Ron could smell it before he even stepped a toe into the DADA classroom. It was an incredibly foul smell that he could akin to spoiled milk and gnomes. He immediately brought up his cloak to cover his nose. He was just glad he wore his cloak, everyone else seemed happy to go without it but he'd been cold lately.

"Do you smell that?" Ron asked.

Harry turned to him puzzled "no? What's it smell like?" he asked. Ron wrinkled his nose trying not to breathe in.

"That, Mr. Weasley, is our topic of class today. Sorry for the smell but some creatures we study in defense tend to be a bit rank to the well-trained nose" Professor Lupin explained.

"Professor, can vampires track invisible creatures too?" Padma asked curiously.

"Yes, they can smell its presence. A vampire scent is as good as their eyesight" Remus responded with glancing to Ron who nodded.

"What about polyjuice potion?" Harry asked and Ron turned to him.

"Ah that's where it's tricky, someone a vampire has never met before and therefore has no basis scent for they wouldn't make a difference in defining if someone is polyjuiced" Remus replied.

"But if they knew them? And what dark curses?" Neville asked hesitantly.

"I wouldn't mistake Harry or Hermione's scent for another" Ron replied and that was that. It was true since he was recently blending scent with sight in his mind for his friends. Harry Potter, a short scruffy haired boy with glasses, the scent of smoke and pine-scented shampoo. Hermione, a beautiful puffy haired goddess with a minty fresh scent and dusty books.

"There you are and I'm unable to say if they could tell if someone were imperiused or not. Now let's start class" Professor Lupin explained. They eventually were half circled around a wobbling dresser.

Ron kept his cloak up to filter the scent since it was quite nauseating. Hermione held up her handkerchief and he flushed taking it to place over his nose instead. "Thanks" he whispered, it was much better to focus on Hermione's smell instead of the overpowering stench of the creature.

"Now who can tell me what this is?" Lupin asked gesturing to the dresser.

Of course, Hermione is able to answer before any of them can. It was a boggart that took the form of something one fears most. Ron immediately hated this creature, preparing himself for a gigantic spider.

They lined up, Lupin let them go off on their own casting the spell ridikulous as each person's fear stared them straight in the eye. Ron stepped up waiting to see his 8 legged friends but when it transformed it was short and smaller. The mist dissipated and a copy of himself stood before him.

Ron's heart stopped and felt as if he'd been plunged into ice water, its eyes glowed red with red running down his mouth and dripping from his claws. "R-ridikulus" he said but he couldn't imagine anything funny so it didn't work.

Hermione stepped in front of him and the boggart dissolved into a large piece of paper with a big T on it for Troll. He stifled a smile as if that would ever happen to the brilliant and grade paranoid Hermione Granger.

She dissipated it into confetti and turned to him with wide eyes. He shook his head "later" he whispered and they went through class until the end. Harry, unfortunately, didn't get his turn to go.

"Mr. Weasley, could you see me for a moment?" Professor Lupin said. Ron nodded glancing at Harry and Hermione.

"We'll meet you in the common room," Hermione said.

"Alright" he said. They sat in Lupin's office with a few interesting objects around.

"I take it you were caught off guard by the form the boggart took" the Professor mentioned.

"Yes sir," he said rubbing his right shoulder, he was feeling cold from the encounter. He felt as if he'd just had another encounter with a dementor "I have a fear of spiders" he said.

"So you expected a spider but when it turned into yourself you were taken back," Lupin said offering a cup of tea he'd recently brewed. Ron took the cup, relishing the warmth of the cup. "I can understand that though, being afraid of yourself," he said.

"Doesn't that just prove how selfish I am?" he asked, he was trembling, his body temperature just couldn't seem to warm up.

Lupin stood up to walk around to him, he took off his shabby but warm cloak to place it over him. "No, rather I think it proves how much you care for others. The fact that you are wary means that your fear won't become a reality" he said.

Ron pulled the cloak tighter to himself "I shouldn't be so cold" he said.

"Vampires have lower body temperatures than humans. It's one reason why some still call them the undead because, by human temperature standards, you should be dead. I think how feel may have to do with it as well. You need to wear more clothing than you are," Lupin told him.

A knock on the door had them both looking up "come in" Lupin said straightening a bit. Don walked in with a more openly concerned expression than he'd ever seen him wear before.

"I heard that perhaps my mentee dealt with a troubling experience," he said.

Professor Lupin sighed then nodded "you are very aware of your student, then I will leave Ron to you," he turned to Ron "but if you should want anything, I am around."

"Thank you, Professor," Ron said standing up then reluctantly took off the warm cloak to hand it to him. Don noticed his tremble however and replaced it with his own.

"I was telling Ron he needs to wear more clothing," Lupin asked Don.

Don nodded his head "I will be sure to instruct him. Thank you, Remus," he said tilting his head in a slight bow.

"Of course" Lupin replied.

Ron sidled close to his mentor as they walked "your experience with a boggart was unpleasant?" he asked.

"You always seem to show up at exactly the right time," Ron said.

"I've been that before," he chuckled. "I think part of it is luck, the other half is intuition and attention."

"I don't want to talk it right now though, later," he said.

"Alright," Don chuckled "was I too hasty in showing up?" he asked.

"Maybe a little, I may be really young to you but I can take care of myself," Ron said.

"Speaking of which, it's starting to get colder in the evenings lately. I know you have your clothing however, I am tempted to have my wife send my son's old clothing. He was around your size at 13. They will be a little less worn" Don began to explain. "Ah not that your clothing isn't acceptable, however…"

It was interesting to see how Donovan could get nervous, as many lectures as he gave and how knowledgable he was on many different fronts, he tended to branch off topic sometimes. He was just so well spoken that most people never noticed. Don tended to rant and he was a bit like Hermione sometimes.

"I'd like that" Ron interrupted him, not hearing about a third of his commentary on the merits of wearing well-worn clothing.

"And- oh excellent, I'll get them sent then" he replied. "Well, then I suppose I'll leave you once we reach the tower. We'll talk later then, I just wanted to see how you were" he said.

"I'm okay I think," he said, Don nodded and he dropped him off. Ron handed Don his cloak despite that he was still a bit cold. Maybe the temperature really had dropped without him noticing or the dementors all around them were affecting the castle.

Harry and Hermione met him when he came inside, Hermione pulled him into a hug. He flushed, he wanted to take in her warmth and her scent was intoxicating. "Your freezing," she said after she let go and took his hands in hers and pressed her hands to his own.

Harry plucked a blanket from the couch and threw it on his shoulders. "I guess it dropped a few degrees and maybe you noticed?" he said.

"I guess it's sweaters from now on until summer," Ron said, taking his hands back to pull to the blanket to himself. "Well, I think I'll just…"

"Oh no you won't" Hermione interrupted with a stern look "you will be telling us what that boggart was about," she said.

Ron shook his head "oh like we talk about Harry's fear of dementors? And your phobia of failing?" he asked, he felt the need to defend himself. He didn't want her probing him because then she'd know about how terrified he was.

Harry flinched a bit with a frown "Ron, we just want to help."

"I don't want it, really I can deal with it myself" he lowered his voice, the monster he'd faced was himself. He'd prefer to battle a basilisk or Fluffy honestly. "Just let it go, please" he added.

There was a tense silence that had Ron

"Fine" Hermione said dejectedly, crossing her arms "but we're here when you need it. You have us, Ron, no matter what happens. You know that" she said and he nodded, he knew she believed it but he wasn't sure how she'd feel if she knew how he dreamt.

"So um, Ron are you going to try out for Quidditch?" Harry tried a new topic to take the tension out of them.

"I think it may not be a good idea considering I'm not sure of my control. I might accidentally puncture the quaffle with my nails of something," he answered.

"Your probably better off, but no reason we can't have a brilliant match on our own, right?" Harry asked.

"Only if I get to be the keeper?" Ron tried for a smile.

Xxx

Everyone's favorite class this year became Defense of course and Ron learned to layer up in his button-ups, sweater, and cloak as the air cooled down.

His Romanian was still needing a lot of polish and Don had him run every day as well as going through what he called 'Martial Arts.' He learned how to punch and kick and throw someone over his shoulder. Honestly, it felt ridiculous because he was a wizard, not a troll.

He did it anyway and he could feel the result as his smooth stomach began to harden and get some definition. He was also seeing some result in other classes, his essays were coming back to him with E's rather than the usual A he normally got and expected.

Snape's class was becoming tolerable and he'd even mentioned once that the Magical Burn salve that he turned in was "Regrettably superb". Ron had nearly dropped books right then.

It was getting to be Halloween soon and Ron still heard complaints from Malfoy about his disastrous run-in with buckbeak. Would he never give it a rest?

The night after Hogsmede, Hogwarts was thrown into a frenzy where the Fat Lady went missing and proclaimed she had seen Sirius Black. They were on lockdown and as soon as they had combed the ground and let students sleep in their own beds, Scabber's went missing.

"Aren't you upset?" Harry asked him after he'd discovered his pet rat had gone missing.

"I feel like I should more upset than I am. It's just… I dunno I have this weird feeling that something wasn't right with him" It had been several weeks and no sign of Scabbers so he wondered if he should count him as lost forever. "Maybe I'm just being cold."

Harry just pat him on the back and shook his head. The weather took a turn for the worst when it began to rain a lot but of course, Don didn't let Ron take a breath from training. The training in the full rain, soaked to the bone and a little cold but the hot bath afterward sort of the made it worth it.

"Have you noticed anything around the castle?" Ron asked as he leaned against the bath wall. Valkyrie, now the size of a mastiff but a few months shy of full size, licked his ear.

"You mean have I noticed Sirius Black," Don responded, "unfortunately I have not and unless I were to meet him my nose would fail to pick him up."

"It's strange that my rat went missing the moment that there was the word of Sirius Black," he said, "he's never done that before, acting so strange since this year."

"Perhaps it's your new status."

"I thought that too" Ron sighed.

"Hm… then just be aware, perhaps the answer may turn up," Don said.

Sorry, just a short chapter this time. The next one may be soon though.