Written for QLFC Season 5, Round 5 - Lavender. I'm chaser 2 for Ballycastle Bats (Go Bats!). I had to write about a character who is not able to trust someone they love.

My lovely betas were: queen-sheep and brownlark42. All other mistakes are mine!

Optional prompts were: [dialogue] "I wish you had told me before I… " / "What? Before you what?"; [word] difference; [word] serene

Word Count: 1,776

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

August, 1995

Percy sat serenely at his desk, staring at the returned letter. He looked serene, he even felt a little serene, but there was a small part of him screaming, crying, stropping in the corner of his mind. He suspected the calm he felt was actually shock. The last link to his family had just imploded on itself with that letter sitting unopened and with a nasty sentence written on it -

Dear Percy the Prat,

Piss off!

Scrawled in Ron's handwriting. Although, Percy knew it was the twins who had named him Percy the Prat.

He had written to his favorite brother, Ron, telling him that he needed to take a step back from his friend, Harry Potter. Percy couldn't bear to watch Ron be sucked into the poor boy's delusions. Clearly, Potter was insane. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had been gone from this earth for fourteen years and was gone for good. People didn't just come back from the dead, not even Dark Lords.

Ron had returned the letter unopened with the nasty epithet written on the envelope. Percy felt his already broken heart disintegrate. Ron had been the last of his family to write him. He'd been the hold out, the tether Percy relied on to keep him connected to his family. This slur-ridden envelope had broken that connection.

Percy Weasley was no longer part of the large Weasley family. He was a free agent, adrift in the wind. And he hated it. He hated that his family would so blindly follow Albus Dumbledore when they should be following the Ministry - their elected government. The government that kept them safe from evil and Muggles alike. The government his father had worked all his life for, that Percy worked for.

Percy had always wanted to join the Ministry after completing his education at Hogwarts. He wanted to make a difference in the world and he truly felt he was. He just wished his family could see things his way. Look at all the nasty things Rita Skeeter had written about the Potter boy. He grew up with Muggles. What did he know of the reign of terror that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named caused? Or of how destabilizing his ravings that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was back would cause? He didn't. He was a child, and he hadn't even been raised in a good, wizarding home. He'd been raised Muggle. He didn't know about the wizarding world like Percy did, like Ron did. And still Ron and the rest of his family had sided with that brat.

Percy withdrew his wand and set the letter alight. If that's how it was going to be, Percy would forget his family. They could rot while Percy thrived in the Ministry. He had just been promoted to the Minister's office from the Office of International Cooperation. It was a good position to be in. He was working with Minister Fudge himself and Percy couldn't be more pleased.

He sighed, thinking about Ron again. As the third child in a family of seven, Percy always felt like the odd duck. Bill and Charlie were already a team when Percy came along. Then the twins came and, well, they were twins. Already a built-in duo. When his mother became pregnant again, Percy had hoped that the new baby would be Percy's sidekick. Like Charlie was Bill's or even like George and Fred were with each other.

Percy had doted on little Ron, letting him play with all his toys and follow him around. And for a while, Percy had his wish. He had a sibling who loved him and wanted to be with him and be like him. Percy couldn't have been happier. But then after a few years, something changed. Ron started toddling around after the twins instead of Percy. It wasn't long after that that Percy started Hogwarts. He felt more alone than ever there.

When he came back for summer holidays after his first year at Hogwarts, Ron laughed at him. Naturally he didn't want to spend time with Percy. Not after having the twins to play with all year long. Percy had felt more isolated and alone than ever. But he decided that he would ignore Ron's attitude and try to spend time with him anyway. He put up with the twins' pranks and with Ginny's tea parties all so he could hang out with his favorite brother. It helped - he was closer to Ron than he was to the others, and Ron sometimes came to help for help. When the twins turned their jokes on Ron, Ron came running to Percy. When Ginny was mean and pinched Ron, Ron ignored her for Percy's company. Although, Ron still idolized the twins in a way he had never idolized Percy. Ron even helped the twins prank Percy.

Even as Percy started at the Ministry a few years ago, Ron was the only family member who would consistently write to him and return his letters. It hurt Percy when Ron put on a front to his friends, calling him a prat and the like. But Percy understood how peer pressure worked. The twins were a much larger force to be reckoned with than Percy ever was. He loved Ron, but he knew he couldn't trust him when he was under the influence of the twins - or worse, Harry Potter.

May 1998

"RON!" Percy screamed as he watched his little brother - his favorite brother - tear off through the crumbling school. The final battle was upon them, and Percy was fighting alongside the Order and his family. He had been wrong all those years ago, and his family hadn't forgiven him, not really. Oh, sure, they played at it, acting like they forgave him. But Percy could tell they didn't really mean it. How was Percy to know that a fourteen-year-old boy was telling the truth? How many fourteen-year-old boys did that? How often did they embellish things to make themselves look good? Or garner sympathy? Harry Potter was a classic case of an attention seeker. Percy had always known that.

But Harry Potter had also been right. He had wooed Percy's family away from Percy, and Ron was the boy's best friend. Percy knew he couldn't hope to compete with that.

Ron disappeared around a corner and Percy turned back the fight, shooting a hex over his shoulder. He would have to catch up with Ron later.

It was hours later when Percy spotted Ron again.

"Ron!" he shouted and Ron turned to look at him. Percy spotted the look of relief that swept across Ron's face and felt himself flood with the same emotion. They embraced in the middle of the broken hallway.

"Perce! Have you seen anyone else? I lost track of Ginny a while back and haven't seen mum and dad or the twins in ages," Ron panted. He had grown so tall that he didn't look upward at Percy anymore. They were the same height now and Percy felt sad that he didn't know when his little brother had turned into this young man standing in front of him.

"I haven't seen anyone else, Ron. Where have you been? I saw you hours ago following Potter and Granger. I think we're losing, we might want to cut our - "

"Don't you dare say it, Percy," Ron spat at him. "Harry is my best friend! He's destined to defeat Voldemort and he will!"

"Alright, Ron, calm down," Percy placated his brother, but he was worried about what their chances were. If He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named won, the Weasleys as a family would be toast. While they may have turned their back on Percy, Percy wasn't about to turn his back on them. Not again. Never again.

Suddenly, a nasty jinx hit the wall above Ron and Percy's heads. It came from behind Percy, and he whipped around and shoved Ron behind him while casting hex after hex at the three Death Eaters at the end of the hall.

"Oooh, ickle Weasleys," cackled one of the Death Eaters, and Percy narrowed his eyes as he concentrated his hexes on the Death Eater to the left. If he could take just one of them down, it would at least be a matched fight.

A large chunk of the ceiling crashed between the sparring parties, and Percy and Ron used it as cover to regroup.

"Listen, Ron, I'll draw them off. You stay here and try to find Ginny," Percy said as they waited for the dust to settle.

"No, we'll take them down together... as brothers," Ron insisted. He peered over the top edge of the large boulder-sized piece of stone and got a jinx sent his way in return.

"We'll never be able to take them down that way," Percy disagreed.

"Percy," Ron pleaded. Percy knew it was a suicide mission. But he wasn't about to let these Death Eaters kill his favorite brother. The best brother he had ever had.

"I love you," Ron told him quietly. "You are my favorite brother, Percy, even if I haven't always shown it. You have to see that Harry was right all along and the Ministry was corrupt. Don't do this, let's work together," Ron pleaded with him.

Percy sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them again he said, "I love you too Ron. I wish you had told me before I…"

"What? Before you what?" Ron asked as Percy jumped up and started shouting.

"Oi! Nasty Death Eaters," he chanted as he headed toward them. He held the strongest shield he knew over him as he advanced.

"Perce!" Ron whisper-shouted from behind him.

"Over here!" Percy singsonged and darted quickly to the left side of the hallway. He could see Ron trading spell-fire with at least one of the Death Eaters. He had to draw them off. He sent a nasty stinging jinx at the one battling Ron and grinned when he heard the Death Eater call out. He spared a glance at Ron, even as he was battling the other two and saw Ron conjure ropes to bind the Death Eater with.

Percy's wand flashed and grew warm in his hand from the rapid casting. He managed to get another Death Eater down and cast a petrification spell at him. Then it was just Percy and the last Death Eater. He had lost track of Ron. He could only hope he was safe and finding his way back to the rest of their family. Percy slipped in the rubble at their feet and was suddenly on his back staring up at the wand of the last Death Eater. A green light enveloped him and he knew no more.