Percy Weasley was walking towards the minister's office when he heard yells coming from inside.
"This is preposterous! The boy is obviously lying to get attention!" the minister was yelling.
"Are you really that thick?! You can't fake a lineage test!" a voice Percy recognized as belonging to Madam Bones said.
"It must be Dumbledore! If anyone can do it he can. He's trying to ruin me!" Fudge said.
"You are getting extremely paranoid, Cornelius. How could this possibly ruin you? Ruin the Potter and Black families certainly, send the magical community into an uproar, definitely, but I fail to see how it affects you," Madam Bones said.
Percy's eyes widened. Whatever they were talking about was serious. They were talking about something that could ruin too major pureblood families. That was no easy task.
"Oh, I see now. You're talking about that farce of a trial you plan to hold in a few weeks. You're worried you won't be able to expel him now that he is under the protection of a pureblood family. Not to mention that even if you got the ruling, he wouldn't just disappear from our world, as he now as significant ties to our world," Madam Bones said.
"That is ridiculous! I am just trying to protect our world from the lies of a brat who's just looking to gain attention," Fudge said.
Percy was now certain that the two officials were talking about Harry Potter. He didn't know exactly what they were discussing, but apparently it was quite big. He found he agreed with the minister though. If Potter was involved, it probably was a lie.
"You're trying to protect yourself. Well, I won't allow that, not at the expense of justice being done. I do not care what you believe of Harry Potter's character. I will not allow you to bury the kidnapping of a young boy just because you don't like him. Harry Potter was stolen from his family as a baby and I intend to insure justice is done," Madam Bones said firmly.
Percy gasped at what he heard. They were talking about a kidnapping? He was well-versed in their laws, so he knew what that meant. Madam Bones was right. Something like that would cause in uproar and it would destroy any family involved.
"Lies!" Fudge yelled as he banged his hand on something.
Madam Bones Chuckled. "Oh, I would love to hear you say that to Molly Weasley. I would love to be there when you tell her that her son is a liar."
Percy's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open in shock. They were saying that Harry Potter was his brother, that he was stolen from their family.
Percy's mind automatically went to the brother he lost. Harry was the right age and he was born around the same time, but it was impossible. Prewett had died. They'd buried him. Though he supposed some sort of switch could be the cause of that. He had remembered his parents once saying that Prewett was seemingly healthy when he was born. Was it really possible?
Percy didn't have much time to contemplate it, as the fight between the two government officials continued.
"I will say it to whomever I need to! That boy is nothing but a liar! He is no more the Weasley's child than You Know Who is back! Not one moment of our time will be wasted on the brat!" Fudge yelled.
"That is not your call, Minister. Law Enforcement is my territory and you have no say in it. And if you even try to circumvent my attempt to get justice for the Potter… no, the Weasley boy, so help me, I will end you!"
Percy listened as footsteps began to come towards him. He immediately backed away from the door and went to his desk, which was stationed just a few feet away. He sat down and did his best to pretend he hadn't heard what he had.
Madam Bones stormed out of Fudge's office and was about to head down the hall when she noticed Percy. She immediately went over to him. "Percy Weasley, yes?"
Percy nodded numbly. It was all he could manage under the circumstances.
"You've been apprised of the situation with your family, correct?" Madam Bones asked.
Again, Percy did nothing but nod.
"I'm sure you also heard a lot of went on in there. Please assure your family that justice will be served. I will not allow the minister's foolishness to interfere with the law," Madam Bones told him.
Another nod.
Madam Bones quickly walked away.
Percy sat alone with his thoughts and finally began to process his thoughts. Harry was his brother. At least that was what he had just heard. If the minister was to be believed, Harry was lying. But believing Harry was lying was no longer as easy as it was even just an hour ago.
Believing Harry Potter was a liar was easy for him. Not because Harry had shown himself to be a liar or a deceiver. As far as he was aware, Harry had never openly lied before. No, it was easy for Percy to believe for two reasons. One was fear. The idea of You Know Who being bad scared him more than anything ever had. He'd heard the horrors of what that monster had done. Him being alive was the worst thing Percy could imagine.
The other reason was much more petty. It was jealousy. He'd always been jealous of Harry. From pretty much his introduction into their world, Harry had been accepted into Percy's family, more specifically, by his brothers. He was accepted in a way Percy felt he never was. All of his siblings, save Bill and Charlie, had made fun of him. He was punch line of all their jokes and pranks, yet Harry was just accepted in seconds.
So, yeah, it was easy to turn on Harry Potter. It was easy to vilify him and it was even easy to turn on his family because of him, since Percy was angry at his family for liking Harry more than him. But that was when Harry was Harry Potter. It seemed he wasn't anymore. Could he really accuse someone, who was in all probability his brother, of lying? And if this was true, Harry wasn't just his brother. He was the brother Percy had always longed to know.
"Percy?"
Percy was immediately started out of his thoughts. He practically jumped out of his seat before he realized it was just Bill and Charlie.
"Sorry, brother. We didn't mean to scare you," Charlie said.
"Percy, we really need to talk. There's something you need to know," Bill said.
"If it's about Harry, I already know," Percy said.
"You do? How?" Charlie asked.
"I overheard Madam Bones and Minister Fudge," Percy said.
"Bloody hell. I was hoping we could get to you before something like that happened," Bill said. He hadn't wanted his brother to find out like that. He wanted for him and Charlie to be the ones to tell him.
"So it's true then. It's him?" Percy asked for confirmation.
Bill nodded. "Yeah, it's true."
Percy let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in. As soon as the question was answered for good, guilt started to seep in. He remembered every terribly thing he'd done. From the fight he'd had with his parents to the letter he'd written to Ron about Harry. He remembered every vile thing he'd said about harry behind his back. His own brother. "Oh, Merlin. What have I done?"
Bill saw the guilt that was tearing his brother apart. A part him wanted to comfort Percy and tell him it was okay, but he wouldn't. Percy deserved to feel this guilt right now. He needed to realize how much he'd hurt the family. "You've been a right git! Right now, however, it isn't about you or what you did. We're a family and Harry needs us right now."
Percy shook his head. "He doesn't need me. He doesn't need the brother that turned his back."
"Yeah, he does. He needs all of us. This thing is tearing him apart. He needs to know that his family loves him and will help him through it. That includes you. Consider this the first step to making it right. Come home and be a family with the rest of us. Harry needs that, and honestly, so do the rest of us," Bill said.
Percy took a deep breath. He knew his brother was right. He couldn't think about himself or how hard it would be to face Harry after what he did. He needed to be there for his brother and the rest of his family. "Alright."