where: gryffindor tower, boys dormitory when: post-battle of hogwarts who: @unchosenlion
Ron’s footsteps are heavy on the stairs as he heaves himself up them. He had taken this same journey countless times before, and yet it had never felt quite as hard as it did right then. He had fallen asleep beside Hermione and Harry barely hours before, but his sleep had been shaky and interrupted, no matter how exhausted he felt.
Over and over again behind his closed eyes, he had seen the explosions and the sight of his lifeless brother’s body, and the image had only increased twofold. Over and over again he saw Fred and then Harry, Harry and then Fred, until there was no chance of him falling asleep, not yet.
Beside him, both Harry and Hermione had long since into a heavy slumber; enough that Ron had easily slipped away from them, needing to see the family that he had left.
The door to the dormitory creaks as Ron reenters and his face crumbles in a frown at the sound of a shifting body in the darkness.
“Sorry,” he whispers.