The House Competition:
House: Slytherin
Category: Short
Prompt: "This feels like goodbye," [Speech]
Word count: 903

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Molly jolted up in bed, sweat trickling down her panicked face. She had been dreaming, dreaming about him again. Her son. The son that betrayed his family to go work at the ministry. She was haunted at night by him, and every time she tried to sleep, nightmares would rise about her "beloved" son.

She couldn't get over the fact that he had actually left them, left her, to go to people he never understood. She knew he was troubled, but also that Percy wouldn't open up. And even though everyone else was trying to forget about him, deep down, Molly knew she still cared about her boy, more than she should at a time like this.

Beside her, Arthur stirred in bed. "Where're you going?" he asked sleepily.

"Nowhere, dear. You go back to sleep, okay?" Hastily, Molly slipped out of bed and brushed back her hair hurriedly, wiping away the drops of sweat from her forehead.

Carefully moving across the room, she quietly turned the handle, and slipped out. As soon as she was out, her feet felt cold under the marbled floor. It was almost three am, and the all of Grimmauld Place was silent. She knew that she couldn't sleep anymore, so she made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

She shut the door behind her and laid her head against it for a few moments, staring mournfully at the ceiling above her. "Why did you have to leave me?" she whispered softly. "What have I done wrong..?"

She reached out for the cookie jar which lay on the table, and took out one of her freshly baked cookies. But just as she was about to bite it, memories of small Percy came flooding back to her, and Molly had to choke back a sob.

Flashback

"Mum! Mum!" four-year-old Percy cried, running into the Weasley's house one evening, tears threatening to come out of the toddlers eyes as he clung onto his mother's skirt.

"What's wrong, Percy? Is everything okay? Are you hurt?" Molly began asking quickly, bending down and putting her arms around her shaking child.

"I'm f-fine! B-but Charlie and Billy were f-fighting and - and -" the child broke off, and began sobbing his heart out into his mother's shirt. Molly patted his back warmly, inwardly shaking her head at her two oldest sons. You see, Billy and Charlie had recently taken up karate, and having no one else to practice with, or on, they reseolved to do it to each other.

No one really got hurt, but Percy didn't know that. When Charlie punched Billy's arm, and the eldest son let out a loud 'ouch!', Percy had gotten frightened and ran off to tell his mum.

"I'll stop them, okay? You just sit down and drink some water," Molly now told Percy softly, smiling at him. Percy sniffed and nodded, and let Molly lead him to the table and seat him.

"Can I-I have a tookie?" Percy mumbled, wiping his eye and looking eagerly at Molly as she took out a tray of freshly baked chocolate cookies.

She laughed, "Sure. Here you go, it's hot, be careful," Molly told him, smiling as he almost snatched the warm cookie from her hand, bit it, then spit it out, making a face when his tongue got burned.

"Oww!" he frowned. "It's hot!"

Molly laughed again, and squeezed his tiny hand. "I told you, be careful!"

"Tookie…" she repeated now, "He loved cookies…"

She sighed. Reaching into her robe pocket, Molly got out a piece of crumpled paper. It was from Percy, the only letter he'd given her before leaving the house. He didn't even give his mother a proper goodbye, only packed his bags and left the next morning.

Dear Mum,

I'm sorry, but I have to leave. You don't understand, but this is for the good of the mistry, you, and the entire wizarding world. Maybe you'll understand some other time. I don't want to live here anymore, and I think it would be best if I left.

I know you won't like it, but I have to do this. I hope you don't mind, and will continue to live as you do. This feels like goodbye, and it is.

Percy

Tears jerked to Molly's eyes as she re-read her son's letter. She collapsed onto the nearest chair, and began sobbing her heart out. "Why did you have to leave, Percy..why?"