Summer 1991

Ronald Weasley

Kingscross station was alive with movement. Hundreds of people danced back and forth between platforms. Some moved with haste trying to catch departing trains while others strolled and took their time. Most of them, but not all, were muggles.

Ron found it hard to focus, he pushed his trolley absently in front of him, his mind still drawn to what Charlie had said. He heard his mother say something about the train but he was hardly listening. Instinctively he reached his hand into his pocket and stroked his fingers in his pet rat Scabbers fur.

What should I do?The question gnawed at him like a hungry dog. He wouldn't give the wand back. Not only did he need it to save Charlie but he also selfishly wanted something that belonged only to him. He drew his hand away from Scabbers and instead reached backwards for his wand. It sent warmth shooting through his arm and lessened the anxiety heavy on his chest.

He looked over at his mother. She wore a worried look as she attempted to navigate them through the crowds of muggles but otherwise she looked almost she care?Ron frowned. He hoped she cared about Charlie, he didn't want them to hate each other. But his wand? She hadn't mentioned it. Perhaps it was not as big of a deal as he thought.

Soon they came to the platform entrance, the pillar that stood between platforms nine and ten. It was a rather plain looking brick wall, and although Ron knew it was anything but, he still felt uncomfortable about walking into it.

"Alright, Percy first," his mother directed.

Percy smiled and marched towards the entrance, his cart and then his body disappeared behind the barrier. Ron grimaced, almost his turn.

"Fred next," she said. Fred and George bickered for a moment about who exactly was Fred before one of them finally went through and then very quickly the other.

Can't leave each other alone for a second.

"Excuse me," Ron heard an unfamiliar voice say.

He looked over to find the voice belonged to a short boy with black hair, a large round pair of poorly mended glasses sitting on his face. He pushed a trolley too, a beautiful snowy owl sleeping soundly in a cage. He seemed almost familiar.

"Hello, dear," his mother answered, "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new too." She pointed at him.

Ron did his best impression of a friendly smile. Although was burdened by his thoughts and the fact that it was nearly his time to cross the barrier.

"Yes," the black-haired boy said, "The thing is—"

"You don't know how?" His mother guessed. "Not to worry. All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier. Best to do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on now, before Ron."

The boy mumbled some sort of acceptance and took a deep breath. Ron watched as the boy stared straight at the wall, shook his head gently, and started to run. Ron had run for the first time too and he seriously considered doing the same today. The boy reached the barrier and disappeared into the wall. Ron bit his lip.

"You first, Ron," his mother ushered him.

Ron pushed his trolley towards the wall and braced himself to hit it. Just when he should have, he felt a rush of air and appeared on the wizard platform. A second later his mother and Ginny appeared behind him.

Ron looked over the train, the Hogwarts Express, an old steam engine with bright red paint. Students in and out of uniform trickled around the platform moving in and out of the cars as they said their goodbyes to their families. Ron wished Charlie was with him, he wished he had given him a proper goodbye.

"Ron, you've something on your nose," Ginny pointed at him. Ron tried to rub it away with his hand but it was too late, his mother was beside him with a handkerchief. She pushed his hand aside and rubbed away the dirt on his face.

"Get off," he mumbled quietly.

"Has ickle Ronnie got something on his face?" snickered one of the twins, seemingly having appeared from nowhere.

"Shut up," Ron warned, his face growing scarlet.

Percy came back from the train, a large smile on his lips. "Can't stay long," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have two compartments all to themselves."

"Oh," Fred said. "You're a prefect are you?" He asked airily.

"Hang on, I think I remember," George added. "I think he said something once, or twice, or all summer long."

"Oh shut up," Percy said. Ron couldn't help but agree. He wondered what it was like sharing a house with the twins all year and whether Percy had any tips on how to stand it.

"How come Percy gets new robes anyway?" Fred asked.

Ron robes? He got new robes too?

"Because he is a prefect," their mother said fondly. "Alright, all of you have a good term, and send owls when you can."

Ron felt rage boil inside he is a prefect!?He wanted to shout in her face about his wand and how Charlie cared more about him than she did. He took a few short breaths through his the place, not the place.

His mother leaned in and kissed Percy on the cheek. Ron noticed that he too seemed a little frozen and his smile had slipped downwards. He turned around and headed back towards the train.

"Take care of your brother," she said to the twins.

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

"Shut up!" Ron said again. This time far louder and angrier than he had intended. Briefly he smelt smoke under his nose, and something green shimmered in the corner of his eye.

Fred glanced away a little uncomfortably.

"Guess what?" George changed the subject. "You know the black haired boy in the station? Do you know who he is?"

"Who?" Ginny asked.

"Harry Potter!" George said with a laugh.

Ron's eyes Potter? In my year?

"Oh, mum, can I get on the train, can I go meet him please?" Ginny asked.

He was 's hands trembled. Harry Potter had glasses, thick round ones, just like the boy in his vision he remembered. He swallowed dryly. The revelation came with a slight sense of relief but also worry. Harry had looked only slightly like his older self, so there were probably years before the vision was to take place, but he was here nonetheless, and that made Ron worry.

"Are you sure it was him?" Ron asked.

"He showed me the scar, just like lightning."

"Do you think he remembers?" Fred asked. "Knows what you-know-who looks like?"

Ron felt a shiver run down his spine.

"No," their mother said sternly. "I forbid you to ask him, Fred. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day of school."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Keep your hair on."

A shrill whistle sounded through the platform.

"Hurry along now," their mother urged them.

Ron uprooted his feet and swept Ginny into another quick hug. She hugged him back just as tightly and when he pulled away he could see tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I'll be home soon," Ron said. "and I'll write to you."

He didn't address his mother and instead turned back and stepped onto the train. The twins hurried out of the way and into the train car while Ron just stood still, not sure of where to go. The doors closed behind him a second later and the train lurched forward. The whole car rocked and bumped as it moved along the track.

Ron moved along the compartments and peered in through the frosted glass of the windows. It seemed that lots of people had already made friends, groups of students talking together in excited voices. He had made it nearly to the end when he found a compartment that was mostly empty.

Ron slid open the door and stepped inside. He stopped for a moment, his eyes going wide as he noticed the boy who lived.

"Anyone sitting there?" He asked. He pointed to the seat across from the boy. He felt his heart race but he bit the inside of his cheek and tried to keep himself 's not dying today,he repeated over and over again.

Harry shook his head and Ron gave him a bit of a relieved smile. He sat across from him and tried his best not to seem too odd.

The silence unnerved him, both boys doing their best to act normal but neither saying anything just darting their eyes across the small room.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron finally blurted. He couldn't hold the question any longer.

The boy blinked at him and then idiot,Ron chastised kind of Oaf asks someone that?

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I thought maybe my brother's were lying. They um, they do that a lot."

"It's okay," said Harry. He reached up and pulled back his fringe to show Ron his scar. Ron stared, it was exactly as George said, a perfect bolt of lightning.

"So that's where…" he said. He let his words fall off and he shook his head. He knew he wasn't being very proper.

"Yes," said Harry. "But I don't remember."

"Nothing?" Ron asked. Suddenly he wondered if Harry was special or if anyone could survive the curse if they knew how. Perhaps he could save Charlie without killing anyone at all.

"Well— I remember a lot of green light," Harry answered. He seemed to think about this for a moment. "Nothing else."

Ron nodded and turned his eyes to the window. The streets of London were becoming sparse and the countryside beginning to show.

"Are all your family wizards?" Harry asked.

Ron turned back and frowned. He hadn't expected the boy who lived to be concerned about blood status.

"I'm a Pure-Blood," Ron said simply. He knew the term but his mother often said to be careful not to be proud of it. Ron didn't really see why, he could find muggles interesting and still be proud of being a full wizard, couldn't he?

Harry smiled. "So you know loads of magic already?"

"I know some spells," Ron said proudly. "Although I've never cast them, it's not allowed, is it?"

"Oh, I thought you would have learned them already, like as a kid."

Ron shook his head. "That's what Hogwarts is for." He noticed Harry immediately looked relieved. "What about your family," he asked. "Muggles right? What are they like?"

Harry nodded his head. "They're horrible."

Ron leaned a little closer. "Really? My dad quite likes muggles."

The two spent an hour discussing both their lives. Ron was quickly disgusted to learn just how bad the Dursley's, Harry's family, seemed to be. For all of his problems with his parents and their actions, he would have never traded them for Harry's life. He wondered if muggle law worked very differently from wizarding law, he knew realistically that it had to, but it seemed a shame to him that Harry's guardians were allowed to lock him in a room under the stairs. Surely the ministry would have punished a wizarding family for doing the same thing. Yet, nothing he learned of the muggle world seemed to be much use for his prophecies or preventing Charlie's death. Overall, Ron found that he liked Harry Potter. The boy wasn't much like the stories they had all been told and Ron was glad for it. He was shocked to learn that Harry had no qualms about saying the name of you-know-who, the two quickly discussing the topic and then leaving it standing, neither quite agreeing on whether you should say his name or not.

Just when Ron was about to describe just what a garden gnome was, the door of the compartment slid open again. Three boys peered in, the first being a rather pale boy with light blonde hair and the other two looking more like half-trolls than proper wizards. Ron wasn't sure of their names; he wasn't certain he wanted to know them.

"Is it true?" The middle boy asked. "They say that Harry Potter is on the train, in this carriage. Is it you?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"This is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the boy carelessly, not bothering to clarify which was which. "I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Ron coughed, he knew exactly who the Malfoys were. All of them, the lot, were supporters of you-know-who.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." The middle boy smirked and turned his attention back to Harry. "Soon you'll find that some wizarding families are better than others, best not to make friends with the wrong sort."

"The wrong sort?" Ron asked. He stood to his feet. He could feel the back of his neck turn red. "Is that what it is, Malfoy, the wrong sort?"

"Sit down weasel, no need to make sure Crabbe pummels you before we even get to the castle." He laughed. "See what I mean Potter? They don't know what's good for them."

"I think I know the wrong sort myself, thanks." Harry said.

"Say that again," Ron warned Draco.

The boy rolled his eyes, "you want to fight us? Is that it Weasley?"

"Unless you get out," Harry said. Ron found himself glad that he had sat with Harry Potter.

"Whatever, make your choices Potter." Draco sniffed and turned around. The door shut tight behind him.

"Slimy git," Ron said. He sank back into his seat. He wished he had punched the boy, given him a bloody nose, but he knew both Percy and his Mum would have none of that. Truthfully, he wasn't even sure where he stood with his mother, and that scared him a lot. Percy at least would probably forgive him.

"I've met him before," Harry said. "In the robe shop."

"Never been there," Ron said. He held up the hem of his jacket. "I mostly wear old clothes, stuff that doesn't fit my brothers anymore. Doesn't sound like I'm missing much if it's the kind of place Draco Malfoy goes."

"Was his name actually funny?" Harry asked. "It's a little uncommon."

Ron shook his head. "No, I just, uh, I know who his father is. He was a big supporter of, um, you-know-who. Or at least that's what my father said. Claimed to be under some curse that meant he wasn't thinking straight. My parents think he lied about it, and I reckon many others do too."

"He seemed so proud," Harry frowned.

Ron nodded. It was the kind of pride that he had been warned about. "Slytherin," he said. "No doubt about it."

"Hagrid said bad wizards come from Slytherin."

"Other houses too, but mostly Slytherin," Ron agreed.

"Why do they just have an evil house?" Harry asked. "Doesn't that make problems?"

Ron flinched a little. "Well, Slytherin isn't evil Harry, they're just ambitious. Lots of Slytherin's have been headmasters of Hogwarts. It's just that sometimes they're a little too ambitious and too proud. Some of them are gits, like Draco Malfoy."

"Right," Harry nodded. "Like muggles."

Soon they were talking again and discussing their lives like nothing had transpired. Then a witch had arrived with a large trolley of candy, and although Ron had packed a corned beef sandwich, which he hated, Harry had bought more than enough candy for them to share. Ron felt rather pleased with his new friend and couldn't wait to tell Ginny all about him.