Night Changes

six

Florence bounced into the kitchen. "I'm gonna take Monty for a run," She said, leash in hand. Monty perked up from where he was laying under the table as Regulus looked between the hundred and twenty pound dog and his very frail daughter.

"Why don't you take Ron?" He asked. Ron's head snapped up from his bowl of cereal. "What?" Both teens asked at the same time. All Regulus could think about was the dog dragging Florence down the sidewalk.

"Nope, you're taking Ron. End of discussion," He said. Florence sighed. "Fine," She walked over to Monty and clipped the leash to her collar. "Let's go," Florence told Ron.

Florence walked out of the room, Monty trailing behind her. Ron turned to look at Regulus. "Why would you do that to me?" Ron asked, offended. Regulus couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. He smiled.

"Oh, Ronald, in a few years, you'll thank me," Regulus told him. Ron scoffed. "You mean in an hour at my funeral?" Ron stood up and placed his bowl in the sink before following after Florence.

Regulus just smiled. Happy now that the imagine of his daughter getting road-hauled by a dog was out of his head.

♤♤♤

Florence held tightly to the leash as she walked along the sidewalk. Ron walked along beside her, a plastic bag stuffed in his pocket that kept rustling everytime he moved.

They had been walking in silence for a few minutes. Only just a few blocks from the house. "Did Harry say what time he was coming home?" Ron asked, finally breaking the awkward silence. Florence shook her head.

"Probably soon. Him and Theo get sick of each other after a while," She joked. Ron nodded as he looked between Florence and the dog. He turned his head back to look at the humans, panting.

"It's crazy that you guys actually got a dog. You're not dog people," He said. Florence scoffed. "Me and my Pa are dog people. Harry and my dad are literally any other pet people," She said. Ron chuckled before nodding in agreement. She was right.

Florence turned to look up at Ron, stopping. "Merlin, you've known me all of my life and I swear you don't even know me," Florence told him. Ron shook his head. "That's not true at all," He said, stopping as well so he could turn to face her. Florence felt Monty tug on the leash before giving up and sitting at their feet.

"I know that you like your grilled cheese with four different types of cheeses, which I must say is way too much cheese. I know that if there is even the slight chance of rain, you make a cup of tea and you disappear to your room for hours and only someone who knows you would know that you're up there reading all day," Ron searched Florence's face.

"I've been friends with Harry for years. Of course I know you," Ron whispered. Florence searched Ron's eyes, a ghost of a smile playing on her face.

"I—WHOA!" Monty stared barking when he saw a squirrel and yanked Florence's arm before turning and wrapping his leash around Ron's legs. Monty took another turn, wrapping around Florence's legs.

"Monty!" Florence shouted, trying to tug on the leash as he then wrapped himself around both of them a third time. Florence found herself chest to chest with Ron. She looked up at him, causing her breath to catch.

Ron's smile fell as he felt his heart race pick up. Florence struggled against the leash causing herself to knock her balance off. Ron's arms shot out to steady her, causing her to look up again. How come she hadn't noticed that he had a few different shades of brown in his eyes?

Monty continued to struggle against the two as he watched the squirrel disappear up a tree. He let out a whimper and Florence almost wanted to laugh at the irony. She wanted to whine too. This was not fair. She hadn't noticed how many freckles Ron had had before. She found herself wanted to count them and brush her fingers tips against them.