It was Sunday evening dinner.
The one night of the week that pretty much everyone in the family looked forward to. It was Grandmum Weasley's favorite day of the whole week; because that meant that the whole family and Teddy would be over, crammed into the Burrow, or if it was comfortable weather, they could spread outside. Rarely was someone not present; it would have to be a work related excuse or illness that left them confined to their beds, otherwise they were expected to be at the Burrow.
It was a tradition that began after the war was over, she'd heard it be explained to Jamie once when he loudly exclaimed how bored he was back when he was around eight or nine. It was an attempt at normalcy. A way to bring things back together, to hold onto each other whilst navigating through the grief of losing Uncle Fred. Grandmum Weasley would prepare a delicious feast-Lucy was wholly convinced her grandmother would never be able to whip up small portions-that they would eat while talking and laughing as a family.
Everyone seemed to enjoy them, even if it felt more routine than natural, as she'd come to realize. The families would arrive one by one. She would watch as her cousins trotted off to whoever was within or close to their age range, with Teddy usually bounding off to be by Vic's side. Dinner time would come; the table was enchanted to extend to fit everybody. It got loud sometimes, with everyone in the same room talking to someone. Then the kids would leave, typically the younger ones first and the older ones would be shooed away if the adults needed to talk privately.
Then they would leave until the next week.
It seemed as though Sunday was the highlight of the week, as though everyone looked forward to it without a doubt.
But Lucy did not.
She tried to tell herself otherwise. She thought it was terrible of her, what with those living in the world with very little or no family. Those people would have happily switched with her, they would have loved to be in her position. How common was it to have as a big of a family as her? Yet here she was, taking it for granted. It was awful to think, so she didn't dare say it out loud. Not to most people anyway; she didn't want it getting back to anyone in the family. That would have been a major disaster.
The only people who knew how she felt were Molly and Teddy.
Which was not voluntary on her part.
She'd just been so mad ! She'd been up in her bedroom, sulking when Molly burst in without knocking to demand to know what her problem was. Evidently, she'd observed Lucy all throughout dinner and beyond that, noting that something was amiss. She was pretty much forced to admit it.
"Tell me!" Molly barked.
Lucy rubbed her forearm, eyes darting downward to the floor. "I dunno..."
"Don't make me tell Dad!" Molly threatened.
Lucy straightened up. "You wouldn't."
"Dad-mmmf!" Lucy threw her hand over her sister's mouth.
"Fine," she hissed. "Fine. I'll tell you!"
Growing up in a family of war heroes, Lucy was no stranger to hearing those stories. She'd studied it during History of Magic, listened to Uncle Harry when he would come every once and a while to talk about it and she'd seen the plaque that was on the grounds at Hogwarts in memory of those who perished in the battle that took place at Hogwarts. Not to mention, all of the Weasley and Potter children were told about it so they would feel a sense of appreciation for what they had now, what their parents had been unable to have as a result of the circumstances.
She knew all of that.
Lucy also knew of her dad's role in the war. She knew how he'd abandoned the family for a short time, coming back to fight in the battle where he then apologized to everyone. Dad was shame-faced when he told everything to her and Molly. Like he thought they were going to hate him for it.
She felt the dull ache in her chest positively throb at how much he was affected by his past actions. It didn't matter to him that he'd come back to make things right. Didn't matter that Uncle Fred had forgiven him or that his parents, her grandparents, had as well.
Teddy had an opinion on that. Lucy hadn't planned initially on telling him, but she forgot how Molly and him were practically conjoined at the hip. Technically, Vic was too. They were the three oldest ones, so they were usually together, telling each other everything. Lucy made them both swear they wouldn't mention a word of this to Vic. She was nice enough, sure, but she also had a bit of a blabber mouth.
They agreed.
Teddy said their dad hadn't been able to let any of it go because it still haunted him; his actions and words he'd flung at her grandparents, aunt and uncles still troubled him deeply to this day. He added that until their dad would let it go, he'd continued to be bothered by those thoughts.
Lucy had sighed. That was Dad, alright. He tended to be antsy when he was amongst the family, as if apprehensive of saying or doing something that was wrong. He'd never admit it. She and Molly had inquired about it on a couple separate occasions but they never got anywhere. He'd smile at them, ruffle their hair or hug them and say that he was fine.
Maybe that was where she got it from.
She hoped she wasn't as obvious to the rest of the family, but she knew her dad was noticing her reluctance to mingle with the family. She knew it by the way he would subtly glance at her. Once, before they had gone over, he asked her quietly if she was okay. She couldn't tell him. She couldn't. She didn't want him to feel the hurt all over again, for her to be the cause of it returning like a douse of ice cold water. So she did what he did; she plastered on a smile and insisted everything was okay.
But it wasn't.
It really wasn't.
It'd been years since all of that went down. Not for Dad, though. For him, it was still a fresh wound. One that was seemingly constantly rubbed on Sunday evenings.
And Lucy despised it.
How could she not? This was her dad, for Merlin's sake! This was her hero, her first best friend. She couldn't be expected to simply stand back and let him take it.
She wouldn't.
Some days were better than others. Some Sunday's, Dad could sit with them and it wouldn't be so bad. Everything would mostly be fine; dinner would go by smoothly. Their dad would be ignored for the most part, by everyone except for Grandmum, Uncle Bill and Uncle Charlie. Her uncles weren't so bad, Lucy conceded. She didn't have anything against them. It was the rest of her aunts and uncles that she had a problem with. They didn't say a word to Dad sometimes, but they were perfectly okay with engaging with her and Molly. It never sat right with her. But she didn't say anything. She was calm. She was pleasant.
Even if she didn't want to be.
She was upset with her grandparents as well. It was their house, so they should have done something about it. Should have reprimanded them or something . Anything more than the feeble oh leave your brother alone from Grandmum. She spoke up, but not all the time. Usually, it was just a defeated sigh and that was it. Why didn't she step up? Why didn't she stand up for Dad? Maybe threaten that if they didn't listen, they couldn't come over anymore.
Something.
Anything.
And then there were the other times. Those times made Lucy clench her hands into fists underneath the table. The times when Aunt Ginny or Uncle Ron or Uncle George made a snide remark at Dad's expense because it was supposed to be funny . Well, it wasn't ! It wasn't bloody amusing like they thought it was. Teddy and Molly didn't think so either but they never said anything. Probably to avoid a conflict.
No one said anything about it. Uncle Harry wasn't one to get into it with anyone. Aunt Hermione and Aunt Angelina rolled their eyes. Aunt Fleur would exchange a frown with Uncle Bill. Uncle Charlie shook his head and her grandparents tried to push forth some meaningless talk about something to cut through it and resume dinner.
And Godric, poor Dad. He sat in his usual seat-in the back next to Uncle Charlie. Depending on what was said, he would hang his head low, ashamed, or his cheeks would redden or he'd just look so mortified that Lucy felt immensely sorry for him. It couldn't be easy to be in that spot. Yet, he never complained. She'd never heard him say anything to Uncle Charlie or Uncle Bill about it. He took it, as if he thought he was deserving of all that.
And Teddy said that's probably how he felt.
/
Lucy moodily stabbed at her vegetables. Her temper that almost was never ignited was beginning to fuel. She counted hippogriffs in her head from one hundred to one, she took subtle deep breaths and she tried to tune out the conversation entirely.
But she couldn't do it.
It all started when the family was fondly remembering Uncle Fred. Uncle George started telling stories about the pranks they pulled together, which naturally spawned stories of the pranks they'd pulled on Dad. None of which were remotely funny to Lucy. Course, a few of her aunts and uncles didn't think that way.
She was this close to losing it.
Across from her, Teddy was shooting her sympathetic looks. Molly was giving off the impression that she was about to go off on them as well. Lucy was half surprised that her sister hadn't by now. Nothing stopped her with other things. Perhaps this was her exhibiting some of the self control that Dad was saying she needed to have more of, instead of him getting letters from Headmistress McGonagall about her behavior. Maybe she thought that by reacting, it would reflect poorly on Dad, since it would just add to the long list of things they had against him.
Lucy wished she wouldn't care about that, or whatever it was that kept her back from giving them a piece of her mind. Molly was so much better at this. People would listen to her. Not shy little Lucy Weasley who overthought everything. She didn't want to do anything to damage what was less of his reputation among the family.
So she did the only thing she could do: she sat in her seat, staring down at her food which was surely cold by now, taking absent minded bites. The food was not as delicious as it typically was. Now it tasted stale and unsatisfying.
"And then there was the time-"
"George," Dad's voice was up an octave. He was no doubt embarrassed. "Can we, err, not talk about that? Please ?"
"What happened?" Uncle Ron was curious. Even after Aunt Hermione smacked him for being too nosy.
"Was it when you two-" Aunt Ginny started to say when Dad cut her off hastily.
"Ginny, please !"
"Come on, Percy. Don't be a spoilsport," Uncle George's voice was too condescending for Lucy to take. "Didn't you tell us you wanted to change and not be a stuffy, uptight Ministry loving moron?"
Dad leaned back in his chair slowly, a painful looking grimace on his face. "Go on," he gestured.
"As I was saying," Uncle George sighed dramatically, "Fred and I were trying to spell out Percy the Prat on the back of his uniform. Course, it didn't go the way we thought it would." He started to snicker, so much that his shoulders trembled.
Lucy snuck a glance at her dad. He was really red now and she nearly anticipated him getting to his feet and leaving. He wouldn't, though. He never would.
"And then the spell got botched and right in the middle of the common room, Percy's standing in his underwear!"
Poor Dad , Lucy's stomach dropped. She couldn't imagine how humiliated he felt.
Uncle George's story caused a wave of laughter from some of the table's occupants, including some of Lucy's younger cousins who she knew meant no harm in it. They were easily amused, but it still made her blood boil . That kind of thing wasn't funny. It wasn't okay. Yet, they thought it was. They thought it was fine to reminisce over things like that, despite it clearly upsetting her dad.
Grandmum pursed her lips in disapproval.
Why won't you say anything?! Lucy's mind screamed.
Her fork hit the table with a clunk . No one noticed. No one besides her sister and Teddy.
"Hey George," Teddy spoke up and it gave Lucy a strange feeling. What was he doing? "Remember when you showed up to Vic's birthday drunk?"
The table collectively hitched their breath. Even the younger cousins who didn't fully understand what was going on. Grandmum's hand flew to her mouth. Granddad simply stared. Uncle George and Aunt Angelina went very still. Uncle Ron gawked at Teddy. Aunt Hermione's jaw dropped. Dad was caught off guard. Uncle Bill rubbed his face. Uncle Charlie lowly whistled. And Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny stiffened.
"Remember how you made Angelina cry and you broke the canopy?"
"Teddy!" Uncle Harry rebuked. "What's gotten into you? Apologize to George!"
Lucy suddenly felt nervous for Teddy. She hadn't wanted him to infer at all, let on now when he could get himself into trouble. Vic's birthday was on the anniversary of the war ending, not to mention, Uncle Fred's death. Anything direct or indirect of the war was a touchy subject for the adults.
But Teddy just kept on going. It made her briefly wonder why he hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor.
"And Ron, you abandoned Harry and Hermione during that time you guys were off trying to defeat Voldemort, right?"
Lucy felt the room's temperature drop. Oh, Godric, she'd never seen Uncle Harry so livid before. Some of her relatives were angry, others were confused as to why he was speaking out like that and others were sitting silently. Her dad was one of those that was caught off guard but he wasn't saying anything, nor did he so much as look in Teddy's direction.
"Do you need to be excused?" Uncle Harry asked with forced calmness.
"I do believe that's a good idea," Grandmum said shakily. "Why don't you go upstairs and have a lie in, dear?"
"No," Teddy chirped. "I'm fine. I just thought I'd bring those up. They were kinda funny, so why not? George's story about Percy is funny to him and Ron and Ginny. Why can't I bring those things up?"
"How is George getting drunk and Ron running off amusing to you?" Aunt Hermione had apparently gained her voice back and asked the question pointedly. Trying to get some of the control back as one of the few rational and even tempered individuals left.
"Simple. George is funny when he drinks and Ron can be preachy at times about the war stuff, which is ironic because he left you guys for a while. So he can't really get upset at other similar things, right?" Teddy said, sending Lucy a smile. An encouraging one. She was startled. "Go on. Say what you want to say."
"Not now," she hissed, receiving curious glances from people. Like Dad.
She had to avoid his eyes, they were staring at her like he was trying to figure it all out.
"Do it," Teddy ordered gently.
She lowered her eyes to her plate.
"He's right," Molly said from the other end. Their eyes met.
"Can someone tell us what's going on?" Aunt Ginny said, having overcome her shock and now looking irritated. "Tell us what?"
Lucy swallowed. All eyes were on her. She exhaled slowly. "I realized I don't like coming here anymore."
Everyone but Teddy and Molly were astounded.
"What?" Grandmum was upset.
"Lucy," Aunt Angelina was frowning. "How can you say that?"
"I've tried not to feel that way, but I can't. I hate it here. I hate it because of how you treat my dad."
Dad's face softened and he got that sad look in his eyes again.
"Lucy, love," Grandmum started to say.
"You don't understand," Uncle Ron said. "The war, he-"
"I know exactly what my dad did during the war," Lucy's voice was colder. "I know he made mistakes. He did things he's not proud of. We know that. We-" she gestured towards her and Molly, "didn't hold it against him." her face hardened. "But you all did."
The table was stunned into silence yet again.
"She's right," Molly said, nodding. "It's not fair. We have to come here Sunday after Sunday, listening to Uncle Ron and Uncle George and Aunt Ginny make fun of him and he can't even defend himself! None of you defend him."
"Do you know how much you're hurting him?" Teddy interjected. "Do you even pay attention? I'm surprised he hasn't stopped coming."
"I would," Lucy spat. "I would've stopped a long time ago."
Grandmum flinched.
"For some reason, Dad puts up with it," Molly shook her head. "Beats me as to why."
"Because he's too good of a person to just leave," Lucy muttered.
Teddy faced the adults with a determined facial expression. "At this rate, you'll drive him away again eventually. One day he's not going to be able to take your remarks anymore. And then you won't be blaming anyone but him."
He let them ponder his words.
"It's not fair," Lucy said quietly. "It's not to Dad that you treat him like rubbish. You act like you love me and Molly-"
"Of course we do," Aunt Ginny said.
"It doesn't feel like it," Lucy retorted sharply. Aunt Ginny seemed taken aback.
"Don't talk to Mum like that!" Lily burst out, upset by how this evening was turning out.
"Are you guys fighting?" Freddie said loudly, always one to stir up trouble. "Is there gonna be a fight? Is there gonna be blood?"
Jamie laughed gleefully.
"No, honey," Aunt Angelina said to her son. Then she turned to Lucy, "I think this needs to be saved for another time."
Vic stood up confidently. "No it doesn't."
Aunt Fleur tried to get her daughter's attention. "Victoire, sit back down."
She smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Maman. I can't." She straightened herself up. "I've noticed it, too. No offense, Uncle Ron, Uncle George and Aunt Ginny, but you lot act like gits sometimes."
There was a bit of an uproar for that; the word disrespectful was getting thrown around a lot. Grandmum was repeating never have I heard such a thing over and over. Dad didn't know what to do. Lucy sent him a soft smile, which he returned, albeit it was a bit weak.
"Yeah!" the table shook slightly, glasses clinking when Dom abruptly stood up, beaming. "Uncle Percy is the best babysitter. He read to us a lot and made those funny noises. You remember that, right, Louis?"
Louis was beside her and nodded.
"Yeah!" Dom continued enthusiastically. "He made the best train noises!"
Vic snorted. "Moving on..."
Lucy took back over. "I know Dad's made mistakes. He's not perfect."
"In fact, I have a small list of complaints," Molly interrupted. "Starting with my broom-"
"Not now," Lucy said through grit teeth.
"What?" Molly was mildly offended. "I was only going to say that I think it's unreasonable to-"
" Anyway ," Teddy said with emphasis.
Molly rolled her eyes.
"It doesn't matter to us that he may not have the most exciting job and he may not be as outgoing as the rest of you," Vic said with Dom nodding along.
"And he may be a little awkward sometimes," Teddy said.
"And he doesn't always know the right thing today," Molly said.
"But he's our dad," Lucy said, tossing a grin over at him.
"And uncle," Dom chimed in.
"And uncle," Lucy agreed. "And we love him just the way he is."
Dad looked so touched. There was a hint of a smile, a genuine smile on his lips.
It gave Lucy the strength to say her last words. "And if you all can't find it in yourselves to be nicer to him, then I'm not coming back here."
She pushed her plate forward and left for the outside.
"Me either," Teddy declared, following her.
They were joined by Molly, Vic and Dom, leaving the rest of the table in a deadly silence.
/
"That was brilliant!" Molly hollered, throwing her arms around Lucy's neck. "You were great back there!"
"You think so?" Lucy was modest about it. "I didn't go too far?"
"Definitely not," Teddy said, reassuringly. "I probably did. Harry's probably going to tell my Gram."
Lucy frowned, untangling herself from her sister. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to get in trouble."
He shrugged. "No worries. It's worth it."
Lucy smiled gratefully.
"Did you see their faces?" Vic said excitedly.
Molly cackled. "It was the best!"
"Grandmum looked sad," Dom noted.
"Good," Lucy muttered uncaringly. She should after not saying anything.
"I wonder how Dad's gonna react?" Molly said.
That made Lucy feel uneasy all of the sudden. They might have indirectly made things worse for him.
"He looked happy," Dom chirped.
"He kinda did," Teddy said.
"Why wouldn't he?" Vic said, tilting her head. "We defended him."
"But we don't know how everyone else is going to react," Teddy pointed out. "They might not take it so well."
Realization dawned on Vic's face.
"They have no reason to get angry," Molly said-ironically enough-angrily. "They did it!"
"They're stubborn," Lucy grumbled. "They'll probably be mad at Dad, thinking he started all this."
"They better not even try that!"
"Calm down," Teddy told Molly. "We don't know what they're thinking yet."
Dom rubbed her stomach. "Wish we got through dinner first. I'm still hungry."
Vic looked annoyed with her sister. "Is that all you think about? Our uncle is being treated horribly and you're worried about your stomach." She mumbled under her breath in French.
"Should we go back to check on them?" Lucy glanced at the house.
"No," Molly shook her head. "That might look like defeat. We have to stand strong."
"For long?" Dom wanted to know.
"As long as it takes!" Molly declared.
"Or until you have to leave," Teddy deadpanned.
Molly rolled her eyes. "Must you always do that?"
Lucy yanked on her sister's arm. "It's Dad!"
"Huh?" Molly whirled around. "It's Dad!"
"I just said that."
They turned to see him coming out the door of the Burrow. Lucy was unable to decipher his face. Was he alright or was he about to take her and Molly home for a lengthy lecture? She stood there still as a stone, really they were all, watching Dad to see what he'd do next. He came to a half in front of them, his mouth opening and reopening several times.
"Dad?" Molly said, glancing at Lucy. "Are you okay?"
"Are you gonna explode?" Dom whispered.
Vic nudged her sister, shooting her a look to be quiet.
Teddy took his silence as negative and started on damage control. "We're sorry if we upset you, Percy. We just couldn't take it anymore. We had to do something."
"It was my idea," Lucy said hurriedly. "Well, not all that . I didn't even want to say anything. I'm sorry if I made things worse, Daddy. I didn't mean to, honest!"
She thought they were in for it now. A lecture was coming or he might even yell at them. Dad usually didn't yell. He almost never raised his voice unless he was really ticked off. Maybe she'd pushed it and now he'd just lose it on them.
Lucy had expected the worst; so it caught them all off guard when Dad embraced them all at once. It was kind of difficult for him to get his arms around them, but he managed. When he let go, he stared at them for another minute or two.
"I've been trying to come up with words but I just can't."
What does that mean?
They didn't know what to say. So they said nothing.
"I didn't expect any of you to defend me like that," Dad squirmed in that way of his when he was struggling not to be awkward. "It's very nice of you. I just...I don't want you three, Teddy especially, to get in trouble for it."
Vic smiled broadly. "Don't worry, Uncle Percy. Dad and Maman love you. They won't do anything."
"I already told Molly and Lucy I don't mind," Teddy told Dad. "It's worth it."
Dad ran a hand through his hair, clearly overwhelmed by all of this. Molly noticed too. She punched his shoulder. "See, Dad! You don't have to worry. Everything's fine."
And it was.
Wasn't it?
"Thank you," Dad whispered a moment later, his voice sounding thick as he was holding back his emotions. "Thank you so much, all of you. I can't even tell you how much that meant to me."
Lucy's chest constricted. Her eyes became moist and she could only nod.
"We love you, Uncle Percy," Vic said.
"Yeah!" Dom agreed.
"And I love you lot, so very much," Dad told them seriously.
Lucy felt like that huge weight was lifted off her shoulders.
"So, how did everyone react?" Teddy asked. That's what was on the forefront of their mind.
"Well, I don't think anyone knew what to say," Dad chuckled but Lucy saw through it. It wasn't purely from amusement. He was trying to pass it off as such when it clearly wasn't. She squeezed his hand as a comforting gesture.
"Good," Teddy said firmly.
"I think Bill and Charlie are giving them a piece of their mind."
Lucy felt better about things. Her uncles were usually fairly persuasive. She just wished they had done it before all this happened.
"Oooh, I hope Uncle Bill threatens them," Molly said giddily.
Dad sighed fondly, ruffling her hair. "I don't know how I ended up with such a strange child."
Molly grinned up at him. "Just lucky, I guess."