The characters of the Harry Potter universe belong to Ms. Rowlings, and I'm borrowing them for my own imagination.
Chapter 53 - Dad Remembers As Well.
"Where did you go?" Mrs. Weasley asked angrily as soon as the two of them reentered the Burrows exactly fifty minutes after they had left.
"We had a gift to deliver, and Professor Dumbledore took us to do it." Ron said as they passed her and walked over to have a seat in the living room floor next to Harry and Ginny.
"So, Arthur. Everyone has shared their favorite Weasley Christmas except you and Ron." Tonks said trying to change the subject and stop another battle between Molly and her youngest son.
"My favorite is actually the same one as Bill's, but for different reasons." Mr. Weasley stated.
"Why?" Bill asked.
"I remember why Fred and George were in trouble when Bill came home, I am sure they do as well." Arthur said and all eyes turned to the twins.
"I left my toy broom on the stairs..." Fred began.
"And Ron tripped over it, breaking it." George added. "When we learned Ron broke Fred's toy broom."
"I turned his teddy bear into a spider and..." said Fred.
"And mum crushed it not knowing it was his teddy bear." finished George.
"Percy was always good about saving his allowance to buy something special he wanted. He had been saving his money for a while, after the bear was destroyed, Percy asked me to take him to Diagon Alley to purchased Ron an new teddy bear. He new that we didn't have the extra money to do it, so I took him." Arthur said. "I don't even remember what he was saving for at that point, but he was willing to wait until later, because he loved Ron more."
"Percy bought you Mr. Chudley Bear?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah, and had Dad perform a spell on it so that it couldn't be transfigured." Ron added, Hermione smiled and leaned her head against Ron's shoulder.
"Anyway, on Christmas eve, Bill and Charlie were sharing a room and of course the twins. Molly and I split up delivering the gifts. She took Bill, Charlie and Ginny's while I took the rest of you. I delivered the twins first, but when I had entered Percy's room he wasn't there. I found him up sleeping on the floor in Ron's room. He had been worried that Ron would wake up with nightmares about spiders. It was also only his third night without the bear." Mr. Weasley said.
"I had slept in his room the two previous night." Ron said. "After I kept having nightmares."
"I didn't know that." Molly said, "why didn't you come to us?"
"I didn't want the anyone else to find out, and Percy would never tell." Ron said.
"Neither would I." Bill said, surprised because Ron had usually come to him on other occasions.
"Ron had been looking forward to you coming home, but when you arrived you made a bit of fuss over Ginny, answered the twins Hogwarts questions, then patted Ron on the head before heading up to your room with Charlie. Actually, I think it kind of angered Percy a little, because Ron had been so sure you would fix what Fred had done to his teddy bear." Arthur responded.
"Anyway, Percy had also wanted to be there when Ron opened his presents. He had overheard Fred and George snickering about something, so he slept on Ron's floor." Mr. Weasley said.
"He told me that since Bill was with Charlie and the twins had each other. And Mum and Dad would naturally go to watch Ginny, that it would be nice if we opened our presents together. We did that every year after that until I was at Hogwarts." Ron said.
"After Ginny had ripped through her gifts, Molly had gone down to make breakfast. I had gone up to make sure you kids were all up. I stopped by Bill and Charlie's and promised to take them riding on their new brooms. I stopped by the twins, and they were playing with their gifts. They had a look of mischief on their faces as if they were waiting for something to happen. When I made it up to Ron's room, Ron was crying and Percy was holding him and trying to calm him down, I was about to enter when I heard what Percy was saying."
"Hey, Ronnie, don't cry."
"Why don't any of them like me anymore." Ron sobbed, Percy swaying back and forth with Ron cradled in his lap.
"They all love you." Percy said.
"That's because M-Mum makes them. They d-don't play with m-me, I'm just in the way." Ron sobbed.
"Well, I like you. I promise you that I will always love you no matter what a git either of us are." Percy promised. "Oi, you know how much I love books." Percy said.
"Uhuh." Ron sniffed wiping his nose on his sleeve.
"How about I trade you the spider book for this." Percy said pulling a book out from under the bed.
"But, it's your favorite book. You never let anyone else touch it." Ron said his eyes wide.
"I know how much you love it too. I've read it to you enough. But the spider book will be something new for me to read, and I won't have to worry about you borrowing it." Percy told him.
"You sure?" Ron asked.
"Yes. Here we will even write your name in it. Maybe we can even get Dad to charm it so that no one will try to take it from you." Percy said.
"Really?" Ron asked and when Percy nodded Ron wrapped his arms around Percy and hugged him tightly. "Will you still read it to me?"
"Of course." Percy said. "Come on you have more gifts to open. Do this one next, it's from me."
Ron opened the gift and found a new teddy bear decked out in a Chudley Cannon's uniform, and Percy explained to him that Dad charmed it so that no one can transform it.
"Thank you." Ron said and hugged Percy again.
"Is that were Percy's 'Tales of Beedle the Bard' went?" Mrs. Weasley asked tears glistening in her eyes.
"Yeah." Ron said, he could feel Hermione's tears wetting his shoulder.
"There were a lot of times with seven children, when I was wondering if we were doing okay by them. I know that there were time that some of you may have felt left out, especially Percy and Ron. The twins taking so much energy, and Ginny being a girl got new things instead of hand-me-downs. We also had to buy duplicated because of the twins, so money got even tighter. But Percy giving his favorite book to Ron and sacrificing his own wants so that he could get Ron a new teddy bear, I felt we were doing okay." Mr. Weasley said misty-eyed.
"Do you still have the book?" Bill asked.
"It is some place special. I am going to give it to Percy's first child. So he knows that no matter how much of a git he is, I still love him." Ron said.
His mother gave him a watery smile. Hermione squeezed his hand.
"Well, it's a big day tomorrow and I know that where we are staying the kids are going to be up at an ungodly hour tomorrow morning." Remus said.
"It is almost midnight. And Bill you can't see Fleur after midnight." Mrs. Weasley said.
"Come on, I'll walk you out." Ron said to Hermione, Remus and Tonks.
"Arthur, go with them." Mrs. Weasley said, not trusting Ron to not take off on her again.
They all walked out to the apparation point, Arthur, Tonks and Remus talking privately to allow Hermione and Ron to share a somewhat private goodnight.
After watching Hermione apparate away with Remus and Tonks, Ron's dad put an arm around his shoulder as they walked, "Should I be worried about where you were tonight?" He asked.
"No." Ron answered.
"Okay, I won't ask again, and I will try to get your mum to not ask." He said.
"Thanks."
"I am very proud of you. Don't ever forget that." He said stopping and pulling his son into a hug. "You have grown up so much in the last few years, especially the last few months. But the way you have been there for Harry, Hermione and the rest of us. I am just so proud."
"Thanks, Dad." Ron responded, "I love you, too."
TBC
