No One

I am moving through the crowd
Trying to find myself
Feel like a guitar that's never played
Will someone strum away?


Ron Weasley woke up in his bed at the Burrow. He could see the faint outline of his best friend Harry Potter in the bed on the other side of the room. The sun's morning rays drifted in through the windows, and broke the shadows, and he wanted to curse them for bringing in the daylight. He rubbed at his eyes and groaned before landing his head back on the pillow.

Harry was still sleeping, the sound of his snores were barely audible in the room. How Ron envied Harry's ability to stay sleeping as the light from the sun danced in the room and over his face.

They, along Hermione and Ginny, would all be heading back to Hogwarts in a few days. The pain from Dumbledore's death was still fresh in their minds and their hearts. Everyone had spent the summer in a daze, continuing on like Dumbledore was going to walk in the door and offer them his stash of lemon drops. But it had been Harry, who was the most effected by Dumbledore's death, who broke that zombie like state that overcame everyone. When he broke down, it was if his loss of control made Dumbledore's death all too real.. Harry had almost refused to go back to the Dursleys' for his final summer with them or return to Hogwarts for Seventh Year. Remus had had a long talk with him, and drew him out of the shell he'd been hiding in.

Sometimes Ron felt lost being the best friend to Harry Potter. He felt deep in the shadows, and for the most part he liked it there. His life and his problems seemed so trivial and completely pointless next to Harry's existence. Ron knew he wasn't as important as Harry and that everyone else saw it too. But this year would be different, and somehow he knew he wouldn't be able to hide in the shadows much longer. The conflict with Voldemort would push him to the front lines with Harry.


And I ask myself
Who do I wanna be?
Do I wanna throw away the key?
and invent a whole new me
and I tell myself
No One, No One
Don't wanna be
No One
But me..


Ron pushed himself off of his orange clad bed, his feet padding lightly on his clothes ridden floor. Approaching Harry's bed, Ron shook his shoulder lightly in hopes that he could wake his friend. “It's almost time to go to Diagon Alley, and you know how Mum gets if we don't get to breakfast on time.” He pushed back his mussed red bangs with one hand, and walked towards his bedroom door after hearing Harry's sleepy grunt.

“Dibs on the shower, Harry!” Ron said loudly over the sound of the door opening.

“Five more minutes,” Harry mumbled from the bed, and pulled the covers over his eyes. All that could be seen was a patch of messy black hair and the very tip of his lightening bolt scar beneath it. The soft click of the door shutting barely registering to him as he began to snore once again.

Ron arrived at the bathroom after the short walk from his room. He took off his striped bathrobe and dropped it on the back of the toilet and turned on the charmed shower to the temperature he liked best. Warm, but cold at the end. He turned and caught his face in the mirror and he grimaced. The red hair, freckles and facial features all bespoke of the Weasley heritage. He drew a finger down the bridge of his nose, tracing the many freckles and wished just once he didn't look like everyone else in his family. Just something distinctively himself, like a mole maybe.

Ron ran his hands in the mop of hair atop his head and jumped into the spray of warm water cascading from the spigot. He gave a sigh of pleasure as the water seemed to wash away a lot of the thoughts that drifted through his head. This was his five minute alone time of the day. Until someone banged on the door for entrance.

Ron let the water beat on his face before grabbing a washcloth and soap to scrub it. Some days he wished he could remove a few layers of skin, and his freckles in the process. If only one could magically go away!

Bang! Bang!

“Hurry up Ronald!” Ginny shouted from outside the door, and rattled at the door knob. Ron let out a sigh, and began to rush through the shower. Sometimes I want to be an only child! The cold water hit his back, and he shuddered briefly, until his body got accustomed to the temperature. The water shut off, and he pulled open the curtain.

“Can I at least brush my teeth?” Ron grumbled through the door at Ginny. The doorknob's rattle grew louder, and he grabbed at his bathrobe. He gave a snort of frustration, shrugged his still damp body into the robe and tied the belt with a sigh.

“Now Ronald! Mum said hurry up!” Ginny gave one last rattle to the knob, and finally it was quiet again. Ron gave a reproachful look at the door, and narrowed his eyes at where he knew Ginny was on the other side.

“One more minute,” Ron shouted in a mumble with his toothbrush in his mouth. He brushed furiously in a hurry of bubbles that dripped down the sides of his lips. Wish I was a vampire, I'd bite her! Ron thought and threw his toothbrush in the holder without rinsing. He grinned at the paste on his face in the mirror.

Bang! Bang!

“Come on!” Ginny shouted again through the door. Ron drew on his robe, and bent his face over the sink to scoop up water with his hands to rinse out his mouth. He opened up the door in a rush, and his sister almost fell in the room because she'd been leaning on it.

Ginny looked at the faint leavings of toothpaste on his face and laughed. “You can't hide the freckles with that.” Ron brushed by her, and his shoulder bumped hers. “Ow,” Ginny said and hit his arm with her hand.

“There! I'm done! All yours!” Ron retorted and pushed her the rest of the way in and slammed the door.


You are moving through the crowd
Trying to find yourself
Feel like a doll left on a shelf
Will someone take you down?


Ron walked down the hall back to his bedroom, barely controlling the urge to stamp his feet. He knew without a doubt his mum wouldn't listen to his excuses that Ginny basically threw him out of the bathroom. Sometimes being the youngest son with a younger sister wasn't all it was cracked up to be. He was always the one that got howlers about misconduct-- never the perfect Ginny.

But Ron loved Ginny, and would protect her with his life. The only girl born to the Weasley family for generations, so there was that that made her special. Ron never knew if he should beat Harry or clap him on the back for breaking off his romance with his baby sister. Was watching her walk broken-hearted around the Burrow worth not having to watch her snog Harry? Harry was his best mate, but Ginny was.... well... his sister!

Ron opened his bedroom door, and let it click softly shut with a backwards push. He looked over to where Harry's bed was, and almost groaned.

“Harry! Come on,” Ron's words closely echoed Ginny's as he bent over Harry's still sleeping form and shook him by the shoulder. Harry's mumbled protests almost made him laugh. “Well Ginny has already laid claim to the bathroom, so you may as well forget getting in there.”

Ron threw open his closet door, and pulled out his favorite Chudley Cannons t-shirt.

“What time is it?” Harry mumbled and sat up in the bed. He picked up his glasses from the nightstand and looked blearily through them after putting them on.

“T-minus a mum's scowl.” Ron replied, trying to joke, but Harry just rubbed at his face and stood up out of the bed.

“Yeah, I'll head to the shower now...” Harry's hand reached for the doorknob. Ron looked at Harry's bloodshot eyes, and pale face.

“If you're planning on showering with Ginny,” Ron commented, “I'll have to hex you before Mum does. You haven't heard a word I said when I walked in did you?” He finished dressing by pulling his trainers on and tying them.

“Guess not,” Harry replied and took a seat at the desk by the window. He took his glasses off and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. His head leaned back and he looked at the ceiling. “You still haven't cleaned off that hippogriff-shaped misspell from last summer.” Harry said off-handedly and pointed.

“Mum made me leave it for a reminder. 'Now Ronald Weasley, you know what happens to wizards who use their magic underage out of Hogwarts don't you?'” Ron said in a falsetto of his mother's voice. They both laughed and Harry stood up.

“I'm no longer underage now.” Harry said and pulled his wand out. “Not as good as soap and water in the shower, but... Tergeo!” He incanted and began cleaning himself off. “Never seems to work on this mop.” He shook his head sadly, and his black bangs flopped over his scar and almost hid it.

“Hermione will be here soon. You ready?” Ron asked a few minutes later after Harry slammed his school travel trunk closed. He was anxious to see her after the long summer. With all the happenings from the Death Eaters, her parents had kept her secreted away with the help of the Order of The Phoenix.

“Yeah,” Harry looked up at Ron and sighed. “You think we should even go back? There is so much to get done in preparation for a showdown with Voldemort.”

“It's what your parents, Sirius and Professor Dumbledore would want.” Ron tried to smile with his words, but the look on Harry's face worried him even more. Harry stood up and walked out the door without another word. “Look Harry! I'm sorry,” Ron tried to say to his fast moving friend. He felt the guilt wash over him, here he was grousing about being the youngest son, and his best mate never had that. His life with the Dursleys had been pure hell, and his life had only truly started when Hagrid had whist him away at the age of eleven from their presence. But every summer he'd leave from Hogwarts to go back there, and he'd had to relive the nightmare all over.

Maybe being a Weasley isn't so bad after all? Ron thought and ran after Harry.


And you ask yourself
Who do I wanna be?
Do I wanna throw away the key?
and invent a whole new me
Gotta tell yourself
No One, No One
Don't wanna be
No One
But me..


Ron slid into the bench seat beside Harry and began piling his plate high with eggs, bacon and toast. He'd always been told the world could end around him, but as long as his plate was full he'd never notice.

“Ronald Bilius Weasley! Stop shoveling your food in your mouth!” Ron looked up with a start at the sound of Molly Weasley's voice. His hand was halfway to his face, and in it was his fork dripping eggs as it was about to put its contents into his mouth,

“Sorry mum,” Ron said guiltily, and let half of the contents of the fork drop back to the plate. He slowed down, and began to chew. His eyes strayed over to Harry's almost empty plate, and he felt a sigh well up in him.

Harry still wasn't eating. Harry had always been small for his age, the Dursleys had barely fed him enough to sustain life. His clothes had always been Dudley's cast-offs and had hung painfully big from Harry's bony frame. His own clothes had also been mostly from his older brothers, but still they had fit. His were passed to him because of lack of money, not lack of love. Just as long as they don't smell like the dress robes from the Yule Ball, Ron grimaced at the memory.

Ron felt arms wrap around his neck before he realized Hermione had even arrived. He felt his heart beat faster, and her warm breath tickled his neck as she kissed it. He let go of his fork and placed his hand over hers and leaned back into her embrace. If someone asked him to describe what Heaven was like right at this moment, he'd say here. Surrounded by his best friend, his family, his mother's cooking and the witch he would one day like to marry.

Hermione reached with one hand and grabbed a piece of toast from his plate, slid into the bench seat between Harry and Ron and took a bite. “I'm so glad your mother cooks for an army, Ron Weasley. We'd all starve if she didn't.” A giggle escaped her throat and softened her words.


Your life lays out on the shadows of the wall
You turn the light on to release it all
You wonder what's it's like to not feel worthless
So open all the blinds and turn those curtains


Ron's eyes followed Ginny as she descended the stairs, and walked over to the table still ladened with breakfast. He watched as she took a seat on the other side away from them. He saw the jealous look filled with sadness she gave him and Hermione before sighing and looking at Harry. Ginny then grabbed a plate, threw some toast on it and looked at a spot on the wall. He felt Hermione pull slightly away from him, and he placed a hand on her arm to halt her movements.

“Morning Ginny,” Ron said to his sister, and then looked at Harry and saw the same dejected look on his face. Bill and Fleur's wedding had been a tense affair for the four friends, and Ginny had ended up running up the stairs before she could give into the desire to attack Harry with the bat bogey hex. He remembered his fist had clinched in anger into his dress robes.

This has to end now. Ron looked at both of them again. Ginny hadn't even responded, and Harry had slunk deeper into the bench to hide.

“Harry, you remember Professor Dumbledore's words? About love I mean?” Ron asked, and snuggled closer to Hermione. He watched as Harry's face paled even lighter, and Harry's hand clutched tighter around his fork. Ron saw Harry's eyes narrow briefly and turn a darker green in sadness.

“Why?” Harry asked back, finally looking away from Ginny's face to stare at Ron and Hermione. A look of remorse passed across his face, and he looked back to Ginny.

“He said you would need love to defeat Voldemort. Love of your friends.” Ron said, and felt Hermione's hand squeeze his. He felt her hair brush against his arm, and he ran a finger through the lock.

Harry looked at Ron, a dawning look of realization crossing his face. “I put Ginny in danger, you know that! This is the only way to keep her safe, you know that!” He retorted, and started to get up from the table. Hermione reached over and touched his shoulder. Harry almost jerked away, but her look had him motionless. Harry turned his face to look at her, and Hermione almost gasped at the pain reflected in his eyes. Instead she sighed, and squeezed his arm lightly in comfort. Harry bowed his head in confusion, and his bangs hid his thoughts behind their black fringe.

“Listen to him, Harry.” Hermione said in a hushed tone. She and Ron had a long talk after the wedding reception about the two, and they had agreed that Harry was acting like a prat. If things hadn't changed by the time they would be returning to Hogwarts, they would talk to them. Harry looked back up at Hermione, and he frowned.

“Ginny's in danger because she's a member of the Blood Traitor family called Weasley.” Ron watched Harry's jaw open and shut, trying to form an answer, but he ended up shrugging instead. “Pushing her away like this only ends up making you both miserable!” Ron's finger pointed at Ginny and she looked away. “I'd rather see her snogging you in the halls than seeing that dejected look all the time!” Ginny gasped in shock and gave Ron an angry look.

“But if she-” Harry said, and at the same time Ginny said, “Enough Ron!” They both looked at each other and Ginny stood up, her long red hair covered her face as it bowed down. She looked up angrily at Ron, and in her eyes he could see a weary look of acceptance in them. She shrugged her shoulders, and without another word she got up and walked out of the kitchen. They could hear her feet stomp angrily up the stairs.

“What Ron's trying to say Harry James Potter, is that she loves you. You love her- don't deny yourselves that. It's exactly what Voldemort wants! You alone and defenseless.” Ron dropped his face into Hermione's shoulder and wrapped an arm around her. He looked back up and into Harry's emerald green eyes, “She's more in danger as she is now, unhappy, then if she were with you and happy.”

Harry stared unblinkingly into both of his best mates' eyes, and digested the words as if one by one they entered his mind. “I'm just afraid that if something happens to me,” Harry's rubbed a hand across his face, “She'll be alone. It'd be much harder on her if we are involved, you know?”

“This isn't hard on her?” Ron asked in disbelief. “Watching you walk around here and not being able to comfort you? Reach out to you for her own solace?” His arms tightened around Hermione and he snorted.

“Harry, let the future work itself out. If we all thought about it, we'd all be alone. I wouldn't be with Ron, Professor Lupin wouldn't be with Tonks and Bill wouldn't be Fleur.” Hermione's brown eyes held his gaze, “You can't live your life on what ifs Harry. Take a chance and live.”

“You're correct, if she'll forgive me-” Harry said, and a slight amount of color stained his cheeks. His Adam's apple bobbled in his throat as he swallowed a couple of times and ran out of the room.

No One, No One
Don't wanna be
No One
But me..


“Finally alone!” Ron murmured into Hermione's lips, and he ran his hands down her arms to pull her even closer. He kissed her gently, and felt the beats of his heart match hers.

“Ronald! Clean the table please! We leave in five minutes...” Ron heard Molly's voice from the hallway and groaned. But still, he wouldn't change families or friends for all the galleons in the world.

“Yes mum,” Ron called out, and regretfully pulled away from Hermione.

“I'll help you.” Hermione gave him a grin, and a look that promised a long snog later. “I think you finally got through to Harry.”

“I can only hope,” Ron said, and felt like groaning at the thought of his sister hanging all over his best friend again. “Though, you'll have to keep me distracted so I don't hex the famous Harry Potter.”


When you're moving through the crowd...


Ron walked through a crowded Diagon Alley, an arm looped through Hermione's. A few feet ahead of them were Harry and Ginny. What they had said to each other upstairs alone was a mystery to him. But the looks in their eyes when they had returned down the stairs to join them all had been wonderful.

Ron pulled on Hermione's arm to catch up with the other two, and as they moved through the crowds, he could only think one thing. He wouldn't want to be no one but Ronald Bilius Weasley. Son of Arthur and Molly, big brother to Ginevra and best friends with Harry James Potter.

Ron's favorite title was boyfriend to Hermione Jane Granger.

~~*~~

This story was written for my friend Robert. He chose the song and the charactor. Hope you enjoy it.
~~juls