I scoured the internet for well written fanfiction which treat Ron right, and there weren't very many of those, so I'm writing this.
I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER
Harry, Fred, George and Percy stared at me with incredulous looks on their faces. I had told them the story, with some slight modifications, instead of telling them about making a potion that was of a much higher level than I was supposed to be at, I told them that I was curious about becoming an Animagus and that I had asked if there was a way to tell if someone was one, and that McGonagall had tried it on Scabbers.
I continued staring at them, while they had their mouths open in shock.
"So you're telling us that Scabbers was not a rat?" Fred began.
"But just someone who the world thought was dead in disguise?" George finished.
"Don't do that Gred and Forge thing again please" I told them. "I'm not in the mood for it"
"Blimey Charley" Fred and George said in unison and I couldn't help but chuckle at that. The two of them always were funny, an their joke lightened the mood a little as Harry grinned too, however Percy wasn't happy, and I knew why. It was his rat until Hermes was given to him for becoming a prefect.
"What's the matter Perce?" I asked him. I hadn't been too fond of Percy in the previous world, or whatever it was that had happened, but I understood it much later on. Percy felt like an outsider in his own family, felt like he didn't belong. I had always felt like I shouldn't belong, and that made us much more similar to each other than people would think.
"It's nothing" Percy said, absently as he stared at Fred and George animatedly discuss what had happened with Harry, telling him stories about Sirius Black, who was accused of murdering twelve muggles and killing Peter Pettigrew and what this could mean for Sirius. Of course, they didn't know that Sirius was Harry's godfather, but they were going to find out in due time.
"It's not nothing, you had Scabbers too didn't you?" I asked him, and Percy looked taken aback by the perceptiveness I seemed to display.
"I can't believe I never noticed, he had a toe missing too, and that was all that was found of Peter Pettigrew" he told me, the shock in his voice apparent.
"It's not your fault Perce" Fred piped in. "You couldn't have known what Pettigrew was pulling, so don't blame yourself"
I felt a warm feeling rush into my heart when I heard Fred defend Percy, like the entire family was whole again, and even though a lot of things that had happened didn't happen yet, it still felt pretty damn great.
In that moment I felt like I knew why I was doing this. Yes, I was sent back in time, and yes there were people who wielded more influence than I ever could. Harry or Hermione back in time could have achieved a lot more than I could, just by the virtue of being more talented, but I had to make with what I'd been given. that was always the way it had been in the other life, and I'd be dammed if I wasn't going to do my very best, because there were things worth fighting for in the new world.
George and Harry jumped in, assuring Percy that they didn't blame him for whatever had happened to Scabbers, and Percy finally smiled.
"Cheer up" I told them. "It's Christmas tomorrow, and we're going to have a lot of fun"
"It has indeed been past midnight" Percy said, the pompous tone coming back on. "I believe you should all trot off to bed" he told them. Fred and George grumbled about how it was better if Percy was moping while my sensitive mind was far too busy digesting information to care about whatever was happening.
"So you reckon Black is going to be free now?" Harry asked me after we had changed and were getting ready to sleep.
"Yeah, according to Dumbledore he wasn't even given a trial, so with the new trial, he probably will be free" I told him.
"It's not fair is it?" Harry asked me. "How they kept a man, who could possibly innocent, in jail for so long"
I shook my head to indicate a no, even though it was too dark for him to see any of it. "No it's not fair, but nothing much is fair is it mate?" I asked him.
SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT
Startling revelations took place last night, as Peter Pettigrew, long believed to be killed by Sirius Black along with twelve Muggles was found alive, disguised as a rat animagus.
"Yes, it is true" Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster Of Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry told the Prophet. "He was disguised as a pet rat for a student, who I shall not name out of consideration for his family. It gave him quite a shock to find out that his beloved pet rat was actually someone who was long since considered dead"
Peter Pettigrew was awarded the Order Of Merlin, Second Class, posthumously for bravely confronting Sirius Black. Eye witnesses of the time remember Peter and Sirius having a heated conversation before an explosion took place, taking the lives of twelve muggles, and Peter Pettigrew. The only sign of Pettigrew was his finger, and Sirius Black just stood there, laughing as he was apprehended.
Does his being alive mean that Sirius Black could possibly be innocent of all the crimes he has committed? Cornelius Fudge, the esteemed minister of magic had this to say: "Shocking business this, what Pettigrew did, disguising himself as a rat and planting himself in a wizarding family to keep up with the news of our world. Sirius Black is going to be getting a trial in light of all the evidence that has surfaced, and there might be a very good chance that he could be innocent of any wrong doing"
This does raise more questions on how the Ministry let Sirius Black go to Azkaban without as much as a trial.
"I've always known that there has to be more to the story" Augusta Longbottom, another esteemed witch who keeps in close contact with Albus Dumbledore told us. "Sirius never seemed like the type to turn dark, and if he is innocent, it's better to get justice now rather than never get it at all"
Lucius Malfoy, a regular contributor to the ministry in terms of funding and other support was also reached for comment, but told us that he wasn't made aware of the information until a lot of the interrogation had already been done. He expressed pleasure that a possibly innocent party was going to get a reprieve.
There are a lot of questions that are now raised in light of this shocking new discovery, including the state of mind of one Harry Potter. A source that requested we keep them anonymous told us this: "James Potter, Harry's father and Sirius were like two peas in a pod, very close, almost like brothers, in fact I'm pretty sure that Sirius is Harry's legal godfather, and I'm sure Harry would be happy to know that he still has a semblance of a family left"
Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived who has just started attending Hogwarts this year, could not be reached for comment.
There will be more on this story, as it develops.
For a full profile on Sirius Black, turn to page 6.
For articles published at the time of Black's arrest, turn to page 7.
For knowledge on the Boy-Who-Lived, turn to page 8.
I sighed as I folded the newspaper and began buttering my toast. The few people that had stayed back had began buzzing as soon as they had read it. Even when it didn't directly concern Harry, the Prophet found some way of making things about him. I had to give the credit for being persistent.
"News spreads fast eh?" Fred asked everyone on the table, and they all silently nodded.
"I wonder what Hermione is going to think of this" Harry said, to no one in particular. "I don't know how I'm supposed to react to this, until today morning, I had no idea that Sirius Black was my Godfather"
"Well Harry" a new voice that I instantly recognized called out from behind us. Harry turned back to see Albus Dumbledore standing there, with a twinkle in his voice. "I'm sure you are going to find out more soon, and it's looking positive that Sirius Black will be declared innocent of any wrong doing" he continued.
"I still can't believe he was with us for all these years" Percy said to Dumbledore. "I should have seen it"
"I'm afraid Mr Weasley, that Pettigrew was far too smart for you to catch, you are yet young, and Pettigrew is well known for being as sneaky as his animagus form" he told everyone.
"What about Mum and Dad?" I asked Dumbledore, surely they were going to be interrogated too, it was where Pettigrew had stayed all this while after all.
"Arthur and Molly have both sworn the magical oath that they were unaware of Pettigrew being there in disguise, apart from being asked to act as witnesses at the trial, they do not have anything to do with this at all"
I couldn't help but laugh at the seriousness of the situation.
"Unfortunately" Dumbledore continued. "They have had to come back for a brief while, as they were summoned by the Minister himself, who is eager to correct the wrongs of his predecessor"
"They were mortified that a potential death eater has been spending all this time with their children. Molly looked downright outraged that Peter could do something like this" he said. That was an appropriate 'Mum' reaction.
This was on par with Fudge, he was a great politician who said the right things and had proven in the other world that he was going to deny the obvious if it meant that it kept him in power.
"But you shouldn't fret too much" Dumbledore continued, the twinkle still hadn't left his face. "This is a wonderful time of the year after all, and there is Christmas tomorrow, I hope that someone finally sends me a pair of nice socks" he said to all of us before he left, chuckling as he walked to the teacher's table.
"He's a loon isn't he?" I asked everyone around us, which made Fred, George and Harry choke on their food in laughter, while Percy looked scandalized that I had insulted the headmaster.
Even as Fred and George continued their snowball fight, and even as Harry and I trudged to the library, hoping to find information on Nicolas Flamel (information I already knew) I couldn't help but think of how this was going to go now. I felt like a load had been taken of my chest, and that I wouldn't have to do things alone anymore, even if Dumbledore and McGonagall couldn't get involved personally. If I wanted to, I could easily go down there right now, or tell Dumbledore to hide the stone in a place that wasn't the mirror, but that would make things unpredictable, and I figured that if I was going to be changing time, it'd be good to know what to change.
The other reason was Harry. He was the Chosen One, as much as he hated the nickname in the other world. He had grown up into a very brave wizard, and I was sure that everything he went through during his years at Hogwarts helped make him who he is, and he needed to have these experiences again, learn things for himself. I hated manipulating him, and I realized just how similar Dumbledore's position was to mine. Having knowledge of things that could happen was a real bitch apparently.
I continued to do a halfhearted job of looking for Nicolas Flamel, while Harry seemed like a man possessed. It seemed like he wanted to desperately know just who Flamel was. I silently wondered which parent he got that personality from.
But this was not even the worst meeting I was looking forward to, that was Albus Dumbledore who had decided to call me and find out more things about what was in the alternate future that required me to go with Harry and Hermione on a journey. I had that to look forward to tonight.
"This makes no sense" Harry said throwing his hands up in frustration. "I know I've seen Nicolas Flamel's name somewhere, but I have no idea where it is"
I was starting to get tired of his persistent digging, and wondering if I would be right there digging with him if I hadn't known who Flamel was, but I was determined to bide my time and play it out the way it went the last time because I knew what was coming that way.
"You shouldn't shout in the library even if it's Christmas Harry" I told him. "Madam Pince is a right bi-" before I could finish the sentence, Madam Pince herself had come to us, hearing the voice that Harry had made whist looking around.
"If you can't keep quiet in the library, get out" she told both of us with a comically stern expression on her face.
Later in the night, I made an appropriate excuse and made my way to Dumbledore's office, filled with trepidation about what was going to be asked of me once I got there and if I was going to be able to answer truthfully, and properly.
"Welcome Ron" Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. "Would you like a lemon drop?" he asked me. I shook my head.
"No one ever takes me up on these lemon drops" Dumbledore said to me, smiling.
We stared at each other for about a minute.
"Fine" I grumbled. "Give me a lemon drop"
"Fantastic Ron" Dumbledore said, his voice filled with mirth as his hand reached in the jar and pulled out a lemon drop, I held mine out and he dropped it in my palm. I grimaced as I swallowed the drop, it had a sour taste, but it wasn't really that bad.
"Not that bad is it?" he asked me.
"No" I said, not lying at all. It was actually really good, almost like it had grown on me, I was almost tempted to take another lemon drop from the jar.
"Now that your refreshments are taken care of" Dumbledore said, having gone back to being serious now. "You need to tell me about the plans Voldemort has for Harry, so we can make plans for Harry too"
I stared at Dumbledore when he said that. Harry had never really liked it when his life was planned for him, and I hadn't liked it much either.
"You are going to plan Harry's life for him?" I asked him incredulously.
"I don't mean to control his life Ron, but you have to know that his safety is the number one priority here"
"Harry wouldn't like that" I responded bitterly. "He won't like his life being given extra importance, and now that I'm here, I can take care of him just fine, in a future that I'm comfortable with, as long as I know what's coming"
"Ron" Dumbledore said sounding tired, he sounded tired for the first time in all the time I'd heard him speak, or be spoken to. "You've changed the future already, even as we speak Peter Pettigrew has been interrogated and the truth is out. Sirius Black is going to be freed, something that you say happened later in your life, which means that the future as you know it, has already been changed"
He was right, and suddenly this business did not seem like a good idea at all, but then I closed my eyes and thought about it, with Sirius innocent, he wouldn't have to hide, and Harry would have a better life. I was determined to give that to him no matter what.
"I might have changed the future, but this is not a significant change. In fact, I think Peter is going to escape" I told Dumbledore, who looked slightly surprised.
"You seem sure of that" Dumbledore remarked.
"Yeah" I said to him. "The agent of time and fate, that's what the prophecy said right?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"Well, I think that time and fate are interrelated. I think that while I can move things forward in time, some other things are just inevitable. And while there is no Voldemort now, it's inevitable that he is going to come back, and I think Peter is the one who is going to bring him back, like he did the last time" I told Dumbledore, who began smiling.
"Were you credited for being perceptive in the future?" Dumbledore asked me.
"Not as much as I'd like" I said darkly. "But now's not the time for all of that, there are some things I can tell you that I want to change"
"How do they relate to Harry, Ron?"
"Well Professor, have you heard of a horcrux?"
As soon as I said that, I could have sworn I saw Dumbledore slump a little, even after all these years of living a long and healthy life, there were things that surprised the old man, and this was one of them.
"No" he said, his voice barely a whisper and his face getting paler as time went on.
"Yes" I said simply, I had no idea why this affected him as much as it was, after everything that he had seen Voldemort do, surely this couldn't surprise him.
"He made a horcrux?" Dumbledore asked me, he was having trouble speaking, but I just laughed.
I've laughed before, there are laughs of innocence, there is an angry laugh that older Hermione does that was so sexy, then there's the dry laugh that I have perfected, and then there is a bitter laugh. This time, I was laughing bitterly.
"Do you find this funny?" Dumbledore asked me dangerously. "He was my student, do you not think that I was responsible for what happened to him?"
Harry had told me about the memory where Dumbledore had met Voldemort for the first time, and I remembered that vividly.
"Think back to when you first met him Professor" I told him. "You've always known, you've always sensed it about him"
Dumbledore closed his eyes, but I wasn't done with saying more. I felt the anger I had felt that day in the tent, the day I left them. I was angry, at Dumbledore for leaving us without a plan, for being responsible for making me come back, even if it was indirectly. I'd have to wait again, for all the good things, and even if I was changing things for the better, there were things that were inevitable, that were going to happen no matter how hard I tried to stop them. I was stuck, the agent of time and fate itself, lost in the essence of time.
"You're idolized the world over Dumbledore" I told him, switching to his last name, it didn't seem to bother him. "People put you on a pedestal, but I know that you know that you've made more mistakes than just that. I've always sensed that about you, even if I've never said a word to anyone"
"What would you do?" he asked me quietly. "Ronald, if you were in my place, having arrived to the orphanage, and watch the gleam in his eyes when he realized that he could use his magic to hurt people, what would you do?"
I didn't know the answer to that. I was raised with the idea that children are innocent, and that you need to be careful raising them. But no one had raised Voldemort, he grew up in an orphanage. It was scary how similar Harry and Voldemort were, similar blood status, both grew up without parents to raise them and love them. One of them turned dark, and inadvertently he turned Harry the other way.
"You don't know do you?" Dumbledore asked me. "I don't either, to this day, I ask myself the same question"
He finally opened his eyes, and there were tears in them. I'd like to remember this as the day I made Albus fucking Dumbledore cry, but I wasn't going to gloat about that.
"Lemon drops?" I asked him.
He let out a throaty chuckle.
"You're going to need it man" I told him. "I haven't even gotten to the worst of it yet"
"What could be worse than a horcrux?"
"Six of them"
Dumbledore looked like he was being choked to death, I wanted to laugh again.
"That's why I was laughing by the way, because I imagined you reacting to this very revelation"
"Six?" he asked me, with fear in his voice.
"Yeah. Slytherin's locket. Hufflepuff's cup, something of Ravenclaw. His diary, a ring that belonged to his family and a snake. Nagini, I think she hasn't been made yet" I told him.
"You know what these objects are, you know where they are?" he asked me.
"No, not all of them. That's what we were doing you know, in the tent, looking to destroy the rest of them"
"I need time to process this information" he told me, which was basically his way of asking me to bugger off.
"You need more than that, you need to find these horcruxes" I told him. "And call me when you do, you're not doing this alone"
-x-
I wanted nothing more than to wake up to a lazy Christmas morning after that intense conversation with Dumbledore, but alas, Fred and George were too excited as they burst into our dorm, wearing those familiar Weasley Jumpers with the F and the G on them.
"Merry Christmas" they told me, I awkwardly grumbled it right back at them. They smirked at seeing my surly mood before proceeding to tickle Harry awake, I wondered if that is what they had done the last time around too.
"Presents downstairs, even Percy the Prat Prefect is waiting" they both chorused together before shooting right back out of the room, their feet making a lot of noise as they thundered downstairs.
As we got ready, I couldn't help but see that Harry looked really glum, and I was hit with that familiar feeling of guilt that I had been feeling a lot since I had come back in time. I had always wondered if Harry wanted the fame he so often got, and today it was even clearer that if he could give it all up for a family, he would. I felt like the biggest ponce in the world for ever being jealous of his wealth and his fame, I'd never considered that he was going to be jealous of me for some things too.
But I was the agent of fate and time wasn't I, which meant that I could give Harry a semblance of what he so desired, something that was natural to me the last time.
"Are you worried about not getting presents?" I asked him. He looked at me with a sad expression on his face.
"Yeah" he said slowly. "I don't think Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon-"
"Fuck those guys" I told him and he looked at me in alarm, which made me want to laugh again. "Harry, you're my best mate, you'll be my best mate till the day we die, and you're always going to be part of my family, and you're always going to get a present from me and the rest of my family" I told him.
He looked like he was going to cry when I said that, I might have overdone it in the sappiness department.
"Come on" I told my future brother in all but blood. "Let's see what our family has given us" I said, emphasizing the 'our'
They did not disappoint. I still got the Maroon Weasley jumper, some things even fate can't change I suppose. Harry got the green, nicer jumper and it didn't feel so bad this time, actually it felt better than last time. We also got some homemade fudge from mom. Bill had sent me some sort of weird device he found in Egypt, Charlie sent me a broom polishing kit. Ginny had helped make the fudge and sent me a charmed greeting card. Hermione sent me some chocolate frogs and a book on advanced transfiguration, with a note asking me to read the book whenever I get the urge to stuff myself on chocolate frogs.
I smiled at that.
We marveled at the invisibility cloak that Dumbledore had sent Harry for a while, tried it out, having fun hiding our hands and legs and head, just being general children, for the next few minutes.
By the time morning had passed, Harry was smiling too, proudly wearing the Weasley sweater, and I wanted to give him a hug, but I settled for a chocolate frog, and I knew what was going to happen before it even happened.
"Dumbledore" Harry exclaimed as he saw the card that had been behind the frog. "Dumbledore" he said waving it in my face and shooting off to his room.
"What the hell is he on about?" Fred asked George. "I have like ten Dumbledore's"
"Do you have an Agrippa, I need it for my-" I didn't hear the rest of the twins conversation as I dashed to the room too, I had to pretend to be really excited at this discovery after all.
"I knew it" he said as soon as I got to the room. "I knew I'd read it somewhere, look" he told me.
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS
Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and ten-pin bowling.
"What in the name of Merlin is ten-pin bowling?" I asked Harry.
"Ron" Harry said. "Nicolas Flamel, see, he's an alchemist"
"Never heard of him, but I bet Hermione has heard of him, we should wait for her to come back" I tried waving Harry off.
Harry sighed and then grumbled and moaned, before eventually forgetting about it.
I went to Dumbledore's office later that night, but I was politely turned away by the gargoyles at the entrance, who told me that the man was away on business. I hoped he was attending to the business of finding the horcurxes because that was really, really important.
"Mr Weasley?" Professor McGonagall asked me as she came across me loitering on the seventh floor corridors. "Any reason for you to be wandering about?"
"Wanted to meet the headmaster" I told her. "Talk to him about something
"Is there anything I can help you with at all?" she asked me. I was merely glad to see that she wasn't pissed.
"Did he tell you, about yesterday's meeting. You weren't there"
"Albus tells me most things" she said shortly. "But he refused to discuss yesterday with me, said that it was sensitive information"
"It is" I told her. "Very sensitive indeed"
"The other day, you must have sensed some anger about me" McGonagall continued. "I know you were looking at me and getting slightly intimidated"
I wanted to snort when she said slightly, instead I let her continue.
"I was angry at Albus, for leaving some kids with the important responsibility, whatever it was that you were doing, all of you, it seemed important"
"Not some kids" I told her, slightly peeved that she had waved us off as mere kids. "We faced more than any kid should ever have to face, and I'm back in time to change most of the things that we could have avoided"
"The question is why do they happen at all?"
"It's war professor" I told her. "Shit happens"
"Swear again Weasley, and you'll be in detention, your real age not withstanding"
I shut up after that.
"I'm concerned Weasley, about things that Albus is doing now" she told me.
"You mean the Philosopher's Stone?" I asked her. Her eyes went wide in shock.
"Yeah, we knew last time too, and Harry actually got the stone too, saved it from Voldemort"
She flinched at the name, and I felt disdain, now I knew how Harry felt when I flinched at his name.
"He's not that scary Professor" I told her. "He can be defeated, Harry will take care of it all" I told her. "Including this stone situation, and I'm going to be there so you don't have to worry about a thing"
"Forgive me Weasley, if that does not give me any comfort whatsoever" she told me.
And with that the Christmas holidays came to a close. Harry did end up discovering the mirror of Erised and since Dumbledore wasn't there, it came to me to drag him away from there after telling him that it wasn't safe. Before I got him out of there I took one quick look at myself and felt warmth in my heart upon seeing the same thing I had seen last time. That still hadn't changed.
Hermione came back soon after the holidays were done and was shocked to hear about Scabbers, and Sirius. She was outraged that someone had been sent to prison without trial and talked about thinking of joining the ministry to make sure that justice was given to everyone.
"At least it's not spew" I said with relief in my voice, which confused Hermione a bit.
After asking me what I meant by Spew, and me denying that I said anything at all, we told Hermione about who he was, which lead to her racing to the library in excitement, leaving Harry and I with our eyes rolling.
"He's responsible for creating the Philosopher's Stone" she told us later. "It can produce the Elixir Of Life, which ensures continuous life to the person taking it. That is how he has lived 665 years now" she told us.
"Blimey" I said, pretending to be surprised. "You don't think Dumbledore is keeping something that precious at the school do you?" I asked them, thus inserting the thought in their mind. Harry and his overactive imagination meant that he was going to start blaming Snape, and that was going to come soon.
The world didn't sit still while we went on with our life. The trial for Peter Pettigrew pronounced him guilty and had him sentenced Azkaban for life. I was sure that he was going to escape, I just didn't know when that was going to happen, but I knew it was coming.
The trial for Sirius Black was slightly more expedited after that. He was rewarded a significant compensation by the ministry, with Cornelius Fudge talking about how he was eager to correct the mistakes his predecessor had made and he was granted a pardon. He was punished for not registering as an Animagus, but that punishment was deemed to have been served for the ten years he had been in Azkaban, and that meant that pretty soon, he was going to walk free.
This was the first major change I had made, and I couldn't help but smile when Harry was informed that Sirius was his Godfather, and he seemed to be in sane health, his time at Azkaban hadn't really affected him too badly, which could only be a good thing.
Remus Lupin had shown up soon after the trial according to Dumbledore, and had decided to take care of him, which could only be a good thing.
As we sat there eating our breakfast, the usual flurry of owls brought us our letter, including a very tiny little owl that seemed familiar.
'Pigwidgeon' I almost said out loud as the over enthusiastic owl came flapping about and dropped a letter in my lap. It didn't seem to move from it's position.
"What a cute owl" Hermione remarked as Lavender and Parvati agreed with her, while Harry tried peeking over my shoulder to see what letter I had received.
I was surprised when I saw that it was from Sirius.
Dear Ron,
I don't know how to say this to you. Really, I don't, but thank you so much. Minnie and Dumbledore told me what happened that day and how you helped apprehend Pettigrew once he was discovered to be your rat. It sure helped save my life and get me out of prison, and it's all thanks to you, so I'll forever be in your debt.
I also hear that you and Harry are best friends, which is nice. You might not know this but when he was born, I was named his godfather, and I look forward to the chance of getting to raise him the way James and Lily would have wanted him to be raised.
I'm sorry this letter is brief, but I'm not exactly in the mental state to have long conversations right now, but I just wanted to thank you.
Yours Truly,
Sirius.
PS: It's indirectly my fault that you have no pet, so keep the owl. He seems overenthusiastic and ready to please and will make a great messenger.
I smiled when I finished the letter, and gave it to Harry, who began reading it with excitement on his face.
"You're mine now" I said as the owl came fluttering onto my arms."I'm gonna call you Pigwidgeon" I told him. "Pig for short"
The owl hooted in excitement, I wondered if there was anything else he did apart from hooting in excitement.
"That's an interesting name" Hermione said slowly trailing off. I expect that it wasn't characteristic of me to call my owl 'Pig' but Ginny had named him the last time and the name seemed to stick for some reason.
I told Pig to go to the Owlery and settle down there, and he hooted and flew away.
I couldn't help but notice the forlorn expression on Harry's face as we rushed to Herbology class later that day, he had been surly since the letter had come for me, and his mood didn't seem like improving.
"Everything alright?" I asked him.
"No" he said to me shortly. "Everything is not alright. If he really is free, then why hasn't he sent me a message yet? He tells you that he's looking forward to meeting me, but he hasn't tried to contact me once" he told me.
"Why didn't you tell me when I asked you before?"
"I didn't want to tell you in front of Hermione, I mean she's great, but you understand these things better" I was touched by what he had said, and couldn't help but agree. Hermione was our best friend, but it wasn't the relationship Harry and I had. Arguments with Hermione were part of nature for me, but with Harry, our arguments were few, and awful whenever they happened. I doubted that either of us could survive without each other.
"There could be several reasons why he hasn't got in touch with you Harry, it's not that simple" I told him as we moved towards the Greenhouse. Hermione was probably already there, fuming that we were late to the class.
"Like what?" he asked me.
"Maybe, he's worried. He was in a prison where people have their happy memories sucked from them Harry, he's not going to be fit and dandy as soon as he gets out, he said as much in his letter right?"
"What if he's like Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon?" Harry asked me, and I stiffened. I had no idea how Harry was treated by his muggle relatives, the things I'd heard from him were never too positive and the one time I had shown up to his house in second year, he was imprisoned behind the walls of his very own home and we had to rescue him.
"From what I've heard of Sirius, he was your father's best friends. Your muggle relatives don't even understand magic" I told him. "It's gonna be fine mate, he's gonna send you a letter soon" I assured him, hoping that my own words were true and there weren't other reasons as to why Sirius hadn't been sending any letters to him.
That seemed to temporarily assuage Harry, but our troubles were not over yet. Apparently Malfoy had decided that he couldn't target me without retaliation, so he had taken to bullying Neville, and that angered me a lot. It didn't help that the Neville I knew and this Neville were wildly different, it wasn't until the fifth year that Neville became the brave and dependable guy I remembered from my previous life.
Hermione had taken to teaching Neville some self defense, while I wasn't sure if that was really going to help. I was thinking about permanently cursing Malfoy's legs off.
Problems increased when as per schedule, Harry heard Snape and Quirrel arguing over something and was convinced that Snape had been trying to steal the stone.
"I'm telling you" he told us. "He released a troll on Halloween to distract everyone, and tried to steal it then, but he was attacked by the cerebrus and got hurt. That's why he was walking with a limp the next day"
It didn't help that Dumbledore was still no where to be found, I saw him at the breakfast table, but I was not going to start talking about the sensitive subject of Horcuxes in front of everyone was I? He was gone for the rest of the day, and the schedule repeated itself every single day, he was no where to be found.
McGonagall herself did not know where the headmaster was off too, and the best I could do was hope that he was searching for the Horcrux. The days turned into weeks and time began flowing smoothly again. It was the first of February when Harry received the owl from Sirius, who in his letter apologized to him for not contacting him sooner, telling him that he was not in the right place and that he was ashamed at having let Harry down and getting caught, which was a very stupid thing to be ashamed about, he hadn't let Harry down, the wizarding world had let him down.
Hermione again expressed her outrage at the fact that a proper trial had not been given and that everyone deserved justice.
We continued our training in Transfiguration, and while Harry was fine at it, Hermione really excelled. It helped that I proved to be a surprisingly effective teacher, for someone as non academic as me, it was of the essence to simplify the concepts and understand them, which meant that I was in a better position to educate the less talented, and the supremely talented. I still wasn't willing to disclose that I might know NEWT level concepts and decided to not go beyond third year transfiguration yet.
My interest in Potions had also taken off, which was weird because never in a million years would I have thought that I was going to be interested in Potions, but I knew that Voldemort was going to be defeated, and I needed to plan for my future, so Potions seemed like an important subject to grasp. Snape remained puzzled at my good performance in class and seemed to watch me with extra cautious eyes, but never did he find anything that warranted detention.
Quidditch practice continued and the second match against Hufflepuff was soon approaching. I was determined to help Wood out and win him the Quidditch world cup again, but that depended on the stone and how things progressed with that.
It didn't help that just like last time, Snape was the referee again.
"Don't worry" I told him. "Catch the snitch as soon as you can" I told him.
'I have 10 Galleons riding on it' I said under my breath.
True to his word, Harry was able to catch the snitch within ten minutes, giving Gryffindor an emphatic win and netting me 50 more galleons, which was never a bad thing.
Fred and George had managed to get some Butterbeer and a wild party broke out in the common room later that evening, it was so festive that even Hermione decided to look up from her books and join in the fun, having pleasant conversations with the twins, Harry and Neville. I had seen this before and seemed distant from it all, I had other things to worry about.
"I'm gonna be back" I told him as I slipped out of the common room, deciding to see if Dumbledore had come back.
I didn't go far before flames erupted and from out of nowhere, Dumbledore's phoenix cried out, dropping a note in my hand.
Meet me in the office now, if your friends ask, tell them that you have been given detention for pulling pranks on Draco Malfoy
The note conveniently burned itself.
"Fucking great" I said, looking at the phoenix, which cried out again.
"Your owner is a barmy man" I told him. The phoenix cried out again, but I swore he was agreeing with me, and I smiled as it disappeared in a burst of flames. In that moment, I wished Pig was a phoenix.
"You're back" I told him as I entered the room and reached straight for his jar of lemon drops, and put my hand in them.
I looked at him and he had a twinkle in his eye. "Do you mind?" I asked him.
"This is the first time someone has asked for a lemon drop Ron" he told me. "I'm actually moved, I'll send you a jar"
"Good idea" I told him, pulling out two lemon drops and popping them in my mouth. I then sat down opposite to him as he watched me with an amused look on his face, his Phoenix was back on his perch, watching me with a keen look on his face.
"He likes you" Dumbledore told him, "Thinks that you are funny"
"Did you find anything about the Horcuxes?" I asked him. "Our conversation was abruptly cut off the last time and-"
"You just get straight to the point, don't you Ron?" he asked me.
"Before I tell you what you know, tell me if you destroyed any of his horcruxes"
I thought it was fair that he wanted to know, and that it could help him.
"Yeah, in the second year, his dairy I think. Harry stabbed it with a basilisk fang in the chamber of secrets and-" I stopped and looked at Dumbledore, who was bewildered at what he had heard.
"Long story, but in the tent we had deciphered that Gryffindor's sword" I said looking at it resting in a case just behind him "Which is goblin made had imbibed the properties of the Basilisk fang"
"Because that would strengthen the sword" Dumbledore said with a look of understanding on his face. "Do I have to ask if you've been to the Chamber Of Secrets?" Dumbledore asked me.
"I have, I think fiendfyre will do the trick too" I told him, and Dumbledore didn't look too keen on that.
"I have discovered the location of a horcrux Ron, a family ring that belonged to his ancestors"
"Yeah, I know, you destroyed that one, I don't know how but I think you did it with a sword"
"You said you wanted to come along with me, do you think you can handle it?" he asked me.
"Yes" I told him. "I am capable of handling it Professor, let's go destroy a bloody horcrux"
So I had written another 1,000 words but then crapped out and was out for almost 16 hours or something, I wonder what happened.
Thanks for reviews of the story so far, and please keep reviewing this story as it will help me going. I'd appreciate it if I can get like ten reviews for this chapter, so please review and ask me any questions you have there.