Always

After breakfast, I took a quick shower, and scanned my closet for a nice dress to wear to tea. I remembered to text Angelle last night to wear a dress as well as Narcissa was very proper. I found a black pencil dress that went to my knees. It had long sleeves that puffed out and ended at my wrist. There was a small V cut at the top, but not low enough to show anything. The back simply zipped up, which Ron would have to help me with. I paired it with simple diamond studs, and a small necklace with a tiny aquamarine stone at the bottom. Ron had gotten it for me a few years ago for my birthday.

“You look beautiful as always”, Ron said, as I stepped out of the room, turning around so help me zip my dress. He kissed the back of my neck. I turned around to hug him tightly.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”, I double checked, not releasing him from my hug.

“I promise my love, I don’t mind”. He kissed me once and helped me into my coat. I kissed him again and grabbed my purse. Using my magic, I landed softly in the alley next to the small tea shop in town. Narcissa and I used to come here all the time before Lucius was locked up and we started using her house instead. I was the first to arrive, so I grabbed a table and ordered our morning tea and cakes. I looked up from my glass of water to see Narcissa and Angelle had arrived at the same time. I stood to greet them. A kiss on each of their cheeks and a small hug, before we all sat down again.

“Oh, my dear, it has been too long. I was so happy you asked me for tea”, Narcissa said, opening her napkin on her lap. I glanced slightly at Angelle, motioning for her to do the same, as I also, placed my napkin on my lap.

“I’ve missed you so much. I ordered breakfast cakes and tea. I wasn’t sure what you would like Angelle, so I asked for a sampling of flavors”, I smiled at her encouragingly. “Please, tell me what you have been up to? What is your latest cause you are working on?”, I asked Narcissa. She was always working on some fundraisers.

“Oh, I am knee deep in working on the poor housing qualities of some people in our city. There are too many homeless out there”, she said, sounding very motherly. Our tea arrived and we ate quietly, with a few moments talking about how delicious the cakes were. We also found we enjoyed the new apple and cinnamon tea the shop had to offer. It smelt like Ron and therefore I instantly loved it.

After tea, we chatted for a while. Angelle told us all about her job and how she loved working with her kids in the daycare. She is currently in muggle Uni, studying to be a speech therapist. There are many witches and wizards who had trouble communicating and were just labeled as squibs. Angelle’s goal was to try and prevent some of these mislabeling. Narcissa seemed to adore her son’s new girlfriend.

“Have you heard from your parents?” Narcissa inquired. She held them in high distain, and they seem to have abandoned me all together. I shook my head slightly and looked down, frowning. “Well, no bother. You know I love having you as my family, as well as I am sure Mary feels the same way”, she smiled at me kindly, and reached across to squeeze my hand.

“What of you and Ronald? Draco tells me you are dating now”, she said changing subjects as our tea service was being taken away. I started to blush.

“Yes. We are. I love him very much. He misses you; you know. He won’t admit it but when I talk about you, his eyes light up. We need to have dinner soon, please”, I said.

“Oh, yes I would love that. Does Ronald still help at his brother’s joke shop?”, she asked. I nodded and reached for my wallet, but Narcissa put her hand up to stop me and handed over her card to the waitress.

“Yes. They finally made him their partner. About time”, I added, as the waitress came back with Narcissa ’s card. She signed the receipt and we all stood up and put our coats on.

“Why don’t we go pay him a visit. I would love to see him”, Narcissa said, holding the door open for Angelle to walk through first. I would tell Angelle later, that was a big deal, as Narcissa usually required someone hold the door for her.

“Oh yes, he would love that!”, I said excitedly. As we walked the block down to the joke shop, Angelle and Narcissa talked about where Angelle got her coat from. I smiled at their backs. I would have to tell Draco that today went very well, and he had nothing to worry about. We walked into the shop and the bell rang over our heads.

“Welcome to Walker and Walker Magical Emp… Narcissa? Kat? What are you doing here?” Ron practically shouted as he came around the corner to greet Narcissa properly. After kissing her cheek, he gave Angelle a quick hug and turned to me. He started to lean in for a kiss, but stopped short, remembering Narcissa was watching. I giggled and leaned forward to kiss him briefly.

“Oh, Ronald, I just had to come see you”, Narcissa said, reaching out to embrace Ron in a hug. As much as her son and Ron disliked each other, you would never know based on how she treated Ron. I left them to catch up while I showed Angelle around the shop. Just as we were walking into the magical part of the shop, Fred came around the corner and nearly ran us over.

“Freddie, watch where you are going”, I said, slapping his shoulder.

“Sis! What are you doing here? And who is your lovely friend?” he asked, winking at Angelle.

“Draco’s girlfriend, so stop with the flirting you git”, I said laughing.

“My apologies my lady”, he said, bowing before walking away to finish whatever task I interrupted. After browsing a bit more, we returned to Ron and Narcissa. Narcissa and Angelle said their goodbyes before walking out of the shop.

“So, we’re planning a dinner?”, Ron asked, smiling. He loved Narcissa ’s dinners.

“Yep”, I grinned as he pulled me into his side. I helped for the rest of the morning, balancing the ledgers in the back office.

After Ron decided to leave the shop for the day, we met up with Hermione, Blaise, Ginny, Harry, Kacey and Theo at a pub around the corner for drinks and chips. Fred and George decided to close early and joined us as well. We sat down as the guys went to the bar to order for us. When Blaise sat back down, he put his arm around Hermione’s chair, fingers resting on her shoulder. Hermione was blushing wildly. I would have to ask her about that later.

“Can we steal you from Ron tonight and have a sleepover at my place? It has been too long, and I need some girl time. Pllleeeaasseee?” Ginny begged. I looked longingly at Ron.

“I suppose so”, I laughed as Ron kissed the top of my head. I turned to the side to hug him. “I’ll sneak off in the morning so I can wake you up with my mouth this time”, I whispered in his ear, causing him to muffle the groan that came out of his mouth. After dinner and drinks, we all stood to leave.

“You guys’ head to Ginny’s. I am going home to change really quickly and then I’ll meet you at your place”, I said to Hermione, Ginny and Kayce. Ron was going to stay and have another round with the guys, so I walked to the alley and apperated home. I changed into some pajama pants and grabbed a t-shirt of Ron’s to sleep in. I threw a sweater over it, to keep the cold November air from biting at my skin. I also took his pillow so it would feel like I was sleeping next to him. Using my magic again, I traveled to Ginny’s and walked into her room.

“So… you and Blaise?”, I asked Hermione as I sat down in the chair in her living room. Hermione giggled and launched into what apparently was a very spicy night at the manor. We stayed up late talking about the boys and our lives. I tried to keep details to a minimum around Ginny. It was her brother after all. After a while I could hear Ginny and Kacey’s snores and Hermione’s deep breathing. I buried my face into Ron’s pillow and inhaled to relax myself so I could go to sleep.

I was back in the same celled room I normally was in. I could see Ron laying there again, but this time, not only did he have cuts going down his arms, but he had a big gash that was bleeding out by his stomach, going up towards his chest. I wasn't chained to the wall like I normally was, so I rushed over to him. I took off my shirt and tried to press it to the wound on his stomach. I noticed he wasn't breathing.

"Ron? Ronald? Wake up please!" I begged his lifeless body. I was stroking his hair and kissing his jawline, praying he would wake up before the monster came into the room like it always did. My body was suddenly flung across the room, and I was pinned in place by an invisible barrier. I looked up and the dark, hooded figure floated into the room and over to Ron.

"STOP! PLEASE TAKE ME INSTEAD! DON'T KILL HIM PLEASE! TAKE ME!" I screamed over and over until my throat was raw and no more sound would come out. I fought against the bindings that held me in place, but it was no use, I was stuck there, helpless. I closed my eyes tightly as the figure hovered over Ron's body, unable to watch what I knew was about to happen. I could hear the sound of flesh being ripped apart. I screamed again at the top of my lungs to drown out the sound.

The figure moved away from Ron. I could feel it in front of my face, but I didn't open my eyes to look at it. I heard it growl before what felt like a thousand knives cutting into my skin. I choked on my own blood, my body thrashing around, and then everything went black and silent.

“Ginny, go get Ron!”, I could hear Hermione yelling at Ginny urgently, but I couldn’t make my eyes open yet. It was like I wasn’t fully awake. I felt Hermione stroking my hair when and Kayce was rubbing my arms. I could finally open my eyes. I sat up with a gasp, clenching my hand to my chest.

“Ron? Where is Ron? I need…”, I tried to get up to go to him, but my legs gave out under me.

“Ginny is getting him. He’ll be here any second”, she said. Right on cue, we heard a pop and Ron came rushing in and bent down to pull me into him.

“Shh. Shh. I’m right here”, he said into my hair, running his hands up and down my arms as my sobs were muffled by his chest.

“Come on, let’s get you back home to our bed. Hermione, would you mind gathering her things and bringing them in the morning?” Ron asked her before he gathered me in his arms and apparated us home. I gripped onto his shirt as tight as I could, unwilling to let him go. He lifted my face up to his, stroking my cheek with his thumb.

I flicked my wrist and a glass of water conjured on the bedside table next to me. I drank the potion Ron had gone to get for me and chased it with the water. Ron moved us under the covers and laid us so that my head was on his chest.

“I’ve got you now darling. It’s okay. I’m right here. Get some rest”, Ron said, using his magic to turn off the light. He wrapped his arms around me tighter and kissed my head. The potion kicked in quickly. I fell asleep to Ron running his fingers through my hair and telling me how much he loved me.