Here is the update :D Oh, a joyous morning of fishing… muggle fishing. Hope you like it :D review if you like it, tis much appreciated, and makes my heart happy.

Chapter 3: 6 A.M, All Dressed Up And No Place To Go

It was now roughly 6 am and none of his boys looked thrilled to be outside at this early hour, all except the twins, of course, who were ready for mischief at all times of the day.

"Ready, George?"

"Ready, Fred!" The two boys linked arms and scooped up a handful of slimy worms who squiggled and tried to escape their strong fingers. Arthur smiled at their enthusiasm and handed a bucket to Ron, who was trudging the furthest behind, kicking rocks and shells across the sand.

"Come on, Ronnie. It'll be fun." His father assured him, and Ron forced a small smile. He cast one last glance over his shoulder at his mom and sister who were standing in the door waving. He loved being with his dad, but he had a bad feeling that he was going to be pushed over board, or something terrifying like that would happen to him before the day was out.

The twins pushed past Percy who was leading the way, nose held high in the air. You had to hand it to the kid, he didn't like fishing, or even thinking about slimy creatures, but if he was going to do anything, he wanted to do it with grace and dignity. He gasped when he was knocked over by the red-headed imps who were throwing worms over their shoulders at the curly haired Weasley.

"Dad!" He screeched as he rapidly brushed worms off of his clothes. Arthur cast Ron an apologetic look and rushed to the front of the pack to sort out the chaos that was already beginning.

Ron was beginning to feel a little nauseous the closer they got to the boat that their father had waiting for the family, and although he forced his frown away, the feeling remained.

"Oy, Ron!" The youngest Weasley boy glanced up and caught sight of his eldest brother smiling at him and motioning for him to hurry and come sit by him on the boat.

There wasn't much about the boat that was exciting, but one thing was for sure, it was definitely a Weasley boat. The aged wood creaked as the family piled inside, and Percy made sure to point out the ramifications of boarding an unseaworthy vessel. Arthur had tuned out after reason 23, because his supposedly studied son's reasons were becoming more and more unlikely to actually happen.

"It's true, Bill!" Percy squeaked as he tried out the planks on the bottom of the boat by gently rocking in place. Once he had found the "safest" place to sit, he folded his arms and continued on with his long-winded explanation about a muggle named Pinocchio who was swallowed whole by a whale, only to be saved by Captain Ahab. Mr. Weasley furrowed his brow and said, "I'm pretty sure that's not true. The whale was named Pinocchio and he wanted to be a real boy, or something."

"Dad!" Fred gasped out, his eyes shimmering with excitement. The whole family turned to catch sight of what had captured the twin's attention. "Is that a shark?" George echoed, the corners of his lips twitching with anticipation. The twins shared a glance before rushing to the edge of the old boat, which groaned and creaked from the sudden movement.

Percy and Ron clung to the other side of the boat, as the curly haired Weasley explained to the youngest boy that this evened out the weight to keep the boat from tipping. Ron didn't care what it did as long as he didn't fall into the dark waters where there were sharks.

"This is the coolest day ever!" The twins chimed in unison, as they grabbed each other's hands and started peering over the edge, the tips of their noses dangerously close to the water's surface.

Life with his brothers wasn't easy, but Ron didn't normally feel as if he was going to die, today was a new day. The youngest boy sighed and scurried towards the back of the boat, trying to put as much space between him and the fin that was gliding through the ebony water.

"Careful, boys." Mr. Weasley urged as Charlie began throwing worms at the grey mass that was disappearing in and out of sight on the horizon. Arthur smiled warmly down at his sons, who were very excited by the sudden visitor; he felt proud. He knew this fishing trip would be a good idea; even Percy was smiling and telling the twins what type of shark it was due to the climate and time of year. He glanced back and did a double take when he saw Ron cowering at the end of the boat, hands over his eyes, and trembling slightly. Arthur smiled softly to himself and quietly made his way back to his youngest son, careful not to draw attention to him.

"Ron?" He questioned, causing the boy to slowly peek through his fingers at the gentle face of his father.

"Oh! Dad! Hi." He scurried to stuff his hands in his pockets and act as non-chalantly as a seven year old boy could manage.

"Hi, Ron." Arthur shook his head and stifled a laugh. "Are you okay?" He added, taking the empty seat beside the freckled boy.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" He shrugged half-heartedly, trying to copy the mannerisms of his eldest brother. Arthur glanced down at the small child out of the corner of his eyes.

"Oh, alright, because I was just going to tell you that its not a real shark." Ron gasped and his face shot up to look into his father's searching for signs of truth. "Yeah, I conjured it up to make the boys excited." Ron's face crinkled and he knit his brows together.

"There's no way."

"It's true." Arthur assured slipping his wand out of his pocket and pointing it to where the shark was lurking. "Watch this, Ronnie." The young boy frowned at the use of his nickname, but seeing as it was his dad, he'd let it slip for now.

Arthur concentrated and let his eyes flutter shut as he focused on the shark; he smiled when he heard Charlie gasp and say "It's coming this way!" He heard the twins scurrying and he peeked to see them grabbing their make-shift fishing poles; leave it to his twins to try to catch a full-grown shark with sticks and line. If it was dangerous, and would earn them a great story to embellish at a later time, they were up for it.

"Come on Georgie! Grab yours. Here's a worm." George nodded in thanks and threw his line over the edge of the boat, followed instantly by his twin's. Once their lines were sinking further into the depths of the black surface, both boys threw their worm in the water and high-fived.

"I like the bait part!" George informed his father without tearing his eyes off of the large creature. Bill ran a hand through his hair and glanced back at his dad; he saw the wand and his expression shifted from shock, to a knowing smile. Bill felt like he was too old to have one pulled over on him, but he wouldn't ruin the surprise for his siblings. He nodded once and then settled back in his seat. Arthur merely laughed and focused his energy on the giant conjuration, which was now speeding even closer to the old excuse for a boat.

All Weasleys gasped in unison as the great white soared out of the water and cleared the boat with ease and grace. It sprayed water on the young wizards, earning cheers of approval from the twins and Charlie, a tirade of complaints from Percy, who tried to shake the water out of his curls, which hung limply in his eyes and a glare from Bill, who pushed back his long hair in an attempt to fix his appearance.

"Not cool, Dad." He growled, which only caused Arthur to smile wider. He glanced down at his youngest son to gauge his reaction, and what he saw made his heart melt.

Ron was clutching his sides and laughing. He pointed at his brothers and seemed to enjoy being on this side of the joke. Gone was his fear, gone was his nervousness, and what remained was the very essence of Ron. Arthur smiled. He loved these moments when he got to see Ron shine, and lately they were becoming more frequent. It was almost as if his youngest son had finally got his sea legs on the Weasley boat of life, and it was an exciting thing to witness

"Thanks Dad…" Ron finally choked out in an undertone, casting him n appreciative smile and rushing forward to join his siblings as they tried to find the shark once more. The twins clapped Ron on the back and Arthur heard them compliment their youngest brother for "not even flinching", in their words. He ran a hand through his hair gently and rushed forward to join his boys; he helped them search for the shark for the rest of the morning, never once telling them the secret, and neither did Ron.

At the end of their trip, as they headed back to the small cottage on the beach, Ron fell back from the pack to walk in time with his father.

"Thanks Dad." He whispered, slipping his small hand through his fathers, earning him a gentle smile. Arthur moved his unoccupied hand and ruffled it through the boy's soft hair.

"Anytime, Ron, Anytime." They both shared a smile; from where they stood, they could just see the shape of Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny standing in the door, waving excitedly. Ron's eyes widened and he glanced at his dad, as if to ask if he could go. Arthur nodded and shook his head with a laugh as his youngest boy rushed forward, shoving past his other siblings and reaching the house first. By the time Mr. Weasley walked up and kissed his wife on the cheek, all six of his boys were talking over each other, wanting to the be the one to tell Molly about their adventures. Arthur glanced up and caught his wife's eyes, who gave him the best look he could hope to get.

"Good Job," She mouthed, and then turned her attention to the boys, making sure to listen to each one of them in turn.

Arthur couldn't help but smile and sigh contentedly; Life was perfect, and he wouldn't change a thing.