Notes: A lot of things will get answered in future chapters, one bit at a time. But it'll take
a while.
Important: This is all told from John's point of view, so it might concentrate more on some
aspects of a person and how they interact with him. His opinions of some characters do not reflect my
opinions.
Chapter Four - The Burrow
I fell unceremoniously on the floor at the Burrow. Before I could pick myself up, I was hugged to death. Almost literally. A woman, who was probably in her sixties, was hugging me tightly and exclaiming. "Oh! Look at him! He looks so much like his father!"
I wondered how she knew that, if she didn't let me go. My face was nearly buried in her bosom, so there was no way she could verify her statement. "He needs to breathe, Mum," a deep voice said behind us, almost angrily.
"Oh, you're right. Sorry, Johnny," the woman said. I grimaced at such... ridiculous name. My name was John, not Johnny! "Why don't you show him around, Ronald. I have to talk with Neville." I had actually forgotten about Neville! He was dusting himself off near the fireplace.
The tall redhead man grunted at the woman and looked down at me. His eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, you really do look like your dad. But you've got your mother's hair," he stated. He shifted awkwardly on his feet and looked over at Neville and the older woman. "She's my Mum. Her name is Molly. I'm Ron."
We looked at each other for a long time, while Molly Weasley and Neville talked in hushed voices. "I'm John," I said, trying to come up with a conversation.
"Ronald, why don't you take him to his room?" Mrs Weasley asked out loud, cheerful and innocently, it seemed.
Uncle scowled at her and took my hand a little too roughly. I was dragged up the stairs to a series of rooms. One of them seemed to be destined for me. "My room is right next to yours. If you need anything, you ask me," he explained. "I'll see what can be done about your belongings..."
I remembered I didn't have anything with me. Just my dirty Muggle clothes under a cloak that Neville had gotten me at some point, while I had been unconscious. "I want to take a bath," I chocked out.
Uncle seemed confused, until I took off the cloak. He gasped as he noticed the dried blood, and muttered under his breath. With a sharp nod, he took my hand and led me to a small bathroom. I sighed in relief, it looked a lot like a Muggle bathroom. "Do you need any help?" Uncle asked awkwardly.
"I can do that alone, but I still don't have any clean clothes," I said.
Uncle nodded. "Don't worry about that. I think I might have some stuff from when I was your age," he said. "I'll tell my Mum to bring you the clothes later." With that, he left me in the bathroom.
It took me a few minutes to figure everything out. Nothing about magic made sense to me. Even when Mother used it from time to time.
Right before I was done, Molly Weasley walked in with Uncle's old clothes. They looked a century old. I remembered what Mother told me about the Weasleys. They were a poor family with many kids. Uncle was the youngest son, so he always got his older brothers' clothes. It explained the appearance of the clothes Mrs Weasley left for me.
Once I stepped out of the bathroom, my ears picked a couple of loud voices downstairs. Uncle and Mrs Weasley seemed to be arguing about something, but I couldn't make out the words. I hurried to my bedroom, I didn't want to interfere in their family stuff.
I fell asleep. For the first time in all my life, Mother wasn't there to tell me a bedtime story.
Notes: As you can see, Ron and Mrs Weasley are not getting along well. This affects John's
perception of Ron a bit. More about this will be known in the next chapters.
Also, it might not have been night when John fell asleep in the end. The boy is stressed, so he's bound to sleep at
any time.
Everything John knows about the magic world he learnt it through his mother and her books (the ones she allowed him to
read).