A/N I feel obligated to tell you that this is the part where you realize I don't like the Weasleys that much. Part of it is that I identify the most with Percy and I've always thought Ron is kind of slow. Sorry, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Also, I forgot the part where I say that I don't own this and J.K. Rowling does. I realize I'm supposed to say that in a wittier, more original way, but I'm just not that clever. I apologize for the inevitable disappointment.
Chapter Two: Introducing a Pack of Wolves
A shadow had fallen over The Burrow. It was ironic that a family that had held together so strongly during Voldemort's targeting and the eventual war had weathered such trials, only to fall apart due to something so small and insignificant. A failed relationship. A rebellious daughter, is what Molly Weasley called it. A rebellious, uncouth, scarlet woman of a daughter who couldn't see a good man if he went down on his knees in front of her. As far as Mrs. Weasley was concerned, that had been exactly the case with – that girl – and poor Harry Potter, the poor dear. After all that boy did, it was high time he had a little happiness for himself, and who else did he want but – no. It hadn't happened, and Harry Potter was not her son-in-law.
"Mother!" Molly looked up from the dishes, she did them by hand to occupy her mind, and saw Percy standing in the doorway, looking thunderous.
"Percy," Mrs. Weasley nodded, a surprisingly cold acknowledgement of her son.
"You have been in my room again," Percy's statement was not a question, but an accusation. "You deliberately unlocked my trunk and removed things that were not yours to touch!"
"You know how I feel about her things under my roof," Molly said, wiping her hands on a dish towel and using her wand to put the dishes away. "I've told you that. I will not allow you to-"
"You have no right to be nosing in my things, which were locked up, even!" Percy cried in disbelief. "I have a right to my privacy while I'm here, and if I want to keep some of Ginny's school things, then it's no business of yours!"
"Do not say that name, Percy Weasley, and I'm your mother and you will obey me!"
"She's your daughter!" Percy roared suddenly, interrupting Molly and making her jump. "She's your bloody daughter, or have you lost your heart along with your mind!" Footsteps thumped down the stairs as the rest of the family converged on the scene. It was Sunday, and therefore one of the strained, forced Weasley Family Dinner nights. Percy was in from the Ministry, Arthur Weasley having retired several years ago. The twins had left their flat and shop in Hogsmeade for the weekend. Bill was also there, although he was alone. He had not brought his girlfriend, Fleur, to The Burrow since the day Ginny had disappeared. Charlie was the only member of the family who was not in attendance, as had been the case for five years. Ron still lived at The Burrow, along with his wife, Hermione. With over half the family gone, the house was easily large enough for Molly and Arthur to live downstairs and the younger couple to occupy the upper floors. At the moment, this accounted for six people walking into the kitchen to witness the altercation between Molly and her thirdborn son.
"Do not speak to me like that, Percy Weasley!" Molly shrilled, throwing her towel onto the counter, cheeks flaming red. "You will respect me in my home, I never raised you to be rude!"
"No you didn't, you only drove my only sister and your own child away with your incessant nagging and meddling," Percy retorted, crossing his arms and glaring at the woman across the table from him. "If you hadn't tried to force Harry Potter on her-"
"He loved her!" Molly shrieked. "He loved her, and she would have been perfectly happy with him! Why didn't she want him, he whom she had been in love with all her life, and friends with too? What else was she doing that made it so hard for her to settle down? She was nothing more than a-"
"Don't you dare," Percy hissed, leaning forward and shaking his finger at his mother. "Don't you dare impugn her. She was no more a wild child than I. In fact," he righted himself and threw his arms up. "Would you do the same to me? If you thought I would be better off with one of your friends' daughters, would you have treated me the same as you did Ginny?"
"Never," Mrs. Weasley shouted," say that name in front of me! That girl is dead to me, she and her philandering ways will not be brought up in my home!" She stormed out of the kitchen, past her children and husband, and into her bedroom, slamming the door shut as she went. Percy watched her with hard eyes, not moving from his spot, and Bill came up to pat him on the back.
"Perce, why do you push her all the time. You know she won't change. I know she won't change. What's the point of it all, mate?"
"I just can't let her go unopposed," Percy whispered, suddenly sagging. "I wasn't as close to Ginny as you or Ron were, but I just- if no one defends her then how can I ever deserve her if she comes back?" Silence met his confession, as all the people in the room thought about the red headed girl and where she might be.
"I say, forget her," Ron spoke up from the back of the Weasley crowd. "D'you reckon if she cared about her own family she'd leave and never contact us? Mum's right, she abandoned us, and if she can turn her back on family so easily, then fine, let her. S'not like there's not enough of us, is there?" Hermione glared at her husband, but said nothing. In the five years since Ginny, along with Harry, had left, the family had clearly divided. Perhaps it was part of living with Molly, but Hermione had noticed that Ron seemed to be the only brother who disliked Ginny, although he hated Harry as much, if not more. Hermione exchanged a glance with Fred, who rolled his eyes and mouthed 'prat' and pointed at Ron. George snickered, giving a nasty look to their younger brother. The two were as nice as ever to Hermione, but they very rarely spoke to Ron. All of the older siblings were in favor of forgiving Ginny, although while Charlie refused to involve himself with the family at all and Bill just looked on with a sad disapproval, the twins preferred to blame Ron, whereas Percy blamed Molly. Among all of the civil warring, Mr. Weasley alone stood neutral, and therefore, enjoyed the company of all of his family, such as it was. It was he who usually restored order after family explosions, and he did so now.
"Boys, let's just call it a night, all right? Get some sleep, and we'll see one another next week, yes?" Unfortunately, this evening, the situation was not to be diffused. Ron had turned around and caught the twins leering at him and pulled Hermione behind him.
"Oi, you thickheads, what d'you think you're doing. 'Mione, don't look at them."
"Ooh, big man, Ronald," Fred sneered, pointedly looking at the way Ron held Hermione's wrist. "Decided that Hermione needed to go back in the cage?" Hermione bit her lip and flushed at this, but had long since learned to stay out of Weasley arguments. While she privately sided with Fred, she didn't want to be on the receiving end of Ron's fury, which was building up quickly, if his trembling was anything to go by.
"Yeah, Ronald," George chimed in. The other family members tensed, recognizing the start of a fight. "Thought you had Hermione do your thinking for you, since you've got all the reasoning of a troll. So where do you get off not letting her think for herself?" Ron was clenching his fists now, having dropped Hermione's arm. Hermione backed away and looked fearfully at Bill, who was the largest of the brothers. He nodded at her tiredly before pushing his way between his siblings, trying to stop the barrage of insults and threats. Hermione stepped outside, sitting on the porch as the yelling got progressively louder. She turned as she heard the door open and close, and saw Percy coming to sit next to her. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Hermione gave a sigh, "Why do they have to fight, so?"
"Famous Weasley temperament," Percy chuckled dryly. "You've seen Mum. We never had a chance, with that kind of parentage." There was silence again, before Hermione continued.
"I can't blame Fred and George, really. I was furious with Ron, too, but I just didn't have the energy to be angry with him all the time."
"He's always been the worst of us. The war allowed him to grow up with his temper. If he had had to get a job and live in the real world like the rest of us, maybe his would have tamed more."
"Still, I was there when he yelled at her, calling her all sorts of terrible names, degrading her, telling her she didn't deserve Harry," Hermione trailed off, looking at the ground. "And I didn't stop him. I still feel so horribly guilty because I didn't say anything. I was just scared of him, I suppose, although that's really no excuse."
"My brother never," Percy paused, clearly uncomfortable, "well, he never – hasn't hit you, has he?" He looked at Hermione in horror as she stared blankly at him for a few seconds.
"Oh no! No, no, he hasn't. Honestly, Percy!" she cried when it looked as if he didn't believe her. "I don't think he would, and if he did-" here, she broke off, setting her jaw. "If he did, he'd find himself in far more trouble than the war ever gave him." Percy didn't doubt it; Hermione Weasley was not a woman who would take lightly to abuse. She sighed again, looking wistful. "I wish Charlie were here. He was always so good at mediating, so calm in the face of all this nonsense."
"Yes, and too smart to come home and get mixed up into it." Percy shook his head. "Not that I blame him. Sometimes I think I'd be happier if I went off in an ambassador delegation. This constant fighting, even when no one brings it up, it just lurks under the surface and makes things tense."
"I know! And look at poor Bill, who can't even bring Fleur home anymore. How long have they been together?"
"Hmm," Percy thought, "Reckon it has to be about ten years now. He told me he doesn't hold with marriage, and neither does Fleur, so they're just going to do a civil partnership. Haven't told Mum though."
"Yes, well, I can't exactly blame them. Marriage does seem to cause an awful lot of fuss in your family, doesn't it?" Hermione asked, then clapped her hand over her mouth. "Percy, I wasn't thinking, I'm so sorry-"
"Don't be," he said, patting her hand. "It's a miracle Mum and Dad are still together, with the way she carries on. And," he looked at her kindly, "if it's not too bold, I can't imagine that your marriage is unstrained by all of this. Hell, Fleur and Bill are probably only healthy because he keeps her outside of the family, and what does that say?"
"You're absolutely right," Hermione murmured. "Ron is- well, he's been different since they left. He's right with your Mum about Ginny, but after he lost Harry, it's like he won't let himself be happy anymore. I just don't know why he hates him so much! And then he tried to replace Harry with poor Neville, who just isn't the same at all."
"Longbottom? That – er – chubby one, who liked Herbology?"
"The same," Hermione nodded. "And he's sweet and loyal, but he just doesn't have the same spirit Harry did. Ron needed Harry, I think, because Harry made him feel special and not just the youngest son of a big family. Without him, he's surly and irascible…" again Hermione trailed off, looking into the distance.
"Hermione," Percy said hesitantly, drawing her attention back to him. "Look, I'm worried about you." Hermione started to protest, but Percy held his hand up to stop her. "Just hear me out, would you? I know Ron, and I've seen how this meltdown is only getting worse. In five years, he's yet to let up, and I'm worried that things are only going to get worse. If anything, if he, well, if he does anything, please don't feel like you're alone." Hermione looked at Percy solemnly before nodding. "Alright then. I'm going to Apparate back to the Ministry, do some paperwork to clear my head after tonight. Owl me if you ever want to chat," Percy said, standing. Walking away, he could still hear the raised voices of his family echoing in his head, and he didn't know if they were real or memories.
A/N Okay I realize that was confusing. Let me break it down:
Ron: HATES Harry, dislikes Ginny
Mrs. Weasley: adores Harry, blames Ginny for not doing her duty
Percy: blames Mrs. Weasley for driving Ginny off
Fred/George: blame Ron for yelling at Ginny and driving her off
Bill: won't bring Fleur around anymore because he thinks Ron and Mrs. Weasley aren't being reasonable
Charlie: refuses to come home from Romania and get mixed up in this insanity
Mr. Weasley: neutral as Switzerland, but more tired and possessing less chocolate