Disclaimer: Elements of this story are copyrighted by other parties. My wallet complains, but I own neither StarCraft nor the Harry Potter franchise :(.

If you thought I did, I'd love to know where you got that idea. Everything not owned by J. K. Rowling and Blizzard Entertainment (or whatever their name is right now) is owned by me.

Thanks to Richard for betaing this story.

XXXHPASXXX

Part 15:

"Ron, Harry, you can go and cut some vegetables," Molly Weasley said to the two boys that had come down the stairs. "You're standing in the way."

"But mom, just spell the knives or something," Ron protested.

"The muggles can do without magic and so can you," Ms. Weasley replied distractedly. "This way at least you'll be good for something."

Ron just glared at her, but Ms. Weasley had turned her back to the to boys already.

"Okay, let's get to it," Harry said, used to way harder work from the Dursleys. "The sooner we begin the sooner we're finished."

"Pha," Ron snorted and repeated Ms. Weasley's words muttering . "This way I'll be good for something. Always the same."

"Always the same?" Harry echoed, peeling a sprout. "What do you mean?"

"Ron do this, Ron do that, that way you'll at least be useful," the youngest Weasley boy said, angrily stabbing a sprout with his knife. "Forget about Quidditch, even Charlie didn't become a professional."

Harry nodded, motioning his best friend to continue as he peeled another sprout. He really wasn't sure what to say about this.

"I'm so sick of this," Ron continued with a sigh. "I'm barely fifteen minutes at home and she's already digging at me again."

They'd really not been long at the Burrow. After their breakfast at Hogwarts Harry and his friends had returned to their dormitories and gathered up whatever they'd planned to take with them over the Christmas holidays. Meeting again in the common room, Harry and Ron had given their three closest friends the presents they'd bought as they wouldn't see them again before Christmas day. Thankfully Harry had somewhat overdone Luna's present when he'd bought it with an owl delivery service, so he didn't need to worry if it was good enough for his girlfriend.

Afterwards, the five friends had gone to McGonnagal's office and flooed to their respective homes. Well, Hermione flooed to the closest wizarding pub. At the Burrow the two boys had just stored their stuff when Molly Weasley had given them this job.

"Maybe," Harry said, suppressing a shrug as his thoughts returned to the present. "Is it really like that normally?"

"It certainly feels like it," Ron affirmed, focussing on checking his sprout again. "If you don't want to learn your arithmancy you can just wash the dishes. This way you'll never get a job in the ministry, but at least you'll be able to work in a pub."

"Really?" Harry said, raising his eyebrows.

Ron only nodded. "Yeah. While she usually tones it down when you're here, it can get rather nasty."

"Uhuh," Harry nodded absently. He really didn't want to think about the previously unknown dark sides of his host family. "Do you think that Marietta bitch... sneak was serious about Luna.?"

"No," Ron shook his head. "She was just talking. Seriously, McGonagall was right. If she really wanted Luna dead she wouldn't have said anything."

"Yes, but..."

"But... you're worried," Ron stated. "Why don't you just..." Ron quickly looked around and whispered: "Why don't you just send a few Zerg to watch her?"

Harry sighed. "They'd need to come here through the muggle world..." He scratched his head. "Well, I guess it might actually work if they move at night."

"Be careful with the knife!" Ron hissed, seeing Harry almost poke himself in his ear. "Maybe its not that good an idea."

"It should work," the last Potter said sighing. "I can't rely on Marietta talking shit. She's pureblood... her mother was Umbridge's lackey... They might really have connections to Voldemort."

"And you and Luna being boyfriend and girlfriend isn't exactly a secret," Ron noted. "Merlin I hate peeling this shit!"

"Language Ron!" Ms. Weasley admonished, coming back into the kitchen. "In the ministry they don't talk like street sweepers."

"It probably wasn't the smartest idea to kiss her in front of the school," Harry had to admit, trying to ignore the Weasley matriarch's comment about his best friend. "Anyway, what's done is done. No use crying over spilled milk. Now I just have to deal with it."

Ron only raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything anymore, instead he focused on the blasted sprouts.

Ignoring the work, Harry concentrated on his mental connection to the swarm. Or rather a certain member of the swarm. {Adalbert,} Harry began. {Can you send ten zerglings to me? They'd need to move unseen, but I need them as a guard for Luna.}

{Unit Luna-Lovegood?}

{Yes, my girlfriend Luna.} Harry mentally stated. {Luna is close to where I'm now. Just send them to me and I'll know more then, ok?}

{I will assign two overlords to control the operation,} Adalbert affirmed. {We have managed to develop an improvement for our zerglings. They can now better discharge the generated body heat to the environment, which allowed us to increase their movement speed.}

This was good to know, the young Overmind thought. The zerglings had been barely faster than his drones, which made them cannon fodder to block anyone trying to get to his acrolisks. Useful, but cannon fodder nonetheless. Hopefully this improvement would increase their usefulness.

Thanking his overlord, Harry turned around only to see that Ms. Weasley was gone. "I see what you meant, Ron. I guess this explains it..."

"Explains what?" Ron echoed. "What are you talking about."

"Your family and the mirror of Erised," Harry said, throwing a cleaned sprout into the pot.

The youngest Weasley boy snorted. "Yeah, that thing is infamous for its uselessness, its curse. Sorry that I tattled to Dumbledore then, but I was really worried about you."

"You did?" Harry asked. "Thank you, but what do you mean with uselessness?"

"It doesn't show you your true heart's desire. It shows you what you think your true heart's desire is," Ron sighed. "I didn't want to be the second coming of Dumbledore or V..Voldemort, I wanted respect from my family."

Harry nodded. "I guess you're right. While a miraculous resurrection of my parents would have been nice, I really just wanted a family."

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't complain considering the Dursleys," Ron said, glaring at the vegetable in front of him. "Doesn't change the fact that she always, always gives Ginny better treatment and makes me do this useless shit. And the Howlers at Hogwarts," Ron shook his head. "Bill, Charlie, Percy... they're all gone. Well, Percy is a git."

"Who's talking about our older siblings, brother dear?" said Fred theatrically to George.

"It is the Weasley house-elves, brother dear," George laughed. "They enjoy the housework so much they even do it without magic."

"You see what I mean?" Ron muttered, trying to ignore his brothers as he cut at a sprout.

"Aah George, you're right," Fred said leaning against a wall. "They're even using knifes and everything. A truly elvish dedication to their work."

"Dedication?" Harry returned, raising his eyebrows.

"You gits know very well we don't do this for fun," Ron said grumpily. "Only two months and I'll be able to do it with magic."

"But meanwhile," said George, sitting down at the kitchen table and putting his feet up on it, "we can enjoy watching you demonstrate the correct use of a — whoops-a-daisy!"#

"Ouch... asshole!" Ron yelled, wiping blood off his thumb. "I'm so sick of this! I'm barely at home and already regret I've come at all. Hell, right now Percy is a more sympathetic person than you two bastards."

"Alas Fred, right now we are his only older brothers here, he'll have to do with us."

"Indeed George," Fred began, shooting a grin at his twin. "he can't do it with Hermione at the moment. Ah what we didn't hear from Gingin..."

It looked like Fred still wanted to add something, but he trailed off when he saw Ron's balled fists. Harry had never really seen Ron like this before. Well, there was the instance when the youngest Weasley boy thought Harry had kept him in the dark about tricking the goblet of fire, yet even then it hadn't been like this.

"You really think you're funny, right?!" Ron snarled, his wand was suddenly out, tightly gripped in his hand. "I see you for the first time in about half a year and you need to mock me, hurt me and then make fun about my girlfriend. Just fuck you!"

"Ronald! Language!" Molly Weasley shouted as she returned to the kitchen, levitating a basket in front of her. "We haven't raised you to cuss like that."

Ron was positively fuming, Harry could see the boy had one of his rage attacks again, yet this time he could actually empathize. Why did they need to pick on him all the time? It was no surprise his best friend couldn't keep his temper. Even the cupboards started to rattle, as Ron leveled his angry glare on his mother. Harry's best friend was losing control over his magic.

"You've raised me to be shit under your shoes," Ron shouted back. "Ronald, if you don't do your arithmancy homework you'll never be able to pay our rent," Ron sneered, apparently repeating a saying of his mother's. "Ron stop wasting your time with quidditch, you need to learn how to write properly."

Mrs. Weasley was obviously taken aback. "And? That's right."

"It's right? It's right!" Ron yelled, talking himself only further into rage. "Even these two," he pointed a Fred and George, "aren't living in the gutter, but no, we need to encourage Ron by telling him all the time how much he sucks."

Harry really wanted to be somewhere else. The Weasleys had been his great example for how a family was supposed to work. A role model that just went up in smoke.

"Don't try ancient runes, Ron, that's too hard for you anyway. Rather take Divination, everyone gets good grades there," Ron continued his tirade. "For three years I spent my evenings with predicting my own death for homework, just to get passable grades with that old hag only to totally fail in the O.W.L's there. Why the hell did I ever listen to you? You only tell me I suck too much to live anyway."

Ouch, Harry thought. Did the Weasleys really do that? It would certainly explain Ron's lack of self-confidence. You don't need to try, you'll fail anyway is no encouragement for a boy. Why had he never seen this before? The signs certainly had been there. He'd heard Ron's "heart's desire", yet the boy hadn't even attempted to achieve this. He knew Ron wasn't stupid yet the boy never really applied himself anywhere where his two best friends didn't rope him in.

The need to stand in the center, to make everyone know his achievements, yet this total lack of confidence. Harry had never really thought about why his friend felt that way, yet seeing him here, standing in the center of his family with a look of utmost defeat on his face made it obvious. Nagging and mocking... griping and teasing. It had whittled away Ron's confidence until just a mask of bravery was standing, while he really was hiding from what he perceived as the sad reality of his worthless life.

"I'm sorry Ron," said Mrs. Weasley silently, almost whispering. Not much remained from the usually brash Weasley matriarch. She looked almost as defeated as her youngest son. "I didn't know you felt that way."

Ron only snorted, staring holes in the sprouts. Meanwhile George had taken his feet from the kitchen table. Both him and Fred suddenly weren't smug anymore. They'd probably considered it harmless fun and totally missed the point where they slid into bully territory, Harry realized.

The stairs rumbled and suddenly Ginny was standing in the kitchen. "What is Ron looking like that," she asked. "Did you finally tell him to keep the fuck out of my love live?"

That was enough for Harry's best friend to explode again. "No, they didn't," Ron stated seemingly calm only to grow louder with each word. "But I don't give a shit anymore. Merlins shat underpants, just go and fuck Dean, your broom or your best friend, I don't care." He shot a look towards Harry before returning to glare at his sister. "You needed to play around... but hell, not my problem."

"Fucking. My. Broom!" Ginny groused, suddenly waving her wand around, spewing sparks.

"Expelliarmus!" chorused the Weasley twins as if they'd agreed on it. A knife was flying from Ron's hand, while Fred caught Ginny's wand.

"Hey!" Ron complained, while Ginny shouted: "What?!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Mrs. Weasley yelled, having regained her temper. "Ronald, not everyone is out to get you. Ginevra, just think before you open your mouth."

"But..." Ginny protested, while Ron just glared at his mother.

"I'm sick of this theater," the Weasley matriarch exclaimed. "Ron just finish the sprouts, we can talk about stuff later. Ginny come out with me, I need help with the laundry." Grabbing her daughter by the hand, Mrs. Weasley left the room.

"Do you have an idea what's wrong with Ron?" Fred whispered to Harry. The last Potter hadn't realized he'd retreated to the wall. "He's never exploded like this."

"Your mom pissed him off with a comment, and you guys didn't exactly make it better," Harry explained. "Was that cut really necessary?"

George shook his head. "That wasn't us. He just slipped or something, but we enjoy the illusion of omnipotence."

"Not a good idea in this case," Fred sighed. "I hope he cools down before lunch."

Harry shrugged, he didn't really know what to say. "Well, if we want to eat sometime today, I guess I need to go back to work. Except if you feel like helping of course."

"Nah," the twins chorused as Harry walked back to the sink. "Work is good for the soul... and your tempers. We don't want to take that training away."

"Gits," Ron muttered as Harry took up his knife. "At least they could have helped."

"Use sprouts for training," Harry mocked, taking up one of the hated vegetables. "What jokers." He glared at the two twins who were gathering up some stuff.

Harry's best friend groaned and said: "All that magic and we can't use our wands."

"Wands..." Harry thought aloud. "Um... guys, wait!" He shouted after the leaving twins.

"Yes, Harry? What can George and I do for you," George said.

"The trace... is it on the wizard or the wand?" Harry inquired.

"The wand," Fred replied. "How else could the ministry enforce the laws on underage wizardry."

A smirk played over Harry's face. "That's good to know. Very good to know."

"Oh, I get it," Ron grinned, seemingly putting his previous anger aside as he pulled out his wand and dropped it on the kitchen table. "I kinda wanted to learn this wandless stuff anyway. Can you explain it please, Harry."

"If mother knew," George laughed and waved as he left the house together with his twin.

"Well it's not like they can prove anything," Harry shrugged. "Who cares about the bloody law anyway."

It was only another measure to show the British muggle-borns how beloved they were by Wizarding society. Harry didn't know how Hermione's parents could stand it. They sent their daughter off to a school and she couldn't even show them what she'd learned. It made him wonder how many children actually went untrained.

"If you think so," Ron said, raising his eyebrows. "Anyway, how do we do this? Do you remember the kitchen charms?"

"Not by heart," Harry sighed. "Well there is the animatus-charm, but it's too complicated to use wandless. I guess we should just concentrate on what you want to do and then use the next best spell to do it. Diffindo!"

Four sprouts suddenly appeared properly done, yet the fifth was cut apart in the middle.

"Well, I guess I still have to practice it a bit," Harry said, grinning at his best friend. "I think you should try doing a single one first..."

"Less to mess up, right?" Ron said nodding as he pulled a single sprout out of the heap. "Diffindo!"

"A bit too much cut off, I think."

XXXHPASXXX

"A rabbit... a squirrel," the biologist said to his colleague. "I told you it was a bad spot for a photo trap. Look, it caught another branch again." He held up a developed photo.

"Walter, at least my trap caught something," the other biologist retorted. "Yours only made one photo over the whole winter."

"At least mine wasn't so obvious someone decided to prank it, Matthew," Walter, the biologist, said as he waved another photo around. "Look at this! I don't know how they did this, but it can't possibly be real."

"A razor snout... two scythe limbs, those ram horns on its head as well as those things looking a little like wings... ," Matthew recounted, scratching his head. "It does look weird. The coloration could have come right out of an Impressionist's studio."

Walter just sighed. "Another fucker messing with us. I know the foresters don't like us very much, but..."

"But you shouldn't have antagonized them," the second Biologist shook his head. "Still, I wonder how they did this. It looks pretty lifelike. Almost... alien."

"Like the films?" Walter the biologist raised his eyebrows. "They weren't purplish-brown."

"No, but this doesn't look like a fake. Not something some stupid deer-fuckers could have done," Matthew said, shooting a scathing look at his colleague. "I wouldn't publish this in a journal, but we should tell the government. This thing looks too real and too dangerous."

XXXHPASXXX

Authors Note: Sorry for the delay, but I was kinda busy today… Parents roped me into a family evening of watching Star-Wars ;)

Anyway, now you know my personal interpretation of why Ron is the way he is. I tried not to be too bashy. I doubt Molly Weasley actually realizes what she's doing. She's probably not even meaning it maliciously, but you can see the effects. I prefer this explanation to those that infer that Ron's essentially a dumb fuck. He's not, he's only fearing failure too much to even try.

As you've seen stuff starts to move. I fear I was a bit too slow with it, focused a bit too much on Harry Potter matters, but I try to do better. It's a bit hard though when I'm writing during the time when some potentially plot relevant things in HP canon actually happen and it is not all romance drama.

I'd like to thank Evillevi for his or her awesome review. I'll try to answer it as soon as I'll find some time. You really pointed out some good points. Anyway, thanks to all of you who bothered to write some reviews. I'm pretty much pressed for time lately… which is my own fault *sigh*Anyway, I read them all even if I couldn't answer to all of you. Some of your questions were actually answered in former authors notes…

I only plan to use three (four) buildings from StarCraft, which are hatchery, spawning pool, evolution chamber and nydus worm (the latter needs to be developed). I only use three original units from Starcraft that are drone, overlord, zergling, but I will develop some equivalent for others. Considering their base in a magical forest these Zerg will be more psy ability oriented though.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed my story so far.