George snatched the book from his twin, who glared at him, and turned the page to continue where Fred had left off from.
4 November, 1987
The first Quidditch game of the school year is coming up
"Whoo!" The twins both high-fived much to the amusement of their fellow siblings.
and Oliver refuses to sit still in any of our classes.
A few snickers came from the younger siblings who knew Oliver much better than the others. Some things just never changed.
He's insufferable I swear. It's almost amusing watching him. More than once he fell off his chair during classes.
"That sounds about right."
The teachers, though, were not amused in the slightest. Professor McGonagall sent him out of class so I took the liberty to grab his work for him.
Bill smiled fondly and rubbed Ginny's back. "He was always a lot more thoughtful than any of us ever gave him credit for."
Besides Oliver's obvious enthusiasm, I was excited myself for the upcoming game
That did surprise the majority of the Weasleys. They have never known Percy to ever look forward to a Quidditch match.
as I have never seen Charlie play an actual Quidditch game with anyone but our brothers. It would be a new experience, to say the least.
"Awe, he's excited to see you play!" Ginny grinned and nudged her second brother with her elbow in the ribs.
Charlie chuckled and ruffled Ginny's hair, making her squawk in indignation.
5 November, 1987
The others in my dormitory, mainly Oliver, are honestly counting down the hours. It's just a game.
"Oh! The injury!" Fred fanned himself dramatically and feigned fainting against his twin brother. Said twin was being just as dramatic.
"The insult! Just a game?!" George leaned heavily against his 'fainting' brother.
"Okay you two, I think that's enough." Charlie reached over and boxed both George and then Fred's ears, making the two whine and rub their ears. Well, George rubbed the only one he had. while he went back to reading.
Sometimes I just don't understand people.
Bill reclined in his seat and stared at the book intently. He had a feeling they were about to hear something a little more personal, and he wasn't wrong.
It's like I'm on the outside looking in, trying desperately to understand something my brain simply wasn't meant to.
Ginny and Charlie both shot the twins and Ron matching looks that dared them to say something, but the looks weren't really warranted as the three youngest brothers stared solemnly at the journal in George's hands.
Maybe that's why I never feel particularly close to my brothers and sister, or even my mum and dad for that matter.
Ginny was sniffling by now and leaning into Charlie's side for some sort of comfort. The others just had their heads hung with the exception of George and Bill. George, who was still reading, and Bill, whose eyes haven't left the book.
Something must be wrong with me.
It was Ron that commented first. "Nothing...nothing's wrong with him...Damn it, Percy..."
I can pick things up pretty quickly, but people, people are different from knowledge. They feel too strongly, latch onto things they know will never last.
"Wow...Percy really knows how to write. He...He should be a poet." It was a shoddy attempt at a joke on Ginny's part, but her brothers at least cracked a few smiles.
People are odd.
They terrify me.
'Percy...Is this truly how alone you've felt?' Bill kept his thoughts to himself, not wanting to upset his siblings even more.
6 November, 1987
For the up and coming game tomorrow between Slytherin
A lot of booing from various Weasleys (mainly Ron though).
and Gryffindor, Professor McGonagall actually let us off the hook on any weekend work.
Ron tossed his hands up into the air. "I wish she would have been that lenient with us! It's total bollocks!"
Bill rolled his eyes and lightly kicked his brother's shin to get him to shut up so George could continue on with the month of November.
Between you and me Confider, I think she was too focused on a bet between her and the other heads of houses to want to worry about grading.
Ginny grinned with the twins. "I always knew she kept betting on the games. I swear I've seen her trading Galleons with other teachers after games on a multitude of occasions!"
Charlie laughed under his breath. "She did that before any of us even got our Hogwarts letters."
"How old is McGonagall?"
"No one knows and don't ever try to ask, heh. Right, Charlie?"
"Shut it, Bill."
I learned quickly within my first few weeks at Hogwarts that despite it being enormous with possibly how many hidden rooms and corridors
Fred and George traded identical conniving looks
(that I have yet to find any of, mind you),
"Did he actually try to find some?" Fred nudged his twin.
"Maybe he wasn't as much of a goody-goody in the beginning."
Bill waved his hand side-to-side in an 'ehhhh' gesture. "He had his mischievous moments, you all did."
"But, Percy?"
"Even Percy."
there truly are no secrets among the Hogwarts halls.
Ain't that the truth.
It wasn't hard to find out about the bet for one, just ask the right portraits.
Ginny giggles. "Especially the red lady in the third-floor charms corridor. She loves to gossip with the ghosts and other portraits."
It also wasn't hard to find out about Bill's secret girlfriend of two years
Bill choked on his own spit and started coughing into his fist. "He knew?"
Charlie looked over and raised a brow at his only older brother. "You had a girlfriend and didn't tell me? I feel hurt." His grin betrayed his words.
The twins were snickering and Ron and Ginny hid their smiles behind their hands. "Okay, okay. Stop it, all of you. George, keep reading before I start hexing."
"Aye, aye captain!"
or Charlie trying to sneak creatures from his Care of Magical Creatures class up into his dormitory,
Said redhead's ears turned red at knowing Percy knew about all of his secret smugglings.
"Charlie! You could have been expelled!"
Bill whapped him around the head and Charlie let out an indignant huff. "But I wasn't though!"
"But you could have been!"
"But I wasn't!"
Ginny pinched both Bill and Charlie's sides, making them both hiss and glare at her. "Stop it you two, you're both pretty."
or even that Professor Dumbledore and Professor Kettleburn know about my brother's creature smuggling.
"How'd they know?! I thought I was good at keeping it a secret..." Ginny rubbed his back in a comforting fashion.
You just need to know who to ask, some of them are just dying to spill what they see. I think the more motherly paintings are trying to prevent the rest from telling me too much about what they see.
"Oh my." Fred and George waggled their eyebrows, making Ron, Ginny, and Charlie laugh as Bill just rolled his eyes in amusement.
I wonder what's so bad about what they aren't allowed to tell me? I'll figure it out eventually.
Charlie tossed his head back and laughed louder. "Oh, I forgot how innocent his 11-year-old mind was. Oh, Percy."
7 November, 1987
Joy...today is the first official Quidditch match of the year
A few too many of the Quidditch fanatic family began to whoop and holler.
and you could feel the buzz throughout the castle. I barely saw Charlie all morning and Bill was trying to help coax his now-not-so-secret girlfriend (who I found out was one of our team's beaters),
Charlie grinned at his older brother, waggling his eyebrows and reaching over to pat Bill on the back. "Which one was it? They were both girls that year, Betty or Rosa? My guess is on Rosa, I remember Betty looking like she could tear your dick off during a handjob. Unless you're into that sort of thing?"
Bill tipped his head back and closed his eyes to calm himself before he ended up hexing his brother. "It was Rosa, not that it's any of your business Charlie." And here Bill thought the second oldest was responsible, but, in reality, he could be just as bad as the twins and Ron. That should probably surprise him more than it does.
down the steps, so she could join the rest of the team at the pitch. I asked Bill what was wrong and he just said his "friend's" anxiety was acting up before the game.
Yeah, 'friend'.
A faint blush formed on Bill's face as he glared at the snickering group around him. "Anyone who so much as mentions this to Fleur will absolutely regret it." The threat hung in the air, but his siblings just had various coy/smug smirks on their faces as George continued to read.
At breakfast, I don't think Oliver even tasted his food. He had been going on about the upcoming match all week. It would be the first-ever Quidditch match he would see live.
Ginny cooed quietly at how cute she thought a young Oliver's excitement was for such a simple game. Not that she could blame him.
There were so many people piling down to the pitch and settling in the stands. A large mixture of first to seventh years with just about all the professors/staff members. I didn't realize how big a deal Quidditch was at Hogwarts until today.
"Of course it's a big deal!" Ron seemed beyond exasperated with Percy when his brother wasn't even there to defend his past self. It was kind of funny, particularly in George's opinion as he lightly kicked Ron's shin to get him to shut up so they could continue on with the journal.
We made our way into the Gryffindor stands. It was quite crowded.
I hate being crowded. It's usually why I prefer to stay in my room at the Burrow.
Fred nudged his twin and grinned. "And here I thought he was just always studying and being an obnoxious brat. His two favorite hobbies." Gorge snickered in reply, both ignoring the glares sent their ways by their fiery baby sister.
My own space all to myself. The majority of my clothes and books were all hand-me-downs, as was just about everything else I owned. I think the first thing I ever got that was mine first would be my wand. And I treasured that fact.
All the Weasley Children knew the feeling, even Bill and Ginny. The majority of their hand-me-downs from childhood came from older cousins and other family members that had no need for them anymore though.
The point is that I never get anything to myself. I'm just happy I have my room. A little place to escape to when I'm home.
Ron scratched the back of his head and slouched in his chair. "Did he really hate being around us that much?"
"I wouldn't say hate," Charlie glanced at Bill out of the corner of his eye, who just shrugged his shoulders and rubbed Ginny's back. "He was never a fan of crowds or crowded spaces. Hated them in fact. He always has."
Anyways, Oliver and I had managed to snag seats in the first row of the stands. I tried to convince him to sit a few rows back, but he wasn't having it. Charlie had once warned me of the dangers of sitting in the first row.
Charlie shared a grin with the twins. He didn't know why he liked it whenever Percy mentioned him in his diary. It just made him happy, knowing his baby brother thought of him.
That was what he called the bludger zone, as in there was a good chance the bludgers could slam into the stands if the beaters weren't fast enough.
"We were always - "
"-fast enough."
"I'm sure," Bill said dryly.
"I can tell you that name stuck to the front of the stands because of Bettie and Rosa." Charlie chuckled under his breath. "They were pretty damn good at knocking the bludgers into the other teams but were pretty damn slow too."
The game was interesting from the get-go.
A few leaned forward, eager to hear if/how Percy would describe the Quidditch game.
Slytherins and Gryffindors players alike were yelling and screaming insults at the other team,
'Some things just never changed,' Bill smiled and tossed his arm to lay along the back of the couch and his other arm to rest on the armrest. He wouldn't have thought Percy would pay attention to the game, just bring a book to read because Oliver had dragged him there against his will.
even as they mounted their brooms and rose in the air. Charlie
Again the second oldest smiled at the mention of his name.
rose higher than his teammates to stay out of their way while he could try and catch sight of the golden snitch. The air was tense as Madame Hooch entered the center of the pitch with a box. The second she set it down and opened it, two bludgers zoomed into the air along with the golden snitch that was nothing more than a blur. The quaffle soon followed, tossed into the air by Madame Hooch.
And the game was on.
Of course, Charlie remembered the outcome of this particular game. It wasn't the worst game he had ever played, but it sure wasn't a fond memory of them losing.
It was a headache just trying to keep up with all the fast-moving players as well as the quaffle and bludgers, forget about trying to see the snitch.
"Poor Perce, Oliver must be screaming in his ear."
Every time someone scored cheers erupted from their house, plus any members of other houses that supported them. Gryffindor was up by 20 points, leaving Slytherin behind at 30. I could hardly think with all the yelling and screaming surrounding me.
"That tends to happen." Charlie reached over to lightly whap the elder twin around the head, making the jokester grin and stick his tongue out like when they were children.
It made me want to leave, to run away from truly everyone, and hide in my dorm.
"He really didn't do well with crowds, did he?" Ginny looked up, switching between looking at Bill and then Charlie a few times. It was Bill that finally answered when both brothers kept glancing at each other without saying a word.
"No, he hates them. Hates being crowded and hates all the loud noise. It confuses him and he can't think straight." They were quiet for a few good minutes, no one knowing quite what to say to that bit of information until George broke it by clearing his throat and reading the next sentence.
I didn't like all the noise, nor the vibrations of the stands as people stomped and jumped every time a goal was made.
It was making me anxious and, for a moment, I felt like I couldn't breathe.
Ginny gnawed at her upper lip, worrying the delicate skin between her teeth. "Is he going to have a panic attack? Do crowds and noise bother him that much?"
Her older brothers glanced at one another than at their sister, followed by looking at their brothers. "Well," Bill coughed and shrugged his shoulders. "He doesn't mind them so much anymore, at least I don't think so, but Percy used to cling to us or mom and dad when we were younger and in public crowds."
This did little to give their siblings any relief from their worrying about younger Percy. It may have been in the past and they couldn't help him out now, but that didn't mean they still didn't worry.
George continued quietly.
At this point Slytherin had made two more goals somehow, tying with Gryffindor at 50 points each.
Ron gave a half-hearted boo.
Oliver was just as loud as everyone else, occasionally bumping my shoulder and pointing out moves some of the players were pulling.
Fred nudged George and they shared a knowing, yet fond, smile for their elder brother and former captain.
I couldn't hear him over the roar of the crowd. It was so loud and it made my head throb.
Ginny continued to gnaw at her lips, almost tearing the skin from the pressure.
I raised my head, spotting Charlie zooming around the pitch casually as he kept watch for when the snitch would appear. He seemed so cool and collected,
"Why couldn't you have acted like that off of the pitch, instead of giving me premature grey hairs?" Charlie gave his older brother a teasing wink accompanied by a grin.
"Hogwarts wouldn't have been as much fun then."
"It wouldn't have been more endurable though."
"You love me!"
"Regretfully."
despite having the most stressful and strenuous position on a Quidditch team. It was admirable how well he did under pressure.
"Doesn't even like the game and he understands it better than most people."
Gryffindor managed to snag the lead again,
Fred and George hi-fived each other before their younger brother and sister, whooping loudly.
staying just ahead of Slytherin at 70 points. Each time a Gryffindor chaser scored, the Slytherin keeper would get so mad and punch the air. It was honestly kind of funny to me.
"Jacks was always a sore loser in school, other than that he was pretty much a solid guy for a Slytherin."
Ginny, with the twins' help, managed to make Charlie laugh from the astounded faces they were sporting.
"What?" He laughed and grinned, amusement flooding his voice. "I had inter-house friendships!"
"But Slytherins?!"
"Yes, a few Slytherins were my friends. Now hush up, I want to hear the rest.
It was almost half an hour of nothing but chasing each other around the pit, beating bludgers at the chasers, and stealing the quaffle back. It was like they were all going in circles with no one scoring. I felt like my head was going to explode from all the noise that made my ears ring.
Ron both winced. "He usually always went to Quidditch matches in school though, if the first one he went to was this bad, why'd he keep going?"
George turned the page and spoke before starting to read again. "Even if Oliver's feelings aren't reciprocated, he still was Percy's best friend. He would always go to support him in the games. Win or lose."
"Awe." Ginny was cooing again, making more than one of her siblings cringe.
It was getting to the point where I was going to stand up, make an excuse to Oliver, and then leave for the dormitories.
Only the commentator had caught my attention for once.
They all leaned forward, even more, eagerness written on their faces to hear what was going to happen.
"Weasley's off! He must see the snitch!
Charlie, despite liking it when he was mentioned in his brother's journal, sulked as the old memories of that game began to surface.
Cormier is close behind! They're neck and neck people!"
Ginny had gone back to gnawing at her lip with her fists clenched in anticipation.
I found myself leaning forward in my seat, eyes wide as I watched my brother go into a nosedive,
Everyone, besides Charlie that is, held their breath.
then pull up and skirt around the edge of the stands, arm outstretched in front of him. The Slytherin Seeker, Cormier, was just a few inches behind. Almost.
Almost. It really was a close call, but that didn't make Charlie feel any better about it.
Cormier pulled ahead suddenly and his hand closed around the snitch.
The gathering of gingers let out varying sighs of disappointment, slouching in their seats and moods dropping a tiny bit more.
He rose in the air, fist held high with the little golden ball in it.
I was surprised at how disappointed I was.
"See, even for someone who claims to hate Quidditch as much as he does, Percy still enjoyed the game somewhat. I guarantee it.
Gryffindor had lost, but I really didn't much care for the game anyway.
"You spoke too soon Ronnie-kins."
"Shut the bloody hell up George."
It was quite a big blur from there. I hardly remembered leaving the stands. I do remember trying to get Charlie's attention though as he was heading for the locker rooms, but he was gloomy and I felt it better to leave him be for the moment.
Said brother sulked and slunk farther down in his seat, ears red and grumbling as his siblings tried to comfort him over his years-old loss. It helped very little.
My legs felt like jelly as Oliver and I made our way to the common room. Another blurred passing of time I couldn't remember much of.
"He can remember just about what anyone says to him that day, but not the actions he did?" Bill chuckled fondly and shook his head, mirth shining in his eyes.
I was just glad to relax in bed. I took a short nap, just enough to recharge. I woke up not too long ago and here we are, me writing in you while my dorm mates head off to dinner.
Despite my anxiety during the match, it wasn't too bad and I'm already feeling much better.
"See!" Ron declared, pointing a finger at George, whose eyes widened at the sudden outburst. "He still liked the game!"
Before the two could get into any sort of argument, Bill snapped his fingers at the too and pointed to the book still in George's clenched hands.
I should head down for dinner now, lest I forget to eat again.
"Did he forget to eat a lot?" Ginny's question was directed at no one in particular, but Charlie answered it anyway.
"Well, he probably would have if not for mum when he was home. She always made sure he came down to eat at every meal, despite what he was doing."
13 November, 1987
I don't know how to feel.
That type of beginning to an entry never bodes well and Bill felt a knot beginning to form in his stomach at what it could mean.
I haven't been able to bring myself to write about this since it happened. I don't know what it means or why she did it.
He was right, something had happened to his young brother and he had no idea what, not even a clue. This wasn't good. Who had hurt his brother? The thought of anyone hurting him made the blood in his veins boil.
I don't understand and it scares me.
Percy...
Ginny had begun to cry quietly once more, wiping at his eyes with Charlie's handkerchief still clutched in her hands.
I'm not making any sense, even if you could never respond and I'll always know what those words mean. I just really need to tell someone or something, but I could never tell Oliver this, let alone my family. How could I?
Charlie's jaw was twitching. Someone had hurt his baby brother, someone had scared him so horribly that he couldn't even comprehend talking about it to his best friend, nor his family. He wanted whoever had done that to pay. To feel the pain that they had made Percy feel.
A calming hand covered his and Charlie looked down to see the understanding look in Ginny's tear-filled eyes. That brought clarity back to his rage-fogged mind.
He wasn't the only one angry, he wasn't the only one hurt by what had hurt their brother. They could handle this together, they could help Percy if they worked together. He took a deep breath and nodded at George.
No one missed the way the younger twin's hands shook or the way his hands dug a little too hard into the cover of the diary.
They all felt it.
Earlier this week, Tuesday to be exact, I went to all my classes like usual after breakfast, waved hello to my brothers when I passed by them in the corridors, ate lunch in the library with Oliver.
The day went downhill as I walked into my DADA class. I liked (notice the past tense) our professor,
The silence in the usually rambunctious Weasley home could raise goosebumps on your flesh, the kind of silence that made your nerves go haywire like you just knew something horrible was going to go wrong while watching a horror film.
"His professor…" Ron whispered into the quiet. "Who was his first-year DADA professor?"
"The better question is how could a professor make Percy feel like that." George scoffed and placed his elbows on his knees, leaning forward and staring at the ground between his feet before looking at the words and paper again. "What the hell did she do to him…?"
Charlie and Bill shared a look, but neither said a word. They just wanted to know and wanted everyone to shut the hell up so they could find out what this professor did to their baby brother.
a slightly overbearing, yet very pretty, woman with auburn hair and a single streak of grey through it. She was (more past tense) nice to me despite the negative comments I heard from older students.
Bill choked on his own spit. He knew that woman, his memory clearing as her slightly blurry image filled his head. He knew her, he had her. She really could be awful when she wanted to be, and if she had done anything to Percy then he would...he would...He didn't know what he would do, but it would be without mercy.
Her name is Gila Shrew and she seems to really care about what she's doing at Hogwarts.
At least I thought she did, I'm not so sure anymore.
"If she did anything…" The threat died on George's lips, his back hunching as he leaned further onto his elbows, his leg bouncing as he fought the urge to stand and pace.
"I know Georgie, I know." His twin mumbled into his ear as he watched George turn another page, starting up again.
I don't know why I'm so upset, she said it wasn't a big thing, just a touch.
Ginny burst into tears again, unable to hold them back as the floodgates opened. She buried her face in her hands and leaned into Charlie's side, her sobs shaking her small frame violently and her cries filling the otherwise silent room.
"Just a touch," Ron echoed as he stared blindly at the old peeling wallpaper on the other side of their living room. Just a touch. That's what happened. She had touched their brother, she had hurt him emotionally.
That's all she did at the time.
Ginny's sobs grew louder and all her brothers could do was hold her, they didn't know how else to soothe her.
As class had ended, Professor Shrew had called me back and asked me to stay behind. Oliver was willing to wait for me, but I had told him to go on ahead. I kind of regret that now.
Ron's hands were balled in his pants legs, himself desperate for something to take his raging mentality out on, but the only people around him were his siblings and he couldn't do that to them. Especially not now.
No, I definitely regret it.
Fred's breath hitched into a sob as he wiped at his own eyes, surprising some if not all of his brothers and sister.
She had just asked me to help put some extra books away, at the time I thought nothing of it, not even to allow the question of why she didn't use magic instead to flitter around in my head.
"He's….He's just a child...Only eleven, why the hell…." Charlie tilted his head back to stare up at the ceiling, blinking away tears of his own that clung heavily to his eyelashes, all too eager to fall and soak his freckled face.
I started carrying books over to the shelves, placing them in neat rows. I didn't ask why she didn't help at the time either.
'He's so innocent,' Bill thought to himself. 'Who would want to...to…I can't think that. I just can't.'
It took me almost ten minutes to finish and as I raised on my toes to put the last book on the top shelf, that's when it happened.
Everyone held in a collective breath, too terrified and/or anxious to even think about breathing and possibly breaking the fragile silence.
The book banged against the floor as I yelped and jumped in surprise. As if by magic (ignore my dry humor),
A quiet, watery chuckle from an unknown source.
she appeared behind my person, leaning down with her chest pressed against my back and hands on my hips.
Creaking, like wood about to be snapped as Bill gripped the arm of the couch. His nails were dug into the fabric and his grip hard enough to bend the sturdy wood underneath.
I didn't know what to say,
'Percy,' Ron thought to himself, his own anger and anguish plan to see on his open book of a face.
I didn't know what to do. She was too close, hands holding me too tight.
Fred's eyes started to water and his twin's voice wavered as he struggled to keep pushing forward. To keep reading their brother's pain.
I felt nauseous when she began to whisper in my ear.
"What's wrong Mr. Weasley? Has no one ever held you like this? Touched you like this?
Ginny's shoulders were shaking, throat clogged with tears, and mascara smeared around her eyes as she held onto Charlie with all her might, desperate for the comfort Percy seemed denied of.
No, I suppose not."
"Th-That horrible bitch," Ginny managed to croak out. "I-I'm going to end her sorry e-e-excuse of a life." Another sob ripped its way out of her throat and she wailed into her elder brother's shoulder.
Each word made me shiver and sweat. I wanted her to let go,
The only saving grace Bill felt was the relief that his parents were gone and his mother or father wouldn't have to sit through and hear about what their baby boy had gone through, how he had been traumatized and hurt by someone that was supposed to teach and guide him.
How much Percy was broken before his life even truly began.
I truly did, but I was frozen in my spot. My hand was even still raised in the air after I dropped the textbook.
"It's alright, touching like this isn't a big deal. It's human nature to want to be touched like this by another person, especially a beautiful woman like myself.
'M-Manipulative, sick, sadist bitch.' George's fingertips were hurting from how hard he was clenching the book. 'He's only 11, just a child. Why would she...why would anyone. It doesn't make sense, it's sick and depraved. He's a child...a child...a child.'
"George," Fred whispered quietly into his ear. "Come on, keep reading. The sooner we get this part over with, the better."
George nodded, he hadn't even realized he had stopped reading. This wouldn't be over with though, these things never got 'over with'. This part wouldn't end for a long long time.
There's nothing wrong with this."
'There is!' Fred wanted to scream at everything and nothing. This is wrong, so wrong and their brother was only eleven and he didn't even know what was happening and...and this professor was shattering his trust and breaking his spirit with her words and actions.
Then why did it feel wrong? Why did it feel like my stomach was churning and I was about to lose my lunch?
Fred's tears overflowed, pouring down his cheeks and soaking his face in the salty liquid of the pain he felt for his brother. How could they not know? How could Percy hide something so horrible from them? How could they have let him? It wasn't right, it wasn't fair. Percy was good, he didn't deserve that. No one did…
It was Ron who stood and offered Fred his comfort, crouching beside his elder brother and laying his hand on his knee. It was small, and it helped, but not by much though.
She stepped away suddenly and spun me around, dainty yet rough fingers gripped my jaw and squeezed painfully tight.
Bill had nearly broken the armrest under him as George powered through, voice choking and stopping every now and then as he struggled to even finish sentences. Tears were covering his brothers and sister's faces, eyes wet and unyielding with their abundance.
Bill wanted to find this woman and demolish everything she's ever cared for before ending her life in the most painful way possible.
He wasn't the only one, he knew.
Professor Shrew
A few growled at the name, while the others choked on their tears.
(I despise even writing her name) forced me to stare upwards until our eyes met and my neck hurt. "Now don't say a word to anyone about this little conversation. Imagine what your dear mummy would think if she heard of what a little tease her son was.
A pin could be dropped. Silence. Horrifyingly quiet silence.
Ginny was held in place by Charlie before she could jump up, his own bangs hiding the no doubt shimmering eyes, wet with tears.
"She's manipulating him, hurting him and we can't do anything?!" Ginny's anger was less something to be feared than for something to be pitied as tears continued raining down her face, dripping off her chin, and soaking the collar of her shirt as she wailed and screamed.
It only made George sob harder as he held Percy's diary to his chest, trying to avoid soaking the delicate pages with his own tears.
It took all their willpower to calm down enough for George to keep reading, despite the greenish tint to his face.
"I can...I can finish if you want Georgie," Bill offered quietly as he held his hand out for the book only for George to adamantly shake his head. He held the book tighter to his chest, no one said a word.
"No...I-I got it. I can do this. It's nothing compared to the pain Percy went through. It's the least I can do."
The younger twin took a shuddering breath and looked down at the diary in his hands, finding the spot he left off before continuing.
She'd be disgusted."
Ginny buried her head in Bill's side this time, chest heaving as she tried to muffle her own sobbing.
I didn't know what she meant by me being a tease, and I still don't, but I know I didn't like being called one.
"P-Percy," Ron mumbled quietly, eyes downcast as he pulled his knees up to his chest from where he sat on the floor still, laying his head against Fred's knees. His older brother said nothing.
Tears had welled up in my eyes like they are now.
Ginny let out another wail.
Shrew let me go, lightly shoving me back into the shelves. I was allowed to leave after that at least.
Charlie glanced at his only older brother, reaching over Ginny to lay a comforting hand on Bill's shoulder.
Bill glanced at it before covering Charlie's hand with his own and squeezing gently.
I couldn't be around anyone, I just ran and hid in an empty classroom until I heard the last bell end the day's classes.
"He should have told someone. Us. Mom and dad. A teacher...Someone…" Charlie spoke quietly, watching as Ron buried his face in his knees.
Why did she do that? Why did she hold me like that and say those things? I don't know what she wants, I don't know what I did.
'Nothing...you did nothing Percy. You need to believe that.' Bill's thoughts were running rampant, desperate to piece together and comprehend why a professor of all people would hurt one of their own students. In such a public place, no less. Anyone could have walked in.
I shouldn't have told Oliver to go on ahead. It's my fault, it's all my fault.
"No!" Ginny's shout brought all their minds to a halt. Their baby sister shaking and shivering, on the verge of making herself sick with the amount of crying she did. "It was never your fault, P-Percy. Never. No one would ever think that. You need to know it wasn't your fault…" Her brothers didn't mention that she was talking to no one, that Percy wasn't there, that he was instead miles away in his own flat doing God knows what. Even if he had no idea what was happening at the burrow, they needed him to believe that none of this was his fault.
But, would he ever?
George continued reading.
I want to go home. I want my mum.
George's voice halted again before he swallowed the lump in his throat and read the last sentence for that entry.
I need to stop, I can't write anymore about this, or I might start to sob even harder.
Bill choked on rage and fear and pain.
His brother...his baby brother was hurt...And Bill hadn't been able to do anything to stop it.