Title: Slowly Smiling

Author: tarotgal

Fandom: Harry Potter (7^th year)

Rating: G

Disclaimer: The plot is mine. The rest is very much not!

Summary: Ron sleeps through part of class and part of the first snowfall of the season

Notes: I wrote this in a couple of hours on March 1, 2004 as March 1 is Ron's birthday. It's not a birthday fic, but there's only so much I can push the muses :-)

Slowly Smiling

     The class filed out of the Transfiguration classroom excitedly, eager to end their week of classes by playing in the snow that had begun during their morning break. That one brief taste of the snow had been enough to sustain high levels of anticipation all day. Harry shared in this mindset, and even Hermione stuck her wand in her pocket and stuffed notebooks into her bag with unprecedented haste.

     As the room cleared, Harry slung his bag over his shoulder and turned to face his two best friends. "So what first? Snowman? Snowball fight? Ice skating on the... Ron?"

     Ron was fast asleep. His arms were crossed on the desk in front of him and his head buried in the extra fabric of his sleeves. He slept silently, but Harry still found it hard to believe Professor McGonagall had overlooked his little nap. She wasn't the type to let such things go, even if it was the first snowfall of winter. Harry looked from Hermione, who always sat in the front of the class and hadn't noticed until just now either, to Professor McGonagall who was clearing up her desk of the feathers that remained from the class turning birds into books and back again. Neville Longbottom's attempt had been especially difficult as he succeeded in the task brilliantly, except for the fact that the bird was stripped of all its feathers when it transformed back again. In all the commotion of flying feathers, none of the other had seemed to have heard the sneezes or seen Ron fall asleep.

     "I suggest you put your plans on hold for a few minutes while you deal with Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall said. "He's been asleep for nearly an hour and while I think a more appropriate place for that would have been his bed, I believe the hospital wing might be an even better one." She collected her things and headed out the door. Looking over her shoulder as she left, she gave them a motherly sort of smile. "Good luck waking him. I've already tried."

     Harry looked down at Ron, then over at Hermione. "I'll rock-paper-scissors you for it?" Hermione shook her head with a giggle. "Oh, come on. Odds and evens? One potato-two potato?" She held up her hands and stepped away. Harry sighed and set his hand on Ron's shoulder, shaking it gently. He felt badly for not having realized Ron was sick, and did not want to bring him out of his nap harshly. "Ron?" Ron did not stir. "Ron?" he called more loudly. Still nothing. He leaned in closer, so his mouth was an inch from Ron's ear. Shaking, and yelling "Ron!" finally did it.

     Ron jumped with a snuffle, sitting bolt upright in his seat. His reflex reaction was to call out, "Aviber!" The fact that he was still clutching his wand tightly made it much worse. The book lying on his desk burst into feather. Not being an actual book, however, the feathers were made of paper and were covered in tiny words and letters. Instead of smiling at the absurd sight before him, Ron groaned. "That was my Charms text!" Then he quickly lifted his hand to his face, cupping it over nose and mouth. "ehhhh-HUHShhhhh! ehhTchhh! ihhtchhh!" He groaned again and sank back into his seat with sniffles.

     Nervously, Harry inquired. "You, you coming down with something, Ron? Or are you just developing an allergy to feathers?"

     Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, honestly." She buried her wand in the pile of paper feathers. "Liber restaurare!" For a moment, the feathers fluttered around uselessly on the desk, then they settled into place back between two covers. "There," she said, flipping through the pages to check her handiwork. When it came to books, Hermione was certainly the expert. "Now," she rounded on Ron. She clapped her hand to his forehead, then shook her head. Then she picked up his bag and stuffed the newly repaired book into it. Just after this, she eased Harry's bag off his shoulder. "You take Ron down to Hospital Wing, and I'll take these upstairs," she decided for them.

     Both Harry and Ron looked a bit stunned at her sudden orders. She waved a hand at them. "Go on. Go. Must I always be looking after you two or do you think you can manage this without my help for a change?"

     Harry gripped Ron's arm and eased him up out of the desk. Still a little sleepy, Ron was unsteady on his feet for a few seconds. The two boys followed Hermione out of the classroom and went down the stairs when she went up them. "Why d'you think she's making you take me to Hospital and not coming with?" Ron asked as he followed Harry down the winding staircases.

     "I dunno," Harry replied, looking over his shoulder. "Suppose she just wants a few extra moments of studying?"

     Ron chanced a guess. "Maybe she just doesn't want to be around me when I'm sick?"

     Harry stopped as he reached the bottom of the stairs just then, and turned around. "I'm sure that's not it," he said, looking up as Ron made it to the ground floor as well. When they had first met, Ron had been only slightly taller, if at all. Now Harry had to look up to meet his eyes when they stood close. "Do you feel very sick?" he asked, warily.

     Ron paused a moment in thought, then rubbed the back of his hand against his nose and nodded. "Thanks for taking me over to Hospital. I don't think I would have liked going alone. I know we've all not seen each other as much as usual thanks to our strange schedules and then there's Quidditch practice and studying for N.E.W.T.s and all but... I really appreciate... it..." Ron's sentiment died away as he cupped his hand to his face. "heh... huhShuhhh! ehhhTShuhhhh! TShuhhhh! Hehh..." He paused again, as though considering the possible variances of the sneeze before it struck. "hehKSHIHHH!" It nearly doubled him up. "Ugh..."

     "Don't sweat it," Harry said, patting Ron's back, as it was the easiest place to reach with Ron bent in half.

     Ron straightened slowly, sniffling into his wet hand, looking miserable. Harry almost considered just taking Ron up to their dormitory and tucking him into bed instead of putting him through all the poking and prodding of Madam Pomfrey. He likely would have if he thought Ron could actually make the journey. But somehow Ron looked more exhausted by just walking down a few flights of stairs.

     "Hey, want to wipe your nose on my robes?" Harry offered, holding up his sleeve.

     Ron cracked a much needed smile at the selfless offer and shook his head. But he did lean on Harry a bit more as they headed down the hallway to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey, as Harry had predicted, did indeed poke and prod him, but only after clucking at him and sending him right over to the nearest cot to sit down. Ron grabbed Harry's hand in the process, pulling him over as well. He did not speak but his hurt, tired eyes told Harry that his best friend did not want to be left alone. Determined to do what he could to make Ron feel better, Harry sat down on the cot beside him while Madam Pomfrey performed her inspection.

     She declared, of course, that he had a bad cold. And she left a large box of tissues on Harry's lap while she went to get some Pepper-up potion. Once she'd gone into her office, Ron leaned weakly against Harry, too tired to sit up straight on his own. "Hey, why don't you lie down?" Harry suggested. The red-haired head bobbed up and down in answer. Ron pulled a few tissues out of the box before Harry rose to pull down the sheet and blanket, then pull them up again over Ron's reclining form.

     While walking and sitting up Ron's face had been extra pale, it seemed to have a bit more color when he was lying down. His nose, however, seemed to tickle just as much as before. "ehhh..." Ron tiredly raised the tissue to his face. "hehhhEHShfffff! Hushfffff!" He snuffled and rubbed his nose into the tissues before relaxing back against the bed, still looking terribly miserable.

     Harry raised his arm again. "You can still use my sleeve if you like."

     The joke was significantly less funny the second time around, but still made Ron smile. He reached out and took Harry's hand instead, giving it a squeeze. "Thanks for staying a bit with me."

     Knowing precisely how miserable the hospital ward could be when one was sick and alone, Harry nodded. "Of course. Anything you need, okay?"

     "Another..." Ron's face fell quickly and his breath caught. "Another tiss... ehhh--" Harry quickly stuffed a new tissue into Ron's outstretched hand just in time. "ehhhHIHShhfffff!" The sneeze forced him up off the bed a little, knocking the blanket out of place. Ron did not bother to pull it back up as another sneeze was coming on. "hehhh... ehh-hih-TISHffffff!" He turned his head away to blow his nose, then turned back and over onto his side to face Harry. He sighed deeply with relief. "Thanks, Mate."

     Harry reached down and pulled the blankets back into place, then patted Ron's head gently. Ron smiled again, this time without needing a joke.

     Madam Pomfrey returned not long thereafter, with a goblet of steaming Pepper-up potion and an approving look towards Harry and Ron for Ron being tucked in and resting. "Good thing you came in right away. I'm sure your cold's not pleasant, and this will help loads with the symptoms. You're lucky, I just made a fresh batch yesterday." Harry helped Ron sit up and Ron took the goblet immediately to drink. Nothing made you feel so warm inside as Madam Pomfrey's Pepper-up. "Yes," the school nurse went on as Ron drank. "First snowfall is always a good sign that cold and flu season's about to start. I'll probably have a larger supply finished in a couple of days. But you're lucky you didn't have to wait that long for this batch. I was able to finish it yesterday thanks to Miss Hermione Granger coming in with her cold."

     Had Harry been drinking, he surely would have sprayed his mouthful at such news. He was rather certain of this as Ron did just that in a reaction that showed he was equally shocked. Madam Pomfrey gave him a stern look and for a moment Harry expected her to scold him and get him another cup of Pepper-up to be sure he drank enough. But instead she offered him a tissue and headed back to her office, leaving him to drink the rest on his own.

     "Now we know why she didn't want to come down here," Harry said, watching as Ron drank. Smoke was pouring from his ears as though his whole head was on fire. "And why she's been making herself scarce these last few days. She didn't want us to know she was sick."

     Ron nodded as he drank down the last of the potion. He handed the empty goblet to Harry, who already had his hand out to accept it, and he lay back down on the bed, snuggling up in the blankets. "Least now I have someone to blame for feeling sick," Ron said, smiling all the more now as he was starting to feel better.

     "You'll feel better really soon," Harry insisted. Pepper-up potion never took long to work once the smoke stopped. He patted Ron's shoulder thought the blankets.

     "Thanks for staying with me," said Ron. Now he had to look up to see Harry. "I promise to sit by your bedside and return the favor if you catch this."

     "Let's hope you don't have to." The Pepper-up potion also made a person feel sleepy, mostly because of the relaxing warmth. And Ron closed his eyes and fell back to sleep while Harry sat on the edge of his bed watching over him before he felt up to going all the way back up to their dormitories. On the way, Harry knew they'd be discussing how best to approach Hermione about the cold she didn't know they knew she'd had. They wouldn't be mean, of course. But it would certainly be good for a laugh, and Ron was always better at coming up with good things to say. It was the exposure to Fred and George over so many years, Harry supposed. But between Ron's cold and what to say to Hermione, Harry had completely forgotten there was snow outside.