Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.
Burrow - Saturday, July 10th, 1993 – Evening
Dinner had been fantastic, as usual, and the Weasleys had moved to the four corners of the house to do their own things before bed while Ron's grandpa, thanking them for the lovely visit and meal, drug his old body to the fireplace and flooed home, promising to visit again soon.
Ron had run upstairs before the twins could prank him or his mother could find some chore for him to suddenly help her with. He had a lot to think about.
Ron wanted to be great. Ron might not know much about it, but he was aware that you were considered great if you were rich or famous, preferably both. Ron knew that he was neither.
Ron hated being poor. He hated getting second-hand things and being picked on by prats like Malfoy. Ron's best friend Harry also got second-hand things, although for different reasons. They both deserved better, Ron thought. Deep inside, it wasn't just for himself that he was upset about the situation. After all, their family hadn't always been poor. Ron's father had started in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office early in his parents' marriage. For a while, they had been well off, however, after the twins had been born things had begun to get harder. Although Arthur was promoted to Head of the Department, he had not received an increase in wages due to the corruption in the Ministry. Most of the year they were pretty well off. His parents kept a sound budget, and even though he hated the idea of it as a kid, his mind always went back to what his mother would say. "Budgeting isn't about living off bread and water, sweetie. It's about telling your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went."
However, when summer came around, and the kids came back from school, the Weasleys felt it in the purse. Although they grew most of their food at home, cutting down on expenses, with five growing children in the house, it meant that new clothes were needed. And Hogwarts wasn't cheap. Books cost over 18 Galleons for each of the Weasley kids, glass vials cost over 4, and this was without including the potions ingredients and writing supplies they needed to restock on each year. If any of them melted a cauldron during the school year, that was an extra 21 Galleons. First-hand robes were out of the question. Last year had been terrible with each of Lockhart's "textbooks" costing 5 Galleons.
It also seemed like trying to grab air, becoming well known, when people seemed to always be singing his brothers' praises. Was it even possible? Could Ronald Weasley, the youngest, the nobody, always last, become something great? Ron thought back to the Mirror of Erised. Quidditch Captain, Prefect, Head Boy. There were only five boys in his year. Although Harry would probably be the ideal choice, there was still the possibility of becoming Prefect. As for Quidditch, you couldn't become Captain if you didn't sign up to try out for the team in the first place. His nerves had been holding him back. There was a full Quidditch team, but why couldn't there be reserves. But again, Harry would probably be the leading choice.
But now that he thought about it was that really what he wanted? Quidditch Captain, Prefect, Head Boy. Those were all things his brothers were good at, aside from the Twins pranks. In a way, that would be like following his brothers. Hadn't the Mirror just been playing on his desire to be noticed, to follow in his brothers' footsteps and be noticed? Hadn't his grandpa indicated that he was his own man?
Ron didn't know what he wanted to do when he grew up and left Hogwarts. He had never heard about Harry and Hermione's plans. Maybe it was still early. Ron thought back to his classes, and his grandpa was right. He hadn't put as much effort into them as he could have. It wasn't uncommon for him to receive notes on his homework from McGonagall say that although it was acceptable, she thought that he could have done better.
If you don't aim, you will miss your target every time, his grandpa's words came back to him. Well, maybe it was time to start aiming.
In the spring Harry, Hermione, and he had chosen the additional classes that they would take in September. Harry and Ron had decided on Care of Magical Creatures and Divination because they had seemed like easy classes. Hermione had checked off every elective, and he still thought she was crazy. She didn't even need to take Muggle-Studies. Hermione was Muggle-Born! He had no idea how she could fit everything into her schedule.
But, was Ron letting go of his future because of laziness? Bill had taken Runes and Arithmancy and had gone off to work for Gringotts. Charlie had taken Care of Magical Creatures to prepare for his work with dragons. Even then, at thirteen, his brothers had been planning ahead. They hadn't gone the easy way just because it was easy. And now it showed. Bill was working for Gringotts and Charlie was working with all those various kinds of dragons on the world's largest dragon reserve. Even Percy was using his classes to get into the Ministry.
Maybe he should rethink his classes? Would McGonagall mind? Could he even change his classes now? And if Ron could, what would he take? Perhaps he could talk to Harry about all of this. Although he worried that Harry might laugh at him about his change of heart, Ron needed his friend's opinion.
Pulling out a sheet of parchment and a quill, Ron started to write his letter, occasionally pausing to gather his thoughts.
Dear Harry,
How's life with the Muggles? I hope you're not having too tough a time. I'm sorry about the telephone call. I asked Dad, and he reckons I shouldn't have shouted. Mom should be sending you a basket soon. I'll sneak in some treacle tart. I know how you like it.
Now, I know it sounds weird, but I've been thinking about school. My Grandad has been visiting. He's the one who taught me chess. He's really cool. Well- we were playing, and we got to talking about Hogwarts. I've never really thought about it, but if I ever want to be recognized as anything other than just another Weasley, I need to do better, like Bill or Charlie. I know it sounds weird, but my grandpa thinks I can do it and after thinking about it, I think I want to try. I know we picked easy classes for next year, but now I'm wondering if that was the right idea. I don't know, Harry. Am I crazy? I just need to talk, and you're my best friend. Please write back soon.
Ron
P.S.
You might want to send Hedwig back with your letter. Errol isn't looking too good.
After sealing his letter, Ron watched Errol fly off into the sky. He turned back to his room and caught sight of his summer homework which lay forgotten since he had gotten home after school. Ron sighed. He would usually leave it until the last minute, but after the talk with his grandfather and the letter he had just sent off to Harry, Hermione's words were buzzing around his head. If you do it now, you won't have to worry about it later. Ron didn't want to do his homework, but if he wanted to be strategic like a chess master, he should get it out of the way now. It also meant that if Harry could visit, his mom wouldn't always be nagging him about it.
With a sigh which was more like a huff, Ron sat down at his desk and pulled his History of Magic homework towards himself. "Witch Burning in the Fourteenth Century Was Completely Pointless – discuss." Ron grimaced, maybe he would start with Charms instead.
A/N: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, and even those who didn't, but still read my story.
I was amazed when I read my reader traffic. Almost 150 people read my story in 3 days! There were people from the U.S., U.K., India, Germany, Australia, Canada, France, Sweden, Brazil, Ireland, Philippines, Poland, Netherlands, Israel, South Africa, Russia, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, Czech Ravar, United Arab Emirates, Spain, Finland, Croatia, Indonesia, Austria, and New Zealand. And I want to thank every single one of you.
I have several chapters on the docket that I am editing so reviews should come out pretty often. If you are reading from another country and aren't sending reviews because you don't speak or write English, please don't worry about that. I can always translate your review, and just seeing that someone has reviewed, no matter what they have said yet, makes me so happy.
I would like to make a special shout out to SweGLEEK, Quills-messyhands, padfootl0ve, jdysbl, and Jeff, along with the six guests who reviewed. Thank you for your support.
A/N to Guests:
Thank you to those who told me about the HTML format error. Thanks to you I was able to fix it early.
I am glad that you were finally able to listen to my story. I also often read with a text to speech program, not because of any physical need, but because it lets me listen to my favorite fanfictions while I am working or doing chores. As such, I try to make my stories flow well to that they sound natural when read aloud. Please tell me if you have any suggestions or if my story starts to sound choppy.
Merci d'avoir passé en revue. Votre soutien signifie beaucoup pour moi. J'espère que vous continuez à lire et appréciez l'histoire.
I am glad that you thought that the interaction between Ron and his grandpa was great. I will be picking and choosing things from J.K. Rowling's world such as characters, places, and situations that we don't often see.
I agree that many people don't give Ron the credit he is due and that often he is a case of wasted potential. That, along with many "Harry learns more about the Wizarding World/ his inheritance fanfictions" really pushed me to write one of my own where I could finally get what I wanted out of the story. It's my playground now. LOL, There will not be much "movie crap." Although the movies are fun, I kind of lost my love for them after POA, which happens to be my favorite only because the book is too. I will be taking a lot of stuff from the books and bits and pieces from Pottermore. I absolutely will not be touching The Cursed Child with a 39 and a half foot pole! As far as I am concerned, in my own opinion, J.K. should never have written it.
Jeff – Many people find it hard to follow works in progress because often they are abandoned or it is difficult to wait for updates. However, I am honored that you seem to be giving my story a try. Thank you.
