By: CNJ
PG-13
2: Serious Attitude Problems
Ron:
"...so Crookshanks stinks
like a loo by the time Mum and I get him back into the house and we had
to give him another bath, which thrilled him to pieces as you can imagine,"
Hermione told us as we loaded up on spellbooks the next day in Diagon Alley.
We all laughed some, then headed to the cashier to pay, then headed out.
We were loaded down by that time and were just about done our back to school
shopping spree. Just then, Pig came flying over the table we'd just
sat at to have a snack. It was from Mum and Dad telling us that they
had to leave early for their business trip and that my older brother Percy
would be picking us up at the edge of Diagon Alley. Oh. I looked
around at my friends.
"What's the matter?" Harry
asked, his brows slanting a little with worry.
"I guess..." what should
I tell Harry, that my parents forgot that we could just as well catch the
bus back home? "I was kind of hoping we could get the bus..." I'd
be willing to wager that Percy jumped in and volunteered. Percy is
in his third year of college in Brunsworth University and sometimes acts
like he's a hundred and twenty instead of twenty.
This summer, Percy also
had an arguement with my other brothers, twins George and Fred and now
they're barely speaking. I don't think Percy likes their pranks and
is always telling them how irresponsible and out of control they are.
George and Fred in turn are always complaining that Percy's too conservative
and judgemental.
Just the other day, George
went with me outside in the back of our house and went on telling me that
Percy's narrow-minded and judgemental. "Sees everything black and
white, you know?" he'd said sullenly. "Looks his nose down on anyone
who doesn't have a lofty title or career plans and has this attitude that
anyone who struggles financially or is poor is because it's their own fault
or something. Then he's been criticizing Mum and Dad for being too
liberal with us, meaning with Fred, you, and Ginny."
"That's an insult to Mum
and Dad," I'd said, thinking of my own parents, who don't have a lot of
money. Dad works as a clerk in the Ministry while Mum's a secretary
in a pediatrician's office. I suspect Mum does a lot more than type
up memos and organize Dr. Felter's files. Dr. Felter used to be our
pediatrician when we kids were growing up and she's a third-generation
Jewish German; her grandparents fled Germany during the Holocaust.
Mum says that our family has a touch of Jewish blood going way back to
the eighteen-hundreds. But still, on their jobs...Mum gets paid mostly
a secretary's salary, which isn't a lot. So for Percy to say such
a thing is an insult to our own parents. Percy says he wants to become
an accountant.
Just then, the waiter came
by and took our orders. It was mostly sherbets and sweets and once
they arrived, we pigged about grandly. The day was sunny and the
weather still warm. Fall was still several weeks away.
"So, Ron, ready to be Quidditch
Captain?" Harry asked, licking up the last of his chocolate melt wand.
"Ohh, yes," I grinned.
At the end of last year, I was picked as the new Captain of the Gryffindor
team. Harry and Hermione are going to be prefects this coming year.
"Haaaarrryyy..." Someone
called. We turned to see Rose Mercer coming our way.
"Hello..." Harry called.
She came closer, her auburn hair blowing in the wind and Harry introduced
her to us. Rose is sort of an item with Harry; they've gone on a
couple of dates for the past month. Harry's first really serious
girlfriend, I thought with a grin. Harry's really shy about dating
and things like that. I, on the other hand, have dated a few girls
since our fourth year.
"Care to join us?" Hermione
asked, moving over to make room.
"I can for a few minutes,"
Rose sat between Harry and Hermione and we chatted more. Rose worked
at the bookstore with Harry and that's how they met. Rose goes to
a smaller school in Scotland.
"In just few weeks, I leave
for school," she told us. "Have my supplies." She indicated her full
trolley. "My mum is picking me up in a few, so I'd better get going.
Nice to meet all of you." She stood and leaned over and gave Harry
a kiss on the mouth. "Bye, Harry..." They hugged then.
"Bye, Rosie..." Harry murmured,
then watched her go, a sad expression crossing his large greenish-hazel
eyes.
"Looove..." a voice crooned
behind me and there were giggles. I looked up to see Fred and George
giggling. Harry looked up and reddened.
"Hello..." they said and
we greeted them back.
"God, I must have looked
like a lovesick dog..." Harry muttered, his face still red.
"Ahhh, you didn't look too
lovesick," Fred grinned.
"Just mournfully romantic,"
George added and they cracked up as Harry turned even redder.
"Oh, don't tease Harry,"
Hermione stood. "We'd better get a move on; I suspect Percy will be arriving
soon." So we did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione and Cheria waved
bye to us as we headed to the car that my parents had loaned Percy.
Once Ginny, Harry, Fred, George, and I got into the car and were on our
way back to the Burrow, Percy told us that our parents would be out of
town for a few days and he would be in charge.
"Like we need a babysitter..."
Fred snarled from next to me. Percy ignored his remark and drove
on home.
After dinner, Harry timidly
knocked on my door. "Come in..." I told him. I was finishing
my summer assignments as he walked in.
"Good, you're improving
some on the timing," Harry grinned. I had to smile back. I
sometimes wait until the last minute to get homework done. I used
to think of homework as pointless and stupid, but now that I'm sixteen,
I see the point. I guess it develops your self-discipline and timing
as well as gives you mental exercise. I knew Harry had done his assignments
early in the summer. Harry and Hermione are a lot alike in that way;
they're both very consientious students and do things early. Ginny's
in between us while Cheria's more like me. "How was your job?"
I'd worked on a temporary assignment in my Mum's office helping her with
filing.
"Good..." I nodded, pushing
my books aside. "A bit tiring and tedious, but a good experience.
It sure helps being able to earn my own money."
"Yes," Harry nodded.
"The money my parents left me will carry me a few years, maybe through
college, but I really want to start saving money I made, not just ride
on my parents' generosity." Harry is so quiet and serious with his
round wire-rimmed glasses, snub nose, and straight black hair. He's
short and used to be rather bony and scrawny, but last year, he filled
out and now he's more graceful with soft smooth dancer-type muscles, even
though he's still on the thin side. Slender, is how Mum describes him now.
His voice is very soft and deep. I think he's the quietest one of
our group, yet thinks very deeply. Maybe it's partly because he's
sensitive, born that way, but also another part is that he had to live
with these awful relatives, the Dursleys...his mum's sister, Petunia, her
husband, Vernon and their spoiled son, Dudley.
They were really ugly to
Harry and I remember how shocked I was that summer before our second year
when my twin brothers and I flew Dad's car over to the Dursleys' house
and found Harry locked in his room with mesh bars over the windows.
We'd had to break that open with the car to get him out. Vernon had
awakened and come running into the room and tried to grab Harry, but we
managed to escape.
The summer after our fourth
year, the abuse Harry endured had gotten out of control and Harry had run
away after his uncle beat him. It had been scary because for several
days, no one know where Harry was. Finally, Hagrid found him in Diagon
Alley.
It was then that his great-Aunt
Miranda was found; the Dursleys' guardianship was terminated and now Harry
spends the vacations with Miranda. She's so much better than the
Dursleys. She's a witch like us and is his late dad's aunt.
I later found out that actually the Dursleys had gotten guardianship of
Harry illegally by falsly claiming to be Harry's only living relatives.
Miranda had been hit with a memory-loss charm and by the time she got her
memory back, she'd lost track of her great-nephew.
I really hope I never meet
those Dursleys again because I will tell them what I think of them and
maybe grab them with a hex or two. Harry never talks about what he
endured with them, but I know it was bad. As Harry and I talked,
Percy once poked his head in, ostensibly to say good night.
"Good God, Ron, don't you
ever organize this mess?" Percy lifted a lip as he surveyed my room.
"It's amazing that Harry isn't put off by this room."
"Good night, Percelville,"
I said through gritted teeth. Percy left with a slightly disgusted
look on his face. "Sorry about that, Harry, but he really is getting
to be a jackass lately," I muttered. It's true that I'm not the most
organized person on the planet, but I do have most of my things off the
floor and Harry isn't bothered by it. But Percy acts like it's a
disaster area up to the ceiling.
"Is there a problem between
Percy and the twins?" Harry asked as we munched on chocolate frogs.
"I sensed tension between them...they aren't speaking, are they?"
"Not really," I ran a hand
through my bright red hair. "Percy's gotten overly critical lately
and puts them down a lot, so they stay away from him. They used to
play pranks, but he got worse, so they just...avoid having much to do with
him." Bit by bit, we moved on to other things, made a bit uneasy
by the conversation about my brothers.
None of us in our group
of friends are good at talking about what's going on deep inside of us.
I didn't tell Harry how uneasy this feud was making me or that I'd sensed
Percy distancing himself from me and...looking down on my parents and me.
He's said some things about people that have bothered me lately, things
about poor people and how our parents raised the twins, me and Ginny.
I get the feeling he seems almost ashamed to be related to us. Also I could
see Harry was a bit nervous too and a bit sad thinking about this, so we
moved on to school and other things. We talked until around midnight
and Harry helped me some on the Potions homework.
"Good, done with Potions,"
I sighed in relief closing my book. "Now if Professor Snape doesn't
butcher it, I'll be home free." We both chuckled softly, thinking
of crabby, cynical, sarcastic Professor Snape. He used to really
drive us batty with his acid comments and embarrassing beratings, but now
Harry's a bit calmer about him, figures he's just unhappy with teaching.
On top of that, Snape and Harry's parents were in the same Hogwarts class
and Snape had been a big rival of Harry's dad, so I guess it carried over.
Snape still gets under my skin sometimes, but not as badly as he used to.
While Harry brushed his teeth, I lay back and thought over the upcoming
year. Just two more years and we'd be graduating. I really
hope the Order Of Phoenix can keep Hogwarts and the magical community safe.
I drifted off to sleep before Harry came back in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I thought I was the first
one up, but it turned out Percy was the first one up and he was talking
to his girlfriend, Frieda Leach by floo. I bottoned the last botton
on my shirt and got out a pan to fry an egg. I really wasn't listening
to Percy and Frieda's conversation, but as I ate, bits of the conversation
drifted from the living room to the kitchen.
Never did make it out
there...choices made...act like it's not their fault...really should quit
bumming off us taxpayers and get a real job...take a look at some people
I know... I then heard, "...so he's going to be shoveling files for
the Ministry all his life until he retires, then needs government help
and Mum, shame she never finished college...just where is her secretary
job going to lead her..." It's nowhere...I heard Frieda tell
him. "...same thing with your cousin..." Percy went on. I took
my plate to the table, but was really beginning to boil inside, having
the suspicion that it was our parents he was putting down. "I see
the same thing with my brothers, most of them...they're out of control...Mum's
not around enough and there's just no discipline, not the kind I had..."
I finished my fried egg
fast and noisily, not wanted to hear anymore, although my appetite was
gone and I was fuming. So that's really what he thinks of us, I thought,
slamming my plate into the dishwasher and hurling the glass after it with
a clang. They were plastic, so thank the stars they didn't shatter.
"What is all that noise?"
Percy came into the kitchen and glared at the glass hanging off the edge
of the pole of the glass rack. "Was that necessary during my conversation
with Frieda?"
"Yes, it was," I said quietly.
"Especially since the 'conversation' was trashing your own parents."
"Were you eavesdropping?!"
Percy came closer and I could see he was getting angry. Well, so
what! So was I!
"Since when is eating my
own breakfast in my own kitchen 'eavesdropping?!" I shot back. "If you
want to have a private conversation, go do it upstairs with an owl or something!
You know, your attitude is making me sick!"
"You're the one with the
serious attitude problem, sir!" Percy snarled back, glaring at me.
I glared right back. "If you want to know something, I'm tired of
your and George and Fred's irresponsible crap and Mum and Dad coddling
you three when I worked for what I have! If you want to hide in delusions
that Mum and Dad are fine careerwise, just dig a hole and hide like an
ostrich and maybe grow up and raise your own kids in squalor just like
we've had to live in! But I sure intend to rise above this poverty
and make something of myself, unlike you!"
"Yeah, and don't forget
to take snob lessons from the Malfoys, you stiff-ass," I barked back.
Looking back, what happened next was like something out of a vivid
dream, but it was real that Percy lunged over and with a slice of his hand,
slapped me across the face
"Not another word, smart-aleck,"
Percy hissed. I was too stunned to say another word; my cheek stung
like hell and I had to clutch it. My heart banged and I wondered
if Percy could actually kill me right there. But Percy stalked off,
thank Merlin's stars. I could feel tears fill my eyes. No,
don't cry, I willed myself. Just don't cry. You will not cry,
Ronald Weasley. I'll never give Percy that satisfaction. Anything
but that. I closed my eyes a minute, willing them back. My
anger boiled up again seeing Percy head out the front door, so sickeningly
smug that I just wanted to slap him right back.
"Hey, Percy..." I called.
He kept going and I ran to the door and glared back. He stared down,
this time his face expressionless now. With a stroke of my
hand, I slapped his face, then turned and stalked back inside, my heart
banging. Looking back, I know I shouldn't have done that, that two
wrongs don't make a right as Mum and Dad often say, but somehow...I guess
I felt my pride was at stake; I just couldn't take Percy's slap lying down.
As I came back in and Percy slammed the door, I saw Harry standing at the
kitchen doorway, his eyes wide, his hand over his mouth, his thick brows
slanted upward at the bridge of his nose. I knew he'd seen almost
the whole thing. We stood silently, staring at each other a minute.
I could see Harry shaking and knew this scene had upset him.
"Oh, Harry, I'm...I'm s-sorry
you had to witness this," I finally managed to get out.
"I'm..." Harry swallowed
hard as he followed me upstairs. "S-sorry Percy insulted you so badly."
He touched my arm and it helped some, although I was still very stung by
what had just happened. I knew neither one of us would really talk
about this, so we continued upstairs and played exploding snap for a while.
The twins got up, got dressed and joined us. If they sensed our subdued,
tense mood, they never said anything either.
More later!