Memories in the Dark

Memories in the Dark

Ronald Weasley woke with a start. A cold shiver ran down his spine yet the hot sweat down his back attached the sheets to him. Squinting through the darkness he looked around his bedroom at the Burrow. Everything appeared to be in its proper place. Pig's empty owl cage stood at the foot of his bed, his open closet had clothes spilling out, and by his desk, was a cardboard box filled with letters and pictures. Earlier that day, he packed away all the letters and pictures he had that reminded him of her. His walls, now picture-free, caused another chill down his spine. It wasn't that long ago when every inch of plaster was filled with pictures from over the years. Pictures of memories past. Pictures of all the times he had spent with her. Ron looked away, cursing the very emotions that were taking over him. He refused to cry. He had always been the strong one. He was the shoulder for her to cry on....

Once Ron found his slippers, he got up and headed towards the door. As he turned the doorknob, a sound came from behind him. Ron looked back and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Bloody wind," he muttered to himself as he walked out his door and headed down the stairs. As he descended each step, a wave of memories hit him. Memories of times they had spent at this house, running up and down these steps. As he passed his sister's empty bedroom, it was here where she shared the room with his sister; he recalled how he had heard her giggles come through the door. It was in that room where her head full of curls slept and dreamt pleasant dreams. Ron bit his bottom lip hard, hard enough for a thin line of blood to appear. After what felt like an eternity, he finally made it to the bottom of the stairs.

Entering the living room, a new batch of memories came. After spending the day doing their heart's desires, it was often the living room where they spent the night before going to bed. The times where he would play chess and she would sit down to read a book. That was one thing that never changed about her. She had always had a love for books and knowledge.

Ron often joked about how one day her brain would explode with all the knowledge she stored in it.

"Don't be silly Ron," she would say. "One's brain doesn't explode from learning too much. Besides, I don't say anything about all the time you spend playing Quidditch or chess."

Then as usual, they would start arguing. Out of all the people Ron argued with, she was the only one he loved to fight with. His arguments with her were special and no one could take that away from him. Or at least, he thought that no one could.

Desperate to forget, Ron quickly crossed the room and arrived at the kitchen. Crossing the cold tile floor to the cupboard, he noticed how quiet the house was. It was eerie. The Weasley household had always been one that was bursting with life and action. Even when the occupants of the household went to bed, the ghoul in the attic kept the noise going after nightfall. But on this particular night, even the ghoul was quiet.

Ron grabbed a glass from the cupboard and went to fill it with water. Suddenly, another memory came to him. Everyone had been in the kitchen, trying to help prepare for the party set for that evening. She and Ron were in charge of making the cake. It was nearly ready; all that was left was to add the icing. As she added red icing, he grabbed some green icing and smeared it all over her cheek.

"Ron!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs as she had lunged for the icing.

"Oh no you don't!" Ron exclaimed, "Come back here!"

It was then when he went into pursuit to catch her. Laughing, she began running away from him.

"Honestly you two!" Molly Weasley had walked into the kitchen. "Go wash up! I'll finish the cake myself!" Even though her tone wasn't pleasant, Ron distinctly remembered seeing his mother with a bright smile on her face.

All this was too much for Ron however and he moved away from the kitchen counter. With the glass of water in hand, Ron walked over to the counter and sat down on a stool. It didn't take very long for Ron to discover that he had sat down at the wrong stool for it had been the very same stool he had been sitting on when he heard the news. The news that changed everything. The news that caused him to move out from the flat he had shared with her and move back in with his parents. Laying his head on the counter, Ron finally let the tears that had been building up freely flow as he remembered that day.

They both had decided to visit their parents over that weekend. He was at the Burrow eating breakfast with the twins, who were also visiting at the time, when his father walked in with a grave look upon his face.

"What's up dad? Misplaced your plug collection?" Fred had joked. But soon, the smile was wiped off his face when he saw that Arthur hadn't smiled back.

"Fred, George, finish your breakfast outside. I need to speak to Ron alone." Sensing the tension in the air, the twins left without a word.

"Dad, What's wrong?"

As Arthur walked closer towards Ron, he noticed that in his father's hand was a newspaper. "Ron, what I'm about to tell you isn't going to be easy. Son, there was a, a... they found..."

Arthur's eyes had begun to become watery. There was a sudden sense of fear rushing throughout Ron's body.

Who did they find dad?" At this point, Arthur put the newspaper down, put his hands to his eyes and began to quietly sob. Without much thinking, Ron quickly reached for the newspaper and read the heading. After reading the title, he had quickly dropped the newspaper and only now could the tears come out.

The bench top had been cleared since then, but Ron could still recall the paper clearly, it had read:

Last of You-Know-Who's Death Eaters Murders His Last:

Lucius Malfoy Awaits the Dementor's Kiss

And below the heading, was a picture of Hermione Granger.