Interlude: Ron

Ronald Weasley grumbled as he walked out of the shower. Dean and Seamus were fast asleep, while Harry and Neville were nowhere to be seen. Probably off doing whatever secretive stuff they did. He looked at Dean in astonishment. They had just returned from practice, but he was already asleep. The git hadn't even changed out of the Quidditch robes.

He grumbled as he reached his bed and got around to getting dressed. Normally, he'd never wake up at such early hours, but he was not the same old Ron anymore. He had responsibilities now, and if he wanted to make a name for himself, he had to do a good job with what he had.

His mind wandered onto how things had changed so drastically in such a short time. Just last term, he was in the thick of things with his best friends, organizing a rebellion against the pink hag. Heck, they even fought and drove off the damn Death Eaters at the ministry.

And here he was, several months later, no longer doing any of those things. His friends no longer interacted much with him. All due to a moment of carelessness. It did teach him a very important lesson though. He learnt that he needed to think before he spoke sometimes. He knew that what he said was insensitive and would have hurt Hermione, especially during such a tragic moment.

He learnt that even benign purebloods like himself had a sense of superiority over muggles even though he would fight for their sake. It was there even if they did not realize it. It was just something ingrained throughout their upbringing. Magic was a way of life. Muggles were supposed to be pitied for not having magic. To an extent, it was what he had inferred from what he had heard growing up. His father always brought back stories of how some nasty wizards had cursed some object or the other that made its way into an unfortunate muggle's hands. And his father had to go and protect those muggles from the cursed objects. Muggle baiting, the term itself was made to sound like they were listless fish, waiting to be ensnared by dark wizards. It was the job of upstanding witches and wizards like them to protect the muggles from the dark ones.

All this led to him muttering something insensitive when Hermione had been screaming about why her parents weren't protected properly. To him, it was an honest mistake. He had tried to apologize, he had tried to make up for it. But she would not budge. He thought that things would go back to normal with time, but nothing of that sort happened. He was naïve to think so.

Harry had taken Hermione's side in all this, not even giving Ron the benefit of the doubt. Oh for sure, he was all diplomatic about it. But it was clear to see that Harry wasn't bothered by it too much. Then again, Harry had been a totally different person after he woke up from that second killing curse.

He wondered whether the Harry he knew was the real Harry, or was it just a facsimile of the original person. It did make sense as the dark magic in the scar was supposed to be inhibiting him a lot. Or so he was told. Without all that baggage, Harry seemed to be at ease at the top of the class. Always doing something, always going somewhere. Sometimes even leaving his new inner circle behind.

Ron sighed as he finally got ready for the rest of the day. He looked at Dean and wondered whether he should wake him up. Ron had some issues with the git too, since he was dating Ginny. But at the end of the day, he was tired of getting Bat-Bogeyed by Ginny, so he just learnt to ignore it and vent his frustrations inside of his mind. Moreover, Dean was a part of the team now, and it didn't feel worth it to keep pestering him about it. Didn't mean that he had accepted it anyway.

He decide to let the two blokes keep sleeping and walked out of the dorm. Boys should be allowed to sleep in on the weekends. Only unfortunate fools like himself had lost that luxury. He didn't want to make others suffer in a similar manner.

Things like this made him wonder why he ever sought to distinguish himself from his brothers. He still remembered the sight he saw in the Mirror of Erised, way back in his first year. Head Boy, and Quidditch Captain. He was just a prefect, and a member of the Quidditch team, and his bones were already tired of all the extra work. If what he saw in the mirror turned out to be true, he would be overworked to death for sure. He would take a life of relaxation over such a tedious life in a heartbeat.

As he climbed down the stairs, he saw a tired-looking Lavender leaning against the wall near the portrait hole. The common room was practically empty due to it being a Saturday morning. Most people were still asleep. She immediately brightened up when their eyes met. Well, she looked tired, but nary a hair was out of place.

"Ron⁓" she almost sang as she walked up to him. He was glad that she no longer called him Won-Won. It might have been endearing to her, but he did not like the nickname at all.

"Morning Lav," he said, glad that his shortening of her name was not as disastrous as Won-Won. She quickly cut the distance between them and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"How was the practice?" she asked cheerfully.

"Just the same as usual, babe. The tosser just wouldn't shut the fuck up," he grumbled.

Lavender on the other hand smacked him on his arm and giggled.

"You'll show them in the match," she told him and then proceeded to drag him out the portrait hole without waiting for a response.

"If I get to play at all," he grumbled.

"Oh shush, you! Be optimistic. Katie still hasn't decided on the starting Keeper, so you still have a week to prove yourself," she said, hyping him up.

Automatically, his smile turned into a dopey grin. Lavender always said the best things.

He was very happy that he was with her. She truly appreciated who he was, and didn't want or demand him to be something different.

Initially, he was enamored with her due to hormones alone. He was a lonely bloke, and she was the only one who gave him the time of day. Then he had a short phase when he thought that she was annoying and too clingy. But then again, throughout the term, when everyone else had drifted away, she was the one who stood by his side. The things he found annoying were not so annoying anymore when he got to know her better over time. He realized that they had gone beyond the point of just physical attraction. There was something more, and he liked it.

He began enjoying the chores called the prefect rounds because she was the one with him. She had also given him a makeover and taught him spells that helped him take care of himself. It made him look good, it made him feel better about himself. Presentation was always his bane, partly due to a lack of caring, and majorly due to his complex regarding handouts and his lack of money. He didn't have the means and the motivation to make himself look presentable. Now he had both.

They suffered together with their studies and the piling homework. She didn't boss him around and tell him to work hard. She was just happy spending time with him. That was a new thing for Ron. All his life, he had never been told that he was enough. Sure, his mother loved everyone in the family dearly, but she always had high expectations and always kept nagging at him. Hermione was similar as well, in that she kept nagging at him to work at her pace rather than him working at his own pace. Maybe the Hermione of today would be different, but he would not know since he wasn't in touch.

He was averse to homework and studying in general, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't finish the work given to him to escape the tongue lashing he would get otherwise. Working with Lavender at their own pace had actually done him wonders. He was not some prodigy, nor was he at the top of the class. He was middling, somewhere in the middle of the pack, and for the first time in his life, he did not have any issues with it.

##################

"You heard about Slughorn's Christmas party?" asked Lav while they were ensconced in the common room, working on their homework.

"No. Christmas is almost a month later though isn't it?" he asked in confusion. There were usually no such parties in the castle.

"Yeah, mum said that he used to conduct those all the time when he used to teach here before. She said that he often called some famous guests. Romilda apparently saw him penning invitations to people. So, it'll mostly happen," she explained.

"Romilda who?"

"Romilda Vane, that silly fourth-year girl who has been pining hard after Harry," Lavender said in a hushed voice as she looked around the common room, trying to see if the said girl was around.

"Oh, her. I remember Hermione sending her and a gaggle of giggling girls packing when they kept disturbing Harry," he said as he realized who Lav was talking about. With his recent changes, many a giggling girl was batting their eyelashes at Harry.

It was all in vain though as Harry would not look at any of them twice, and if they made too much of a ruckus, Hermione would send them running. If not Hermione, then the presence of Susan was a deterrent as well. For a Hufflepuff, that girl sure was scary.

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for witnessing a torrid romance story and all that. But Harry and his bunch are too focused on whatever they are doing that any outsider who tries to worm their way into the circle is doomed. They'd have better luck fighting a Nundu." She then winced as she realized who she was talking to. "Sorry Ron, didn't mean to bring it up."

"Don't worry about it," he said as they got back to work in comfortable silence.

After a while, Ron leafed through his parchments and saw that he was missing his Charms assignment.

"I can't find my Charms assignment. I'll be back in a moment," he said as he got up and went towards the dorms.

His mind was still swimming with thoughts regarding the supposed Christmas party as he walked on. He mindlessly walked into his dorm and fetched the parchment before returning to the common room. As he made his way towards Lavender, he almost bumped into someone due to his mind being elsewhere.

"Sorry," he said out of habit, only to freeze up when he realized whom he almost bumped into.

Hermione looked at him with narrowed eyes. The anger that she had previously displayed at his mere presence was not there, but there was no warmth in those eyes either. Without a word, she stepped to the side and proceeded to walk on.

"Hermione, just a sec," he said, stopping her in her tracks. He was done tiptoeing around this issue.

"What do you want?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

"I know that we aren't friends anymore. I made a mistake, and I tried to apologize before, but I suppose I didn't do it properly. I hadn't really realized why I was wrong in saying what I did. I don't want your forgiveness. I just want you to know that I truly mean it this time," he breathed out.

She didn't answer immediately, instead, she just stood there, scrutinizing him for a good minute.

"I… I accept your apology. I can't forgive it so soon, and I won't forget. But I acknowledge it. I just can't let go of all these feelings that quickly. I don't think we can ever go back to how we were before. Too much has happened for that," she said.

"Yeah, I suppose we've all changed in the past few months. Thanks for hearing me out," he said.

She then looked at Ron, and then looked at Lavender for a few seconds.

"Be good to her," she finally said.

"She has been good to me. So yeah, I'll be good to her," he agreed, not knowing what else to say. He knew that Hermione would have been privy to what Lavender and Parvati talked about since they all shared a dorm. He just hoped that he would not mess up with Lavender.

"See you around Ron," she stated and began walking away.

As he walked back to Lavender, he saw Harry speaking to Hermione for a moment before he walked out of the portrait hole. Ron took a good look at his old friend and couldn't really recognize the Harry he was friends with. He was perpetually tense these days, as if expecting a fight to break out at any moment. He was taller, stronger, and sharper, but had completely lost the carefree smile that he used to have.

Even now, he was walking as if he was going to war. Ron had spotted Harry going out during curfew now and then. He even asked him once where he was going, and Harry had just handed him a parchment in return. It stated that Harry had to go visit Dumbledore, and that was that.

He wondered whether Dumbledore was training Harry. It would surely explain the massive jump in his skills. But then again, Harry had already improved a lot during the summer. So, Ron didn't know how involved Dumbledore was in Harry's development. Maybe it had something to do with the prophecy they had fought for in the previous term.

Another part of him wondered whether it was really necessary. The Knights of the Old Republic, wherever they came from, had completely embarrassed the Order of the Phoenix, and the Death Eaters of course.

He had grown up hearing stories of how the Order was the last line of defense in the last war. It was pretty much irrelevant now. Just in a matter of a few months. These last few months had been eventful in all facets of his life.

Dumbledore was even being ridiculed for being ineffectual. Whereas, practically killers for hire were being praised. It conflicted him greatly because they still took out monsters like Greyback and Bellatrix. As long as his family didn't have to throw themselves in the thick of battle, he would be fine. He had seen his father injured and on the verge of death once due to the war. He would be happy if he never had to see anything like that ever again.

##################

Almost an hour later, Pigwidgeon, Ron's pet owl burst into the common room and began making a nuisance of itself. It kept zooming around the room, hooting and bothering everyone around.

"Oi Pig! Pipe down you ruddy owl," shouted Ron as he caught the tiny owl before it could make more of a spectacle.

He extricated the letter the owl was carrying before it shot off once more, without waiting for him to pen a reply.

Grumbling in agitation, Ron got back to his seat and opened up the letter. His eyes roved through the content and he quickly folded the paper up and put it in his pocket. He rubbed his temples as he let out a loud sigh.

"What happened?" asked Lavender.

"Charlie is going back to Romania," he said, wondering how the Order had unraveled to such an extent.

Upon hearing him, Lavender looked around and then whispered in his ear, "Wasn't he a part of… you know?"

"Yeah. But it looks like they are ramping down. The Knights and the Ministry seem to have things in control after all," he said, still unsure of what was happening.

He had heard from the twins how the order has almost collapsed. Moody, Kingsley, Tonks, and Remus had left. Snape had disappeared, and that was something Ron was very happy about. It looked like the DADA curse struck early this year. An Auror from the Ministry was teaching the class instead. Amelia Bones had apparently appointed him for the task, so everyone was more than pleased about it.

He knew that the twins weren't all that involved in the Order since nobody in that group took them seriously. Except for maybe Remus and Dora. He had a sneaking suspicion that they were there just to keep tabs for Harry's sake.

Bill and Fleur were focusing on their jobs once more. They were on high alert, but mostly back to normalcy because the war was almost won. The Knights killed a lot of Death Eaters, then Bones and her Aurors cleaned up the rest. Only Voldemort, Rookwood, and Snape were unaccounted for.

It left many a Slytherin in dismay, but they didn't dare to do anything in the school. Ron knew that some of them would jump at the opportunity to retaliate and spread chaos in their dead Death Eater parents' stead. But he also knew that they were all cowards.

Nonetheless, his situation reflected that of the Order. They used to be the heroes. They used to be the fighters. Now, they were all just watching from the sidelines. He was partly happy that he wasn't almost dying this year due to some misadventure. At the same time, he was partly pissed that he was no longer in the loop about these things.

He looked over and saw that Lavender was looking at a brochure of some clothing store. He could tell that she was interested in the Christmas party. Ron knew that the chances of him getting invited were slim. Lavender was also in a similar boat. He wondered whether he would have gotten an invite if he was still close to Harry. But then again, the circle surrounding him was now highly motivated in being overachievers. It was most likely that he still wouldn't have made Slughorn's cut.

The worst part was that McLaggen got an invite due to his family's connections.

Ron had always enjoyed Christmas. He didn't have to attend some fancy parties to have fun. Maybe, just maybe, he might be able to make this work.

"You know, if we don't get to go to the party, we can go out somewhere instead. Just the two of us, before the New Year comes along," he said. He then hastily continued, "Or we can go to some other party. We can maybe try-"

He didn't get to continue as Lavender closed the distance between them and shut his mouth with a searing kiss.

"Yes, Ron. I would love that," she said with a warm smile after she was done.

##################

After another uneventful week of mindlessly following the schedule, Ron walked into the Quidditch locker room. It was supposed to be the final practice session before their match against Slytherin.

The team was coming along quite well, except for the Keeper position. Katie, Demelza, and Dean were the Chasers. They made a good unit led by Katie. She had the experience and the skill required to coordinate the Chasers into a deadly team. Demelza was new, but she had very good spatial awareness and was therefore a great addition to combination plays. Dean on the other hand had power in spades. His throws were always fast and accurate. Ron knew that by experience as he had to defend the hoops during the practice sessions.

Ginny had already played as the Seeker when the pink hag had banned Harry from playing the previous year. She was in top form and was performing at a high level. It still astonished him sometimes that he never knew that she could play so well.

Jimmy and Ritchie were alright Beaters, nothing at the level of Fred and George though. He wished his brothers were there to rein in the one and only annoyance on the team: McLaggen.

The Keeper position was the only position in the team that was under dispute. If McLaggen had his way, he would have tried out for all the positions, but Katie had put her foot down and only allowed him to try out for two roles.

The brute had already been baited by Harry and Hermione at the start of the term. So to save his bruised ego, he tried to go for the Seeker position. Trying to prove that he was better than Harry. It went poorly for the moron as Ginny ran circles around him. He was too big to be a Seeker. He would have probably done better in the Chaser and Beater tryouts.

Unfortunately for Ron, McLaggen had decided to do the Keeper trials, and it was a close thing. It was obvious that he was tired due to the Seeker tryout, but he still saved the same amount of goals that Ron did.

Katie's solution for this was to train them both up, and use one as a Keeper and have the other as a reserve. She hadn't told them yet who would be the starter. So, Ron's nerves were high as he stepped onto the pitch.

"You ready mate?" asked a nervous Dean as they began walking into the pitch.

"I think so," Ron responded as he turned towards the stands, catching sight of Lavender and Parvati sitting there.

The moment Lavender caught sight of him looking at her, she got to her feet and cheered loudly. Ron chucked fondly and waved his hand before he focused back on the pitch.

The entire team, sans Katie, was assembled and ready for their session. McLaggen was glaring daggers at everyone, and everyone was ignoring him in return. The wanker thought that he was better than everyone, and it was grating on their nerves to listen to him blather on about his supposed knowledge.

If they knew that he would have been this much of a negative presence in the locker room, they would have forced Katie to not even take him as a reserve. Anyway, it fell on Ron's shoulders now to make sure that the nasty git didn't take flight on the court and spoil the teamwork in the match.

"Where's Katie?" asked Ginny as she stepped next to Dean and threw her hand around his waist.

"Not sure babe. She said that she had something special for us planned. Must be prepping it up," said Dean as he looked around the pitch. He threw an arm around Ginny's shoulder and brought her closer to himself. As if they were not glued to each other already.

Ron scowled at that but didn't say anything. He wanted to be fully focused on toppling McLaggen and emerging as the starting Keeper. On the other hand, he vowed that he would block all of Dean's scoring attempts as petty revenge.

"She doesn't deserve to be the captain. Look at her, everyone is here and she is missing," said the annoying twat, interjecting in their conversation.

"Sod off. She is the one who has the most experience out of all of us," said Ron. Practice hadn't even started yet, and he was already feeling frustrated due to having to deal with McLaggen.

"Yeah, your experience of playing with your own broom doesn't count here," snapped Ginny as she too had been getting frustrated due to McLaggen's snide remarks. The wanker was not happy that Ginny had won the Seeker trials, and he had let that be known loudly several times.

"Just because you-" he didn't get to say anymore as Ginny's wand was already between his eyes, glowing with the telltale color of the Bat-Bogey hex.

"Pipe down everyone!" came Katie's voice as she walked into the pitch. Surprisingly, Harry was following Katie, clad in his old Gryffindor Quidditch uniform.

"What's he doing here then?" shouted McLaggen, already making a nuisance of himself. Ron carefully looked at Harry and noticed that his face had twisted into an annoyed expression. It seemed like Harry wasn't willing to do whatever Katie had roped him into, and McLaggen had already soured it further.

Everyone else except for the git was looking at Harry with respect. It was natural after all. He had been a member of the team for so long and won them two championships. He honestly couldn't understand where McLaggen's sense of superiority came from in this case.

"Harry is here to act as an opponent for Ginny," Katie said as Harry pointedly ignored McLaggen. He waved his wand, and his robes switched colors. The red was replaced by gold, and vice versa.

"Why? We don't need him. I can fill in. Hell, I can be the actual-," the pompous prick said.

"Where do you get your confidence from, noob?" Harry's voice cut through McLaggen's grating spiel. Ron didn't know what a noob was, but he knew that it sounded offensive. And it seemed like McLaggen did too, if his red face was any indicator.

"Look here-" Thankfully, he was cut off mid-speech once again.

"Cormac. Shut up, or I'm throwing you out of the team. I had a long talk with McGonagall about the nuisance you've been causing in the team. She gave me full authority to do what I please. I've had it with you questioning my every decision and belittling the rest of the team. Heck, if you underperform today, I am taking you off nonetheless. Put up, or shut up," said Katie, shocking everyone into silence.

"You heard the captain," said a beaming Harry as he shot Katie a thumbs up before walking towards Ron. He ignored a sputtering McLaggen and threw a hand around Ron's shoulder as he dragged him away from the rest.

Ron himself was frozen in shock for a moment, and so was the rest of the team. Katie was incredibly kind and rarely harsh on anyone. For her to blow up like that showed how much the moron had been getting on her nerves.

"So, I heard that you and Hermione had a little chat," said a sheepish-looking Harry once the both of them were out of the earshot of the others.

"Yeah, mate."

"Good, good. I suppose I took a side and stuck to it. But I won't take it back. She was in pain and she needed me. I guess I was a lousy friend to you. For that, I apologize. I'm just glad you both could talk it out to an extent," he said, still sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Don't worry mate, I know what you mean. I have been a right twat, and there was no excuse for what I had done. If I were you, I would have stuck to Hermione's side as well. Especially since you know what she was going through," said Ron immediately.

"You know… it might sound odd coming from someone your own age. But I am proud of you Ron," said Harry as he clapped Ron on the shoulder.

"Doesn't really sound odd," Ron said.

"Then why do you sound so off?"

"It's this whole Keeper selection thing," Ron said with a loud sigh.

"Ah. Then let me ask you a few questions," said Harry.

"Yeah sure, go ahead."

"Out of the two of you, who has played in official games?"

"Me," Ron answered without hesitation.

"Who has a championship to his name?"

"Me."

"And what do Gryffindors sing?" Harry asked with a cheeky smile.

"Weasley is our King," answered Ron as he began guffawing in earnest. The demeaning 'Weasley is our King' song may have been coined by Malfoy, but it was remade by the Gryffindors to support him. He was going to show them why he was deserving of their support.

"There we go," said Harry as he looked back towards the rest of the team, "McLaggen had been a non-entity all these years. And he suddenly shows up out of nowhere to mess with the team? I mean, a stock character created at the last moment just to hamper you. Nah, we beat those."

Harry finished his nonsensical speech and shot off on his broom. Ron would never understand this new facet of Harry. Then again, he hadn't really had a proper conversation with Harry all these months.

He clipped on his helmet and walked back towards Katie, eager to hear what the exact plan for the day was.

Soon enough, he was high up in the air, guarding the goalposts. Opposite to him, McLaggen was guarding the other set of posts.

Harry and Ginny were already scouring the skies for the Snitch. Their main objective was apparently to give Ginny some more practice with feints and evasive drills.

Meanwhile, the Chasers had all gotten into their positions and were ready to start their drills. They were supposed to do some combination moves, then branch off to a few one versus two drills. It was Ron and McLaggen's job to prevent the Chasers from scoring as they alternated between the two sets of posts.

Since it was too close to the actual game, Jimmy and Ritchie would not be aiming the Bludgers to unseat players. There was no need to risk injuries at this timeframe. Instead, they would just be running interference. They would apparently do accuracy drills separately so it was not much of an issue.

Ron watched on as the Chasers started their approaching run and were gunning towards him. He tracked the Quaffle as they kept passing it between themselves.

It looked like Katie was about to start off with an attempt of her own, but a Bludger streaked past in front of her, forcing her to swerve out of the way. As she pulled to the side, she threw the Quaffle in a high arc.

Dean promptly caught the Quaffle and executed a textbook Fast Ball move. The Quaffle shot towards the left post with a frightening speed, but Ron had seen it coming and was able to position himself in front of the post to block the ball.

He smirked in satisfaction as he caught it deftly and threw it back to the Chasers. They turned around at once and began to approach McLaggen on the other side of the field.

It went on in a similar vein for some time, but he could see that McLaggen had begun mouthing off again. He was advising the Chasers on how to throw properly. Even though both of them had let a couple of goals slip through, McLaggen just wasn't able to shut up and focus on his own game.

Ron could see that all three of the Chasers were pissed as they gunned towards him, eager to score. He cursed McLaggen under his breath for riling up the Chasers as he prepared for another scoring run.

This time, it was Katie with her favorite Curve Ball. It was a skillful move that was often unpredictable in which direction it would curve. He was right to be wary, as the Quaffle curved right as he was about to block it. It grazed his fingers as it curved outwards and hit the far end of the right post. With an audible clang, the Quaffle went in the goal and Ron could immediately hear McLaggen shout out some more unsolicited advice.

"This is getting ridiculous," he grumbled as he fetched the ball and threw it back to the Chasers.

He looked to the stands and saw that a huge crown-shaped banner was floating above Lavender. He was intimately familiar with the design, as every Slytherin sported the badge last year to demoralize him before the match. Yet, it looked like the design underwent a significant change. It was now crimson in color, and etched on it were the words 'Weasley is our King' in dazzling gold. He wondered how annoyed Malfoy would be if he saw one of his stupid badges being made into a supportive banner.

Ron blew a kiss at Lavender and stole a glance at the opposite end of the field only to see McLaggen engaged in an argument with the Chasers. If Katie's face was anything to go by, it seemed like it was the last day on the pitch for the idiot.

He could also see that Harry had drifted towards another part of the stands. Susan Bones was apparently in attendance and was now talking animatedly with Harry. Ron wondered where the rest of their gang were. He put that thought off as the Chasers began coming his way once more with renewed vigor.

The rest of the practice went on with one more major hitch. The field had steadily become windy and had reached a point where the wind was strong enough to easily disrupt their flight trajectories. People played Quidditch in worse conditions, so he didn't mind and soldiered on.

However, it was quickly apparent that McLaggen was not used to playing in windy weather. He was not able to figure out the effect of the wind on the ball and missed several goals more than Ron did.

On the other hand, Ron grew up playing Quidditch with his brothers in all kinds of weather. He didn't save everything, but he had done enough to cement his spot.

The practice ended after some more time, and Ron could see that McLaggen had come to the same conclusion as well.

"Cormac. I tried, I really did. But I have had enough of this. Apart from your problematic behavior, your performance was also not up to par. If you think you can play all the positions, you can play on your own. We won't be tolerating you on this team though. You can go and complain to whoever you like. But I am done," Katie said once they had all gathered down on the ground.

McLaggen looked around and saw that none of the people on the team had an issue with what Katie had said. His face reddened with anger as his whole body tensed up. He must have not been completely delusional though, as he knew that he was vastly outnumbered.

Ron calmly watched McLaggen stomp out of the pitch. The old him would have japed at him, or made a crass remark without a thought. Oh, he sure wasn't feeling a lot of pity for the bloke. But he had grown enough to not let his mouth lead him into trouble.

"I still wonder how we never ran across such an expressive person all these years," Harry's voice broke everyone out of their reverie.

"That's because you don't socialize much," said a tired Katie.

"Yeah, I don't deny that. But when a lot of shit was going on, I expected an arrogant braggart like him to pop out at least once during these past five years, you know," Harry said in confusion.

"Oh shush Harry. We don't need you to go off on one of your tangents. Now then, how did you like playing again?" asked Susan Bones. She looked jubilant and had been smiling throughout the whole practice session.

Ron had half a mind to ask why someone from another house was watching the Gryffindor practice. But he knew that the stands were open during these sessions and anyone from the other teams could spy if they wanted. They just didn't do it much due to their pride. Also, Bones didn't strike him as someone who would be spying on a Quidditch match under the pretext of watching her friend play.

"It was alright. Would have been better if we didn't have McLaggen disrupting everything every few seconds," he said.

"Ugh, don't remind me. He is in my year as well. So, I'll have to put up with him for the rest of the year," grumbled Katie. She then looked at Harry and continued, "You need to do this more. As I said before, if you learn and train all the time due to You-Vo-Voldemort, and forget to live in the process, he wins. You need to lighten up more."

"Yup. And you don't need to thank me, Katie. I will drag your old Seeker whenever you need him for practice," said Susan Bones as she nudged Harry with an elbow.

"Yeah yeah, I'm up for it every once in a while. Don't expect me to come here for every practice session. Got too much to do," he grumbled as he gave Susan a betrayed look.

As Ron watched the byplay, Ginny piped up, "Yeah don't bring him out so much, or my confidence will just get demolished. On the other hand, I know that none of the other Seekers are as good, so I feel confident about the upcoming matches. Ugh, this is why I said I wanted to be a Chaser. I am way better at it."

"Sorry, Ginny. I know that I am being unfair to you, making you play a different position and all. But if we had you in the Chaser roster, then we don't have anyone as good as you for Seeker. You saw how McLaggen is. He's the next best option, and none of us want that," said Katie with a grimace.

"I don't mind much actually. As long as you teach me how you throw those Curve Balls of yours, we are good. Oh, I also want to learn the Finbourgh Flick and the Porskoff Play."

"Well, come along then, we have the pitch reserved for some more time. Mainly for the accuracy drills for the Beaters. But I'll get some good practice teaching you this stuff. Dean, Demelza, are you both interested?" asked Katie.

Dean looked absolutely wiped and Ron figured that he was about to say no and head back. Proving him wrong, Dean straightened up at once and agreed to the extra training.

It didn't take long for Ron to understand the cause, as Ginny was throwing a sultry grin at Dean. He was of half a mind to hex the both of them then and there and drag them back towards the common room.

Demelza agreed to the extra guidance as well, and all of them turned towards Ron in unison, asking him without words whether he would be up for more Keeper training trying to block the plays.

He figured that he wouldn't get much opportunity to defend against such moves so he agreed in a heartbeat. It did give him an excuse to stay and make sure that Ginny and Dean were not up to something. He did feel like a hypocrite as he glanced towards Lavender. But by this time, Ron had grown used to pushing away this specific issue to the side.

"I'm in. Just give me a few minutes," he said as he walked towards a quickly approaching Lavender. He saw that the banner had been rolled up and was floating next to Parvati, who was trailing a few steps behind Lavender.

"Alright, all the best with the extra training. I'll see you later," said Harry as he began walking back towards the locker room. Harry and Susan began speaking animatedly as they walked back towards the castle.

"You were great out there Ron," said Lavender as she finally reached him and gave him a tight hug.

"Thanks for your support Lav. I liked the banner a lot. Thanks to you too Parvati," he said, unable to control his blush as the two of them giggled in mirth.

"You're welcome, Ron. And Lav, don't take too long," said Parvati before she waved at him and walked back towards the castle.

For a few seconds, Ron and Lavender just stood and watched the people exiting the pitch.

"I thought that if someone was going to come and watch Harry play, it would have been Hermione," she said.

"Well, Hermione and Luna seem to be busy with something. I have no idea what, more so since they are in different years. But well, what can we do," he shrugged as he recalled the recent erratic behavior of the two girls.

"Hmm. Anyway, I promised Parv that I'll hang out with her for a while. So, I need to go," she said.

"Oh yeah, sure. You didn't need to come if it was cutting into your personal time, let alone drag her along for a mere practice session. Go and have fun," he shooed her playfully.

"So eager to get rid of me eh?" she said coyly before pecking him on the lips and walking back towards the castle.

As he watched her walk back to the castle, a brilliant idea struck Ron.

"Hey Lav!" he called out.

"Yes honey?" she asked as she turned around in place.

"If we win this match, can we skip Puddifoot's tea shop the next Hogsmeade weekend? I have a better place in mind," he said.

She stood still in contemplation for a moment and then nodded.

"It's serious business still. I hope that your 'better place' is really better," she said before waving at him resuming her hike back to the castle.

"Anything is better than Puddifoot's" grumbled Ron under his breath as he returned to the team.

After a long time, his mind was finally at ease. He was somewhat back to speaking terms with his old friends after his cockup. He knew that they would not be back to how it was. All three of them had grown vastly different during these passing months. They'd just have a conversation every now and then. He knew that they would not be thick as thieves anymore, hopping together into an adventure.

Even then, it was still a monumental thing for him. They were his first proper friends after all. He only had the loneliness and Lavender's efforts in bringing him out of the loneliness to thank. Without that, he wouldn't have grown this much, as a person.

And now, the final hurdle in his daily life had gone as well. He had established himself in the team and was willing to put in the extra work to succeed.

With a long breath, he let go of all these thoughts and focused on what was next. He had a game to win.

##################

Omake: What if he didn't get the Cerberus form, and instead got the possible form that was not shown?

Queen Hedwig soared through the night sky as she flew above the Forbidden Forest. It was time for her dinner, and she was not lazy enough to let her subjects do the hunting for her. She was a prideful Queen, and would not shirk in keeping her fangs sharp.

And yes, she was a Queen. What else would you call someone who had complete control over all the postal owls in the country? Not to mention the fact that due to her precious human, she was the strongest owl in existence.

As if taunting her thoughts, a white blur flew past her. She narrowed her eyes and flew faster to catch up to the arrogant interloper.

Try as much as she might, she still wasn't able to catch the white speck in the distance. It was as if the interloper was one with the wind. It stung her pride, and she would not let it go. So she relentlessly followed her target as it moved around the night sky, and finally turned towards the Hogwarts castle.

Hedwig wondered whether this was some usurper, trying to snatch her title from her. She would not allow it. Any other owl in her position would have used the special bond she had with her human to call for help. Hedwig would not stoop to such measures.

Her human was strong, but he had always been a child that needed looking after. He had grown stronger than ever and even shared some of his strength with her. But it didn't mean that he was above needing to be looked after. She would not trouble him with her issues when he had his own issues to deal with.

Not to mention the fact that Harry had recently been doing some experimentation that momentarily muted the mental connection between them.

As she reached the top of the Gryffindor tower, she finally got a clear sight of what she had been chasing so far.

Perched atop the tower was a snowy owl that might as well be her twin. They looked like mirror images of each other. What greatly confused her though was that the owl's right eye was identical as well. It was red and sported the pattern that she and her human had.

For a fleeting moment, she wondered whether Harry had gotten a new owl. Maybe the muted connection was due to this.

That doubt quickly vanished away as she could once more feel the connection light up brightly. A lot of mirth and mischief was being transmitted to her from what she now knew as Harry.

A part of her was deeply touched that her dear friend's animal form would mirror her. The other part of her was royally pissed that he pulled such a prank on her.

She squawked in annoyance and launched at him, hoping to teach him a lesson.

The two owls then began a game of tag that would not end anytime soon.

However, Hedwig decided that Harry would come to regret his decision of pranking her like this. She would command her subjects to defecate on him from high above whenever he walked outside as a human. That would teach him a good lesson. His punishment would not end until he begged for it, and provided her with a pallet full of bacon.

##################

A.N: First things first, in light of the recent decision by WN to force the readers to read on the app, I have a few things I would like to let you know. My works have always been in fanfiction . net under the same name. Recently I have moved over to SpaceBattles as well, so you can find the works over there if you prefer that. Just type the title of the book in google and you'll get those in the top results.

This chapter was supposed to be shorter, but I found that I had more to say about Ron's life, so here we are.

A few months have passed and loneliness has changed Ron in many ways. The Knights are tunnel visioning hard on the mission. In fact, it has been quite a while since Harry and Hermione thought about Ron. The trauma has changed Hermione greatly and her only goal right now is to get rid of Voldemort, so she doesn't even care about any of this stuff anymore.

Also, I realized that Ron has been winning on the relationship front while Harry is nowhere to be seen on that front.

I also realize that Lav is often short for Lavatory. But it is her canon nickname, so I'm keeping it just for shits and giggles.

If you want to talk to me on discord, please find the invite in the auxiliary chapter.