For AnnaRozeDog

Happy Halloween!

Percy Weasley was dead.

Tears slipped down Madam Pomfrey's wrinkled cheeks, heart aching as she pushed herself through the task of cleaning up the deceased bodies in order to make them presentable, to hide some of their more horrific wounds they'd sustained. Out of respect, she did not use magic, nothing more than a damp sponge unless otherwise necessary.

Her hand was shaky, brushing back those curls of his to wipe off a blood stain on his temple. The boy who was knowledge in just about anything, the hat shell who could've went to either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, the boy who followed in Bill Weasley's footsteps; the boy who deeply loved his siblings despite the obvious rifts between them, the boy who had a yearning to be great-

Gone.

All within a blink.

Torn clothes, deep gashes with seeping blood, cracked glasses, bruises that were black and blue. He'd fought hard, only to be taken down by a collapsed wall. He'd died instantly; crushed by rubble. It all happened so fast he hadn't a chance to prevent it.

A sigh escaped her lips and she returned back to the task.

/

"Where is he?" Molly said with anxiety lacing through her words. She craned her neck but much to her dismay, she did not see the lanky form of her son anywhere. She kept a tight grip on her husband's arm. "Do you suppose he's with Kingsley?"

"It's possible," Arthur said in an attempt at soothing her. His nerves were on edge as well. The rest of the children were huddled close, in such a way that they hadn't for years when they all went through getting to that age where they felt they were much too big to be cuddling their siblings. "I'm sure he's helping at the moment. He'll come shortly."

"I hope you're right," Molly let out a shaky breath.

They were standing not too far from the entrance in the Great Hall, giving them a full view of who was coming in and out. Not that it was truly difficult; a gaping hole was there in place of the large doors that had been there since the start of Hogwarts. A feeling of hope would arise every time a shadow came within their line of sight, only for it to be tragically crushed when it was soon revealed not to be Percy. It was a bit disappointing. They'd hoped that after he'd come back, apologizing and getting forgiveness from the twins, he would've rushed back there with the rest of them once the war was officially over.

"Arthur," Molly stood up straighter, her nails digging into his skin. "There he is! There's Kingsley."

In came Kingsley Shacklebolt; their eyes met and a look came over his face. It vanished, though and he tried to give them a friendly smile. But somehow, it did more harm than good. Their stomachs felt like a huge weight had dropped inside of them, dragging then down to the floor.

"Molly, Arthur," Kingsley acknowledged. His robes were torn, face overwhelmed with exhaustion. "Glad to see you're still with us."

Molly cut right to the chase. "Have you seen Percy?" She asked with desperation that only a parent would understand. "He hasn't come back and we're so worried and-"

Her words trailed off at the faint sight of pain crossing his face.

"No," Arthur whispered.

"What?" Molly's eyes darted to her husband and then back to Kingsley. The laugh that came out of her was breathless and nervous sounding. All the while, the auror's face remained stoic, eyes full of sympathy and sorrow. "Someone should tell me what's going on. Tell me right now or-"

Time stood still.

The world stopped moving, noises blended together.

Everything came to a screeching halt.

The realization set in.

"No," She was shaking her head. "Not my Percy. You...you must be mistaken, that's all."

"Molly-" Kingsley said sadly.

But she refused to accept it. Her eyes suddenly became visibility moistened, her head shaking more frantic. "No, no ! You're wrong. He's perfectly fine."

"He was crushed by rubble," Kingsley said quietly, unable to look at her face. "I saw it myself, Molly. There was no surviving that."

"You're wrong ," She said fiercely. "You're wrong. You have to be."

Beside her, Arthur went very still. He was frozen, it seemed. Then, swallowing thickly, he asked, "Can we see him?"

"I don't think that's wise right now," Kingsley said, recalling how Madam Pomfrey had needed time to clean up some of the more horrific injuries the boy-the man -had sustained. "If you'll just wait a few-"

" No ," The voice that came from Molly was barely above a whisper yet dangerous. "I want to see him now ."

"I understand," Kingsley tried to placate her. "But it's not the best time right now-"

He was cut off again. "You can't do this. Percy will want to see us. Ask him! Ask him yourself."

Arthur put a comforting hand on his wife's arm. "Molly," he whispered. "I...I think-"

"You don't believe this rubbish, do you, Arthur?" Molly had tears that began to cascade down her face. "He's not..our Percy isn't...he is not dead ! He can't be! We just saw him a few hours ago."

"I know," Kingsley sounded exhausted. "It happened not too long after that. I know it's difficult to believe, but you must. "

"No," Molly couldn't believe it. She wouldn't . "No. Percy's fine. He..he knows how to defend himself."

Kingsley looked pained. He pulled something out from his pocket. "He didn't have much on him. Madam Pomfrey found this in his pocket. It survived the fight."

He handed her a picture, but it wasn't just any picture. Arthur had taken the photograph when everyone was quite young, with only Bill and Charlie attending Hogwarts. Percy was holding Ron when he was an infant; the twins were neither side of him. They were all laughing or in Ron and Ginny's case, flapping their hands around.

"I'm sorry," Kingsley said softly.

"No," Molly broke down at that point. Her body trembled, hand covering her mouth to stifle it. Arthur pulled her into his arms, his chin wobbling. "No, no, no !"

"Mum?" Ginny was behind them, along with the rest of their children.

All except Percy.

"What's going on?" Ginny was as anxious as her mother had been. When Molly or Arthur wouldn't answer, she looked to Kingsley. "What's happened? Is everyone-"

Kingsley's eyes lowered to his feet. When he eventually looked up again, he found he was unable to properly communicate. But in the midst of things, Bill seemed to have understood.

"Somethings happened, hasn't it? Someone we know, I'm assuming. It has to be."

"But who could-" Ginny trailed off, abruptly realizing who was not there. "No."

"I'm sorry," Kingsley told them. "I'm truly sorry for all of you."

"Percy," Ginny's body bent and she began to openly weep.

Charlie came out in front, swallowing. A flash of anger came across his face. "You mean to tell me my little brother's dead ?"

"Yes," Kingsley said.

"You're lying," Charlie snapped.

Bill laid a hand on his shoulder.

"You...you have to be! I just saw him, he was alright! How can he be dead if he was alright?" Charlie was getting a tad too close to Kingsley's face. The older man took a step back. Bill gripped his brother's shoulder, his face simultaneously grim and apologetic.

"I see you all need some time to process this," Kingsley said. "I'll be speaking to Harry if any of you need me." He slipped out of the vicinity.

"He can't be dead. He can't," Charlie cried out. Bill's own eyes were welling up with tears and he fiercely pulled his brother and sister into his arms; the grip was the tightest it had ever been.

Not too far away, Fred and George were struggling to comprehend. They were only making breathy noises, the smiles wiped off their faces.

"Do you think Percy knows we love him?" Fred might as well have been shouting amidst the deafening silence. "He had to know that, right? He'd have to know."

Bill lifted his face a bit, a weak, watery smile forming. "I think he did," he rasped out. "He came back, right? He knew that."

"Even after we..." Ginny burst into tears again, sobbing into Bill's chest.

The Weasley children huddled together without prompt, mourning over the brother that they'd once hated and now wished more than anything for just one more second to see.