Chapter Forty-Eight: Two Kings

'Were you just eavesdropping?' Hermione asked indignantly, glaring at Draco.

'Yeah, I was, Granger,' said Draco.

'You're not going anywhere,' said Harry. 'Not with us. This doesn't concern you.'

'Bollocks, it doesn't concern me!' Draco protested. 'I was there when she got taken, in case you forgot!'

'Maybe she wouldn't have been taken if you hadn't guilted her into seeing you in the first place!' Harry snarled, advancing on Draco.

'You were the one who didn't pay attention!' Draco retorted.

'Gentlemen,' said Hopkirk severely. 'It's nobody's fault what happened. What matters now is getting Miss Weasley out and stopping Voldemort.' She leveled a penetrating gaze at Draco.

'Are you seriously asking me to believe, Draco, that your interests in accompanying Harry are purely altruistic?' she asked.

Both Ron and Draco snorted at the same time. Draco scowled briefly at Ron but said, 'No. There's also the fact that my father is with them.'

'Of course,' said Ron. 'You want to get revenge on Daddy.'

'And Nott,' Draco growled.

'We don't have time to indulge your little vendettas, Malfoy,' said Harry scathingly.

'Last I checked, Potter, you don't have a wand anymore--' Draco began.

'And he should trust you at his back?' said Ron incredulously.

'Ooh, what's happening?' said a gleeful voice. Peeves the Poltergeist floated down from a chandelier. 'Potter and Malfoy getting ready to fight! Malfoy and Potter, two little rotters...'

Ron opened his mouth to threaten Peeves with a visit from the Bloody Baron, but it was Hopkirk who intervened. She advanced on Peeves and gave a growl, and for a split second, her eyes and skin glowed red, and her teeth became fangs. Ron jumped, but his reaction was nowhere near so frightened as Peeves, who gave a shriek and flew away down the corridor. Draco was gawping at Hopkirk with a mixture of fear and awe.

Hopkirk, meanwhile, went back to normal and watched Peeves fly away before turning to Draco.

'P-professor...' he stammered.

'We're wasting time arguing,' said Hopkirk tightly. 'Let's go to my office to discuss whatever arrangements are needed. Draco can come along.'

'But--' Harry started to protest.

'I want to hear what he has to say,' said Hopkirk. With a sweep of black robes she turned on her heel and marched off in the direction of her office.

Draco stared after her for a moment, and then looked back at Ron, Harry and Hermione. He gave them a smug smile before following Hopkirk.

Harry looked like he wanted to break something as he stormed off after Hopkirk and Draco.

'Great,' Ron muttered, as he and Hermione followed. She opened her mouth to say something--no doubt she was about to attempt to put a positive spin on this latest development--but the look on Ron's face seemed to change her mind.

The group of them headed to Hopkirk's office in a tense silence; when they entered, Hopkirk conjured extra chairs and went to her desk.

'Sit,' she ordered, and Ron, Harry, Hermione and Draco all sat down.

'Now,' said Hopkirk, 'Draco. I won't punish you for sticking your nose in Harry's business, but I would like to know why you want to be a part of this.'

'You know why, Professor!' said Ron indignantly.

'I'd like to hear from Draco, please,' said Hopkirk.

Draco glared at Ron, but then spoke. 'Look, I admit, I want to find my father, and Nott.'

'And what, kill them?' said Hopkirk.

'Maybe,' said Draco darkly.

'If that's the case, Draco, then you stay here,' said Hopkirk. 'Harry's right. We don't have time to indulge your personal vendetta. This is a serious situation. The most serious situation Harry will have to face.'

'I know what he's going to try to do,' said Draco furiously. 'Dammit! Look, going after my dad and Nott aren't the only reasons, okay? The Dark Lord...Voldemort...he ordered my father to murder my mother. Dad wouldn't have done that if his boss hadn't...and Voldemort tried to kill me, and he killed Pansy, or at least he ordered someone to kill her...'

Harry's eyes snapped to Draco; Ron was fairly certain Harry had never heard Draco use Voldemort's name; come to think of it, Ron was sure he'd never heard Draco utter it, either. It was this, more than anything, that seemed to give Harry pause.

'What you're saying, Draco, is that you want in because this is personal,' said Hopkirk.

Draco paused, and then said, 'Yes.'

'Are you aware that Harry is the only one who can destroy Voldemort?' said Hopkirk.

'I kind of figured that,' said Draco sarcastically.

'So,' Hopkirk went on, ignoring Draco's snide attitude, 'if I am going to allow you to accompany us you have to swear to me right now that anything you do will be for the benefit of protecting Harry and making sure he fulfills his responsibility.'

'What?' Ron protested. 'Wait a minute!'

'Professor, I don't know about this,' said Harry hesitantly, but Ron was shocked to see that Harry wasn't nearly as indignant about the whole situation as he should be.

'Silence,' said Hopkirk, glowering at Harry and Ron. Ron looked pleadingly at Hermione, but she shook her head and bit her lip. It was no good arguing with Hopkirk.

'As I was saying,' said Hopkirk, moving her eyes back to Draco, 'if I agree to allow you to participate, you must agree to put aside whatever personal designs you have in order to make sure Harry accomplishes what he's required to accomplish.'

'Fine,' said Draco. 'Whatever. As long as Potter finishes him off.'

'You understand, too,' said Hopkirk, 'that you are agreeing to risk yourself for Harry's sake.'

Draco leveled his eyes at Harry, who stared right back at him. Ron watched them both with saucer-wide eyes and a slack jaw.

'Yeah,' said Draco.

'You'll be putting your life on the line,' said Hopkirk.

'Fine,' said Draco again. A muscle in Harry's jaw twitched.

Ron gawped at Harry. 'Harry, you can't seriously think...' Ron began, but his voice trailed off when he saw Harry take a deep breath.

'It has to be up to Harry,' said Hopkirk, sitting back in her chair. 'I'd be happy to include you, but it's his decision in the end.'

Ron was so appalled he was rendered speechless.

Harry let out another breath. 'Why should I trust you?' he said finally.

'Because we both want the same things,' said Draco, 'as horrifying as it might be for us to admit that.'

Ron grimaced as he caught the deeper meaning behind Draco's words.

'You don't want what I want,' said Harry evenly.

Draco clenched his teeth for a moment, but then he said, 'I'm damn good at dueling, and I know some Dark Magic as well. Stuff that could come in handy against them.'

'Okay, that right there,' said Ron, finding his voice, 'is exactly why he shouldn't come. Dark Magic? Yeah, right! That's all we need, an ex-Junior Death Eater going around throwing Unforgivables.'

'Dark Magic has its uses,' said Hopkirk evenly. Ron stared at her.

'You're seriously suggesting he come along?' he said. 'Hermione, back me up here. This is a bad idea.'

Hermione bit her lip again, and Ron now found himself gaping at her.

'Well...' she said hesitantly.

'Come on, Hermione,' Ron begged.

'Ron, Harry doesn't even have a wand,' said Hermione desperately. 'Look, he needs backup--'

'He's got us!' said Ron. 'And Professor Hopkirk, and didn't McGonagall say Flitwick would come along--'

'He can come,' said Harry, in a wary voice.

Ron rounded on Harry. 'What?'

'He can come, Ron,' said Harry, keeping his eyes on Draco. 'He's a good dueler and he owes it to Ginny.'

Draco lowered his eyes for a moment.

Ron was beside himself. 'Harry, when has Malfoy ever done anything for anyone but himself, I ask you? Oh, right, he owes it to Ginny. Sure he does. After you rescue her he'll go right back to bugging her all the time, never leaving the two of you alone--'

'I won't,' Draco protested, but his voice didn't sound all that convincing to Ron.

'He won't,' said Harry firmly, still staring at Draco. 'You come on one condition, Malfoy. After this is over, I don't want you talking to Ginny anymore. Ever. You're out of her life for good.'

Draco screwed up his face. 'You can't dictate--'

'Like hell he can't,' said Ron, taking up the theme. 'Harry's right, Malfoy. If we have to endure your company, you have to leave Ginny alone from here on out.'

'She wanted to help me, I never--'

'Only because you pressured her,' said Harry. 'You knew she'd feel guilty, you took advantage of her.'

Draco opened his mouth as though to retort, but seemed to think better of it. His pale face flushed and he pressed his lips together; a muscle in his jaw twitched.

'Fine,' he said at last, through gritted teeth. 'Whatever.'

'If you're all finished,' said Hopkirk coolly, 'I think it might be wise to take a look at something.'

She reached into her top desk drawer and extracted a very old looking roll of parchment and spread it out on her desk; Ron, Hermione, Harry and Draco all crowded round Hopkirk's desk.

'The page is blank,' said Ron, looking at the piece of parchment Hopkirk had unrolled.

'Not for long,' said Hopkirk. 'Aparecium.'

Lines began to appear on the parchment; Ron wondered if in fact Hopkirk had created her own version of a Marauder's Map, but then he saw that the map didn't have any dots on it to indicate the presence of people. It looked just like any old map, except that the lines of parchment seemed oddly wavy. Across the top of the piece of parchment was written 'Ninth Floor: Department of Mysteries.'

'Why are the lines all shaking like that?' Hermione asked.

'Technically, the rooms in the Department of Mysteries aren't supposed to appear on a map. I had to do a lot of tweaking to make them show up,' Hopkirk explained. The map showed a layout of the rooms Ron, Harry and Hermione had been in only two years ago, fighting for their lives. A large, central room that branched off to smaller rooms, which were crudely labeled in her distinct, angular hand:

DEATH. UNIVERSE. TIME. HEART. BRAIN. PROPHECY.

Ron watched as Harry's fingers drifted over the room labeled 'death.'

'That's not the room you want,' said Hopkirk quietly, her eyes on Harry.

Harry looked up at her for a moment, and swallowed. 'I know,' he said.

Hopkirk let her gaze linger on Harry as she unfurled a second piece of parchment; this looked to be a massive map of London.

'Muggle London,' said Hopkirk, and she tapped the parchment and muttered something under her breath. Faintly glowing points appeared on the map.

'The Ministry is roughly here, just west of the City,' said Hopkirk, pointing to a spot on the map. She then pointed to another glowing spot, located south of the Ministry. 'This,' she said, 'is the entrance to a tunnel that leads to the first floor of the Ministry.'

'Elephant and Castle?' said Hermione.

'What?' said Ron.

'It's an Underground station,' said Hopkirk. 'See this route here?' She pointed her wand at a thin brown line that went from the train station to the Ministry.

'Yeah,' said Ron.

'That's the Bakerloo line,' said Hopkirk. 'This is the Embankment stop--closest to the Ministry.'

'That's where your dad and I went when I had my disciplinary hearing,' said Harry, looking at Ron.

'One of the tunnels on the Bakerloo line, from Elephant and Castle to Embankment, collapsed a few decades ago,' Hopkirk said. 'Muggle officials took engineers inside to try and repair it, but they decided against it; said it was simply too unstable to bother with, and built a whole new tunnel instead, about ten feet to the right of the original. The original was sealed off.'

'And the Ministry decided to use it,' said Hermione.

'Yes,' said Hopkirk. 'It wasn't meant to be used by the whole Ministry staff, just the Aurors who were working undercover. Aurors needed a way to get into the Ministry without being seen. This tunnel was one such way inside. It branches off into two paths. One leads right to the second floor, the Auror headquarters. The other...to the Department of Mysteries on the ninth floor. The Aurors did a lot of work with some of the researchers in the Department; it made sense to be able to go directly to them if they found physical or magical evidence of a crime, evidence that they themselves couldn't readily detect or translate. That's part of what Lily Potter did: she'd translate magical signatures and help determine who was responsible for casting illegal spells.'

'Wow,' said Ron, impressed. 'Your mum must have been pretty brilliant, Harry.'

Harry suppressed a smile as Hopkirk said, 'She was, quite.'

There was a somewhat uncomfortable pause, and then Hopkirk cleared her throat and continued.

'Another secret entrance is here.'

She pointed to St. Mungo's Hospital. 'There's a tunnel leading from the basement level of the hospital that goes directly to level three, where the Accidental Magical Reversal Squad is, the Obliviator Headquarters, etcetera. That way if an undercover Auror had an injury he could go to hospital, get treated, and easily get back to make a report, again without drawing attention to himself. He could also bring any Muggle witnesses, wipe their memories and take them back out again more easily.

'Then there's a third tunnel leading from The Leaky Cauldron to the Atrium,' she went on, 'but apparently it was only for emergencies. And here'--she indicated King's Cross station--'is a lift on Platform 9¾ that takes you to a back entrance to the Atrium, only that back entrance was sealed off ages ago. Not very securely, if my information is correct, but people stopped using it. The most commonly used passage was this one.'

She indicated the Elephant and Castle train stop.

'There is a problem, however,' said Hopkirk.

'What do you mean?'

'The Bakerloo tunnel hasn't been used in years,' said Hopkirk. 'According to James Potter, the Ministry was always changing around its network of tunnels and access ways, for security purposes. When a new tunnel was created and an old one put out of use, Aurors had to be Obliviated so as not to reveal anything. Your dad, Harry, only managed to tell me about those three entrances. They went out of use a few months after he told me about them. He broke about eight laws just telling Lily and me about them.'

'Was Dad found out?' Harry asked.

'No,' said Hopkirk. 'But he was Obliviated a few months after telling Lily and me. We never brought it up with him; neither of us wanted to compromise his safety or his position in the training program. I did keep using the Bakerloo tunnel, just to get to Lily when I needed to, but it quickly became clear to me why the tunnel wasn't being used anymore, apart from the Ministry's need to keep from using one particular tunnel for too long.'

'What was that?' said Hermione.

'The structure of it truly was unsound,' said Hopkirk. 'Even with magic holding it up, you couldn't count on going in there without a piece of the ceiling falling down. I nearly got killed a few times, just moving through it. I'm guessing the magic holding it up now is a lot weaker, which means the tunnel would be even more dangerous.'

'Lovely,' Draco muttered.

Everyone ignored him. Instead Ron asked the question that was troubling him most.

'Is it possible that Voldemort knows about these tunnels?'

'Quite possible,' said Hopkirk, 'but I think it's safe to assume that he wouldn't suspect us of using the Bakerloo tunnel.'

'Wait, you want us to sneak in there using that?' said Draco.

'How can we be sure Voldemort won't have that tunnel ambushed?' Hermione asked, as everyone continued to ignore Draco.

'Harry and I could both try and find out,' said Ron, glancing at Harry. Even if Voldemort knew Ron was a Seer, he didn't feel like broadcasting it to Draco Malfoy.

'That's probably a wise step,' said Hopkirk. 'In the meantime--'

There was a sudden, sharp knock on Hopkirk's door, and Ron suddenly became aware of the rumble of many voices, all talking at once.

'Yes?' Hopkirk called warily.

'Griselda!' came the squeaky voice of Professor Flitwick. 'Could you please...'

Hopkirk gave her wand a wave and her door opened. Ron expected to see the tiny Flitwick stride into the room. Based on the other voices Ron had heard, he expected to also see a few Aurors and possibly a few teachers.

What he saw standing in the doorway were Flitwick, McGonagall, Professor Sinistra, and standing just outside the door, about ten Aurors and what looked to be a few dozen students. McGonagall looked to be extremely frustrated.

'Minerva?' said Hopkirk, getting up from her chair.

'Professor!' Neville Longbottom cried, shoving his way past a few Aurors into her office. 'We heard something about Harry and...and You-Know-Who--'

'That will do, Mr. Longbottom!' said McGonagall shrilly. 'Honesty, Griselda, I tried to get them to stay put in their common rooms but Merlin forbid anyone listen to me!'

'Children, please!' squeaked Flitwick, jumping up and down. 'This is not a job for you, it's for us and the Aurors to--'

'With all due respect, Professor Flitwick, that's bollocks,' said Blaise Zabini firmly, as he, too, shoved his way forcibly into the room. 'We're not children, we're all of age here, we know what's going on, and if Potter's going to do this he needs all the help he can get.'

'That's right!' came a familiar voice from just outside. Ron saw a flash of auburn hair, and realized Susan Bones was speaking.

'Wait, wait,' Harry called, raising his voice over the din, 'no, you guys can't come along, it's too dangerous--'

'I think,' said Luna Lovegood, as she, too, entered the room (although she seemed to float in, as opposed to jostling herself through the crowd), 'that it would be wise for you to have as much help as possible, Harry.'

'Hear, hear!' yelled Ernie MacMillan.

'But...' Harry protested weakly.

'Professor McGonagall, you really shouldn't let students be involved in this,' said James Marchbanks.

'I know what I shouldn't do,' McGonagall snapped. 'But you try dissuading twenty-five students who are as stubborn and determined as this lot!'

'QUIET, PLEASE!' Hopkirk suddenly bellowed, so that everyone jumped. She let out a breath. 'Before everything gets out of hand, might I make the suggestion that everyone come inside in an orderly fashion, so that we might work this out?'

'Griselda...' said McGonagall.

'Professor...' Harry countered.

But Hopkirk ignored both of them; instead she lifted her wand, muttered a few spells, and Ron saw her office change before his eyes. It grew significantly larger in dimension, and several rows of benches suddenly appeared.

'Much better,' said Hopkirk. 'Now, would all of you please come in, single file and quietly, and take a seat?'

'Griselda, I must insist--' Professor McGonagall began.

'I think you're going to be overruled here, Minerva,' said Hopkirk evenly, as Aurors began to seat themselves on the benches, followed by the students.

In addition to Ernie, Susan, Neville, Luna, and Blaise, Ron saw Colin Creevey, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Padma Patil, Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot, Morag McDougal, Mandy Brocklehurst, Lisa Turpin, Michael Corner, Hannah Abbott, Zacharias Smith, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Eloise Midgen, the Hufflepuff Seeker, Nigel Summerby, Daphne Greengrass, and another Slytherin girl he knew as Tracey Davis.

Seated in front of them were James Marchbanks, Mary Stebbins, and eight other Aurors Ron only vaguely recognized. It was the last person to enter the room, however, that got Ron's undivided attention.

'Professor Snape?' said Harry and Hermione together.

'Sir,' said Draco, in a voice Ron took to be genuinely respectful.

'What are you doing here?' Ron blurted.

'Tactful as ever, Weasley,' said Snape, scowling as he sat down next to Professor Sinistra.

'All right, everyone!' McGonagall called, bringing about silence in the room. She opened her mouth to speak, but then her eyes settled on the crowd in the magically enlarged room, and seemed to think better of it. Instead she threw up her hands and said, 'You deal with this, Griselda.'

Professor Hopkirk, unruffled, simply nodded.

'Well,' she said, her eyes moving over the room, 'this is a bit of a surprise. I suppose I was naive to forget how quickly news travels in this school.'

'Please, ma'am,' said Neville, 'we want to help Harry--'

'No, Neville--'

'What makes you think you all could help Harry?' Hopkirk interjected.

Neville flushed; he clearly hadn't been expected to explain himself. He opened and closed his mouth for a few seconds, rather like a fish, when Blaise Zabini intervened.

'Potter has to take on You-Know-Who by himself, but that doesn't mean he can go in by himself, does it?'

'No, Mr. Zabini,' Hopkirk agreed, 'which is why I've asked some Aurors and a few teachers to accompany us.'

'That won't be good enough,' said Blaise. Hermione looked somewhat shocked, and McGonagall looked affronted, but Hopkirk simply raised her eyebrows.

'The combined efforts of ten highly-trained Aurors and several fully qualified magical teachers won't be enough protection for Mr. Potter?' she said coolly.

'No,' said Blaise, 'not if we want to do real damage to his network.'

'What Mr. Zabini is trying to say,' Professor Snape said, 'is that it may take more than Potter destroying the Dark Lord in order to be successful. It has been some time since I was in the company of his top lieutenants, but I can tell you, many of them are powerful and ambitious in their own right. Some will crumble if the Dark Lord falls, yes, but there are others who might have designs on...taking his place, now they have nothing to lose.'

Snape's black eyes fell on Draco, who swallowed. Ron knew at once Snape was referring to Lucius Malfoy. Ron, who hadn't bothered to sit down, found his eyes drawn to the maps Hopkirk had unfolded.

'I see your point, Severus,' said Hopkirk, 'but if our goal is to enter the Ministry in secret I hardly see how this can be accomplished with so many people.'

'There could be people inside the Ministry who are hostages,' Harry said. 'If they see us coming they...they might kill those people.'

'That could be a risk we have to take, Potter,' said Snape coldly. 'In a war situation casualties are to be expected. This is about achieving the greater good, is it not?'

'Excuse me, sir,' said Harry acidly, 'but I don't see the greater good in a bunch of people dying just so I can get a shot at Voldemort.'

'That's always been your problem, Potter,' said Snape irritably. 'You'll never learn, will you, to keep your emotions--'

'Severus,' said Hopkirk quietly. Ron looked up to see her staring at Snape, and her eyes flashed briefly red. Snape glared at her, and then at Harry, but he went quiet.

'I am inclined to agree with Harry on this, Severus,' said Hopkirk. 'We need to keep our eyes on the prize, as it were. I don't think we need to be risking the lives of students.'

'But Professor--' Blaise protested. Ron's eyes stayed on the maps as the first strands of an idea began to form in his mind.

'Then there is the issue of protecting the school,' said Hopkirk. 'Leaving the castle all but empty is practically inviting an attack.'

'With respect, Professor,' said Anthony Goldstein, 'the school can be rebuilt. I'm a bit more concerned, myself, with ending this thing as soon as possible.'

'So am I,' said Padma Patil.

'Us, too,' said Ernie MacMillan, earning nods from his fellow Hufflepuffs.

'I don't want anyone else getting hurt that doesn't have to get hurt,' said Harry vehemently.

'We've all of us been hurt already, Harry,' said Susan Bones quietly. 'In various ways.' Ron saw she and Harry exchanged a pained gaze, but Ron, for his part, was already in agreement with the other students. He didn't want Harry going in with minimal back-up, and despite what Hopkirk might think...

'They're right, Harry,' said Ron, standing up straight. Half of him cringed at what he was about to do, but the other half of him knew it was the only thing to do. He looked at Hermione, who was chewing her lower lip with worry, but she nodded. She understood, and she was supporting him.

Ron cleared his throat and looked at McGonagall and Hopkirk.

'Headmistress, Professor,' he said, his voice wavering just slightly, 'the Head Boy and Girl are supposed to be representatives of the student body. Well...the student body wants to get involved, and we agree.'

'Ron,' Harry hissed. 'What are you doing?'

Ron ignored him, and went on, feeling suddenly as though his insides had disappeared and been replaced by a giant bubble of air. He felt himself grab Hermione's hand, and she gave it a gentle squeeze.

'We're aware of the risk involved,' he said, his voice growing a bit steadier. 'Everyone in this room has suffered in some way. It's...it's personal for everyone. Helping Harry isn't just...helping Harry. It's helping all of us, and our friends and our families. Everyone in this room is of age, too, so...legally speaking, yeah, maybe we're still students but we do have a say for ourselves. And we say...we're going. Because...because I don't want to keep living in a world where we have to always look over our shoulder...and Muggles get attacked just because they're Muggles, and I want my sister back safe and sound and...I want us all to have a future...and...stuff like that...'

Oh, lovely, Weasley. You are truly the epitome of eloquence.

'We can't have a future if the Death Eaters regroup,' Blaise piped up, saving Ron from further embarrassing himself.

'Harry needs our help,' said Neville fervently. 'And Ginny needs our help.'

'You are not...soldiers!' McGonagall protested.

'We might as well be, with the training Professor Hopkirk's given us,' said Terry Boot.

'Yes, but--'

'Professor,' James Marchbanks interrupted, 'normally I'd never be for this but...we're talking about the Ministry itself. There aren't enough Aurors to get inside and take it back, not with all the other attacks going on. This might be our only chance. Maybe the students aren't Aurors, but they're all pretty good in a fight.'

'This is our chance to take the fight to them,' said Blaise, impassioned. 'Before they bring it back to us again.'

'We could have Aurors and a teacher with each group,' Hermione suggested. 'Put someone in charge of each group who's more experienced.'

'I don't believe this,' said McGonagall, shaking her head.

'This all sounds very good in theory but...'

Ron was no longer listening, because at that very moment, as he looked down again at the maps on Hopkirk's desk, he was possessed by the strangest feeling. It was a vision--he saw the various corridors in the Ministry, saw students and Aurors and teachers alternately moving quietly through them--and yet it wasn't, because Ron didn't feel the usual detachment from his surroundings. He no longer heard the voices of the arguing students and teachers. He heard Firenze's voice, telling him something important just before he'd galloped off into the Forest. He saw Hermione mixing Harry's potion, with tears on her face. He saw an unfamiliar door in the Ministry opening up to the Atrium. He saw a dark tunnel with a rotting ceiling and chunks of plaster falling. He saw Harry sliding a key into a lock, and opening a door. He saw blood on his own hands, and saw himself giving Harry his wand. He saw the gleam of a sword blade flashing, and heard Voldemort's screams. He saw Ginny in a familiar looking chamber, standing on a daïs in front of an archway with a billowing black veil. He saw Death Eaters guarding corridors, standing outside rooms. He saw trolls and what looked like vampires. He saw the entire floor plan of the Ministry in stark detail.

And then suddenly there was a gigantic chessboard, upon which stood all the players: Harry, Ron, Hermione, the other students, the teachers, the Aurors on one side. Harry was the King, Hermione the Queen, Ron a Knight; they were surrounded by students, teachers and Aurors. On the other side stood Voldemort, the King of Darkness, with Lucius Malfoy, his Knight and the Queen...she was unseen beneath heavy black robes and a hood.

And suddenly, everything was starting to make sense. It wasn't totally clear yet--he knew there was something he was still missing, something about what Firenze had told him--but Ron finally was beginning to understand, at least, how things might play out.

'It's chess,' said Ron, in a distant voice, as the visions and voices faded from his mind.

'What?' said Hopkirk, caught off guard.

'Ron?' said Hermione, gazing at him. 'Did you...was that...'

'It's chess,' Ron repeated. 'This whole thing. Chess.'

'What are you talking about, Mr. Weasley?' said McGonagall impatiently.

'They've made all the moves they can make now,' Ron went on. 'They've checked us, and it's Harry's move. They can't do anything until Harry moves.'

'Would you mind translating that, Mr. Weasley, so those of us who don't avail ourselves of chess might have some idea what you're talking about?' said Snape sarcastically.

Ron blinked, and came out of his half-reverie state.

'They're expecting Harry to make a move,' he said. 'They think Harry will show up, either alone or with just a few people--Hermione and me, most likely. Voldemort assumes his Death Eaters will protect him--that's what you do for a king, right? They take us out and our king, Harry, is left alone and defenseless. That's what all those attacks were about. To use up our pieces--our resources--and leave Harry without much in the way of defenses. They're not expecting us to have any real moves left, or to have any pieces.'

'But...we do have pieces?' said Neville hesitantly.

'Yeah, lots of them,' said Ron. 'All of us. That's why we all have to go. Zabini's got it right--the Death Eaters can't be allowed to regroup again. We have to take them down and leave Voldemort without any outside defenses. In chess, a king is always vulnerable without his soldiers. Voldemort might be really powerful, but Harry is, too, and if we back Harry up...we can beat them all. That's our job, then. To protect Harry for as long as we can, and take down Voldemort's defenses.'

Harry gaped at Ron, speechless. Hermione was smiling at him.

Hopkirk, however, looked mildly impressed.

'All right, Weasley,' she said. 'You're starting to convince me. But how are we supposed to accomplish this?'

Ron swallowed. Once again he felt himself in the hot seat, but he felt more confident now. A plan was in his mind.

'Okay,' he said. 'Could I just use these?' He indicated the maps on Hopkirk's desk.

'Of course.'

Ron took a deep breath, and pointed his wand at the maps. He levitated them to stay open and flat, and then enlarged them, so that everyone could see them.

'Okay,' Ron said again. 'There are five secret entrances to the Ministry. This one here'--he pointed to St. Mungo's--'is in the basement of the hospital, and it leads to the third level in the Ministry. This one'--he indicated the King's Cross tunnel--'goes to a back entrance on the Atrium level. That entrance has been sealed off for a while, but it'll open if we try it.'

'How do you know?' said Zacharias Smith dubiously.

'I just know,' said Ron, glancing at Harry, who still looked a bit stunned, but who nodded all the same.

'Anyway,' Ron went on, 'the third entrance is in The Leaky Cauldron. That one's a bit obvious, but we might as well use it. It goes to the front entrance of the Atrium. If we use both entrances to the Atrium we could head off whatever's in there from both sides.'

'You...you think there'll be Death Eaters in there?' said Colin Creevey.

'Pretty sure,' said Ron, 'along with some other nasties.'

'Vampires?' said Seamus and Dean eagerly.

'Actually, yeah,' said Ron. 'I mean, I think so.'

'How do you know all this stuff?' said Michael Corner.

'What, are you a Seer now, Weasley, is that it?' said Draco Malfoy sarcastically.

'Moving along,' said Hopkirk firmly. 'You were saying, Ron?'

'Er, right,' said Ron, suddenly aware that half the room was looking at him through narrowed eyes. Ron glanced at Draco, whose sarcastic expression had melted away, to be replaced by one of disbelief.

'So,' Ron said loudly, desperately hoping to keep the subject off himself and onto the plan, 'two groups go to the Atrium level, one through King's Cross--there's a lift there that you take--and one through The Leaky Cauldron. A third group takes the St. Mungo's tunnel. Then there's this tunnel'--Ron pointed to the Bakerloo tunnel--'and it splits off in two directions. One fork goes to level two in the Ministry, and the other goes to level nine. Level nine is where Harry needs to go.'

'There's a secret entrance to the Ministry in an Underground tunnel?' said Anthony. 'No kidding.'

'Yeah,' said Ron. 'I think...well, two groups here in this tunnel. Only...'

'Only what?' said Eloise Midgen.

'Well, the tunnel's pretty dangerous,' said Ron. 'Chunks of ceiling keep falling down inside it.'

'And this is the tunnel you want Potter to venture into?' said Snape, rolling his eyes. 'Suppose he's flatted by an errant piece of falling plaster before he even gets where he needs to go?'

'That entrance is the quickest and most direct route to level nine,' Hopkirk countered. 'Dangerous it may be, but it's no worse than trying to sneak through six or seven levels and being confronted with Death Eaters. Surely you'll agree with me there, Severus.'

Snape grumbled something under his breath, but nodded grudgingly. Ron scowled. Why hadn't the damn Potions Master stayed in a coma?

'Anyway,' said Ron, 'I figure if we're really careful and alert, we'll make it through that tunnel just fine. And once we're inside, we just...make sure we take down as many Death Eaters and whatever else as we can.'

'That's it?' said Smith. 'That's your brilliant plan?'

'No,' said Ron defensively, although for a moment he froze, realizing that, in fact, he hadn't really thought about what else they might do once they were all inside. But then something occurred to him. An idea of Bill's they'd used, last year in the Riddle House.

'I was thinking we ought to Disillusion ourselves,' he said.

'Excuse me?' said Smith.

'He means to use Disillusionment Charms,' said Snape, rolling his eyes. 'And as much as I am loathe to admit it, that's not an entirely ridiculous idea.'

'None of this sounds like a bad plan,' said James Marchbanks, 'but if we're going to do this, we need to do this right. Aurors always take emergency potion supplies with them. I think everyone should do this.'

'Good idea,' said Hopkirk. 'Make a list of what you carry, Marchbanks, and we'll try to get as much as we can.'

'There's also the matter of communication,' said Mary Stebbins. 'Typically when Aurors are out on a field assignment we've put a Communicare Charm in place, on some personal, inanimate item, like a watch or necklace. The Charm allows the object to function rather like a Muggle two-way radio.'

'That way if something goes wrong,' said another Auror, 'everyone at least knows everyone else's status.'

'The problem is,' said yet another Auror, a witch, 'that most of us here only know the rudimentary charm. We don't know if we can make it strong enough to work underground, at great distances.'

'I can do those charms for you,' said Flitwick. 'And Miss Granger's quite handy at them.'

Everyone looked right at Hermione, whose cheeks turned pink.

'You are?' said Harry.

'You are?' said Ron.

'Oh, yes,' said Flitwick enthusiastically. 'Her charm works over distances nearly as great as mine does, actually. It's quite impressive.'

Hermione was turning red now.

'I'll say,' said Ron. 'Wow.'

'When did you get good at those?' said Harry.

'I've just been practicing in my spare time,' said Hermione, shrugging and blushing more deeply. 'I...I figured it might come in handy sometime.'

She looked up at Ron, and he understood. Of course. It was a way for her to know where he was, and how he was, whenever he went out on an Auror assignment.

'One more thing,' said Mary Stebbins. 'Maps. Maybe you could replicate those, Professor Hopkirk, and make sure we all have a floor plan of the Ministry.'

'Absolutely,' said Hopkirk.

'Well,' said McGonagall, standing up and taking authority once more, 'it seems this...plan will go forward. However, given that it is now daylight I don't believe we ought to be rushing off any time soon. I might not know much about law enforcement or...or Auror tactics but surely a nighttime...initiation is safer.'

'With that in mind,' said Flitwick, 'if you all would stop by my office and do bring some kind of item with you, such as a watch or piece of jewelry. Miss Granger, would you...'

'Yes, Professor,' said Hermione. 'Ron, Harry, I'll see you at lunch?'

'Lunch?' said Ron. 'Why not breakfast?'

'Communicare Charms take a while to do,' said Hermione.

'Okay,' said Ron, 'but make sure you eat some breakfast.' She smiled and pecked him on the cheek before turning and leaving with Flitwick.

Harry pursed his lips; he looked terribly impatient. Ron understood all too well why Harry wanted to move now. Ginny was in Voldemort's hands. There was no telling what he would do to her between now and sunset.

On the other hand, Ron knew in his heart and soul that he was right: Voldemort would do nothing drastic before Harry made a move. Ginny would be alive when they entered the Ministry. Whether she stayed that way...

Ron didn't want to think about that.

The impromptu meeting suddenly seemed to be breaking up. James Marchbanks went to Hopkirk. Hopkirk, who was conversing with Snape, turned and took a piece of parchment from the Auror's hand. She said something to James, nodded at him, and then handed the parchment to Snape who scrutinized it. The Potions Master pointed at the parchment a few times and shook his head, but then would point at something else and nod.

'Before everyone rushes off,' Hopkirk called suddenly, 'let's be sure to meet here after dinner, at seven o'clock.'

There was a lot of muttering and nodding. Snape walked up to Harry.

'Well, Potter,' he said, 'your moment has come at last.'

'Yes, sir,' said Harry.

'How are you on Occlumency?' Snape asked coolly.

'Better than you now,' said Harry evenly.

Snape's jaw twitched, but then he sneered. 'Good, because you'll need it. Not just to defend against the Dark Lord, mind you, but against whatever he'll have done to Miss Weasley.'

Ron was saved from launching himself at Snape by virtue of preventing Harry from doing the same; Snape clucked his tongue and moved off, but not before stopping and talking to Draco Malfoy. Draco turned and glanced at Harry and Ron once, before following Snape out the door.

'Why couldn't he have just stayed in a coma?' Harry muttered.

'He had to wake up some time,' said Hopkirk, who had apparently moved up beside Harry without being heard. Both Harry and Ron jumped.

'Harry, I'll want you to stay here for a bit,' she said. 'I'd like to do some last minute tweaking with the potion.'

'What can I do?' Ron asked.

'You can get some sleep,' said Hopkirk. 'You haven't slept in over twenty-four hours.'

Ron automatically started to protest, but then realized Hopkirk was right: he hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours. Hearing this fact aloud suddenly made Ron feel utterly exhausted.

'Harry needs rest, too,' said Ron weakly, already thinking about falling face-first onto his inviting bed.

'He'll get it,' said Hopkirk. 'You go on.'

Ron nodded and stifled a sudden yawn. 'I'll see you later, mate?' he said.

'Yeah,' said Harry. 'Get some rest, I'll be fine.'

Ron held Harry's gaze for a moment. He felt like he was missing something, like there was something important he should be telling Harry, something about the vision he'd just had, but it wouldn't come to him. Instead, Ron nodded, and took his leave, the details of his vision poking at his brain.


'Finish it, Harry...'

'I can't just leave you here!'

'Yes, you can, you have to! Take my wand, take the sword and go on. I'll be fine, okay? I promise. But you have to finish it...there's no other way...'

'Ron! Help me!'

'Hermione...'

'He's not breathing...oh my god...help me...Harry!'

Ron sat up sharply, breathing hard. He blinked. Where was he? What had just happened? There was deep golden sunlight filtering into the room.

My room. I'm in my room.

Ron blinked again and wiped a hand over his face; he was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and looking out his window, he suddenly realized the sun was setting in the distance. Panicking, he checked his watch, and was confused to see that it was not on his wrist. He looked at the small clock on his nightstand. It was just past six o'clock.

He groaned. He ought to feel more refreshed, but somehow he felt worse. He felt like he'd taken an overdose of sleeping potion; he was groggy and unfocused. He looked at his clock again, wondering where his watch could have gotten to, and cursed himself. Not only had he forgotten to go to Flitwick's office for a Communicare Charm, he'd slept through the whole day, wasting the opportunity to meditate. He wondered what Firenze would say about that, and then he remembered Firenze was missing. He scowled; thinking about Firenze left an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Then he remembered the fragments of the dream. It was just voices. His voice, telling Harry to finish it. Ron had a perfectly clear idea of what that meant now, so that part didn't faze him. No, it was the other part of the dream, Hermione's desperate voice. She had screamed that he wasn't breathing...that Harry wasn't breathing...

No. Tell me that's not...Harry can't...it won't happen! I can't let that happen!

Ron fought down a wave of panic and forced himself to breathe. He needed to clear his head, and the only thing for it was a shower. He then heard his stomach growl, and just as he was about to resign himself to going down to the kitchens, he saw the tray of food on his desk. It glowed softly from a Warming Charm, and sticking out from under the tray was a small piece of parchment. Ron tugged on it and pulled it from beneath the tray. It was a note from Hermione.

'Ron,

'When you didn't show up at Flitwick's office right away for the charm I figured you must have gone to get some sleep. I took your watch to his office and he set the charm for you, and then I brought it back. The beauty of this charm is that you don't need a wand to make it work. That's why it's so hard to master. To make the charm work, you just tap your watch with your index finger and say "Confabulari" (stress on the 'ar'--make it nice and long); to listen, tap your watch again and say "Audire."

'I asked Dobby to send you some food. I gave him a little extra money so don't poke fun at me later for asking a house elf to help. I've gone to get some sleep myself. I'll see you at dinner and if not, in Hopkirk's office.

'I love you.

'Hermione.'

Ron smiled and shook his head. He wished Hermione would spend as much time taking care of herself as she took care of him; she needed sleep as much as he did. Ron then caught the scent of roast beef and potatoes, and he decided he might as well eat.

Fifteen minutes later, he jumped in the shower, and fifteen minutes after that, he was dressed and shaved, and, he thought, in desperate need of a haircut, given the way his fringe was starting to hang in front of his eyes, but there wasn't time for that. It was getting close to seven o'clock, and Ron wanted to get to Hopkirk's office early.

Ten minutes later, he was there, seated near the front of the still-enlarged room that was again crowded with benches. Finding a seat had proved more difficult than Ron thought, given that everyone else seemed to have the same idea of getting to Hopkirk's office early. By now the sun was sinking in the horizon to the west, casting a pinkish-gold glow in the room. Hermione and Harry had come separately and took seats on either side of him, and to Hermione's right were Neville and Luna.

Hopkirk came in next, followed by the other teachers, including Hagrid--who had to duck down just to get through the door--Professor Vector, Professor Sprout, Madam Hooch and Madam Pince, and the ten Aurors, including Mary Stebbins and James Marchbanks. Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey--who looked deeply upset about what was going on--came in wheeling carts laden with little flasks of potions. Professors Sinistra and Flitwick were engaged in some kind of conversation--Sinistra bent low over Flitwick, straining to hear his squeaky voice above the din. Even Mr. Filch was there, scowling and holding on to Mrs. Norris, who mewed every now and again.

The real surprise, though, was in whom else had shown up. Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and Bill and Charlie were there. Ron couldn't believe his two older brothers were there. Why wasn't Bill with his pregnant wife, who was due any day? Why hadn't Charlie gone back to Romania yet? What were they playing at? Ron gave them an incredulous look, and they both smiled and shrugged.

Then there was none other than Peeves the Poltergeist, who was, for once, floating quietly and looking uncharacteristically serious beneath his bowler hat.

'If I could have everyone's attention, please?' said Professor McGonagall, who had taken a position next to Hopkirk in front of the Defense professor's desk. The room quickly fell quiet.

'Let me start by saying, from the standpoint of my job as Headmistress,' said McGonagall stiffly. 'I do not think it is right for students to be taking such risks, when it is my job as Headmistress to do all I can to protect you.'

Murmurs began in the crowd, but McGonagall held up her hand.

'On the other hand,' she said, and her voice wavered just a bit, 'speaking as someone who lived through...Voldemort's first reign of terror...'

The crowd gasped to hear McGonagall use Voldemort's name, but Harry smiled at McGonagall.

'...I believe it is vital that we do all we can to help...Mr. Potter,' she finished, and her eyes became red-rimmed and shiny with unshed tears. She cleared her throat.

'Tonks, if you please,' she said, and she motioned to Tonks.

'We're here because we received word from Mr. Marchbanks,' said Tonks. 'Numerous other attacks have started up in other parts of the country and Aurors are dealing with those. It's been a hell of a few days.'

'Does Madam Bones know?' Harry asked tightly. 'About this?'

'Not yet,' said Tonks. 'And neither does Kingsley, by the way. We've had to do quite a lot of fancy footwork to keep her from figuring out exactly what's going on, and I'll probably be out of a job this time next week. It's just our good luck that You-Know-Who's crew haven't breathed a word yet, and it helps that it's a weekend and the Prophet is busy covering all those other attacks. Once word of this does get out, it could get hairy. So if we can finish this tonight, so much the better.

'In looking at this plan to get inside,' Tonks continued, 'it's not bad, but it needed a bit of refining. That's why I'm here, by the way.' She leveled her gaze at Harry. 'James contacted me and told me what was going on, and asked for me to come. None of the Aurors here have worked inside the Ministry building--they've spent all their time here. I work there, so I know the place in and out. Plus, I was able to check out those entrances to the passages. They're still workable.

'So, the plan,' Tonks went on. 'There are twenty-eight students, ten teachers and ten Aurors not including me. We also have three...civilians, for lack of a better word.' She nodded at Bill, Charlie, and then at Lupin.

'Now, we want a minimum security detail to stay behind at the school,' said Tonks. 'Hagrid's agreed to stay behind--'

At this Hagrid gave a little whimper, and Ron turned to see the half-giant's chin, or rather his bushy black beard, begin to tremble.

'--and with the cooperation of the various creatures in the Forest, they'll keep an eye on the grounds. Mr. Filch, Professor Sprout and Peeves, along with some security trolls, will keep watch on the castle.'

'Peeves?' Ron hissed under his breath. 'No way.'

Other students were murmuring and pointing at Peeves, who bowed and swept off his hat.

'Won't let the nasties burn down Hoggy-warts!' he shouted. 'Only I am allowed to destroy Hoggy-warts--'

'That will do, Peeves,' said McGonagall quickly. Peeves, to everyone's great shock, shut up.

'That leaves the rest of us,' Tonks went on. 'Three groups of seven students each, with one teacher and one Auror. Group One is lead by Madam Hooch and Auror Marchbanks, and will take the King's Cross entrance. Group Two is lead by Auror Stebbins and Professor Flitwick. You lot will do The Leaky Cauldron. Group Three does St. Mungo's and is lead by Auror Branstone and Professor Sinistra.

'That leaves two smaller groups for Bakerloo. Group Four--you'll be exiting onto the second floor. Three students and two teachers: Professor Snape, Professor Vector. No Aurors. Four students for Group Five--that's Harry's group and that's including Harry, plus Professor Hopkirk and Remus Lupin.

'A sixth group made up of Aurors and two very stubborn and obnoxious redheads whose names I won't mention will go in through the front door and try to draw the Death Eater's fire.'

'What?' said Ron, appalled. 'Bill, are you mad? Charlie--'

'Hold your protests until the end,' said Tonks, holding up a hand. 'There are other specifics we need to get down here. All of you should be wearing a piece of jewelry that's been worked over with a Communicare Charm, correct?'

There was a general flood of nods and affirmative murmurs.

'Good,' said Tonks. 'You'll activate those the minute we separate. Do you all know how to work the charm?'

More nods and affirmations.

'Fine,' said Tonks. 'We'll be traveling by Knight Bus from Hogsmeade and we're going to be dropped off at various where we need to go, so don't worry about that part. What you do have to worry about is that we'll be in Muggle London, so this whole operation is going to require some acting on everyone's part, and a change of clothes. I want Muggle wear only, and for those of you who haven't spent much time in the Muggle world, try not to look it, okay?'

Still more murmuring.

'They're really going full-bore here,' Harry muttered.

'I guess we could think of this as an Auror training assignment,' said Ron, making a lame attempt at levity.

'Hell of a training assignment,' said Harry, 'taking on Voldemort in the first go.'

He glanced at Ron and smirked, and the two of them chuckled. Ron had no idea why they would be laughing just now, but for some reason, the situation was so absurd it did seem almost funny.

'Quiet, please, I'm going to assign groups now,' said Hopkirk. 'I'll start with Group One and go on up.'

It was almost like being back at the Sorting, Ron thought, as Hopkirk read off names. Ron remembered how frightened he'd been back then, scared that he'd have to take a test, or that putting the Sorting Hat on would hurt. Now they were being sorted into groups and literally going into combat. They all might be killed. Harry could fail. The world as they knew it would be won or lost tonight.

Ron looked over at Bill and Charlie, who were talking quietly in a corner. Ron knew why they'd come; he wondered if their mother knew about this. He then thought about Fleur, who'd be having the baby any day now, and wondered again what Bill thought he was doing.

Ron blinked and realized Hopkirk was already reading names for Group Four.

'Hermione, you'll be in Group Four,' she said.

'What?' said Ron.

'Wait, what?' said Hermione. 'Professor...I wanted to go with Harry and Ron!'

Ron started to add his voice to Hermione's protests, but Hopkirk gave them a very severe look.

'The decision is final,' said Hopkirk. 'Hermione will be in Group Four, with Mr. Goldstein and Ms. Bones.'

Ron again started to protest, but the look on Hopkirk's face, no longer severe but sympathetic--or at least as sympathetic as a succubus could look--stopped him, and then Ron realized just why Hermione was being separated from them.

To minimize emotional distractions. Of course. If something were to happen to Hermione...I might do something stupid to save her, and vice versa. Harry and I will already be together, the emotional distraction thing will be bad enough. With Hermione, it would be that much worse.

He looked desperately at Hermione, but she only bit her lip and stood up. She squeezed his hand and went to join Group Four. The only consolation, Ron supposed, was that they'd all be walking into the dangerous Bakerloo tunnel together. At least there, he could keep an eye on her.

'Group Five,' said Hopkirk, 'will be Harry, Ron, Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom.'

Neville made a sound in his throat and stood up just as Ron did, and they went over to stand with Hopkirk and Lupin. Ron saw Luna--who was in Group Three--give Neville an encouraging smile.

'Okay!' Tonks called. 'You've got your groups. I want everyone to change clothes and report to the Main Entrance Hall in fifteen minutes.'

She came over to Harry and Ron's group; Malfoy ignored her and stood off to the side, keeping his distance.

'So,' she said, 'this is it.'

Ron watched Harry, who appeared to be wrestling with something inside of him.

'Tonks,' said Harry, 'Prof--Remus...you shouldn't be here.'

'Yes, we should, Harry,' said Lupin firmly. 'Tonks knows the Ministry backwards and forwards, and I wanted to be here. I...I promised Sirius I'd look out for you.'

'I can take care of myself,' said Harry defensively.

'I know you can,' said Lupin evenly. 'I wanted to be here.'

Harry paused, and then met Lupin's eyes. 'Did you hear about...about Wormtail?'

'I heard,' said Lupin, and he looked down for a moment. 'I'm not surprised it ended that way.'

'He said Dumbledore gave a him a second chance,' said Harry. 'But...why wouldn't Dumbledore just give Wormtail that key sooner? Why make him go through all that?'

'Wormtail...Peter chose to go through it,' said Lupin. 'If I had to guess...it was the only way he thought he could repay his debt to you. And James and Lily.'

'I want to keep hating him,' said Harry, 'but I can't.'

'Grudges take a lot of energy to maintain,' said Lupin, his eyes wandering to Snape, who was deep in conversation with Professor Vector and the rest of his group. Hermione caught Ron's eye, but her group was moving out of Hopkirk's office, and she clearly felt compelled to follow. She waved at Ron and he smiled weakly at her as she went out the door.

'Well, I'd better go join my group,' said Tonks, glancing over at a group of Aurors who were talking to Bill and Charlie. 'See you soon, Remus. Harry, Ron.'

She gave only a cursory nod to Draco, who ignored her. Ron, however, suddenly remembered his two oldest brothers were coming along, and he followed Tonks and marched right up to Bill and Charlie.

'What the hell are you two doing here?'

'Nice to see you, too, Ron,' said Charlie dryly.

'Bill, Fleur is pregnant,' Ron said.

'You don't say?' said Bill. 'And here I thought she was just eating way too much.'

'Very funny,' said Ron. 'Are you two daft? What if something happens to you?'

'What if something happens to you?' Bill shot back. 'Do you know why I'm here? Because that bastard's followers attacked my wife and nearly killed our baby. Because I'm not going to sit around waiting for somebody else to defend my family. We're here because we can fight, and Percy and Fred and George can't. We're here because Voldemort's got our sister. And we're here to look out for you.'

'We know you can take care of yourself,' said Charlie hotly. 'We know you're a grown man. But to us...you're still our baby brother.'

'I changed your dirty nappies--' said Bill.

'Shut up!' Ron hissed.

'--so don't you go lecturing me about what I can and can't do,' Bill finished.

'Fine,' Ron groaned. 'Just...get out of this alive, okay? Please?'

Bill and Charlie exchanged looks, and then the two of them surprised Ron by hugging him fiercely. Ron paused, and then hugged them back. Over Charlie's shoulder, he caught Harry looking at him with an expression that seemed almost longing.

Ron let go of his older brothers.

'We have to go change,' he said. 'See you in a few.'

'Okay,' said Bill, clapping Ron on the shoulder. Ron hurried back over to Harry.

'You okay, mate?' he asked.

Harry's eyes still had that faraway look in them. 'Fine,' he said. 'Let's go get ready.'


A/N: About the geography: I consulted the maps at The Lexicon and looked at 'tube maps' (The Tube is London's subway system) and chose what I believed to be the most logical Tube station according to those maps. I also completely made up that bit about a tunnel collapsing in the Bakerloo line (a real subway line). Since I am not a London native it's possible I've made some geographical mistakes, and for that I apologize in advance.

Thanks as ever to lina!