Harry and Ron were in Ron's bedroom, bored, when they heard Ginny bounding up the stairs. She burst in there, clenching two letters in her hand, breathless from her sprint. She waved them around, wheezing as she tried to catch her breath. From his bed, Ron grumbled about having no privacy in this house. Harry glanced at Ginny, waiting for an explanation.
"I got," she inhaled heavily, "letters..."
"Congrats," Ron said flatly.
She ignored him. "They're from...Charlie...and Bill."
Harry stood up. "Is it about Per-him?"
She nodded vigorously instead of speaking. When she eventually was able to speak properly again, she said, "I mailed them each a letter, telling them what he said to Dad."
She, in Harry's opinion, looked a little too excited about it. "'What'd they say?" Now Ron was interested.
"Dunno," Ginny said. "I haven't opened them yet."
"Well, give me one," Ron told her, snatching one of them out of her hand. "This one's from Charlie."
"Finally responded, has he?" Ginny said with a tinge of irritation at her brother for now answering her last letter.
Ron tore the letter open, eyes roving over it. Harry shuffled closer to his best mate to catch a glimpse at what it said, but that was futile with Ron being taller than he was. He wondered if Charlie had neglected Ginny's last letter about Percy's row with the family and leaving the Burrow on purpose, perhaps thinking that Percy would eventually come home after he cooled down. Such a thing wasn't going to happen now, Harry thought.
"What does it say?" He asked Ron.
"Here. Have a look," Ron gave it to him. The letter was one page, scribbled in the elder Weasley's less than neat, slightly smudged handwriting.
Dear Ginny
Is it really true, Percy really said that? Have to admit, I'm speechless right now. I can't imagine why. That doesn't sound like him. Sure, he's a bit short tempered because of Fred, George and you and Ron sometimes, but to do that?
I know he's felt upset with the family before-he told me and Bill when we took him out to the Leaky after graduation. But I thought he'd be over that by now. Have you lot tried to send him any letters or gone to see him?
Err, scratch that. Never mind. Might not be the best idea. Also can't see Mum or Dad letting you out of their sight. I saw the Prophet. What a bloody dingus Fudge is.
(Also, if by chance you're reading this, Harry: my mates and I think you should've sent Fudge a howler for that bloody interview. Or Skeeter. They're both gits that need to be taken down a peg or two).
As I was saying.
I can't figure out why Percy would want to side with Fudge of all people. It can't be that good of a job. Course, he's been anxious to work at the Ministry since he was a kid. Reckon he's desperate to follow that dream. I suppose I get it but still. I dunno what to think right now. Have you told Bill any of this? Maybe he'll know what to do.
Maybe it might be best if Bill and I go talk to him by ourselves. He's usually willing to listen to us and calm down when he's not around you four.
I know you all are probably upset with him and I get it, but remember he's still our brother. No matter how much he wishes he wasn't, he is. Just calm down, take a deep breath and hopefully we'll get this sorted out soon.
I reckon Mum's a wreck, isn't she? Luckily I don't have to sit through that. And don't make a face at the parchment for what I said. I love Mum but she cries too bloody much sometimes. I'm not good at being around crying women. Never have been. That's why Laura Carolson broke up with me after only a couple months of going out. Said I wasn't "being there for her." We were thirteen bloody years old.
Anyway.
If I don't get to write back to you before you go off to school (Possibility. Lots of work needs to be done around here), have a good year. I should probably tell you not to get into any trouble, but you are related to the twins so why bother, eh?
Your brother,
Charlie
Harry had to grin at Charlie's suggestion to send a howler to Fudge or Skeeter. What a surprise they would have gotten to receive it, especially if it was in front of any important people. If it wouldn't most likely backfire on him- 'prove' to everyone that he was unstable or give Snape more reasons to hate him-he might have done it.
He lifted his eyes to glance at Ron. Ginny was peering down at the letter from Bill, soaking up his every word. He noticed how his best mate seemed agitated and deduced it must have been from what Charlie said. Only, that didn't make much sense because as far as Harry was concerned, the elder Weasley had sounded reasonable on the parchment.
"What's wrong with you?" He said.
Ron shrugged.
"Is it the letter? Are you upset at what Charlie said?"
That got Ginny's attention. "What did he say?"
"He's..." Ron struggled to get his words out, "he's defending him! Said we should just calm down and take a deep breath. He's still our brother," he mimicked in a higher pitched tone.
Ginny wrinkled her nose. "He said that?"
"Yeah! He thinks he and Bill should go to him themselves. They think that'll help."
"Doubt it," Ginny said. "If he won't listen to Dad, he won't listen to them."
Ron gestured to Bill's letter. "What did Bill's say?"
"About what you'd expect," Ginny sounded a bit bitter. "Read it yourself."
Ron held it lower this time so he and Harry could both take a look at it. Harry's eyes gazed at Ginny before lowering to read.
Dear Ginny
You're the first to tell me. Mum and Dad haven't told me anything. Have they said anything to Charlie? Wouldn't be surprised if they haven't. Like to keep us out of the loop, they do. Between you and me, I think it's a bit excessive. I know they think they're doing the right thing, but keeping us from knowing anything-for this or anything else-isn't the way to go.
Now, in regards to your letter, I must say I was a bit taken aback by your rather...colorful language. You know if Mum and Dad saw that you'd be having your mouth washed out. Course, they won't be hearing it from me.
Look, Ginny; I know this isn't good and I understand you're upset by what Percy said but he is our brother. You need to remember that. Even if he is being a bit of a git right now. Just calm down. I'm sure Mum and Dad will take care of it. You know Percy's always been a bit sensitive, so is there anything, perhaps, that any of you might have done to set him off? I'm not blaming you for this, I just want to find out what's going on. Kind of hard to keep up with you lot when I'm so far away.
I just can't see Percy doing that without anything to cause it. I know you all get on his nerves quite a bit (and don't even bother to deny it. I've seen you, Fred and George go after him time after time), but he does care about all of you, whether you realize it or not.
Wish I could write more, but I'm needed elsewhere. Please try to listen to what I've said and don't irritate Mum and Dad too much right now. I know you're very opinionated about this but they must be pretty stressed right now and the last thing they need is for you or anyone else to add to it.
Hope you have a good year, though, despite all this.
Love,
Bill
"He didn't listen to anything I said," Ginny complained when he and Ron both looked up again. "I can't believe them. You'd think they'd be furious. I thought Bill would be, at least. He barely cares! Worse yet, they're acting like we're in the wrong here. We're not the ones that walked out on the family!"
Her shout echoed within the room.
"Maybe he is upset," Harry said. "He just doesn't want you to know."
Ginny shook her head in clear disagreement. "That's not like Bill. You'll know if he is. Trust me. He won't hide it. Not unless he really needs to."
Ron plopped down on his bed, in a sulky kind of way. Harry recognized that look; it was usually what came from Hermione nagging them about something or other. He'd learned to see that as a warning sign that things were about to erupt soon enough. "So what now?" Ron said. "I guess they don't care?"
Ginny shrugged. "Suppose they think he's going to come crawling back soon enough."
Ron scowled. "He doesn't deserve to come back after that."
"You know Mum will take him back, though," Ginny rolled her eyes.
Harry felt like he was reliving the same conversation time after time.
"Do you think Charlie's really going to try and talk to him?"
"I hope not," Ginny said. "With our luck, Charlie will drag him back here and make everyone talk."
Would that really have been a bad thing? Harry wasn't for anything remotely touchy-feely but even he could see that it wouldn't have hurt them to sit down and force the truth out. Bill's letter made sense; it was seemingly odd behavior on Percy's part. Had something gone down? Harry didn't recall anything in the days he'd been at the Burrow, but he wouldn't put it past any of them for something to have occurred before he got there and the elder Weasleys were just neglecting to mention it. Ron sometimes offhandedly told Harry things that went on when he wasn't there, but not always. And he especially didn't make it a habit of talking about Percy; except for times like the night he'd arrived and when he told Harry about the twins locking their older brother in a pyramid.
Harry thought it was best to change the subject, somewhat. "I wonder what the papers will say about what Per-sorry, him for what he said to your dad? You know Skeeter's going to have her hands all over this."
"Bet Fudge is thrilled," Ginny folded the letters back up and put them in her pocket. "Wouldn't be surprised if he told him to say that. Merlin knows he can't think for himself; he's got to have someone whispering in his ear at all times."
Ron snorted. "Did Fred and George ever send him one of their products through the mail yet?"
A mischievous smile crossed Ginny's face. Harry had a feeling they had done something. Otherwise, she wouldn't be looking like that. "Not yet." That was surprising. Usually Fred and George didn't waste any time. Although, now they did have the responsibility of running their shop. "Fred was telling me they're thinking about just conjuring up some dragon dung and sending it through."
A grin spread over Ron's face. Harry frowned slightly. He didn't voice his thoughts, to avoid stirring anything up, but he didn't think the dragon dung or if they instead chose to send one of their products after all would go over well with Percy or their parents should they end up finding out about it.
"Can you imagine the look on his face?" Ron was clearly enjoying the thought.
"Especially if Fudge or anyone else is in the room," Ginny added with a bit of glee. "He's going to be furious."
"And embarrassed. He always tries to act like he's not one of us."
"Like the Malfoys," Ginny muttered.
Harry was surprised. "Really, them? You think so?"
"Of course," Ginny threw up her hands in the air. "He's so stuffy. It's like he could have been adopted."
Ron vigorously nodded his head. "That's what I told Harry."
Harry sat back down on the bed he was using for the summer, pondering the situation and the response letters from the elder Weasleys.
/
Percy's minor-if that could be classified as minor. Harry wasn't sure if it could-explosion with Mr. Weasley didn't get tossed in the Prophet like the elder Weasleys anxiously assumed it would. It might have been, if Percy wasn't involved. But since it did include him, Fudge evidently persuaded Skeeter or anyone else not to write about it because it was a sensitive matter and they needed privacy at a time like this.
Harry didn't fall for the faux nice persona that Fudge was attempting to use to manipulate everyone. He didn't really care about them needing privacy. If it was Harry who had confronted Fudge, dishing out some harsh words without remorse, there would be no hesitation to use it against him. It would've been out in the papers in a heartbeat; just to prove to everyone how deranged he was for having the audacity to speak to the bloody minister like that.
He wondered if this was only adding to Percy's-what Mr. Weasley said to be-hero worship of Fudge. If he saw it as the man being merciful when he shouldn't have been or had to have been. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley didn't see it that way. They were relieved, of course, that it hadn't been aired out for everyone to know. However, they also knew better.
They weren't fooled by him. They knew he hadn't done it out of the goodness of his heart or best interest for Percy. It was highly likely done to look good on his part. To make it appear like he cared about his employee and his well being.
When he truly didn't.
Ron and Ginny kept the letters they'd gotten from Bill and Charlie a secret from their parents. In part, it was done because they technically weren't supposed to be sharing anything about this with anyone. Mr. Weasley warned his children not to say a word to Bill or Charlie or Lee or-he'd turned his eyes onto Harry and Ron-Hermione. Mrs. Weasley was distraught enough. She didn't need word getting out. So, when they eventually got together again there would be no sharing about what had gone down at the Burrow.
They promised they wouldn't.
Harry wondered why Mr. and Mrs. Weasley didn't let Bill or Charlie know of the circumstances. Surely, if not someone out of the family, they would speak to them-being that they were Percy's brothers-about it. It didn't make much sense to keep the matter hush. Sometimes...sometimes what the elder Weasleys did ultimately did not make sense to Harry. They were like the parents he'd never had, but that didn't mean he understood their actions all the time.
/
There was noise coming from downstairs. That wasn't new and it didn't catch either Harry or Ron's interests. It might have been Mr. or Mrs. Weasley coming back from somewhere or the Weasley's Great Aunt Muriel that was a rather unpleasant person to be around apparently. But it wasn't her. Two distinct male voices floated up the stairs and into earshot of them. Harry thought those voices sounded familiar.
Ron evidently thought so too. His ears were perked and he sat up from where he laid on his bed. He looked to Harry, as if to silently ask if he'd heard it as well. "Is that Bill and Charlie?" He might have vehemently disagreed with how both of them had reacted to the news of Percy abandoning the family, but they were still his older brothers. Harry had heard numerous times from Ron about how cool they were, especially Bill.
"Charlie's letter did say it might be best if he and Bill talk to him," Harry recalled.
"Didn't think they'd come so soon," Ron jumped off the bed. "I thought they couldn't get off work yet."
"Maybe they could because of..." Harry trailed off. "Well, because of him."
Did wizards get the same options as muggles where they could leave for an emergency and or get put on temporary leave until things got sorted out? Maybe that's what they did. Unless they didn't get that option.
"Maybe," Ron said as they ventured out into the hallway.
Ginny came down the stairs to where they were, hands on the forearms of the tails. She was looking hopeful. "Did you hear them too?" She said.
"Yeah."
They nodded.
"I didn't think they'd get here so fast," she said. "Really, I didn't know if they'd come at all."
"Guess they're really concerned about Per-him," Harry quickly corrected.
"Yeah," Ginny was still dismayed as to where their concern was. She'd expected them to side with her and the rest of the family; to be inexplicably angry and, if anything, give Percy a piece of their mind. "Guess so."
Downstairs, Bill and Charlie were getting greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who were exclaiming their joy at this unforeseen visit. The three of them came down the stairs just as the four of them were exchanging hugs and clasps on the back. For the first time since the whole situation started, the elder Weasleys were momentarily happy. There were no tears or tense shoulders or terse words to be said.
"Oh, what a surprise to have you both here!" Mrs. Weasley said as she threw her arms around the middle of her oldest son. Bill grinned down at her, leaning down to give his mum a kiss on her cheek. Then she pulled Charlie into an embrace, taking a step back at arm's length afterwards to get a better glimpse of him. "It's so good to see you both!"
"It's good to see you, too, Mum," Bill said.
"Yeah," Charlie said. "Missed your cooking."
Bill agreed.
Mrs. Weasley smiled in appreciation. Then she took a look at Charlie's forearms, her lips pursing. "I see you've gotten yourself more tattoos."
Charlie grinned lopsidedly. "Just a few, yeah. My mates and I dared each other to get one."
From beside him, Bill made a noise of amusement. "M'sure it took some convincing for you. I remember you begging Ilsa Scarlett for some of her permanent ink."
Charlie glared at him while a cry of What rang out in the air from Mrs. Weasley. She didn't approve of that sort of thing and smacked the upside of her second eldest son's head. "You were trying to get a tattoo while still in school?" she demanded.
"No," Charlie said quickly. She gave him that stare of hers when she was trying to get her children to admit something. Bill smirked and Mr. Weasley simply sighed. Charlie faltered. "Okay. Technically I did try, but it didn't work out so it's okay."
"Yeah because Ilsa wouldn't give you any 'cause you couldn't pay her," Bill said.
"Tattletail."
"Real mature," Bill flicked his brother, who shoved him back in retaliation.
"Mum," Charlie was smiling through his attempt at whining. "Billy's touching me!"
Bill shoved him back. "Stop calling me that," he ordered.
"I didn't start it," Charlie said in defense. "Percy did."
He must have done it on purpose. Harry was sure of it. Charlie pretended not to notice the subtle look from Bill or the tension that came back or the obvious glares from Ron and Ginny.
"So," Charlie clasped his hands together, "where is Percy? I've been meaning to talk to him."
He must have been really trying to stir something up. Perhaps this was his way of getting them to bring it up since he and Bill weren't supposed to have known anything about it.
Mrs. Weasley went very still. Her eyes darted away from her sons, lips thinning out like she was holding herself back. Her husband was no better; he turned away with an odd glint to his eyes. No one had brought up his uncharacteristic outburst from that day. It was best that they didn't. But it didn't fully put it to rest. They all remembered it. Harry could vividly recall hearing the glass from the family portrait falling to the floor in the midst of Mr. Weasley's rage.
Time seemed to skip a beat.
A very long, painful beat.
It was broken by Mr. Weasley. "Why don't you boys get settled on the couch, hmm?"
His wife caught on. She nodded fervently, ushering her sons with her hands in that direction. "Yes, yes. That's right. Go sit, the both of you. Does a nice cup of tea sound good? I'll go put the kettle on." She hurried off, with her hair swinging around behind her.
Bill and Charlie finally noticed the three of them, while their dad was still trying to get them to move along. But instead of going to sit down like it was suggested to them-like it was told to them-they greeted Harry, Ron and Ginny cheerily. "Nice to see you all," Bill said, throwing an arm around Ron's shoulders. Much to his friend's dismay, Harry watched as Bill ruffled Ron's hair, messing it up purposefully.
"Oi!" Ron protested, trying to wiggle out of his brother's iron-like grip. It was futile, though. "Stop it, will you?"
"Not a chance," Bill said good-naturedly and then let him go. Ron was still grumbling at the injustice of it all.
Ginny pranced over to her brother, giving him what looked like a bone crushing hug, or as much of one as she could muster. Bill laughed, patting her on the back. "It's great to see you, too, Ginny. I've missed my baby sister."
Ginny rolled her eyes at his words. "I'm nearly fifteen. I'm not a baby."
"Doesn't matter. You're still a baby to me."
She playfully shoved him and went on to give Charlie a hug. "It's okay, Gin," Charlie said whilst looking straight over at Bill. "I don't think you're a baby."
"Git."
"Idiot."
"Boys," Mr. Weasley said mildly. "Mind yourselves."
"Nice to see you as well, Harry," Bill said to him. Harry came out of his daydream, nodding to the eldest Weasley in acknowledgement.
"You too," he said. "How's everything going?"
Bill shrugged. "It's alright. Nothing new or exciting. Pretty much the same, really."
Charlie spoke up, effectively interrupting his older brother with a cheerful retort at his expense. "Couldn't be saying that if he had a real job. But I suppose there's only room enough for one of us for that."
"You wish."
"I know."
Bill was unimpressed. "At least I'm not crying like a girl over a burn for the umpteenth time."
"It hurt," Charlie said defensively while Ron and Ginny snickered. "You try getting burned by a dragon and see how you feel. You won't be so smug then."
A beat of time passed by.
"And I wasn't crying like a girl!"
Bill's face indicated otherwise. That roll of his eyes and smile that was the kind to be given by a parent to a child when they were merely humoring them. Charlie didn't like it one bit. "I wasn't," he insisted.
"Explain the tear tracks on the parchment then."
Charlie bit the insides of his cheeks, glaring at Bill. He then muttered something vulgar that had his mum chastising him for his language when she came back into the room with a tray of cups of tea and a bowl of biscuits for the older Weasley boys to enjoy.
"You know you're not to use that kind of language, young man," Mrs. Weasley wagged a finger at him after she'd set the tray down on the table.
"I'm twenty-four, Mum."
"Never mind that," she said. "When you're away, I can't do much about that. But in this house, you know better. Watch that tongue of yours."
"Yes, Charlie," Bill smirked. "Do watch that tongue."
"Pillock."
Mrs. Weasley looked at both of them with exasperation.
Her husband decided to intervene. Probably to get things moving along and to prevent an argument from breaking out. "Sit down, boys," he said with a sweeping gesture at the couch. "And you three," he said to Harry, Ron and Ginny, "perhaps it would be best if you all went upstairs."
Ron and Ginny protested to this idea loudly.
"Dad!"
"That's not fair! We haven't seen Bill or Charlie in ages. You can't make us leave now."
Their pleading seemed to work. Mr. Weasley was hesitant. It was evident that he was reconsidering. He exchanged a look with Mrs. Weasley, as if to silently communicate. In the end, their children got their way.
"Alright," Mr. Weasley allowed. Ron and Ginny stood up straighter, thrilled. But then their dad put up a hand. "However, if we say to go upstairs at any time, you're to do just that. No buts about it. Nothing."
"Yes, Dad," Ron and Ginny said obediently. Anything so they could stay.
Before long, the Weasleys and Harry were seated in the living room. Bill and Charlie accepted the tea with a thank you. Charlie went for the chocolate biscuits, moaning slightly in happiness. Mrs. Weasley had baked them herself first thing that morning so they were fresh and gooey. Bill politely declined any and just took the tea.
"These are great, Mum," Charlie said through his mouthful.
Mrs. Weasley preened at the praise. "Thank you, dear. But you needn't talk with your mouth full."
Her son grinned sheepishly.
Mr. Weasley shifted in his chair. "So, what's the occasion, boys? I haven't seen you two here at the same time in a long while."
"Yes," Mrs. Weasley said. "I don't recall you telling us you were going to be visiting."
Bill swooped in swiftly with a response. "We wanted to surprise you," he said smoothly.
Mrs. Weasley was glowing in her happiness. "It's a lovely surprise, you two."
"It was my idea," Charlie bragged. "Took some convincing to get Bill to go along with it. You know how he is, attached to his work like a bat to the dark." The elder Weasleys momentarily stiffened at the mention of the word work.
Bill snorted. "That's a load of hippogriff dung if I ever heard it."
"No it's not.," Charlie argued. He turned to his parents. "Where are Fred and George at, you know? Thought they'd be here."
"Oh, they're working," Mrs. Weasley said.
"They've got a shop of their own now," Mr. Weasley said.
"Oh, that's right," Charlie nodded. 'Bit strange to think of them working, isn't it?"
"I remember when they were born," Bill added.
"I remember when they quiet," Charlie remarked, snickering. "That was nice."
"It was nice when you were quiet, too. Merlin, you never shut up when you started talking."
"I wasn't that bad," Charlie waved that off dismissively.
Bill hummed. "Course not."
"I wasn't!" Charlie then abandoned the conversation with his brother to address his parents again. "You never did answer my question."
"What question, love?" Mrs. Weasley was trying to sound casual but failed. Harry sensed her nervousness.
Charlie didn't believe her either. "Where's Percy at? Is he in his room? I'll get him," he started to stand up and Harry didn't miss the way Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's eyes darted to one another.
"Wait," Mrs. Weasley put a hand on her son's wrist, pulling him back.
"What?" Charlie glanced at both of them with curiosity.
If dragon taming and curse breaking didn't work out for Bill and Charlie in the long run, they would both be fantastic actors.
"What is it?"
"Well," Mrs. Weasley was fumbling with her tea cup, placing it down on the saucer with a clink. "You see-"
"He's left," Mr. Weasley finished for her. "Per-your brother has left us."
"Left?" Bill said slowly after he waited a moment for him to supposedly process the information. "What do you mean he's left?"
"Where'd he go?" Charlie said.
"Who cares?" Ron grumbled.
Both of his older brothers looked on in disapproval at him.
"Ron," Bill scolded. "You shouldn't say that. Percy's still our brother."
"Some brother," Ginny scoffed.
"Not you too, Ginny," Charlie frowned. "Come on."
"You don't get it. You aren't here."
Neither of her older brothers took that well. Not with the way they were looking at her. Harry reckoned they must have gone down a similar path before and had taken her words as a jab against them. They didn't say anything else to her in regards to that.
"What exactly happened?" Bill said.
"Yeah," Charlie said. "Percy wouldn't just do that. Something had to have happened."
Mr. Weasley ruggedly rubbed a hand over his face. "We got into a row," he admitted.
"About what?" Bill asked. But Mr. Weasley couldn't answer him because Ron burst out.
"He started it!"
"Don't interrupt your father!" Mrs. Weasley snapped.
"He who?" Bill asked for clarification. 'Dad?"
"No!"
"He means Percy," Harry said.
"And you're not saying his name because-?" Charlie trailed off, waiting for an answer. He didn't get one. "Good talk, then," he mumbled.
Mr. Weasley sighed heavily. His wife started to dab at her eyes. They were getting misty again. "He was angry. I went to talk to Fudge about him getting some time off."
Bill was giving his dad a look, like he couldn't believe he'd actually done it. Charlie was looking equally as floored. "You're joking, yes? Tell me you didn't actually do that."
"Your father had good intentions," Mrs. Weasley told them in defense of her husband.
Charlie dropped his face into his palms.
"He was never home," Mr. Weasley continued. "He spent all his time in his office. Never mind the fact that he worships the ground that Fudge walks on. You should have heard the way he defended the man!"
"Yeah, but dad," Bill was choosing his words carefully. Then he backtracked. "What exactly did Percy say about you talking to Fudge?"
"He accused Dad of trying to control his life!" Ginny said angrily.
Bill fixed her with raised eyebrows. "I was asking Dad."
She huffed.
Bill massaged his temples for a moment. "Dad-look. I know you were probably concerned and Percy does need to spend less time at work, but what you did was wrong too."
Mrs. Weasley gasped. Ron and Ginny's mouths were gaping. And as for Mr. Weasley, he was stunned.
"Pardon?"
"You shouldn't have gone to his boss," Charlie agreed. "We all know how terrible Fudge is but he's still Percy's boss and ultimately it looks bad on him."
"You could have settled it some other way," Bill said. "Maybe talk to him or-"
Mr. Weasley was shaking his head. "You can't talk to him. He's unwilling to listen."
"Oh, come on, Dad. I'm sure it's not true-"
"I went to go see him," Mr. Weasley said and paused when his wife pressed her face into her handkerchief. "I wanted him to understand how much he was hurting everyone. He'd left that night. Off to Merlin knows where. Hasn't been back since. I would have thought he'd see sense by now. Apparently I was wrong."
He got up to pace back and forth. Harry wondered if he was going to break something else.
"We've done everything we could for that boy! We've given him food, shelter, and clothes. We made sure he got an education and even an owl when the money certainly could have gone toward something else!"
"Maybe he's upset about something," Bill suggested. "Maybe it's the twins. They do go pretty hard on him sometimes."
"William!" Mrs. Weasley was scandalous that he'd say that. "It isn't their fault."
"Mum, you know they're difficult sometimes."
"Yes, well-"
"And they don't always know when to quit," Charlie piped up, leveling her with a soft look. "Maybe they just drove him over the edge and this was the only thing he knew to do."
"By leaving us?" Ron retorted.
"If you'd just listen-"
"It isn't their fault," Mrs. Weasley insisted. "I'll admit those two get into enough mischief on any given day, but Percy..." her breathing was shaky, as it was the first time she'd directly spoken of her third son in weeks.
"He's been avoiding us since he got that blasted job," Mr. Weasley stepped in to finish for his wife. "It's got nothing to do with Fred and George and everything to do with him caring more about Fudge and the ministry more than his own family."
Bill and Charlie didn't say anything.
"You should have heard the way he was shouting at Mum and Dad," Ginny added.
"He doesn't even believe Harry," Ron scowled. "Thinks he's lying just like Fudge does."
"Percy's stubborn," Bill said delicately. "Been that way since he was little."
"Don't try to excuse your brother's actions," Mr. Weasley warned him.
"I'm not-"
"He's known Harry for years. He's no reason to doubt him."
"Dad, put yourself in his shoes," Charlie said and then quickly elaborated when the rest of the family looked gobsmacked, "I'm not saying I don't believe Harry. I do. I just think you're all being a bit harsh. Percy's always practical. He needs to see it to believe it. He never just takes someone's word."
"Except if it's Fudge," Ron muttered bitterly. "He can't do any wrong."
Charlie sighed and admitted, "I don't understand that either."
"Maybe he makes Percy feel heard," Bill suggested. "He always felt left out."
"What?" Their parents were appalled. "What are you talking about?"
"Why would Percy feel left out?" Mrs. Weasley said.
The two oldest Weasley brothers exchanged a look.
"He never felt like he fit in," Charlie said with reluctance. "Felt like he was the oddball out of us."
"That's absurd," Mr. Weasley said. "He had no reason to feel that way."
"Is it?" Bill retorted with a hard stare at his father.
"Of course it is!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "We love all our children."
"Love isn't the issue here, Mum. We know you and Dad do. I'm talking about how he's treated. How the twins, Ron and Ginny say things about him, make fun of him and his interests and how Fred and George are constantly doing something to him. I know you and Dad have your hands full, but it's not an excuse to let them say and do whatever they please."
"Now see here," Mr. Weasley's voice rose, "you two may be grown but we're still your parents. Tell me, Bill, how many children have you raised?"
"I just meant-"
"William!"
No words were said for the longest time in the thick silence.
"None," Bill said shortly.
"Exactly. You've no idea what it takes."
"Alright, fine," Bill conceded, "maybe I don't know what it takes. But you can't deny that you've become far more relaxed than when Charlie and I were kids."
"It's bound to happen, William. Parents tend to get the hang of things by the time they're caring for a seventh child."
Bill looked down at his now stone cold cup of tea. He decided to try a different tactic. "I'm not trying to attack you or Mum, okay? You guys are great parents. The best. But you have your faults and one of those lies with Percy."
"So it's our fault your brother left?" Mr. Weasley said with an edge to his voice. "Is that what you're saying?"
Charlie, who'd mostly been silent, spoke up. "We're saying it didn't help."
Mr. Weasley stared down his oldest sons for an almost unbearable couple of seconds. Harry didn't know about anyone else but he sure felt uncomfortable. Then, abruptly, the older man got up from his chair and took off to the outside where his shed was. The backdoor slammed shut and the sound echoed off the walls. The six of them were still in the living room, no one saying anything.
"I'm sorry Mum," Bill eventually said softly, turning to face her.
"Yeah, we're sorry," Charlie grimaced. "Didn't think it'd be that bad."
Mrs. Weasley smiled weakly. She turned, getting up and going into the kitchen, setting down her teacup on the table forcefully. Bill buried his face in his hands whilst Charlie blew a puff of air out his lips.
"That went well."