Ron Weasley was a very normal boy; the only thing unusual about him is that he happened to be a wizard. He was eleven years old, quite tall for his age, and his hair was a flaming red. Freckles were sprinkled over his face, and honestly, he looked quite handsome. It was now morning; the sound of birds chirping filled the atmosphere and rays of sunlight poured into every room as Ron slept on in his house.
Speaking of his house, the Weasleys lived in a house in London called the Burrow. It had many floors – looking stacked on top of each other and slightly crooked (it was almost as if they were held up by magic!) – which was quite surprising, as Ron's family didn't have a terrible amount of money. There was untrimmed grass in the lawn, a warm interior that, well, warmed up the winter and cooled down the summer. It truly was a wonderful house.
If the house was good, it was nothing compared to the people inside it. There were Mr and Mrs Weasley, two loving parents (though the latter usually transformed into a tiger when she was angry), Bill, Ron's oldest brother, who worked in the wizarding bank, Charlie, another brother – he took care of dragons. Both Bill and Charlie had left school, but their three younger brothers were still attending it. Amongst them, the oldest one was Percy, who had just been made school Prefect and was looking extra smug these days. Then, of course, there were Fred and George – both were twins, and had an immense sense of humour.
Then, finally, there was Ron himself, and his little sister, Ginny – she would be starting school next year. Today, however, was 30th July, and he would be expecting to get his Hogwarts letter any moment (not now, of course, now the boy was in a deep sleep on his bed). Downstairs below him, there was the sound of Mr and Mrs Weasley waking up, and saying good morning to each other. Then Percy and Bill came downstairs – Charlie was in Romania studying dragons – and you could distinctly hear Mr Weasley Apparating to the Ministry of Magic and Mrs Weasley bustling around to make breakfast.
Ron grunted in his sleep and rolled over. A ray of golden sunlight shone in his eyes, and a group of passing birds chirped loudly. So, finally, the eleven year old awoke, to reveal a pair of sapphire like eyes. He looked around the room lazily before checking his watch; it was apparently still 7:30 am. Yawning widely, the redhead decided that there was no use staying awake just now, and was about to crawl back into bed when he heard his mother's voice calling; "Ron! Fred! George! Ginny! Come down to breakfast, quickly!"
Ron grumbled quietly as he got out of bed once more, dressed himself quickly, and walked downstairs. Today was the thirtieth of July… Most of his brothers had received their Hogwarts letter just around this time. It was natural to expect his, of course. His mind still on that letter, the young boy hardly paid attention as he muttered "Morning, mum," and absent-mindedly watched a pan wash itself. Once Mrs Weasley had served them all breakfast, and they were all eating, Ron only looked up to the sound of a small thud. The family owl, Errol, had once again failed to notice the glass window.
Sighing, Percy got up and picked up the owl, patted him for a bit and then took the letter he was carrying. Errol gave a feeble hoot before soaring away to rest on a shelf. Meanwhile, Percy scanned the envelope before handing it to Ron; "Here, Ron, it's your Hogwarts letter." Immediately, the young boy looked up and double checked it – yup, there was no mistaking the shiny Hogwarts crest, depicting a lion, badger, eagle and snake. His insides whooped with joy as the boy took it eagerly.
Dear Mr Weasley,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1st September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
His heart beating with excitement, Ron read the first letter eagerly before tossing it on the table and moving on to the next. Ha, Fred and George were always teasing him that he wouldn't have magic.
First year students will require:
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
On and on went the letter, Ron clinging on to every word (his breakfast lay forgotten; now, only the young boy's plate was unfinished). Finally, the long piece of parchment finished;
Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS AREN'T ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK.
Yours sincerely,
Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus
Ron finally looked up, the widest grin plastered to his face. Finally, finally, he would get to go to Hogwarts. The boy looked around; his mum was overlooking the dishes washing themselves, Bill and Percy were casually reading the Daily Prophet together, and Fred and George were looking at the piece of parchment a bit too suspiciously. None of them had noticed that the little redhead had finished reading, and so that gave him a couple moments to think.
He, Ron, was accepted into Hogwarts. The best school of magic ever. Of course, all his older siblings and parents had gone there, too, and all of them had been put in the Gryffindor house. The boy would have liked to spend more time thinking about what Hogwarts might be like, but then, his younger sister Ginny could be heard hopping down the stairs. "Morning, mum!" she said cheerfully, before sitting down on the table next to Ron. Before she could say anything, Mrs Weasley spoke to her daughter, "You're late, Ginny, even the dishes have been washed."
Ginny, however, wasn't paying attention. She leant over Ron's shoulder and asked, "Oh, is that your Hogwarts letter?" The eleven-year-old boy merely nodded in reply – this, however, was the cue for the rest of the family to realise that Ron had finished reading. Mrs Weasley forgot about the dishes and kissed Ron on his forehead (the boy blushed), Bill and Percy thumped Ron on the back and said well done, Ginny complained to her mother that she wanted to get a letter too, but Fred and George took the piece of parchment and scanned it suspiciously. Everybody went quiet as they watched the twins fumble around with the envelope and read the letter.
"They've made a mistake," said Fred finally as he put the paper down and turned to look at his family.
"What?" said Ron, confused; he somehow had a hunch that this was a prank.
"Yes," said George solemnly (Ron thought that he was fighting the impulse to start laughing)
"What do you mean?" said Bill, although his lip was twitching.
"You see, how could –"
"– our brother Ron –" (George pointed at Ron unnecessarily)
"– be getting a Hogwarts letter?"
"Because we think –"
" – we know, actually –"
"– that Hogwarts is only allowed to wizards. Not muggl– ow!" Bill had just (lovingly) slapped Fred and George on the back of their head. Ron grinned. However he tried to avoid admitting it, the boy was slightly relieved to find out that it was all just a joke. As Fred and George rubbed the back of their heads, even they couldn't help it. Soon, the Burrow was filled with laughter; apparently, they thought that Ron fell for the joke. Everybody was in a lighter mood except Percy, who pursed his lips and continued reading the Daily Prophet, or Mrs Weasley, who merely smiled.
She checked her watch. "8:30," said Mrs Weasley briskly, after the laughter had simmered down. "Not much to do today, but next week we'll be popping along to Diagon Alley to get your school things. Also –" she picked up Ron's school letter from the table, read the last lines and then turned to Ron, "– it says you need an owl or a cat or a toad. Sorry, Ron, but we can't give you any of these – Errol's needed for family business. Percy, maybe you can give Ron your rat?"
Percy jumped at being addressed; he was deeply engrossed in the newspaper. Nevertheless, he recovered quickly from his small shock. "Of course, mum!" He said, "I'll get Scabbers in a moment, if you'll excuse me." Percy got up from the table and walked up the stairs up his room. Ron was grinning wider than ever before; sure, a rat was pretty useless, but at least he got to have a pet. And that too, Percy's. The boy didn't think one bit about having to use a second hand pet; he got old things all the time. That was one of the downsides of being the (almost) youngest person in the family.
After several moments, Percy returned to the dining room, now clutching a black rat in his hand. He handed it to Ron. "Here's Scabbers," he said, as Ron firmly held the wriggling rat in place, "Take good care of him!" Today was the best day in Ron's life. He's gotten a Hogwarts letter and been given a rat – and that was only at breakfast. Who knew what else would happen until the end of the day? As he walked outside to take a walk around a small hill, the boy grinned to himself as he thought about Hogwarts and the many adventures that could take place there. In one month, he would be walking into the barrier of King's Cross just like his brothers always did…