"Sit."

Ronald Weasley nodded and sat down quietly at the dining room table in the burrow. His siblings milled about for a moment, before they all sat down as well.

Molly and Arthur Weasley, heads of the household, looked over all of their children with a cold stare. From Percy, all the way down to Ginny, the littlest.

"Now," Molly started. "I want to begin this family meeting by saying that nobody is in trouble."

Ron blinked, looking up from where he was staring at the wooden surface of the table. His parents gaze lingered upon him for a moment, before shifting.

"Arthur and I discussed the happenings of this year at Hogwarts, and we have to say… It isn't as bad as we thought it would be."

Arthur nodded. "For one… We received many a letter from the deputy headmistress regarding your behavior, Percy. A prefect you may have been. It does not make up for the fact that you almost killed a student."

Percy gulped, shivering a bit as his parents looked at him long and hard.

"Fred, George." Molly nodded to the twins. "Can you maybe dial it back a bit on the pranks? We get that the hall monitor is an old sod-"

"Filch deserves every bit that comes to him." Fred nodded.

"Agreed. He once spent an hour long detention lecturing us on the uses of iron manacles in old forms of discipline. I will not let that man close to me." George nodded.

Arthur looked at his wife. "Well… if the man did that-"

"Still, would you rather serve detention with Professor Snape? Or Bathsheda Babbling?" Molly exclaimed. "I think not. Keep your behavior clean, you two."

"Aye aye!"

"Or is it Eye-eye?" George grinned at his twin, motioning to his face.

"Ah! Out of sight, out of mind!"

"Boys…"

The twins zipped their lips as Arthur and Molly turned to Ron. For a moment, Ron felt as though they had lied before. He figured he would be in terrible trouble after all.

Then, his father sighed. "Ronald… I would like to apologize."

Ron blinked in confusion. 'Huh?'

His mother was the next to speak. "We… Well… I. I took your make of wand the wrong way. Because of that, I basically abandoned you to the school. I saw your room after you went. Did you-"

Ron swallowed, his mouth feeling dry. "Yes… I sold it."

"All of it?"

"I have a few things left." Ron shrugged. "Not much… I needed my school books."

Percy blinked, leaning over the table. "Your quidditch collection?"

Ron nodded, causing Ginny to drop her jaw from her seat beside him. Fred and George looked down at the tabletop. They had known, and done their best to help, but still.

Molly Weasley sighed, and sat down in her seat at the table, holding her head. "I'm a terrible mother…"

Ron bit his lip. He hated when she did things like this. When she made everyone feel bad for her.

His siblings quickly got up and moved to her side, giving her hugs and assuring her that she was the perfect mother. Ron moved to join them, but was stopped by his dad.

"I know how you feel son. Don't let your anger cloud your judgment of her."

Ron nodded and stepped forward to give his mother a hug. She wiped false tears from her eyes and hugged him back.

"I'm sorry…" Molly shook her head. "Truly, I am."

Ron nodded, yet remained silent. He hated this. He had dealt with the stares all year. The whispers behind his back. The gossip. He hated it. No mother had the right to do such a thing to their child. Ron knew that. He would not forgive it. After all, he was only twelve.

Molly took a moment to gather herself as her children sat back down. Arthur cleared his throat and sat beside her.

"While we do understand some of your behaviors at school because of this, I have to ask. Why are you attempting to befriend a Malfoy?"

The room went quiet as everyone looked at Ron. The boy pursed his lips and looked down. "Because…"

"Because?"

"Because… he's like me…"

Arthur pursed his lips. "I can assure you that he isn't."

Ron shook his head. "Draco isn't like his father! He's-"

"Oh I know he isn't. You see, that's the thing about Malfoys. They use each and every relationship to their advantage." Arthur nodded. "Even their family members."

The children all blinked as Molly picked the ends of her fingers, speaking as if she was recalling a nightmare.

"Before Voldemorts war… and Grindelwalds war… There were four families that worked together. Two ancient families. The Blacks and the Prewetts. And two new noble families. They were the Weasleys and the Malfoys."

Arthur nodded. "My family was… a lot like the Malfoys. We weren't as blessed by magic as the Blacks, or the Prewetts. We were a line of fathers and sons. One child per marriage, and as such, our line only continued."

"So, when Grindelwalds war came… The Blacks and the Prewetts stayed neutral. The Malfoys and Weasleys, however. They marched into battle, claiming glory, risking their lineage." Molly nodded. "After the war, everything settled down for a bit. Then-"

"Then came Voldemorts war." Arthur nodded. "The Malfoys had sinced intermarried with a lesser, but still pureblooded, family. Abraxes and his wife gave birth to two children in that time. Lucius, and his little sister, Circe."

Molly nodded. "Arthur was just a boy, and I was just a girl when we met them. Stoic, cold… Circe kept to herself, but Lucius often spoke of joining the dark. At the time, I thought nothing of it. I believed that the war would be over before we graduated."

Molly chuckled, her voice sounding broken in the walls of the burrow.

"My elder brothers… Fabian and Giddeon. They became lieutenants for the light. They fought many death eaters, brought a lot of them down too…"

Arthur rubbed his wife's back as she summoned a tissue and blew her nose.

"Your mother and I… when we graduated, well… We got married then and there. We knew the war would continue, we were smarter then. We tried to settle down in a peaceful area, nestled here, in the fields of the muggle world."

"We were having you all… Bill and Charlie were toddlers. Percy was a wee babe." Molly nodded. "And we received an invite to the wedding of my youngest brother, to Circe Malfoy."

Arthur sighed. "When we heard about Johnathan's engagement, we were relieved. We believed it may be a sign of peace between the families, and with links to the Malfoys, we would be safe from Bellatrix Black."

Molly shook her head. "A year later… we received word that Fabian and Giddeon had died. My eldest brothers, killed in a battle, by my youngest brother and his wife."

The table was silent. Ron felt his stomach twist. He knew his family and the Malfoys had bad blood, but this?

"Arthur didn't hold me back. We went together. Stormed the cottage where they lived. Because I had taken Arthurs name, I could no longer inherit… The marriage had been the first step of a political ploy, to sieze my family name."

"Your mother faced her brother that day." Arthur nodded. "She killed him. In a duel that I am sad I missed."

"Your father was busy, killing Circe Malfoy."

Arthur nodded. "When Lucius arrived at the cottage, and saw us, and their bodies… he swore a blood feud then and there. And we have been at odds ever since."

"So… you musn't fall for the Malfoys lies." Molly shook her head. "Please Ronald… I don't want to see my family get torn apart again…"

Ron nodded, biting the inside of his cheek.

"I know… I'll make sure I'm safe."

Molly nodded, and after a final wipe of her eye, flicked her wand. Everyone watched as a box of polished black wood slowly floated across the room. Molly sighed as it fell into her hands, and she placed it on the table in front of Ron.

"Go on."

Ron blinked and slowly reached towards the box, flicking open the small iron latch that kept it snapped shut. With a flick, the latch was undone.

Nestled in the box, wrapped in a roll of black leather, as it had been before, was Ron's wand. Acromantula venom core. Blackthorn with a twist of black walnut. He reached for it, but hesitated.

"Are-are you sure?"

"The wand chooses the wizard." Molly nodded. "Not the other way around. Take it, Ron."

Ron wet his lips, before wrapping his fingers around the wand. The familiar warm greeting of the focus ran up his arm, through his veins, and into his heart, blooming through his body as purple and silver sparks flowed from the wand's tip.

As the sparks settled, Ron found himself grinning, looking down at his wand hand as if it were filled with galleons.

Arthur nodded. "That wand is mighty powerful, my boy. Acromantula venom is rarely used in arcane foci. Treat it well."

Ron nodded, shrugging of the knowledge that his father had on wandlore as he slid the wand into the sleeve of his robes.

"Finally… Ginny. We're coming up to your first year at Hogwarts! So, I want every single one of you to make sure that she can find her way around properly."

The rest of the table nodded. Percy leaned over to his sister. "I know all the ins and outs of the castle. You'll be anywhere you want to be in seconds."

The conversation dissolved from there. Ron remained quiet, feeling the magic of his wand in his sleeve as it coursed through him. He could feel its connection to him, as well as every spider in the house. It was phenomenal.

'I'll definitely have to tell Nib when I get upstairs.'

And that's a wrap!

Welcome to venom! Starting out with a really fast run through of the Weasley history with the Malfoys. Sit tight, there is more to come.