Chapter Summary: Ron finds himself in the past.

Chapter Seven: Reunions and Visions

Ron Weasley was a simple man. He liked Quidditch, food, and Hermione Granger. Not necessarily in that order. He loved his family and he was fiercely loyal to his best mate, Harry. Which is why, when he saw Harry falling backward through the Death Veil in the Department of Mysteries, Ron didn't stop to think. His Gryffindor brain reacted to his best friend being in danger. He had forgotten about the mysterious hourglass he was holding until he threw his hand out toward Harry and it went flying from his palm. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw it shatter on the ground and the gems begin to glow a sickly green around Harry's stumbling feet.

Ron scrabbled for Harry's hand and missed. Heart in his throat, he dove forward and caught one of his ankles just before it disappeared behind the veil. The green gems on the floor dug into his chest as his own arm disappeared through the veil with Harry's leg.

Uh-oh.

The veil sucked him in, and the whispering voices became louder.

"-dy hell, Ron!" Fred.

"Save me." Lavender.

"-so brave –" It was a man's voice he didn't recognize.

"-strong nephew." Another voice he didn't know. Uncle Gideon? Uncle Fabian?

"Help Harry." The phrase echoed around him from various voices. Tonks. Sirius. Remus. Colin. A couple other voices he didn't recognize but was willing to bet a galleon belonged to Harry's parents.

"Find me." Snape.

"BLOODY HELL!" Ron yelped, eyes bursting open as he sprang up in his bed. He looked around with his heart beating frantically in his chest, scrabbling for his wand. He was in his bedroom in the Burrow, and he couldn't find his wand. The ghoul in the attic yowled and banged on a pipe. Footsteps pounded on the stairs and his bedroom door burst open. Percy came skidding in wearing a long nightshirt and socks, wand aloft.

"What's wrong?" he asked, spinning around. His hair was sticking up in the back from sleeping and his glasses were crooked. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he sighed and turned to Ron, adjusting his glasses. "Was it a spider?"

Ron gaped at Percy. His older brother was…younger than him. He looked to be in his early teens.

"Percy," he croaked. "You're a teenager."

Percy huffed. "Well, yes, Ron. That's been the case for a few years, now."

They both turned toward Ron's door as an argument could be heard on the stairs. "Wasn't me!" "Well, it wasn't me!" The twins, achingly young, passed through his narrow bedroom door at the same time, elbowing each other in the stomach.

"FRED!" Ron leapt out of bed and tackled Fred in a hug.

"Woah!" Fred stumbled backward, catching himself on the door frame. "Ickle Ronniekins…" he trailed off the tease and frowned as Ron let out a sob. "What's wrong, baby brother?" he asked, patting his back gently.

"Ron?" George rubbed his shoulder. Percy looked on helplessly, wand dangling from his fingers by his knee.

"You were dead," Ron muttered into Fred's chest.

"Well, that's dark," George said bluntly.

Percy approached and awkwardly patted Ron's other shoulder. "It was just a nightmare, Ronnie. See? Fred's alive."

Ron sniffled and let go of Fred, swiping his wrist under his nose. "Well, it was a horrible nightmare," he said, looking at his much younger older brothers.

"I'm not going anywhere," Fred said. Then he grabbed Ron, pulled him into a headlock and gave him a noogie.

"Argh! Gerroff!" Ron protested, swatting at Fred. The twins howled with laughter as Fred finally released him. Then Ron surprised all of them by turning and grabbing Percy into a tight hug.

"Thanks, Perce," he mumbled into his brother's chest. Bewildered, Percy returned his hug, gently patting his back.

"You're welcome?"

Ron squeezed him one more time before pulling away, grinning through tears unashamedly streaming down his face. Percy placed a hand on his shoulder and bent to look him in the eye. Fred and George crowded behind his shoulders, peering concernedly at him.

"Ron, what's wrong?

Ron looked long at Fred's face, glanced at George's ear, then looked back at Percy, consideringly.

"I- hang on." He closed his eyes and thought hard. He may not have always gotten the best grades but that was due more to not caring about schoolwork as much as he cared about other things. He was nowhere near as brilliant as Hermione, nobody was, but he was by no means unintelligent. He was a good strategist and, when he put his mind to it, he could problem-solve with the best of them. Right now, he honed his focus to a sharp point – the moment he went through the Veil.

Was he dead? Was this the afterlife? No. That didn't seem right. His brothers would be older. Had he come back in time? That seemed most likely based on what he was seeing. But how? It was the Veil of Death, not the Veil of Time. The hourglass. It hadn't looked like a time-turner, not exactly. But it was attuned to Harry – the phoenix, the snake, and the lightning bolt. Even the gems were the same color as Harry's eyes…and the killing curse. Ron shuddered. That was a creepy thought.

He felt Percy's grip tighten and was vaguely aware of his brothers repeating his name. He ignored them.

Veil of Death…Veil of Death…Master of Death…

"Oh!" his eyes shot open, startling his brothers.

"Ron! What's going on? Are you okay?" Percy was patting his cheek. Ron glanced around and noticed George had disappeared while Fred was still looking on in concern.

"He's the M-" -aster of Death… Of all the best mates to grab onto when they're falling through the Death Veil, he'd lucked out. But Harry didn't have the Resurrection Stone anymore – he'd lost it in the Forbidden Forest. And the wand was tucked back in Dumbledore's tomb. While he wouldn't put it past him to have the invisibility cloak stashed in his robes somewhere, Ron still couldn't figure how it would've worked. Don't you need all three to be the Master of Death? Or was he still recognized as such, having been the only living person to have had all three?

"Or maybe he already was…" Now there's an interesting thought. Maybe instead of the person who unites the three becoming the Master of Death…maybe only the Master of Death could unite the three…

"RONALD!"

"Wha-?" Ron dazedly looked around and realized his mum was crouched in front of him, cupping his face in her hands, looking worried. Ginny was there now, peering curiously at him from between the twins.

"Oh, hey mum." She looked younger, too.

His mum stroked his face, brushing his hair back with her fingers. "You were quite lost in thought, Ron," she said gently. "What's on your mind, son?"

"Erm…" he blinked owlishly at her, unsure what to say. He wasn't even sure when he was. His mum was giving him her I'm-patiently-waiting look, which usually preceded the I'm-not-so-patiently-waiting look. Suddenly remembering Percy had given him an out, he blurted, "I had a bad dream, that's all, Mum. Nothing to worry about."

"Bad dream, he says…" muttered George. Fred elbowed him with a disconcerted grimace. His mum frowned thoughtfully before pulling him into a hug.

"Well," she said determinedly, "why don't we get some breakfast in you?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Ron agreed, happily following his family as they clambered down the stairs to the kitchen.

He was halfway through breakfast when four owls bearing the Hogwarts crest came swooping regally in through the window.

"Oh, Ron! You got your letter!" his mum exclaimed. Ginny groaned jealously next to him. Ah, first year, then. He opened the letter and scanned the contents, scowling at the potions materials included in his shopping list.

Percy gasped and their mum squealed loudly.

"PERCY!"

"I'm a…" Ron looked over to see Percy holding the Prefect badge in a trembling hand.

"A PREFECT!" Their mum grabbed Percy into a bone-crushing hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

Ron tuned his family out as the twins began to tease Percy and Ginny whined about not getting a letter yet. He looked thoughtfully at his letter, staring at the book required for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

You-Know-Who would be at the school, and he'll probably be digging around in their brains in class. Well, Harry's brain anyway. Ron doubted he'd be much interested in any other eleven-year-old's memories, which meant he was probably safe if he kept his head down. If Harry had come back in time, too…well he was rubbish at Occlumency. If You-Know-Who could see his memories…they were in a lot of trouble.

What if Harry hadn't come back in time? What if it was only him? That would be awful. He'd have to remember everything on his own and try to convince Harry to…to what? A thousand different things! And work out a way to save people from dying. He squirmed uncomfortably in his chair, remembering the voices he'd heard in the Veil.

Snape. He'd said, "Find me." Ron shuddered. Harry might've gotten all soppy for Snape after his death, but he sure hadn't. He appreciated the man, certainly, but he wasn't about to declare his undying love for him. He was still a git of epic proportions.

Find me. Ron snorted. What was that conversation supposed to look like? Excuse me, sir, I came from the future where your dead-self told me to come find you. It was most likely going to end in detention, a loss of house points, and possibly even a forced trip to Madame Pomfrey. Better than being chopped into potions ingredients, he supposed, which is what he had originally half-expected from Snape when he was actually eleven.

"Ron." His mum was cupping his face again, her brow creased in worry. "There you are, love. Are you alright?" Ron nodded, humming agreeably. His mum gave him a long thoughtful look, which pulled Ron back fully into the present. That was a worrisome look – it usually either led to something horribly embarrassing or frightfully insightful.

"I'm alright," he said quickly. "Hogwarts, eh?" he waved his letter cheerfully. His mum smiled.

"Let's see your list, dear." Ron handed it over and tucked back into his breakfast.

"So," he addressed his siblings, "what house d'you reckon I'll be in?"

"Gryffindor, of course!" Ginny exclaimed.

"You think so?" he turned to her. Merlin, she's little! Harry better ruddy well keep his paws off her! "House of the brave and the noble, right?"

"I don't know, Ronniekins…if there's a spider…" Fred trailed off mischievously.

Ron grimaced. I'll show you a spider, he thought maliciously, considering how to drag the twins out to the Forbidden Forest to see the acromantulas.

"I, for one, would be most surprised if he was in any other house," Percy said pompously. Ron smiled. How had he never noticed that Percy always had his back?

Deciding to tease his family a bit, Ron affected a thoughtful pose. "I don't know," he said airily, "I really want to make something of myself, y'know? Which house was it that likes ambition?"

George choked on a piece of bacon and Fred thumped him on the back. Percy paled and looked at Ron consideringly. "Erm, Slytherin House is known for ambition," he said, hesitantly.

"Hmm, Slytherin…well I am a pureblood. I suppose they'd have to let me in…"

His mum ruffled his hair as she passed behind him. "If you're quite done teasing your brothers," she said with a knowing smirk.

Fred and George groaned theatrically. "I can't believe we fell for that!"

"Good one, Ron!"

Ron grinned and winked at Percy who visibly sighed in relief before turning back to his food. Ginny reached over and pinched his arm. Ron yelped and glared at her. "Wha' wa' tha' for?" he demanded, mouth full of eggs.

"For tricking us into thinking you wanted to be in Slytherin!"

Ron swallowed and grinned. "Nah, that'll be your house, Gin-Gin!" Ginny growled and breakfast ended in a raucous babble of teases, threats, and bets.

Later that afternoon, Ron had accumulated all the components of his school uniform passed down from his brothers and half the required books. He grimaced at the quality of the robes, knowing he'd be teased by Malfoy for his hand-me-downs. He sighed. There were worse things. He examined the dragonhide gloves carefully, ensuring there weren't any holes in them, before tucking them away in Bill's old trunk. His wand was going to be a problem. Ron knew wands were expensive and they still had to buy him a few books and some of his equipment that they didn't have enough of to split between all the boys in school.

His mum was looking for Charlie's old wand right now. He'd have to figure something out quickly. Glancing at the list again, he figured he could cobble together the glass phials for potions from what was laying around the house. Cauldrons, surprisingly, weren't terribly expensive, at least not the beginner ones. They could get a used one fairly cheap. The telescope and scales were going to be the more expensive items. He could probably find them in the Room of Requirements, but how does one go about explaining that to his mum?

She bustled into the room holding Charlie's wand and a crystal ball. Ron furrowed his brows at the ball. What in Merlin's…

"Here you go!" she said, brandishing Charlie's wand hilt-first toward him. "Charlie's old wand. Now, I know it has some scratches on it, but we can polish those down and it'll be as good as new," she said, encouragingly. Ron hesitated. Scratches was a bit of an understatement. Charlie's wand looked like it had been chewed on by something huge. In fact, Ron would wager he wasn't far off the mark there, considering his brother.

"Erm, mum…I'm not sure Charlie's wand and I are a good fit…" he said, eyeing the tiny bit of unicorn hair poking out of the tip.

"Nonsense! Wands recognize family."

A terrible idea came to him in that moment and he felt a little badly about it, but decided it would, in the end, be the best course of action. He took the wand from his mother and immediately flicked it away from her, sending a nonverbal blasting curse at a stray sock. He could feel his magic moving sluggishly, grudgingly through the wand and he concentrated his will into it with the practice of a man who had used unfamiliar wands while on the run. The sock exploded.

"Woah!" he exclaimed, then flicked the wand toward a spoon that somehow found its way in his room. The spoon shot through the air and impaled itself in the ceiling. He yelped again and flicked the wand one more time toward an old Lockhart book (Gadding with Ghouls – he must have looked through it at some point with the ghoul in the attic in mind). The book exploded into a beautiful mushroom of confetti (the perfect use for a Lockhart book, he thought).

The wand sailed out of his hand and his mother caught it, wide-eyed. "On second thought…" she trailed off, tucking it in her apron pocket with her own pale wand. Her brow creased in worry and Ron flushed, feeling guilty.

"Sorry, Mum," he mumbled.

"Don't be, dear. It's not your fault. We'll just have to go to Ollivander's," she said cheerfully, hiding her worry behind a smile.

"We can skip the telescope. I'll see if Percy will let me borrow his since we shouldn't have Astronomy at the same time," he suggested.

His mum looked a little relieved and nodded her head. "Splendid idea, Ron. Now, I want you to take a look at this, dear." She handed him the crystal ball.

"Erm…why?"

His mum sat on the edge of his bed and patted the spot next to her. Ron sat down, holding the crystal ball on his lap.

"Now," his mum began, "I was never very good at this, but your father could occasionally see in it."

"Really?" He'd never known that.

"Mm-hmm. I want you to hold it in both of your hands, just like that. Very good. Now, I want you to remember whatever it was you were thinking about so deeply earlier. Can you remember, dear?"

"…yeah…"

"Alright, then. Go back to that memory. Focus on it. And while you are focused, I want you to look into the ball."

Might as well humor her, he thought with a shrug. Ron closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about Snape and how he's supposed to "find" him. Find him…how do I tell him? Should I tell him? I suppose so. Occlumency. He can help Harry with Occlumency…perhaps before they become raging enemies this time. But what if You-Know-Who sees Snape helping us when he does Legilimency on Harry? He wouldn't be able to go back to the Death Eaters and the Order would be in a much tougher spot. What to do? What to do?

Ron's hands felt warm, and he opened his eyes and looked down. The crystal ball was glowing. He lifted it up and peered closely at it. There was a dark figure standing stiffly inside. He squinted his eyes and looked closer. Merlin's balls, it's Snape. As he watched, there was a flash of light and Snape crouched down. He was looking at or listening to something – it was difficult to see – a Patronus! Snape was listening to a Patronus. It was small and the white light of the Patronus was difficult to make out against the white of the crystal ball. Was it McGonagall's cat? No…the message apparently ended as Snape stood, looking thoughtful, and the Patronus bounded around the room before disappearing. Ron gasped. It was a Crup! It was his Patronus!

"Did you see something, dear?" his mum asked, softly.

"Yeah…I saw…" he shook his head, bewildered. "A teacher. He was talking to something. It looked important." He shrugged then groaned. "Aw man, I'm a bloody Seer!"

"Ronald Bilius! Language, young man!"

Ron cringed. "Sorry, Mum!"

She pat his leg. "Keep the crystal ball," she said, standing to exit the room. "I'll see if we have any books about Divination." Ron crinkled his nose in distaste.

At least it gives me an excuse if I talk about things I'm not supposed to know yet, he thought bemusedly.

Ron settled into an easy routine with his family over the next couple of days. His dad was pretty chuffed that he had some Seer abilities and was happy to let him keep the crystal ball, giving odd tips here and there on how to use it best. The twins, of course, had great fun winding him up about it, though Ron found it hard to get truly upset with them. He was just so grateful that they were both alive and whole. Ginny stuck to him tightly and spent time with him, gazing into the ball, herself but without much success. He had forgotten how close they'd been before he went off to Hogwarts. And Percy was a surprising ally. Ron supposed it took looking with adult eyes to see that Percy had a particular soft spot for him and Ginny. In fact, he had noticed Percy hovering around the edges of the room, nose in a book, whenever their parents were busy elsewhere. It seemed his emotional breakdown when he first arrived in the past had concerned his brother. He wondered if there was a way to keep Percy from breaking with the family when the Ministry went downhill. Something to think on later.

That weekend found the Weasley family gathering in the living room near the floo. Ron had petitioned to wait to go to Diagon Alley until the 31st of July, hoping to bump into Harry. But as the 31st fell on a Wednesday this year and he didn't have a particularly good reason to explain to his family to wait until then, he was unsuccessful. They flooed to the Alley and split up. Ron's dad took his shopping list and chivvied his brothers along to Flourish and Blotts while his mum took him and Ginny to Ollivanders.

The bell over the door tinkled as they walked in and Mr. Ollivander looked up from the register. "Ah! Molly Prewett," he said, smiling. "Aspen and Dragon Heartstring, twelve-and-three-quarter inches, firm, if I'm not mistaken."

His mum smiled. "You remember well, Mr. Ollivander. And it's Molly Weasley, now," she chided gently, exasperated. Ron supposed she must have had this conversation with him a few times over the years.

Ollivander bowed slightly. "Unusual combination, your wand. We wandmakers particularly enjoy crafting Aspen. They're quite beautiful and powerful. I believe yours was particularly suited for charms and dueling. How has it worked for you?"

"Well, it's been quite a while since I've needed to duel, though it served me well. I use it frequently for charms, now, and it works a wonder."

She nudged Ron forward. "Ron, here, is ready to start Hogwarts and is in need of a wand of his own. In fact, Mr. Ollivander, I was wondering if you could answer a question for me. We had intended to pass down a family wand but it reacted…badly. I was wondering what your thoughts were?"

"Ah," Mr. Ollivander said. "The wand chooses the wizard, Madame Weasley, or witch, as it were. We can use other wands in emergencies, yes, and if we win them in a duel, though they still may not be terribly compatible. There are many variables that go into compatibility. Incidentally, whose wand were you passing along to young Mr. Weasley?"

"Charlie's," she said, pulling the wand from her pocket. Ron noticed she blushed as she passed the battered wand over to Mr. Ollivander.

"Ash and unicorn hair, twelve inches. But of course it didn't work for you," he said, glancing at Ron. "Ash is very loyal to its one true owner. And with a unicorn hair core, it would be the most faithful of all wands." He straightened and turned back to their mum. "This wand belongs to one wizard, and one wizard only. It should be returned to him. He can use it as a spare wand, since clearly he has seen fit to find another." Ollivander sounded slightly offended. He pulled his own wand from his sleeve and ran it over the tip of Charlie's wand, sealing it and fixing the various cracks and chips. "I cannot in good conscious hand this back in this shape," he muttered. Their mum blushed again.

"Yes, well, he was quite rough with it, that's for certain. He's working with dragons, now, in Romania," she said, proudly.

"Romania, eh? I'm assuming his new wand is from Gregorovitch?" he asked bitterly.

"Erm, I couldn't say," their mum answered awkwardly.

"Hmph. Well, hopefully his new wand will be as loyal to him as this one is," he snarked, handing it back to her.

"Now," he clapped his hands together and turned to eye Ron up and down. "Let's find you a wand, lad. You'll find that I've worked quite hard to ensure all my wands are made of superior materials."

"Yes, well, I'm quite happy with my Aspen-and-Dragon, thank you," their mum retorted.

Mr. Ollivander's entire demeanor softened. "Indeed. Yes, lovely wand." Then he set about having Ron measured and prowling his inventory, carrying an armful of boxes out.

Half-a-dozen tries later, Ollivander handed over Ron's old willow wand. He smiled as he took it, feeling the pulse of magic of the unicorn hair. A feeling of immense joy overtook him – a combination of handling his wand and having Fred back and having a second chance to do things right. So it was quite by accident that instead of shooting sparks from his wand, a silvery Crup shot out, bounding playfully around the room.

"Ron…" his mum breathed. Even Ollivander looked startled.

"What is that?" Ginny asked, confused by everyone's reactions.

"A Patronus…" she answered, awed.

Oops. "Erm…" he looked at his Crup Patronus, which was pouncing at a giggling Ginny's feet. Suddenly remembering the vision in the crystal ball, he silently willed the Crup to find Professor Snape and thought a hasty message. The Crup jumped playfully then shot away, through the wall.

His mum approached him slowly, eyes wide. She cupped his head gently between her hands and kissed his forehead. "You, young man, are a powerful wizard," she whispered.

Ron could feel his entire face, ears, and neck getting hot. "Mu-um," he complained.

"Do you have any idea how difficult that charm is? Most fully qualified witches and wizards can't do it," she said reverently. "Where did you send it?" she asked.

"Eh?"

She raised her eyebrows, unimpressed with his false confusion. Ron sighed. "Remember when I said I saw a teacher talking to something?" She nodded. "Well, it was the Crup he was talking to. So, just now, when it came out, I figured I was supposed to send it to him." He shrugged awkwardly.

"Which teacher?" she asked, brows furrowed thoughtfully.

"Erm, well," he scratched his nose uncomfortably. "Based on everyone's descriptions, I'm pretty sure it's Professor Snape."

"Snape? Very unusual, indeed. Acacia and unicorn, unyielding. Curious." Ollivander muttered to himself.

Unicorn? Ron thought. I would've figured him for dragon.

His musings were cut short by his mum questioning him about what in the world he needed to tell Professor Snape before school started. Ron shrugged. "I dunno, Mum. I don't know if it'll even go to him or if it'll say anything. I just remembered what I saw, and it went away."

As Mr. Ollivander boxed the wand and their mum dug out seven galleons, the wandmaker looked at it pensively then told Ron, "My willow wands consistently choose those of great potential, Mr. Weasley. My family has a proverb that I will pass along to you. He who has the furthest to travel will go fastest with willow."

"Er, thank you, sir," he stammered. How much of this is potential? And how much of it is cheating, being an adult in a child's body? Ron shook himself from his musings and followed his mum and sister over to Quality Quidditch Supplies to meet up with the others.

Ron and Ginny joined the twins, who were admiring the Nimbus Two Thousands on display while their father took Percy over to Eeylops. "Ohh, George," Fred groaned, "think how much faster we could be with one of these!"

"I knooow!" George wailed.

Ron snorted, though he agreed with them. Then he had a thought – a rather Slytherin-ish thought. No, I shouldn't…but why not? Ron suddenly had the ridiculous urge to consult his crystal ball about his horrible Slytherin-ish thought. He glanced at his mum who was surreptitiously checking prices of various Beater bats. I'll have to wait…get Harry on board with it…

By the time they left Diagon Alley, Ron had a crafty plan half-developed, Percy had a new screech owl, and the entire Weasley family was metaphorically tightening their belts as they lugged their burdens home. His mum had pulled his dad aside at some point and told him about the Patronus. He could tell because his dad kept giving him a thoughtful squinty-eyed look. It was disconcerting.

Ron managed to dodge his parents and lumbered up the stairs, hauling a cauldron filled with books and a set of scales. As he reached the first landing, Percy called his name and waved him over to his room.

"Hey, Perce. What's up?" he asked, stepping into his brother's tidy room. Percy had thrown his new robes across the bed, stacked his new books on his desk, and was in the process of setting up his owl's perch.

"Since dad got me this new owl for making Prefect…" Ron rolled his eyes (Percy would not shut up about being a Prefect). "…I thought you might like to have Scabbers," he said.

Ron nearly dropped his cauldron. How in Morgana's left tit had he forgotten about Pettigrew?!

"Of course, if you don't want him, I'd understand," Percy said, hastily, blushing. "I know he isn't the most exciting pet. He's old and lazy and it's a wonder he's still alive, frankly," he rambled.

"Thanks, Percy. That's really nice of you," Ron said, smiling. "I'd love to take him." Take him to Azkaban.

Percy beamed. "Go ahead and take your stuff up to your room. I'll be right behind you."

Ron nodded and lugged his heavy cauldron up the steps to the next landing. "Bugger it," he muttered and whipped out his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa," he whispered, chuckling gleefully as he levitated the cauldron up the rest of the stairs and to his room.

A moment later, Percy arrived carrying Scabbers in his cage with a cover over it. He had piled some bags of food and bedding on top of the cage. Glancing around, he asked, "Where do you want him?"

Ron shoved some of the detritus on his desk to the side with a swipe of his arm. "Here's good," he said with a grin.

Percy pursed his lips, reminding him of McGonagall. "What?" Ron asked.

"How can you live like this?" Percy asked nodding at the mess on his desk and the various piles of junk around the room. Ron shrugged as his brother placed the rat cage gently on his desk. Percy shuddered then promptly ignored his surroundings and talked Ron through how to take care of Scabbers.

I solemnly swear I will not kill this rat, he chanted in his head as Percy was speaking. He repeated that chant every morning and every night for the rest of the summer. When the first of September finally arrived, he muttered, "Mercy Managed" under his breath. Time to let Harry decide what to do with the traitor.

A/N: Ron demanded his story be told! I could do nothing but oblige. Next up, we're back on the Hogwarts Express!