Chapter 2: Who are you?
The Burrow
Ronald Bilius Weasley
July 3, 1989, Monday
After getting out of bed to go to breakfast, Ron, while making his bed, his mind still racing about how to use the System in the best way, how to help Harry, and how to really win over Hermione.
After making his bed, Ron examined his room, looking around carefully. His room was a small room on the fifth floor of The Burrow.
Although it resembled an attic and Ron called it the Attic Room, his room was actually the one below the attic.
The attic... it housed the Weasleys' house ghoul. And Ron could often hear his screams.
But all that still didn't explain the mess in Ron's room. And those Chudley Cannons posters... well, he no longer needed them.
'I'll have to tidy this place up a bit after breakfast,' he thought, and he left his room to get to breakfast.
The ground floor of The Burrow consisted of a living room with a fireplace connected to the floo network, and a kitchen with a dining table.
When Ron arrived in the kitchen, he saw everyone already there.
His mother, Molly Weasley, was still busy at the kitchen counter, while everyone else had taken their places at the dining table.
"Morning Mum, Morning Dad. Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, and George. Good morning to you, too." Ron said, making sure to pat Ginny's head and ruffle her hair before sitting down in his chair next to her. "Good morning, Ginny."
Suddenly, everyone fell silent, and the entire kitchen became quiet.
Well… everyone except Ginny. "Ron, you messed up my hair. Mum, Ron messed up my hair."
Everyone then returned to their meal. It had seemed strange to them all that Ron was saying good morning to everyone, but Ron had managed to annoy Ginny by being Ron again. So, he should be normal.
"Ron, don't mess with your sister." Molly Weasley said from the kitchen counter.
"Ugh... Sorry Ginny. I didn't mean to mess up your hair. How about I braid your hair after breakfast to make it up for you?" Ron asked in a guilty tone.
And suddenly the kitchen fell silent again. Even Molly Weasley stopped what she was doing and turned to Ron.
Ginny, too, was beginning to notice that Ron was different today.
He had never offered to braid her hair before. Furthermore, Ron had never apologized to her before.
"You're not planning on doing anything weird to my hair, are you?" Ginny asked, a little suspiciously. After all, he had played many pranks on her in the past.
"What? Why would I do that?" said Ron, surprised. But Ginny continued to stare at him as if she didn't believe him.
"Ugh... If I do anything weird to your hair, Mum will get mad at me and punish me. So, you don't have to worry." Ron said.
Ginny looked at him for a moment longer, then said, "Okay. You can braid my hair. I will believe you. Just this once." And then she turned back to her breakfast on her plate.
At that moment, Molly Weasley came to the table, placed her breakfast plate in front of Ron, and then put her hand on Ron's forehead. "Ron, are you okay? You're not sick, are you? You don't seem to have a fever." She said.
"I'm perfectly fine, Mum. You have nothing to worry about," Ron said.
"Weird. Whatever. After breakfast, I want you to make your bed and tidy your room," his mother said.
"Sure. I already made my bed before I came down, and I was planning to tidy my room after breakfast anyway. Oh... but I just promised Ginny I'd braid her hair. Is it okay if I tidy my room after I braid her hair?" Ron said.
Even Molly Weasley was at a loss now. She wondered if this polite, obedient, non-grumbling child was really her son.
"Sure." It was the only word that came out of Molly Weasley's mouth.
"Thanks, Mum. Oh... thanks for breakfast."
"You're welcome, Ron," Molly said, her voice cracking a little as she said it.
She couldn't even remember the last time anyone had thanked her for her meals. Of course, she knew her family meant no harm.
The Burrow was always a hubbub, and the mealtimes were usually the loudest. Over time, the thanks began to fade into the din.
Molly didn't particularly care, but she was happy to hear a thank-you from one of the children after so long.
"Molly, hun. Thanks for breakfast," said Arthur Weasley, a little shyly.
"Thank you, mum."
"Thanks for breakfast."
"Thank you..."
One after another, everyone at the table began thanking her for breakfast, and Ginny was the last to say thank you. She didn't fully understand why, but since everyone around her was doing it, she did too. "Thanks, mum."
"You're welcome. Now finish your breakfast before it gets cold," Molly Weasley said, as if to avoid attention. But the smile on her face and the tears in her eyes showed that she was happier than she had been in a long time.
Then everyone went back to their plates, but they were occasionally casting strange glances at Ron.
At first, Ron didn't notice the stares. His mind was elsewhere, while his hands focused on his food.
He was thinking about the original Ron Weasley's future. And he realized that in many ways, he didn't want his life to unfold that way.
He didn't want to be like the original Ron Weasley: lazy, jealous, bigoted. Someone unhappy with many things in his life, unappreciative of many things he has, and blaming others for everything that stemmed from his own laziness...
No. He definitely wouldn't be that kind of person.
He might not have been the smartest or strongest, but at least he was confident in his ability to work hard. And thanks to the system, he could reap the rewards of his labor many times over.
And he also wanted to pursue the girl he liked: Hermione Jean Granger.
He knew that many people in his previous world disliked Hermione. She had as many haters as fans.
Her bossy attitude, obsession with rules, overconfidence in authority, and know-it-all demeanor were off-putting to many.
But Ron didn't think that way. He knew Hermione wasn't perfect, but he wasn't looking for the perfect Hermione.
What made her Hermione were both her flaws and her good qualities.
In his past life, he was one of the leading protestors of the Ron x Hermione pairing. And the reason was that he thought Ron Weasley didn't deserve Hermione.
Merlin, Hermione was someone who would become a Minister of Magic in the future, and Ron Weasley was… well… Ron Weasley.
That's why Ron wanted to change this situation in his future.
He was really going to pursue Hermione this time. Dates, dance invitation in the fourth year, cuddles, studying together...
He really wanted to ask Hermione out and spend a large part of their Hogwarts years as her boyfriend. Of course, when they were of the right age. Before that, being her best friend was enough for him.
And thinking of friends, his mind drifted back to Harry and his current situation.
But just as he was about to start thinking about how he could help him, he noticed the stares coming from those at the table.
He could more or less guess why.
He wasn't acting like the normal Ron, and it was normal for his family to find that strange. But he had no intention of trying to fool those around him by acting like the original Ron Weasley.
Ron gently put his knife and fork down on the edge of his plate, looked at everyone at the table, and said, "Is there something on my face?"
Unable to contain themselves any longer, the twins spoke up first.
"Who are you..."
"...and what did you do to Ron?"
"Not that we're complaining..."
"...but we'd like to learn how..."
"...you disguised yourself so well."
"If you teach us..."
"...we won't question what happened to Ron," said Fred and George with their classic twin talk.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I am the real Ron. By the way, thanks for leaving me with no doubt that I could trust you with anything." Ron said.
"There's no way…
"… you're the real Ron."
"The real Ron would never..."
"...make his bed..."
"...or say good morning to everyone..."
"...or say thank-you for breakfast..."
"...or apologize to Ginny..."
"...or offer to braid Ginny's hair…"
"...or use cutlery at meals."
"You might be a master at disguise..."
"...but you're terrible at imitating Ron." Fred and George said. It looked like they weren't going to let this go so easily.
But Ron had no intention of pretending to be something he wasn't. The old Ron was gone; from now on, he was just himself, and he would act like himself.
So, it was best to rip off the bandage quickly. The Weasley family might be a little surprised at first, but they would soon get used to it.
"Ugh... Making your bed and tidying your room are essential tasks everyone should do. Mum is mum. She's not my maid. I can't expect her to tidy up after me every day."
"Saying good morning in the mornings is basic courtesy. Thanking Mum for the food she made is a given. After all the trouble she's put up with, she deserves at least a thank you. And using cutlery at meals is basic of the basic etiquette."
"And Ginny is my little sister. I'll apologize to her when necessary, and I'll also braid her hair. If I haven't done it in the past, it's my mistake, and I don't intend to make the same mistakes in the future."
"Besides, even if siblings bicker and argue occasionally, as I said, it should only happen occasionally. As a big brother, it's my primary responsibility to look out for my sister and help her when she needs it."
Ron said at length, and by the end of his speech, everyone in the kitchen had their mouths wide enough to fit an egg in.
End of Chapter 2.