AUTHOR NOTES: This is my first story ever and unbeta'd so any mistakes are my own. Hope y'all enjoy it.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter. No money is being made off this. Harry Potter is JK. Rowling's property and I respect that.

INSPIRATION: This fanfiction is inspired by TheTrueSpartan's: FATE and Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES, and Got the idea to have Ron learn to cook from Avatar Vader's: Cooking like a Bachelor. All of these are on

Also please go check out Pk930's: The Duelist, it's a new and promising story that I have enjoyed so far.

Please go check them out, they are amazing stories.

Chapter 7- The Badger's Den

September 1, 1991 (Hogwarts) After Dinner

As Ron walked through the halls with the other Hufflepuffs he couldn't help but think about everything that's happened today. He was friends with Harry Potter, and he was sorted into Hufflepuff. Plus the feast wasn't any less weird considering the Headmaster himself said to not go to the third floor unless they wished for a very painful death. Why would something so dangerous be in a school full of children anyway! That warning just asked to be broken, he could only imagine the stuff the twins would do with that information.

He tried to not think about it and continued to follow the herd of Hufflepuffs who were led by a purple-haired girl. She hadn't introduced herself to them yet and he wondered what her name was, it was probably cool like Astrid or something.

"Nymphadora Tonks" he said out loud and garnered looks of confusion from his fellow first years. Some of the older kids looked at him with something he could only describe as horror which he couldn't understand. One of the older years looked at the purple-haired girl, but she was busy talking and laughing about something. He looked relieved before he approached him and started to whisper in his ear.

'Listen firstie, word of advice, We call her" he said as he pointed to Nymphadora "Tonks, never… and I mean never call her by her first name. You'll never hear the end of it, I promise you that" the boy said.

"Oh, I didn't know. Uhhh, thanks" Ron said appreciatively "I'm... '

"Ronald Weasley, yeah I know, everybody in Hufflepuff knows who you are," the boy said and held out his hand "I'm Zacharias Smith, but you can call me Zac, I'm a second-year,"

Ron shook his hand and nodded, Zac then left saying he had to go back to his friends. Ron was surprised by how quickly he left, usually people would refuse to leave and not volunteer too. He continued to walk and was once again surprised when nobody bothered him, whether to introduce themselves or to ask questions about his ability.

Ron almost bumped into the person in front of him when the sea of students stopped and he heard Nymph… Tonks call the first years to the front. They gathered and listened to Tonks as she explained how to enter the Common Room.

They were in a corridor that was dimly lit, in front of a stack of barrels nestled on the right side. Tonks explained that to get into the Common rooms they had to tap the barrels, like Diagon Alley's entrance. They had to tap to the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff'. If they didn't do it right they would be drenched in vinegar, so he made sure to pay close attention to the barrels that were tapped. When Tonks was finished the barrels started to move aside to reveal a tunnel that had a light at the end of it.

When it was clear that none of the first years would step into the tunnel, Tonks nudged them forward gently "First Years first, go on, don't be shy," she said. After a moment of silence they finally began their trek through the tunnel.

When Ron and the other first-years made it to the entrance of the Common Room, they were stunned. As Ron looked around the room one thought came to his mind, it felt like home.

The room was round with a warm glow from the fireplace and lanterns that were strewn about. It was wide but had a low ceiling. It wasn't constricting but instead, comforting, almost like the room itself was hugging him. Round windows lined the other side and he could see the outline of grass and what looked like a field of flowers. The outline of flowers outside held nothing to the plants that were hanging from the ceiling and around the room. They all looked beautiful and unique, somewhere moving and he could even see one that appeared to be waving at them!

The furniture was spaced in such a way that it appeared open and airy. Round honey-colored tables were speckled around the room. The fireplace was located at the most right side of the room with its mantle carved with intricate badgers that appeared to be dancing.. And in front of the fireplace were plush yellow sofas with a coffee table between them. There were rounded bookshelves that were part of the wall and so much other stuff that had him looking around as he tried to soak up all the details.

"Welcome to the Badgers Den," said the woman who was standing in the middle of the room, waiting. She was short and plump, with gray hair. She was smiling widely with her arms stretched out gesturing around the common room proudly. "My name is Professor Pomona Sprout and I am your Head of House, I also teach Herbology if you couldn't already tell" She laughed as she nodded towards the plants hanging from the ceiling.

Ron smiled at Professor Sprout, she seemed nice and her demeanor eased the nerves he had about having an unkind head of house. The Twins would tell horror stories about Professor McGonagall and her legendary strictness, but he could tell Professor Sprout would be more lenient should he find himself in trouble in the future. Not that he planned to… it was just nice to know... just in case.

He stood quietly as Professor Sprout talked about all the rules, when curfew was, what time the meals started and ended. He listened diligently, he wanted to be a good student and make his parents proud. When she was finished she smiled at all the students before she dismissed most of them.

"Alright, you lot know the drill, Upperclassmen you may go to your dorms and get settled for the night, Seventh years and First years please stay behind if you will." Professor Sprout said.

Everybody mumbled and started to walk towards two pairs of doors. One on the leftmost side of the common room and the other was on the rightmost side. The boys went left and the girls right. As the sixth years to second years cleared out, only eleven people were left, Five first years, five seventh years, and Professor Sprout. Ron was concerned, why did they have to stay, they couldn't have possibly done something wrong, could they have?

"Get those worried looks off your faces firsties, we're not gonna bite" said an older boy as he laughed, not unkindly. He was tall, tan and really fit from what Ron could see. He had shaggy dark brown hair and looked at the first years with an understanding smile, like he knew exactly how they felt. "My names..oof" he groaned as the girl who stood next to him elbowed him.

"Are you so impatient, you can't wait a couple minutes for Professor Sprout to explain things" she said exasperated. As she looked at their head of house, so did everybody else and they waited.

Professor Sprout nodded and directed all the students to the comfy sofas, and once everybody was comfortable she started to explain. "We Hufflepuffs are a group who value many things, and kindness and friendship are just a couple of them. It is a difficult transition from the lives you led to the lives you will lead at Hogwarts." she started, voice soft and kind as she looked at her Puffs. The new, fresh faces who had years with her and the oldest of the students she cared for who would soon leave to live their adult lives.

"It's a tradition of sorts, for the eldest to guide the youngest. To teach them about their new home and be there to support them should they need it. We're lucky enough this year to have one mentor per first year. Sometimes seventh years have to share mentee's and other times mentors will have multiple people to care for."

The first years listened as Professor Sprout explained the concept of the mentors and apparently the deal wasn't as one sided as Ron first thought.

"Sure the first years at first glance get the most out of this exchange but the seventh years also get something. They get to share their experience, they get to repay the kindness that was shown to them by their own mentors. And they also get to foster the potential that is within each and every one of you" She said as she pointed at them.

As Professor Sprout continued with her little speech, Ron couldn't help but be relieved. Even with his brothers here, he knew he would have to learn about the inner workings of the castle by trial and error. That the twins would sooner laugh at his failures than help him succeed. And Percy would be too busy with his O.W.L.S and being prefect to help him beyond giving him some sparse words of generic advice.

The biggest fear Ron had about coming to Hogwarts was being alone. Worried that people would only approach him and use him for his ability, to claim that they knew Britain's Most Powerful Seer. He wanted true friendships and people who would help him grow as a person, just as he would do the same for them. Having a mentor, to help him learn and embrace the new and unfamiliar world of Hogwarts was truly a blessing he would not waste. First there was Harry, his first true friend, he didn't count Luna since she was Ginny's friend first, and now this mentorship Not for the first time today, he felt excitement bubble up from inside him.

"Right now, I think it's time for some introductions, but we Puff's like to play a little game to make them more fun. The game is called Two Truths and a Tale. Everybody goes around introducing themselves, they then tell two facts and one lie about themselves. It's up to the rest of us to guess which one is the lie. This is a great and fun way to learn more about your peers!" Professor Sprout said excitedly.

Ron looked around at everybody and wondered if his ability would behave, he didn't want to ruin it for anyone else. While he was thinking of the possibility of his ability acting up, the people had started the game with Professor Sprout starting. Apparently she loved Quidditch, her best friend is Professor McGonagall, and the lie was that she hated pumpkin juice, from what she told them, she absolutely loved it. The Seventh years started and the first years had to guess what the lies were, as the game progressed he felt like he was having more and more fun.

Apparently Diego Caplan, the guy who tried to introduce himself earlier was a great duelist who was almost put into Gryffindor, and apparently his pants fell down right in front of a girl he was on a date with once, Everybody laughed when it was revealed that it wasn't a lie, the lie was that he was never almost in Gryffindor. When everyone was done laughing the girl next to him began her turn.

Penny Haywood was a beautiful girl with golden blonde hair and eyes like a clear sky. She was more than her looks though, as she was top of her class in Potions with the dour Professor Snape admitting her talent. She also had a younger sister in Hufflepuff, but none in Ravenclaw, since that was her lie. She seemed nice, like everybody else in Hufflepuff so far, but she had a gentleness and care for the first years, that seemed almost motherly.

Nymphadora Tonks was next, though she only introduced herself as Dora Tonks. She wanted to be an Auror, and was apparently a Metamorphmagus! He looked at her and suddenly her purple hair made so much sense now. Her lie was that she was a good singer, as she so elegantly put in her own words " My voice will make a mandrake sound angelic".

Then it was Chiara Lobosca's turn, she was shorter than the others and much paler too. She had shoulder length white hair and pale storm grey eyes with a thin and willowy figure. She was more quiet than the others but just as nice. She apparently loved punk music, baking, and her favorite subject was divination, not charms like she said. She seemed nice enough but that she seemed so interested in divination made him somewhat weary of her. What if she just wanted to use him or something?

The last of the seventh years was Chauncey Wright who much like Tonks hated his first name and insisted on being called Chance. He was a man who Ron had mistaken for another girl. He had long wavy honey blonde hair and light brown eyes. With long lashes and full lips it was no wonder Ron had thought Chance was of the fairer gender, He was prettier than the other girls for Merlin sake! He wasn't the only one to make that assumption as the first years shared shocked looks of varied degrees when he introduced himself and casually mentioned his gender. What Ron learned from him was that he had never been a prefect like he claimed, but was an only child with a massive sweet tooth who would eat anything with sugar immediately should you present it to him.

As the Seventh years finished their turns Ron couldn't help but feel like he learned a lot and they hadn't even gotten to the First years yet. Just as the thought came to mind Professor Sprout nodded and started to talk as she turned towards the first years "Now that the seventh years have gotten their introductions out of the way let's move on to the first years, and when their done i'll announce who gets to mentor who"

That statement alone had all eyes on him both the mentors and the mentee's, he knew that the idea of mentoring a Britain's Most Powerful Seer was probably a very big honor or something. He had hope that the Hufflepuffs won't let his fame blind them, he really just wanted to be a normal person.

Then it was the first year's turn and everybody looked at him, having figured he would go first. He looked at all the eyes on him, which was not a new feeling at all and decided to indulge them. If they wanted him to go first he would, he just wanted to get it over with anyway. "I'm Ron Weasley, and uhh, I like to knit, I like to bake and I love fashion"

As he finished his introduction he looked around and noticed all the bewildered stares and smiled to himself. His hobbies were rather feminine and adding a fake hobby with similar attributes seemed like a good way to make it difficult to guess the lie.

One of his fellow first years, a pale boy with curly brown hair smiled at him and tried to explain the rules of the game to him like he misunderstood them "No, you have to tell two truths and one lie, It's okay if you got confused, I get confused too sometimes" He said as he tried to make Ron feel better.

Ron realized that the other boy was genuine in his attempt to help him and just calmly replied back "I know, that's what I did, two of those statements were true, and one was false".

Now it was the boys turn to look confused. He just nodded with a smile on his face as he tried to be positive, "Well, I'd say the baking is the lie, cause Chiara already said that" he said earnestly as he smiled at Ron and tried to not offend him. Ron appreciated the gesture and smiled back.

The others quickly got over their confusion and in a true Hufflepuff fashion, they accepted it. Ron rarely liked so much attention but it felt different coming from them. He smiled as they argued about what was a lie and just laughed when they asked him since they couldn't agree over a choice. He admitted that while he was aware what color and patterns would look good together, he was in no way shape or form, in love with fashion. He even mentioned that he also enjoyed cooking.

" Well I think it's hot that you know how to cook" Tonks said.

Ron jerked his head up and stared at her incredulously. He could feel his face heat up and knew he would look as red as his hair. He watched as Penny smacked Tonks upside her head and defended him.

"He is eleven years old you Pedo" she said as she glared at Tonks.

While Tonks and Penny interacted, The other first years could be seen hiding smiles and coughing as they tried to suppress giggles. The Seventh year boys were not as discrete, he saw Diego and Chance double over as they laughed their heads off, clutching their stomachs. Chance even had tears spill over his cheeks as he gasped for air, pounding his hand on his leg in his mirth.

Tonks must have decided to take a page out of his book because her face flushed pink while her hair changed to match the shade exactly. She spluttered as she tried to defend herself and after a minute or so she finally spoke clearly enough for the rest of them to understand her.

"That's not what I meant and you know it! I just meant that the ability to cook in a man is something that I find very attractive. I don't find Ronald attractive at all." she finished in a huff.

Chance who had finally calmed down somewhat smirked in a way that made two terrifying thoughts come to his mind, Fred and George. He started to talk and Ron knew nothing good would come out of it, and he was right. "So, you don't find him attractive at all, not even a bit?"

"NO, absolutely not" Tonks replied vehemently as she shook her head.

Ron could tell that was exactly what Chance wanted to hear.

"So you think he's unattractive, one might even say ugly" he finished as his smirk grew when Tonks tried to backtrack.

"No, that's not what I said, I don't think he's ugly" she said and then faced him "I don't think you're ugly, you're uhh, CUTE. Yeah you're cute, like a puppy or a puffskein"

Ron just wanted the sofa to swallow him whole and he nodded, and hoped that the conversation would end. Professor Sprout must be a mind reader because she put a stop to it and set everybody back on track. The rest of the game was a blur as the other first years finished their turns. He barely paid attention, something he was sure he'd feel guilty for later and could only remember the bare minimum about his peers.

He learned that the curly headed boy was named Justin Finch-Fletchly who was apparently a Muggleborn. He told them that he wanted to learn how to fly more than anything else. The first person to be sorted in his year, Hannah Abbot was a seemingly shy girl who had a new pet owl named Shimmer. Susan Bones was more confident and she told them that she wanted to be an Auror. And Ernie Macmillian who sort of reminded him of Draco in that they both seemed a bit pompous, apparently isn't fond of sweet things. That admission alone had both Chance and Justin in near tears.

That was all that Ron gleaned from the introduction game from the first years, he wouldn't be able to tell anybody anything else about them unless he used his ability, which isn't something he would be willing to do anyway. As the game finally came to an end, the time for the moment of truth. Who would mentor who.

Diego stretched and loudly exclaimed "finally, who's gonna be the lucky first year to have the honor of being under my care." he smiled at them before he was elbowed again by the same girl who did it before, Chiara.

"I think you mean unlucky, ignore him" she said towards the first years "He a little delusional, gets hit in the head lot in Quidditch"

Before they could start bickering Professor Sprout interrupted them "Let's see here, Justin" She said and everybody looked at her "Diego here will be your mentor"

And on it went as she named them "Ernie and Penny, Hannah and Chiara, Susan and.." As she was talking everybody leaned in, whoever she chose now would leave only one pair left. "...Dora".

As soon as she said that Chance stood up and quite loudly cheered "I GOT RONALD, HA," he yelled and pointed at his fellow Seventh years "I WON AND HE'S MINE" he said as he moved over to Ron who was sitting on the sofa quietly watching the spectacle with wide eyes which only got wider at what happened next. Chance pulled him into a hug as he was seated, his face squished against Chance's stomach, and fingers ran through his hair.

"There, there, no need to worry about what would have happened if one of these brutes got hold of you, I got you" He comforted as he quite literally pet Ron.

Ron's face which was red earlier was absolutely blazing now. He was immensely grateful when Professor Sprout interrupted " Mr. Wright, release Ronald at once" and he did, not before he pat Ron on the head a couple of times. Professor Sprout looked exasperated, but not surprised, which must have meant that occurrences like these were not out of the ordinary. That didn't bode well for Ron, who was dazed and unsure of what to do after he was cuddled and petted like a puppy by the person who was supposed to be his mentor for the next school year.

"Please don't make me regret my decision" Professor Sprout asked and then addressed everybody else. "Each and every one of you are valued members of our House, everybody is lucky to get to mentor and be mentored. No matter how it may seem, nobody is disappointed to be mentoring you" she assured the other first years.

The Seventh years must have understood how Chance's outburst would have made the other first years feel and they immediately tried to quell any doubts they might have had.

"Now that should be everything, you will have plenty of time later to get to know each other more but now, I think it's time for bed. I will see you in the morning, please get some rest and be prepared for tomorrow, goodnight" she said as she smiled gently at them and than headed off to her own room.

Ron looked at the older boys and sure enough they rounded up the younger boys and herded them towards the door to the left. The door opened to a hallway that had seven more doors. Three on each side of the Hallway and a seventh at the end. Apparently the Door closest to the common Rooms was the first year's room and the one at the end of the hallway was the seventh years.

Ron, Justin, and Ernie all went into their room, and much like the common room it was rounded and much to his surprise, so were the beds. Placed against the walls around the room and spaced out evenly, two on either side of the room and one at the furthest wall straight ahead. The beds went along with the shape of the room and formed a circle, and their trunks sat in the middle. The boys didn't care what bed they got, they just wanted to go to sleep. Ron dragged his trunk next to the bed in the middle and opened it to get his night clothes. He got undressed with no care to the other boys and got dressed, he opened the curtain that surrounded his bed and got in. It was the softest thing he had ever had the pleasure of laying on. He closed his eyes and felt the excitement of the day, all the nerves he accumulated, the embarrassment he experienced, fade away as he fell asleep.

September 2, 1991 (Hufflepuff Common Room) Early Morning

All Ron could process was warmth and comfort as he lay on what must have been cloud. He blinked his eyes open and looked around and remembered where he was, Hogwarts, he was at Hogwarts. Eyes wide open, he decided to start his day early, and got out of bed. He got dressed into his uniform and rummaged through his trunk for some parchment, a quill, and ink. He got his supplies and headed to the common room. He noticed that there were a few others who were awake but they were quiet and focused on their own tasks so Ron paid them no mind. He found an empty table then sat down, with his supplies spread out before him he began his task and started to write. His family deserved to know about everything that has happened to him so far. He was sure that if he didn't write about it he would get a letter from them demanding to know anyway. So he wrote the letters, one for his parents and Ginny, one for Bill, and one for Charlie.

Just as he finished up the last letter to his brother, he decided to send them today. Breakfast should be soon so he would send them and then go eat. He couldn't wait to eat, if the feast last night was anything to go by, Hogwarts food would be amazing. He was going to eat like a king! His thoughts were interrupted by his growling stomach and he wondered if he would make it to breakfast. He wondered where he could get snacks, he should ask Chance since he loved sweets and all.

"Tickle the Pear" he whispered to himself.

Out of all the things his ability has said, that had to be the single most weird phrase he's ever heard. If he didn't know any better, he'd think he'd gone insane but no that was just his version of normal. He shook his head as he headed out of the Common room and through the tunnel that led to the Hallway.

At the end of the hallway where the staircase was located, he saw the big painting that he took note of yesterday on his way to the dorms for the first time. It was a large painting bigger than he was. But what really got his attention wasn't the size of the painting but what it was of. A big bowl of fruit with a large pear. He stood there for what must have been a solid minute and just stared at the painting.

Is this what his ability meant, to tickle the pear. He was hesitant only because it was so bizarre. He wasn't scared, he knew his ability would never lead him to do something that would end up with him hurt. At the very least, it hadn't yet, so he stared some more and after much deliberation, he decided to do it. He walked up and his hand hovered hesitantly over the painting before he touched it. He did as his minor prophecy guided and tickled the pear, not really knowing what would happen and felt utterly ridiculous as he did it.

He jerked his hand back in surprise when the pear giggled, a puff of green smoke appeared and after it disappeared a handle was in its place. Once again he just stared, he grabbed the handle and slowly opened it. He walked through the door and his jaw dropped at the sight. It was a huge room as big as the Great Hall, all around were house elves as they hurried about while they cooked and cleaned. The five large tables that were in the center were stacked with all sorts of foods, the sight paired with the aromas that wafted over to him had his stomach growling.

He jumped in surprise when a house elf suddenly talked right next to him, he was too distracted by the sight of what could only be the kitchen to notice the small house elf as she approached him.

"Hello Mr. Student sir, what's you be doing in the Kolly get something for you today?" The female house elf, Kolly, asked him very nicely.

He smiled at her before he politely asked for something easy to eat on the go.

"Oh, Kolly gots the perfect thing for young student sir to be eating" She exclaimed as she rushed off. She returned very quickly with a small basket with filled with muffins.

"You's not being allergic to no foods, right young student sir" She asked him before handing him the basket.

He shook his head as the food was given to him and looked at the House elf preened at him. He smiled and bent down on one knee so he could be closer to her in height before he introduced himself.

"My name's Ron Weasley, it's a pleasure to meet you Kolly" he said as he held his hand out to the elf. His mother raised him right, she'd give him a smack if she caught him being anything other than a gentleman to somebody as nice as Kolly.

"Please stop crying, I'm sorry if I upset you" he pleaded.

As he finished speaking all he felt was concerned about whether he was a massive jerk for making someone cry. It didn't take him long to realize that it was Kolly who he would make cry. He looked at her and she stared back at him with wide shiny eyes as her lip wobbled, she stared blankly at his still outstretched hand. He knew she was on the verge of crying and he didn't know what to do.

He saw Kolly look at his hand and then his face but she still just stared. And then she broke out into tears and like he knew he would be, he was at a complete loss at what to do. What made him even more confused was when she started to apologize to him, like it was somehow her fault.

"Hey, it's not your fault, I'm sorry for doing what I did," he said to the weepy house elf, still not entirely sure of what he did in the first place. She shook her head and wiped her tears before she answered him.

"It's not being your fault young student sir" She said and he was not quite convinced since she immediately began to cry again. He was relieved when an older house elf finally decided to intervene, and led the inconsolable Kolly to another house elf to be comforted since he did an abysmal job of it himself. The new elf, which was older and looked to be male started to apologize to him.

"Paddy is sorry for Kolly sir, she's being new to Hogwarts and is unused to the kindness of her residents" He bowed, bowed to him and he was at a loss for words.

"It's okay, um, I'm sorry for uh, triggering her" he said not knowing how to react to the situation but he figured an apology was the least he could do.

He didn't know how to end the very awkward encounter so he figured he'd introduce himself to this new, more stable elf.

"My name's Ron, it's nice to meet you Paddy" he said once again.

The older elf just smiled and gently took his hand.

"Nice to meet you too kind young sir, if you is needing anything else just call Paddy anytime"

He nodded and figured he'd ask, who would know the castle better than a House elf after all.

"So, how would I get to the Owlery from here?"

September 1, 1991 (Great Hall) Morning

He was glad he got directions and advice from Paddy, the older elf was all too happy to help. He was also saved from wandering the halls and getting lost. After he sent his letters he called Paddy who popped into the owlery with a crack, he got more directions from the elf who also took the basket with him back to the kitchen and he went to the Great Hall.

He was in the corridor leading to the Great Hall when two hands landed on his shoulders. He jumped and his head turned to see who did it and wasn't surprised at all when he saw the twins, both had looks of mock hurt before they started to talk.

"Dearest baby brother, oh how you've betrayed us" Fred said

"To think that a Badger lived among us Lions all this time, how our hearts cry" George continued and proceeded to wipe imaginary tears from his eyes.

He didn't know how to deal with the twins so he just did what came naturally and he apologized

"Sorry?" he asked more than said

Before the twins could reply a familiar voice behind him startled him and all three of them turned to see the person who joined them. It was none other than Chance, his new mentor.

" Are these people bothering you cub"

" These people he says" Fred said laughed "We're his brother's"

"… wait Cub?" Ron asked confused and ignored his brothers as he tried to understand Chance's thought process.

"Baby badgers are called cubs and you're like my baby now since I'm your mentor" Chance said as he ruffled his hair. He dragged Ron away from his brothers and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. While he not so subtly glared at the twins who not so subtly glared at Chance right back.

" Chauncey Wright, so you're our little brother's puff pal huh" George said

" Honestly Ronnie you could do better," Fred added as he looked at Ron, who was still being held by Chance.

Chance looked amused.

"I would be offended if I cared about what you think of me but as it so happens, I don't" he said and looked at his nails in disinterest before he lead Ron into the Great Hall " Come on Ronnie lets go get some breakfast and leave them to…" he paused as he looked both of them over "Whatever it is they were doing"

Ron wavered as they left and looked back at his brothers who looked less than pleased. He knew they would get back at him or more likely Chance. He tried to warn him about his crafty brothers and their pranks but Chance seemed unconcerned.

"Don't worry about me Cub, I'm tougher than I look. Just worry about being the best little Hufflepuff you can be" he finished and tapped his finger against Ron's nose a couple of times.

He nodded and decided to trust his mentor, more than willing to let someone else deal with the twins. He sat down at the Hufflepuff table and began to immediately pile food on his plate. The food was just as good as last night and he couldn't help but stuff his face. And that's how breakfast went, he ate, talked to his fellow Hufflepuffs, snuck glances at the Gryffindor table, and laughed at the antics of his peers.

After breakfast was finished, all the food disappeared from the table and Professor Sprout stood at the head of the table. She passed out the schedules and gave them a moment to look over them. Chance immediately took his schedule and got out a parchment and began to write. Once he was done he gave Ron his schedule back and the piece of parchment

"I don't want to hear about you getting lost okay, and if these aren't enough just ask any portraits nicely and they should be willing to help you "

Ron looked at the piece of paper and saw that it was directions, to and from all of his classes. The other first years saw what happened and crowded around Ron in amazement and asked him for help to find their classes as well. He smiled at Chance and ran up to him and hugged him. Ron figured that he wouldn't mind, he seemed to be very tactile.

"Thank you so much! Maybe you're not as bad as I first thought" he said and quickly realized how rude that must have sounded but before he could apologize Chance laughed.

"I did make a horrible first impression didn't I" he said as he hugged Ron back. "I can be a bit much sometimes"

When the hug was done he left for the Gryffindor table to see Harry, after he promised the other First years that he wouldn't leave without them. As he got to the table he was intercepted by Percy who congratulated him on his sorting

"Hufflepuff is a very noble house, I was honestly not very surprised but I am very proud. You're going to do great things Ronnie, of that I'm certain" he said and immediately dismissed himself as he fixed his Prefect badge, when some boys began to rough house at the Gryffindor table.

Ron watched as his brother left and then he saw Harry. He made his way over to him and greeted him. They talked for a bit about the sorting and the feast but the topic changed to their upcoming classes. Ron had transfiguration and Harry had potions.

"What if I make a fool of myself? I'm so new to this world and everything" Harry said as he fiddled with his schedule with eyes downcast.

Ron knew that Harry didn't think very highly of himself and that was something he wanted to change. He looked at his new friend and tried to cheer him up.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Professor Snape is known to be strict but if you behave and try your best I'm sure you'll be fine." he assured Harry

Harry nodded and smiled and they both looked surprised when Ron had a minor Prophecy

" Draught of Living Death, the stomach of a goat, and they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite."

Harry looked confused but then his face lit up " Was that a Prophecy" he whispered like it was some big secret that Ron was a Seer. He appreciated the sentiment and decided to humor Harry.

"Yeah, a minor one" he whispered back.

Harry's eyes sparkled and he grabbed a yellow wooden stick out of his pocket that had a gray pointed tip and began to write on the back of his schedule. He wrote it out word for word and Ron was impressed by his memory. After he was done he hugged it to his chest and smiled at Ron. Then they exchanged some parting words with promises to meet up at lunch and left to go to their housemates and finally head to class. He barely managed to avoid the twins on his way to the others and joined the group of Hufflepuffs who were waiting for him. He was naturally put in the front with the directions in hand and began to lead them to their first class.

AUTHORS NOTES: It's finally here, Chapter 7, sorry for the long wait. So... Chance is a bad bitch confirmed just though y'all should know. Reviews inspire me. And Tonks is a Seventh year in this, She's only like a year younger than she was supposed to be. I have my reasons for this that I can't share because spoilers. I just wanted to clear up any confusion, so far she is the only person's who's age I changed. Thanks for reading, hope to see you next time!