Chapter Six- Prefects and Overheard Conversations in Diagon Alley

Ron sat at the table listening to Hermione tap her fingers nervously against the table. He had woken up and saw Harry's bed empty. When he went downstairs Ginny and Hermione were sitting in the kitchen drinking tea and staring at the clock. Hermione had finally left the room to grab a book from the drawing room. She came back, sat down and stared at the same page for over an hour. As the day wore on, everyone congregated in the kitchen to wait. Ron didn't know what would happen if Harry didn't get off.

'Would it be…so bad?' a tiny voice in the back of his head said. He shoved it away and felt ill with guilt. Harry was his best friend, and Ron tried valiantly to let himself think about how his own life might change without Harry. He would not just be Harry Potter's best friend. If he got on the Quidditch team it would be of his own accord.

'STOP IT!' Ron screamed in his own mind.

The sound of the door opening upstairs caused everyone to whip their heads to the stairs. Ron held his breath as the sound of two sets of feet moved through the hall and down the stairs. Harry's face was lit up with an exuberant smile.

"I knew it! You always get away with stuff!" Ron said, a grin splitting his face as he jumped up from the kitchen table and punched the air.*

"They were bound to clear you," Hermione said, her voice strong but her hand shaking. "There was no case against you. None at all."*

"Everyone seems quite relieved though, considering they all knew I'd get off," Harry said, but his smiled spread even wider. Mrs. Weasley was wiping her eyes on her apron as she smiled and cried at the same time. Fred, George, and Ginny were dancing around the room to a type of war dance and chanting,*

"He got off! He got off!" *

"That's enough, settle down," Mr. Weasley said, smiling at them.*

"BE QUIET YOU THREE!" Sirius roared at them, but it was half-hearted.*

"Molly, I'm going to be late. Kingsley might stop by, but I'm covering for Tonks," Mr. Weasley said and left the house.*

"He got off! He got off!"*

"That's enough Fred, George, Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley yelled at them and they all settled onto the table. "Sit down Harry, have some lunch."*

Ron sat down on his left and Hermione on the right. Mrs. Weasley was ladling chili into bowls and having the twins pass them out to everyone. Ginny placed a platter of cornbread on the table and took a seat in between the twins. Harry told them the story in between bites of food.

"Good thing that Dumbledore was there," said Ron, crumbling crackers onto his second bowl of chili.*

"Yeah he swung it for me."

"Glad we won't have to find a new seeker as well as a keeper this year," said George, smiling widely. Ron laughed and looked to see Harry and Hermione looking at each other. Hermione had her hand on Harry's shoulder and he felt his stomach seize with jealousy. They always seemed to be giving each other looks. He shook his head and went back to listening to the twins joke about Harry's ability to avoid the law.

-000-

Over the last weeks of holiday, Ron was starting to regret his vehemence about helping the Order. His mother had taken that to mean that he would clean anything and everything in the house for hours on end. They'd finished the drawing room on the first level, and Mrs. Weasley had split them up with the twins and Ginny helping her to tackle the study on the second floor and Harry, Ron, and Hermione cleaning out the cupboard on the third floor. The cupboard was covered in mold and seemed to be breeding.

"I feel like a house-elf," Ron grumbled, as they scrubbed out the inside of the cupboard. The mold stuck to his finger and no matter how hard he pulled and picked it wouldn't let go. *

"Now that you understand what kind of lives they lead maybe you'll be a little nicer and more understanding of them," Hermione said, her voice muffled from inside the cupboard. Ron glared at her back. "You could also take a more active part in S.P.E.W. It actually wouldn't be a bad idea to show people how bad it is to clean all the time. Maybe we could do a sponsored scrub of Gryffindor Common Room, all proceeds to go to S.P.E.W. Raise both some money and some awareness."*

"I'll sponsor you to shut up about S.P.E.W." Ron said, but only to Harry as Hermione continued on inside the cupboard.*

"Book lists are here," Mrs. Weasley said coming up the stairs and looking at their progress. "Aren't you done here?"

"We've been scrubbing for hours, it's been horrendous," said Ron, looking eagerly up at his mother. She clucked her tongue.

"Maybe you need to scrub harder."

Ron frowned at her. He'd been expecting to get some sort of praise. Instead she shook her head and sighed, "Well, I suppose you can take a short break. Ginny's making sandwiches."

Ginny had a platter full of turkey and ham sandwiches and a bowl of Cauldron Crisps. Ginny was sitting at the table eating a sandwich with one hand and holding her letter with the other. Fred and George followed them into the kitchen.

"Letters are on the table," Ginny said, not looking up from her own letter.

Ron grabbed his from the pile and ripped it open. He read the normal beginning of the year welcome and then looked at his booklist.

"Looks like Dumbledore finally found a new Defense teacher, Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard," Fred said, looking over his own list.*

"We overheard Mum and Dad saying that he was having a heck of a time finding anyone to take the position with how they all end up. Quirrel got possessed, Lockheart lost his marbles, Lupin had to leave because of his condition, and then the last one got locked in a trunk for the whole year," George said, also reading over his list. *

"I wonder who it will be. Mum will be happy; there are only a couple of new books on here. Although, since when do I need The History of Spell Development?" Ron asked, but no one had a chance to respond as Hermione gave a squeal. He looked up and saw Hermione holding a red and gold prefects badge.

"I just knew it!" Hermione cried looking at her badge joyously. Ron turned to make a scathing comment to Harry, but he noticed that his friend was holding a badge of his own.

"Oh Harry, you got one, too!" Hermione squealed, jumping up and down. Ron felt his stomach plummet. The color went out of his face as he watched his two best friends looking at each other-Harry in shock, and Hermione in school bliss.

"Oh no, now you're one of them," George said, looking at Harry with disgust. Harry looked up from his badge and shook his head.

"This can't be right," Harry said, shoving his letter at Hermione. Her eyes flew over the letter and looked up smiling.

"It's for you, Harry. I mean, you are the youngest Triwizard Champion, a good quidditch player, and a natural leader," Hermione rattled off, smiling manically at Harry. Ron felt the anger building up inside of him, the color rushing back into his face. Harry turned to look at him and Ron tried to smile at him, but he knew it was strained. Harry opened his mouth as to speak, but he closed it again, looking confused.

"Good for both of you," Ron said, nodding to Hermione as well. He could feel the others watching him and he suddenly felt suffocated.

"I forgot… I have to go… Erm…"Ron trailed off, but he couldn't think of anything to say so he just turned and walked stiffly up the stairs. He knew they would probably talk about him after he left, but he couldn't stand there with them. Hermione wouldn't have been able to contain her joy and the look of sympathy and shock on Harry's face was burned into Ron's mind. He stomped up the steps and ran into his mother who had an arm full of laundry. She took one look at his face and set the pile aside, right onto the floor of the second floor landing.

"What's happened? Is something wrong?"

Ron blushed deeply ducking his head and mumbling, "Nothing."

He tried to side step her, but Mrs. Weasley caught him by the shoulders and peered into his face intently. He could feel the resentment, anger, and loneliness crawl through him and his eyes started to well. He screwed his eyes shut to hold back the tears and when he opened them again Mrs. Weasley was looking at him patiently.

"Harry and Hermione are the Gryffindor prefects," Ron finally mumbled after failing to get out of his mother's grasp.

"Oh," Mrs. Weasley said, looking shocked and confused.

"I didn't even want to be one," Ron continued looking down at his feet. His mother squashed him to her in a rough hug and he struggled to get away from her again. Apart of him wanted nothing more than to succumb to her, but another part, a louder part of him wanted to run away to his room and barricade himself inside until the school year started.

"Ron dear, you have many talents and sometimes it just takes certain people longer to find themselves. Your time will come. And think of all that you have that Harry does not. I bet if you asked him, he'd trade it all," Mrs. Weasley said, releasing him with a final pat on his back. She gathered the laundry back into her arms and continued down to the kitchens. Ron stormed up to his room and slammed the door. He stomped around the bedroom and flopped onto his bed.

He stared at the ceiling, his frustration bubbling over. Frustration at his family for turning out two Head Boys, a Quidditch Captain, and the best practical jokers Hogwarts had seen since the Marauders. Even Ginny was spectacular in her own way, even though she wasn't often recognized. Ginny was the first Weasley girl in about ten generations, and in a household of brothers. On top of that, she was an amazing Chaser and as soon as there was an opening on the team Ron knew she would try out.

"What is there for me?" Ron asked the empty room. He could always try out for Keeper. That was the position he always played when he and his siblings had played pick-up games. He wished he had a better broom to try out with. His Shooting Star wouldn't be able to compete, but he would never be able to afford a new broom.

There was a soft knock on the door and he rolled over and closed his eyes, figuring it would be easier to pretend to be asleep. The door opened and his mother's voice called to him,

"Ron, would you like to come with me to Diagon Alley? I need an extra pair of hands and the rest of them are cleaning the mold still. We'll leave in five minutes."

Ron rolled over and nodded to her, face expressionless. His mother smiled at him with understanding and left the room. At least, if nothing else, he could get out of cleaning for the day and he wouldn't have to spend the day with Harry and Hermione looking at him with furtive glances. He put a jumper on and wandered down to the front entrance. Mrs. Weasley's voice carried up from the kitchen.

"-will know if you haven't been working on it!"

She appeared at the top of the steps, stuffing the letters into her pocket. They stepped out onto the bright street and Ron felt some of the gloom lift. He hadn't been out of the gloomy house in weeks. The sun came out from behind the wispy cloud and Ron wished that they were back at the Burrow and he could be practicing for tryouts. If he couldn't be a prefect with Harry and Hermione, at least he could get on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Mum," Ron said, his brain moving quickly as he followed her down the street to the train station. "Could I… Could I maybe have a broomstick this year? Not a very good one. Just like a better one. I want to… I want to try out for Keeper and I can't compete without a new broom."

Mrs. Weasley was silent and her face was tight as they walked along. Ron glanced from her to his shoes, to the houses along the street. His mother didn't answer him until after they had gotten on the train and were rumbling along into the city.

"I suppose," Mrs. Weasley started suddenly and Ron's eyes shot up to her face in anticipation, "that considering you haven't asked for anything in quite some time that a new broomstick wouldn't be too much of a problem."

The entirety of the turmoil he had felt since seeing the prefect badges vanished. He was going to have a new broom. Even Fred and George had to use the Cleansweep 5 model. Maybe he could get the Cleansweep Eleven-the newest in the Cleansweep line.* Not as fancy as a Nimbus or a Firebolt, but loads better than the Shooting Star or Charlie's old Cleansweep Three. He was so elated and his brain so full of broom models that he hardly noticed that they had made it to the front of the Leaky Cauldron until his mother mentioned something about Flourish and Blott's. He followed her through the nearly empty pub to the back door and through the opening archway into Diagon Alley.

"I need to find Ginny an anthology of plays for Muggle Studies. You go pick up the Defense books for the lot of you please, and thatbook on Spell Crafting for you, Harry and Hermione," Mrs. Weasley said and bustled into the crowd of students and parents. Ron wondered how she thought he would be able to gather all ten books and get them back through the crowd. He found the Defensive Magical Theory taking up a whole bookcase near the register and then wandered further into the stacks searching for the History of Spell Crafting. He found them on a shelf near the back of the store, where the sounds of the other shoppers were muffled. They were sitting on the top shelf just above his head and Ron was glad for his height as he stood on tip toe to grab at the last four books on the dusty shelf.

"This isn't a discussion, Draco," a hushed voice spoke from the other side of the stack. Ron stepped closer to the shelf and held his breathe. He didn't know anyone else in the wizarding world with that stupid name. Ron peered through the shelf to the other side and saw the distinct greasy black hair of Professor Snape standing with his back to Ron's hiding place. Draco Malfoy was standing on the other side of the small alcove, glaring at his head of house. What were he and Draco Malfoy doing in Diagon Alley? Especially since, according to what they had overheard at the last Order meeting, Malfoy should be at Hogwarts in hiding.

"You have a destiny," Snape continued.

"Right… Save the world, get rid of the evil, blah blah blah. I've heard it all before from the old coot. Here's a thought, I don't want to do any of that stuff. I want to be the Mafloy Heir and have my destiny be to marry some boring socialite to give my parents a grandchild, and roll around in my vault full of money."

"That isn't your destiny Draco," Snape said softly, ignoring the sarcasm. "It's so much more than that. And your mother has gone to great lengths to protect you from the Dark Lord and what he would do to you if he found out about what you can do and who you are. Do not sully her efforts by turning your back on this. Something is coming Draco, something bigger than anything before and you have to be ready. All of the signs are pointing to an upheaval of some kind. The Death Eaters have been too quiet these past three months."

"Gee can you vague that up for me?" Draco snapped, and turned to walk away from him. Snape grabbed Draco's arm and pulled him back. Ron ducked, as Draco swung back around to glare at Snape again. (1)

"If you don't start training again you won't be ready, and you won't be able to defend your parents, if the time comes. Do you want to be the cause of their meaningless deaths?"

This appeared to be the wrong thing to say, because Draco yanked his arm free and strode back towards the crowded area of the shop. Snape growled and tried to follow Draco through the stacks. Ron stepped out from behind the book case and watched the Snape disappear into a group of customers. He quickly gathered the books into his arms and hurried to his mother who was waiting at the register. He had completely forgotten about everything, but getting back to Grimmauld Place and telling the others about the conversation he had overheard.

"Ready to go get your broom?" Mrs. Weasley said as they stepped back onto the busy alley.

Ron snapped his head up at her, "Yeah."

He had forgotten about the broom. His mind was swirling with the conversation. What was Malfoy training for? What was Snape getting him ready to do? Why would Mrs. Malfoy, pureblood and a Black, need to protect Malfoy from Voldemort?

He got distracted as they stepped into Quality Quidditch Supplies. A bludger was bouncing from wall to wall above their heads and various brooms sat in cases in front of them. Ron stepped forward and looked at each of them intently. The Firebolt was front and center, but Ron knew his parents could never afford to buy it. He stepped over to the one on the right and studied it carefully. The Cleansweep Eleven was made with oak and it shown under the glass. He studied it carefully before moving back past the Firebolt, and looking down at the case holding the Nimbus 2001. His mother sighed behind him and he knew she was going to lose patience quickly. The Nimbus was a better broom, but the Cleansweep had been the least costly of all the brooms.

The tall wizard who owned the Quality Quidditch Supplies stepped towards Ron with a smile, "Find one you like?"

"Well, I'm looking for a new broom for Quidditch. I know the Cleansweep is the better buy and with a speed increase, but nothing beats the Nimbus or the Firebolt. I'm trying for Keeper, so I need a maneuverable broom," Ron said, looking carefully at each of the brooms again. He knew they wouldn't be able to afford the Firebolt, but he tried to look at both the Nimbus and Cleansweep with equal attention.

"Well, if you're looking for the Nimbus abilities, but closer to the Cleansweep Eleven's price, I have a Nimbus 2000 that might tickle your fancy," the man said, watching Ron.

Ron looked up in surprise and excitement, giving away everything he had been trying so hard to hide. He tried to school his face and shrugged nonchalantly. The wizard smiled warmly at him and stepped into the back of the shop. Ron turned to his mother with a hopeful expression.

"If it is the right price," Mrs. Weasley said, but she was smiling.

The wizard came back into the room with a broom held in his arms, "Last one. You're lucky in that respect. In comparison with the Cleansweep, this is still a better broom."

Ron picked it up and looked it over carefully. His brain was racing over the statistics and what he could try to do with this broom. It was just identical to Harry's broom that had made an unfortunate trip into the Whomping Willow. He was hungry to try it out. Unfortunately, he knew his parents couldn't afford the galleons to buy the Nimbus even if it was an older one. He sighed and handed it back to the man.

"I'll probably just go with the Cleansweep," Ron said, trying not to blush. He turned back to the case where the broom lay. He stared down at the Cleansweep; it seemed to look less shiny and promising now.

"Are you sure?" The shop owner asked, frowning at Ron's back. Ron nodded stiffly, still trying to put back the original feelings towards the Cleansweep, but it was useless. It would never be as appealing as it was when he had first seen it.

"Well, I've had this one for about a year now, no one wants the 2000 with the 2001 and the Firebolt out," the man continued behind him and Ron turned slowly, hope spreading in his chest. "I could give you a deal on it. Otherwise, it'll just sit in the back and depreciate even more. How about 12 Galleons?(2)"

Ron turned to look at his mother who frowned looking down at the broom. He held his breath as she came forward to look at the Nimbus and then stepped to look at the Cleansweep. The man looked at her expectantly and then back at Ron.

"Well… I mean I suppose… you're really doing me a favor by buying it. How about 10 galleons?"

Mrs. Weasley didn't say anything for a long moment, finally she nodded and Ron let out his breath in a rush. The shop owner smiled and took the broom to the counter and packed it up, throwing a polishing kit into the bag with a wink at Ron. Mrs. Weasley handed over the coins and Ron took the package into his arms as if it were a new baby. He walked out onto the street as if he had already been picked for the team and had single handedly won the house cup. He followed his mother out onto Charing Cross road and back through the train station. Ron was getting strange looks for the broom shaped package in his arms, but he was thinking of everything he needed to tell his friends and what he could do to get ready for the Quidditch tryouts.

Ron walked softly into Grimmauld Place and past Mrs. Black's picture before he bolted down the stairs into the kitchen, but no one was there except for Kreacher, who was examining a clean pot with disgust on his face. Ron turned and rushed back up the stairs to the third floor where Harry and Hermione were still scrubbing the mold in the cupboard. Harry turned at the sound of Ron's pounding feet and looked shocked at the package in Ron's arms.

"You have to see it," said Ron, shoving the packaging aside and holding the Nimbus out to Harry.

Harry took it from him and looked at it closely. Ron beamed and looked to Hermione who glanced at it and then went back to cleaning.

"I can't wait to try it. I wish I could ride it right now. I can't wait until Malfoy sees it, he's never going to believe that I can afford a broom almost as good as his," Ron rambled rubbing his hand over the broom lovingly. "Speaking of Malfoy…"

He relayed the story and what he had overheard between Malfoy and Snape.

"What do you think Snape was talking about?" Ron asked, looking from Hermione to Harry and back again.

"Obviously, there's a connection," Hermione trailed off and looked thoughtful. Harry and Ron watched her as she seemed to pick through everything they'd overheard. She bit her lip and stared into space. Ron was anxious to hear her thoughts, but Harry shook his head when he opened his mouth. Hermione shook her head and sighed.

"After dinner, we should come back up here and go over it all."

Ron hoisted his broom and carried it with him down into the kitchens were Mrs. Weasley was rushing about with a bunch of dishes placing them all over the table.

"I thought we might have a bit of a party!" She said with a smile and placed a bowl of crisps on the table, next to other finger foods and a pile of chilled butterbeers. Above the island there hung a sign that said, "Congratulations Harry and Hermione!" Ron ignored the jealously that bubbled up from inside him again. He pushed away the thoughts coming forward in his mind, and the melancholy he had felt before going to Diagon Alley. Fred, George, and Ginny were sitting at the table, sneaking various foods when Mrs. Weasley's back was turned.

"What do you have there, Ron?" Fred asked, noticing the broom in Ron's hands.

"Is that a Nimbus?" Ginny gaped at the broom and Ron nervously held it out for them to look at. "How come you got a new broom?"

"I asked Mum," Ron mumbled, feeling the red rushing up into his ears and over his face. He was waiting for them to take the mickey out of him. He wished he had put the broom in his room.

"Ronald, go put that away," Mrs. Weasley called to him as she spooned homemade salsa into a bowl and he dashed out of the room before his siblings could start in on him. "The rest of the Order members should be here soon. The rest of you need to help me get this all set up."

Ron took the steps two at a time and nearly ran into Sirius as he rounded the banister on the second floor.

"Sorry Sirius," Ron said, grinning wildly and holding his broom to his chest.

"Don't worry about it," Sirius said, and held out his hand to look at the Nimbus. "Very nice broom, the Nimbus series is a great Quidditch broom."

"Yeah, I got lucky because this was the last one they had," said Ron, looking at the broom lovingly. "I can't wait to fly it. I wish we could go outside, although I suppose I couldn't just ride it around the neighborhood anyway."

"I know how that feels," Sirius grumbled, handing the broom back to Ron and heading towards the kitchen. Ron watched him with confusion, before taking his broom into his room and laying it carefully on the bed and then covering it with a blanket. He stared at it and thought about flying it until his stomach growled and he left it to get some food. When he reappeared in the kitchen, it was now full with Order members. Excepting Charlie and Percy, the entire Weasley family was there and Ron dreaded having to see Bill and his father. Fortunately, or unfortunately, no one spoke about Ron's lack of a prefect badge.

Ron made a point of standing next to the twins instead of Harry and Hermione who were being fussed over by Mrs. Weasley and congratulated by Lupin on the other side of the kitchen.

"Stand in front of us," Fred mumbled to Ron as Mundungus came over to talk to them as well. "Let us know if Mum starts over here."

"Look what Dungs gotten us," George said holding out black pods that rattled in his hand. "Venomous Tentaculus Seeds, we need them for the Skiving Snack boxes, but they're a class C non-tradable substance. We've been having a hard time getting a hold of them."

"10 Galleons then," Fred said, looking at Dung with an expressionless face.

"Shut up," Ron hissed at them. Mrs. Weasley had seen the four of them huddled in the corner and was making her way across the kitchen with a determined look on her face. George shoved the black pods into his pocket and looked up innocently.

"I propose a toast," Mr. Weasley said, and Mrs. Weasley turned to him distractedly. Everyone raised their glasses and Tonks handed a glass of wine to Mrs. Weasley as Fred sighed in relief. "To Harry and Hermione, the new Gryffindor Prefects."

"I was never a prefect myself," Tonks said to Mrs. Weasley and Ginny. Fred handed Dung a couple of coins and Dung sidled away to talk to Sirius. "My head of house said I lacked certain qualifying qualities."

"What's that?" Ginny asked her and Ron walked towards them as the twins dashed up the stairs while Mrs. Weasley's back was turned.

"Like the ability to behave myself," said Tonks, grinning widely as Ginny snorted with laughter. Mrs. Weasley clucked her tongue and bustled about to make sure everyone was getting enough food. Hermione and Harry came to talk with them as well, plates full of food.

"What about you, Sirius?" Ginny asked.

Sirius barked in laughter, "No one would have made me a Prefect. I spent too much time in detention with James. Lupin was the good boy."

"I think Dumbledore thought I could be a mellowing element to the group, but I failed miserably," said Lupin from across the table with a wry smile at Sirius. Ron felt better standing there. Sirius and James Potter were considered amazing wizards and they'd never been Prefects. Tonks was an Auror and she'd never been a Prefect. The jealousy and the lonely feelings he'd been squishing down all day were pushed a little further back in his mind and he felt he could finally enjoy the party.

He was happy to tell anyone who would listen, that he had gotten a new broom. Hermione had cornered Sirius at one point to discuss elf rights and then when he'd escaped she'd found Lupin to discuss it with.

Mrs. Weasley looked around at the kitchen happily, "Well I'm going to go take care of the Boggart before heading to bed. Arthur, don't let the kids stay up too late they have to pack tomorrow and they've all got things all over the house."

She headed up the steps out of the kitchen. Ron watched her go and then felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle. He looked over and saw Moody's magical eye watching him even though Moody's body and his other eye were facing Kingsley. Ron shuddered and wandered over to sit at the table with Hermione and Harry.

"I can't wait to get back to school," Ron said with a sigh. "I'm ready to get outside again, and I cant' wait to try my broom."

"I need to start running again, and flying," Harry said, taking another swig of butter beer.

"I can't wait to start classes," said Hermione. Ron rolled his eyes at Harry who tried smiled at Hermione. She laughed a little and shook her head at them. Ron smiled, too as Hermione took Harry's butter beer and took a drink from it. Ron yawned and looked around, Kingsley had left, as had Tonks and Lupin. Ginny had seemed to have left for bed as well. Fred and George were sitting in the corner laughing and smiling as Sirius talked.

"I'm ready for bed," Ron said, yawning widely. Harry and Hermione agreed. They'd just started up the steps to the second floor when they heard Ginny's frantic voice and Mrs. Weasley crying.

"-I'll go get someone!" Ginny burst out of the upstairs study and streaked past them down the stairs. "Dad! Dad! Come quick!"

Ron rushed into the study to see his own dead body lying on the floor and his mother sitting on the floor bawling hysterically. He felt frozen as he looked between his own body and the form of his mother.

"That Boggart," Hermione said, her voice shaking

"Ri-Ri-Riddikulus!" Mrs. Weasley cried, pointing her wand at Ron's body. CRACK! The boggart changed into Harry's dead body. Mrs. Weasley sobbed harder.

"Riddikulus!"

CRACK! The twins lay on the floor hands held outstretched towards one another. Crack! Ginny lay on the ground with blood pouring out of her mouth and a hole in her chest. Ron felt ill. He felt his legs give out. The floor rushed up to greet him as he dropped onto his knees. Mr. Weasley, Moody, and Sirius rushed in.

"Molly!" cried Mr. Weasley, seeing the scene in front of him. He shoved passed Harry and Hermione and pulled his wand.

"Ridikulus!" He cried and the Boggart disappeared with a last loud crack.

The room fell silent. No one made a noise as Mr. Weasley strode to his wife. Mrs. Weasley sat in the corner, sobbing so hard that she made no noise, just inhaling over and over. Finally, it burst again and she heaved herself onto her husband sobbing uncontrollably.

"Oh Arthur," Mrs. Wesley cried after she was able to speak again. Ron sat on the floor across from his parents feeling that he was intruding, but he couldn't get his legs back under his body. He had never seen his mother cry the way she was now. The tears were still streaming down her face and her whole body was wracked.

"It wasn't real, Molly. It was all just the Boggart," Mr. Weasley said, as his wife clung to him desperately.

"I know, but I see-see them…" she sobbed again. "I see them all the time, when I sleep. I can't….I can't lose them Arthur…What would I do if something happened to any of them? The whole family is in the order…"

"Molly, we're doing everything we can to keep them safe," Mr. Weasley said, stroking her hair. Sirius stepped into the room and grabbed Ron roughly by the arm and lifted him to his feet. He could still hear his parents voices and his mother's sobs as he was pulled into the hallway and the door was closed behind them.

"Harry, take him up to bed," instructed Sirius, and Harry grabbed Ron's arm. Ron shook him off and slowly walked up the steps to the third floor. He knew Harry would be following, but he didn't want to talk or be touched. He wanted nothing more than to rewind the clock and never see the images of his family and of Harry. Ginny had been the worse. How was he going to protect her from everything that was obviously headed towards them? How was he going to stop her from wanting to be involved? And Harry. His best friend in the entire world had almost been killed year after year and Ron could just imagine what was coming now that Voldemort was at full strength. Ron tossed and turned the entire night as the images of the dead bodies kept floating in front of him every time he closed his eyes.

1= Welcome to the Hellmouth S1E1 Buffy

2= HP-Lexicon Money Convertor

*=OotP