Ron was in a foul mood the following day, shooting dark glares toward Lockhart's direction who would return it with a wide smile as if saying "No need to thank me, all in a day's work." The redhead barely said a word when he returned from the detention which took almost four hours. He would occasionally twitch his eyes, especially when he saw the colours Lockhart preferred.

Few days had gone by and nothing much happened at Hogwarts, except if one considered having Lockhart as a major displeasure in Defense Against the Dark Arts history. Majority of the males found him a pain in the arse, a total git, idiotic ponce, self-absorbed airhead, and many other insults and tag names they could ever think of. Only a small number of female students found him rather displeasing or conceited (most of them come from Slytherin). The other professors, though they didn't say it, abhorred the man who thought that he was better in the area they have most knowledge and experience. Even Flitwick, the good-nature Charms professor, seemed ruffled whenever he was in sight.

It was already a Saturday when Ron met with Ginny at the school grounds to spend time with one another. Ron told her some of the things that happened to him and made his younger sister laugh. "- and he was going on about the heavy responsibility of being famous and how it was hard on him," ranted the redhead. He coughed a bit and mimicked Lockhart's voice, "'The amount of work does not matter as long as you can help them, especially when you're as famous as me'."

Ginny giggled and shook her head. "You're really biting his head off, Ron."

"Who wouldn't?" he snorted. "He's the most insufferable git I've ever met in my entire life, worse than Malfoy I tell you." Sighing, he glanced at her and asked, "How about you? How's the life of a Gryffindor treating you?"

"It's fine," said Ginny simply, holding the diary in her hand and staring at it. "My dorm mates are nice."

Ron raised an eyebrow. 'That's all? No best mates or anything?'

She merely shrugged, her gaze from the diary unmoved.

"How about the Creevey boy? I thought you two are getting friendly –" continued Ron.

"We're not," cut across Ginny, her voice suddenly edgy and Ron thought he saw a red gleam flicker in her brown eyes. She then blinked and said apologetically, "Sorry, I'm just tired –"

"It's fine," said Ron gruffly but he felt perturbed. Am I seeing things? "So how are your lessons? Which one do you like best?" They continued talking until it was already lunchtime. The two returned inside the castle and split as they entered the Great Hall to sit on their respective tables. As he ate, he couldn't help but feel worried for his younger sister. The only thing he could do was watch over her as much as he could and become a better brother to her.

"You're looking tense," commented Theodore one evening inside the boy's dormitory. Draco and the rest of the dorm mates were out and only he and Ron were left inside.

"Never you mind, Nott," scowled Ron. He was sitting cross-legged on his bed with his journal lying open before him. The vision he had from her and the dream greatly disturbed him and he had no idea what to do. He had very little information from the vision and could not find any clue every time he read it. "This is going to kill me," he said frustratingly.

"What are you reading?" Theodore moved his hand to get the journal but Ron slapped his hand away. "Touchy."

"You don't need to know which part I'm reading," snarled Ron. "You said yourself you only needed to know any visions relating to the upcoming war."

"And how can you say it's not related?" questioned the boy coolly. "For all we know, it could be indirectly related to it no matter what you say."

"Because," he said as he tried to control his irritation, "it's about my sister."

Theodore watched from where he stood, his eyes calculating. "Even so, she might be involved –"

"I'm not going to listen to you anymore," said Ron as he left his bed while grabbing his journal. He walked out of the dormitory without taking a glance back and went straight to the entrance. "Out of the way," he snarled at the person who just got in.

"How impolite!" the girl with blonde hair said with a harrumph before turning away.

Ron didn't bother responding and stepped out of the common room. He had no desire to go to any place and just kept on walking as his blood boil in anger. The words of Theodore echoed inside his mind and he couldn't shake it off. The very thought of his own sister involved with the war frightened him. But she'll be involved with the war anyway in the future, said a small voice. He shook his head. "No, of course she won't," he said to himself.

Then you're being ignorant. War involves everyone and your family are blood-traitors, even you, said the small voice pityingly.

He let out a deep sigh. He was being stupid. He should have known better than to think that his younger sister wouldn't be involved in the war. Knowing her, he was sure she would be involved even if her own family would be against it. She was a Weasley, after all. Ron looked around and realised he was at the second floor where the trophy room was located. Without thinking, he decided to visit the place and have a look around. He was thankful that no one was inside when he entered (he didn't feel like being in the same room with anyone at the moment).

As he expected, the trophy room was simply a room filled with golden cups of different sizes and designs. Most of the trophies were about the House cup and Quidditch cup and Ron noted that the most wins were from Slytherin recently but in the past, Gryffindor dominated more than twenty years ago. He checked the others and saw a few awards for individuals this time. He read each and was beginning to feel bored when one particular award caught his eye. It was a huge trophy with the words "Special Award for Services to the School" engraved on it.

"Tom Riddle…" read out Ron slowly. He wondered what the person did to be given such recognition since it didn't indicate what it was. After a minute, he gave up. "I'm sure he's somewhere enjoying his life," he muttered before walking away from the display.

The days of September went by like minutes and it was already October. Ron was back inside the library and resumed researching defensive spells and some offensive hexes and jinxes. The only difference from last year was that this year, Theodore knew of this; one day, he lent him a book filled with various spells he could never imagine or heard before. "This might help you," said the weedy boy before turning away, leaving Ron bewildered and suspicious.

But he wasn't the only one with a busy schedule in his year. Draco Malfoy was less seen inside the common room and every time he returned, he had a smug look on his face. Ron later found out that the Malfoy heir joined the Quidditch as their new seeker.

The former seeker of the team, Terrence Higgs, was in a foul mood when it happened. Ron couldn't blame him; from what he heard, Draco got in by bribing the whole team with the latest broom, the Nimbus two-thousand and one. "He'll get what he'll deserve soon," said one of Higgs's friends to him.

"If his father wasn't one of the school governors, I would've throttled him," said Higgs through gritted teeth.

I wish the same thing on Malfoy, mused Ron as he walked up to his dormitory and entering inside. Unfortunately, Draco and his cronies were inside, talking amongst each other. The redhead's eye twitched slightly.

"You're here," jeered Draco as he took notice of him.

"I do sleep here," said Ron while rolling his eyes. "Just talk with your idiots there and mind your own business." He opened his trunk and pulled out a fresh roll of parchment, an inkpot and quill.

"Watch your tongue Weasley," said Blaise dangerously, shooting glares toward Ron's direction.

"Offended, are you?" sneered Ron.

Blaise stood up but Draco raised his hand to stop him, surprising both Blaise and Ron and among others. "Don't mind what he says," drawled the blonde. "He's just like the others who are jealous of me."

Ron scoffed. "Me? Jealous of you? You've got to be kidding," he sneered at him. "Stop hallucinating yourself Malfoy, no one's that senile to be jealous of you."

"Oh really?" smirked Draco. "You're not jealous that I'm part of the House's Quidditch team?"

Ron narrowed his eyes. "Not even the slightest," he hissed. He was, in fact, jealous that someone like Malfoy got in but he disapproved of his method. It wasn't right. "Bet you can't beat Gryffindor's Potter this upcoming match –"

"I will beat him," snarled Draco. "And besides, what are you going to bet? You have nothing –"

"I'll bet myself," said the redhead confidently. "If you beat Potter in the Quidditch game, I'll be your personal slave for a whole month." It was a huge risk but he was certain Potter wouldn't lose to anyone, especially not to Slytherin and Draco Malfoy.

Draco's eyes gleamed maliciously. "Fine, who's going to bet for me?" he questioned his companions.

"I'll bet seven Galleons on Draco," said Blaise. Crabbe and Goyle grunted, throwing four Galleons apiece on Blaise's hand. "How about you, Theo?" he asked, glancing toward Theodore who was calmly standing from one corner.

"I don't bet," said Theodore shortly, not looking their way.

Draco tutted. "You're missing the fun, then." He faced Ron, stormy grey against cerulean blue, and said, "Better prepare Weasley. You're going to lose."

"Let's see about that when the game ends," smirked Ron, leaving the dormitory with the parchment and other things in his hand. "Those fifteen Galleons are mine," he said smugly.

He thought the Draco Malfoy being part of the House's Quidditch team was awful, there was something worse that he had ever accomplished. Ron learned of it shortly after his stay at the library one day (he was researching for more spells and at the same time doing his Charms homework). He finally got out of the place with his bag hung over his shoulder and made his way down to the Slytherin dungeons using the spiralcase as a short route. Without warning, he saw a blur of brown colliding him on one side. "Oi! Watch where you're stepping!" hollered Ron angrily to the person who stopped.

"Or what?" snapped the person and Ron realised it was Hermione.

"What's your problem, Granger?" he questioned.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said irritably, taking Ron's question offensive.

Annoyance rose inside Ron. "Yeah, you have no problem and yet you're biting my head off like a chimaera eating its prey," he said sarcastically. "I only asked a question and you're being –"

"- a what? A buck-tooth know-it-all? A human library?" cut across Hermione, glaring at him. "Or are you going to call me that? You Slytherins are all the same. You're no different from Malfoy and his friends –"

"Don't you compare me to that git!" growled Ron. "And what are you talking about?" He didn't know what the bushy-haired Gryffindor was miffed about.

"Stop acting dumb," snapped Hermione. "You know what I'm talking about."

Ron glared at her but his mind began searching until a single word entered his mind. He went pale and whispered, "What did he call you?"

"He called me a Mudblood," said Hermione as her voice shook.

Ron dropped his bag and stared at her, speechless. "He – he called you that?" he hissed. "He shouldn't –"

"Well, he did," she said as her eyes began to blink.

"And you're thinking that I'm going to call you that as well since he and I are under the same House," said Ron as if reading her mind. "Just to let you know, I'm not. No one in their right mind should call a Muggleborn that." When Hermione didn't say anything, he continued. "Blood doesn't matter and I know Muggleborn wizards and witches can be better than purebloods. Don't let him or anyone get to you, alright Granger?"

The bushy-haired Gryffindor nodded once, her hair covering her face entirely which he was sure she was trying to hide her tears.

He approached her slowly and awkwardly patted her on the shoulder (they weren't even friends to begin with) and added finally, "Erm, I should go - other things to do –" he turned away and picked up his bag when he heard Hermione say something. "What?"

"Thank you," said Hermione softly, smiling weakly to him.

"Just show him who's better Granger," drawled Ron. "No one's going to be your saviour, not even Lockhart," he turned to one corner and he heard her saying "prat" and a smirk formed on his lips. He finally arrived inside the dungeons and entered inside the dormitory to take a short nap. As he closed his eyes, a thought went across his mind. Why am I helping her out anyway?

Excitement filled the entire castle once more. It was already Halloween and everyone was looking forward for the feast that would take place inside the Great Hall. The students heard that their headmaster, Dumbledore, booked a troupe of dancing skeletons for entertainment which everyone hoped it was true. Ron head down from the Slytherin dungeons, anticipating the food and the rumour to enjoy himself (he seldom enjoys at Hogwarts if someone were to ask him). Before he could take a seat, he saw Percy making his way while earning sneers from the Slytherins.

"What -?" asked Ron.

"Have you seen Ginny?" questioned Percy.

"No," he replied sarcastically. "I'm not from your House, remember?"

"Ron," said Percy exasperatedly. "I'm serious. Have you seen her? I told her to wait for me and she was gone when I came down –"

"I'm sure she's somewhere," he said reassuringly. "She must have gone to the loo."

Percy looked sceptic but nodded. "Maybe you're right," he sighed. "I'll just wait for her by the table," he bid him before turning away and returning back to the Gryffindor table to sit with his fellow Housemates.

Ron was worried as he thought of his sister. She couldn't be lost, he said mentally to himself. He was about to leave the table when the feast began. From the corner of his eye, he saw Ginny entering from the entrance hall and he sat down, relieved. He enjoyed the feast, better than last year (only because it was interrupted by a fully-grown mountain troll that mysteriously managed to get in) and the rumour about the dancing skeletons was true after all. He didn't even notice that three students weren't present until a few minutes after the feast.

Everyone walked out from entrance hall, with the two Houses – Gryffindor and Ravenclaw - going up the staircases. But the students began to stop, causing curiosity amongst the students, even the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs who were about to head their way to the dungeons. Ron saw Draco forcing his way up but feeling curious as well, he climbed up the stairs to find out until he saw it.

In the middle of the passageway stood Harry, Neville and Hermione, who looked shocked and nervous. Ron craned his neck to get a better look but he noticed that something was written on the wall.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.

ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

And right beside the writing on the wall was something familiar hanging by the torch, which Ron realised in the end, was Mrs. Norris, Filch's loyal familiar.

"'Enemies of the Heir, beware!' You'll be next, Mudbloods!" Draco's voice shouted in glee, his voice thundered across the corridor. Though everyone was too shocked to react to what he shouted, Ron wanted to throttle him on spot and at the same time wonder what the message really mean.

For the next few days, every student had been talking about one thing: the Chamber of Secrets. Even Ron was curious about the said topic; he first went inside the library to find out about it but it seemed that the only book that mentioned of the Chamber was already booked by so many (there were only five copies of Hogwarts, A History). So the only way he would know of it was asking Theodore Nott one evening.

"Cooled down, have you?" drawled Theodore before Ron could open his mouth.

Ron twitched his eye slightly. "Yeah," he said tersely. They were in the secret room at the fourth floor. It was tidier than before since Theodore ordered his House-elf to clean the place and fix one of the chairs. "I wanted to know about the Chamber of Secrets."

"You don't know?" he asked, one of his eyebrows raised.

"If I had known about it, I wouldn't have asked you in the first place," scowled Ron. "Just tell me, Nott."

Theodore shook his head lightly. "Well Weasley, the Chamber of Secrets is one of the popular myths among Slytherins, and to older students before," he told him. "the Chamber was built by no other than Salazar Slytherin. We all know what happened between the Founders; there was a rift between Godric Gryffindor and Slytherin due to letting wizards and witches with Muggle parentage. Gryffindor supported them and Slytherin didn't because of the persecution happening in earlier times. Then one day, Slytherin left but it was said that he built a chamber somewhere inside Hogwarts before he left. As the legend says, only the heir of Slytherin can open the Chamber and unleash the terror within to eradicate those who are undeserving to study magic."

Ron frowned. "And the ones who are undeserving are the Muggleborns, huh?"

"Possibly since Salazar didn't trust wizards and witches with Muggle parentage," said Theodore simply.

"But what do you mean by 'unleash the terror within'?" the redhead questioned as his mind spun around.

"From what my father once told me, there's a monster living inside the Chamber that only Salazar Slytherin or his heir can control," said Theodore thoughtfully. "If I were to guess, it's something related to Slytherin."

"That's not much information," sighed Ron as he slumped back on the chair. "But I wonder," he began.

"What?" asked Theodore, looking closely at him.

"If the Chamber of Secrets has indeed been opened, who opened it?" asked Ron aloud. "I mean, like you said, only the heir of Slytherin can open the Chamber itself."

Theodore had a thoughtful expression on his face. "Fair point, Weasley," he mused. "Who could the heir be…? From what I know, the male bloodline of Salazar ended almost eight hundred centuries ago. Surely the descendants have taken a different name by now."

"And you know this how?"

"Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy," the weedy boy answered shortly. "It's a book about the pureblood families whose male line had been extinct centuries ago."

Ron shook his head. "Enough about pureblood mania, I'm a blood-traitor for Merlin's sake," he groaned. After a couple of minutes, the two left the room and parted ways, their backs turned against each other. The information he just gained recently still hadn't died down; the thought of Slytherin's descendant still living amongst them made him shiver in disgust. "It's certain," he muttered to himself. "The heir is someone in the Slytherin House, no doubt about that."

From the corner of his eyes, he saw a trail of small black spiders crawling out of the window. He quickly looked away, feeling his body shuddering involuntarily. If it weren't for Fred, he wouldn't have this bloody fear of the arachnids in the first place. As he passed by the place where the message on the wall was written (Filch couldn't get it removed), he didn't notice three Gryffindors lurking around in the corner and entering one of the rooms nearby.

"Ron! What are you doing there?" Percy's voice rang across Ron's right side.

The Slytherin redhead jerked his head and saw his older brother approaching him swiftly. "What is it this time?" he asked defensively. He didn't like the accusatory tone of his.

"You shouldn't be here, what if -?" began Percy.

"- people start suspecting that I'm the one who wrote the wall and attacked Mrs. Norris?" finished Ron while raising his eyebrows. "That's bollocks, even you know that."

Percy flushed but kept his stern expression. "That may be so, but it won't from other people. Most of the students think that the heir is –"

"Potter since he was caught at the scene of the crime?" interrupted Ron again and rolling his eyes. "Look Perce, Potter couldn't be the heir – firstly he's a Gryffindor, secondly, he's not just the only who got caught at that time because he was with Longbottom and Granger, and thirdly people aren't using their brains properly. Seriously, don't be like them, you earned twelve OWLs."

His older brother's ears went slightly pink in response to the comment made by Ron on his OWLs but said firmly, "Ron, I don't want you seeing in this area, is that clear?"

"Fine, if that'll make you happy," he agreed slowly before his stomach rumbled.

Ron flushed while Percy chuckled. He took out a piece of Chocolate Frogs from his robes and offered it to him. "You can have this. Your stomach needs it more than I do now," he said as he and Ron strode away from the scene.

"Thanks," said Ron gratefully and moving his hand to get the frog. Before he could touch the sweet, his fingers brushed on Percy's palm and earned a vision that caught him by surprise.

"I can't believe you're going to take his side!" shouted an older Percy, his face contorted in anger. "How can you be sure that he's telling the truth? Where's the proof? Nothing! I can't stand staying here any longer,"' he said. He turned away and summoned his trunk from upstairs using his wand.

"Perce, please don't –" said Mrs. Weasley frantically, grabbing her son by the arm.

"If you want to leave, I'm not going to stop you," said Mr. Weasley coldly, shocking his wife and Percy himself. Even Ron was shocked and he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But once you step out of the door, you are no longer my son."

Percy stiffened as he heard this but faced his father with an indifferent look on his face. "You never considered me as your son in the first place, that's how I see it." He yanked his arm from his mother's clasp, grabbed his trunk and left the Burrow from the door.

Mrs. Weasley dropped on her knees and wept hard while Mr. Weasley turned away from the door, his face showing mixed emotions of anger, disappointment and sadness.

Ron blinked a couple of times and saw his brother watching him worriedly. He then realized that tears were starting to form from the corner of his eyes. He couldn't believe what he just foresaw: Percy just left the family. His family was going to break apart in a few years' time.

"Ron, are you -?" asked his older brother in concern.

"Something just got in my eye, it must be the dust," lied Ron, rubbing his eyes with his sleeves to be more convincing. "I remember I have to do something important right now – I'll see you Perce," he hastily ran away from Percy and went to an empty classroom. He locked the door behind him and leaned against it, breathing heavily. The vision he had just now horrified him greatly. Why? Why would Percy leave us? What's going on in the future? Numerous scenarios entered his mind none of it could make sense to what he saw. Then he remembered what older Percy said – his parents believed in someone else and Percy didn't believe in the same person, which sparked the argument.

"But who is that person?" questioned Ron to himself and thinking about the person made him angry. Whoever that person was, his family was falling apart because of him. He clenched his fists. If he knew who that person was, he would pay for what he would be doing in the future.

Ahh it's shorter than the last two chapters. Oh well.

I know nothing much has happened. I mean, he's not part of the Golden Trio. And him about asking Nott is reasonable since he didn't know about the Chamber of Secrets and I believe most of the Slytherins (the ones who are allied with Voldemort) would know about it more than anyone else.

Hmm…I think the next chapter will be more difficult for Ron and possibly you might know about the last person who will fill in the new trio. Do you think Ron will get the Galleons that easily?