The stars were just starting to make a faint appearance, and the sky was turning royal blue, but Ron Weasley wasn't ready to go inside yet.
He had been walking the grounds of Claer for a while now, sometimes stopping under a tree to enjoy the cool, other times drifting over to the lake that was behind the house, but he never stayed in one place for long. Despite his tranquil surroundings, his mind was jumping from one thought to another, and he was never able to concentrate on one thing.
Which has been happening a lot, lately, he thought to himself.
He was well aware that a great deal of his inner turmoil had to do with the house that he was circuiting - his home. Or, at least, what he kept trying to convince himself was his home. He stopped for a minute and looked up at the stars, which were growing brighter by the minute.
Once Harry had defeated Voldemort and the war had ended, he had a feeling things would change. As much as he loved the Burrow, he knew that he would have to leave it; he was at the age where it was time he started out on his own, but he wasn't sure where he would go.
Then Harry told him he had bought a house in the countryside and any member of the DA was welcome to join him there. At first, it seemed like the perfect solution: Ron now had somewhere to go, and what was even better than that was the fact that he wouldn't have to do it by himself. There would be all the friends he'd made over the years there too.
Of course, that also meant Hermione would be there, and because of that fact alone, Ron had almost declined Harry's offer. His feelings about her were still quite muddled, and he had no idea how to sort them out.
It had been a surprise, to say the least, when Harry and Hermione had come before him all serious one day several weeks into the summer and had told him that they were in love. He almost blurted out, "With each other?!" but managed to maintain as calm a demeanor as he could. He listened as they told him about the feelings they had kept hidden for all these years, and how they had finally realized how important it was to be honest with each other about them. Their reasoning all made sense, but it just didn't seem fair.
His more logical side said that he had no right to call it unfair or even be angry about it. Nothing had really been going on with him and Hermione, despite all the hints that someday it might, and he had to admit that he had grown apart from her during their final term at Hogwarts. Not because of any changed feelings on his part, but more because so much time was being given to finding the Horcruxes that they didn't really have time for a life outside of their quest. He always just figured that once the war ended, things would go back to normal, but it turned out, he was wrong.
The other side of him, the side that operated more on feeling and instincts, had felt betrayed from the minute Harry and Hermione had told him, and try as he might to bury the feeling, it was still there, lingering on the outside of everything; every thought and feeling he had towards the two of them now was tainted with it, and it made him sick, because he still considered them both his best friends.
He understood that it had taken a good deal of courage for them to be honest with him about it, so he had told them it was fine, but he had the feeling they both recognized he wasn't fine; they both knew him better than anyone, and they could tell it bothered him. Out of respect, Ron tried his best to act like it didn't bother him, and they did their best to not be too affectionate in front of him, although Ron knew, as he was sure they did, that one day, they were all going to have to deal with it.
This was the main factor that made him think moving into Claer would be a bad idea, but Harry and Hermione had both strongly insisted that he join them, and maintained that they were still best friends, until he eventually caved and said yes. Overall, it was not a decision that he regretted, because he really did feel at home here, but there were times when he'd overhear or accidentally see Harry and Hermione together that would make him think he should've chosen otherwise. Still, he made certain that none of the DA members caught on to how he was feeling, and he was pretty sure that outside of himself, Harry and Hermione, nobody knew what was going on.
I seem to have a problem making decisions, he thought bitterly. I waited too long to make a decision on Hermione, and now I can't commit to the decision I made in coming here.
"They're out of your reach - it's best to just let them go," said the eerily quiet voice of Luna Lovegood, and Ron turned to see her standing behind him, watching him curiously. Of all the people living in the house, she was the one person he felt the most connected to, and the one person who could see through him the easiest.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, wondering if she had somehow gleaned what he was thinking about. She was ridiculously perceptive sometimes, and he wouldn't put it past her.
"The stars. You're looking at them like you want to pluck them right out of the sky. You can't, so it's better not to think about it. Some things you can't change," she said, with a faint smile.
"Ah," Ron said, breathing a sigh of relief. She could be perceptive, but other times, he had no idea what she was talking about.
She continued to look at him, and he began to grow anxious under her stare. "Is there something you wanted Luna, or did you just come out to do some star-gazing?"
"Hermione is looking for you," she answered quickly, as if she had been waiting for him to ask. "Apparently, Harry's gotten word that some of the Death Eaters are meeting tonight at the Malfoy Mansion, and a small group is going to investigate."
"Really?" Ron said, brightening up. "When do we leave?"
"As soon as I get you," she answered with a grin.
"Let's go then," Ron said, and together they headed to the house. Ron felt a calm descending on him as they moved, and he wondered it was the fact that they were actually going to do something about the Death Eaters or if, just maybe, it was Luna's presence.
Whatever it is, it's nice to have something to focus on, he thought as the entered the house.
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