Solis

Chapter XLI

Ron dropped his bag of clothes by the cabin door and burst inside. His siblings who were already there yelped in surprise as two of his sisters near him smacked him on the head. The redhead had returned to camp after a month at the Burrow. He had promised Ginny he would be back, and his cousin only rolled her eyes and shooed him away. But that was just his cousin pretending to act cool, because before he left, she did hug him and ask him to bring back some souvenirs. 

As summer arrived, the camp was once again bustling with campers, all geared up with their weapons and armor as they headed off to their next outdoor activities. 

Gracey and Jerry greeted Ron excitedly, and he hugged his younger siblings warmly. Gracey couldn't contain her enthusiasm, chanting, "Magic, magic, magic!" Ron then took out his wand, and accio'd the snack from one of his brothers. Gracey cheered as the snack flew into Ron's hand and gave it to her. His brother grumbled and threw a pillow at him.

Ron yelped and ducked before dashing outside to meet Austin and Kayla, who were waving to him at the climbing wall. 

 "Hey, what's up? How's school?" Kayla greeted Ron.

Ron sighed and replied, "I'll tell you guys when everyone's here."

Ron spent his time with his friends and siblings as they trained. He watched Nyssa working on her new creation in the Forge. Drew appeared looking grumbly, complaining about exams and such, but she hadn't changed; she still had her heavy makeup on. This amused Nyssa, much to Drew's annoyance, and she couldn't help but giggle. 

He was greeted happily by Connor and Travis, and it seemed like almost everyone was there. New campers, including those from Camp Jupiter, had joined the mix. The camp was buzzing with life and activity, and Ron found himself constantly saying hello to campers who had known him since he was a baby and had returned to spend the summer at camp. They were all surprised to see how much he had grown since they last saw him. 

Okay, he had indeed gotten taller, as was natural for a fifteen-year-old. His bright red hair remained the same, and it occasionally got in his way due to his long bangs, but he refused to cut them. He still wore his jackets under his camp t-shirts, and the watch that Kayla had bought him before was surprisingly still working. And, of course, he kept wearing Luke's bead bracelet, which held sentimental value for him. 

Ron's behavior hadn't changed much either. He still had a hearty appetite, loved to talk a lot, would bounce on his feet when excited, and wasn't shy about showing his emotions, including shedding tears when he was upset or emotional. In other words, he was still very much the same moody boy, now just a teenager with all the quirks that came with it.

Ron had two new siblings, and during his first two days back at camp, he kept himself busy by giving them tours and answering their questions.

"Soooooo, if our dad is Apollo, then I could sing?" Adrian, Ron's new sixteen-year-old brother with sandy hair and deep blue eyes, asked. He was casually dressed in slippers, a pajama shirt, and a camp t-shirt.

Ron grinned and replied, "Yeah, bro. Have you discovered if you're good at singing?" 

Adrian squinted his eyes, deep in thought. "Not really. But I'm good at poetry."

Ron nodded and said, "It's okay, most of us couldn't sing too. Will wasn't good at music, but he can heal, and that's a trait from Dad too."

Devora, Ron's new sister, chimed in with curiosity, "What about both?" She had long blonde hair that reached her waist and a multitude of freckles on her face. 

"It's rare, but that's possible. You could be good in archery and healing too, or you could be good with healing and music," Ron explained.

"That's nice," Devora smiled. "What about you?"

"Just an archer," Ron replied. "So, what place do you want to see?" 

The three of them returned to their cabin, and Ron's new siblings still looked in awe of their surroundings. Ron walked over to a shelf and said, "If you want to learn more about Dad, you can check the books here. There are even more books in the Arts and Crafts area if you're interested in learning about other gods. But it might be better to join the others; they have lessons almost every day, and they can teach you Greek." 

There was a loud yell coming from the Mini Kitchen as Yang accidentally broke a jar of candies. Ron, not wanting his new siblings to get too alarmed, reassured them, saying, "Never mind them." He then took out his wand and cast the "Reparo" spell. To their astonishment, the jar of candies repaired itself and flew back onto the counter. Yang thanked Ron and opened the jar to eat two candies.

Adrian stared at Ron with wide eyes and stammered, "Wha—what?" 

"Oh, you've seen Hecate's cabin, right? Sorcerers do exist too," Ron explained.

"But you're not a...Hecate's...?" Devora asked, looking confused.

Ron blinked at them, "Oh, yeah, you're right. But you could say I'm kind of one of them too. It's a long story." He decided not to delve into the details for now. "Dinner will be around seven, and there's a sing-along at nine. Go on, make yourselves at your new home." Ron beamed at them, understanding their hesitance. He knew that in a year or so, they would likely become just as lively and chaotic as the rest of them.

Ron closed the door of the cabin and took a deep breath before sprinting towards the Big House. When he entered the rec room, he found everyone inside, but instead of a serious atmosphere, it was chaotic and noisy. Nachos were being thrown everywhere, sodas spilled, and it seemed like a big mess. Not only were the head counselors there, but also the usual witches and wizards he had met on before.

Freya was engrossed in a conversation with Mira and Jaymie, while Jeffrey shared a laugh with Connor and Travis. They played a prank on Marcos, putting cheese on his hair while he was distracted with a vial of potion, which eventually exploded, leaving them all covered in cheese.

Leo casually enjoyed his nachos, while Piper chatted with Lou and Clovis from Hypnos. Meanwhile, Laurel and Holly were having an argument in a corner with Katie, three of them sporting cheese-covered hair. 

Annabeth had her arms crossed and was leaning against the wall when she noticed Ron. Her face lit up with a bright smile, and she immediately hugged him.

"Look at you," Annabeth said, pinching his cheek tightly, which made him yelp. "Tall and grown up. You were so small when I first saw you."

Ron playfully smacked Annabeth on the arm as they continued their conversation. As they excitedly caught up with each other, they discussed their schools and—Percy. Ron learned that Percy would be returning tomorrow at the camp—he just had to visit his mother, Mrs. Sally, first.

Annabeth still had her arms crossed as she stared at Ron, and he couldn't help but feel a bit confused by her intense scrutiny.

"What?" Ron asked, genuinely curious.

"You're fifteen," Annabeth pointed out.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, have you, you know, had any...any girl or a boy?" Annabeth asked, trying to get a sense of Ron's romantic interests.

Ron blinked at her in surprise and replied, "Any girl or boy what?" He wasn't quite sure what she was getting at, and her line of questioning had caught him off guard.

Annabeth clarified, "Girlfriend or boyfriend? Because they have to meet me first."

Ron stared at Annabeth for a moment before his cheeks turned bright red. "What are you talking about—I don't have—never—never crossed my mind—" he spluttered, clearly flustered by her teasing.

Annabeth couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. "Shut up! I'm fifteen, and and—well, I don't have a crush—well, I don't know!" Ron's flustered response only made her chuckle even more. 

Ron couldn't help but feel that being a teenager came with its fair share of stress and awkwardness. He decided to ignore the topic for now, as it was making him uncomfortable.

Chiron and Will eventually entered and had to bring order to the crowded room. Ron didn't have a chair, so he stood beside Annabeth as everyone settled down, Ron noticed that the head counselors had somewhat confused expressions, except for Sherman Yang, who was tapping his fingers impatiently on the table with a serious expression.

Chiron asked Ron to inform everyone about what happened, and Ron took a deep breath before beginning to explain what had happened. He detailed everything, from Tyler's disappearance to the minor gods being imprisoned, although he admitted that he didn't know what had become of them. Ron also mentioned that Mr. D had not yet returned to the camp after the Winter Solstice incident.

Clovis, who had been on the verge of falling asleep, suddenly snapped to attention. "T-Tyler, my man?" he stammered, clearly surprised.

"Your brother," Ron nodded. "Sorry."

"Iris Messaging is not working anymore, so we've resorted to letters. But our main concern is the mist—it's weakening, and worse."

"Do you think..." Mira said sadly.

"No, probably not," Freya said, shaking her head. "Is there any way to get in touch with Mr. D or the other gods?"

"Wait, wait—hold up," Leo exclaimed. "Are you all saying that wizards really exist? Like the ones with pointy hats, like Gandalf and all that, and those witches who look like grandmas with cauldrons and broomsticks? Man, that's awesome."

"Leo," Annabeth sighed, "You've actually met a witch."

"But that was totally different!"

"Yeah, right," Jeffrey frowned. "I can't stand those pointy hats. I'm glad we don't have them."

"Castelabruxo doesn't have them?" Ron questioned.

"Never," Mira confirmed.

"That sounds like one of those fancy Spanish usernames," Travis remarked.

"It's a school, or more like a wizarding school," Mira explained, leaving Travis with his mouth hanging open.

As they got distracted and started discussing magic and witches, the topic abruptly shifted when Nico appeared in the shadows. Will managed to catch him before he collapsed to the ground, drawing everyone's attention. Nico quickly composed himself and walked over to the table.

"I got his information," Nico announced.

"Who?" Katie asked, holding a tissue to wipe the cheese off her face.

"Tom Riddle," he said. "He's escaped death many times. I can sense his souls when I'm in the Underworld."

"You mean he has a lot of souls?" Ron asked, clearly surprised.

"Not a lot, just a few of them. Six, I think. He split his soul," Nico explained. "He's still alive, but if I can track down his souls, he'll be brought to the Judgement Pavilion."

Confusion spread among the others. Ron looked worried, and Jaymie was grumbling under her breath. "Those bastards," she muttered.

"Hey," Piper said, furrowing her brows, "If you don't mind sharing, who are you talking about?"

"He's a dark wizard," Ron answered, his expression grave. "It's another problem for us. The thing is, he's alive and gaining power from his followers, which could mean war. I hate to say this, but yeah, one of our students has already been killed by him, so I asked Nico to gather information on him."

Annabeth stepped forward, her gaze sharp. "Tell us everything."

"There was a war before," Ron began, not making eye contact as he explained the situation to them.

Sherman glared, his impatience evident. "When are we going to this war?"

"They haven't attacked yet," Ron replied. "I don't know when, but he's still gaining power. I'll try to gather more information. Lou?" He turned to the head counselor of Hecate.

"Got it. We've been tracking Tyler, but unfortunately, he's been on the move," Ron explained.

"Probably gathering reinforcements," Annabeth commented, her fingers twitching. "I'll try to gather information from my mom about the minor gods. I'm heading back to Olympus next week with Percy." Ron had almost forgotten that Annabeth was the architect of Olympus, giving her easy access to the realm whenever she wanted.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Pollux finally spoke up, clearly concerned.

"We'll gather information first, but we have to be extremely cautious, especially with Tyler. And for the time being," Ron began, looking at each of them, "You know, I really don't want you guys to get involved if there's a war. I mean..." Then he looked at Chiron.

Chiron seemed to be pondering the situation. The old centaur didn't want them to get involved, but he nodded in agreement. Demigods with magical mortal parents were still part of the camp, and their safety was still a top priority. If they were in danger, Chiron wouldn't hesitate to provide assistance when needed. 

"If we are needed, then we will offer our aid in the war. However, gathering information must be our priority before we make any moves." Chiron told them.

"Those dark wizards were hurting mortals," Jaymie declared. "I'm going to seek revenge, I'll make sure they pay!"

"They were doing what?" Piper sounded surprised.

"We saw them using magic to hurt mortals," Freya explained. "They do not care whether mortals are caught up in their stupid plans."

Ron nodded in agreement. "Many wizards have a strong hates for mortals."

"They have some pureblood ideology going on," Marcos explained. "But I think it's more popular in London."

"Yeah," Ron confirmed. "They have derogatory terms for mortals born with magic."

"That's...that's not good," Will said, shaking his head in disappointment.

Sherman grumbled, "Well, what are we waiting for? I'm ready!"

"I'll talk to Nyssa about the traps; we've got some cool ideas," Leo chimed in. "Just give the word, we're ready."

Annabeth then told them that she will do he rbest to plan things out if they were ready to be par tof the war, they gave their ideas that took another minutes, befire telling then to keep the war for them, do not tell anyone outside, unless it was confirmed, before they dismissed the meeting. Ron then gave the last look of Big House before he trudged back to the cabin.

It was only for two weeks when Ron was suddenly called in the Big House. Ron was busy putting the dummies in Arena when Travis appeared, holding a stick, saying he was called by Chiron, said Annabeth and Percy returned back from their trip to Olympus.

He dropped the dummy onto the arena ground excitedly, quickly telling Austin that he'd be back, and then sprinted toward the Big House. As he approached, he saw Annabeth, Percy and Chiron was engaged in a conversation with a woman, who appeared to be in her twenties. She looked young, dressed in a motorcycle jacket over a black shirt, with denim pants that had scratches on them. Belt bags with dagger sheaths were strapped to her waist. Her short blue hair and sharp gray eyes caught his attention as she spoke with them.

"Annie...?" Ron called out.

The four of them turned to him, and the blue woman gasped. "Holy shit." She greeted. Chiron then regarded the woman with disapproval and then nodded at Ron, who stood there equally stunned.

"Ron," Annabeth said, beginning to explain as she glanced at them. "This is Vanessa, a friend of...well, your mother—"

Ron continued to stare at them until Chiron told them to go inside and have a discussion. The redhead scrambled to obey while Vanessa still looked at him with surprise. Once they settled in the now tidied rec room, Percy looked awkward and mentioned that he'd step out since it was a family talk.

"Annie, about Olympus...?" Ron asked, still staring on Vanessa.

"I got the information, and thankfully, they weren't banished to Tartarus. But it took us days to speak with my mom. They won't allow anyone inside the throne room, and I suspect it has something to do with Zeus," Annabeth explained, her gaze shifting between Ron and Vanessa. "Mom informed me that it's becoming increasingly dangerous Zeus has been closely watching the gods, which is why Mr. D couldn't return."

"What about Dad?" Ron questioned.

"Don't worry," Annabeth reassured him. "Zeus doesn't know about your quest or the Prophecy, but he's growing suspicious. You need to be cautious."

"I had to return to the Underworld," Ron explained. "I need to find out where Hecate and the others have been imprisoned and Hades promised me he'd reveal their location! I completed the quest he gave!" Ron exclaimed.

"And that's the problem, the gods had to stay cautious, and not to do something to raise suspicions," Annabeth explained. "Ron, remember what Alabaster Torrington told you? You need to show them how capable you are. You already have Hades and Demeter on your side; they're doing it for Hecate herself. Percy is trying to persuade his dad."

Ron huffed in frustration. "So, what do you want me to do? Confront Zeus?"

"That seems to be the only way," Annabeth replied, causing Ron to choke on his words.

"I'll be toast before I even open my mouth!"

"No, your dad won't let that happen,"

"Wow." Ron couldn't help but sound bitter as he said it.

"You need to make him see for himself," Annabeth advised. "And I think if you want to gather information about the war, you'll have to go back to London," she added.

Ron looked at her with confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Then he heard a clear throat, and Ron almost blushed. He had forgotten there were others present. Two, to be exact. Chiron had been listening on their conversation, and Vanessa gave a shy smile. "I, well, I guess it's my turn, right? Sorry," she said, standing up and extending her hand to Ron for him to take.

"I'm Vanessa Hopperman, your mother's one and only best friend," she introduced herself, and Ron's jaw dropped in surprise.

"Best friend?"

"I understand it's surprising," Vanessa continued. "But believe me, Margaretta and I have known each other since our second year. I could see through the mist, and, uh," she glanced at Annabeth, who nodded in agreement.

Ron continued to stare at Vanessa, utterly speechless. Vanessa chuckled softly and said, "You could say I'm not the greatest best friend. But Margaretta told me about this place, so, well, she entrusted you to me. I was supposed to be your godmother. Sorry, I don't want to get emotional right now."

"Why—when—where—" Ron stammered, trying to form coherent questions.

"Annabeth and I have known each other just since last year," Vanessa explained. "And believe me, I've been keeping an eye on you since then. I've been living in a house near this place."

"But—" Ron struggled to process all this newfound information.

"I believe you need to go back to London," Vanessa continued. "Annabeth told me about the war you mentioned. You're right; Voldemort is rising, and Albus has been gathering people."

"What—" Ron began.

"And you're one of them," Vanessa said. "We need you."

Ron kept his mouth hanging open and turned to Annabeth and Chiron for guidance. Chiron then chimed in, "Ms. Hopperman, would you mind explaining more about this?"

"Sure, and just call me Vanessa," Vanessa said and handed Ron a parchment. "It's the address of the place in London. One thing I know is that Ron could be of great help to us. I've kept quiet about it, but now we need to convince the others. Or rather, Ron needs to convince them."

"I... I don't understand. What is this?"

"It's a gathering place for the Order. I was instructed to fetch you when you returned because they knew I was living in New York. Well, where there's a war, there's a light side, right?" Vanessa explained.

"How many people are there in that place?" Annabeth inquired.

"There are more of us, each with a specific duty to perform. The Ministry won't believe that Voldemort has returned, so it's up to us," Vanessa explained.

Ron turned his head abruptly. "Of course, they're not going to believe it. They're useless."

"I'm an Auror," Vanessa stated, not appearing offended but rather in agreement.

"Sorry," Ron apologized, wincing a little.

Annabeth crossed her arms, her face reflecting deep thought. "How can we help?"

"We're not certain when or how they'll launch their attack, but we're doing our best to prepare," Vanessa explained. "And if you want to stay informed, you'll need Ron for that."

"That's a good point," Annabeth agreed. "Ron, you have to return to London."

"What? But—" Ron began, clearly surprised by the suggestion.

"Retrieve information from there so we can prepare," Annabeth firmly interrupted. "I'm going back to Olympus to gather more information about Zeus while I'm working with the buildings there. Lou is already tracking Tyler. We need to take action."

Ron nodded reluctantly. "Okay, I'll go."

Annabeth added, "Just make sure you stay in touch, Ron. We need to coordinate our efforts and—" she put her hand on his shoulder. "Be careful, just remember you have people here."

🔆

Ron wasn't exactly complaining about leaving the camp with Vanessa. In fact, he found the blue-haired woman quite intriguing and cool, maybe because of her style and demeanor. They boarded a plane to London, and although Vanessa was excited to have him alone to discuss Margaretta, Ron made an effort to listen whenever she mentioned his mom.

Margaretta didn't have many friends until she met Vanessa. They were inseparable, their bond unbreakable. If Margaretta was a gentle soul, Vanessa was the chaos one, fiercely protective of her friend. She didn't hesitate to hex any boys who tried to date Margaretta, much to Ron's mom's relief. Like Molly, Vanessa wanted to have a serious conversation with Apollo.

But Molly didn't know Apollo, and Vanessa insisted that Ron had to tell Molly about him. 

"How do you know about her?" Ron questioned.

"The Weasleys were part of the Order," Vanessa explained, then she retrieved something from her motorcycle jacket—a copy of the Daily Prophet. "I assume you're not aware of what's been happening in the past few days?"

"Uh, no," Ron replied. "What's been going on?" He asked as he took the Daily Prophet from her.

"I heard you're Harry's best friend," Vanessa said as he read the newspaper, which was being translated into Greek. Ron fumed as he read the rest of the article.

"This is bull—"

"Yup," Vanessa agreed, snatching the newspaper from his hand.

"Hey, I'm not done reading!" Ron protested.

"So the point is, the Ministry doesn't believe your friend or Albus about Voldemort. The Daily Prophet had been calling them liars, and Fudge still refuses to believe them. The Ministry of Magic won't cooperate with us, not even the Aurors, and we've been advised not to push it with them because we could lose our jobs," Vanessa continued. "The best we can do is recruit people, both from inside and outside the Ministry. And Ron, I have a feeling you can do more than that," she added.

"You mentioned you've been monitoring me," Ron noted. "Why didn't you just reveal yourself to me before?"

"You seemed to be enjoying your time at the camp," Vanessa explained. "Besides, I couldn't get inside before."

"You said you could see through the Mist? Why did you hand me over to Annie when she was a kid?" Ron questioned.

"I can sense a strong demigod when I see one, and I thought Annabeth was a good choice," Vanessa replied with a smile. "I nearly got killed by her when she spotted me watching the camp last year. She thought I was a monster or something, but my wand is useless against her celestial bronze daggers," Vanessa explained.

"You seem to know a lot about us, even though I heard you only met Annie last year," Ron pointed out.

"You're sharp," Vanessa grinned. "I didn't believe Margaretta at first when she mentioned Greeks and all that, but I can tell you I did my own research. So if I ever encounter Apollo, he's in for a big surprise."

"That certainly sounds like a threat," Ron remarked.

"Oh, it absolutely is," Vanessa confirmed with a mischievous grin.

"Cool, whatever," Ron snorted and leaned back in his seat, gazing out the window at the clouds. They landed in London in the evening, and Ron retrieved his backpack filled with clothes. He followed Vanessa, who was quite the talker, as they took a bus, but Vanessa appeared to be on edge, constantly tensing up and muttering under her breath. He asked her if she was okay, but she hushed him until they were dropped off by the bus on the pavement in front of a row of tightly packed buildings.

"Can you create a Mist?" Vanessa asked.

Ron shrugged and took out his wand, conjuring a mist. "It's not as strong as it used to be, since Hecate has been imprisoned. Well, you know the rest if Annie told you."

"I do," Vanessa replied as she led the way between two buildings. "All you need to do is think about the address." She explained, and suddenly a battered door appeared out of nowhere between numbers eleven and thirteen. It was followed by a row of buildings with dirty walls and grimy windows. Ron stepped backward, staring in awe.

"You lived here?" Ron exclaimed in awe.

Vanessa looked offended. "Excuse you, this is not my house in London." She took out her wand and tapped the doorknob. He heard some noises from inside like chains and the sound of padlocks. Then the door opened. "Hurry up," she said, and Ron followed. Vanessa closed the door behind them, and Ron wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Doesn't anyone want to clean the house?" Ron asked, wrinkling his nose further. "It smells like a dead troll in here."

"How do you know the smell of a dead troll?" Vanessa asked.

"I killed one," Ron replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh," Vanessa responded, not appearing particularly surprised given that he was a demigod. She cast Lumos and gestured with a pointed finger for him to follow as they ventured further into the darkened hallway, moving cautiously, there is also a sound of a soft hissing noise and then old-fashioned gas lamps sputtered into life all along the walls, casting a flickering insubstantial light over the peeling wallpaper and threadbare carpet of a long, gloomy hallway, where a cobwebby chandelier glimmered overhead and age-blackened portraits hung crooked on the walls. 

Then suddenly, as they walked further down the hallway, they heard murmured conversations coming from behind a door at the end. The door swung open, revealing Mrs. Weasley, who appeared quite surprised to see Ron.

"Ron? My goodness, what's brought you back here so early? You didn't send us any letters! What were you thinking, dear? I thought you'd be staying for a whole week before the end of the holiday!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as she grabbed Ron's arm and led him into the kitchen. Ron glanced back at Vanessa, who followed him quietly.

It was already well past midnight, and everyone else in the house was fast asleep, except for Mrs. Weasley, who seemed to be up for some reason. She prepared tea and a glass of milk (for Ron), fussing over Ron's late return when everyone else was in bed.

Vanessa looked at her and said, "Mrs. Weasley, I think I'll head to bed now. Could I use the room upstairs and have my tea there?"

Molly replied warmly, "Of course, dear. There's plenty of space upstairs, and we have a meeting later. You should get some rest. Here, take the tea with you," she said, placing the tea in front of Vanessa's who carefully lifted it as she left the kitchen.

"And you too, after you finish your milk," Mrs. Weasley instructed Ron.

"You know, Aunt, you guys made the right choice in sending Vanessa to get me," Ron began as he sipped the warm milk that Molly had placed in front of him.

Molly chuckled warmly and said, "Oh, do we now? Vanessa was the only one we knew who could track you down, living all the way in New York. I'm so pleased you've had the chance to meet her. How did she manage to find you? Did she locate you at one of those plane places?"

Ron shrugged slightly and replied, "Not exactly the airport. Vanessa knew where I lived."

Molly was taken aback and almost dropped onto her own seat. "Vanessa did? Dear, why would she..." She trailed off, clearly surprised and curious.

"It's alright," Ron reassured her. "Auntie, I should have been honest with you, really."

His aunt looked up at him, concerned. "What is it, dear? Is it about your other siblings? Don't worry, I've accepted them."

Ron appeared surprised. "But you haven't met them."

His aunt smiled gently and said, "Oh dear, I've noticed how happy you seem whenever the word 'siblings' were mentioned, and I only care about your happiness."

"Well, speaking of them..." Ron sighed, nervously sipping his milk. "Well, it's not just two..."

"Hm? I can't quite hear you," Molly frowned, leaning in a bit.

"It's not just two, there were dozens of them," Ron admitted.

Molly stared at him in disbelief. "Ah, is my hearing alright—"

"Auntie, I have lots of siblings."

"Four or five? It's alright—"

"Around twenty and above...?"

Molly's mouth dropped open as she stared at him, then she closed it. "Ronald, this is not a joking matter."

Ron grinned at her. "It's okay if you don't want to believe me. You could ask Vanessa though."

"Ronald—"

"My dad, well, if you want to know about him, I'm going to ask you a question."

"Ronald Prewett—"

"Do you believe in gods, Auntie?" Ron asked.

Explaining everything to his aunt was like trying to convince someone that chickens didn't exist. But Ron didn't stop talking until she was convinced; he shared everything, from how Vanessa had left him with a girl named Annabeth, a demigod like him, to Luke, who protected him when he was a baby as they lived in the camp. He spoke of Thalia's sacrifice, of Luke teaching him to fight, of his siblings who taught him bravery.

He told Molly about important people who had died in wars.

Molly found herself in tears as she hugged her nephew. "I should have told you this before," the redhead said, her tears flowing freely. "Mom told Vanessa about the place, and I should have told you where I was, but promise me, Aunt, swear on the River Styx that you won't tell anyone else, until I let you."

Molly made the promise, and once they had both calmed down, she stood up to prepare another pot of tea calmly as she listened to Ron who began talking about Apollo instead.

"But I'd still love to meet him," Molly admitted. "He sounds like a lovely young man," Molly replied with a warm smile.

"Yeah, if Zeus doesn't strike him down from his throne," Ron muttered. "All these quests and stuff, it's really stressing me out."

"You can do it, you're a hero, Ron, my dear—and as much as I wanted you to stay with us and away from that place, I couldn't do it," Molly said sincerely. "I'm glad that you've found a family there."

"I thought you'd be upset that I was too young to go to a war," Ron grinned.

"Well, we're not born to be half-gods, right?" Molly chuckled. "And it sounds like the family and friends you've met, they seem strong."

"And demigods were born to fight," Ron said. "I'm glad I haven't see any monsters here. The Western civilization have moved to United States—" 

The two of them didn't realize it was already five in the morning, and Molly yelped in surprise. They had been talking, with Ron sharing stories about his friends, particularly the funny ones. Molly hushed him and guided him to his room, where he and Harry were going to sleep. She kissed his cheeks and hugged him tightly.

"You're so brave," Molly said with pride. "Now, go on, I'll just wake you up around noon, alright?"

Ron smiled brightly and replied, "Thanks, Aunt."

He fell asleep immediately after that and woke up around late af noon. The room was quite warm, and he noticed that he was still on his jacket. He removed the jacket as he got up from the bed, yawning and stretching. He made his way downstairs but only a second later, he realized he had tripped.

"Oh my god—Ron!" he heard a voice, followed by a loud shriek of a woman's voice emanating from the paintings.

Ron found himself being served a large plate of bacon as he shoveled food into his mouth, ignoring the curious stares of his friends, cousins, and others in the room. He had a bandage on his ankle, but hunger took precedence over his injury.

"Molly, don't you feed him—" Sirius began.

"Oh, don't blame me, Sirius. The boy returned past midnight and was exhausted. Let him eat," Molly scolded, defending Ron's appetite.

Ron mumbled something with a full mouth, but Hermione shot him a disapproving look. Harry shook his head, amused, as he continued to eat his mashed potatoes.

"Seriously, Ron," Hermione began, "We haven't heard from you for three weeks. You've missed a lot of things here."

"I don't care," Ron replied stubbornly. "Besides, Sirius said Buckbeak and Fiddlefig are here, and I miss them."

"Well, don't you want to ask Harry why he was held at the Ministry last week?" Hermione prodded.

Ron choked on his food and looked shocked at Harry. "Man, you're the best! Show them."

"Ron!"

This made Remus snort, and Sirius burst out laughing. The twins and Ginny returned shortly after, and Ron forgot about the souvenirs as the girl huffed out but sat besides him.

"How's the summer been here?" Ron asked Harry as they both went upstairs quietly. He noticed that Harry sounded tired and bitter whenever he spoke. Hermione later told him that Harry's temper had been worsening, and he was taking it out on her and sometimes on others.

Ron looked worried, and after a meal, he saw Harry massaging his scar.

"Sorry for not coming earlier," Ron said. 

"S' alright," Harry replied.

"Still hurting?" Ron asked.

Harry was about to give a sarcastic response when Ron pulled out a new ointment from his bag. "This is good for headaches. I have two of them now; I think it can last for a year," he said, beaming at Harry.

Ron sat beside his best friend and gently applied the ointment to Harry's scar as Harry sighed heavily.

"I read the Daily Prophet," Ron said, which made Harry tense. "Don't worry, I don't believe them. Actually, I don't really read them anymore until Vanessa showed me one."

"Vanessa?" Harry asked, still letting Ron massage his scar.

"That blue-haired, cool woman. Haven't you met her yet?"

"She sounds familiar," Harry mused. "I think I saw her talking with Kingsley and Mad-Eye Moody last week. Or sometimes with Tonks, while she laughed at her being clumsy and all."

"That's her," Ron said as he closed the ointment and placed it in Harry's hand. "Put that on before you go to sleep."

"Right," Harry replied weakly.

Ron had met a lot of people during his stay at Grimmauld Place, and he couldn't help ask why they are not allowed to attend the meetings.

Fred grimaced and said, "Because we're TOO young."

"That's why we have this extendable ear. We can hear their conversations," George added. "Mum caught us once, but that didn't stop us. We had to hide them before using them again."

Ginny shook her head in frustration. "Seriously, it's a war...they should have let us help."

"Eh," Ron mused. "'might not be the right time for us to help."

"And what do you mean by that?" Harry asked.

"Well, if you were to go there, what do you think they'd assign you to do?" Ron questioned.

The twins exchanged glances and shrugged.

"See," Ron continued. "They must be pretty strong and trusted to be given important tasks."

"Then what do you want us to do? Stay here all day and clean?" Harry asked irritably.

"Why not?" Ron shrugged.

"Ron's right," Hermione sighed. "We should focus on preparing for our O.W.Ls instead."

"O.W.L? You want to buy a new owl?" Ron suddrnly asked, confused.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ordinary Wizarding Level, Ron. We're fifth years, and these exams are important."

Ron didn't really care much about exams, especially since it was summer, and there was only a week left before they would return to Hogwarts. He spent his time with his family, helping clean up the place. As the end of the holiday approached, their booklists and letters from Hogwarts finally arrived, which was a bit surprising since they usually came earlier.

Ron was in the process of opening his letters when something fell from one of them. "Ugh," he muttered, crouching down to pick it up. Just then, he jumped as Fred and George apparated right inside the room.

"Would you stop that?" Ron glared at them as he groped the floor. "I hate the sounds, it's too loud."

"Sorry, cous'," George chuckled.

They continued their conversation until Ron finally found what had fallen. He looked at it and saw a badge with a letter P on it. The badge seemed oddly familiar, as if he had seen it before. Fred noticed his reaction and his mouth dropped open.

"Prefect—Prefect—?" Fred stammered in surprised..

The three of them stared at Ron, with George in shock as he snatched the letter away. "No way!"

Ron looked at them, then at the badge, and a broad grin spread across his face. "Cool!"

"Cool? Cool? You want to be like Percy—?"

"What? No!"

"Ickle Ronniekins is a Prefect!" Fred exclaimed, still holding the badge in his hand. Just then, the door burst open, and Hermione rushed in, panting. She seemed rather surprised when she learned that Ron had become a Prefect too.

"Well, that's—that's good—I mean," Hermione stammered.

Ron paid little attention to Hermione's shocked comment. After all, he had been the second-in-command in his cabin, guiding his siblings, answering their questions, and handling various responsibilities. So, being a Prefect seemed like a good opportunity to protect the students. Just then, the door swung open once more, and Molly entered, holding a basket of fresh laundry. Ron excitedly showed her the Prefect badge, and his aunt shrieked with joy.

Ron had quickly stashed the Prefect badge in his bag, just in case it disappeared. He was in a good mood, and he refused his aunt's offer to buy him something new with her own money. "Maybe you could buy us brooms? Oh, speaking of brooms, I think I want one, and no, Auntie, don't use your money!" he exclaimed.

"Us?" Molly asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The twins too, as a reward, and a set of new robes for Harry and Ginny, and, oh, cat food for Phoebe and Crookshanks too," Ron rattled off.

"Oh," Molly blinked in surprise, then smiled at him.

The twins were too stunned to speak. "N-new brooms, you say?" Fred finally managed to say.

"Of course," Ron said beaming at them, "I'm happy!" 

Throughout the evening, Ron remained happy, although he noticed that Harry's congratulations seemed somewhat half-hearted. Ron couldn't help but feel that Harry was better than him in many ways. He considered himself less intelligent, struggled in class, and had trouble with his grades, he couldn't even read without translating the words in Greek! Meanwhile, Harry was excelled in a lot of areas. 

However, Ron also felt a twinge of guilt. He think that Harry deserved the Prefect badge more than he did. Ron didn't consider himself normal, and he couldn't understand why Professor Dumbledore had chosen him as a Prefect.

Ron chose not to bring up the topic of him being a Prefect anymore, despite his aunt throwing a celebration for him and Hermione. It all felt rather confusing to him. Moody congratulated him and suggested that Dumbledore must have chosen Ron because he think he could withstand jinxes, and in a way, Moody was right.

Vanessa was also present, slapping him on the back, which earned her a glare from Ron.

"Chill, kid," Vanessa said with a wide grin. "I know you'll use that for something important." She saluted him before striking up a conversation with Tonks, and they both laughed as Tonks changed her hair color to blue.

Ron felt somewhat uncomfortable as he ate his second plate of bacon during dinner. He couldn't help but feel that he didn't quite deserve all of this.

🔆

Ron had a hushed conversation with Vanessa before he climbed onto the train. She promised to keep him updated about the meeting and mentioned their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher from the Ministry. She also assured him that she would check on the camp for him. Vanessa hurriedly pushed him onto the train.

However, Molly managed to catch him before he could board and gave him a warm, tight hug before pushing him inside with the others, waving at them as the train departed.

"What did she talk to you about?" Hermione inquired.

"Vanessa? Uh, nothing," Ron lied as he discreetly pinned the Prefect badge to his robe.

Ron was about to help Harry in finding a compartment when Hermione reminded him that they were supposed to be in a Prefect carriage. He flushed with embarrassment, apologized awkwardly to Harry for the sudden change of plans, and avoided making eye contact.

"Oh, right," Harry responded. "Fine."

As Hermione and he walked towards the Prefect carriage, when they arrived at the carriage where the other new prefects from each house were waiting, Ron greeted them with a bright smile.

"Hi!" Ron greeted them cheerfully.

"You? A prefect?" Pansy gasped in disbelief.

Ron stood proudly, introducing himself to the others despite Pansy and Draco's incredulousness. Apparently, the meeting for the prefects of each house consisted of only two prefects, one boy and one girl. They discussed the responsibilities of being a prefect, such as taking house points and giving detentions only when necessary as a punishment. However, Ron found himself distracted during the meeting and started playing rock-paper-scissors with Anthony Goldstein, a prefect from Ravenclaw, while Hannah Abbott kept score.

After the meeting ended, Hermione scolded Ron for not paying attention while he fiddled with his prefect badge. Just as they were walking down further to find Harry and the others, the door of a compartment next to theirs slammed open, and Grenda appeared with wide eyes.

"Grends?" Ron asked in surprise.

"Ron!" she exclaimed. "Great timing!" There was a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Daphne," she said, then glanced at Hermione. "She can come inside, c'mon."

Daphne Greengrass was seated by the window, visibly upset and crying. Kim was there, holding a box of tissues for her, and a third-year Ravenclaw sat next to Daphne, offering comfort by caressing her back.

Ron and Hermione approached them, concerned. "What happened?" Ron asked. Daphne glanced up, her tearful eyes meeting theirs briefly, but then she turned her gaze back to the window and ignored them. 

"It's nothing," the girl sitting beside Daphne, who introduced herself as Astoria, said. "I'm Daphne's sister." She glanced at Hermione, who must have received the signal to leave, and Hermione huffed and left the compartment.

Ron furrowed his brow, still confused. "What did you do?"

Astoria sighed, looking somewhat regretful. "I didn't mean to. Pureblood supremacy, we kind of lived with that when we were young. I heard about your friend living with Muggles," she said, "I've rarely spoken to others whose parents are Muggles; most of my friends have been either pureblood or half-blood. So I don't really know how to act..."

Grenda sat beside Kim, her lips pressed together with a sad expression.

Ron wedged himself into the seat next to Grenda, and they both observed the two sisters. "Perhaps you could talk to her the way you talk to your friends," he proposed. Astoria stayed silent, and there was a brief pause, making Ron to do what he typically did when things got quiet.

"What actually happened?" he asked.

Astoria looked at him cautiously and asked, "Why are you even here?"

"I'm Daphne's friend," Ron confessed. "Ron Prewett."

"Potter's friend?" 

"That's right," Ron confirmed.

"Oh, well," Astoria began, hesitating, "We actually believe Dumbledore and your friend—about the Dark Lord's return."

"The Dark Lord?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow, as the only Dark Lord he knew was Nico.

"You-know-who," Grenda added nervously. "I also believed the headmaster, and Mum said she knew he'd come back. She even canceled her subscription to the Daily Prophet."

"My father as well," Kim chimed in, "but my mother is a Muggle; she won't understand it."

"So, what's the deal with Daphne?" Ron questioned.

Astoria's sharp eyes focused on him. "People who believe in pureblood supremacy often supported the Dark Lord. There's not much you can do about it. Most of them were Slytherins. My parents, the Greengrass family, were part of that group. But Daphne refused to join them, and so did I." Her voice quivered as but that only made Daphne cry. 

"If we continue to refuse them, we could be in danger from the Death Eaters, or even worse," Astoria explained. "That's why when we heard that the Dark Lord was back, most Slytherins started to hide and keep quiet about their parents."

"That's not good. Do the Slytherins really have no choice?" Ron questioned further.

"If they manage to distance themselves from their parents, then they do," Astoria replied. "Daphne and I are planning to spend the summer in the Muggle society without our parents knowing."

"Kim and I are helping them, along with Gwyneth," Grenda added.

"Gwyneth's a half-blood. His father was a Death Eater in the first wizarding war," Kim explained. "But he changed, and his Dark Mark was causing him pain, so it was only Gwyneth, his two siblings, and their mother."

Ron nodded at them and said, "I'll do my best to help you. It's better if you live somewhere far."

🔆

Ron returned to their compartment and squeezed in to sit with them. He shoved a chocolate frog into his mouth while Phoebe climbed onto his lap and nuzzled there. He gazed out the window at the passing scenery. Hermione didn't ask what he had been up to, and Ron apologized for returning late.

Eventually, the train stopped, and they all disembarked. Ron placed his backpack on, and Ginny held Phoebe for him. He and Hermione supervised the students as they safely exited the compartment.

"Be careful!" Ron exclaimed with a cheerful smile as the first-years exited their compartment with their trunks. He noticed one girl struggling with her trunk and offered his assistance.

"Thank you!" the girl replied happily as she joined her new friends and exited the compartment. The Prefects lined them up properly, managing the crowd as they made their way to the stagecoaches. They eventually joined Harry, who was looking at the stagecoaches. Harry asked them about the horses pulling the carriages.

"Oh, you mean those black horses?" Ron raised an eyebrow as he took Phoebe from Ginny.

"Err, yeah," Harry said, still blinking and staring at the horses.

"I think those are Thestrals. I've read about them somewhere before, been seeing them since our first year," Ron replied. "Ginny, have you seen my other bag?"

"Here!" Luna suddenly said behind him, beaming, as she held Ron's other bag.

"Oh, thanks, Lu!" Ron exclaimed, taking it as he hurriedly walked towards the carriage with Hermione and the others.

They reached the castle swiftly as Ron checked his bag to make sure he hadn't forgotten his journal for the year, sighing in relief when he found it. Once they entered the Great Hall, Ron and Ginny waved at Luna, who promptly drifted over to the Ravenclaw table. Ron then took a seat beside Harry worriedly, they were concerned about Hagrid, they didn't see him at the platform, and it was Professor Grubbly-Plank who had escorted the first-years.

They glanced at the middle of the staff table, expecting to see Hagrid, but instead, they found a woman they didn't recognize.

"Who's that?" Hermione asked.

The woman has a squat, with short, curly, mouse-brown hair in which she had placed a horrible pink Alice band that matched the fluffy pink cardigan she wore over her robes. Then she turned her face slightly to take a sip from her goblet and he saw, with a shock of recognition, a pallid, toadlike face and a pair of prominent, pouchy eyes.

"Uh-oh," Ron gulped. "She looks like one of those..." those monster that pretend to be someone at a school or something to eat the demigods until the end of their school term.

Harry told Ron that the woman was Umbridge she was in his hearing, who worked for Fudge, and when Ron heard the mention of Fudge, he grumbled. With someone new in the picture, it could potentially be a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. As they went through the sorting, and the Sorting Hat's warning made Ron tense up a bit, the food appeared on the table, and Ron wasted no time digging in.

Hermione decided to ask Nearly Headless Nick about the Hat giving a warning. He explained that the Hat could detect dangers in the school, and it always gave warnings. Harry's nonchalant attitude about the houses being friends annoyed Ron.

"There's a war, we should be making cooperation," Ron commented, but Harry chose to ignore him.

After enduring a long and tedious speech from Umbridge, Ron was readh to head back to the dorm, but Hermione reminded him that they were supposed to escort the first-years. Ron complained at first, but when he laid eyes on the first-years, his enthusiasm returned.

"Hey there, peeps!" he greeted them with a wide grin. They were incredibly adorable and small, brimming with excitement, which was contagious and lifted Ron's spirits. "Alright, everyone, it's Q&A time!" Ron announced.

Several first-years eagerly raised their hands as they began their journey to the Gryffindor tower.

"Well, young miss, what's your question?" Ron asked one of them.

"Is it true that we're going to ride brooms and fly?" the first-year asked.

"It's true!" Ron replied enthusiastically.

The Q&A session continued until they reached the common room. Ron pointed at a small boy in the right corner who appeared nervous.

"I-It's true that Y-You-know-Who was alive?" the boy squeaked.

The common room fell silent, and everyone tensed, their eyes shifting in their direction. Ron looked surprised but answered honestly, "Of course." He added, "So, kids, do unsubscribe from the Daily Prophet; they tell you stupid lies. And the Ministry sucks because—ow!" Ron yelped when Hermione smacked him on the head.

"We are Prefects!" Hermione hissed. "Come on, let's get the first-years back to their dorms," she instructed, pointing to the first-year dormitory.

Ron was still indignant. "So? They should know the truth," he huffed.

No one believed that Voldemort had returned. They thought Harry was lying and that Dumbledore was mistaken, which felt strange because it was clear that Voldemort had come back, especially after he had killed Cedric. Slytherins didn't discuss Voldemort much, and those who did believe Harry and Dumbledore kept quiet. The Sorting Hat had cautioned them to stick together, and Ron had a plan, but he wasn't sure how to begin. Vanessa had been updating him about the war, and Ron was sharing what he learned with Annabeth and Lou through his letters.

Ron grew tired of Hermione scolding him for not giving the twins detentions when they use their experiments on first-years. He found it fun, and he didn't believe their experiments were that dangerous, but Hermione disagreed.

Amidst the workload and Ron's struggle, he was surprised they had made it this far. The three of them sat in the common room, discussing their plans for life after Hogwarts. Ron then took out a brochure and showed it to them. "I'm going to college to become a doctor," he announced.

"Wait—you want to study in the Muggles after this?" Harry asked, surprised. "You don't want to be an Auror?"

Ron hesitated for a moment. "I don't want to be a police. Being a doctor has been my dream since I was young," he explained.

"But why there...? I mean, have you heard about St. Mungo's Hospital? Healers work there," Hermione pointed out, looking at the brochure of the medical university.

"It's a long story," Ron replied, taking the brochure from her hand. "I'm going to put this on my four-poster bed as motivation. Maybe after I graduate from here and work outside, I can work at St. Mungo's if I ever get tired. Madam Pomfrey has been teaching me advanced healing spells since last year," he explained with excitement.

Hermione felt a little jealous about that while she focused on her homework instead. Harry didn't seem to like Ron, choosing to be a doctor, as the redhead glared at Harry in return. Harry's temper had been flaring, and Ron was also in a sour mood, often huffing in annoyance whenever Cho talked with his best friend.

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, things only got worse. Umbridge refused to let them use magic or learn spells, forcing them to read instead. Harry eventually did something impulsive, he told their pink-clad teacher that Voldemort had returned and described how Cedric had been murdered by him. Umbridge then responded by taking house points from him and giving Harry detention. 

In the corridor, Ron had just walked out from the Music club, where they were supposed to practice but instead, they ended up discussing their plans for Daphne and Gwyneth.Harry had caught Ron, but the redhead's sharp eyes noticed his best friend's hand.

Ron healed Harry's hand angrily, the redhead seething with frustration and cursing Umbridge. "You let her do this—are you an idiot!? This is torture! She's crazy!" He exclaimed. Harry's detention had involved Umbridge making him write on a parchment, and as he wrote, the words etched themselves onto Harry's skin. It was Harry's third day enduring the punishment.

Ron carefully placed a bandage on Harry's injured hand and said, "Don't take it off until tomorrow." He then led Harry back to the common room, while holding his another hand. 

Harry remained silent, still somewhat stunned by Ron's anger. Ron had shifted into his healer mode, and a patient was a patient, regardless of whether it was a wound or injury. "I'll go get some potions from the Hospital Wing for tomorrow, Harry. You'll have to endure it for me, alright? I'll heal it," Ron assured his bestfriend.

The next day, Ron gasped when he saw the wound on Harry's hand again when he returned to the dormitory. However, he was relieved to see that the potion had worked, and the wound had healed on its own.

Harry after a moment of silent speaks, "How's the Quidditch? Has anyone taken the Keeper position yet? Angelina was in a sour mood when I returned to the common room."

"Yep, there was a tryout earlier," Ron confirmed. "I watched the three students who tried out, and they were having a hard time switching between the three goalposts and guarding them. Two of them were good though, but Angelina refused them, they're really mad though," he added.

Harry groaned as he lay on his back, his hand at the back of his head. "We definitely need a Keeper."

Ron nodded. "There's another tryout tomorrow."

Harry looked at Ron for a moment and then suggested, "What about you try out for the Keeper position?"

Ron snorted and shook his head. "Me? Nah, man. I'd probably die if I joined." He sat down on Harry's bed next to him, dismissing the idea with a laugh.

Harry propped himself up on his elbow and said, "No, seriously, Ron. I think you'd be good at it."

Ron's cheeks began to warm at the unexpected praise. "I've never really played Quidditch," he admitted.

"You'd just have to guard the goals; Keepers don't have to do much," As Harry continued to reassure him, Ron's stomach started to churn uncomfortably, as if something inside was twisting and turning. He felt sweaty and awkward. Harry then leaned forward with a weak grin. "We won't let the Quaffle hit you," he promised.

But Ron felt Harry was too close for comfort, and in a moment of embarrassment, the redhead instinctively shoved his hand against Harry's face, making him yelp.

"Fine," Ron said, his cheeks flushed. "I-I will try."

"Thanks." Harry beamed.

🔆

Ron had been watching intently as four Gryffindor students tried out for the Keeper position, trying to memorize how Keepers worked. As he took to the sky on his broomstick, he found himself smacking every Bludger that came hurtling toward the three goal posts. He had a natural knack for tracking the Bludgers with his sharp eye, knowing their trajectories and where they were headed. 

However, he found the Quidditch robes for a Keeper a bit uncomfortable and heavy. He made a mental note to ask Angelina or Katie about them after the tryout.

When the tryout came to an end, the students who had tried out were breathless and nervous. Ron flew towards them and climbed off his broom, leaning on it as he asked Angelina, "So?"

Angelina was left momentarily speechless, and Fred chimed in, "Damn," 

One of the other Gryffindor students was glaring at Ron, crossing his arms in disapproval. "Good? He couldn't possibly outmatch Wood," he hissed, pointing an accusatory glance at his way. "Look at you, one strong gust of wind and you'll probably get blown away." 

Ron narrowed his eyes at the Gryffindor student but decided not to go further. The twins tried to steer the conversation towards celebrating Ron's successful tryout, but Ron declined, still giving the other guy a stern look.

"No, I don't need that," Ron replied weakly. "I have something to do. Goodbye." With that, he turned and walked away, leaving the tryout behind for now.

Later that evening, Harry glanced up to Ron who sat besides him in the common room, who was working on his homework, asking if Angelina had accepted him. Ron only nodded in response.

"I told you," Harry said, wearing a satisfied expression, while Ron grumbled but his face turned slightly pink.

The training session arrived, and Ron wasn't exactly bragging, but he's skilled at shooting, well, somewhat skilled—they were children of Apollo, after all. Ron didn't really voice any complaints, even though the Slytherins below were taunting and jeering at them. But the Music club members were there, watching and giving nods of encouragement to him.

That's why he had thrown the Quaffle a bit too forcefully at Katie, which resulted in her getting a nosebleed, causing Ron to shriek in surprise.

"I'll heal her," The redhead said as an apology after the tryout.

The following days were quite distressing, dealing with homework, Umbridge's classroom inspections, and him having a "P" (Poor) with almost most of his subjects, Percy's infuriating letter, and the frustration of not being allowed to use their wands. Ron found it difficult to focus on reading the textbook; his mind was blank.

Harry had once again mentioned Voldemort to Umbridge, resulting in another week of detention. Ron couldn't help but give Harry the most exasperated "you're being stupid" look he could muster. Every night when Harry returned with bleeding hands, Ron sighed as he healed them.

While waiting for Harry to return to the common room, Ron pulled out a vial and handed it to Harry when he sat down, looking exhausted.

"You know, you really should go tell Professor McGonagall about this—"

"No," Harry said stubbornly.

"Yes!" Ron glared at him. "Are you out of your mind? This is not okay in a school; it should be considered a crime! It's abuse!"

Hermione agreed, "If only we could do something about her."

"Obliviate her, make her believe she's a Hogwarts student," Ron suggested.

"Ron!" Hermione sighed exasperatedly."No, that's not the solution. We have to take some action; I think it's time."

Hermione shot Harry a nervous look as she proceeded to explain her plan. Essentially, if Umbridge refused to teach them using their wands, Hermione suggested they have a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson on their own, with Harry as the instructor. Since Harry was skilled in Defense Against the Dark Arts and had experience in combat, he looked at them and Ron enthusiastically supported the idea.

"That's a great plan," Ron said excitedly. "With a war coming, we should get ready and teach the other students how to protect themselves!"

"What, but, Ron—" Harry started.

"That's exactly what I've been getting at!" Ron interrupted. "If we can unite the students, make them believe in you and stand with us, we can gain their cooperation," Ron said, standing up with excitement.

"But—"

"Harry, you're the most skilled in Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione pointed out.

Though Harry looked angry at them. “You don’t know what it’s like! You — neither of you — you’ve never had to face him, have you? You think it’s just memorizing a bunch of spells and throwing them at him, like you’re in class or something? The whole time you know there’s nothing between you and dying except your own — your own brain or guts or whatever — like you can think straight when you know you’re about a second from being murdered, or tortured, or watching your friends die — they’ve never taught us that in their classes, what it’s like to deal with things like that — and you two sit there acting like I’m a clever little boy to be standing here, alive, like Diggory was stupid, like he messed up — you just don’t get it, that could just as easily have been me, it would have been if Voldemort hadn’t needed me —”

"That's EXACTLY why," Ron's voice rose with frustration because he could relate, "we need you to teach the students how to fight. You just need to show us how to face Voldemort."

"You just don't understand, do you?" Harry asked with frustration. "You don't get it because you and Hermione haven't faced Voldemort. You don't know what it's like—you don't know how—"

"Oh, I do, more than you think," Ron said before storming away, visibly shaken. He tried to hold back tears, but at such a young age, he had experienced them all.

The next day, Harry and Ron didn't speak. Ron was busy with his homework in the Great Hall when Hermione brought up the subject again. After some persuasion and thinking, Harry finally agreed to teach, and he glanced at Ron.

"Well, you should make a list of all the spells, especially the Patronus one," Ron responded gently, still not looking at him. "I'll talk to some of my friends to see if they're interested," he added.

"Rigjt, your friends," Harry mumbled with a sulky tone.

"Don't be a jerk," Ron snapped in response.

On the day of their Hogsmeade visit, Ron had successfully convinced his friends to gather at the Hog's Head, a pub in the village. Hermione's jaw dropped in surprise when they arrived and saw them Daphne and Astoria were there with their two Ravenclaw friends, Grenda was present with her best friend, and Kim arrived with his three friends. Riela and Jacey, along with their Slytherin friend, also joined in. Additionally, a few third and fourth-year students who had known Ron since their first year entered too.

Harry nearly choked on his butterbeer, especially when more people entered the pub that Hermione had invited.

First came Neville with Dean and Lavender, who were closely followed by Parvati and Padma Patil with (Harry’s stomach did a back flip) Cho and one of her usually giggling girlfriends, then (on her own and looking so dreamy that she might have walked in by accident) Luna Lovegood; then Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Angelina Johnson, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, and a Hufflepuff girl with a long plait down her back whose name Harry did not know; three Ravenclaw boys he was pretty sure were called Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner, and Terry Boot; Ginny, followed by a tall skinny blond boy with an upturned nose whom Harry recognized vaguely as being a member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and bringing up the rear, Fred and George Weasley with their friend Lee Jordan, all three of whom were carrying large paper bags crammed with Zonko’s merchandise.

“A couple of people?” said Harry hoarsely to Hermione and Ron. “A couple of people?”

“Yes, well, the idea seemed quite popular,” said Hermione happily. “Ron, do you want to pull up some more chairs?”

Surprisingly, Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini entered next. "Ron, what the heck?" Harry whispered at him but the redhead shrugged as he added more chairs for them.

"Hi, Ron," a third-year student greeted him.

"Hello," Ron beamed at them. "Thanks for coming."

The bartender seemed shocked by the sudden influx of customers as they passed butterbeers around. Finally, the chatter quieted, and everyone's attention turned to Harry.

Hermione then nudged Ron, who was sipping on his butterbeer. The redhead stood up, and they exchanged glances. "Alright, people, listen up," he began, adopting a serious tone. "So, Hermione came up with this idea for us to actually learn Defense Against the Dark Arts properly, because, well, everyone know Umbridge is a shit—"

"Ron!"

"—I'm just being honest here—so anyways, we organized this meeting for anyone who's interested in more than just reading about spells. We want to learn how to cast them and defend ourselves. We'll train in combat, and we're asking for your cooperation, Hermione," Ron continued.

Hermione cleared her throat and added, "Well, it's not just about learning spells, but we need to be proficient in them. Harry can teach us, and we need to be properly trained," then took a deep breath, "Because Voldemort is back..."

The reaction was immediate and predictable. Cho’s friend shrieked and slopped butterbeer down herself, Terry Boot gave a kind of involuntary twitch, Padma Patil shuddered, and Neville gave an odd yelp that he managed to turn into a cough. All of them, however, looked fixedly, even eagerly, at Harry.

“Well...that’s the plan anyway,” said Hermione. “If you want to join us, we need to decide how we’re going to—”

“Where’s the proof You-Know-Who’s back?” said the blond Hufflepuff player in a rather aggressive voice.

“Well, Dumbledore believes it—” Hermione began.

“You mean, Dumbledore believes him,” said the blond boy, nodding at Harry.

"Hey," Ron interrupted impatiently. "It doesn't matter if you don't believe Dumbledore or Harry, but I'm telling you this, Voldemort is alive and his Death Eaters will attack, you'll want to have something up your sleeve to fight back." Then he looked at Daphne then Pansy and Blaise.

"Who would believe Dumbledore?" The Hufflepuff boy said dismissively. "All he said last year was that Cedric got murdered by You-Know-Who, and Harry dragged his body back. No one really saw what happened; it could have been just Harry—"

"Don't you dare finish that," Ron glared. "You don't know what's happening because you refuse to believe it. Look, we don't care if you don't join, and if you're just going to have an attitude, then keep your mouth shut," Ron stated firmly.

The Hufflepuff boy fell silent after Ron's statement. "Any objections?" Ron asked, and no one voiced any objections. Hermione cleared her throat to break the awkward tension. Suddenly, everyone shifted from tension to excitement and awe, bombarding Harry with questions about whether he could really cast a Patronus, if he had killed a Basilisk, and stuffs.

That turned out to be a good thing, and as Hermione had suggested, they started gathering signatures from those interested. Everyone else readily signed up.

"Well, it's not like I'm complaining," Pansy commented, waving her wand to make her own signature appear in the parchment, all while giving Hermione a rather unpleasant look. "So, tomorrow?"

Ron nodded eagerly. "I've got a plan."

"What plan?" Hermione questioned.

"None of your business," Pansy retorted before leaving with Blaise and the others.

"Why did you even invite those... those Slytherins?" Harry questioned as the door of the Hog's Head closed.

"Those? What are you talking about?" Ron replied, putting on his jacket and ignoring Harry's comment. He noticed Cho glancing back after fastening her bag's catch, waving to Harry, and then walking out with her friend. Ron narrowed his eyes at her, huffed in annoyance, and led the way out of the pub.

"Well, anyway," Hermione began, shifting the conversation to how successful the meeting had been. They discussed how even some Slytherins had shown up to join, although she expressed some suspicion about it. Ron rolled his eyes in response. She then mentioned Ginny and Michael Corner dating, causing Ron to choke in surprise. 

But his mood took a sour turn when Hermione brought up how Cho seemed unable to keep her eyes off Harry much to his bestfriend's delight.

It was annoying to hear about it, and their conversation was only interrupted when they spotted Anthony waiting in one of the shops. When he glanced up and saw them, he hurriedly made his way towards them.

"I'd like to speak with you for a moment, if that's alright," he said quickly to Ron.

"Huh?" Ron responded, surprised. "Sure."

"We'll wait for you here," Hermione added as they stayed behind.

After just three minutes, Ron returned with a bright red face, earning an eyebrow raise from Harry as Hermione looked at him with concern. "What happened?"

"He asked me on a... a—date for the next Hogsmeade visit," Ron squeaked.

Harry blinked in disbelief. "I'm sorry, he did what?" he asked incredulously.

Hermione briefly gaped at him before regaining her composure. "Oh, Ron," she said, grabbing his arm with curiosity. "What did you say?"

"Hey," Harry chimed in as they ignored him.

"W-well, I really wanted to say I'm busy, but Anthony already knows about my club and my work in the Hospital Wing. So, he suggested we go there on Sunday morning instead, and I agreed," Ron explained, his face turning deep red.

"With Anthony Goldstein, that Ravenclaw?" Harry frowned at him.

Ron gave him a look. "What, do you have a problem with that?"

"Well, he's a Ravenclaw," Harry replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ron retorted, "Well, Cho is a Ravenclaw, did I ask your opinion?" with a hint of frustration in his tone.

Hermione sighed, glancing back and forth between them. "Oh, you two! Can you just please stop?"

"Tell Harry to mind his own business," Ron glared at Harry, who returned the glare. After a tense moment, Ron huffed and stormed away.

It got even worse for Ron when he spotted a large sign on the Gryffindor notice board the next day. It read, "All Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded." This meant that his Music club, which was the place where Ron formed plans with the Slytherins, had been disbanded. To make matters worse, when he entered the Great Hall, he learned that even Quidditch had been disbanded, and students had to request Umbridge's approval to reform it.

In Divination class with Professor Trelawney, the only subject in which Ron had earned an Exceeds Expectations, they learned that she was now on probation. If Harry had already lost his temper, Ron would be next that made him and Hermione got into a heated argument, during which she called Professor Trelawney an "old fraud."

Finally, when Harry told them that Dobby had informed him about a room they could use for practice, Ron and Hermione followed Harry up to the seventh floor of the castle. He checked the Marauder's Map and told them to concentrate on what they needed. Before Ron could even finish his thought, a highly polished door suddenly appeared on the wall.

Harry pulled open the door, and led the way into a spacious room lit with flickering torches like those that illuminated the dungeons eight floors below.

The walls were lined with wooden bookcases, and instead of chairs there were large silk cushions on the floor. A set of shelves at the far end of the room carried a range of instruments such as Sneakoscopes, Secrecy Sensors, and a large, cracked Foe-Glass.

Before Ron could open one of the large, thick books, the door suddenly swung open, and the others entered, immediately in awe of the room's interior. The fact that all of them could fit comfortably inside was impressive enough. They began their first practice with Expelliarmus. Harry instructed them to pair up, and Ron put on his quiver, observing the pairs forming. Anthony approached him, offering a shy smile.

"Oh, uh, I'm not sure it's a good idea to partner with me," Ron said awkwardly.

"Why?" Anthony asked, a bit confused.

"I mean, I'm not really into wands," Ron explained.

"It's alright," Anthony replied. "Maybe you could give it a try?"

Harry gave them a narrowed look, but Ron ignored him and took Anthony's arm, leading him to a corner to practice. As they began, a voice behind Anthony made him jump, and they saw Luna standing there.

"If I were you, I'd choose a different partner," Luna advised.

Ron looked worried, but Anthony chose to ignore her. "Come on," he said.

"Okay," Ron agreed, raising his wand and casting "Expelliarmus!" The result was unexpected—not only did Anthony's wand fly to another corner of the room, but few near them were disarmed, and some ended up hitting Fred in the face.

"I see," Anthony said with a stiff smile. "I'll go pair with Smith."

🔆

As the Quidditch match drew nearer, Ron found himself busy between homework, Quidditch training that often had to be rescheduled due to the weather, D.A. meetings, and plans. He nervously chewed on the end of his pen, staring at the words in the letters but struggling to fully absorb their meaning.

A lot happened in the past week, including Ron's date with Anthony at Broomstick. It had been awkward; Ron had simply blurted out whatever came to mind, while the Ravenclaw boy struggled to keep up with his words. Dates were supposed to involve talking and having fun, right? At least that's what Drew had told him before. So, they ended up playing Exploding Snap and decided that whoever won would buy them sweets from Honeydukes.

Ron returned to the common room, and Hermione asked him how the date went, eyeing the pouch of sweets from Honeydukes.

"I won Exploding Snap against him," Ron said proudly.

Hermione blinked and hesitated, glancing at Harry, who was ignoring them. "You didn't, erm..."

"Didn't what?" Ron inquired, confused.

"Well, you know, like how couples do?" Hermione tried to explain.

Ron stared at his best friend for a moment before blinking in realization. "We're not a couple," he clarified. "He just asked me out to have some fun. Like friends?"

Hermione simply stared back at him. "Oh, of course—I suppose you're right. What was I even thinking?" Ron frowned at her before heading back to the dormitory to change.

As the Quidditch match approached, Ron could only stare at his breakfast, his face turning green with nervousness. He questioned his decision to join the team. He had only done it because Harry had told him they were desperate for a seeker, and Ron fit the bill perfectly. Why had he agreed to Harry's suggestion in the first place? It was all Harry's fault.

But Ron didn't truly mind, despite the anxiety that churned within him. He couldn't quite put his finger on why.

Ron asked Angelina about his heavy Keeper robes, expressing his discomfort with their weight. He was accustomed to wearing armor, but these robes felt exceptionally heavy. Angelina explained that Keepers needed such robes to protect themselves from Quaffles.

In the crowd of Hufflepuffs watching from the stands, Ron spotted a teenager in the highest section, observing him. Ron's eyes widened in recognition, but the teenager disappeared before he could react. Angelina had to shout at him to refocus on the game.

Ron couldn't shake the feeling that the teenager he saw in the stands looked strangely familiar, almost like his dad when he transformed into his mortal form. But he confusedly dismissed it as a hallucination, thinking it couldn't possibly be happened. Ron knew that his dad should be in Olympus being a god as he is, trying to avoid arousing Zeus' suspicions about them. The idea of seeing him at the Quidditch match was just impossible.

They won the match, but when Ron landed and headed towards the changing room, his heart was pounding loudly. His hands trembled as he struggled to remove his Quidditch robes.

Hermione and Harry found Ron crouched down, prodding the fire in the Gryffindor common room with his wand. Ron glanced up as they entered, with snow surrounding him on the common room floor.

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked, slightly out of breath.

Ron ignored her and continued poking at the fire.

"Come here! You look frozen!" Hermione exclaimed, pulling Ron away from the fire. "What were you doing?"

Ron still had wide eyes. "What happened to you?" Harry asked as he took a seat.

"I was thinking," Ron started. "I'm going to resign from Quidditch."

"What?" Harry and Hermione both exclaimed.

"Well, I have something important to take care of, and I only joined the team because... well, it doesn't matter anymore," Ron explained.

"Who would keep your position if you resign, George, Fred and I have given a lifetime ban from Quidditch," Harry said. 

Ron stared at him in surprised, "Woah, woah, man—what did you just said?"

Hermione used a charm to make the snow disappear from Ron's clothes as he rushed towards the fireplace, extending his palm to feel the warmth. The flames flickered and grew stronger, providing some much-needed comfort.

Hermione then let out a heavy sigh and proceeded to explain what had happened during the Quidditch match. Ron looked at Harry, who seemed to sink into his chair, and the redhead offered a weak grin at him. "Well, at least you showed those old Slytherins what's right," he said.

🔆

During December, Ron found himself enjoying the snow outside, creating snowmen outside and pretending that he didn't have a pile of homework to complete. He also spent time assisting first and second years to get settled inside the common room, as it was far too chilly outside. He couldn't help but reflect on how the cold at Hogwarts was even colder than what he had experienced at the camp, really thanks to Mr. D.

Ron often found himself falling asleep in the common room, either on the seats with blankets draped over him or in his bed with thick covers. 

One day, as he grumbled and sat up, Otus, the owl, appeared above him and dropped a letter onto his face. Ron, still drowsy, opened it and discovered it was a letter from Molly. She was asking about whether he planned to stay at the Burrow or return to the camp.

Ron briefly considered staying at the camp to keep an eye on things, but he ultimately changed his mind. He had people there who could update him with letters. So, he replied to Molly, letting her know he'd be returning to the Burrow. She also mentioned the invitation for Harry to visit during the holidays. Otus appeared again to take the letter back to Molly.

Ron flopped onto his bed, letting out a loud yawn. Even on the last day of the holiday, he felt too lazy to join Harry and the others for their final practice. However, Grenda and the others filled him in on what they had done, including their plans to learn the Patronus Charm in their next meeting after the holiday.

Ron let out a loud sneeze just as Otus appeared again and dropped two letters on him. One was from Kayla and the other from Austin. He had told them about his hallucination, and Kayla suggested that it could possibly be their dad. However, Austin's letter was more cheerful, claiming that their dad had finally visited him.

But instead of brightening his mood, these messages only made Ron feel sad. 

Ron rolled onto his side, hugging his knees as he reread Austin's letter, as he ended up just lying there. He drifted back to sleep peacefully, only to be abruptly awakened by loud screams.

Ron blinked away his sleepiness and found himself instinctively moving to Harry's bed. He began to caress Harry's back, trying to calm him down from the nightmare. Harry vomited on his pajamas, but Ron didn't care much about that.

"It's okay," Ron whispered, closing his eyes as he let Harry shiver and gasp for breath. Harry struggled to speak, explaining that Ron's uncle had been attacked by a giant snake.

"Call Professor McGonagall," Ron told his friends and Neville had already rushed out of the room to find her.

"It wasn't a dream...it was real," Harry said, his voice trembling.

"I know, I know," Ron reassured him as Harry gripped his arm tightly.

It turned out that Harry's nightmare was real. Ron hadn't doubted Harry; after all, like many demigods, they often had dreams that were either glimpses of the present or conversations with their god parents. After their visit to St. Mungo's, Ron returned home exhausted, collapsing onto his and Harry's shared bedroom. Since Harry's nightmare, Ron hadn't dared to sleep or even close his eyes for a minute.

How could he sleep peacefully when Hary couldn't? Growing up around not-so-normal kids, he was no stranger to nightmares, especially after the wars. Ron got up from his bed and approached Harry, who had been avoiding conversation whenever Ron tried to talk to him.

"Harry," Ron called out gently for the sixth time. "I don't really care if that old geezer is possessing you to see through things in your dreams, but you should talk to Ginny about this," he advised. 

The next day, he was surprised to see Harry coming down with Ginny and Hermione. Harry looked a bit awkward as he addressed Ron, while he helped in putting up Christmas decorations in the common area while having a discussion with Sirius about bright designs for the walls. However, Ron's color suggestions were mostly yellow or orange much to Sirius' disapproval.

"Ron, erm, well, did Hermione already tell you...?" Harry trailed off, seemingly hesitant to continue.

Ron, who had been jotting down his thoughts in his journal on his bed, glanced up at Harry, who stood at the foot of his bed.

"Huh?" Ron blinked in surprise.

"Well," Harry began, looking somewhat uncomfortable. "Cho kissed me before, well, before I had that dream about your uncle." Harry's words hung in the air, looking of how Ron would react.

Ron stared at Harry dumbfounded, his journal slowly closing in his hands. He couldn't quite believe what he was hearing, and his heart sank.

"Oh," Ron finally managed to say. He couldn't quite understand his own feelings. On one hand, he felt a bit disappointed that Harry had found someone. After all, most people end up with someone they like, right? But on the other hand, he genuinely cared about Harry's well-being and wanted him to be happy. 

He also wasn't sure what Harry expected him to say. Congratulate him? Offer gifts because Cho, Harry's long-time crush since fourth year, had kissed him? 

"Yeah, so, uh, just sayin'," Harry mumbled awkwardly.

Ron sighed, feeling defeated. "No, it's okay," he said. "Congrats."

"Congrats?" Harry looked confused.

"Well, you clearly liked it so...congrats," Ron replied, reopening his journal to jot down the date.

Harry frowned in response. "I don't... really like it," he said, his expression growing deeper with concern.

Ron glanced up at Harry again, his eyebrows furrowing. "Okay?" he replied, still somewhat perplexed by Harry's comment.

"It's wet," Harry explained, and Ron gave him a disgusted look.

"Dude!" Ron exclaimed, surprised. "Eurgh, you don't have to describe it!"

Harry blinked at him, looking confused. "Well, err," he stammered, realizing how awkward his statement had been. "She's been crying, but then, I patted her on the back and all, but I've been feeling weird about it," Harry explained.

Ron stared at Harry, torn between laughing and being genuinely concerned. "Should I laugh or be worried about it?" he asked with a bemused expression.

"Well," Harry began, "I just...do really fancy her."

Ron continued to focus on the pages of his journal, feeling a bit odd about the whole situation. "Oh," he replied, not entirely sure how to respond.

"Right, I gotta go back and talk with Sirius," Harry said before quickly exiting the room, leaving Ron behind, still staring at his journal.

"Oh..." Ron repeated quietly, a tinge of sadness in his voice.

🔆

When Ron returned to Hogwarts, the excitement of being back was dampened by the heavy workload assigned by Umbridge. He sat in the common room, doodling absentmindedly, waiting for Harry to return from his extra lessons with Professor Snape. When Harry finally came back, he looked exhausted, and Ron could sense that his scar had been hurting again. Concerned, Ron put down his doodles and turned to his friend.

Ron remained silent as Harry mentioned Occlumency, his mind filled with worry. He watched as Harry decided to head to bed, and although he wanted to say something, he found himself at a loss for words. The library felt empty without Harry's presence, and Ron was left alone with his thoughts, still gripping the colored pencil tightly.

Hermione asked, "Aren't you going to join him?" while George and Fred played with their disappearing hats, possibly part of their experiment.

Ron responded with a weak shrug, saying, "Well, he's with Cho now," in a low voice.

"Cho?" Hermione questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know, Harry and Cho are dating," Ron explained, "I don't want to be left out."

Hermione appeared to have had a realization, but she chose to keep it to herself. The next day, while Ron was enjoying his porridge, the mail arrived. Ron didn't usually subscribe to the Daily Prophet, but somehow, Otus managed to fetch letters from them as his owl dropped a letter onto his table—no, right through his porridge.

"Ugh, Otus!" Ron exclaimed, shooing the owl away, which hooted happily before joining the other owls out of the Great Hall. He had no interest in reading the newspaper, and he was frustrated with Angelina for not allowing him to resign from Quidditch. However, both he and Ginny, being cousins, were not particularly motivated to train either.

Their beaters weren't performing well, without meaning to be offensive, Ron thought George and Fred had been better. 

During the Gryffindor match, Ron's excellent performance saved the team, and Ginny's snitch capture secured their victory. Perhaps that's why Angelina had declined Ron's resignation speech. 

Ron had been missing some D.A meetings lately due to everything happening around him. He often checked the newspapers in the back of the library at his favorite table. The massive Azkaban break and Harry's interview had stirred up a lot of attention and belief in Harry's cause. In the midst of it all, Ron was writing a letter to Lou, explaining the situation at Hogwarts.

Despite it being a potentially good day, Ron was still kverwhelmed with stress. He often found himself dozing off while working on homework with Hermione in the library or even in the common room.

The news about Professor Trelawney had already brought Ron to tears, and he was too preoccupied with his emotions to notice what was happening in the entrance hall. He had to rush to submit his late homework in History of Magic. Hermione and Ginny were the only two people in the common room who could console him, reassuring him that they now had a new Divination teacher.

Ron was taken aback, exclaiming, "Firenze!?" Ginny was equally surprised by his reaction.

"You know... him?" Ginny asked.

"Of course, I do!" Ron responded. "The centaur, well... it doesn't matter. Centaurs typically hates wizards. He might not teach you properly but instead talk about how humans are incapable of learning divination and how they have their own centaur kind of divination, the stars and planet. They more rely on them. But, again—"

"Ron," Hermione interrupted. "Where did you get all that information?"

"Well, Firenze and I were friends. I told you I like Divination, but..." Ron's voice wavered, and Ginny handed him a tissue to blow his nose, sniffling.

"You could always visit Trelawney up in her tower," Ginny suggested. "Lavender and Patil visit her."

"And you should join us at the D.A. meeting," Hermione said earnestly. "Who will make sure those Slytherins stay in line?"

"Grenda," Ron replied with a hint of joy. "By the way, how are they?"

"Grenda seemed as excited as a rabbit," Ginny chuckled. "Pansy and I had a brief chat before, but she still annoys me with her constant complaints. Still, she's good company, better than Cho's friend."

Hermione sighed, "What I'm really curious about is how you became friends with Slytherins,"

"They're like—the few close people I know," Ron remarked as he reached for another tissue. "They may act like bullies, but deep down, they're not really bullies. The only approach that works with them is to be kind. Remember Draco, when he got bitten by Buckbeak? I somehow earned the trust of his friends. Goyle and Crabbe even liked me because I always shared sweets with them, and they were really sweet guys."

Ginny and Hermione exchanged glances. "Well..." Hermione started, at a loss for words. "Well," she repeated.

"Mione', don't be too harsh on them," Ron pouted.

"I am not!" Hermione huffed, crossing her arms. "Well, you better join us next time," she added.

The redhead didn't exactly agree with it. The following day, after their Divination class with Firenze (who seemed to favor Ron if you asked the centaur about favoritism), Ron was called for a private conversation. Harry gave him a curious look with a frown but waited outside, leaving the redhead surprised and for some reason a red-faced.

They walked to their next class, shoulder to shoulder, which made Ron a bit nervous. He wanted to explore this feeling further, but the looming exams added to his stress. Hannah Abbott was the first to receive a calming draught from Madam Pomfrey, and it seemed contagious, as Ron soon followed suit.

"We'll be learning about Patronuses in our next meeting," Harry mentioned as he and Hermione sat in the library, diligently taking notes and reviewing. Ron, on the other hand, had already given up and had his head buried in a book, letting out a loud yawn.

"That's excellent," Hermione replied, scratching notes onto her parchment. "I've read about it, and I believe it will be quite useful."

Ron yawned again, "Wazza patnus?"

"Patronus." Hermione corrected.

"Harry knew it?" Ron said in awe, and Harry simply shrugged from his seat in front of him.

"I wouldn't even bother teaching it to others if I didn't," Harry muttered sarcastically.

"Ha-ha."

"Are you joining us for the next meeting, then?" Harry asked, tilting his head to the side before looking up at Ron.

"Depends, man," Ron replied, his eyes fixed on the words in the book, which seemed to be jumping and twisting before him. "But kay', I'll give it a shot."

"That's good," Harry responded. "You've been missing out on a lot."

"Well, you're there to teach, right?" Ron said with a slight smile.

So Ron joined them in their next meeting and Harry taught them how to produce a Patronus, he explained to them that they should think of a happiness while muttering the words, some managed to form their patronus but few were having difficulties in thinking of happiness, only having a puffs of silver vaporing out of their wands. 

Ron had to think of happiness, he had a lot really, but its difficult, his mind is turning to wars and quests, to Hecate to his dad—to Luke, to everyone who died. Tired, he sat in the corner of the room, resting a little. Watching the others tried to produced, Cho had managed to produce one, its a swan. He's a little bit jealous, swan is one of Apollo's sacred animal. 

Not like Ron wanted to have an animal from apollo's sacred, he doesn't even like cows! 

He noticed Harry approaching him before Anthony could, finding it amusing to watch their interactions. "You alright?" he asked.

Ron snorted and replied, "Yeah, just couldn't produce one."

"Everyone struggles at first," Harry said. "I did too when Remus was teaching me. It's kind of difficult." He then sat down beside Ron and nudged him in the side.

"Come on, I'll teach you," Harry suggested.

"Well, okay..." Ron said, hesitating as he stood up with Harry and took out his wand higher, but Harry lowered it a little.

"Just take a deep breath and focus on a happy memory," Harry advised, leaning closer to his side. Ron fidgeted uncomfortably before closing his eyes.

"Good," Harry grinned. "Now, go on..."

Ron tried to summon memories of happiness—his first time training at the camp, the wooden sword Luke had given him as a gift, their playful chase. The picnic by the lake with Annabeth, Thalia's warm hug, Percy's smile while ruffling his hair, Nico's trust, and his siblings hugging each other, laughter filling the air as they exchanged gifts.

Those post-war moments, singing by the campfire, the flames roaring higher and brighter as they celebrated their victories.

Ron opened his eyes and uttered the incantation as a brilliant silver-blue vapor streamed out from the tip of his wand. It expanded and grew brighter, taking on the form of something large, leaping out like water. Suddenly, a massive fish emerged, breaching and performing a barrel roll in the air. Everyone stopped to gaze at the sight.

A fish—no, a dolphin—tumbled through the air, circling the room with other Patronuses following suit. They vanished in a dramatic splash of water, leaving everyone in awe.

"Oh," Ron exclaimed, gaping. "Ooohhhh!" His excitement was palpable.

"Great job," Harry said, smiling at him.

"It's beautiful, a dolphin!" Ron exclaimed, his eyes sparkling.

"Yeah," Harry breathed out. "Yeah, it's beautiful," he said, still gazing at Ron who excitedly tried it again.

But their conversation was abruptly interrupted by the sudden appearance of Dobby. Harry urgently shouted at them to run, his expression filled with dread. Ron was horrified; this couldn't be happening, it was impossible. Daphne looked concerned and confused as Ron grabbed her and Kim's arms, leading them through the exit, while everyone scattered in different directions.

Harry then seized Ron's arm, surprising him. "Harry—!?" Ron squeaked as they sprinted down the corridor.

"Where are we going?" Ron asked, his voice filled with uncertainty.

"Just hurry!" Harry exclaimed urgently.

They rushed through the corridor, nearly tripping in their haste. Ron noticed someone approaching from a far corner, and Harry's breath hitched as he pushed him into an alcove, signaling for silence. Ron placed a finger to his lips, glancing at Harry, who was panting breathlessly with a wide-eyed. Ron then drew his wand and cast a mist to conceal them from view.

They continued to stare at each other in silence, making every effort not to make a sound. Ron felt conflicted, knowing that it didn't seem right to stay too long like this.

"We—" Ron croaked, his throat dry. "We need to find the others," he finally managed to say, snapping out of their trance.

Harry blinked and his face turned slightly pink as he cleared his throat. "Right, a-are we safe now?"

"I think so," Ron replied, his own face growing warmer. What had just happened between them?

The next day, they didn't talk much about what happened, but they weren't surprised when they saw notices about Umbridge replacing Professor Dumbledore. Word had spread about the events in Dumbledore's office, how Dumbledore had overcome two Aurors, making them escape, and how Marietta had sneaked and told Umbridge about their D.A. meetings.

However, their gloomy thoughts were soon interrupted by a loud bang, and enchanted fireworks suddenly erupted in every corridor and room of the castle. Ron knew exactly who was behind it—Fred and George Weasley. It turned out to be a day of excitement for everyone, even the teachers didn't seem to mind much. The most amusing part was seeing Umbridge running around the school in a frenzy.

Ron joined the others in the common room, eagerly adding his name to the waiting list for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products. The twins were more than happy to oblige.

The following day, Ron had trouble sleeping due to the excitement of the fireworks display with his friends. They had watched and talked about it late into the night while Harry slept peacefully nearby. 

During the Easter holiday, Ron was content to check the exams schedule Hermione had made for him and Harry. He checked over the dates while humming a tune he had heard on the radio before in the camp. 

They also received career advice about wizarding careers they might pursue after graduating, which somewhat dampened Ron's mood.

"You seem to be in a bad mood," Hermione said, studying the pamphlets.

Ron tossed the pamphlets aside and let out a loud groan. "You need at least an E at N.E.W.T. level in Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts to become a healer!"

"Well, isn't it kind of the same as taking a medical course in the Muggle world?" Harry pondered, his eyes fixed on the leaflets.

Ron considered it. "Well... yeah, I guess. But in the Muggle way, you just need to get into a medical university, study, and pass your exams until you graduate."

Ron continued to stress about it and complained to Hermione, who was busy warning Harry not to go to Umbridge's office to talk to Sirius. Ron, on the other hand, didn't really care. If Harry got expelled from Hogwarts, he'd follow Harry outside, and they would make things work together as they always did.

Ron blushed at the thought of living with Harry, and he couldn't help but developed a bit of confusion on his best friend. 

But still, who wouldn't blush when your best friend tells you that they've been dreaming about you playing Quidditch, just because Ron had mentioned to Hermione that Harry often muttered under his breath every evening? They had discussed Harry's Occlumency lessons with Snape.

He wished Harry had come up with a different dream to use as a lie be because that was embarrassing. Finally, they changed the topic to discuss George and Fred's daring escape from the castle using their brooms in front of all the students and Umbridge. It was an inspiring moment that led to the students pranking Umbridge with the products they had purchased from the twins.

However. Ron found himself in stress as the Quidditch match approached. He couldn't help but groan about even agreeing to join the team, especially when he had to endure the training sessions with Ginny and the rest of the team every evening. Ron repeatedly asked Angelina if he could change his Quidditch robes, but she adamantly refused to let him do so. The anticipation and pressure were getting to him, but he knew he had to do his best for the team.

Ron was happy when Gryffindor won yet another Quidditch match. He shared a hug of victory with Ginny, but Cho Chang's furious reaction didn't go unnoticed. However, Ron was more preoccupied with Harry and Hermione, who seemed distracted lately. Ron felt like something was going on, but he was too busy reviewing his notes for upcoming exams to dwell on that.

Ron's messy notes were becoming a challenge to deal with as he tried to organize them for his upcoming exams. He found himself chewing on the end of his pencil in concentration, using different colored pencils to highlight important information. During one of these study sessions, Ron noticed that Harry was looking at him, but as soon as their eyes met, Harry quickly averted his gaze and pretended to focus on his own notes. Ron couldn't help himself, but feel a bit flustered by the attention, especially when he noticed Harry's cheeks turning pink.

Ron was relieved when the day of the exam arrived. Thanks to Professor McGonagall's consideration, he had been placed in a special room with a different format for the test due to his dyslexia. The words were written in a larger, clearer font, making it easier for him to read and understand. Ron felt grateful for the accommodation, as it allowed him to focus on answering the questions to the best of his abilities without struggling with the text.

He did the first test easily, but the second one was quite difficult, especially when it involved transfiguring. He wished he had used his wand more. He did okay in Potions, a bit better in Care of Magical Creatures, and really well in Herbology and Divination.

Of course, nobody was looking at the stars in Astronomy class. Instead, all attention was on the ground. Wizards were surrounding Hagrid, trying to stun him, while Fang defended him. Everyone gasped when Hagrid managed to knock a few of them down. Ron, along with the girls, watched in horror as the wizards had also knocked down Professor McGonagall. Hagrid had never been seen so angry before.

"What the hell?" Ron exclaimed after their Astronomy exam.

Although they couldn't really dwell on what had happened, as they still had an exam tomorrow, the last one being History of Magic. But Ron gave up after answering the first ten questions; he didn't know most of them and had trouble remembering.

Then, just as he was about to put his pen down, he heard a loud thud and a yell from behind him. He saw Harry on the ground, clutching his head, or rather, his scar.

🔆

"Voldemort got Sirius."

When Harry mentioned the Department of Mysteries, Ron had to intervene to stop Harry from lashing out in frustration. Hermione pointed out that there was no concrete proof that Voldemort or Sirius had been there, only Harry's dreams, which left Ron feeling unsure about what to believe.

Ron found himself somewhat agreeing with Hermione, thinking that if someone had managed to infiltrate the Department without authorization, the Ministry would have surely been alerted. However, he had his doubts about the Ministry's competence. As for Sirius, Ron assumed he was either at Grimmauld Place or with Remus outside. He lacked the instinct to urge him into action, so he remained hesitant.

Ron empathized with Harry's situation, realizing that Sirius was the only family Harry had left, and he understood the loneliness Harry had experienced in the past. He had witnessed Harry's happiness when talking to Sirius and found it unfair that Harry couldn't live with him even if he was cleared of his charges.

Just then, Ginny and Luna appeared, and Hermione seemed to have come up with an idea. 

"I know a way to get to the Ministry from the outside, but it'll take a while unless we have transportation," Ron said earnestly to the group. "I'll distract Umbridge to keep her attention away."

His friends didn't question how he knew about that, as Hermione was already explaining it. Luna and Ginny would divert the students' attention away from Umbridge's office, while Hermione and Harry would sneak into the office with the invisibility cloak to call Sirius.

Ron nodded and readied himself, grabbing his quiver back to the dorm, sensing that this is going to be long.

Following the plan, Ron caused a commotion in the Transfiguration Department, which led Slytherins to inform Umbridge about his actions. He had persuaded Grenda and Kim to join him, along with some first-year students. When Umbridge arrived, enraged, Ron dodged her Stunning spell, and they all scattered in different directions.

Ron took a Niffler from his robes and hurled it at Umbridge's face. She let out a screech as the creature bit her nose.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? GET THEM!" Umbridge yelled at the Slytherins who were snickering in the corner.

"Why bother?" Pansy replied. "This is entertaining."

With that, they all fled from the department, leaving Umbridge to chase after them, screeching in frustration.

Ron returned to Umbridge's office, pleased to find that Ginny and Luna had successfully convinced the students near the office to move away. However, he heard a voice and a loud squeak, making the three to turn around. There stood a Gryffindor student with two Ravenclaws and Slytherins behind him. The Gryffindor looked familiar to Ron, and his blood boiled when he recognized the face. Ever since Ron had beaten him in a Keeper's role, the guy had been taunting him whenever he spotted the redhead with his friends.

"McLaggen," Ron hissed irritably. "Let Neville go."

"Not until Umbridge gives the order," he smirked, and Umbridge auddenly appeared, wearing an angry expression but also a sinister smile while panting breathlessly from running.

"Excellent work, McLaggen. Excellent," she praised. "Now, everyone inside the office."

Ginny stepped forward, but Ron stopped her by holding his arm. "We'll discuss this here," he told Umbridge firmly.

"Very well," Umbridge responded, glaring venomously at him.

The most surprising thing was that Hermione had lied again, claiming they were creating a secret weapon under Dumbledore's orders and that they needed to lead Umbridge into the forest. They reluctantly handed over their wands to McLaggen, who appeared pleased with the situation. At least Ron managed to land a punch on the guy's face before things escalated.

As the four of them stood there, the other students ended up on the ground, clutching their stomachs or arms, either jinxed or stunned by their actions. McLaggen fared the worst from Ron; he clutched his bleeding mouth and struggled to stand, hindered by Neville's leg-locker curse.

"We have to go," Ron urged them. "Quickly."

They all nodded and hurried out of the castle to locate Harry and Hermione in the forest. They were relieved to find the two of them unharmed, but Umbridge was nowhere to be seen. Ron asked where the pink toad had gone, and Harry told them that she had been carried away by a herd of centaurs, making Ron beam with satisfaction. Finally, that woman was out of their lives, especially Harry's life, as he had already endured so much.

"So, what's the plan?" Ron questioned. "If we're going to rescue Sirius, should we have some backup in case, you know, things go south?"

"Godric, Ron, don't be dumb," Ginny chided him.

"Who's Godric—"

"What we need," Harry interjected with frustration, "is a plan for how to go to the Ministry and save Sirius."

“Well, we’ll have to fly, won’t we?” said Luna in the closest thing to a matter-of-fact voice they had ever heard her use.

“Okay,” said Harry irritably, rounding on her, “first of all, ‘we’ aren’t doing anything if you’re including yourself in that, and second of all, Ron’s the only one with a broomstick that isn’t being guarded by a security troll, so—”

“I’ve got a broom!” said Ginny.

"She got a broom," Ron agreed.

"Yeah, but—”

“We were all in the D.A. together,” said Neville quietly. “It was all supposed to be about fighting You-Know-Who, wasn’t it? And this is the first chance we’ve had to do something real—or was that all just a game or something?”

“No—of course it wasn’t—” said Harry impatiently.

“Then we should come too,” said Neville simply. “We want to help.”

“That’s right,” said Luna, smiling happily.

Harry locked eyes with Ron, hoping for his agreement, but Ron stood there with his hand on his hip, thoughtful.

"Well?" Ron finally spoke up. "Neville's got a point. It would be a massive waste, Harry, if we don't make use of the training we got from the D.A. It's better to be prepared than to rush into a fight without proper training, right?"

Harry reluctantly conceded, still grumbling, and then turned to the group. "So, how do we plan to get there then?"

"How about those horses," Ron suggested, pointing behind Harry's back. They all turned to see what he was pointing at. Two Thestrals had been silently observing and listening to their conversation, which Ron and Luna had noticed.

"How many are there?" Hermione asked, one of who couldn't see them.

"Just two," Ron and Luna confirmed.

"We need..." Hermione began but then glanced at Ginny, Luna, and Neville. "We need six."

"Don't worry," Luna reassured her. "More will come."

True to Luna's words, five more Thestrals appeared, drawn by the scent of blood on Harry and Hermione's robes. Ron wasted no time and swiftly climbed onto the nearest one, while Luna assisted Ginny in mounting another.

Once everyone was on a Thestral, Ron leaned forward and grasped the creature's mane. "Alright, everyone," he started, taking a deep breath. "To the Ministry—" Ron hadn't even finished his sentence when his Thestral extended its wings, crouched down, and soared into the sky.

Ron couldn't help but miss Timmy, his Pegasus from his time at the camp during his training. He imagined that Timmy was probably in the care of some other campers now. Filled with a mix of excitement and nostalgia, Ron spun around and took a dive upward, while everyone on their Thestrals clung tightly to their manes for dear life.

They landed in front of a familiar battered telephone box, and Ron quickly checked the Thestral's wings.

"Ron, we have to go!" Hermione urged.

"Goodbye, Tessy," Ron said fondly before joining the others in the telephone box.

"You named her?" Neville inquired.

"It just seemed right," Ron replied with a grin.

"A girl? How do you even know it's a girl?" Ginny questioned as they all made their way towards the telephone box. They squeezed themselves inside, and Ron had a sense of déjà vu. He was standing near the buttons and immediately dialed the number before Harry could say it.

“Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business.” Ron jumped when a voice called.

"Whoa, it talks!" Ron exclaimed. "That's new."

"You've been here before—ugh, forget it," Harry said, clearly annoyed. "Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger," he recited their names rapidly. “Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood...We’re here to save someone, unless your Ministry can do it first!”

“Thank you,” said the cool female voice. “Visitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes.”

Half a dozen badges slid out of the metal chute where returned coins usually appeared. Hermione scooped them up and handed them mutely to Harry over Ginny’s head; he glanced at the topmost one.

HARRY POTTER

RESCUE MISSION

“Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium.”

“Fine!” Harry said loudly, as his scar gave another throb. “Now can we move?”

The floor of the telephone box shuddered and the pavement rose up past the glass windows of the telephone box. The scavenging thestrals were sliding out of sight, blackness closed over their heads, and with a dull grinding noise they sank down into the depths of the Ministry of Magic.

🔆

"Um, guys," Ron said nervously as they walked into the Department of Mysteries. "I don't think this is a good idea... just saying though."

Ron had been feeling it since they stepped into the Atrium. There were no security guards or Aurors around, and the hall was eerily quiet. That level of silence was suspicious, and when something felt off, Ron's instincts told him to act on it. Right now, they were telling him to turn back and not engage in a fight. Ron had his bow out while everyone else had their wands at the ready.

They had just entered the second door, more like a courtroom to Ron. The room was larger than the last, dimly lit and rectangular, and the center of it was sunken, forming a great stone pit some twenty feet below them. They were standing on the topmost tier of what seemed to be stone benches running all around the room and descending in steep steps like an amphitheater, or the courtroom—there was a raised stone dais in the center of the lowered floor, and upon this dais stood a stone archway that looked so ancient, cracked, and crumbling, hnsupported by any surrounding wall, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil which, despite the complete stillness of the cold surrounding air, was fluttering very slightly as though it had just been touched.

But that's not all of it, they could here some whisperers on the other side of veil and Ron backed down. "There's someone over there," the redhead whisperead at them urgently.

"We need to go back," Hermione said. "This isn't right!"

"There are people in there!" Luna exclaimed looking at the swaying veil.

They had successfully left the room, and Ron kept scanning his surroundings, sensing something amiss. It wasn't just one person; it felt like there were many of them. But he couldn't see anyone nearby. There was that overpowering dark magical aura again, and Ron bumped into Ginny's back abruptly.

"Ron!" Ginny whispered sharply.

"This is dangerous," Ron warned her, his body tense. "He's here."

"Who's here?" 

They reached the towering rows of glass balls, and Ron was holding his breath in anticipation. However, as they reached the end of the rows, there was no sign of Sirius, and Ron's anxiety grew. He grabbed Harry's arm urgently.

"Harry, we need to get out of here, please," Ron pleaded.

"Look," Neville said, craning his neck to examine one of the shelves and a specific glass ball.

"What?" Harry asked, ignoring Ron, who was still gripping his arm.

Harry stepped forward and craned his neck to read the yellowish label affixed to the shelf right beneath the dusty glass ball as Harry stared at it.

“Harry?" Ron called.

Harry glanced along at the other labels on that stretch of shelf. “I’m not here,” he said, sounding perplexed. “None of the rest of us are here..."

“Harry, I don’t think you should touch it,” said Hermione sharply, as he stretched out his hand.

“Why not?” he said. “It’s something to do with me, isn’t it?”

“Don’t, Harry,” said Neville suddenly. Harry looked around at him. Neville’s round face was shining slightly with sweat. He looked as though he could not take much more suspense.

“It’s got my name on,” said Harry.

Harry then closed his fingers around the dusty ball’s surface, he lifted the glass ball down from its shelf and stared at it. Nothing whatsoever happened. The others moved in closer around Harry, gazing at the orb as he brushed it free of the clogging dust.

And then, from right behind them, a drawling voice said, “Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me.”

Ron had alreay had his arrow pointed at Lucius Malfoy as everyone held their wand out as black shapes were emerging out of thin air all around them, blocking their way left and right; eyes glinted through slits in hoods, a dozen lit wand-tips were pointing directly at their hearts.

Ron cursed loudly as all six of them huddled together, taking in their dire surroundings. They were trapped with Death Eaters closing in on them, circling and demanding Harry's prophecies. It left Ron confused; how was it possible for them to get a prophecy from glass ball? His mind was racing.

Then, Harry shouted the word as everyone followed suit, yelling the incantation that shattered the glass ball into pieces. Ron shot an arrow in front of one of the Death Eaters, causing it to explode in a yellow fog.

“RUN!” Harry yelled, and as the shelves swayed precariously and more glass spheres began to pour from above, as shards of glass thundered down upon them.

"Use your wand!" Ginny yelled at Ron as they ran alongside Harry and Hermione, who were fighting off the Death Eaters.

"I—I can't kill them!" Ron stammered. He had never taken a life, enemy mortals or not. They had always been taught not to harm them.

"YOU HAVE TO!" Ginny shouted urgently.

"I-I have an idea," Ron stammered, though he wasn't sure if his cousin or the others even heard him. He swiftly turned to the right, weaving between rows of glass balls, with two Death Eaters in pursuit. Ron came to a stop in the middle and found himself facing two men, wands at the ready, and pointed directly at him.

"Kill him!" one of the men shouted, raising his wand menacingly.

Ron swiftly placed a finger to his lips and let out a piercing whistle. The glass balls around him started to crack and explode. The two Death Eaters dropped their wands, clutching their ears and screaming in pain. Taking advantage of the chaos, Ron grabbed a Greek fire and hurled it onto a nearby shelf, causing it to explode and collapse on top of the two Death Eaters.

As the shelf collapsed, voices emanated from the glass balls, surrounding Ron.

"Go back!" Ron shouted at the voices emanating from the glass balls.

"To the Oracle," they all whispered in unison, and the lights within the glass balls began to flicker and most of them turned into gray smoke.

Ron took a deep breath and then drew his bronze, ready to defend himself if they wanted to fight—then he will fight back.

Ron found himself in a skirmish with three more Death Eaters. He managed to made one of them unconscious by striking the man's forehead with the handle of his dagger. The Death Eaters were skilled, but not exceptionally so. They could cast spells swiftly and move rapidly, but their abilities were limited. They possessed the stamina of an average person with moderate physical strength.

But Ron was different.

With a final kick, he incapacitated one more Death Eater before the man crumpled to the ground. Ron quickly sheathed his dagger and tried to shout his friends' names.

"Gods," Ron muttered under his breath as he heard a loud bang and the sounds of spells being cast repeatedly from one of the rooms. He walked cautiously toward the room, fully aware of the dire situation.

The noise grew louder, and Ron heard shouts and yells coming from the room. He found himself sprinting through rows of benches with Harry's prophecy in his hands. Death Eaters pursued him, attempting to stun him as he deftly dodged their spells. Meanwhile, Harry struggled to lift Neville onto one of the benches to get him out of harm's way.

Sirius was locked in a fierce duel with Bellatrix, while Lupin, Moody, Tonks, and Kingsley fighting the remaining Death Eaters.

Suddenly, a large figure lunged toward Ron from above. Ron managed to step aside quickly, but the figure's massive hand seized him, and they both toppled to the ground. The figure then drew his wand and Ron tensed, but he heard Harry's voice shout, "Stupefy!"

The man was thrown back, and Ron crawled away from him, catching his breath. He saw Harry, who was panting heavily, covered in cuts and bruises on his arms and face. Harry's robes were in tatters, but he seemed relatively okay compared to Neville, whose legs were jerking uncontrollably, making it difficult for him to run. Moody had a bleeding wound on his head, and Sirius was locked in a fierce battle with a woman Ron recognized as Bellatrix. Although Ron wanted to help, Sirius told them to get out, and they had to follow his orders.

Ron grabbed the glass ball and hastily stuffed it into his robe pocket. As he rushed toward Moody, the glass ball flickered weakly, and gray smoke started to swirl around it. Ron leaped from stone benches below the others, determined to reach Moody.

Despite Death Eaters attempting to lunge at him, Ron was faster. He dove at them head-on, taking one by surprise and causing them to scream as he brutally stabbed one of them in the arm with a wand.

"I'm sorry!" Ron shouted, quickly retrieving an Ambrosia and eating it, readying himself as four Death Eaters encircled him.

Ron could feel something trying to escape his body, all he needed to do was say the word, and it would be done.

"Bless me, father," he uttered. "Now," he declared, and a burst of light emanated from him, sending the Death Eaters flying in all directions. Even Bellatrix, who was nearby, screamed in agony, clutching her eyes and bleeding while incessantly firing spells. Sirius had to keep ducking to avoid the spells. However, amidst the chaos, one green light struck Ron in the back of his chest, causing Sirius to scream as he watched.

Ron collapsed to the ground, and the glass ball rolled out from his pocket, cracking and shattering into pieces.

Ron's consciousness was fading, and he felt someone lifting him by the back of his head. Angry voices echoed around him, most notably Sirius and Harry. However, the voices grew weaker and weaker until he could no longer hear them. A sudden force began to pull Ron toward the veil, and he fought against the urge to be dragged into it. Whispers filled his ears, urging him to surrender his body and join them.

No!

Voices urged Ron to let the curse enter his body, to let go and come with them. The temptation and their pleas was powerful, but he struggled to resist.

Tears welled up in Ron's eyes as he grappled with the overwhelming emotions and regrets. He had never had the chance to speak with his father, to embrace him, to express how proud he was—for protecting him and preventing Zeus from striking Ron down to his death. Even though life felt incredibly unfair, Ron blamed himself for Apollo's current crisis.

Let him be with Lee, Michael, and his other siblings in the Underworld, as he heard their voices calling him.

As Ron's body began to turn transparent and crumble into pieces, just before he could surrender himself, he heard a voice that whispered to him, urging him to sleep.

🔆

In his dream, Ron found himself in a small room. He had initially thought it might be Tyler, but it turned out to be something entirely different. The room had wooden walls painted in white, with a large window on one wall adorned with yellow curtains. There were numerous sunflower pots on the windowsill. As he looked outside, he was greeted by a breathtaking scene—rolling hills and vast green fields stretching out before him.

Ron continued to explore the room and noticed a small four-poster bed with an assortment of stuffed toys and books. There was also a small shelf, but instead of books, it was filled with items that a curious child might collect when exploring the forest.

The door to the room swung open, and Ron, although aware that this was a dream, couldn't help but feel cautious. In walked a small girl, around seven years old, with red hair tied up in pigtails. She had a wide, proud smile on her face and clutched a book tightly as she hopped onto the bed and eagerly opened the book.

"This is awesome," she exclaimed, her eyes shining. "A prince charming..."

Ron observed in fascination as the girl hopped off the bed and began jumping around the room.

"Margaretta! I know you're jumping on your bed again! The ceiling will break!"

"Sorry, mother!" the girl giggled, and Ron's eyes widened as he realized that the girl was his mother.

The girl leaped off the bed and retrieved a beautiful white robe from a nearby closet, twirling around in delight. Ron yearned to reach out to her, but before he could, she was called again, this time for lunch. His mother carefully placed the white robes on the bed and hurriedly left the room.

Ron rushed after her, but when he stepped outside, he found himself in a completely different place. He was in the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts, and it was evening. His mother was there, using a telescope and jotting down notes on her parchment. She wasn't a small seven-year-old anymore; she appeared to be around thirteen.

She had grown up considerably, and while her hair hadn't changed much, it was now pulled back into a ponytail, cascading down to just below her shoulders.

"M-Mom..." Ron tried to call out to her, but his mother didn't seem to notice him, leaving Ron feeling a sense of sadness.

Ron couldn't help but wonder about the purpose of this dream if he couldn't interact with his mother. He sat there silently, watching her work on her notes. Suddenly, the scene shifted once more, and Ron found himself sitting on a bed. His mother was on the floor, clutching her swollen stomach and holding a letter in her hand.

"Mom," Ron called out with deep concern.

His mother continued to cry and crumpled the letter even more. Ron couldn't bear to see her like this, so he got up from the bed and knelt down beside her, gently placing a hand on her back. To his surprise, he could feel her presence. Margaretta stopped crying and looked up, her tear-filled eyes meeting Ron's. She was still as beautiful as ever, but her gaze seemed to be focused on something behind him, as if looking into the distance.

Margaretta reached out her hand and gently touched Ron's cheek, offering a weak smile. "A-Apollo, is that you, dear?" she called out.

Ron, startled and unable to answer, scrambled away from her. His mother burst into tears once more. "Why did you leave me? You promised—you promised to love and protect our child," she sobbed, her grief overwhelming her.

"Oh, Ronald," Margaretta whispered, her hand resting on her swollen stomach. "We'll be fine, mommy's here, okay? I love you, I love you more than everything."

Then the room—Ron knew it was his room in the Burrow, that should be her mother, if she's still alive. But the only thing is that the room was gloomy, cold and dark. But he saw his mother standing in the only window in the room staring outside, the door opened a oight came through and he saw a young Molly. 

"You don't have to do this," Molly pleaded, her eyes were puffed out from crying. "Please."

Margaretta turned around, masssaging her stomach gently. "I can't," she told her, shaking her hand and glanced outside.

"But the baby, Ronald—"

"Sister," Margaretta said. "You know that I already chose this." Then she smiled softly at her sister, "Even if I was killed, the baby will be delivered to where he should be."

"You're talking about suicide! Suicide, Margaretta!"

"Do I?" Margaretta said sadly, but she was still smiling. "I couldn't bear to see my child without a father who leave him, a war that I couldn't see myself encouraging my own son to fight," then she sighed heavily. "I might be fool of choosing this choice, but the baby will prove something for us someday."

"Margaretta, please," Molly said desperately and walked towards her holding her mother's arm.

"I love my child, Molly. But I can't," She said and tears came out from her beautiful eyes. "I will fight and if I have to fight for my own family, then that included my child."

Ron then jolted from his dream with tears, he couldn't undersrand it all, his thoughts muddled by the dreams. He had heard stories about his mother being a member of the Order and fighting in the war and just the thought of a group of death eaters torturing his pregnant mother left him feeling numb.

Ron closed his eyes, composed himself, and then reopened them to take in his surroundings. The redhead then found himself lying on a warm, soft mattress. He wanted to snuggle into it, but his body seemed unwilling to cooperate. Ron tried to move his fingers and head, flinching slightly as someone placed a cold towel on his head.

"Don't move, you idiot," a voice warned, causing the redhead to wince when he heard it. He looked up and recognized a blurry figure dressed entirely in a familiar orange t-shirt and a jacket, with unruly hair and pale hands.

Soon after, a door burst open, and another voice filled the room, causing his head to throb. But amidst the jumbled sounds, he managed to catch snippets like "Underworld," "body," and "unconscious."

He turned his head towards them, gathered beside his bed.

"However, how did he end up over there—"

"I couldn't find a pulse when I found him, I can feel his soul was fading."

"No," Ron croaked out as the two turned their heads to him. The redhead should have been embarrassed, but he was exhausted. He stared at the ceiling, which he realized was the infirmary of the camp. "I-it was my fault...I was hit by a curse, I-I wanted it to kill me..."

When he spoke, he noticed Nico, standing there with clenched fists, clearly angry. Ron felt a pang of guilt; Nico had lost many people he was close to, including his sister and Jason.

"You—you—" Nico began, his voice shaking.

The redhead managed a weak smile and said, "Thank you for bringing back my soul..."

"I didn't bring it back," Nico said angrily, refusing to make eye contact. "I only felt your stupid soul flickering and sensed your presence at the entrance of the Underworld. If Thanatos had found you before me, he would have taken your soul, and you would have died."

He saw that it was Chiron who came in, and Chiron gave him a look that likely showed he understood what he had done.

"I—" The redhead tried to sit up and gave a curse, but said sorry to Mr. Chiron right away.

"Thanatos was worried because souls were escaping from the Underworld," Nico said, "If anyone went into the Underworld, he wouldn't hesitate to take their souls."

Chiron nodded, "It's certainly a serious responsibility for him."

"Extremely serious," Nico replied with a somber tone, then gave him an intense look. "The rest of the group will come back to camp on the summer solstice."

Ron narrowed his eyes, turned away, and wore a frown, not looking at them.

"Ron," Chiron said, placing his hand on Ron's arm. "You should take some rest and calm your mind. Hecate wouldn't want to hear that you're giving up on yourself."

"I just had this thought," Ron sighed. "The veil seemed to be draining my soul, and I thought I was dying, so I just surrendered to it."

"Veil?" Nico questioned.

"I don't know, it was draining my soul and body when a curse struck me, and it was tempting me to give in, so I just..."

"But you could stop it?"

"I...well, yeah," Ron said with sadness. "But I just wanted it to end, so..."

"So, as stupid as you are, you allowed yourself to surrender," Nico scoffed. "What's this Veil all about? Another form of magic? If it's draining souls, then I need to look into it."

"Nico—"

"No," Nico said, exhaling unsteadily. "Don't say anything. Chiron, if you allow it, I'll go investigate and help. My father has been struggling to maintain the barrier of the Underworld properly. He's been working tirelessly, and I need to help him as much as I can,"

"If you believe it's necessary, then go," Chiron said. "However, we need to address some matters before you take any action. Has Annabeth been sending you letters during her visits to Olympus?" He asked turning his head to the redhead.

Ron weakly shook his head.

"Your father has vanished," Chiron continued. "If his absence persists without any explanation, Zeus will grow suspicious. The gods' temper has been worsening, and the weather in New York has been deteriorating for the last two months since your father's disappearance."

Ron stared at Chiron for a second and he gaped, "My dad—what, but where did he go—"

"The only thing we don't know," Chiron responded, "is whether you've made a decision based on what Annabeth told you."

Nico looked at him seriously, aware of what Chiron meant about facing Zeus that he had to persuade him. 

"I... I believe I have," Ron fibbed.

"Then by the days leading up to the Summer Solstice, you must make your decision," Chiron said firmly. "Remember, you have allies standing by your side. You don't have to bear this burden alone, just like the heroes of old."

"You need to complete the quest," Nico said with a nod. "Talk to my father about the promise," he added.

Ron took a deep breath and clutched the blanket tightly as he nodded. "I'll try," he said, feeling unwell, but Chiron's hopeful gaze encouraged him. He knew that doing this was not just for his sake but for the greater good of both Olympus and the Underworld, as well as everyone involved.

"Go and get some training you need for the Summer Solstice," Chiron advised. "But for now, take a rest until tomorrow."

🔆

"So, you're really heading to Olympus?"

Ron let out another sigh, the umpteenth of the day. The weeks leading up to the Summer Solstice had been challenging for him. The camp was bustling with dozens of campers, with a few new ones discovered each day by the Satyrs and now being introduced to camp.

Word about Ron's situation had spread among his friends, siblings, and the campers who were closed with him. Ron had made his decision, and he had been training hard. He had even managed to hit the bullseye on the archery target, causing some frustration for other campers trying to practice there. Ron reluctantly used his wand to repair it for them, only to break it again repeatedly.

"For the ten thousandth time, Tinny, I do," he said to Austin as he munched on his sandwich, letting out a sigh. They were near Canoe Lake, observing the Naiads swimming. Kayla was skipping rocks in an area without the Naiads. They had just finished their activities that afternoon and were trying to relax.

"How did your registration for the Olympics go?" Ron tried to steer the conversation away from Zeus.

Kayla's eyes lit up. "It got approved," she replied. "I've been training for the Nationals to qualify for the championship," she added with a weak grin and picked up more small stones from the ground.

"That's great," Ron smiled. He looked at both of his siblings, noticing how much they had grown. A twinge of longing filled his chest. He missed them so much and felt a strong desire to stay in the camp, but he knew he couldn't.

"So, are you going back to school...?" Austin asked, wrapping up his sandwich.

"I think I'll be returning there soon," the redhead replied. "There are some things I need to attend to, especially now that the war is approaching."

The two siblings glanced at Ron with concern, and he hated it all. He didn't want them to worry about him, but Ron had a lot on his plate, and each passing day without action weighed on him. The three of them returned to the cabin and found his siblings already forming a circle around the round table in the middle of the room. Jerry pushed something on the wall, causing it to spin around, revealing a room filled with weapons.

The news of their dad's disappearance from Olympus had left them all on edge and tense. After Apollo returned to his godly form, his visits to the camp had become less frequent, although they could still sense his lively presence. But now, that presence was absent.

"There were dozens of children and students there," Ron explained as he spread a map of London on the round table one evening after dinner and Sing-Along. "The best approach is to sneak them out of the castle and hide them somewhere far away. I've already discussed this with Lou. We can use mist and concealment charms to keep the place hidden."

Will examined the map of London, "Can we place the hideout in a village far away from London?"

"That can work. We already have the mist, and the Hecate's cabin could enhance its concealment," Ron suggested, then he glanced at his little brother, Jerry, who was peering at the maps.

"I've been all over London with Mum," Jerry remarked. "It would be better if you pick a place with a lot of people. Here..." He pointed to a location on the map. "Just a few blocks away, there are condominiums and flats with plenty of pedestrians and cars."

"The more people around, the less suspicious it will be," one of his sisters added, nodding in agreement.

"Jerry, you'll come with me to check out the place in London," Ron informed them. "After my, uh, trip to Olympus or if nothing happens next, which you already know about," he added, somewhat reluctantly.

"Okay," Kayla said. "But, wait—how are you planning to sneak these people out of the school?"

"Mist travel, a chariot," Ron explained. "Magical transportation could potentially be tracked by the Ministry, but we'll do our best to block it."

"But how exactly, I mean... you're going to do it alone?"

"I have some friends there who are aware of the plan," the redhead answered. "That's why I needed to stay alive after my visit to Olympus."

"Don't," Will said sternly.

"Sorry," Ron said, not sounding particularly apologetic. "Anyways, here's the place where I'm studying."

It was a long plan, but they managed to iron out the details that evening before going to bed. Ron, however, lay awake, staring at the ceiling. He didn't know if all of this would work, but he was determined to keep any negative thoughts at bay.

He had to survive this.

🔆

He didn't know why he had to pack his things. He didn't even know where they would end up if Zeus killed him—no, only positive thoughts! He reminded himself to stay calm, resisting the urge to scream or cry in nervousness. He wished Annabeth and Percy were at the camp with him, but he hadn't received any letters from them. They must be busy with their college lives.

The redhead packed only the essentials: ambrosia and nectar, a change of clothes, and some cash for his journey back to the camp, all for his solo trip.

As he walked out from the Apollo cabin, everyone was looking at him with curiosity, but most of them displayed a sense of pity. Even the girl who had been busy poking the hearth's coals with sticks glanced up at him. Ron felt an unexpected sense of calm wash over him. He had never seen the girl before, perhaps because he had been busy with life at camp.

Ron fidgeted with the straps of his bag as he walked alongside his siblings and Lou's cabinmates toward the hill to meet Chiron.

Ron took a deep breath before nodding at the centaur. He didn't want or need pity. He was determined to do this.

No one said a word as they all watched the redhead make his way down the hill toward the van. They wanted to say something, but they knew that anything they could say probably wouldn't have an impact on Ron at this moment.

Ron couldn't truly appreciate the sights of New York when Argus dropped him off in front of the Empire State Building, with his many eyes reflecting worry but still giving Ron a determined nod. Everyone expected him to be brave, like Percy and the others, but Ron had already let go of the idea of being brave.

Returning to Olympus brought back memories of the times when they had fought Kronos, and they had taken refuge in this place. Ron absentmindedly rubbed Luke's bead bracelet as the elevator door closed behind him. He wasted no time moving forward and took in his surroundings, still captivated by the beauty of Olympus, along with Annabeth's architectural designs on the few buildings there.

The demigods and living in Olympus didn't pay him much attention, but a few were curious and cast glances in his direction.

Ron tried to avoid looking at the other demigods as he passed them. It felt embarrassing. He was dressed in nothing but his Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and a track jacket, a backpack, a quiver, and holding his bow. Many of the demigods there were in their Greek robes, and most of them were strikingly beautiful. It wasn't Ron's fault if he felt anxious being there on his own.

Ron tried to gather himself as he stood at the entrance of the place where the gods held their council for the Summer Solstice. He could hear voices coming from inside, and as he reached out to push the door open, he hesitated for a moment.

Taking a deep breath, Ron entered inside. The voices gradually faded as he walked through, and the only sound he could hear was the echo of his own footsteps on the floor.

Ron felt a powerful surge of power, and his knees grew weaker as he walked forward. Finally, the view came into focus. There were twelve thrones arranged in a U shape, with a hearth in the middle. The gods and goddesses sat on their respective thrones in their godly, imposing forms, but one was conspicuously absent.

His dad.

In the largest throne sat the only god Ron had been trying to avoid for the past years. An electric current seemed to tingle through his body, but he knelt down and placed his bow in front of him. All eyes were on him, filled with anticipation, but only for a brief moment, because Zeus stood up, appearing thunderous and filled with rage. He held his master bolt, poised to strike, and Ron could feel its power even without looking up.

"Father!" He heard Artemis' voice.

Ron still kept his head down, his heart hammering loudly.

"You do not understand the consequences if you kill the boy," Artemis said. "Or are you reneging on the promise you made to my brother?"

Ron glanced up and saw Artemis rising from her throne. Zeus looked angry, most of the gods were tense while they remained seated, not saying anything. Aphrodite, in particular, looked quite different. If he weren't in the middle of a serious situation, he might have found himself drooling on her beauty.

The goddess was trying to appear firm and serious, but it wasn't entirely working. 

Ron knew that she, and likely many other gods inside the hall, had been involved with wizards too, and that knowledge weighed on his mind as he knelt in the ground of the hall. Ron wonder if the reason they were favoring killing his kinds was to avoid getting on Zeus's bad side. 

"Zeus, the mighty god of Olympus, my grandfather," Ron began shakingly, still kneeling. "Please allow me to speak with you before you decided to kill me."

"Look at him," He heard Dionysus say, a bored expression on the god's face, he was sprawled lazily on his vine-covered throne. "Honestly, what's the point of all this melodrama?"

Hermes, the messenger of the gods, interjected with a calm and reasoned tone. "Let him," he said, addressing the assembly. "If you don't want Olympus to become visible to the mortals, we must consider the consequences, Zues. The Mist has already been fading so do the magic, and you do know what the mortals on the news have been saying about these."

The gods exchanged knowing glances, acknowledging the validity of Hermes' point. 

Aphrodite's voice, soft and melodious, cut through the tension in the room. "I agree," she said, finally speaking. "Let him speak."

The room fell silent, and even Ares, who had been casually leaning on the back of his throne, suddenly perked up and sat properly. His tone was laced with skepticism. "You want that disgusting punk to speak—?"

Aphrodite fixed her gaze on Ares, her eyes radiating an unspoken command. "Yes, Ares, I do. This 'disgusting punk,' as you call him, might have something important to say."

Demeter, maintained a strict and neutral stance. She let out a disapproving "hmph" sound, indicating her reluctance to get involved. However, her gaze then shifted to the redhead with a glimmer of hope. Ron knew that Persephone had discussed these matters with her, and finally let him to take the quest to save Hecate and live. 

"Stand up," Artemis commanded. "And speak."

Ron stood up and then faced Zeus, knowing this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "If you allow me, Lord Zeus, I will rescue Hecate and the others out from their prison. If you tell Hades that he owes me that promise from long ago, it will grant me easier access to the quest."

Hades regarded him with alarm, his eyes narrowing. "I do not know what you are talking about," he replied.

"Yes, you do," Ron insisted, his tone growing more heated. "I completed your quest!"

"What is this?" Zeus demanded angrily, "Are you suggesting that you're willing to reveal their whereabouts after I instructed you to keep them hidden?"

Hades, voice dripping with frustration, hissed at Zeus, "The Underworld needs the boy's help. Do you think I will sit on my throne there all day and do nothing while the souls and spirits that should be there were attempting to escape? My workers have been complaining to me every second,"

Poseidon, chimed in and directed his gaze at Zeus. "So does Olympus," he stated firmly. "You know it's your fault that these things have been happening." 

Zeus, however, refused to accept responsibility. "My fault? This is not my fault," he retorted. "This is that disgusting mortal's fault and you know about it!"

"Maybe it was his fault if you didn't let yourself be tricked and hypnotized. You refused to accept the help because you're angry that a certain kind of him had easily tricked you before," Poseidon pointed out. 

Zeus, still seething with anger, settled back onto his throne, his gaze locked onto Ron. "Continue speaking before I kill you."

The redhead didn't flinch. He pressed on, undeterred. "Tell me where Hecate's prison is."

"Even if I tell you, you wouldn't know how to get there." 

"Father, my brother is going through his emotional era, and he has been hiding. I don't want that." Artemis said with a serious tone.

Dionysus chimed in with a snort, "Dear, dear, poor Apollo." 

"Let me." Hades said with a cold demeanor, "I owe him a promise as he successfully succeeded the quest I had given to him. I must be the one to tell him." He then turned his dark eyes, like the color of the darkest part of the Underworld, gazing towards Ron, who instinctively took a step back.

"Hecate was imprisoned in my own realm, in the deepest, most confined part of it, with her own ancient magic sealing her in." He snapped, "One step of a mortal, and they will dissolve into ashes. You don't want that, do you, boy?"

Ron narrowed his eyes, a hint of defiance in his voice, "You're a god, why can't you just free them?"

Ares hissed, "Do you think it's easy, you punk? Imprisoning a god takes far more effort than imprisoning mortals like you. A blood must be exchanged for a blood. I should have killed you if I knew you existed, let me kill him!"

"No one is going to kill my daughter's friend in front of me, " Athena said with a calmed tone, "Let the boy continue the quest."

"I agreed," Hermes said. "We must do a favor,"

Dionysus nonchalantly shrugged, "Then, who's in favor of killing this boy? Of course, it's going to be me," he said, raising a hand along with Ares and unsurprisingly, Hera.

Hera looked displeased as she questioned the others, throwing disgusted glances at Ron since he entered the room. "You're letting that kind of mortal continue the quest?"

Then Hephaestus, who've been silent, finally spoke up, attempting to clarify, "We don't have a choice. You do know what's been going on, right?"

Hera was clearly furious. "I do not take kindly to this!"

"Go on," Hephaestus intervened, as he looked at Dionysus seriously.

Dionysus then surveyed the room, his eyes revealing his annoyance. "So, who favors letting the boy live and continue the quest?" He observed the gods who raised their hands except Zeus who were looking at them, Dionysus then muttered something under his breath, seemingly unimpressed by the outcome of the vote. 

"It was obvious, and you are a fool if you ignore the help in front of you," Athena chimed in before casting a gentle look in Ron's direction.

Ron, with a nervous but grateful expression, offered a weak smile and then turned to Zeus.

Hera couldn't hide her displeasure. "This is ridiculous."

"A vote is a vote." Poseidon responded.

Finally, Zeus spoke with a stern tone, "Very well." Zeus leaned back on his throne, "But if you fail the quest and cannot free the gods from their prison by the winter solstice, your end will be met right here in front of your father."

Artemis tensed but remained silent.

"I will," Ron said, nodding resolutely. "If I succeed, can you do me a favor?"

Everyone perked up and looked at the redhead, with Ares sounding incredulous, "A favor? Ha! This kid knows what he's asking!"

"Speak," Zeus said.

"I know you have your reservations about demigods like us," Ron began, "but if I manage to complete the quest and free Hecate and the others, I want you to accept who we truly are. I don't want you to kill us. Give us a chance to prove ourselves," he requested.

"What you're suggesting is?"

"I'm saying that," Ron said, taking a deep breath, "let us live."

Zeus didn't say another word but gave Ron a menacing look. "If you succeed," he said firmly. "Dismissed."

"Oh, finally," Dionysus muttered, rolling his eyes.

Hera hissed at Ron in disgust before vanishing into thin air.

"I'll wipe you out when I see you again, little punk," Ares threatened, cracking his fist before disappearing. 

Aphrodite suddenly transformed into a human-sized form and walked toward the redhead. Ron knew he had to stop staring at the goddess for too long, but he couldn't help himself. "I know you met my son," she began, looking displeased. "Just like you."

"Yeah," Ron replied somewhat dizzily and feeling weird. "Yes, ma'am. I mean, yeaaah, I did. He served Kronos before—" but Aphrodite gave him a warning look.

"Well then," Aphrodite said, though she looked somewhat amused by him. "I shall go, but first, do me a favor."

Ron glanced up at her, not directly in her eyes, but at her shoulder.

"Bring them back to the camp where they belong," Aphrodite said. "I do not care what or who they are, but I don't like it when my children don't care about their appearances and live without love or never seen one." She concluded.

Ron finally looked up to meet her gaze, and behind that beautiful face, he could sense a motherly concern. "So you're saying there are a few of them...?" He asked.

"You know that I've been involved with them—mortals with magical blood," Aphrodite explained. "You could say that it wasn't just Apollo who did it. It was all of us as well," she admitted, then glanced past the redhead.

"I'll be on my way," she said hastily, then turned around and disappeared in the mist. 

Ron looked back and saw Artemis, who had been waiting for their conversation to end. He nodded slightly as the goddess approached him.

"You did well," Artemis commended. "But you must understand that they only did it because they had no choice. The Oracle has given you a prophecy, and you must continue the quest."

"Gee," he quipped, "You don't have to remind me that they're only letting me live because they need me."

Artemis smiled weakly at him. "You are brave," she said. "And no, Athena didn't support killing you because she knew her daughter, Annabeth, had been protecting you, and she wanted to do the same about you for her."

"I was talking about Poseidon."

"Poseidon was aware of how grave the situation is and Percy managed to convince him," Artemis explained. "You have great friends, and you must know that."

Ron glanced at the thrones and noticed Poseidon still seated there, observing them.

"You should go," Artemis suggested.

"But what about...Dad?" Ron asked, looking back at the goddess.

"He's just around, being a baby as he usually is," Artemis replied. "He'll be back as soon as he finally calmed down."

"Can you tell Dad about what happened?" Ron asked hopefully.

"I will," Artemis assured him. "He'll be happy with the outcome."

Ron then smiled at his aunt.

As Ron entered the elevator and descended to the ground floor, he began to feel a bit better. The stress and thoughts of Zeus killing him seemed to melt away. The elevator's soothing music added to the atmosphere.

Finally, the elevator gave a ding sound as it opened, and Ron walked out. However, he accidentally bumped into a teenager who looked like he was late on something, and was waiting outside, and the boy immediately tensed at the contact.

"Sorry!" Ron quickly apologized embarrassingly, not looking at the person, too preoccupied with getting back to the camp to share what had happened.

"It's...okay," the teenager replied with a hint of surprise, and Ron stopped in his tracks, looking back, but the elevator doors had already closed. He frowned deeply, before walking out the building.

🔆

"He's alive!" A camper shouted loudly and gave an excited blew on the conch as tthe redhead appeared in the camp in the middle of afternoon. Then suddenly, he was surrounded by a dozens of campers, demanding what happened. His siblings joined them and trying to get Ron out of the crowd, asking the same question while his brother, Will, was checking if he had any injuries.

"I'm fine," the redhead grumbled, "They don't have a choice to let me live, and dad's fine, Artemis told me he was just being emotional."

Even though it didn't stop his siblings from worrying, when Chiron suddenly arrived to disperse the crowd, he was accompanied by Lou, Percy, and Annabeth. They appeared as though they had just come back from their university and requested a meeting at the Big House with the cabin's head counselors, including Gracey and others.

Ron explained the situation, and Annabeth looked serious with her arms crossed.

"You have six months to find, Tyler," she declared, without needing to remind him again. She then turned to Lou, who immediately shook her head. "He must be trying to hid himself, masking his presence with ancient magic," she explained, "We've given all of our efforts to track him, but still no results."

Percy chimed in, "What about ancient magic? Should we try ancient magic since Greek magic won't work on him?"

"I can't conjure one," Lou sighed, shaking her head in defeat. "Most likely a powerful demigod with a connection to ancient magic could accomplish it."

Ron questioned, "So, is that why Tyler is the only one who could free them...? Because he possesses ancient magic?"

No one provided an immediate response, but the unspoken 'yes' lingered in the air. Annabeth took a deep breath and turned to her boyfriend, saying, "I do know someone with magic, Ancient Egyptian magic. Do you think it could be used to gain access inside wher ethey kept Hecate and track Tyler?"

Lou responded, "Anything related to the Ancient, but we should explore other options as well..."

Suddenly, Clovis raised his hand, causing half of his body to shift upward. He resembled someone who had just awakened from a long slumber, with wide, eager eyes seeking the teacher's attention. Ron was reminded of Hermione's diligence. All eyes turned to him, and Clovis settled back into his seat.

"I think I could help with, um, my..." He sniffed, "Tyler." It was well-known how much Clovis cared about his half-siblings, and learning that Tyler had betrayed their father and landed him in prison left Clovis uncertain about what to do.

Clarisse raised an eyebrow, her attention drawn from prodding the can of coke with the tip of her spear. Ron could tell she was listening intently.

"Dream," Clovis began. "I had this idea just last week, you know? My siblings have this sort of connection with dreams, sorry."

Will shifted from his seat, "And how exactly would that work?"

"You just close your eyes and try to feel him. It's like there's a string connecting you to them. I felt it that time; he was moving from place to place, and the connection was cut when Tyler sensed me," Clovis explained.

"But you could do it again?"

Clovis nodded, "Yeah, I suppose. I could try. Give me a few days to locate that 'string.'" He shrugged.

In return, Ron offered him an encouraging but somewhat weak smile. It was embarrassing to go on this quest with the other's assistance. Nevertheless, the redhead had no other option. It wasn't just Hecate who was imprisoned there; their godly parents were as well, and Ron knew that failure would be a death sentence. 

The meeting ended, and Annabeth told him to make the most of his summer at camp as she ruffled his hair.

While at camp, Ron always felt like that small boy, perpetually amazed and excited by everything around him. He oddly cherished these feelings. Even at the age of sixteen, when someone ruffled his hair, Ron felt like he had done something good, which he found a bit embarrassing to admit. He often complained about it, but when his siblings did it, he simply gave in. 

But then, he couldn't completely relax, could he?

Just two weeks later, while Ron was in the middle of an archery lesson with the others, he spotted Clovis running toward him with wide, alarmed eyes. The shock on Ron's face mirrored the urgency in Clovis's expression.

Clovis was sweating profusely, but he managed to report about Tyler.

"Los Angeles?" Ron asked, seeking clarification.

Clovis nodded, "In the move to Las Vegas, he kept whispering about getting more mist forms in every place and mentioned killing—killing you—"

Ron flinched at the thought, "How was he?" He asked instead.

"More weakened," Clovis replied, sniffling once again. "He was using too much power to create mist forms. You need to stop him so that he won't... so that he won't..."

But Clovis cut himself off, and Ron gazed at him with sadness. The boy quickly collected himself and walked away.

"Ron?" Austin called behind him.

The redhead turned around, tears forming in his eyes as he wiped it immediately. "It's nothing."