"Wake up, (N/N), it's time to go!" Ron's voice rang throughout my room. I sat up in my bed and walked over to my door, swinging it open. Ron stood there, arms open like he wanted a hug. I laughed and gave him one.
"Thank God! Alright, let me grab my stuff and Midnight, and we can go." I ran back into my room, grabbing my bags and Midnight's cage.
"Here, let me help you." Ron took one of my bags, the bigger one, and began to walk down the hall to the stairs. I grinned and followed him. We ran (well, speed-walked) outside, where Fred and George were waiting for us.
"Hello, (N/N)! Nice to see you've grown up well!"
"Yeah, you aren't a little thing anymore! If we saw each other more, I'd date you!" I laughed at them, giving them both hugs.
"Nice jokes, doofs. How's Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes going?"
"Oh, just wonderful," George answered, smiling a bit. "You have to come shop there sometime, prank old Snape for us."
"Yeah, I'm sure Ickle Ronnikins here'll help you, no doubt," Fred added, grabbing onto me. George held onto Ron. I held onto Midnight's cage tightly; I didn't mind losing some clothes, but Midnight was my owl. I couldn't bear not being with her. "Ready, (N/N)?" Fred asked, looking down at me. I nodded, and he apparated away. Shortly after, we arrived at the Burrow, George and Ron beside us. Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Harry came out of the house to greet us. Hermione wasn't there, I noticed, which was peculiar, but I didn't say anything.
"(Y/N), it's so great to see you!" Mrs. Weasley ran up to me and gave me a huge hug. I hugged her back, smiling.
"It's great to see you, too," I replied, pulling away from the bone-crushing hug. I looked around at Ginny and Harry, waving to them a little, then pulled Ron inside to help me get my stuff to Ginny's room. We walked up the steps without talking, but Ron finally broke the silence.
"How was the ball? We're never invited, even though we are Purebloods, and I want to know how it is-"
"You don't want to be there. It's terrible. So. Fucking. Terrible."
Mrs. Weasley called up to us, "(Y/N), language, please!" which made Ron laugh. I stuck my tongue out at him and continued the journey up the stairs.
We made it to Ginny's room, and I put Midnight and my stuff in. Once I had everything was down, I turned to Ron. "Where's Roxy?" I asked, wondering where my dog was. Ron laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could say anything, Fred and George came up behind him.
"I'm surprised you haven't killed us in rage, (N/N)," Fred noted, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Why in the world would I do that?"
"Ron," George said, looking at his little brother. "Did you tell her, or is she in the dark about this?" Ron looked at the ground.
"I was about to tell her..." he said, which made me looked at Fred and George.
"What the hell did you do to my dog?!?!" I screamed at them, making Mrs. Weasley yell up again about my language. Fred and George glared at Ron, backing away from me slowly.
"It's not exactly what we did," George started.
"It's what Roxy chose to do as a result of something we did," Fred finished, taking a step down the stairs.
"Again. Where the hell is my dog?"
"We aren't sure, exactly," Fred said slowly. I stared at him in disbelief.
"What?!"
"We don't kn-"
"I know what you said! But... how did you even...?" I tried to finish the sentence, but I just broke down. Roxy was one of the only things left from the good years of my life, she wore one of the last things my dad got me, and she was my best friend, better than Ron. It just hurt that the people I thought I could trust let me down.
Ron wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. Fred and George stood there awkwardly, watching us.
"(N/N), we are really sorry..."
"Freddie and I didn't mean to make Roxy run away." I pushed Ron away, quietly reminding him about his relationship with Lavender, then turned to the twins.
"You douchebags are going to find Roxy, even if it means your death. Oh, and if you don't start looking, it will mean your deaths."
"We've been trying, (Y/N), but we have no idea where she could have gone." I stared at the twins, disappointment and sadness in my eyes.
"Whatever. I'm going for a walk."
"A walk where?" Ron asked, and I shrugged.
"I have no clue. Maybe I'll go help your mother with something." I wiped my face, pushed past Fred and George, and went down the stairs. Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen, so I went in to talk to her and help.
"Could I help you, maybe?" I asked, trying to get the shakiness out of my voice, but it was there, and Mrs. Weasley knew it. She stopped cooking and turned to me.
"Dear, I heard the yelling, did they tell you about Roxy?" I nodded, and she gave me another bone-crushing hug. "Arthur and Remus are trying their best to find her, I'll tell you that." I nodded, quietly sobbing into her shoulder. "Fred and George didn't mean to do it, you know. They really care about you, they wouldn't hurt you like that on purpose." I pulled away from her.
"Yeah, they care about me so much, don't they? They're just so full of love and affection, they'd never do anything to hurt me!" I scoffed. "Yeah, right. Call me when the truth comes out. I'm going outside."
I walked out of the kitchen and through the door, into the bright afternoon sun. I slowly walked around the house. I made it to the other side of the house, where Ginny and Harry were sitting and talking. I decided not to bother them, because it would just be rude. So I went back into the house, up to Ginny's room, and sat on my bed, thinking. What was going on? Why was my world just falling apart all of a sudden? It didn't make sense. It was like my whole life was just building up to a horrible moment that was going to occur sometime soon. But I doubt it.
There was a knock at the door. "Yeah?" I called, and Ron opened the door to peek his head in.
"(N/N), I'm really sorry about what happened to Roxy. My dad and Lupin have been trying to find her." He came over and sat next to me, giving me a small smile.
"Yeah, I know, it's just... I really thought that I could trust your mum, dad, Fred and George with her. Obviously, I can't trust Fred and George." Ron looked at me and sighed.
"My brothers aren't bad guys, (N/N). They just made a mistake."
"Their mistakes are heartbreaking."
"Are you really that sad?"
"I haven't been this upset since Jason and dad died." I looked at my feet. Ron gently moved my head so I was looking at him.
"Look, I know that Roxy was your best friend beside me, and I know that you've been through everything together, but something was going to happen to her eventually. She was old for her breed - I had my father research -. Their lifespans are 6 to 8 years, you've had her for 6." I sighed.
"You aren't really helping, Ronnie."
"Sorry, (Y/N), I'm trying." I laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
"Why is it, Ron, that everything seems to be falling apart at the seams? My life's just like a terribly sewn bag. It holds on, but strings keep falling out and coming loose. Eventually, everything'll just fall apart." I sat up again, turning to him. "Why do you think?"
"I don't know, (N/N)." We sat in silence for a while. It wasn't awkward silence, though, it was nice silence. Suddenly, Ron looked at me. "What would you do if I kissed you, right now?" he asked, but before I had time to answer, he leaned over and kissed me gently on the lips. I began to kiss him back, but stopped and pulled away.
"Ron, you're dating Lavender." I shook my head and scooted away from him. "I don't want to be the reason you two break up..."
"Lavender and I have been.... coming apart. I was going to break up with her as soon as we got back-"
"And what about Hermione?" Ron looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face.
"What about her?"
"Are you blind or something? She likes you, Ron, a lot, and I'm not going to ruin it for the both of you, either. Look, until all this is sorted out, we should just-" I was cut off because Ron leaned over and kissed me again. And, to my surprise, I kissed him back. I don't know why; I guess that being best friends with him for so long... I guess feelings developed but I never knew. Plus, he was a good kisser, surprisingly.
I got lost in the kiss, forgetting all the stuff I had been saying to Ron not even a minute ago. I forgot about Lavender, Hermione, even Draco. But it all rushed back to me as soon as Ginny came into her room.
"(Y/N), I've been looking for you-" She stopped suddenly. I pulled away from Ron quickly, looking at her.
"Hey, Ginny...."
"Sis..."
"What was going on? Ron's got a girlfriend, you kno-"
"Yeah, he's dating Lavender, I know," I said, a little remorse in my voice. I stood up and looked at Ron. "I, uh, think you should go. See you at lunch." Ron nodded, standing up and walking out of the room. I looked back at Ginny. "Oh God, Ginny, I have no idea why I did that! I feel so... so dirty now!" I fell onto the bed, landing on my back with an oof!
"(N/N), you can't become romantically involved with my brother for two reasons, okay? The first is Lavender. The second is Hermione. I know you're friends with them both and it would be terrible if they found out about this."
"Ginevra Weasley, you will not tell a soul about this."
"I was just saying." I sighed, looking at her with sad eyes.
"I feel so, so bad about this. Just bring me up some lunch or get someone else to, okay? But not Ron. Please, not Ron." Ginny nodded, and I sighed again. "It's going to be so awkward now...."
"Hang around Draco," Ginny said to me with a smirk. She must know about ny little crush. "Shouldn't bother you too much."
I shuddered, remembering what I had seen just the previous night. Crystal and Draco.... I wonder if they did 'get a room', like I told them to..... Ew, bad thoughts. "No. Anyone but the Slytherin crew."
"No need to get so defensive. It was just a suggestion."
"Just make sure I get some lunch."
Ginny nodded, leaving the room and heading to lunch. After I was sure she was gone, I left the room and went downstairs, stopping by the kitchen to listen and watch.
"Dear, where is (Y/N)? Isn't she coming to lunch?"
"Oh, she's not, mum."
"Why not?" I saw Ginny look at Ron, and he looked down. Fred and George seemed to notice this, looking at each other and silently going through all the scenarios in their heads.
"She's upset about Roxy..." Ginny said hesitantly, and Ron poked at his food. "She wants someone to bring her up a plate."
"We'll do it!" the twins said at the same time, grabbing a plate and putting all the food they know I like on it. I turned and jogged back the the stairs, going up quickly and quietly. I made it to the room and sat on the bed, awaiting their arrival. I heard a knock at the door. "(N/N), we bear food!" I gave them a quiet 'Come in.'
"What happened between you and Ron?" Fred asked as George handed me the plate of food. I shrugged my shoulders.
"I have no clue what you are talking about, Freddie," I said, taking the plate and taking a small bite.
"We know something's happened, and we want to know what," George replied, staring me down. I sighed, really wanting to break down and tell them everything. But I didn't/
"It was just.... a misunderstanding. Don't worry about it, okay? I'm fine." They raised their eyebrows at me, but turned to leave. "Um, this is weird, but could you guys see me off to Hogwarts? I don't want to be alone..."
"'Course we will, (N/N)!"
"Don't we always?" They grinned at me, then left.
Christmas came and went without an event. { The burning of the Burrow is only a movie thing!! } Basically, Fred and George gave me an apology card and some free things from the store, Ginny gave me a necklace, Mrs. Weasley made me a sweater (it was actually really nice!), Harry gave me some chocolate frogs (I ate most of them that night. Mrs. Weasley had to take the remaining ones away so I wouldn't get sick), and Ron kind of ignored me. It wasn't the best Christmas, but it was better than some.
Fred and George did come to see me off to Hogwarts. On the train, Ginny teased me about it, but I ignored her. I was really happy to be going back to school. School was honestly one of the only places I felt.... wanted.
I found an empty compartment and sat down, staring out the window. After a while, the compartment door opened and someone walked in.
"This seat taken, Mudblood?"
Oh God. I knew that voice. Why was life so cruel?