June 14th

Ron –

There's a lot I want to say to you. First off, I want to thank you for everything you've done for Harry. Did you know he thought of you and Hermione when he conjured that Patronus last August? That's how much he cares for you. He needed friends desperately when he got on that train his first year, and you've been the best friend he could have wanted. Thank you.

By now, my will has been read, so you know I've left you and your family some money. What you don't know is how much. I suggest you sit down, if you're not already. At the time I'm writing this, the sum total of my Gringotts vault is just over a million Galleons. I'm not much good at maths, but Remus says five percent of that works out to around 50,000 Galleons.

To put it in terms you'll understand better – you've just become one rich little sot.

Do one thing for me. Drop a Galleon in front of Malfoy, Snape, or both if possible, and ignore it. If they call your attention to it, act like it's a scrap of paper you don't need. The results should be fun.

I have two serious requests as well. No pun intended. First and foremost is, please, don't fight with Harry if you can avoid it. I'm not saying to let him have his way all the time, but he needs you, more than ever now that I'm gone. Please take the time to hear him out and think about his side of things before you get angry with him. (Especially where Ginny is concerned. She's growing up a lot faster than you might think.)

The second request is somewhat similar, but there's a different rationale behind it. Don't ever lose Hermione. You may not realize it, but you two were meant for each other. She's a girl in a million, and she's in love with you and desperately afraid you don't love her back. But you do, I'm sure of it. You look at her exactly the way James used to look at Lily.

Of course, I could be wrong. And so could Remus, and Moody, and Tonks, and your parents, and everyone else who's ever met you. (Even Snape once made a comment to the effect of "when are those two ever going to get together?" He used a somewhat more vulgar term, which I have omitted so as not to be followed into the afterlife by your irate mother for exposing her baby boy to such language. Does she know how you talk when she's not around, by the way?)

Ron, you remind me a lot of me when I was at Hogwarts – brave, a bit reckless, devoted to your friends, and ready for anything, as long as there's food involved. So I want you to have what I never did – a normal, peaceful, happy life. Marry Hermione, have lots of kids (why not try and beat your parents' record?) and do anything you want.

Anything, so long as it makes you happy.

Best of luck,

Sirius

(A/N: Sirius' letter to Harry can be found in Chapter 12 of Resonance. Although it would be the logical lead-off for this fic, I'm not reposting it here, because of the one-post-only rule. So if you want to see what Sirius had to say to his godson, go read the chapter called "Sirius' Will". Oh yes, and the characters aren't mine!)