He was stuck with endless questions. Any hope of clearing the turbulent thoughts was banished by finding Ron where they did. And when he would wake up, then what? Harry doubted he had any answers. He was failing at trying to reign in his pessimism. Maybe it was just a side-effect of being an Auror, but miracles never made it into one's lap so easily.

It was definitely him, now clear as Hermione had cleaned him up a bit. They had carried him out of the cave a good distance away. They would have to spend the night in the wilds; everything about it still smelled like a trap. Ginny sat beside him, looking as hesitant as he was.

"Gin," he whispered, "I need you to do something for me."

She shuffled closer and nodded.

"I need you to keep an eye on Ron, if I'm not around."

For a moment they fixed gazes, and she nodded.

Hermione had an inscrutable look on her face, but the emotion of finding Ron made her look pale and tired. She might not get much sleep tonight. He took a bowl of venison stew and brought it to her.

"You should eat."

She carefully stepped a small distance away from Ron and took the bowl, sipping at it. "I want to go back into the cave."

"Okay..." he said with a frown. "Any particular reason?"

"I just want to check something," she said distractedly.

When she finished her food, she stood up and made towards the cave. He grabbed a torch and followed to catch up. "Think you can see in the dark?" he joked.

"I forgot."

To him it looked like she couldn't be away from camp quickly enough, but pressing the issue seemed like a bad idea.

At the entrance, she muttered a few words under her breath and put her hand over her eyes. When she opened them they shone blue down to the whites.

"To see if there's any magic," she answered, her eyes lingering on him. "Your mail doesn't look that potent. Was the sword supposed to be magical?"

Harry shrugged. She turned and walked in, starting to inspect the walls.

"So you have doubts," he said.

"About?"

He snorted. "Playing dumb doesn't suit you."

"Well, forgive me if I want to take good news at face value."

They moved into the next chamber. "He has his wedding ring," she added. "Which means it is him."

He watched her move from surface to surface, inspecting every inch.

"Think about it inductively," he tried. "Clayton got a tip that Erebus was carrying valuables. Those valuables were mentioned in the letter. Then, during our robbery, he gets murdered. Is it really such a stretch that the person who tipped off Clayton would use the opportunity to kill Erebus?"

She stayed quiet, but he had to push. "Why don't you finish my train of thought?"

"The letter sent us here," she said dryly. "And only a few days later we get information from the same Merchant's Guild that what we've been looking for is nearby. I get it."

"Good," he said, ruffling his hair in relief. "You just… sometimes get irrational when it comes to Ron."

Scoffing in irritation, she turned around and walked up to him, stopping an inch away. "When it comes to him, hm?" she said in a whisper.

Maybe that hadn't been the best thing to say. The light of her eyes clashed terribly with the black around it.

He cleared his throat. "Can I take care of your eye tomorrow?"

Her look softened and he relaxed a little.

"I decide what to do with my body," she said.

He chuckled and pressed a knuckle to her bruised eye, making her smile and wince. "Yes, ma'm."

She continued along the wall, looking to have perked up. She stopped at the torture rack and looked behind it. "Something here."

He went over.

"Help me move it."

They scraped the metal contraption along the floor, revealing part of the cave wall closed in with a stone. "Looks pretty tightly fitted," he said, looking around.

He picked up a rusty manacle from the floor and tried to jemmy it between the rock. He used the pommel of his sword to jam it in, and pulled. The stone came out with a cloud of sediment, making him cough.

"It's… strong," she said as the vision cleared.

He held up the torch to shine into the hole. Inside was a bundle of cloth. He pulled it out and laid it on the floor. Upon opening it, it revealed the dagger and sheath within, about the length of a forearm. Out of the black leather sheath stuck a silver handle inlaid with gold. It must be worth a small fortune, he thought.

"Wow," she said.

He pulled it out of its sheath and felt a punch on his shoulder.

"You idiot! It could be cursed!"

Swallowing, he looked it over. "What do I do?"

"Do you feel anything?"

He shook his head.

"Okay, try putting it back," she said, her arms crossed.

He slid the gleaming sharp blade back into its sheath. Nothing happened. Hermione let out a sigh of relief.

"Sorry," he said. "I'm sure Ginny would like it though."

"I'd like to inspect it before we use it," she answered exhaustedly.

Harry nodded and followed her into the jail chamber.

"Hm," she hummed. "Something faint, residual maybe. I wish I had more information to pull from."

"What does it mean?"

"It means fairly powerful magic was used here."

"Seems like we found a wizard in the area," he noted.

They went back outside without a word, glad to be out of the stench. He stopped with her a few paces from the cave in the cooling night air. Gradually, the blue glow faded from her eyes.

"We'll have clearer heads in the morning," she said.

She was right. Everyone was tired, weary of the road.

He took the last watch, having the privilege of seeing the sun rise over the hills. He had been checking on Ron every once in a while, but he seemed to be sleeping steadily, even snoring by the end of the night. True to form, he stirred as Harry prepared the eggs on the fire. Harry held his breath for too long before waking Hermione.

"I think he's about to wake up," he said, waiting as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

After she dressed, he brought over three bowls of eggs and some bread to Ron's side. He grunted and shot up as he woke, his bewildered eyes settling on the two of them.

He swallowed before speaking. "What?" he mumbled. "Where are your glasses?"

Despite himself he laughed and shared a look with Hermione. "That's a long story."

"Quite," she said.

"This is real, right?" Ron asked.

For now, this was all right. Hermione looked happy to see his familiar mannerisms, and Harry found himself caught in the nostalgia of the three of them being reunited. He was slightly surprised when Ron put his gangly arms around them for a hug.

"You're alive," he sighed in relief. "You're alive, you bloody bastards."

He pulled back to look around. "Ginny?"

"Doing great," Harry answered.

Hermione pushed the bowl of eggs into his hands. "Eat. Unfortunately we're going to have to walk back."

The reunion continued, one-sidedly with Ron stuffing himself with breakfast and seconds. He spotted Malfoy some time later, but merely threw him a disapproving look.

It took less time for the group to get ready, having a little more practice at camping. Harry threw Ron his old shoes; they were about the same size.

For a while on the road Ron talked, which suited Harry just fine as he couldn't completely dispel his doubts. According to him, he had made his way into the Ministry some time after their disappearance and found the dice. He had arrived somewhere in the hills and found a road after a day of travel. Presumably he'd collapsed from exhaustion and been found later.

The next thing he remembered was being in that cell. He guessed he stayed there a few weeks, being fed stale bread and water. Hermione asked if he had seen any magic, which started a discussion on their wands and magic. Ron had lost his. Hermione got embarrassed when Ron asked her to show him magic and Harry remembered it was probably because she'd forgotten to get her morning studying in. Hopefully she'd be more careful with that.

On the last leg of the journey back, Hermione walked with Ron in the back while Harry and Ginny took the front, Malfoy never too far away. Harry was exhausted and couldn't wait to get back for a drink and a well prepared meal.

They all sat down at their quiet table in the Sweetbreeze. A band of performers was in today, with a singer and strings playing jovial music. It would be a long evening of catching up once they were all fed and watered.

"You got put behind bars too?" Ron asked.

"Just our first night," Harry answered, "and nowadays we're on good terms with Lady Hestius."

"Are we?" Hermione asked.

Harry grinned. "Jealous? Gin, do you fancy a visit to our friend for dinner when we get back?"

"Cheers," Ginny said with a smile. "I bet it's really nice."

"Oh yes!" Hermione complained. "Let's all participate in this awful system where some are seen as better just because of who they were born as!"

'Jealous', he mouthed.

"How'd you get so chummy with the Malfoys of this world anyway," Ron said, glancing towards the target of his ire.

"Don't say that. Unlike the Malfoys she has good taste."

Malfoy snorted, but a slight smirk in Harry's direction told him he wasn't bitter about the comment.

"Taste?" Ron repeated with furrowed eyebrows.

Ginny playfully slid her hand up Harry's chest and answered in a husky tone. "In men, of course."

Hermione rolled her eyes while Ron's eyes widened, oblivious to the practical joke. Finally Ginny erupted in chortles. "My God, Ron. You'll believe anything."

Ron sighed.

"She's not my type," Ginny added with a sly look to Harry.

"But to answer your question," Harry said softly, leaning forward. "Make sure you shut up about this for now, but I..." He thought about how to phrase it.

"He's a Paladin," Malfoy answered for him.

"What's a Paladin?" Ron asked, turning to Hermione.

"There are real Gods here, Ron. They answer prayers, perform miracles. I've seen it with my own eyes. Essentially… Harry is watched over by the God of Light."

Ron's eyes flickered with shock before settling into disbelief. "Bloody hell mate, really?"

"Really."

"Really," Ginny said.

"Yes," Malfoy added.

"Do you mind if we do the catching up another evening," Harry said, feeling the soreness in his muscles.

"Yeah I'm pretty knackered," Ron said, draining his tankard.

They went upstairs. His thoughts were jumbled still. Having this easy talk with Ron like nothing had happened seemed… surreal. Ginny wrapped her arms around his naked waist.

"What do you think?" she asked, kissing the back of his shoulder.

"Did he say anything about home? Like… how everyone is doing?"

"We can ask him later," Ginny said.

The next morning, they were both surprised to see Ron and Hermione up already when they came down. Hermione had a book out next to her while she sipped from some herbal infusion; Ron was digging into his second plate of eggs.

As startling as finding Ron was, they still had something to do here.

"I need to go meet with the witness today," Harry said.

"That the guy who lost his son?" Ron asked.

"We still talked for a while last night when we went upstairs," Hermione clarified.

"Right," Harry continued. "Well, we're still not one step closer to finding out who our mystery man is."

"I'll report with my contacts again," Ginny said. "If we can get real dirt on the Order, that's valuable."

"Just be careful," Harry warned, "both times we got information was through the Guild."

She nodded.

"I thought I might visit the city," Ron said, smiling at Hermione. "What do you think?"

"They might be looking for you," Hermione warned, "it would be safer if you stayed here for the time being. Besides, I'm going to be unavailable all day. Someone else can pick up some clothes for you. Harry, I need the thing."

The thing? The dagger. "Right, it's in our room. We'll go get it later."

"Actually," she continued, "I could also take a look at your sword and chainmail."

Harry nodded. "Thanks, I'll just take my bronze sword."

Ron looked to have quieted, prodding at his eggs. He always had trouble with feeling useless, and now it was even worse, the four of them having a head start on how to live in this world. The sooner they figured out more, the sooner they could decide what to do.

As soon as he brought Hermione the items, she slammed the door with a smile and locked it. He found the same hovel on the edge of the city belonging to Silenus. He knocked twice. The door opened halfway and Silenus dragged him inside.

"Shh! We have to be careful," he said, looking from behind the shutters of the window. "I think they've been shadowing me."

"You think you're in danger?" said Harry, looking around the shack. A cask of cider laid empty on the floor, but he didn't look drunk.

"Yes. Good Paladin, I think they might have gotten word that you were speaking with me. But they won't risk anything during the day… too obvious."

Harry sat down on a pew. "Well, we more or less confirmed your story. It seems the Order is somehow at least involved in taking people captive."

"Your friends!" Silenus said, turning around. "You've found proof then?"

Harry put his hands together, rubbing callouses on his palms. "Would you be willing to make the trip to Cadmeum? If we brought all we have to the Magistrate, maybe he would listen."

The man blinked, his stubbled face brightening up for the first time since he met him. "Yes, of course. I knew I could count on you, Paladin Harry."

"If we leave in the afternoon, we could camp on the road, as dangerous as that is," he thought out loud. "But if the alternative is fighting off assassins who might have power in the city..."

He nodded to himself. The others would understand. "I'll come get you later today. Don't worry about supplies."

They shook hands. Silenus' eyes glittered with hope. "Thank you, Paladin. For giving me the opportunity to bring these dogs to justice."

There was nothing quite like doing exactly that: fighting for justice. It gave you a certain kind of rush. It was a common quality to all good men and women, he had realized over the years. That, not endless training and know-how was what made the strength of the reformed Auror Department. His hand went to his chest, where he would wear his insignia. Maybe he needed a new one, he thought with a chuckle.

He went back to the Sweetbreeze but no one was there. He didn't want to disturb Hermione so he ordered some cider, taking it easy. Two tables over, he spotted something quite rare. There were two elves with dark hair talking among themselves. Why not? He didn't have anything else to do.

"Devir ve," he said, greeting them with his almost non-existent elvish. "Any chance you speak common? The rest of my elven is swear words."

The smaller one of the two, a girl with shoulder-length hair and light brown eyes, smirked at the other and answered. "Why you come?"

"Do you mind if I sit? I have some time before my friends come back here."

The male elf shrugged and motioned to the chair. Harry bought a round of cider.

"I am Adrius and zis is Tiva," the man said.

"Harry."

"Where you learn ze tongue?" the girl named Tiva asked.

"I have a friend near Cadmeum. He comes out of Laxis every once in a while to do trade."

"Hm," Adrius grunted, "outsider."

"I guess he wasn't your typical elf, although I didn't know until now."

Tiva winced as she twisted in her seat, revealing a cut in her trousers. "Hiz name," she said.

"Silvian."

They shared a quick look. "You know Silvian?" the man asked.

"Yes. Is he a friend of yours?"

"No," Tiva replied. "Only banished do trade wiz human. Zey collect news of city for living."

"And what brings you here then?" he asked with a smile.

"Ve hunt for human," Adrius said, "need find someone who came to Oria, from rumours."

"Well, I doubt I can help. I'm not from here."

The woman frowned trying to find her words. "He is… man of holy… God of Sun."

Well shit, he thought. "You want him dead?" he asked.

"Ve are no killers!" she bawled. "Ve are here to message."

Harry deliberated. Of course assassins would not admit to it. If it came down to it, he had his bronze sword but no armour, and those sabres they had at their sides seemed deadly enough. But it was unlikely, and he never had gotten anywhere by being too cautious.

"That wound," he said nodding to Tiva, "does it hurt much?"

"Is fine," she said with shifty eyes.

In one quick motion he put his hand over the wound right above the knee. Adrius' hand went to his blade in an instant, but Tiva stopped him. The warmth faded from his hand.

"You've found me," he said with a grin.

She had a look of disbelief and awe in her eyes. He removed his hand and they relaxed.

"Ze man ve look for has sword wiz silver," Adrius said.

"It's safe," Harry answered. "So is the mail I got from my friend in the city."

"Travel wiz friends?" he continued. "Two woman one man?"

"They're busy," he said with a nod.

After a moment of deliberation, they nodded in agreement. Tiva's voice reduced to the slightest of whispers. "Ve must take you to Laxis," she said with determined eyes. "It is written in ze prophecy of us."

"You have your own prophecy," he said with a frown.

"Yes," she said unblinkingly. "It cannot be spoken here, but is iz said Chosen will need burn of sun to fight. Zat is why you must come."

Although much was lost in translation, he assumed, there was something in the elf's eyes that told him more than the words she was speaking. Two parts of a prophecy, it wouldn't be the first time.

"I have to go to Cadmeum first," he said, taking a deep breath and leaning back.

"Good," Adrius answered, "ve will come wiz you."

Harry cheered, raising his mug.

They talked about his journey and agreed to depart later in the day. He felt very good about the pair, and his instincts on people were rarely wrong. He definitely wouldn't mind the company as he had a suspicion Ron being back could be a source of tension.

As if on cue, Ron came inside the Sweetbreeze in fresh clothes munching on a giant meat pie.

"Do you ever stop eating?" Harry asked.

"I'm ghowim," answered the fully-grown ginger.

"Around the waist maybe. Ron, this is Tiva and Adrius, they're going to be travelling with us."

"Ey," Ron said.

The two elves merely looked at him in silence, then turned to Harry.

"Ve will meet you at fourz watch like promise," Adrius said with a slight nod.

They left, leaving Ron to take their place.

"Who were they?" he asked.

"Some friendly elves."

Ron stopped chewing to deliberate this.

"Just… never mind. Didn't Hermione tell you not to wander off? I happen to agree, this place isn't safe."

"Just wanted to stretch my legs." A smirk appeared on his face. "Look what I got."

He plunked down a sheathed sword on the table; Harry just stared at it in disbelief before taking a look.

"This is steel, Ron. Did you spend all the money we gave you to buy this? And where did you get it anyway? I thought there were no armouries in town."

"Someone sold it to me," he said proudly. "And I had enough left for clothes and meat pie."

Harry got a sick feeling in his stomach, rubbing his face. "You spent thirty bloody gold in one day when we had a perfectly good bronze sword! And you don't even know how to use it!"

"Figured I could learn, you did!" he hissed back.

"Ginny made that money! For us!"

He took a deep breath to calm himself. This, just one of the many reasons Ron never made Senior Auror. "From now on, you don't get a copper piece to your name. You want to eat? Better stick to one of us."

Ginny had come in while they were having their argument. Probably for a noon snack or to see how it was going. Harry stood up; he needed to cool his head.

"What's going on?" she asked worriedly.

He turned to Ron again. "We're leaving in a few hours. Make sure you're ready, all right? And tell Hermione if you see her."

Ginny, ever the perfect wife, followed him back out.

"Sorry," he said as they walked towards the market. "Ron just splurged all his spending money."

She was almost speechless with shock. "On what?"

"Steel sword."

"Gods," she said, taking his hand, "I hope we can sell it back."

They returned from the market right before fourth watch with enough rations for the road, having snacked at the stalls and taken in some more sights of the city before they left.

When they got to the inn, Hermione predictably darted towards them. "Is something wrong? Why are we leaving?"

He took her to a quiet place of the tavern and spoke in a low voice. "Silenus thinks he's in danger, so we're going to take Ron, the letter and him to Cadmeum. I'm going to ask an audience with the Magistrate. I didn't want to disturb you, but… Well, what do you think?"

"I think that's a great idea, Harry," she said with a smile.

"Oh, there's more. I'll explain on the road, but two – well not friends – of Silvian are coming with us. Elves."

"Wow, and I thought I had a busy morning." She stepped closer. "You trust them?"

"I do. They had something to say about the prophecy. Looks like they want us to go to Laxis. Like I said, we can talk it over later."

He turned back to see Ron looking at them. "I'll go get our man. Once the elves come, we'll leave."

Hermione handed him his chainmail and he put it on, and the silver sword at his side. "I'll go with you," she said. "I'll tell you what I found out on the way there."

They walked at a good pace towards the outskirts.

"So the mail. It's definitely magical, a minor protection enchantment. The sword… well I'm fairly certain there's nothing magical about it."

She looked at him like she was expecting him to comment. "It's a good sword," he said.

"I know, but Harry. You got it from a God! Wouldn't you expect it to be magical, or have something special about it?"

He laughed. "You expected me to have an answer to that?"

She continued, rolling her eyes. "The dagger is something special, I knew that already. I figured out there's an enchantment on it that makes it better to fight with, but I need more time with it. If I could just get access to more books..."

"Our list of things to do just keeps growing."

They arrived at the hut. Harry knocked.

There was no sound from the inside. He knocked again.

"Did he leave?" she asked.

"No way. He was already paranoid when I talked to him."

He turned the door handle; it opened. A mix of revulsion and anger came over him as he saw what was clearly the dead body of the woodworker Silenus. He checked for a pulse, but the body was already cooling. "Close the door."

He waited until she did to blow up. "God damn it! I should've just taken him with me, what the hell was I thinking."

He heard Hermione breathing heavily behind him. Two cities, two dead in their wake.

"We have to leave."

"H – hold on," Hermione said, snapping out of it.

She went over to the body and shaved off a strand of hair with her dagger and put it in a pouch at her waist.

"The Archmage could still find out something," she said.

As they walked back, having no time to process the death of their witness, Harry felt the warmth of Licht spread through every vein in his body. White hot burning anger. "I'm going to make sure whoever is responsible for this pays with their life," he said, voice raspy with rage.

He shelved his anger for later, when it would be useful. For now they had a harrowing trip back, and they wouldn't postpone. Not with them possibly ending up in a dungeon again. He was slightly surprised to see Malfoy chatting with Tiva and Adrius outside; he was becoming more dependable by the day.

They left, Harry with the elves in the front and the rest following. Malfoy handled the Order again and they were on the road. Adrius gave him a hard look when he explained what happened.

"Strange," he said, his voice trailing off.

"The timing."

"Yes."

Tiva trailed her eyes on him pensively. "You are being watched, warrior."

"Yes," Harry agreed, "I think so too."

Everyone except Ron seemed to be going on well with the two new companions. It wasn't clear if it was his clumsy attempts at conversation or their initial dislike of him that was the problem. Harry was glad to see Ginny warm up to them, especially Tiva, jovially joking with her only two days into their trek. Malfoy too was curious and spent his time hovering around Harry and Ginny to participate. Well, so much for Malfoy the horrible conversationalist, Ron had taken over that accolade.

It was jarring, compared to how he would have been the life of the party joined with George at any social event. And surprises just kept coming, not in a good way.

On the second evening and the midpoint between Oria and High Coren, Ron was standing on the edge of the camp carelessly swinging his new steel sword.

"Ron, will you put that back?" Harry asked.

"I was just trying it out."

Harry found two sticks and tossed one to him. "If you want to learn, start with this."

"Sword ready, like this – Bend your knees, you're too stiff – Stop swinging wide, pull back after your strike – Don't grip it on the back swing –"

"All right! Merlin, you're worse than when you were quidditch captain. Can we fight or something?"

"Sure, just don't –"

Harry dodged out of the way as Ron barrelled at him. "You're not going to learn anything like this."

But he steadied himself. If nothing else, he had determination. Again, his swing was too wide and horizontal. Harry just redirected it away.

"What," Ron panted, "maybe you have an easier time hitting women."

Harry's eye twitched. Was he being serious or just trying to get under his skin? Regardless, it worked. Seeing red, he successfully feinted and slung his stick hard behind Ron's legs, who fell on his back with a huff.

"I can hit you just fine, you'll find," he said, tossing the stick aside.

It was Harry's turn to be disarmed when Ron just sat up with a smirk. "Take yourself pretty bloody seriously don't you?"

Harry snorted and held out a hand for him to pull himself up. It was his opportunity to ask, so he nodded for them to go sit on their own with some jerky and water.

"I've been wanting to ask you..." He had trouble finding words, or maybe he was afraid to hear the answer. "How is everyone doing since we disappeared?"

He looked ahead for a good minute before speaking. "Uhm. Well, things were pretty crazy. King called us first and told us you'd disappeared and… nobody knew what to think. I think people were in denial at first, so was I. 'It's Potter, he will turn up.' But then time passed and… you didn't. That's when the rumours started, just dragon dung as usual.

"Me, mum and George started a search ourselves. Everyone helped, everyone. But… time passed and people lost hope of seeing you again."

"Ron I'm asking how they were doing," Harry pressed, impatient.

"Uh, like, nothing bad's happened or anything."

Harry put his head between his knees, taking a deep breath. "What about Luna?"

"Luna, she's… holding on."

He dug his nails into his arms. Breathe, damn it.

"She has our place, right? That's how it was set up."

"Yeah... Yeah, of course."

Feeling anxiety take a hold over him, he pressed his palms into his eyes. "What the hell am I supposed to tell Ginny? That it's fine, that she's okay? I don't even know that. What if she came through too? What if she –" It was too much. He stayed listening to the crickets for a while before he stood up. Ron hadn't said anything, but Harry didn't expect him to.

High Coren remembered their visit, and inquired as to the elves with them. They gave another thank you for saving Fred's boy, this time in the form of ale from the city's warehouse.

The rest of the trip back to Cadmeum was peaceful and soon the farmlands golden with ears of barley and rye came into view. Relief washed over him, begrudgingly he accepted the familiarity of their new home.

They agreed to meet with Adrius and Tiva in a week, then they hopefully could set course for Laxis. He veered off towards the barracks while the others went ahead to the Galloping Mongoose. Entering, he saw Lady Hestius behind a pulpit writing on a piece of parchment. She turned around to greet him with a smile.

"Paladin Harry, good to see you back from your travels."

"Lady Hestius, I'd like to speak with you… about the possibility of seeing the Magistrate."