~ Chapter 10 ~

Personal Struggles

"Come on Beel, we must get to ze shop before eet closes," Fleur groaned impatiently from the kitchen door. Bill bit his lip and looked over at Ron.

Ron was sitting at the kitchen table with his knees pulled up to his chest. He had his long arms wrapped tightly around his legs and his chin rested on his knees. He stared blankly at the wall across from the table and absently pulled at his pant legs.

"Go, Bill," Molly coaxed. "We'll be fine here. I'll take Ron with me to Hogwarts when I go meet with Dumbledore."

Bill's mouth opened and closed as he willed himself to say something. He looked back at Fleur and nodded.

"We won't be long," Bill announced. "I'll be back as soon as I can." He watched for a reaction from Ron, but didn't get one. He turned away sadly and took Fleur's hand. The two of them stepped outside and Disapparated out of sight.

Ron slipped quietly off of his chair and slowly wandered in to the sitting room. He ran his fingers along the walls to keep from bumping into anything and made his way over to the sofa.

Molly followed quietly behind and leaned up against the doorframe of the sitting room. She watched as her baby boy curled onto his side and pulled a pillow under his cheek.

"I'm almost ready to go, sweetheart," Molly said softly. "I'll come get you as soon as I've finished the ironing." Ron nodded slightly and closed his eyes. He just wanted to be left alone. Hogwarts was the last place he wanted to be. He didn't want anyone to see him in this state.

He listened to the sounds around him. He could hear his mom ironing the clean laundry. Pigwidgeon fluttered somewhere near the sitting room window, probably chasing some of the stray garden gnomes away from the house. He could even hear ghoul mucking about somewhere in the attic.

"Ron?" Molly called from the kitchen. "It's time to go, darling."

Ron sighed and pushed himself off the sofa. He slowly made his way through the sitting room, bumping his leg on the side of the coffee table hard enough to make him cringe. He brushed off the pain and entered the kitchen. Molly immediately took him by the hand and led him over to the fireplace.

Gripping Ron's hand tightly, Molly grabbed a handful of Floo powder and shouted "Hogwarts" as clearly as she could. As they stepped into the fireplace, Ron could feel his feet lift off the floor and his stomach tighten as they were ripped from the Burrow. His feet connected with a solid surface once more and the familiar sounds of the Burrow's kitchen were replaced by the quiet song of a Phoenix and snoring portraits.

He could hear a chair being pushed across a stone floor and light footsteps making their way toward him.

"Ah, Molly, it's so nice to see you again," Dumbledore greeted. He placed his hand gently on Ron's shoulder and squeezed it encouragingly.

"Good to see you, Mr. Weasley," he spoke softly as he took in Ron's appearance. "How are you feeling?"

Ron shrugged and forced a lopsided grin to let Dumbledore know he was fine. Dumbledore pulled his hand away from Ron's shoulder and led them both out to the corridor. As they descended the staircase and walked past the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office, Ron desperately prayed that no one would see him.

"I informed Mr. Potter, Ms. Weasley, and Ms. Granger that the two of you would be arriving," Dumbledore explained. "They seemed quite excited about your visit."

Ron's head dropped as he heard hurried footsteps approaching through the corridor. Molly ran her fingers through his hair and smiled.

"Don't worry, darling," she encouraged. "I won't make you stay long."

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed as she, Harry, and Ginny ran toward him. Ron raised his head to face their general direction and smiled warily. Hermione's hand slipped into his and she squeezed it tightly.

"Hey, mate," Harry greeted.

"Don't take him far," Mrs. Weasley instructed. "We won't be long." Harry looked up at Dumbledore. He had told Dumbledore about Malfoy's confession the previous night, which was why Mrs. Weasley had come to Hogwarts. Dumbledore was going to explain everything and help Molly figure out how to help Ron.

Hermione pulled at Ron's hand and led him through the corridor.

"We'll go to the common room," she explained. "That way you won't be approached by anyone you won't want to talk to." Ron snorted silently. He really didn't want to have contact with anyone at Hogwarts.

They ascended the staircase at Ron's pace and entered through the portrait of the Fat Lady. Ron could hear the familiar sounds of Gryffindor Tower. Two people were playing chess in a corner while a few other Gryffindor students sat talking on the sofa near the fireplace. The room grew silent as Ron walked inside further. He gripped Hermione's hand tightly as blood rushed into his cheeks and ears.

"Ron? Is that you?" Neville blurted. "It's good to see you, mate. We've really missed you around here."

Ron smiled weakly and stood in the spot where Hermione had stopped. He felt as if he were on display.

"You lads mind if we sit down?" Ginny asked the boys on the sofa.

"Not at all," Seamus replied as he and Dean stood up and made room on the sofa for Ron and his friends. They grabbed some chairs from the table behind the sofa and pulled them up next to the sofa to visit with Ron.

Hermione led Ron over to the sofa and waited for him to sit down before sitting next to him. Harry and Ginny sat on the floor near the fire and faced the sofa.

"Is it true you were cursed by a Death Eater?" Dean asked.

Ron shrugged and gazed down at his own feet, not knowing where else to look.

"Be careful what you say," Hermione stated quickly. "He'll get worse if we say the name of the wizard that no one speaks of, or mention that person in any way."

Seamus frowned and looked over at Dean.

"Really?" he asked. "That's intense!"

"Has anyone figured out how to fix this?" Dean asked as he tried to catch a glimpse of Ron's eyes.

"Bill's tried a few things," Ginny replied. "And the Healers at St. Mungo's have tried loads, but nothing's worked yet."

"I'm really sorry, mate," Neville mumbled. "That's rough." Ron nodded and scratched the back of his head nervously. Hermione casually pulled his hand away and held it between both of her own.

"Just relax," she whispered. "We're all your friends here. No one thinks any different of you." Ron smiled and faced Hermione. She smiled back and cupped the side of his face in her hand. She stopped suddenly and looked over at Ginny and Harry. Both of them were grinning back at her.

Hermione quickly dropped her hand and sat up straight, embarrassed that she'd been caught flirting with Ron.

---

Ron stood at the kitchen sink and tore pieces of lettuce into the sink for his mom. She had him help her in the kitchen whenever she could to keep him from going stir-crazy. There weren't many things Ron could to do around the Burrow, so she made an effort to find things for him.

Ron had been feeling strange all morning. The inside of his head felt strangely heavy and his muscles tightened on their own every once in awhile. He didn't know how to tell anyone how he was feeling, so he was trying to wait it out and see if it went away on its own.

He could hear his mom putting dishes away somewhere nearby while Charlie and Bill were sitting at the kitchen table discussing dragons and Egyptian tombs.

The longer Ron listened, the harder he found it to hear the movement around him. The fog inside his head soon completely took over and he felt himself lose consciousness.

His body, however, remained erect. His eyes became clear and the colour changed from blue to black. He stepped away from the sink and grabbed a cleaver from the kitchen cupboard.

Charlie frowned and got up out of his seat.

"Ron, what're you doin'?" Charlie asked curiously. Ron lifted the cleaver and stepped closer to Molly, who had her back turned to him.

"Expeliarmus!" Charlie shouted as he pulled his wand from his back pocket. The cleaver flew out of Ron's hand and landed deep in the surface of the cupboard. Ron quickly turned to Charlie and attempted to grab his own wand from his back pocket.

Bill quickly got up and pulled the wand away from Ron before wrapping his arms tightly around him to keep him from moving.

Ron growled and squirmed within Bill's grip. Molly turned around just in time to see her two eldest sons tackling Ron and pinning him to the ground.

Ron kicked and screamed within his brothers' grip as he tried to escape. Charlie grabbed Ron's chin and stared into Ron's eyes.

"What the hell happened to his eyes?" he exclaimed just as Ron spit in Charlie's face.

"Boys, what are you doing?" Molly shrieked. She sank to Ron's side and examined Ron's face. Ron glared up at her with pure hatred.

"Let go of me, you filthy blood traitors!" Ron growled. Molly took a step back and brought her hands up over her mouth to cover her shocked expression.

Ron pulled his arm out of Bill's grip and sharply connected his fist with the side of Charlie's face. Charlie grunted and sat back for a moment before grabbing his wand.

"What are you doing?" Bill asked.

"A body bind," replied Charlie.

"Don't," Bill snapped. "We don't know how additional magic will react with this curse. Let's not make it worse." Charlie nodded and pushed his hands against Ron's thighs to keep him from kicking at anyone.

This is ridiculous," Bill muttered breathlessly as he used all of his strength to keep Ron's arms under control. "We've got to find a way to fix him before he kills somebody."

He watched as Ron's eyes slowly lightened back to blue and once again clouded over. Ron's body stopped fighting against its human restraints and his head fell to the side. Bill and Charlie cautiously released their grip on Ron and waited.

Ron's eyes flutter open and he frowned, not knowing how he had ended up on the floor.

"Hey, squirt," Charlie said uneasily. "How are you feeling?" Ron moved his head to face Charlie and looked at him questioningly.

"You had a bit of a fit, Ron," Bill explained. "Are you feeling all right?"

Ron nodded and attempted to sit up. Bill quickly put his hand under Ron's shoulder blades and helped him to his feet. Molly quickly wrapped her arms around her baby boy and fought the urge to cry.