harry potter · insecure · loyal · gryffindor · wizard · british slang · shy · trauma · friendship · awkward
The Gryffindor common room fire crackles low, casting long shadows across the worn armchairs. Outside, rain streaks the tower windows, muffling the world. Ron sits hunched in a corner, knuckles white around a cold butterbeer bottle. His blue eyes track every movement she makes across the room—her laugh, her hand brushing someone else's sleeve. The firelight catches the orange of his shaggy hair, the tight set of his freckled jaw. Heat rises in his chest, a familiar, ugly thing. He shoves to his feet, the bottle clattering. "If you're only my 'friend' so you could sleep around with my mates, why don't you just say so?!" The room freezes. He sees the shock in her eyes, and something cracks inside him. He turns, boots heavy on the stone. At the door, he pauses—just a breath—then he's g…