A/N: Woo hoo! Another update! Nobody panic if the updates come slower for a while. Life has gotten somewhat busier.
Thorfinna: Thanks!
BekaJWP: Yeah... Percy. I'm not sure exactly how sexy Snape is going to get; I'm not a big Snape fan, myself, but in this world, you've got to be quick in order to stay alive.
krysalys73: Thank you so much! I'm really glad you like the characterization. You always write such thoughtful reviews.
Seraphim: Sorry for the delay. You're right – this really is a post-apocalyptic sort of story, although it didn't have anything to do with nuclear weapons.
Reviewer: Hope you're still reading after such a long wait!
High Serpent King: No, Ron isn't going to find out how Harry defeated Voldemort. I can't do that because I'm planning on writing my other stories all the way through year seven (Guardians to Dark Uprising to ???) and I wouldn't want to spoil anything for me or for anyone who's been reading more than just this story. And as to your other question... well, gee, I don't want to give anything away, but the story's summary (and this chapter) should pretty much make it clear that Ron is a major player here.
J Black: Wow! Top 5? Thank you very, very much! (No one's ever told me anything like that before.)
starsmiles: Hmm... I can see why you'd think so, but this Black Tower wasn't inspired by anything in LOTR. I'm really glad you're enjoying this!
JulezB: I hope you've had something else to read in the interim...
JKIJ: In response to your question about Marietta: Just because she sided with Fudge's Ministry doesn't mean she'd side with Percy's, too. My feeling is that a lot of people got scared when Percy showed the signs of becoming a tyrant. She could have been one of them. Marcus Flint and Blaise Zabini are there, too, and they certainly hated Harry. The idea is that a lot of people came together because they opposed Percy, regardless of their backgrounds or past enmities. Exactly what the last straw was for Marietta, Marcus, or Blaise is really immaterial. And as to the second question: Luna is still around, but she won't come in until a bit later. I'm still not sure exactly how long this story will be, but it won't be anywhere near as long as Guardians.
Skye0906: Don't sweat it. I sure don't review everything that I read; when I feel that I'm able to make insightful, useful, or supportive comments, I review. And yeah, you do make sense: Harry's hard because he's had a lot to bear on his shoulders, but also because he's lost so much.
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Chapter 5: The Way It Is
By the time Harry, Bill, and Mr. Weasley left it was very late. Ron was exhausted. In that day alone he had traveled more than a hundred miles, almost had his throat cut by Neville, learned of the deaths of half his family and found that Percy was a Dark wizard. Not all of his questions had been answered and he wanted to stay up talking with Hermione and Ginny, but his jaw-cracking yawns gave him away. The two women led him to a small room with two sets of bunk beds that Bill, Fred, and Ron's father shared. Ron collapsed on one of the bottom bunks and fell asleep almost instantly, barely noticing when Ginny carefully tucked a blanket under his chin.
When Ron awoke in the middle of the night he was so drowsy that it took him a minute to figure out what had roused him. An oil lamp, trimmed to give a very low light, was burning on a nightstand. Its small and steady flame illuminated a freckle-faced figure in a chair nearby.
Fred was watching Ron with an intense, almost disbelieving gaze, but he smiled when Ron blearily looked his way. "Hey," he said softly.
"Hey," Ron replied with a sleepy grin. Beyond Fred he could see two dark shapes in the other bunk beds. Bill and Mr. Weasley were asleep.
"Long time no see," Fred said teasingly. "Thought you'd strike out on your own, did you?"
Ron smiled. Fred hadn't changed so much. "Didn't want to," he said, unable to stop from yawning.
Fred's smile faded. "Yeah. We didn't want you to, either," he said.
Ron yawned again. "S-sorry," he managed. "Can't keep my eyes open."
"It's fine," said Fred. "I'll bother you tomorrow. I've got ten years of harassment to make up for, so you'd better sleep well."
"Okay," sighed Ron, snuggling back into his pillow.
The last thing Ron heard before slipping back into dreams was a whisper so feather-light it was barely audible. "Love you, little brother."
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Ron woke up the next morning to the sound of snores from the bunk above him. He sat up and stretched, feeling rumpled and uncomfortable after sleeping in his clothes. It seemed that the others had anticipated this, though, because someone had left a basin of water, a towel, and a bar of soap on the table along with a folded set of drab-colored clothes. Ron immediately set about washing, feeling grateful as two days' worth of dust and grime came away on the towel. He saved his red hair for last, dunking his head in the basin as best he could and scrubbing at it vigorously. As he toweled most of the wetness from his hair, he saw, to his disgust, that the water had become very brown.
After Ron had dressed in his new clothes he slipped out of the room, leaving a still-snoring Fred behind. No sooner had he shut the door than he saw Ginny and Hermione waiting for him in the hall. They beamed at him when he appeared.
"Morning," Ginny said brightly. She jumped up to give Ron a hug.
"Here," said Hermione, holding out a blue pottery bowl with a spoon protruding from it. "Breakfast."
Ron took the offering and peered inside. Oatmeal. Ron didn't especially care for oatmeal or porridge of any kind; it had a funny texture and made gloppy sounds when stirred. Just in time he stopped himself from asking if they had anything else. Remember where you are! he thought violently. Of course they don't have anything else! If last night's heartfelt welcome had been any indication, Hermione and Ginny were probably giving him the best that they had.
"I know you don't like oatmeal that much," said Hermione, "so I put some sugar and milk in it to dress it up a little." She smiled hopefully at him.
Ron silently thanked whatever power that had just stilled his tongue. "Looks great," he lied. He grasped the handle of the spoon, dug out a scoop of the brown and white goop, and resolutely stuck it in his mouth. With surprise he noted that it didn't taste as bland as he remembered.
"How is it?" said Hermione, peering anxiously into his face.
"It's not half bad," he said truthfully, though he made an effort to keep his voice cheerful. Hermione smiled, looking relieved.
"What would you say to eating breakfast outside?" said Ginny. "Harry ordered that the courtyard be set aside just for you this morning."
"The courtyard?" said Ron around another mouthful of oatmeal.
"Well, the building's been magically expanded, you know," said Hermione.
"No kidding," said Ron with a grin.
"Since there are so many people that hardly ever go out, we've got a space that's open to the sky," she continued. "People aren't meant to live cooped up in buildings for years at a time."
"Sounds okay to me," said Ron. Hermione and Ginny smiled at each other and immediately led him away down the main corridor. People waved and called out greetings as they passed. Ron saw some of the people who had followed him the night before. He was now quite sure that the woman with multiple braids was Angelina. One of the Creevey brothers waved so hard that Ron thought his arm was in danger of falling off. But whether Ron knew the people he passed or not, they were smiling one and all.
"Your reappearance has had quite an effect on everyone," Ginny said quietly.
"But I hardly know any of them!" said Ron in astonishment.
"It doesn't matter," said Hermione from his other side. "You're Harry's best friend come back from the dead. I've not seen everyone this cheerful in a long, long time – not since Voldemort was defeated." And then, in a voice so soft that Ron could barely hear her, she added, "I haven't been this happy since..." Her whisper trailed off. Ron looked sideways at Hermione, wondering if she'd meant for him to notice. She caught him looking at her and turned a sunny smile upon him, but Ron wasn't fooled. There were tears shining in her eyes.
At long last, Ginny and Hermione came to a stop in front of a heavy wooden door. Ron was glad to see it; the constant greetings were actually beginning to wear on him. Fortunately, no one seemed about to follow them into the room that lay beyond.
Ron was unprepared for the Eden that spread before his eyes when Ginny pushed the door open. "Wow!" he said appreciatively. "This doesn't look anything like the rest of London." He had seen little plant life in the streets save for the occasional surviving tree or cluster of weeds springing up from the rubble. Here, though, were half a dozen trees with wide, spreading branches, soft, green grass, and flowers of every shape and color springing from earthen beds. White clouds drifted across the blue sky above, and birds chirped from hidden perches. It looked like the Order had gone to a great deal of trouble to make the space as verdant as possible. Ron had seen enough to know that it was surely the brightest spot in the colorless world in which he'd arrived.
"The Herbology enthusiasts have done the best that they can," said Ginny, closing the door behind her. "Nowadays this is the only way that any of us can see this sort of thing, so they've tried to gather as many compatible species of plants possible."
"It's really not that big," said Hermione, "and we've only got room for so many trees, so each one is a different kind. You can't Conjure a plant, you know, so everything we have has been collected from the outside."
"Eventually it became too much of a risk to go looking for more plants," said Ginny, "so Harry forbade it."
Ron shook his head. "It's weird," he said, "hearing you talk about Harry allowing this and Harry allowing that. And he calls Snape by his first name! He really is in charge, isn't he?"
Ginny smiled. "He really is," she said. She took a seat on a nearby patch of grass, and the others followed suit.
"I suppose it is surprising to you," said Hermione, "but Harry's behavior doesn't seem strange to any of us. Not anymore, anyway. We all watched him grow into the leader that he's become." She shook her head. "I can't think of anyone better to lead us than him. Only Dumbledore could have rivaled him."
"Harry gives people hope," Ginny elaborated. "That's why the Order pressured him to become the leader after Kingsley was killed."
"He didn't want to do it?" said Ron, surprised.
"No," said Hermione. "He didn't want the job at all, but Remus and Arthur appealed to his sense of duty. They said that people would flock to him like none other; after all, he had defeated Voldemort."
"You have to know something about how Harry did that," said Ron. "I don't believe that he wouldn't tell even you."
"Believe it," said Hermione. "He hasn't breathed a word of it to me, and I've never pressured him to. If he thinks he's got bigger things to worry about than unburdening his soul… well, he's not wrong."
There was a pause. Ron pondered what Ginny and Hermione had said. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Harry being in charge wasn't really so odd. He'd done a great job with the D.A. even though he'd assumed the position of leader very reluctantly. People had always looked to him as a hero even though he'd hated it. Refusing to lead the Order sounded like something that Harry would say, and growing into the role sounded like something that Harry would do – whether he wanted to or not.
"So where are Dad and Bill?" said Ron, his thoughts turning back to his family. He took another bite of his oatmeal, which was starting to cool.
"They're both out on patrol," said Ginny. "Dad said to tell you that they were sorry, but they didn't feel that they should neglect their duty, not even for you."
"Patrolling is dangerous," Hermione explained. "One of the Legion's chief goals is to find us. If you get captured while on patrol, you know it's time to prepare yourself. No rescue is possible once you're inside the Black Tower."
"Then why do you patrol at all?" said Ron. "It doesn't sound like you can afford to lose many people."
"We can't," said Ginny, "but it's more important that we keep an eye on what's going on outside than that we all stay holed up inside. We haven't given up on victory, you know, and if we don't keep trying, then Percy will win. We won't let the Dark Arts triumph," she finished determinedly.
"We run reconnaissance missions on the Legions," said Hermione. "We collect messages from our spies, and sometimes we even manage to rescue some Muggles. Plus, going outside keeps people from getting cabin fever. It's not easy fighting a war this way, but we're doing the best that we can."
"Does everybody go on patrol?" asked Ron.
Ginny shook her head. "There are some people who are automatically excluded, and I'm one of them."
"Why?" said Ron. "Is it because you're a girl?"
"Hardly," said Ginny with a roll of her eyes. "Healers are in very short supply and I'm in training with one, so that means that I don't have to patrol. Underage witches and wizards aren't allowed and neither are Muggles. There are a few other people with special jobs that keep them at headquarters, but after that, Harry, Snape and Remus decide who can go. Snape trains anyone who's interested and decides whether or not they've got what it takes. Harry has the final say, of course, but he pretty much always takes Snape's advice when it comes to patrols."
"Harry listens to three people: Snape, Remus, and your father," Hermione said to Ron. "Remus is second in command and Arthur's third."
Ginny snorted. "Harry listens to four people," she said. "Hermione left herself out."
Hermione blushed. "I'm a bit farther down the totem pole when it comes to assuming command."
"It's got nothing to do with your place in the chain of succession, Hermione," said Ginny. "Harry listens to you because you always give good advice. There's no one in the Order who's smarter than you, not even Snape." Hermione looked down at the ground and blushed.
"If patrolling is so dangerous, why would anyone want to volunteer?" said Ron.
"I suppose it might sound odd to you, but being picked to go on patrol is a badge of honor," said Hermione. "Believe me, everyone wants to do their part to keep the Order strong, and there's no shortage of people who are willing to go outside." She lifted her chin proudly and her eyes flashed. "Harry didn't want to let me go, but Snape said I could do it. It wouldn't have been fair for Harry to keep me inside just because –" She suddenly cut off as if she had said too much.
"Because of me," Ron finished for her.
Hermione nodded. "Because of you," she affirmed. "Losing you was really hard on everyone but it was especially hard on Harry. Sometimes I think that Voldemort was the only thing that kept him going. You should have seen the way he threw himself into training with Dumbledore, Ron. He was like a machine."
"But he would have done that anyway," said Ron, "especially after hearing that prophecy. I always knew he was born to be a hero even without a prophecy, but so did he. I know he did."
Ginny shook her head. "He would have done what he had to do, sure, but not the way he did it. He acted the way he did because of you, in large part."
"He completely withdrew from just about everyone," said Hermione. "I never once saw him cry and I've hardly seen him laugh since his sixteenth birthday. He turned very hard, and not even Dumbledore could convince him to open up."
"Come on. That can't be just because of me," said Ron in disbelief.
"Don't you realize how much you meant to Harry?" Hermione said incredulously. "If there were three people in the world that he really cared about they were you, me, and Sirius, and Sirius had just died."
"I don't think you understand just how important you were," said Ginny. "It wasn't just Harry that changed because of you. Your disappearance affected everything," said Ginny.
Ron laughed nervously. "What do you mean, everything?"
Hermione and Ginny were looking at him very seriously. Hermione began ticking off points on her fingers, and Ron was strongly reminded of all the times she'd lectured him back at Hogwarts on one topic or another. "First of all, the attack was big news. It was all over the Daily Prophet; the hunt for you was nationwide. And it wasn't just the Order that was looking for you; random witches and wizards showed up at the Ministry to volunteer as searchers."
"Then it turned out that the Time-Turner Montague had was stolen from the Ministry," said Ginny. "All of a sudden there were security crackdowns and molehunts everywhere. A few people were sacked from the Ministry because of lax security or suspicious behavior."
"More than a few parents decided not to let their children go back to Hogwarts the next year," said Hermione. "Your disappearance on the heels of Cedric Diggory's death made them realize that their kids could be caught in the crossfire."
"Your being dead – supposedly – was horrible for the family," said Ginny. "Mum was a wreck for the longest time. Her worst fears had finally come to pass."
Ron sat silently, stunned by these revelations. He knew that Hermione and Ginny weren't leading him on – they wouldn't lie about such important things. But it just didn't seem possible that so much had happened because of him! After all, Harry was the important one. He was the one upon whom the future was supposed to rest. Ron knew that his own power to affect the future was utterly inconsequential when measured next to Harry's. Or it should have been, at least.
"I overheard Charlie talking to Harry once," said Ginny. "Charlie was wondering when everything went so wrong, and Harry said that it was the day you disappeared."
Ron stared at his sister. Was that true?
There was a soft knock on the door behind them. Ron, Ginny, and Hermione turned to look as a rumpled-looking Fred stuck his head in. "Hey," he said with a smile. "D'you mind if –"
"Get in here, Fred," Hermione said pleasantly.
"So you finally decided to get out of bed, did you?" Ginny teased.
Fred sat down next to them on the grass, grinning. "Truth be told, I didn't sleep much last night," he said, giving Ron another intense look. It seemed that he still couldn't quite believe that Ron was really there. "So what are you all talking about?"
"We filled Ron in on the state of the world last night," said Hermione, "but we didn't quite cover everything. We're filling in some of the finer points just now. Harry said he'd come find us later; he had something else to do this morning."
Fred's smile vanished like dew evaporating in the sun. "So he knows about Percy, then?"
"He does," said Ginny, suddenly sounding cautious.
"Then I suppose you've told him everything he's done?" Fred prodded.
"Not quite," said Ginny. "Like Hermione said, we haven't quite gotten to everything yet."
"Well why don't you tell him," said Fred, his voice suddenly very harsh, "about Penelope, and Charlie, and how the Burrow was destroyed, and how Percy didn't give a damn when George died –"
"You don't know what he felt when he heard about that," Ginny retorted just as Ron exclaimed, "What about Charlie? What happened to the Burrow?"
"He always hated me and George," said Fred.
"No, he didn't!" snapped Ginny. "He's insane now! You can't be certain that he's wholly evil!"
"He is rotten to the core, Gin!" said Fred, his voice rising.
"He's not a lost cause!" Ginny shouted.
"Stop it!" Hermione barked, startling everyone. "Don't start again, Fred. No, I don't care," she said when Fred opened his mouth. "Ginny's fighting against Percy just as much as you are." Her tone softened a bit as she went on. "Don't do this in front of Ron. Please."
Ron looked uneasily between his siblings. That had certainly happened fast; it had only taken five seconds for them to start rowing with each other, and all Ginny had done was confirm that they had talked about Percy.
"Can't contain yourself for three seconds when Percy's name comes up…" Ginny muttered.
Fred opened his mouth, but Hermione forestalled him. "No," she said tensely, "we're not going to go through this again. Not… in... front… of... Ron."
"Well, I want to know what's going on," Ron said firmly. Hermione's head jerked up in surprise. Ron's face flushed; he hadn't meant to sound quite so forceful. He moderated his tone a bit. "What about Charlie? Bill said he was captured."
Hermione sighed. "He was. He got too close to the Black Tower. We never saw him again. The thing is, Charlie thought that if he could just get close enough to Percy he might be able to talk some sense into him."
"But… why would anyone want to try that after what happened to Penelope?" said Ron.
"Penelope never got to see Percy," said Ginny. "Umbridge killed her before she had the chance to talk to him. Charlie thought she might have succeeded if she'd only made it to her husband."
"Bill blamed himself for Charlie's death," said Fred, his voice still a little tight. "He thought he should have done more to talk Charlie out of trying to get to Percy."
"Bill needn't have felt guilty," said Hermione. "In those days, patrols got much closer to the Black Tower than they do now. There's absolutely no proof that Charlie was trying to find Percy when he was captured. In all likelihood, he was just doing his pre-assigned duties."
"Even so," said Fred, "Charlie never should have entertained the idea. He knew as well as I did what happened at the Burrow. We were both there."
"You mean… Percy…" Ron stammered.
"No," said Ginny, "Percy didn't personally attack the Burrow."
"He sent his goons to do his dirty work, didn't he?" said Fred.
"I'm not absolving him of the blame!" Ginny exclaimed.
Hermione glared between Fred and Ginny. "Draco Malfoy and some of the first members of the Legions attacked the Burrow," she said before the argument could resume.
"We never saw it coming," said Fred. "Dad, Bill, Charlie, and I barely made it out. They were blasting holes in the walls, the roof was collapsing, and the whole thing was on fire" – he snapped his fingers – "like that. That attack was meant to kill whoever was inside. Malfoy is Percy's lickspittle, so Percy must have ordered it. You'll forgive me if I don't think much of someone who tries to murder his own kin, destroys his childhood home, and then salts the earth for a half mile all around so that nothing will ever grow there again."
Ron stared at his brother. "Is that why everything was dead?"
"That and the fire, I suppose," said Fred. "I haven't been back since that day."
Silence fell. Fred was looking in any direction but Ginny's, who was ignoring her brother with equal determination. Ron felt anxious as he watched his two siblings. They were obviously divided over whether or not Percy had wholly given himself over to the Dark Arts. Ron thought that Ginny was being a little too optimistic, but her behavior didn't strike him as odd. Fred, on the other hand, was startling. Even though he had reason to hate Percy, it was unlike him to be so venomous. He and George had always been lighthearted with no trace of the bitterness that Fred obviously felt now. But Fred was without his twin, and Fred without George just didn't make any sense. Ron wondered if that had something to do with Fred's seemingly out of character behavior.
When Ginny spoke up again, it was almost as if she had been reading Ron's mind. "George, at least, died the way he wanted to. He always said that if he had to go, he wanted to go out in a blaze of glory."
"Bill said he saved Harry's life," said Ron.
"He did," said Hermione. "He and Hagrid both did. Harry took their loss very hard."
"Percy's no less guilty of that than he is of Charlie's death," Fred said tightly.
"I didn't say he wasn't guilty," said Ginny in a calm voice. "In fact, I agree with you that he's completely responsible for what happened. Fred, Hagrid, and Harry ran into a couple of Stranglers," she added, seeing Ron's puzzled look.
"A couple of what?" said Ron.
"The Muggles gave them their name," said Fred. "Stranglers are what resulted from the cross-breeding of Venomous Tentaculas and Devil's Snare."
Ron's mouth fell open. "Who was mad enough to cross those things together?"
"Someone in the Legion, we suppose," said Ginny, not looking at Fred. "It could have been Percy's idea as much as anyone else's."
"They're terrible," said Hermione in hoarse tones. "They're enormous, and they no longer fear daylight because they're hybrids. The vines move with a will of their own." The others were now looking sympathetically at her, but she didn't seem to notice. "They can reach a lot farther than you think they can. And when they wrap themselves around you..." She trailed off and stared into space.
Ron suddenly understood. Hermione had nearly been killed by one of these Stranglers.
"Their hides are really tough," Ginny said after a moment. "They're actually impervious to most spells. That's the reason that everyone on patrol carries knives. If you get up close and personal with a Strangler, a knife might be the only thing that can save you."
"They're planted all around the Black Tower," said Fred. "The Legions and the Muggles who get close are charmed somehow to keep them from being harmed. If any of us get close..." He trailed off, letting the implication hang in the air. Hermione shuddered and drew her knees up to her chest.
Is that what saved Hermione – knifework? thought Ron. Hermione shouldn't have to defend herself with a knife, not ever! She shouldn't have to worry about Venomous Tentaculas and Dark wizards. You-Know-Who is gone! The world should be safe again!
"I don't belong here," Ron said aloud. And suddenly, something important occurred to him. He wondered why he hadn't thought of it before, but he supposed that his lack of clarity could be chalked up to the fifty or so mental shocks that he'd received the day before. "How am I going to get home?"
Ginny, Hermione, and Fred looked at one another. Their eyes darted back and forth, looking at each other, the blue sky above, the flowerbeds, anything but Ron.
Ron felt himself stiffen. No, no, no...! It was just like last night when he'd asked where the rest of his family was. No one had looked at him then, either. "How do I get home?" he repeated in a hard voice.
Ginny closed her eyes and breathed in. "I don't think you can leave. Not until we win."
"What do you mean, not until we win?" Ron said, panicked. "Why do you want to keep me here?"
"That's not it, Ron," said Hermione. "We haven't got any Time-Turners."
"Most of them were destroyed in the battle in the Department of Mysteries," Ginny said gently. "Remember?"
Tendrils of icy dread were weaving their way into Ron's chest. He didn't remember the Time-Turners being smashed, of course; he hadn't been in the room at the time, and he'd been out of his mind from the curse that Jugson had hit him with, anyway. He did, however, remember being told about how the shelf full of Time-Turners had crashed to the floor and leapt back onto the wall, the hourglasses whole again, only to fall to the floor and spring back up again...
"People were busy surviving back then," said Fred. "No one really had the resources to devote themselves to making Time-Turners."
"If any still survive in Britain, then they're either in dusty old cellars where we'll never find them, or they're in the Black Tower," said Hermione.
Ron staggered beneath the weight of her words. What did she mean, if any still survived? Because that sounded like she thought they might not be able to find a Time-Turner, even if they had free reign of the Black Tower. And if they couldn't find one…
He'd be stuck there forever.
Ron's mouth felt as dry as sawdust. He had to swallow a few times in order to be able to speak again. "And you don't have… any idea… whether Percy's got a Time-Turner?" he finally managed.
"No," Hermione said quietly.
Ron laughed haltingly; he couldn't help himself. It was crazy. It was absolutely crazy. Stuck there? He couldn't be. "Well, I guess we'd better defeat the Legions then, hadn't we?"
He was met with silence once again. Ron stopped his giddy chuckling and his smile slipped. The others were looking at him now, but he didn't like the pity that he saw in their faces. His heart felt like a frozen lump of lead. "You… you're going to win, aren't you?" One halfhearted laugh of disbelief escaped him. "Come on! You've got Harry!"
"We do," said Ginny, "but he can't fight all by himself. We don't have enough people. Every time someone dies, we get a little weaker."
"It's hard to fight a war when you have to stay in hiding," said Hermione.
"But it's the Stranglers that are really sealing our doom," said Fred. "The Legions are branching out, planting them around the city. They're hemming us in."
"We're losing the war, Ron," Hermione said, her voice almost tender. "It's happening very slowly, but we're losing."
"Maybe not."
Everyone quickly turned to see Harry standing in the open doorway, dressed in brown and gray. For some reason, he was covered in dust; it even dulled the black of his hair. But even though he was filthy, he was smiling broadly. "Come with me," he said, turning to go. "I've got something to show you."