Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

[This can be skipped. It is just the summary and my thoughts on the story and how it came to be.]

Boogeyman

Summary:

The Boogeyman is real. And he has been haunting Ron's nightmares for years. Believed to be the imaginings of an easily frightened child, no one ever believed him. As Fifth year gets into full swing, all the dark secrets Ron's kept locked up are unfolding in the most unexpected of ways and Umbridge is determined to make an example of him.

Alternative fifth year. Angst. Hurt. Comfort. Drama. Suspense. [Authors status quo, basically]

I will be starting the story at the first scene that deviates from the books. In this case, Ron does not join the quidditch team for reasons that become more obvious as the plot develops.

A lot of the scenes from the Order of the Phoenix are the same, so I'll be doing quick summaries just to ensure that you are aware of where we are in the book. If I've written a scene from the book then that means that there is a change. It starts out super subtle but then deviates after November. The further into the story we get, the more familiar the scenes will become before completely derailing.

I actually planned on posting the whole thing for Halloween, but it got quite a bit longer than I originally meant this piece to be.

Warnings: There are a lot of dark topics discussed in this story. I will not be listing anything specific because it would spoil the secret. If there is a problem with this then don't read the story. I post everything at the appropriate level so if you are somehow still offended or triggered then you should clearly be reading at a lower warning tag.

I've always had this idea that the crueler monsters started out with small things and gradually made their way to the horrors they cause. I don't think anyone starts out in the big leagues, you know? They start out with 'just this once' and 'this isn't that bad' and then gradual over time start to think 'this isn't so terrible' and 'they deserve what I'm doing.' They start to try to justify their cruelty until it becomes reality for them. Twisting the way they view things until... suddenly, they are the worst of the worst. They no longer justify and instead feel as if they are superior and that the cruelty they show others is simply because the victims are inferior. They start to think they deserve to be on top and that the victims deserve it for some slight they've made up in their minds.

And the change IS gradual. Its hardly noticeable how subtle the change is until the person's thoughts on a subject at the beginning is completely different at the end. For 'The Boogeyman' the villain is someone who is primarily motivated by fear and self-preservation, but as the story progresses, it becomes clear that they are doing it for the joy of it by the end. They thrive on power and the need to be in control and to feel important not just to be important. I always thought this villain was very underused in the Harry Potter series and that it was odd how such a vile creature was never fully explored.

This idea has been itching at the back of my head for years. I was almost shocked when I realized I'd finished the last chapter. It seemed as if it would never come together. But it did. For so long I struggled to write this story in a manner that justified the terrible concept. I understood why the idea was never explored in the original books [ it is a children's series at the end of the day], but at the same time... it was such a huge thing that went completely ignored. There was never any closer or even contemplation on what it all meant. And I know I'm being vague as fuck, but by the end of the story you'll completely understand what I mean.

The story will start at the divergent point in fifth year. The night that Ron catches Harry coming out of detention with Umbridge to see Harry's hand. That means that everything that happened during the summer and all the way up to this point in their school lives is exactly the same. Many of you may recognize the first scene from the book: Order of the Phoenix, page 271, chapter: Detention with Dolores. I debated where to start the story and a part of me really wanted to start in the summer before they ever left, but when I started writing, I realized I was doing a whole lot of fluff pieces that really didn't have anything to do with the story I wanted to tell so I cut it.

You know, writing my thoughts on the story BEFORE I put the chapters up seems to be a really great means to avoid all the ridiculous Author's notes that I tend to put up. They always seem so important at the time, but now that I've started writing out the few things that are really necessary right at the start, I feel like all the other stuff just gets in the way of the story.

Cool Story Bro: Another Rant- talk about how the story came to be.

People assume Hermione reads fiction. There are tons of stories out there that depict her admiration for Jane Austin's works and Charles Dickens and other such things, but not once in the entire series of Harry Potter was she stated to be reading anything but nonfiction outside of The Tale of Beedle the Bard and this only because it was left to her by Dumbledore as a clue. One of Hermione's biggest flaws is her lack of imagination and flexibility. Luna Lovegood is her foil for a reason. I always pictured Hermione as seeing fiction as sort of silly endeavor. Ron, on the other hand, talked about the tales with such fondness. Fiction books were never really spoken of in the Harry Potter series to the point where it seems they don't really exist. Of course, that can't really be true, can it? We all know Ron is rather smart, but he only puts forth the effort with the things he has a passion for. When he does, he demonstrates how talented and intelligent he is. I myself lack an interest in nonfiction. I've always been obsessed with the more whimsical side of reading and I've always demonstrated a very specialized knowledge, like Ron has. I imagine for someone like Hermione that can be very frustrating who is aggressive in her need for control and expanding her knowledge to see such behavior in her best friend. In concerns to intelligence, I've always thought Ron leaned more towards the Luna Lovegood side rather than the Hermione Granger. As demonstrated by Ron learning about Remus Lupin, Ron has the ability to adjust his beliefs and thoughts in an instant if he comes across information that suggests he's wrong. He demonstrated his ability to research through the Buckbeak trial research. He showed his strategic intelligence through the McGonagall's chess set. He showed instinct and quick wits in the office of Umbridge's where he led the others to taking down the squad of Slytherines. Despite what many people think, he really is quite smart. The point being that I could totally see Ron being a fiction lover if given the opportunity.

Sometime in chapter 3? Hermione is browsing the Fiction section and the 'books' she's looking through in Flourish and Blotts actually comes from various Ron Weasley fanfiction I've read that were fantastic.

Instincts-ability?

There have been jokes made that Ron is secretly a seer because his instincts are so on par. Ron himself tried to explain [poorly, unfortunately] this ability when Harry demanded why Ron wouldn't let him say Voldemort's name. Ron insisted that he could 'feel' that something was wrong and was later proven right when they discovered the name had been tabooed with a curse. Ron was right when he said that Harry would suffer but be happy about it, reading the tea leaves of the Grim that was really Sirius in that Harry would meet his godfather, learn the truth, suffer, but be glad that he 'somewhat' had Sirius in his life now. He was right about Riddle murdering Moaning Mertle. And let's not forget that despite what the movies may have presented that it was Ron who broke Voldemort's silencing spell to scream across the battlefield and start the charge, not Neville. There's a million examples of this unexplained innate knowledge Ron tends to have about events happening around them and it is so much fun to explore ideas surrounding it [one of the best being 'Choices' by random fruitcake04].

Which leads me into another topic: How unexplored Ron's character is despite how many thrilling concepts surround his character.

-The scars he earned in the Department of Mysteries from an experiment in a top secret lab. I mean come on! Nothing? Nothing at all? I have at least three stories on the back burner in my lap top diving into the different types of repercussions this could have. Like what do you mean there's nothing that came of it?

-The weird ability mentioned above that no one ever talks about

-A Death Eater hiding in the Weasley's family home for TWELVE years.

-The weird dismissal of his character by everyone but Harry. Teachers, classmates, enemies, strangers… perhaps a little dismissal would be expected, but by everyone the trio comes in contact with, ever? It's just… bazaar to me.

-The very strange actions in the Weasley family towards Ron: The only kid that doesn't get his own wand? The only one given such horrible dress robes when four of the Weasley kids went to the Yule Ball? The way there doesn't seem to be one positive interaction between Ron and his siblings in the books- and believe me, I've looked. Outside of them being there for him in the hospital, I really couldn't find any 'nice' moments. It was always harsh teasing or arguments. I think the tent scene after the Quidditch World Cup was the best thing I read and they were still making fun of Ron for gushing over how awesome Krum was. Its very strange especially since Rowling laments over how much Ron loves his siblings and how 'close' they are in the books. From Harry's perspective, the tone between Ron and his family is fond but the actual observations are very contradicting.

-Ron's five weeks or so of being gone in Deathly Hallows which I've obviously explored to the point where you can put the nails in the coffin. Lol.

-Ron's ability to copy parseltongue from overhearing it a few times. Like holy shit bro.

-The fact that Ron's been poisoned by both a dragon's bite for his first adventure and lethal mead on his coming of age [both featuring Hagrid in tears I might add] I love the full circle Rowling.

-Ron's Uncle Bilius DYING not even 24 hour after he claimed the Grim was after him while he was in a very secure wizarding hospital

All in all, Ron is the best character.

Also This: Why name Ron as a character if you're going to bash him? Why? Why? Why? If you don't like Ron then WHY do you put him down as a main character tag? It is so frustrating to find good fanfiction with him in it when people who don't like him name him as a central character of the story! over 26,000 stories with him in it and 23,000 of them have him in a bad light. So for all who bash and tag... Fuck you.