Notes: (1) English is not my first language so if you see any grammatical errors during this story I sincerely apologize.
(2) I'm a student which means that I won't always have time to post chapters on a regular basis or fully dive into this story as much as I would want to.
(3) Ron Weasley is my favorite character. This story revolves around him, many of his antagonizers are fairly popular in the HP community so if you don't want to see your favorite characters (Draco, Snape, Bellatrix, etc...) in a bad light this story is not for you. They were written as bullies in the original work so they'll be written as bullies in this story.
(4) I'm not a romance writer, as such I have not polished the romantic side to this story. If it comes off as forced, cringey and/or cheesy I'm sorry.
(5) There is a major difference in this Universe. Mainly Cedric Diggory's survival after the Third Task. Because of this some elements of the original story will change. But don't worry they won't be major changes, just an aspect or two of the original story.
The world of Harry Potter and its characters belong to JKR. I do not support JKR. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Trans people are people.
*italicized/bolded text is straight from the books*
Chapter 1: The Arrival
An afternoon that was none too quiet, but none too loud was interrupted in the Headmaster's Office in Hogwarts by the Sorting Hat of all things. Dumbledore was sitting on his chair reading the new Daily Prophet article calling Harry and the Cedric Diggory boy liars, this had been going on for most of the summer. He was doing his best to speak in Harry's name and deny the accusations against him, the public had even toyed with his name and started calling him the Boy Who Lied, and Fudge was doing his best to drag his name through the mud as a dishonest person who dared to lie about Voldemort's return, Dumbledore could understand Cornelius' desire to not raise any panic amongst the public, but the amount of ignorance he was displaying was quite irritating if Dumbledore were to be honest. Amos Diggory had prohibited Cedric from speaking about what happened in the graveyard to any sort of media, after seeing the public's response to Harry he feared what they could say about his own son, but it had been too late Cedric had already spoken out about Voldemort's return and the fact that it was proven he was tortured with the Cruciatus Curse did not excuse him from being slandered by the public. The Headmaster was lost in his thoughts, trying to find a way to appease the public and make Cornelius realize how wrong he was, when the Sorting Hat suddenly started speaking.
"Oh joyous, joyous year!" it exclaimed merrily. "For it seems the first ones are to come back."
Dumbledore smirked and looked curiously at the Hat, it was rare for the Hat to speak without a wearer and even more so to speak in ways the Headmaster did not understand.
"And why," asked Dumbledore. "If I may ask, is it such a joyous year my old friend?" Many people would argue about Dumbledore's definition of 'friend' however it would seem that for the Headmaster all it would take is for a Hat to be able to talk.
"This is the year, Headmaster." said the Sorting Hat. "The year where the four Houses shall decide which among them will stand out."
"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked calmly. "Who are the first ones, and why are they coming to Hogwarts?"
The Sorting Hat smirked at Dumbledore, who was becoming less calm about that afternoon's whole interaction. The Sorting Hat started speaking in his usual deep voice. "A thousand years ago, a dispute between the four founders of the school occurred, these were Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin and Helga Hufflepuff. The four had gone five years arguing about who was the better mentor to their students, they decided that the best way to settle their differences was in a tournament, where the truest and best student of their House would participate for a chance to show which house taught the best students. However, none of the students during their time showed themselves as an adequate representative of their House. Lost on what to do, the four sought help, and finally they found it. A Seer, the most renowned of their time, and with him a prophecy as well. In exactly a thousand years all of the true Heirs of each House shall be ready to participate. The thousand years have passed and it is time for the tournament to begin. And for the first to return."
Dumbledore looked stunned by the Hat's explanation. The first thing that concerned Dumbledore was the identity of Slytherin's best student, he knew for sure that Tom was Slytherin's Heir, but that could not be possible, he would not permit Tom to enter Hogwarts as long as he was there. The second thing was the tournament itself. A tournament was not a good idea after what happened last year. But the more he thought about it the idea of it was slowly beginning to sound better and better. With another tournament like the last one Dumbledore had the perfect excuse to bring some of the members of the Order to Hogwarts to keep a better eye on Harry. With Kingsley or Alastor here, maybe Tonks or Arthur might be able to investigate things back at the Ministry. Then, the last words the Hat had spoken out loud had suddenly registered in Dumbledore's head.
"What do you mean by 'come back'?" asked Dumbledore. The Sorting Hat winked at Dumbledore, he picked up the battered old hat and from inside came four stones.
"With these the first shall come back for their Heirs." Dumbledore picked up the first stone, it was a diamond, it had a smell of earth, honey and home. It was surrounded by a grimy black substance that looked like dust, but no matter how much Dumbledore tried cleaning the dust off it, the dirt stayed put. It felt a light hot to the touch enough to heat his entire body in a comfortable warmth.
Dumbledore put the stone on his desk and picked up a different one, a sapphire covered by a bronze frame, Dumbledore looked into it and saw the Hogwarts library, then the Ravenclaw tower, along with any other place inside Hogwarts' grounds that Dumbledore thought of.
The next stone was an emerald, it had a silver frame, it became almost liquid like under Dumbledore's grasp, yet it never turned into a full liquid. From the stone Dumbledore could hear things, his desire, his fears, his dreams and his nightmares, all that could ever be inside Dumbledore's heart laid on display for the stone.
The last stone was a ruby with a golden frame, it glowed in Dumbledore's hand. It felt hot and warm and Dumbledore was suddenly filled with a feeling of courage and fearlessness. Dumbledore laid the last stone among the others and as he did it they all started glowing. There was a blinding light that showered every inch of Dumbledore's office. The Headmaster had to cover his eyes, and when the light died down in front of him were the Four Founders of Hogwarts.
The Four Ancient Wizards had an expression on their face that looked as if they had been away from home a long time.
A man with a long mane of red hair that was swept back except for a few hairs that fell on the front of his forehead approached Dumbledore first. He extended his hand at Dumbledore who looked surprised by the whole ordeal. "Greetings, Headmaster," the red-haired man said in a deep voice with an old English accent. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Godric Gryffindor, former Head of the Gryffindor House." Dumbledore chuckled at the nonchalance the old wizard had. His beard was well tamed yet wild and his blue eyes would most probably pierce anywhere they gazed into.
"Oh my- Seriously Godric?!" said a witch in a slight Scottish accent. Her hair was wavy and black that was tied back in a knot behind her head, she had dark eyes that seemed to captivate Gryffindor immediately. "Four unknown wizards just pop out of stones and the first thing you do is introduce yourself?! Sometimes I forget how thick you are." She added the last part talking to herself.
Whatever charm the witch had on Godric was seemingly broken as he turned to look at Dumbledore. "I'm sorry Rowena, didn't mean to, my dear." Gryffindor said, not looking the least bit apologetic. "Hello, Headmaster Dumbledore, do not be alarmed we are not here to harm you, for you see we are-"
"The Founders of Hogwarts, yes." said Dumbledore in a serene and calm voice with a bit of amusement that showed in his twinkling eyes.
Godric looked at Dumbledore and saw his expression, he stood up straight, his ears and cheeks going red from embarrassment. Rowena and the other witch were quietly chuckling behind his back and the other wizard looked mildly amused "Well… yes… I suppose we are… But what you may not know is that-"
"The Tournament? I know of that too." interjected Dumbledore, while he added a chuckle.
Gryffindor looked at the Headmaster before his attention drifted to the Sorting Hat by Dumbledore's desk. "Oh! You sneaky little-"
"Godric, language!" Ravenclaw chastised. Gryffindor let out a hard laugh at Ravenclaw's scolding. "I apologize, Headmaster," Ravenclaw bowed in an attempt to apologize.
"No need for that Lady Ravenclaw," said Dumbledore. "I am honored to be in the presence of the people that built the place that I hold dearly in my heart." Dumbledore bowed before the four wizards in a form of respect.
"Hello," said a plump witch that reminded him a lot of Mrs. Weasley. Her brown hair was let loose across her shoulders, her hands looked rough and calloused, it looked like she often worked with them. "I am Lady Helga Hufflepuff, it is truly a pleasure to meet you Headmaster, we are truly excited to accompany you this year for the Tournament." she extended her hand towards Dumbledore who gently took it and bowed before her. "Oh none of that nonsense, I may be nobility, but that does not make me better than anyone else."
"Actually Helga," the final wizard in the room, who Dumbledore guessed was a younger version of the Salazar Slytherin everyone knew, spoke looking at the Headmaster with an unreadable expression. "It does make you better than anyone else, if not then what's the point of being called a noble and being no different in the slightest." He had grey eyes with a hint of green, his long hair was black as a raven and he wore it in a ponytail.
Dumbledore felt slightly tensed at the presence of a known Ancient Dark Wizard, one who was almost responsible for the death of some of his students almost three years ago. The wizard seemed to read his expression, but didn't seem to be able to figure out what Dumbledore's expression was telling him. "Well, if you'd allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Salazar Slytherin, the former Head of the proud Slytherin House." He bowed and Dumbledore felt quite obligated to bow before him. Slytherin looked no different from what Dumbledore would expect. The Dark Wizard had charming grey eyes with a hint of green, he had long black hair that he wore with a ponytail, and ,if Dumbledore was being honest, a handsome expression that although held the same mysterious nature as his descendant resembled nothing in the physical aspect.
"Well," said Dumbledore sitting behind his desk. "It seems there is a lot we must discuss."
Severus Snape was having an ordinary day, classes were starting in a month or so. He could care less, teaching a bunch of insufferable brats and dunderheads was not his idea of a pleasant occupation. He was reading the Daily Prophet's new article about surrounding Potter. Surely if they weren't bad-mouthing him he'd probably be basking in his new found attention, what else could he expect from James Potter's son. His train of thought regarding his old school rival was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking at his door.
When Snape opened the door he was greeted by the sight of Dumbledore, who was being accompanied by a wizard who looked no older than the Potions' master himself. His hair looked similar to his own, except for the greasiness and the wizard wore it in an updo hairstyle that reminded him a lot of Lucius Malfoy.
"Severus," said Dumbledore cheerily. "I must say it looks to be a nice evening, doesn't it?"
"Certainly Headmaster." said Snape, his eyes rolling at Dumbledore's usually cheerful self. "How may I assist you today?"
"Sit down, Severus. There is someone I'd like to introduce to you." He stood aside and the unknown wizard stood face to face with Snape. His aura was extremely familiar, yet Snape couldn't pinpoint the reason. "This is Lord Salazar Slytherin," the Potions Master's eyes almost bulged out of their eye sockets. Snape tried using Legilimency on Dumbledore, but failed to see the dishonesty on his being, he turned to the supposed 'Founder' of his House just to be unable to even approach his Occlumency shields. "I assure you Severus that this is the real Salazar Slytherin."
"I hope you understand Headmaster, I find that hard to believe." said Snape.
"Professor Severus Snape," said the supposed 'Salazar Slytherin' to Snape. He walked towards with a certain elegance that reminded Snape a lot of Lucius Malfoy. "Born to Tobias Snape and Eileen Prince on January 9th, 1960. You joined my House on September 1st, 1971, Godric's hat luckily sorted you into Slytherin. You became the youngest Potions' Master in recorded history. And you started teaching in 1981." He finished with a smug smile on his face.
"Marvelous, you managed to recite public knowledge without stuttering. Am I supposed to be impressed?" asked Snape, not hiding the annoyance in his voice.
'Salazar' simply rolled his eyes. "I don't know, why don't you tell me..? Half-Blood Prince." He finished with the same smugness he previously showed.
Snape's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. He checked his Occlumency shields, but it didn't make sense to do so as he felt no presence trying to barge through his mind. "How- how did-"
"I know everything that happens inside that castle… Every spell casted, every curse , every potion… every slur." Salazar's eyes suddenly glowed red. And a sudden memory put itself in the front of Snape's mind, he felt his body being moved on its own and his navel being pulled, it felt like using a Portkey for the first time.
Then, he was in Hogwarts, but it looked wrong. It took Snape a couple of seconds to realize that he was upside down, and right in front of him looking as arrogant as he remembered was James Potter. The sight of his former nemesis and rival initially startled Snape before he realised where exactly he was, his own mind. He was teasing him as always and he felt the very familiar, yet distant, feeling of embarrassment. Snape knew this was one of his memories, yet that didn't take away from the fact that he felt like a child all over again, with Potter and his goons constantly picking on him. If he could only get his wand, he could just wipe that arrogant smile off his face. After a few seconds she made her appearance.
Her hair was as red and fiery as he remembered, her green eyes as glowing as she approached Potter, with what used to be a passionate disliking, that would later turn into something that Snape so badly wanted directed to him. He sometimes wondered when everything truly turned upside down. When that disgust, anger and fury that Lily so often reserved for Potter was now directed at him, when the care and fondness that he used to see for him when they studied for Potions in the library belonged to Potter now.
Her eyes. It was those same eyes that he missed so much. Those eyes that he last saw were lifeless and similar to a void, their vibrant green now gone replaced by a look of agony and despair, but not for herself, of that Snape was sure. And those eyes that he could now only see in the spawn of Potter. Snape realized that he wasn't paying attention to Lily and Potter and what was happening before him. Potter made his usual attempt at asking Lily on a date, while she made her former remarks of clear disgust towards him.
And then realization hit him and he heard Potter utter the words that condemned the best thing he had about his life.
"There you go, you're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus —"
He said them the same way he recalled, with his arrogance and pity towards him. All because Lily had made him. Then, he felt something coming from the back of his throat, and Snape knew what it was; he could taste the words that ended him. The words that truly separated Severus Snape from the thing he loves most, he tried shutting them down, keeping his mouth shut and when his lips pried opened by their own volition he slapped his hand onto his mouth. It was like being under the Imperius Curse, he had no control over his action, he could only witness his own stupidity take away his only source of happiness.
"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"
He said it. And the regret, the guilt, the self-loathing, that he first felt when he said those words all those years ago, came rushing back in an unrelenting barrage of emotions. He saw Lily's eyes boring into his own, now no longer filled with her care, but with hate and hurt. And Snape could only watch her walking away from him once more. The pain was somehow worse than the first time.
'Enough!' he shouted mentally. And he was pulled back to reality. He could feel Salazar Slytherin staring at him with a mixture of pity and annoyance, Snape wasn't completely ready to look him back in the eyes. Dumbledore was looking between the two of them in worry.
"I believe you." Snape said looking in disdain at Slytherin. "Are you satisfied?" Slytherin looked at him for a few moments, his gaze not condescending but pitying.
"Believe it or not, no," the ancient wizard said. "I wonder now if you truly belong in my House…" Snape took that as an insult before finally setting his eyes on Slytherin's own grey eyes. They were looking pensively at Snape and from his simple gaze he could make out a sense of mild admiration infused with pity and estrangement. "You are certainly a brave man, but that ambition overrides all the sacrifice."
Salazar seemed to be lost in thought now, his neutral look that showed nothing now gone being replaced by a melancholic look that showed signs of pain and hurt. He broke from his momentary trance and looked at Snape in the eyes. "It is an honor for my House to be represented by a man of your skill." And Salazar surprised Snape by bowing before him. "I myself earned my Potions mastery at the age of sixteen, but achieving mastery at Potions at twenty years old is equally respectable." He had once again a smug tone in his voice, but Snape was no longer feeling annoyed by his tone.
"I suppose that's the closest I'll get to a compliment?" asked Snape.
"Yes," Salazar responded in a comically quick way.
"Well it seems my stay is no longer needed," Dumbledore suddenly spoke up. Ever since their interaction he had almost become invisible to the two Slytherins. "Severus I brought Lord Slytherin so you may prepare him for his introduction at the start of the term, I'm sure Lord Slytherin would appreciate your company far more than mine," Dumbledore's twinkling eyes told the Headmaster that it was Slytherin's company that unnerved Dumbledore and not the other way. "I shall make my way out, good day Severus, Lord Slytherin." He bowed before the latter, who paid no attention to the Headmaster. Dumbledore went out of the house, and both wizards could hear the recognizable sound of a Disapparation outside the door. Silence enveloped Snape's home as both wizards studied each other, their clothing, their posture, their wands, anything that could tell them something about the other person was of importance to the two of them.
"He is the most powerful wizard since Merlin," said Snape, breaking the silence. "I could even argue he is more powerful than you, Lord Slytherin. I would think the Head of my own House would be more cautious around someone with the power of Dumbledore."
"He most probably is," said Salazar. "However, he reminds me a lot of Rowena and Helga to be honest." Snape arched an eyebrow, as he thought that if anything Dumbledore would have reminded him of Godric Gryffindor. "Oh please, as if that man could ever remind me of someone like Godric." Snape's eyes momentarily bulged out of their eye sockets before realizing he was using Legilimency.
"If anything he is the exact opposite, the current Headmaster is most likely to avoid conflict if possible. Godric would jump at any chance of being involved in a fight. Rowena however, would sit back, observe the battle, weigh her options and strike when needed. Helga on the other hand, would try using the stupi-" he stopped himself when he saw the incredulous look on Snape's face. "The peaceful method. Mediation and the sort."
"Noble," said Snape in response with an exasperated tone that made it sound as if he'd heard something similar before.
"But stupid" both of them said at the same time. A smirk appeared on both of their faces, however one could barely call Snape's gesture a smirk. It more resembled a sneer.
"Brilliant minds think alike," said Salazar.
"So it would seem."
"Ron's prefect, not me," Ron heard Harry say.
He wasn't really sure those words had left Harry's mouth though, since he was staring at Hermione, who had just barged in announcing her new position as prefect. She understandably thought that Harry had been the one chosen as prefect as he was holding the prefect badge between his fingers. That didn't change the fact that as soon as Harry broke the news that she was to be stuck with him for all of his prefect patrols, Hermione's face changed from a sort of joyous awe to shock and surprise.
Could Ron really blame her though? He himself had been surprised by the outcome. He never truly expected for Dumbledore to choose Ron instead of Harry, he had ignored the twins teasing because to a point they were right, they were also the most mocking git brothers someone could have, but they were correct gits nonetheless. Harry won the Triwizard Tournament along with Cedric last year. He won the Quidditch Cup the year before that. He faced You-Know-Who three times and survived, how many people could say that? Still, Hermione could have done a better job of hiding her disappointment.
"Ron?" and Ron could see her jaw dropping. "But… are you sure? I mean-" Ron could see her turning red. Clearly out of embarrassment from being wrong and not from assuming Ron couldn't get the prefect badge. Ron would've normally said something, but he remained quiet instead of stating the obvious, like how his letter informed him of getting the prefect badge.
"I…" said Hermione, looking thoroughly bewildered. "I… well… wow! Well done, Ron! That's really-"
"Unexpected," said George, nodding exactly at the same time as Ron said in a calm voice "Unexpected?"
Fred and George's smirks fell off their faces. Harry's eyebrows were raised as he watched Ron attentively and Hermione looked like she had no words to say. She shook her head as if she needed to recover from Ron's blunt statement.
"No," said Hermione, blushing harder than ever, "no it's not… Ron's done loads of… he's really…"
The door behind her opened a little wider and Mrs. Weasley backed into the room carrying a pile of freshly laundered robes.
Mrs. Weasley was talking about something related to laundry and pajamas that Ron wasn't really paying attention to. His eyes were kept firmly on Hermione, who was looking everywhere but him. She'd looked extremely relieved when his mother had come in and she no longer had any reason to point out any reason Ron might've been chosen as prefect. He had stared far too long at Hermione and hadn't listened to a word his mother as she apparently had asked him a question. Fortunately, or unfortunately as some might see it, George had decided to answer for him.
"Get him red and gold to match his badge," said George, smirking.
"Match his what?" said Mrs. Weasley absently, rolling up a pair of maroon socks and placing them on Ron's pile.
"His badge," said Fred, with the air of getting the worst over quickly. "His lovely shiny new prefect's badge."
Fred's words took a moment to penetrate Mrs. Weasley's preoccupation with pajamas.
"His… but… Ron, you're not…?"
Now Ron would've just held up his badge, and gotten his mother peppering over with, but something inside him sort of snapped. At least that's how it felt, like something had been holding down his true feelings for far too long. Like there was no anger, no shouting, no insult or action that could possibly calm down the complete dejection he felt at that moment. His own mother didn't believe he could become a prefect, his brothers mocked him for it, and his best friend, the girl he fancied, thought the mere idea of him as prefect unbelievable.
"No," he said simply. And he put his hands inside his pockets and hid the prefect badge in them. The moment the answer came out of his mouth the other people in the room who had heard the news were completely shocked. The twins looked at Ron as if he was mad, Harry's eyebrows which were already raised disappeared behind the fringe of his hair, and Hermione blinked rapidly as if she had misheard it and gave Ron a questioning look. "The twins are just taking the mickey." His voice sounded so unlike himself it momentarily scared everyone in the room.
Mrs. Weasley's face which had lifted at the news suddenly deflated, before she gave Ron a warm smile. "Don't worry dear," she said in a motherly tone. "I'm sure you'll get it next year, you just have to make a good impression." She grabbed Ron's shoulder and squeezed it as if to comfort him. Ron thought it looked as if she was trying to comfort herself. She finished folding the laundry, picked up the basket, and left the room, leaving Ron with a group of open-mouthed people.
"What do you mean you weren't chosen as prefect?!" Hermione shrieked, her voice was full of anger and indignation, but Ron could also make out a hint of sadness? Disappointment?
'But why?' Ron thought to himself. 'Why would she be sad?'
Ron took out his prefect badge from inside his pocket. He looked at it, but not in the same way he did before where he tried making sense of whether it was real or not. This time it was almost a questioning look, questioning truly if he was the appropriate person to be the Gryffindor Prefect along with Hermione. She was Hermione, would she expect anything other than perfection? Would she accept him even if she didn't?
"Look," said Ron trying to maintain his composure in front of the twins.
'That's the last thing I need don't I?' he asked himself mentally. 'For the twins to see me crying, just so they can call me a bloody pansy or something.'
"I'll send McGonagall a letter telling her I won't accept the position."
"WHAT?!" every single person practically yelled.
"Why would you do that, Ron?" asked Harry.
"I think Dumbledore has been Imperiused." He said with a bit of humor in his voice as if to try to appease the situation, but no one laughed in fact if there was an opposite of laughter Ron thought it might have been the tension in that room. "Well, I suppose that wasn't my best material, but I didn't expect only the crickets to respond."
"What do you mean Dumbledore's been Imperiused?" Hermione asked, ignoring Ron's bad attempt at a joke.
"Well clearly he isn't sane enough," he said as if discussing the weather. "And I don't think he has completely gone off his rocker yet, so I think perhaps a Death Eater might've Imperiused him." There was a pause where everyone looked at Ron as if he was crazy. "After all... No one in their right mind would ever choose me as prefect." He said the last part with the same voice he used when he told his mother the twins were lying about his badge, so unlike himself it scared Hermione. He looked at his brothers whose eyes, as soon as they heard him, widened even Harry looked ashamed of himself. Before Hermione could ask what he meant he threw the prefect badge onto his table, it made a hard clink sound and Ron immediately headed for the door. He was immediately stopped by Fred and George who put themselves in front of the door.
"Look, Ron," said Fred, and he didn't know what to say. He was sputtering and looking as if he couldn't find any words to convince his brother.
"We're sorry alright." said George, tired of his twin failing at accomplishing the simplest way to appease Ron.
"Blimey, you'd think he'd know we were jokin-" continued Fred.
"That's not true," interrupted Ron. And the twins were reminded of how much taller their little brother was, as he simply stretched out his arm over their heads and tried grabbing the knob.
"Of course we are!" said George indignantly, he grabbed Ron's arm and stilled it. Fred grabbed his other arm and stood still to stop him from trying the same thing with it. "It was just a jo-"
"You're not sorry." And Ron said it so simply, so coolly that their brothers had to look him in the eye. They saw hurt and dejection, they knew they were the cause, and guilt settled over them. "You'll apologize now, but when I'm making rounds and I catch you sneaking into the kitchens for a quick snack or to the Common Room of another House to play one of your pranks, you'll be calling me a prat and comparing me to Percy if I deduct points from you. And if I don't Hermione will probably nag me and tell me how much of a bad prefect I am. That is if she can even point out how much of a good prefect I'd be." Ron looked at Hermione expectantly, it took her a second to realize that Ron had actually wanted Hermione to say something, but it was too late. "See! And in both of those situations Harry will just be looking and saying nothing, just like he's doing now." Harry was too stunned to say something, he desperately wanted to, but it seemed as if his mouth stopped working. Ron kept looking at Harry before grabbing his prefect badge, and heading out the door.
'I'll throw this bloody thing into the garbage.' he thought to himself. 'Me, prefect? Ha! As if.'
He kept looking down at his prefect badge when he ran into his mother. His badge fell onto the floor and made a loud sound like a Galleon hitting wood. Mrs. Weasley took a look at it, and for once Ron took a good look at his mother. She looked so expectant, so excited, so unlike how she had been since… Percy. Ron would be lying if he said that Percy hadn't tainted his image of prefects slightly. He knew it shouldn't, Bill had been a prefect, and so had Charlie, they both turned out cool, but the way Percy had screamed at his own father, the way he made his Mum cry. Ron didn't want to be the cause of that. But as he saw his mother, he realized he had to make a choice.
"Turns out I was wrong," he said as he picked it up, he held it for his mother to see. Ron scratched the back of his neck and looked anywhere but at his mother. "It was inside my letter, must've missed it."
There was a moment where Ron thought his mother would scream his ear off for obviously lying to her. He was expecting the rest of his stay at Grimmauld Place to be filled with cleaning the blasted place. Instead his mother shrieked very loudly, just like Hermione when she had barged to announce she was prefect.
"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That's everyone in the family! Wait until your father hears! Ron, I'm so proud of you, what wonderful news, you could end up Head Boy just like Bill and Percy, it's the first step! Oh, what a thing to happen in the middle of all this worry, I'm just thrilled, oh, Ronnie —"
Molly had Ron tight around his neck, she was peppering kisses all over his face. Ron was sure his whole face was blushing scarlet.
"Mum… don't… Mum, get a grip…" he muttered, trying to push her away.
She let go of him and said breathlessly, "Well, what will it be? We gave Percy an owl, but you've already got one, of course."
Ron felt immediately guilty, he had basically deceived his own mother for his own selfish reasons. Now she was offering him a gift, for something he didn't even feel good enough for. "That's nonsense Ron, how about a nice new set of dress robes." she'd told him when he refused to accept a gift. Molly went on to list everything that Ron could want as a gift, a new cauldron, a new rat perhaps as she thought he might miss Scabbers.
'Like I'd ever miss that traitor' Ron thought to himself.
After several attempts of dismissing her he settled on a broom, not an expensive one just something for his keeper tryouts. Ron settled on a Cleansweep Eleven, Molly told Ron she'd informed Arthur and that she'd made sure he and Hermione were properly celebrated for their achievement, she left for Diagon Alley leaving Ron alone.
Ron looked down at his prefect badge. He put the badge back in his pocket begrudgingly, he made his way up to his room. Harry was the only one left inside their room. When Harry looked up he looked cautiously at Ron, he met Harry with a slight smile, Harry thankfully smiled back.
"I'm sorry, mate," said Ron, he truly was, he didn't want to blame Harry, he was probably just as surprised as Ron was. "I shouldn't have blamed you. It's not your fault Fred and George can be gits."
"No," Harry said quite firmly. "You were right, whenever Fred and George make fun of you, I never try to correct them or tell them wrong. I just assume their insults don't affect you." Harry had an expression of guilt that Ron presumed looked like his own after last year's First Task.
"Harry-"
"No! Listen!" said Harry. "You're my best friend, you gave me a family when I didn't have one. You always tell off Malfoy or Snape whenever they mess with Hermione or me, I should do the same even when it comes from your own brothers."
"Thanks, mate," And Ron felt his mood uplift. "You're my best friend too." Ron approached his bed, Harry stood up and they both embraced in a brotherly hug.
"So," said Harry disembracing himself from Ron. "Are you really not going to accept the prefect badge?" There was a tone of disappointment from Harry as if he truly wanted Ron to be prefect.
"I'm keeping it," said Ron. "Mom saw it. Haven't seen her this happy since…" Ron trailed off, the mention of Percy could only sour the mood nowadays. There was a moment of silence where Harry looked as if he wanted to comfort Ron, and Harry truly did, but he reckoned that Ron would probably prefer to be alone now.
"I have to go," he said. "I want to see if I can eavesdrop on the Order's meeting."
Harry left, leaving Ron once again alone. He sat down on his bed and pulled out the badge. He settled down and held the badge in front of him, he looked at the P superimposed on the Gryffindor Lion. He thought back to his first year at the sorting.
He remembers how relieved he felt when he didn't actually have to fight a troll to get sorted. A new fear however had imprinted itself on his 11-year old self, fear of not being sorted into Gryffindor, his childlike imagination had created a thousand outcomes involving being sorted into any other House. Perhaps if he had been sorted into Ravenclaw, the twins would've called him a know-it-all prat throughout his whole first year, or if he'd gone to Hufflepuff and Harry had decided not to be friends with a 'duffer', or maybe he'd be sent to Slytherin and be disowned by his own family.
Then came the second wave of relief when just a few seconds after the Sorting Hat had been set on his head he was sent to Gryffindor. The words the Hat had told him were still stuck on his head to this day.
"Oh you're an interesting one," it said.
To this day Ron still sought the meaning of its words. Sometimes he would think, that everyone's interesting to it, it's a bloody hat.
Ron's train of thought was broken when he heard the door open.
"Harry," said a soft female voice that Ron could recognize anywhere. "Mrs. Weasley will be throwing a party, you should probably get rea-"
By the doorway was Hermione Granger.
