Nope, still not mine.
That evening had Percy sitting at the table with Amy in his arms, waiting for his brothers and sister to arrive. It would just be Fred, George, Ron and Hermione, and Ginny and Harry, since Bill and Charlie were both away. He was extremely nervous, to the point of nausea.
"Breathe, Percy," Molly said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be all right. There may be a small row, but it'll be quickly resolved, and, given the circumstances, it'll be resolved in your favor." She looked sternly at her third son. "As soon as possible after dinner, I want you to go upstairs, take a shower, and get some sleep."
"All right, Mum." The lease on the flat was a monthly, so he had eleven days to pack up all of his and Amy's things.
"Hey, Mum! Where are you?" Percy recognized Ron's voice, though there was more maturity in it than he remembered.
"In the kitchen."
Ron walked into the kitchen, Hermione behind him. Both of their eyes widened when they saw Percy sitting at the table. Something big must have happened.
Hermione made the first move. "Hello, Percy," she said, sitting down across from him.
"Hello, Hermione," he said softly. "Hello, Ron."
Ron sat down stiffly beside his wife. He still wasn't sure how to react to his estranged brother sitting there. Finally, he took a deep breath. "Hello, Percy. What's going on? Is this your daughter?"
"Yes. This is Amy." There was an evident not of pride in his voice.
"Where's..."
"That's why Percy is here," Molly cut in. "I'm only going to make him tell the story once, after everybody gets here."
Ron nodded. He looked his brother up and down. He looked exhausted, like he hadn't really slept in a long time. He observed that the hand holing Amy's bottle was trembling slightly. "Can I take her for a little bit?" Ron asked. The circumstances leading up to the end of the war, as well as his new job, had given him a maturity that he hadn't had four years ago.
Percy looked grateful as he handed the baby to his brother, who immediately started playing with her.
"How old is she?" Hermione asked.
"Three months."
"Well, look who it is!" Fred's voice boomed into the kitchen.
"Didn't expect to see you here when Dad said it was important!" George added.
"Place hasn't been the same without you!" They both chorused, sitting down on either side of him.
"So, what happened?" Fred asked.
"Harry and Ginny aren't here yet," Molly said. "I'm only going to make him tell the story once."
"We're here!" Ginny said, coming into the kitchen, Harry following her. She was obviously pregnant.
"All right, now that everybody's here," Arthur said, coming into the room, "I'm sure you're probably wondering why Percy and Amy are here. First off, he's come back home. I'll let him tell the rest."
"First," Percy said, meeting the eyes of each one of his siblings, and, for the two that were married, their spouses. "I'm sorry. I have been for a long time, I've just never gotten the courage to say it." He took a deep breath, then the story he had told his father earlier that day began pouring out.
When he had finished, the silence in the kitchen was overwhelming. Then Ron passed Amy to his wife before he exploded. "That bitch!" he hissed, banging his fist on the table.
Ginny ran over to the other side of the table and threw her arms around her brother, and Fred and George were soundly thumping him.
When the pandemonium died down, Harry spoke up. "It's better, really, that she left," he said quietly. "There's few things worse than being raised by someone that really doesn't want you. Even if things are hard, if you're wanted, well, that means a lot."
Dinner was a quiet affair, Arthur and Molly having resolved to owl Bill and Charlie the next morning.
Amy seemed to have taken with Ron the most out of her aunts and uncles. She would protest if she were handed to anyone other than him or her father.
Finally, everybody left. "That went better than I thought it would," Percy said softly to no one in particular.
"It did. We had forgiven you a long time ago. All that really remains is for you to forgive yourself. Now go get some sleep. I'll get up with Amy tonight," Molly said, ushering her son upstairs.
As Molly looked at her sleeping granddaughter's face, she made a vow: That they would all be such a big presence in Amy's life that Penny's absence would be of little consequence.
