Ron Weasley and the Philosopher's Stone

Almost ten years have passed since the morning the Dark Lord was defeated. Nora has grown even taller since that time. It added the children's rooms upstairs. I live on the top floor. In the smallest room under the attic. A ghoul lives above me and periodically knocks on pipes and howls. And why does Mom keep him? Although mom says that this is an old resident of this house and he is already two hundred years old. It's a pity to turn him out on the street. They have an agreement with the Weasleys. They say he protects the Burrow, and they feed him. Meat with blood. Mom says he likes beef. Of course she didn't try to feed us beef. No, Percy and Bill love her, but why is she trying to shove her into me? Well, yes, I look like Bill, so what? I like pork and chicken. But the older brothers on smoked beef are just trudging along. Bill generally chews it without sauces, they say it tastes better this way. I have five older brothers and a younger sister. Bill older he's about thirty years old, works at Gringotts Bank. Charlie is about twenty-five years old and lives in a Romanian dragon sanctuary. The twins Fred and George are already in their second year at Hogwarts and wear colorful badges at home. We can't tell them apart at all without them. Even Mom. They are so similar and they have a mental connection with each other. And Percy. He is already in his fifth year of school and is taking the OWL this year. And of course my little sister Ginny. A friend of Luna Lovegood, who lives next door to us. On the banks of the Rattlesnake River. By the way, Luna went a little crazy, just like her father after the death of his mother. But the girl is funny. We live in poverty. Well, not exactly poor, but due to the fact that there are many of us, there is not enough money for everything new for everyone. And then there's Dad, with his fascination with Muggle things. Even though he buys them from junk dealers, he still spends half of his salary on this stuff. Unfortunately, since I'm the sixth son in the family, I usually don't get anything new. I'm going to school this year, and almost everything will be the same for me. Well, except for the gifts of Aunts Lucretia and Muriel. Percy gave me his Scabers rat, because Mom, overjoyed that he had become a prefect, finally bought him an owl. My brother was so happy that I wanted one myself. But three owls in the family is too much, and the parents don't have the money for another owl. And I even have a used wand. Well, at least it's okay. And all the father with his car. I put almost my entire salary into it for the year when I bought and repaired it. Okay, the older brothers are sending us some money. But they are saving up for housing in Egypt and Romania. After all, they need to start a family themselves. Especially Bill. Mom has already started looking for a bride for him. But it all comes down to the fact that we are purebloods, and Bill is the eldest son in the family. And he needs at least a fifth-generation pureblood bride. Just like Percy in the future. His grandfather Prewitt decided to take him to his house as an heir. Bill and Charlie didn't suit him. Bill is already inheriting the Weasley house, and Charlie is just a funny jerk. And the grandfather, having burned himself on his children Fabian and Hedion, the merry twins, does not want to take Charlie. Well, Charlie's fine as it is. He has already looked for a Romanian bride. The girl's name is Florya. But her parents want him to have his own house set up. So he's saving up for it. Percy asked me to keep an eye on his pet, even though I don't really need a rat. I wonder what kind of rat he has – the second, the third? He says that this little rat has been living with him for ten years, but somehow I don't believe it. He picked it up in our garden. I had a rat myself, and it only lived like this for three years, and after crying about it, I decided not to take any more rats. And here's Percy with his pet. Okay, I'm used to it by now. At least there will be someone to practice on. Rats are already used to magic. The twins generally like to feed him something interesting or repaint it in green or blue. But I want the rat to be bright yellow. We need to ask them how they repainted it so that it would be green for two months like last winter when they came on vacation. Our garden is neglected, but berry bushes and fruit trees are still bearing fruit. Mom even waters them with some pest control potions and better fruiting. Even our dwarves don't bother them. But they ruined the whole vegetable garden for us. Mom waters her plants with something from the gnomes, but apparently the toad is strangling her on potatoes and carrots. Well, okay, farmers don't sell delicious vegetables at all expensively. We have a lot of chickens, but we don't keep cattle. Meat from our neighboring farmers is quite cheap, as is milk. Periodically, mom takes a rooster from neighboring farmers to breed our laying hens. And then in a couple of months we will have chicken legs and breasts. And I love boiled paws. Especially the rooster soup. I spent most of my childhood playing chess with Aunt Muriel and other aunts. Sometimes, though, the brothers let them ride their brooms, but not so often. They say it's not enough for them. Charlie left me his old comet, but it was so slow that the birds outran me. We live near the magical settlement of Ottery St. Ketchpole, not far from the transition from the magical to the Muggle world. Luna, my sister's friend, lives next to the river. So they disappear together all the time. Having read about the adventures of the guild of magicians in our part of the world, I'm looking forward to seventeen. They accept students from that age. But it's better not to tell Mom about it. He'll be upset. Charlie tells me when he got an invitation to the Dragon Reserve to work, there was such a scandal. And about Bill's job, Mom grumbles that it's dangerous. As soon as they get home, mom is always fighting with them because of work. They say it's safer to work in the ministry as a father. Or if Charlie really wants to work with animals, let him go to the DRCRM department. Where magozoologists work. With our average life span of up to 200 years, spending 7 years at first studying at school, and then as a guild student or trainee for another 10-20 years is quite common. Bill just became a full-fledged member of the guild of curse breakers at the bank about two years ago. But my sister, having seen enough of her mother, seemed determined to get married and be a housewife. And not for anyone, but for Harry Potter, the hero of the magical world. She constantly drags around with his doll and fantasizes about what kind of children they will have. Horror. Of course, I've read all these books about you-know-who and the civil war in Great Britain, and my mother always told stories about those times, but I don't want to be so fanatical about a boy my age. But I would have made friends with him anyway, yes. *** A typical summer day, closer to the middle of July. I'm sitting in my room, thinking over another chess strategy. I'm also training in controlling tiny golems. Although I can't enchant them myself, I can make them execute commands, as well as activate the game program for the black set. I transform them into warriors and magicians, and sometimes I play with them like little soldiers. The chessboard also transforms into a forest or a field or a coast. And the number of cells is adjustable from a regular chessboard to two or three hundred cells per side, depending on the complexity of the charms in the set. Aunt Muriel is a complete grouch, but she loves chess. So she got me addicted to them, too. She also bought me a magic set. They say you want to learn how to control golems, so train on such a small thing in a safe environment. I hear the rustle of wings. Is that Erol? He went hunting in the morning, as he overslept after a late-night package to his father from his friend. Hmm, some strange owl is flying. And into my window. I opened the doors. We have a charm in our rooms to maintain a comfortable temperature, but the windows must be closed for this. I untie the letter written in green ink from my paw. "Ron Weasley. Ottery St. Catchpole. Burrow. the bedroom is under the attic." And the Hogwarts coat of arms on the seal. Hurray! Holding out my hand with the letter up, I start dancing and yelling. “Mom, Mom, an owl from Hogwarts came to me!” “Read it quickly, son.” I hear her voice from the kitchen. I open the envelope and take out the letter sheet. «HOGWARTSSCHOOLOF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Knight of the Order of Merlin, 1st class, Grand Wizard, Supreme, Enchanter, President The International Confederation of Magicians) Dear Mr. Weasley, We are pleased to inform you that you have been granted a place at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please read the list of necessary books and items attached to this letter. Classes start on September 1st. We are waiting for your owl with consent no later than July 31. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmaster!" I'm going downstairs. Don't yell at the whole house. It's probably too late, though. I was heard all over the house. Although it's already noon, so no one is sleeping. “Mom, they're waiting for our owl.” “I know, honey. I'll send it now. You should write that you're taking Percy the rat as a familiar. Are you taking it?” “Yes, Mom. And when will we buy things?” “Tomorrow we'll go to Diagon Alley.” Mom wrote a reply and sent it with Erol back. And also about Percy the rat. As it turned out, it was a magical rat that really lived in our family for ten years. Although Percy didn't bind him to himself. Although he tried, the binding didn't work. Apparently someone's lost familiar. Hooray, hooray. I'm finally going to school. Maybe I can even get to know Harry Potter himself? He's supposed to go to school this year, too. I hope he gets into Gryffindor like me.