Disclaimer: I don't any of the Harry Potter universe including but not limited to characters, places, names and words. They are the exclusive property of JK Rowling and whatever deal she has made with Warner Bros.

Ron's Summer: Ch 2

Ron turned to face Hermione; they did not know when they were going to see each other next. Hermione started "Promise me that you will write and let me know how Harry is doing, he may open up more to you because you're a boy and because you didn't make some stupid "Hero complex" complex. You look after yourself, Ok."
"Of course I'll write to you, you look after yourself too" An awkward hug followed by a quick kiss on Ron's cheek from Hermione. Ron called out a last goodbye as he rounded on his mother. "So where are we off to? The Burrow or headquarters?" Ron glanced another look back to see Hermione's retreating back only half listening to his Mum's answer when he suddenly realised what she was telling him. "I'm going to Romania, with Charlie, to work with dragons, I'm going to get paid right, yeah I am going to have my own money." Molly looked like she was about to burst out crying as she slowly guided their way off of the platform, picking up Arthur along the way. They reached a dark alley which was an appropriate place to portkey away.  Molly turned to face her youngest son "Now Ron I want you to listen to Charlie, I mean it if I hear that you have been acting up or not listening to his instructions I will not hesitate to send you another howler. And you know I will. Promise me that you will be careful with the dragons; oh I wish you didn't have to go. Now the portkey will activate in two minutes. You realise young boy that we are going to have a serious talk when you get home. Professor Dumbledore has let me in on a few of your little secrets" By this time tears were streaking down Molly's face. Ron was looking at her apprehensively "Mum I am going to be okay, if death eaters couldn't kill me there is no way in hell that some little dragon is going to keep me down" Ginny looked at him like he was the worlds most insensitive prat whilst Arthur put a reassuring arm around his wife. "Well come here and give me a hug" Ron moved towards his mother and embraced her tenderly trying to appease his earlier mistake. Arthur held out his hand which Ron happily shook then handed him the portkey that was going to take him to Romania a quick goodbye to Ginny and a "I'll be back before you know it" to his mother and the portkey activated.

Before Ron knew it the spinning had stopped and he gratefully took the outstretched hand of Charlie before being pulled into a brotherly hug. "How have you been Charlie? Haven't seen you in awhile" Ron asked his older brother.

"Not too bad I guess. Been really busy what with the dragons and with the order I haven't had time to scratch myself. Here I will get your trunk and we will go inside and have a chat over some butterbeer." Ron happily followed along behind Charlie imagining all of the cool things that they could get up to without his Mother's constant interfering. Ron was also thinking about Norbert and whether he would get to work with him at all. Finally they reached Charlie's house and Charlie showed Ron to his room and positioned the trunk in the middle of the floor so that Ron could unpack it later and then they moved into the kitchen. "So Ron I think we need to have a little talk" Ron looked at Charlie with a sense of foreboding, there was a lot of things that Ron would rather not discuss including the trip to the ministry of magic, Sirius's death, OWL's and his relationship with Hermione and Harry, this wasn't going to be good. "So how have you been, you know with Sirius's death?" Wow Charlie certainly knows how to get me to open up, he has shown such subtlety. "Yeah I'm okay although I am really worried about how Harry is going to handle things. He has so little things connecting him with his parents" Wow I did that well Ron thought to himself, send the conversation towards Harry and hopefully we won't have to talk about me or this crappy world that we are now living in. "You know what Ron I really want to know how you're doing" Ron sighed loudly "Look Charlie I don't know why I'm here, just a week ago I was fighting bloody death eaters and ended up having a brain attack me, I couldn't protect three of the most important people in my life, and the girl that I am in love with nearly died. So you know what Charlie, you work out how I am bloody well feeling." With that Ron stomped off to his room whilst Charlie just sat there, well that went well he thought to himself and when did Ron start admitting that he loved Hermione.

Ron sat on his bed, what right did Charlie have to pry into his life like that. Then a brainwave hit he should write to Hermione. He got out a quill and parchment and sat down on his bed.

Dear Hermione, nah that was wrong, he got another piece of parchment.

To Hermione, you would never guess where I am? I'm in Romania with Charlie, I am going to be working with the dragon's and getting PAID, I will be able to get good presents this year. I have already had a fight with Charlie, he wanted to talk about Sirius and the MOM. I know what you'll say, it would be good for me to talk about it but there really is nothing to talk about. I am missing you already and Harry of course. Anyway I hope you reply quickly. Got to go Charlie's coming. See ya love your friend Ron

Ron quickly grabbed Pig and was in the process of attaching the letter to him when Charlie walked in the room. "What are you doing?" Ron looked up from the task at hand and gave him an icy glare "Just sending Hermione a letter" It was Charlie's turn to sigh this time. "You can't Ron, Dumbledore's orders. You, Harry and Hermione aren't allowed any contact with each other until you meet up again in person"

"WHAT? There's no way you can stop me" he finished tying the letter to Pig's leg and was in the process of walking over to the window to let Pig out when Charlie called out "If You move any closer to the window I will have no choice but to stun you" Ron stopped for a second considering his options. He had promised Hermione that he would write and breaking promises to Hermione wasn't the best idea at the best of times. Also if he backed downed from Charlie then Charlie would be able to walk all over him for the rest of the summer. All of that said Ron put on a burst of speed in a desperate attempt to reach the window when all of a sudden he stopped dead and fell. Charlie had acted on his promise. Charlie walked over towards the stupefied Ron and grasped Pig out of Ron's hand and then started talking slowly. "Ron, I didn't really want to do that. I thought it was wrong that you guys weren't told about the plans for this summer. Now I am going to enervate you on the understanding that you will listen to me" he shouted whilst using his wand "enervate" followed by "Accio butterbeers" he turned and handed Ron one of the butterbeers. Ron had a scowl on his face but he didn't say anything so Charlie continued. "We had an order meeting two days after the ministry incident. The meeting was called specifically because Professor Snape had some information regarding You-know-who's plans. It has come to light that you and Hermione are on his hit list, you are actually right behind Harry and Dumbledore" he looked over to Ron to see his reaction but when he didn't receive one he continued "They want you guys to lure Harry into a trap so the order has decided that you guys need to be protected as well as Harry. Hermione is currently being watched by Tonks whilst they go overseas on holidays for a month. Harry is being protected by Kinsley on Fudge's order. Now as part of these new protections you guys aren't allowed to communicate due to the chances of the owls being intercepted. The reason why you weren't told before is so that Hermione and Harry wouldn't to know where you were going. That way you can't give up each others locations if it came to that." Once again he looked over to Ron to gauge his reaction and once again he saw a completely blank face. Only Ron's eyes gave away anything and the only thing that they gave away was defiance, there was no fear. "The other rules that Dumbledore has imposed is that you are not allowed to be alone outside the protections of the compound or this house. I know this doesn't sound ideal but it is much better than sitting in a house not being allowed to go out at all."

Charlie had finished and was waiting for Ron to respond "Hermione and I had a chat one night in the hospital wing. She told me that we were going to be targets of Voldemort, for God's sake don't shudder. It has taken me five years of listening to Harry say his name before I could do it and I don't need you shuddering every time I say the bloody word. So I'm not allowed any contact with Harry and Hermione but what about Mum and Dad and the rest of the family" Charlie grimaced "it would be for the best if you didn't write to them either. One it lets people know that you aren't at home. Two Pig could be followed back here. You can read the letters from them as they will be for both of us but you can't write to them" Ron was getting close to exploding, he suddenly knew what it was like for Harry last year but he was resigned to his fate. It was only one month. "Ok Charlie I will follow the rules. You happy" Charlie looked relieved "Yeah I am, hey do you want to head down to the dragon compound I will show you around, show you what you are going to do?" Ron looked at Charlie as if considering the request but slowly shook his head. "I'm pretty beat. Can't we hang around here?"

"Sure whatever you want, I have some paperwork I can do while we hang here ok" Charlie got up and left the room feeling slightly worried about his little brother, he was too young for this.

Ron lay on his bed thinking about the coming month, no Hermione, no Harry and a whole lot of bloody stupid rules. As if Voldemort was going to come all of the way to Romania to find him. And Hermione, he had promised her that he would write. Before Ron knew it Charlie was calling him for tea. Conversation at dinner was relatively light, Charlie informed Ron of his plans for the next day. They were going to be starting the day with a run at 7 which Charlie explained was due to the fact that dragon keepers needed to be in top physical condition. They would then fly over to the dragon colony where Charlie would give Ron a tour of the colony and then give him his first assignment which would most probably be just observation for the first couple of days. As soon as Ron had finished tea he bid Charlie a good night and went off to bed and fell straight asleep. It would be his only good sleep for the next week.

The next thing Ron knew was being woken up with water dripping down his shirt. "What the bloody hell is the meaning of this" shouted Ron, Charlie just shrugged his shoulders and walked quietly out of his bedroom to give Ron time to change. Ron eventually struggled out of the bedroom dressed and ready to go. He was feeling quite apprehensive about this so called run, he knew he wasn't completely unfit, quidditich as well as having five older brothers had taken care of that but he had never gone running before. He grabbed a piece of toast as he waited for Charlie to join him in the kitchen. When Charlie popped into the kitchen only moments later he beckoned Ron to follow. They returned to the kitchen an hour later where Ron started his second breakfast, which was much larger than his first. Ron thought that the run went quite well for his first time; Charlie had set a reasonable pace that Ron had been able to keep up with.

Once they had finished breakfast Charlie asked Ron to go and get his broom and then they were off. The ride to the colony was quick and before Ron knew it they were there. The colony was huge as it would have to be to house close to fifty dragons. As they walked around the colony Ron couldn't help but be influenced by Charlie's infectious excitement. As they approached the Norwegian Ridgeback's area Ron immediately picked out Norbert. "Hey Charlie can we go over and see Norbert" Charlie looked around to see how many other people were around in case things got out of hand. He got out his wand and started towards the dragon. "Now careful Ron approach him slowly" As Ron slowly approached Norbert something weird happened. Norbert stopped what he was doing, looked at Ron and slowly sat down.

Charlie clutched his wand tightly and did not notice when the rest of the people started to walk over to watch the exchange between the new kid and the dragon. Ron continued on towards Norbert never breaking eye contact and then started talking softly to him "You remember me don't ya mate, I was there when you hatched. Unbeknown to both Ron and Charlie another dragon worker had scouted round the back of the dragon and was getting ready to subdue the dragon as it was obviously sick to be behaving this way when all of a sudden Norbert turned and breathed fire just metres away from where the dragon worker was standing. Before Ron knew what was happening he has was flying in the air towards Charlie as he called out "Accio Ron Weasley" Ron landed on Charlie knocking them both backwards and then turned towards him "what was that for? We were just having a little chat and that loser went and scared him. I was in no harm and neither was that other person. God you would think that I was the one that had been working with dragons for the past ten years" Charlie looked at him with disbelief written over his face. He had just saved him from what could possibly be a life threatening burn and Ron was talking to him like he was in the wrong. "For crying out loud what do you mean you were having a little chat. Norbert as you so affectionately call him is a full grown dragon. One breath and he could make you a crispy critter. You sure have a lot to learn and you better learn it quickly otherwise death eaters will be the least of your worries" It was Ron's turn to have a look of indignation on his face but chose not to say anything instead he stomped off towards the office. Charlie looked to follow but the chaos that had broken out was too pressing to leave, with one quick glance back to ensure that Ron was indeed heading to the office which he was and then he threw himself into the foray. Little did he know that what was about to occur would have a long lasting effect on Ron's life.

Ron waited patiently in the office for an hour, impatiently for another and finally after another two hours Charlie entered into the office looking decidedly worse for wear. "Come on Ron, I have the rest of the day off, I will let you know what happened after I get cleaned up" Ron got up and silently followed Charlie out of the room, he could tell that Charlie was in no mood for idle chat. They mounted their respective brooms and then they were off. They still hadn't said another word to each other by the time that they reached their house. Charlie continued up to the shower whilst Ron made himself comfortable in the family room. When Charlie emerged after a significant amount of time which Ron believed was due to the fact that he had to heal a significant number of burns and other injuries he called out to Ron "What do you want for tea?" Ron being a typical teenage boy replied with the customary "whatever, as long as you are cooking and there is lots of it!" Charlie grunted and went about preparing a simple Shepard's Pie, in time it was ready and they sat down for their meal. Charlie looked up at Ron and then started "As you can probably tell things did not go well back at the colony we lost two dragons one of which was a nesting mother. Several other dragon's were injured none of them seriously. Luckily there wasn't too many serious injuries sustained by us dragon keepers either. Most of my burns I got were sustained when I was trying to relocate the eggs of the killed nesting dragon. Two out of the four eggs we managed to place with a Ridgeback the other two we have put in the incubator they should be ready to hatch within the next week." Charlie had obviously finished and was looking at Ron for him to respond. Ron didn't really know what to say, he finally decided that probably a humble apology may be in order. Charlie was right he could have gotten seriously injured if he had stayed with Norbert. "Charlie I'm sorry about before you know how I am. I shout, scream and make a fool of myself first then think." Charlie was taken aback; this was Ron his immature little brother that apologised as a last resort. I guess seeing the things that he had seen have changed him, most notably for the better "apology accepted, now I think an early night is in order".

Ron quickly finished his tea and made his way up to the bedroom and got himself ready for bed. He finally made his way into the bed and lay there to think. To start with it was innocent thoughts like what had happened with Norbert that was pretty weird in itself. His thoughts then moved to Charlie and how he could have died today working with the dragons then they moved to the order and how it was likely that Bill, his Mum and Dad were likely to be encountering more death eaters now that Voldemort's return was public knowledge. These thoughts then brought up thoughts that he had been suppressing for just over a week now. Thoughts of Harry, flashbacks of Hermione lying on the bed and finally to when Professor McGonagall had told them Sirius had died. Ron didn't know how to deal with Sirius's death. No one he had been particularly close to had ever died before, sure his grandparents were dead but they were old. He also didn't know how he was going to deal with Hermione's and Harry's grief when they were back together. Harry had been so distant since Sirius had died. Harry had already lost so much in his life. Never known true parental love, he had actually confessed to Ron one particularly quiet night that he sometimes thought he would literally burst when his Mum or Sirius gave him a hug, it was one of the few times that Harry had talked about his feelings. Hermione on the other hand was a whole different story, she was impossible to figure out, when they were told about Sirius she just turned to look at Ron with tears running down her face and with a look of absolute pain on her face, it was then when Ron realised that he wanted to protect her with all of his worth. This was pretty funny considering the type of witch she was, it was more likely that she would be the one that would end up protecting him and with those thoughts he drifted off into a light sleep.

Ron's sleep that night was plagued with the weirdest dream. "Push Anna, you are nearly there" Ron found himself saying as he looked down at an oddly familiar woman who was sitting on a hospital bed all sweaty and panting heavily. "Shut up you sadist, it is all your fault, you will be lucky if I ever talk to you again, let alone let you do anything that may result with me in this sort of condition again" Suddenly another voice broke in "You're crowning dear, one more push and the head should be out. Now Push. Excellent. Excellent. Harder. Keep going. Nearly there." The person who was obviously Anna was shooting daggers at me and grasping my hand so tightly I thought I might pass out. Finally she lets out a sigh and the grip on my hand loosens a little when all of a sudden I hear a little whaa and I find myself looking down between Anna's leg to see the most absolutely disgustingly disturbing sight. A baby. "It's a girl Anna, so Hermione it is right?" Anna looked at me lovingly and then said "Of course baby." Suddenly I have left the hospital room and I find myself in a nice lounge room, a young girl of about three with short brown hair with ringlets was sitting on the floor with a book on her lap "Look Mummy I can read" she shouted out. I was then walking with a lady and young girl of about 5 or 6 when all of a sudden the young girl turned to face the lady and said "Mum why do all the other girls have friends and I don't" I moved once again, this time I was sitting in a hall watching four girls who were about ten singing and then the one with bushy brown hair started a solo. It was like the angels had sent her down so that she could bring happiness and joy to all who listened to her. Suddenly this girl was saying goodbye at a train station to the lady and a man and that was when Ron realised that the girl that he had been watching grow up was his Hermione. Hermione Granger. All of a sudden he saw himself and Harry there with Hermione and a troll. Next a big fight was occurring between the younger Ron and Hermione. From there the flashes became quicker, Hermione fighting death eaters with Harry, fighting death eaters with him, at a graveside, getting married, pregnant talking to Ginny, in tears, looking much older being hugged by Harry. By this time Ron had decided it was time to wake up, it was too much to see. He awoke to find that the time was just after six and he had a splitting headache.

Ron decided to head to the shower, Charlie would be up soon for their run and he was dripping with sweat but before Ron could make his way into the bathroom Charlie intercepted him. "Hey Ron what are you doing up?" although Charlie had a sneaking suspicion why he was up. Ron summed up his options and decided a half truth may be in order; he certainly didn't want to tell Charlie that he was dreaming about Hermione. "Well we went to bed pretty early, I guess I had enough sleep so when I woke up just a minute ago I thought I would grab a shower before you woke up." Charlie didn't look convinced but let it go. The run did wonders to clear Ron's head and by the time they reached the dragon colony the dream was at the back of his mind. The day could only be called boring. It started with a debriefing concerning the incident that occurred the day before, followed by Ron helping to move supplies around the colony. The afternoon was characterised by interaction with a variety of dragons where nothing exciting happened except for the fact that Ron would often find that the dragons would often make eye contact and wouldn't break it until Ron turned away. Come knock off time Charlie came and collected Ron where they went home and had some tea. This day depicted the rest of the week. Ron would go to bed, have weird dreams about people he knew, get up, go for a run, go to work and come home so that he could go to bed and start it all again.

The monotony finished exactly one week after Ron's arrival. It started off normally. Well what had become normal, he had awoken from a dream about Ginny's past and Charlie was waiting to start their run when an owl came knocking at the window. Charlie grabbed the note attached and then shouted "Get ready for work, we're not going for a run, the dragon is about to hatch. Quick." And with that Charlie was off to his bedroom with Ron sauntering behind. In no time they were back at the colony where the large egg was moving around and suddenly it happened, there where once lay an egg was now a baby dragon. It looked around as if looking for its mother and then suddenly stopped. He locked eyes with Ron as if deciding that this was the thing that was going to feed and protect it. Suddenly Ron heard in his head "You, you are the one. Every thousand years a dragon is chosen, their job to help defeat evil. In times of extreme peril the dragon, the phoenix and the unicorn will band together. We are to be bonded, I will be able to offer you, the side of light and the innocent protection. In return your job is to help me to survive until I can do so on my own. Do you understand?" Ron just stared at the dragon dumbfounded and then started to nod. "You need to convince them to let you take care of me" Ron nodded again and then turned towards Charlie. "Hey Charlie do you think it is possible if I could look after him. I know what to do. I helped look after Norbert when he was a baby" Charlie looked at him pensively there was something going on with Ron and the dragons. Everybody was commenting on it, they had never seen the dragons give eye contact the way that they were continually doing with Ron, well they had, the first day that Charlie had arrived but it had quickly stopped. "Okay Ron you're on full time baby dragon duty" Ron let out a sigh of relief and then started shoo the audience out of the room.

They all left except for Charlie, "You sure you know what you are doing Ron, you're here for another 3 weeks and you'll hardly be able to leave the compound." Ron turned away from the dragon towards Charlie "Yeah I know, hey Charlie have you ever felt like the dragons were talking to you, you know like in your head?" Charlie thought hard about his answer, Ron hadn't been sleeping very well there was bound to be some side effects from this. "Sort of, you can sometimes tell what the dragon is thinking just by his actions and his movements." The answer confirmed Ron's suspicion; the dragons didn't talk to people. Oh well he thought to himself I have finally found my place in the family, it is obvious now I'm the insane one, what with funny dreams and talking to dragons they might as well just send me off to St Mungo's now. Once again the dragon was talking in his head "You are not mad. I can read your thoughts we need to have a chat but first you are going to have to feed me, I would like some lion's meat if you can find it."

"I think he's hungry, do you have any lion's meat hanging around" Charlie looked at him with disbelief, it was like he had completely forgotten the previous conversation, he was going to have to write Dumbledore about this "We are a dragon colony Ron, of course we have dragon meat" sarcasm dripping off nearly every word, in an attempt to lighten the situation. "It's out back I'll go get it and then I'm off. See ya." Charlie left the room and quickly returned with the lion meat and then exited for good.

Ron pulled a chair up to the table and stared at the dragon and pushed the meat towards it. "Do I have to tell you everything, I am all of half an hour old, you need to break it up." Ron had a look of embarrassment on his face and without thinking about it retrieved his wand from his pants and shouted a shredding charm at the meat. He suddenly realised what he had done and was halfway out of the door to tell Charlie about it when the voice broke through once again "I need to eat, it is your responsibility to feed me. I'm going to have a bit of trouble with you aren't I." Ron turned back towards the dragon looking sheepish "Sorry" he exclaimed aloud "So how are we doing this then?" the dragon replied "Well I am going to open my mouth and you are going to put the strips in my mouth" Ron quickly complied. "I will be right back dragon" The dragon chuckled to himself being bonded to Ron was going to be an interesting task. Ron stopped to ask the first person he met about Charlie and was directed to the offices. Ron burst through the office door "Charlie I have done something really stupid." Charlie looked up "Are you okay, tell me that you are okay?" thinking that the baby dragon had somehow burnt or bitten him. "Nah I'm okay, don't worry the dragon is doing well but I just used magic" Charlie let out a sigh of relief, "we have an agreement with the ministry of magic that our work experience students can use magic but Dumledore is working on Fudge to allow all students who are entering their fifth year and above to use magic for the duration of the war." Ron looked relieved "Oh, well I'm back to the dragon but we will talk about you not telling me that I can do magic later" he went to walk out of the door when Charlie started to talk again "Dumbledore is dropping by tomorrow morning, try and have all of your dragon things done early on okay." Ron nodded his head and left.

Ron made his way back to the room where the dragon was "Miss me?" he called out as he entered the room. The dragon opened his eyes and shot Ron what could only be interpreted as a dirty look "No. I was sleeping. Are you up for that talk now?" Ron had nothing to do so he once again took the seat "As ready as I'll ever be, you know the headmaster of my school is coming to talk to me tomorrow. I think that my brother Charlie told him that I was going mad. Can I name you?" The dragons look did not change "You cannot name me; my name is Ares after the Greek God. Ares was a warrior just like you will be. I feel that you should tell your headmaster all that has been happening to you, including your weird dreams. I can tell from your thoughts and memories that this person is very important to the light side and will be able to help you" Ron wondered how such a young dragon could be so wise and knowledgeable when once again the voice started "Dragons who are born to serve the light are born with the wisdom and knowledge of all dragons that had lived before them. I am growing tired Ron. I will tell you why it is you have been chosen and then I will sleep, as should you. Now it has been known among the dragons that a man would come to this colony in a time of great peril, this man would be instrumental in the fight against the dark, he would be pure in heart but was the perfect complement to the dragon due to his fiery temper and bright red hair. You are that man Ron, now it is time for us both to sleep, I will wake you when I am hungry next. Goodnight." Ron bid Ares goodnight and made his way to the offices where Charlie had left some food for him and then tromped down to the room that was full of bunk beds.

Before Ron knew it Ares had woken him up and requested some more lion meat as well as some water to drink. Ron dutifully fed Ares and returned to bed with very little conversation. When Ares called the second time Ron was starting to get a little annoyed but he went to see what Ares wanted. "Ron could we go outside I need to, as you say use the bathroom" Ron picked up the already heavy dragon and took him out to the grassy area and turned around Ares voice invaded Ron's head "Are you embarrassed Ron, you know nature and by default me knows no embarrassment. There was no need for you to turn around but if you feel more comfortable you can continue to do so. I have finished but may we go for a small walk, this is my first time outside." Ron could see no harm so he picked up Ares and started walking around with Ares sitting comfortably in his arms. Ron found himself heading towards Norbert and as if he could tell that they were approaching Norbert lifted his head and made eye contact with Ron. "Hey Norbert this is Ares, how you doing today?" out of nowhere a new voice entered his head. "Good evening master, my name is not really Norbert but you can keep calling me that if you so wish" Ron broke eye contact with Norbert and looked at Ares. "What is this Ares, you did not tell me that I would be able to talk with other dragons." A little chuckle was heard in his head "You did not ask my friend. You are able to talk to other dragons if you have eye contact, if not I can relay for you if it suits either of your needs as dragons communicate telepathically as do most magical creatures. I do not need to have eye contact with you but I need to be close to you until the bonding has been completed." Exactly when will that happen thought Ron "the bonding will take place when I do not need you to gather food for me, it should happen in about two months time. Stop worrying things will turn out fine. But I think it is time for us to go back to bed. I will sleep here with Norbert if you will allow it" Ron thought about what Charlie would think about it and then decided that it should be alright, he then turned towards Norbert. "I think I'll keep calling you Norbert, you know out of respect for Hagrid. Do you mind letting Ares sleeping out here with you?" Norbert agreed and Ron found himself once again in bed.

Morning came quickly and Ares informed Ron that once again he was hungry but would prefer Gazelle meat not lion for breakfast. Ron quickly fed Ares and grabbed a quick breakfast for himself and headed to the shower to get himself ready for Dumbledore's visit.

Ron was sitting talking to Charlie when Dumbledore appeared with a slight pop. He surveyed the room, luckily they were alone and he walked to the door and placed a powerful locking charm on the door followed by numerous silencing and impenetrable spells and then turned towards the boys. "Charlie, Ron how are you both?" Charlie replied politely with a fine and how are you but Ron just looked at the table. Dumbledore looked towards Ron but continued "I am fine, Charlie can I have a few moments alone with Ron, come back in about an hour?" Dumbledore walked over to the door and opened it without saying anything but it was obvious to Ron when he shut it that the locking spells were still present. "I will ask you again, how are you Ron?" Ares was back in his head urging him to tell Dumbledore everything. "Honestly Professor I have a lot going on at the moment I don't really know how I am going?" Dumbledore sat there patiently waiting for Ron to continue finally the silence got too much for him that is when he spilled everything, the dreams, everything about Ares and the dragons and about his near constant worry about Harry and Hermione. He felt much better once he had told someone all that had been going on his life. "Is that all Ronald or is there more?" it was a rhetorical question as Dumbledore could already tell that Ron had finished. "You have given me a lot to think about. Now to start with I would like to assure you that both Harry and Hermione are as good as to be expected. Now about these dreams I think they may actually be visions. Visions of the past, visions of the present and probable outcomes of the future. However I would need to see these visions to be certain hence I am going to leave a pensive that the order has for its diviners with you. It would be much appreciated if you could put your visions in there in the morning. I will show you how to use it before I leave. Now about the dragon situation I have to admit that it intrigues me. I need to think about what you have told me so I want you to keep working with Ares until I return. Now I think it is time for me to show you how to use the pensive." With that Dumbledore showed him how to use the pensive and then Ron was called by Ares as he was once again hungry. "Excuse me Professor, Ares is hungry once again can I be excused?" Dumbledore responded kindly "Of course, but please call me Albus when we are not at school or when we are alone" Ron didn't know what to say so he nodded his head and quickly left the room.

By the time Ron reached Ares he was adequately confused. Harry was the only one that spent any real time with the headmaster why would he ask for Ronald to call him by his given name, especially as he was still only a student and he felt a not very good one at that. Ares chimed in to his thoughts "You can stop feeding me now. The headmaster wants you to call him by his given name as he is trying to gain your trust, he wants you to know that he is there if anything ever happens. He also needs you if the bonding eventuates and for your dreams. Can you try and teach me how to fly now" Ron agreed and moved to a patch of soft grass, took hold of Ares and threw him into the air. Ares flapped his little wings with all of his might but still could not keep himself in the air. He landed on the grass but managed to stand up again. He then suggested to Ron that it would work best if Ron was to run as fast as he could and then let him go so Ron picked up the beast once again and started sprinting letting go of Ares who immediately started flapping his wings once again. Ares managed about two metres before gravity once again took over. Ares landing was much more graceful this time and he turned to look at Ron and exclaimed to him "we have company" Ron turned his head towards the office block to see Charlie and Professor Dumbledore watching him. Dumbledore with his normal twinkle in his eye which you could see even from this distance and Charlie with a look of admiration, it was obvious that Dumbledore had told him about Ron's connection with the dragons. Dumbledore waved and then disappeared while Charlie walked over to join Ron and Ares "You have a lot to tell me little bro."

The week flew by quickly Ron fed Ares, played with Ares, took Ares to the toilet, continued to practice to fly with Ares and went with Ares to visit the other dragons. Nearly everything was good with Ron, everything except for his dreams. Each morning Ron would religiously put all of his dreams into the pensive but he would often find himself going back to look at them. Most of the dreams were of the past, the only ones of the future were of Hermione but just because they were of the past didn't make them any less disturbing. The most disturbing dream Ron had had so far was that of Harry's past. Watching Voldemort kill his parents was heartbreaking but watching Sirius die was incomprehensible. Ron was able to put some distance between Harry's parents and himself but with Sirius it was different. It was personal and each time he saw it he would return from the pensive feeling that same empty feeling, one that wouldn't go away except with Ares kind words and gentle presence. Ron also had dreams about people he didn't know or at least thought he did not know them these dreams were usually about death eater attacks but just once there was a beautiful vision of a family of four that were sitting down for a picnic and were completely and utterly happy. This was another dream that Ron would visit often as it bought him some peace.

Ron had just been told by Charlie that Dumbledore would be returning any minute when he heard a commotion outside. There was pandemonium just like the day when Ares Mum had been killed. He quickly rushed to the door and proceeded to make his way towards where he last saw Ares. "Ares where are you" he called out gently but he focused intently on those words so that if Ares was not within hearing distance then they could communicate telepathically. "Ron I am nowhere within sight of you. I am perfectly safe that I promise of you. I want you to put a stop to this. You know how to talk to them and they will listen to you. Do you think you can?" Ron did not answer but looked around for a dragon, he made eye contact with the first one he saw and with the sternest thought he could muster he instructed it to sit down and to not breathe anymore fire even if you are provoked, I promise you that you will be healed if you do so. Ron was amazed to find the dragon sitting down. He then looked for another dragon and did the same thing. After the third dragon had sat down the remaining dragons turned to him. Once again his message was sent out this time with a warning on it. All dragons immediately sat down and then Ares was back"well down Ron you did that well. In time you may become a great commander. I believe someone is waiting for you." Ron spun around to see none other than Professor Dumbledore watching. Dumbledore didn't look confused but it was the closest Ron had seen him to it. He then quickly went around and did something that Ron had never thought possible; he modified all of the memories except for Charlie's. Ron was about to question the headmaster when Ares voice popped into his head "A necessary evil, we would be of little use if Voldemort knew that we can be controlled. Now go and see your headmaster"

Ron walked up to the professor and exchanged pleasantries with him and then they set off for a stroll on Dumbledore's suggestion. Dumbledore started the serious conversation off "That was quite a display you just put on Ron," Ron just shrugged his shoulders, not really knowing what to say so Dumbledore continued "we talked about what you had told me at last weeks order meeting and it was decided that if what you say is true then it may be a good idea to have some dragons guard Hogwart's. However, after witnessing that display I believe it is an excellent idea. Do you agree?" The prospect of having dragons at the school was too much for Ron, he hadn't realised how close he had grown to them "that would be great Professor, I'm getting much better at controlling them. But how would you get the school council to agree? I suspect the reason why you modified all of the dragon workers memories was so no one could tell the death eaters that I could control the dragons." Dumbledore looked at Ron with interest, there was more to this boy than what meets the eye. There was clearly quite a bit of intelligence in him but that shouldn't surprise him considering the family that he was from and the company that he kept. "It will be much easier than you would suspect Ron, as you know Cornelius Fudge has done a complete turn-around from last year and I am now his chief advisor and high inquisitor of Hogwarts. If I was to suggest to our dear minister that dragons guarding the school are our best hope for protection then Fudge would have every dragon this side of the world at Hogwarts. Now onto the next topic. I once again have been in contact with Harry and Hermione and they are both doing much better I am pleased to tell you. Now do you mind if we sit down here a moment whilst I sift through the pensive?" Ron nodded his head but all of a sudden was nervous as all hell what would he think of some of the Hermione dreams. Dumbledore interrupted his thoughts and said with a twinkle in his eye "Don't worry I will gloss over any embarrassing bits" Ron smiled in spite of himself and sat down on the newly conjured couch. "You can come with me if you wish?" Dumbledore asked but Ron politely shook his head as Dumbledore dove into his dreams.

Whilst Dumbledore was looking at his dreams Ares once again requested food. Dumbledore emerged from his memories just as he was finishing feeding Ares. "Professor Dumbledore" Dumbledore interrupted "I have asked you to call me Albus Ron" Ron turned the Weasley red but started again "Albus I would like you to meet Ares. Ares meet Professor Dumbledore" Dumbledore stared at Ares awaiting a reaction, he wasn't disappointed, a bowing of the head accompanied the introduction. Ares then turned to Ron. "Tell your headmaster that I bow before him and I am ready to serve all those that my bond brother chooses to respect and place trust in." Ron couldn't believe it, he wasn't going to tell Dumbledore that but Dumbledore asked him politely "What exactly did he say?" Ron looked down at the ground and mumbled the message only to have to repeat it again as the professor hadn't understood. Once he got the message he chuckled but then spoke to Ron "It is time for us to head back now. I have a few things to discuss with Charlie and then I must return home. This week coming is your last here. By this time next week you will be on your way home with Ares in tow of course." Ron let out a large sigh of relief but Dumbledore continued "We will have another meeting when you return home, one with just the four of us, I assume you know of whom I am referring to. Enjoy yourself, I will see you soon enough." And with that he had disappeared into the offices to see Charlie.

The last week that Ron spent at the colony he was allowed to return home with Charlie, each night he would leave out some food for Ares and then fly to Charlies. They once again started their morning runs but Ron set the pace now, sometime in the last fortnight whilst teaching Ares how to fly he had managed to get quite fit. Ron's dreams continued but all was going well until two days before he was due to leave. Ron was out in the paddocks with Ares and Norbert when all of a sudden he became light headed and dizzy, he started to call out to Charlie but stopped as all of a sudden he was thrown into a sort of dream world. He was in a really dark place, he could feel and smell fear and dark all around him. He then saw cells, he knew where he was - Azakaban. Specifically looking into Lucius Malfoy's cell. "Good afternoon My Lord, I knew you would come for me." Ron turned, there in the flesh was Voldemort "It is time Lucius, the Dementors have accepted my offer. They will kiss the useless prisoners here and then they will join us in our raids and kiss indiscriminately. It is time for us to go now we have much to plan but first CRUCIO" he lifted the spell after about two minutes and then exclaimed "that was for getting caught by teenagers." Whilst this was all happening in Ron's head, Ares had called a group of dragons to stand protectively around Ron's exposed body. They breathed fire to those that approached. All those except for Charlie Weasley.

Charlie crept towards Ares talking softly to the dragon "I'm not going to hurt him, I'm his brother, I love him, I know how to help." He reached the dragons and they parted ever so slightly allowing himself to squeeze through. What he saw there terrified him. There on the paddock floor laid Ron, eyes glazed over, not moving but with a look of horror etched on his face. As Ron slowly regained consciousness he started to shake. Charlie moved over to hold him but Ron shied away from him and said "Something horrible has happened Charlie" and with that said Ron removed the pensive and his wand and deposited the memory into the pensive and spoke to Charlie once again "look at it and then take it to Professor Dumbledore, I think he would like to see it. I promise I will stay here. I'll lie down in the offices while you are gone as I have a great headache." Charlie helped Ron up and they both moved towards the office with Ares travelling behind them. Charlie dropped Ron off in the bedroom where he fell straight asleep and then disapparated to headquarters.

Ron awoke to the soothing of Ares, he had a way of knowing what Ron needed and made every effort to provide those needs to Ron, but right then Ares needed food and he needed it badly "Ron some tea is in order" Ron sat up feeling guilty and quickly groaned, his headache was still present, oh well I still have to feed Ares "too bloody right" was the reply that he heard. He fed Ares and was on his way back to the offices when Charlie appeared looking worried. "You ready to go home Ronny" he said in a fake cheery voice that Ron did not believe for a second but answered in an equally cheerful voice "Whenever you are" and with that they summoned their brooms and sped off home. Once at home Charlie told him that the dementors had actually left Azakaban but that the order was looking for a way to control the problem. Charlie then sent him off to bed with a headache potion and a dreamless sleep potion supplied by none other than the dreaded Snape. The next day was Ron's last full day there, the day after he would be leaving at nine to go to wherever they were all meeting up.

 The day passed quickly mostly he hung out with Charlie with only Ares feeds interrupting them. As knock off time approached Ron went to say his goodbyes and to give his thanks to the head dragon keeper. Ron felt pretty sad leaving all of the dragons who he had gotten to know quite well, in fact they were the hardest goodbyes of all, yet he felt happy that he would be seeing some of them at Hogwarts when he returned. For the last time Ron found Charlie and together they summoned their brooms and flew towards home never once looking back. Ares sat precariously on top of Ron's broom as he too had to leave the next morning, needless to say it was a longer trip than normal. Ron and Charlie quickly ate their tea and climbed into bed and fell straight asleep. Charlie awoke Ron early the next day as they hadn't done any packing the night before but with the aid of magic it was finished in no time. Ron then went about preparing Ares breakfast and then he sat down for his own. He looked towards Charlie and was just about to say something when Charlie started "Its been great having you here Ron, who would have thought you the master of the dragons. I don't want to get too mushy on you but you know that I really love you don't you, all of you. Even Percy the great big git." Ron turned a little red but replied "I love you too Charlie, we all know that you love us. Its been a great holiday." With that Charlie placed a feather into Ron's hand and said "I'll see you soon little buddy" and then the swirling started. Ron made sure to keep a strong hold of Ares; they landed on the ground when Ron started "Where the hell am I?"