January 21, 2004

9:23 AM

Ron Weasley's office

Ron had been in the office for nearly three hours when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." he said softly without looking up from the maps that covered his desk. He was looking at maps of the entire Western Hemisphere that gave indications of the levels of magic found in the area. The map was split into two categories: natural magic and human magic. If Ron knew Harry as well as he thought, Harry would stick to places with just above no magic. If he went to places with too much magic, people were bound to spot him and that was exactly the last thing he wanted.

However, if stuck to places with just above no magic, he probably wouldn't get noticed too much and he would still be able to avoid being detected.

Hermione stepped into the office and sat down next to Ron's desk. Despite his overwhelming desire to make things work with Hermione, he couldn't bare to let his guard down around her. That's why he refused to look up from his work, even though he knew that it was her.

Ron hadn't seen Hermione since the meeting in Kingsley's office the day earlier and he wasn't surprised that when he did finally look up, she looked like death warmed over.

"Get some sleep." Ron said roughly before looking back down at the maps.

"Are you having any luck?" Hermione asked him. It was questions like this that drove him crazy. Ron knew that he wasn't Hermione Weasley or Harry Potter. Hell, he probably wasn't even Ginny Weasley. But, he was still a damned fine wizard. Whenever Hermione was trying to make up to him, she started asking him stupid questions. Ron wasn't sure why. It didn't make him feel better, especially when he didn't know the answer.

Ron didn't know exactly how to react to this question. So, he simply looked up and gave her the straightest answer he could think of.

"Hermione, I have to search over nearly 42 million kilometers of land for one man. However, I'm not searching for some regular bloke. I'm searching for Harry. Not only is it personal, I'm search for Harry goddamn Potter, one of the most elusive men in the entire world. He's eluded the most powerful wizarding government in the world for eight years! And I have to do all this before the buddy of the psycho-French guy that we have in custody blows something else up. Now, Mrs. Weasley, you tell me if I'm having a lot of luck!" Ron yelled, finishing his monologue with a shout.

Instantly, Hermione stood up with a huff.

"I knew there was a reason I left."

Then, she turned and did just that.

Straight, apparently, was not the direction he should have gone with that answer.

"Damn it." Ron whispered to himself as he tried to pull himself back into the maps in front of him. Again, despite his wishes, his fury at Hermione got the better of him. There was just something about that woman that could get his knickers in a pinch at a moment's notice.

January 22, 2004

3:21 AM

Ron had worked obsessively for the next eighteen hours. He never got up to eat or to drink or even to use the facilities. No, he sat and sent message after message to American representatives, asking if they had traced Harry's magical signature at any point during the last twenty months. Ron didn't bother wasting time with larger cities. He knew that Harry wouldn't hide there.

For hour after hour, Ron got numerous owls back saying that no one had seen, sensed or heard from Harry Potter in the last twenty months. A number of Floo messages told him the same thing. Just when Ron was about to give up for the night and day, he got something.

A letter from Cho Chang that made everything he had done for the last two-thirds of a day worth it.

Ron,

After working hard all day trying to find something that would help, I may have found it. The United States is a strange nation. Each of their 50 states has a representative that I can contact at any time. Well, when Hermione sent me her orders to look for Harry, I instantly got to work contacting them to see what they've heard. I got a lot of no's but I did manage to get four replies that may help. The representatives from California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska have all had a large number of rumored Harry Potter sightings. While Harry isn't nearly as famous here as he is at home, he's still a recognizable face. The number of sightings can't be a coincidence. If you need anything else from me, just let me know.

Cho

Cho had always been dependable and nothing appeared to have changed. Ron pulled out his maps of the western coast of the United States and saw that the rumors of Harry's sightings fell in a perfect order. He simply needed to know more.

Cho,

I need a list of when and where Harry was sighted. Also, if he stayed the night anywhere, I need to know. I'm going to go check with Minister Shacklebolt and Minister-in-waiting Weasley and see what they think we should do moving forward. As it is, I'm giving you orders to make your way to Los Angeles.

In the future, these sightings would have been nice to know when they happened.

Thanks, Ron

Ron quickly threw the envelope into the Floo fire in the corner of the room, sending it directly back to Cho in the US. He would know soon exactly where Harry had been and when. It was the best he could do for right now. Ron, after nearly 22 hours of being seated at his desk, finally stood up, grabbed his coat, and Apparated home where he found a very cold and lonely bed.

He laid in bed for nearly forty minutes thinking of Hermione and Harry.

Maybe, just maybe, we can all be together again.

January 22, 2004

10:03 AM

Ron Weasley's office

After getting just a few hours of sleep, and after one of the longest work days he had ever had, Ron returned to work. Dawlish usually worked from home on Mondays and therefore, when he finally got in at a few minutes after 10 in the morning, Ron had a lot to fill him in on. Dawlish hadn't aged well in the ten years since the Battle of Hogwarts. He was nearly sixty years old now and walked with a significant limp, a result of Augusta Longbottom's attack on him in 1998. He often came in with a large flask full of what he called coffee. However, Ron wasn't stupid and he knew for a fact that there was usually more firewhiskey than coffee in it. But, Dawlish did his job and Ron decided that he didn't want to have to report the older officer, namely because it would cause a ton more paperwork than he needed.

"Sit down, John." Ron said softly. "We have to talk."

"Great." Dawlish growled as he took his seat in the chair on the opposite side of Ron's desk. "Every time we have to talk, you have something bad to tell me or something that I need to hide. What is it this time?"

Ron ignored the surly attitude of his partner and instead focused on answering the question.

"Cho Chang tracked down Harry's trail on the west coast of the United States. She's moving to Los Angeles and is waiting our orders." Ron started. "Now, ten minutes ago, I sent an owl to both Kingsley and my father. Once they get back to me, we'll meet with them and they'll tell us how to move forward."

"Will we be going to the U.S.?" Dawlish asked with interest.

"If it was next month and my father had taken office, probably. However, with The Frenchman's remark that he has a boss and Kingsley's background as an Auror, I think we'll be stuck instructing Chang from here."

"Great."

As Dawlish expressed his disinterest in remaining in London, a paper airplane flew through the door and landed on Ron's desk. Ron quickly opened and read it.

Ron,

Meet outside the Minister's office in four minutes. Bring Dawlish with you. The meeting will include the two of you, Minister Shacklebolt, Department Head Hermione Weasley, and myself. Percy will be there as Senior Undersecretary.

Arthur Weasley, Head of the Muggle Liaison Office and Minister-in-Waiting

"Let's go." Ron said hastily as he stood up and rushed out of the room. Four minutes was significant in the Ministry. Rather than saying a meeting started in five minutes, which would be relatively standard, they said four minutes to indicate that there is definitely a reason to rush. Even Dawlish with his limp caught on that there was a reason to be hasty.

Thankfully, the Minister's office was only one level down from the Auror bullpen. A quick trip down the stairs and they were in the Minister's office. As they opened the door, they saw that they were the last group to get there.

"What's the issue?" Ron said as he took a place next to his brother who had already begun taking notes.

"The Czech Ministry in Prague issued their distress warning twenty minutes ago." Kingsley said firmly. Although Ron was worried about this, he was also confused.

"Why were we called up here? If you're going to send in support, shouldn't you be talking to Robards?" Ron asked while his mind tried to process a number of possibilities.

"No, Ron. We shouldn't." Hermione said firmly. She appeared to have regained her strength from yesterday and she was staring at him with one of the most vile looks that Ron could remember seeing from her.

"Why not?" Dawlish asked next to Ron.

"Because our Czech ambassador said that someone dressed in clown makeup and speaking in Russian was leading an assault on the Czech ministry. While this normally wouldn't necessarily make it our problem, what does make it our problem is this." Hermione replied, handing Ron a piece of paper.

Для Рона Уизли: Вы считаете, что вы управляете миром. Вы думаете, чтозахват одного уголовного спасет вас. Вы жалкие думать, что кто-то иличто-то может спасти вас.

У вас есть француз. Я приду к нему, если вы не вернете его мне.

Шут

"What does it say?" Ron asked once he was finished looking it over.

"I convinced one of our best Russian translators to look at it." Arthur said as he withdrew another piece of paper. "This is the gist of it."

Taking the paper that Arthur had in his hand, Ron was able to read this version.

To Ron Weasley: You believe that you control the world. You think that capturing one criminal will save you. You are pathetic to think that anyone or anything can save you.

You have The Frenchman. I will come for him if you do not return him to me.

The Jester

"This person is The Frenchman's boss." Ron stated.

"That's what can be assumed, yes." Kingsley answered.

"How did we get this?" Dawlish asked. Ron had actually been thinking the same question for the last several minutes. He was glad that his partner had gotten to it.

"An owl got here just as the distress signal went up." Kingsley replied. "I'm not sure why it didn't go to you."

"Why did he attack the Czechs instead of here?"

"Maybe he thought we were too well defended or that we were ready for an attack because we have Christoph." Arthur replied softly.

Ron stood up and began pacing around the room. His mind raced as he considered all of the things that he had just learned. The Czech Ministry in Prague was down attacked by someone known as The Jester. Not only did this person have to be incredibly organized in order to attack and take down an entire Ministry, Prague obviously wasn't even their target. He was. While he was glad to finally know the general identity of The Frenchman's superior, the fact that he seemed to be incredibly powerful and cunning didn't exactly make him feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"I want to go to Prague." Ron concluded out loud. "Even if this Jester character has already left, I want to see what he did to the Czech Ministry. Maybe we can learn something about his tactics."

"Ron, we can't send you to Prague." Arthur replied harshly. "Not when we know that The Jester's real target is you and here. Sending you directly to him is something we simply cannot do."

"I agree with Arthur." Kingsley nodded.

Ron had long gotten over his tendency to get frustrated easily. He was far more patient than he had been in the past and he was definitely more interested in following orders and listening to others than he had been during his time in school. However, that isn't to say that this version of Ron was totally gone.

"Kingsley, Dad, I'm sorry but I'm going." Ron said sharply before turning around and heading towards the door.

"RON!"

Ah, the one he never counted on ruining his plans was, of course, going to ruin them again. Ron slowly rotated back to the room to see that Hermione had stood up and rushed over to him. She stood a few inches away from him, staring at him intensely.

"Why do you want to go?" she whispered to him.

"Cho Chang sent me a list of places where Harry has been sighted since Tulsa. Apparently, the American Ministry was just sitting on this information."

"What do these two things have to do with each?"

"If we could take a team to Prague and capture or kill The Jester now, we could go search for Harry afterwards. We wouldn't have to convince him that he needed to come back to fight for us. We would just be able to say that we miss him and that we need him back."

Hermione appeared to be thinking about what Ron had said. Suddenly, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

"Now, there's the man I married." she said before turning back to Arthur and Kingsley. "I am authorizing Ron to take a team of Aurors to Prague. They will be there to observe and assist only."

"Hermione, I can't let you do that." Kingsley said as he began to rub his eyes. "Don't make me pull rank on you."

"Trust me." Hermione said strongly. "Let him go. It will make everything better in the end."

Ron looked at everyone in the room. Percy seemed to agree with Hermione and Arthur looked like he was leaning in her direction. It was only Kingsley that remained. Only Hermione could give everyone so little information and yet convince everyone in the room that she was right. I guess that was just one of the advantages of being Hermione Weasley, brightest witch of her age.

Finally, Kingsley broke into a smile.

"Damn you two. Ron, take Dawlish and another pair of Aurors." Kingsley ordered as he sunk into his chair.

"Will do, sir." Ron replied as he rushed out of the office, heading back toward his office. Just as he got to the bottom of the stairs, he called out to the closest Aurors he could find.

"Proudfoot! Savage! Are you on assignment today?"

"Sure are, Weasley, why what's the hub-bub?" Savage replied.

"Do you have any assignments?" Ron asked again, more urgently.

"Nope." Proudfoot replied pompously.

"Get up. You do now." Ron said seriously. Instantly, the two Aurors jumped out of their chairs and fell in line behind Ron.

"What's going on?" Proudfoot asked.

"The Czech Ministry has gone dark." Dawlish informed them. "We think it has something to do with The Frenchman."

"Damn."

Ron rushed back towards his office, pushing his way passed numerous Aurors and other officials that littered the cluttered pathways between the cubicles of the Junior Aurors and Aurors-in-Training. Once he and the rest of his small team was packed inside his tiny office, Ron drew his wand and with a wave, a roaring fire blazed in the small fireplace.

"What can we expect when we get there?" Proudfoot asked as he drew his wand, handling it nervously.

"Absolutely no idea. We'll Floo directly into the Lobby of the Czech Ministry. I imagine that we can expect pandemonium and lots of mayhem. Just keep cool and watch each other's backs and we'll all be fine." Ron replied firmly.

"What's the goal?" Savage asked as he too drew his wand.

"The guy in charge is called The Jester." Dawlish replied. "We think he's the one working with The Frenchman."

"Capture?" Savage asked again.

"Kill." Ron replied. "We'll be out of jurisdiction. We can't bring him back here to go to trial."

"Ron, isn't that a bit-"

"Kill."

"Fine."

Ron grabbed the bag on the top of the fireplace that was full of Floo Powder. Throwing some into the fire, he watched as it turned a bright green. He stepped in the fire, feeling that same sensation he had felt thousands of times.

"Czech Ministry!"

In an instant, he felt the rush as he was sucked away into nothingness and back into existence again.

Seconds later, Ron reappeared in the most depressing scene he had ever witnessed. Moments earlier, he had told his team to expect chaos. Instead, they were faced with the opposite. Bodies lie all over the floor, some bloodied and others staring blankly at the ceiling. This wasn't an attack. It was a massacre.

"Oh my god." Dawlish said softly as he stepped out of the fireplace just after Ron.

Savage and Proudfoot appeared moments later and shared their horror. The four of them looked around the main lobby of the Czech Ministry and saw that no one remained alive.

"This is terrible." Proudfoot whispered. "They never had a chance."

"No kidding." Ron said as he began to search the rest of the level. "We need to split up and keep searching. Savage, find a lift and go to the top. Work your way down from there. Proudfoot, do the opposite. Dawlish, I want you to work this level."

"Where are you going?" Dawlish asked him.

"I'm going to the Minister's office. It's on the second floor. I know that this building has a ton of secret rooms in it. If there's any kind of senior leadership left, they're there."

"Sounds good, boss." Dawlish replied as he started off towards the offices.

"Good. Constant vigilance guys." Ron said.

"You know we were Aurors when Moody was retiring." Proudfoot said slowly. "You can't use that on us."

Ron looked over and saw that all three of them had small smirks on their faces.

"Sorry." Ron said sheepishly as he headed off by himself.

As he walked into the first set of offices, looking for a set of stairs, he immediately began to notice some very strange things. The first was the total lack of destruction. As he moved, he noticed no desks destroyed, no shelves overturned, and there weren't piles of parchment anywhere. Even if everyone got hit by the Killing Curse, the fact that no one had missed and hit a cabinet or blown a hole in a wall was incredibly surprising.

The other things that bothered him was the total lack of survivors. No one laid on the floor coughing up blood or moaning in pain. No one. Ron began processing this information as he rushed up the stairs at the far corner of the room. Once he reached the second level, he didn't waste any time searching for clues. Instead, he sprinted down the empty hallways to the end of the hall where the Minister's office was. Ron had been here once with Hermione four years ago and it certainly made things much easier than if he had no clue of the building's layout.

Reaching the end of the hall, Ron ripped the Minister's door open. Once he was inside, he instantly began searching for hidden chambers or a book that had the information for those hidden chambers. He scanned the bookshelves and the filing cabinets and couldn't find anything. He looked all over the room. He was looking at the desk, facing away from the door, when a voice spoke up.

"Looking for this?"

He had been caught off guard. Ever since going through Auror training with Harry, he was almost impossible to sneak up on.

"You're good." Ron said as he slowly turned around.

He was surprised by what he saw. Where he had been expecting a powerfully built man, grinning maniacally at him, stood a slight framed body wearing a black cloak and a mask with a smiling clown face on it. She held a book that Ron was certain held the maps for the secret tunnels of the Czech Ministry.

"The Jester." Ron said in shock. "Mildly different than what I expected."

"Good." The Jester replied shortly.

Suddenly, it dawned on Ron. Everything that he had been feeling weird about since he got there was lining up for him.

"An inside job." Ron said revealingly.

"Very good. It took you long enough, Weasley."

"You killed everyone here hours ago. Fixed everything up to throw me off. Then, when you had everything set up, you threw up the distress signal and sent the message."

"The great Ron Weasley couldn't help himself." The Jester replied softly. "You have a saving people thing."

"No, I believe that was someone else." Ron replied snidely. "Regardless, you sent the signal, knowing that I would come. You also knew that I knew about the Minister's obsession with secret passages."

"The Minister was killed by one of my men inside one of his silly tunnels."

"Fantastic. I take that my men have been taken care of." Ron assumed out loud.

"They were dead moments after they left your sight."

"What's your play? Why me? The Frenchman is in prison, you could have attacked there."

"I could. But, I knew that if there's anyone that could have thrown a wrench in my plans, it was you. So, I will kill you here. Then, I will go to London where I will kill your father, brother, and wife."

"I doubt that." Ron replied as he quickly drew his wand and leveled it.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The green jet flew from Ron's wand directly at The Jester. However, at the last moment, she shifted and caused the curse to miss entirely. Then, she began to launch the greatest silent barrage that Ron had ever seen. She made no noise and seemed to be using little effort at all. Ron couldn't even keep up with her. Finally, what appeared to be a Cutting Curse broke through Ron's defense and slashed his arm open.

Ron yelled as he fell to the floor, clutching his arm as he tried to control the bleeding. However, if Ron thought the cut on his arm was bad, it was nothing compared to what was going to happen next. Suddenly, Ron was flying through the air, slamming into the bookcases that lined the far wall. Again, he cried out as he felt his ribs break upon impact.

What happened next Ron wasn't sure. All he knew what was that he was thrown about the room like a rag doll. He could taste blood and could feel that large portions of most of the bones in his body were broken. Finally, Ron collapsed to the ground as The Jester let his body rest.

"So pathetic. I imagine that I would get so much more from the great Ronald Bilus Weasley."

"F-f-fuck you." Ron replied defiantly as he spit out blood and teeth.

"Not on your life." The Jester replied as he lifted his wand.

Return. Ron heard it in his head, like a foreign thought, one that was placed there rather than thought by his own mind. He was certain that he imagined it. He knew that it simply related to his overwhelming desire to have Harry return.

Suddenly, The Jester dropped his wand and kneeled down next to him.

"Take this message to your leaders." she said as she threw an envelope at him. "Don't worry, they won't have to translate this one."

Suddenly, he reached up and pulled the mask from his face. What lie underneath was the most surprising thing he could have imagined. He was, in fact, a she. With long flowing blonde hair and stunning blue eyes, Ron could hardly imagine that she was as evil and destructive as she actually was.

"Surprise." she whispered softly before leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. "Don't tell your wife. I wouldn't want that bitch to kill you before I can."

With that, she stood up and turned out of the room. Ron, fighting through the most pain that he had ever experience in his entire life, crawled to his wand which lay nearly ten feet away from him. Once he reached it, he kept crawling, dragging his legs behind him and pulling himself along with his left arm, the only part of his body that didn't have a broken bone. As he reached the fireplace, he reached inside his cloak and pulled out his emergency bag of Floo Powder.

Throwing it into the fire, he rolled in and barely was able to whisper.

"The Burrow."

As the fire whipped around him, Ron disappeared into nothingness and passed out in the process.