Chapter 08
Potions never lie
Arthur's POV
I cannot believe that Albus, the man that got me together with my darling, ever confident Molly, has planned for our friend Sirius to be killed, but the fact that the man who told me, Remus, was able to get Percy to come home and that he swore this on his magic and life and is still with us makes me need to believe it.
Remus had then asked us if we wanted to know the entire truth and this time even Percy had risen to the occasion, while I know of the studious boy that he would rather stay clear of anything big or life-changing. I smile in pride at my son and then Remus hands us all a small green rock which looks like Floo powder turned solid.
He directs us to the fireplace and say: "Just say Potter Place Protect and make sure you say Protect clearly. It will make sure no one can trace us back there and I do prefer for the safest place on earth to remain so, if you don't mind." We all nod and one by one we step through, me and Remus going last to guide everyone through safely.
Remus goes after me, but seems to take a lot longer than the rest of us and that gives my sons and me time to look around the circular entrance hall. A single large fireplace is situated right next to one of two large, round shaped staircases, in between which a large set of double doors with stained glass are giving view to a large backyard.
The carpet we are on almost makes me want to take off my socks and shoes, just to feel how thick and deep it feels and is a beautiful mix of dark red and soft black spots, weaved together so well it seems almost mahogany red. There are several doors, all with a different color, and one more set of double doors stands opposite the back doors.
Then Remus comes through and says: "There. I'm sorry, Arthur, but I had to let it look as if Death Eaters racked your place. Trust me, once you hear the full truth, you will be as loyal to Dumblefuck as I am." I look at him shocked and then a deep voice: "Dumblefuck, good one, Remus. We'll have to remember that one."
And I see Sirius walking down the right set of stairs. "SIRIUS!" Ron and the twins shout and Sirius happily hugs all three, before Ron says: "Aw man, I can't wait to tell Harry –." But then Sirius says: "Harry already knows.""He does?" The twins chorus excitedly and Sirius nods, saying: "He does. He's here too."
"Can we see him?" Ron asks, but Sirius shakes his head and says: "We discovered very disconcerting things that have happened to Harry and he's currently in a magical coma, being healed by Severus. It will take the man all night to heal him, so we best not disturb him." My sons and I look at the man shocked and I ask:
"Sirius, since when do you trust Severus with Harry's safety?" And Sirius answers: "Since my near-death experience healed me off all the insanity Azkaban caused me. It made me unable to think clearly and made me irrational to the wrong people, but no more." I nod, feeling happy for the man and then he turns to Remus and says:
"Let's head for the main lounge. It's best to talk there." Remus nods and says: "You take them there. I have to go see if –." But Sirius says: "He arrived. Our blondie is letting him in on everything as we speak." The two men both look as serious as a librarian and I share a glance with my kids, wondering what they could be on about.
Sirius then leads us up the left set of stairs, which leads to a floor only half a floor higher than the one the right staircase leads to and Sirius asks: "Isn't magic great? This floor is right in-between the first and second floor and still it doesn't cut a single inch of height from either floor, nor does it make this one look cramped."
We all smile at the man and he leads us into an amazingly beautiful looking lounge, where several sets of love seats, single chairs, double chairs and even double and triple couches are placed around a marble circular fireplace, a tube made of magic obviously visible around the fireplace and intended to keep the smoke out of the room.
We all take our seats, Bill sitting with Fleur and the twins sitting far away from Percy, who guiltily takes a seat between Sirius and Remus. Sirius gives him an amused raised eyebrow and my third eldest says: "If my teacher and family trusts you, then so do I." Making the man nod in pride, while small smiles appear on the faces of my other children.
Sirius then takes a deep breath and says: "Potter Place, the drinks if you please." And just by saying the do I wonder what he could have to tell us and what he could be up to. I then look at the two and ask: "This isn't one of your attempts to relive your days at Hogwarts, is it now boys?" The two shake their heads and both raise their glasses.
Remus then says: "No, this is just to prove to you that we speak the truth with what we have to tell you. Sirius prepared 2 drinks for us which are laced with a special form of Veritaserum. It won't work like regular Veritaserum where you ask us questions and we answer, but it will prove to you that we can't lie."
Shocked that the two are going that far, I hear Ron asking: "Why would you do that?" And Sirius says: "Because over the last 10 days have we discovered things that make us absolutely hate Dumbledore and we want to make sure you understand where our hatred comes from. This just seemed like the best solution right now."
Remus then goes on and says: "We can of course tell Potter Place to let us tell nothing but the truth, but because you don't know this place could that make you doubt the truth behind our statements, so therefore the Veritaserum." I look at my sons and then Charlie asks: "And do these tales concern our family as well?"
Remus nods and then he and Sirius take their drinks in one fell swoop, shocking me. I look at them closely and see a ring of vagueness appearing around their irises, proving that they are under the influence of the beverage. Deciding to check and be sure just in case, I tentatively ask: "What are your nicknames and why did you make them?"
And Sirius answers: "I am Padfoot, because my Animagus form – a form I achieved getting to help Remus Lupin during full moons – looks quite like a grim, but then with flat footing making it easier for me to run than for other dog-like animals." The twins look at this absolutely gob-smacked, while Ron snickers at them and Remus says:
"I am Moony, a nickname I got after Sirius joked about my lycanthropy one time too many and James Christian Potter stepped in. The name was made official on the same night as when Prongs, Padfoot and Wormtail used their Animagus forms for the first time as one – on the 20th of October of 1975 – and therefore christened their own nicknames."
The twins now seem almost weak with shock and Ron asks: "Why are you so shocked? You've seen Sirius' form plenty of times, you've never been able to prank either of them and know that they still love pranks and support your dream. Didn't you figure it out by that alone?" And the two shake their heads, making Ron snicker.
To me the words confirm the Truth Serum being active and while wondering why these two have my Molly in a dungeon, do I say: "Tell us the tale." The two nod and Sirius starts: "On Harry's first birthday, I gave him a kiddy-broom, something that made Harry's day and made James want to outdo me, as always.
He went to the woods of Godric's Hollow, where the law was that one Hollow family never attacks another Hollow family while inside the Hollow and there he saw Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange running from someone. He saw that Bella was bleeding, that Rodolphus was carrying her and then he saw spells being shot at them.
They were Bone Crushing spells and they hit Rodolphus in the upper and lower left leg and in the left kneecap so badly they completely obliterated the bones. Rodolphus fell down, having to let go of Bella, who he had carried over his shoulder and James saw Dumbledore come out from where the spells had been cast.
James then heard Dumbledore say that the Lestranges were a bother to his plans for the Potters, plans James knew nothing about and when Rodolphus asked about the Hollow Law, Dumbledore stated that no law should keep the Greater Good from prevailing, something which proved that the old man had lost sight of humanity.
He further proved this by throwing Rodolphus and Bella's wands out of their reach and casting Slow Working Pressure Charms on them, casting these Non-verbally so that no one could break them. Bella and Rodolphus Lestrange died that night by their own ribcages slowly and painfully ripping apart their own organs."
I look at Sirius shocked and Remus says: "James saw all this and when Dumbledore, a week later, offered only the Fidelius charm out of all the protective wards he, as Headmaster of Hogwarts, had to offer, James had enough and defected. He would not follow a man who killed others more mercilessly than even Tom did.
Peter then got him an audience with Tom and for 2 ½ months did he and Lily talk in on Tom, giving him back his sanity and planning with him for ways of taking Dumbledore down before he would start killing his own men in the same way he killed the Lestranges. Unfortunately, do we have proof that Dumbledore had already done so."
I shake my head and take another deep look at their eyes, the glazed ring still there and Percy asks: "When?" But Sirius shakes his head and says: "The tale first. It is important." Percy nods and while I wonder how Albus can kill his own men, let alone enemies as cruelly as he apparently did, does Remus go on:
"Lily, James and Tom knew they could not suddenly let Tom switch from Harry to Neville and feared what Dumbledore would do to Neville to make Tom go after Harry again, so they decided to disappear until Harry's 16th birthday, when the Potter Curse would come up in Harry and he would get a Dominant strong enough to protect him.
Tom also knew that the Lestranges really wanted to be struck down by him and no one else and so turned them into Inferi, before Lily gave them a Polyjuice Potion that would make them look like Lily and James for 2 weeks. The Lestranges then went down under and on Halloween Lily, Tom and James entered their house.
Tom took care of the Lestranges like they wanted to and Lily and James gave Harry some of their own family protective magic. They then took a Polyjuice Potion themselves, changing them into Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange, before Lily merged the Polyjuice Potion with an Everlasting spell, making them look like that to this day."
We all look shocked and I ask: "Wait, Lily and James are – alive?" Sirius and Remus both nod and Sirius says: "Lily is working with Severus to undo everything Dumbledore and Molly did to Harry through spells, blocks and potions. They will be done in the morning." I look confused and ask: "What do you mean?"
And Remus says: "We used a Labes Revelare Parchment and a Cruore Dolor Potion to discover why Harry seemed unaffected by the Potter Curse and discovered he'd been drugged with a Jealousy Potion, enlaced with a small bit of Amortentia and that there was a Paternal Enchanter on him, focused on kids being made by him and Ginny."
We look shocked and Sirius says: "We kidnapped the two of them and Molly already confessed to wanting to break Harry's magical core, while Ginny would have his kids, which would make them famous for upholding the Potter line. She also confessed to something else, something concerning the murder Dumbledore committed."
We all look at him and he says: "Charlus Potter visited Dumbledore during the Christmas holidays of my and James' 5th year and did this on the same time Molly Weasley did. He caught them –." The man stops and I see him looking at me pained, making me wonder what Charlus caught my wife doing that makes him fear telling me.
But then Percy spats: "He caught them making love, didn't he?" We all turn to Percy, the twins and Ron green with sickness and the rest of us shocked he would even suggest something like that, but then my world comes crashing down as the dead voice of a man, who had once served Azkaban, says: "Yes, yes he did."
I look from my son to my friend and fellow Order member, not wanting to believe either of them and Ron asks: "How – how can you?" But Percy states: "Just think about it, Ron. If she really slept with Dumbledore in Christmas 1975, she would have given birth to a child in August 1975. And surprise, surprise, that's my birth month."
All his brothers look at him shocked and I ask: "Percy, how long – how long have you – have you known this?" And Percy says: "Since –." The man shudders and suddenly I feel as if part of me is getting weaker. Wondering what could be happening to my third eldest son, I look at him in feared worry as he says:
"Since my 3rd year. It was the 2nd day of classes when Dumbledore called me to his office and when I entered I felt an euphoria unlike any I had ever felt. I could barely think, let alone realize what I was doing, but by the time I had regained my full consciousness – had mother put me under an Unbreakable Vow with my own father."
We all look shocked, this time even Sirius and Remus look shocked and Percy starts to pant as he says: "The Oath stated that I had to do Dumbledore's bidding to the letter and fulfill his every order – or Fred and George's lives would be forfeit." My twin sons whiten in pure fear and tears of pain run down my cheeks as I listen on.
Percy seems to have more and more trouble breathing as he continues and he even coughs a little – something that worries me as my son has never before coughed – as he says: "The same happened 2 years later when Ron came to Hogwarts, and again when Ginny entered. It - it didn't even end when I graduated or when I went to work at the Ministry."
Percy wheezes in his breath as he says this and exhales longer than he inhales, coughing again before he goes on: "Dumbledore wanted someone to spy on Fudge and who better than his own offspring. And to make sure I would follow orders, did Mother tell Umbridge of my actual heritage and that toad used that to let me do her bidding.
She made me go down to the Department of Mysteries, where the Unspeakables needed test subjects for Potions and Spells they wanted to sell in Apothecaries or through spellbooks, but most of those were only to be sold in Knockturn Alley." Percy shudders and then suddenly he falls from his chair down on the ground.
We all rush at him and he says: "I was sworn never to speak of this. But – but now that – now that I know that there are – there are people who can – who can make that – that bastard and that – that bitch pay – I welcome death if – if it means my – my family is – is finally safe." Tears run down our cheeks as we hear this and Percy looks up.
He looks straight at me and then he looks down again and coughs again, spitting out at least a gallon of blood and making the twins scream in shock while Bill and Charlie start casting diagnostic spells, obviously trying to break the oath and save their brother. I personally grab Percy's shoulders, not wanting to lose him now, and he looks up again.
I see his love for me shining in his eyes and he rasps: "I'm – I'm so sorry I was – disobedient, father. But I was a good – a good boy to Dumbledore and – and you – you were all safe. I did my best, father. I did my best to protect you all." I cry and whisper: "Percy." Before the boy's weakened body slowly tries to get closer to mine.
I pull him close, wanting to hold his body one more time and then, while Bill and Charlie are still casting all kinds of spells which I know are useless and while Ron is leading away Fred and George, who obviously look close to fainting, do I take a small hand of Percy's blood, still lying on the floor, and do I gulp it down before I say:
"I, Arthur William Weasley, recognize you, Percival Wulfric Dumbledore, as the newborn son Percy Ignatius Weasley, son of Arthur William Weasley and Rabastan Lestrange. May my Soulbond keep you safe and loved until the time of your death and may you always, in heart, in soul and in magic, know you have my heart.
So I swear,
So mote it be."
I then allow the tears in my eyes to fall, knowing I gave magical birth to a son who will soon die and with my trembling arm, do I stop Bill and Charlie from casting anymore spells, knowing that an Unbreakable Vow bonding my son to Albus Dumbledore can never be broken. My two eldest stop and we all close our eyes.
But then an unknown voice suddenly says: "Curaga!" And I feel a form of magic I have never felt before fall over my son's dead body. Feeling the strange magic seep into my son's form I wonder if someone wanted to do a last honor to my son, when I suddenly, with my hand on his chest, feel his breathing steady once again.
Looking down at my son, I see him weakly opening his eyes, which he closed when I laid him on my lap with his back and as he looks up at me I can see my own disbelief reflected in those blue eyes that now hold a strong hint of dark blue and no longer looking like a more serious resemblance to Albus' clear blue eyes.
Moving a trembling hand from his chest to his cheek, I feel the warmth of his skin against mine and whisper: "Percy." Making Percy blink again, before a small, weak smile graces his lips and he rasps: "Father." I slowly lower my head and kiss his forehead, grateful beyond words that someone saved my little boy.
Looking up, I wonder who it could have been and then see Sirius and Remus looking over my head with clear shock. Feeling a strong presence behind me, a presence I ignored in favor of my son's dying body, I turn around and see an amazingly sturdy body, clad in a black robe with silver trimmings and a man's face with strong green eyes and
fiery red hair.
