When Ron was a little child, he knew that his birth had been both a surprise and a disappointment.  A surprise because he hadn’t been expected, and a disappointment because he wasn’t a girl.

The only one who took even the slightest interest in him was his Uncle Rodney, and the man didn’t show up in his life until he was five.  Uncle Rodney was the younger brother to Arthur Weasley, and for the most part, no one really knew about him. He had failed out of Hogwarts his 5th year for lack of magic--or so Rodney had told Ron.  He had no interests in continuing the feud between them and the Malfoys either. He didn’t like politics, the ministry or large families.

That’s all it took to endear him to Ron.  

What Ron and the rest of the family didn’t know was that Rodney had spent the previous five years in a muggle prison.  And the only one who would eventually find out the charges was Ron.

When he was young, Ron would escape to Uncle Rodney’s with no one the wiser.  In any other family, a seven year old disappearing for long stretches of time would have been a great cause of alarm.

But in Ron’s family, no one was particularly worried about the unwanted sixth son.  Or so he thought.

What he didn’t know what that Rodney frequently cast a notice-me-not charm on him, at least once every visit.  Still, even with that, his family should have noticed something amiss, but perhaps there was some truth in his situation.

Being with Rodney was great fun.  He got first choice, and he got entirely new presents that had never once belonged to anyone else in his entire family.  He was referred to as “Ron,” and not a stupid nickname that he hated.

Even at seven, he understood hate.  

It was hate when his family and extended family cooed over Charlie and Bill’s many achievements.  It was hate when his little sister got entirely new presents, just because she was a feckin’ girl with no one to hand stuff down to her.

It was hate when Rodney first hurt him and his family didn’t notice.  It was hate when he realised he’d rather be hurt than go back to just being part of the crowd of Weasleys at his house.