Disclaimer: I am not J.K Rowling. As such these characters do not belong to me. If they did, this pairing would have happened. Enjoy!

It was a cold and rainy night on Privet Drive. In one of the windows of the suburban home, sat a lone figure watching as the rain hit the window pane. Harry Potter was distraught. He'd just lost his godfather, one of the few people still alive who had a connection with his parents. A man he began to to feel a sort of father/son relationship with. He was taken from him like almost everything else good in his life. When he'd first been shown the Wizarding World, it had seemed like his escape from the hard life he'd led up to that point. However, it seemed like it just doubled the misery while throwing in the ever constant mortal peril. He felt so utterly alone, because the fate of the entire Wizarding World was placed on his shoulders, for almost as long as he's been alive. He couldn't risk being that close to anyone again. He wouldn't know how he'd take it if anything happened to Hermione or...Ron. The thought of anything happening to Ron because of him made him physically ill. Hermione, he loved like a sister, but Ron...if anything happened to him, Harry was sure he'd off himself instantly. He'd begun to have...more than brotherly feelings for the redhead who had been his first friend ever. Though he'd be distraught if anything happened to Hermione, there'd be no recovery from a loss of Ron. He made a decision then and there that he couldn't put them or anyone else in danger anymore. If everyone was safe and alive, he'd endure the loneliness.

Just then the front door slammed and after a bit of a pause someone came barreling up the stairs and directly into Harry's room.

"Freak! I thought I made it clear dinner was to be prepared by the time we returned!" Vernon Dursley yelled at the top of his lungs. In a matter of seconds, it was as if the temperature dropped 10 degrees.

Harry slowly and nonchalantly turned around. "Hm, I suppose it slipped my mind." Since his return, Harry made more of an effort to stand up for himself. The worst they could do is physically hurt him and there's no pain they can give that will outweigh the pain he feels every minute of every day.

"Slipped your mind, eh?" Vernon asked before stomping over to Harry and smacking him with the back of his hand. Hard. "Looks like my hand is just as slippery." With that he began the beating they both knew was coming. Vernon Dursley was just as ruthless as ever. He never held back knowing that somehow Harry's visible wounds would usually heal pretty quickly, so he'd have nothing to report to the police or 'those freak friends of his'. Once he was satisfied, he pulled Harry up by his shirt and said "Breakfast. On time. Or ELSE!" and threw him on the bed. He slammed the door on the way out and left Harry there broken and bleeding. To his credit, Harry didn't cry. He never gave them the satisfaction and frankly he wasn't sure he was able to cry anymore. So he softly and painfully drifted into unconsciousness.

Ron found himself thinking about Harry for what seemed to be the millionth time that day. The look on his best friends face when he'd lost Sirius was almost too much for him to bear. He thought about just how much he's had to endure in the short time he's been alive. He couldn't imagine having to live with such pressure and responsibility. As the youngest son of the Weasley's, he felt that he'd never get out of their shadows. While Harry was doing his best to not stand out, Ron was trying desperately to do just that...just not on those terms. He thought back to the argument they'd had during the Tournament, where he'd accused him of enjoying that attention out of jealousy. He can still see the hurt etched across his face, hurt that he'd caused. But, Harry was always willing to forgive and forget. It was one of the traits he loved about the boy. Love...did he love Harry? He felt something for Hermione but it didn't quite feel the same. With Hermione it was more like his relationship with Ginny. They'd argue and tease each other, but if anything happened to her he'd hex the culprit into oblivion. When he saw her all dressed up at the Tournament Ball, he was taken aback to see her all dressed up, but he was even more drawn to the formal robes Harry was wearing. He looked so elegant and regal without really trying. He was the sort of handsome where effort isn't really necessary. He loved his unruly hair and his sparkling jade eyes. He shook his head again, wondering how he'd gotten on the subject of Harry again. He couldn't wait to see him again. He hated that he went to those Muggles every summer. He deserves better, so he was going to make all of their time together great to make up for it.

Molly was out in her garden tending to the various magical plants when her thoughts traveled towards the troubled young Savior. When her Ron first said that he'd made friends with THE Harry Potter, she was stunned. All of her son's letters were filled with things about Harry; what classes he and Harry disliked, how Harry didn't know much about the Wizarding world and how he'd had to explain them, how much fun he and Harry had exploring the castle. She was so happy that her son had found a good friend, that she included Harry in her responses. She realized that he was basically all alone here and wanted to make sure he had someone who could take care of him and love him, not as a savior, but as the child he was. She and her husband hated that he had to return to that Muggle dwelling every summer. They weren't oblivious to to telltale signs of an unhappy childhood. The flinching, the preferred isolation, not really expecting to be included in anything, it all saddened the Weasleys and they'd wanted to take him in since second year. According to Albus, however, he must remain within the "safety" of the blood wards around the Dursleys' home. But Molly had a plan. She could be quite shrewd when it came to her family.

Two weeks later, Harry awoke in the morning as he'd been trained to for so long. His body hadn't quite healed from the last beating, so he figured he'd put off the next one. It struck him as odd, though. Normally, he'd be completely healed by now. Shaking the thought from his mind, he made his way to the kitchen where he spotted the wall calender. 'Today's Ron's birthday!' he thought cheerfully. That cheerfulness faded when he'd remembered the promise he'd made to himself. 'It's for the best,' he told himself for the thousandth time. He got to work on breakfast. While he was frying some eggs, a sharp pain ran through his arm and he cried out in pain as he simultaneously burned his arm and dropped the scalding hot pan. The Dursleys, now awakened from their slumber, rushed into the kitchen.

"What's all this racket?!" Mrs. Dursley shrieked. Harry quickly stood as best as he could, but once again, he was pulled up by his shirt collar by a furious Vernon. "What are you playing at, Freak?" Harry didn't either bother to respond anymore. He knew what was coming and really didn't feel like stopping it anymore. He hadn't spoken a word out loud since the last time he'd been in this situation. 'Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll finally kill me' Harry morosely thought. 'But since when have I gotten lucky?' he mentally chuckled as the beating commenced. While the commotion was going on no one heard two loud popping sounds coming from the den. No one noticed a pair of redheads running in, until it was too late.

Molly decided to give her son the one present she knew he'd wanted all summer. To see Harry. She told her husband the idea and he glowed with agreement. So once Ron woke up and they'd told him the news, he hurriedly got cleaned up and ready to Apparate immediately. Unfortunately, Arthur had to work, but was hoping everything would go according to plan. No one expected what they encountered.

Ron was the first to burst through the kitchen door and saw the large fat one in the corner beating something. A closer look told him it was Harry! In a flash, his wand was out and he was about to end the fat Muggle's life, once and for all. When all of a sudden he heard his mother shout. "PETRIFICUS TOTALIS!" The obese Muggle immediately seized and fell to the ground. Petunia shrieked and Dudley just stared at the woman who from across the room had just killed his father, or so they thought. Ron continued over to Harry who was losing consciousness. Harry looked up through bleary and puffy eyes and figured the worst. "Hey, looks like I got my wish." he hazily murmured. "I got to see you one last time." With that he was out.