The Burrow was quiet that summer after visiting Egypt, the twins busy in their rooms cooking up ways to prank people or Ginny reading or helping mum in the kitchen. The first few weeks she was standoffish since the Chamber of Secrets incident but eventually, she got better, not perfect but better.

Ron, always quiet anyway, stayed in his room after doing his daily chores. His bones ached from growing pains and though he wrote Harry all the time he still felt lonely.

Ginny didn't seem to want to hang out with him anymore. He would sometimes lay awake thinking about how he should have done more for her. He should have noticed she was acting strange. Should have demanded she talk to him.

Ron sat up and rubbed his thighs with his hands trying to release the tension that collected. Ron hated that he grew so fast, it made him sore all over and he didn't always have the greatest control over his limbs.

His bedroom door was knocked on "yeah?" he asked and the door swung open to reveal Ginny.

"Um, mum wants you to run an errand for her in town," Ginny said.

Ron rubbed his legs and nodded, standing; once again he towered over Ginny even though she'd grown a little taller this summer as the twins had. Percy was usually gone until 6 o'clock like dad was.

"Are your legs hurting?" Ginny asked after a moment.

"Just growing pains" he replied after a moment, it was awkward now. Ginny and he used to be the best of friends with no one around close their age except for Luna Lovegood but she was further down the road.

"Oh, okay," Ginny said and he nodded then walked past her to go down creaky steps. He brushed his hand along the wall like always and met mum in the kitchen. That's where you always went to find his mother, it seemed, the kitchen.

"Oh, Ron, can you walk to town and collect some meat from the butcher there? He's very generous," Mum explained handing him a list of things he had to get and some muggle money.

"Uh sure."

"And hurry back, it'll be dark soon," Mum said handing him a burlap bag to put it in and off he went. He sighed walking along the road, all things it wasn't too much of a walk. Two Kilometers or so, it was straight ahead but considering the trees on either side it seemed longer with a few turns up ahead.

He walked as fast as he could without tiring himself out, it tended to get dark quickly and he couldn't use his wand to light his way around a few muggle cars going by every once in a while.

Reach the butcher shop, he took a minute to catch his breath before going in, the door's bell jangled as he walked in. "Ah, another Weasley?" the butcher asked.

He nodded handing him the rest "er yes" he said.

"Very kind of you to come get it for your mother, she's a very sweet woman," he said, Ron nodded looking around the shop. Muggle shops always puzzled him with some of the machines they used. Like the large clear box, probably to keep the meat fresh. "So what year are you in? You're her youngest son?" he asked.

"I'm going into the third year" Ron replied.

"Ah, your very tall for a third year, my son takes after me. Short with a bit of extra meat" the butcher laughed and Ron could never remember his name but he smiled politely. He was never very good at idle chatting. "Your a quiet one, that's alright, nothing wrong with quiet. Those are the ones with the best intelligence I'll bet my finger on" he mentioned holding up his pointer finger then wrapping up some chicken in paper and stacked it next to him.

Ron thought of Harry then "yeah, I guess so but not me, my friend" he said.

"You school boys and your friends, competing and saying who's better won't help you. Just do your best and that's something to be proud of. Well, here's your meat, say hello to your mother for me" he said.

"Thank you and I will," Ron said putting the meats in his bag and handed him the money. The butcher handed his change and he headed out. The sun was falling behind the trees now so he got on the trail.

The trees darkened with the light and the wind picked up a little. He felt strange then like something was watching him. He heartbeat quickened like some instant response of something he couldn't see.

He looked around walking quicker now but the sun was almost completely gone behind all the trees so he couldn't see in the trees. He heard a quiet shifting in the woods, he took his hand out then.

He stopped to hear it, he could hear his heart pounding his chest and blood rushing in his ears. It wasn't a rational fear and he couldn't figure what was causing this reaction. What he was so suddenly terrified of.

He gasped as icy hands grabbed his shoulders so hard that nails dug in and then his neck erupted with pain. He struggled but then his body slumped without his permission and he couldn't move.

His neck throbbed as he felt the heat there everywhere else felt cold. He was starting to get dizzy as more blood seemed to get sucked out him. In a moment of sudden determination, he was able to move his arms before the will of the creature won out.

Then he heard sounds of feet around him, Percy's voice shouting "stupefy! Incarcerous" and he dropped to the ground. Warm arms wrapped around him.

"Ron, can you hear me?"

Released from the paralyzing effect of the creature, he looked up to see his mum was the one holding him. "Yea" was all he managed, he closed his eyes he was so dizzy.

"You've got to keep your eyes open, I know it's hard," she said and Ron opened them reluctantly. He flinched at a loud cracking sound and his mother turned to look at someone he really couldn't focus on.

"Oh my Merlin," a woman voice.

"Molly, are you able to apparate with Ron?" a man's voice asked sternly.

"No, I don't think I could focus enough" his mother's voice shook in a way he had never heard before. He was so tired, he closed his eyes "Ron! Don't close your eyes" he opened them again and his mother sighed.

"Then give him to me, we need to apparate him right away. He's lost a lot of blood" the man said. He himself being shifted into someone else's arms then lifted up. "Tonks, you lock him in a cell to deal with later, Molly, Arthur. The best thing for you to do is to go home and tell your children. Meet at St. Mungo's Emergency ward as soon as you can." Ron felt a tug in his body and suddenly the air was colder, the lights brighter.

"What's happened?" a man's voice asked.

"He's been attacked by a crazed vampire, his blood has been drained badly. His name is Ronald Weasley. He's barely conscious" the man growled out quickly.

"Mulson! I need a room, stat. Not in a minute, now!" he closed his eyes and drifted off. It was noisy but he filtered out everything now.