Chapter 63

Ron's future self became dominant in his younger body as it is more mature (but not by much) than his younger self. His future self was sent back by senior ministry officials to correct the damage caused by Harry and Hermione's time travel or knowledge sent back to the past as it were. His long relationship with them meant he would know what they changed. The first thing, Ron was instructed to do was gather allies. Dumbledore was his best bet as he was well positioned to do damage control. He started his mission by yelling for Dumbledore in front of the gargoyle before using different passwords he knew Dumbledore liked to use. Ron was absolutely shocked when Headmistress Hopkirk came out answered instead.

"Who are you?", the shocked future Ron asked.

"I am Headmistress Hopkirk and you know that. What are doing waking me up in the middle of the night and yelling for the disgraced ex-headmaster?", the Headmistress replied angrily. She did not like being woken up in the middle of the night and especially by a member of the annoying weasley family.

"Sorry Madam, I had a nightmare", Ron said uncertainly.

"And you thought that was a big enough emergency to disturb the Headmistress", Hopkirk asked, with a her left eyebrow starting to twitch.

"No Madam. It won't happen again."

"Since you seem wide awake and have the urge to wake up people in the middle of the night I am going make you do something useful. Mrs Figg's cats litter trays need to be all changed. She has fifteen cats each with their own litter trays. I want every tray cleaned out, washed and refilled with kitty litter by morning. The Prefect patrols will be checking up on you periodically. If you do not do a good job then you will be cleaning up the owlry by hand" the headmistress informed Ron to his horror.

"I thought detentions usually involved writing lines or helping out teachers?" Ron asked as he believes the punishment is too extreme.

"Your family is a special case. You have all used up my quota of goodwill already. The fact that I let members of your family including yourself to remain here at school is generous enough", The headmistress replied as she led him to the litter trays. She then takes his wand.

"You don't need that, doing this by magic would be too easy. Performing some manual labour is good experience for you, what with your low grades and all, that might be the only type of work available to you. Besides you will sleep better if you tire yourself out, Mr. Weasley", The headmistress informs Ron spitefully.

Ron grumbled as he started working. The fact that Dumbledore was no longer the Hogwarts Headmaster was a big change from the previous timeline. He tried accessing the memories of his younger self. Only to discover to his shock, he now knew what happened this time round and none of the events in the original timeline during the first two years happened. His memories of the original timeline were slipping and only a vague outline of what originally occurred remained. This was probably due to the fact that, Ronald never bothered to pay much attention to anything, that wasn't stuffing this face or Qudditch. After-all, he knew his role as dictated by his mother and she always reminded him what he was supposed to do(i.e. make friends with Harry Potter). Why would a pure-blood like him have to be bothered by stupid things like details, that's what Hermione and other people were for after all. However, now even Ronald could tell something went wrong with the ritual they used to send his memories back. This was probably because Hermione and Harry burned what remained of the procedure after all. Deciding that he needed to record as much of what he still remembered before he forget's the original timeline completely, Ron ran back to his dorm only to be stopped by a pair of Prefect's during patrol.

"Are you finished changing the litter trays?" Oliver, the replacement Gryffindor Prefect for Percy asked.

"No", Ron admitted "I just realized I haven't done my Potions homework. That was what caused my sleeplessness."

"You can do your homework once you finish changing all the kitty litter." Oliver stated as he still not happy with Ron as he had cost him any chance of winning the Quidditch Cup due to how badly he performed as the team seeker.

"Can I at least get a quill and some parchment so that I can jot down some ideas for my homework?"

"No you may not. If we allowed you to get some paper then chances are you will do your homework instead of your detention", Penny, the other prefect on the patrol, stated.

"I agree, I think that we should watch you clean out those litter trays to ensure you do not run off as soon as our backs are turned", Oliver agreed.

"That sounds like a great idea", Penny exclaimed with a sly grin.

The prefect's on patrol for the rest of the night spent their time watching Ron struggle to clean all the litter trays, while switching off to actually finish their duties. As soon as he finished cleaning one tray then one of the previous trays he had finished cleaning would become dirty again. What Ron did not know was that the Prefects would occasionally dirty a tray to prolong Ron's suffering. So when the headmistress came to inspect his progress, Ron had still not finished.

"Are you done?" The headmistress demanded.

"Not quite", Ron replied slightly nervous.

"That's not good enough. Tonight after dinner report to the Owlry where caretaker Mrs. Figg will show you what you have to do, now go wash up", The headmistress ordered. Ron fled before the Headmistress could add to his punishment and subtract massive amounts of house points.

"What happened to you?" Fred asked as the stench of smelly kitty litter covered Ron and stunk the common room when he entered.

"You smell like cat's piss" George added with his fingers covering the top of his nostrils to get some relief from the smell.

"Are you having an affair with Mrs. Figg which you are not telling us about?"

"Does she make you dress like a cat and roll in kitty litter?"

"I know, Mrs. Figg dresses up as a cat in a bed filled with kitty litter. And you are the alpha male cat who mounts her which makes all her cats jealous which is why they piss on you", Fred suggested with a laugh which makes Ron cringed at the horrible mental image.

"Good one, Fred", George says in congratulations.

"It is nothing like that. The headmistress caught me out of bed after curfew and gave me detention cleaning out cats litter trays", Ron explained. The twins' eyes light up at that bit of information.

"Why were you out after curfew?" George asked.

"None of your damn business!" Ron snapped annoyed. He did not want to reveal the truth in front of everyone, especially since the majority of the house was now present. They would either think he is crazy or a joke(which they already do). If the fact that he was from the future got back to Harry and Hermione then it would spell trouble for him. So he pushes pass his brothers and heads to his room.

After a shower and a change, Ron records what he remembers from the future before he forgets everything, which was happening sooner rather than later. This makes him unusually late for breakfast to the relief of his housemates. Having to watch someone eat with no table manners was very off putting. By the time, Ron arrived down for breakfast, his house mates had mostly finished. So a lot of them missed seeing, a thin version of the garfield cat start humping Professor McGonagall's right leg. It was soon followed by a black scottish fold (another breed of cat) which start humping her other leg.

"Get off me, you perverted animals!" Professor McGonagall screamed once she noticed what was happening to her legs. She starts shaking her legs to get the cats off. The cats however dig in their claws and Professor McGonagall yowls in pain.

"Mr. Whiskers and Mr. Tibbles stop that at once." Mrs Figg says as she recognises the cats as her. She tries to pull the orange cat off the Professor but he does not let go. Finally, Mrs Figg is successful in removing the cat, wrecking Professor McGonagall's skirt (and leg) in the process. For the first time in Hogwarts history students could see Professor McGonagall's legs, which by her Victorian ideals, was cause for horror. Professor Flitwick took pity on his colleague and stuns the other cat so that it could be removed easily. The deputy headmaster removes the black cat before leading Professor McGonagall away to the infirmary.

Along the way, other cats start tailing them. Once they reach the infirmary, Healer Chapman quickly heals the injuries that Professor McGonagall sustained and starts discussing the strange behaviour of the cats.

"It is spring so it could be mating season", Flitwick suggested.

"Cats mate all year round", Mrs. Figg added.

"Maybe we should have them neutered, it would probably lead them to be less aggressive", Tony the deputy Headmaster suggested.

"It would be a crime to end the line of my cats. They have excellent pedigree dating back hundreds of years", Mrs. Figg said in outrage.

Now that Professor McGonagall is stationary again, the cats begin to sniff the professor before rubbing themselves against her. When one of the male cats tries to hump McGonagall's leg, he is attacked by another cat. It soon becomes a free for all amongst the cats with Professor McGonagall getting badly scratched in the process. The discussion is postponed as all the professors' work to stop the fighting. Cages are conjured to separate the various animals.

"Did you ever have an affair with Dumbledore?" Healer Chapman asked.

"Why would you ask such a personal question?" Professor McGonagall asked indignantly.

"I remember reading once that if a female is claimed then other males will stay away."

"No, Dumbledore and I were not having an affair. He is interested in other males" Professor McGonagall admits.

"Do you have any other suggestions?" Tony asks.

"No, I am a human healer not animals. Perhaps you should ask the Magical Creatures professor", Healer Chapman suggests.

"Brilliant idea", Tony replies before asking one of the house elves to get the professor. Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank arrives. After being informed of what is happening, the professor replies "I do not deal with non-magical animals", with a lot of arrogance.

"My cats are kneazles", Mrs. Figg protests.

"You might believe they are magical but I have seen no evidence that your cats are kneazles and not just regular cats".

"Enough arguing! Who would know how to treat them?" Tony asks exasperated.

"The pet store in Diagon Alley should be able to treat them", Flitwick suggests.

"I will floo them immediately", Tony replies.

A little later, the pet store clerk examines the cats.

"The cats have been dosed with love potion", the clerk informs them.

"What is the treatment?"

"A flushing potion. Your potion master can make some quite easily."

"I will get Professor Snape to make some right away."

"How much do you need?" Snape asks to discover no one knows the answer.

"Does it really matter?" Tony asks.

"Yes, too much and they will die from an overdose. Too little and it will not work."

"You are not risking my babies!", Mrs. Figg exclaims holding the orange cat in her arms protectively.

"I will call a staff meeting to see whether anyone is else has any ideas", Tony suggested.

A little later all the staff were assembled, the prefects were left in charge for the duration.

"As some of you already know, the flushing potion is a bust. Does anyone else have any suggestions on how to stop cats from behaving so oddly around Professor McGonagall?" The headmistress asked.

"We can keep them locked up" Snape suggested.

"I will keep you caged up and see how you like it. Since you are much more dangerous than them" Mrs. Figg said defensively.

"You made your point, Mrs Figg. Any other suggestions?"

"Professor McGonagall, can't you talk to them in your animigus form?" Healer Chapman asks.

"There is no way I am changing to my other form with all those cats in heat. If you want I can transfigure you into a female cat so you can try talking to them? When you are popping out half human, half kneazles babies don't blame me" Professor McGonagall replied angrily.

"We can give them calming potion. If we give them too much then they will just fall asleep", Snape suggested.

"Anyone got any better solutions?" The headmistress asked. No one responded.

"Professor Snape can you start brewing some calming potion?"

"Infirmary should already stock that potion but I will make some more", Snape replied.

"Do we know who did this?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"It is the Weasleys twins. They are always doing things like this", Snape stated.

"They have toned down their pranking after I gave them a warning", The headmistress said in defense of the twins.

"It could be Peeves", Professor McGonagall suggested. "He has been a pest for years."

"It is not possible for a ghost to make such a complex potion." Snape pointed out.

"It has to be Ronald Weasley. I gave him detention last night cleaning the cat litter trays after he disturbed my sleep. He must be angry and tried to get me back but got Professor McGonagall instead", The headmistress suggested.

"That does sound reasonable. Mrs Weasley was quite talented in potions at school", Professor McGonagall added in support.

"But he does not show any potions talent during class. I still think it is the Weasley twins", Snape countered.

"Maybe his mum only taught him love potions. After all it is well known fact that she dosed her husband, and that's why he married her", Professor Flitwick added. Everyone agreed that it did sound possible and logically given the Molly Weasley past record.

"What should be his punishment?"

"Cleaning the toilets by hand for the rest of the term", Professor McGonagall suggested.

"And also, he could clean and sort out my potion class room for the rest of the term. After all, he causes enough of a mess exploding cauldrons every few lessons", Snape responded.

"How about clean out the owlry for the rest of the term by hand with Professor McGonagall and Mrs. Figg taking turns watching him", Hopkirk suggests to the approval of most of the staff.

"Professor McGonagall you can inform him of his punishment", The headmistress announces. They then progress to other matters.

Ron was waiting for Professor McGonagall at her office.

"Are you here to admit you dosed the cats with love potion, Mr. Weasley?" Professor McGonagall asks.

"No. I have nothing to do with it."

"Why else would you be late for breakfast this morning?"

"I know the future and I wanted to write it down before I forget", Ron states eagerly.

"Try pulling the other horn, Mr. Weasley. We know it is you, so you might as well admit it."

"I am not lying, Harry and Hermione are also from the future."

"Prove it", Professor McGonagall challenged Ron.

"My pet rat is Peter Pettigrew", Ron replied. That would have been a good answer, but Ron forgot that in the current timeline, his pet rat was already dead.

"You have no pet rat. He died in your first year, you need to stop lying. For that I am going to make you clean the toilets by hand for the rest of the term. The punishment for your prank will be cleaning the owlry by hand for the rest of the year", Professor McGonagall informed Ron.

"I am not lying", Ron protested. He tried to think of another example to prove himself but as his knowledge of the future was very vague to begin with, he had no details to work with. So as usual, Ronald Weasley sputtered and came up empty. (Not to mention the fact that most chickens were smarter than him).

"Do you want me to extend your punishments until you graduate?"

"No Professor."

"Then get out of my sight!" Seeing that Professor McGonagall did not believe him and was scowling, Ron made a hasty exit. He knew he would not get any support from her. Looking at what other potential allies he had. Snape was way too risky; he might join Potter's side instead. Hagrid was gone but he was never a good ally as he was too talkative. The other professor's alliances were questionable. Mrs. Figg was too angry at him to be any help at the moment. That ruled out all the grownups at Hogwarts. It was too risky sending an owl outside with his knowledge as they would start blaming him when the things he described started occurring or they would make him the teacher's assistant of Divination.

He was left with students, Draco would have been a good ally but he had been killed off already. The other Slytherins were too close to the Dark Lord for comfort.

Suddenly Ron remembers Percy; he was a senior member of the ministry in the future. People breaking the law would not sit comfortably with the rule respecting Percy. He approached Percy sitting alone at one of the tables in the Common Room.

"Stay away from me. You are becoming just like the twins pranking the Professors. What were you thinking?" Percy demanded.

"I really need to speak to you in private." Ron pleaded.

"Alright but I will not help you in any pranks. I am telling you now", Percy said as he followed Ron to a spare classroom.

"I have memories from the future. I was sent by the Ministry to stop the damage being done by Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, Who did it illegally", Ron explained.

"This must be a prank you are working on. I am not falling for it. Why would they send you? You are not the most trustworthy or brightest wizard around."

"In the original timeline, I was close friends with them."

"Pull the other one. That is as believable as some of the stories about Dumbledore. I thought you were being serious for just a minute there", Percy said before leaving.

"You have got to believe me", Ron pleaded with no success. A pissed off Ron decides to walk around the school to cool down. He spots Hermione with her back to him. She was the bigger threat to his way of life. Impulsively, he fires a cutting curse at Hermione's back.

Omake

"Hello, Mrs. Creevey and Mr. Creevey. I am Mrs Wentworth from the department of home affairs. This is Mrs Tonks from the from the Granger Foundation, Miss Tonks is here for our magical protection and Sargeant Harper from Scotland Yard is here for our non-magical protection."

"Why the security?" Mr. Creevey asks.

"We will answer that question once we are not in the open, Mrs. and Mr. Creevey."

"Please come inside", Mrs. Creevey offers as she realizes that if she refuses then it could be trouble for them. They are offered comfortably seating and refreshments before Mrs. Creevey asks. "We spoke on the phone but you were very cryptic about the reason for this meeting."

"Sorry for the secrecy. It is a sensitive matter, if certain people knew what we were doing then everyone would be at risk."

"Should we even have this meeting at all?" Mr Creevey asked in fear. This cloak and dagger stuff was not his cup of tea.

"Let me explain before you chuck me out." Mrs Wentworth replied.

"Go ahead", Mrs. Creevey suggests.

"We know your two sons are magical but you two are not. When you were introduced to the magical world, they failed to inform you how divided the society in which your sons were entering was. The purebloods control the government and suppress the rest of the society. It is getting worse with the Purebloods wanting more rights to the point where your sons would be practically slaves. Discrimination is so bad that your sons will have trouble finding work as a lot jobs are not available to them as non-pureblood wizards."

"I thought things were getting better since the fall of the Dark Lord", Mr. Creevey replied.

"Who told you that?"

"Deputy Headmistress McGonagall."

"Well she lied to you. It is actually getting a lot worse. She is part of the problem by hiding this side of Magical Society from new magicals such as your sons. The British non-magical government is not happy with what is happening and if changes do not occur immediately then war is likely. Non-Magical will fight the magical for control over magical society. This war will mean that you would be caught in the middle if you do not leave."

"You are expecting us to leave our home. Where would we go? What about our friends and family? What about our work?" Mr. Creevey exclaimed in shock and fear.

"It will only be for the short term and the Granger Foundation will help you move and cover any of the costs. They would also provide you with reasonable paying jobs while I will help with the immigration paperwork. You have a choice of America or any number of countries within the Asia Pacific region but I must warn you that most of the jobs are in America. In regards to your friends and family, there is not much we can do. But there are certain advantages to moving. You will have access to the best medical care in the world for free and your children will get world class education at no cost to yourself. "

"You said that if people know then we will be at risk?"

"The pureblood magical's who control the British magical government would not like the fact that so much of their labour force is leaving. They would legislate to stop us and you would become hostages or prisoners in the upcoming war. That is why secrecy is so important."

"How will this war affect our friends and family who do not leave with us?"

"As long as they do not know about magic then they will not be affected. The magicals have international enforced rules against involving non-magicals", Mrs. Wentworth lied. She in reality did not know what will happen to the relatives who do not leave.

"How many people have agreed to move?"

"Everyone we have talked to have agreed to move?"

"Why would so many agree to move?"

"There are a lot different reasons. Some are attracted to the most likely higher pay, others due to the medical care which combines magical and non-magical practices, others are attracted to our ability to allow them to use magic, but most people just want their children protected and family protected from this war."

"You can give us the ability to use magic?" Mr. Creevey asked excitedly, while Mrs. Creevey looked pensive.

"Yes, the squibs in the Granger Foundation were all trying to work out ways to give themselves the ability to use magic. A number of the projects we funded appear very promising with high success rates. But at the moment they are all still in the experimental stage. Before you can join one of these studies, there will be a load of contracts you will have to sign. That is because we are not planning to release the research in certain areas like this country, since there is high probability of abuse in the general public if word gets out. Only our allies will be given access to these techniques upon request", Mrs. Tonks explained.

"Where do we sign up?" Mrs. Creevey asked.

"You need to agree to relocate first. There are a number of options, Australia is the first option we have positions available in a variety of sectors including: energy, transportation, agriculture (we are producing a growing portion of the world's food production), administrative and mining. Hong Kong is our import/export hub so we have heaps of jobs in: transportation, manufacturing and administrative. Mexico is our medical centre. So jobs in the medical field are plentiful. There is also manufacturing and administrative jobs in Mexico. I have heard talk of a new school being built so jobs in education should soon be available. But our main operation is based in America where we have such a wide range of jobs that I cannot even begin to describe it. It is also closest to best school in the world" Mrs. Tonks explained.

Both Mrs. and Mr. Creevey were not listening to her. They were holding each other hands and practically jumping up and down saying, "We are going to be able to do magic. This is going to be so cool."

"I will prepare the documents for a move to America" Mrs. Wentworth said even though the Creevey's were not listening to her. It took an hour for the couple to calm down enough to the sign the necessary documents, even then they were still giddy.

"So how do we become magical?" Mr. Creevey asked still excited by the prospect.

"If you let me do a spell on you to determine whether you are a squib or pure non-magical?" Mrs. Tonk asked.

"Go ahead."

"You are pure non-magical which means that there are less options available to you. But these are your options. You can get a transfusion daily of magical blood for a month. That will result in you getting just enough magical ability to use a wand for some very basic spells."

"That is long time", Mr. Creevey complained.

"The next option is to get a transplant from someone magical. We get the bodies from prisoners who have been kissed by dementors. But the number is very limited and none of the characteristics of the criminal will be transferred."

"How about the associated risks of transplants?" Mrs. Creevey who was a nurse, asked.

"Since we combine magical and non-magical techniques the risks are minimal. In fact, a person can have the surgery and come out the next day perfectly fine. No rejection medication required as the prisoner is changed using a potion to be a healthier version of the recipient", Mrs. Tonks replied.

"This potion does it work with non-magicals?" Mrs. Creevey asked as she thought of all the patients on the organ waiting lists that could be saved.

"There is a non-magical version of the potion but the drug companies and various government and non-government bodies are refusing to authorize its use. That is why our hospitals are based in Mexico where fewer regulations exist and the drug companies are not as strong."

"Are there any other options?" Mrs. Creevey asked as she did feel it was right to deprive someone of an organ.

"You can be turned into a vampire or werewolf. But that is not recommended for healthy people as there are a lot of risks involved in such a change including a high fatality rate. We are still unable to reverse the change but there are hundreds of vampires and werewolves working on the problem."

"Anything else?"

"There would be if you had even a small magical core."

"Does your transplant technique allow for multiple transplants from one donor?"

"Yes. We can regrow kidneys, skins and a range of other organs but the new organs need time before they become magical again."

"I think we will probably go down the blood transfusion route", Mrs. Creevey replied.