"Hi," Luke says, smiling at Ron, telling himself to resist the urge to shove his free hand in his pocket as he hefts the wrapped book. "I brought a housewarming gift for your mum. I'm not actually very good at housewarming gifts, I've discovered."

Which he hopes isn't enough of a reason to kick him out. There are plenty of kind people in Darrow, but Luke doesn't know if he would call many of them besides Ron a friend. He's never been very good at making friends, though, has never really had a reason to trust people after so many of his former friends turned their backs on him.