First one, here we go!
Summary: Harry Potter is hailed the savior of the wizarding world again along with Hermione Granger. That's it. Just Hermione. And neither of them are pleased.
Ship(s): canon pairings (implied), Golden Trio
Warning(s): canonical character death mention; some strong language
Word count: 861
Harry glowered down at his copy of the Daily Prophet. He had a bad history with this particular newspaper, but there was no denying they were the fastest at getting information (and that was excluding Rita Skeeter's bugging).
But this. What the hell was this crap? First of all, he was certainly not that good-looking; they must have edited his image to make him more desirable. Secondly, there was Hermione next to him. Okay, that was fair. Harry wouldn't have gotten as much done without her. But there was something, or rather someone, missing. And that was Ron Weasley.
Two words: Hell. No. Harry was not about to let this piece of shit treat his best friend like a piece of shit.
Calm down, Harry, he told himself, taking a few breaths. Maybe they didn't have a picture of him on hand.
He skimmed the article. And his indignation grew.
Not even a mention. They didn't even mention Ron's name. It was like he didn't exist! How dare they — oh, wait. There's a mention of a Weasley.
Nope. Wrong Weasley. But it was Ginny, who had risked her life with Neville to protect the students. Fair enough. That's important. But where was Ron?
Aha! Another Weasle — nope. This time, it was Molly, who had killed Bellatrix. Harry could understand that; Bellatrix was considered Voldemort's best Death Eater. Molly most certainly did deserve a mention. Moving on.
Fred cropped up next. Harry's shoulders slumped as he remembered the blast that had taken his life. He could still remember the expression on his face, the laughter in his eyes before they closed one last time. Harry wrenched his gaze away and kept reading.
Hermione's name came up several times. Again, that was fair since she was with him most of the time. But where was Ron? Harry knew Hermione spoke positively of him when she gave a summarized recount of their findings, but either they blatantly ignored her words or they conveniently went deaf.
Ron was the one who knew saying Voldemort's name would lead to trouble. Ron was the one who thought about the house elves. Ron was the one who begged to take Hermione's place in Malfoy Manor. Ron was the one who saved Harry from drowning.
Yet why was Hermione the only one being praised? They were a trio for a reason.
Finally! Harry thought as he finally came across Ron's name. His elation was short-lived, however.
"For fuck's sake!" he shouted.
"What's wrong?"
Just the sound of his best friend's voice was enough to calm him down somewhat. But it didn't last long; Harry remembered exactly why he was mad to begin with.
"Read this!" he said, thrusting the newspaper so close Ron went cross-eyed.
Ron leaned back so he could read it. Harry watched as his eyes filled with first confusion, then weary resignation. "So?"
"So?" Harry repeated, eyes narrowed. "They added a small paragraph for you. Just a small paragraph! Even Snape has a bigger mention and he's dead!" And a git, he almost added.
"They're not wrong, are they?" Ron said, shifting uncomfortably. "Honestly, I think they were being lenient."
He regretted saying that; Harry's eyes had gotten narrower.
"They didn't even include you on the front. It's just me and Hermione."
"Did someone say my name?" Hermione walked in, roused by the noise. She received the same treatment as Ron as Harry shoved the papers into her face.
Unlike Ron, Hermione was not so accepting. "Where's Ron's mention?" she demanded, skimming the article. "And why am I the only one mentioned? There's Ginny... and Molly... Fred... Oh, there you are!"
She sounded pleased for all but one second. "That's it? Just that one mention? It's like they just added him in as an afterthought!"
"Exactly!" Harry exclaimed, throwing his hands up.
"It's really not a big deal," Ron said slowly.
Great. Now there were two sets of eyes glaring at him.
"It's a huge deal!" Hermione declared. "You've done plenty for both of us! I even told them Harry and I were miserable without you!"
"Well, I'm not bothered by it," Ron said. "If that's all, I'm going to see how George is doing."
He went and grabbed a handful of Floo and in a moment was gone.
"He's lying," Hermione said, staring at the fireplace.
"Of course, he is," Harry said. "He's used to being pushed aside."
"What are we going to do about this?" There technically wasn't anything they could do legally, since the journalist hadn't technically lied or slandered anyone (Harry would say otherwise).
"We're going to have a little talk, that's what." For the first time, Harry was going to use his fame to his advantage. And it wasn't even about him.
Hermione's eyes lit up. "Let's go."
No one was more baffled than Ron when, a few days later, the Daily Prophet dedicated an entire page to Ron Weasley.
Maybe Harry went a little overboard in his enthusiasm. Maybe some people thought he was declaring his undying love for a taken man. Either way, Harry got what he wanted: recognition for Ron Weasley's part in the war.
Ron has the unfortunate tendency to be pushed to the back of the trio or even left out completely. So I made this