It had been 3 weeks since the end of First year, and Ronald Weasley was troubled. If he were honest with himself, he felt immense and unyielding guilt. The reason for his guilt? He and his mother were being paid by Albus Dumbledore to help him control Harry Potter, and Ronald genuinely liked Harry.

He was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling wondering what he should do when he finally came to the conclusion that there was only one action he could take. He had to speak to his father. Despite his mother being the ruler of the household, his father was actually king of the castle. It was rare, but Arthur Weasley did know how to curtail his wife's actions and words. And when he did, she submitted and listened, every single time.

Like when Luna Lovegood's mother passed away, Molly wanted nothing more to do with that family. This upset Ginny who didn't understand why. Finally, Arthur put his foot down and told Ginny that she would be permitted to play with Luna at their house or at Luna's house but only if her father agreed.

When Molly started to berate him, he stopped her before she could, "Molly, no. This is my final word. NO discussion. You will obey." She bowed her head and said, "Yes dear." And that was the end of it.

So, Ron got up, and went downstairs. "Father, may I please have a private discussion with you in the Study?"

Everyone in the living room turned and looked at Ron. Molly started to open her mouth but stopped when given a stern look by Arthur.

The Study was the one serious room in their house. It was the room where even the Twins did not try to joke around. No one used that room except for serious things. It was where Arthur kept his books and his personal items locked in a muggle executive desk. In fact, it looked just like a muggle lawyer's office. The furniture inside was all muggle with added runes.

And asking Arthur, formally, for a private discussion in the Study meant exactly that, a private and serious discussion. It was the one rule in the house that was absolute: if any of the children at any time requested a private discussion with Arthur in the Study, then they would never be denied and Molly was forbidden from trying to prevent said discussion.

So, Arthur put his paper down and stood up, and pointed to the study. They both walked into the room silently. Arthur turned and closed the door behind him. Molly, though she was desperate to know what was being discussed, didn't dare approach the door. She had, only once, violated the sanctity of the Study when Bill asked to discuss something personal with Arthur before he started Hogwarts. When Arthur caught her eavesdropping at the door, he actually used a spanking hex on her, took away her wand, and bound her magic for a week as punishment. She never dared to eavesdrop on that room ever again.

There were temporary binding hexes that a person could do to another witch or wizard; they would not last, as they were not meant to. At most, they lasted 7 days but could be set to last less than that. It was a punishment used by parents on their children, or used by parents when a child was upset and causing massive accidental magic. Of course, the hexes could not be used during combat as they were quite complex and unlike most spells, took about 3 minutes to take effect.

Ronald and his father were standing in the Study. You did not sit until Arthur told you to sit. And no one, not even Molly, dared to ever sit in Arthur's chair.

"Okay Ronald, what is this discussion about?"

"Father, may I have permission to call you dad?"

"Not until you first tell me the subject of your discussion."

"Yes sir. Father, I did something bad, possibly something you might not be able to forgive me for. I dishonored the name of Weasley and acted with greed and avarice."

"Did you steal something Ronald?" Arthur asked, his face taking on a hard, serious look.

"No sir. I did not. I…at least, I don't think I did."

"What do you mean you don't think you did, Ronald?"

"I…well, may I have permission to begin at the beginning and tell the whole story to explain?"

Arthur paused. He told Ronald to sit in one of the muggle guest chairs in front of his desk. He then took a seat behind the desk. That meant that he was taking this extra seriously. "Ronald, you may begin at the beginning, but if I find that you are doing this as a way to try and get out of explaining your actions, you will receive a spanking with the family paddle and not a spanking hex. I will also bind your magic for 3 days. Do you understand me?"

Ronald nodded his head and said, "Yes sir. I understand Father. Well, sir, it all began about a month before school began. It was a Wednesday and you had already gone to work. I was eating breakfast when mom told Percy to watch the Twins and Ginny. She was taking me to Hogwarts to meet the Headmaster. I didn't remember her ever taking Percy or Bill or Charlie but I did not question it."

Arthur nodded at Ron to go on.

"I got dressed and we floo-ed into the Three Broomsticks at Hogsmead outside of Hogwarts. We were met by Hagrid. He took us up to Hogwarts on one of the carriages. He explained that the carriages were used starting in second year and that first years took the lake by boat."

"Yes Ronald. They did even in my day. Please continue and remember that I once attended Hogwarts."

"Sorry Father. We were taken into the Castle by Filch who escorted us to the Headmaster's office. He's a bit mean. Anyway, he showed us in and we sat in front of the Headmaster's desk while he finished something on parchment. I got bored and saw that he had this bird, a Phoenix. I thought it was cool and asked Mum if I could pet Dumbledore's pet bird. Dumbledore chuckled at this and said that no one ever has a pet Phoenix. Anyway, there was this long discussion about Harry Potter and how he was a celebrity and how he would need a friend, someone to rely upon and that person needed to report back to the Headmaster everything that Harry said or did in private. He then said that I would be paid 5 galleons per report. I accepted because I didn't think anything was wrong but…Father, I think that I was wrong. I want to make it right but I haven't heard from Harry, not a peep. I'm really worried because…he confided in me something that…well, I don't want to betray his trust but, it might be something that an adult needs to know about."

"Ronald, if he told you something that you feel you need to tell an adult to help Harry, it is not a betrayal of that trust to tell an adult. Please, you can tell me."

"He confided in me that sometimes his uncle hits him until he passes out and wakes up the next day."

Arthur Weasley went pale. That was child abuse and he would be calling the Aurors. "Ronald, I will take care of things as far as what Harry told you about his uncle hitting him. As for what you have done, you are correct. You were wrong. What you did was morally reprehensible and I am ashamed of your actions. However, you are trying to make amends by coming to me in confidence and telling me all of this. There will be punishment. You are grounded for the rest of the summer. You will also provide me with a memory of the office visit with the Headmaster and you will provide me with a copy of the reports you turned in. You will also tell me what you did with the galleons."

"Oh Father, I…gave the galleons to Mother who put them in the Prewett vault. Did you know she has a lot of money in that vault? When I asked her about it, she says it's a secret and that we don't use it very often because it is Prewett money and is controlled by Aunt Muriel. She said that Aunt Muriel gives her 250 galleons a month which goes into the vault and she's only used it for emergencies."

Arthur wasn't surprised. He actually knew about the money because Aunt Muriel told him about it. He and Molly discussed the money and decided that they would put it away for when they would really need it. Molly had occasionally dipped into the money, when they truly had need, but otherwise, they left it alone.

"Did the Headmaster and your mother discuss anything else?"

"Mum and the Headmaster discussed Mum being there for Harry to guide him to the light and make sure that he had a family. He pays her 5 galleons per week and has agreed that Harry will stay at our house when necessary. Also, The Headmaster told me I was to keep others from becoming Harry's friend; he was very mad when Hermione joined us but eventually accepted it. Father…I don't want to do that anymore. I like Harry and want to be his friend for real."

"Very well Ronald. As soon as I check out your story on Harry's situation with his uncle, you will confess everything to Harry. You are not to tell him anything about your mother. I will take care of that."

Ron stood up. "Ronald, I did not dismiss you." Ron sat back down.

"This is still a very serous thing you did. Therefore, in addition to the previous stated punishments, I will now administer a spanking, with the family paddle. I will also bind your magic for 36 hours. I feel this is more than fair, but if you have a valid protest, you may speak now."

"I…don't really understand the punishment."

Arthur sighed. "Okay. You used Harry. You may not have stolen from him but you used him for material gain. That is a…well, I hesitate to use the word crime, because there probably is not a law against your specific actions but what you did was morally reprehensible. You acted like a friend to another human being, a human being Ronald, a person, and did so for financial gain and for what? Did you need the money to provide for your family or to buy something vital and needed for your continued life? No. You did so simply to have money. So, as punishment, you will be spanked and your magic is bound for a day and a half. After that, you will confess to Harry what you did, here in my Study, where I will then tell him that I punished you. And if he chooses to never speak to you again, you will respect that Ronald Billius Weasley. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir. I understand now. Will this be a spanking through the pants or…or…bare bottom?"

"Bare bottom. Stand up, drop your trousers and assume the position in front of the desk."

Bare bottom was always worse because it stung and you felt the pain more. And, typical with bare bottom spankings, no pain potion was provided after. He stood up, dropped his trousers and assumed the position. It was also better to simply get it over with than to try and get out of it. Usually, if you tried to get out of it, you got a second spanking for doing so.

"Ronald, brace yourself."

Five hard smacks with the paddle. Ronald then felt a spell wash over him; it was his magic being bound. He hated this as it made him feel empty and wrong inside, like his insides had been scrambled around and put back in the wrong places. "Ronald, you are dismissed back to your room. You will be called down for supper. I strongly suggest that you complete your summer homework during your confinement to your room. If, and only if, Harry decides that he forgives you, I will consider, and only consider, lifting you being grounded, provided that Harry agrees. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," said Ronald, sniffling. He didn't want to cry, but his bottom stung.

"Ronald, despite your shameful actions, I still love you. I always will. I am proud that you are attempting to make amends and to make things right. I hope that Harry understands and accepts your apology. You may go."

Ronald walked out of the Study and upstairs to his room. No one dared approach him. That was another absolute rule; when a private discussion was held in the Study, you did not ask for details, ever. Only the one requesting the discussion could volunteer to share and Ronald was not about to do that with Mum's potential to go on the warpath.

After a few minutes, Arthur stepped out of the study and threw some floo powder into the floo. He cast powerful privacy wards as he stuck his head in and spoke with someone. After fifteen minutes, he withdrew his head and took down the wards. He then returned to his study. If it were any other time, Molly would have asked what it was all about and insisted on knowing what was going on. As it was related to the study, Molly held her tongue, just barely.

Well, there you go. Another story from Harry Potter – What if Ronald decided that he wanted to be a friend to Harry for real. I might continue it at some point.