"Potter! A word."
Harry looked up hesitantly from the bag that he had just been packing up to see his boss watching him rigidly from across the room. He couldn't help wondering what the hell he could have possibly done this time as he slowly pushed himself up from his chair.
He had been back to work for less than a week since his suspension and was doing his best to keep his head low. The entire last month had been an uncomfortable blur. Without work to keep him busy and only weekly check-ins over tea with Hermione to occupy him, Harry had found himself quickly becoming stir crazy. He'd even stopped coming to the burrow for Sunday dinners after Ginny had quietly ended things, though this did not stop Mrs. Weasley from repeatedly sending invites and assurances that Ginny would realize her mistake soon enough. Harry had politely declined without bothering to let her know that Ginny's decision didn't really feel like a mistake at all to him. If there was one thing his month of inner musings created certainty of, it was the fact that the end of his engagement was for the best, even if it created yet another degree of separation from the family that had taken him in so long ago.
As he crossed the room he watched as Robards turned around and walked down the hall to lead him. Surprisingly he walked not towards his office, but towards the conference room at the end of the hallway, giving Harry an uncomfortable sense of deja vu. This sensation worsened when he was led into the room and was greeted by a table full of concerned and very tired looking Weasleys. Perplexed, Harry sat down at the far end of the table next to George who nodded at him in greeting, never taking his eyes off of Robards. Harry mirrored him and tried to take a guess as to what this could possibly be about. Perhaps they were planning a memorial of some sort for Ron? While ruminating on this he noticed Hermione entering into the room, along with Mr. Mullins to everyone's surprise, most of all Percy who seemed quite distressed to see his boss while he was still dressed in his pajamas. Noticing him immediately Hermione sat down at Harry's other side, giving him a quizzical look as if hoping he knew what this was all about. Harry merely shrugged in response, looking back to Robards and now Mullins who had stepped to the front of the room.
"Thank you all for coming here on such short notice. We had hoped to give you all a little more time to brief you on this, but the press is refusing to hold back any longer" Robards informed the room, developing a scowl as he mentioned the media.
"Holding back on what? What's going on exactly?" George demanded with a noticeable edge. Harry turned to look at him and noticed the irritated look on his face. Of all his siblings, George had taken the loss of Ron the hardest, and had made his distaste towards the auror department and Robards himself clear to everyone who would listen over the last seven months.
Robards turned to Mullins, who looked uncharacteristically ruffled.
"Where to begin," he finally said. "Well, as you all likely remember, roughly seven months ago I called all of you here together to break some unfortunate news to you."
Harry scoffed. 'Unfortunate' barely covered it.
"I hope you will be relieved to know the news I'm bringing you today is much happier, though I suspect you won't be pleased to hear it" he offered heavily. Harry looked around and noted the nonplussed expressions around him, likely identical to his own.
"A little over seven months ago we received a request from the Australian ministry regarding the presence of a group led by a former death eater, Anton Dolohov, that had been growing in their country. Apparently they had compiled evidence that appeared to indicate an international plot, though for what they did not know. The only thing they were certain of was that this group was responsible for a number of bombings occurring internationally, and the frequency and death toll related to these attacks were continuing to grow."
Harry shot the man with an aggressive glare, something that clearly was not missed as the man briefly gazed back at him before continuing. So the international link he brought up wasn't so ridiculous after all.
"Their ministry requested support from our department and asked that we send someone familiar with the death eaters and their patterns to go undercover. We had to look for someone who would be easy to disappear and who would be prepared to immediately jump into this mission."
"You didn't!" an incensed voice to his left shot out. Harry saw Hermione's hand tightly grasp the edge of the table as if to keep herself from falling, anger and fear clouding her face. He looked back and forth from her to Robards, trying to figure out where this was all going. Robards for his part looked more sympathetic than ever.
"No one else would have worked," Mullins eventually responded evenly, "the only other two men we considered had wives and families, it was too much to ask of them. Ronald was our best option and the only one we could send out under such short notice."
"Ron has a family, who the hell do you think you're talking to right now!" Harry heard Charlie shout out, standing up as realization dawned on everyone in the room, "so what are you trying to say here? You sent him on some special mission and just, what exactly? Made us all think he was dead while he was perfectly fine gallivanting off halfway across the world?" Everyone in the room was shooting daggers at the two men in front of them.
"We're clearly aware you are his family, and we know of the close bond you all share" Mullins started, his voice as business-like as ever "unfortunately we had to take many factors into consideration with this decision. This mission was incredibly dangerous. Your family is much larger than most, and at the time Ron had seemed to have separated himself from most of you. At that point it was clear he was the most-"
"Expendable?" Harry offered, vehemence clear in his voice. "Is that how you explained it to him when you asked then? Told him you won't be missed anyway so why not fuck off halfway across the world and let us tell everyone who's ever cared about you that you're dead?"
"You don't understand," Mullins responded delicately.
"So explain it to us then!"
"I don't think you can comprehend how serious this threat was. What Ron and the Australian aurors managed to uncover not only saved countless lives, it very likely stopped the dissolution of our society as a whole. The Australian team were able to arrest Dolohov and his core collaborators, taking down a threat against the entire International Confederation of Wizards and every country they represent. The consequences of what could have occurred if this had not been uncovered, it's unthinkable."
"But why did it have to be him?" a despondent voice asked. Molly had finally found her voice in all of this, though she still appeared overwhelmed by the shock of what she was hearing, an expression duplicated by her husband at her side. "Why did you have to send my son? And... if he's alive then where is he now?"
"Mrs. Weasley, I truly am sorry for what you and your family have been through, I know this has not been easy for anyone involved," Robards offered honestly, "as for where Ron is now, he's still in Adelaide. He was recently deemed medically fit to return to Britain and should be arriving by portkey tomorrow morning. I spoke with him briefly yesterday to let him know we would be meeting and he let me know he would like to see you all, if you would like to see him."
"Why would he think we wouldn't want to see him?" Molly asked, confusion pairing with her obvious distress.
"He knew this news might be a lot to take in. And that he was not on the best of terms with all of you before he left. I'll be happy to let him know that that isn't the case when he arrives," Robards told her. Harry noticed the rest of the family nodding, though some more stiffly than others. He understood the sentiment, and understood why Ron would be worried. His own desire to see his friend felt equally paired with the desire to strangle him for what he put everyone in this room through. Perhaps Robards noticed this conflicted expression on the faces in the room as he added in an addition to his statement.
"I recognize that you all are probably feeling very mixed about this news, and likely have a lot you would like to say to Ron about all of this. But I want to recommend you be very considerate in your approach. This was not an easy mission by any means, and Ron is still recovering from what he's been through."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.
Robards grimaced, "The assignment itself was apparently quite taxing on Ron, physically and mentally. He was under cover with this organization for over five months, and the conditions were not ideal. And in addition to that," Robards added gravely, "he was compromised at the end of the mission. I don't know all of the details yet, but he was apparently captured and interrogated by Dolohov himself for several days before the Australian department was able to retrieve him."
Harry heard gasps in the room as he steadied himself at this news, recognizing what it must mean.
"He's been recovering in a hospital for the last several weeks. Apparently he is doing much better, but there have been some longer lasting effects I've been told. I'm asking you all to bear this in mind when you see him again."
Harry shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. All of this information was too much. For months now all he wanted was his friend back, it felt like that was the only thing that could cure the ache he'd been carrying and erase the anger that had consumed him for so long. But this news did nothing to erase his pain and rage. He felt so much anger towards Ron for leaving them all behind for this, for leaving him behind, and felt ready to shout himself hoarse at the bastard when he finally laid eyes on him. But the idea that he had been suffering so greatly, completely alone across the world from him hurt beyond words. These conflicting feelings left him feeling entirely overwhelmed, so he focused his despair on the one person who his feelings towards felt crystal clear.
"This is all your fault" he bit out brokenly, eyes boring into his boss standing before him as he rose up himself. "Haven't we all been through enough? Hasn't every person in this room suffered enough? You lied to every one of us, and you treated me like I was fucking mental this whole time! You told me I was being selfish because I forgot our job was to 'help others' and the whole time you were ruining the lives of everyone in this room!"
Robards face became stony, but his voice came out in the same well practiced sympathetic tone he had maintained for the duration of this meeting, "I'm sorry that's how you feel about this Harry. Truly. But there wasn't any other way."
"There's always another way!" he shot back, realizing his voice was becoming manic, "I just wish I had been able to tell Ron that before you ruined his life too." Not wanting to hear the retort his boss was sure to have, nor the need to sit in his grief any longer with the equally devastated family around him, he fled the room. For the first time in nearly a year, all Harry wanted was to think of anything, anything at all, besides what had happened to Ron Weasley.