Chapter 17

Weasley Woes

The atmosphere at the Burrow had always been a happy one. With umpteen children running around, it was hard for it not to be. The only exception was when one of those children got into serious trouble and incurred their mother's wrath, which was not to be trifled with.

Now, though, it was somber.

Nobody present bar Bill and Charlie knew the truth. Ron was oblivious — no real surprise there — but Fred and George were unusually cooperative, and frankly downright subdued. Percy had just arrived, and looked very unhappy, though the reason why was quite unclear.

Percy was the only new arrival; the others had been home from Hogwarts for more than a week now. Ron had completely ignored his sister's absence, but Fred and George were very much aware of it. They had only asked once, and Bill had told them to wait until their father got home.

Of course, the fact that such was not going to happen that night didn't go over terribly well, but they were smart enough not to press.

All anyone knew was that their mother and father were in St. Mungo's. Bill was not looking forward to what would come of it when the truth became known. Even Percy was likely to have a significant reaction. And Bill could not predict any of their reactions.

Charlie was incredibly angry with their mother, just as Bill was, and for multiple reasons. Not only had she run their sister out of the country (and nearly out of the family), but she had also committed line theft. While Bill and Charlie were grateful for their lives, it did not change that this was not the way they would have wanted things.

And neither of the eldest knew what to do about it.

It was Charlie's turn to cook, and he was busy making dinner. Both Bill and Charlie were taking a sizable financial hit in dealing with this, as they couldn't really work while taking care of the family. Bill might have been able to do some part time work, but Charlie had no chance since he normally worked in Romania.

It was early evening when the door finally chimed, and Bill turned to see his father walk in.

The man was pale and drawn. Where he was usually a happy, affable sort, right now his expression was truly grim, with a healthy hint of confusion and pain. Bill had to admit, he had no idea how he would deal with it if he were in his Dad's shoes.

There was an explosion of noise from the others as they rushed to greet him, but Bill just stood aside with a slight frown on his face. Percy was confused and worried. The twins actually seemed to realize that something was wrong, and were simply using their humor to try to lift his spirits. Ron, however, was completely oblivious, asking when they could go buy him a new broom so he could be on the Quidditch team next year.

Bill had news for Ron: he was going to be banned from Quidditch if his oldest brother had any say in the matter. "Thief" was not a good look for a Weasley. But that was for later.

His father finally extracted himself from the mass and headed his way. "Alright, Dad?" he asked quietly.

His father just shook his head, though. "Best get this over with, Bill," he said softly. "There's no sense in putting it off."

That was something that Bill fully agreed with, and so he set about gathering everybody in the living room. Ron was annoyed by this, but Bill very sternly told him to deal with it. He was increasingly annoyed with his youngest brother's attitude, and worried about his future prospects.

"Where's Charlie?" asked Percy, just before their Dad could speak.

"Charlie already knows what's going on, Perce," Bill told him. "He needs to finish cooking dinner."

Percy blinked in surprise at that, but thankfully remained silent.

Ron, however, did not.

"Wait, you know what's going on and you didn't tell us?" he burst.

"Yes, Ronald," said Bill in his sternest tones. "Dad is the Head of the Family, and it was not for Charlie or me to tell. Now shut up and listen."

Silence finally fell, though Bill could see Ron's temper steaming away. That boy was going to be long-term trouble, he thought. But what could he do? Now that his Dad was back, he was just the oldest brother — and honestly, that was a relief.

"There is a lot to say here," said Arthur quietly, "and I need you all to stay quiet so I can get through it. It's very shocking, and none of it is pleasant, and I am barely hanging on as it is. It's going to be a while before I come to terms with all of it."

Various nods went around the room.

"We will talk about what led to this last, but the relevant point is that Bill was recently made aware of a problem in the family, and not a minor one. He took immediate action, which was exactly the right thing to do. The result was that your mother and I were admitted to St. Mungo's for examination and treatment."

Bill noted a few looks of concern amongst his brothers, and could fully understand why. This Arthur Weasley was different from the one they had known all their lives. Only time would tell just how different, but Bill was betting it would be very significant. He had been a slave to heavy love potions for thirty years, and none of them had ever encountered his actual personality.

And it was hard to miss the slight venom in his voice when he said the word 'mother'. Arthur Weasley was not happy with his wife.

"What was found was… major," Arthur said slowly. "First of all, your mother was determined to be functionally insane."

Bill was unsurprised when the room arced up. He flicked his wand, causing a loud bang to echo off the walls. "Sit down, all of you, and shut up," he said sharply. "There is a lot more to this, and Dad asked you to be quiet so he can get through it."

"Where's Ginny?" asked Percy quietly. He seemed to be the most affected, oddly.

"We'll get to that Perce," replied Bill, equally quietly.

It was a shock to him to realize that Percy had graduated, and was now officially a young man. Thankfully he seemed to have actually matured.

"Your mother is living in a fantasy world of her own making," Arthur finally continued. "She does not see what we see. She sees what she wants to see. We don't know what caused it, but they tell me that the condition is incurable. She will remain in St. Mungo's for the rest of her life."

There was a ringing silence at that, and it was, oddly enough, Percy who broke it again.

"And you, Dad?" he asked quietly. "You're acting different, so something must have happened."

Arthur leaned over and put his head in his hands for a long moment, and Bill had to stop himself from trying to offer comfort. He really couldn't imagine the depth of the man's anguish. But right now he had to push his way through it. It was important to his recovery.

Finally, he picked himself back up and looked Percy dead in the eye.

"Love potions," he said quietly.

Every face in the room other than Ron's and Bill's paled instantly. And Bill's only didn't because he already knew. Ron, on the other hand, just looked confused, and Bill prayed that he would keep his mouth firmly shut. He was tempted to hit the uncouth boy with a silencing charm, actually.

"What?" breathed one of the twins.

"Your mother has been dosing me with a powerful love potion since before we were married," he said softly. "She dosed me after I turned her down when she asked me out. She was apparently more determined than I could ever have imagined. I haven't been myself for more than thirty years."

"Please tell me this is a really bad joke," said the other twin, utterly seriously.

"It's no joke," Bill informed them.

"I don't know who I am anymore," Arthur said quietly. "That's going to take some time to deal with. But one thing I want clear right here and now, is that regardless of what your mother did, you are still my children, and I do love you. It's just going to take some time for us all to adjust to whoever I turn out to be these days."

"Are you divorcing Mum?" asked Percy faintly.

"I don't know yet," admitted Arthur. "She can do little harm locked up in St. Mungo's, and I need to figure out what impact it would have. She committed line theft, Percy. That's very, very serious as I'm sure you know. And I don't know what the impact will be if I divorce her or press charges. And since she's insane, pressing charges is probably pointless anyway."

Percy nodded. "I can do some research and see what would happen if you want."

For the first time, Arthur smiled slightly. "Thank you, but let's hold off for now. Give me a month or two to figure out who I am and how I feel, and then we'll talk more about it. She's not going anywhere."

Percy nodded, and Bill could tell that his world had shattered. He had been a mama's boy, and to hear this about his mother was devastating. Even as much as Bill knew his mother had issues, he never would have expected this either.

"Gin-Gin?" asked one of the twins worriedly. "I'm guessing she figures in here since you put Percy off. Is she okay?"

Bill took this one, since he knew more about it. "Ginny is the one who alerted me to the problem in the first place," he said heavily. "She–"

"What?!" burst Ron. "I knew she was Dark–"

And that was far as he got before he was hit with a silencing charm. To everyone's shock — including Bill's — it was Percy who did it. And it was Percy who was now looming over Ron, and he was angry!

"Sit. Down," he growled ominously.

Ron's eyes widened and he thumped back into his seat, swallowing heavily. Bill didn't think that any of them had ever seen Percy angry, but boy were they seeing it now. It would not likely be wise to provoke him this night.

"You will not act like our mother," Percy said quietly, but with a great deal of force behind it nevertheless. "You will not jump to conclusions. You will actually sit there, listen, and hear what is said, Ronald, or I will personally take you out back the shed and tan your hide so hard you won't sit for a week. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

Ron's head nodded so fast it looked like it was about to fall off.

Then Percy calmly sat down again. "Sorry, Bill," he said softly. "Please continue."

Even under the circumstances, it was all he could do not to laugh at the way the twins were suddenly looking at Percy. They were shocked! He had always been seen as the plodding, rule abiding one in the family; to see him lose his temper was apparently a bit of an eye-opener for them.

"Thank you, Percy," he finally said. "Ginny wrote to me, and sent it via certified Gringotts owl. She had been trying to get messages through to me prior to that, but I never got any of them."

Bill eyed Ron's smug expression, and knew there was going to be a reckoning there, but ignored it for now. "Mum threatened to disown her. She claimed that she was using Dark Magic, which is utter hogwash. And Dad, in his potion-induced stupor, was literally unable to do anything but support Mum."

"Oh Merlin," breathed Percy.

Bill nodded. "The letter begged me to get Mum and Dad the help they needed, and also to block them from the family magic until that was done. After reading what she had to say, I did both things. Fortunately, since we would doubtless no longer have a sister otherwise."

"Where is she?" asked one of the twins solemnly.

"We don't know," sighed Bill, "and we're unlikely to find out anytime soon. She had no choice. By now you should all have learned what happens to people who get disowned in this society, especially young female children."

"She would have been lucky to get a job as a whore in Knockturn Alley," breathed the other twin, obviously horrified.

"Precisely," nodded Bill. "She knew that, and correctly determined that it was inevitable. She wasn't about to let herself be placed in that situation. She left the country, using the incident at the Tournament as cover so she wouldn't be stopped, because Mum would have disowned her immediately. The letter I received was on a seven day delay. She was already gone by the time I got it."

Both twins folded over and put their heads in their hands, and Percy lost all color. Ron, on the other hand, was tomato red. Bill decided that he was going to suggest a trip to Mungo's for Ron as well, because he was showing potential signs of their mother's illness. That could not be good.

"You haven't told me if there's anything new on that Bill," prompted Arthur, a note of anguish present in his voice. He had always loved Ginny dearly.

"Nothing of use," sighed Bill. "We have a theory on what she did, but that's all it is, and it's predicated on something else that we don't have a lot of facts on either."

"What do you think she did?" asked Percy quietly.

"There is a possibility that Harry was helping her," sighed Bill. He didn't really want to go into this, but he couldn't lie to his family.

"What do you mean?" frowned one of the twins. "Isn't Harry–"

There was a pause as everybody inserted the word "dead" that said twin couldn't bring himself to utter. He was almost another member of the family, and to lose him as well was just as devastating, especially to the younger set — except Ron, who was getting even redder.

"We don't actually know that," said Bill honestly. "The cause of death was listed in the report as a vanishing charm, which is damn near impossible, even for someone like Voldemort. There's a lot we still don't know about what happened that night."

"You think they ran away together?" asked Percy. Strangely, there was no accusation there, only confusion and curiosity.

"Escaped would be a better term, Perce," sighed Bill. "Harry was in a bad situation, and had been for his entire life, and he's smarter than anyone ever gave him credit for. Personally, I think he played everyone until he could seize the chance to escape, and that kidnapping gave him exactly what he needed. It's only a theory, but it fits the facts pretty solidly."

Silence fell, and Ron looked like he was going to explode, but Bill continued to ignore him. Ron's time was coming; he was about to get a wake up call. He still hadn't admitted any wrongdoing for what he had been doing to Harry.

Finally, Percy spoke up again. "Does this have something to do with Dumbledore?" he asked quietly. "I know he was arrested, and from what little I've heard, they're planning on throwing the book at him for some reason."

Bill blinked. He'd forgotten that Percy had access to the Ministry now. "Dumbledore is in a hell of a lot of trouble," nodded Bill. "I can't tell you much, but Harry took some very sensible precautions in case of death or incapacitation, and it kicked over a hornets nest when those precautions were triggered."

"What can you tell us?" asked Percy.

"Not much, like I said," frowned Bill. "I only know any of it because of the situation with Ginny. But Dumbledore was controlling Harry's life to an extreme degree, and not in Harry's favor."

"How extreme are we talking here?" asked one of the twins.

Bill decided that this was going to be common knowledge before long. "Just as one example, Ron and Hermione weren't Harry's friends," he said bluntly. "They were being paid by Dumbledore to spy on him and worse. Which brings us to you, Ron."

The entire family was now staring at Ron like they'd never seen him before, and Ron was truly steaming. Bill honestly had no sympathy; he'd made his bed, and by violating the family's values horribly. He was going to have to shape up, or he could end up with the fate that Ginny had almost suffered — but in his case, it would be deserved.

"Ronald was promised a substantial sum of money if he did as Dumbledore asked. On that front, he was only reporting; Hermione did most of the direct damage there. Ronald did, however, steal a fair bit of gold from Harry's trunk over the years, which I suspect Harry was very much aware of, and chose not to acknowledge."

"I have been fully informed on this," said Arthur quietly, finally rejoining the conversation. Ron paled at the way Arthur was staring at him. "I have read the transcript of the interview Madam Bones conducted under Veritaserum. There will be consequences, Ronald. Even with myself and your mother in the state we were in, you were still raised with proper values. You violated every one of those values by doing what you did, and you should very much have known better."

Bill figured he wasn't going to get a better opening to voice his thoughts on this. "If I might suggest, Dad, I think he should also be evaluated at St. Mungo's." Ron's eyes widened and he looked at Bill as though he was betraying him. "He's showing some of the same signs that Mum did, and that's concerning. It may be nothing, but better safe than sorry."

Arthur thought that over for a moment. "Yes, I agree," he nodded. "Watching him tonight when I can actually see clearly has been enlightening. It was bothering me, and that makes too much sense. The signs are almost identical."

"We can take him in tomorrow," offered Percy. "In the mean time, is there anything the rest of us can do to help? This is a lot to take in, and I'm not sure where to even start."

"Just be understanding, Perce," came Charlie's voice from the door to the kitchen. Bill had no idea how long he'd been standing there. "Dad is going to have a hard time adjusting, and we're all going to have to adjust to Dad as well. It won't be easy, but we're Weasleys, and we can get it done."

"Amen," chorused the twins.

Ron, meanwhile, just steamed under his silencing charm. Bill could only hope that they could fix whatever was wrong with him. If he wasn't mentally ill, then he was on a very, very dark road.

===[~]===

A/N: Arthur's home! More consequences to the mess.

Urgazhi: It would have been better had the importer not eaten all of the line breaks in the Prophecy. It's been fixed.

See you all tomorrow! Or maybe this evening if I get extremely bored…