invisible string! → ron weasley

xvii. the world on fire

⋆☆.* ✧✰ .✦⋆*☆

THE WAITING WAS THE WORST PART of the battle for Kates Kinley. As much as she had wanted to participate—she was of age, after all—she knew she wouldn't be any good if they were up in the air. As much as she loved watching Quidditch she hated the idea of being on a broom, or a Thestral, or anything else that was flying hundreds of kilometers high in the air, for that matter. So, she remained behind with Molly and Ginny and felt utterly useless standing around waiting for everyone to get to the Burrow. Officially she was to watch over the Burrow and its inhabitants until the mission was complete, but with all the charms up she knew the job was more to keep her mind focused than anything else.

Did it work? Absolutely not.

The worst thing about waiting was that her mind had plenty of time to wander. She worried about the mission, about the war itself, about her brother, and most of all about Ron. No one was supposed to know Harry was being moved, but they were preparing for the worst for a reason—and as people began to arrive, she knew the mission had turned into a battle.

The moment Ron returned and his identity was verified, Kates ran out to him, meeting him halfway to the door. He wasn't the only one she hugged that evening, but their embrace was definitely the longest and most gentle. "I'm all right," he whispered in her ear and she tried to convince herself of that fact, even though she knew that none of them were all right, not really.

The war was getting worse. More and more Death Eaters were coming out of the shadows each day; Kates' father cornered Arthur Weasley at the Ministry shortly after school got out and tossed around a thinly-veiled threat; Wesley's communication with Aunt Jackie was getting less and less frequent as to maintain his cover and keep him safe; so many things were happening and none of them pointed to anything good.

Well, all but one: the impending nuptials of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour was the ray of sunshine through the thick, dark clouds.

Unsurprisingly, Kates adored weddings. She loved seeing everyone dressed up and happy and celebrating love. She had only been to a small handful and most of them were loveless, drab pure-blood ceremonies, but Aunt Jackie had taken her to a few and she had loved each and every one of them. This would be the first one she attended where she actually knew the bride and groom beyond stories told to her by her aunt, and she was rather excited about the whole thing.

Most of the occupants of the Burrow didn't share the same sentiment—or, at least, they couldn't find themselves to be excited when they were in the midst of a war. Molly was perhaps the only one who was just an excited as Kates was, and the girl spent a great deal of time helping the woman prepare everything for the ceremony. They baked, and crafted, and chatted, and Kates realized she felt more comfortable with Molly than she ever had with her biological mother, though she wasn't surprised so much as comforted. Not only did the preparations bring them both joy, but it allowed them to distract themselves and each other from the dangers that surrounded them.

"You know," said Molly one afternoon, just several days before the nuptials. They stood together in the kitchen working on the floral arrangements. "You're good for Ron." Kates' gaze snapped up from her current project, her attention shifting so rapidly that a flower fell haphazardly to the table. Molly, meanwhile, continued to magically move the flowers around just as contentedly as she had been before.

"You think so?" the girl asked quietly as butterflies began to fly in her chest. She was never one to seek validation or praise, but it always made her feel like she was walking on a cloud. Molly laughed.