AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Once again, I need to make it clear that I don't endorse the kind of things that the Slytherins believe in. What they say isn't me trying to justify pureblood supremacy or muggleborn hating, or excuse the actions of people like Draco Malfoy. Like I said, Ron is a very unreliable narrator, and his narration is heavily filled with his own biases - in any aspect, not just in regards to dealing with muggleborns. For example, he could say things about, say, Percy, or someone, and that not exactly be true from an objective standpoint. But it's his opinion, so it looks like it's fact, even when it's not. When he, Daphne, or others downplay the usage of the word mudblood, it's not me downplaying it - it's them. Well, technically I'm the one writing it, but you know what I mean - they're very obviously in the wrong, but they don't realize that yet.

Now with that cleared up, on with the chapter!

LINEBREAK

Ron couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Potter, Granger, and Longbottom looking perfectly fine, if a bit tired, at breakfast the day after he'd challenged him to a duel. Had Granger convinced him not to go? She seemed like the type who would genuinely care about not breaking the rules. Or had they simply chickened out? Ron frowned when he saw the tired looks on their faces. No, that didn't make sense...they would've been more refreshed if they stayed in the Common Room. Did they actually manage to evade Filch?

"You've got to be kidding me," Draco groaned when he took a seat next to Ron and glanced over to the Gryffindor table. "Why are they not in detention?"

"Looks like Potter's smarter than he lets on," Daphne smirked as she took a bite of her food.

"But Ron and I told Filch!" Draco whined. "He knew when and where they were going to be, what could they have possibly done to escape?"

"Just let it go, Draco," Ron sighed. He didn't like it any less, but it wasn't like he could actually do anything about it now that they had escaped. Honestly, he felt a bit of grudging admiration - only Fred and George were able to consistently evade Filch, as per his knowledge. "Nothing we can do about it, now."

Then he remembered his own relationship with Fred and George currently, and the admiration vanished instantly. He wasn't going to admire the brothers who currently hated him.

"You got outplayed," Theo said in a bored tone. "Just accept it."

Draco scowled.

"It's kind of embarrassing, actually," Crabbe grunted.

"Shut up, Crabbe," Draco snapped. "You don't even know what a trophy room is."

"Yes I do!" Crabbe protested. "It's...it's the room where they keep the trophies!"

There was a smattering of snickering at Crabbe's defensive proclamation.

"I mean, he's technically right," Blaise drawled.

"Draco, you just got outsmarted by Crabbe," Pansy sniggered. "This is a new low for you."

"Hey, leave Crabbe alone," Goyle rumbled. "He's right, that's what a trophy room is."

"Of course you'd be the one to defend him," Draco sighed. "Merlin, you two are like two peas in a pod. How did you two not end up in Hufflepuff?"

Crabbe and Goyle frowned in unison at that.

"Don't insult them like that, Draco," Ron snorted. "Not even Crabbe and Goyle deserve to be compared to the Hufflepuffs."

They were the duffers of the school, after all. Slytherin was bad enough, if Ron had gotten into Hufflepuff, his brothers would have never let him live it down for the rest of his life.

Then again, at least they wouldn't hate me for my house, Ron thought sadly.

"If I were in Hufflepuff, I'd leave, to be honest," Tracey laughed. "My mum would tease me forever for it."

"My parents would probably disown me," Millie said, smirking in amusement.

Ron and his friends had a good laugh at that, before they were interuppted by Draco's squawk of indignation.

"What is it now?" Blaise asked tiredly.

"Look at Potter!" Draco looked furious, and Ron's gaze shifted over to the Gryffindor table, where he noticed the flurry of owls and packages arriving there. Flying to Potter were six owls, all carrying a long, thin package that looked strangely like it held a broomstick inside it.

But first-years aren't allowed a... Ron suddenly realized what was going on. You've got to be kidding me.

"You're joking," Pansy's jaw had dropped. "What the hell is a doing with a broomstick?"

"Bloody Potter," Theo muttered, face pinched in annoyance.

Potter looked like his birthday had come early, face a picture of delight. Longbottom looked similarly excited, yammering something excitedly into Potter's ear. Only Granger looked a bit disgruntled at the sight. But just as quickly as Potter had received the broomstick, he quickly jumped out of his seat and walked out of the Great Hall, followed by Longbottom and Granger.

"First years aren't allowed a broomstick!" Draco looked rather gleeful now. "Potter's in for it now! Didn't he get in trouble for flying the other day, too?"

"Draco, why are you so obsessed with Potter?" Daphne sighed. "Yes, he's a spoiled brat, we know. No need to harp on about it."

"Yeah, it's almost like you have a crush on him," Tracey giggled.

Draco choked, and Ron and the rest of his friends roared in laughter.

"That's disgusting!" Draco spluttered. "That stupid scarhead is the last person I would go for!"

"Don't worry, Draco," Millie said in a mock-comforting tone. "This is a safe space. We won't judge you for your sordid affair with a Gryffindor."

Crabbe and Goyle sniggered in unison at Draco's outraged face.

"She got you there, Draco," Goyle said as he laughed.

"Shut up, Goyle," Draco snapped. "You don't even know what an affair is."

"Is that really the only thing you can say to people as a comeback?" Blaise chuckled. "You need to expand your vocabulary, mate."

"Oi!" Draco whirled on Blaise, scowling. "When did picking on me become a fad?!"

"Evidently about now," Theo said drily.

"You're all evil," Draco declared amidst the laughter of the Slytherin first-years. "C'mon, Ron," he turned to Ron, who was the only person not laughing. "We're going to class. We'll be sitting in Transfiguration and waiting for their apology," he sniffed. Draco was acting rather theatrical at the moment, but Ron knew he didn't actually mean wanting an apology.

"Sure, mate," Ron snorted. "I'll see you guys in Mcgonagall then, I guess." He made to stand up and followed Draco as they left the Great Hall.

"Don't involve Ron in your affair!" Crabbe called as Draco and Ron left to the howls of laughter of their friends. Draco looked mutinous, and Ron had to hold back his laughter at Draco's expression. It was obvious he was just mad at Potter for getting a broomstick. Not that Ron wasn't upset as well. It wasn't fair how Potter got such special treatment just because he was famous.

Soon, he and Draco had reached the stairs, where, to their luck, they managed to run into Potter and his sidekicks. Ron suppressed a groan, he didn't want to have to deal with Potter so early in the day. Draco, on the other hand, looked like a cat who had caught the canary, and stalked forward to Potter before ripping the still-wrapped package out from his hand.

"That's a broomstick," Draco said, throwing it back to Potter, looking rather spiteful and even a bit jealous at what Potter was holding. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them."

"Harry e-earned the broomstick, M-Malfoy," Longbottom interjected, looking nervous but standing his ground. "I-it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. P-probably a lot better than y-your broomstick."

Ron's jaw fell to his floor at that. A Nimbus Two Thousand? How in Merlin's name was Potter able to afford that? It wasn't fair!

"If by earned you mean given because he's famous, then I guess you're right, Longbottom," Ron shot back. "What'd you do this time, Potter? Give out signed photos to the Nimbus company?"

"Actually, it was a gift for Harry from the school," Granger snapped at him. "A gift he earned because of his flying ability. Not that I'd expect any of you to understand anything about earning things."

Draco sneered at Granger, opening his mouth, and Ron instinctively spoke up before Draco could. He didn't want to have to hear Draco say a slur at Granger again, even if she was bloody annoying.

"So Harry bloody Potter broke the school rules once more," Ron scowled, feeling upset. "I'm not surprised, of course. Is that how you got away from Filch last night? Channel in your inner celebrity? Maybe get Filch an autographed litter bowl for his cat?"

At that, Potter's annoyed expression darkened into one of anger, and he pointed an accusatory finger at Ron.

"You backed out on your end of the deal, Weasley!" He snapped. "We went to the trophy room, and you weren't there! What, were you scared?"

"It's called a setup, Potter," Draco drawled in a haughty tone, seemingly pushing his former anger back for the chance to rub a victory in Potter's face. "It's why we're in Slytherin, and you're not. Merlin, how thick can you Gryffindors get?"

"So you lied," Potter said darkly.

"No worse than what you did to get your broomstick, Potter," Ron shot back.

"Jealous?" Granger asked in a condescending tone. "I get that it must be tough to look at your...probably a Comet Two Hundred and Sixty or Cleansweep Five and then at Harry's Nimbus Two Thousand, but just because Harry as a better broom than you doesn't mean you need to antagonize him."

"And what would you know about broomsticks, Granger?" Draco's pale face flushed in anger. "I thought your kind uses them for sweeping the floors." He turned over to Longbottom. "And don't act like you know anything about broomsticks either, Longbottom. I'd expect your broom to be the one controlling you instead of the other way around."

"I-I'm worth twelve of y-you, Malfoy," Longbottom squeaked, and Ron's anger subsided for a second, being replaced by genuine amusement. What was Longbottom playing at?

"You tell 'em, Nev," Potter whispered encouragingly.

"Trying to act intimidating, Longbottom?" Ron raised an eyebrow. "It's not working. My little sister is twice as scary as you, and she's a good three or four inches shorter, too."

Draco snorted in amusement as Longbottom turned red from embarrassment, but Professor Flitwick appeared behind them before Potter or his friends could respond.

"Not arguing, I hope, everyone?" he squeaked.

"Potter has a broomstick, Professor Flitwick," Draco said quickly. Ron was hoping that Flitwick would know the rules and actually punish Potter for once. "And first-years aren't allowed them."

"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Potter, much to Ron's confusion. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?"

"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," said Potter, looking like he was trying his hardest not to laugh. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it."

With that, Potter and his gang flashed a superior look of amusement and Ron and Draco before brushing past them and walking upstairs.

"Well, then, off with you two boys as well," Flitwick said jovially. "Breakfast just about ended, and you wouldn't want to be late to your first class!"

"C'mon, Draco," Ron muttered tightly as he grabbed his friend's sleeve before dragging him in the direction of Mcgonagall's classroom. Draco was still sputtering in horror.

"That-how-he's a bloody cheater!" He burst out. "It's not fair!"

Ron scowled darkly as he pictured Potter's stupid, smug face.

"I know, Draco," he said, feeling furious. "I know."

LINEBREAK

Ron was walking over to Lunch after his first class of the day, pretty much having pushed the thought of precious Prince Potter and his stupid broomstick to the back of his mind and forgetting about it. In Transfiguration, they had moved past transfiguring matches into needles (Ron himself had finally been able to do it without much error), but rather than get into more complex Transfiguration like Ron had expected them to, Mcgonagall had sat them down with a quill and parchment and had them take notes on Gamp's Law of Transfiguration. It had been horribly boring, but on the bright side, they didn't have any homework other than to read their textbook and take some notes.

As Ron had walked down the halls, chatting and laughing with his friends, he bumped into a tall, thin figure wearing Gryffindor robes. Ron looked up to see Percy, looming over Ron and wearing a large frown as he crossed his arms.

"Hey Percy," Ron greeted cautiously, wondering why he looked so disappointed, and why he was just staring at Ron instead of going to the Great Hall. "What's up?"

"Ronald," Percy looked very disgruntled. "We need to talk."

Ron felt the nerves in his stomach twist and knot as he took in his older brother's seemingly bad mood. What was this about? Was Percy going to get mad at him too? Had he found out about how he'd tried to lure Potter to Filch yesterday? Would he get points taken off? Detention?

"Um...alright," Ron furrowed his eyebrows and stopped moving, looking at his friends. "You lot just carry on without me, yeah? I'll meet you once I finish talking or something, maybe in Charms class after Lunch if I can't make it."

There were some murmured assents, and once they had all filed away into the Hall, Percy grabbed Ron's wrist and pulled him away from the doorway to the Great Hall.

"Hey-ow! Percy! What the hell is wrong with you?" Ron yelped as his brother tugged him roughly. When they had reached a corner of a corridor Ron didn't recognize, Percy let him go and stared at him, a bit of hostility evident in his expression.

"P-Perce?" Ron asked tentatively. "What's going on?"

Percy's face was a grim mask as he spoke.

"I heard about what you did yesterday," he began. Ron visibly cringed at that. Was Percy going to get mad at him? Ron didn't want his last family member who supported him to be upset with him too.

"Listen, Perce, that was just a bit of fun. I wasn't actually going to duel Potter, you know? He's the idiot for actually going out after curfew."

Percy's upset expression turned puzzled for a second, before shifting back to its formerly upset look.

"That's not what I meant," he bit out. "But I will be looking into that later, thank you, Ronald."

Ron frowned.

"Then...what did I do?"

Percy just sighed, massaging his temple with his fingers.

"I know that you have been hanging around Draco Malfoy for this past week, Ronald," he said tightly. "And I didn't say anything. But you took it too far yesterday. Calling Hermione a slur at her own House table? Is that really what Slytherin has turned you into?"

Ron's stomach sank to the floor at Percy's words.

So he found out...

Had he heard Draco call Granger a mudblood? Was that why he was confronting him? But if that were the case, wouldn't he have spoken to him last night itself? Why wait? Did he want to catch Ron alone?

"It wasn't me," Ron mumbled. "I didn't say anything against her."

Percy looked at him sharply.

"I don't want any excuses, Ronald," he said strictly. "I know you and Draco Malfoy insulted Hermione about her status as a muggleborn last night. At least show me that you have some bravery by admitting it."

Ron instinctively scowled at that. Bravery? So Percy was still hung up about his sorting? Was he really going to bring that up now?

"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm a Slytherin, aren't I?" He retorted. "So excuse me if I'm not brave like you Gryffindors are."

Percy frowned hard upon hearing Ron's words.

"Didn't I tell you I was almost put into Slytherin, too? That's not an excuse."

"But you ended up in Gryffindor, didn't you?" Ron shot back. "And I didn't."

"Don't try to change the subject and make this a pity party for you, Ronald. This is about what you did. What is Slytherin turning you into? A blood purist? A muggleborn hater?" He shook his head. "I'm more disappointed in you than I can say. This isn't my little brother. This isn't who you're supposed to be."

Ron felt rage bubble up at Percy's words. So this was it, then? Percy was going to cut him off like Fred and George did, too? Was he going to deny their relationship because of one incident? Ron didn't even say the damned slur! That had been Draco! Why was Percy acting like this? It didn't make sense!

"I didn't even say anything!" Ron snapped.

"Standing by makes you just as much of a bully as the bully itself," Percy shot back.

"Oh, come off it, Percy!" Ron cried. "It's a bloody word! Fred and George called us worse names on the daily back in the Burrow! You've heard how Charlie gets when he's around his friends too! Even Dad's said some bad stuff before! Maybe Granger should just grow up and accept that there's no harm in a damn word!"

Percy looked stricken at that, and Ron felt a pit form in his stomach as he realized what he was saying. Was he actually defending pureblood supremacists? Was he seriously trying to argue for the usage of slurs? Merlin, what was happening to him?

He quickly shook his head internally. No, that wasn't what he was doing. He was still completely against discrimination. He still had no problem with muggleborns. He would confront Draco about the way he was acting, about what he was saying. Just...just not now. Not so early. He didn't want to lose the friendships that he had just formed. He didn't want to go back to being the outcast in the Slytherin table.

And it technically was only a word, nothing more.

Slowly, Percy's shocked look morphed into one of genuine anger, an expression Ron hadn't actually seen Percy adopt for years. Yes, he would get upset, or irritated, or disappointed, but Percy rarely, if ever, genuinely got angry. He was like dad and Bill in that aspect, while Charlie, Fred and George, Ginny, him, and mum all had extremely short tempers.

And the fact that Percy so rarely got genuinely angry, if Ron was being completely honest, made his temper all the more terrifying to witness.

"Fred and George were right," Percy said coldly. "I shouldn't have wasted my energy trying to keep you on the right path. Being around Slytherins will inevitably turn you into one of them."

Ron flinched back as if he had been struck upon hearing Percy's icy tone, mind flashing back to Fred's rage and George's disappointment and how he had to endure that two weeks ago. And it seemed like history was repeating itself with Percy. His thoughts of guilt at how he had stood by and watched as Draco called Granger a mudblood melted away and gave way to the hurt and shock that he felt witnessing Percy acting this cold to him.

"Your behavior is disgraceful, Ronald," Percy continued, looking like he was getting more and more angry the more that he spoke. "This isn't how mum and dad raised you."

Ron's vision tinted red at the mention of his parents.

"Oh yeah, and how did they raise me, Percy?" Ron blurted out, his pent-up anger at the Howler his parents had sent him all rushing to the surface at once. "I was the least favorite! The sixth son! I grew up in all of your shadows! Nothing I could accomplish would be good, because you lot have already done it first! You saw the Howler that they sent me last week! You heard the Howler! That's what they think of me! So excuse me if I don't value what they say too much!"

Percy looked surprised at Ron's outburst for a second, before his expression shifted into a rage that mirrored Ron's own.

"And that gives you the excuse to spit on everything they raised you to believe in? To stand by and watch and laugh as pureblood supremacists insult muggleborns?" He demanded furiously.

So that was all he cared about! Ron didn't matter, all that mattered to Percy was the muggleborns and taking care of their feelings by not calling them mudbloods! How was it fair that people could say whatever they wanted to Ron, that they could insult him and yell at him and push him away like his family was doing, but the moment someone said a single damn word against, in this case, a muggleborn, everyone gets all riled up? It was just a word! It wasn't like they were actively being discriminated against by Draco or the Slytherins or the Hogwarts staff! Like Daphne said, they were actually gaining more rights and protections from the Ministry!

"Oh yeah, that's the only thing that matters to all of you, isn't it Percy?" Ron snarled. "Protecting muggles and muggleborns from evil Slytherin purebloods like me. Never mind that I'm your brother, that I'm your family, no! You'll choose a random girl you only met two weeks ago over me! I don't even hate muggleborns, I never did! You should know that! I don't discriminate against them, and I never will, and if you cared about me, you'd have realized that by now! But it's just a bloody word! It's not like Draco and the Slytherins go around and attack and kill muggleborns like You-Know-Who did!"

"At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if they do!" Percy snapped at him.

"And there it is!" Ron said in an acid tone. "Do you not realize how stupid that sounds?! That's like saying you lot of Gryffindors are going to go out murdering Slytherins because you don't like us! At least show some consistency, Percy!"

"How are those two remotely the same thing?!" Percy scowled furiously back at him. "Calling someone a slur is completely different from whatever you're saying!"

"No it isn't!" Ron lashed back. "It works the damn same! How is Fred and George calling me a little Death Eater for being sorted into Slytherin alright, but calling a muggleborn a slur suddenly demands that you come over here and lecture me?!"

"Draco Malfoy is not a good person to be around, Ronald," Percy said dangerously. "Look what he's turning you into."

Ron snorted in derisive anger at that.

"What he's turning me into? What he's turning me into?" He snarled in Percy's face. "Draco's been a hell lot nicer to me than you, Fred, and George have! He said a word! Sure, it's a bad word, but it's a bloody word! You still didn't tell me, Percy! What's the difference between you all calling me a traitorous little snake and Draco calling Granger a mudblood?!"

He and Percy were now in each other's faces, both of their tempers reaching a boiling point, roaring at each other as they let out the rage they'd been holding in.

"YOU'RE JUST MAKING EXCUSES!" Percy bellowed, eyes alight with rage. "INSULTS ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM SLURS, RONALD! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW SERIOUS THIS ISSUE IS!"

"AND YOUR WORDS HURT ME!" Ron screamed back. "ALL OF YOU! MUM, DAD, FRED, GEORGE, ALL OF YOU GUYS HURT ME WITH YOUR WORDS! BUT I WAS ABLE TO TAKE IT, WASN'T I? WHY CAN'T THEY DO THE SAME?! WHY AREN'T THEY SUPPOSED TO JUST IGNORE IT LIKE I WAS?!"

"BECAUSE WE NEVER DISCRIMINATED AGAINST YOU FOR SOMETHING YOU CAN'T CONTROL!" Percy roared in rage. "YOU-" he paused instantly as his own words sunk in, his expression going slack as he realized just what he had said.

Checkmate, Ron noted bitterly in the back of his mind, amidst his boiling rage and screaming and haziness of his own head and thoughts. You walked right into your own trap, Percy.

"OH REALLY?!" Ron screeched. "THEN WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR TREATMENT OF ME BEING SORTED INTO SLYTHERIN SUPPOSED TO BE! I COULDN'T CONTROL THE SORTING HAT'S DECISIONS! WHY DID FRED AND GEORGE SHUN AND AVOID ME FOR THAT?! WHY DID MUM AND DAD SEND ME A HOWLER BECAUSE OF THAT?! WHY DID YOU CONSTANTLY PESTER AND BOTHER ME ABOUT BECOMING A DARK WIZARD AND A DEATH EATHER?! WHY DID YOU TRY TO GET ME TO STAY AWAY FROM MY HOUSEMATES, KNOWING THAT I'D BE ALONE AND MISERABLE BECAUSE NONE OF YOU CARED ENOUGH TO REACH OUT?!"

"Ron-" Percy's face was ashen, his anger evaporating in an instant, but Ron wasn't done.

"MAYBE IF YOU ACCEPTED ME, THEN I WOULDN'T EVEN BE HANGING AROUND THE SLYTHERINS!" Ron cried. "BUT NO! YOU ALL IGNORED ME! YOU ALL PUSHED ME AWAY! IT WAS THE SAME BLOODY SLYTHERINS THAT YOU ALL HATED WHO ACCEPTED ME! THEY DIDN'T CARE WHO I WAS! ONLY YOU DID! IS OUR FAMILY'S PREJUDICE AGAINST SLYTHERIN NOT THE EXACT SAME THING AS BLOOD SUPREMACY?! HUH?!"

Percy's jaw was slack. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but nothing could come out.

Ron roughly wiped away the wetness in his eyes. He couldn't cry. Not in front of him.

"No answer, Percy?" Ron asked in a jaundiced tone, his voice marginally quieter than before. "I'm not surprised. Hypocrites, the lot of you are."

Percy was as pale as a ghost, breathing hard and fast, eyes blown wide open. He moved his hand out towards Ron, as if trying to make a gesture of peace or comfort him, but Ron instinctively slapped it away.

"I don't hate muggleborns. I don't hate muggles. I never have, and I never will. But you...you just think I do because I'm a Slytherin, don't you? You think all of us are the bloody same, don't you?" Ron asked, feeling embittered by Percy's words.

Percy looked horrified at Ron's words, and Ron felt his anger begin to evaporate and give way for sadness and despair.

"I thought you had accepted me," Ron whispered. "Out of everyone in our family, I thought you didn't care where I was sorted into. But I was wrong."

"Ron, please-" Percy tried, but Ron ruthlessly cut him off.

"I'm done, Percy," Ron said quietly. "Just..." Ron's voice wavered. "Just stay away from me. All of you."

And with that, Ron stormed off, ruthlessly wiping the tears off of his face with his robes while Percy just stood their, slack-jawed, not making a move to do even a single thing as Ron left.

LINEBREAK

Ron was in a terrible mood for the rest of the day. His row with Percy had spoiled the cheer he'd been carrying in the morning completely. He hadn't even gone back to the Great Hall after that argument, even though there were still time left for Lunch, instead opting to head straight towards Charms class. Ron did suppose it was funny to see Flitwick almost trip over of his stack of books at seeing a student sitting in his class before even he had gotten there, but the humor in it was diluted by the poor state of mind he was in.

Draco had slid down next to him in Charms and seemed to immediately take notice of his poor mood.

"Oi, you alright?" He whispered as Flitwick started his lecture, levitating pieces of chalk to write on his blackboard.

Ron shrugged, feeling miserable.

"I guess," he said dully without any elaboration. He saw Draco frown out of the corner of his eye.

"Who pissed in your oatmeal?" He asked. "Was your brother being a git?"

Ron frowned harder at that.

"You could say that..." he mumbled. "Told me off for something I didn't even do..."

"Ron," Draco nudged him. "Don't worry about him. You're one of us now, remember? You don't need their approval anymore."

The way Draco said 'their' made Ron get the feeling that his friend still didn't think very highly of his family, and while Ron would've gotten angry at that at one point, now he honestly just felt too tired to actually say anything in defense of his family. And even if he wasn't, he didn't think he actually would. Was a family so quick to cast him aside just because he had been sorted into Slytherins and made friends with them a family worth defending? Of course, Ron still loved them, that was indisputable...but he couldn't say that he liked them very much at the moment.

"Yeah..." Ron muttered. "Sure."

"What did he tell you off for?" Tracey, who was sitting on the other side of him, asked curiously.

Ron just sighed, leaning forward on his desk.

"When Draco and I went over to challenge Potter to a Wizard's Duel, we got into a kind of heated argument with him and Granger. Percy grabbed me and went off on me for it, even though I didn't even really do much," Ron explained gloomily.

"Well, what happened there is a stupid thing to get mad about," Draco muttered. "Everything I said was true."

Ron still didn't like how Draco was so staunchly against muggleborns and how easy it was for him to bust out slurs at them, but he didn't want to have to confront his friend about it now. Especially when Percy, who'd been his last family member that had supported him, turned against him as well. At this point, the only people Ron had in Hogwarts were his Slytherin friends, and he didn't want to lose them.

Good Merlin, so that's why I'm in Slytherin, Ron realized with a slight start. His sense of self-preservation seemed far more attuned than he'd originally thought. Ron knew his brothers wouldn't have stood for the kinds of things his friends were saying, even if it meant being completely isolated from them (even Percy). And that's why they're in Gryffindor, I guess.

Tracey scrunched up her eyebrows as she seemed to be in contemplation at Ron's words.

"What'd you say?" She asked.

"The truth," Draco responded, looking a bit annoyed that Percy had gotten upset at what he had said. "Granger is a mud-"

"Draco," Ron interrupted. "Just...leave it, will you? I don't really want to think about that right now."

He also really didn't want to hear Draco say mudblood again. It hurt to see someone Ron considered a friend use such foul language so openly. Not just because Ron himself didn't like it, but also because with every time Draco said mudblood, it was essentially proving his family was right. And Ron did not want to acknowledge that, not when they were treating him like garbage right now.

Draco just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, mate," he said before turning back to Flitwick. "Let me know when you get over your depression, will you?"

Tracey, who had frowned at Draco right as Ron cut him off from saying mudblood, leaned over to shove him lightly.

"Stop being an arse," she said firmly. "Ron doesn't need your sarcasm right now."

"Ms. Davis, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Weasley," Flitwick's high-pitched voice cut through whatever snarky response Draco was probably about to give back to Tracey. "Something to add to the class?"

Ron felt his mood spiral down even more as Flitwick caught them talking in his lecture. Great. Now he'd get in trouble, wouldn't he? Merlin, could this day get any worse?

Tracey had flushed horribly upon being singled out by Flitwick, and even Draco seemed too speechless for words.

"Um...n-no, Professor Flitwick," Tracey stammered back. "We're sorry for interrupting."

Draco nodded hurriedly, and Ron just gave a small jerk of his head.

Flitwick frowned at them.

"I appreciate the apology, but regardless, I must take away 5 points from Slytherin for talking during my lecture. Incendio is a very serious charm, and if you don't approach it with the proper precautions, you could just as easily give yourself burns as you could give someone else burns. Now, I must ask you to pay attention, or I will be forced to move your seats."

Tracey sunk into her seat, evidently embarrassed by Flitwick, and even Draco looked a little abashed and straightened up to pay attention as Flitwick began to continue ramble on about the proper safety measures to take before casting the fire-making charm. Ron forced himself to listen to what his teacher was saying, but his mind kept going back to the fight he'd just had with Percy.

It wasn't his fault Draco had said mudblood! He didn't say it, why should Percy be mad at him? And even then, it was just a word anyways. It wasn't as big of a deal as Percy made it out to be.

Right?

LINEBREAK

Ron made his way down to the Dungeons after a grueling day of classes.

Merlin, today's just not my day, is it? Ron thought morosely as he trudged towards the Slytherin common room. After Charms, he'd had another period of History of Magic where Binns continued to drone on about the Goblin Wars. He'd been able to catch a decent nap during the class, at least, but after that he'd had to begin working on the essay Sprout had assigned on the different ways to counter Devil's Snare. It hadn't been too difficult, but Merlin, did it take a while to finish. Who knew there could be so many variations of fire-making charms? He probably shouldn't have procrastinated on the essay as long as he had.

"Janus," he muttered to the stone wall which held the dorms, before slipping past it as it slid open creakily.

He was expecting to be the only one there, perhaps with a few OWL or NEWT students studying (Ron would bet Charlie's wand that Percy was up in Gryffindor Tower studying right now), but instead, he was greeted with the sight of Blaise, Theo, and Millie all hunched over their textbooks and parchments.

"Hey guys," Ron muttered tiredly as he sank into a sofa near them. He glanced at the papers scattered on the desk they were working on. "Still working on the Herbology essay?"

"Mhm," Millie responded without looking up from One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, opened up to the chapter about Devil's Snare. "Where were you? I thought we planned to work on it together."

Ron gave a little start at that, before sagging back down.

"Right," he mumbled. "My bad, forgot about it. Just had a lot on my mind."

Theo frowned in contemplation as he looked up from his writing.

"Is this about the fight you and your brother had?" He asked. "I heard it got pretty nasty."

Ron just sunk further into his seat.

"Merlin, is it on the rumor mill already?"

Theo had the decency to wince in sympathy at Ron's dejected face.

"Yeah..." he said warily. "It's pretty much all over the school, now. Sorry 'bout that."

Ron buried his face into his hands, trying his hardest to keep his cool. Merlin, this was a disaster. First, Percy had turned his back on him, basically leaving his entire family against him. And now, the school knew about their fight, too? Could this day get any worse?

"You alright, Ron?" Blaise asked, pinching his eyebrows together.

Ron chuckled without any humor.

"Just peachy, Blaise," he said. "Real great. After what happened today, how could I not be?"

"You can just say you're not," Blaise snorted, but he looked uncomfortable at Ron's words.

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Ron tried to joke weakly. Nobody laughed.

"Ron...I know Slytherin's are all about 'not showing weakness' and all that crap, but if you need to talk, we'll listen," Millie said softly.

Ron swallowed hard, being hit by a strangely powerful wave of emotion. He had only known the Slytherins for about two weeks, and they were already treating him better than his brothers were.

"I-" he choked on his words a little. "It sucks. I mean, Fred and George, I always knew hated Slytherin, so I wasn't as surprised by how they're treating me, but Percy had seemed alright with my sorting. At first. Back when I was sulking and miserable and being horrible to you guys, at least. Only after we became friends, he started to act weird...and now we're here."

He sighed dejectedly and sunk deeper into the sofa, trying his hardest not to cry as he let out all the emotions he had been bottling up the entire day.

"Why does their opinion matter so much?" Theo asked suddenly. Ron furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean? They're my family, of course I care about their opinions," he shot back.

"Family doesn't mean you have to like each other," Blaise chimed in, and Ron turned to face him with an incredulous stare. "Don't look at me like that, it's true. You don't have to like your family, you just have to..." Blaise winced. "You know what I mean."

"Boys," Millie rolled her eyes in exasperation. "He's saying that family doesn't have to like each other, they just have to love each other."

"Yeah, that," Blaise muttered. Millie elbowed him.

"But seriously, Ron, you don't need to feel so strongly about what they say," Theo continued. "They're stupid, and they're wrong. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do!" Ron said hotly. "It's not fair that they're judging me for being a Slytherin!"

"Exactly," Theo said with a satisfied look on his face. "So why do you care so much about what they say if they're in the wrong?"

Ron just blinked at him as the realization hit him. Why did he care so much? It was pretty clear his brothers weren't thinking much about him, why did he still attach so much value to what they said? Why did he let it consume him so much? It wasn't like what they were saying was true, they were all just prejudiced idiots who thought all Slytherins were dark wizards. Ron thought back to what Blaise said, about family not having to like each other. It was obvious his brothers didn't like him now.

So why should he like them in turn?

"You're right," Ron said, straightening up a little. "I need to stop caring so much about what they think. If they want to hate Slytherins, that's their problem, not mine."

Theo cracked a smirk, Millie cuffed his shoulder (which spiked with pain immediately), and Blaise lazily grinned at him.

"Good man," Blaise said. "Now, be a pal and hand over your Herbology essay so I can copy, will you? It's bloody annoying, and I'm not about to go to the library at 9 PM."

Ron laughed.