As he stood in front of his furious mother inside the kitchen of the Burrow, the house of the Weasley family, Ron was faced with a dilemma on how to deal with the situation he was currently in...

There were currently two schools of thoughts warring inside of him, two ways to soothe his furious mother, one stemming from the memories of Sam, and the other from Ron... and he was confused as to which one he should follow...

The memories of Sam told him that, there was nothing wrong with what he did, that he did no crime by simply having a drink, and that he should just have an honest conversation with his mother.

If he could simply apologize for his mistake, then everything would be alright as his mother would surely see that he was almost an adult now and that he could make his own decision...

As an orphan in his previous life, Sam's thoughts on his present circumstances could be succinctly summarised in four words, 'What's the big deal about drinking?'

But Ron on the other hand, would have been absolutely horrified with that very thought, for he knew that as deep a shit as he was in at the moment, talking like an 'adult'... would only make it worse for him.

He knew from his long experience of watching his mother tear ruthlessly into his older brothers(for blunders far smaller than his,) that acting like a grown up, and trying to weasel out of his mistakes by telling her that 'He was now old enough to make his own decision,' would get him nowhere but in deeper shit.

He knew that if he didn't want to spend every second of his summer holidays grounded in his room, with his broom confiscated, and to only be let out occasionally out of his room, that too to 'help' with housework, weeding the grass and de-gnoming the garden, then he had to be very careful with how he handled this situation...

Now, Ron's usual way of dealing with his mother's anger was to sulk, look down at the floor petulantly, silently listen to her angry ranting until she was tired of it and then be sent to his room with no food and all his privileges revoked.

It wasn't the best way sure, but that was how the boy had handled things for years...

But perhaps, now that he had the memories of both Sam and Ron, he could find a better way...

"Do you have something to say for yourself?" Molly asked in a dangerously calm tone. She was standing on the other side of the table with her arms on her waist and was looking at Ron with such a calm expression on her face that it would have absolutely terrified the twins and sent them running for the hills.

Ron gulped but he knew that he had to speak soon or the storm brewing in the form of his Mom would soon erupt, and that was the last thing he wanted.

So he hurriedly scoured his brain with all his cunning, so that he could find a way that may save his hide in this time of need, and miraculously... he was hit with a brilliant idea, which he could execute immediately...

"M-Mum!" Ron cleared his throat as he looked up and began, "I-I am really sorry!" he said with a deep remorseful look on his face, even letting his voice tremor for added effects.

His expression was as if he was a guilty murderer coming to confess in front of the judge to get a lighter sentence.

"Hmm?" a simple hum and a raised eyebrow was all the response that Molly gave her son's apology. As the mother of seven, she had seen it all before, so a simple crude act like this wasn't going to get him anywhere.

"I-I know that I've disappointed you... that I let you down, b-but I didn't do it for myself or just to have fun... I had reasons for it..."

Molly's eyes narrowed at that, "What reasons could you possibly have for drinking alcohol at school." she asked with gritted teeth.

It still rankled her to know that her son dared to do something like this, but still... she tried to control her anger as she wanted to listen to what he had to say.

Normally, they wouldn't have been having a calm conversation and she wouldn't have been waiting for an explanation either after he did something like this... because Ron wasn't the type to apologise or be regretful in the first place.

He was the type who responded to confrontations like this in two ways, either his pride would get hurt and he would get red-faced and angry, following which it would dissolve into a shouting match with him getting grounded, or at other times when he knew that he did wrong, he would get embarrassed, unhappily brood, and then get grounded.

So seeing her son look so regretful, threw Molly a bit off her game, so she was forced to listen and see what he had to say for himself...

"I-I did it for my friends. For Harry, and Neville..." Ron let out reluctantly with his eyes tightly shut as if he was letting out a big secret, 'I am sorry, guys,' he apologised internallyfor throwing his friends under the bus.

"What?!"

"Yes, for them," Ron quickly nodded his head, "You know about the fight in the ministry, right?" he asked and Molly nodded with a frown as she remembered that there was one other reason she had to be angry about, but before she could think about it any further Ron went on, "Well, in that fight we came face to face with the worst the Death Eaters had to offer, so safe to say, all of us very shocked," he shivered for extra dramatic effect, "But while the fight was scary what was scarier was that in that fight we came so close to losing the people we were closest to..."

All of Molly's anger left her at that, her face paled and her lips quivered as she saw her boy's pained face as he tried to relive that memory.

"Harry almost lost the closest thing he had to a father in Sirius, and Neville... well Neville had to come face to face with his parents... attackers," Ron hesitated a bit at that, wondering if it was alright to use his friends like that but when he saw how invested his mother was, he decided to go all in, even if it felt a bit dirty.

"So it was clear that it wasn't the best day for them, and I... I think they were even having nightmares after that, so I decided that as their friend it was my duty to help them cope, to give them one happy memory of this year before school ended so that they aren't completely miserable at home, so that their summer is not spent reliving the worst but the best memory of this year..."

Ron almost couldn't believe the tale he was spinning here... when he had started he just had a faint idea in his mind. He had never imagined that it would go so well, 'I never knew I was such a great actor and storyteller... I guess all those years spent watching late-night soap operas were useful for something after all.'

"Oh! My poor baby!" Molly cried as she hurried to hug her son with all her might, "I am so sorry! I-I never knew that it was so bad, and it was all our fault... we should have been there to protect you..." she exclaimed angrily, "Y-You should never have had to fight those... those monsters. I swear, that it will never happen again, I'll never let you out of my—"

"D-Don't worry, mum, it's alright now," Ron said hastily cutting her off before she went on a tangent and did something unimaginable in her emotional state...

Something along the lines of pulling him out of Hogwarts and keeping him at home to keep him safe, and considering that this was Molly Weasley we were talking about, that was definitely a possibility so Ron had to quickly avert that, "It was just a coincidence we got involved in a fight like that, Mom, so I don't think anything like that is going to happen again.

"Besides, I know that things are not going well in the outside world and now that Vol—I mean, You-know-who, is out in the open so I don't think those people have the time to care about us children," Ron didn't actually have much of a problem saying Voldemort's name now that he had Sam's memories, but he didn't want to get into that bad habit considering that it could still be made into a taboo during the war, "A-And I know that you and everyone else are doing the best you can to protect us, so don't worry too much, Mum..." he said hurriedly, trying to soothe her worries.

"Oh, Ron! Since when did you become so mature," Molly smiled warmly with tears in her eyes as she held Ron's face lovingly in her hands. She had such a moved expression on her face that it embarrassed the hell out of Ron... but now that he had come so far, he felt that he might as well finish the job.

"And, Mum, about the drinking..." he continued with a guilty expression on his face, "I know that even did it to help my friends (Again! Sorry, Guys!) I know that what I did was very wrong, so I am ready to take whatever punishment you decide to give me," he said with a determined look on her face.

"Um..." Molly had a hesitant look on her face as she wavered on whether to still punish him or not.

"How about this, Mum? I'll finish my holiday homework during the very first week of holidays and I will study for at least five hours every day," he said with a pained expression as if he was making a great sacrifice. He didn't know where he heard it from but he knew that it was a good tactic to suggest punishment from your side if you wanted something lighter, "And on top of that whenever you need help in the kitchen I will do it without hesitation."

"Ah, Ron! You didn't have to do that..."

"No, Mum! I want to do it. For you!"

"Oh! Ron!" and the crying renewed as she hugged him again.

"There there, Mum," Ron said patting her back as she let out her emotions, 'Oh, that went quite well... I wonder what my siblings would think about this,' he mused with a smirk on his face.

...

"Do you think she would have been done by now?" Fred whispered while sneaking a peek at the silent door of their house.

"I think so... I mean, it's been more than an hour by now, even she shouldn't have the stamina to shout for that long. Would she?" George replied crouching beside his brother as they hid behind a bush some distance away from their house.

The twins knew better than to come home immediately and get in the way of their mother's anger so they dawdled as much as they could at the station.

They talked to their friends, ate some tasty station food, and just passed the time until the last of the students had left the station and only when the Hogwarts train finally began its journey back to Hogsmade, did they decide to come home.

"I don't know about that," Fred replied unsurely, "Don't you remember about the day we fled from Hogwarts... I swear she shouted at us for days on end from morning to night," he shivered while thinking about those dark days.

"So you think we should wait and come back at dinner—"

"Ugh! Seriously! You guys are such cowards." Ginny snorted before abruptlystanding up from behind them.

She had two pieces of luggage standing beside her, the one with Piggy's empty cage was hers and the other was Ron's. Their Father had apparated out, soon after their Mother had left with Ron, saying that he had work, which meant it was left to these idiots to apparate her home, which was definitely not a pleasant experience.

"Then why don't you be our guest, dear sister and enter before us?" The twins said simultaneously while waving her along the entryway of their house with innocent smiles on their faces.

"You think I won't," she snorted before squaring her shoulder and confidently walking towards the house.

But just a few seconds later as she got closer and closer to the house, her steps began slowing down. The eerie silence coming from the house seemed ominous and when she remembered the look of wrath on her mother's face she had seen at the station, her feet halted abruptly.

Her face scrunched up as she stood there hesitating for a few seconds before she finally groaned and turned around to look at her brothers with a forced smile on her face, "Together?"

The twins first sent a smirk towards her before they looked at each other, nodded their heads and stood up, "Together!"

Slowly, ever so slowly, the three siblings walked up to their house as if they were walking towards a lion's den.

They kept straining their ears with each step as if expecting to hear screams, shouts, and breaking plates at any moment, but even when they were almost at the door, they heard nothing... which confused the hell out of them as they looked at each other with bafflement.

"Is it already over?" Fred asked in a whisper while scratching his head.

"Only one way to find out," George replied before gingerly pushing the door open.

The three slowly went into the house but a single peek at the scene inside, left them stunned in their place. Their eyes went wide, their mouths fell open, and Ginny even pinched herself to check if she wasn't dreaming.

"Here, take some more, dear," Molly said warmly while filling her son's plate with delicious pasta, Ron's favourite food.

"No, mum, I can't eat anymore, I am already full," Ron replied his mouth filled with food, but his hand never stopped shovelling food into his mouth showing that he was merely paying lip service.

"Nonsense, you're a growing boy, you need to eat at least this much," she said with a warm smile on her face while tenderly caressing his hair, "Oh! That reminds me, I had some pie left over. I'll bring it out immediately," she said before immediately going inside with a happy smile on her face, all the while ignoring her other three children as if they weren't even there.

Ron finally looked up from the food towards the three entrants standing at the doorway, the ones who had happily left him to be sacrificed, with a smile on his face, "So you're finally home..."

"You... How... Why... How..." Fred was too stunned to even speak while George was like a broken recorder unable to form proper sentences in his mouth.

"H-How did you..." Ginny finally managed to ask in an amazed whisper, "...do it?"

The scene they were expecting(and hoping) to see and the one they had actually seen was so drastically different that it had completely fried their brain, and now they were having trouble moving their thoughts.

"Oh, that," Ron replied airily waving his hand toward the direction their mother had gone in, "Well, let's just say that we had a heart-to-heart conversation and it was decided that what happened wasn't actually my fault after all... so she let me off easy," he shrugged with such nonchalance, that it was clear he was trying hard not to brag openly.

"Let... you... off... easy..." Fred repeated the words with a dumbfounded look as if not able comprehend the meaning of the words coming out of his younger brother's mouth.

But while Fred was having trouble accepting reality, his twin brother George was quick to get over his shock and realise what was more important at the moment, so he placed his hand on Fred's shoulder and said, "Snap out of it brother,"

"But—"

"It has happened, my dear brother," George said shaking his head with a serious look, "We need to face reality now. Our younger brother has exceeded us and achieved something that we could only dream about,"

"Y-You're right," Fred said before taking a deep breath and then after exchanging a single profound glance between each other, they nodded and turned to look at Ron with a determined look on their faces.

The twins slowly strode until they came to stand in front of their little brother, who got a little scared by the peculiar expressions on their faces, and then without any hesitation, they kneeled in front of Ron and shouted with their heads down, "Teach us! Master!

"Ah!— O-Oh! Ho!" Ron immediately lowered his hands and tried to act nonchalantly as if he hadn't just flinched like a little girl, "Ahem! So you both want my secrets, huh?" the twins hurriedly nodded their heads, "Hmm, I don't know about that..."

Ginny stared at the scene in front of her with an unsure look on her face.

But after a little bit of hesitation, she bit her lips as her eyes firmed and she slowly moved up to stand beside her brothers, and then with a look of absolute embarrassment on her face she kneeled beside the twins, "T-Teach me too..."

...

"Ah! That sure was satisfying," Ron murmured as he rubbed his stomach with a content look while closing the door behind him.

Seeing the adoration and curiosity on his traitor siblings' faces, the same ones who had left him to die on the station, was quite exhilarating.

He had kept them on the hook for hours without telling them anything before they finally gave up asking him with a reluctant look on their faces.

The scene outside the window showed that the sun had set a few hours ago, and Ron was just now coming after having finished dinner with his family.

He had spent most of the time from lunch to dinner talking with his siblings, listening to twins talk about their shop, and helping his mother in the kitchen.

So all in all it was a very relaxing first day home. But now it was time to get back to work...

He moved towards his bed before kneeling beside it to pull his trunk from underneath it.

After opening the trunk, he slowly began pulling all his yearbooks as well as the special books he had borrowed from the library.

These weren't the only books he had available, as he knew that the attic in the burrow was filled with the course books all his older brothers had used during their school years. And while they might be a bit outdated, he knew that they would be perfect for what he had in mind for the summer.

He had a bit over two months of time before the holidays were over and he had to go to school.

And he wanted to be a completely different person from the Ron Weasley that people knew, on the other end, and while he knew it would take a lot of hard work, he was more than ready for it.

'But first... Status'

[Status]

Name: Ronald Weasley (Sam)

Level: 16 (05/340)

MP: 258/258

Physique [Max.: 6.2 0.8 (Pending) [11]

Dexterity [Max.: 5 [10]

Spirit [Max.: 8.6 0.3(Pending) [16]

Perception [Max.: 4 [10]

Stat Points: 1

Skill Points: 1

[Skills]

Transfiguration Lv5, Charms Lv5, Herbology Lv5, Potions Lv5, DADA Lv5, Astronomy Lv4, Flying Lv6, Dueling Lv6, Observe Lv1...

"Hmm, let's see... looks like I am almost done digesting the point I had spent increasing the Spirit, but on the other hand, the one in physique has only been digested by 0.1. It seems I was right that I would have to move my body and properly exercise to digest those gains. Well, nothing I wasn't already expecting about that..."

Ron also spent a lot of time trying to figure out all the ways in which he could improve his skills but most of it hinged on the premise of whether he could perform magic here or not without the Ministry charging him with Underage Magic, otherwise the most he could do was brush up on his theories.

Of course, even if for some reason he couldn't use magic, he could still improve other skills like 'Flying' and 'Observe', and not to mention he also had to see if he could get new skills from just reading about a particular subject...

So all in all, he was going to get very busy starting tomorrow, but he was looking forward to it.

'It's time to grind...'

/