Rise From The Ashes

Chapter Two: Ron's Secret

Ron Weasley was asleep when the owl finally came.

Small and silvery gray, it swooped through the open window, and then began to circle round Ron's bed, hooting softly. When that failed to wake him, the owl landed at the foot his bed. With a rather mischievous gleam in her odd-colored eyes, she nipped sharply at one of his toes.

"Whoa!" Ron nearly jumped out of bed. What the hell? Then, in the semi-darkness, he spotted a pair of unblinking blue eyes, surveying him with a sort of satisfaction. As his vision adjusted to the moonlit night, he could make out the body of the owl attached to them. He let out his breath shakily.

"Diana, you feathery little git, you nearly scared me to death!" he said, but there was no real anger in his voice. He tossed aside the covers and got up to untie the letter on her leg. "Do me a favor? Don't do that again." Again, the owl hooted softly, almost as if she were laughing. Then she clicked her beak expectantly. "All right, all right, help yourself to some of Pig's stuff." It was a good thing Pig was delivering Harry's birthday present, Ron thought, as he watched Diana enjoy some owl treats. The silly little bird always broke into excited squawks when Diana flew in. Last time, he had nearly given them away. Fortunately, the poltergeist in the attic had been unusually loud that night, so no one noticed a little extra noise.

Turning to his letter, Ron grinned. He knew it was a bit childish, but he rather enjoyed keeping this hidden from everyone. It was just nice to have something to himself for a change. Eagerly, he opened it, and began to read:

Hi Ron!

How's my favorite Gryffindor? I'm doing okay. Oh, who am I kidding? Ron, you have to come rescue me, I am a total damsel in distress - remember when you told me how hot it was in Egypt? Well, it's 110 degrees where I am today! Dad got this job researching holistic medicine on Navajo tribal land in Arizona. Yeah, it's all really interesting, but it is sooo hot, and Dad won't let me use my wand for any sort of freezing charms. I really shouldn't have told him about Hogwart's summer rules. Too late now. I never thought I'd miss the weather in England, but I sure do at the moment. It never rains here, never! At least I'm getting a nice tan. And there is a lot of cool cultural history, which I'm sure you're just dying to hear about, he he, but I've got some bigger news right now.

Guess what Hogwarts sent me by owl last week? I'll give you a hint by reminding you how brilliant I am. Yeah, that's right, I'm head girl! Got the badge and everything. Don't worry, I promise not to flaunt it too much, like a certain snooty redhead you might somehow be related to. Hope you can be happy for me even though I'm a Slytherin.

Can't wait for our next chess game when we get back to school. Write back soon, ok? I need something to my mind off the heat, and besides, I miss Diana. Let her rest there for a while though, if you can, and if she looks like she needs it. After all, she had a long trip!

Take care,

Luna

Ron laughed as he finished the letter, a laugh that rapidly deteriorated into a yawn. He looked over at Diana. She had finished with the owl treats and was now looking at him questioningly.

"Well ... alright, I guess you can stay for the night. I don't think anyone's going to come in my room till morning anyway. But be sure to make yourself scarce if someone does! I'll get up early and write the return letter so you can deliver it, okay?" She gave him a doubtful look. "Oh fine then, just wake me up at sunrise or something. But don't you dare bite my toe again," he said, even though he knew she'd probably do it anyway. With that, Ron pulled the covers back over himself, and quickly fell back asleep.

Diana did not wake Ron by nibbling at his big toe; she woke him by nibbling his finger. After being startled from sleep for the second time, Ron muttered, "Clever little bird, aren't you?" and moved over to his desk to write back to Luna, rubbing his eyes. He took out some parchment, dipped his quill in the ink, and paused, considering what he would write. Then he began:

Dear Diana,

You silly, silly girl, how could you think I wouldn't be happy for you? If it were any other Slytherin, I have to admit that I probably wouldn't be too pleased, but since it's you, I'm more than pleased! You're my friend, so of course I'm happy for you. Gee, being the new head girl and everything, you ought to be smart enough to figure that one out! You deserve this, just like you deserved being made a prefect two years ago. Congratulations.

Anyway, my summer has been more of the same ... Fred and George are setting up their new joke shop in Diagon Alley, and Mum's livid - she's threatened to kick them out of the house more than once, but I don't think she'll go through with it. None of us know where they got the money to start it up from, and frankly, I think we're better off that way. Maybe Ludo Bagman finally paid them off or something, I dunno. But wherever the money is coming from, they actually used some of it on me. They bought me some decent dress robes, thank god! So naturally, you can see why I don't feel the need to ask any questions. They haven't come up with a name for the joke shop yet. Ginny has suggested Double Trouble.

Percy's being his usual impossible self, only now he's being even more impossible because he got a promotion at the Ministry ... sometimes I wonder what's really going through that big head of his. Anyway, the really big news is that Perce got engaged, to Penelope Clearwater. Knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Mum is thrilled, and Fred and George have promised to try out all their best joke shop stuff at the wedding. I can't wait.

Sorry to hear you are sweltering in - Azona, was it? Augh, I can never remember all these stupid state names. What do you need 50 for, anyway? Just try to remember that school will be starting up again soon. Till then, keep working on your tan.

Speaking of school, think you can help me with get ready for my O.W.L.s? I don't want to land in the same boat with Mum as Fred and George did, you know. I'd ask Hermione but ... well, I doubt she'd very patient with me. And that's the only reason why, so you can stop smirking right now! But will you help me a little? I know I still have plenty of time left, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to get an early start. Not too much of one, though. I want to have plenty of time for fun things - like chess!

Looking forward to seeing you at school and playing our next game. Take care, keep cool, and tell Diana to stop biting my fingers and toes!

Ron

He rolled up the parchment and glanced out the window. The sky was streaked with dawn. He looked over at Pig's cage, where Diana was hopping about almost as impatiently as Pig himself. He'd better send her on her way. "You sure you're up for this, Diana?" he asked, as he tied the letter around her leg. "Don't want to rest a while longer or anything?" The little owl fluffed her feathers and shook her head vigorously, puffing herself up as if to prove how tough she was. Ron laughed out loud. "Ok, ok I get the point. See you later then." He smoothed down her ruffled feathers, and she nipped his finger very gently in gratitude. Then, with a soft hoot of and a swish of her silvery wings, Luna's little owl soared out of Ron's window and into the morning sky.

As he watched her form recede into the distance, Ron thought of the time he and Luna had first met, at the beginning of his second year. She certainly wasn't what he expected.

Ron was running - he had only seconds to make it to the dungeon on time. Even as he ran, he knew it was hopeless.

Of all the classes to show up late for, he thought bitterly, as he whizzed through the hallway, I have to go and pick Snape's. And the later he was, the more points that slimy git would take from Gryffindor. The very thought made Ron increased his speed - "Hey you!" an unfamiliar voice suddenly shouted, but he ignored it. "Hey!" the voice persisted, "Slow down there, I just want to talk to you - " Ron kept running. Whoever it was called out again, sounding rather cross this time. "Hey, you'd better listen to me, Gryffindor! I'm in Slytherin, and I could get you into trouble if I wanted to!" He recognized the voice as being female, but the knowledge that she was a Slytherin only made him want to get further away from her. She couldn't get him in trouble if she never saw his face.

He heard light footfalls close behind him - she's quick! - and considered turning the next corner to shake her off. That is, until he heard her shriek "I said stop, you miserable, pathetic, worthless little Gryffindor!"

That did it. No longer caring how late he would be, Ron whirled around angrily, wand in hand - but the girl was quicker.

"Expelliarmus!" she shouted, and Ron's wand flew out of his hand and into hers.

For a moment, they stared at each other, both breathing rather hard. Ron recognized her as being a fourth-year Slytherin. Her hair and eyes were both dark brown.

After catching her breath, she put away her wand, and then tossed him back his. Somewhat startled, he caught it, looking at her suspiciously. "Sorry about all that, but the polite method didn't seem to be working. I thought an insult would at least get your attention." She held out her hand. "Hi, my name's Luna."

Ron stared at her.

"See, this is the part where you shake my hand. And maybe tell me your name too." She looked at him expectantly.

She seemed friendly enough, but Ron wasn't inclined to trust Slytherins. "What do you want?"

The girl - Luna - looked a little irritated.

"Well, right now, I want you to shake my hand and tell me your name. Then I want to beat you at chess."

This was the last thing Ron had expected to hear.

"Huh?"

"You're that little Gryffindor who got fifty points last year for the chess match, right? Helped steal the cup from my house? Well, I want to see if you're as good as they say you are. Or are you scared to play a Slytherin?"

Her last question was an unmistakable challenge. Ron bristled. He'd show her.

"Scared? As if! You just name when and where, Slytherin."

"My name is Luna. And you are?"

"Ron."

They shook hands.

"Tonight, midnight, at the library. I'm sure you can figure out some way to get there on time."

Time?

"Oh no!" Ron groaned. "You've made me late for potions! Snape's going to take about a zillion points from my house!"

Instead of seeming pleased by this, she looked at him thoughtfully.

"Hmm. Well. Let's see if we can fix that." And to Ron's surprise, she turned in the direction of the dungeon. "You coming?"

Not knowing what else to do, he followed her. They reached the classroom, where Snape was already lecturing. He looked up at Ron with a horrible smile.

"Well, Mr. Weasley, how nice of you to grace us with your presence. Now, let me see - you are at least - half an hour late?" It couldn't have been more than ten minutes! Ron thought furiously. "So I believe I will take 30 points from - "

"Sir, it wasn't his fault."

The whole class turned around to see who had dared to speak up against the Potions Master. Luna stepped forward slightly.

"It was Peeves, sir," she said casually. "He was totally harassing this poor little Gryffindor." She looked at Ron with patronizing pity. "He was just helpless till I came along." The Slytherins in the class snickered. Keeping in mind the points that could be taken from Gryffindor, Ron kept silent, though he feared his face was growing rather red.

Snape scrutinized her for a moment, his expression unreadable. "Very well." He said finally. "Weasley," he snarled, "take your seat. As for you, Miss Sloane, I was under the impression you were supposed to be in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"The id - I mean, er, Professor Lockhart let us out early. He was having some trouble controlling the pixies again."

"Indeed?" Snape's lips twitched, and his tone became less stern. "That is hardly surprising. Well, Miss Sloane, I believe you have disturbed my class enough for one day." Luna nodded, and, as Snape turned back to the chalkboard to write down more ingredients, she winked at Ron before strolling out of the dungeon.

The room buzzed with talk following her departure. Ron sat down next to Harry and Hermione, both of whom had their mouths hanging open.

"What happened?" Harry whispered. "Did Peeves really -"

"I'll tell you later." Ron murmured, as Snape called for silence in the classroom. But by the end of the class, Harry was soon distracted by troubles of his own, and Ron decided to put off telling him and Hermione till after the chess game that night.

More than two years and many chess games later, Ron still hadn't told either of them about Luna. He "borrowed" Harry's invisibility cloak every time he went to play a game with her, and returned it before his friend could notice it was missing.

To be fair, he hadn't started out meaning to deceive them. The first time he and Luna played, she had won - just barely. Ron had expected her to gloat horribly, but to his surprise, she didn't.

"Wow. Nobody I've played with has ever made me work that hard to win a game before. That was fun," she had said, and had actually grinned at him. "You're a fantastic chess player."

"But - but I lost." Ron had protested.

"So what?" Luna had countered airily. "You could just as easily have won - couldn't you? Care for a rematch sometime?"

And with that, the two struck up a sincere, if tenuous, friendship. The more they played, the more Ron came to like her - not just as a worthy chess opponent, but as a person who was fun to be around. She had a wicked sense of humor, and struck Ron as being very clever, but she never bragged about her accomplishments. She called Ron "carrot top" and ruffled his hair in a sisterly sort of fashion whenever she wanted to annoy him. But it didn't annoy him - not really.

After a few more games, Luna had suggested they keep their friendship secret to avoid the backlash from their respective houses. Ron had agreed. Sometimes, he won, and sometimes, she did, but they always had a good time. The only problem had occurred in Ron's third year, when the Slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry was at its peak over the Quidditch Cup, and tensions between the two houses were running high. Luna was the Slytherin keeper. She had overturned the chessboard stormed out of the library when Ron had made some very disparaging remarks about her boyfriend, Captain Marcus Flint. It was a good thing she always cast a sound proof spell on the library when they got there, or Filch would have found him out for sure, and skinned him alive.

There had been no more chess games till nearly the end of the year, when Ron had wound up in the hospital wing as a result of that whole fiasco with Sirius Black. She had sneaked in to see him, using her homemade Invisibility Potion, and, as Harry and Hermione slept, they had reconciled. Flint had dumped Luna shortly after the last Quidditch match, and she now took no offense to Ron's scathing remarks about him. Although she didn't show it much, Ron could tell that the breakup had upset her. She refused to tell him why Flint had dumped her, and Ron quickly learned to avoid the subject altogether. He was just glad to have his friend back again. She had helped him through his row with Harry last year, and had encouraged him to patch things up, as they had done.

Ron reflected sleepily on the odd nature of their friendship as he got back into to bed. He never would have thought he'd wind up being friends with a Slytherin, but he was very glad Luna and he had met. His last thought was before he fell asleep was that he could look forward to at least one more letter from her before the school year started.

The only trouble was, the last letter never came.