I have all of the email alerts turned off for when people follow or favorite this story, so it always is a pleasant surprise when I log back into ff net to find the numbers a little larger than they were before. This story has been a journey, and I love where it is taking me.
-Gina
Percy Floo'ed to the address Hermione had given him at 6pm on the dot. It was a small wizarding odds and ends shop tucked into a corner of one of the busiest streets in the town where Hermione lived with her parents. She was there waiting for him, looking casually comfortable in summery clothes and a messy top-knot. It took him a moment to recognize her; the last times he'd seen her had been at the Yule Ball and then from a distance at the tasks for the tournament. She wasn't much taller than he remembered, but something about her seemed different. Older, maybe. She gave him a quick hug, and began to lead him out of the shop and on a short walk.
"How are you?" she asked, once they were out-of-earshot of nearby muggles.
"I'm...okay, I suppose. Not great. I've had a lot going on,"
"I can imagine. Tell me about it?" So Percy spun his tale, starting with Mr. Crouch's appearance at Hogwarts, and ending with the row he'd just had with Fred and George, and the job offer from Minister Fudge. It took the majority of the walk back to get all the way through the major events of the last month and a half. She nodded and made sympathetic noises, but didn't say anything. Percy felt the load lifting from his chest. Finally being able to share this with someone was liberating. When he finished, she looked contemplative.
"So...instead of being fired, they've offered you a huge promotion that would have you working directly with the Minister of Magic?"
"Yes, that's it,"
"Have you seen the newspapers lately?"
"No, I've been busy,"
"Well, you haven't been missing much. The Daily Prophet has basically been running the same story every day. When we get back, I can show you. They're making Harry out to be some kind of psychotic teenager with a lying streak, and Professor Dumbledore to be old and senile. It's complete propaganda; in the muggle world we call it libel and slander. But you were right a while back when you told me there are no laws surrounding journalism,"
"So...why are they doing that? Do you think it's related to me?" Percy thought back to Minister Fudge's comments about his dad.
"I have a few theories. We can talk after dinner. I don't really want my parents to know what's going on in the Wizarding World, so let's wait until then," They'd arrived at a pleasant looking house with a well-kept flower-lined yard in front. Hermione lead him up the walk and in the front door.
Hermione's house was the polar opposite of the Burrow, but Percy found he didn't mind. Minimal decorations, color-coordinated furniture. One wall of the family room was entirely composed of bookshelves.
Dr. and Dr. Granger (Helena and Dan, he was told to call them) were very welcoming. Dinner was delicious, and he enjoyed the meal and conversation. Helena described to him the Muggle reasons for having dentists in the workforce, and Percy was pleased to be able to explain the wizarding equivalents of mouth care; tooth-flossing mints, mouth cleansing charms, and more. Hermione often interjected with her own anecdotes of learning about wizarding household charms, and her parents were full of their own dental horror stories. Percy only felt slightly self-conscious of the age difference between himself and his young friend. It was less pronounced when they were hanging out together, but always around others, it seemed odd. Hermione didn't seem to notice, but Percy paid special attention to his manners and avoided eye contact with Dan, who seemed wary.
After dinner, Percy helped with the dishes by applying a drying charm to them, surprising Hermione's parents, which prompted a brief magic demonstration. Percy hadn't realized that Hermione's parents had almost never seen any magic performed before. Hermione wasn't allowed to use magic during Summer breaks, and she didn't go home on Winter breaks often. Her parents were thrilled when Percy did a few basic charms and transfigurations on some of their household objects, much to Dan and Helena's delight. Afterwards, he and Hermione went to sit on the back patio. Hermione spread a few days worth of Daily Prophets out on the outdoor table.
"Here's what I meant. In the coverage of the event, they barely mention Cedric's death or the other champions. All of the focus is on Harry's claims and Dumbledore's leadership, and even those are blown out of proportion and taken out of context. They don't talk about the portkey or the DML's investigation or anything of substance," Hermione had underlined a few passages with a bright yellow marker so he could pick them out more easily. Percy itched to see if he could find an quill and ink or spell equivalent. Muggle inventions were so smart.
"And...I don't know if I should tell you this, but Dumbledore said something strange to me right at the end of term,"
"What did he say?
"That I needed to stay away from Harry. He didn't tell me why, just said not to owl or call Harry or anything like that this summer. It was beyond weird,"
"If you want to hear weird, Minister Fudge mentioned my father two times when we were talking,"
"Your father?"
"Yes,"
Hermione was silent for a moment, eyes roaming the copies of the Prophet. She flipped a few pages back and forth. Percy did the same, trying to decipher the hilariously awful articles.
"Percy, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but...I think Fudge might have offered you that job so that he could keep an eye on you and your family," The moment she said it, the clouds cleared away from Percy's mind. Minister Fudge's insinuations, the strange looks Percy got from others as he walked around the Ministry's offices, even before all of this began. Percy knew his father had fought in the first war, but it was becoming evident that the depth of his involvement was deeper than Percy had perceived.
"That would explain everything," Percy couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He'd been very hopeful for a brief moment that he'd been offered the prestigious position on grounds of merit. It was clear to him now that Fudge was trying to take advantage of Percy and his family and manipulate them for his own political advantages.
"Percy, you have to take the job," Hermione was standing now, gathering up all the papers, "You must,"
"Why? It's clear the job wasn't offered on account of my qualifications," Hermione frowned.
"Of course it was, or they wouldn't have offered. But what I'm saying is: the ministry thinks that they can manipulate you. If you keep up that illusion and allow yourself to be manipulated in order to gain their trust, you'll be offered insider's access to upper-level ministry goings on. You...you could be an amazing asset,"
Percy was taken aback at Hermione's tone. She was standing up, facing him. The humid night was causing her curls to expand, and she had a wild look in her eye.
"What are you saying, that I should be a spy?"
"That's exactly what I am saying,"
Hermione's words stuck with Percy all night, even as he apparated back to Oliver's. Hermione's mother had offered him the day's newspaper, with ads for flats in their town. Percy was inclined to pick something near Hermione's home, after seeing the city she lived in and experiencing her family's hospitality.
At 4pm, Percy apparated to Hogsmeade and found the bar that Dumbledore had named. It wasn't much: dimly lit, dusty, sparsely occupied. Professor Dumbledore was getting drinks from the bar, and the bartender didn't look up as he slapped a mug of butterbeer on the counter. Professor Dumbledore was holding a second one, and beckoned Percy join him at a table in the back corner. After taking a large swallow of his drink, Percy explained his situation, and Professor Dumbledore nodded in all of the right places.
"I've sort of realized, through…" Percy was hesitant to say Hermione's name and implicate her at all, "Through thinking about it, that if the Ministry wants me to work for them so they can manipulate me and my family, than maybe I should work for them so that I can spy on them for...for whoever needs the information," Percy realized that the flaw in his plan was that he had no idea what was in the works. Was there a resistance? Did Professor Dumbledore even care?
"Mr. Weasley, your bravery is unsurprising, considering your House. You seem to found yourself in a unique situation. The ministry is betting on you to take a side, to go to the extremes to prove yourself, as you have showed you are willing to,"
"I certainly try my best, sir,"
"Have you ever heard," the Headmaster's tone shifted, "Of the Order of the Phoenix?"
The words sparked a memory from long ago. Six-year-old Percy had gotten up for a glass of water in the middle of the night. His mum was knelt in front of the fireplace, talking to someone about "The Order". Percy had been too sleepy to interrupt Mum to tuck him back into bed, so he left her undisturbed and padded back up the stairs to his room.
"I think so,"
Dumbledore went on to describe how the Order of the Phoenix, one of the largest and strongest resistance movements from the first war, was reorganizing in light of Voldemort's return. His parents were in it, several professors, ministry workers, people he knew and didn't know. They were underground recruiting and gathering intel.
"If you are willing, Mr. Weasley, we would need you on the inside. The ministry would need to believe that you are absolutely and irrevocably on their side, given your family's leanings,"
"How can I prove that to them?"
"Do you know of your father's work in the first war?" Dumbledore changed the subject again, almost seamlessly.
"He fought, but outside of that, I don't know,"
"He did fight. In fact, your father lead and organized the teams that worked to protect Muggle innocents during the first war. Back then, Voldemort's army was quite keen on killing those who could not defend themselves. Through your father's work, hundreds of families were protected or relocated and saved from gruesome and long-drawn out deaths,"
"Dad did that for the muggles?"
"Yes. There were several occasions, too many to count, in which at-risk families such as the parents of muggleborn resistors, were put into harm's way. Arthur was tireless in his efforts to protect them," Percy's view of his father was brought to new light. His father's fascination for muggle artifacts and muggle culture and his passion for laws to protect muggles from wizarding malice made sense.
"Alright. And does the ministry have a problem with my father?"
"Your father was instrumental in effecting change after Voldemort's defeat in 1981. He passed multiple laws through in the first six months after the war that made it much more difficult for Death Eaters to get away with harming innocent muggles. The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office often cooperates with the auror office to do home searches when there have been reports of illegal objects in residence. Many people are in Azkaban because of your father."
"And if the ministry thinks that I'll be like my father, they probably wouldn't trust me to let me in on secrets. I would need to prove to the ministry that I do not align with my father on any accounts," Percy's stomach was beginning to sink at the prospect of proving to the ministry that he was against his family.
"That is one way to look at the situation, Mr. Weasley," Professor Dumbledore took a sip of his butterbeer, and Percy marvelled that he didn't get a single drop on his impressive beard, "However, more pertinent to consider would be your siblings' alliances with Mr. Potter. As I'm sure you've noticed in the Daily Prophet of late, the ministry is not supporting Mr. Potter's claim of Voldemort's return, nor are they backing my support of him,"
"I have noticed,"
"The ministry likely would capitalize on your relationship with your siblings and use it against them and Mr. Potter,"
"I'm not as close with my siblings as many would believe," Even a few days after the incident with Fred and George, Percy's pride still stung and he couldn't help but be bitter about the twins' treatment of him.
"The ministry does not know that," Dumbledore countered, "Should you accept the job and wish to work for the Ministry and the Order, it may unfortunately be necessary for you to prove your loyalty to the government, and thus your disloyalty to your kin. Not a decision to be taken lightly,"
Professor Dumbledore left Percy with plenty to think about. He returned to Oliver's for the night, promising himself to be out before the end of the week. Oliver was out and about with Quidditch practices so much that they rarely saw each other, but Percy still disliked taking too much advantage of the hospitality offered.
The more Percy thought about everything that had happened, the more he recognized the corruption. The more he despised his previous ignorance. The more he felt called to be a part of the solution. Professor Dumbledore had been right. He had been given a unique opportunity. He was in a place of power, and he had a fire in his soul telling him to use that power for good.
He took the next day off of work to go hunting for a flat. Though he looked at several in different cities, his top choice by far was one of two flats above Paddington's Finest Odds and Ends, the shop he'd Floo'ed to meet Hermione at. The owner of the building was there when Percy stopped in, and was amenable to Percy's request to move in as soon as possible. Papers were signed, galleons were exchanged, and Percy found himself the newest tenant of 148B Acacia Avenue before he really could comprehend what had happened.
He dreaded what was coming next.