Autumn 1991

Ronald Weasley

Ron jolted awake the next morning and the horrors that haunted his dreams were replaced all at once by the rhythmic sound of snoring. His bed was wet with sweat and his heart raced second time tonight,he thought.

The curtains on his bed glowed only softly and he knew that it would be a few more hours until breakfast. He wasn't hungry but still, he wished it was sooner. It was always easier to forget his dreams when he had something to distract him. He turned over and tried to close his eyes again but it was too late, he was already thinking about the night before and he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep.

Ron pulled away the curtain and sat on the edge of his bed. His eyes looked out through the room's window and into the murky water of the black lake. Hidden in the veil of darkness he watched the shadows of fish swim in and out of visibility.

"Can't sleep?"

Ron jumped as the sudden voice broke his attention. His hand twitched towards his wand but stopped just .

Ron turned his head around to see Blaise standing in the middle of the room. He had obviously been awake for some time, as he had already gotten dressed into a tight black shirt and brown trousers. Blaise's outfit only made Ron's thoughts tumble further; there was no way he could afford clothes like that.

"Merlin," Ron said, "you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Well, I do live here too," Blaise said softly. "Sometimes I like to get up early and walk around the school."

What kind of psychopath likes to walk around empty hallways?

"Sorry," Ron mumbled. "You're lucky I didn't shout, I would have woken Theo."

Blaise scrunched his nose. "It would serve him right. I can't believe he decided to attack Malfoy."

"You think it's a bad idea?"

"A terrible one." Blaise shook his head. "Remember what I told you about deniability? Theo doesn't care what I think."

"We could warn them," Ron said with a frown. He honestly wasn't sure if he wanted Malfoy to suffer or not.

"No, we shouldn't. Theo would find out and then we'd be stuck in here with him. If he's willing to go against Malfoy, he would be willing to bury us."

"Right," Ron said as he turned his eyes back to the knows where I sleep.

"So why are you awake?" Blaise asked.

Ron rolled his eyes, "I have too much to think about."

"Your family, again?" Blaise guessed.

"No, not really. It's just all about a conversation I had with someone recently." Ron paused. "You and Theo bet six whole Galleons yesterday, doesn't that worry you?"

"I think I'll win," Blaise said simply. "You know what Potter said."

"Right, but I mean, isn't it a lot of money?"

"I guess so, but we don't really have anything else to buy here so I don't see the harm in making friendly bets. I wouldn't bet anything that I didn't have, I wouldn't owe anyone."

"Can I ask you a question?" Ron asked.

"Sure, but I might not answer it." Blaise crossed the room and leaned against the window pane.

"How much money do you and Theo have? And the other Purebloods?" Ron asked. "You all know the Weasley reputation."

Blaise frowned slightly and Ron felt his heart beat faster in his , please don't hate me!

"I have a lot of money, Ron, more than I probably should. I mean, it's really all my mother's money, but I have a key to the family vault at Gringotts and I carry some on me too." Blaise shifted his way down the glass and sat on the window ledge. "Do you know the rumours? Is that why you're asking me?"

"Rumours?" Ron gave his friend a confused fucking rumours?

Blaise shook his head. "Sorry, I just thought maybe Theo had told you something about me. There are rumours about my family, Ron, and about my mother. It has to do with our wealth so I thought maybe that's why you wanted to know. Really, I'm not sure that the rumours are entirely false and it's a part of the reason I don't have very many friends."

"No," Ron said quickly. "Theo didn't say anything. I was thinking about your bets and how I couldn't afford to make them."

"Really?" Blaise raised an eyebrow. "You can't afford a single Galleon?"

Ron shook his head and he felt his cheeks turn rosy as embarrassment rolled over him.

Blaise grimaced. "Merlin, I didn't realise that your family actually struggled that much. No wonder you want to pound Theo's head in. And I can see why you might be thinking about our bets then." Blaise looked away and back again. "Sorry, if we made you feel bad."

"It's not your fault," Ron assured him. "I was just sort of shocked that you two didn't care so much about Galleons."

"Well, I do care, it's just…" Blaise cleared his throat. "There are rumours about my mother, and about how she earned her fortune. It's something that truly bothers me and I don't mind spending the money for that reason. Every Galleon I spend is a Galleon that she doesn't. Of course, I'm only allowed to spend so much before Gringotts would let her know."

"What do you mean?"

"Lots of people think that my mother is very beautiful, Ron. She even had her picture in Witch Weekly when she was young. When she left Hogwarts she married a man who wasn't my father, he was like a hundred years old and he died very quickly of natural causes. She took his fortune and added it to her accounts at Gringotts and they were married so it was all very legal even if it was a bit gross. But then, she married again. Her second husband wasn't as old as the first but he was far richer. He fell into a lake while skiing in Switzerland and froze to death but his wand was never recovered. That's when the rumour started that she was killing them. Marrying men for their money and then murdering them when they least expect it."

Ron bit the inside of his cheek. Didthat mean?

"My father was her longest husband, and he was the fifth. They were together for a year before I was born and for three afterwards. I can still just barely remember the way he laughed. Anyway, he was caught in a fire that burned down my childhood home. I can't tell you if she did it if their relationship was different. I hope it was, but I'm not so sure. She married again, and again, and again. I've had more stepfathers than I could ever count. Each one of them has died in an accident of some kind and yet the Zabini vaults keep growing. I was the only child she ever had."

Ron felt as if he was frozen in place. It seemed impossible to him that someone could get away with so many murders, and yet, he knew it was unlikely that so many wizards had died in accidents. He felt very bad for Blaise for having to live with those sorts of worries. Ron wondered if his friend actually woke up early to take walks or if he too was haunted by nightmares.

"I'm sorry," Ron said. "I shouldn't have asked you."

"You were going to find out eventually, someone would have said something, maybe Malfoy, Theo, or even some Gryffindor. It was better that I told you and that you heard the story from my perspective. I have to be honest with you, Ron, I don't know if my mother is a murderer." He took a deep breath. "And, I'm not sure if I care if she is. She is still my mother, no matter what she does."

"And you still love her…" Ron said with a nod. He understood that it was hard to doubt the people you loved.

"So yes, I am very wealthy, Ron. It's just that I am not the same as the others. Some of them have been warned to avoid me, their parents are afraid of my mother or worried that she'll tarnish their reputations. It's hard to make friends when you're living like that. Luckily, you didn't know and Theo, while he isn't my friend yet, doesn't seem to care too much."

"It doesn't change anything," Ron said. "I'll still be your friend no matter who your mother is or isn't."

Blaise looked relieved. "Thank you."

"I mean, you're not going to ignore me because I'm poor?"

"Of course not," Blaise nodded and let a small smirk form on his lips. "I'll make sure to spot you a butterbeer or two once we're allowed to go to Hogsmeade."

Ron smiled too, not because of the offer but because he knew that he had slightly improved Blaise's mood.

"The other purebloods are as rich as I am or richer, a lot of them come from old money, the kind that comes with potion rights and lots of land," Blaise continued. "There are a few families that have lost it all, but not very many. The Carrows used to be one of the richest families in England but now they have pretty normal jobs. The Malfoys own lots of businesses throughout Britain and some of the land in Diagon Alley, which is why Draco is so stuck up. And his mother is Narcissa Black which also makes him the heir to the Black fortune. Lord Black is in Azkaban for murdering a dozen muggles so he won't be having any kids."

Ron frowned, it seemed fully unfair that Malfoy got two fortunes and he didn't even get one.

"I don't know too much about the rest. Lots of them claim to be richer than the Malfoys but only the Goblins really know. And I mean, these are just the Slytherin Purebloods I'm talking about. Other houses have plenty of well-off families too."

"But the Weasleys are still the poorest," Ron said bitterly.

Blaise frowned too. "Maybe… but there were others. The Gaunts lost everything they had and their entire line died off."

Ron bit the inside of his cheek. He knew what he had to do, he just didn't know how. Even if Sal thought it was too early, there had to be some way for him to start making money. How was he going to protect Charlie or save the damn school if the rich could just get away with murder?

The situation reminded Ron vaguely of garden gnomes, where they would bite, pinch, and laugh until someone came along and met their actions with force. Someone needed to swing them around and fling them into the fields beyond the paddock.

Perhaps, Britain too needed someone to fight fire with fire. Salazar was right, people like Lucius Malfoy only held onto their freedom because they could pay their way out of trouble. If someone had as much money as them or more, then perhaps the odds could be evened. Perhaps Ron could save Charlie without killing anyone, he could topple the killers with Galleons. Only, he had no idea where to begin.