Runaway Fox

Chapter 19: Fox's Fury

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and all of them.  They belong to J.K. Rowling.  I do own the Scotts and this story.

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            Mrs. Scott was getting ready to throw a barbeque for the get together.  She wanted to meet Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.  She wondered what kind of people they were like.  Ron didn't say much about his family, but there were some things that he did say.  He said things when he was living with the Scotts during his recovery time.  

            From what, Mrs. Scott could tell, the Weasleys were very loving people, but they were also a family full of extraordinary members.  The fact that Arthur Weasley was the Minister of Magic in Britain attested to that fact.  However, Mrs. Scott, filled with maternal pride for Ron, thought that he was extraordinary in a family full of extraordinary members.  Ron said that his parents expected great things from him, but Mrs. Scott sensed the feeling of vulnerability and inadequacy that Ron struggled with.  He never felt as if he was good enough to reach their expectations.  He was good at putting himself down.

            Jordan Scott didn't know exactly how much Ron's parents knew about what happened to him towards the end of school.  She was going to take care not to mention too much because Ron didn't want them to know.  She also reminded herself that she didn't make such promises of keeping Ron's secrets that Simon did. 

            She remembered that dark time in Ron's life because it was so chaotic and traumatic it was for him.  It was bad for the Scotts as well.  Jenny and Becky were scared of what would happen next.  And Simon had lost two of his friends, and was threatened to lose his best friend.  It was a feeling that Mrs. Scott could relate to.  Another thing that came to mind was what happened to Mr. Aki Hoshi, the father of Mari and Marcus.

            Mrs. Scott was friends with Mrs. Sandra Hoshi before she died of breast cancer.  Their children were friends.  Jordan remembered when Aki was filled with life, but it all went away when his precious wife died.  He became harsh and stern with his children.

            Marcus was a lot like his father.  He was only ten years old when his mother died, and worse yet, Aki lashed out at his children.  He was verbally abusive towards them and blamed them for the death of their mother.  The brunt of Aki's attacks were towards Marcus who was meek and too sweet natured to handle it.  His sister, Mari, handled it better.  She stood her ground and defended her brother, but still sought to please her father.  

            It was no wonder that Marcus clung to Mari for dear life.  He was afraid of the uncertainty of his future and of her leaving him with their father.  Jordan couldn't stop to thinking about how much Marcus and Aki had in common.  They clung to a single person for life and when someone took away or threatened that person, they fought back in illogical ways.  They also had suicide in common.

            Jordan Scott watched as Aki Hoshi laid flowers on the graves of his two children and wife.  He looked like he had aged even more because of his grief.  He was a strong wizard who worked for a company that made cauldrons in San Francisco.  He had the hands of an iron worker, but the mannerisms of a scholar.  She didn't know what to say.  What do you say to a man whose son shot his daughter and then killed himself?

            The neighbor that the Hoshis lived in was filled with Japanese wizards.  Aki had immigrated from Japan with his parents.  His parents were labors in the fields and worked menial jobs while Aki went to school and trained to become a wizard.  He was Muggle born wizard and that was where he met Sandra.  Jordan came there with the neighbors to his house later that day to do the traditional rites that the Japanese culture had when people died.

            She remembered walking into the house with the neighbors, finding it eerily quiet.  Everyone stopped when they found him in front of an altar in the house praying.  There was incense in the air. There was a decanter of sake on the floor on top of a lacquer tray with a tea cup.  He was dressed in a traditional kimono.  He was slumped over in the ground.  There was a long samurai sword with blood at the tip.  Jordan gasped and everyone left the room immediate and called the police.

            Aki Hoshi committed the ritual suicide, seppuku, to redeem his honor.  Or rather to join his family in the next life.  He was buried with the rest of his family.  The coroner said that the time of death was close to when he was supposed to come home from the burial of his children.  The sword wound was found his stomach.  He let himself bleed to death.

            Jordan remembered having to tell Ron because he didn't get a chance to visit the graves for three weeks because he had to stay in the hospital longer.  During his first three weeks recovering, he was very emotional.  After Jordan told him about Aki Hoshi, he went into a daze and stayed that way for months.  His eyes dulled over and looked numb all over.  Nothing was registering with him.

            He didn't sleep, eat, or do much else.  He lost weight quickly; he lost twenty pounds in the span of just four weeks.  He didn't sleep because he was having nightmares and flashes of the shooting.  At one point, he triggered a dark arts sleep that caused cuts within his blood that broke to the surface of his skin.  He was a bleeding mess on the hardwood floor when Jenny found him.  Ron almost lost too much blood again, but Jordan didn't have to donate again.  She asked him why he was trying to kill himself, but Ron corrected and said he wasn't trying to kill himself; he was just trying to see if he was capable of feeling anything, even pain.  Ron explained that he felt like he was operating his body from the outside, and he felt out of control.

            She went as far as taking Ron's wand away from him and telling Chancellor Chan about what had happened.  She also ordered her children to bring all the sharp objects in the house, which included the kitchen knives and razor blades, to the kitchen so that she and Simon could lock it all up.  The Scotts watched Ron to make sure that he didn't physically hurt himself.  And she also told her children to be care about leaving their wands about the house.  Jordan didn't like the shell of Ron that she was seeing.  She was struggling because Ron knew how to do some spells without his wand and could still harm himself.  Luckily, Mrs. Scott was a graduate of Ellsinore.

            It took months before Ron pulled himself out of it.  He had to fight long after he was out of physical danger to stay alive.  Jordan Scott wondered how Molly and Arthur Weasley would take it.

~*~

            Hermione and Harry were walking alone for the moment while everyone else was waiting for Simon Scott to come by.

            "Did he say anything to you?" asked Hermione.  "You were at his house for a while.  You did talk to him."

            "I did.  Ron's been through a lot, Hermione.  He's in a lot of pain," said Harry.

            "I know.  I can see it in his eyes.  And there were times where he just didn't hide it.  I saw something…you probably know what I'm talking about it," said Hermione.

            Harry knew that she was talking about the bullet scar.  He nodded numbly.  "Yes.  Hermione, try and understand."

            "I don't think I can Harry.  It's hard to get through to him," she said.

            Harry looked around them to see that everyone else was still distracted.  Ginny was the one doing it, but they didn't know that the Weasleys were having a conversation about Ron on their own.  "He's only doing what he thinks is right.  He's trying to protect everyone from himself," said Harry as he calmly placed his hand on her shoulder.

            "I know.  I love him, Harry," said Hermione out loud.

            "I know.  I've known that myself," said Harry; he wasn't going to say what Ron said to him.  Ron told him all that in confidence, and he couldn't betray his trust then.  Besides, he had to beat Simon Scott somehow.

            Ginny was stalling for Harry and Hermione to talk.  Charlie decided to give them some information.  "Ron's offices are great.  He's got some weird Muggle art in his lobby.  Also, we got to go to Simon's office.  He's right next door to Ron's office," he said.

            "Did you get a chance to see it?" asked Percy.  He always thought that the size of the office was proportional to the position of the person.

            "No.  Ron was at home working.  And there's something else.  Simon has tons of pictures in his office.  Muggle and wizards photos.  He showed us a picture of Ron with two friends at school," Charlie told them.  He had to tell them what he knew.

            "I'm excited.  I want to see his office.  And I'd like to see pictures of Ron at school with friends," said Mrs. Weasley happily.

            "Mum…" said Charlie.  They noticed the serious look on his face.  "They died.  Ron's friends died."

            "What?  How?" asked Mr. Weasley with concern.

            "I don't know.  Simon wouldn't say.  It had to be some thing awful from how he was acting.  One of them was a girl and the other was boy.  They were siblings.  The girl, I think her name was Miranda, was in their class," answered Charlie. 

            "He lost two of his friends?  He didn't say anything about that," said Bill thoughtfully.

            "What did Harry say?" asked Mrs. Weasley to Ginny.

            Ginny bit her bottom lip.  "He talked to Ron for hours.  Harry didn't say much.  He and Simon aren't going to say anything.  Neither is Hermione.  We'll have to wait and see," said she said finally.  She said nothing. 

            "Hello, everyone," greeted Simon Scott who was obviously dressed for business.  Everyone greeted him back.  Harry and Hermione came back to group. 

            "Where's Ron?" asked Mr. Weasley.

            "He's at work right now.   There's a big deal that's supposed to go down today.  We're meeting with one of the smaller broomstick makers in the United States from Oregon.  We're going to be expanding some of our operations because of the demand and Ron's got to be ready for the meeting.  He said to bring you guys over to the company.  Ron's secretary will give you a tour while Ron and I have the meeting," Simon informed them.

            "Oh, I wish we could spend more time with him, but if he has to take care of business, I suppose he's excused," said Mrs. Weasley; she was unable to hide the disappointment in her voice.  The whole trip was supposed to bring the family together.  Ron was the reason for the trip. 

            "Ron called my mom.  We're going to the ranch as soon as the meeting lets up," said Simon with a reassuring smile.

            "That would be nice.  I'd like to meet your mother," said Mr. Weasley with a smile.  He took a liking to Simon because of his easygoing manner.  Mr. Weasley liked all of his son's friends.  He also wanted to meet Mrs. Scott because from what Ron had said about her, she was a wonderful lady. 

            They all set off for Warp Speed Technologies.  The Weasleys were very impressed with the building.  They entered it and were greeted by a very friendly front desk person who sent them straight up to the upper offices because Simon was with them.  Soon, Simon disappeared while Carla introduced herself and decided to give them the tour straight off.

            "Is my son in his office?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

            "Yes, he is, Mrs. Weasley.  He's been preparing for quite some time now.  The meeting will take place soon," replied Carla.  They oohed and aahed at the sights they saw.  It was all so interesting.  Carla introduced her husband to the Weasleys who was more than happy to meet them.  Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were treated with deep regard.  After all, they were the ones who created their boss.  The employees at Warp Speed were happy people who really liked the work they did.  They had nothing bad to say about their boss who was constantly working.

            Everyone was really impressed with the company as a whole.  Hermione thought about how Ron was like a king and how all his employees were subjects in his kingdom.  Actually, since this wasn't his only set of offices, he was more like an emperor.

            "I didn't realize how much went into making broomsticks," said Mr. Weasley.  He was saying the one thing that almost everyone was thinking about.

            Meanwhile, Ron was meeting with the man from Oregon.

            "Mr. Weasley, it took me five years to build my company.  I spent millions to build it," said Mr. Watson.

            "I know how that's like, Mr. Watson, but what's your point?" asked Ron as he reclined back slightly in his chair in the board room.  Simon was sitting next to him looking at the statistics of the company that Ron was trying to acquire.

            "I can't let it go for just four million galleons.  That's cheating," he said.

            Ron narrowed his eyes at him slightly.  Simon whispered something under his breath.  It sound like, "Here we go."  "I guarantee that you will not get a more generous offer than mine, Mr. Watson.  You may think that your company is worth ten million galleons, but let's face the facts.  Your sells have steadily declined in the passed three years.  I'm offering you a way out.  You have fifteen minutes to decide.  We'll leave you to decide with your people," said Ron briskly as he signaled Simon to leave the room with him.  As they left, they could hear Mr. Watson and his men muttering amongst themselves.

            "Do you think he'll sell?" asked Simon.

            "Yes," answered Ron.  "Why shouldn't he?  He isn't going to get another offer like mine."  The Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry heard his voice and walked up to where they were standing.

            "Ron!" said Mrs. Weasley happily as she walked up to her son and hugged him.  One would think that she hadn't seen him since yesterday.

            "Please, Mum.  Not in the office.  I'm working," pleaded Ron as he smiled at her softly. 

            "What are you doing?" asked Mr. Weasley.

            "Letting the man I want to buy out think about our offer," answered Ron.  "How much time is left?"

            Simon glancing at his watch, "About ten minutes."  Everyone looked at Ron strangely.  This was the first time they saw him in formal business wear.  He was dressed in a suit that was tailored for his body especially, and it seemed to sculpt alone his shape.  He wasn't wearing his ear cuff and his hair looked neater.  When he was dressed casually, it was hard to believe that he was a millionaire and one of the best business minds in the wizarding world.  However, looking at him in his suit, it wasn't hard to believe.

            "I'm starting to wonder if you have any wizards' clothes, Ron," commented Percy.

            "I do.  I don't dress in robes that often.  Force of habit, Ellsinore required all their students to wear Muggle clothes.  I do own some wizards' clothes," said Ron thoughtfully. 

            "How much are you buying out this person for?" asked Fred.

            "Four million galleons," said Ron with a shrug.

            "It's a bargain because the guy wants to sell for ten," said Simon. 

            "Don't you think that's sort of mean, Ron," said Mrs. Weasley.

            "No, I don't think so," said Ron.

            The door swung open and one of Mr. Watson's men peered in, "We're ready with our decision, Mr. Weasley," he said.  Simon and Ron went back to the room.  Mrs. Weasley didn't seem to be too happy with her son's morals at that point.  It didn't seem fair.

            A few minutes later the meeting adjourned and the men left Warp Speed Technologies.  Ron seemed happy, so it was concluded that the deal ended the way he wanted it to.  Most deals went through the way Ron wanted them to.  He was notorious for being intimidating during the meetings.  He lived for them.  It was very satisfying work.  They all went to Ron's office and were collectively surprise at how big it was.  While Ron was in his private washroom, changing to go to the Scotts' ranch. 

            Percy was impressed more than anyone else at the size of his office.  It was the only office with a balcony that lead to a wonderful view of San Francisco.  Fred and George were admiring the little bar that was in his office in a corner.  Harry wasn't too surprise to see a chess set on a table.  They were wizard chess pieces that had to be activated by magic to actually move.  Bill and Charlie sat down on the plush leather sofa in the room, and Charlie went even so far as to put his feet up on the table.  Hermione looked around the room.  On Ron's desk was the picture that he looked at so often, the same one in Simon's office of Mari, Marcus, Simon, and himself.  After a few minutes, Ron emerged from his washroom in a mesh, black long sleeved shirt with a tank top underneath and a pair of khakis.  He had on a pair of plain Muggle sneakers.  He was putting on his ear cuff as he exited the washroom.  His hair looked a little messed up.  He once again looked like a twenty something with a normal job. 

            "Ron, I was thinking of what you did.  That was very wrong of you," said Mrs. Weasley.

            "It didn't seem very far to kick a man when he was down," said Mr. Weasley.  Ron looked at them as if they didn't have any heads.

            "And that's why neither of you are in business," he said calmly.  Everyone less looked up because they never expected out right defiance from him.  "I had to buy him out, Mum.  Dad."

            "Well, why don't you explain to us?  After all we don't have a business degree," said Mrs. Weasley icily to him.

            "He had more than three hundred employees.  Those people were going to lose their jobs and benefits because of his stupidity.  Their families would have suffered along with them.  And if he continued, they would have nothing left.  More than half of his employees were already laid off.  I put him out of his misery, but not completely.  I offered him more than enough money to start over.  I also secured the future of his employees.  They don't have to worry about losing their jobs or benefits.  There's just a shift in power," said Ron evenly.  He really was a good businessman.  He had demonstrated why he was much better off the Quidditch field than on it.  Hermione was amazed at his combined use of intelligence, foresight, and compassion for others.

            "I see.  I'm sorry.  You do know what you're doing," said Mrs. Weasley. 

            "It's alright, Mum.  Sorry, if I sounded annoyed and harsh.  I'm not used to people telling me what I can and cannot do with my business," said Ron with a sigh.  He really did feel badly.

            "What about me?" asked Simon.

            "I don't listen you.  You should know that by now," said Ron sarcastically. 

            "That hurts.  That really hurts, Ron.  You're so mean," said Simon with a pout.  "Aw…he's right.  It's okay, Simon.  Ron's just being a grouch," said Ginny.  Ron rolled his eyes at both of them. 

            "Let's go.  I'm starving," he said as took a hold of his mother's arm.  She smiled at him and took his arm.  They all drove off towards where the Weasleys were staying and apparated to the ranch from there.

            The Weasleys and Harry were amazed at the sight of a real ranch.  Mr. Weasley had read some of those Muggle cowboy books.  "I would like to see how a ranch really works," he said with fascination. 

            "It works because I have two strong boys who are willing to do some work for me," said a bright, cheery voice of a woman who came walking up to them.  She was dressed in a long skirt with a denim blouse with a black cowboy hat.  She had her son's sprinkling blue eyes.

            "Hello, my name is Jordan Scott," said the woman.  "Simon," she said happily as she walked up to her son and kissed and hugged him.  "Ron, it's good to see you. You've been so busy that you haven't visited," she said as she walked up to Ron and hugged him. 

            Ron went through all the introductions and everyone gathered together.  There came the sound of a thundering herd coming at them as they entered the house.  It was a girl of sixteen with long blond hair and blue eyes.  She had soot on her.  "I just got home from school, Mom.  You wouldn't believe the trip to the Getty.  Oh, hi everyone," she said.

            "Everyone, this is Becky Scott.  Say hi everyone," said Ron.

            Everyone greeted her with a smile.  She waited for introductions.  There came a popping sound signaling Jenny arrival.  "Why don't we all gather outside?  That's where I set up everything.  You boys can help me," said Mrs. Scott.

            "But…we have guests," said Simon. 

            She ignored his comment for good measure and pulled him with her to the kitchen.  "Come along, too, Ron," she said.  Ron shrugged, looked at everyone else, and followed them right after them.  Becky Scott went through to show them around.  She went on to say that she didn't even know how big Ron's family was until she met them.  She showed the small collection of books they had which included Charlie's book about dragons.  It came out shortly after the shooting, and the dedication was to Ron: "To my younger brother, Ron.  Where ever you maybe."  "Ron was reading the book after it came out.  He read it straight through in a few days while he was staying with us," said Jenny.

            "Why was he staying with you?" asked Mrs. Weasley with concern.

            "He got shot," answered Becky with a surprised look.  Jenny immediately realized that Becky had let it slip and capped her mouth closed.

            "What?" asked Mr. Weasley.  He didn't know about that kind of Muggle violence and the Aurors were careful to keep their techniques silent.  And he did know, but forgot what it meant right then.  Hermione and Harry quickly went into action.  "Why don't you show us something else?" asked Harry, trying to hide his panic.

            "Yes, let's see the horses.  I didn't get a good chance to really see them.  Let's go, Harry," said Hermione.  Harry followed her outside, but grabbed his wife's upper arm on the way out.  Everyone else was startled by their actions.  They looked at each other with a look that collective said, "They know something."  Becky was still struggling with Jenny.

            When the group left, Jenny released her and glared at her.  "Are you trying to be stupid or does it come naturally?" she asked.

            "Jenny!  I didn't know that they didn't know!" she exclaimed.

            "Ron didn't want them to know, stupid.  Of course, they wouldn't know now," said Jenny.  They both glared at each other.  Ron and Simon walked into the room with puzzled looks on their faces.  However, Ron was more serious than puzzled.

            "What did you tell them?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

            "She said that you got shot.  I had to keep her mouth shut for you," said Jenny as she gestured at Becky.  Simon looked back and forth between his sisters and best friend.  Ron didn't seem upset at all.  He looked neutral, and from past experience, Simon knew that it couldn't be good.  "Ron say something," he pleaded.

            "Be mad.  Just do something," pleaded Becky for good measure.  They knew how dangerous it was for Ron to keep anything buried.  His hands weren't even clutched into fists.  "Is that all you said?" he asked in a whisper without looking at Becky.

            "Yes," she said nodding at the same time.

            "Okay," he whispered as he walked outside to join his family with the horses.  The Scott siblings looked at each other with concerned looks. 

~*~

            "Hello, Ron," said Mrs. Weasley calmly as her youngest son joined them outside.  He looked so serious again.  This time there was real pain in his eyes as his hand was on his side again.  Everyone turned around and froze at once.  His eyes were sad again.  Hermione could see him with his hand on his side.

            "Is that where you got shot?  I just remembered what that meant in the Muggle world," said Mr. Weasley quietly.

            "Ron?" asked Bill as he looked at him.  He wasn't blinking anymore. 

            "Leave him alone," pleaded Hermione at once.  Harry realized that he didn't say it sooner either.

            Ron looked at Harry and gave him a grateful look.  He didn't want to think about what happened right now. He wanted nothing more, but to spend time with his family.  "Are you alright, Ron?" asked his father with concern.

            "Fine.  Why wouldn't I be?" asked Ron.

            "Becky said you got shot," said Mr. Weasley.  He had now recalled what that meant.  Hardly any wizards knew what kind of pain Ron had gone through.

            "That was a long time ago.  I'm fine.  Really," insisted Ron without much effort to convince them of anything else. 

            "Was that what made you stop playing Quidditch?" asked Charlie.  He really didn't know what it meant to get shot just like his brothers and sister.  Harry and Hermione were the only two who had any idea what it really meant.  Mr. Weasley knew about it also, but he always wanted people to see the best of the Muggles, so he never really said anything about the way they killed or harmed each other.  Mrs. Weasley like her children was in the dark. 

            Ron nodded, "But, it was all right.  I didn't feel like playing Quidditch anymore after it.  It's not a big deal.  There's so many other things worth mentioning."  Harry knew that he was lying, so did Hermione.  His mother looked at him worriedly.  She came up to touch him, but he pulled away from her.

            "Don't touch me," he said coldly.  Mrs. Weasley realized that he was rejecting her again.  It was too painful for her to hide.  Mr. Weasley stepped forward.  "You will not talk to your mother that way," warned Mr. Weasley.

            "Or what, Father?  I don't have to listen to either of you anymore.  I am an adult.  I have news for both of you.  Something I learned a long time ago: children are under no obligation to love their parents.  I stopped care what the Hell either of you thought about a long time ago.  You can't control me anymore.  You never could.  You didn't care before when I wasn't anyone important.  Nothing I ever did for you was good enough, why should anything change?  You and your damn demands!  So, I got one O.W.L. low below Fred!  My grades were high enough and I had no ambition!  All I ever really wanted was for you to be proud of me.  When I realized that wasn't going to happen, I left," Ron spat out.  He could no longer hide his resentment towards them.  And he didn't care that his brothers, sisters, and friends were there to witness it.  Simon was at the doorway watching all of it happen.  He always suspected Ron of coming close to hating his parents because of the way he spoke of them. 

            "I made it on my own.  Without you.  I worked hard in school and I got through the hardest time of my life without you.  I can get through the rest of my life without you.  I would rather never see you again," he said coldly.  It was like daggers through Mrs. Weasley's heart because she was clutching her chest.  She was stun with pain.

            "How dare you talk to Mum like that," said Bill immediately going into his older brother mode.

            "SHUT UP!" roared Ron.  "I don't give a fuck right now what any of you have to say to me.  You have your lives and I have mine.  Stay the hell out of mine!  I earned it!  We can just go back to doing what we were doing before.  You ignore me and I pretend none of you exist.  You have no idea what Hell I've been through.  I won't let you take what's mine.  I won't," he said the last part as a warning.  His face was cold.  He didn't even go red.  He stormed off leaving everyone dumbfounded. 

            "I'm sure…he didn't mean what he said, Mum.  Dad," said Fred, trying to soothe his mum's feelings.  He hated the look on his mother's face.  But, everything Ron said, just confirmed what she feared the most.  She ended up hurting her son more than she realized.  "He meant what he said because it's true," whispered Mrs. Weasley as her vision blurred with tears. 

            "It's not true," said Ginny defensively.  It was a disaster and everyone knew it.

            Jordan Scott watched from the kitchen window and heard everything as well.  She apparated out to go look for the very angry fox.

AN: Well, I hope that was entertaining.  Ron's got some problems.  I always thought that Ron was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode…I thought it was time to demonstrate it here.  Ron's been feeling like this since the first book, so it's been bottle up for awhile.  I also thought that Aki was a good name for Mari's father.  It's the name of the character from Ayashi no Ceres.  All together his name is "fall star."  Sort of a pun, "fall" in this case means season, but it still works.  

I've been busy with midterms and other stuff.  I have a new laptop that required me to transfer stuff over to it.  The desktop will be going bye bye really soon, and I had to also get Office on my laptop.  So, I haven't have had a chance to update.  I've also started a lot of work on the next fic because this one will end soon.  I'm a few parts ahead, but I do that just in case I can't get around to writing anything for a while.  Anyway the new fic is entitled Angel of the Apocalypse.  The prologue isn't much, but I can honestly say that there's more action and humor in the next fic.  The plot is also much more serious, but not a lot of emotional baggage this time.