LEAST LOVED

A story focusing on Ron and his 'second chance'.

Bear with a quick run after the Final Battle of Hogwarts then the story will pick up before their fifth year.

AN: Ronald 'Ron' Weasley has never been my favorite character. In fact, I hate him. Do I need to list down my whys? Nah. But peering on his case, I kind of feel for him, sometimes. In all honesty, I agree with Voldemort-Necklace-Horcrux about him: Least Loved. But I also feel for Tom Riddle so maybe I have some serious issues in my head. Anyway, this is my tribute to this usually taken-for-granted-redhead. I don't really care about the bashing, to this piece or to Ron. Go on.

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Harry Potter and the cover image.

Chapter 1: The Second Chance

Hogwarts was never the same after the final battle against Voldemort and his army. It wasn't just the prestigious school that was almost reduced to rubbles, even the magical ministry was turned upside down. Even with the help of ICW the rebuild was proving to be challenging.

Originally, everyone's thought was simple, kill Voldemort and everything will be fixed. They're all wrong. It was more than killing a Dark Lord.

Kingsley Shacklebolt was immediately appointed Minister for Magic after the final battle. Aside from he's more of an auror instead of an administrator, he was just a single man. Most have sacrificed in this war, everyone was grieving, and he's also one who's lost families and friends. But even on this chaos, there were people focused with rooting for power, jumping to available positions and trying to sneak themselves for greater investments.

The goblins were also on edge of rebellion, Gringotts was flattened after the release of dragon incident. They demanded for the heads of the so called Golden Trio but the wizardkind protested in turn, almost creating another war. There were conferences made, with both goblin representatives and the Ministry of Magic, and in the end they agreed on a consensus, the Golden Trio's and their family's accounts were kicked from the bank and were forever blacklisted. And this expanded to their further generations.

Back in Hogwarts, it was simply a total ruin. The dead bodies were immediately taken but the debris around the perimeters was left there. There were plans to either close down the school or repair which may take months. But first, the magical community shall give proper burial not only for those who sacrificed themselves in the final battle but also for everyone who were killed on the war.

And there were also the very people who're deeply connected to the whole war.

Harry Potter has closed himself away, not taking any positions in the ministry nor any part in the rebuild of the school, has no plan of finishing his studies, and no time especially for any interviews. Hermione, however, was in the deep networks for the repair of her beloved magical world. She ranted how ICW never helped them in the war but can't do anything about it since their previous situation fell under the independence statue for every magical community. And finally, Ron was left to mop.

Ronald Weasley was left to his own device after the final battle. He thought he and Hermione will return back to their relationship especially after the torrid kiss in the Chamber of Secret when they destroyed the Cup of Hufflepuff, but nothing of sort happened. He realized that people did not really forget even after his reform. He was supposed to be the bestfriend of the Boy-Who-Lived, one of the Golden Trio, boyfriend to the brightest witch of their generation; but he let them all down. And that's not only once.

.

He yelled as he slowly watched the sickly green spell flew to Fred Weasley, second before the walls blasted them away. Wishing with all his heart that the spell missed his brother, he scrambled from the debris and ran towards their original location. His thoughts even believed his brother would be able to brave the collapse.

A shrill screamed punctured all hope in his heart.

.

He knew it was all but a nightmare. The very same nightmare he's revisiting every night since the final battle. He hated how he helplessly watched everything unfold again and again. He wanted to do something even if just inside the dream.

.

"No! Fred! No!"

Ron found himself kneeling next to Fred's already cooling body, his last laugh still etched on his face. Kneeling next to him was the already crying Percy and soon enough, came the breathless George who started yelling for his twin.

.

He'd never seen his two older brothers like that before, both broken-down, nor even imagined Fred dead that way. He cried with them, yelled for Fred and wished to wake up from that nightmare.

Every time he saw this part, he'd always remind himself it wasn't his fault but he knew better. If only he wasn't the prat he was on their quest and instead properly helped his bestfriends to finish the whole ordeal much earlier, if only he's a better son, brother, friend, lover—a man; all these wouldn't have happened.

.

"Get down!" he heard Harry but he didn't care to listen.

.

He saw spells flew above their heads and he felt the same lurching feeling when it almost blasted George's head if he didn't bow down to hug his twin.

.

Still kneeling next to Fred's cold body, he hated how the world seemed not to care that Fred was gone. These should have all ended! Why were they still fighting?! FRED IS GONE!

He cried and yelled himself hoarse.

.

For the first time, the feeling and his thoughts came to him clearer than ever. It was as if he's back at that very instant, re-living the same moment.

He never felt this way from any of his nightmares.

.

"Ron, we need to go. The snake," whispered Hermione to his ears as she hugged him, shivering like him. "It's all that's left and everything will be over," she leaned to his shoulder with her tears streaking on her cheeks.

"…No," murmured Ron.

"No."

Ron heard his voice from that night and also his own croaking voice at the moment. Confused, he asked himself if he really answered Hermione that. What he remembered though was he just let her pulled him away from his brothers to find and kill the damn snake by the Shrieking Shack.

'What would I get from killing that damn snake?'

Ron heard his own question and realized the one asking was the one from his nightmare. Well, killing the snake so V-voldemort can be killed, he answered in his thoughts.

'To kill that madman? Then what? Can that bring Fred back? Will killing that snake-faced bastard bring everything or everyone back? When he's killed, can everything just set to itself properly, mend every lost?'

No, of course not, he's answering his own thoughts. He should be scared on what's happening with him but he found solace with this exchange.

'For one, it was practically most of his Death Eaters' works. How stupid can they be to follow a fraud-pureblood Dark Lord? How weak the community to be led by nose by them, who're even less than a quarter of the population?'

Exactly. Everything was everyone's fault. If only the bigotry was never nurtured, if only the education wasn't stumped all through those years, if only everyone's not so selfish, if only—

'Why can't he just kill everyone right now? They all did these! Him! That puppet-minister of a bigot! He killed Fred! I'll kill him, too! They all should just die!'

Hold on, did I really think that? Amidst the plethora of emotions of the Ron in the nightmare, he couldn't help cringe from his urge to kill, revenge, for death to those who hurt him and his loved ones. Everything just felt so real for him right now even if this wasn't really how it happened.

.

"I'll kill you all!"

Percy leapt from his position and screamed at the top of his lungs. It was as if Ron was confounded, his eyes turning red and suddenly started running towards the heat of battle, just after his older ex-pompous brother while both yelling murder, their wands lashing to all the monochrome garbed enemies.

Ron fought like a madman, forgetting everything else, the horcruxes, his promise with his bestfriend, and even the love he shared together with his bestfriend-lover. He sent no longer the same stunner but instead he used the Bone-Breaking Curses, Sectumsempra, Cruciatus Curse and many other deadly curses.

He knew the incantation of the worst of these curses. He's never tried it before since without necessary hate it won't have any effect, but right now, it's all he needed. And he did.

"Avada Kedavra!"

No! No, no, I didn't do that!

.

As Ron shouted, a green light flew from the tip of his wand onto the incoming Death Eater, Pius Thicknesse, the very one who killed Fred.

Ron watched in fascination as the same green spell travelled ever slowly towards the man when suddenly a slab of fallen wall arrived in front of Thicknesse, moment before the green spell hit him. It exploded on contact and when the debris cleared up, Ron found the still standing and widely smiling Death Eater while his wand was pointed towards him. He read the same incantation from his lips even before his ears recognize them.

"Avada Kedavra!"