He couldn't get over it.
The conversation he had with Minister Fudge regarding his father's embarrassing behavior was still replaying in his mind and it only infuriated him more. What right, what right did his father believe he had to do that? None, that was what. Absolutely none. How difficult was it to comprehend that he was a grown adult? If he wished to stay as long as he felt was necessary in his office, then so be it! They shouldn't have felt it was their decision to make for him.
It'll stay that way so long as you allow it
It's your own fault, too
You've never said a word while they've berated and degraded you for everything
You're wrong for wanting good grades
You're wrong for caring about their education as well
You're wrong or wanting to get a good, stable job
You're wrong for being critical about Dumbledore and not just worshipping him like he's the reincarnation of Merlin, himself
You're wrong for not taking the word of a boy who hasn't experienced the real world yet
It's always you
You're the one that's always wrong
Not them
And Percy found, as he walked into the place that he'd once considered his home, that had been full of laughter, joy, love; that was once a place where he could count on for comfort when everything from the outside just seemed so bleak, that he couldn't do it anymore.
He couldn't continue to come back time and time again, where he was disrespected over and over with no consequence for anyone else. Where his opinions didn't matter nor were they taken into consideration. Where his views were shot down. Where he wasn't even thought of as family-he remembered Ron's words they were burning a hole within him.
"Don't really know how he's related to us.
It's like he's adopted and we just don't know it."
That's what they wanted, eh? They wished he was gone. Wished that they could know once and for all if he was truly not a Weasley. A proven mistake that would explain everything, why he was so different from them and how he just didn't fit in.
He didn't fit in at school, not with how cool and wicked his brothers had been, with Percy being the opposite in so many ways. And then came the rest of his siblings and he just floated to the background, only to be seen when he needed to perform his Prefect and Head-Boy duties. Even then, the students resented him for enforcing the rules. His siblings resented him because he wasn't cool or wicked like Bill or Charlie; he didn't know how to have fun.
He was a killjoy. A stick in the mud. He was everything they were against.
He'd even felt like he didn't even fit in at the Ministry when he'd first started. Most who worked in the various, neighboring departments knew him as Arthur Weasley's son. His hair and his freckles gave away his identity right away-of which, at one point, he'd been indignant about. It'd been difficult, mightily so, to prove to them all that he wasn't like the rest of his family. That was what they saw; they expected him to share their values, thinking of him to be distrustful of Minister Fudge while deifying Dumbledore and putting him on the pedestal that most seemed to do. His family sure did; Dumbledore was never wrong, could never be wrong, in fact. It wasn't easy to separate himself from the reputation his family had gotten themselves in so people could believe that he was different and wasn't there to cause any trouble.
Everywhere he went, things seemed to be against him. People saw him as the enemy or at the very least, a nuisance they simply had to put up with for the time being. They didn't care how it felt to him to be treated that way. He doubt they even stopped to ponder it.
Percy's jaw was beginning to ache-he'd been clenching it through the entire walk it took him to approach the front door. Every last one of his muscles were tense, as if preparing for a spar. He had to shake off the feeling of lightheadedness, not only from his hasty travel, but for the reason why he'd left so abruptly in the first place.
He wore an impassive expression, he'd been doing that a lot lately. His features were neither sharp or soft; neither a friendly invite, nor was it a warning to stay away. And when he came through the door, various noises causing his eyes to advert to the right where everyone was, he just stood there.
Watching them.
His family and Potter were sitting around the kitchen table like they had that day at lunch. Again, he saw it; them looking so much like a real family. How they'd all been before Potter entered their lives, a memory that was slowly fading away to nothingness. It became harder for Percy to recall, if it was real or not at all.
They were laughing; a mixture of chuckles and giggles and hysteria. The sounds all merged together in Percy's ears. They were happy, that much was evident. Over something that he had no idea of. They teased each other, with pokes and playful shoves. Ginny and George had both reached for the last piece of chicken at the same time, so instead of trying to be polite like adults, they were trying to shove their forks into it, making them clink. Ron, Fred and Potter were cheering for their intended winner, giving pointers on this and that.
Their mother wasn't having it, as she wasn't as amused by it like they were. She did her best to regain some of the order, instructing that they were to stop that nonsense this instant. She should have known better than that, how they were prone to doing the opposite of whatever she told them to do. Neither Ginny or George listened as predicted.
Not one of them noticed his presence for all of a minute or two. It was just unbelievable. Ridiculous. Unacceptable. Far too long than it should have been for a bloody parent to acknowledge their own child. Then again, had he ever really been their child? Perhaps. Perhaps by a technicality, but nothing beyond that. It'd long been since he'd felt like he was-truly. Not that it even mattered anymore. Now he was okay with it; he was willing to deny it, deny is place in the Weasley name, deny that he ever thought he knew those people. Deny everything he'd come. Deny it all.
And they just wouldn't understand. It wouldn't click with them where he was coming from. They wouldn't try to get it, that was a fact. He knew it. Known it. Bringing it up would be a mistake; he imagined that by surfacing it-the reason-they would act hilariously dumbfounded. That he'd indeed gotten so worked up over that. They were always doing it, minimizing his problems as if what they dealt with was far greater and Percy merely had to cope with menial situations.
They'd act as though Percy had sidewiped them with it, all while wholeheartedly believing that they were in the right and he was in the wrong as usual. It was a permanent spot for him, one that he was long used to being in. Much as his family insisted they upheld values such as honesty and integrity, they were also far too proud at times, unwilling to admit at being wrong, or to accept any other point of view besides their own.
Oh, yes, he understood it well.
He was just about to make himself known, to get this over with and to let out the reason why he'd come home anyhow. But, then, he didn't have to.
It was like the flip of those things that he could recall Professor Burbage teaching his class in Muggle Studies-switches. Yes, like the flip of a switch. It was instantaneous. One moment they were laughing and filled to the brime with glee and joy and the next; the atmosphere had chilled noticeably, moods were somber and one of the twins had mumbled something under his breath. He was just lucky that Percy hadn't been able to make out what it was, or the outcome wouldn't have been pleasant.
See? That just shows how much they hate you
They were having a good time before you showed up
"Percy, you're home early," his father noted with a touch of happiness and surprise.
As if you don't know why
You selfish, old tosser
His mother rose to her feet when he strode fully into the kitchen, keeping a distance between them. His eyes were still very much focused on his father like a bird scoping out its prey; vigilant, sharp. "Do sit down, Percy, Dear. I'll heat you up some left overs." She gestured over to an empty chair that was off to the side. Yes, that was where they wanted him, off to the side by himself where he wouldn't be bothering anyone. Specifically, Poor Precious Potter.
"Percy?" she stopped what she was doing to glance at him when he didn't say anything, when he didn't move. He just stood there with that look on his face. "Is there anything the matter-"
"I can't believe you," it took every once of his self-control not to scream.
His father finally looked over in his direction. "Pardon?"
Percy's jaw was clenched again. He halfway shrugged his shoulder, shaking his head, unable to fully articulate what he was feeling. "I really can't believe you."
"Did you have a bad day, Percy?" his father said carefully, completely misinterpreting.
Percy could only stare in disbelief.
A bad day?
Instead of taking the matter seriously and owning up to what he'd done, his father was attempting to make it all seem like his anger was a result of a bad day?
Everything just bubbled all at once and Percy saw red.
"A bad day?" he repeated rhetorically. "A bad day? Is that all you can come up with?"
"What's wrong with you, Weatherby?" Fred snorted from his spot. "Fudge not let you drool on his shoes again?"
He barely refrained from growling at his brother.
"Watch your tone, young man," his mother warned, but there was something else to it; uncertainty. He wasn't prone to doing this, to acting out.
"What is that supposed to mean, exactly?" His father inquired calmly.
"As if you don't know," Percy sneered. "I heard all about what you did earlier today!"
His mother's head immediately looked to his father, blinking. His father pretended to have great interest in a spot on the table. "What did you do, Dear?"
"Erm, well-"
Before anything else could continue, his mother began ushering his siblings and Potter upstairs with a direct point of her finger. "Out," she ordered. "Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Harry, I want you all upstairs this instant!"
"Aw, Mum," Ron and Ginny complained.
"No buts! Upstairs now!"
Ron, Ginny and Potter left, but with great reluctance. Ginny got beside Ron and was whispering furiously into his ear. Percy imagined that all three of them were going to be listening at the top of the stairs and not in their rooms like their mother wanted them to be.
Fred and George hadn't moved. Their mother repeated her words but they stood firm.
"We're of age," they insisted.
His mother looked like she wanted to argue but ultimately gave up. "Now Percy," she turned around to face him, "what are you talking about? What did your father do?"
"Asking for time off on my behalf! I nearly died of shame when Minister Fudge informed me!"
"Only nearly?" George said with feign disappointment.
Percy deliberately ignored him.
"What makes you think that you have any right to control my life?"
"Now hold on a minute," his father took in a deep breath. Whether that was to suppress his temper or to stall so he could figure out what to say, that was unknown. "No one is trying to control you or your life."
Liar!
"It's been far too long since you've taken a day off," his father continued, decidedly. "You're working nonstop all the time. It can't be good for you. Your mother and I were rightly concerned."
Concerned
Concerned because his son was trying to find his own path in life instead of mindlessly spending his days playing with muggle trinkets
Oh, yes, what a right to be concerned
"Tell me, Weatherby," Fred interrupted, slyly. "What did Dear Old Fudge do after that?"
"Was he mad?"
"Is he making you scrub toilets?"
"Did he fire you?" George asked, a little too eager for the answer to be affirmative.
"Nah," Fred disagreed with his twin. "I bet he demoted him." Then, he looked to Percy with growing interest. "Is it true? Did he?"
Percy fixed his younger brother with a heated glare. Naturally, of course, when he needed to talk about something serious, they always had to derail it.
The twins interpreted that as a yes. They weren't the only ones. "So he did fire you," Fred grinned. "And here I thought Fudge adored you." The rest of his sentence, the for some reason, was said under his breath where no one else but Potter was supposed to hear him. However, Percy had caught it. Loud and clear.
His father looked beside himself. But that was merely a charade. He wasn't shocked or upset in the slightest. Percy wasn't going to fall for that, fall for any of his games. Not now. Not anymore.
He's probably happy
That's what he wished would happen
He's just got to play dumb so you don't suspect anything
Look at him, he looks like he wants to jump for joy
"No!" Percy barked.
But the twins didn't believe him. "Oh, come off it, Perce," Fred said with a grin.
"Yeah, there's nothing to be ashamed of."
"Percy, did Fudge really demote you?" his father asked him seriously.
"No, but you wished he did, don't you?" Percy said nastily.
His father sputtered. "What? Of course not. That's preposterous, that is!"
"Is it?" Percy challenged his father with a pointed look.
"Absolutely! I've had my suspicions about Fudge, you know. Since he's started working there. He's never seemed quite right."
Right, and you would know, wouldn't you?
"Minister Fudge is fine. It's you I've wandered about," Percy spat.
His father looked like he'd been slapped.
His siblings were torn between disbelief and disgust. They were glaring at Percy, as if he'd suddenly revealed to be a Slytherin all along.
That's what they think of you
A sheep in wolf's clothing
And maybe you are
As for his mother, she was obviously taken aback, but composed herself. "Why don't we all sit down and calm ourselves," his mother interjected in that very voice he despised the most. It was patronizing; she was talking down to him as if he were merely a child that didn't know any better. She was clearly on his father's side. She'd made her distaste for his preference for his job over much else known. "Now, Percy, sit down and I'll make us all a cup of tea..."
"Why can you not simply leave me alone!" Percy's voice rose above his mother's.
"You're my son," his father said with uncharacteristic firmness. "And I understand that you like your job, that's fine, but there's a time and a place for working as there is for family and you seem to have confused the two."
What would you know about working, hmm?
You spend your day playing with your toys instead of providing for your family
Your obsessions matter more to you than anything else
"I've done nothing of the sort." His eye twitched when he heard snorts coming from his siblings.
"Percy," his father sighed. "You've all but pushed us aside since you've started working for Fudge. Don't you see that?" He advanced toward Percy, desperation on his face. "We are your family, Surely, you know, that we'll be there for you more than a job will. More than Fudge will-"
"Oh, must you spew more unnecessary hatred!" Percy threw his hands up into the air. "Minister Fudge has done nothing to warrant your negative attitude. He's been brilliantly handling things while Dumbledore goes further off his rocker into this utter delusion of You-Know-Who's supposed return!"
"Dear," his mother intervened. "Where on earth is this nonsense coming from? Harry saw him, you know."
"Oh, come on! Surely, you're so daft to take the word of a child over the word of our own Minister!"
"The same one that's a bumbling idiot, right?" Fred shot back. "Everyone knows Fudge doesn't know what he's doing. I can't-I can't believe you're defending him, Percy! What's he ever done for you?"
Listened to me
Believed in me
Never talked down to me because he didn't agree
"It's like he's adopted and we just don't know it yet."
"Oh, are you a Prefect, Percy? You should have said something, we had no idea."
"Humongous bighead."
"Pompous prat."
"You're acting like a prick, more than usual."
"More than this family has, that is for sure," Percy said stiffly.
The silence hung over the family heavily, thickly.
No one had found the appropriate words to say; no one knew quite sure how to react at first. They were all taken aback. Even the twins didn't say anything nonsensical, but instead of relishing in the quiet, Percy was in a standoff with his parents.
"How can you even say that?" his father's voice was low. Questioning. Hurt. "We've done everything for you. We've given you everything that you would've needed-"
"Oh, bollocks," Percy hissed. "Tell me, Father, when was that? In between the time you spent playing with your toys instead of working to feed and cloth your family? How many times have one of us gone without getting new supplies, hmm? How many times did we have to reuse a uniform or wear hand-me-down clothes because you couldn't afford new ones?"
"Now wait just a moment-"
"But I suppose it's fine, isn't it?" Percy cut in, wryly. "So long as you're happy, then we should be as well, yes? It hardly matters if we've not enough money for our education. But so long as Arthur Weasley is perfectly content with his job, then why improve? You certainly don't seem to care."
"How can you say that?" his mother gasped with a hand pressed to her chest. "Your father works hard for his money."
"Is that what you tell yourself, Mother?" he snorted. "I hardly think that playing with trinkets is a respectable profession."
"It's more respectable than being Fudge's lap dog," Fred muttered.
Neither of his parents even bothered to scold his brother for that.
That's because agree
They don't respect you
They think horrible things about you
They're probably ashamed that you're their son
"Trinkets?" His father's face shoned with mild offense. "Is that what you think?"
"I do," Percy said harshly. "It seems Minister Fudge was right after all."
"Percy, why are you defending this man?" his father demanded. "Are you really that foolish?"
Foolish
Don't you see!
That's what they think of you
Just foolish
"Foolish?" Percy heaved a deep breath in order to gain some self-control back. "That's what you think, hmm? I'm being foolish for not blindly believing what you do?"
"Believing what we do isn't the problem," his father was frowning in disapproval. "It's your attitude and how you've come to...to...worship this man."
He continued. "I know this is the last thing you want to hear, but Fudge, he-"
"He what? I know very well what you think of him. I'm also aware of Dumbledore's motives."
"Motives?" His father blinked, thoroughly clueless. Typical. "What motives?"
"To overthrow the Ministry!" Percy didn't buy his dumb act for one second. He paced back and forth, arms moving around to emphasize his frustration. Finally, he stopped, staring at his father with a humorless expression. "I'm not stupid, you know."
"You're doing a good impression of it," Fred snapped. "What's the matter with you? Dumbledore doesn't want to be Minister!"
Percy scoffed.
"Shows how much you know."
Both the twins reared up like they were going to really give Percy what was on their mind.
His mother covered her mouth with her hand, looking so lost. "Where is all this coming from?" she asked soberly, tearfully. His father pulled her into a side hug to comfort her. "Where-what...why are you saying this, Percy? I just...I don't understand."
"I've grown," he said pointedly, spitting out the words. "I've realized the truth. More than I can say for the rest of you." He took in their looks, a mixture of shock and anger.
"How can you even say that?" his father demanded to know; there was a vein in his forehead that was pulsing, that was visible. He was clearly struggling to keep his voice at bay. "We're your family. Fudge doesn't care about you. He's using you, son. Don't you understand?" Percy couldn't look anymore. It was truly mind-boggling just how far they were willing to go in their delusion.
His father made to grab his shoulders, but Percy jerked away. He didn't see it, but his father's eyes filled with hurt and when he backed away, he cleared his throat. As for Percy, he scoffed yet again at the idea his father was trying to push.
"You've never once treated me like a real member of this family."
"That's not true," his mother argued weakly. It was apparent that his spiel was getting to her. "We've always been there for you."
"Where were you when Fred and George took my badge?" he demanded, striking on them like a deadly serpent. "Where were you when they locked me in the pyramid or mocked me for just about everything? Where you when everyone else made fun of me?" He continued before either of his parents had the chance to answer. "Oh, that's right. You were elsewhere. Too busy fawning over the beloved Boy-Who-Lived to give a bloody care about your own children!"
He was breathing heavily by now. The shaking, it was noticeable. So was his fury.
"That isn't-"
"Will you not let me speak!" That effectively shut down their father. "I'm sick of it. All of it. Your blatant favoritism and disregard for any actual parenting!"
His mother and father flinched.
"You never once cared about how I felt when Fred or George bothered me. You cared never cared how they made me feel when every time I said a word, every bloody time my presence was in the room, they made me feel like I wasn't wanted. And what did you do? Nothing, of course," Percy scoffed. "And when I finally get a job that I love, what do you do? You treat it like it's nothing! You've never supported me in what I've dreamed of doing!"
"We've always supported you, Dear," his mother said strongly. "You know we love you-" She's lying! She wants you to feel bad. She wants you to feel guilty. Don't let her!
"Love me enough to make me feel guilty for doing what I love?" he said sardonically.
His mother swallowed, her eyes were blinking quite rapidly as if she were trying to suppress tears.
"What's the matter with you?" Fred and George were looking at Percy like they didn't even him anymore.
They wished they didn't.
They wished you weren't their brother.
"Yeah. Stop talking to Mum like that."
"I'll talk to whoever I bloody want to how I bloody want to!" Percy barked.
"What's gotten into you?"
"Me? Oh, you have some nerve-"
"Boys!" their father thundered. It effectively drowned out their bickering, rendering them quiet. Ron's face had softened only slightly, but pulled back that ugly expression when his eyes set back onto Percy. Their father stood up to his feet, glancing between them both. "Now, Fred, George, there's no shouting in the house. And you," he turned to Percy. "I don't know what's going on with you or what happened today-" Liar! "But you've no right to take it out on any of us. Least of all your mother. Now, you'll apologize to her and I don't want to hear another word."
It was rare that their father became serious, much less angry at them. That was their mother's territory. It was well known between the Weasley siblings that if one of them managed to upset their father, then they'd better run.
He imagined that the twins must have thought it was funny, to see their father actually scold him.
That's because it's you
Because it's always just a joke when it involves Perfect Prefect Percy
"No."
One could've heard a pin drop. His siblings were astounded by his raw disobedience. His father didn't know what to make of it, struggling to put together words for a moment or two.
"What did you just say?" His mother asked in an eerily calm voice. She was giving him a chance to fix it, to get back into line like the obedient child she thought of him as.
And he nearly did it. He almost faltered. Almost gave them the satisfaction of hurryingly backtracking to fix what he'd just done. But he wouldn't do that. Somewhere within him, a spark that was ignited, roared itself to life and he was given a feeling of powerfulness that he'd never felt before. It brought out his bravery, and he straightened up his posture, looking his mother in the eye.
"I said no."
Now he'd really done it. Thrown himself over the metaphorical cliff without a safety net to land on. No one in the room had expected that response from him-he even surprised himself with his boldness. The heads of his siblings went from him to his parents and back to him, anticipating on a blow out soon enough.
His father finally found his words, after all he could do was stare at Percy like he'd just found out that his son wasn't who he thought he was.
And that's true, isn't it?
You aren't who he believed you were
You aren't who any of them believed you were
And that's a good thing
You'll be better off that way
Just imagine how brilliant you'll be without them dragging you down
"Percy," the words with said with the same level of tranquility, a massive contrast to how he'd just been booming at them. "Apologize to your mother and go upstairs, please."
He'd thought they were down now. He just assumed that Percy would obey like always and be on his way. Well, they had another thing coming.
"No," Percy said simply and he watched in fascination as his parents just froze.
"Excuse me?" His mother started to say but was promptly cut off by his father.
"Son, I'm not asking you again. You live under our roof and will abide by our rules. Now apologize to your mother or else."
He's giving you an ultimatum
He wants you to beg and plead for forgiveness
Don't do it
"Then perhaps I shouldn't live here."
"If that's how you fell then by all means," his father's hand swept in the direction of the door. His expression was cold, matching his son's.
"Oh, Arthur, you can't possibly-Now Percy..."
With that, Percy turned on his heel and walked out of the place that he'd once considered his childhood home for the last time.