting into the Tri-Wizard tournament. He was jealous of his friends a lot. Harry because he had money and was famous. Hermione because she was the smartest girl in the school. But when he thought of it more, Ron saw the problems with their situation. Harry was famous and rich because his parents died. Hermione always struggled with homework. He did not have any of that. He had a family that loved him.
Ron felt strange all of a sudden. He never really thought of it before. He never thought of what Harry and Hermione did not have that he, Ron, did have. Harry had no parents and lived with a brutal aunt, uncle and cousin. Hermione barely had a moment of sanity, she had to keep studying to stay on top. Now Ron was not sure if he could live like that.
"Checkmate."
Ron looked up and saw that Luna had finally beat him in a game.
____________
Ron was walking to his next class, talking causally to Harry and Hermione. It had been a week since the detention when Luna beat him. She had not repeated the feat again. Not that it matter to Ron, she was still a good player and he enjoyed playing with her.
However, he had been doing a lot of thinking since the game she beat him in. Moreover, it was not just on his jealously either, well, not completely. The nights after that game Ron thought about his relationship between him and Hermione.
In their fourth year, Ron got angry at Hermione for going out with Victor Krum. His own feelings confused him. He disliked the fact that she got to go out with someone like Krum, but he could not get a date with the beautiful Fleur Delacoer. The thought that she might betray Harry to Krum and Ron wanted to prevent that, prove that himself the more loyal one, was also in his mind.
However, was he jealous of Krum? He had heard many radio programs about how jealously started relationships. Did his reaction to Krum mean he was jealous and wished to be with Hermione?
His experience with Luna had changed his question. He thought long and hard, lying in his four-poster bed staring at the ceiling about what Hermione meant to him minus Krum. He realized that they were just friends. His jealously of Krum was nothing more than what he first thought: he wanted a date with Fleur, but could not get one, Hermione, on the other hand, got close to Krum, a world famous Quidditch star. And he wanted to prove himself loyal, thinking Hermione might betray Harry to Krum.
Ron felt a lot better figuring out his feelings for Hermione. He even asked her what Krum was up to when she got a letter from him this morning before their classes. It certainly surprised her when he did not react negatively.
As Harry, Hermione and Ron continued down the hallway to their next class, Ron's bag ripped open, spilling his books, parchment, quills and ink bottles. "Go on," he told them. "This won't take long."
His two friends nodded and headed down to Transfiguration. Ron knelt down, repaired his bag and started gathering his things together.
"Enjoying your detention, Weasley?" drawled a sickening voice.
The red head's lips thinned as he repaired the last ink bottle and placed it in his bag. Somehow, he had a feeling his bag did not rip on its own. Ron replaced his bag back around his neck and turned to face the voice. "Hello, Malfoy," he said.
The Slytherin cold eyes glittered cruelly. "Do you enjoy cleaning up the castle? Maybe if you're good enough, I may hire you to clean my house? Of course, I'm not entirely sure I want a blood traitor like you in my house."
Ron stayed silent. His blood boiled at the insults at his family, but he kept his cool. Losing his temper was, of course, what Malfoy wanted.
The other smirked. "Then again, you might jump at the chance at cleaning my house. You would actually live in a house then!"
His ears turned red, but again he said nothing. However, something came to mind and he wanted to say it, but he would wait for the right opening. And it seemed that his opening came now.
Malfoy frowned and sneered, clearly irritated that his jabs were not affecting his target. "What's wrong, Weasel? Soap suds in your ears?"
Ignoring the jab on his name, Ron took a deep breath and came up with the right words. "You know, Malfoy, I don't understand you. You clearly don't like me and think you're better than me so why do you bother berating me? You go out of your way to insult when you don't have to. I don't like you. You don't like me. We both know that so why don't we ignore each other and let each other be?"
Malfoy stood with his mouth open. Ron turned and started walking toward McGonagall's classroom, leaving the Slytherin standing there. He turned a corner and came face to face with his teacher.
Ron gulped, hoping he had done nothing wrong with Malfoy, but then he saw his Head's warm smile and knew he was off the hook. "Mr. Weasely," started McGonagall, "I think you conducted yourself very well just now with Mr. Malfoy. You clearly have learned a lesson." She nodded her head. "Yes, I believe you won't be needing detention anymore. I release you from your detention."
The youngest Weasley son felt mixed feelings. On one side, his heart leaped that he was out of his detention. Finally, he was not being punished. He was free! On the other side, his heart dived. This meant no more meetings with Luna. No more chess matches with her. He really enjoyed his time with her, even if it was forced.
McGonagall directed him to her classroom as Ron thought over his torn feelings of joy and sorrow over the ending of his detention.
It was when he crossed over the threshold to the classroom that he had an idea.
____________
"I'll be with you guys in a minute," he said to Harry and Hermione as they made their way to Gryffindor table for supper. Ron walked over to the Ravenclaw table and to Luna where she had put down her magazine and started cutting up a pork chop. He tapped her on the shoulder and she turned, smiling serenely.
"Hello, Ronald. I hear you're not in detention anymore," she said.
Ron nodded. "Yeah, I'm kind of glad, but I was wondering…would you like to play chess after supper? Maybe make it like a daily meeting, since we're not in the same house?"
Luna's smile grew brighter. Ron ignored the stares they were getting from the nearby tables. "Of course! I'll meet you outside the Hall, all right?"
Yeah, outside the Hall, see you then?" Ron walked back toward his own table, his own smile brightening his face.
____________
The sounds of battle raged through the walls of Hogwarts. Lights from spells, curses and hexes lit up the night sky outside the windows of the Great Hall. All the students were currently in the room where they dined everyday, only now they crowded into it for their protection. The Death Eaters had attacked the school.
The perfects were counting the people in their houses. Even Harry, who was not a perfect, made sure everyone was okay and often moved to the doors with his wand raised whenever a noise rang out.
Finally, all the perfects and Harry gathered around in front of the crowd. The Head Boy and Girl looked at the perfects and asked, "Is everyone accounted for?"
The Hufflepuff Perfects nodded. The Slytherin Perfects hesitated, but nodded finally. The Gryffindor Perfects and Harry nodded. The Ravenclaw Perfects started to nod, but Anthony Goldstein ran up to them and cried, "Luna Lovegood's missing!"
Ron felt his stomach drop through the floors. He looked to the doors. Luna was still out there. What if a Death Eater came inside the school? Suddenly, he could not bare the thought of Luna no longer in his life, an image of her dead body etched in his mind.
He took out his wand and moved through the crowd of perfects. "Ron?" he heard Harry from behind. "Where are you going?"
Ron walked up the Great Hall doors and turned the knob. "I'm going to find Luna." He turned back to see the astonished faces of his friends and the other students. "Keep everyone in the Hall. I'll be back with her. No one follow me." He opened the door, walked out and closed the door.
He ran down the hall, looking in all directions. He did not dare call out her name, in fear that a Death Eater would hear him. He could do Luna no good if he was killed before he found her.
The air grew chilly. The more he ran down the hall, the chillier the air became. Then he heard moaning and recognized it. It was Luna!
He turned a corner and felt his insides freeze. Dementors. Ten robed monsters surrounded the blond Ravenclaw. She lay in the floor, tears flowing down her cheeks and legs close to her chest.
Ron felt the power of the Dementors start to take him. He leaned against the wall and started to slid down, but then shook his head. He tried to cast away the magic of the Dementors. He got back up and faced the creatures. He held out his wand and focused on the first thought that came to mind: His days of playing chess with Luna. "Expecto Patronum!"
A great white lion burst out of his wand. The lion raced over to the Dementors, surrounding Luna and clawing at the evil creatures. The gray monsters backed away and slowly the chilly air began to disperse. Ron ran over to Luna, gently cradling her. "Luna? Luna, please talk to me! Luna?"
The girl looked up, tears still staining her face. Then she cried, "Mummy!" and threw herself around Ron's neck, bawling. The red head jumped slightly, but put his arms around her.
"Why did she go?" he heard her say. "I didn't want her to go. Why did she have to go?"
She's relived the time her mother died, thought Ron. Grimacing, the Gryffindor Perfect looked around. The white lion was gone. He spotted a broom closet nearby and lifted Luna in his arms as she continued to keep a tight hold on his neck. He kicked the door open and placed the blond gently down in the floor. Ron then closed the door and sealed it with a spell.
He then sat down next to Luna. "Are you okay?" he asked.
She looked up from putting her head on her knees. "I think so," she whispered.
Ron kept a tight hold on his wand, hoping the Dementors did not return. "I don't have any chocolate for you. I don't know how long we can stay in here, through."
Luna sniffed. "My…my mother…I…" she trailed off and Ron stared at her, sadly. He wished he could help her. Keep the horrible memories at bay. Moving closer, he took the girl in his arms and held her tight.
"It's ok. The Dementors are gone. You don't have to see anymore."
He felt her sob a bit more. "I…I don't k-know why. I - I always…was okay with my…mum d-dying…"
"Shh…You don't have to tell me. It's okay. You're safe now," he whispered.
But Luna shook her head. "I took a wrong turn and the Dementors came and surrounded me," she started, a bit calmer. "I tried to use the spell Harry taught us last year, but there were too many and the spell didn't produce a proper Patronus. Then I started seeing my mum and…" She started crying again. Ron just let her cry, unsure of what he should do. "I've never felt this way about my mum. I was sad the day she died, but Daddy talked to me about it and I didn't feel sad anymore. Why do I feel sad now?"
Ron swallowed, thinking of what he should say. Then he spoke up, "It's okay. The Dementors bring back memories that are terrible for us. It's normal. You're safe now. You have nothing to worry about now."
Luna moved away from Ron's embrace. She was not crying now, but her eyes were still red. She looked into his eyes. "Why did you save me?"
The red head felt taken aback, like he always did with her forwardness. "You weren't with the others in the Great Hall. Someone had to come and get you. I…" he stopped, unsure of what he could say. "You…When McGonagall put me in detention, you helped me realize I needed to control myself, my emotions, my jealously. I…owed it to you, to come and get you…"
Ron shook his head. No, that was not what he wanted to say. "You…saved me." He looked down at the floor, at her knees, strange feelings filling his stomach and heart. "I don't know how my life would be if you hadn't saved me." Looking up, he smiled and kissed her on the forehead, the feelings in his stomach and heart starting to make sense. "I think…I love you, Luna. I care about you. I don't want to see you harmed or hurt, not now by those memories or by some Death Eater."
As usual, she hinted at no emotion, just stared unblinkingly at him. Then she started speaking, in a soft voice, "I love you, too, but I thought you wouldn't feel the same." She bit her lip and looked downward, perhaps finally betraying some emotion. "I mean, why would I believe you would when, well…" She took a deep breath, reaching out for one of his hands, grasping it and holding it tight. "When I am who I am, believe what I believe, people think so little of me that I'm used to it so I thought it wouldn't matter anyway and allowed myself to be open with my feelings for you."
Ron nodded. "I remember how you acted. I was mystified at your behavior. No one acted that way toward me before, not even Harry and Hermione. It…was strange to me. I didn't know how to act." He smiled again. "However, during my detention, I realized you weren't like I thought. Maybe you're crazy, but it's in a good way and I'm kind of crazy, too, so when you think about it, maybe we're perfect for each other." He grinned. "You listened to me when no one else did. I guess that's what I needed, someone to listen."
"Oh, Ronald…" Looking into his eyes, Luna smiled for the first time since Ron found her. "I knew there was a reason why I love you. You're smart, kind and funny. You're just what I need."
Ron felt his ears turn red at her words, feeling a mixture of pleasure and embarrassment at her straightforwardness. "And you're exactly what I need; believing in me," he muttered, drawing her closer to him, "telling me what's wrong with me without getting me mad. And you're a pretty decent chess player," he finished, adding the last part with a grin. "You saved my soul, Luna. I'm so glad I found you."
Forgetting they were in danger, that Death Eaters and Dementors were running loose on the grounds, Ron and Luna leaned forward, their eyes closed, and kissed. Ron felt electricity flow through his body. This was right. They were right. The feelings he felt finally made sense. I love Luna with all my heart and soul.
The doorknob rattled and Ron and Luna jumped. He reached for his wand. She stood up next to him, holding her wand in front of them, a determined look on her face. "I'm not afraid anymore," she whispered. "I have you with me, Ronald."
Ron nodded and pointed his wand at the door as it opened. Two people stood silhouetted in the hallway. "Ron! Put your wand down!" shouted a familiar voice.
The red head did as he was told, smiling as he did so. "Harry! Hermione! What are you guys doing here?" He then frowned. "I said to stay in the Hall."
Harry snorted. "You think we're going to let you get killed?"
Ron and Luna walked out of the closet. "How did you find us?" asked Luna.
Hermione pointed to Harry. "The map, of course! Harry had it on him. It let us straight to you two."
Ron grinned, but felt some disappointment. Oh, well. He would have another moment with Luna sure enough.
The foursome walked back to the Great Hall, the sounds of battle sounded far away. "Are you okay, Luna?" asked Harry, who was looking down at the map to make sure no one surrounded them unknowingly.
Luna nodded, but stayed close to Ron. "Yes, I am fine. What is that you have, Harry? Is it a special device that enables you to control your opponents?"
Harry gave a small smile. "Something like that."
Luna frowned and tried to look closer to the map. "Are you sure you should have something like that? Controlling people is dangerous, you know."
Ron gave her a small hug around her shoulders. "Don't worry. It's fine. It won't harm people, just keep them away from us."
Harry and Hermione gave their friend an odd look at his behavior toward someone they thought he did not like. Ron just smiled.
They entered the Great Hall just as the teachers and the Order, all looking much disheveled, entered the school (Harry quickly put away the map). "Mr. Potter! Miss Granger! Mr. Weasley! Miss Lovegood!" shouted McGonagall. "What are you doing out of the Hall? All students were to remain in there until…"
Ron ran ahead of the other three and stood in front of his teachers. "Sorry, Professor, but Luna was missing among the students so I went to look for her. She was surrounded by Dementors. I warded them off and we hid until Harry and Hermione came and found us," he explained, quickly.
The angry face on McGonagall's face dissolved. Instead, a look of concern and worry appeared. "I see. Well, then, Poppy!" The nurse appeared, her robes torn and burn in some places. "Poppy," continued the deputy Headmistress, "take Miss Lovegood to the Hospital Wing. I assume she'll need some chocolate after that ordeal."
"Of course, Professor. Come along, dear." Pomfrey gently took Luna's hand, muttering something about danger and lucky.
Albus Dumbledore smiled down at the trio. "Well, it looks like it's been a busy night for us all. Let's see, I believe it'll be 100 points for Gryffindor for Mr. Weasley's rescue of Miss Lovegood and 50 points each to Mr. Potter and Miss Granger for finding them."
Harry and Hermione smiled. Ron, however, nodded and started walking behind Madam Pomfrey and Luna. Behind him, his two friends were mystified; Before McGonagall's detention, Ron would have been ecstatic about beating his two friends in something; he scarcely did anything noteworthy, in his opinion. Now he had finally upstaged his friends and he was taking it as if Dumbledore just announced the latest dish for supper. Harry looked at Hermione and smiled. He really has changed, they both thought.
Luna turned her head back as she walked with the nurse. "Ronald?"
Ron smiled. "I'm right behind you, Luna."
She smiled and turned her head back. The three walked up the stairs, toward the Hospital Wing, the light from the rising sun shining down on them.
The End
"Listening is love in action" - Lee Buscaglia
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