"Ron... Ron..."

It was a muted voice, as if lost in the distance. He found it familiar and a little annoying as well. For a while, everything was dark and he couldn't quite remember where he was or how he got there. He had to wake up though, he knew that.

"Ron!"

This time the ginger opened his eyes as he let out a painful grunt. From the blurry shapes in front of him, he distinguished Harry. Everything was out of focus but Harry looked relieved, that much he could tell.

"You alright, mate?" he asked.

"To some extent."

Ron turned around as the world began taking shape. They were in some office, one which needed attention, it was all shambles of papers and broken furniture. That was when he remembered.

"How are you feeling?"

"As if I just stepped on one of those blast-ended skrewts, nothing major mind you," Ron answered. He tried to stand up just to realize all of his body ached. "Oh bugger!"

"Easy there," Harry said as he helped his friend get up. After flexing his muscles a little, Ron was able to stand on his own. The wall behind Ron was trashed, surely Ron had crashed there after the curse, which explained the back pain.

Harry stared at him for a moment. Once he decided he wasn't going to fall to the floor he continued, "Are you out of your senses? That was the barmiest thing you've done and I'm not saying that lightly."

"Oi, I'm in pain here. Are you going to give me a hard time, you git?" Ron smiled, remembering the confetti. How did he come up with that? He couldn't wait to tell George.

"It's not a joke. You got lucky, what if it had been the killing curse?"

At once the colour from Ron's face went out. It had been a risky move, he could be dead now. It appeared as if he was still alive but he shouldn't let Harry get mad at him anyway. His friend might tell Hermione about Ron's little feat, and then it would be his wife the one who would murder him.

"I'm sorry, alright? It felt like the only way to go, we needed a distraction. And besides, didn't you do the same with the patronus out there?"

Harry didn't find an answer to that.

"The good thing is that we got that woman, she was mental," The woman. Aster Prince. Ron had forgotten about her. For the first time since he woke up, Ron tried to look beyond Harry, "You got her, right?"

His friend nodded, "I have to admit, it did work as a distraction, remarkably well at that. We put double stunners on her as soon as she attacked you. Penelope went to check on Tobias, she's with him right now. I reenervated you and here we are."

Curious, it must have been barely a couple of minutes since the whole thing. It felt way longer to Ron. The cloud rain was gone, Ron noticed, and fortunately since Hagrid wasn't around to lend that umbrella to him. However, Ron realized they were mostly dry now, probably Harry's doing.

Ron found the woman on the floor, unconscious and covered with multicoloured confetti. Now that he looked at her more closely he was sure of having seen her at the Ministry before. Ron wondered if Aster Prince had been Imperiused or if she had acted on her own accord. If she wasn't Imperioused, it was going to be a headache to tell the family she was alive after all, only to throw her into a cell the next moment.

It was no time to do an investigation though.

"There has to be an explanation for all of this. We have to find Dolohov," said Harry.

They tied the woman up, then they headed to the small fireplace maintenance office where Penelope was checking Tobias Bosley's wounds.

"It's great to see you well, sir," she said as soon as she saw Ron enter.

"Thanks, you did a fine job keeping me alive back at the Atrium. It would've been a waste to die so soon after," Ron said. "Besides, I still have to find the name of that wizard before dying."

"What wizard?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"The one in the sculpture, the one that saved our arses at the Atrium."

"It's called a bust when it's just the face," Penelope corrected him, "I'm not entirely sure whose bust it was though. I reckon it could've been an old minister. Honestly, I didn't care that much who it was at the moment."

A bust it is then.

After Penelope finished with Tobias' wounds, she transfigured a pencil holder into a proper mug and went to fetch him some tea. Fear was still evident in the man's eyes. His long face reflected weariness as well. Fortunately, he looked way better after getting help from Penelope.

"Nice to see you well, Mr Bosley," said Harry.

Ron flexed his muscles a bit, still numb from before, and moved closer to the man, "What does it feel to be back among the living?"

The presumed dead worker looked stunned as he stared at Ron. "T—the living?"

"You were believed dead," said Harry, making the man almost drop his mug, "I'm sorry for this, it must be all very sudden. I promise all of your questions will be answered in the proper time. I guess you'll want to be back to your family as quickly as possible?"

The brown-haired man nodded. His eyes were big, Ron noticed, but it could be the way his expression was at the moment. Still surprised, still trying to get used to what happened. Ron couldn't really blame him.

"We'll see to it," Harry promised, "However, we're in a critical situation and we need your help. I know it must be difficult, but can you tell us all you can remember about the men who took you prisoner?"

Tobias Bosley hurried some quick words. The man didn't have much information from the days he was captured, and yet, his mere existence confirmed Hermione's theory. Ron still couldn't believe it, she was right not only on her brightest ideas but on her more mental ones as well.

"They're here for something," the man said at last.

Ron froze, "The masked men?"

Tobias nodded. "I heard those three talking about giving the others time. Time to get something."

Bollocks. That window thing Hermione mentioned... the mirror that prick Pucey wrote about. It must really be the same thing. Ron had been hoping it didn't come to that.

"This confirms it," he told Harry.

"It might."

Penelope was confused, "What is it?"

There was a loud sound outside, Harry went to take a quick look through the windows, "More reinforcements have arrived, it's just a matter of minutes before the Atrium is ours," he announced.

"We don't have time to wait for them though," Ron added.

"Care to explain?" insisted Penelope.

Harry turned to her, "I need to go after Dolohov. I think I know where he is."

"And by I you mean we of course."

"Ron..."

He could see the argument coming from a mile away, but Ron would be having none of it. It was true that he had almost died not five minutes ago and that he might not be in the best of shapes, on the other hand, there was no way in bloody hell he was letting Harry do this alone.

"Don't even try to go all honourable git with me. I know the act, so drop it. You need me."

"It's your last day, Ron. This could all be over for you now, you don't have to come. Think of Hermione," Harry argued.

Low punch. Even so, Ron was not backing down, "I'm going and that's it. Hermione wouldn't want me to leave you alone. Come to think of it, my luck is just blasted. If I go I might die but if I don't Ginny would probably kill me either way."

Harry rolled his eyes, he ended up nodding.

"So, where are we going?" asked Penelope.

Ron was left speechless, it would be hard to refuse the Auror's help but for a moment he truly feared for her. What if she didn't make it? Like the young Parker didn't. Ron had been trying not to think of the young lad or any of the other fallen Aurors, however, all of what had happened in the last hour came down on him, heavily.

He didn't want Penelope to die.

Fortunately, Harry took over, "You're not going, Penelope."

"What? You can't be serious."

"I need you to take care of Mr Bosley and ensure this fireplace isn't used by the attackers anymore. Someone has to watch over our prisoners too."

The woman turned to the worker, who appeared afraid at the possibility of being left alone, "I'm in better shape than Weasley. He can stay," she argued.

"Yes you are, but he is a stubborn prat. And though I hate to admit it, I do need him. He knows more about the men we're facing than you do."

"I could be of great help."

Harry smiled, "You have already been the greatest of helps. Without you, we would have lost here and we would be dead. I'll make sure Redfern hears about it, you might get a promotion."

Two times the Auror tried to talk back at Harry without finding the words. Eventually, she gave up, crossing her arms on her chest, "Go on then."

Ron smiled at her, "Thanks, for everything."

"Remember, you can't die without finding out the name of the man, the one in the bust," she said, trying to smile, "Moreover, you owe me a cake."

"You do?" Harry asked him.

"The price for saving my life. It's rather cheap apparently,"

Penelope didn't like serious or gloomy talk, that much was obvious. Ron hadn't crossed two words with her before that night, but he guessed almost dying together was a way of getting to know stuff about people.

"And you—" Penelope turned to Harry, "you better make it as well. I need my promotion. Sir."

Harry nodded.

"Tell Redfern to come to the Department of Mysteries after they get into the building."

"The Department of Mysteries?" the woman asked, visibly startled.

"No time to explain. Let's go, Ron."

They left at once, without turning back as they made their way to the lifts. Ron thought of Parker and his last moments. He also thought of the Department of Mysteries and what was being kept there. Mostly though, he thought of Hermione.

When the lift doors closed, Harry and Ron bolted towards level 9 and their last mission together.

All the way, the two friends remained silent. Ron wondered if Harry had as much in his head as he did. He surely did, Harry loved sulking in situations like this.

As the different floors in the Ministry passed by his eyes, Ron's thoughts wandered to their upcoming challenge. Was Dolohov trying to alter time? That wasn't his style, having elaborate plans. He seemed more of the brute type.

Ron still found it hard to believe they had the guts to attack the Ministry. It was one of the most secure places in the world, everyone knew that. It was like trying to steal something from Gringotts.

Memories of their last visit at Gringotts flashed to Ron. Getting the goblins to admit them back at the bank had been a massive headache for Kingsley but, with Bill's help, he managed to pull it off. Ron would have smiled at the memory, but he felt his body hurting just then. His back was killing him and he was sure that woman had cut him with one of those flying knives somewhere.

Aster Prince. Was she really Imperioused? Was she Snape's lost cousin? Only time would tell.

At his side, Harry showed no emotion. Ron's friend noticed him wincing, even so, he didn't say anything about it. There was no turning back at this point.

The lift stopped. Ron realized they must've looked like crap. They had been hit hard and not even the rain had been able to remove all the black dust from them.

Both friends raised their wands, ready to step out, together.

"I told you, Hermione—"

"—is always right, I know," said Harry.

The lift doors opened with a creaky sound. There was no one there, only the path to the black door. Harry seemed to shiver and Ron was in no better shape. The dark corridor before them had haunted Ron's dreams before. They had to do this though, they had already lost too much that night. He thought of young Parker and his lifeless eyes again, if they turned back now he would have died in vain.

They made their way undisturbed and stopped just before the door.

Ron sighed heavily, "Can I tell you something?"

"What is it?" his friend asked, ever so quiet.

"If years ago you had told me we were coming back here—"

"You wouldn't have believed me?" Harry guessed as they got closer.

"I would've stopped being your friend at that very moment," Ron corrected with a grin.

Harry smiled, just barely, then moved his hand towards the black door. His smile didn't last long.

"Ready?" Harry's voice was merely a whisper.

Ron hoped they were ready, they were only two against who-knew-how-many. For a wild second, he even wished Harry had kept the Elder Wand, it would've come in handy right about now. However, the wand his friend was gripping was the old Phoenix one he had gotten from Ollivander so many years ago, back around the days when he had first befriended Ron. Suddenly, Ron realized he had been friends with Harry for more than half of his life, fighting side by side, spending their days together. Considering that he was going to accept George's offer, that was going to change this day, in one way or another.

"Let's do this, mate," Ron said.

The knob was turned and then they were inside. The sound abandoned them. They found themselves in a familiar round room, gloomy and with nothing around but a set of plain black doors, handleless. The blue fire made things look even gloomier. It was just as Ron remembered.

The door behind them closed.

All the doors started moving, as Ron had forgotten they would do. Now they didn't know which door led where. Not that they knew before they started spinning, but still, he didn't like the whole change of doors.

"Now what?" Ron asked. Should they go both through the same door? Splitting now sounded like a world-class crappy idea.

They didn't have to make a choice though, because right then one of the doors opened and several men came inside the room. They were surprised at seeing Ron and Harry there. None of them was bothering with a mask anymore.

Standing in the middle, Dolohov noticed them first. He had that same horrible face that Ron remembered, as if a troll had briskly moulded him out of clay. He had more wrinkles and grey hair now, Ron didn't miss.

"It has been some time, Potter," the old fugitive finally said. Then, without waiting for an answer, he threw a purple curse at them and everything turned to madness.

Ron and Harry did their best to jump out of the way and fire back, yet they were on the open and the room was rather small. Ron heard the entrance door slam. He knew what was coming.

No one stopped firing as the walls spun once again around them. Harry engaged swiftly in a fight against a tall man, hoping to surprise him, but the man was fast and a bloody good duelist. That bloke had slick back blond hair, which made him look like some sort of Malfoy, but more dangerous. Harry and Ron had to take some of these men down quickly if they wanted to have a chance, they were outnumbered.

Ron tried to help Harry but he had his own hands busy. He was facing a dark-skinned man of white hair and odd-looking tattoos on his cheeks. He was a tough one as well, seemed to be anticipating Ron's every move.

The doors soon stopped, which was great as Ron was getting dizzy and didn't think chundering all over was such a bright idea at the moment.

"Watch out!" Harry managed to warn Ron under the madness.

The purple beam that Dolohov had fired passed close to Ron's left ear, but he was able to duck sideways as the loose curse continued its way to the wall. The dark-skinned man managed to dodge it as well, yet he was distracted enough for Ron to get him directly on the chest with a stunner.

One down, Ron thought, as he turned to help his friend.

Ron raised his wand ready to help when a bloody-minded curse came to him. Even when he managed to pull his shield up, he was thrown backwards with great strength. It happened that there was a door just behind him and Ron opened it with his back as he flew through it.

"Awww!" he groaned as he hit hard against the floor. His back wasn't being treated kindly that day.

"RON!" Harry's shouts echoed in the distance, he was too busy to help though. Ron saw his friend casting a rope out of thin air, trying to pull the blond man out of combat with it. Harry was also duelling Dolohov at the same time.

"I'm fine!" Ron yelled back, still with his back against the floor.

Rowle, a Death Eater recently freed from Azkaban, came rushing after Ron. The huge blond man didn't lose time in firing, but Ron was able to block his curse and stumbled back on his feet in the process.

The new room was beyond familiar though.

"Oh Bollocks! Not again!" Ron whined looking behind his back. There, he saw a tank where large brains were floating on a green liquid. The tank had been reconstructed exactly as he remembered. Ron shivered, feeling ghost twinges from the faded scars on his arms.

The door closed and Ron stopped hearing Harry. His friend and Dolohov were out of his reach now.

Rowle was bigger than Ron remembered, as tall as the blond man Harry had been duelling, but also bulkier. The man who had shot at Ron was in the brain room as well. He walked patiently and seemed to be studying Ron. His short hair was dark and he had a relaxed stance to him, however, it was his eyes that caught Ron's attention. They were mismatched, one black and the other pale grey, almost gleaming under the mystifying light of the brain room. It was as if that man's appearance fitted perfectly well with the Department of Mysteries. Dark, cold, and shining at the same time.

The doors on the circular room where Harry was fighting the other two enemies should be spinning by now. Ron knew he had to take these two down before he could help his friend.

"Well, bless my soul!" the man with mismatched eyes said in a mocking tone. Another American, Ron noticed at once. "If it isn't Ronald Weasley, what an honor."

"Your friend, the explosion bloke, he wouldn't call it an honor. Garvan was his name, wasn't it?" Ron taunted him, as he shot back at Rowle.

The man of the uncanny eyes lost his smile. "You defeated Garvan? Call me impressed."

It was Harry who defeated Ferrara, but Ron wasn't about to take him out of that idea.

The man moved with ease through the room. He wore dark trousers and a dark vest over a plain shirt, nothing like old wizarding robes. He didn't shoot at Ron as often as Rowle, as if analyzing him was more interesting than winning the fight. He moved his wand almost lazily.

"He had friends, Ferrara. They thought they could beat us. A big man, as in muscle, not belly like Rowle here," Ron had to dodge a spell that Rowle angrily sent at him. "There was a woman also."

Ron wanted to see his reaction. See if he gave any indication of the woman being Imperioused or not. The American man narrowed his mismatched eyes. He didn't lose his posture but it was obvious he didn't take Ron's words kindly. Ron wasn't sure what to make of it.

The man was about to throw a curse at him, that much was certain. However, Rowle fired first, almost taking Ron by surprise. The purple beam passed only inches away from him, then came the sound of a tank exploding at his back. Ron didn't give it a second thought, he slammed his body against a door at one side of the room and left before he could see the first brain coming out. There was no way in hell he was going through that again.

The last he heard before the door closed was Rowle's painful yells.

Ron fell over a few stone