Chapter One: Phantom

"Ronald Weasley! I'm going to KILL you!" cried Kaelen Snape as she stormed through the Minister's Office, robes flowing behind her in a way only her father had ever managed, and a fire for punishment burning in her eyes. "What in the name of Merlin is this?" she asked throwing a folder from the most recent 'raid' on his desk.

"It's a file?" he asked.

"I know it's a file, RONALD, but what is the meaning of this?"

Sighing heavily, Ron Weasley, better known by his comrades as Phantom, wordlessly placed silencing charms on his office door and poured himself a drink. "How much time you got?" he asked turning around and offering his guest a glass of Ogden's Finest.

"Enough," she said eyeing the poisonous drink.

"You might as well drink up. None of it is pleasant, and what you see there is all I could mention 'for the record'," said Ron, the emotional scars from his life dimly shining through his pale green eyes.

"What happened?" she asked at a loss for words. "Draco came home and I've never seen him so…so…that! He won't even talk to me, and you lot have been back and debriefed for three days!"

"They were children Kaelen. The attack was on a muggle orphanage. No one survived. There was one girl who was still alive when we got there. She may have been 6, but she died before we could get her to St. Mungo's. She died in Draco's arms. I've never seen that much blood. Not even in the final battle."

"Who was it?" she breathed.

"Dunno. And that's the problem. There were no clues. No mark, no evidence, nothing. We brought in a whole team of investigators and searched for hours and got nothing. Right now it's being pegged as some random werewolf attack. We told the muggles it was a tragic fire. Dad gave the cover that the wiring was faulty since it was an older building and that everyone died of carbon monoxide poisoning before they could get out. There were no bodies to recover, we let them all burn."

"Oh, Ron! That's…terrible!"

"I know," he said, slowly shaking his head.

"So, what's the next step in the investigation?" she asked.

"Kaelen, you know I can't tell you," he said giving her a pointed look.

"I'm not asking for specifics Mr. Weasley, but as Public Relations Officer for the Auror Department, I HAVE to have SOMETHING to tell to the press. The Prophet is already having a field day out of this!"

"Tell them…I dunno. Tell them something! Anything!"

Kaelen snorted in response. "Yeah, OK, let me go tell the wizarding world that there is a random pack of invisible werewolves on the loose eating people. That'll make everyone all warm and fuzzy inside."

"Kaelen." Ron said sharply.

"I'm sorry Ron. It's just been a rough day, and unfortunately, this is the least of my worries. Five years out and I'm still finding dirty little secrets from the war. Shacklebolt is insisting the entire Auror force start mind healing, and I am knee deep in a case involving a muggle mental facility which unfortunately, is mostly inhabited by wizards suffering the effects of the dementors kiss, or prolonged exposure to the Cruciatis. St. Mungo's just isn't equipped for the space they need."

"Fine. Just…tell The Prophet that it is still an ongoing case and as such you cannot comment on it at this time, but that our hearts go out to everyone involved and that as of now, this simply stands as a tragic accident. I think I'm gonna call it a day, go check on George, see how mom's doing. It'll officially be five years next week, and neither one do much good this time of year."

"I am sorry Ron, about your brother. I know I never knew him, but he seems like he was an amazing person. Fred I mean. Percy was always a pompous arse, but he didn't deserve to die either."

"Thank you. I miss them both, no matter how mad Percy made me. I just wish we had had a chance to make up before…before it happened. I wanted to let him know that I really did love him…one last time."

A single tear ran down Ron's face, the loss of two family members still just as fresh as that horrible day almost five years ago. So much had happened since then, and at times, he deeply wished his two brothers had lived. Watching his own twins was a painful reminder of the bond that Fred and George had shared. A bond that was now forever broken, leaving the remaining twin a shell of his former self. Never truly whole, but marching on for the memory of his other half.

Well! Here is my SECOND chapter. I was just so eager to jump into this story this is what came out. Sorry if it's a bit of a cliffie, and I PROMISE y'all will get some down and dirty details that tie everything together. Thanks again to earth. to. Beru for a real kick in the arse to get back up and try again!