The non-classroom dungeons, Ron quickly decided, were no more interesting than Snape's potion classroom. The murky, dilapidated chambers carving their twisted ways beneath the castle, standing only because of probable magic, strewn with the remains of what looked suspiciously like human skeletons strapped with old chains now the dried blood color of rust, the chance of old passages even the Marauder's Map knew nothing of. . . Ron simply didn't care. Perhaps, under happier circumstances, he would have gladly welcomed the adventure, but it was difficult to care much about anything so soon after death.

The company might have been better, as well. Ron hovered in the furthest corner of the dungeon room, as close to the mildew-stained walls as he dared-he could still feel the cold vapor flowing from them. This dungeon was considerably small and cramped, a far cry from the bottomless pits he had always imagined-and had actually seen that night throughout Hogwarts-for torture chambers. The girls had insisted, after a too-lengthy tour of the dungeons, upon the little rom, its uneven bottom flooded and filled with water and who knew what else, for its privacy. Indeed, the door had long fallen in on itself and was now impassible for entrance by mortals. If only Ron could somehow kick Percy out. Percy was at the farthest possible distance from Ron the room would allow-which was sadly somewhat less than fifty feet. Cornelia and Jillie placed themselves somewhere between, talking and occasionally throwing glances at Ron and Percy. Being that the stilted conversation Ron had barely participated in anyway was long dead, this was an activity that had gone on for hours. At least Ron guessed in hours. Time seemed immeasurable. Whether that was attributed to the nature of being a ghost or simply the fact that Ron hadn't slept all night, he didn't care. He did wish ghosts slept-his head was already spinning.

Percy watched him pointedly from across the room. "It's hard at first, but you'll adjust."

Ron rubbed his eyes, glowering. "You don't need to worry about me."

"I'm not."

"I'm afraid I still don't understand what is going on between you," Jillie said, voicing a question that had obviously been on her mind all night. "I mean, if you don't want to discuss it, of course that's perfectly all right, but. . . I can see you are brothers. . ." Her voice trailed off as a sad smile came over her face.

"We're not brothers," Ron said thoughtlessly. His voice was louder than he intended in the small chamber.

Cornelia blinked, confused, and twisted at the straps of her satchel. "But I thought since you had the same last name. . ."

Jillie rolled her eyes.

"Of course we are brothers," Percy said. "My youngest brother is just being a moron."

Cornelia was visibly relieved. "I was worried there for a moment. You know, you two look awfully alike."

Ron's head snapped up to glare across the dark room at Cornelia. "We do not!" He spoke at the same time Percy shouted the same retort. Ron turned his glare at Percy. They didn't look so much alike, did they? At least, not like Fred and George. "Percy wears those bloody glasses," he finally muttered.

Jillie and Cornelia exchanged grins.

What an obnoxious pair, Ron thought. At least Cornelia had the excuse of being a Ravenclaw ghost. He leaned closer into to the wall, half-wondering what his fear of it was. As if he could truly feel the disgusting mildew and moss. What would happen if he simply fell back through it? Was stone more interesting than wood?

Percy frowned and stroked the frame of his glasses. "I think these dungeons in this section were originally built in the 13thcentury.... a very difficult time for the school, according to ', a History'."

He should have seen a snotty Percy fact coming. With a groan Ron punched through the stone, the rock clinging at his hand like vapor. "You read that stupid book, too?"

"I might have," came the icy reply. "A lot of people have. A lot of people read and like to learn. Hermione Granger was always going on about it, anyway."

Hermione. A perfect excuse to have another go at Percy. But he instead turned to the corner as a fresh wave of sadness washed over him. "At least she was nice!"

He felt Percy staring at him in bewilderment. "What?"

Ron studied the web of water-broken cracks crawling like spider webs through the stone. He hadn't been trying to make any particular point. "Never mind."

"You realize, of course," Jillie said brightly. "That if you are to be chained like this for the next century, you had better learn some communication skills."

What was it with girls and communication?

Percy faced the girls, now hovering just above the murky water. His earlier rigid acquaintanceship with them faded in its strength. "Thanks for letting us join you, but it's probably best we don't continue this conversation." His voice was much too appropriate for the dungeon room.

Jillie returned his haze, her freckled face expressionless but her lips at the point of moving to speak. But then she only shrugged. "I suppose some mysteries will have to wait." She calmly floated through the wall.

Cornelia smiled shyly, adjusted her hood, and disappeared.

The room had given no light earlier, providing ample opportunity for Ron to exercise his newly discovered heightened vision, but that was small comfort against the black mist rising from the water that seemed to intensify with the girls' departure. Instinctively Ron curled up, unwilling to rally the obstinate knowledge that there was absolutely nothing in the dark, broken-down dungeon to harm him; he was too miserable to care.

"They're not all bad," Percy commented from his side of the dungeon, words echoing off the stone.

Ron concerned himself more with the debate of what was actually making noise now that the vocal cords were one rather than what Percy was saying.

"I've only met them a few times," Percy continued, voice flat with the painful attempt at conversation. "The first time I returned to Hogwarts after I died, they met me and wouldn't leave me alone."

Some kind of insect crawled up the wall and into a crack.

"I don't really come to Hogwarts all that often."

"Do I look like I care?" Ron heard himself scream. "I don't care about your lack of ghost friends, I don't care about Jillie's communication demands-"

"She has a point," Percy said with an impatient sigh. "It's your fault we are stuck like this, and we probably can't get out of it, so deal with it."

"I don't want to. I just want you to be quiet." He was depressed, lonely, more tired than he had ever been before, and Percy just had to be near him.

"I'm not the one who started those fights, despite your logic."

For a long time neither spoke. Ron watched another bug and the barely visible outline of the slow moving water.

Then came Jillie's now-familiar voice ringing clearly from somewhere outside the dungeon. "Oh, hello, Sir Nicholas!"

Ron lost his unstable position in the air and spun dizzily down into the water. His eyes shot open. The water was indeed disgusting, filled with mud, bits of broken mortar, and an array of water-spiders swimming delicately toward him. With a scream he pulled himself out. The water beneath him showed no ripples, no sign he had just plunged through it. No sign of the hideous spiders beneath the surface. Spiders. How he still hated them.

"You're not going to drown," Percy said.

Ron realized he was still shaking. "I'm not afraid of drowning. There were. . ." If that wasn't the stupidest thing he had ever been about to say. He wasn't about to confess to Percy what was still his greatest fear.

"Spiders?" Ron couldn't be sure, but something close to a smile appeared on Percy's face. "Don't tell me you're still afraid of spiders. That teddy bear thing happened years ago."

"I'm not afraid of spiders!" Even as he spoke he could feel that hairy thing wriggling in his arms. . . He suddenly knew Percy could see it as well. If only he could just go over there and crush that mocking face. . .

Percy didn't allow him the chance. "Sir Nicholas is here," he said. "Stop fooling around and let's go."

Nearly Headless Nick. The reason Ron had been so started in the first place. "He had better be able to help us." He glanced one more at the spider-filled water and followed Percy towards the outer wall.

"By the way," Percy said. "Fred wasn't the one that did that to your bear."

Had it been George? Perhaps Ron's memory and the family stories were off.... But Percy wouldn't be bringing that up. Unless. . . "It was you?!"

"It was me." There was a note of pride in his voice. "You colored in one of my books. Fred thought it was funny so he took the blame for the spider."

"You turned my bear into a giant spider?"

"Yes."

"But all those years. . .You git!"

"Ron, it happened years ago."

"You're the one that brought it up!"

Percy sighed, regretting he had said anything. "Let's just go see Nick.. . ."

Barely were the words out his mouth than Nearly Headless Nick blasted into the dungeon room in a blaze of white vapor, head balanced precariously on his partially severed neck, face firm. Ron and Percy tumbled out of his path. He whirled at them again, his eyes ablaze with fury. Ron had never seen the ghost so angry.

"Sir Nick," Percy managed to sputter. "We need-"

"Miss Morgan has told me an interesting story!" Nick shouted. "A very interesting story."

Ron glanced at Percy. Were they being blamed for something? "Nick, we. . ."

"I wasn't even aware either of you were dead!" Nick's head flipped partially off, dangling at his shoulder until he furiously readjusted it. "Both Gryffindors. . ." He sighed, a vain attempt to shake away some of his anger. "I could have been told! And now you're both in this huge mess. . ."

"With the Baron." Percy nodded, surprisingly calm. "Jillie must have told you."

"Oh, she told me! I was already in a bad mood concerning the Headless Hunt, yet I have to come back to this disaster! The two of you, both prefects, Percy Head Boy, fighting like pixies. . .No wonder the Grey Lady and the Baron did what they did."

It wasn't his fault, Ron thought defensively. It was all Percy's. "The Grey Lady just stood there."

Nick's rage was suddenly on him. "The Grey Lady never just stands there! I don't know what you did to insult her, but. . . the Baron. . ."

"We were told he had no right to bind us," Percy said, showing his wrist to Nick. "Because he isn't our house ghost. But you are. . ."

"Of course he has no right!" Nick cut in. "The laws are specific on that. Being a House Ghost entitles more than a mascot position-we have duties! We have authority over the other ghosts in our houses. No one is to mess with another house's ghosts!"

So it was true. Excitement rushed through Ron. "So what the Baron did was illegal! You can fix it!"

"Fix it?" Nick sniffed. "Fix it? Oh, I'm afraid it's far too late for that."

Percy and Ron stared at Nick.

"It's too late?" Percy echoed. "But... but it wasn't in his power in the first place!"

"Those ropes won't be coming off," Nick said sadly. "The Baron placed them there, and I have no power to take them off. Besides, the Bloody Baron has. . . other forms of authority."

"You could at least speak to him!"

"Speak to the Baron?" Nick seemed appalled at the idea. "No one just approached the Baron for a converstaion!"

"But-"

"I will not be incurring his wrath!"

"You're not going to help us!" Ron shrieked. "You're the Gryffindor Ghost! You're supposed to help us!"

Nick shook his head. "I'll see what I can do. But it's you that made them mad. And I wasn't even aware that either of you were dead. Though I did hear something. . ." He gazed curiously at Ron.

"I helped defeat You-Know-Who," Ron muttered. He didn't want to discuss it. "I happened to get killed in the process."

Nick looked a little sad. "I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Weasley. But. . oh, it really is something to rejoice about. Not your death, but You-Know-Who's defeat. What about you, Percy?"

Ron turned to his brother, rather hesitant. He hadn't bothered to ask Percy how he had died.

Percy's face was impassible. "It happened almost a year ago. I'd rather not discuss it."

"It's probably something stupid," Ron mumbled under his breath, but loud enough for Percy to hear. Yet he couldn't help but feel a sense of curiosity. "Why are we even discussing this?" he asked louder. "Nick, why aren't you going to help us?"

"I already told you; I can't," Nick said, some of the former fury returning. "We can't have violent ghosts in this school anyway-"

"But we weren't haunting the school!"

"And you don't have to. Leave, if you feel so inclined. But that binding will still be in place."

Ron fought a sudden urge to remove the rest of Nick's head.

"There is one thing, though," Nick mused. "There are people in the spirit world who might be able to help. There's a council there that oversee the activities of ghosts in this world. I hear they even have representatives that haunt out here. If you could find one of those members. . . they might be able to help."

"We can go to the spirit world?" Percy asked quickly.

"Yes, you can visit," Nick replied. "I've never actually gone myself, but. . .yes, you can go. I'm not making any promises, but the council is very powerful. That's all the help I can give you."

"That's it?" Ron asked.

Nick glared. "Try not to make matters worse, Ronald."

Percy shot Ron a withering glance. "Thank-you, Sir Nicholas."

"You're most welcome." Nick seemed exasperated. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll be picking up matters with other folk. . ." He faded through the wall.

"He was a lot of help," Ron said dryly.

"He actually gave us a lot of advice, if you were paying attention," Percy snapped. "If we do find this council, try not to bother them. I'm going back to the tower to think about this. Are you coming?"

As if he had a choice. Percy had more power over the binding than he did. "Whatever. So, how did you die?"

"It's none of your business."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shouts Outs

Tap Dancing Widow: Yeah, poor Ginny is blaming Harry. Poor girl. She isn't thinking clearly.

Hydrangea: You'll see. *giggle*

Icy Dragon Claws: No prob about reading your stories. I quite enjoyed them, and you should update them. Yes, bad Bloody Baron. *smacks him* There is a council, as was mentioned. I guess it's kind of a ghost court.

Libby Bird: Thanks for reading! Ron will be able to be seen-I just thought that it would logically take a few days. Or else you'd see ghosts every time someone died... yeah. =)

hydraspit: I hope to get more Percy in. I have a Percy obsession, so. . . Yeah, I told someone how Percy died. Jamie McFly is actually my sister, and I'm not at school at the moment, so those things happen when you're in the same house hold.

Jamie McFly: Thank-you for your review. As I'm typing this... it's... *checks* 11:06, so I'll be at your school in about 2 hours! Yay! That comment will probably be pointless by the time you read this, but oh well.

Written in Stars: What's wrong with being mean to Percy? *throws pan at Percy's head* Ooh! Charity (the one who was in the car with me while I was on the phone with you) thinks Earth Star sounds sexy, but not as sexy as Fur Foot.

Crystal Lightning: Hmm... your comment about the girls just gave me an idea... Thank-you! I'll be sure to credit you as my inspiration! And when are you going to update your stories? *pouts*

awkward: There will be many ghosts. Hmmm... I"m losing my Ron sense. Must.. .keep... Ron... annoyingly... Ron....