Notes: For haro as part of himitsu_santa.

Bravery Comes In Many Forms

{May 2, 2018}

Twenty years had passed since the Battle of Hogwarts and the whole wizarding world was celebrating. There were parades and streamers, balloons and lots of parties. But none of the celebrations were as great as the one in the Auror Department of the Ministry of Magic.

Harry had gone all out in decorating the cubicles and setting up a nice party for the hard working members of the department. In previous years, the anniversary was usually interrupted by Neo-Death Eater attacks, but so far this had been a quiet year.

The department was full of lively chatter, tables full of finger sandwiches and other food and laughter. And after hours of this, Ron Weasley needed a rest.

Slipping away from the crowd, he wove down the hall of cubicles to his office at the end. Nostalgia kicked in as he saw the gold plaque on the door reading "Ron Weasley: Head of Strategic Operations" and he ran a finger over it. It was hard to think that it had been twenty years since he was out hunting horcruxes with Harry and Hermione.

Pushing the door open, he looked fondly around at all the news clippings and photographs on the wall. On the first wall, there was scattered photographs of him with Harry, a yellowing Daily Prophet front page reading Friends of Harry Potter Stop Death Eater Trap, and a photograph of him outside of George's joke shop. The opposite wall had another front page reading Head of Strategic Operations, Ron Weasley, Saves Over 100 Muggles with a child's crayon drawing of Ron reading 'Mr. Wizard' pinned next to it.

Pausing in front of it, he remembered the day one of the wizards stationed in the post service had brought it in for him, the story of Ron bravely rescuing a muggle girl not only well known in the Ministry itself, but throughout the wizarding community. He chuckled to himself, recalling that before that incident many people had doubted Harry's choice of Ron for Head of Strategic Operations.

He walked past more photographs, the images of his friends and family waving at him from their frames. Sitting down at the desk littered in paperwork, Ron smiled warmly at his wedding photo with Hermione which sat next to a portrait of Hugo and Rose.

A light knock on the door brought him out of his reverie and he murmured, "Come in."

Clad in multiple socks, a tie, and tiny jumper, a house elf that could have passed for Dobby came into the room and sat a mug of firewhiskey on the desk.

"Mr. Potter said you might like it, Mr. Weezy."

"Thanks, Finny," Ron said with a smile. "I'm gonna rest for a bit, so if you can let Harry know that, that'd be great. Then make sure you take your break. You get one every hour, remember that."

Finny smiled, nodding profusely as he scurried back over to the door. "I'll do that, Mr. Weezy. Thank you very much, sir."

Ron yawned, it had been a long day; a good day, but a long one. Sometimes auror parties were busier and more tiring than fighting off dark wizards.

Glancing at the clock, Ron yawned again and shifted his head to where it was pillowed on his crossed arms. He could rest for a little while, no one would mind…

----------------------------

{May 2, 2008}

It had been like this every year on the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts; somewhere in the wizarding community, Neo-Death Eaters would launch an attack with all the force they could muster.

This year, the tenth anniversary of the battle, was already looking grim. Considering the fiasco they'd caused the year before had been enough that the muggle Prime Minister had resigned, the auror department was out in full force this time around.

Ron Weasley was now Head of Strategic Operations, appointed to the position late in 2007. No one was too surprised or impressed by the appointment, attributing it mainly to his friendship with the new Head of the Department, Harry Potter.

So when Ron told everyone he had a gut feeling that after scaring off the Prime Minister the year before, the Neo-Death Eaters would target muggles this year around, only Harry strongly supported it.

Putting out dispatches to protect other vulnerable figures and areas, Harry put Ron in charge of a team to protect the muggle area Ron thought most likely to be attacked. And it was fortunate that he had.

Bannerman Road had been mostly evacuated by the time a lookout auror spotted the tell-tale dementor-created haze starting to loom over the horizon. Ron turned to his team, instructed ¾ of them to ensure that the already evacuated muggles made it to safety, and told the five remaining aurors to take one of the six remaining occupied houses and to guard it with their lives.

As the five scattered, Ron turned and faced the house in front of him. He could see a man and woman watching the telly on the couch and the patterned curtains on the second floor told him there was probably a children's bedroom up there.

And that's when it hit, a large explosion that sounded like a meteor striking directly in the middle of the street. The five distant houses still seemed fine, the arriving Death Eaters more focused on fighting off the aurors than attacking the muggles at the moment. But the house nearest to Ron had already caught fire, the roof a blazing inferno.

Rushing up to the door, Ron pounded on it until it opened. "Please, get outside now."

The two muggles looked shocked, the woman stammering, "But-but our daughter is upstairs!"

Seeing one of his team rush up to him, Ron pointed to him. "Go with this man, he'll get you to safety. I'll get your daughter. I promise."

As his fellow auror ushered the worried parents away, Ron dashed into the burning house.

"Aguamenti! " He shouted, pointing his wand at the flames. The water evaporated before it touched them. "Shit, we've got Fiendfyre."

Fumbling in his pocket, he pulled out a battered old coin and quickly sent an urgent message to Harry. Climbing the stairs two at a time, he rounded on the door he knew had to be the little girl's, a placard on the door reading her name: Rose.

Ron let a small smile tug at his lips at the thought of his daughter Rose and he burst into the room.

The bed was empty, and Ron looked around in a rush; finally he spotted the small trembling figure under the bed.

"Hello there, Rose. Can you come out? There's some bad people coming and I want to get you to safety."

The girl vehemently shook her head. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

Crouching down to her level, Ron stuck a hand under the bed. "My name's Ron. And you're Rose. I saw it on your door. I have a daughter named Rose too."

Tentatively, the girl grasped his hand. "You do?"

"Yep. Though she's still a baby. Can you come with me please?"

Behind him, he could hear more crashing noises and he wasn't sure if it was Fiendfyre or something worse; willing himself to stay calm Ron focused on getting the little girl out.

Finally, Rose took his hand and crawled out from under the bed. She was maybe five or six, Ron figured, and he reached down to pick her up.

"There we go."

At that moment, the door exploded inwards; Ron turning away just in time to shelter the girl. As the dust cleared, a shadowy figure loomed in the doorway.

"I should've figured a mudblood loving wizard like you would have stationed aurors here," the Death Eater snarled.

"And I should've figured you'd be stupid enough to still try something," Ron retorted, pulling out his wand.

"Avada Ke-"

"Deprimo! " Ron shouted, aiming at the roof; the falling debris cutting off the killing curse as the Death Eater dodged.

Rose just gasped. "You're a wizard, aren't you? Like Merlin?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah. And that guy over there is a bad wizard. You're going to help me defeat him, right?"

She nodded, clinging tightly to his neck. "You should make my dresser fall on his head."

Grinning, Ron pointed his wand at the dresser. "Good thinking. Wingardium Leviosa! "

And before the Death Eater could react, the floating dresser had dropped onto his head. Rose giggled. "Incarcerous!" Ron said, casting the spell to bind the Death Eater.

Striding across the room, he picked up the bound man. Another explosion rocked the house then, the Fiendfyre clearly about to do the structure in.

"If this is your doing, make it stop," Ron yelled down at the man. He just cackled.

"I didn't cast this. But I'll gladly die for our cause if I can take you with me."

Ron looked at the man in repulsion, then glanced around the room. Turning to Rose, he asked.

"Rose, would you like to fly?"

The girl's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Sure. But you'll have to hold on really tight."

He hoisted up the Death Eater and strode over to the window, opening it up and tossing him down. He landed with a thud and started cursing.

"Oh good, he's okay."

Turning his wand towards himself, Ron nonverbally thought Levicorpus as he jumped out the window. And as if an invisible hand had hoisted him up, Ron floated in midair with Rose clinging tightly to his neck.

Liberacorpus, Ron thought to himself once he hovered over a soft looking patch of bushes and they plummeted downwards.

"You okay?" He asked, dislodging them from the bush.

"That was so cool!"

Ron smiled, noticing a familiar figure coming closer.

"Next time, try not to throw Death Eaters out the window," Harry quipped.

Ron shrugged. "I had precious cargo here. I figured old ugly wouldn't look too much worse with a few more bruises."

Harry held out a hand and helped Ron up, Rose still hanging on to his neck.

"And you must be Rose," he asked the girl. She nodded.

"Your parents are waiting for you. Would you like to go to them so we can try and clean up your house?"

Ron lowered her to the ground and set her down, a cool breeze fluttering his robes around him as he did so.

"Okay!" Rose chirped, "But I've got to thank Mr. Wizard first."

Turning back to Ron, she tightly hugged his legs. "Thanks for saving me, Mr. Wizard."

Ron grinned, patting her on the head. "Hey, you were the one with the brilliant dresser idea."

Another auror came over then and Ron took Rose's hand and gave it to him. "Rose, this is Hank. He's going to take you back to your parents now, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks again!"

As they walked away, Harry sighed. "You were right; they went for the muggles. And everyone thought I was mental for listening to you."

"You can generally trust me on things, mate."

Throwing his arm around Ron's shoulders, he laughed. "I can always trust you, Ron. Like right now, I'm going to trust you to help me get this house looking like a house again."

"Ha ha," Ron sarcastically replied, pointing his wand at the building along with Harry. In unison, they cast the spell. "Reparo!"

----------------------------

{January 1999}

Harry had to admit, he was kind of nervous. Up until now his auror work was basically on a volunteer basis. But now that the new year had rolled around and a lot of things had calmed down, Williamson (the new Head of the Auror Department) had decided to start up training again for any of the volunteers who wished to stay on full-time. Harry had signed up right away, and was now wondering if perhaps he should have thought this over more.

Everyone else in the room was at least eight years older than him, and all of them had graduated Hogwarts with almost all of the requirements needed to work as an auror. Williamson and Kingsley had agreed to be a bit more lax on grades in lieu of their desperate need for new members in the department, but they still had to pass the training.

Inwardly, Harry wished Ron had signed up too, even though he'd told him and Neville countless times that he'd be fine on his own.

"Sorry I'm late," a familiar voice called out entering the back of the room. Williamson acknowledged him with a smile.

"That's all right, Ronald. Mr. Shacklebolt got caught up in a meeting and will be a bit delayed in coming down to assist me with the first part of the training."

Harry turned with wide eyes and a gaping mouth towards the red haired figure now weaving his way between the desks towards where Harry sat.

"Hey," Ron said casually as he plopped down next to him. "Can you believe that I got caught up by Percy wishing me luck? Still so weird to be back on good terms with him sometimes…"

"Wha-what are you doing here?" Harry asked in a harsh whisper.

Shrugging Ron leaned back in his chair. "Auror training. That's what this is, right?"

"But you said that…"

He sat back up, leaning over and staring Harry right in the eye. "Yeah, I told you I wasn't interested in this as a full-time gig. Blimey Harry, did you really think I wanted to put up with you going on and on about 'you don't have to' and 'I'll be a-okay alone' and all that? I told you years ago mate, I'm with you whatever happens."

Harry started to open his mouth to protest, but Ron reached over and silenced him with a finger to his lips. "Oi, don't make me use a langlock jinx on you. Listen, I want to do this. The fact I'm getting to do it with you is just a really great added on bonus. I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing it with you. You got that?"

For a moment Ron was afraid Harry was going to start yelling at him, but the tension on his face broke and he closed the distance between them, pulling Ron into a tight hug.

"Thanks, Ron. You're the best."

Patting him on the back and giving some of the other aurors a 'don't you dare make fun of me for this' glare, Ron replied. "Hey, what're mates for? Plus someone's gotta look out for you; I heard this really nasty dark wizard was out to kill you about a year ago."

Harry chuckled, pulling back with a wide grin. "Yeah, I think he might have gotten scared off."

"Oh really?" Ron asked in mock surprise.

"He heard that my girlfriend's got a mean bat-bogey hex and my best mate and his girlfriend could kick his bum all the way to America if he tried to get anywhere near me."

Ron grinned. "You're lucky you have such good friends then."

Harry smiled back. "Yeah, I am."

----------------------------

{December 1998}

It wasn't something he felt he could tell her in a letter and even meeting her in Hogsmeade just seemed a bit…not right for this. So, with those options out, Ron decided to make sure everything went perfectly come Christmas break.

He didn't have to worry about people eavesdropping at the Burrow, since he and Harry had finally gotten moved out in October. Grimmauld Place wasn't too creepy now that they'd refurbished it, the place much brighter and less ominous thanks to Kreacher's cleaning. And thanks to help from Kingsley, they'd managed to undo Moody's protections on the main hall and put a better charm on Mrs. Black's curtains to keep them closed. Some of the existing protections from its days as Order Headquarters were kept and some more were added; all insisted upon by people worried for Harry's continued safety, ranging from Kingsley to Professor McGonagall to Mrs. Weasley.

Without having to be worried about George popping in, or even worse, his Mum, Ron had high hopes for the night. He'd called off from both his part-time work at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and his volunteer hours with the auror department, meaning that Harry would be out as well. This just left him and Hermione the place for the night.

So far, everything had gone off without a hitch. Hermione had arrived on time, Kreacher had made a wonderful dinner for them, and they got caught up on everything that was too long to put into a letter.

About midnight, Ron realized that he'd gotten a bit distracted and still hadn't told Hermione what he'd meant to.

"Hermione?" He queried, nudging the sleeping figure next to him.

"Hmm?"

"Didn't mean to wake you, just wanted to tell you something."

She blearily rubbed her eyes and shifted to look at him. "What is it?"

He couldn't help but smile then, seeing her lying next to him in bed with her frizzy hair all fanned out beneath her. Propping himself up on an elbow, he absently toyed with a strand of her hair near his hand.

"You know, it just figures that we manage to get stuff sorted between us and then you're back at Hogwarts and I'll be…well, a bit of everywhere, I suppose."

Hermione's eyebrows creased. "What do you mean?"

"I'm going to be joining the auror training program come January."

She bolted up from the bed then and Ron averted his eyes from her bare chest. He still wasn't quite used to that aspect of their relationship not earning him a hex. Tugging the sheet up to cover herself, Hermione leaned forward.

"You're serious, aren't you?"

"Blimey Hermione, you think I'd joke about that?"

"But, why haven't I heard about this already? Not in a letter. Not from Ginny. Nothing."

Ron shrugged. "It just seemed like something I should tell you in person, you know?"

Surging forward, she kissed him and he eagerly responded; pulling back with a smile, she leaned her forehead against his. "Since when did you become such a romantic?"

"I figure I couldn't get much worse."

The two laughed; Hermione reaching up to push a strand of hair out of Ron's eyes.

"You'll be wonderful, I know it."

"Thanks. That means a lot, coming from you."

The two laid back down then, shifting until Hermione was snuggly fit into Ron's arms. "You haven't told Harry then, have you?"

"I think I'm just going to show up on training day and surprise him. It'll give him less of chance to try and talk me out of it. You know how he is, with his 'I've got to do this myself' bullshit."

Hermione nodded. "Sometimes Harry just needs to realize that the more he tells us stuff like that, the more we want to help him."

"He's a martyr like that. But this is my decision and I'm not letting him talk me out of it. Took me long enough to make sure none of my family slipped and told him or you anything of it."

"I suppose I should be offended you told them first," she replied, pressing a quick kiss to his collarbone, "but I think I like this kind of surprise better."

Ron tilted his head down and captured her lips in a fierce kiss. "I'll keep that in mind next time I need to tell you something I'm afraid you'll murder me over."

"Oh you're not getting out of it that easily, Ron Weasley." She pushed against him, rolling him onto his back and lying on top of him to pin him down. Reaching over to the nightstand, she picked up the book she was reading earlier and plopped it down onto Ron's bare chest. "You can help me study for Defense Against the Dark Arts then."

"Oi, not fair!" He fussed; but inwardly he was too happy to really mind.

----------------------------

{Late August 1998}

"Mum, I need to tell you something…"

"If it's about you still insisting you don't need school books this year, I'm still not listening to any excuses."

"It's not an excuse. I'm not going to just sit around the house, I'm…I'm…"

Ginny walked up behind him, not about to let Ron fall prey to her mother's deadly glare.

"Harry's not going back to school either, Mum. The auror department is really short staffed and so he's going to help out there. I think it's right brave of him to do that rather than classes."

Molly stopped her somewhat violent scrubbing of a pot and turned to her daughter, smiling sweetly. "Well of course it is. Harry's been through so much and he's bravely offering to keep helping others. He's very noble, that's what he is."

"Ron must be pretty noble then too," Ginny replied, a smirk tugging at her lips.

When Molly didn't react, Ron awkwardly cleared his throat. "Mum I'm…I'm joining up at the auror department in January too. I want to help."

The entire room fell into silence; George and Percy eavesdropping from the dining room table, and much to Ron's chagrin, his father had just come in the back door. The pot Molly was cleaning clanged as it fell out of her hands. Closing his eyes and bracing for a yell or possibly even the pot being thrown his way, Ron started when he felt his mother's arms wrap around him in a hug.

"My brave boy," she murmured into his chest.

"Mum…"

"I learned last year it's no use arguing with you about helping out Harry. And as much as I'll worry and spend every hour you're out there staring at the clock and hoping you make it home safe…" Molly paused to wipe away tears. She looked up at him them, beaming, "You're doing the right thing."

Ron tentatively smiled back. Behind him, he could hear George cursing and Percy mumbling something about "You owe me 5 galleons."

Prying himself out of his Mother's arms, he patted Ginny on the shoulder and whispered, "Thanks."

She shrugged. "I bet George 5 galleons you wouldn't get killed. I had to help."

Ron shook his head, not surprised that his siblings were using his predicament as means to place bets. Turning from his sister, he glanced over at his father and smiled.

Arthur crossed the space between them and hugged him as well. "We're so proud of you, son."

"No we're not!" George called out, "I just lost 10 galleons, you prat!"

----------------------------

{Early August 1998}

The back to school rush had done George's mood wonders, and even if Ron still noticed him habitually turning to his side to see someone who wasn't there, George was at least smiling again. And after all the mourning and Death Eater caused tragedies that happened after Voldemort's defeat, none of it had depressed Ron as much as seeing an unsmiling and uncaring George had.

But between Ron, and surprisingly Percy, they had managed to convince him to reopen the joke shop in late July to prepare for the upcoming Hogwarts school year. He'd only done it begrudgingly then, making excuses like "Mum and Dad could use the money" and "I suppose Ginny will need supplies for her N.E.W.T. year." But both his brothers knew that his apathetic mood would have to lift sometime.

He had first cracked a smile when Percy set off a trick mug that transfigured him into a glasses-wearing-giant-peacock; and from that day onward, he was clearly getting better.

Ron had helped out the most, working whenever he wasn't out on auror missions and quite often late into the night. He helped George invent a few new products for the upcoming school year, was the inaugural testing of Instant Clone (a replication charm that allowed you to be in two places at once, for five minutes, as long as you didn't talk), and developed the concept behind Reflect-A-Spell (a wristband that opened up into a shiny surface so you could reflect oncoming hexes and spells back at the caster) which George supplied to the entire Ministry of Magic staff at no charge.

So it didn't surprise George when he came downstairs after a long day sorting out boxes of shipments to find Ron working away at the counter sorting Decoy Detonators.

"You can go home and sleep sometimes, you know."

Ron glanced up, offering his brother a tired smile. "I know. But I wanted to at least swing by for a bit."

Shaking his head, and knowing that they'd already had this conversation several times since Ron started moonlighting there, George sidled up next to him and started sorting as well.

They worked in silence for a few minutes, save the few clatters and squeaks defected Decoy Detonators made, until Ron cleared his throat and spoke up.

"So I was thinking…"

George chuckled. "Now I'm worried."

"Oi, stuff it. I'm trying to be serious here. I was thinking, that instead of going back for a N.E.W.T. year that really won't improve my chances all that much, that I…I know what I want to do."

Pausing a moment in his sorting, George looked at his brother with all seriousness and said, "Fulfill your lifelong dream of joining the circus?"

"No," Ron snapped back. He took a deep breath and continued. "I… well, I wanna become an auror. Full time."

A Decoy Detonator clattered out of George's hands and Ron nervously pressed onwards, hoping to explain his foolish desire.

"This isn't just out of nowhere, George. I mean, part of it is that I want to be there to help Harry, of course. And part of it is," his eyes flickered to his brother's missing ear, "I don't want to see any more people getting hurt by Death Eaters. But mostly…mostly…" He fell silent, finally mumbling, "Never mind, you're gonna laugh."

Cracking a smile, George quipped, "I'm going to laugh no matter what; the question is how hard am I going to laugh?"

Ron dropped his eyes to his hands and muttered, "I just feel like…like it's the right thing to do."

When George didn't reply, either in laughter or in a serious manner, Ron started to babble.

"I mean, Neville- he's gonna stop helping us out after awhile and go become a Herbology professor. And Hermione, she's going back to school and knowing her, well- she'll probably set out to save the house elves first before becoming someone important in the ministry. But me, well I guess after years of putting up with all the mental stuff Harry gets pulled into, I feel like...like I can do this job, so why not? They need help."

"You're mad."

Hanging his head, Ron sighed. He almost expected this lack of confidence in his abilities. "I know, but…"

His words were cut off as George pulled him into a hug. "Mad, but still… I am so proud of you, little brother."

"Really?"

"Yeah." His voice strained, and his hug becoming more of a desperate clutch, George added quietly, "And…and I know Fred would be proud too."

Voice thick and eyes moist, Ron murmured. "George…"

George patted him on the back, pulling back to smile at him. "Just don't become a Ministry prat, okay?"

Ron laughed, grinning. "I won't. I promise."

Turning his head away, Ron pretended not to notice George wiping tears from the corners of his eyes.

"Oh, but you've got to promise me one more thing."

"What's that?" Ron asked warily.

"You have to make sure I'm there when you tell Mum. The blowout will be hilarious."

Dropping the Detonator he was holding and looking positively mortified, Ron stammered.

"Merlin's jockstrap… Mum's gonna kill me."

George just grinned. "Precisely why I want to be there to watch the show, little bro."

----------------------------

{June 1998}

It was their third real mission as recruited aurors. After Kingsley had asked them personally to help, none of the three boys felt they could turn the Minster of Magic down. Hermione had politely refused, deciding instead to spend her hours making up for lost studying time and then going on to Hogwarts when it reopened in the fall. Luna and Ginny, of course, were going to be seventh years; so that left just the three main boys of Dumbledore's Army to aid the desperate auror department.

Harry had gone with the first dispatch of the night, picked out personally by Williamson to join him on his team and leaving with a regretful glance towards his friends.

This left Ron and Neville with Gawain Robards, the man who'd taken on the Head of the Auror Department position when Rufus Scrimgeour had become Minister of Magic. Ron wasn't surprised Scrimgeour had picked Robards as his replacement when he moved up, the gruff man being just as annoyingly hard-headed as the previous head of the department was. And much like Scrimgeour, Robards was just as patronizing towards anyone he deemed a "child."

When he took them out on their missions, he kept instructing other aurors to "look out for the boys" and mostly treated them as if they were to be protected rather than being protectors.

Neville seemed to take it in stride, but Ron wasn't happy about it at all.

On arriving at the hideout they were ambushing that night, a guard Death Eater had shot a random curse into their ranks, grazing Neville on the arm before one of the other aurors took the caster out with a stunning spell.

Robards had turned to Ron and instructed him, "Stay here by this tree and take care of Longbottom's injury. And don't try to show off with anything flashy," before huddling close with the rest of their group and heading inside. Ron fumed as he watched them go, fumbling in his pockets for a small bottle of dittany and a rag.

"Ugh, can you believe them? Treating us like we're some idiots. That curse could have hit any one of us. If they weren't surrounding us like guards, maybe we could have seen the blasted lookout and taken him out."

Neville shrugged, wincing a bit as the dittany was dabbed on his arm. "Well, we are just kids..."

"Don't you dare," Ron snapped, pressing a bit harder than necessary on the wound. He let up when Neville grimaced. Tossing down the rag, he slouched by the tree trunk. "Don't you dare say that, Neville. I've heard about the stuff you did to the Carrows. Ginny's told me all the mental stuff you were put through and all the great stuff you did right back at them. We aren't kids anymore. We've been through more than most people have in twice our lifetimes."

"I guess," Neville murmured, "but I still don't think they would have asked us to help if they weren't so short staffed or we weren't connected with Harry."

Ron turned sharply at that, his hard gaze silencing Neville immediately.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this out of you. Sure, I bet Williamson didn't tell Harry to sit out, but that's because Harry's got clout. I mean, that whole 'Chosen One' bullshit might not have gone to his head, but everyone else sure ran with it. But what these people don't seem to realize is that Harry Potter wouldn't have gotten anywhere without us."

He said it with such conviction and pride, that Neville almost hesitated in questioning it. But he did anyway. "What are you..."

"You, defeating that snake. From what I've been told, Voldemort wouldn't have died if that snake wasn't dead first. And I...I did sorta the same. It wasn't a snake, but I defeated a horcrux too. Right nasty one at that. Harry told me then that I shouldn't be down on myself because I'd just saved his life and defeated a horcrux; and now I'm telling you the same. If you hadn't been there Neville, who knows what would have happened. And If I hadn't been there, that locket would have strangled Harry and he would have drowned. We both deserve to be treated just the same as Harry because Harry wouldn't be here without us."

A smile quirked at Neville's mouth. "This rant has been building up awhile, hasn't it?"

Ron deflated. "Yeah...I guess it has."

They both quietly chuckled, glad to have their frustrations and concerns vocalized.

"You know..."

"Ron, be quiet."

"Hey, I'm trying to have a heart-to-heart here."

"Shhh. That noise, did you hear it?"

Ron blinked into the darkness, listening as hard as he could. Then he heard it, the faint popping noises.

"What do you think it is?" Neville asked.

Grabbing his wand and getting to his feet, Ron replied. "Reinforcements. And not ours."

Neville drew his wand and edged closer, whispering, "I bet they planned this. To trap the aurors here; keep them busy inside while they had friends come in and surround them."

"Yeah," Ron replied through gritted teeth. "The bastards didn't know we'd be out here waiting for them though. How many do you think there are?"

"Twenty, maybe thirty. It was hard to count all the pops of them apparating in."

"Okay, you take out half and I'll get the other half. We'll show Robards that we're infinitely better than having Harry on his team."

Neville grinned. "Whoever takes out the most buys the other drinks."

Ron laughed quietly. "That's the spirit, Neville. Now let's go show those guys that Dumbledore's Army is loads scarier than some silly old aurors."

The two rushed forward, using the darkness to their advantage as they closed in on the huddle of cloaked figures. As they drew nearer, Ron noticed a large tree looming over the group.

"Confringo," he murmured just under his breath and the tree exploded. It toppled over onto the group, taking out over half of the figures gathered there. The rest turned their wands to where Ron was, but he was ready and waiting for their attack.

"Crucio!" One shouted, only to have the spell bounced right back at him; his pained screams echoing into the still night.

"How did you..." Neville trailed off, pausing to stun an approaching attacker.

Ron smirked, holding up the shiny deluminator case. "Hermione was on about bouncing spells off reflective surfaces once and I guess I was listening to her better than I thought I was."

As the two conversed, they casually shot stunning spells and some other inventive hexes at the remaining Death Eaters.

"You know, these guys are really nothing compared to the ones we faced at the Ministry."

"Oh you think that's something? Try breaking out of Gringotts. That's always a fun experience."

"Sounds better than dealing with the Carrows."

"Hmm, angry goblins or idiotic Death Eaters who've been given way too much responsibility. Not sure which is better there."

And as Ron's final stunning spell hit the last standing Death Eater, Neville sighed. "Looks like I'm buying you drinks. You got half of them with that tree explosion alone."

Behind them, they heard a familiar voice stammering.

"How did you...b-but, you're just kids!"

They turned then, confidently grinning as they faced Robards and his badly singed and injured group of aurors.

"Kids who've been fighting off dark magic since Harry dragged us into this back in first year of Hogwarts. Plus, exploding trees look cool and take out lots of Death Eaters. Sometimes being a bit flashy is a good thing, sir." Ron said, defiant gleam in his eyes.

"And if you'll pardon the suggestion, sir," Neville said, clearly trying not to smirk too much, "you might want to do something about these stunned Death Eaters before they get back up again."

Robards blanched, quickly turning to the other aurors and issuing orders as Ron and Neville just repressed laughter.

Neither of them were that surprised then when the Daily Prophet the next morning had a headline reading "Friends of Harry Potter Stop Death Eater Trap" and a related article.

The Head of the Auror department, Gawain Robards, has been relieved of his position as Head after walking right into a Death Eater trap last night in a fiasco that only one auror came out of unscathed. Had it not been for Ronald Weasley, best friend of Harry Potter who was known to be traveling with him during his absence last year, and Neville Longbottom, son of Frank and Alice who has earned notability after beheading He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Name's snake during the Battle of Hogwarts, things might have been even worse for the team of aurors last night. From reports, we have heard that Mr. Weasley took out over half of the Death Eaters, a number now estimated at over fifty. We now have to wonder, just how much of Harry Potter's amazing prowess might actually be the works of his best friend.

----------------------------

{May 3rd, 1998}

He wasn't sure how long he'd slept and he was still a bit groggy as he walked into the Great Hall. Hermione had told him she'd be down once she showered and Harry was still sound asleep, so Ron searched the crowd for his family. On not seeing any of them, he shrugged and plopped down at the nearest table to wait for his friends.

A house elf came up then, holding a tray of food and drink.

"Anything for you, sir?"

Ron lifted the tray from the elf's tiny hands. "Yeah. Take a break, mate. I saw you guys fighting too, so you need to rest just as much as us."

The tiny elf quivered, obviously about to profess that he was more than willing to serve. With a smile, Ron leaned down to the elf's large ear.

"And if you don't do that willingly, consider this a friendly order. Tell the other elves that too. We can come down to the kitchens ourselves and sort stuff out, so you all just rest."

The elf looked torn between crying and grinning and Ron had to resist the urge to laugh at the comical expression somewhere between the two emotions on the elf's face.

"T-thank you, sir. You is very nice."

As the elf started to scurry off, Ron called after it. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Finny, sir."

"Thanks for the food, Finny."

Once again, the awkward expression manifested on the elf's face at being called by his name; and with a quick bow he hurried off towards the kitchens.

Ron reached over to the tray and took a mug of pumpkin juice from it. In the back of his mind, he almost wished Hermione had been there for his chivalrous act, knowing that he might just have earned another snog out of it.

He was started out of his thoughts then by someone large sitting down next to him.

"Rupert, right?" The familiar voice queried. Ron turned.

Professor Slughorn had obviously cleaned up after the battle, changing out of his pyjamas into something more suitable. Offering him a somewhat perplexed smile, he replied.

"Ron. Ron Weasley."

"Ah yes, Ron. I remember now," he chuckled heartily. "The mead."

"Don't remind me."

Slughorn laughed again, taking a sip of what was probably mead from the mug in his hand. "So I take it the man of the hour is still sleeping?"

Ron had to resist the urge to roll his eyes; of course Slughorn wasn't going to pass up a chance to chat with Harry now that he'd become even more famous.

"Yeah. I figure he's earned it."

He smiled warmly, then a flicker of concern manifested in his eyes. Slughorn glanced around suspiciously, then on not seeing anyone eavesdropping, he leaned over to Ron and whispered.

"So...uh, you did destroy it didn't you?"

Ron blinked. "What?"

"The..." He looked around again and dropped his voice even lower, "The horcrux. Did you destroy it or...or them?"

Groggily, Ron blinked. Unable to resist it, he quipped, "Well, I just did in one of them."

As expected, the expression on Slughorn's face was priceless; the perfect picture of incredulity. "You...You destroyed one of them?"

Feigning modesty, Ron shrugged. "It was trying to kill Harry, so I had to do something. But...I'm really not supposed to talk about it. Dumbledore gave us strict instructions not to talk about horcruxes too much. Dangerous stuff, you know."

Quickly wiping away his look of eager anticipation for the tale, the Professor nodded. "Ah yes. Quite right of Dumbledore. Dangerous things, horcruxes." He cast another look around before leaning to whisper again, "But, I'm not sure if he told you...you see I..."

Ron had to repress a grin, almost suspecting that he'd try admitting his guilt to wean the story out. "Oh, I see. You're just interested since you feel somewhat responsible for it. Well, I suppose I could tell you about it a little. You know, without all the details?"

The gleam of excitement was back in Slughorn's eyes as he scooted closer to Ron on the bench and took another sip of mead. "Of course, of course. I just want to know that my folly was properly taken care of by brave young fighters such as yourself."

This time it was Ron who glanced around, making sure that no one overheard. It was silly really, he told himself, because he knew Slughorn would be bragging about it sooner or later and trying to introduce him to the Head of the Auror Department.

"Okay, so it was back in December. You see, it was pure luck that I'd seen Harry dive into that freezing pond. I'd been watching to see when he surfaced, but he was down there way too long. Turns out, the horcrux was manipulating the object it was in and trying to strangle Harry. So I dived in and..."

----------------------------

{May 2, 2018}

"Ron, Ron wake up!"

He felt a hand shaking his shoulder and groggily sat up. Rubbing at his eyes, he brought Harry's face into focus.

"Guess I dozed off."

"Yeah, you did. It's been four hours. Here." Harry handed over Ron's auror robes. "We've got Neo-Death Eater reports coming in from Chiswick."

"What about the rest of the team?" Ron asked pulling the robes.

"Well, about an hour after you left, someone brought out some really strong mead and…"

Ron laughed, throwing an arm around Harry's shoulder. "They're all drunk, except us right?"

Harry smirked. "Yeah, but I figure we can handle it together."

"Sure we can. We're aurors, it's our job."