"This is a farce," Fred said angrily as he scanned the letter in his hands.
"An absolute farce!" George agreed his voice thick with anger. "I've never heard of anything more ridiculous in my life!" he fumed.
"Father trying to seize the throne for himself? That would be funny if it wasn't so bloody serious," Fred said throwing his arms up in the air.
They were sitting around Charlie's bed with crackling fire lighting up a chill autumn night at the Burrow. Fred and George occupied two chairs either side of Charlie with identical expressions of anger on their faces. Bill sat next to Fred while Percy sat at the foot of the bed watching in silence. Charlie sat up on his bed with the covers pulled up to his waists. He had woken up one day as if nothing had been wrong in the first place except for the fact that he couldn't move unaided. Charlie had almost begged Percy to try and fix his spine but the Maester would do no such thing for the fear of risking his life. Ever since, Charlie had been in sullen mood and Bill held most of his meetings in this room to try and keep him involved and improve his mood. It hadn't helped much and he remembered nothing of how he had come to fall from the tower.
The contents of the letter received earlier in the day had been subject of much anger at the Burrow and Bill couldn't blame his brother. He had to stop himself from taking out his wand lest he do something untoward in his anger. He had sent out the harshest of letters by owl to the Queen but he had no doubts that the letter would only end up feeding the fires of Hogwarts.
"Percy, what do you suggest?" Bill asked the Maester. Though not much older than himself, his father had relied on the man since had taken up the position.
"What suggestions do you need?" Fred interrupted loudly. "Our father currently rots in the dungeons of Hogwarts because of that bitch queen and you ask for suggestions? Every moment he spends down there is a moment too much. We march down south and kill every Malfoy we can get our hands on after we rescue our father!"
Bill ignored his brother's outburst. "Percy?"
"We must proceed with caution," Percy said. "We do not know what happened at Hogwarts and all reports are puzzling and contradictory. But one thing they all agree on is that Lord Arthur refused to bend the knee to the boy Draco after the sad demise of King Sirius. I cannot say why he did that but he must have had good reasons for it. Master Fred put it bluntly but I must agree with some of what he says. You should call your banners to show them that we are very serious about this. But if matters can be resolved via talk then we must look into it,"
Bill nodded at Percy. He had put into words much of his own thoughts.
"Peace?" Fred spat out the word. "Never,"
"They have Ginny as well, if you've forgotten," Bill reminded him sharply.
"Of course not but—"
"They only have to shut the gates to us and we daren't do anything with Ginny and father's life on the line," Bill interrupted him.
"Mother has that snake Lucius Malfoy," Charlie said. Ever since Bill had told him that Molly had captured Lucius Charlie had begun nursing a rising hatred for the man. He was scarcely the only one in the realm.
"A blessing," Bill admitted. "That does strengthen our hand. With a bit of luck and common sense we should be able to exchange the kingslayer for them,"
But he wasn't sure. There was so much he didn't understand about the whole situation. Why had father not bent the knee to the Prince? By the laws of the Four Kingdoms and the laws laid down by the Potters, the eldest son followed his father no matter what. As distasteful as it sounded to him the blonde twit was the legitimate heir to King Sirius. Why and how had mother, who had gone to Hogwarts to warn father, ended up taking the kingslayer as a captive? Had his father unearthed anything on if and why Lord Frank had been murdered? And Ginny…..Where was she? Not a single rumour had said anything about Lord Arthur's daughter. If anything had happened to her…
"So, are you going to call your banners?" Fred asked impatiently.
"Yes," Bill said. "Yes, I will. Lord Brutus has retaliated after mother captured ser Lucius. It might be that it will fall upon us to help out the Lords of Hufflepuff with Queen not lifting a hand in their defence. The men father sent out have reportedly been butchered by Greyback,"
"Percy, have the owls sent to the Lords of Gryffindor. Have them mobilize their men and get ready. We march south to Hogwarts!"
OoO
Bill needn't have worried about the bother the lords might have caused him. As news of Arthur Weasley's capture spread across the lands, their enthusiasm in doing right by their Lord almost outdid his own. It galled at Bill to wait with patience as the Lords made their way to the Burrow but it had to be done. It would only play into the Malfoy hands to not go with as much strength as he could muster in the given time. So he waited.
Lords, both minor and major streamed their way into the gates of the Burrow over the next few days. Houses Brown, McGonagall, Wood, Pettigrew, Jordan, Bell, Johnson and others came with as much strength as they could muster in the short time. The great hall was a chasm of activity and noise and it fell to him as the Lord of the Burrow to welcome them.
It was hard not to feel overawed by some of them. These were men and women who had fought in and won wars while he was still learning to walk. These were battle hardened men and men who had been ruling their houses for decades. And now all of them looked to him for their orders. It felt so wrong and made so little sense that Bill chucked wryly to himself.
Today was the day they would have their first council. Today was the day they would finally march south. Bill sat on the dais above the other lords along with Fred, George, Percy and Charlie. He looked down at the myriad of banners adorning the hall and expectant faces that greeted him.
He stood up nervously and cleared his throat. After a few seconds the mutters died down and every eye in the room was on him. Waiting.
"My Lords and Ladies, it is I who greet you here today instead of my Lord father, the Lord of the Burrow and the Lord of Gryffindor for he lies in the dark dungeons of Hogwarts wrongfully imprisoned by the Malfoy's!"
Angry mutters broke out in the hall and Bill caught several curses aimed at Malfoy's and Slytherins all in turn.
"My father went to Hogwarts as a hand for his dear friend and the King of the Four Kingdoms. Before his body had grown cold the Queen and small council conspired together in their treachery and declared Lord Arthur Weasley a traitor to the crown. All lies I say!"
"Aye," shouted Lord Brown from the back. "Lord Arthur is the most honourable man I've met. I'd sooner cut me own cock off than believe he's a traitor,"
That drew guffaws from many in the hall.
"Filthy Slytherins," Lord Wood spat. "They feed us excrement and then expect us to praise its taste. What do those demanded Slytherins know about honour anyway?"
"Hear Hear!" Lord Bell shouted from the back.
"You need not worry about them snake speakers my Lord," Lord Jordan raised his voice. "We're going to crush the southern ponces and bring Arthur back before they know what's hit them. Every Gryffindor is worth ten of those Slytherin rats,"
"And his girl," lady McGonagall pointed out. "Those cursed snakes have Lady Ginevra as well,"
"Lady Weasley has the Kingslayer if rumours are anything to go by. Is that true, my Lord?" Lord Peter asked in a much more subdued voice than the rest.
"It is indeed true Lord Pettigrew," Bill said loudly. "It was his vile hands that pushed my brother Charlie from the tower in an attempt to kill him. He awaits the King's justice at Riverfort," Another round of angry mutters spread out in the hall and few looks of pity were directed at Charlie. Bill spoke again to divert the attention from Charlie who was growing uncomfortable with the looks. "If it's a war the Slytherins want, we'll give them a war and beating down the likes of which have never been seen. But we must first approach with caution."
"The Malfoy's do not lack for cunning or ruthlessness. My father did not go to Hogwarts solely to become hand of the king. He went there because Lord Longbottom had been murdered by the Malfoy's!" The mutters increased in intensity. "He went there to find out why a man as honourable as Lord Frank had been murdered in cold blood. And he now languishes in prison. As long as we hold the kingslayer, the Lord Brutus and Queen Narcissa dare not harm my father or sister. We march to Riverfort at first light tomorrow. We drag the truth out of the kingslayer and then march to Hogwarts to free the Lord of Gryffindor!"
"Now that's a plan I can get behind," Lord Jordan shouted. "Cracking plan lad!"
"Gryffindor!"
Bill left behind his buoyant lords and men and took private audience with Percy. His father had always trusted Percy. "Did I do well?" he asked Percy.
"You stayed true to yourself," Percy replied. "That's all you have to do. You're father told me once that Gryffindors do not care a whit for people who try to be more than they are or pretend to be someone else. As long as they respect you, they will follow you. And they will make sure you know when they no longer respect you."
Bill nodded. "The Creevey's and the Longbottom's will join up when we reach Riverfort. I'm not sure how many men Lady Alice will spare me. Mother says she's changed and not the woman she once was. In all we should have close to twenty thousand at my disposal." Not as many men as he'd have liked but about the best he could have hoped for in the given time. "We'll help the Hufflepuffs out when we march south. Beyond that, I hope to resolve things peacefully but will the Malfoy's agree to ransom father and Ginny for ser Lucius?" Bill shook his head sadly. "I'm not sure they will. And I'm not sure how effective a war we can wage on Hogwarts with its defences."
"I'm sure you will think of something," Percy said. "The plan you have is a good one. Do not underestimate how much Lord Brutus cares for his golden haired twins. Once you march south and combine your strength with the Hufflepuffs you will number greater than forty thousand. And the gods know the Ravenclaws have reason to despise Slytherin more than the rest of us. Perhaps they can be persuaded to join forces with you."
"Charlie….take care of him," Bill said. "I'm going to take Fred with me,"
"And George?"
"He'll stay here with Charlie,"
"And does he know that yet?"
"No. Call him in as you leave," Bill sighed. "Might as well get it done with,"
Percy bowed and left the room. A few moments later George entered as Bill was pondering over a map of the four kingdoms.
"George, I want you to stay with Charlie," Bill said and winced immediately. He hadn't meant to be so blunt.
George stared at him. "What about Fred?" he asked.
"He comes with me. I need someone I can trust alongside me,"
"Meaning, you don't trust me?" George looked angry.
"I trust you as much as I trust Fred. But I can't have both of you with me. I need people I can trust at the Burrow as well,"
"I'm not staying here without Fred," George said angrily. "We work best when we're together, you know that Bill."
"I know but Charlie needs help and he cannot be here alone. He needs one of you to stay here with him. The gods know its cruel George but I'm making the best of what I have!"
George still looked angry. "What if I refuse?"
"I'm not asking you. I'm informing you that you are staying here."
For a moment George's eyes were ablaze with anger and he opened his mouth to retort but shut it immediately. He grasped Bill's hands. "Promise me, you'll take care of him? You know how he, the massive fool. He thinks nothing and no one can get the better of him but all it takes is a few words or a slash of the sword. Promise me!"
"You have my word," Bill said. "I gave my word to father that I will take care of all of you and I plan to keep it. As long as I'm alive, I will take care of him even if involves shutting him up in a tent,"
George nodded and lingered for just a moment as if he wanted to say something before shrugging his shoulders and leaving.
OoO
It was snowing lightly. Bill watched the small white puffy flakes settle on his cloak before they disappeared. The Burrow was emptying fast as lords and ladies took to the kingsroad in a never ending stream of men, horses and carts.
"So this is it eh?" Charlie said as he stared out at the men.
"Afraid so," Bill replied with a lump in his throat.
"Remember all those times we played at war? You would play the Lord and I'd play the gallant knight who'd be first to charge in your name," Charlie sighed. "Life eh?"
"Charlie, I—"
"It's not your fault Bill so don't bloody apologize for it again. Just my rotten sodden luck!" Charlie said cutting him off. "You just bring father back alright?"
"I will," Bill said determinedly and then embraced Charlie which was somewhat uncomfortable given he was sitting down.
"Off with you now," Charlie said. "Before I begin to howl like a little girl," Charlie turned away from the departing men and Bill.
Bill bid farewell to his George and Percy before he was joined on the road by Fred as they followed the departing men in their march down south.
Read & Review please!