Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own anything. Everything belongs to their respective owners, not that that could stop them if they really wanted to sue me. But good luck to them, because they won't get much out of me. This stands for all further chapters.

Now that that is out of the way: WELCOME TO MY PLAYGROUND, where I take J.K. Rowling's characters, and I get to bend them to my will. Mwah-ha-ha-ha! I hope you enjoy it.

Burrow - Saturday, 10 July 1993 - Morning

On the outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole in Devon England there lay a strange house with a peculiar family. The land had once belonged to an old family until a fire had burned down the old tutor house that stood there. After years of neglect, a young married couple named Arthur and Molly Weasley bought the land which included an apple orchard and began to build their own home on the foundation of the old one, adding story after story as their family grew. As it was now, the house was several stories high, with multiple chimneys and had the appearance of being held up my magic. Of course, that may be true, because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were, in fact, a wizard and witch respectively.

However, that was neither here nor there.

On a slow Saturday, Ronald Weasley, the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat in the living room with his grandpa playing a lovely game of chess. The wireless was turned down, yet they could still hear the soft sounds of Celestina Warbeck or the Weird Sisters and against the wall stood the grandfather clock stating the status of each family member. Everyone's hand was at home (barring Bill and Charlie) except for his mother, whose clock hand was on Shopping and Ginny's hand which was on Visiting Friends. Mrs. Weasley was shopping for the final items needed for tonight's dinner. Ginny was out visiting Luna Lovegood, down the way; Mr. Weasley was in his garage, fiddling with his Muggle artifacts; Percy was upstairs, either doing homework or writing his girlfriend Penelope Clearwater; and the twins could be heard overhead working on their pranks, according to the explosions every few minutes.

"So, Ronald, how as Hogwarts been?" Ron's grandpa queried, intentionally keeping the question open-ended.

"It's been okay, I'm just glad that Ginny's alright," Ron answered evasively while moving his knight. It had been a while since he and his grandpa had been able to play like this, and he had a feeling that he knew what direction that sort of conversation would go.

At first, it seemed that his grandpa would just let it go as he just hummed and nodded in agreement.

"Your sister was fortunate. Possession is a dangerous thing. Ginny will need treatment, at least from a mind healer."

Ron thought about this. Although Quirrell had died, fighting Harry in their first year, the Trio had later found out that when You-Know-Who left the professor's body, it had been the strain of months of possession and not the burns that had killed him. Ron shuddered to think of what could have happened to his baby sister. If the diary had possessed Ginny more thoroughly or if Harry and he hadn't found the chamber, Ginny would be dead. There was no doubt about it. Even if possession hadn't been an issue, Ginny would need a mind healer to talk about her experience. In many ways, she had been used, and her trust had been violated by the Diary. It would take time for her to recover. Ginny had already had several nightmares this summer and twice had woken up sick.

"How are your grades?" his grandpa asked after a bit, getting back on to the original topic.

Bugger.

Ron blushed. He knew that his grades could have been better, but he had never seen a real reason to try harder. As Ron told Harry on the train to school in their first year, Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. And Harry seemed to be right along with him with only doing the bare minimum or slightly above so he didn't see what the problem was.

"Not the best, eh?" his grandpa answered for him.

"I passed everything," Ron defended.

His grandpa nodded. "But did you do your best?" he asked. "Are you proud of yourself?"

Ron was stopped short as he thought that over. Of course, he didn't do as well as Hermione. Yeah, he could have done better, but what was the point? But being proud of himself though? Ron hadn't thought about it that way.

His grandpa moved a rook. "You're smart Ron. More intelligent than you and many others give you credit for. Just look at yourself with chess," he said gesturing to the board.

Ron didn't know what chess had to do with this.

"His grandpa sighed, "Ron, despite all the rivalry, it is best to incorporate all the houses into society and into your personality as well."

Ron snorted. "Not Slytherin."

"Don't let your grandmother Cedrella hear you say that," his grandpa chuckled. Ron winced.

"And why not Slytherin?" his grandpa asked, getting serious. "Isn't chess a Slytherin's game? Cunning, ambition, planning your strategy several steps ahead?"

At first, Ron wanted to get angry. But this was his "Grandad." The man who had taken him under his wing when all his other siblings were receiving the attention. The man who had taught him the wonders of chess and taught him everything he knew. Perhaps there could be some truth to what he was saying?

"Think of it this way, Ronald," the old man explained. "a harmonious society should have people who are brave, chivalrous, and daring. After all, those are the people who lead Aurors into battle and take charge in hard and dangerous times.

There should also be people who are wise, creative, and intelligent. These people bring innovation and wisdom, creating some of the most revolutionary ideas, such as the Wolfsbane Potion.

We also need people who are fair, loyal, and kind. These people keep us honest and modest, both important things to have. They also have the strength to get things done and put their nose to the grindstone. These people are often the foundation of our justice system and other parts of the government.

And finally, there should be those who are ambitious, cunning, and resourceful. Slytherins work behind the scenes, in the light, and through the cracks. Many politicians and individuals involved in law are Slytherins for a reason. And the truly amazing people can balance all these aspects."

"Can someone really do that?" Ron asked, hardly believing that someone could have all those qualities.

"I had a friend who went to Ilvermorny in America. They sort into four houses just like Hogwarts. Four carvings stand for each of the houses, and they choose the students. Apparently, sometimes more than one carving will try to choose the student, so the student chooses between the two houses. But very rarely, perhaps once in a decade or generation, all four houses will choose a student. Seraphina Picquery, a President of MACUSA, was one of these students, so it is possible. Rare, but possible."

Ron thought about this in his head. In many ways, his supposed his grandpa was right about the social idea.

"You have so much potential Ron," his grandpa said emphatically, "I know you don't think that you can become great because your brothers are already making names for themselves, but they are your brothers, and you are you. Keep in mind, son, 'if you don't aim, you will miss your target every time.'"

With Ronald Weasley mulling this over, the game continued.

A/N: I will try to update as often as I can. This is me begging for reviews and constructive criticism. Even if you are only reviewing to say, "Hey, I read your chapter."

A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed and told me about the error in format.