AN: Prompts will be displayed at the bottom to avoid them potentially giving away things.
glass crunches (families get broken)
AlwaysPadfoot
I missed home the most in the first term of each year; not that I ever admitted it. I missed my younger sister; I missed my own bed; I even missed my parents sometimes.
This was the first year I'd considered staying at Hogwarts just out of curiosity. Other students said Christmas was interesting to celebrate in secret; that it was almost worth it if you were willing to deal with the Carrows for that extra two weeks at the end of December. In the end, I'd decided it wasn't worth it and I was currently walking through our neighbourhood.
I lifted my backpack on my shoulders slightly by our street sign. We'd lived on Seeder Crescent for seven years now; we moved in after the mass relocation of witches and wizards into purely magical communities instead of Muggle ones. At the time I remember Mum and Dad talking about how they'd purged a whole Muggle neighbourhood to make way for this one. I didn't like to think about that.
We lived at number seventeen and as I approached our house I noticed none of the lights were on. I checked my watch; it was nearing seven now and this was the first year I'd decided to travel back from the platform alone. Maybe Lucy had persuaded them to surprise me or something. Then again I couldn't really imagine that Dad would be hiding behind a sofa.
As I opened the gate, I dug out my house keys from my jacket pocket and tried not to slip on the icy path. There was an odd pang of fear as I spotted a notice stuck up on the door. I tripped on the bottom step and fell right through the door that was not even closed properly. I shrugged off my backpack and then pulled the noticed down to read it. It was marked with a Ministry of Magic Official Seal and as the words started to process in my head my stomach dropped.
By Order of the Minister and the High Chancellor, the residents of this household have been apprehended and charged under the 1999 Act of Magical Rebellion for harbouring an undesirable and therefore aiding the toxicity of the Resistance.
I blinked. There was no way this was happening. I looked up to see that there was mess everywhere. Shakily I got to my feet, my wand in my hand just in case there was someone still here and moved quietly down the hallway. I wanted to call out but I was pressing my lips together to stop myself from crying. I wasn't going to cry; I was going to figure out what I was going to do; where I could go.
The house looked like it had been ransacked. Things had been overturned; papers were strewn across the floor; there was broken glass. I can't even imagine what had happened. Who'd been here? Surely it could have only been Uncle Bill; he was the only one who visited regularly and the Ministry had on their undesirable list. But he had always been so careful. Dad too. He worked in the Ministry; he had to be really careful anyway. Now they were all gone and I was here alone. Glass crunched underfoot as I moved into the kitchen. My wand was up in front of me just in case but really I had no clue what I would do if I did encounter someone. I was still thinking about where I could go; whether I'd be safer with Granddad Arthur, or whether it might be better to go to Teddy's house.
A loud crack made me spin on my heel and I ended up face-to-face with a man in Auror robes; he had his wand drawn too. For a moment there was silence and then his shoulders dropped; he looked put out.
"Damn, I was expecting you to be an undesirable," he muttered to himself.
I didn't lower my wand.
"Where are my parents? And my sister; where is she?" I demanded.
I didn't have any patience. It was either be angry or be inconsolable. I wanted to see my family. Until I knew where they all were I wasn't lowering my wand, and there was no way in hell I was going with a stranger when I could go to my family. I set my foot back slightly.
"Look kid. Did you not read the notice?" he said, pausing for a moment, and peering at me. "You're their other kid, right? Milly?"
"It's Molly." I retorted.
"Right." I was pretty sure he didn't give a shit. "Well your parents have been arrested for harbouring an undesirable; your sister's been moved to Caylarix Children's Home."
"She's been moved where?!"
"Lower your wand, kid," he warned.
"Why isn't she with family?" I asked, ignoring his request to lower my wand.
He looked sceptical like he was judging me greatly; then without a word flicked his wand and sent my wand clattering to the kitchen floor. I swore under my breath and took another subconscious step towards the back door.
"Your remaining relatives were deemed unsuitable by the Department of Child Protection," he told me; I opened my mouth to argue but he spoke over me. "Considering most of your extended family are either marked as undesirables or blood traitors, the ministry has decided your sister should be placed in a non-volatile home under the care of the Ministry."
I scoffed. "Non-volatile?"
From what I'd heard from people around Hogwarts, neither Caylarix House nor it's secure sister home - Caylarium Institute - were pleasant places to live. The former was over-populated because of the Second Wizarding War, and the latter I'd heard horror stories about that made even my toes curl.
"As a young witch, the DoCP have decided that she would be better off in an environment where she can't be radicalised."
"Radicalised?" I echoed. "She's ten years old; not a bloody undesirable. She's supposed to be with family."
He ignored my infuriation and held his arm out.
"Come on. You have to be processed at the Ministry."
Bolting for the back door seemed like the only viable option at that point. Maybe if I got away and went to Granddad he'd be able to get Lucy back. Unfortunately, I barely got my right hand wrapped around the door handle before I froze in place due to him casting an immobulus charm. I cursed internally; that was not what I was intending to happen. I'd kind of been hoping he would be so shocked I'd be able to jump the fence and run.
His heavy footsteps made me tense as he came over to me.
"That was idiotic, Milly," he told me.
I wanted to scream that it was Molly in his face but I was completely frozen.
"Now I'm going to have to treat you like a runaway."
He didn't. He was just doing it because he was a prick and wanted me off his hands as quickly as possible. He secured a purple PortBand around my outstretched wrist, gathered my bag and stuck my wand inside, before sliding it over my shoulder. I half-listened as he reeled off what was going to happen.
"…transferred to a DoCP processing room and they'll decide what happens next for you…"
Next thing I knew the sickening motion of portkey travel swept me up and I ended up colliding with the floor. The breath left me with a whoosh. I ended up wheezing and then pushing myself up onto my knees. The room I was in was plain in colour; there were black sofas and a large plant at one end and then a set of double doors at the other end. My eyes drew to a sign on the wall as I caught my breath.
Please take a seat and wait for a member of staff to begin your processing.
That was the last thing I wanted to do; sit down and fucking wait. I wanted to see my parents and my sister. I wasn't going to just sit and make idle chat whilst I was still in the dark about what was actually going on. I sat back on my heels, my head in my hands for a moment, before I ran them back through my hair. Moving slightly so my back was against the sofa I dragged my bag towards me and wrapped my arms around my legs. So this was it. I was in the Ministry; I had nowhere to go. They weren't going to let me see my parents so I had to find Lucy. I had to end up with her so I could get her out of that place.
My head snapped up as the double doors opened on my left. A woman with her hair in a tight bun came in.
"Are you Molly Weasley? Daughter of Percy and Audrey Weasley?" she asked.
"Yeah," I responded. "Where are they?"
"In Azkaban awaiting trial," she replied, flicking over the paper on her clipboard and turning. "Follow me."
Before I could say anything she was walking back through the doors. I scrambled to my feet. My parents were in Azkaban. That was the worst place in the world. How could my parents be in Azkaban? What if they found out…? What if the Ministry knew about everything?
I was walking through the narrow corridors, practically jogging after her to keep up, but finally, she stopped at a door on the left. She flicked a metal indicator over to in use and pushed open the door.
"Ah, Morris you're already here. Good, that means we can get this sorted quicker."
Morris happened to be the stocky Auror from the house. I scowled immediately when I saw him; I didn't like him.
"I want to be with my sister," I said as I was ushered inside.
"Sit down, Miss Weasley," the woman said pointing to a chair.
I folded my arms and stayed standing, gripping onto the straps of my bag to focus. She rolled her eyes when I didn't take up her offer.
"Stubborn teenagers," Morris muttered sitting down himself.
I scoffed. "You haven't told me that any of my family is actually okay. You haven't told me who they were supposedly harbouring in our house. You haven't told me anything and that isn't fair."
The woman flicked through her notes again.
"Your parents had allowed an undesirable by the name of William Weasley to stay in their house and are also believed to be conspiring against the Ministry."
"You mean Uncle Bill?" I said coldly.
She marked something down after my response. This wasn't going well for me but most of my brain didn't actually care.
"That's ridiculous; my parents are good people." I continued.
"Good people," she repeated. "I wonder if you're aware that your father falsified records in order to cover up the fact that your mother is a Mudblood."
"She's not a Muggleborn." I lied. "You're wrong."
"Your mother is a Mudblood and I suspect you knew that," Morris interjected.
"Fuck you," I muttered.
"Okay, look, let me lay it out for you Molly. I think you knew your parents were breaking the law. Not only because they were letting dangerous undesirables into your house, but you knew that your mother is a Mudblood." She explained. "You knew all that and not once did you decide to speak to a Hogwarts Professor or Ministry Official."
I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from telling her to do one. Like I would ever consider betraying my family like that. On top of that, the Ministry were the corrupt ones; they were the ones prosecuting Muggleborns and anyone who opposed them.
"Also you attempted to escape when I was bringing you in for processing…" Morris interjected.
"You were a stranger in my house." I hissed. "How was I really supposed to know who you were? You didn't show me any ID or anything."
"Enough." the woman said holding a hand up. "I've heard enough. Miss Weasley, I'm going to be recommending you be placed at Caylarium Institute under Ministerial Surveillance for now. Since your view of what's right and wrong has quite clearly been skewed living in the household you have been raised in it's imperative that we assess that before you return to Hogwarts."
My stomach lurched and my mouth went dry. That wasn't with Lucy. They were treating me like I was a criminal somehow.
"Under what law can you do that? I haven't done anything; all I've done is come home..." I began.
"Under the 1999 Act of Magical Rebellion section six addresses minors; those under the age of seventeen like yourself. Sub-clause thirty-seven reads, and I quote exactly, minors suspected of involvement with any of the elements of this law can be placed under surveillance without the permission of their parents and/or guardians," she said. "I'm also placing you under surveillance in direct correlation with clause seventeen of the 1998 Mudblood Rehoming Act. Would you like a copy of both? Because I can arrange that if you don't believe me."
I pressed my lips together. She'd already made a decision so it didn't really matter what I said now because they were going to send me to Caylarium anyway.
"Let me think, the Rehoming Act, that's where you throw Muggleborns straight into Azkaban right?" I said dryly.
Morris and the woman exchanged a look and neither of them said anything for a moment. Then the woman said she was going to contact a representative from Caylarium and the two of them left, leaving me standing alone in the side room. My shoulders slouched and I covered my face with my hands. I was ready to cry now; it felt like it was the end of the world. My parents were in Azkaban; my sister was in some shitty over-populated orphanage; I was heading to a place where apparently everyone was unhinged. I couldn't see how I could fix any of it.
The only thing I really knew was that I hated the Ministry.
Comp/Challenge & Prompts:
Insane House Challenge: 16. Character - Molly Weasley (Next-Gen)
365 House Challenge: 298. Style - First Person
Going Going Gone: 26. Molly Weasley
Word Count: 2352 — not inc. notes, titles, or ANs.