Ten Years Later

"Chang! Get over to the Eastern exit! Defense is faltering over there!"

The Commander didn't watch to see if the Auror was following his orders; he'd worked with her enough to know that she'd do exactly what was needed. Besides, a more pressing matter reared its head as the Eaters surged forward, threatening to overcome Auror defense. A grim smile appeared on his face as the Eaters ignored the black line on the floor. The Commander pointed his wand at it.

"Incendio!"

The gunpowder exploded, creating a wall of fire that not only burned the Eaters in its path, but kept more from charging. Although Muggle gunpowder would have only burned for a moment and created a wall of flame only a foot high, the magical command caused it to react in extraordinary ways.

"Sir! The Eaters are retreating on the Northern side!"

A quick nod told sent the messenger swiftly back to his area. Moments later, the Death Eaters on his side began retreating as well, abandoning the siege on Ministry buildings in exchange for their lives. Those on the near side of the fire wall watched in dismay as their companions abandoned them. They began to panic as the Commander's faction surrounded them. One threw himself through the fire in desperation; he got through, but from his screams was in pobvious pain as he stumbled away. The rest did not take that option and began falling victim to the Full Body Bind.

Satisfied that the situation was now under control the Commander left to check the Eastern gate, where the fighting had been fiercest, last time a messenger had been sent. Quickening his pace as his worry increased, he almost ran into a panicked Cho. She stared at him for a moment with wide eyes then collapsed into him, sobbing hysterically.

"Cho! Cho, what happened?"

"Oh God, no! No! No...."

Unable to get anything intelligible out of her, the Commander stood her up and addressed her in a command, from captain to sergeant. He'd found that this often worked when the other had no control over their movements, instinct taking over.

"Auror Chang! Report!"

She automatically snapped to attention.

"Eastern was taken just before their retreat was sounded, Sir."

A chill ran down his spine.

"Nature of defeat?"

"All....All dead, Sir. None left."

Something in him sagged, the collapsed. Outwardly, he kept up appearances so that his own troops would keep up morale, but inwardly, he was hysterical with grief. Giving her a slow nod, Cho stared at him in disbelief. As he strode past her, she grabbed his arm and held him back, looking into his eyes for any sign of grief, all regard for protocol gone.

"Ron! All those people are dead! Padma Patil, one of your few year mates, Fleur Delacour, your friend, Ginny Weasley, your sister! You can't just call them acceptable losses!"

He started as his sister's name was mentioned, turning slowly away. Voice cold as he spoke, he stared at her hand on his arm until she withdrew it.

"Auror Chang, you are dangerously close to overstepping your authority. Don't you remember? No losses are acceptable. Ever. At the same time, I don't have the luxury to rant and rave and cry because my friends and family have died. I went through that ten years ago. I can't do it again."

By the end of his speech, he was speaking not of his position, but of his mentality, and Cho knew it. Snapping to attention once more, she watches him with hungry eyes as he strides away.

Later That Night

The red headed man stared stonily at the mug in his hands. It wasn't alcohol as many thought, but Muggle coffee from a place called Starbucks. He'd added a packaged sleep spell without a thought; when he'd graduated from Hogwarts, he would have scoffed at the notion of packaged spells.

Fred handed him a small packet. He'd stared at it in bafflement and suspicion.

"What is it?"

George grinned at him.

"It's not a trick for once, though we discovered it while doing research for Zonko's. It's a packaged spell. Pretty much sugar hit with a spell retains most of the properties of the original spell, but rather than an immediate effect, it is delayed and gradual. Take that packet for instance. It contains Stupefyed sugar. However, instead of knocking you out instantly, you'll be able to stay awake for a while and find a place to sleep before it really hits you. You can wake up on your own too. And it's exactly what you need, little brother. You look a bit worse for wear."

Fred nodded and he hadn't protested, knowing he'd foregone sleep in order to plan for future engagements. Furthermore, he suspected they'd already slipped some into his water, from the way his eyes were drooping and his mouth was yawning.

Packaged spells had become common household items and the twins were now extremely wealthy, though not famous for that but for their ingenious tricks.

For that matter, he himself was famous. Why, he wasn't sure, but everyone told him it was because he had come in and single handedly turned the tide in the war against Voldemort. That had been right after graduation.

He'd been planning to study under Mr. Ollivander, and maybe become the next Mr. Ollivander (which turned out to be just a title), but the graduation ceremony had changed everything. All he wanted was revenge. So he became an Auror, along with every other member of his year.

Only to discover that the Aurors were too disorganized to do anything. There was no distinction between experienced and inexperienced Aurors. They formed their own little groups, each of which was autonomous. For a war, that would never work.

So Ron had gotten permission from his father, now Minister, to change everything. He'd studied Muggle military factions for a while, then instituted the same structure into the Aurors. The results had been brilliant. On top of his reorganization, he had had an uncanny grasp of tactics, which caused his troops to make him Commander by popular demand. Not that he'd expected, or even wanted the position. It had simply been thrust upon him.

But it made him responsible for each and every person. So when one of them died, he died too, and he had a hard time getting over it. He had no close friends to confide in either, not after Harry and Hermione's death.

His hands clenched tight around the mug as that thought flitted through his head and his throat tightened as he swallowed hard to keep from crying. The man had never gotten over their deaths, and even a decade later, the mere thought of them could make him cry.

Rising from the stool, he made his way back into the wizard world. He slept at Auror headquarters so that anyone could reach him if needed, but that was not expected to occur tonight, not when the battle was so recently won...or lost.



The Next Day

He was waiting for Ron the next morning, patiently sitting in one of the guest chairs that sat across from the Commander's desk. The tall man didn't even glance at him as he sat down in the leather swivel chair, marking down a notes about the previous day's battle on a map of England. If the man wanted to speak to him, he would have to wait a few more moments. That was the way Commander Weasley treated all his appointments.

Finally, he placed his pen down, looking up at the other person, seeking to lock gazes to let him know that he had the Commander's full attention-

and met a pair of very familiar eyes

Ron stood up so fast the chair fell over, his wand out and ready, aiming it at the man sitting across the desk Wide eyes stared at him, hand shaking to match the tremor in his usually rock steady voice as he spoke.

"H-Harry?"