PROLOGUE: PT 2

In the years following the Wizarding War, Britain's foremost wizard Albus Dumbledore was routinely asked to oversee a number of court hearings regarding the aftermath of said war. It was during one such occasion that he received a letter from Arthur Weasley, an old student and loyal follower of the headmaster. Unfortunately due to his prior engagement he was unable to attend to the letter. Upon his return to Hogwarts, he opened the letter and immediately set out to Ottery St. Catchpole to provide assistance.

That is how we arrive to a surprised Molly Weasley answering her front door to find the renowned headmaster at her doorstep.

" Headmaster!"

" Good morning, Molly. I apologize for arriving unannounced, however Arthur's letter made it clear this was an extremely important matter. So I came as soon as possible, I just hope I made it on time."

Molly understood the insurmountable number of obligations Dumbledore had. It was for that exact reason both she and Arthur never actually expected him to respond to their plea. However, now he was in her doorway apologizing for his late response and offering to help. Unfortunately, just as he'd said he arrived a little too late.

" About that… please come inside."

From her tone, Dumbledore could sense something wasn't exactly right. Stepping inside the Weasley household, he was immediately greeted by a peculiar sight. That of a young boy seated on a couch who was staring directly at him. Initially he simply believed the boy was privy to his identity, however on a second glance he noticed something extremely worrying.

" Is that your boy, the one who suffered the accident?"

" My youngest boy, Ronald."

" The letter mentioned he was in a comatose state, how did he awaken? Has he been like this since then?"

" That's…"

Seeing as she was definitely hiding something in regards to the boy's current state. He pressed on, wanting to know how a child this young could possess such emotionless eyes.

" Molly, it's impertinent that you tell me exactly what happened, make sure to not leave out anything, otherwise I won't be able to assist him."

Unable to contain her guilty conscience, Molly told him everything, the countless sleepless days at St. Mungo's, seeking help, and eventually calling her aunt, Lucretia Black. When her name was mentioned, Dumbledore's eyebrows furrowed and wore a serious expression. Then when Molly reached the part regarding the ritual Lucretia performed he let out a heavy sigh.

" Molly, please get in contact with Arthur and have him meet with us here as soon as he can."

" Yes, of course right away. Please excuse me."

While she went to get ahold of Arthur, the aged wizard sat down next to Ronald. Who had not said a word the entire time and stared at the clouds out of a nearby window.

" Ronald, can you hear me?"

" …"

Not receiving a response, he tried another approach, that of attracting his curiosity. With a small wave of his hand a small multicolored orb of light appeared on his palm. The small glowing orb spun around his palm continuously changing into different colors as it did so. While it didn't get an audible response from Ron it did grab his attention as he stared at the spinning orb. At which point he failed to notice the wizard's other palm on his forehead.

In the next moment the cozy Weasley living room vanished, replaced with a vast empty gallery, whose walls held blank canvases. Finding himself inside this foreign space, devoid of life and color, Dumbledore's concern grew exponentially. He then walked through the gallery's empty corridors, eventually being able to spot something off in the distance.

Heading towards it, he was soon able to make out what appeared to be a small child seated in front of a painting. Although he was still too far away to recognize the painting, he was able to identify the child as Ronald. Arriving next to the seated Ronald, he was finally able to see the painting. The majority of the canvas covered in shades of black, depicting a child constricted by countless tendrils.

" Who are you, mister?"

Fully engrossed with the ominous painting, he was slightly taken aback when he realized he was being spoken to.

" I am a professor, your parents called me because they were worried about you."

" Oh, I see."

" Can you tell me what happened to you? Why don't all of these canvases have paintings?"

" I don't know."

As he wasn't getting anywhere, he decided to change the conversation.

" Can you see what happens outside? Like what I showed you before I came here?"

" Yes, that."

As soon as the last word left his mouth, the painting before them changed into one depicting just that.

" That is correct. Would you like to follow me and leave this place, go out there with me?"

" Not yet."

Ronald's reply piqued his attention, leading to a follow-up question.

" Why is that?"

" I'm not ready. I need more time."

With that said, he stood up and walked away soon after vanishing completely. Dumbledore turned to face the canvas, which had changed once more. Now displaying a beautifully painted portrait of the entire Weasley family. With his guide gone, Dumbledore released his magic and returned back to the outside.

Returning to the living room, he had seemingly only been gone for a fraction of a minute. With Molly walking in to inform him that Arthur was on his way back home. As for Ronald he sat there motionless still staring out the same window.

When Arthur arrived, Mollyn had already led the sluggish Ron upstairs to his bedroom. Allowing them to have a private conversation downstairs.

" First of all, I would like to apologize to the both of you for being unable to attend to this matter at the earliest. Unfortunately, as things are now I'm not certain what exactly caused his initial comatose state. What I can confidently state is that Ronald has recovered completely, at least physically."

" What does that mean, exactly?"

" As I'm sure you're aware he appears disoriented or at the very least not entirely there. This is due to him currently going through a transition of self."

" A transition of self? What does that mean?"

" Inside Ron's inner world, his subconscious if you may, he does not know who he is. This led to him trying to establish a new identity for himself."

" So once that's done he'll be back to normal? How long would that take?"

" Of that I'm not certain, It could be a couple days, weeks or even months. What I would recommend is for you to admit him to St. Mungo's-"

" I'm sorry to interrupt you headmaster, but I have no intention of taking Ron back to that place "

" Molly, I understand your reservations but I believe Ronald should receive a mental evaluation."

" A mental evaluation?"

" You see drastic changes to one's self are extremely delicate. That is why I advise you to have Ronald evaluated by a specialist."

By the look on their faces, the aged wizard could tell they were still on the fence in regards to the evaluation. Unfortunately, he could not force them to take his advice, though he hoped they would. Since for the briefest of moments the conversation with Ronald's inner self made him recall an unsavory memory.

Things were left at that, with Dumbledore leaving Arthur and Molly to consider his advice.

Unbeknownst to anyone else, inside Ron's inner world an immense change was currently taking place. Black ink began to ooze from several frames staining a large portion of the gallery black. Eventually the ink was slowly absorbed by the blank canvases, creating a series of new paintings. The majority of these new paintings depicted memories belonging to Ron, with the only exception being a portrait of Albus Dumbledore, His like the Weasley family portrait was beautifully done. However upon closer inspection one could partially make out what appeared to be a silhouette looming over his left shoulder.