AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 8 is done and posted. Sorry for the wait on this! But it was the weekend and sadly real life came knocking on my door. Now a couple of things:
1. Don't be too angered at Ron's bullheaded behavior, because he is very bullheaded in the canon story. That's just how he can be sometimes... Remember Goblet of Fire? Cause I do...
2. This is the longest chapter so far! I cracked the 15,000 word limit on this...
Please enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.
I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.
Fate
Chapter 8 – The Calm Before
Ronald Weasley's POV
Ron woke up on Saturday morning with Pandora's letter still clutched in his hands. He sighed at the sight of it, and decided that he would wash up and dress first before reading it. So Ron tucked the letter under his pillow and marched into the adjoining bathroom. Theo and Blaise were still asleep so Ron determined that it was still very early in the morning. Once he was freshened up and fully awake, he sat down on his bed and pulled the letter out from under his pillow. Mustering all of his courage, Ron carefully opened the letter and began reading it.
Dearest Ronald,
At first I thought you were pulling my leg about your sorting, but as I began writing a response, I realized that you would never joke about this. I have to admit that I never saw this coming, you continue to keep surprising me! Slytherin is a great house Ron, so don't you worry about a thing. Did you know that Merlin himself was in Slytherin?! Who knows, maybe you could one day be just as famous? I certainly hope so because then I can tell people that I know you personally! I have told Luna of your sorting and she is determined to make it into Slytherin as well. I don't think I would mind that very much, because I know you would take care of her.
I also hope that you are showing the school just how capable and brilliant you are. I expect that you have made many new friends because of it, especially in Slytherin as they worship excellence. Although I am a little sad that you didn't get put into Ravenclaw, I am still very proud of you for getting placed in a house that believes in the power of the mind. Slytherin will teach you many important things Ron, so you make sure to learn them well. Cunningness and determination are admirable traits for a person to have.
Also make sure to keep your promise and send a letter every week, poor Luna is always asking if there is a letter from you! Xenophilius also sends his love (He claims that he always knew where you would be sorted haha).
Lots of love,
Pandora, Luna, and Xenophilius.
Relief and absolute bliss filled Ron's chest after he finished reading the letter. They are still with me… and they are proud? Ron wanted to break into an enthusiastic dance right there and then, but he knew that Theo and Blaise would blackmail him if they saw it. Ron re-read the letter one more time and then he tucked it into his trunk for safekeeping. He knew that he would need those words if he ever felt down. Ron then grabbed his chessboard and skipped into the common room, gazing at the giant clock when he got there. Half past six… I think I will just relax in front of the fire and play a game with myself.
So Ron did just that, and the entire time he had a smile on his face because of Pandora's words. He couldn't have felt more relieved with what Pandora had written him. But as he continued playing, his mood slowly became darker. A small part of him, which was growing bigger every second he thought about Pandora's letter, was bitter at his own mother for not being more like Pandora. He never felt least loved or like a disappointment when he was with Pandora, and yet around his own mother he always felt like those two horrible things.
The school was calling him a prodigy, his new friends even respected him, and Pandora was encouraging him to be the very best. And what did his mother have to say about all of this? She felt humiliated… Why should I even care about what she thinks…? When has she ever given me any special treatment like she does with everyone else? All she ever does is ignore me when I'm around… In a fit of pure rage, Ron pulled the vile letter that his mother had sent his from his jumper and hurled it into the fire.
He watched with satisfaction as it burned and crumpled up. That's what I think of your opinion mum…. He was done trying to please a woman who would always prioritize his siblings before him. Like the time that they had given Ron a second hand wand, just so Percy could have a damn owl… Or all the times when he had felt like a shadow and his mother didn't even notice that he was in the room, and that he wanted to join in with her and Ginny's fun… Bitterness ran though his body and Ron's face tightened as he glared at the burning letter. I'm done letting her make me feel so small… and if dad feels the same way she does, then I'm done with him as well… I have Pandora and Luna. I have Percy and George. I even have new friends who are happy with the fact that I'm in Slytherin.
"Ron?" a soft but high-pitched voice came from behind him. He turned around to face the speaker, it was Daphne and she looked at him with a guarded look. After all, Ron was still looking furious about something. Daphne's eyes shifted to the fireplace behind him and she noticed a burning letter. "Ron is that the letter you got last night?" She sounded almost sympathetic. Ron shook his head and sighed, his features relaxing once again.
"No" he all but whispered. "That's the letter my mum sent me…" Daphne nodded slowly at him.
"Want to play another game of chess?" she asked, trying to change the somber mood. "The other Slytherins are already heading down to the common room. We should make sure that they don't suspect anything is amiss." Ron stared at her for a moment and then chuckled. Always playing some game… Ron had been wondering about why the Slytherins hated any emotion being displayed for some time now, but he didn't argue with her.
"Sure, I don't mind destroying you again" he joked. Daphne huffed in the cute way she always did and took a seat across from him.
"I'm going black this time" she commanded. "You cheat with black, I just know it." Sore loser…
The rest of their friends joined them just in time to leave for breakfast. Ron was absolutely famished and he couldn't wait to dig in, something Theo told him off for in a mocking manner. Ron managed to look over to the Gryffindor table and noticed immediately how tired and sad Fred looked. Good… He should be miserable just like I was… at least for a few more days. Ron then caught Percy's eye, and gave his big brother a wave and a smile which Percy returned.
Ron finished his breakfast and returned to the common room for a little while, playing chess with his friends and beating them every time. Even Daphne could no longer claim that Ron was a cheat because they had all kept their eyes fixed on Ron as they played with him. Theo even suggested that Ron should try out for the Junior League Tournament which would happen in the second half of March, which Ron actually considered seriously. I could win a lot of money from something like that. I could even get a little famous! So Ron decided that he would look more into this the next time he had spare time, which he currently did not.
Right now Ron wanted to go into the library and do some research about his powers. He had finally settled down in Slytherin and it was now time to tackle the true problem. Percy told me that the library is massive, so there has to be something in there that will give me some sort of answers. Ron then excused himself from his friends, who didn't even question where he was going much to his surprise. Guess they had their own plans, whatever the reason was Ron was glad for it. He didn't need them asking him questions that he couldn't answer. Ron walked towards the library, and he had to admit that the castle was beautiful. There were so many portraits, which all moved, and the castle was decorated with armors of knights. Furthermore, somehow this massive castle seemed to be very clean. There were no marks on the walls, no cracks in any of the stone surfaces, and no ectoplasm from the various ghosts that Ron had come across in the last few days.
Ron stepped into the library and his eyes almost popped out of his skull. THIS PLACE IS HUGE! How am I going to find anything in here?! There were tens of thousands of books on thousands of shelves, which were in hundreds of narrow rows. This could take a lifetime to sift through… Ron let out a dry laugh and almost turned around to go back to the common room, but he needed answers. This mysterious entity in his mind could hurt him, or worse kill him. He had to learn whether or not anything like this had happened to anyone before him.
Ron hadn't forgotten that the Sorting Hat had said that it had never seen anyone like Ron before, but Ron hoped someone from outside of Hogwarts may have been through what he was going through. It was his only real chance to find answers. So Ron marched into the library that was almost completely empty, except for a few Ravenclaw students who were studying in absolute silence. Ron approached a large desk which was labeled as the 'help desk'. Behind the desk sat a vulture-like woman, who had sunken cheeks and an unnatural looking hooked nose. Ron gulped and approached her slowly. "Hi" he whispered. The woman looked up at him with narrowed eyes. Merlin… I'm want to bolt back to Slytherin.
"A first year?" the woman whispered back, no doubt surprised by Ron. "What do you want?" The woman seemed rather unfriendly to Ron, which made him sweat slightly under his armpits.
"I wanted to… um read some books on seers. Does the library have any books that can help me?" Ron managed to choke out. He knew asking about seers was dangerous for his secret, but the truth was that he wasn't really a seer. So he wasn't worried about being 'caught' as a seer because if they tested him to see if he was one, he would no doubt fail that test.
"Seers?" the woman looked at him, surprise clear on her face. "Why would a first year need to read up on seers?" She kept her gaze on Ron, almost crumbling his resolve.
"I like to… read about things that I don't fully understand… like seers" Ron finished lamely. I need to practice lying to people… Maybe Theo and Blaise could show me a thing or two.
"I see…" The woman kept staring at Ron with an overwhelming intensity. "You must be Ronald Weasley" she smiled, losing all her intimidation. "I've heard that you are quite the intelligent young man." Ron beamed at her. Thank Merlin! "Very well, if you want to read up on seers then I suggest you look in the Divination Section. Don't cause any damage whatsoever to the books you use… and don't eat or drink in the library." Ron nodded enthusiastically and kept beaming at her.
"Thank you um…"
"Madam Irma Pince."
"Thank you Madam Pince, and I promise I'll be no trouble." After she gave him a curt nod, Ron marched off to find the Divination Sector. He found it relatively quickly, but now he had another problem. There are HUNDREDS of books here… I'm gonna die of old age before I find what I need! Ron again felt the need to just go back to the common room, but he bit down on his tongue and moved forward. He began looking for anything with the word seer in its title, but he knew that it was going to take a while. After an hour of searching, Ron had found only two books with the word seer on them. They were titled 'Seers: Practitioners of Prophecies' and 'Seers and other Divination Specialists'.
They weren't very thick books, but it was something at least. Ron found a secluded spot nearby to start his reading, and once he sat down he realized that lunch would start soon. He decided that he would just skip lunch today because he didn't want to have to come all the way back here and find these books again. Ron started reading 'Seers: Practitioners of Prophecies' first because it was the thinner of the two books. The book explained that seers had the power to make prophecies and that some seers knew how to not share the prophecies they saw.
Much to Ron's surprise, the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald was a seer and he had used his visions as a means to inspire people to join his revolution. Ron had heard about Grindelwald from his father's stories about Dumbledore, and Ron knew that the duel between the two wizards was considered legendary. "Gellert Grindelwald" Ron muttered to himself, finding the dark wizard fascinating. He was a seer, and he had shared his vision in order to gain allies. What if I do the same thing? What if I warn everyone about the upcoming war and make an army?!
Even though the thought excited Ron, he wasn't stupid enough to believe that it could actually work. No sane witch or wizard would join an eleven year old to fight a war that didn't even exist yet, all because said eleven year old predicted that one day it would… But Grindelwald had learned how to share his visions somehow… And the book claimed that Grindelwald didn't make prophecies, he simply saw the future and acted on it himself. That's just like what I can do…
The only problem was that Grindelwald was a confirmed seer, and it was confirmed by none other than Albus Dumbledore himself! So Ron knew that he wasn't quite like Grindelwald, but that didn't mean that Ron couldn't use the older wizard's tactics at a later stage in his life. If another war was truly on its way, then Ron knew that he might need others helping him in order to save his brother and any others along the way. You can't win in chess with just one piece, you need every piece playing its part.
"What are you reading?" came a whisper from in front of Ron, making him jump. He looked up, startled, at a bushy haired girl whose eyes were wide open in surprise too. "Sorry" Hermione whispered. "I didn't mean to startle you." Ron took a deep breath to try and calm down. Great… now I need to deal with her too.
"I'm just doing some reading" Ron whispered. "On seers that is." Hermione gave him a curious look and sat down opposite him. Oh by all means… take a seat and let's have a chat….
"Why would you need to read up on seers? We don't take Divination until third year."
"I just like to read about anything that I don't fully understand, that's all." Ron noticed that Hermione seemed to slouch a little at hearing that.
"Oh… that's probably why you're so smart…" All of a sudden Ron remembered that Hermione was being ignored by her whole house. This is probably the most she has gotten to talk to someone… "Well… I'll leave you alone then…" Hermione stood up at that looking slightly upset and dejected.
"No" Ron blurted out quickly, earning a stunned look from Hermione. "I mean… let's talk… or study together… you are here to study aren't you?" That went smoothly…
"Oh! OK!" Hermione sat back down a little too eagerly. "I'm just about to finish up the homework we got in Transfiguration. Well… the homework I got" Hermione finished quietly. Ron could swear he heard jealousy in her voice.
"Yeah. Do you need any help?" Ron gave her his best smile.
"No" she answered curtly. Um… ok then… "I mean that I should probably do it on my own" Hermione blushed from guilt at being so rude.
"Well if you need anything, I'm sitting right here" Ron smiled again. Then he went back to his reading. They sat together doing their own work in silence. It had been a little uncomfortable at first but then as time kept moving, Ron found it almost calming. He didn't know why, but he just did. After Ron had gotten through his book, he put it down and sighed to himself. Useless… nothing of note except for the life achievements of known seers… Grindelwald was the only interesting one anyway.
"Is everything alright?" Hermione piped up. Ron looked at her and shook his head.
"It didn't explain much… I'm going to have to keep looking."
"That's why research is so much fun" she beamed. Ron felt himself questioning this girl's sanity once again. "It's like an adventure, or a scavenger hunt where all the pieces of the puzzle have to be found first." She looked so happy telling him this, that Ron almost felt cheered up himself. "What are you looking for exactly?"
"Just how seers work. Like how they get their visions and how they make prophecies… I want to learn about the process behind it all." Hermione looked almost sadly at Ron. Like she had come to a disheartening revelation. What happened to her happy mood from before? This bint…
"I'm… I'm sorry for being so rude… towards you" she muttered under her breath, but Ron heard everything because the library was so quite. "I thought that you were cheating… in the classes, that is." She looked down at her work guiltily. Ok, why does everyone think I'm some kind of cheat? First Daphne and the others, and now Hermione as well…
"Why did you think that?" Ron was genuinely curious about this, maybe he was doing something that was causing this reaction from people. Like smiling creepily without realizing…
"It's just that… I've always been the smartest person in all my… muggle classes before Hogwarts. The truth is that I expected to be at the top here as well. But you…" she trailed off. Is that why she has been glaring at me?! She thinks I'm stealing her spot?
"Oh" Ron muttered. What was he supposed to say to her? This could be his chance to stop this girl from constantly glaring at him. Maybe he could even help her with her own house if he told her to ease up a little. After all, Harry had told him that she was bossing everyone around and it had backfired in her face. But what would he gain from helping her? Ron could think of nothing. It isn't worth it…
"I was just being stupid" she shook her head, still looking down. But to Ron it wasn't stupid… Ron knew what jealousy felt like, more than most people in fact. He knew because he had spent his whole life feeling jealous of his siblings. Jealous of Ginny for being doted on by everyone, jealous of the twins' creativity and humor, jealous of Percy's intellect, jealous of Charlie for getting his father's attention by just existing in the same room, and jealous of Bill because Bill was perfect at everything he did. The truth was that Ron wasn't the brilliant boy everyone in Hogwarts seemed to believe he was. Ron's advanced knowledge was actually Percy's intellect. Ron's skill with a wand was actually Charlie's skill at spells. Ron was considered brilliant all because he was copying his two brothers, who had all but given him their skillsets. Ron wasn't like Hermione, who was a Muggle-born that studied long and hard to achieve her goals. Ron had notes handed to him by Percy and he had just copied them into his head. Hermione had only known that she was a witch for a couple of months before coming to Hogwarts, and yet she was still able to compete with Ron. She should be on top, not someone like me... A fraud…
"You aren't stupid" Ron said softly. Hermione looked up at him, she looked a little surprised at Ron's words. "You only recently found out about our world, but you still manage to tie with me in every class. And the only reason I think I get ahead is…" Ron let out a sigh "it's only because I grew up in a magical family. I think that… in a couple of years… you'll easily get that spot on the top" Ron finished and looked away from Hermione. He knew that he wasn't planning on helping her at first, but seeing her hint of jealousy had reminded Ron of how it felt to be… less. It was a disgusting feeling, one that made you feel like you were nothing… One that made you do things like glare at people you didn't really know, or hold a secret grudge against your little sister for something she didn't really have any control over… Ron missed Hermione looking at him with mixed feelings on her face. She was surprised to hear something so nice from a person she had been nothing but rude and horrid towards. But she was also a little worried, because Ron sounded horribly sad about something.
"Maybe we can both be on the top spot…" Hermione said, trying to lighten Ron's sudden somber mood. He looked at her and gave a hollow smile. He was about to respond to her, but he stopped when he saw Percy walking over to them.
"Hello Ron" Percy greeted with a smile. Percy then turned to Hermione and looked a little surprised. "Oh… hello there Hermione. I see you've met my little brother."
"Hi Percy" Hermione greeted back with a wide smile. "Ron and I are in the same classes. And we met on the Hogwarts Express. He showed us some brilliant magic with his beautiful wand." Percy looked intrigued at that, and looked to Ron for an explanation. Bloody hell…
"Ron?" Percy's brow furrowed.
"Oh I just fixed Harry's glasses and used Accio to find a toad, that's all" Ron said dismissively. Please forget the part about my wand…
"I see" Percy said slowly. "She also said that your wand was beautiful." Damnit… "Show me your wand Ron" Percy finished with his hand extended. Ron could see the frown forming on Percy's face. He's figured it all out already, hasn't he? Ron slowly took his wand out and handed it to Percy. Percy just stared at it intently before he looked up at Ron, disappointment clear on his face. He then handed Ron his wand back. "Come with me right now." Percy turned around and walked towards the exit, his posture rigid as always.
"Did I… say something I shouldn't have…?" Hermione looked extremely guilty and worried. Her eyes were slightly wide, and they gazed right into Ron's for an answer. Ron just smiled weakly and shook his head.
"It's more my fault than yours." With that he stood up and put the books back where he had found them. He then walked back over to Hermione. "This was fun, we should study together more often." Hermione nodded eagerly, and then blushed in embarrassment.
"I'd like that" she said, looking down at her homework. Ron then turned around and went in the direction of his brother. He always knew that someday his family would find out about his wand. But he hadn't thought that it would be so soon and so… suddenly. He hadn't expected this at all, but he was also tired of constantly explaining himself to others. All he wanted was to just be left alone right now. To just study at Hogwarts without a new problem arising every single day…
Percy was waiting outside the library for Ron, and once Ron joined him, they made their way to an empty classroom close by. After Percy shut the door behind him, he turned and faced Ron with a disappointed frown. "Where did you get it?" Percy asked accusingly. "I know for a fact that mother and father didn't buy you that wand."
"Pandora bought it for me" Ron answered curtly. No more lying and excuses. If they don't like what I have to say… then they can just deal with it.
"When? Why?" Percy stuttered, surprised at his brother's callous attitude. Then Percy's eyes widened at some realization. "I thought mother had just cleaned your robes spotless… Did you get…? Did you get Mrs. Lovegood to buy you new ones as well?" Percy couldn't believe this. This isn't the Ron he knew, Ron didn't have secrets and he didn't tell lies. Not the Ron that Percy had come to love more than any of his other siblings. This Ron was a… stranger…
"I didn't make her do anything" Ron scowled at being accused of using Pandora. "She took me to Diagon Alley for breakfast, and then she bought me everything she thought I deserved to have."
"Deserved?" Percy's eyes were fully wide now. "Is that what you think as well? That you deserve to be rewarded for saving her…"
"No" Ron replied, taking a calming breath. Why is he just looking for some reason to start a fight? "I told her that I didn't want her to get me anything, but she was adamant about it. But… but a part of me did want to have a wand that was my own. I just wanted one important thing from mum and dad… that wasn't second hand. Like an actual wand…" Percy flinched at his brothers words. Ron felt his bitterness and jealousy slowly creep into his body the more he spoke. He had never told any of his siblings these kinds of things about himself, but he was now tired of being their doormat.
"Ronnie you know…" Percy began softly but Ron cut him off.
"I know that during my entire life, I have been given nothing but hand-me-downs. And I was fine with it, but after mum and dad didn't buy me a wand… after they didn't buy me a wand just so they could buy you that damn owl…" Percy took a step back because of the venom in Ron's voice. "I didn't care why Pandora got me a wand. I didn't care about the consequences either… I just wanted to have one, just like the rest of you did. Just like Ginny no doubt would, while I'd be left with a hand-me-down wand that felt dead in my hands. So why shouldn't I get one? What did I do that explains why mum and dad chose to get you a pet over me getting a wand…?"
Ron was glaring at Percy with pure bitterness, and Percy felt his knees shaking at the sight. How could he have missed this? How did he never even give Ron's situation a second thought? And now his little brother was showing him just how bitter he truly was towards him, and everyone else in their family. Percy opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. What could he even say?
"Nothing to say Perce?" Ron asked mockingly, bitterness still dripping from his voice. When Percy didn't respond, Ron just glared at Percy once more, and then he marched out of the room to head back to the Slytherin common room leaving Percy alone and rooted in his spot. Used Pandora… What does he know? What do any of them even know? All they do is judge and question my character while they constantly treat me like I shouldn't exist. Fred's words flashed in his mind because of his current thoughts. 'Mum cried when she learned you weren't a girl' is what his brother had told him, no doubt to hurt him deeply. 'Death-Eater' is what Fred had called him in front of every Gryffindor.
And now Fred had just walked back into Ron's life, acting as if he hadn't done anything wrong. Ron's face tightened in anger and he clenched his trembling hands so hard into fists that his knuckles turned white. I wish I was born into the Lovegood family!
Percy had stood there in absolute silence for almost ten minutes after Ron had left. He was stunned by what he had just witnessed. He truly didn't know anything about Ron. Nothing that really mattered anyway. He hadn't even cared or noticed that Ron had lost his chance to get his wand just because Percy was being given Hermes. All Percy had thought about was the fact that he was now a prefect, and that he deserved to get a proper pet owl. How many other times had Ron been on the short end just so someone else could get something?
Percy felt disgusted at his family's financial status now more than ever. He had always been ashamed of it, but right now he was just sickened that Ron had always endured the worst of it. All of Ron's clothes were hand-me-downs from his brothers. Ron had very few possessions that were his own, most of them coming from Mrs. Lovegood. And worst of all, Ron had endured this quietly. All the while this… this hatred seemed to have grown inside him. Percy had never heard anyone speak with such venom and resentment before, and it had jarred him that it was Ron who had done it. Percy decided, before leaving, that he wouldn't say a word about Ron's wand or anything else that Mrs. Lovegood had bought him. He had no right to make things harder for his little brother…
Ron spent the rest of his day with his new friends, and if they noticed his foul mood, they didn't say a word about it for which he was grateful. He didn't need them on his case too. Ron also got Pandora's letter out of his trunk and put it inside his jumper. He wanted to carry her words with him everywhere he went from now on. She and her family had accepted Ron for being in Slytherin, and Luna even wanted to join him. That thought gave him relief and joy because he knew that his real sister might share his mother's views about him from now on. He truly didn't want to lose Ginny just because the Sorting Hat had done him in, but now he at least understood that he needed to be ready for the worst case scenarios. It just hurt less that way.
By dinner time, Ron's mood still hadn't improved much. It became particularly sour once again when he felt his brothers looking in his direction. Ron kept his head down and ate silently, talking in a subdued manner every time his friends asked him something. Ron's foul mood didn't go unnoticed by the staff members either. They all brushed it off however, as students tended to sulk quite often because of their hormones.
But Albus Dumbledore didn't brush it off as hormones because he had spent the day following Ron around the school. There was something that the students didn't know about, that being the Headmaster of Hogwarts, the castle had granted Dumbledore certain perks that he didn't even tell his staff about. One of those perks was the ability to move through and hear though the castle's walls. And so he had overheard the entire conversation between Percy and Ron, and he had seen firsthand the bitterness that the younger boy had displayed. It had worried Dumbledore greatly to see this kind of hateful behavior from a boy who would no doubt hold a great deal of power one day. Ronald had once again reminded Dumbledore of a young Tom Riddle, and that was beginning to scare Dumbledore.
After dinner, Ron retired to his dorm immediately and sat on his bed with the curtains closed. He went over a few more handy spells from the journal, particularly the Reducto and Expulso curses. They were probably the most dangerous spells in this journal and Ron really wanted to test them out. He had just to figure out where…
Ron woke up on Sunday feeling much better than he had yesterday. After he freshened up with a shower and put on some of the newer clothes that Pandora had got him, Ron was immediately in a good mood again. He was going to do his best at Hogwarts and he was done answering to other people. He didn't owe anyone any type of explanation as far as he was concerned. Ron greeted his already awake friends enthusiastically before they all headed down to breakfast.
The girls seemed to be cheerful that Ron was acting normal again, whereas the boys were slightly relieved. Theo and Blaise hadn't enjoyed Ron's sulking yesterday and they were even getting annoyed with it by the end of the day. The girls seemed to be more concerned about what could have happened to put Ron in such a foul mood, but they were happy that it had been resolved.
Ron ate breakfast with forced etiquette, much to Theo's approval. They even fell into a pleasant conversation about Daphne's parents and why they were so wealthy. Ron was completely surprised to learn that the source of their wealth was the fact that they had business deals with the wizarding world and the Muggle world. It turned out that Daphne's father had many deals in civil manufacturing, whatever that was, within Muggle England and especially Muggle countries that were overseas. Maybe Daphne's parents weren't the bigots that Ron had imagined they were?
But it was still clear that they believed that Pure-Bloods were the only ones worthy enough to practice magic. Ron's thoughts were disturbed when a barmy owl crashed into his plate, scaring everyone around him. It was Errol, his family's old and loyal owl. It had a letter attached to its leg and Ron's mood fell instantly at the sight. Now what is she going to say? Probably tear into me for not replying to her…
Ron took the letter from Errol, and fed the poor owl some of his own hash brown. Errol hooted loudly at him and then flew away quickly. Ron glared at the letter without opening it, noticing from the corner of his vision that Daphne was also staring at it. I will deal with this later… someplace where people won't read it over my shoulder at least… Ron tucked the letter into his jumper, right next to the letter from Pandora. He didn't notice that his brothers had spotted Errol and were now staring at Ron with concern and uneasiness.
Ron put the letter from his mother and father out of his mind and continued on with his day. He couldn't care less right now about what his mother had to say. That line of thinking helped put him into a semi-cheerful mood again. Ron spent the entire day in the common room, with the exception of lunch and dinner, playing chess with his friends. A few older students saw him winning over and over again, and so they challenged him out of curiosity. The oldest of the students was a fifth year who went up against Ron first. The match didn't even last twenty minutes with Ron coming out the victor. Ron then proceeded to be beat a few fourth years and one third year, with very little effort on his part. Clearly chess wasn't a Slytherin game. Sure being sneaky in chess had its perks, but you also had to be bold and daring with your strategies. Something that the other Slytherins didn't seem to understand because they all played way too cautiously, trying to keep their stronger pieces alive at the cost of losing key positions on the board.
Ron opened the letter that Errol had delivered to him at breakfast with a queasy feeling in his stomach. Do I really want to read this? What if it's worse than the last one? Bloody hell…
Ronald,
Ginny and I (mum) are writing to see how you are adjusting to Hogwarts and within Slytherin. I hope you are studying as hard at school as you did while you were at home. Your father and I received a letter from Professor McGonagall, informing us that you had broken another boy's nose and hurt yourself as well. Although I do not condone such behavior, I was glad to see you upholding the values that your father and I taught you. I hope your friend is alright too.
Ginny has been fretting about you since the day you left and she really wants you to write to her. So please Ronnie, send an owl and let us know if you need anything. Please let us know if you are alright.
From your loving mother and sister.
P.s: Your father also wishes you well, and hopes that next time you use your wand instead of your fist.
Ron stared wide-eyed at the letter, and then re-read it a couple more times. Nope… still the same. What in the bloody hell happened to them? He was honestly confused at how his mother and father had seemed to have done a turnabout on their stance of him being in Slytherin. And why had they done it so suddenly? Was it because he broke Malfoy's nose? Or was it because they felt guilty for being horrible to him?
Whatever the reason was, Ron was thoroughly bewildered and he had no clue on how to respond to the letter. Was he supposed to act as if the last letter didn't exist? Was he supposed to explain to them why he was put into Slytherin by a magically enchanted hat? No… no I'm done explaining remember. Ron then sat there on his bed for half-an-hour trying to think of a response.
In the end he decided he would just send Ginny a letter and tell her all about his week. No doubt mum and dad would go through it as well. He didn't really want to talk to them just yet. So he wrote a letter to Ginny, telling her about his new friends and that the teachers were saying that he could be a prodigy. He told her about Harry Potter and that he had become friends with the legendary figure. He even told her about Slytherin house and Professor Snape, a person he described as scary but awesome. With his letter finished, he decided he would turn in for the night and deliver it tomorrow via the Owlery.
The next week went by slowly for Ron for three simple reasons. For one, he was waiting for Ginny's reply that no doubt would be written by his mother. Secondly, his classes were boring him because he already knew everything off by heart in the first place. He did still try his best to earn as many points as possible however, much to the delight of his house-mates. Thirdly, flying classes would be held on Thursday and he was extremely excited to try a better broomstick than the ones that littered his father's shed. He even hoped that he would be chosen for his house team, a thing that he knew was impossible. No first year ever managed to make it into the teams and he knew that even if he did, he would end up going up against his family's beloved house. That wouldn't end well for him.
Ginny's letter arrived in the breakfast mail on Wednesday, and Ron read it in his dorm room during lunch. It was written in his mother's handwriting, but the words were definitely Ginny's. Half the letter questioned him about Harry Potter, a childhood hero of hers, and the rest asked Ron about his friends. The girls in particular, Ron noted, were under a microscope from Ginny and she no doubt was feeling jealous again about being replaced by someone else. Ron laughed at his sister's overbearing nature, mostly in relief, and replied to all of her questions. It was a long letter…
After he finished Ginny's letter, he wrote one for Luna as well. Telling her the same things he had told Ginny, with the exception of asking Luna how her parents were at the end, something he didn't bother asking Ginny. He made sure to address the letter to Luna directly because he knew she would love that. With his letters done and owled before lunch break had ended, Ron was also able to wolf down a couple of chicken drumsticks much to Theo's horror.
Thursday morning started with a blast, as all the first year boys in Slytherin were in a rush to get outside and try their hand at flying. Even Malfoy and his gorillas were keen. Malfoy was boasting to anyone with ears that he had flown all the way into the clouds back at Malfoy Manor. Ron ignored the pompous git and hurried down to the courtyard for their lesson. Slytherin was joined by Gryffindor for the lesson and the first years were met by a woman with short, grey hair and yellow eyes like a hawk, which unsettled Ron a bit.
"First years" her voice boomed, making them all stand upright. "Stand on the right side of your broomsticks now." Ron did as instructed and looked over to the broomstick on his right. Bloody hell this thing… What is this thing? The broomstick looked as if it had been eaten and spat back out by a dragon. It was old, dusty, and chipped at every corner. If this thing can fly, then I'm the Dark Lord…
"Now first years, my name is Madam Hooch and I will be your flying instructor. I will teach you the importance of flying with safety, and I will not hesitate to throw you out of this class if you do anything to endanger yourself or others. Am I understood?" Everyone nodded, except Ron who was still staring at the piece of garbage broomstick on his right.
"Excellent, now extend your right hands over your broomsticks and say 'up' with feeling!" Hooch then blew her whistle loudly and the first years started doing what she had said. Harry managed to get it immediately, much to Ron's surprise. Then it was Malfoy who got his broomstick right after, for which he gave a smug smirk. Ron extended his right hand and commanded his broomstick to rise.
It rose… It rose fast as lightning and smacked him right in his face with its front end. Ron winced in pain while putting a hand over his face, and he felt blood run down his bottom lip. BLOODY HELL! THIS DAMN BROOM! Ron heard sniggering from his side and looked up to see Theo and Blaise trying to stifle their laughing. Even Tracey, Daphne, and Millicent were doing their best not to break into roaring laughter. Ron frowned and told his friends to sod off, which broke their resolve to not laugh at him. Ron's face and ears turned red from embarrassment, but he also found the whole thing a little funny.
Harry and Hermione however, were looking at him with genuine concern and Ron simply smiled at them to reassure them that he was fine. Ron then tried again and this time he spoke a little less loudly, and the broom shot up into his hand. Bloody menace… The class then proceeded with everyone managing to summon their brooms, even Hermione who for some reason took the longest. "Well done, and now I want you all to mount your brooms, DO NOT KICK OFF." Hooch then blew her whistle again and the first years did as they were told.
Ron gripped his wobbling broom tightly with both hands as he mounted it. Then the shouting started, making Ron look up only to see Neville Longbottom floating up into the air. "Mr. Longbottom, come down right NOW!" Madam Hooch boomed. But Neville didn't come down, he shot up as fast as anything Ron had seen. The class broke into awe at Neville's speed, the chubby boy sure knew how to go fast. Too fast, Ron thought. It was clear to everyone in seconds that Neville no longer had any control over his broom, as the boy was screaming for help as he went spiraling straight towards a wall.
And then CRASH! Neville slammed into a wall and came crumpling down, hitting a couple of ledges along the way. Madam Hooch bolted towards his body, followed closely by the first years. The Gryffindors were worried for their house-mate, while the Slytherins wanted to see if the boy was dead out of some morbid curiosity. Ron felt a little of both. When they got to him and Madam Hooch, they realized that Neville was indeed alive, but his left wrist was broken and his head was bleeding. Madam Hooch picked the boy up, as if weighed nothing, and then she turned to the other first years. "Stay put right here, and if any of you try to fly" she paused and glared at everyone. "I will have you expelled from Hogwarts before you can even say Quidditch". She then marched off into the castle, holding Neville as if he was a baby.
Ron looked to his friends, and saw that Theo and Blaise were trying not to laugh. The girls didn't look like they cared at all. Slytherins… Cold-blooded as snakes the lot of them… "Well look at this" came a pompous voice from the back of the first years. "Looks like Longbottom dropped his Remembrall" Malfoy sniggered. Ron just rolled his eyes. Why is he always such a tosser?
"Give it back" Harry gritted out, extending his hand to Malfoy. Malfoy looked at Harry's hand and broke out in a laugh. Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy followed suit, making Harry turn red from anger.
"This should be fun" Blaise whispered to Ron. Ron didn't think so. If a fight did break out between Harry and Malfoy, Ron knew who he would hex.
"I don't think I will, Potter" Malfoy spat out, a sneer etched on his face. "Maybe you should try and take it from me?" With that Malfoy mounted his broom and floated up into the air. Harry looked at Malfoy with determination and then began mounting his broom only to have Hermione grab his arm.
"No Harry you can't, Madam Hooch said that you could be expelled" she said in a bossy tone. Harry shrugged her off him, rather harshly Ron thought, and then shot up after Malfoy. "What an idiot…" Hermione muttered. Ron walked up beside her.
"I couldn't agree more" Ron whispered to her, making her jump a little because she didn't even notice him. She then smiled at him for agreeing with her. "It's just a Remembrall, but Harry wants to stick up for his friend. There's nothing wrong with that." Hermione's smile turned into a frown.
"But what if he gets expelled over this? His entire life would be ruined" Hermione argued.
"That's Harry Potter, in case you hadn't noticed" Ron chuckled. "He is already set for life after destroying you-know-who." Hermione was about to open her mouth to argue some more, but the deafening cheers from the Gryffindors made them both jump in fright. What happened? Did Malfoy crash and die horribly?! Please Merlin... They both looked up to see Harry floating down, with the Remembrall in his hand. He was showing it off with a massive grin on his face. The Gryffindors cheered even louder and Ron wanted to smack himself for missing how Harry had retrieved it. Instead he turned to a Hermione who was clearly trying to hide a smile for Harry. "See, it all worked…" Ron trailed off as he saw Professor McGonagall rushing out towards the first years. Goodbye Harry, it was nice knowing you mate…
"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall's voice blasted over the first years, who all shut up immediately. Harry went pale at the sight of the professor. "Come with me at once." With that she turned around and marched back towards the castle. Harry skulked off after her.
"You were saying…" Hermione whispered smugly to Ron. Ron looked at her and smiled sheepishly.
"I think that he will get a detention and lose your house a few points at most" Ron provided, feeling bad for Harry getting into trouble because of Malfoy.
"Some points? We are already losing to Slytherin, thanks to you" she said in an annoyed manner. When Ron grinned proudly at her, she scowled and narrowed her eyes at him. "Not to mention that Ravenclaw is now ahead of us as well. We need all the points we can get, and all Harry does is lose us points."
"That's not true." Ron didn't know why he was defending Harry, but he just felt that he had to.
"How would you know? Professor Snape has already docked over twenty points from Harry and Neville both! That's forty points in total! We are never going to win the House Cup at this rate…" Hermione was flushed with righteous anger by the end of her rant. Ron didn't know what to say so he just spoke the first thing that popped into his head.
"The future is in your hands" Ron smiled, mostly at his own inner joke. Hermione looked at him with a surprised look.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that if you want to win, maybe you should help Harry and Neville with their studies. Or do even more to earn as many points as you can." Ron shrugged at the end. Hermione narrowed her eyes a little and looked him right in the eyes.
"Why are you helping me? At the library you said something really nice to me, and right after that I got you in trouble with your brother Percy. And now you're trying to help me again, why?"
"I don't know. You looked a little upset so I thought I'd cheer you up. I just don't like people being sad" Ron said simply. Hermione blushed and muttered her thanks. "Hey do you want to study in the library later, I got loads of homework on Tuesday from Herbology and I hate that subject. Do you have any homework?" Hermione just stared at Ron for a few seconds.
"I… I have… some D.A.D.A homework" Hermione stuttered. "Are you sure… that you want to study with me?" She looked a little… scared. Why is she…? Then Ron remembered why. Her house was still ignoring her and she probably didn't have any friends as a result. Ron felt a little angry towards Harry for not helping her out, but he swallowed his anger quickly. Harry didn't owe her anything, so Ron knew that he couldn't really blame the boy-who-lived.
"Yeah I'm sure" Ron said, plastering his best smile onto his face. "That's why I suggested it!" Don't overdo it you dolt… ease up on the grin for Merlin's sake… Ron schooled his features a little and noticed that Hermione looked ecstatic.
"Ok! We can meet up in the same spot as before right after classes end for the day." Her smile was infectious and Ron found himself smiling genuinely too.
"Yeah that sounds great, see you after classes then." With that he turned around and walked to the Slytherins again, only for Daphne to stop him halfway and glare at him. "What?" Ron asked her.
"Why were you talking with Granger?" She asked quickly.
"Because I wanted to…" Ron answered, clearly confused at Daphne's irritation with him.
"She is a Mud… Muggle-born" Daphne whispered to Ron. Ron clenched his jaw, something that Daphne noticed immediately. "Calm down… I'm not saying anything bad about her. It's just a fact, a fact that Malfoy can easily exploit." She was going to say Mud-Blood wasn't she… If she had, I swear to Merlin…
"Malfoy has been trying to turn the house against me for the last two weeks. And it isn't working. Do you know why I do my best to earn so many points for Slytherin? Why I constantly answer every questions that the teachers ask me?"
"You like to show off" Daphne smirked.
"I do, a little. But it's also because I want to be a valuable piece on the board." Daphne's eyes widened a little at hearing that. "If I keep showing the older Slytherins that I'm more valuable than Malfoy, which isn't too hard to do by the way, they won't turn on me. They want the House Cup too badly." Ron finished with his own smirk. Daphne chuckled at his smirk.
"That's very… Slytherin of you Ron" she said, almost sounding amazed. "Fine, you can hang out with Granger as much as you like, just don't get spotted." Ron nodded slowly and began to walk towards his other friends alongside Daphne. Just before they got close to them, Ron whispered to Daphne.
"Don't ever use any blood related slurs near me again Daphne… You won't like what I do to you if that does happen…" Daphne went a bit stiff, but she didn't say anything. Good, that ought to scare her into not sprouting that filth near me again. Though I shouldn't push too hard, I don't want to lose the protection they all provide.
The rest of the day went by quickly and after classes ended, Ron joined Hermione in the library to study together. He didn't know why he was so adamant about making Hermione not feel so alone in Hogwarts but if he had to guess, he would say that the vision of Luna being bullied had left a deeper mark on him than he previously thought. He did enjoy studying with Hermione though, as the girl was eager to answer any questions he had on Mandrake Roots. He in turn helped her with her homework on curing werewolf bites, something that 'Professor' Quirrell hadn't even explained in his class.
The two of them finished their respective homeworks just in time for dinner. Ron insisted that they go to the Great Hall together as it was just silly to go separately, much to Hermione's surprise. She was under the impression that he, being a Slytherin, wouldn't want to be seen with 'bookworm Granger', a crude nickname that was given to her by none other than Malfoy and Pansy. But Ron didn't give a hoot about what Malfoy thought of him, because Ron already hated Malfoy with a passion.
They walked to the Great Hall together, but entered it separately. Hermione had insisted that they would both get in trouble with their own houses if they were seen walking in together, to which Ron simply smiled and accepted her decision. Dinner didn't go over well, as Daphne decided it was a good time to interrogate Ron about his day with Hermione. After he answered all of her questions, she huffed in anger at him.
She complained that she needed help with her D.A.D.A homework as well, and that Ron had promised to always help her first. Theo had then made the error of sniggering at her spoilt behavior, and she had pinched his arm so hard that the skin was left bruised. Blaise and Ron, witnessing Theo's fate, decided to eat quickly and silently. It was at the end of dinner, when everyone was heading back to their common rooms, that Ron noticed something wasn't right.
Malfoy was marching over to the Gryffindor students and directly towards Harry. Malfoy's pompous smirk let Ron know that a fight might be brewing, so he excused himself from Theo and Blaise and slipped into the crowd. He slowly made his way over to Malfoy and Harry, who were now speaking angrily at one another. Ron managed to overhear Malfoy challenging Harry to a Wizard's Duel. "Midnight, Potter" Malfoy smirked. "Bring your second, Longbottom, and don't be late to the Trophy Room. It's time I taught you what a real wizard is capable of." Ron rolled his eyes at Malfoy's own sense of self-importance. Who raised this idiot?
"We'll be there" Harry challenged back, looking fierce and determined. Neville however was almost shaking as if he had been caught out in winter without any clothes. How he ended up in Gryffindor is beyond me… That hat is completely barmy! Malfoy and his gorillas laughed at Harry and Neville before they pushed past Ron and the other students around him.
"Harry you can't" came a familiar voice belonging to a certain bushy haired witch. "You will get caught and lose even more points for Gryffindor. Not to mention that you could be expelled this time around." Harry rolled his eyes at the sound of Hermione nagging him.
"I agree… with Herm… Hermione, Harry" piped up Neville. They still hadn't seen Ron standing amongst the other students. Which is odd because my red hair is pretty much a sign…
"He challenged me Neville, I'll go alone if you don't want to come" Harry said softly, smiling reassuringly at Neville. At the Ron decided to intervene.
"Not a wise idea mate" Ron said casually as he walked over to the three Gryffindors. Harry and Hermione smiled at Ron, whereas Neville took on a guarded look again. "Malfoy comes from a family that believes in the Dark Arts… He could cause you serious harm." Hermione nodded at Ron, clearly happy that he was agreeing with her. Harry frowned a little, but then shook his head.
"I'm sick of Malfoy pushing me around. It's time I stood up to him" Harry said clearly, and then he walked past Ron and was followed closely by Neville. This left Hermione and Ron alone. Hermione sighed loudly and shook her head in Harry's direction.
"He is so stupid…" she muttered, annoyed with Harry's rule-breaking.
"Just this once I might even agree with you" Ron whispered to her. "He is going to get hurt…"
"And he is going to lose us so many house…" she trailed off when Ron stared at her in disbelief. Really, house-points… Malfoy will probably use some lethal spell against Harry and she is worried about the House Cup? "I'm gonna try and stop him back at the common room" she said quickly. Ron nodded at her and left for his own common room. Hermione really needed to loosen up, Ron decided, or she was never going to make any friends.
Ron spent the rest of the night helping Daphne and the others with their D.A.D.A homework, while he himself finished it up at the same time. As midnight got closer, Ron grew more and more worried about Harry. He liked the raven-haired boy, who was rather polite and didn't like throwing his fame around. Ron knew for certain that if he was that famous, he would strut around as if he was a king. Ron sat alone in the common room with just twenty minutes to midnight, thinking about whether or not he should go and witness this duel. But what if they got caught, or worse what if someone got hurt. Ron didn't want Snape to catch him getting into trouble or breaking any rules. He wanted the Potion Master to like him.
That was when he heard the common room door begin to open, making him jump and hide behind one of the couches. MERLIN PLEASE DON'T LET IT BE SNAPE! "I can't believe Potter fell for it" came a pompous voice that Ron could recognize anywhere. "That filthy squib Filch will catch them breaking the rules tonight. Hopefully it's enough to send Potter and that braindead buffoon, Longbottom, back to where they came from." Ron then heard Crabbe and Goyle sniggering. It's a trap… Harry is going to walk straight into Filch. I have to… Ron's thoughts trailed off as he heard Malfoy and his goons march down towards the boys' dormitories.
Then Ron took a deep breath and rethought his plan. Should he sneak up and warn Harry? What if he got caught himself and was sent packing? Surely they wouldn't expel him for breaking the rules just once? But he knew that Filch really hated the students, and would say anything to get even one of them sent back home. Ron looked at the clock again and saw that it was now quarter-to-midnight. Damn, I don't have time for a debate with myself. With that Ron bolted out of the common room, heading full tilt towards the Trophy Room.
The castle was dark and quiet. Eerily quiet, and it made Ron's stomach do flips from the uneasy atmosphere. The portraits were asleep, and those that weren't told him to 'TURN THAT LIGHT OFF'. Ron was using the Lumos charm of course, as he couldn't see in the pitch black darkness that the castle was currently filled with. That made his job of getting to Harry very hard, as he constantly hit his shoulders on things and tripped over his own feet. He finally burst through the door of the Trophy Room and stumbled into the room, scaring the daylights out of Harry, Neville, and Hermione. "Ron? What are you doing here?" Harry questioned him, but Ron was still trying to catch his breath. Why does this damn castle have so many stair cases…? Who designed this place?! "Ron…?" Harry was clearly worried as he put a hand on Ron's back, trying to ease Ron's breathing.
"It's a trap Harry" Ron gasped out. "Malfoy set you up and told Filch where you would be…" Harry looked at him in shock and then turned to a scowling Hermione, and a frightened Neville. "Harry we need to leave…" Ron shut up immediately as he heard footsteps coming from outside. FILCH! Everyone in the Trophy Room was now panicking, Ron however didn't panic half as much as the rest. After all, he'd been in far worse situations than this… Ron looked around the Trophy Room and saw another door that would lead them out of this blasted place.
"There, all of you let's go now" Ron whispered and made his way towards the second door. Ron opened it quietly and stepped out, followed by the three Gryffindors. "Ok, run" Ron whispered before breaking into a run away from the Trophy Room and Filch. He was followed by the three Gryffindors and Ron didn't even think about where he was leading them. He just knew that he had to get the hell out of there. The corridor led them into a dead end, with a locked door blocking their passage. "Bloody hell…" Ron muttered. He turned around to face the three Gryffindors, and to his horror he a saw light emanating from the far end of the corridor. Bloody Filch… The Gryffindors turned around to see what Ron was staring at, and upon seeing the light at the end of the corridor, they all gasped.
"Quick!" Hermione gritted out. "Move over." With that she lightly pushed Ron out of her way as she pointed her wand at the door. "Alohomora" she said in a clear whisper, and Ron heard a lock opening from the other side of the door. Hermione quickly pushed the door open and the three boys followed her in, shutting the door behind them as quietly as they could.
"That was bloody brilliant Hermione" Ron said in a relieved laugh, to which Harry nodded eagerly. Hermione blushed and a small smile broke out on her face. "I didn't even think of the unlocking charm" Ron said, now fully beaming at Hermione for her quick thinking. That made her blush even more.
"Guys…" came Neville's shaking voice. The other three looked over to the chubby boy, and then to where he was looking. Ron's blood froze at the sight before him. A giant three-headed dog was slowly rising from the corner of the room and Ron could see that it would tower over them all at his full height. Bloody hell... This damn school!
"Everyone out" Harry yelled as he flung open the door they had all just come through. They all jumped through the door just in time for the beast to slam against it, shutting the door with its face. "WHAT WAS THAT?!"
"A… a monster…" Neville muttered as he helped Hermione up. Ron got up and brushed his robes with his hands. Filch was a fairy compared to that… should've just let him catch us…
Hermione was glaring at Harry, and then she marched up to him and pointed her finger at his chest. "This is your fault! If you had only listened, then we wouldn't be in this mess!" she all but screamed at him. "We could have died Harry Potter… or worse, we could have been expelled tonight!" Being expelled is worse than being a monster's chew toy in her books… She needs to sort out her priorities… Harry looked at his feet sheepishly.
"I didn't know that there would be…" Harry trailed off and pointed his finger at the door. "Why does the school even have that thing inside it?" A good question mate! Clearly Dumbledore is a loon…
"Did you not notice?" Hermione responded in a haughty voice. "It was standing on a trap door… It's clearly guarding something. Whatever it is, I don't care. I want to go back to the Gryffindor common room. NOW!" she ordered. She was clearly upset about the whole mess, and she wasn't alone because Ron also wanted to just go back to his dorm and sleep. Almost getting eaten alive did that to a person.
"I agree with Hermione, Harry" Neville piped in. His voice was still shaky, but he sounded braver than he ever had to Ron. Harry nodded at Neville and Hermione, then he looked over to Ron and gave him a sheepish smile.
"I'm sorry for dragging you all into this…" Harry said, sounding genuinely sorry. "I should've listened to you." Hermione was about to say something that Ron knew she would ruin the apology, so he cut her off quickly.
"It's alright mate" Ron said in a casual tone, which didn't really sound casual because he was still getting over seeing that monster on the other side of the door. "I chose to come here remember, so my being here isn't your fault." Harry and Hermione both smiled at Ron, even Neville managed a faint smile at him.
"Thanks again for that" Harry said, he then extended his hand to Ron. Ron took it and gave it a strong shake. "You really saved our hides by coming in and warning us."
"What are friends for?" Ron said, feeling overwhelmed that Harry Potter was thanking him for something. If Gin-Gin could see this… she would never let me wash my hand again! Harry was taken aback by Ron's words, but then he beamed at the red-haired boy.
"I guess you're right" Harry said, grinning.
"Oh, I was talking about Hermione" Ron joked, trying to lower the sappiness of the moment a bit. He wasn't very good with wearing his happier emotions on his sleeves. Hermione and Neville began laughing at Harry's mock-offended face. Even Ron chuckled at the sight. "C'mon let's get out of here and head to bed. I don't want to get into any more trouble tonight" Ron finished, earning a strong nod from everyone else. Ron separated from his Gryffindor friends once they reached the moving stair cases. They headed up to their common room, while Ron made his way down to the dungeons to get to his. Once he was safely in his bed, he let out a long sigh. I might actually kill Malfoy tomorrow…
Ron fell into a steady routine over the next two weeks. He was doing amazingly in his classes, due to Percy's notes. Snape had even congratulated him, rather coldly, about his overall performance in front of every Slytherin in the common room one night, earning him multiple pats on the back from the older students. Malfoy was still being a git to everyone, especially to Ron after witnessing Snape's actions. Ron and his friends studied together every day except for Fridays, as Fridays became the day that he joined Hermione in the library to compare notes and study with someone more on his level.
He was even beginning to get used to her over-adherence to the rules and her hatred towards rule-breakers. He found it a little sad that Harry and Neville still didn't treat her quite like a friend, especially after the crazy adventure they had all been on. So Ron decided that he would befriend Hermione himself. She was extremely intelligent, even more than him, and she was hardworking so Ron knew that she would never slack off like his Slytherin friends did. When he had told her that he considered her his friend, she had given him a strong hug. Though Ron was blushing and completely flustered by her actions, he still figured out that he may be her first friend.
By the time September came to an end, Ron had restarted his exercises. He would wake up at seven in the morning, put on his running clothes and then go for a run around the lake. The place was perfect in Ron's opinion, as it was open and secluded. People barely went to the lake during the day and it was utterly deserted during the early hours of the morning. So Ron had begun practicing some of the more dangerous curses from the spell journal after his morning runs.
The first curse he had tried was Reducto, which had blown a massive chunk out of a thick tree. The second curse that he wanted to try was Expulso, with which he had blasted a boulder to smithereens and the resulting explosion had sent Ron tumbling on his arse. Ron had then broken into a mad laugh after trying those two curses, feeling amazed at the fact that Charlie had taught him something so damn dangerous without so much as a second thought. A few days after that he decided to try the one curse that Charlie had bothered to put a warning label on.
The curse was called the Blasting Curse and in the spell journal, Charlie had written clearly that Ron should only ever use this spell as a last resort as it was 'EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND CAN BLOW YOU TO PIECES'. That warning had just enticed Ron even more, so he had walked deeper into the woods surrounding the lake after his morning run.
When he was safely away from sight, he pointed his wand towards a tree that was around thirty feet away from him. After taking in a deep breath he had shouted the incantation, Confringo. His wand had become hot in his hand and then a fiery orange light shot out of his wand, and the tree that he had aimed at exploded in a manner that shook and terrified Ron. This curse could kill… Ron looked at his wand, and noticed that it was no longer hot and it was again emanating a warmth to comfort him. Ron decided that Charlie was right and that he would never throw this curse out, except when it was absolutely necessary.
October started shortly after, and Ron continued his steady schedule. He was becoming closer to his Slytherin friends and Tracey had even invited him over for Easter at the end of March. He had told her that he would check with his parents and if they allowed it, then he would join her for Easter break much to her excitement. Ron also continued sending letters to Ginny and Luna every Friday, detailing what he had learned over the week or anything cool that may have happened. He still hadn't gotten around to talking to his mother and father, and he knew that pretty soon that was going to have to end.
Percy and George knew about Ron's current relationship problems with their parents, but they didn't say a word about it to him. Ron ran into them a few times a week and the conversation was always pleasant. Both Percy and Ron pretended that Ron's angry outburst had never happened, and Ron was grateful that Percy hadn't mentioned his wand to anyone. Fred was still distant with Ron, but only because of his own guilt.
Ron had to admit that he missed Fred, and the fact that Fred was the person that Ron had planned to save, no matter what, from his imminent death during the new war greatly saddened Ron. Ron just wanted Fred to man up and apologize already, because this time Ron would forgive him and try to move on. Thinking of Fred also made Ron worry about another major issue, one that was starting to scare him. He hadn't had a vision for a very long time. He was beginning to wonder if the hat trying to look into his head had caused his visions to cease, and if that was the case then Ron would blast that damn hat into pieces. So Ron spent any spare time he had during October trying to figure out what may have happened to his powers. The library was useless as the books on seers were vague and he wasn't even a seer, seer powers were just the closest thing to his own powers as far as he knew. All of his worries about his powers ended at the end of October, as it was on the day of Halloween that Ron finally got another vision.
It was Friday morning and Charms Class had just ended for Ron. They had practiced the levitation charm and Ron had dazzled Professor Flitwick by getting it done in his very first attempt. And then Hermione had done the same, making the short professor jump in joy. Ron couldn't help but notice his classmates' jealousy at their success and that made him feel quite smug, though he didn't show it. The professors had already come to terms with Ron's advanced skills with a wand and knowledge on the various subjects being taught, and although they had many questions as to why and how he was able to do these things, they never questioned him outright.
For that Ron was glad, but it did irk him that the professors were now giving him less points for displaying his talents. They had just gotten used to it. So it came as no surprise to Ron when Professor Flitwick awarded Hermione five more points for doing the same thing that Ron had just done. When he heard his friends scoff at his behalf, Ron simply smiled at them and shrugged his shoulders. He knew that Hermione deserved those points because she actually found the spell on her own and practiced it on her own. She didn't have two genius big brothers who had sat her down and walked her through the lessons beforehand. Hermione was naturally brilliant, whereas Ron was brilliant because his brothers Percy and Charlie were. While Ron pondered on Hermione's brilliance, he missed the fact that many of her fellow Gryffindors were talking about her in a jealous manner right behind her back.
Ron and his friends walked together, as they headed to Transfiguration alongside the Gryffindors. Tracey and Millicent were having a rather loud conversation about Millicent's cat, so Ron and his other three friends were quietly listening in. Ron's attention was then diverted when he heard Seamus Finnigan whining rather loudly about his 'explosive' failure in Charms Class. "I burned off my eyebrows again" the Gryffindor complained in his thick Irish accent. "I swear it's me wand that isn't proper… It always blows things up!"
"Maybe you should try and practice more" Hermione blurted out from behind the Irish boy. "One of these days you are going to hurt someone… or yourself." Her voice was a little bossy, but Ron had come to realize that she only spoke like that if she was nervous… or concerned. Her heart was always in the right place… her voice and body language however, were not. Ron didn't particularly mind that quirk of hers anymore, it had irked him greatly at first though. Ron kept his head forward and kept moving, but his attention was now completely on the conversation happening behind him.
"Sod off, Granger" Seamus spat out, earning a gasp from Hermione and making Ron turn around. "Maybe you should practice a spell that makes you less of a know-it-all… maybe then you could finally make a friend." Everyone went quiet at that, and Ron almost stepped in to stand up for Hermione… but he was too late. The Slytherins openly laughed at Hermione while many of the Gryffindors, especially the female ones, sniggered and tried not to laugh at her. These tossers…
Ron was at least glad to see that Neville and Harry didn't look very amused, and were both frowning at the Irish boy. Before Ron could utter a word, Hermione was already moving past him quickly. She was clutching her books to her chest as if they were her lifeline, perhaps because in a way they were… Ron also noticed that she already had big tears welling up in her eyes, and that made Ron want to comfort her. So he reached out to grab her by the elbow but she jerked her body away from him, and in the process her elbow struck Ron's hand.
"Don't touch me…" she cried as she kept her momentum moving forward. Ron didn't hear her though because he felt extremely light-headed and weightless all of a sudden. I know this feeling… And then he wasn't in the school corridor anymore, instead he was in a black-and-white vision.
BLOODY HELL! A vision… I still have my powers! Ron almost jumped in joy, but he heard a heavy thud from behind him that made him jump in surprise instead. He turned around slowly and almost passed out at the terrifying sight he witnessed. In front of him stood a massive, at least over ten feet tall, Mountain-Troll, who was wielding a cudgel that was bigger than Ron by at least a foot. He was the ugliest, most intimidating thing Ron had ever witnessed, and upon seeing it fully, Ron leaped backwards and fell hard on his arse. "GET BACK! GET AWAY!" he yelled, reaching for his wand while he crawled backwards as quickly as he could. The troll didn't even hear him, as he kept gazing stupidly around his surroundings. It's a vision… They can't see me or hurt me… Thank Merlin.
Ron stopped and took a calming breath and slowly stood up on his shaky legs, just because it was a vision didn't mean that it wasn't a terrifying thing to see. Where am I? Ron quickly looked behind him and then around the room. It seemed to be a bathroom, but not one he recognized. There were no urinals but there were toilet stands along the wall behind him. Is this… is this a girl's bathroom? Ron gulped loudly and blushed a little. Then one of the toilet stands opened and a bushy haired girl, who was in full color, walked out rubbing her red, puffy eyes. Hermione… THE TROLL!
Ron jerked his body around quickly and saw the troll gazing at Hermione, with a really stupid and confused look etched on its face. Ron turned back around to see Hermione and she was standing there frozen, her red eyes wide-open as stared at the troll. "HERMIONE RUN!" Ron yelled, he couldn't help himself. He knew that they couldn't see him or hear him but this was his friend that was standing right in front of a damn Mountain Troll…
Hermione screamed in fear and ran back inside the toilet stand she had just come out of. The troll roared so loudly that Ron had to cover his ears, and then the troll swung his massive cudgel at the toilet stands. It went right through Ron, but the stands weren't so lucky. The cudgel didn't even slow down as it shattered the upper half of the wooden walls of the toilet stands to pieces. Ron stood frozen at the sight of the completely annihilated stands, Hermione was dead for certain. Ron's legs gave out, and he fell hard on his knees and then keeled over. She's bloody dead… it killed her!
It felt as if a million thoughts were all trying to go through his head in that one moment. Why was there a troll in the girl's bathroom?! Why was Hermione there?! Who would find her dead body? Would anyone even care? It all became so overwhelming that his body began shaking, and he couldn't seem to control his breathing. This is just like with Pandora… I feel like I'm dying…
But then he heard a scuttling sound, and the sound of wood knocking against more wood and wood hitting the tiled floors. Ron jerked his head up towards the sound while still on his knees, and to his massive relief, Hermione was alive and crawling out from under the stands. Her robes were covered in dust and wood fragments, and there was a small gash on her forehead that was letting out a trickle of blood. Ron heard slow thundering footsteps from behind him, and he knew instantly that the troll was trying to go for Hermione.
Filled with panic and fear, Ron sprung up and ran to help Hermione up off of the floor, only to pass right through the girl. Oh for Merlin's sake! "GET UP AND RUN!" Ron settled for shouting instead. Hermione noticed the troll waddling towards her, which made her scream again as she quickly stood up to run for more cover. "USE YOUR WAND HERMIONE!" Ron screamed out, feeling a tight knot inside his stomach. Why isn't she defending herself?! She is gonna die at this rate! Hermione ducked under a sink, only for the troll to take another swing at her and completely shatter the sinks. She looked unharmed as she crawled, whimpering and crying, under the broken sinks and towards the corner of the bathroom. The corner furthest from the exit…
Ron could only watch in horror as the massive troll slowly waddled towards the helpless girl while raising its huge cudgel to take another swing at her small body. This is it… She is going to die… in such a horrid way… Ron looked away towards the exit, he didn't want to or need to see what was about to happen to his friend. But when he looked at the direction of the exit, he was taken aback by both shock and hope. There stood Harry and Neville, their wands at the ready, and both boys had apprehensive looks etched on their faces. Neville looked far more terrified than Harry, but he wasn't running away.
"I'll distract it, you go get Hermione" Harry said to Neville. But before the chubby boy could even answer, Harry picked up a broken tap from the floor and flung it at the troll. "Leave her alone!" Harry yelled. The tap hit the troll in the back of its head, and that made the troll shake its head in a droopy manner while it rubbed its head with its cudgel free hand. The troll slowly turned around to face Harry, its angry eyes boring into the boy, then it let out a deafening roar and moved towards Harry. Harry pointed his wand at the troll but then had to jump out of the way instead to avoid getting crushed by the troll's cudgel. During this, Neville had quickly scampered to Hermione, who was shriveled in the corner and had her eyes covered while crying loudly, and grabbed her shoulders with his both his hands.
"Hermione c'mon…" Neville pleaded in a shaking voice. "HERMIONE!" he yelled and shook her hard. This seemed to wake her up from her trance and she looked to Neville with eyes wide open in fear. "C'mon" Neville yelled as he dragged her up and began to move with her, hand-in-hand, towards the exit. Harry was running back and forth while dodging the cudgel that would no doubt shatter him into a million pieces if it made contact. Ron stood frozen while witnessing this insane scene unfold around him, its intensity overwhelming him. They have to make it out… They can't die in here. WHERE ARE THE PROFESSORS?! WHERE IS HEADMASTER DUMBLEDORE?! Ron was looking at Harry running circles around the troll, all the while dodging the cudgel, and Ron dearly hoped that all three would make it out of this bathroom safely. But that wasn't to be…
The troll noticed Neville and Hermione trying to dash past its leg, making the monster lose interest in Harry completely. Ron watched in horror as the troll swung its cudgel downwards diagonally with full force, making its entire body turn at lightning speed as a result. Hermione was still at the troll's leg so the cudgel went right over her head but Neville, who was ahead of her, wasn't so lucky… The cudgel hit the frightened boy's back with a sickening crunch that made Ron gag, and Neville's body was sent crashing down into the floor. His body was all but shattered due its contact with the cudgel, and it slid across the bathroom tiles, leaving a wet, black-and-white trail behind.
Ron stared wide-eyed at what was left of Neville, Ron's body shaking like a leaf in the wind from sheer terror. But the troll falling over, due to losing its balance, immediately diverted Ron's attention. The troll fell right on top of Hermione, who had frozen right by its leg after witnessing Neville's fate, and Ron heard her scream for only a second before another sickening crunch and a loud thud echoed throughout the bathroom. Ron just stood there, trying to scream but far too scared to even open his mouth. They… it… it killed them…
Ron felt sick and lightheaded, which made him fall down to his knees and he retched out his breakfast. His eyes burned from vomiting so hard, and he could feel the burn left behind by the vomit on the insides of his nose and throat. Someone help… them. Where are the professors…? Ron let out a choked sob and tried to stand back up. His knees wobbled hard, and he completely ignored the troll which was now standing upright right in front of him. Someone else was yelling and screaming, but Ron didn't care.
He couldn't focus on a damn thing and his head was pounding. Then there was another loud roar and a horrifying scream that made Ron start shaking again. Ron looked up to see the Mountain Troll holding Harry in its free hand. The boy struggled and screamed at the top of his lungs, but the troll just stared blankly at Harry. Ron could hear a crunching noise as the troll tightened its grip, and when Harry started flailing in pain, Ron found himself crying and unable to look away. Please don't… not him too…
The troll then brought Harry's flailing body up to his mouth and bit the boy's head. Harry's head was crushed between the troll's massive teeth and the sound was so revolting that Ron would never be able to describe it or forget it. Ron just stood there, dazed and sobbing, as he heard the screaming stop and the sound of the troll's loud chewing echo throughout the destroyed bathroom. Even though Ron's eyes were open, it felt like he couldn't see a thing… everything was just a blur and covered by mist… He kept crying in his spot as the troll slowly waddled towards the exit, Harry's broken and headless body limp in its grip.
It felt like time had stopped moving, and that he would be stuck in that spot for eternity, crying from the horror of what he had just witnessed. He begged and pleaded with any divine power out there to help him, to tear him out of this vision. When that didn't work, Ron shut his eyes tight and clutched his head with his hands while another broken sob cracked out of his throat. He then opened his eyes quickly but the scene didn't change. He was still in that destroyed bathroom. The whole room was colorless except for the broken and mangled body of the bushy haired girl that he considered his friend, and the large pool of blood that encircled her. Herm… Hermione… Harry… Neville…
Ron hugged himself as tightly as he could in order to stop himself from shaking. It didn't work. He gazed towards at the mutilated body of Neville Longbottom. It was unrecognizable… His limbs were twisted in an unnatural and disgusting way, some bones were visible as they protruded out of his skin, and his face was fixed in surprise. He had died so fast that his facial expression hadn't even changed… The thought and sight made Ron feel so lightheaded that he fell on his arse, still staring at the horrible scene in front of him. His thoughts were utterly hysteric and he himself was unable to decipher them. His lightheadedness got worse and worse, and he started to feel like his body was so light that it would simply float away if there was a strong wind. He knew that the vision was ending, but it didn't make him feel any better… They were going to die so horribly and he hadn't even found out the date… All he knew was that it would happen soon… very soon if Hermione's appearance was any indication. What do…? What do I do? And just like that, he was standing in the school corridor again with everything back in color.
Ron stared blankly as Hermione rushed away from him, sniffling loudly and with her head down. He didn't try to stop her, he couldn't even move… All he could do was watch…
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yeesh... I got carried away with the violence there... But c'mon! IT'S A DAMN TWELVE FOOT GIANT TROLL! Things are going to pick up now that we have gotten most of the angst out of the way, so stay tuned!
Also if you like the story then spread the word... Or don't! I'm writing this because I just want to share a story with anyone who will listen... or read in this case... =D