Disclaimer: I do not own the concept and characters of Harry Potter. Please enjoy the next installement of Ron's youth!
Interlude
Ron, Age 4
Ron lay in the old bed in his small room squashed right up under the roof of the Burrow, where he and his family lived, fuming. It just – wasn't – FAIR! And considering his rather lowered standards as to what constituted fair in his short life, it is pretty certain his circumstances were far more than just unfair, but Ron was not usually given to complaints.
This, however, involved a small – though cuddly – plain brown teddy bear by the auspicious name of Mr. Tig.
The gifting of Mr. Tig hadn't been elaborate at all; it had arrived in a plainly wrapped package fastened to a Hogwarts school owl – a snooty creature with the number twenty-two attached to a small tag on its leg – late in the afternoon on Christmas day a little over three months ago. Charlie hadn't returned to the Burrow for Christmas, but inside the package Ron had found the little teddy bear, the kind that popped out of expensive magical Christmas crackers, with what he recognized as his and Charlie's names and a brightly drawn present on a note.
It had been the first thing Ron ever owned that was solely his, and didn't belong to anybody before him. He'd christened it Mr. Tig.
Ron treasure Mr. Tig, carried the bear with him nearly everywhere; which was the reason behind Ron's current bad temper.
Usually the twins used their pranks to torment Percy, or to making Ginny laugh, or attempting to get one over on Molly Weasley, their mother – which they had yet to do, but perfection was to be strived for – and kept their sights off their younger brother. This state of affairs had always suited Ron before, who – though lonely – enjoyed watching his family interact as though he had been peering into their world as though from the outside of a fishbowl.
He had recognized the devilish look on their faces, though their target had taken him by surprise, having never been a victim himself; though he might have expected it sooner or later. Thankfully he had taken steps to remove himself from the situation, and so when Mr. Tig had transformed into a rather large and scary-looking spider he hadn't been holding him. But it had made Ginny cry, and Percy shout for their mother in glee, and Molly Weasley had turned red with anger and undone the transformation and proceeded to alternate between yelling at her errant sons and comforting her distraught daughter.
The distraction had served Ron well as he liberated both Mr. Tig and something else he would find rather useful from the situation. Later, when Arthur Weasley returned home, the twins were sentenced to three weeks grounding (completing all the house-hold chores during that time) for using and losing Great-Uncle Fabien's wand. Although there was nothing that could get them off on the first charge, they vehemently denied the second, but Great-Uncle Fabien's wand was gone, and was never found.
And though the prank completely misfired, and the twins rather severely punished, Ron did not feel inclined to forgive them any time soon, and was not looking forward to repeat performances. Perhaps it would be better if he found somewhere else to spend his days, working on his reading… somewhere outside where he couldn't be targeted.
It would also give him somewhere private to experiment with his newest acquisition. Ron's hand tightened around Great-Uncle Fabien's wand; after all, he couldn't be caught using it…
A/N: Can't you just see Percy calling for his mum in satisfaction, knowing how much trouble the twins will be in for making precious little Ginny cry? Hope you all liked!