LEAST LOVED

A story focusing on Ron and his 'second chance'.


AN: I'll be changing my sequencing due to format inconsistency from FF. I started with a prologue but FF assumed it to be Chapter 1. And so when I posted my real Chapter 1 then it showed: Chapter 2: Chapter 1. Hah. Well then, here's CHAPTER 3.


Disclaimer: I own nothing about Harry Potter and the cover image.


Chapter 3: Back in Time

A familiar flaming head was the first thing Ron saw when he re-opened his eyes.

"How many times do I need to call you?" someone said.

He then felt that 'someone' was shaking him awake. The light was still blinding him and his consciousness was still wavering. Rubbing his eyes, he finally recognized her.

"M-mum?" he called hoarsely.

"Who you supposed I'd be? The great Morgana? Up! I've been calling you for—" she was cut when she was suddenly assaulted with a fierce hug. Even with her temper fiery like her hair, she was rendered speechless with this action. She suspiciously felt her son trembled in that embrace.

Although still a bit disoriented, Ron knew he needed to say something at least. He was thankful that somehow he's back at the Burrow, back home. He felt sorry for what she said to his mother and for leaving like that. He knew he hurt her so much that day. He wanted to apologize the moment he said those words but he was so confused that time and cowardly disapparated. Days passed and he was then scared to return home to find his mother still angry with him.

"Ronald?" she pushed him to examine her son and realized that he was crying! "What in the name of Merlin's happening with you?"

Ron didn't answer but continued mumbling 'sorry' while he silently cried. He just hugged her tighter in response while wishing inside him that this wasn't a dream.

"Is Ronniekins awake?" a younger redhead poked his head by the door.

"I don't know what's happening with him," said Mrs. Weasley towards her other son.

Ron stiffened. He knew that voice very well. He knew who owned that. There were actually two of them with similar voice-sound but one of them has a higher pitch, the one who usually pranked him, the one who transfigured his teddy to a huge spider. Pulling himself from his mother, he peeked towards the door and found another reason to believe he's still dreaming.

Two identical redheads were poking their heads by the door. They both looked exactly the same and both sporting a curious look towards him.

"You reckon the dosage was too much?" one of the head asked the other offhandedly.

Molly slowly turned her head to the twins and spoke in dead calm. "What did you do?"

"T-that's—" stammered the twins together. They looked like deers caught by the headlights. Fearing for their mother's wrath they unpoked their heads and scrambled away from the door while whispering in apprehension at each other.

"Fred! George!" screamed Molly Weasley and the two had the decency to shut up. She was about to holler at the twins but Ron, who agilely exited the room, beat her from nearing the two. He's next to one of the twins in second.

"Fred?" his hesitant call.

"Y-yes, dear bother? Err, brother?" he asked back with a raised brow. He was thinking fast. Will Ron sold them out to their mother? He looked at his twin standing next to him and saw the same fear on his eyes. If their mother found out, their whole creation will be sent to extinction.

In contrary to their fears, Ron quickly closed in to Fred and hugged him just like he did with their mother, this time though it was tighter, almost trying to squeeze-cut Fred half horizontally.

"Ugh, w-what happened?" Fred choked.

George couldn't even laugh at his twin. He saw how painful the hug was but he also saw Ron's face, crying with grief and happiness. It was the most confusing expression he'd seen in his life.

"But y-you died! How'd you get back? Or was it your prank? That's not funny!" Ron cried while he admonished his brother, quarter laughing, crying and questioning. "Don't you dare do that again!" he almost shouted hysterically.

"R-ron?" called Fred as Molly finally found the exit to Ron's room, of course, hearing their exchange. "Are you alright?"

"What did you do with your brother?" she asked venomously.

The four ended up inside Ron's room as they tried to calm the still bawling redhead. He seemed a bit mad, crying in hysterics and laughing half-crazy. This only increased the twins fear and their mother's fury, but all three of them were confused with Ron's behavior. In the end, Fred and George had to explain what they've covertly given to Ron since it seemed their mother was ready to make them spit it by hook or by crook. Of course, they're also scared what might have happened with their brother.

"It's called the Dreamless Lolli," said Fred.

"It's just supposed to induce sleep, mum," added George.

"And not make him a nutter," finished Fred whilst eyeing their younger brother.

Watching their brother's very scary reactions from that new product, they decided to drop its reproduction. They won't admit it but it was the first time they felt scared with their products.

"Wait 'til your father hears about this!" their mother shrieked at them for the nth time.

Ron, on the other hand, has finally stopped his frenzies and was only now breathing heavily as he calmed his confused mind. Fred's alive! George's ears were both attached! Molly's no longer crying nor angry with him! He felt he was still in a dream but a very real-like one. The three in front of him seemed too peaceful and even younger, unscarred by the war. If he's still dreaming, he didn't want to wake up anymore.

In the mid-morning, when Arthur finally returned home after his night duty, Molly recounted what happened earlier with Ron and the twins found themselves in again for another round, this time with the father of their house.

"Are you boys trying to kill your brother?" he asked sternly.

"We were just experimenting," murmured Fred but it seemed the wrong answer. Molly, once again, was out for another earful.

"Your brother had a very dreadful nightmare! He saw you died and was fighting in a war! It was traumatic even in dreams!" she shouted like a living howler.

Suddenly, Mr. Weasley cut his wife. "You don't think it's a gift?"

"No, Arthur. There's none in both our lineage and there's no war. Right?" she asked hesitantly.

He looked at her eyes and answered soothingly, "No, there's none."

The dinner was very restrained that night. Molly and Arthur were watching their youngest son all throughout, while Percy ate fast and quickly returned back to his room saying he's returning to his take-home works. Fred and George ate silently; thanking Merlin for their mum didn't found their main stash of products. She only burned the NG or the no-good goods. Ginny was eating like usual but seemed to understand that something's happened.

"What's going on?" she finally asked in the awkwardness.

All heads turned to Ron and so Ginny followed.

Ron knew he had to say something so he went to his usual reply. "I'm fine."

Although he said that he's world apart from being fine. He didn't know how it happened but he realized that he actually returned back in time! He returned to the past, back in the year 1995!

For the whole morning after he woke up, he was moving like a zombie, dazed and unknowing of his surroundings. Come afternoon, he learnt the truth by simply looking at the date on the newspaper! He then asked Fred, George, then his mother and when Arthur woke up, too. He sat silently and unmoving for an hour before he finally stood up and rummaged at their stockpile of Daily Prophets.

'So far the events went similar to my timeline saved for today,' Ron told himself.

Ron remembered this particular day which happened very differently. He woke up almost before lunch under the enraged hollerings of their mother, who didn't believe him that the twins did something to him. Without proof, he was told to not push blame to his brothers and was then grounded from playing Quidditch on their courtyard for weeks. He hated the twins but he never realized it was all because of the lolli which the twins similarly never reproduced.

'This could mean I was either returned to the past or was currently living in a parallel world under different period,' he noted with himself.

His time was in 1999, almost a year after the Second War. He could be in the past rewriting his life and their future or this could be a parallel world in older timeline debated on the obscure study of time travelling. He can still remember Hermione's avid recitations of Professor Croaker's Law in Time Travelling, he had a fair idea of the subject but didn't dwell on them much. What he understood aside from time being very unstable, anyone who successfully travelled time will have both the memory of the uncorrupted timeline and the changes made which was not yet known by his before-time-travelled self. The latter could still be seen by the days to come but the former has already been changed, so he doubted it's the same notion of Prof. Croaker's time travelling was this. Not only that, their Time Turners only have maximum time travelling of five hours which definitely didn't match his return shy four years to the past.

This left him with the only conclusion, one of the more obscure arguments about alternate timelines or parallel universes. And one no one can explain further even back in his future.

But what should he do now? He knew the probable future, supposing there's no difference on this world from his, and he could help. Bloody hell! He should help! Sirius was to die next year! And there's also Umbitch this year as their DADA teacher! Merlin's underpants! What should he do with the insufferable toad?

No, no, really, why did he go back in time? Either that or he's in an alternate universe, whichever, he can't understand how he ended up back in his fifteen year old body. He remembered dying in his dream, no he was lazying at his flat earlier but he might have fallen asleep. Then he had a dream, just another nightmare, where he died and then he's in nothingness. He has no idea how long but enough to recall everything especially his last row with Hermione and his mother slapping him real hard. How did it send him here, though? No, must he still be sleeping now or maybe in coma at the moment while his mind or soul travelled back? That's so absurd and downright confusing.

He has no answer. Most of the time it was Hermione who has that. What he planned to do now though was to help his bestfriend and bring back his woman. Hopefully save everyone on the way especially his family.

'Exactly that,' he thought. Then next would be the horcruxes, Voldyshort and his Death Munchers. He anticipated rather childishly.


AN: Thanks for reading and for the favorite and follow!