Sadly these characters are not mine but J.K. Rowlings

Many times Ron found himself staring at his best friend. Ever since they first met on the Hogwarts Express, Ron found that often times, and never when Harry would notice he would stare. He had chosen that fateful compartment all those years ago not because every other one had been full but because inside that compartment Ron had seen another first year, in baggy, hand me down clothes. Rather selfishly Ron saw the skinny boy and thought that at the very least that boy would not make fun of his hand knitted sweaters and hand me down pet rat. He was even more pleased to discover that he knew nothing about the Weasley's or magic. He'd foolishly thought that this boy was someone he could impress. Once the boy had introduced himself as Harry Potter, however, all of Ron's hopes had been crushed. From that moment on Ron was simply happy to see Harry insult Malfoy, and Ron had thought at the time, at least, everyone in school would know that Ron Weasley was Harry Potters best friend. Back then Ron used to stare at Harry and marvel at how a kid younger than him had managed to defeat You-Know-Who.

Second year was the only time Ron remembered staring at Harry with a hint of fear. His ability to speak Parseltongue was intimidating at best and Ron could not deny that even with growing up in such a magically desolate house Harry was quickly becoming one of the more powerful and talented kids in their year. He never really believed that Harry was the one attacking the students though admittedly he also never suspected Ginny getting involved in something so dark either. Ron was fairly sure that he noticed before Harry, and even Hermione, that Harry possessed the cold determination and "no matter the cost" mentality that would make him a great Slytherin.

It was third year when he noticed a darkness in Harry he had not seen before. At the time, Ron had fervently wished that his father had not uttered a word to Harry about Sirius Black. The fact that, as far as anyone was aware, Sirius was out to kill Harry had not disturbed his best friend in the slightest. That was unnerving, but Ron had to admit that in their first two years of Hogwarts they had faced worse than a mad-man. It was when Harry had told him and Hermione that he was going to kill Sirius for betraying his parents that Ron was disturbed. What Hermione quickly wrote off as an over-reaction due to anger and shock, Ron had seen blunt honesty. Had Remus not shown up in the Shrieking Shack when he did Ron still wondered if his best friend would have strangled his Godfather.

His behavior in the Triwizard Tournament was not something that Ron was proud of. From the moment Dumbledore read Harry's name off of a piece of paper something had overcome him. He knew deep down that Harry was not the sort who went looking for trouble. However, three years of being the sidekick to the hero had worn thin and it was easy to believe what the rest of the school did about the Famous Harry Potter. Ron hated himself that it took seeing his friend nearly vaporized by a dragon before their friendship overrode his envious nature. Even after the first task, Ron struggled to not look at his friend with jealous eyes, and it was only when Harry appeared outside the maze did Ron truly feel relieved that it was Harry and not himself who had competed in the tournament.

In the year following, Ron sat up in his four poster bed and stared at his friend while he slept, if you could call thrashing around and crying out sleeping. Ron was not an idiot; he knew even Harry had not given them the full story of what happened. Ron wished he would, but understood why he did not. In the immediate aftermath, Ron had been surprised to see how normal Harry was acting. He supposed, that it had not sunk in quite yet. After all, one did not typically go up against You-Know-Who and survive. Perhaps in the days after the maze, Harry had simply been surprised to be alive. However, there was no denying that the Harry who Ron had waved to at the end of term was not the one who slept across the room. Everyone who remotely knew Harry could see that. After the first night back at Hogwarts, when none of them in the dorm had gotten any sleep Dean, Seamus, Neville and he had talked about what to do. Even Seamus despite his determination not to believe Harry's story had agreed that they would not say a word to Harry about his nightmares keeping all of them up. In all of the insane experiences he and Harry had undergone together, Ron was never worried about Harry. He had always been slightly scared for his own survival but never feared for Harry. However, watching his best friend bolted upright, drenched in sweat, breathing hard and holding his head in his hands Ron realized that he was terrified, not of You-Know-Who, but for Harry because he could not remember the last time he had seen him smile or heard him laugh.

Something about their sixth year felt strange to Ron. On the one hand, Harry seemed more confident than ever before, but there was no ignoring the fact that his friends smile rarely reached his green eyes. Now that everyone knew Harry's story was true, not to mention the fact that he had survived fighting You-Know-Who twice people treated him differently. Even the professor's seemed to care less about his age and being a student. Even though they never spoke about it, Ron could see that Harry was confident in his abilities. He knew that he and Hermione were leagues behind Harry, and not just in defensive magic. It was as if Harry was on a path and he knew where it ended, and it amazed Ron that his best friend did not seem to mind that the path led to You-Know-Who once again. The thing that astonished him most was that Harry still cared about Quidditch, girls, and school. It worried Ron when the thought Harry's confidence and determination was only to defeat You-Know-Who. Harry never said anything about winning.

In their final year, if that was what they could call it Ron always noticed the uncertainty that appeared on Harry's face. It only showed when Harry thought no one was looking, but it was always in his eyes. He and Hermione felt it every day. They had thought he'd known more than he'd told them last year. Ron knew this was not true and tried not to resent his friend for it. Worry and fear made it difficult, however. The knowledge that Harry was uncertain about the plan, letting them tag along, how to get rid of the Horcruxes, how to survive and how to protect others, eventually wound Ron to the breaking point. As much as he wanted to blame the locket he knew the feelings were there before the locket went around his neck. When he finally returned the uncertainty in Harry did not go away. Ron saw the glances both Harry and Hermione gave him. Neither of them were sure they should have let him come back. Then it shifted when they went to Hogwarts and Ron realized as he stared at his friend's body in Hagrid's arms that it was not uncertainty but doubt Harry felt. He'd never said a word to Ron about it, but Ron now understood that Harry had doubted he would be able to finish the job and as usual, he was right.

It was the final moment in the Great Hall where everything came together. The fear, confidence, darkness, awe, envy and doubt were all present as Harry circled Voldemort. Now however years later as Harry sat across from Ron in the Burrow's Garden Ron saw something he never really remembered seeing in his friend before. Harry, as he stared at his three children and wife playing up the hill was content. He was happy on a regular basis. Before now Ron doubted he would have noticed, but looking back there were very few times Harry seemed wholly happy. All of them still struggled with the memories but the cloud looming over Harry's head was gone. He would never be pleased with the looks Harry and Ginny shared but it was nice to see Harry not having to be the Boy-Who-Lived, The Champion or the Chosen One. Ron took a sip of his whiskey as Harry looked over and raised an eyebrow at why Ron was smiling goofily. Ron simply shrugged and said 'nothin'.