Author's Notes: Heh, I just realized how much my title sounds like something I'd hear at lunch at school.

Random Guy Friend of Mine #1: Dude, that chick just broke up with me.

Random Guy Friend of Mine #2: Ohh, dis-missed. So, dude, what's up my home dawg?

Random Guy Friend of Mine #1: You know how it is, G.

Random Guy Friend of Mine #2: Bling bling.

Silver Phoenix: *humming in head to ignore them*  Dun dun, tainted love, oooooh…

This is a day in my life.

Pleas enjoy the chapter. ^_^

***

Ron rolled over on the uncomfortable, strange bed. Despite the fact that he was exhausted and worn out, he couldn't seem to fall asleep. The bed at the Leaky Cauldron was not only old, but also very lumpy. The room itself smelled of mothballs, and faintly of the liquor that was served downstairs. The sun was just beginning to rise, and though his curtains were shut tightly, Ron was still painfully aware of the pale, Sunday morning light. And he could have sworn that there was a faint squeaking noise coming from the direction of the door.

Ron realized that many of these things were probably just a product of his sleep-deprived imagination. But he was definitely missing something, and he couldn't get to sleep without it. Ron rolled over; he knew what it was. It was Hermione.

Not that he slept in her room every night – she'd have a fit if he tried to pull that – but after seven years of being separated from her, it had always comforted him to know that Hermione was sleeping just around the corner. He couldn't help imagining her reaction when she found out that he was missing from Hogwarts. The look on her face when he'd Obliviated her kept replaying in his head. Over, and over, and over…

"Will you shut up?!" Ron suddenly roared at the door, bolting up in bed. The squeaking abruptly ceased, and Ron wondered if maybe it had been his imagination the entire time. He flopped back onto his hard pillow, staring at the ceiling.

Harry had insisted on going to see Moody as soon as they'd Apparated out of Egypt and back into the Ministry, but after the strenuous task of Apparating in his condition, Harry had looked even worse for the wear. While Diana had gone to give a brief report to Nicholas Foran, Ron had managed to drag Harry into a fireplace at the Ministry to get him back to his flat in London. Unfortunately, Harry had passed out halfway through the Floo journey and Ron had had to go back through quite a lot of fireplaces to find his unconscious friend. Ron hadn't been in the mood to drag a lot of dead weight back to Harry's flat, so he'd finally given up and had used Harry's wand to call up an emergency mediwizard squad from St. Mungo's. They'd quickly transported Harry to the hospital.

After a few hours of sitting in a stuffy waiting room, Ron had finally been shooed away by a nurse, who had assured him that Harry would be fine with some food and water in his stomach. Ron had drafted a quick letter to the Ministry updating everyone on Harry's condition and whereabouts, and then had dragged himself to the Leaky Cauldron, where he'd rented a room. This had been at nearly seven o'clock in the morning. He'd wanted to return to Hogwarts – badly – but Moody hadn't officially dismissed him yet. He was still an Auror on duty; plus, no matter how much he wanted to return to the castle, Ron's conscience would also keep him in London. The threat of the scrolls had not gone away.

"Stark," Ron said aloud to his ceiling. "If you're responsible for all this, I'm going to – " It took nearly five minutes for Ron to use up all of his colourful vocabulary. Feeling much better, Ron rolled onto his side and fell into an uneasy – but thankfully dreamless – sleep.

***

"Good morning, Mr. Weasley!" Eddie Collins exclaimed energetically as Ron passed him in the busy hallways of the Ministry of Magic Tuesday morning. Ron stuffed a rather large piece of toast into his mouth and muttered a muffled reply, waving. He hurried through the corridors, which, unlike two nights before, were now practically bursting with noise as people hurried to and fro. Some were very important-looking, wearing elegant, expensive robes, while others looked hasty and frazzled, folders of papers tucked under their arms. Ron ducked into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and bumped into something quite solid. He choked on his toast.

"Alright there?" the person he'd bumped into asked brightly. Ron bent over, choking violently. The man swung back his palm and gave Ron a hearty slap on the back.

"Out with the old, in with the new!" he said cheerfully, thwacking Ron with all his might. Ron would have groaned if he wasn't choking; he recognized that voice. Finally, the piece of bread rose into his throat, and Ron spat it into a nearby plant, which did not look pleased. The plant snarled at him and went back to patting down the soil in it's pot.

"Landers," Ron gasped, rubbing his throat, "I hate you."

"Ron!" the tanned young man exclaimed in delight. "You're back! S'about time too, you owe me money…"

"I don't owe you anything, you blithering idiot," Ron muttered, straightening and having a look at the young man. He'd been an Auror-in-training when Ron had left, and the older Auror had very much doubted that Joel Landers would make it past training. Joel was far more interested in Quidditch betting pools and pretty girls than becoming an Auror, and had never really taken anything seriously. He rarely listened, had a problem with authority, joked around at times when even Ron had been serious, and did stupid, reckless things. Yet there was the mark on Joel's wrist, clear as day. Ron felt a great swell of pity for the poor fool who had become Joel's partner.

Joel sniffed audibly. "Oh, you always knew how to make a man feel special, Ron!" he said in a high-pitched voice, batting his eyelashes. He grinned and dropped the routine. "So I hear you went to get Harry and Di back! Rumour has it you're staying for good again," Joel smiled widely. "Well? Are you?"

"'Fraid not," Ron shrugged, and the Joel looked somewhat disappointed. The young Auror had idolized Harry, but Ron had assumed that he was just another person to joke around with occasionally to Joel. He felt somewhat proud seeing Joel's disappointment.

"Oh, well…you're going to the meeting then, aren't you?" Joel asked, jerking his thumb in the direction of Nicholas Foran's office.

Ron had spent much of Sunday at the Leaky Cauldron, doing nothing and feeling incredibly stupid. He had considered sending an owl to Hermione despite the rules, and had drafted quite a few letters before he had scrapped the entire idea, imagining a smoking red envelope being brought back to him in return. After another night of little to no sleep, Ron had been woken up Monday morning by a Ministry owl clawing at his red hair, carrying a letter of summons to another meeting at the Ministry the next day.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Ron replied unenthusiastically. Joel opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted as an explosion of shouting voices filled the hallways. The two of them exchanged looks and then hurried down the hall.

"St. Mungo's? St. Mungo's?!"

"For Merlin's sake, Black, calm down – "

"Calm down?!" Sirius Black hollered. He was standing in the middle of the corridor, his face red from bellowing at Mad-Eye Moody and Nicholas Foran. Diana Drago and a few other Aurors watched in the background. There was a vaguely amused expression on Diana's face.

"First, my godson goes missing!" Sirius roared. "And you don't tell me about it! Then, I find out he was being held prisoner in some pyramid – "

"Tomb," Diana corrected.

" – then I find out he'd been taken to St. Mungo's!"

"Lad looks like he's going to explode," Robbie Murdock commented as Ron and Joel joined the other Aurors. There were very few of them present, and Ron briefly wondered where everyone was.

Joel looked pensive. "Care to make a wager on that?" he asked Robbie slyly.

Robbie stared. "That he'll literally explode?" The older Auror rubbed the greying stubble on his chin and shrugged. "Sure, I'll put a couple galleons on that." Joel grinned and eagerly reached for his wallet.

"Hullo, Ron!" Robbie said in his raspy voice as he dug out a few galleons. "Good to see you again."

"Yes, nice to have you back," Jameson Howe said, holding out his hand to shake Ron's. Owen Darnell grinned and slapped Ron on the back. Ian Dion simply nodded at him. He was a man of few words.

"Diana tells us you did quite a number on those fellows in Egypt," Jameson complimented Ron, who raised his eyebrows at the dark-haired, female Auror.

"Diana said that, did she?" Ron asked skeptically.

"Mmhmm. I believe her exact words were, 'Yeah, Weasley helped'." The corners of Robbie's eyes crinkled as he grinned at Diana. She continued watching Sirius and Foran, but caught Robbie's eye and actually grinned wryly back. Surprisingly, the others seemed to get along with the cynical female in their midst.

"Shh!" Joel hissed as Sirius took a step towards Nicholas. Joel was obviously waiting for Sirius to explode.

"Now see here, Black," Foran snapped loudly, and it was quite clear by his commanding tone why he was department head. "It was strictly on a need-to-know basis."

"And I didn't need to know?!" Sirius exclaimed. He shifted his weight from his bad leg, which had been injured terribly a few years back during an excursion as Padfoot, and glared. "Harry is – "

"Fine," a quiet voice muttered. Everyone whirled around to see Harry Potter standing in the corridor. Ron noted that he looked much better than he had last night, though his face had a yellowish tinge to it and his robes hung a bit loosely on him. Sirius stared, his mouth opening and closing.

"Wow," Joel whispered, "this is better than the theatre."

"I'm fine," Harry said quietly again, obviously embarrassed at all the commotion caused over him. Sirius took a few abrupt steps forward, as if to hug his godson, and then stopped in his tracks as he realized that they had an audience. There was silence.

"Potter," Diana, surprisingly, was the first to break the quiet. "What are you doing here? Get yourself back to St. Mungo's, you idiot."

Harry ignored her and nodded towards the door. "Can we get this thing started? I think Ron wants to get back to Hogwarts." He gave his best friend a weak grin. Ron opened his mouth to protest that he wasn't going anywhere until that scroll had been found, but was interrupted.

"Yes, let's," a clear voice said. Sophia Foran had just arrived on the scene, clipboard in hand. Ron saw Joel and a few of the others scowl at her arrival. Nicholas and Moody nodded and headed into the office. The Aurors that were present followed.

"Can't stand that twit," Joel said in disgust, nodding at Sophia's back. "Snobby, stuck up, little brat." Ron thought it was quite rich of Joel to call Sophia a little brat; he couldn't have been much older than her. "Thinks she's Minister for Magic, just because Daddy's head of department. Twit."

"She's right there, you know," Ron pointed out, concealing amusement from his voice as they entered the office and took their seats around the square table.

"I don't care," Joel said fervently. "We all hate her and she knows it." He suddenly turned his attention to Diana, who had just reluctantly sat down in the empty seat next to him. Joel immediately turned on the charm.

"Hey, Di, good to have you back," he said smoothly. Joel extended a hand towards her slightly tanned face. "You're looking good. I like the tanned look, it really – "

"Don't touch me," Diana said flatly. Joel pulled his hand away and gave Ron a smug grin.

"She wants me," Joel whispered to Ron, grinning. Diana, who had obviously heard, rolled her eyes.

"Roll call!" Sophia Foran announced, quill poised.

"Joel Landers; Auror," Joel immediately said, in a much too co-operative tone. "And I'd like to file a complaint while we're at it…Harry has a title, so why can't the rest of us? He can be the Boy Who Lived, and Owen can be the Man Who Wouldn't Take a Partner – "

"Damn straight," Darnell said with a grin.

" – and I'll be the Guy Who's Amazingly Good-Looking," Joel finished brightly. The young Auror looked to Moody. "We can call you Peg-Leg," he said fondly.

Everyone except Nicholas, Sophia, and Moody himself snickered.

"Mr. Landers, if you can't act mature for more than a minute, then I suggest you leave," Sophia said icily, but Ron could have sworn she looked a little hurt. "Anyway…I suppose we can skip the roll call; it doesn't matter, I've already written down everyone present, except…" she trailed off and looked to Sirius nervously.

"Sirius Black; Pissed Off," Sirius said wryly, glaring at Moody. Harry snorted. Sophia turned red.

Sirius had worked closely – in secret, of course – with Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix after Voldemort's return. Even Moody and Snape had accepted the fact that they needed the Azkaban escapee's help, and managed to keep his whereabouts a secret from the corrupt Ministry. Once the war was over and Voldemort was gone, the former convict's name had been cleared, and for the first time in over a decade, Sirius Black had been a free man. He still worked with the Aurors, but mostly from home; Sirius used his bad leg as an excuse, but Ron had a feeling that he just didn't like coming down to the Ministry. He still received too many suspicious - even fearful - stares there.

Looking at Harry's godfather now, Ron still had a hard time believing that he was the same ghost of a man who had broken Ron's leg in third year. His face was fuller, his hair was shorter, and his robes were much, much cleaner. Though there was some grey beginning to show around his temples, Sirius still looked younger and healthier than Ron had ever seen him.

"To business," Nick Foran said briskly. "Since you're here, Mr. Potter, you may as well explain your findings in Egypt."

"There's nothing much to explain," Harry shrugged. "I knew that the Scroll of Malady wasn't there, but these treasure-hunters were up to their necks in illegal dark activities. I started poking around the site they were looting, and I…" he trailed off, and Ron swore his eyes flickered to Diana. "I got caught," Harry finished simply, shrugging again. "But it wasn't a total waste. I have names for you."

"Excellent," Moody praised. "Let's hear them, then."

"Vern MacLeod, Leland Weisberg, Lyle Cambridge," Harry rattled off, "Elijah something or another - I didn't pick up his last name - and Archibald Worthington. He was the ringleader. There were a few men whose names I didn't find out. But that's not all…Diana?"

"I have a whole list of names that were involved in selling dark devices around Cairo," Diana said, looking bored with the meeting. She was drumming her fingers on the table. "Evidence, too."

"Well done," Foran nodded, and Ron figured that was likely the highest form of praise he'd ever given. Ron glanced at Sirius, who had fallen quiet and was looking sullen. He grinned.

"Now, Mr. Weasley." Ron jumped as he realized he was being addressed. "We thank you for your time and services. We will try not to disturb you again, unless in a similar emergency. You are released from service, and your Auror's privileges are hereby revoked," Foran said.

"Hold on just a minute!" Ron exclaimed. "What about the scrolls? What about the Dark Hand? What about the Muggle-borns, dammit?!"

"Mr. Weasley!" Sophia began, probably to scold Ron about his language. "I'll ask you – "

"That," Foran said rather coldly, cutting off his daughter, "is no longer your concern."

Harry was staring intently at the head of department, while Joel and Jameson exchanged looks.

"Go back to Hogwarts, lad," Moody insisted, his magical eye rolling. "Don't worry, we have this thing covered."

Ron looked furious and helpless all at once. "But – "

"Come on, Ron," Harry said, pushing back his chair and standing up. "I'll show you to a fireplace."

"I'm not bloody going back to Hogwarts if I can help here," Ron said though clenched teeth, staying seated.

"Don't be stubborn, Weasley," Diana said abruptly. "You'll do more good there." At this, Foran gave her a sharp look, which Ron didn't notice.

"Come on, Ron," Harry said again, this time giving him a meaningful look. Ron hesitated, then reluctantly stood and followed Harry out of the office. To Ron's surprise, Diana also stood and walked towards the door.

"Go on without us," Harry told the group. "We'll be right back." With that, he closed the door and started down the hall, Ron and Diana walking on either side of him. Ron gave the dark-haired woman a look.

"And you came because…?" Ron asked irritably.

"Don't flatter yourself," Diana scoffed. "I'd do anything to get the hell out of those meetings. Waste of time."

"So what's the deal, Harry?" Ron said impatiently. "I'm not going back to Hogwarts until – "

"Oh yes, you are."

"Why?" Ron challenged stubbornly.

"Because you trust me, and I'm telling you that you should." Harry gave him a firm look as they stopped in front of a door. "Wait here, I think Bates will let you use his fireplace, but he's a bit anti-social, so it's probably best if I just go in."

"I can use the one in the main foyer that we went through last night!" Ron called after him. But Harry had already closed the door behind him. There was silence in the hall. Diana folded her arms and leaned against the wall – she was back in robes, simple black ones that resembled the ones she'd worn at Hogwarts.

"Well," Ron said tersely, partly because he couldn't stand the silence, and partly because curiosity was getting the best of him. "Is it official, then?"

Diana wordlessly pulled up her sleeve, lifting her wrist so that he could see. There were the familiar, joined circles. Diana let her sleeve fall back down. Ron didn't know why, but the idea of her being bonded to Harry bothered him; perhaps because she'd taken his place.

"So?" Ron said.

"So what?" Diana retorted, looking annoyed. Ron guessed she'd gotten around as much sleep as he had in the past few days – a combined total of about five hours. She didn't look like a happy camper. Or maybe she just didn't like him.

"So…how's it going? Ron said lamely. "The whole Auror business, that is."

Diana gave him a skeptical look. "Weasley, if this is you trying to show off your conversational skills, then bravo," she said sarcastically, "you've succeeded."

"Hey, I'm just trying to be nice here!" Ron said defensively. "I mean, we had to work together, and you're Harry's partner now, and he seems to like you, so I was just attempting to be – "

Diana looked at him strangely. "Potter what?"

"I don't know, he puts up with you, doesn't he?" Ron replied in exasperation. Diana shrugged and pushed herself off the wall with her elbows. She walked to the other side of the corridor. There was another long silence, in which Diana stared at the door, almost thoughtful, and Ron continuously ran his hand through his fiery hair, staring at the floor.

"He's insane," Diana suddenly said. Ron looked up, surprised. "Potter, that is. He…rushes into things. He doesn't listen. And he always feels like everything is his fault. He always…" Diana trailed off and shrugged again, looking as if she wished she hadn't spoken.

"Has to be the hero?" Ron supplied quietly. Diana looked up, her face impassive, though her dark eyes were surprised. "I know. That's just…what Harry does."

"Well, it's foolish," Diana said shortly. "He…cares about people he doesn't even know more than he cares about himself."

"Yep. That's Harry."

Diana looked as if she wanted to say more, but she folded her arms instead. "So was that our official Potter-partner bonding? Should we make matching bracelets for each other now?" she asked dryly.

"Wow, I'm gone for two seconds, and you're already making matching bracelets for each other," said Harry's voice. Diana and Ron's heads snapped around, both looking startled. Harry had just re-appeared at the door, grinning. "Bates said you can use his fireplace…but, er, you should probably not talk to him, he's having an off-day."

"I'll just stay out here and get lost in the vast corridors of the Ministry of Magic," Diana offered. "Don't find me until the meeting's over."

"Okay," Harry agreed, grinning. Diana returned a wry smile and started down the hallway.

"You'll have to go to Hogsmeade, just to be safe, and then get to Hogwarts from there," Harry said in a hushed voice as he led Ron into the room. Mr. Bates' office was cluttered and messy; Bates himself was nowhere to be seen. "I'm not sure if Dumbledore will have connected up the Floo Network to Hogwarts for you."

"Alright," Ron nodded, feeling a knot form in his stomach. He really did want to go back, even if his guilt and worry made him want to stay and do something for the Ministry. Still, he did trust Harry, and for whatever reason, Harry had told him to go. Reluctantly, Ron picked up a fistful of emerald powder and chucked it in the fire.

"Happy journeys, mate," Harry said with a smile. "And thanks. It's good to know that this," he turned up his wrist; there were two marks there, one a bit more faded than the other, "is still good for something."

"If you people need anything…anything, you'd better damn well let me know," Ron said seriously.

"Will do," Harry promised. "Say hello to Hermione for me," he added with a grin. Ron groaned, and Harry laughed. "See you," his former partner said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Bye, Harry." With that, Ron stepped into the flames. His last thought before the spinning began was that he really should have picked up a new wand while in Diagon Alley. He was probably going to need one to defend himself from the wrath of Hermione.

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Boring chapter, I know. But after that action-packed Indiana Jones one, we needed to take a breather from fighting and whips and theme music and the like, heh. This chapter's theme music was "Bohemian Rhapsody". Why? Because I said so.

Next chapter promises to have some long-awaited Hermione/Ron action, so yay! But I'll only put it up real quick-like if you review. Yes, that's right, the continuous pleads for reviews continue. I feel like such a review whore. v_v

However, I've actually converted a few non-reviewers to reviewers! I hope I have paved the way for review whore everywhere. ^_^