invisible string! → ron weasley ✓

xx. the final battle

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IN SPITE OF THE NEW OCCUPANTS, Shell Cottage was quieter than usual that night. The day's events led to no one feeling particularly talkative; Ollivander was in his room recovering, Griphook was in his room brooding, and the others were simply processing everything at their own pace, trying to figure out what came next. Kates was delighted to see her friends again, and of course seeing Ron again filled her with a temporary relief because it meant that he was safe and all right, but even she was more subdued than usual.

"Draco didn't identify me." Harry's voice snapped them all out of their thoughts. It was just the teenagers in the living room that evening after supper, and whilst stories had been relayed earlier, they had been done only briefly (no one was in much of a mood for a long debriefing). Kates looked up to meet his green eyes and he continued. "He could have, but he didn't. I reckon he's starting to realize he's been on the wrong side all along." Kates wasn't sure how to feel about this. An odd sensation filled her; it was a mix of relief, pride, surprise, and the feeling of having known something all along. She sat up, but did not disentangle her hand from Ron's.

"I can't say I saw that coming," she replied slowly, "but I can't say I'm surprised, either. I only caught a glimpse at how bad it's gotten, but the little I saw was enough to terrify me, and I'm a right bit braver than he is." Ron squeezed her hand comfortingly. "And he's in You-Know-Who's inner circle, I'm sure he's seen far more than he hoped to."

"It's all fun and games 'til you're asked to kill someone," murmured Ron, and they all shrugged and nodded in agreement. "You think he may ever switch sides?"

"Probably not," said Harry with a shrug. "He may not care for the violence of it all, but he's still a blood purist."

"Even if he does switch sides, I wouldn't trust him," said Kates, much to everyone's surprise. When they all gave her bewildered looks, she continued solemnly. "It's like Harry said. He may want this war to end in our favor so the violence ends, but he will always have his beliefs. We never know, he could change, but if he does it will take a while to leave behind everything he's spent his life being told." The corner of Dean's mouth turned upward.

"At least there's some who grow up like that and develop minds of their own." Kates beamed at him, grateful for how his words lightened the mood, even if only just. In fact, they all seemed rather relieved to have a moment of lightheartedness, for they knew it wouldn't last.

That night as everyone began to turn in, Kates found herself sitting cross-legged on the floor of the back deck, looking out at the darkness. Not much could be seen, but the gentle sound of the waves hitting the shore was enough to make it not matter. She would have preferred to go out to the beach itself, but of course that wouldn't be safe—hell, even the back deck was pushing it, even with all the enchantments in place.

The glass door slid open behind her, then closed again, and gentle footsteps approached. Ron sat down beside her with a sigh.

"It's good to have you back," she told him without taking her eyes off the darkness before them. "Though now I feel certain that everything's about to change."

"Me too," he murmured. "I think we're reaching the end of this war, I can feel it." She wasn't surprised he agreed, but she was surprised that he admitted it. He had matured greatly over the years, but she noticed a difference even since before the Ministry was taken over. Though, she supposed, life on the run most likely had something to do with that, not to mention what he experienced in Malfoy Manor. Even thinking about it brought her hand over to hold his.