Penname: Aku-Hitokiri-Kitsune
Pairing: Ron/Draco Remus/Severus(maybe . . . most likely)
Summary: A werewolf attack on the Burrow during Christmas break kills Ginny and leaves Ron injured, changing his life forever. In the aftermath, Ron and his family must deal with the loss of his sister as well as the hardships of his becoming a werewolf, a creature that most of the wizarding world looks down on. How will he deal with it all when he's forced to go back to school, despite everything?
Warnings: Slash,
Disclaimer: Only the plot idea is mine, all characters and places as well as the world belongs to J. K. Rowling.
Cold wind whipped at the young red head's face as he ran at full speed, as fast as his long legs could carry him away from the wolf chasing him, leaving the Burrow behind him. Howls and screams both pierced the air, a low growling and the sound of large paws hitting the frozen ground echoed behind the youngest male Weasley. The further he got from the Burrow, however, the more he panicked. The others needed his help! Bloody hell, he reprimanded himself, come on, loop around! You gotta get back to the others! Finally darting around a tree, he grabbed a lowhanging branch as he did so, holding it as he continued running. He gave a rather Slytherin smirk as he released it and heard a dull thwack, followed by a satisfying wolfish yelp. Spinning back toward the Burrow, Ron sped off, intent on helping his family.
Knowing, he'd only managed to slow the wolf down a couple of seconds, he gave a rather panicked laugh as a burst of adrenaline shot through him giving him the extra speed he needed to stay ahead of the now enraged wolf. He burst into the clearing, happy as his home came into view, only to freeze at the sight he saw before him. A large wolf with shaggy black fur ripped a small female form wide open. "No . . . .Ginny!!!" Ron raced forward instantly, slamming his shoulder full force into the large werewolf. "Get away from her!" he raged. "Mum!! Help!" He caught his sister as she fell and looked around frantically to see many of his family down. "No . . . " Tear splashed his face as he looked down at his little sister, he was supposed to protect her, she was too young to die.
A deep growl ripped his attention from Ginny as he felt his sister's body grow heavier. "You," Ron growled lowly as he gently lay his sister down. Ron laid his sister down. "Don't worry Gin," he assured her, "you'll be ok soon."
"You monster!" Ron screamed as a sudden flare of anger gave him the strength to dive at the wolf, the impact of his full weight driving the larger creature to the ground. "How dare you hurt her!"
Impacting with the frozen ground, the wolf gave a surprised sounding 'woof', shock freezing it for only a couple of seconds before its claws began to rip at Ron's clothing and his jaw snapped repeatedly, attempting to tear into Ron and rip him to shreds. The two tossed around and wrestled, first one and then the other gaining the upper hand. Fur and clothing became covered in blood and mud as they continued to fight. Then, as suddenly it started the whole world seemed to come to a crashing halt as he heard a scream and felt sharp canines pierce his shoulder as the wolf bit down hard, nearly tearing a piece of flesh from his shoulder before being flung back by a spell. Little did Ron know but the scream had been his own as tears continued to flow from his eyes.
His shoulder feeling like it was literally on fire, Ron knew he was dead. There was no way around it. They were all dead. The world around him began to darken as he looked[[stared]] up at the sky. A face blocked his view, red hair falling in his face. His mother was sobbing, trying to speak; though, he had no idea what the woman was saying, the volume seemed to have been completely muted. Finally the world faded completely and that was the last thing Ron remembered.
x-x-x
"Ron! Ron speak to me!!!" Molly cried out as a very injured Fred leaned on his twin brother, both paler then the moon above as they watched their mother cradle their younger brother's head in her lap.
"Molly! We need to get him inside! Now!" Arthur cried out as he lifted the limp form of their daughter, already dead.
The family quickly headed back inside, barricading everything as the sun began to rise over the horizon. They had wounds to mend and a daughter to bury.
Xx-xX
A week passed, only a week, and things were nowhere near normal. Even the twins found it hard to smile anymore. They had lost their little sister, whom they were all so protective of. They had failed her.
Ron was worse off than all of them. His sister had died in his arms and he had a bite scar to permanantly mark his failure. That's right, Ronald Weasley was now a werewolf. He had already began to feel the effects of the transformation in his instincts and his actions. That night had been the worst.
"Someone get me a blood replenishing out of the cupboard!" Molly hollered as Charlie laid Ron's limp form on the couch. Blood seeped from his shoulder and numerous other scratches. "He was bit mum . . . " Fred whimpered as he clenched one hand in his twin's shirt. "Now is not the time for that, Fred!" Molly snapped as she took the potion that Arthur had grabbed after setting their daughter down. The living room was silent as Molly worked at healing Ron's wounds forcing the potion down him. Suddenly the red head's eyes snapped open and he gave a pained gasp, his body writhing as his eyes seemed to dilate and then constrict. He tensed, a second cry falling from his lips before his body went limp and his eyes once again closed. "Mum!" Charlie looked at the pale woman as she only seemed to look on in horror at her youngest son. "My baby, . . . " she whimpered. "Mum! Look, he's still breathing! He's not dead. It's alright!" Moving forward, the dragon tamer wrapped his arms around his mother, who seemed to fall apart in his arms. "He's going to be alright, mum . . . "
"We go back this week." Hermione brought up.
"I'm not going back." Ron grumbled as he stabbed at a pea that rolled away, shooting across his plate only to roll back. "Not like I'll be welcomed back now.."
"Oh, Ronald, stop it! You're moping," Hermione said firmly. "Dumbledore will let you come back. After all, he let Remus--"
"Yeah, but Remus eventually had friends to run around with on the nights of the full moon." Ron snapped turning to his black haired friend.
"Well then, I guess Hermione and I should work on our animagus forms then, huh?" Harry forced a laugh.
"Just drop it."
"No, Ronald! Harry's right," Hermione scowled. "You have every right to go back there. You've been attending Hogwarts for five years, if they don't allow you back because you got bit trying to save-"
"That's just it, Hermione," Ron scowled, stabbing at the pea again, this time skewering it, "tried and failed to save her. Ginny's six feet under, and I should be with her."
"Ron-"
The red head stood from his chair quickly and threw his napkin down, picking up his plate. "Excuse me." Turning, he headed into the kitchen and placed his plate in the sink before, heading out to the back yard. Pacing[[, he rolled his shoulders as he tried to rein in his temper, finding it harder then it used to be. Most times, he could just bite his tongue when Hermione began to annoy him with her 'rights' speeches, but for some reason he couldn't do that this time. Not to mention, if he tried to do it literally, he had a feeling he'd have bitten clear through his tongue.
Inside, Remus sighed, watching the boy storm off. He could understand how the other was feeling at the moment . . . but at the same time he wondered if the boy might not be worse off than he had been. Since Ron had already started school before he'd been bitten, he now had to look forward to friends and aquaintances who might very well turn their backs on him.
"Don't be too upset with him, Hermione, Harry. You have to remember, he is having to deal with a new set of instincts on top of his already temperamental temper." He smiled sadly at the two while both simply nodded.
"I really hope he is allowed back, after all he's already doing so horridly in his studies without all of this," Hermione sighed.
Meanwhile, Harry looked at the girl, shocked. "Uh, Hermione?"
"What?" the brunette looked at Harry with innocent looking eyes.
"How can you be worried about his grades when all of this other stuff is going on?" Green eyes shimmered with both confusion and amusement.
"Well one of us has to, and seeing as I'm the only one always worrying about everyone's grade why change now?" she replied, shrugging as if she was stating the obvious.
Both Remus and Harry laughed at her nonchalant attitude before Remus sighed.
"As long as he has you two, I'm sure he'll get better at controlling his anger. Just just roll up some newspaper and smack him on the nose if he gets too out of line," Remus joked, before laughing when he heard Harry choke on his drink and the others at the table laughed.
"That was very much needed, Remus . . . thank you," Molly said softly, smiling slightly as she wiped a tear from her eye. The family had gone too long with out at least a snicker.
Xx--xX
Soon the three were headed back to school, much to Ron's disappointment. He wasn't sure how he would handle being back there, not with how his anger was flaring up after his 'incident'.
"Don't worry, Ron, we're here for you." Hermione gave the red head a confident smile to which he shrugged and looked out the window at the snow covered scenery. It was interesting to note all the things that changed with his new senses. He had learned that each person had a distinct smell to them, not even the twins' scents were identical. Hermione smelled of thyme and carnations while Harry smelled of sandalwood and vanilla. On top of his sense of smell his sense of sight was heightened, colors became sharper and seemed to contrast each other more. Looking out at the snow it seemed to almost blind him when compared to the grey sky above.
Suddenly a new smell caught his attention. It was headed towards their compartment, Jasmine, cloves and musk . . . three scents that seemed to stimulate him more then any other he'd ever caught. Not even Hermione's had caught his attention like this one had. His head snapped to look at the door as his ears picked up the subtle sound of clacking shoes and the swish of a robe. Suddenly the door slid open and Ron blinked.
"Well, well, if it isn't Scar-head, Weaselbee, and the mudblood," Draco sneered as he looked around.
This could not be happening. He was not finding the Slytherin git's scent attractive. No way in the nine rings of hell was he thinking that . . . or so he tried to convince himself.
"Oh get over yourself, Malfoy," Hermione snapped, rolling her eyes.
"And who asked you to speak, Mudblood," Draco snickered, only to stop, hearing an low growl coming from one of the men. His first reaction was to look to Potter. By the time he noticed it wasn't him, it was too late. A hand grabbed the front of his robes and he was nearly lifted off his feet by none other than 'Weaselbee'. "Bloody hell, let go of me!"
"Don't you ever . . . " Ron growled through his teeth, "ever call her that ever again."
"And why should I listen to you? You poor, blood traitor. Now put me down!"
"Ron stop!" Hermione was on her feet placing a gentle hand on her friends shoulder. "Just ignore him, Ron. He's he's not worth getting expelled over."
"Hermione's right, Ron, come on," Harry piped up from behind the red head before glaring at Draco.
Blinking a few times, Ron nodded before lowering Draco so that his feet were on the ground before shoving him so that the normally graceful blond fell, unceremoniously, on his arse. After doing so, he stepped back, waiting, the wolf in him wanting to see some sign of submission from the smaller teen, so he stood there, staring the other down.
Jumping back up, Draco glared at Ron, meeting his gaze before turning and effectively breaking eye contact making Ron's wolf cheer a bit. "Crabbe! Goyle! Let's get back to our compartment. I'd rather not continue breathing the same air as the weasel." Thehe three easily strode down the hall, a few people ducking back into their compartments; most snickering. Most snickering at how it was about time someone tossed Malfoy onto his arse.
Stepping back in, Ron fell into his seat, still seething. "Bloody hell, that git really ticks me off."
Closing the compartment door, Harry shook his head. "Maybe you should avoid Malfoy as much as possible this year, mate."
"Oh yeah, cause I just go looking for the bloke normally," Ron said drily, rolling his eyes. "He's the one who came here and started something."
"Maybe so, but you really need to learn to control your anger more, perhaps meditation or something?" Hermione piped up as she sat back down.
Harry snickered a bit and shook his head. "Hermione, think about it. Ron doesn't have the attention span for meditation."
"Good point." Tilting her head the bushy haired girl looked thoughtful.
"Oi! I'm right here!"
Both laughed as they looked to their friend. Blinking a bit, Ron found that it was hard for him not to smile, and he had to admit, no matter how bad things got, he was glad that he had his friends around. Nothing really showed you how much people cared, than when being turned into a werewolf. Course, it helped when you already had a werewolf friend or mentor. He had spent many nights talking to Remus by the fireplace about what it was to be a werewolf.
That night, Ron, along with Harry and Hermione, was called to Dumbledore's office. The three sat in the chairs that were in front of his desk, Ron shifting nervously while Hermione looked ready for a good debate.
"Well, I have to say that you three look a bit better then I expected," Dumbledore said smiling as he took a seat behind his desk.
"Yes, well, sometimes you need to just keep living," Hermione replied, nodding.
"Quite right." The elderly man nodded before looking to Ron. "And how are you this evening, Mr. Weasley."
"Let's see, my sisters dead, I was turned into a werewolf and I nearly wanted to tear Malfoy apart. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that I can't seem to control my temper anymore. How would you be in my shoes?" Ron asked, tilting his head, his voice questioning, while his eyes almost dared the man to answer.
Dumbledore simply chuckled and nodded. "Yes, well, please don't actually tear any students apart, the parents prefer to have their children returned to them whole."
"What did you want to talk to us about Headmaster?" Hermione asked. She sighed, looking between the two of them, noticing that Ron and Dumbledore had locked gazes. Of course, the older man knew what he was doing. To look away was to show submission, something the leader of a school could not do. Finally Ron sighed and looked away.
"Well, I was going to inform you three that Mr. Weasley will be taking the Wolfsbane potion and will be taken into the shrieking shack during the full moon just as Mr. Lupin was in his day."
All three teens nodded; they had expected that.
"Though I ask that you two please do not do as James Potter and his friends did."
"Sir?" Harry looked confused.
"I ask that you two do not let him out, even if he is in controlof himself. It it would not be safe for him to roam the grounds in these days of war."
"Not to mention all the parents would be in an uproar if they ever learned about him," Hermione replied drily, rolling her eyes.
"Correct," the headmaster agreed, smiling.
"Now wait so you're just saying they can't help me to get out and roam around? Meaning they can be with me?" Ron looked at the old man, disbelief shining in his eyes.
"Of course, but only if they can master an animagus form." The man's eyes sparkled a bit as he noted the small smile that began to form on the young Weasley's face, as well as the ones on his two companions. "Well then, I'm sure that is all for tonight. You should all head to bed now."
Nodding, all three stood and Harry lead the way out of the office.
"So what forms do you think we'll end up?" Hermione looked excited.
"I think Hermione would be an owl." Ron snickered a bit as a hand swatted at him. "What?" he asked. "It suits you." He laughed a bit as he moved to 'hide' behind Harry. "What about you, Harry? What do you think you'll be?"
"Hm . . . I have no idea . . . .if we're in the shack hopefully not something too big."
"That is unless we just don't tell Dumbledore that you guys let me out." Ron looked at them both hopefully. "I don't think my wolf would stand for being cooped up in that place, even if I was in control."
Harry nodded with a bit of a laugh before shrugging. "We'll figure things out before the full moon."
"Harry that's only two weeks away . . . I mean I don't want to be alone on my first full moon." Ron sighed while Hermione shook her head.
"You won't be, even if we don't have our forms by then, we have the Marauders' map after all."
Both boys blinked at her.
"What? Oh come on we've been breaking the rules for five years now. Is it is it really so hard to hear me suggest that?"
"Yes! Bloody hell, Hermione, you scare me when you say stuff like that. It makes me think it's not really you," Ron laughed, ducking behind Harry as he anticipated a swat coming his way.
Harry laughed as he watched his taller friend duck behind him, he had to admit he was glad that Ron was taking Ginny's death this well, even if it was all an act.
"Come on, we need to get to bed." Hermione turned on her heel before walking down the corridor, the two teens following quickly. "Well the rest of this year is promising to be interesting . . . if nothing else."
"Just don't use me as one of your campaigns for magical creature rights." Ron rolled his eyes as they walked.
"Then don't come crying to me when places won't hire you simply because you're a-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know."