FicWad: fresh-picked original and fan fiction

I am a HUGE fan of DrT, but I have to disagree with his statement: " but Ron should always an ass, even when, as here, he's a slightly different sort of ass than canon, but always an ass." If we accept that James was an arrogant bully of an ass at 15, as portrayed in Canon in Snape's memory but later matured to be the type of man Lily could fall in love with then we have to also accept that any individual character, from Draco to Ron, could also grow up and change. Afterall, isn't that what fan fiction is all about, taking the characters as they exist and having them grow and change?

I'm not saying I don't enjoy Weasley and Dumbledore bashing or that I haven't read a fic yet that I enjoyed where Draco became a decent human being, just that people do change throughout their lives.

And you know what might be an amusing way to return the Weasley Marriage Contract? Have Hermione and Harry use their old friend Rita Skeeter to publish a story that Harry is now poor. Through some until now unknown debt of the Black family or other device, have the entire Potter/Black fortune confiscated. Or at least that is what is reported. The way you paint the Weasleys, Molly would burn up the Floo getting to Hogwarts to withdraw the contract in front of the entire school. Then Rita could simply print "oops, sorry, we goofed" the next day.

BJH

- Ok. Ron's history in canon, and how I'm using him, he is an ass.

- Which doesn't mean 'bad guy'. I'm using it as to mean 'self centered, concerned only about himself, egotist.'

- The person I'm basing him on in this story was, at 17, an utter ass to the woman in his life. He actually believed that they were simply 'fuck-buddies' while she was deeply in love. When what he perceived to be a 'better woman' came along, he dumped our common friend, and she took it hard. I remained friends with both of them, and the guy actually grew up sometime in his mid 20s. In the unlikely event I was to carry this story on that long, I would probably have Ron grow up (and hopefully become something less of a momma boy). Ron is 17 and an ass.

- I like your suggestion for ridding Harry of the Psycho-bitch... And I might steal it, it's better than what I have planned...