Angst & Adoration by Moira Whipstaff
Chapter Notes: Hi :D So sorry for the wait - the hackers had me a little worried, plus I had some spelling issues to work out before this chapter could be posted. Thanks so much for your support, and once again, I take no credit for the magical world and characters that belongs to J.K. Rowling. :)
Ron stared at the flight of stairs in front of him. Glancing over his shoulder, he threw the invisibility cloak over his head and carefully placed his foot on the first stair. Immediately, his nerves took control and he put it back on the ground, irritably wiping his sweaty palms on the front of his sweater. Once again, he mounted the first step, taking a deep breath and blowing it out again with so much force that the cloak slipped off of him and onto the floor.
Ron sighed in exasperation and snatched it up again, bunching it into a wad and stuffing it under his arm. Determination set on every inch of his face, he stomped purposefully up the first six steps as they promptly turned into a giant marble slide and sent him back down again.
“Oof,” he grunted as his backside came into sharp contact with the stone at the bottom of the slide. What little nerve he had possessed earlier was quickly retreating as he stared with longing apprehension at the door to the girl’s dormitories.
Then, without warning, it swung open and an extremely moody Lavender began stomping her way down the stairs, Parvati trailing obediently behind her.
Seizing his chance, Ron quickly threw the cloak over his head, moved to the other side of the wall and started creeping past them and up the stairs. But once again, they transformed into a slippery ramp, this time sending both Ron and the girls down the remaining steps. The volume of Lavender and Parvati’s shrieks nearly shattered his eardrums as he scrambled to cover himself with the cloak and stay clear of the wildly flailing limbs flying dangerously close to him. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, he felt a hand grip his sweater through the cloak, pulling him sharply away from the staircase. A moment later, Ginny whisked the cloak off and handed it to Harry, who tucked it hastily under his arm.
“Sorry,” Ginny whispered, “Forgot about the spell on that staircase.”
“Yeah, thanks for that,” Ron muttered in annoyance, rubbing his ears, which were still ringing. Behind him, Lavender and Parvati were still clawing at thin air and, apparently convinced that Peeves was floating just above their heads, cursing him to oblivion.
“McGonagall will be having a fit if those two don’t hush up,” said Harry, glancing behind him.
“I’m on it,” sighed Ginny, walking back toward the stairs.
After a few minutes, the shouting miraculously stopped and Ginny sauntered back to Ron and Harry, looking rather pleased with herself.
“My God, I think I’ve gone deaf,” Harry said, faking panic and clapping his hands over his ears. Ginny grinned. “But seriously,” he whispered, taking a quick look over his shoulder again, “how did you do that because this is the most glorious silence I’ve ever experienced.”
“Nargles,” Ginny answered simply, shrugging her shoulders and brushing a fiery strand of hair off her face. “It’s pathetic really, how gullible they are.”
Harry smiled as an image of Luna Lovegood popped into his head, valiantly defending the existence of the mysterious nargles.
“Well, it might as well have been nargles,” Ron muttered darkly, shoving his hands in his pockets. “It’s no use. I’ve tried everything.”
Ginny raised her eyebrows. “So you’ve told her you fancy her, then?” she asked.
“Wh- I,” Ron stuttered, shaking his head in what he hoped was a convincing display of utter confusion and failing miserably. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s rather obvious Ron,” sighed Ginny. She glanced at Harry, who nodded in agreement.
“No, it’s not obvious,” Ron said mockingly. “The only thing that’s obvious is that you two seem to have gone completely mental because there is nothing “ “
“She still writes to Victor, you know,” Ginny interrupted.
Caught slightly off guard, Ron opened and closed his mouth a few times before he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and scuffed his shoes against the frayed edges of an oriental rug.
“Then you know he’s asked her to marry him,” Harry said calmly.
“WHAT?!” Ron exploded, earning startled looks from everyone in the common room.
“He’s joking, Ron,” said Ginny quickly, as she and Harry tried desperately to keep their faces composed.
Ron stood seething in front of them, his breath coming in angry gusts and his face bypassing purple.
“You’re right, Ron,” said Harry finally, his expression turning serious, “It’s not obvious.”
He caught Ginny’s eye and they both collapsed into howls of laughter, punctuated with snorts and gasps.
“Oh, you’re really clever,” Ron snapped irritably, as his friends struggle to contain their giggles.
Shaking his head in frustration, he stalked out of the common room, ignoring his friends’ stifled attempts to call him back.
* * *
It was already well into the afternoon as Ron made his way across the Quidditch pitch with his broom. He could almost taste the frost hanging in the air as the clouds moved ominously closer. As he pushed hard off of the frozen ground and soared into the air, he willed himself to concentrate on the weightlessness of flight and nothing else. Frigid air rushed past him, ruffling his hair and stinging his eyes as he dove and swooped. Still, he willed them to stay open as he soared higher and higher, then spiraled back toward the earth, stopping no more than a foot from the ground.
By now, Ron’s eyes were streaming from the stress of keeping them open against the bitter cold. He wiped them on the scratchy wool of his sleeves, then tilted his head back and squinted at the clouds as a fat raindrop fell across his forehead. His face set in grim determination, he pushed back off the ground again, completely unaware of the pair of deep brown eyes that were following him from a darkened window, high up in Gryffindor Tower.