Ron Weasley Paladin
Now you will receive us.
"We do not ask for your poor or your hungry. We do not want your tired and sick. It is your corrupt we claim. It is your evil that will be sought by us. With every breath, we shall hunt them down. Each day we will spill their blood til it rains down from the skies. Do not kill, do not rape, do not steal, these are principles which every man of every faith can embrace. These are not polite suggestions — these are codes of behavior. And those of you that ignore them will pay the dearest are varying degrees of evil, we urge you lesser forms of filth not to push the bounds and cross over into true corruption, into our domain. But if you do, one day you will look behind you and you will see we three and on that day you will reap it. And we will send you to which ever god you shepherds we shall be, for thee my Lord for thee, power hath descended forth from thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out thy command. We shall flow a river forth to thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti."
-The Boondock Saints
A/N: Sorry about the long quote lol I watched both movies the other night and have kind of been on a boondock kick the past couple of days.
Ron whirled around right into the gaping face of Harry who was staring at him in surprise, he moved his hand down to try to cover the bloody patch on his shirt but it was a losing effort right from the start.
"Ron what happened to you?" Harry said blanching at the blood on his clothes.
"N-nothing," Ron answered and silently berated himself for sounding like an idiot.
Harry gave him a sideways look and stated "I didn't know nothing could be quite so bloody."
"I mean sorry I took your broom out for a flight and there was a hiccup involving a tree limb that decided I looked like something it needed to grab, but the good news is your broom is fine." Ron Answered smiling slightly.
"You're sure then? Just a flying accident nothing else?" Harry questioned.
Ron sighed inwardly he hated this he hated lying to his friends but he wasn't sure they would be so accepting of the fact that he had gone out and killed two death eaters, the guilt was starting to build up in his heart and he didn't like the feeling, it wasn't only the guilt though it was looking on his best mate, his sister, and his girlfriend and feeling as though he was an outsider to their group, but he had nobody to blame except himself, so much of his time this year was spent in the library, he didn't have time to even play chess this year and it was really starting to unnerve him.
"Sorry mate, I didn't mean to worry you any." Ron said glumly
"Well that's ok, but I mean Ron just because I am with Ginny and you and Hermione are dating doesn't mean we aren't mates anymore and I hope you know you can tell me anything." Harry said looking a bit uncomfortable.
Ron smiled though right now he was sorely tempted to tell Harry everything all about the Paladin program, about the killings of two death eaters, but what kind of burden would Harry place upon himself if Ron told him about the killings knowing Harry as Ron did he would probably blame himself for putting Ron in a position where he thought that.
Ron nodded "Yah mate I know, it's just lately everything is kind of building up, speaking of which are you ready for the thing tomorrow getting the defense group set up and all?"
Harry rolled his eyes "Well I guess we have to learn somehow, but I wish it was someone but me having to do the teaching."
Ron nodded jumping up and down inside because he had successfully changed the subject "C'mon mate you know as well as I do that the only person here qualified to teach this is you, I mean can you think of another person even in seventh year that knows more about DADA than you?"
Harry sighed "I know, I know but it still doesn't make it any easier."
Ron quickly changed into his pajamas and climbed onto his bed "Well maybe tomorrow will look better, don't worry you got three standing beside you, don't forget that you aren't alone here."
Harry nodded and climbed back into his own bed "Well G'night." He said yawning hugely.
"Night." Ron answered.
As he lay in the bed he groaned suddenly remembering he still had a letter to mail, 'tomorrow is good enough I guess' he drowsily thought.
Saturday dawned bright and Ron was up at the crack of dawn he took care of his morning exercise and ablations and managed to have enough time to sneak up to the owlery to send the message to Nott, taking special care to use a non school owl, he leaned against the window watching it fly away knowing that there would be someone today who would have the worst day of their lives made him feel regret for what he had to do.
The trio plus Ginny made their way down to the great hall for breakfast, as they sat down the daily prophet came fluttering down from a passing owl onto Hermione's plate, Ron couldn't help but flick his eyes over to the Slytherin table sighing as he saw Nott sit down next to Malfoy and his cronies, he shook his head and returned to the matters at hand namely breakfast and how much he could eat of it.
Hermione gasped suddenly and leaned over to the group the headline was familiar to Ron as well as the others and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of remorse wash over him as he read.
Thomas Nott delivered dead to the Ministry.
John Williams reporting.
Thomas Nott aged 47 of Hogsmeade was "delivered" dead this morning to the front door of the ministry of magic, the person who is presumed to have killed him battled ministry Aurors who were on duty, attempting to capture him, he stunned one and managed to elude capture he was last seen flying off on a broom headed north (see picture on page 2).
Mr. Nott a member of the Wizengamot as well as a member of the Hogwarts school board of Governors and partial owner of our own beloved prophet is survived by his wife Katrina and his son Theodore a fifth year at Hogwarts, we here at the Daily Prophet wish to offer our deepest condolences to the Nott family at the time of their terrible loss and our hopes are that the person or persons involved in this crime are quickly captured and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Ron's eyes flicked up to the heads table and judging by the reactions he saw they were just as shocked as the paper had been. Professor Snape got up quickly and rushed over to his table just as an owl dropped a rolled up piece of parchment in front of Nott. He picked it up and unrolled it and read his face went from smiling about some joke one of the others had told to stunned shock just as Snape arrived and took him by the shoulders guiding him away from the table and out of the great hall.
"Poor guy" Ginny whispered.
Harry nodded looking torn between feeling guilt and confusion at the fact that he was feeling remorse for a death eater who had last year attempted to kill him when he was making his escape.
Ron remained silent picking idly at his food inside though there was a heated argument going on between he and himself 'it's too bad he had to die' he thought and that despised piece of him rose up out of the back of his head and whispered 'better him than your own family, he would have gladly killed them all at Voldemorts request." 'Yeah but it doesn't mean I can't feel bad for the guy' Ron's mind growled this as the other part subsided having made it's point, he jerked his head up suddenly realizing that Hermione had been speaking to him.
"Ron? Are you ok?" She asked looking concerned.
"Ye-eah sorry I guess my mind was wandering what were you saying?" He mumbled out
"I was saying that it is a shame about Nott." Hermione said sounding a bit exasperated
"Yeah but honestly he was a death eater right he knew what he signed up for." Ron said managing to filter out most of his bitterness.
Harry and Ginny sighed but nodded grimly at Ron.
"Yes Ronald but it doesn't mean we have to celebrate his death either." Hermione quipped
"I'm not celebrating Hermione, but I find it hard to feel bad about a person dying when I know deep down that if the situation would have been reversed he would have been leering over here waiting to say something." Ron growled out "Besides maybe we should ask Cedric what the death eaters think about mercy."
There was a gasp and Ron realized his mistake he looked up quickly and saw Harry's shoulders slump down and Ginny hissed at him sounding very much like an angry cat.
"Harry mate, I am so sorry."Ron said quickly" I di-"
Harry cut him off by saying "It's ok Ron I know you didn't I guess it is still a pretty sore subject Ginny's been helping me work through it but it still bites me once in a while."
"Ron Weasley you are the single most." Hermione started only to be interrupted by Ron who finished her sentence for her.
"Insensitive wart I have ever met, I know Hermione and I am sorry it is just I forget sometimes, but you knew that when you agreed to be my girlfriend ya?"
Harry and Ginny laughed and Hermione Huffed indignantly
The day went by uneventfully, they made their way to the room of requirement that Harry had told them dobby had showed to him. Harry paced back and forth in front of the painting of Barnabbas the barmy till a door appeared on the opposite side of the hallway. They walked inside and instantly approved of the room it looked a bit like a muggle gymnasium except for the target dummies set up in the corner and the bookshelves which lined the far wall that Hermione immediately made a bee line for.
Ten minutes later people started to file in it was the exact number that had shown up at the hogshead the previous weekend including much to Ron's chagrin Zacharias smith?
Hermione called the meeting to order and immediately called for a vote on who the leader was Harry of course was appointed in a landslide vote, Ginny created the name for the group the Defense Association though she also flipped it so it was Dumbledore's Army which is what Umbridge and the ministry feared the most that Dumbledore was building an army to take over the ministry, They started off small just disarming spells and stunners Harry walked slowly along the columns of students correcting and giving advice on spell work and because he was oblivious he managed to miss the fact that Cho Chang was shooting furtive glances his way, not that everyone missed it Ginny being chief among them.
"Oi, would you pay attention to what you are doing Ginny." Ron yelled for the fourth time that night.
"What?" Ginny said looking around.
Ron stomped over to her and bent down to whisper in her ear "What the hell is going on with you tonight?"
"Oh uh it's nothing." She said looking away, Ron glanced around trying to see what she saw but couldn't and he turned to Hermione and quietly asked her.
"What is up with her tonight she is never this distracted?"
Hermione sighed and shook her head at Ron "It's Cho haven't you noticed the looks she has been shooting Harry all night?"
"Uh no I haven't remember it took me this long to realize like me." Ron answered plainly
Hermione giggled at this and smiled "Well the thing is I think your sister is a bit jealous, not that I think for a minute she has any reason to be, Harry hasn't noticed either but for some reason he keeps avoiding her." She said pointing with her lips
Ron turned to look and sure enough Harry was giving a wide berth to the Ravenclaw seeker and was instead trying to focus on the younger kids in the group, Ron shook his head and smiled at his friends antics.
"Well he better watch it Ginny doesn't have that red hair for no reason." Ron snorted this out.
The meeting broke up thirty minutes before curfew and in the small clumps of students made their way back to their common rooms the last group to leave was the trio plus one. It was quiet when they made it back they all took up seats Harry and Ginny on the couch and Hermione and Ron in one of the arm chairs her on his lap, they decided the DA would be a success it seemed even though it had been only one night that people had improved some, the shots that had started wide had straightened out in the end and even the disarming charms were straight and true, they decide to call it a night as the young couples moved into different corners of the room to say their goodnights in their own manner, Harry and Ron stood quietly watching their girls head up the stairs talking to each other in hushed voices talking Merlin knew what.
Sleep that night came hard for Ron he had started having dreams nightmares really, he woke up gasping after a particularly nasty one and looked around the silent dorm room, 'bloody hell what's wrong with me, fucking Nott anyway.' Ron thought savagely as he sat up and threw his blankets off. He hopped up to go to the loo and sitting in the window was 'another bloody owl' he growled and then sighed realizing that he was the one who "volunteered" for this.
Augustus Rookwood
Age: 50
Status: Unspeakable department of mysteries
Disposition: Termination.
Rookwood is a unspeakable so we cannot explain how dangerous this man is it has taken us the better part of two years to locate and lock this man down, He lives in an abandoned part of London his house is derelict and has no wards, so it should be an easy entrance but do not fall into a false sense of confidence due to this we have no idea what sorts of traps may lie within the house, He has been seen passing information about P to Lucius Malfoy evidently there is something in the department of Mysteries that pertains to both P and V, this may become a "side" mission for you as soon as our investigations are taken care of.
L
Ron sighed and looked at the clock,' no bloody time like the present.' He mentally growled.
As he flew he was thankful for a few things one being that his suit had built in heating charms, as well as a water repelling charm over the whole thing, the other thing he was thankful for was the fact that Harry slept like a rock.
The outskirts of the town he was going to came up quickly it seemed to him like no time at all had passed before the house he was looking for loomed out of nowhere, they called it derelict that was being kind it looked like it would quite like to fall down and possibly was being supported only by magic, he flew right up to the roof of the house no wards being present meant that he didn't have to worry too much about magic use so he had decided to keep his wand on him, there was a broken window in one of the gables and that was his entrance he sidled in quietly having to stop after a couple of minutes due to wanting to lose his mind completely due to all the spider webs that hung down from the ceiling.
'Honestly some Paladin I am' he said wincing as he went through another spider web 'what kind of person doesn't clean their attic anyhow'
His target oddly enough for him was easy to locate he stared down at him from an upper floor landing the stooped man was sitting in front of his fire place eating what Ron hoped was dinner you never could tell with a death eater it seemed almost simple in fact this whole mission seemed simple thus far no wards, no house elves, no family members. Then of course the twist happened which should have been expected but was completely overlooked by the boy.
"Come in come in" Rookwood waved over his head.
Ron stayed silent and still hoping that what had just happened hadn't really.
"I said come in boy." Rookwood again called out "I see you lurking up there in the shadows, yes you couldn't surprise me like you did Macnair and Nott."
Ron scanned around carefully looking for anyone else who might be lurking somewhere and didn't see anything.
"Come now don't be so wary there are no other people here besides myself and you." Rookwood admitted
Ron didn't speak but made his way carefully down the stairs the man motioned to a chair next to him.
"Sit and allow me to finish my dinner before you kill me." Rookwood said
Ron looked about the room confused not seeing anyone else not even an animal in the room what was going on was he mental?
The old man laughed at the apparent discomfiture of the figure in the black suit. "No paladin I am not crazy," he belched loudly "Nor am I afraid of you." And before Ron could react he had pushed two fingers into his dark mark.
Ron quickly whipped his knife out of its sheath and slammed it point first into Rookwood's throat and jerked it back out twisting it slightly, but even as the old man was dying he heard the pops of apparition the death eaters were coming and there was only one thing for it he would have to fight his way out.
Standing up he quickly transfigured Rookwood into a bone and stuck him into one of his pockets, he looked around trying his best not to panic.
"crucio" a voice called from the shadows, Ron didn't have time to dodge and felt the spell slam into him but the suit absorbed most of it and he rolled with the momentum of the spell and came up behind a sofa looking quickly over the top he spotted a death eater headed his way and he crouched and sprang up ward brandishing his wand and crying "stupefy, ossa frangere, protego" he missed with the stunner but heard the bone breaking curse slam home he looked back over the top of the couch and saw the results of a bone breaker that hit someone in the neck, he quickly made his way over to the body and stretched two fingers down to check the pulse of the man he was very dead, Ron removed the mask of the man in front of him and was a bit surprised seeing Crabbe sr. laying dead before him quickly transfiguring him into a bone he stuck him in the same pocket as Rookwood.
"Vivamus a ignem inextinguibilem" these words rang out and slapped against his ears with the full horror of recognition someone had just cast Fiend Fyre, he looked up just in time to see a fiery lion headed tword him roaring in rage he got up quickly and ran for the first window he could find and dove through it, the outside was worse than it was on the inside as soon as he hit the ground he had to start dodging 'bloody hell they must have all of them here' Ron groaned as two killing curses whipped over his head to slam into a low rock wall beside him making deep gouges before they dissipated, the house was fully ablaze now and he didn't have any shadows to hide in they were closing in on all sides he was jinking and dodging as fast as he could there were quite a few killing curses streaking in at him so far he had been lucky, he back flipped over the low wall and came to a rest on the other side, and realized with a sudden start the spells had stopped coming.
"Come out Paladin, meet your death bravely." A low hissing voice called
'Oh shit it's him; oh shit it's him,' Ron thought frantically
Voldemort walked forward slowly and stopped well short of the wall.
"Where are you hiding Paladin? I thought your kind died bravely pity to see that as a lie." Voldemort purred
"Fuck you Riddle nubes fumi." Ron called out a smoke screen spell and felt a bit of relief at the site of the dark cloud obscuring him from view.
Ron crawled forward on his stomach keeping the cloud between himself and certain death behind him.
"Find him, a reward to the one who brings him back alive." Voldemort called.
Ron got up and began to run he was half a block away when he felt safe enough to bring out the broom and fly off on it. He heard muttered curses from the assemblage below and had to dodge several curses that were shot at him as he flew off but he had to admit hearing Voldemorts scream of rage at the fact their prey had eluded them was kind of gratifying.
He made it to the ministry in record time and didn't even bother to stop he flew in five meters from the ground and transfigured Rookwood and Crabbe back and watched them drop down on the two unsuspecting members of the aurors below him. And then took off with a slight whoop and headed back to Hogwarts.
On the return flight the adrenaline finally wore off and he felt himself shaking as he realized how close death had come to him, he had killed four death eaters and he knew if his luck wasn't gone it was getting fairly threadbare by now, he made it back to his room without incident and he had just laid down when all of a sudden Harry started to scream and thrash around.
Ron stood up quickly and rushed over to his best mates bed and put his hands on Harry's shoulders trying to hold him still so he wouldn't roll out of bed, His eyes snapped open and he looked up Ron jerked back involuntarily at the brief flash of red that crossed Harry's eyes.
"R-ron is that you?" Harry asked fumbling around for his glasses which he found and jammed onto his face.
"Yeah mate you alright you were just fighting and screaming in your sleep you scared the piss outta me." Ron said eyes wide "What happened?"
"It was Voldemort he was torturing some of the death eaters." Harry said breathing hard still "He told Malfoy it was time to begin the plan."
Ron looked at Harry shocked whatever it was that Voldemort had planned you could bet that there was no way it could be good for them.
A/N: sorry the update took so long.