"I'll talk with her." Bill promised. He paused and sighed. "Well, I'll get Dad to talk with her." He gave a small smile. "She has been better about Sirius since Harry's birthday."
Ron nodded at that because she had. Poor Harry, Ron thought, couldn't even have his birthday without getting a death threat.
"Right, so materially you'll be fine by September. And I do know how you feel, Ron. Once Mum had Percy, I ended up with second-hand robes and books just as much as the rest of you because money was tight. And while I will say that Dad's view that we're rich in love and money shouldn't matter is a nice one, I understand that in reality when you're at school and standing next to your peers, it does help your confidence and your ego to feel on you're on an equal Quidditch pitch. So I'll sort it for you either way. Agreed?" Bill said briskly.
"Agreed." Ron said a little apprehensively because he trusted Bill but their Mum was a force of nature and he couldn't see her changing her mind. But he was also a little more hopeful.
"Now, status and position." Bill sighed. "Well, you know that stuff's never been important to us. Dad's always said that what's important is that you're a good person and you live your life decently and honourably."
"I know." Ron said quietly, a little ashamed that status and position did matter to him.
"But the truth is that while neither Dad nor I really took any of the Ancient and Noble House stuff seriously, the last month has brought home to us that it is important." Bill concluded.
Ron looked up at him in surprise.
Bill nodded gravely. "We're an Ancient and Noble House. We should have a seat in the Wizengamot and we should be helping to decide our society's future. But we don't because Great-Granddad gambled away the seat and the bulk of the fortune, and Gramps rebelled against the establishment in response, and Dad is a good man but who has never been all that ambitious for himself." He gestured at Ron. "You've done more to help rebuild our status than either Dad or I."
"Me?" blurted Ron, shocked.
"You made friends with Harry. He approached us for an alliance of friendship." Bill stated. "That's because of you." He prodded Ron gently on a patch of unmarred skin. "Dad and I are doing our bit now but everyone in the family has a part to play in helping us rebuild our status including you."
"Me?" blurted Ron again.
"Yes," Bill said, "you remain a genuine friend to Harry – that's why he asked us into the alliance in the first place. Second, you get your head down, stop being a lazy prat and put some effort into your school work." His gaze drifted purposefully to the desk by the window which held Ron's untouched and uncompleted homework. "Sirius isn't going to stand for Harry having less than good grades. You need to keep up if you want to fit in and I know you're not stupid. You picked up learning your alphabet and numbers pretty quick."
Ron flushed but nodded.
"Third, if you're serious about your Quidditch career which I think is a great goal, then it would probably benefit you to go along to Harry's lessons on etiquette and politics. You'll need to learn how to interact with people on a social basis and influence them as a manager. That's essentially what Harry is learning." Bill concluded.
"Do you think he'll still let me come along?" Ron asked.
"I'll ask Sirius and Harry tomorrow but I don't think it'll be an issue." Bill said.
"What about Mum? She complained that Harry shouldn't have the lessons so I doubt she'll let me go to them." Ron pointed out.
"I'll talk with Mum." Bill promised before waving his hand. "Well, I'll get Dad to talk with Mum." He patted Ron's bad leg and Ron winced. "Sorry. OK with everything now?"
Ron nodded slowly. "Bill, is Harry OK? It's just…I know there's something more going on. There was that death threat and he was really upset a few weeks back when he and Sirius went to visit the Ministry but he said he couldn't talk about it and…"
"He's OK." Bill assured him. "He's dealing with a lot of change and – do you really think Sirius isn't going to give him the best protection he can?"
Ron shook his head. "I'm happy for him, you know, about Sirius. You can tell he really cares about Harry not like the muggles."
Bill ruffled his hair and stood up. He picked up a pain potion and gave it to Ron. "Come on. Take that potion, visit the loo and hop into bed."
Ron pulled a face but he followed instructions. Bill left him tucked up in bed but Ron wasn't all that sleepy. He heard a hoot and a tap on his window and hurried over to let Hedwig in.
"Hey there." Ron said stroking her head. She offered him her leg. Ron took the letter eagerly.
"Ron,
Heard what happened!
Sirius said your Dad told him you'd saved Ginny! Go you!
Hope you're OK though and didn't hurt yourself too badly. It's a shame you're grounded (I told Hedwig to deliver the letter directly to you late on when hopefully your parents aren't watching) – Hermione says you should take advantage and do your homework.
Write soon and tell me all about it (the fall not your homework), Harry."
Ron gave a chuckle. He scrawled a brief note; just enough to give Harry the highlights with a promise to tell him more the next time they saw each other. Hedwig took flight and Ron closed the window, slipping back to his bed.
He was almost asleep when he heard the vague sound of his door being opened and footsteps padding up to his bed. A hand swept through his hair and he mumbled indistinctly, caught on the edge of sleep.
"We could have lost him, Arthur."
His Mum sounded like she was crying.
"He's safe and thanks to him, so's Ginny." His Dad's calm tone soothed Ron back towards the pull of sleep. "Come on Molly-wobbles."
Ron felt the press of lips against his forehead and it jolted him back into semi-awareness. "Mum?"
"Shush now," his Mum said, "go to sleep. We'll talk in the morning."
"OK," mumbled Ron and leaning into the warm touch of his mother's hand on his hurt shoulder, he fell asleep.
.
.
.
.
🎉The novel is available in PDF with more than 400 chapters, visit us in our Ko-Fi store🎉
🎉ko-fi.com/gokublack444🎉