Dark Come Soon

From the stands, Alexandra watched as Ron blocked shot after shot during the Quidditch match. It was awe inspiring how agile he was on the broom, the ease with which he blocked nearly every shot that the Slytherins threw his way. She wondered if Harry had actually slipped the potion into Ron’s goblet or if he’d just been lying about it. Harry was a good friend, but with the way his life was, Alexandra had a feeling he wouldn’t spend such a valuable potion on a Quidditch match, not with how things in the world were going. In her mind, Harry had just said he put it in to boost Ron’s confidence, because Ron was playing just as well as he did during practice. He wasn’t pulling any moves that he hadn’t done before.

Regardless of what Harry had done, it was obvious that he’d accomplished his task. Ron was confident in himself, and taking charge of the situation, and the Gryffindor team ended up winning the match against Slytherin. The Gryffindors burst into cheers when Harry caught the snitch, but Harry wasn’t the one that everyone rushed to. That honor fell upon Ron. His fellow Gryffindors praised him and patted him on the back, a few of the guys even lifted him onto their shoulders and carried him for quite a distance, but Ron, who had managed to get caught up in the moment, realized that Alexandra wasn’t there with him, so he told his mates to get him down, and went looking for her.

Alexandra was towards the back, walking alongside Hermione and Harry. Hermione was busy scolding Harry for having slipped the Felix Felis into Ron’s pumpkin juice. She told him that it was unethical and unsportsmanlike, and when she finally paused to take in a breath, Harry smirked and told her that he knew it was all those things, and that that was why he hadn’t slipped it in. Alexandra eyes grew wide. She knew he hadn’t done it! Oh, if Ron knew that it was him that played that way and not the potion he would be elated, but she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him, that had to come for Harry because it was Harry’s business. She walked alongside them until Ron ran up to them, a massive grin plastered on his face.

“Alexandra!” he exclaimed. “Been lookin’ for you all over,” he told her.

“I got lost in the crowd, and then ran into Harry and Hermione.” She smiled nervously, unsure of how to act. “You were amazing out there. It was like watching a professional keeper.”

He blushed at her words. “You’re just saying that,” he mumbled, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

“I'm not, you really were great. We were actually just talking about that. Well, they were talking about it. I was just actively listening.” She tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “So what are you gonna do now, King Weasley?” she teased him.

“King Weasley?” he chuckled. “Well, I reckon I'm gonna stuff my face with dinner, and then there’s gonna be a party at the tower. Would ya like to go with me? If you’re not busy, that is.”

She was nervous about going to a party in Hogwarts. The last time she’d been to a proper party was her friend’s fifteenth birthday, and that was a rather kid friendly party. Nervous about what the party might be like, she hesitated to say she’d go, but then her heart told her that she was going to be able to spend time with Ron, and after the kiss they’d shared that morning, all she honestly wanted to do anymore was kiss him.

“Alright, I'm up for that.”

“Brilliant. Want to get goin then? To dinner that is, I'm starving.”

“You’re always starving.”

“More so than usual then,” he said, nervously held out his hand to her, hoping she’d take it.

Alexandra’s cheeks flooded with color as she bit her bottom lip. She could feel Harry and Hermione staring at her. They were probably confused by what was going on, and to an extent so was she. It was all new to her, but she knew she liked being with Ron, so she gladly took his hand linked their fingers together.

“About bloody time mate!” exclaimed Harry, grinning brightly. “Was beginning to think you’d never get the nerve to.”

“Bugger off ya wanker!” bellowed Ron, his ears turning an alarming shade of red. “I'm trying to have a moment here.” He then turned to Alexandra. “Sorry about that, Harry was all . . . sorry.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at his awkwardness. “You’re adorable.”

“Thank you?” he said, not knowing how to respond.

“Come on; let’s go get you fed because if I remember correctly, you get really bitchy when you don’t eat.”

“I get cranky, for your information, not bitchy.”

“It’s practically the same thing.”

“But I'm a bloke, blokes aren’t supposed to be bitchy.”

“Fine, then you’re just cranky, but come on, let’s go eat or else people are gonna take all the good food.”

“Right then, Harry, Hermione, I’ll see ya at dinner then.”

“Bye,” said Alexandra, waving at them. “Ron?” she asked when they were a decent distance away.

“Yeah?” he replied, turning to look at her.

“I don’t want to sound weird or anything, but um . . . what are we? That probably makes me sound really . . . well, I'm not sure what it makes me sound like, but I just wanted to know what was going on between us.”

They’d stopped walking by the time she finished her rambling. Their hands were still clasped together, fingers still linked, but now they were sort of facing each other. Alexandra was looking up at him, waiting for that ginger face she liked so much to say something, and Ron stood there, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to figure out what to say. He wanted to be her boyfriend. He really wanted to be her boyfriend, and he’d even thought them snogging had made her realize that. To him the fact that they were kissing sort of cemented that they were going to be together. Then again, that was his first kiss, and he’d never asked anyone out before then, at least not to properly be with.

“I sort of already though we were together. You know, with the kissing and all,” mumbled Ron, his cheeks still rosy. “But I reckon it wasn’t right in just assuming things. So I’ll go on and ask . . . do you, I mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but would ya fancy being my girlfriend?”

A massive grin broke out across her face, and in that moment, she didn’t think about her secret. All she could focus on was the timid look on his face, the beautiful blue that twinkled with hope and cheeks that were flushed with color. She hadn’t realized that she hadn’t answered him, until he started muttering about how it was alright, that they could still be friends, and just as he was loosening his grip on her hand, she got up on her tiptoes and placed a delicate kiss on his lips.

“Your Royal Highness,” she spoke after she pulled away, “It seems you have yourself a Queen now.”

He couldn’t help himself, he leaned in for another kiss, only this time it was a little less innocent, and a little more driven by teenage hormones. Her hands grasped onto the fabric of his shirt as his hands situated themselves on her hips and pulled her a little more into him. Though the kiss was more heated, there was still a lack of tongue, but that deficiency went unnoticed by the lads from the Quidditch team who were walking off the pitch.

True to the style of hormonal teenage boys, they began to cheer Ron on, exclaiming that he’d finally gotten himself a girlfriend, and that the lucky sod had gotten the pretty American. Alexandra, mortified by the attention, buried her face in Ron’s chest. And Ron, for his part, told them to bugger off and give them a moments peace, but despite his telling them to go away, he wore a very satisfied little smile on his face. And the lads just shook their heads and mouthed that they’d talk to him later.

Alexandra and Ron didn’t linger much longer outside. It was getting colder, and since Alexandra wasn’t good when the weather dropped below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, she began to shudder, and Ron, taking notice, led them into the castle. Hand in hand, they made their way inside. They got looks. Oh of course they got looks. It was only natural for teenagers to gawk whenever a couple started dated, especially if no one had expected for the couple to get together in the first place. A good share of the students were surprised that Ron had gotten with the reserved American. They wondered how that had come about, and began whispering about it amongst themselves.

Dinner went by relatively smoothly. Sure, there were a few moments when Ron got patted on the back by his mates, and people kept shooting looks their way, but other than that, it was just like any other dinner. At the end of it, Ron walked Alexandra up to Ravenclaw tower. She said she needed to get changed for the party. Ron tried to convince her that she didn’t need changing, but since he was still in his uniform and was in desperate need of a bath, she promised him that by the time he finished showering, she’d be standing in front of the Fat Lady’s portrait.

Sure enough, by the time Ron was running down the stairs to see if Alexandra was outside, she’d already been let in by Dean and Seamus, who’d gone down to the kitchens to bring up food for the party. Instead of blending into the background and not talking to people that she wasn’t acquainted with, Alexandra began talking with a few Gryffindors that went up to her. They talked to her about the Quidditch match, mainly regarding how brilliant Ron had been, and when they got her to agree that he had been amazing, they started pestering her with questions regarding her relationship with him. Flustered, her cheeks grew rosy, and she shook her head, explaining to them that there wasn’t much to tell and that she really needed to go get a drink.

It was when she wandered off for a bit of pumpkin juice that she ran into Ron. He broke out into a massive grin when he saw her, and completely ignoring the fact that almost everyone was staring at them, placed a rather heated kiss on her lips. The room went wild. And it was then that the party officially started. A few of the older boys, the seventh years, brought out crates of Firewhiskey that they’d snuck in from Hogsmeade. They began passing around the bottles, making sure to tell the students that only five years and older were allowed to drink, and that if they found out anyone younger had been drinking, they’re personally turn them into a ferret.

That was enough to frighten off the younger kids. They’d stick to the pumpkin juice and punch, while the older kids indulged in the forbidden Firewhiskey. And indulge they did. It seemed that everyone was sporting a cup filled with the intoxicating liquid. That’s a lie, Hermione didn’t have any, but everyone else did. Even Alexandra grabbed a few cups. She knew her dad would give her a telling off and ground her if he found out, but she was in the moment, she was to busy smiling and laughing to worry about what might happen. So she gladly filled her cup, and stood next to Ron, laughing as they joked around and danced. They were actually in the middle of a dance when Ramona climbed into the common room. Alexandra was mid twirl when she saw Harry and Ramona talking, and by the time she was in Ron’s clumsy arms, they were no longer talking, but snogging.

“Finally!” shouted Thomas. “Mona and Harry have finally snogged!”

“It was meant to be!” Dean joined in and Ramona, for the first time, blushed in front of all her friends. “Whoo!” he yelled. “Look at Mona, all red.”

Alexandra was at a loss. The only person she knew Ramona fancied was Draco. She’d never mentioned anything about Harry, which is why she shot the blushing witch a questioning look. Ramona didn’t say anything, that is to say, she didn’t say anything to Alexandra. Instead, she told off Dean and the others, and talked to Harry. They had a short conversation, which ended with a hug. And then Ramona made her way onto the makeshift dance floor, where she asked Ron if she could cut in.

“Seems like you’ve been busy,” teased Ramona as she placed a hand on Alexandra’s back and they began to dance.

“You’re one to talk. What was all that about? I thought you only liked Harry as a friend.”

“I do.” Ramona reassured. “He just laid the snog on me, and I wanted to know if there was anything there so I kissed back. There wasn’t, in case you were wondering, was like kissing a brother, it was.”

“Sounds gross,” commented Alexandra, scrunching her nose.

“It was, but I reckon snogging Ron’s not like that. Ah. Look at you! Your face is all red. No need to blush, mate. Everyone already knows you and Ron are a thing now. Wait. Are you? Or you just walking around and dating? Because you know how things are, someone says one thing and by the time it gets around to other people, everyone has added their own take on it.”

“I don’t even know why people are so interested,” mumbled Alexandra. “It’s not like it’s any of their business.”

“So it’s true then?”

Alexandra nodded, smiling sheepishly.

“I bloody knew it’d happen! It was only a matter of time.”

“What? I didn’t even know it was going to happen until today.” Alexandra chuckled. “Like I thought he was cute and nice . . . and all that, but I didn’t think . . . you know?”

Their conversation didn’t last much longer than that. A few more details were given out, but when the students started chanting Ron’s name, they were distracted and looked over to where all the noise was coming from. Ron had stepped onto a table, from where he was talking to everywhere. He was smiling brighter than anyone had ever seen him smile. It was finally him that was getting the attention, just him. He wasn’t being praised because he had helped Harry or someone else. He was being praised because of himself, and it felt fantastic knowing the attention was on him. He gave a few drunken words of thanks, told everyone to join him for a drink, and after the drink had been had, the final rounds of cheers had been shouted; Ron leapt off the table and maneuvered back to Alexandra.

“Want another drink?” he asked her, having to shout over the noise.

“Yeah, but I’ve got a bottle.” She held up the bottle she’d gotten from one of the crates. “Figured I’d just carry one around instead of going back every time I wanted to fill up,” she explained.

“Brilliant logic!” he exclaimed. “Can I get a refill then?”

“Just cuz I like you so much,” she grinned and filled up his cup.

As the night progressed, the pair became more and more intoxicated. Alexandra had a higher tolerance than Ron, she and her cousins always snuck drinks at family parties, but Ron had never gotten drunk before. And since he was celebrating his victory, he had way more than he should’ve, which led to his throwing up in the boys bathrooms while Alexandra stood beside him and rubbed his back. Watching him puke wasn’t her idea of fun, but she wasn’t going to just run off on him. Had she been in his position, she would’ve wanted him to be there for her, so she helped him get cleaned up, and just as she was helping him slip into clean clothes, Harry walked in and told her to put him in his bed, that way she wouldn’t have stumble back to Ravenclaw tower. She was tempted to say no. It’d be awkward to sleep in the boys dorm, people might talk, but she was tired, and knew that there was no way she’d be able to make the walk all the way back to Ravenclaw tower.

“You sure you don’t mind?” asked Alexandra, not wanting to be a bother.

“Not at all,” reassured Harry. “It’s not the first time we’ve shared a bed, and I know Ron wouldn’t want ya walking all the way back. It’s too far, and if anyone were smell ya, you’d get into trouble.”

“Alright then, thanks Harry. Are you gonna put him in or should I?”

“I’ll do it, and don’t worry no one’s gonna give you any trouble. I reckon everyone thinks you were the good luck charm.”

“Hah not even,” she laughed.

“I reckon you are.” Harry spoke. “He’s better when you’re around, Alex, loads better.”