Ron felt numb. His hands were shaking and his teeth were clattering against each other. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't seem to keep still. They couldn't hide much longer; it seemed like there was a Death Eater around every corner, guarding every exit, inside every door. Well, except for this one.

How could Harryseem so calm? They were coming for him, not Ron, and Ron was the one cowering and shaking like a Chihuahua.

'Pull yourself together!' he thought. 'You're here to help Harry.'

His best friend's hand moved slowly to his forehead, but Rondidn't need tosee it. He already knew Voldemort was getting closer.

They just happened to be standing in one of the many Department of Mysteries rooms, this one filled with...black. It was just black. And that was about it. It was really quite convenient, considering their situation. Because it's hard to see people when it's just black.

"Ron?" Harry's voice asked from the blackness of the room.

Ron jumped slightly. His nerves seemed to be taking control.

"Hmm?" he managed.

"...Well, Ron, I... What if this is it?"

Ron had most certainly wondered about that. It'd been shoved in his mind the second they'd entered the Ministry. But what if? "Uh..."

"I mean," Harry said. "What if... I'm not thinking about the future or anything, but... wouldn't it be...I dunno..."

"You think we'll never be able to see them again."

It wasn't a question. It was simply one of those similar brain waves he and Harry had been having lately. Their train of thought seemed to have linked together, and now they were like...like Fred and George, almost. Maybe a bond, even more than just best friends, more like brothers, had formed over the past seven years. And to think; it all started with a simple train ride to school.

Of course, when Ron said 'them', he meant Hermione, Luna, the remaining Weasleys... them. Just them. Maybe even Dumbledore, Lupin. The few who'd molded their lives into what they were now.

So now, here they were, alone in the Department of Mysteries, surrounded by at least a hundred Death Eaters, all out to get Harry...and they were in a black room that seemed like it could go on forever.

"Lumos," whispered Harry. Bright sparks shot out of the end of his wand, but the two friends still couldn't see anything but each other; no walls, no endings, no way out...not even the door they came in through.

"Where's the door?" asked Harry.

Ron didn't answer. All he could hear were distant-sounding footsteps. But they were getting much closer. Too close. In...that direction.

"Ron?" Harry said again, this time with more concern. The idea spreading across Ron's face was masked by the shadows, but from the light of his wand, Harry could see something was up. He was starting to hear the footsteps, too.

Ron stepped in front of Harry and smiled. He put his arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. "You're my best friend, mate, you always have been."

And just as the invisible door opened directly behind him, Ron stepped back and smiled.

"Avada Kadavara!"

And fell to the ground.

Harry couldn't move. Ron's lifeless body was lying there, right in front of him. The new light from the open door cast a shadow of someone bald, wand brandished. Probably just as shocked as Harry was that he'd killed the wrong person. Because it's hard to see people when it's just black.

Something came over Harry. Adrenaline, fear, maybe even simply his quick reflexes...something. He pulled out his own wand, and as he did so, some voice whispered in his head 'You have to really mean an Unforgivable curse...' And this time, Harry really did.

I guess it kind of went fast, but...whatever. I just needed to post something... You all know how it goes. Tell me what you thought!