I don't own Harry Potter...that belongs to JKR...what do i own?...not sure...my laptop I guess...
"Listen Ronnie, we're just trying to tell you that some of the kids at Hogwarts, some of the more rotten ones, will be right gits to you" Fred told his brother, putting a hand on his shoulder
"Just be careful Ron, and come to us if you need us" George added, flashing him an apologetic smile, rolling his eyes slightly toward Fred
Ron's hands flew, answering his brothers quickly and indignantly "I can look out for myself, prats!"
"Easy, easy, never said you couldn't. And you probably could if they were all first years! But there are big bloody seventh years at Hogwarts too! People who know the same magic as Charlie and Bill!" George said, understanding quicker than Fred. He had always been the quickest in his family to understand Ron's signs, ever since he had started using them, though Ginny had gotten a lot more practice with Fred and George away at school
"Do they know the same magic that Harry Potter used?" Ginny piped up from her spot, barely starting to come up the stairs "When he vanquished You-Know-Who? By the way, mum says that breakfast is ready, so get your selves down there fast, Charlie's got his mates over and there won't be much food soon!"
Fred and George grinned and raced down the stairs, George grabbing her around the waist and swinging her around, onto his back for a piggy back ride
"Oww…George… you've hit my foot on the banister…"
Ron stood watching his siblings. He grinned at them and started down the stairs himself, more slowly and relaxed. He had always been fairly small and not really hungry very often, especially after he had come down with such a severe case of Dragon Pox at six.
Ginny swung herself back around the banister at the bottom
"Ron, Mum says to get Percy to come down!" Ginny always signed and spoke at the same time when she was talking to him. Ron thought it was one of her more adorable traits, but once she had gotten past playing with him all the time and learned fluent sign language, without scrunching up her little nose in concentration, she didn't have many adorable traits.
Ron sighed, because Percy had gotten the Dragon Pox worse than he had. But it hadn't damaged his vocal cords irreversibly. It had been his eyes and his lungs.
Ron knocked on Percy's door gingerly
"Go away" Percy moaned from inside "I know you're supposed to get me up Ronald, but I want to lie here and feel sorry for myself instead"
Ron entered anyway, giving Percy's far too pale brow a tap with his fist
"Well maybe I want to be an idiot Ron, ever think of that?"
Ron grabbed Percy's hand and spelled into it "M-I-N-I-S-T-E-R-?"
Percy looked more sad than mad "No Ronnie…that was a log time ago"
Ron blew on the back of Percy's hand (their sign for whatever!) while grabbing one of Percy's shirts and tossing it at him. Percy groaned and put it on quickly, folding his pajama shirt and leaving it on his pillow. He quickly put on the pants Ron handed him and then left the rest of his pajamas on his pillow as well.
He let Ron guide him to the door (after first pulling his sheets straight) and then leaning on his little brother for support, walked down the stairs. Up and down the stairs were two great struggles in Percy Weasley's life and he liked to avoid them as much as possible. That was the main cause of Percy's little tantrums (if they could even be called that) and Ron knew the fact, that being the only reason he put up with Percy's difficulties
At the bottom Percy rested, leaning against the wall "Go on Ronnie, I'll catch up later, I just want to go wash my hands"
Ron tapped Percy's hand twice, showing he understood and walked away, pausing to look at his older brother. Percy was a bit tall for fifteen, pale and thin as a rail. It pained Ron to see the exertion that walking up and down the stairs was for his older brother
"I can tell you're still here Ron" Percy scolded "Go get some food, you'll have mum over here fussing if you stay here much longer"
"But then she'll fuss at me over there, with the twins to make it worse" Ron complained into Percy's open palm "And Charlie's mates are over…I don't want to go out there and embarrass anyone"
"Go eat you lump, or else I'll get embarrassing. Charlie'll get over it soon"
"It's been five years Percy, he still hasn't come round"
"His loss. Now go eat you spoiled little prat, before I run in there, grab the first thing I see and slam it down your throat"
Ron dared one last response to Percy before he left for the kitchen "I'm safe then, because you don't see" his fingers danced an extra second over Percy's hand and then the small hand closed around Percy's big one and slipped into the kitchen.
"Wotcher Ron!" Charlie's small clumsy friend, knocked into him, barely keeping them both off the ground "I say Salem, that doesn't count as being clumsy, you tripped me, and besides, I don't care what you have to say, because I have something to show to Ron, it's something so extraordinary, I had to show it to him first, because he is…well there's no real reason, I just wanted to pick someone special and Ron walked in!"
Ron grinned at Tonks and gave the sign for hello, a casual, right handed salute. Tonks grinned back and shifted form so that she looked like Mad-Eye Moody, a wizard that Ron had seen on some limited edition chocolate frogs from before Mad-Eye was forced into retirement
"Anyways" she said, spinning back into a petite red and black spikey haired girl "I got a letter from the Ministry, just read it Ron!"
Ron scanned the heavy paper that Tonks had handed him, marveling at the huge gold seal at the bottom. He gave a noiseless gasp "Auora?" his hands flashed at her
Tonks looked puzzled "Yeah…I don't know that one…"
"An Auora Tonks? That's wonderful" Fred asked, watching Ron's reaction and sign's carefully
Tonks nodded "I could sing! It's what I've always wanted you know!"
Charlie stared at Tonks for a minute, before letting out a whoop and grabbing her in a bear hug. Tonks laughed and grabbed Salem, a tall white blond wizard with hazel eyes into the hug as well.
Ron grinned at Charlie and his friends as Percy came in and, with almost no hesitation leaned coolly on Ron, using his shoulders as elbow rests and his head as a chin rest
"Congratulations Tonks. Morning Mum"
Mum turned around from where she was trying to get a good radio station and hug Tonks congratulations at the same time and then charmed two more plates full of food "Here you go dears, Tonks, would you put Percy's plate down in front of him, there, that's the ticket, Percy dear, you've got the…"
"First chair from the head, on the left side. I know." Percy sometimes annoyed Ron especially when he was right.
Ron curled his hands up tightly and held them in Percy's sides. This was their sign for annoying, because two fists were so similar, like the annoying Fred and George
Percy grinned and pulled himself off Ron, walking to the place where Tonks had placed his food.
"Okay well…I'll see you guys later…I'm going to stay with Salem for the week, then come back here before I leave for Romania" Charlie announced, giving his Mum a kiss and hugging his little sister before, giving Percy an affectionate tap on the shoulder and a muttered "Stop growing" before he gathered Ron and the twins into a group hug and was whisked out the door by his waiting friends
Breakfast was full of Mum's fussing and Fred and George promising to look out for Ron and Ginny ending up wailing out that she wanted to go to Hogwarts then, not next year and leaving the table in half tears. Percy reached out and grabbed her and she tugged away for a few seconds, before collapsing against Percy and crying into his shirt and whispering into his ear.
"Well" Fred announced "The Hogwarts letters haven't even gotten here yet, we still have more than half the summer! You want to go swimming, Ron, Gin, my dear and esteemed twin?"
"Bloody good idea, oh aged and wise older brother"
A secret smile played on Mum's lips "Oh go on out the lot of you, you too Percy!"
Percy grinned and whispered more in Ginny's ear. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, standing up and grinning.
The two of them passed Ron, leaving him the only one in the kitchen besides his mum "Mum?" he signed at her, sighing and wishing he could just talk to his mother already
"Yes Ronnie?" she signed and spoke at the same time, like Ginny did all the time. Mother usually just spoke, it was especially nice to have someone speaking your language though. Her voice was quiet and soft.
"I…I'm worried…I'm going to be all alone at Hogwarts…No one will want to hang around someone who can't talk back to them, or laugh at their jokes, or…anything fun…"
"You'll have your brothers Ronnie."She reminded him, curling her arms around him, her voice more apparent than her signs this time
"No…I know they'll be there…I just want more friends than just the people that Fred and George have scared into being friendly with me…"
Mum gave a little half laugh "You'll have plenty of friends! There are going to be plenty of people who can see that you're very kind and funny and a very loyal person"
"Mum…"
Mum sighed "Well, I'm sure you'll have at least one good friend"
Ron sighed too and picked up Scabbers from where he had left him last night on the couch and carried him outside with him
A good friend Ron thought savagely well I'll always have Scabbers and Percy, but that hardly counts
"Come here Ron, we're going to take Charlie's broom for a fly!" Fred yelled out "If we squeeze in tight we can put you on the front, you're so small!"
"This is a rotten idea" Percy said in an indifferent voice "You know that if you fall I won't be able to hear where you are in time to save you"
"We're not gonna fall Percy, and anyway, George and I have known Wingardium Leviosa since first year!" Fred said, trying to reassure his brother
George grabbed the broom from the broom shed "Anyways, Charlie doesn't allow safety charms on his broom"
Percy rolled his empty, but brilliant sparkling blue eyes "I've noticed, the number of times he's gone to the hospital wing"
Ron walked up to Ginny and put Scabbers in her hands. She looked slightly disgusted as many did looking at the fat, useless Scabbers, but accepted. Ron looked at Fred and nodded
"Good Man Ronnie!" Fred called out, and George held out the broom for Ron to get on first, before sliding on behind him and Fred behind George
Ron turned to George "We're never going to get off the ground, much less have a thrill ride!" his fingers seemed to be scolding his brother, for his stupid thinking
George smirked "There's a reason Charlie saved up for a whole lifetime to buy a broom. It was the best on the market about a year ago, and it's still pretty high up there"
Ron rolled his eyes at his brother "I still don't believe it"
"Don't be so optimistic Ronnie, it's making me feel quite dull and faithless in comparison" George quipped and Ron threw up his hands in exasperation and gripped the front of the broom, George reaching around him to also hold the broom handle
"Ready?" Fred called out "Push off on my three…one…two…two and a half…three!"
Fred and George pushed off the ground. Halfway through their push, Ron was already off the ground, and they flew swiftly up in the air, just as quick as any of the other brooms with one person. The ride was a dream, soaring round the trees in circles, holding onto the broom for dear life, but hardly scared at all because the broom controlled beautifully and they knew that they weren't about to smash up at the bottom.
Ron leaned back against George who sat up a little from leaning over the broomstick. Fred started to lean back too…
"No…bad…lean forward I'm sliding off"
Ron leaned forward, resting himself on his wrists, George followed suit, leaning as far forward as he could. Fred pulled himself up, making sure not to slip off.
"Thanks my brothers…" Fred said, gasping, and grabbing George "That was close. Forge, would you circle around our esteemed siblings, then land in the yard please?"
"Certainly Gred" George reached forward and put his hands over Ron's and helped his brother guide the broom around in a circle around the broom shed that Ginny and Percy were leaning against, talking quietly as Ginny played with Scabbers, tickling his tail and his fat stomach.
The three of them landed on the front lawn. Fred fell down on the grass and let out a shuddery breath "Ronnie…next time you stay on the ground. Or fly with one of us. Three on a broom is bad for the person on the end…"
"Sorry" Ron signed, giving Fred a sympathetic smile
Fred gave Ron a canine grin and tackled him to the ground, tickling him until he felt like he was going to bust
And his silent laughs echoed across the children gathered around in a comfortable family circle