The Hogwarts Express disappeared from view. The train was taking Harry’s two sons, James and Albus, and hundreds of other students to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. James and Albus were gone until the Christmas break. Two-thirds of his life were now moving towards the Scottish Highlands. The other one-third tugged at his hand. His daughter Lily was trying to get his attention. Harry stopped touching the light scar that was all that was left of his most famous distinguishing mark.
He crouched down in front of his daughter. He made himself as low as he could get without sitting on the platform. His eyes were just below her eyes.
“Yes, Lily.”
“Hugo wants to know if I can sleep over at his place tonight. Rose is gone and he will be lonely.” Rose and Hugo were Lily’s cousins. Their father, Ron, full name Ronald Bilius Weasley, and their mother, Hermione Jean Weasley nee Granger, were Harry Potter’s best friends when they were attending Hogwarts together. Together, they were the Hogwarts Golden Trio. They had been made famous in the stories about the defeat of the last Dark Lord.
Rose had left on the Hogwarts Express, going to her first year as a student along with Harry’s second son, Albus. Harry paused and considered for a moment. He then turned to his wife Ginny. “What do you think, Gin?”
His wife responded with a shrug and an unconvincing smile. “You must ask Ron. He doesn’t like invitations like that unless we are all going to The Burrow.” The Burrow was the Weasley family home. Ginny and her brothers Ron, George, Fred, Percy, Charlie, and Bill all grew up there. It was still the centre of their family life.
Ginny continued. “I am nearly late for my meeting with my agent and the lawyers. I should be on my way. Bye.”
Ginny gave Lily and Harry a light kiss on their cheeks and walked quickly to the nearest apparition point. Harry watched her apparate away.
Harry was struck by how Ginny’s smile had not gone to her eyes. That was happening a lot. Harry grudgingly admitted to himself that it had been happening for years.
The couple were famous. They were the greatest celebrities in the wizarding world. Harry had many titles such as, ‘The Boy Who Lived’, and ‘The Chosen One’. He was famous for finally removing the biggest threat to the Wizarding World, Lord Voldemort, hence he was ‘The Chosen One’. He was ‘The Boy Who Lived’ because he had survived being hit by the Killing Curse cast at him by Lord Voldemort when he was just eighteen months old. He was the only known survivor of the Killing Curse.
Ginny was famous for marrying Harry and becoming a star member of the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team. Quidditch was the most popular sport played by magical people. Newcomers to the magical world had to immerse themselves in the sport for years before they could finally understand and appreciate it. Sensible people didn’t bother. Muggle sports like soccer and baseball were easier to understand and enjoy.
Ginny was now a prominent sports journalist in the Wizarding press, hence the need for agents and lawyers while negotiating contracts with the Wizarding media.
Lily had gone to Hugo and was holding his hand to prevent his parents from taking him away before the sleepover could be sorted out.
With his best smile in place, Harry approached Ron. “Ron! It seems that Hugo has invited Lily for a sleepover tonight. I hope that is possible. Lily seems to be quite determined to have it happen.”
There was no answer from Ron for too many seconds. His eyes were glazed over. He had been talking as he normally did a few minutes ago, but now he had shut down.
Finally, Ron spoke, “I don’t like visitors at our place if I’m not there. I have a meeting tonight at the club. I won’t be home till late. They can see each other when we go to The Burrow.”
Ron took Hugo’s hand away from Lily and gave him to his mother. “Hermione! Take Hugo to the house and keep him there.”
Hermione took the now despondent Hugo and walked to the platform floo. She threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace and stepped in with Hugo. She did not say goodbye to Harry or even glance at him.
Ron watched them go. Then he turned away from Harry and shambled to the apparition point. He apparated away without even a backward glance at his friend.
For many years any meeting between them ended in similar ways. Hermione and Ron seemed to be the same people that they had been at their wedding. Ron made boorish, inappropriate remarks. Hermione corrected him while giving the impression that she was amused by his consistently poor behaviour.
Once they were married things began to change. Each time they met, the social interaction was held at the simplest level until some kind of line was crossed and then Ron started giving orders to Hermione. Her eyes went dull, and she obeyed him without question. It was always the same and it was horrifying.
The full-of-life Hermione from Hogwarts was gone. She had been replaced by an almost robot-like submissive copy of the girl who was once thought to be a future Minister for Magic.
The relationship between Harry and Ron had changed as well. Once their honeymoon was over, Harry asked Ginny to send a note to Hermione inviting them to dinner. Harry hoped to make a dinner night for the four of them a regular thing. The next day Ron visited Harry. The conversation was short and not friendly.
Ronald sat in a chair next to Harry’s desk.
“Listen, mate. I must make something clear about sending stuff to Hermione. I am her husband and if there are any messages for Hermione you must send them to me. I will then decide if Hermione gets to see them. Is that clear?”
Harry was stunned. He managed to get out a few words in reply.
“Yes, if that is what you and Hermione want then that is fine.”
Ron nodded. “That is what I want. As far as visiting is concerned, it will be best that we meet and catch up when we are all invited to The Burrow.”
Harry was beyond stunned. He wasn’t an expert at proper behaviour, but he was aware of how dysfunctional this turn of events was.
Harry changed tack. “Ron, can we, that is just you and I, get together for drinks sometime?”
Ron paused for a few seconds. “That will be OK. If you will come to the Chudley Cannons home games, then we can meet in the Supporters Club bar after each match.”
Harry tried to rebuild some kind of friendship with Ron. It was obvious that Ron was now a stranger. Harry met Ron at the Chudley Cannons Supporters Club after each home match. Ron only wanted to talk about Quidditch and the Chudley Cannons. Ron drank a lot and soon became loud and obnoxious. He started fights with any visiting supporters and was eventually asked to leave or was thrown out depending on how bad the fights were. Harry eventually gave up the attempt to find out what had changed in Ron. Whatever it was, Ron was not going to tell him.
Ron and Harry had started auror training at the same time. Much to Ron’s dismay, the training involved extensive written assignments and detailed written reports. A major part of an auror’s job was to assemble the documentation for evidence to be presented in court. Ron could not bluff his way out of spending a large part of each day writing up court cases. Harry was not available to do the work for him as the course supervisors were awake to the fact that Ron and his fellow moochers would copy and cheat their way through the course if they could. Harry and Ron were separated. Hermione was not there to do his work for him. Ron was asked to leave when he consistently failed to prove that he could write coherent reports and documents.
Ron was not unemployed. He was still a one-third owner of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. His twin brothers, Fred and George, had founded Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes as a joke and novelty shop. The company that they had founded was started with money given to them by Harry. As a result of Harry giving the twins their Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes shop start-up funding, Harry officially owned one-third of the company while Fred and George owned the rest. Fred was killed during the Battle of Hogwarts in which Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, also known as The Dark Lord, and his Death Eaters were defeated.
Fred had made a will. In it, he left his share of the company to Ron. George and Fred made the same provision in their wills to make sure that Ron was left with something. They did not have a high opinion of Ron’s ability to survive if someone wasn’t looking after him.
The Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes shop had employees who served the public. Ron was hopeless at dealing with the public. George gave him a job in the warehouse. Ron revived his ambition to be a Quidditch keeper. He joined the Chudley Cannons development program. The goodwill remaining from being a member of the Hogwarts Golden Trio helped him get a place as a trainee keeper.
Harry started a secret investigation into Hermione’s new life. Ron had obviously cut Harry off from any meaningful connection with her. Harry asked Ginny, Parvati, and Luna to find anyone who had had a recent conversation with Hermione. The result was a complete blank. The Hogwarts connections all wanted to keep in contact with Hermione, but no answers were ever received from invitations to meet for something as simple as coffee and a chat.
The traineeship at the Cannons finished. Ron had failed to be selected as the stand-in reserve keeper for the Chudley Cannons or any other team. Ron went back to work at the warehouse.
Much later, Ron approached Harry with a deal. Ron had received inside information about the Chudley Cannons' next opponents. Their star players were going to throw the match. The Cannons were sure to win. Ron wanted to sell his share of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes to bet it all on the Cannons winning at fifty to one.
Ron did not tell Harry any of this. Harry was an auror, he would have reported the match-fixing to the authorities. The bet at fifty to one would make enough for Ronald to never have to work in his life.
Ron made up a story about using the money from the sale of his share of the business. He said that he would buy a magical fruit orchard which he would then farm to make a modest living without having to write reports or move boxes in a warehouse. Harry hoped that this was what would happen. He paid Ron far more than the one-third share of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes was worth at the time of the sale.
The bet was made. The match was played. The Tutshill Tornados thrashed the Chudley Cannons, and Ron lost all the money. A person of modest intellectual ability would have been able to work out that Ron was being set up. The inside information he was getting was designed to encourage him to make wildly improbable bets on his team. For the rest of his life, Ron complained to anyone who would listen about Harry Potter cheating him out of his inheritance. As usual, Ron mixed up the characters in his story, it was Ron who was trying to cheat, and Harry was more than generous to him.
Ron made sure that Harry was no longer welcome in the Chudley Cannons Supporters Club Bar which Harry was happy about. Ron badmouthed Harry to his mother. Molly informed Ginny that Harry was to stay away from the family gatherings at The Burrow. Ginny attended, taking the children to show off to her mother. Molly Weasley badgered each of her children to start their own families. She was determined to have a tribe of grandchildren so that she could brag about them to her relatives.
--ooOOoo--
He was left alone on Platform Nine and Three Quarters with his daughter, Lily. Harry took the unhappy Lily and travelled by floo to his country home. Potter Manor had been restored since the end of the Second Wizarding War. The main building had to be rebuilt using the old foundations. The rooms were light and airy. The original furniture and artworks were retrieved from the Potter Vaults in Gringotts and arranged in each room as they were when his own father grew up in the house.
As he entered the main house from the entry hall, Harry noticed that some valuable sculptures and paintings were missing.
Lily got her father’s attention.
“Why is Uncle Ronald always so grumpy?”
Harry sighed and crouched down beside Lily. “I honestly don’t know, Lily. He was a different person when I first knew him. He wasn’t perfect. There were lots of times when he hurt me badly with his grumpiness. He always seemed to come around in the end.”
Harry decided to let Lily know a bit more about the situation. “I married your mother and soon Ron and Hermione married as well. As soon as they were married things changed. Ron was no longer friendly. It turns out that he was never close to his sister or any of his brothers. Your Grandmother Molly was the only person he seemed to confide in, and she didn’t talk about her Ronald to anyone.”
--ooOOoo--
Ron left King’s Cross Station and went straight to Gringotts, the wizard’s bank. He presented his vault key to the bank teller and asked to make a withdrawal. He took every galleon, sickle, and knut from his vault. He did this every day.
Ron knew that he was still on the Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes payroll and his pay went into his vault. He also knew that Hermione earned some galleons and that was paid into his vault. Married witches were not allowed to have their own money. In the wizarding world, the wizard controlled the money and his household. There were also appearance fees that were paid for turning up at functions where the Hogwarts Golden Trio had been invited to attend.
Harry hated these occasions and quickly refused to attend any. Time conflicts with his duties as an auror were a good excuse to miss these events. Hermione was able to bow out of this endless parade when her babies were born. Ron went to them all. He loved being in the spotlight and told many stories of his brave and daring exploits. The fact that Ron’s stories conflicted with the official history was noticed but not mentioned in his hearing. Ron also enjoyed the free booze. He was repeatedly returned to his home in a legless state. The invitations for Hogwarts Golden Trio appearances dried up.
Some of the money in Ron Weasley's vault was earned by his wife, Hermione. Hermione wrote articles for academic journals and composed runic arrays for use in wards and other permanent magical installations. She received license payments for her runes work and fees for the published articles. Ron would not allow her to take a regular job. After they were married, he declared that she had to stay at home and look after him and his children as his mother had done.
Hermione had completed her education at Hogwarts. Her grades resulted in invitations for her to complete her masteries in Charms, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and Potions. She could have also completed a mastery in Transfiguration but even in her super-student mode, it would have been too much. Eventually, she completed Ancient Runes and Arithmancy at Hogwarts. Hermione did most of the work at home, visiting Hogwarts for sessions with her tutors and moderators and the essential library searches. Ron would not allow her to stay overnight.
The floo from Gringotts took Ron to the Chudley Cannons Supporters Club. He scanned the bar for his regular bookmakers. They were not there yet. Ron went to the bar and ordered a fire whisky. The bartender waited.
“Well!” Ron was not amused when the bartender did not move.
The bartender slowly replied. “The management has changed the rules, Mister Weasley.”
“WHAT!”
“You will have to pay cash for each drink, Mister Weasley. You are not to be allowed any more credit.”
“WHAT! I DON’T BELIEVE IT!”
An official club notice was presented to Ron. It was signed by the club manager. Ron would have to pay for each drink before getting it. Many years ago, Ron had been a trainee keeper for the Cannons. The traineeship had finished without any offer of a team place with the Cannons. The bar credit extended to Ron at the time was now stopped along with the remains of his Hogwarts Golden Trio goodwill. The bar had to write off many unpaid bar bills run up by Ron. When Harry used to come to the bar, he could be quietly asked to pay Ron’s bills. Harry had stopped coming long ago.
Ron slammed the cash down on the counter and got his drink. Many hours later, with his money gone, Ron was asked to leave the club bar.
The door slammed shut behind him and the lights quickly went out. Ron was the last customer. He was still angry at not having enough cash to place a bet on the Cannon’s next match.
There was no one left who would take Ron home. He staggered off, looking for the club floo.
“They must have moved it. It was right here!” Ron couldn’t find the floo.
The moon was bright as Ron wandered about looking for a familiar landmark.
He did not notice that he had wandered out of the Chudley Cannons grounds and into the vacant land next to it.
A patch of long grass with troublesome sticks in it tripped Ron up. He fell, full length, and slipped into a hollow. The muddy hood of his old cloak covered his red hair. The world went black, the bump on his head and the stunning amount of alcohol that he had consumed put Ron to sleep.
The next morning, birds twittered and flitted about in the trees. A Chudley Town Council work gang arrived with a tractor and heavy-duty slasher combination. Their job was to mow the long grass and tidy up the undergrowth. The vacant land was to be developed and included in a new bike and walking track for the town.
The tractor operator guided her machine into the long grass. She was on the lookout for hidden fallen trees, but she was momentarily distracted by the slasher munching up a bundle of sticks. Then the blades hit something solid, and the slasher shot out a slashed-up mess of cloth, blood, and bones.
Poor Ronald.
The local police could not find anything on the body to identify it. Most of the head had gone.
A government official arrived from London. The body was identified as Ronald Bilius Weasley. He was a person of interest to this mysterious government official. His death was quickly processed. The high blood alcohol reading ensured that the coroner declared Ronald’s demise to be Death by Misadventure.
--ooOOoo--
The Weasley family claimed the body. George was tasked with visiting Hermione to break the news. George went to the house and knocked on the door. Hermione answered.
“George, what has happened?” Hermione did not invite George in.
“Can I come in? I have some bad news.” George asked.
“Ron isn’t here. I can’t invite you in.”
George sighed. “That is what I am here for. I’m afraid that Ron has died. It was an accident. He had drunk a lot at the Cannon’s Club bar last night and, well, there was an accident.”
Hermione looked steadily at George. There was no hint of emotion or acknowledgement that George had said anything significant.
George waited, he wanted Hermione to show some emotion.
“Thank you for telling me, George. Can you and your brothers look after the funeral? Please let me know when and where it will be?” Hermione was ice cold.
“Sure! Hermione! Ah! Look is there anything that we can do? Anything you need?” George was now deeply worried.
“George, I’m sorry for your loss. Ronald was your brother after all. I will be fine.” Hermione stepped back and shut the door.
--ooOOoo--
George thought for a second and then said. “Harry!”
George went back to his office and flooed to Potter Manor.
George was always welcome at Potter Manor. He stepped into the entrance hall and waited for the house-elf on door duty to greet him.
Pinky came into the hall. “Mister George, Master Harry is most upset. Please can you come in and talk to him?”
“Does he know already?” George asked.
“Of course! Master Harry received the notice from Mistress Ginevra’s lawyers this morning. She has declared that they are separated. Master Harry is very sad.” George was gobsmacked.
Pinky ushered George into Harry’s study.
Harry was slumped in a chair staring into the low fire in the fireplace.
“Harry! What happened?” George didn’t hesitate.
“George! I don’t know. I got back from sending off the boys to Hogwarts yesterday. I saw that some paintings and things that Ginny liked were gone. I went to her dressing room. It was cleared out. Everything that Ginny had was gone.”
“I called The Burrow, Molly said that she hadn’t seen Ginny for a week, and she didn’t know what has happened. I tried calling her agent and lawyers, but they wouldn’t tell me anything. Ginny said at the station that she was going to a meeting with them. I just don’t know. There is no trace of her anywhere.”
“I was about to call the aurors and report her missing when that owl arrived. Ginny has filed for a permanent separation. The lawyers will not tell me where she is, and I must deal with her through them.” Harry put his hands up to his face.
“Harry! Mate! That is brutal. There is something else.”
“What?”
“Ron died this morning.”
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