Defining Secrets // Ron Weasley

Chapter Twenty Two: Grapes, Healing and All That Stuff

Elise didn't budge when she heard my footsteps, only a quiet rustle came from underneath the sheets. I placed my hand on my hip and glared at Thistle.

The black cat was no longer in the position it was last left in and she stared at me like it was waiting for my begrudged sigh. Thistle wasn't by El's feet anymore, and was instead a hair away from the steaming plate of breakfast I left for El.

I picked her up to toss her back onto bed until she mowed so loud I gave her a bit of sausage just to shut her up.

Now Elise was up. She saw the food and thanked me with a smile. But she didn't eat it. Instead, she got up and started to sort her bed – something calming I guess – then fed Thistle.

She must have known something went wrong, because by the time we put El to bed she was scratching at my door. El told me to let her in and Thistle curled herself up by her feet and stayed.

Before this morning, when she finally decided she was hungry and declared it to us rather loudly. According to Elise, Thistle was such an old cat she was almost completely deaf. Which would explain her screeching. So Harry and I stopped by El's dorm to grab some things, including cat food.

Thistle crunched her biscuits and shined a smile at Elise. Well, a semblance of a smile. It was hard to tell with how little teeth she left.

El stared down with a taught smile. Although happiness sparkled behind her eyes, her body was too weak to do much more than that.

I watched her throughout all of this. She remained silent, knowing the conversation that was about to come.

***

Elise's POV:

"That- self centred, cowardly, scheming mother f-"

I cringed. "Ginny, please. It's okay."

"No, it's not okay!" She stood up, seething. "I swear I'm just gonna-"

"You are not going to do anything."

She dropped her fist, although still clenched. "Why are you being so calm about this?"

"I'm not," I said, "I already said everything I needed to last night. I'm not angry anymore. I just..."

I shook my head, staring up at the ceiling and watched as the swirls in the paint formed into odd shapes.

Only to pause. This wasn't right.

Normally, there would be some kind of sign. A swirl in my body or painful thump somewhere saying exactly how I was feeling. And... nothing. Like I was an empty presence.

But right now, I just felt tired. Empty, thirty – I caught Thistle trying to take another sneaky bite – and hungry.

My mouth watered at the sight of sausage, baked beans, buttered toast and eggs. I swivelled the plate away from Thistle before she could launch herself at it.

I groaned as I inhaled my breakfast, no idea that I was this hungry. When I had a mouthful of baked beans was when Ginny sighed. There had been a lot of those lately. Awaiting her reaction, I gulped.

"What do you want to do?"

I didn't bother protesting when Thistle licked my empty plate. "I don't know."

I rubbed my forehead. "I can't even form words right now. I'm just so..."

"I know," Ginny placed her hand over mine. "I know it's hard. But you have to talk about these things, El. You know you can."